Author: kenmay

Facebook rolls out new tools to help prevent suicides

With over a billion users, Facebook plays an important role in keeping people connected. It serves as a place to share good news, but also provides a platform for users to request support from their digital peers. The company is keenly aware that it can assist users when there is a cry for help, which is why it rolled out an (lengthy) way to flag suicidal content back in 2011 . Now, it’s taking that one step further by introducing new tools to boost its suicide prevention efforts. From this week, Facebook will begin rolling out a new option inside each post that lets users flag when a friend may be considering self harm. The concerned party can click on the little arrow at the top right of a status and click “Report Post.” When that person logs in next, Facebook will then offer options to contact the person concerned about them, enlist the help of another friend or put them in contact with a suicide helpline. The social network has teamed up with mental health organizations Forefront, Now Matters Now, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Save.org to make it easier for users to show their concern. The feature will be available initially to those in the US and Facebook says it will complete the rollout within the next couple of months. It’s also vowed to improve its tools for users in other parts of the world. Filed under: Internet , Facebook Comments Via: Time Source: Facebook

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Facebook rolls out new tools to help prevent suicides

Intel To Rebrand Atom Chips Along Lines of Core Processors

angry tapir writes Intel has announced that going forward it will use style of branding for its Atom chips that is similar to its branding for Core chips. Atom CPUs will have the X3, X5 and X7 designations, much like with the Core i3, i5 and i7 brands. An Atom X3 will deliver good performance, X5 will be better and X7 will be the best, an Intel spokeswoman said. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Intel To Rebrand Atom Chips Along Lines of Core Processors

Five miles of Hyperloop test track will be built in California

If you were worried that Hyperloop was nothing more than a fantasy, you might be happy to learn that some companies are taking the idea very seriously. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies , one of the companies inspired by Elon Musk’s idea of making people travel in tubes, has signed a deal to build a five mile test facility in California. The facility will be built by a local developer along Interstate 5, and is expected to begin construction next year. According to CNBC , the scheme will cost an eye-watering $100 million to build and should be up and running by 2019. Although Elon Musk himself is credited with the Hyperloop idea, he had originally stated that he was too busy with SpaceX and Tesla to develop the project. Since then, however, the entrepreneur has changed his tune, pledging to build a test facility of his very own down in Texas . Unlike HTT’s, the Musk loop will be used by companies and students to test pod designs, and could even host a student race competition in the vein of Formula SAE. All we can say is that we hope it won’t be long after that before we start seeing Hyperloop tunnels popping up across the country. Filed under: Transportation Comments Source: CNBC

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Five miles of Hyperloop test track will be built in California

Apple ordered to pay $532.9 million to an iTunes patent troll

Despite attempts to curb patent trolls , at least some of them are getting lucky — and this week, one got very lucky. A Texas court has ordered Apple to pay a whopping $532.9 million to Smartflash, a holding company which sued over claims that iTunes (specifically its copy protection, payment systems and storage) violates its patents. The Cupertino crew allegedly abused the inventions on purpose, in part because one of its execs was briefed on them over a decade ago. Apple is appealing the ruling, and points out that Smartflash hasn’t exactly been above-board in its behavior. It exists solely to extract patent royalties, and waited years to take action — it even set up its only office across from the courthouse holding the trial, making it clear that lawsuits were expected from the start. It’s hard to tell whether or not the appeal will succeed in reducing the payout (Apple wanted to limit damages to $4.5 million) or overturning the verdict. However, Apple isn’t the only target in the crosshairs. Smartflash has also sued Google and Samsung, so it could cause a lot of grief for the tech industry as a whole. [Image credit: Adam Berry/Getty Images for Apple] Filed under: Software , Apple , Samsung , Google Comments Via: MacRumors Source: Bloomberg

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Apple ordered to pay $532.9 million to an iTunes patent troll

Google Play Music now lets you store 50,000 songs in the cloud

Even if you’re not paying for All Access or YouTube Music Key , Google Play can be a useful way to stream your personal music collection. With its free “locker” service, you can store thousands of tunes online and stream them from the web, as well as your favorite Android and iOS devices. By keeping them in the cloud, they’re quickly accessible across a range of hardware and won’t clog up your precious onboard storage. Until now Google has set a limit of 20, 000 tracks per user, but today it’s raising that amount to 50, 000. It’s a significant increase, and one that might appeal if you have a mammoth music library full of EPs, remixes and B-sides that aren’t available from the major streaming services. Filed under: Software , Google Comments

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Google Play Music now lets you store 50,000 songs in the cloud

Cellulose fibre filler – cure for stripped screw holes in wood

For years, I was frustrated by stripped screw holes, particularly with wooden doors. To get a screw to stay in the stripped hole, I stuffed wood pieces, plastic anchors, basically anything I could find that would fit in the hole. Usually the fix failed, and I was again searching for a MacGyver fix. Read the rest

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Cellulose fibre filler – cure for stripped screw holes in wood

Microsoft Now Lets You Download Windows 7 ISOs with a Valid License

If you don’t have your Windows 7 disc handy—but want to create a custom installation , run Windows from a USB drive , or just do a fresh install —you’ll need an ISO file of the disc. You used to be able to download them from Digital River’s servers , but those links no longer work. Now, Microsoft has a Software Recovery Center where you can download those ISOs for free. Read more…

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Microsoft Now Lets You Download Windows 7 ISOs with a Valid License

FBI Offers $3 Million Reward For Russian Hacker

mpicpp sends word that the FBI and the U.S. State Department have announced the largest-ever reward for a computer hacking case. They’re offering up to $3 million for information leading to the arrest of Evgeniy Bogachev, a 31-year-old Russian national. Bogachev is the alleged administrator of the GameOver Zeus botnet, estimated to have affected over a million computers, causing roughly $100 million in damages. “Bogachev has been charged by federal authorities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering… He also faces federal bank fraud conspiracy charges in Omaha, Nebraska related to his alleged involvement in an earlier variant of Zeus malware known as ‘Jabber Zeus.'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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FBI Offers $3 Million Reward For Russian Hacker

Microsoft gives eligible students free Office 365 subscriptions

Turns out Microsoft had a surprise in store for students around the globe this February, and not just for those based in New York . The company’s finally bringing free Office 365 subscriptions to students outside the US, so long as they live in one of the countries (it’s quite a lengthy list ) where the product’s available. Schools will have to buy subscriptions for staff and faculty, but once they do, students (and even teachers) can self-install for no charge by using a school-issued email address at the Office in education website . After signing up, they’ll get access to the newest Office, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access and Publisher, and be able to install them on up to five computers and five phones or tablets. An account also comes with Office Online and, even better, 1TB of OneDrive storage, so users can go wild uploading anything without quickly running out of space. [Image credit: Shutterstock / Andresr] Filed under: Misc , Microsoft Comments Via: PC World Source: Microsoft , Office in Education

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Microsoft gives eligible students free Office 365 subscriptions