Giant Clams Light Up Like Plasma Screens, Only Better

I bet you’ve never thought about how giant clams wil revolutionize future technology. It’s okay. You probably didn’t know about the incredible way these massive mollusks turn sunlight into power . Read more…

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Giant Clams Light Up Like Plasma Screens, Only Better

Serious Linux Kernel Vulnerability Patched

msm1267 writes: A patch for a critical Linux kernel flaw, present in the code since 2012, is expected to be pushed out today. The vulnerability affects versions 3.8 and higher, said researchers at startup Perception Point who discovered the vulnerability. The flaw also extends to two-thirds of Android devices, the company added. An attacker would require local access to exploit the vulnerability on a Linux server. A malicious mobile app would get the job done on an Android device. The vulnerability is a reference leak that lives in the keyring facility built into the various flavors of Linux. The keyring encrypts and stores login information, encryption keys and certificates, and makes them available to applications. Here’s Perception Point’s explanation of the problem. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Serious Linux Kernel Vulnerability Patched

GM’s Dieselgate: mechanics privately admit update removes crimeware from Opel cars

Luc Pauwels from Belgium’s VRT News took his Vauxhall (GM) Opel Astra in for service, and a mechanic there disclosed that Vauxhall had asked him to flash the firmware of any diesel Opel Zafira to remove a defeat-device that caused it to emit 500% of the legal NOx limit — an order that came down right after the Dieselgate scandal broke. (more…)

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GM’s Dieselgate: mechanics privately admit update removes crimeware from Opel cars

GE’s New $10,000 App-Powered Pizza Oven Is My American Dream

Imagine a world where pizza didn’t come from the pizza store. Imagine if you could pop down into your spacious kitchen, toss some toppings on dough, and throw it all into your very own internet-connected pizza oven. This future is finally possible— but it’s expensive . Read more…

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GE’s New $10,000 App-Powered Pizza Oven Is My American Dream

Wikipedia fund gives the site a long-term future

Wikipedia just turned 15 years old, but you wouldn’t know it from the nigh-on inescapable donation drives — the crowdsourced encyclopedia often seems as if it’s months away from extinction. The Wikimedia Foundation (its parent organization) may have a way to keep the site around for the long haul, however. It’s launching the Wikimedia Endowment , a “perpetual” support fund for Wikipedia and other Foundation efforts. The goal is to raise $100 million over the next 10 years, or enough to both improve its independence and give it room to grow. The Endowment may well be necessary. Wikipedia revolves around its free, no-ads approach to information, and there’s no guarantee that it’ll find enough people to chip in. This prevents it from having to turn to ads and otherwise compromise its relatively impartial stance. Moreover, the team is eager to add more videos and continue adapting to the mobile world — those expansions will cost money. The organization still has to be frugal (it’s not about to beat YouTube), but it shouldn’t be at risk of falling behind. [Image credit: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images] Via: The Guardian Source: Wikimedia Endowment

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Wikipedia fund gives the site a long-term future

Candle-powered heater runs on 10 cents a day

Add / Remove With both gas and electric power getting evermore expensive, efficient heat sources are in great demand. We have already seen an indoor bed-tent from Room in Room , and now Italian designer Marco Zagaria has created the Egloo — a candle-powered heater that is both cheap and ecologically friendly. The Egloo consists of a base, a grill and two terracotta domes. Candles can be placed on the base, and will warm up the domes when they are lit. The grill supports the domes and makes a space in which the candles can combust. The inner dome is thinner and stores a high rate of heat, while the outer dome takes in cooler air from its surroundings — this results in thermal exchange, pushing the warm air out into the room. After 30 minutes the Egloo will begin to heat the room, increasing the temperature by 2-3 degrees for up to five hours with only four tea candles. The Egloo was successfully crowdfunded on Indiegogo in December, raising over USD 260,000 — almost five times its initial goal. The device is now on sale in various colors from USD 50. Could a larger model be used as a safe, eco-friendly alternative on a mass scale? Website: www.eglooinfo.it Contact: zagariamarco@gmail.com The post Candle-powered heater runs on 10 cents a day appeared first on Springwise .

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Candle-powered heater runs on 10 cents a day

LastPass Vulnerable To Extremely Simple Phishing Attack

An anonymous reader writes: Security researcher Sean Cassidy has developed a fairly trivial attack on the LastPass password management service that allows attackers an easy method for collecting the victim’s master password. He developed a tool called LostPass that automates phishing attacks against LastPass, and even allows attackers to collect password vaults from the LastPass API. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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LastPass Vulnerable To Extremely Simple Phishing Attack

Make a Custom USB Flash Drive Out of Glass With a Microwave Kiln

Flash drives can come in all sorts of fun shapes and sizes (my current favorite is shaped like R2-D2), but wouldn’t it be cool to make one with your own design? With a microwave kiln and some glass you can. Read more…

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Make a Custom USB Flash Drive Out of Glass With a Microwave Kiln

Much more than Mario Kart: The history of kart racers

No video game genre divides and unifies us like the kart racer. For every Mario Kart there are a dozen by-the-numbers cash-ins, and even that hallowed series receives regular criticism as too derivative. But while we all breathe a collective sigh of disappointment with each kid-friendly license that predictably goes the generic kart-racing route, it’s hard not to get excited by that rare entry that feels fresh and new. A great kart racer is a joyous thing. It’s accessible yet deep, fun yet primed for oh-so-serious competition between friends, and full of colorful, wacky charm. It is a game for everyone. So in keeping with the spirit of the genre—and as the latest edition in our gaming genre history series that includes  city builders , graphic adventures , and simulation games —it’s time to ride through the ups and downs of kart racing. (Before we start, a quick note: I’ve omitted go-kart racing sims such as Open Kart and Michael Schumacher Racing World Kart because they are essentially conventional racing games and not what we normally think of as kart racers.) Read 33 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Much more than Mario Kart: The history of kart racers

Pro Tablet Showdown: iPad Pro vs. Surface Pro 4

Apple’s iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 look a lot alike. Both are big tablets, both connect to slim keyboard covers, and both offer a stylus for drawing and note-taking. But after spending some time with these potential laptop replacements, I found that they’re really quite different, particularly when it comes to productivity. Read more…

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Pro Tablet Showdown: iPad Pro vs. Surface Pro 4