Silverpush, a startup that’s just received $1.25M in venture capital, uses ultrasonic chirps that are emitted by apps, websites, and TV commercials to combine the identities associated with different devices (tablets, phones, computers, etc), so that your activity on all of them can be aggregated and sold to marketers. (more…)
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Startup uses ultrasound chirps to covertly link and track all your devices
OakDragon writes: Microsoft has tamped down the earth on XP’s grave, steered Internet Explorer toward the nursing home, and is trying to convince everyone Windows 10 is a bright up-and-comer. But in the Paris airport of Orly, a system called DECOR — which helps air traffic controllers relay weather information to pilots — is running on Windows 3.1. That program suffered a glitch recently that grounded planes for some time. The airport actually runs on a variety of old systems, including Windows XP and UNIX. Maintenance is a problem. There are only three people in Paris that work on DECOR issues, and one of them is retiring soon. Hardware is also an issue. “Sometimes we have to go rummaging on eBay to replace certain parts, ” said Fiacre. “In any case, these machines were not designed to keep working for more than 20 years.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Windows 3.1 Glitch Causes Problems At French Airport — Wait, 3.1?
If your Mac’s app updates are acting a little weird, you’re not alone. A security management slip-up means that some software updates might actually require a delete and reinstall to work properly. Read more…
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Faulty Security Certificates Are Screwing Up Some Mac App Store Updates
Science_afficionado writes: A lot of attempts have been made to use nanocrystals to improve battery performance, but the results have been disappointing. The problem is that when the size of the crystals drop below a certain size they begin to react chemically with the electrolytes which prevents them from recharging. Now, however, a team of engineers from Vanderbilt University report in an article published in the journal ACS Nano that they can overcome this problem by making the nanocrystals out of iron pyrite, commonly known as fool’s gold. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Quantum Dots Made From Fool’s Gold Boost Battery Performance
The cockroach is a resilient little beast, and now it turns out they have the proverbial jaws of death. They can bite with a force 50 times stronger than their own body weight, and with five times more force than a human being. Read more…
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A Cockroach Can Bite Five Times Stronger Than a Human
This afternoon Aleksandr Milewski posted a picture that suggested the ticket-less streak might come to an end, but now Google says its car was flagged down because it was going so slowly. These new prototype models are classified as “Neighborhood Electric Vehicles” and have their speeds capped at 25mph, so they stick to slower-moving streets. The officer had some questions about the car, which is apparently common for the cartoony vehicles. According to Google, its self-driving vehicles have driven 1.2 million miles, or the equivalent of 90 years of experience for an average person — and probably still can’t get an insurance discount. Source: Aleksandr Milewski (Facebook) , Google Self-Driving Car Project (G+)
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Google’s cars have driven 1.2 million miles without getting a ticket
Someday, you might be able to throw a lab-grown meat party with not only burgers , but also tempura on the menu. A startup called New Wave Foods is developing artificial shrimp meat in the laboratory, urged by environmental destruction and the other troubles brought about by commercial fishing. According to Motherboard , the team is currently testing different ways of extracting proteins from algae that the crustaceans eat, mixing and mashing them together with protein gels to create the meat. So far, they’ve already nailed the taste, but mimicking the seafood’s texture is proving to a bit more difficult. Source: Motherboard , New Wave Foods
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A startup is growing faux shrimp meat in the lab using algae
While System Shock might have only just received a facelift when it launched on GOG.com earlier this year, an entire remake of the legendary PC game is now in the works — and perhaps even System Shock 3 . And if you’ve never heard of System Shock ? You should have: both the creators of BioShock and Deus Ex were involved in the game, which is a 1994 classic in its own right. Night Dive, the same company that was tasked with this year’s digital renovation, will handle the remake. It’s picked up full rights to the franchise. Via: PC World Source: Fast.Co
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Cyberpunk PC classic ‘System Shock’ is getting a proper remake
Hackers have discovered a critical exploit in Chrome for Android reportedly capable of compromising virtually every version of Android running the latest Chrome. Quihoo 360 researcher Guang Gong demonstrated the vulnerability to the PSN2OWN panel at the PacSec conference in Tokyo yesterday. While the inner workings of the exploit are still largely under wraps, we do know that it leverages JavaScript v8 to gain full administrative access to the victim’s phone. Source: The Register
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New Android exploit can hack any handset in one shot
If you take the Empire State building, flipped it over to the side, and then put it in the ocean, it would be smaller than some of the world’s largest ships. That’s how big these behemoths of the sea are, more gigantic than skyscrapers. Oil tankers, container ships, pipe-laying vessels, yachts, sailing boats, cruise ships and more, we’ve got all the world’s largest ships still in service today. At times, the scale is just unfathomable. Read more…
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Here are all of the world’s biggest ships at sea