Category: reader

5G Is On Its Way, But Approaching Slowly

New submitter CarlottaHapsburg writes: Ericsson and Nokia are leading the pack when it comes to developing 5G, but there are some major complicating factors: flexible architecture, functioning key standards, the U.S.’s lethargy in expanding mmWave, and even the definition of what 5G is and can do. It’ll get here, but not soon: “5G networks are widely expected to start to roll out by 2020, with a few early debuts at such global events as the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. It is an ambitious deadline given what is expected from 5G — no less than the disruption of the communications market in general, and telecom in particular, as well as related sectors such as test equipment.” The FCC’s Tom Wheeler says 5G is different for every manufacturer, like a Picasso painting. It should be an exciting five years of further developments and definitions — and, hopefully, American preparedness. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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5G Is On Its Way, But Approaching Slowly

The World’s First 10K TV Is Here and Utterly Unnecessary

See that up there? That’s the world’s first 10K television. You can’t buy it. Chinese display manufacturer BOE made the 82-inch screen just for the bragging rights (first!). That’s okay, though—there’s absolutely no reason to own a 10K TV right now. Read more…

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The World’s First 10K TV Is Here and Utterly Unnecessary

Air Force Uses ‘Moronic’ Selfie to Bomb ISIS Headquarters

Many of us know feeling of posting a regrettable pic or two online. But while your thoughtless photos might be an embarrassment, they (typically) aren’t offensive enough to merit a US Air Force strike. If you’re an terrorist, on the other hand, a wee bit more discretion is probably advised. Read more…

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Air Force Uses ‘Moronic’ Selfie to Bomb ISIS Headquarters

Hackers in giant federal breach got 30 years of worker info

Just how bad was the hack that compromised the info of 4 million US government workers ? Exceptionally bad, if you ask anonymous officials talking to Reuters . They understand that the Office of Personnel Management breach exposed data going as far back in time as 1985, which could reveal what about 1.9 million staffers did after they left federal employment. It’s not certain exactly what was taken, but the hack may have exposed bank info, birthdays and Social Security numbers — the kind of sensitive content that could lead to breaches elsewhere. This isn’t an isolated incident, either. Investigators believe there’s a connection to earlier data theft at insurance giant Anthem as well as health care service provider Premera Blue Cross . The one consolation is that most State Department workers weren’t affected, but the branch is dealing with its own security woes . It’s still not certain whether the (allegedly Chinese) culprits were state-sponsored or simply very determined thieves, but one defense official is convinced that this was intelligence gathering. If it was, the breach could easily worsen already strained China-US relations. [Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images] Filed under: Internet Comments Source: Reuters

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Hackers in giant federal breach got 30 years of worker info

Yahoo Pipes Is Closing Down

Yahoo is pulling the plug on 8-year old Yahoo Pipes , the service that creates custom web feeds through powerful filters. Pipes will run until September 30th in read-only mode but you should probably download your Pipe definitions as soon as possible. Check the announcement here . Read more…

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Yahoo Pipes Is Closing Down

Technology Won’t Fix America’s Neediest Schools — It Makes Bad Education Worse

theodp writes: In an adapted excerpt from Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology, Univ. of Michigan prof Kentaro Toyama begins: “‘Technology is a game-changer in the field of education, ‘” Education Secretary Arne Duncan once said, and there was a time when I would have agreed. Over the last decade, I’ve built, used, and studied educational technology in countries around the world. As a computer scientist and former Microsoft employee, I wanted nothing more than to see innovation triumph in the classroom. But no matter how good the design, and despite rigorous tests of impact, I have never seen technology systematically overcome the socio-economic divides that exist in education. Children who are behind need high-quality adult guidance more than anything else. Many people believe that technology ‘levels the playing field’ of learning, but what I’ve discovered is that it does no such thing.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Technology Won’t Fix America’s Neediest Schools — It Makes Bad Education Worse

County sheriff warrantlessly used stingray 500+ times, claims to have no records

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD), the largest law enforcement agency in California’s capital region, has operated a stingray at least 500 times without a warrant in the last decade. But if you asked SCSD directly, even recently they wouldn’t give you a definite figure. As part of an ongoing investigation into stingray use nationwide, Ars filed a public records request with the SCSD  this year. And at the end of April, the SCSD responded. The department claimed that “no responsive documents exist,” essentially saying that there are no  records  detailing how many times its stingray has been used. That seemed a bit odd because in 2013,  local Sacramento television station News 10  obtained a Homeland Security grant application written by the SCSD. The proposal aimed to upgrade  the department’s stingray capabilities, and as part of its justification, the SCSD claimed to know how successful its device has been: Read 23 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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County sheriff warrantlessly used stingray 500+ times, claims to have no records

A drop of blood reveals every disease you’ve ever had

This stock image is just for illustration, you do not need this much blood to take the new test. Every disease that you’ve ever encountered is cataloged within your DNA, and now a team from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has worked out how to access that data. It’s part of a project called VirScan that, it’s hoped, will revolutionize medical testing and help Doctors catch illnesses long before they manifest. Even better, is that it’s not even an expensive procedure, with each test slated to cost just $25 — well, at least before your hospital slaps on their own fee on top. The project has been led by Stephen Elledge, who says that Doctors normally treat viral infestions with a trial-and-error system of testing based on symptoms. By comparison, VirScan can just examine every nasty thing your body has come into contact with and center in on what’s causing the trouble. The technique could become critical in finding and solving conditions with a very long incubation time, like HIV and hepatitis C. As part of the research, the team also discovered that most people’s bodies deal with infections in a similar way, and that the system could help develop vaccines for previously un-treated conditions. Elledge also believes that the technology is going to help researchers investigate if there’s a link between viral infections and non-viral conditions like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The good news doesn’t stop there, either, since it could also make medical research across borders significantly easier. With a VirScan device, scientists could easily compare and contrast the infection rates for various diseases across the globe. [Image Credit: Getty] Filed under: Science Comments Via: Washington Post Source: HHMI , Science

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A drop of blood reveals every disease you’ve ever had

NAND Flash Shrinks To 15/16nm Process, Further Driving Prices Down

Lucas123 writes: Both Micron and Toshiba are producing NAND flash memory based on 15 and 16 nanometer process technology, which reduces die area over a 16GB MLC chip by 28% compared with previous die technology. Additionally, Micron announced its upcoming consumer USB flash drives and internal SSDs will also use triple-level cell NAND flash (a technology expected to soon dominate the market) storing three bits instead of two for the first time and further reducing production cost. The advancement in NAND flash density has been driving SSD pricing down dramatically over the past few years. In fact, over the last year, the average price for 128GB and 256GB SSDs have dropped to $50 and $90, respectively, for system manufacturers, according to DRAMeXchange. And prices for consumers have dropped to an average of $91.55 for a 128GB SSD and $164.34 for a 256GB SSD. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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NAND Flash Shrinks To 15/16nm Process, Further Driving Prices Down