Category: reader

Google Calendar Ends SMS Notifications

LuserOnFire writes: Google has sent out an email this morning that says in part: “Starting on June 27th, 2015, SMS notifications from Google Calendar will no longer be sent. SMS notifications launched before smartphones were available. Now, in a world with smartphones and notifications, you can get richer, more reliable experience on your mobile device, even offline.” You can find the announcement on Google’s support pages as well. “Richer” may be accurate, but I’m not sure that “more reliable” describes web-based notifications; that may be why the announcement linked does not apply for Google’s “Work, Education and Government customers.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Google Calendar Ends SMS Notifications

Solar Impulse begins its sun-powered flight across the Pacific

Solar Impulse has already shown the potential for sun-based aviation in its attempt to fly around the world , but it just embarked on its most ambitious trip yet. Pilot Andre Borschberg has taken off from Nanjing, China on a cross-Pacific flight whose first leg ends in Kalaeloa, Hawaii — 5, 061 miles away. That’s about 120 hours in the air, and should set records for both the longest single-seat flight ever as well as the first transpacific flight by a solar-powered aircraft. And did we mention that this even more dangerous than previous parts of the journey? After a certain point, Borschberg’s only choice in an emergency will be to bail over the Pacific and hope that his rescue goes smoothly. There’s still a long way to go after this. The next phase will see Solar Impulse travel “just” 2, 917 miles to Phoenix, Arizona, and there are still four legs after that — the last two of which may take nearly as long as the China-to-Hawaii run. It’ll be worth the effort if Borschberg and fellow pilot Bertrand Piccard can raise awareness about renewable energy, but this eco-friendly globetrotting definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted. [Image credit: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images] Filed under: Transportation Comments Via: BBC Source: Solar Impulse

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Solar Impulse begins its sun-powered flight across the Pacific

Google Chrome Tops 1 Billion Users

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Venture Beat: At the I/O 2015 developer conference today, Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president of product, announced that Chrome has passed 1 billion active users. Less than a year ago, Google revealed Android has over 1 billion active users. These are indeed Google’s biggest ecosystems. Google also shared that Google Search, YouTube, and Google Maps all have over 1 billion users as well. Gmail will reach the milestone next; it has 900 million users. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Google Chrome Tops 1 Billion Users

Emulator Now Runs x86 Apps On All Raspberry Pi Models

DeviceGuru writes: Russia-based Eltechs announced its ExaGear Desktop virtual machine last August, enabling Linux/ARMv7 SBCs and mini-PCs to run x86 software. That meant that users of the quad-core, Cortex-A7-based Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, could use it as well, although the software was not yet optimized for it. Now Eltechs has extended extended ExaGear to support earlier ARMv6 versions of the Raspberry Pi. The company also optimized the emulator for the Pi 2 allowing, for example, Pi 2 users to use automatically forwarding startup scripts. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Emulator Now Runs x86 Apps On All Raspberry Pi Models

Verizon FiOS reps know what TV channels you watch

If you call Verizon FiOS and try to cancel or downgrade your TV package, you might find that the FiOS rep knows almost as much about your TV viewing habits as you do. Verizon’s Rep Guidance software tells Verizon representatives what channels you watch to help them make a more effective sales pitch. The system, which also shows them how much Internet data you use and which pieces of TV equipment you use most, was detailed by a Verizon executive in a public presentation hosted by Data Driven NYC. A Quartz reporter  wrote about the presentation yesterday . Verizon “is now closely tracking exactly what you watch, what devices you use, and how much data you consume,” Quartz wrote. “It knows whether your household spars over DVR conflicts and how many hours your kids spend binge-watching shows on HBO. What’s more, the company is listening in on phone calls to customer service in real-time, with supervisors poised to jump at the moment they sense a fight brewing or hear trigger words from an unhappy customer, such as ‘switching to Time Warner Cable.'” Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Verizon FiOS reps know what TV channels you watch

Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht sentenced to life in prison

NEW YORK—Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison Friday, following a jury’s finding in February that the 31-year-old was the mastermind behind the Silk Road, once the Internet’s largest online drug marketplace. Operating online as “Dread Pirate Roberts,” Ulbricht worked with a small staff to control everything sold on the site. He was arrested in October 2013, and the government made its case against him during a three-week trial here earlier this year. Ulbricht pleaded for leniency  during the hearing. “I wish I could go back and convince myself to take a different path,” he said. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht sentenced to life in prison

First Ultraviolet Quantum Dots Shine In an LED

ckwu with word that South Korean researchers have created the first UV-emitting quantum dots, and employed them in the creation of a flexible LED. Their achievement is notable because no one has previously succeeded in making quantum dots capable of emitting light at wavelengths shorter than 400 nm, which defines the upper range of the UV spectrum. Writes ckwu: To get quantum dots that emit UV, the researchers figured out how make them with light-emitting cores smaller than 3 nm in diameter. They did it by coating a light-emitting cadmium zinc selenide nanoparticle with a zinc sulfide shell, which caused the core to shrink to 2.5 nm. The quantum dots give off true UV light, at 377 nm. An LED made with the quantum dots could illuminate the anticounterfeiting marks on a paper bill. The article names a few applications of the technology, besides, including water sterilization and industrial applications. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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First Ultraviolet Quantum Dots Shine In an LED

Google Photos Hands-On: So Good, I’m Creeped Out

I have taken 1235 photos and videos with my phone since May 28th, 2014, most of which I will never look at. Even if there are good photos, I’ll probably miss them. It’s just too much shit to crunch with my puny human brain. Can the new Google Photos help? Read more…

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Google Photos Hands-On: So Good, I’m Creeped Out

Uh Oh, GIFs Finally Work on Facebook

Here’s some news: You can now embed GIFs on Facebook. Well, technically, you can post a link to a GIF, and Facebook will produce the animation, just like pretty much every other social network’s been doing for years. Read more…

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Uh Oh, GIFs Finally Work on Facebook

Everything We’ve Learned About Mummies Using 21st Century Technology

Researchers in fields from epidemiology to genetics are studying mummies, using the latest imaging technology. Now we know more than ever before about what lies beneath the mummies’ wrappings — and these long-dead people are telling us a lot about ancient lives and cultures. Read more…

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Everything We’ve Learned About Mummies Using 21st Century Technology