The Galaxy Note 3 is a monster, both in size and importance. It was the best-selling device in Samsung’s Galaxy lineup last year, and more importantly made phablets something you’d actually want to use. But with Apple potentially about to enter the biggie-sized smartphone space, the upcoming Note 4 has a whole lot more riding on it. Read more…
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Galaxy Note 4 Rumor Roundup: Everything We Think We Know
After nearly a decade, multiple false-starts, and many billions of dollars, the Army has finally chosen a new camouflage for its troops. Except it’s not exactly new. It was originally developed back in 2002. And it looks a whole lot like one of the patterns that the Army was in talks to adopt from an independent company. Read more…
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The Strange, Sad Story of the Army’s New Billion-Dollar Camo Pattern
USIS , a major federal contractor that conducts background checks for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, disclosed today that it was the victim of a hack which likely involved the theft of federal employees’ personal data. Read the rest
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Major Homeland Security contractor hacked, federal employee data likely stolen
lurker412 writes Yesterday, and without previous warning, all Mac users running Leopard or earlier versions of OS-X have been locked out of Skype. Those customers are given instructions to update, but following them does not solve the problem. The Skype Community Forum is currently swamped with complaints. A company representative active on the forum said “Unfortunately we don’t currently have a build that OS X Leopard (10.5) users could use” but did not answer the question whether they intend to provide one or not. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Skype Blocks Customers Using OS-X 10.5.x and Earlier
Watch this video of a young glass mantis eating a blue bottle fly. Why? Because while it’s totally gross, you won’t be able to look away as the food travels all through his body. It’s fascinating and gross beautiful and gross but cool all at the same time. Read more…
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Watching a transparent mantis eat is both disgusting and fascinating
cartechboy writes Self-driving cars are coming, that’s nothing new. People are somewhat nervous about this technology, and that’s also not news. But it appears self-driving cars are already hear, and one idiot was dumb enough to climb out of the driver’s seat while his car cruised down the highway. The car in question is a new Infiniti Q50 which has Active Lane Control and adaptive cruise control. Both of which essentially turn the Q50 into an autonomous vehicle while at highway speeds. While impressive, taking yourself out of a position where you can quickly and safely regain control of the car if needed is simply dumb. After watching the video, it’s abundantly clear why people should be nervous about autonomous vehicles. It’s not the cars and tech we need to worry about, it’s idiots like this guy. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Idiot Leaves Driver’s Seat In Self-Driving Infiniti, On the Highway
This month’s Patch Tuesday update for Internet Explorer will include a new feature: it will block out-of-date ActiveX controls. More specifically, it will block out-of-date versions of the Java plugin. Although Microsoft is describing the feature as an ActiveX block, the list of prohibited plugins is currently Java-centric. Stale versions of Flash and Silverlight will be able to stick around, at least for now, though Microsoft says that other out-of-date ActiveX controls will be added to the block list later. Old, buggy versions of the Java plugin have long been used as an exploit vector, with Microsoft’s own security report fingering Java in 84.6 to 98.5 percent of detected exploit kits (bundles of malware sold commercially). Blocking obsolete Java plugins should therefore go a long way toward securing end-user systems. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Internet Explorer to start blocking old Java plugins
Star Tours! You’re gonna have company! After hints last year of a potential Star Wars Land in the works, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced today that the theme park(s) would be getting new attraction(s) tied to everyone’s favorite space saga, and the elusive plans will be revealed next year . Read more…
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Disney Is Reportedly Building a Major Star Wars-Themed Attraction
Pandora’s relationship with music labels hasn’t exactly been cozy, with more than a few legal disputes over royalties . Today, though, it’s extending an olive branch. The internet radio service has forged a deal with the Merlin rights agency’s 20, 000-plus indie labels to help their artists get discovered. The move will use Pandora’s music discovery techniques to bring “additional exposure” to these musicians when they’re relevant to listeners. They’ll also have direct access to playback data (to help decide on set lists and tour locations), and they’ll get custom communication channels to reach fans. The agreement is big, whether you’re an up-and-coming artist or just want to hear music beyond the big three record companies. Merlin’s labels represent about 10 percent of streaming music worldwide, so you’re likely to notice if you listen to enough tunes. Of course, this isn’t quite a selfless gesture. On top of the extra attention it draws to Pandora, the pact gives the company a better shot at offering service outside of the US. It has offerings in Australia and New Zealand, but the lack of direct artist connections has made it hard to expand elsewhere. That may prove crucial — Pandora has to compete against international heavyweights like Apple and Spotify in the online radio space, so it might not want to depend on one country for its success. [Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images] Filed under: Internet Comments Via: CNET Source: Pandora (1) , (2)
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Pandora deal helps indie musicians get noticed on internet radio
Today, the European Space Agency announced that its Rosetta mission successfully arrived at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after a 10-year journey. As the probe approached over the past several weeks, it provided greater detail on the oddly shaped comet, which was venting water as its orbit drew it closer to the Sun. Now, at just 100km from the comet’s surface, Rosetta is providing detailed images of a truly otherworldly landscape. 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko occupies an elliptical orbit that takes it from areas beyond Jupiter to somewhere in between Earth and Mars (currently, it’s midway between Jupiter and Mars). That presents a significant challenge, since any probe intended to track the comet must roughly match its orbit before approaching—or it would need a prohibitive volume of propellant to slow down. This explains Rosetta’s 10-year journey, which included four orbital flybys of Earth and Mars to put it in place for a gradual approach. Earlier this year, Rosetta successfully woke from hibernation , and it’s been imaging the comet during its approach. Early images indicated that 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has a two-lobed structure that some have compared to a rubber duck, albeit one with an unusually large head. The second lobe, corresponding to the duck’s body, is broader and more oblong. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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After 10 years, Rosetta probe catches up with its comet destination