If you’re a regular on the internet, you probably know how a DDoS can choke your favorite site with garbage traffic . Well get used to it because they’re not going away; they’re actually getting worse. Read more…
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The New Kind of DDoS That Could Cripple the Internet
Photograph by David Davies In a historic decision on Friday, the United States has decided to give up control of the authoritative root zone file, which contains all names and addresses of all top-level domain names. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), under the United States Department of Commerce, has retained ultimate control of the domain name system (DNS) since transitioning it from a government project into private hands in 1997. With Commerce’s blessing, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) acts as the primary essential governing body for Internet policy. The new change is in advance of the upcoming ICANN meeting to be held in Brazil in April 2014. Brazil has fumed at revelations of American spying on its political leaders and corporations, which were first revealed in September 2013 as the result of documents distributed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The South American country also threatened to build its “own cloud,” as a consequence of the NSA’s spying. Read 14 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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In sudden announcement, US to give up control of DNS root zone
The number of Californians who walk, bike, or take transit on an average day has doubled in the last decade, according to a new study by Caltrans. Also notable: More people in their 20s and 30s are not getting their licenses at all. [ Los Angeles Times ] Read more…
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The number of Californians who walk, bike, or take transit on an average day has doubled in the last
Well, that didn’t last long. Just a little over a week ago, Popcorn Time descended upon the masses as a way to easily (if perhaps not entirely legally) stream torrents straight to your computer. Now, though, amidst pressure regarding piracy, Popcorn Time has officially closed its doors. Read more…
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Popcorn Time, the Netflix of Piracy, Has Already Shut Down
destinyland writes “Wednesday the geeky cartoonist behind XKCD announced that he’d publish a new book answering hypothetical science questions in September. And within 24 hours, his as-yet-unpublished work had become Amazon’s #2 best-selling book. ‘Ironically, this book is titled What If?, ‘ jokes one blogger, noting it resembles an XKCD comic where ‘In our yet-to-happen future, this book decides to travel backwards through time, stopping off in March of 2014 to inform Amazon’s best-seller list that yes, in our coming timeline this book will be widely read…’ Randall Munroe’s new book will be collecting his favorite ‘What If…’ questions, but will also contain his never-before published answers to some questions that he’d found ‘particularly neat.'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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XKCD Author’s Unpublished Book Has Already Become a Best-Seller
Apple’s next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 8, looks an awful lot like the iOS you’ve already got on your iDevice. At least that’s according to screens leaked on Chinese microblog site Weibo and lent credence by veritable Apple site 9to5Mac , which show what is supposedly iOS 8 in action. Yes, square icons with rounded edges are back, but that design is wrapped around some new entrants in the app world: TextEdit, Preview and Tips. It’s easy to guess what the first one might be (a potential replacement for the Notes app), but Preview and Tips? Given the icon’s distinct resemblance to the application of the same name in OS X, we’re guessing this serves a similar function: viewing documents and PDFs. As for Tips? Well, that’s probably just a solution for introducing new users. iOS 8 isn’t an official product just yet, but logic and history dictate it’ll be part and parcel of the next iPhone refresh. We’ve previously heard that health will feature prominently in the next version of iOS, with both an application named Healthbook and some form of integration with the M7 chip already built into the iPhone 5S. Of course, Apple’s staying mum for now, and, again, history dictates it’ll be a few more months before Cupertino’s ready to talk. Filed under: Cellphones , Handhelds , Software , Apple Comments Via: 9to5Mac Source: Weibo (1) , Weibo (2)
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Report: This is what iOS 8 looks like, at least right now
It began with a Kickstarter project in 2011. This Sunday, KickSat creator Zac Manchester will see his poker chip-size satellites take flight when they launch from Cape Canaveral to an altitude of about 200 miles. More than 100 of the Sprite free-flying spacecraft will orbit the Earth as part of a technology demonstration. Each satellite includes a gyroscope, magnetometer, a Texas Instruments microcontroller, a radio, two antennas and solar cells for power. Once the Sprites are deployed from the KickSat cube sat on April 1st, the system will transmit telemetry packets that can be picked up by basic ham radio equipment back on Earth. Eventually, individuals could purchase their own Sprite, with launch costs split between multiple owners. Since the tiny devices enter a low-altitude orbit, they’ll likely re-enter Earth’s atmosphere within a few days or weeks, eliminating the potential for space debris. The KickSat is expected to last a bit longer, burning up within a few months of launch. Check out a rendering of the deployment process in the video below. Filed under: Wireless , Science Comments
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Crowd-funded KickSat to carry over 100 tiny satellites into space this Sunday
The number of syphilis cases is on the rise, and some public health officials think it’s because of Grindr . Well, Grindr and Adam4Adam and, presumably, Tinder and Hinge and OkCupid. These apps all make it easier to find people to have sex with, so naturally they cause more people to get STDs, right? Not exactly. Read more…
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Health Officials Blame Hook Up Apps for Syphilis Spike
Are you a jealous lover, helicopter parent, or otherwise neurotic human being with crippling trust issues? Then we’ve got the answer to all your problems right here. No, it’s not therapy (although, you know, good idea); it’s a top-of-the-line smartphone that comes pre-loaded with all the spyware an overbearing human could ever hope for. Read more…
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Dear Creepers: You Can Buy a Smartphone Pre-Loaded With Spyware Now
sandbagger writes “The director of the U.S. government office that monitors scientific misconduct in biomedical research has resigned after 2 years out of frustration with the ‘remarkably dysfunctional’ federal bureaucracy. Officials at the Office of Scientific Integrity spent ‘exorbitant amounts of time’ in meetings and generating data and reports to make their divisions look productive, David Wright writes. He huge amount of time he spent trying to get things done made much of his time at ORI ‘the very worst job I have ever had.'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Top U.S. Scientific Misconduct Official Quits In Frustration With Bureaucracy