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Archaeologists uncover Tenochtitlan’s legendary tower of skulls

Henry Romero/Reuters An ongoing excavation in the heart of Mexico City, once the great Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, has revealed a legendary tower inlaid with hundreds of skulls. This tower was first described by Europeans in the early 16th century, when a Spanish soldier named Andres de Tapia came to the city with Hernan Cortez’ invading force. In his memoirs, de Tapia described an “ediface” covered in tens of thousands of skulls. Now his account is corroborated by this historic find. A tzompantli, illustrated in the 16th-century Aztec manuscript, the Durán Codex. (credit: Wikimedia) According to a report from Reuters , the tower is 6 meters in diameter, and once stood at the corner of a massive temple to Huitzilopochtli, an Aztec god associated with human sacrifice, war, and the sun. It’s likely the tower was part of a structure known as the Huey Tzompantli, which many of de Tapia’s contemporaries also described. Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Archaeologists uncover Tenochtitlan’s legendary tower of skulls

‘Severe’ Systemd Bug Allowed Remote Code Execution For Two Years

ITWire reports: A flaw in systemd, the init system used on many Linux systems, can be exploited using a malicious DNS query to either crash a system or to run code remotely. The vulnerability resides in the daemon systemd-resolved and can be triggered using a TCP payload, according to Ubuntu developer Chris Coulson. This component can be tricked into allocating less memory than needed for a look-up. When the reply is bigger it overflows the buffer allowing an attacker to overwrite memory. This would result in the process either crashing or it could allow for code execution remotely. “A malicious DNS server can exploit this by responding with a specially crafted TCP payload to trick systemd-resolved in to allocating a buffer that’s too small, and subsequently write arbitrary data beyond the end of it, ” is how Coulson put it. Affected Linux vendors have pushed out patches — but the bug has apparently been present in systemd code since June of 2015. And long-time Slashdot reader walterbyrd also reports a recently-discovered bug where systemd unit files that contain illegal usernames get defaulted to root. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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‘Severe’ Systemd Bug Allowed Remote Code Execution For Two Years

Researchers create temperature sensor that runs on almost no power

Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a temperature sensor that runs on tiny amounts of power — just 113 picowatts, around 10 billion times less power than a watt. The sensor was described in a study recently published in Scientific Reports . “We’re building systems that have such low power requirements that they could potentially run for years on just a tiny battery, ” Hui Wang, an author of the study, said in a statement . The team created the device by reducing power in two areas. The first was the current source. To do that, they made use of a phenomenon that many researchers in their field are actually trying to get rid of. Transistors often have a gate with which they can stop the flow of electrons in a circuit, but transistors keep getting tinier and tinier. The smaller they get , the thinner the gate material becomes and electrons start to leak through it — a problem called “gate leakage.” Here, the leaked electrons are what’s powering the sensor. “Many researchers are trying to get rid of leakage current, but we are exploiting it to build an ultra-low power current source, ” said Hui. The researchers also reduced power in the way the sensor converts temperature to a digital readout. The result is a temperature sensor that uses 628 times less power than the current state-of-the-art sensors. The near-zero-power sensor has a temperature range of -4 to 104 degrees fahrenheit and could potentially be used in wearables and both environmental and home monitoring systems. One power tradeoff is that it gives readouts slightly slower than currently used sensors, at around one temperature read per second. But the researchers said that shouldn’t be a problem when giving reads on things like the human body where temperatures don’t change too quickly. They’re now working on optimizing the design and improving its accuracy. [Image: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering] Via: UCSD Source: Scientific Reports

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Researchers create temperature sensor that runs on almost no power

California Has So Much Solar Power That Other States Are Paid To Take It

“On 14 days during March, Arizona utilities got a gift from California: free solar power, ” reported the Los Angeles Times. Mic reports: California is generating so much solar energy that it is resorting to paying other states to take the excess electricity in order to prevent overloading power lines. According to the Los Angeles Times, Arizona residents have already saved millions in 2017 thanks to California’s contribution. The state, which produced little to no solar energy just 15 years ago, has made strides — it single-handedly has nearly half of the country’s solar electricity generating capacity… When there’s too much solar energy, there is a risk of the electricity grid overloading. This can result in blackouts. In times like this, California offers other states a financial incentive to take their power. But it’s not as environmentally friendly as one would think. Take Arizona, for example. The state opts to put a pin in its own solar energy sources instead of fossil fuel power, which means greenhouse gas emissions aren’t getting any better due to California’s overproduction. The Los Angeles Times suggests over-construction of natural gas plants created part of the problem — Californians now pay roughly 50% more than the rest of the country for power — but they report that power supplies could become more predictable when battery storage technologies improve. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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California Has So Much Solar Power That Other States Are Paid To Take It

With a Single Wiretap Order, US Authorities Listened In on 3.3 Million Phone Calls

US authorities intercepted and recorded millions of phone calls last year under a single wiretap order, authorized as part of a narcotics investigation, ZDNet’s Zack Whittaker reports. From the article: The wiretap order authorized an unknown government agency to carry out real-time intercepts of 3.29 million cell phone conversations over a two-month period at some point during 2016, after the order was applied for in late 2015. The order was signed to help authorities track 26 individuals suspected of involvement with illegal drug and narcotic-related activities in Pennsylvania. The wiretap cost the authorities $335, 000 to conduct and led to a dozen arrests. But the authorities noted that the surveillance effort led to no incriminating intercepts, and none of the handful of those arrested have been brought to trial or convicted. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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With a Single Wiretap Order, US Authorities Listened In on 3.3 Million Phone Calls

Charter tests streaming-only cable service for $20/month

If you’ve cut the cable cord, or have been tempted to do so, you may be getting yet another streaming option soon. Cable company Charter Communications is testing a new streaming service called Spectrum Stream among their internet subscribers. According to Reddit users who have been offered Spectrum Stream, the service costs $20/month and has 25 TV channels, including local broadcast networks, AMC, TNT, FX and the Food Network. For an additional $15 per month for three years, users can subscribe to a higher tier that includes more premium channels. Networks such an HBO and Showtime are an additional $7.50 per month each. It takes yet another additional $12/month for access to sports networks. It’s important to note that this service appears to be streaming only; there are no set-top boxes and no DVR features. Subscribers can access their channels through apps on their mobile devices and existing streaming devices. They also will have tiered access tiered access (depending on subscription level) to Charter’s vast on demand catalog. Until recently, cable companies have been reluctant to ditch ESPN from low-tier packages because of pressure from its owner, Disney. But more and more customers are canceling service to stop paying high fees for channels they don’t watch; it’s inevitable that these cable companies would seek lower priced options. As more cable companies try to court cord cutters, it will be interesting to see how services such as this complement or compete with other streaming companies. Via: Fast Company Source: Reuters , Reddit

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Charter tests streaming-only cable service for $20/month

What each model of the iPhone added to the game

 It was 10 years ago today that Steve Jobs announced the long-rumored iPhone to a crowd of tech lovers excited to a fever pitch. We’ve already looked at the history of the iPhone going back to the Newton, but 10 years of iPhone have brought us more than a dozen devices, each of which brought something new and important to the smartphone game. Let’s go through them, shall we? Read More

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What each model of the iPhone added to the game

After 28 years, Sony resumes vinyl record production

Sony last pressed a vinyl record in 1989. And it’ll be pressing them again by March 2018, reports The BBC , proof of the mainstream return of the ancient format—once again a billion-dollar business. Folks always argue about quality (will mainstream product mean mainstream mastering?) but the reasons for vinyl’s resurgence are complex. It’s a nice thing to own, it’s a pleasing retail experience, it’s nostalgic, it’s a better gift, it’s big enough to hang on a wall, you can fend off zombies with it, and so on. There are seriously lame aspects to vinyl, though: quality deteriorates with use; easily damaged even when stored; no metadata; no controls; fiddly hardware. So whenever I read a “vinyl returns” article I dream of a new HD physical media format that’s backward compatible with it. An LP-sized optical disk with the grooves on a clear laminate layer, perhaps. Or maybe a vinyl with a hidden flash storage layer within and exposed metal rings to read it with near the spindle. Or some kind of bad-ass sharpened metal disk played the old-fashioned way but at nyquist-busting RPM.

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After 28 years, Sony resumes vinyl record production