Last month, it was alleged that the Internal Revenue Service had been using Stingray devices to track people by scraping their phone metadata. Now, it’s admitted as much—and gone so far as to say that it wants another of the units, too. Read more…
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IRS Admits to Using the Same Spy Tech as the FBI to Track 37 Phones
A telephone regulator has warned that festive decorations can spoil your festive internet fun. Here’s the science. Read more…
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Can Christmas Lights Really Play Havoc With Your Wi-Fi?
Did your Netflix stream grind to a halt as your loved one set up the Christmas decorations? According to British telecoms watchdog Ofcom, it could be the fairy lights that slow down your Wi-Fi network at this time of year. Read more…
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Christmas Lights Might Slow Down Your Wi-Fi
You’re probably familiar with this image, the infamous “trollface” that’s circulated the Internet for years. Someone drew the original trollface, and it’s 24-year-old Carlos Ramirez. Read more…
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The Maker Of The Trollface Meme Is Counting His Money
An anonymous reader writes: Modern game consoles have a “standby” mode, which you can use if you want the console to instantly turn on while not drawing full power the whole time it’s idle. But manufacturers are vague about how much power it takes to keep the consoles in this standby state. After a recent press release claiming $250 million worth of electricity was used to power Xbox Ones in standby mode in the past year, Ars Technica decided to run some tests to figure out exactly how much power is being drawn. Their conclusions: the PS4 draws about 10 Watts, $10-11 in extra electricity charges annually. The Xbox One draws 12.9W, costing users $13-$14 in extra electricity charges annually. The Wii U draws 13.3W, costing users $14-$15 in extra electricity charges annually. These aren’t trivial amounts, but they’re a lot less than simply leaving the console running and shutting off the TV when you aren’t using it: “Leaving your PS4 sitting on the menu like this all year would waste over $142 in electricity costs.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Measuring How Much "Standby Mode" Electricity For Game Consoles Will Cost You
MojoKid writes Intel recently released its latest generation of NUC small form factor systems, based on the company’s new low-power Broadwell-U series processors. The primary advantages of Intel’s 5th Generation Core Series Broadwell-U-based processors are better performance-per-watt, stronger integrated graphics, and a smaller footprint, all things that are perfectly suited to the company’s NUC (Next Unit of Computing) products. The Intel NUC5i5RYK packs a Core i5-5250U processor with on-die Intel HD 6000 series graphics. The system also sports built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, M.2 SSD support, and a host of other features, all in a 115mm x 111mm x 32.7mm enclosure. Performance-wise the new 5th Gen Core Series-powered NUC benchmarks like a midrange notebook and is actually up for a bit of light-duty gaming, though it’s probably more at home as a Home Theater PC, media streamer or kiosk desktop machine. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Intel Updates NUC Mini PC Line With Broadwell-U, Tested and Benchmarked
WikiLeaks is demanding explanations, after it’s come to light that Google gave the FBI emails and digital data belonging to three WikiLeaks staff members when warrants were served in March 2012. Read more…
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Google Handed Stacks of WikiLeaks Email Straight to the FBI in 2012
Zothecula writes: Researchers working at the University of California, San Diego have claimed a world first in proving that artificial, microscopic machines can travel inside a living creature and deliver their medicinal load without any detrimental effects. Using micro-motor powered robots propelled by gas bubbles made from a reaction with the contents of the stomach in which they were deposited, these miniature machines have been successfully deployed in the body of a live mouse. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Microbots Deliver Medical Payload In Living Creature For the First Time
We debunked a lot of fake viral photos this year. Eighty-six, to be exact. And that doesn’t even include all those fake toilet photos from the Sochi Olympics , those fake Ebola cures , and all the lies that UberFacts helped spread . It was a busy year for fakes. Read more…
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86 Viral Images From 2014 That Were Totally Fake
The ingenious twig-burning folks at BioLite have done it again. Their latest, the NanoGrid, is a combo battery pack and lighting system for the outdoors. Now you can charge your gadgets and light up your campsite with the power of a single wood stove. Read more…
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BioLite’s New Lanterns Are a Tiny Powergrid For Your Campsite