entertainment – Page 221 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Intel Core I7-5775C Desktop Broadwell With Iris Pro 6200 Graphics Tested

bigwophh writes: 14nm Broadwell processors weren’t originally destined for the channel, but Intel ultimately changed course and launched a handful of 5th Generation Core processors based on the microarchitecture recently, the most powerful of which is the Core i7-5775C. Unlike all of the mobile Broadwell processors that came before it, the Core i7-5775C is a socketed, LGA processor for desktops, just like 4th Generation Core processors based on Haswell. In fact, it’ll work in the very same 9-Series chipset motherboards currently available (after a BIOS update). The Core i7-5775C, however, features a 128MB eDRAM cache and integrated Iris Pro 6200 series graphics, which can boost graphics performance significantly. Testing shows that the Core i7-5775C’s lower CPU core clocks limit its performance versus Haswell, but its Iris Pro graphics engine is clearly more powerful. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Intel Core I7-5775C Desktop Broadwell With Iris Pro 6200 Graphics Tested

Genetic Access Control Code Uses 23andMe DNA Data For Internet Racism

rjmarvin writes: A GitHub project is using the 23andMe API for genetic decoding to act as a way to bar users from entering websites based on their genetic data — race and ancestry. “Stumbling around GitHub, I came across this bit of code: Genetic Access Control. Now, budding young racist coders can check out your 23andMe page before they allow you into their website! Seriously, this code uses the 23andMe API to pull genetic info, then runs access control on the user based on the results. Just why you decide not to let someone into your site is up to you, but it can be based on any aspect of the 23andMe API. This is literally the code to automate racism.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Genetic Access Control Code Uses 23andMe DNA Data For Internet Racism

Company Aims To Launch Spacecraft On Beams of Microwaves

MarkWhittington writes: The quest for cheap access to space, to make space travel as inexpensive as air travel, has eluded engineers, government policy makers, and business entrepreneurs from before the beginning of the space age. It has become axiomatic, almost to the point of being a cliché, that the true space age will not begin until launch costs come down significantly. Forbes reported about a company called Escape Dynamics that has a unique approach to the problem. The company proposes to launch payloads into low Earth orbit on beams of microwaves. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Popular Torrent Site Disappears From Google After Penalty

An anonymous reader writes: Following what appears to be a severe penalty, the popular torrent site KickassTorrents has become pretty much unfindable in Google. Meanwhile, the top search result in many locations points to a scam site that’s serving malware to its visitors. For now, only DuckDuckGo presents the real site as a main result. With millions of visitors per day, KickassTorrents is arguably the most visited torrent site on the Internet, and has gained new users during the moments when the notorious Pirate Bay has been offline. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A Welcome Shift: Spam Now Constitutes Less Than Half of All Email

An anonymous reader writes: According to Symantec’s latest Intelligence Report, spam has fallen to less than 50% of all email in June – a number we haven’t seen in over a decade. Of all emails received by Symantec clients in June, junk emails only accounts for 49.7% down from 52.1% in April which shows a huge drop. Year over year, spam has decreased as well due to internet providers doing a better job at filtering and shutting down spam bots. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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A Welcome Shift: Spam Now Constitutes Less Than Half of All Email

Transparent Paper Produces Power With Just a Touch

ckwu writes: A new transparent-paper device can generate electrical power from a user’s touch. The paper energy-harvester could be used to make disposable, self-powered touch screens that fold; interactive light-up books; touch-sensitive skin for prosthetics; and security systems for art and documents, according to the researchers. The device is made out of nanopaper, a tangled mat made of nanometers-wide cellulose fibers that is transparent and smooth like plastic. The researchers deposit carbon nanotubes on the nanopaper to make a pair of electrodes, and then sandwich a polyethylene film in between. The generator works via electrostatic induction. Pressing one side of the device causes a change in the charge balance between the nanotube electrodes, resulting in a flow of current through the device. Releasing the pressure causes electrons to flow back, so repeated pressing and releasing creates continuous current. The researchers demonstrated that the generator could produce enough power when pressed to light up a small liquid-crystal display. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Paralyzed Man Hits the Streets of NYC In a New Exoskeleton

the_newsbeagle writes: Robert Woo was paralyzed in 2007 when a construction crane dropped a load of steel on him. Yesterday, he put on the newest “exoskeleton, ” essentially a pair of smart robotic legs, and strolled out into a busy Manhattan sidewalk. He was demoing the ReWalk 6.0, a $77, 000 device that he plans to buy for home use. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Paralyzed Man Hits the Streets of NYC In a New Exoskeleton

Google To Provide Free Internet For Public Housing Residents To All Fiber Markets

VentureBeat, an anonymous reader notes, reports that Google has announced it will expand on an earlier move to provide free internet service to poor Austin residents. Now, rather than for 4300 residents of housing provided by the Housing Authority of Austin, the company “has promised to expand that offering to every other current and future Google Fiber market. The move is part of U.S. President Obama’s ConnectHome program, launched by the White House and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with the goal of bringing Internet connectivity to more school-aged children and families living in HUD-assisted housing in 27 communities across the country. … Google promises the program will extend to all its Google Fiber cities.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Google To Provide Free Internet For Public Housing Residents To All Fiber Markets

Toyota Recalls 625,000 Hybrid Vehicles Over Software Glitch

hypnosec writes: Yesterday we discussed news that over 65, 000 Range Rovers were being recalled over a software issue. Not to be outdone, Japanese car manufacturer Toyota on Wednesday recalled 625, 000 hybrid vehicles globally to fix a different software defect. The automaker said the defect in question might lead to shut down of the hybrid system while the car is being driven. The recall was due to software settings that could result in “higher thermal stress” in parts of a power converter, potentially causing it to become damaged. Toyota dealers will update the software for both the motor/generator control ECU and hybrid control ECU in the involved vehicles. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Toyota Recalls 625,000 Hybrid Vehicles Over Software Glitch

65,000+ Land Rovers Recalled Due To Software Bug

An anonymous reader writes with word that owners of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport SUVs (model year 2013 and newer) will need to get their cars’ software updated, which means a visit to a dealer. The update will fix a bug in the cars’ locking system, which occasionally resulted in car doors randomly unlocking and opening themselves (in one instance, when the car was moving). This is not the first time that a car manufacturer asked customers to contact dealers for a security update. In July, Ford has recalled over 430, 000 cars in North America because of a bug that prevented the engine from shutting down even after the ignition key was put into the “off” position and removed. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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65,000+ Land Rovers Recalled Due To Software Bug