Report: NSA Put Spyware on Over 50,000 Networks Worldwide

Netherlands newspaper NRC Handelsblad reports today that newly-reviewed documents indicate the NSA has covertly installed spying malware on over 50, 000 computer networks worldwide. The documents, leaked by Edward Snowden, include a map of areas where the malware is installed . Read more…        

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Report: NSA Put Spyware on Over 50,000 Networks Worldwide

Listen to Da Vinci’s Genius Piano-Cello Played for the Very First Time

From the audience, this instrument looks like a typical grand piano. Then the maestro takes his seat and begins to play. It’s a sound nobody has heard before, because this instrument, designed by Leonardo Da Vinci five centuries ago, has just been built for the very first time. And it sounds heavenly. Read more…        

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Listen to Da Vinci’s Genius Piano-Cello Played for the Very First Time

This Single Card Wants To Replace Your Entire Wallet Full of Plastic

Google Wallet and iOS’s Passbook have helped reduce the number of loyalty, debit, and credit cards we need to carry around every day. But they haven’t eliminated them altogether. The creators of Coin want to further slim your wallet with a multi-function card designed to emulate and replace the debit and credit cards you still need to carry. Read more…        

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This Single Card Wants To Replace Your Entire Wallet Full of Plastic

iOS 7’s Biggest Annoyances (and How to Fix Them)

With the release of any new operating system comes a slew of slight problems and annoyances. iOS 7 is no different. While certain things won’t annoy everyone, a few minor problems are bound to trouble people. With that in mind, here’s how to fix some of the more common annoyances. Read more…        

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iOS 7’s Biggest Annoyances (and How to Fix Them)

Parallels Update Installs Unrelated Daemon Without Permission

Calibax writes “Parallels recently released version 9 of Parallels Desktop, their popular hypervisor application for Mac. They also released a new product named Parallels Access that offers access to Windows applications from an iPad for $80 per year. Access has received less than stellar reviews. When a user upgrades Parallels Desktop, he is asked if he wants a free six-month subscription to Parallels Access. Even if he says no, the product is installed on his system and the application is started each time the system is rebooted. It is installed with ancillary files scattered around several directories in the system and Parallels has not supplied an uninstaller or listed the steps to fully uninstall the application, despite a number of requests. In other words, Parallels has decided it’s a good idea to silently install a difficult to remove daemon application on the system, even if the user has explicitly stated they do not want it. They have not provided an uninstaller or a list of files installed or instructions on how to remove the application files. These are scattered to at least four Mac OS X OS system level directories.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Parallels Update Installs Unrelated Daemon Without Permission

A Fifteen-Year-Old Has Invented an Incredible New Kind of Flashlight

Are you ready to play everybody’s not-so-favorite guilt game: what was I doing at that age ? Ann Makosinski, a tenth grader from Victoria, British Columbia, has created a simple LED flashlight powered by body heat . So instead of having to recharge it or swap in a fresh pair of AAs every so often, you literally just need to hold it in your hand for it to start glowing. Read more…        

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A Fifteen-Year-Old Has Invented an Incredible New Kind of Flashlight

LA issues cease-and-desist to Uber and other car ride apps

“How can ride-app outfits like Lyft, Uber and Sidecar operate in a town with strict rules about how and where taxis can do business?,” asks Dennis Romero at the LA Weekly . “Los Angeles Department of Transportation taxicab administrator Thomas Drischler this week came up with an answer. They can’t.”        

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LA issues cease-and-desist to Uber and other car ride apps

Edward Snowden answers your questions

On the Guardian right now NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is answering live questions from the world at large. 1) First, the US Government, just as they did with other whistleblowers, immediately and predictably destroyed any possibility of a fair trial at home, openly declaring me guilty of treason and that the disclosure of secret, criminal, and even unconstitutional acts is an unforgivable crime. That’s not justice, and it would be foolish to volunteer yourself to it if you can do more good outside of prison than in it. Second, let’s be clear: I did not reveal any US operations against legitimate military targets. I pointed out where the NSA has hacked civilian infrastructure such as universities, hospitals, and private businesses because it is dangerous. These nakedly, aggressively criminal acts are wrong no matter the target. Not only that, when NSA makes a technical mistake during an exploitation operation, critical systems crash. Congress hasn’t declared war on the countries – the majority of them are our allies – but without asking for public permission, NSA is running network operations against them that affect millions of innocent people. And for what? So we can have secret access to a computer in a country we’re not even fighting? So we can potentially reveal a potential terrorist with the potential to kill fewer Americans than our own Police? No, the public needs to know the kinds of things a government does in its name, or the “consent of the governed” is meaningless. The whistleblower behind the biggest intelligence leak in NSA history will be live online at 11am ET/4pm BST to answer your questions about the NSA surveillance revelations        

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Edward Snowden answers your questions