golf – Page 52 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Review: Gigabyte’s AMD Brix gives Intel’s mini PC a run for its money

Gigabyte’s AMD Brix (top) is, if anything, even smaller than Intel’s latest NUC (bottom). Andrew Cunningham When AMD sent us the Brix Gaming for review, it wasn’t alone in its box. We were also sent another, smaller Brix with an AMD processor, and it’s the antithesis of its big loud cousin. It’s basically the AMD take on the NUC : a small, quiet, unobtrusive little box that still tries to deliver the features and performance of a full-size entry-level desktop. We originally planned to review both in one shot, but there was so much to say about the Brix Gaming that the GB-BXA8-5545 (say that three times fast) got edged out. Rather than bury it, we’ve decided to give it its own evaluation. It’s the only AMD-powered desktop in the same size category as the NUC that doesn’t use a wimpy netbook-class processor. And as much as Intel’s integrated GPUs have improved in recent years, the name “AMD” still means something when it comes to graphics performance. Surprise, it’s a tiny cube! Like most other mini PCs, the Brix is a tiny box with a small external power supply. Andrew Cunningham Specs at a glance: Gigabyte Brix GB-BXA8-5545 OS Windows 8.1 x64 CPU 1.7GHz AMD A8-5545M, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz available with proper BIOS settings RAM 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 (supports up to 16GB) GPU AMD Radeon 8510G (integrated) HDD 128GB Crucial M500 mSATA SSD Networking 2.4GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit Ethernet Ports 4x USB 3.0, 1x mini DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 1.4a, audio Size 4.24” x 4.5” x 1.18” (107.6 x 114.4 29.9 mm) Other perks Kensington lock, VESA mounting bracket Warranty 1 year Price $249.99 (barebones), $494.97 with listed components and software The other Brix boxes we’ve reviewed have been larger and more powerful machines, but the smaller Intel and AMD-based Brixes are a lot more like the original Intel NUC. This one’s a short, square little device that’s actually a little shorter than the NUC. It’s an understated all-black system with matte metal sides and a glossy plastic top, and while it has an external power brick it doesn’t add much to the total size of the package. With the adapters, it’s roughly the size you’d get with standard PC laptops and Ultrabooks, since the Brix uses low-voltage mobile parts rather than full-fledged desktop chips. Read 17 remaining paragraphs | Comments

View article:
Review: Gigabyte’s AMD Brix gives Intel’s mini PC a run for its money

Man uses Raspberry Pi to build actual working cell phone for $158

David Hunt Raspberry Pi-using tinkerer David Hunt—who previously built a bark-activated door opener for dogs—is at it again with a real, working cell phone powered by the tiny computer and a few other items. “PiPhone” cost Hunt $158 to build with these components, all held together with cable ties: Raspberry Pi Model B – $40 PiTFT Touchscreen 320×240 – $35 2500mAh LiPo battery – $15 SIM900 GSM/GPRS module – $48 DC-DC boost converter 3.3V – 5V 1A – $10 Cables, connectors, switch, etc. – $10 “As you can see from the cost of the components, you’d be FAR better off going into your local phone store and picking up a normal smartphone, but hey, where’s the fun in that?” Hunt wrote on his blog today . “I got a great kick out of the first phone call I made with this thing. And it won’t stay in one piece for long, I’ll be using those parts for other projects very soon!” Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Follow this link:
Man uses Raspberry Pi to build actual working cell phone for $158

Lucasfilm makes it official: New Star Wars films ignore Expanded Universe

Fan favorite Mara Jade is now consigned to the Star Wars Legends non-canonical label. Derek Herring / Sony A post on Starwars.com officially confirms what fans have been hearing for the past three months: the complex and detailed future history of the Star Wars universe that has been slowly accreting since the 1990s will be completely ignored by the new trilogy of films. Per the post, ” Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post- Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe.” The confirmation is being met with a mixed reaction from fans over on Star Wars uber-site TheForce.net . “Thank you for wasting 20 years of my life,” said one poster . “I honestly may be done with Star Wars at this point.” “The simple truth is that canon is whatever the license holder says it is. Fans need to wrap their heads around that,” responded another . Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Original post:
Lucasfilm makes it official: New Star Wars films ignore Expanded Universe

Covert Bitcoin miner found stashed in malicious Google Play apps

Lookout Researchers scouring the official Google Play market have unearthed more Android apps that surreptitiously abuse end-user devices to carry out the computationally intensive process of mining Bitcoins. The malware, dubbed “BadLepricon” by its creators, was stowed away inside six separate wallpaper apps that had from 100 to 500 downloads each, according to a blog post published Thursday by researchers from Lookout, an anti-malware provider for smartphones. Google employees promptly removed the offending apps once Lookout reported them. It’s at least the second time in a month that third-party researchers have discovered cryptocurrency-mining apps available for download on Google servers. Four weeks ago, researchers from Trend Micro reported they found two apps downloaded from one million to five million times that mined the Litecoin and Dogecoin cryptocurrencies without explicitly informing end users. “These apps did fulfill their advertised purpose in that they provided live wallpaper apps, which vary in theme from anime girls to ‘epic smoke’ to attractive men,” Meghan Kelly, a Lookout security communications manager, wrote in Thursday’s blog post. “However, without alerting you in the terms of service, BadLepricon enters into an infinite loop where—every five seconds—it checks the battery level, connectivity, and whether the phone’s display was on.” Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

View article:
Covert Bitcoin miner found stashed in malicious Google Play apps

In just one year, Zynga has lost nearly half of its daily active users

It’s been a rough year for Zynga, which has relegated founder Mark Pincus to being chairman of the board. Fortune Live Media Zynga needs some good news, and fast: in its Tuesday quarterly earnings filling, the company reported that its daily active users rose from 27 million in the last quarter of 2013 to 28 million this quarter. But when compared to the first quarter of 2013 , Zynga had 53 million daily active users—which means the company has lost about half of its most active players in a year. Just months after Zynga spent $527 million on NaturalMotion , maker of Clumsy Ninja , the embattled social gaming firm also announced that it ended its first quarter by losing over $61 million. At this time last year, the company had profited $4.1 million during the first three months of 2013. Still, the company’s chief executive tried to play the loss down. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

See the original article here:
In just one year, Zynga has lost nearly half of its daily active users

“Russian Facebook” founder flees country after being forced out as CEO

Pavel Durov, founder and former CEO of Vkontakte. Pavel Durov/VK Pavel Durov, the founder of Vkontakte (VK)—the largest social network in Russia—said on Tuesday that he fled the country one day after being forced out of the company, claiming that he felt threatened by Kremlin officials. In a post on his profile page on Monday, Durov explained that he was fired from his position as CEO of VK and that the so-called “Russian Facebook” is now “under the complete control” of two oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin. Durov explained that after seven years of relative social media freedom in Russia, his refusal to share user data with Russian law enforcement has set him at odds with the Kremlin, which has recently been trying to tighten its grip on the Internet, according to The Moscow Times . Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Excerpt from:
“Russian Facebook” founder flees country after being forced out as CEO

Using bugs—aphids, specifically—to spy on plants’ electrical communications

I’m catching some signals, fellow aphid. Are you? benimoto Internal communications in plants share striking similarities with those in animals, new research reveals . With the help of tiny insects, scientists were able to tap into this communication system. Their results reveal the importance of these communications in enabling plants to protect themselves from attack by insect pests. Like any organism, plants need to transport essential nutrients from one part to another. This is achieved by two parts of the plant: the xylem and the phloem. Xylem, which is largely made of dead cells, transports water and dissolved nutrients obtained by roots up to the aerial tissues of the plants. By contrast, the phloem is made up of living cells—active tubes that transport a syrupy sap, rich in sugars made by photosynthesis in the leaves. In the 1980s, scientists discovered that phloem cells also function as a communication system through which electrical signals travel, similar to the electrical signals transmitted through the neurons in your nervous system. Read 14 remaining paragraphs | Comments

More:
Using bugs—aphids, specifically—to spy on plants’ electrical communications

Comcast bills lowered $2.4 million by scammers who accessed billing system

Alyson Hurt Two men pleaded guilty to a scam that lowered the bills of 5,790 Comcast customers in Pennsylvania by a total of $2.4 million. They now face prison time and will have to pay their ill-gotten wealth back to Comcast. 30-year-old Richard Justin Spraggins of Philadelphia pleaded guilty in February and was “ordered to make $66,825 in restitution and serve an 11- to 23-month sentence,” the Times-Herald of Norristown wrote at the time. Scaggins was described as the second-in-command of the operation. The accused ringleader, 30-year-old Alston Buchanan, pleaded guilty last week . “Buchanan faces up to 57½ to 115 years in prison, although Buchanan will likely serve a lesser sentence than the maximum,” the newspaper wrote. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Read the original post:
Comcast bills lowered $2.4 million by scammers who accessed billing system

Digital Public Library of America to add millions of records to its archive

Aquarium, Battery Park, New York City [Postcard], ca. 1931. This is just one of the many resources you can find online through the DPLA website or through apps using its API. New York Aquarium Postcards collection of the Wildlife Conservation Society Archives. Via Empire State Digital Network. Today marks the Digital Public Library of America’s one-year anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, the non-profit library network announced six new partnerships with major archives, including the US Government Printing Office and the J. Paul Getty Trust. The DPLA is best described as a platform that connects the online archives of many libraries around the nation into a single network. You can search all of these archives through the digital library’s website, and developers can build apps around the DPLA’s metadata collection using the publicly available API. It’s easy to find historical documents, public domain works, and vintage photos online through a search on the DPLA’s website, although sometimes a library will merely offer the data about an item, and retain the actual resource at the library. Still, having that data accessible through a single public portal is more useful for a researcher than having to search for it library by library. Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Visit link:
Digital Public Library of America to add millions of records to its archive

Lavabit held in contempt of court for printing crypto key in tiny font

Image by Rene Walter A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a contempt of court ruling against Ladar Levison and his now-defunct encrypted e-mail service provider, Lavabit LLC, for hindering the government’s investigation into the National Security Agency leaks surrounding Edward Snowden. In the summer of 2013, Lavabit was ordered to provide real-time e-mail monitoring of one particular user of the service, believed to be Snowden, the former NSA contractor turned whistleblower. Instead of adequately complying with the order to turn over the private SSL keys that protected his company’s tens of thousands of users from the government’s prying eyes, Levison chose instead to shut down Lavabit last year after weeks of stonewalling the government. However, Levison reluctantly turned over his encryption keys to the government, although not in a manner that the government deemed useful, and instead provided a lengthy printout with tiny type, a move the authorities said was objectionable. “The company had treated the court orders like contract negotiations rather than a legal requirement,” US Attorney Andrew Peterson, who represented the government, told PC World . Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments