Tag: linux

60 Minutes Dubbed Engines Noise Over Tesla Model S

cartechboy (2660665) writes “Did you watch the Tesla 60 Minutes segment the other night? If you did, you might have ended up on the floor rolling around laughing like I did. Since when does the Tesla Model S electric car make audible engine noises? Or downshift? Turns out, 60 Minutes dubbed engine noises and a downshift over the Model S running footage. The show claims it was an editing error. Call it what you want, it was absolutely hilarious. A little note to TV producers assigned to cover Tesla Motors in the future: Electric cars don’t upshift or downshift.” At least they didn’t fraudulently blow it up! Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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60 Minutes Dubbed Engines Noise Over Tesla Model S

Will Cameras Replace Sideview Mirrors On Cars In 2018?

cartechboy (2660665) writes “Just the other day we read about how the Department of Transportation will require all manufacturers to include rearview cameras on all new cars produced after May 1, 2018. But there’s something else auto manufacturers are pushing for, the ability to replace sideview mirrors with cameras in 2018. Tesla in particular is pushing for this to happen as traditional mirrors are bulky, and not very aerodynamic. That lump of plastic can cause surprising amounts of drag on an otherwise smooth car body. Camera units are much smaller and can be made streamlined, or even mounted nearly flush with the body, thus reducing aerodynamic drag. The idea has been around since the 1990s, and many concept cars have used cameras instead of sideview mirrors for years. But how will NHTSA respond? Is it finally time to ditch the sideview mirror?” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Will Cameras Replace Sideview Mirrors On Cars In 2018?

8.2 Earthquake Off the Coast of Chile, Tsunami Triggered

An 8.2-magnitude earthquake has struck roughly 60km off the cost of Chile. Its depth was approximately 20.1km. A tsunami has been generated, and evacuations have been ordered along the coast near the strike. Tsunami warnings were also issued for Peru and Ecuador. According to the Associated Press, “Coastal residents of northern Chile evacuated calmly as waves measuring almost 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) struck ahead of a tsunami that was expected to come ashore later. … Chile’s emergency service reported some roads blocked by landslides caused by the quake, but said no injuries had been reported so far.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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8.2 Earthquake Off the Coast of Chile, Tsunami Triggered

NSA Confirms It Has Been Searching US Citizens’ Data Without a Warrant

Charliemopps writes: “According to Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, ‘There have been queries, using U.S. person identifiers, of communications lawfully acquired to obtain foreign intelligence targeting non-U.S. persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States. These queries were performed pursuant to minimization procedures approved by the Fisa court and consistent with the statute and the fourth amendment.’ Basically, if you communicated with someone that is ‘reasonably believed’ to be a terrorist, you’ve lost constitutional protection against searches without a warrant, according to the NSA.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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NSA Confirms It Has Been Searching US Citizens’ Data Without a Warrant

FCC Boosts Spectrum Available To Wi-Fi

bbsguru (586178) writes “Wi-Fi networks will soon be improving thanks to a vote by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today. The FCC voted unanimously to open 100 MHz of wireless spectrum in an unlicensed 5GHz block . The move will increase the number of frequencies available to unlicensed wireless networks (such as those set up through Wi-Fi routers) by nearly 15 percent, and in turn, allow them to handle a greater level of traffic at higher speeds. ‘Today’s action represents the largest amount of spectrum suitable for mobile broadband that the Commission has made available for auction since the 700MHz band was auctioned in 2008, ‘ the FCC wrote in a statement. ‘Access to these bands will help wireless companies meet growing consumer demand for mobile data by enabling faster wireless speeds and more capacity.’ The increased spectrum should mean that Wi-Fi networks will be less congested, and next-gen routers will be able to take better advantage of gigabit broadband speeds that are cropping up all over the country.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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FCC Boosts Spectrum Available To Wi-Fi

New York Public Library Releases Over 20,000 Hi-Res Maps

Daniel_Stuckey (2647775) writes “Finally, you don’t have to raise your voice over a group of whisperers in the New York Public Library to get a better view of its map collection. Actually, you don’t even need to visit the place at all. Over 20, 000 maps and cartographic works from the NYPL’s Lionel Pincus & Princess Firyal Map Division have been uploaded and made downloadable for the public. ‘We believe these maps have no known U.S. copyright restrictions, ‘ explains a blog post announcing the wholesale release of the library’s map collection. ‘It means you can have the maps, all of them if you want, for free, in high resolution. We’ve scanned them to enable their use in the broadest possible ways by the largest number of people.’ The NYPL is distributing the maps under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, which means you can do whatever you want with the maps.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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New York Public Library Releases Over 20,000 Hi-Res Maps

Operation Wants To Mine 10% of All New Bitcoins

An anonymous reader writes: “Mining new Bitcoins is computationally expensive — you can’t expect to do much on your standard home computer. Many miners have built custom rigs to mine more efficiently, but it was only a matter of time until somebody went industrial. Dave Carlson’s goal is to mine 10% of all new Bitcoins from now on. He’s built literally thousands of units. They collectively use 1.4 million BitFury mining chips, which are managed by a bunch of Raspberry Pis. ‘The current rigs each contain 16 boards, with each board containing 16 BitFury chips, for a total of 256 mining chips on each rig. Carlson said about 90, 000 processor boards have been deployed, which would put the number of rigs at about 5, 600. A new board [being designed] will have 756 chips on each rig instead of 256.’ Carlson says his company spent $3-5 million to get everything set up. They current generate 7, 000 — 8, 000 Bitcoins per month, which, at current rates, would be worth over $4 million.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Operation Wants To Mine 10% of All New Bitcoins

Homeopathic Remedies Recalled For Containing Real Medicine

ananyo (2519492) writes “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recalled homeopathic remedies made by a company called Terra-Medica because they may contain actual medicine — possibly penicillin or derivatives of the antibiotic.” Diluted enough times with pure water, though, maybe these traces would be even more powerful. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Homeopathic Remedies Recalled For Containing Real Medicine

Job Automation and the Minimum Wage Debate

An anonymous reader writes “An article at FiveThirtyEight looks at the likelihood of various occupations being replaced by automation. It mentions President Obama’s proposed increase to the federal minimum wage, saying big leaps in automation could reshape that debate. ‘[The wage increase] from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour could make it worthwhile for employers to adopt emerging technologies to do the work of their low-wage workers. But can a robot really do a janitor’s job? Can software fully replace a fast-food worker? Economists have long considered these low-skilled, non-routine jobs as less vulnerable to technological replacement, but until now, quantitative estimates of a job’s vulnerability have been missing from the debate.’ Many minimum-wage jobs are reportedly at high risk, including restaurant workers, cashiers, and telemarketers. A study rated the probability of computerization within 20 years (PDF): 92% for retail salespeople, 97% for cashiers, and 94% for waitstaff. There are other jobs with a high likelihood, but they employ fewer people and generally have a higher pay rate: tax preparers (99%), freight workers (99%), and legal secretaries (98%).” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Job Automation and the Minimum Wage Debate

Microsoft Word Zero-Day Used In Targeted Attacks

wiredmikey (1824622) writes “Microsoft warned on Monday of a remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2014-1761) in Microsoft Word 2010 that is being actively exploited in targeted attacks. If successfully exploited, an attacker could gain the same user rights as the current user, Microsoft said, noting that users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than accounts with administrative privileges. ‘The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted RTF file using an affected version of Microsoft Word, or previews or opens a specially crafted RTF email message in Microsoft Outlook while using Microsoft Word as the email viewer, ‘ Microsoft explained Microsoft did not share any details on the attacks that leveraged the vulnerability, but did credit Drew Hintz, Shane Huntley, and Matty Pellegrino of the Google Security Team for reporting it to Microsoft.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Microsoft Word Zero-Day Used In Targeted Attacks