World’s Smallest 3G Module Will Connect Everything To the Internet

jfruh writes The U-blox SARA-U260 chip module is only 16 by 26 millimeters — and it’s just been certified to work with AT&T’s 3G network. While consumers want 4G speeds for their browsing needs, 3G is plenty fast for the innumerable automated systems that will be necessary for the Internet of Things to work. From the article: “The U-blox SARA-U260 module, which measures 16 by 26 millimeters, can handle voice calls. But it’s not designed for really small phones for tiny hands. Instead, it’s meant to carry the small amounts of data that machines are sending to each other over the ‘Internet of things, ‘ where geographic coverage — 3G’s strong suit — matters more than top speed. That means things like electric meters, fitness watches and in-car devices that insurance companies use to monitor policyholders’ driving.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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World’s Smallest 3G Module Will Connect Everything To the Internet

Update: At Least 31 People Feared Dead After Japan Volcano Erupts

An anonymous reader writes “More than 30 people may be dead in a volcanic eruption in central Japan, the nation’s second natural disaster in the past month. Nagano prefecture posted on its website that about 30 people had heart and lung failure, the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police doctors can examine it. At least four of the victims were being brought down from Mount Ontake on Sunday afternoon, one day after the volcano erupted.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Update: At Least 31 People Feared Dead After Japan Volcano Erupts

2015 Corvette Valet Mode Recorder Illegal In Some States

innocent_white_lamb writes: The 2015 Corvette has a Valet Mode that records audio and video when someone other than the owner is driving the car. Activating the Valet Mode allows you to record front-facing video as well as capture audio from within the car so you can help keep your Corvette safe when it’s in the hands of others. Well, it turns out that recording audio from within the car may be considered a felony in some states that require notice and consent to individuals that they are being recorded. Now GM is sending notices out to dealerships and customers alerting them to this fact as well as promising a future update to the PDR system. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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2015 Corvette Valet Mode Recorder Illegal In Some States

Euclideon Teases Photorealistic Voxel-Based Game Engine

MojoKid writes Not many would argue that current console and PC graphics technologies still haven’t reached a level of “photo-realism.” However, a company by the name of Euclideon is claiming to be preparing to deliver that holy grail based on laser scanning and voxel engine-based technologies. The company has put together a six-minute video clip of its new engine, and its genuinely impressive. There’s a supposed-to-be-impressive unveil around the two minute mark where the announcer declares he’s showing us computer-generated graphics rather than a digital photo — something you’ll probably have figured out long before that point. Euclideon’s proprietary design purportedly uses a laser scanner to create a point cloud model of a real-world area. That area can then be translated into a voxel renderer and drawn by a standard GPU. Supposedly this can be done so efficiently and with such speed that there’s no need for conventional load screens or enormous amounts of texture memory but rather by simply streaming data off conventional hard drives. Previously, critiques have pointed to animation as one area where the company’s technique might struggle. Given the ongoing lack of a demonstrated solution for animation, it’s fair to assume this would-be game-changer has some challenges still to solve. That said, some of the renderings are impressive. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Euclideon Teases Photorealistic Voxel-Based Game Engine

South Australia Hits 33% Renewal Energy Target 6 Years Early

ferrisoxide.com writes: South Australia has hit its target of 33% renewable energy by 2020, 6 years earlier than expected, delivering clean power to the state through investment in wind, solar and geothermal energy — mothballing one coal-fired power station in the process. Not content to rest on their laurels, the SA government has now announced a new “stretch” target of 50% by 2025. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill declared that despite initial upfront costs to renewable energy generators such as wind farms, the 50 per cent target will not add one extra dollar to energy prices. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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South Australia Hits 33% Renewal Energy Target 6 Years Early

Fedora 21 Alpha Released

An anonymous reader writes Fedora 21 Alpha has been released. After encountering multiple delays, the first development version is out for the Fedora.NEXT and Fedora 21 products. Fedora 21 features improved Wayland support, GNOME 3.14, many updated packages, greater server and cloud support, and countless other improvements with Fedora 20 already being nearly one year old. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Fedora 21 Alpha Released

Google’s Doubleclick Ad Servers Exposed Millions of Computers To Malware

wabrandsma (2551008) writes with this excerpt from The Verge: Last night, researchers at Malwarebytes noticed strange behavior on sites like Last.fm, The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post. Ads on the sites were being unusually aggressive, setting off anti-virus warnings and raising flags in a number of Malwarebytes systems. After some digging, researcher Jerome Segura realized the problem was coming from Google’s DoubleClick ad servers and the popular Zedo ad agency. Together, they were serving up malicious ads designed to spread the recently identified Zemot malware. A Google representative has confirmed the breach, saying “our team is aware of this and has taken steps to shut this down.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Google’s Doubleclick Ad Servers Exposed Millions of Computers To Malware

TrueCrypt Gets a New Life, New Name

storagedude writes: Amid ongoing security concerns, the popular open source encryption program TrueCrypt may have found new life under a new name. Under the terms of the TrueCrypt license — which was a homemade open source license written by the authors themselves rather than a standard one — a forking of the code is allowed if references to TrueCrypt are removed from the code and the resulting application is not called TrueCrypt. Thus, CipherShed will be released under a standard open source license, with long-term ambitions to become a completely new product. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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TrueCrypt Gets a New Life, New Name

FCC Chairman: Americans Shouldn’t Subsidize Internet Service Under 10Mbps

An anonymous reader writes On Wednesday at a hearing in front of the US House Committee on Small Business, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler stated that for ISPs to be eligible for government broadband subsidies, they would have to deliver speeds of at least 10 Mbps. Said Wheeler: “What we are saying is we can’t make the mistake of spending the people’s money, which is what Universal Service is, to continue to subsidize something that’s subpar.” He further indicated that he would remedy the situation by the end of 2014. The broadband subsidies are collected through bill surcharges paid for by phone customers. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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FCC Chairman: Americans Shouldn’t Subsidize Internet Service Under 10Mbps

What To Expect With Windows 9

snydeq writes: Two weeks before the its official unveiling, this article provides a roundup of what to expect and the open questions around Windows 9, given Build 9834 leaks and confirmations springing up all over the Web. The desktop’s Start Menu, Metro apps running in resizable windows on the desktop, virtual desktops, Notification Center, and Storage Sense, are among the presumed features in store for Windows 9. Chief among the open questions are the fates of Internet Explorer, Cortana, and the Metro Start Screen. Changes to Windows 9 will provide an inkling of where Nadella will lead Microsoft in the years ahead. What’s your litmus test on Windows 9? Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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What To Expect With Windows 9