An increase in armed muggings have caused a spike in sales of dummy smartphones that on first glance look real. (You can buy one from Amazon for around $ 20.) Apparently they were first sold as display items to electronic stores wanting to protect their real inventory from smash-and-grabs. From the G2Reader / kenmay /
Tag: mexico
Gut bacteria linked to cataclysmic epidemic that wiped out 16th-century Mexico
Enlarge / Entrance of Hernan Cortes into Mexico (credit: Kurz & Allison ) In the wake of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, waves of epidemics slammed Mexico. By 1576, the population, which had been more than 20 million before the Spanish arrived, had crashed to two million. One brutal outbreak in 1545 was estimated to have killed between five and 15 million alone—or up to 80 percent of the population . But, like the other epidemics, the disease behind the 1545 outbreak was a complete mystery—until now. Genetic evidence pulled from the teeth of 10 victims suggests that the particularly nasty bacterium Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Paratyphi C contributed to the scourge of fever, bleeding, dysentery, and red rashes recorded at the time. The genetic data, published Monday in Nature Ecology and Evolution , offers the first molecular evidence to try to explain what’s “regarded as one of the most devastating epidemics in New World history,” the authors conclude. Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Gut bacteria linked to cataclysmic epidemic that wiped out 16th-century Mexico
AT&T’s international data plans are now a little more reasonable
AT&T’s international data roaming packs just became slightly more practical… slightly. The carrier has updated its Passport packages to give you 1GB of data and unlimited texting in a one-time $60 purchase, and 3GB for $120. That’s a lot more headroom than before (these prices previously got you a miserly 300MB and 800MB respectively), and might make the difference between Instagramming your trip as it happens versus waiting until you return to your hotel. They can certainly be more affordable than an International Day Pass if you’re staying for a couple of weeks. With that in mind, you’re still going to have to ration data compared to how you use it back at home. Also, be sure not to run over — It costs $50 for each extra gigabyte you need. Calls to any country cost 35 cents per minute. How does it compare to other carriers? It depends on what you need. Verizon isn’t exactly generous with monthly international data: you’re only paying $25 per month outside of North America, but that gets you just 100MB with overages of $25 for every additional 100MB block. You’re better off paying for a day pass, then. T-Mobile offers unlimited free data out of the gate, but only at 128Kbps; you’ll need a One Plus plan to move to a still-paltry 256Kbps, and LTE speeds are only available in Canada and Mexico . Sprint also takes the free-but-slow approach outside of North America unless you pay for a pass, although you can spring for weekly passes (usually $25 per week) that represent better bargains. In short, AT&T’s newer Passport packs make the most sense if you have an extended stay, want fast data and want to keep your own phone number. Otherwise, you may want to opt for day passes, another carrier or (if you have an unlocked phone) a service that offers local data where you’re traveling. Source: AT&T
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AT&T’s international data plans are now a little more reasonable
Verizon’s new unlimited plans throttle video all the time
Verizon’s revival of the unlimited data plan was supposed to be a good thing: it was bringing back worry-free service that let you use your smartphone as much as you like. Unfortunately, the carrier is making things complicated again. In the wake of tests that capped streaming video speeds , Verizon is splitting its unlimited access into multiple plans that face new restrictions. As of August 23rd, the standard Go Unlimited plan costs $5 less than before at $75 per month (if you use AutoPay), but you’re limited to streaming video at 480p on phones and 720p on tablets — shades of T-Mobile , anyone? The $80 prepaid plan and the Business plan cap you at 480p, too. The bigger issue is with the $85 Beyond Unlimited plan. Despite paying a premium, you’re limited to 720p streaming on phones and 1080p on tablets. Yes, that means that 1080p phone streaming (and any streaming higher than 1080p) is off the table regardless of how much you’re willing to pay. The carrier says there’s “no visible difference” in quality at those resolutions, but, well, that’s just not true. It might not be a night-and-day quality change, but you’re bound to notice if you have a large device like a Galaxy S8 Plus or a newer iPad Pro . The basic plan gives you unlimited hotspot access, but only at a pokey 600Kbps. You can spring for the business or Beyond plans to get LTE speeds, but only for the first 10GB or 15GB, respectively. And if you regularly visit Canada or Mexico, you’ll need to go to Beyond to use your service in those countries as you would at home. You’re grandfathered into a previous unlimited plan if you have one, and you’ll actually get 5GB more data at LTE speeds (15GB total) than you did before. However, even those older plans will be subject to the same throttling as new customers, so the only reason to hold on is to save money over the Beyond Unlimited plan. The carrier explains its move to Ars Technica as “managing our network” in a way that lets bring unlimited data “to more people.” That’s not completely unwarranted: OpenSignal found that average LTE speeds on Verizon dropped after the move to unlimited, so it’s clear that some people are using data so often that they’re bogging down the network. It’s still a step backwards for many customers, though, and the throttling at all tiers means you’ll still have to hunt for WiFi to get the best possible quality. It’s technically unlimited service, but it sure won’t feel like that in practice. Via: TechCrunch , The Verge Source: Ars Technica
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Verizon’s new unlimited plans throttle video all the time
Archaeologists uncover Tenochtitlan’s legendary tower of skulls
Henry Romero/Reuters An ongoing excavation in the heart of Mexico City, once the great Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, has revealed a legendary tower inlaid with hundreds of skulls. This tower was first described by Europeans in the early 16th century, when a Spanish soldier named Andres de Tapia came to the city with Hernan Cortez’ invading force. In his memoirs, de Tapia described an “ediface” covered in tens of thousands of skulls. Now his account is corroborated by this historic find. A tzompantli, illustrated in the 16th-century Aztec manuscript, the Durán Codex. (credit: Wikimedia) According to a report from Reuters , the tower is 6 meters in diameter, and once stood at the corner of a massive temple to Huitzilopochtli, an Aztec god associated with human sacrifice, war, and the sun. It’s likely the tower was part of a structure known as the Huey Tzompantli, which many of de Tapia’s contemporaries also described. Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Archaeologists uncover Tenochtitlan’s legendary tower of skulls
Report: Blizzard will reveal HD remaster of StarCraft in September
It’d be cool to see this in a resolution higher than 640×480. (credit: Blizzard Entertainment) Are you one of the thousands of diehard real-time strategy gamers who has yet to abandon the 1998 version of StarCraft ? Would you rather not deal with the sequel’s altered soldiers and upgrade trees, yet also pine for a version of the original that runs at a higher resolution than 640×480 pixels? The game’s creators at Blizzard Software might have a treat in store for you: a remastered version of the original StarCraft . According to Korean news outlet iNews24— spotted by Kotaku on Friday—multiple sources are confident that Blizzard plans to announce StarCraft HD in September. The announcement would be followed by a deeper reveal at BlizzCon’s November event in Anaheim. The Korean report hints at “improved graphics resolution and user interface,” but it doesn’t confirm whether fans should expect redrawn 2D assets or a complete 3D overhaul of the game’s Terran, Protoss, and Zerg races. The report doesn’t mention whether or not the remaster will include single-player content, and it doesn’t mention whether the multiplayer mode will hinge on the Brood War expansion pack (though, based on that version’s dominance in international competitive play, we assume it will). Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Report: Blizzard will reveal HD remaster of StarCraft in September
NASA Satellite Finds 39 Unreported Sources of Toxic Air Pollution
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: Using a new satellite-based method, scientists at NASA, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and two universities have located 39 unreported and major human-made sources of toxic sulfur dioxide emissions. A known health hazard and contributor to acid rain, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is one of six air pollutants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 39 unreported emission sources, found in the analysis of satellite data from 2005 to 2014, are clusters of coal-burning power plants, smelters, oil and gas operations found notably in the Middle East, but also in Mexico and parts of Russia. In addition, reported emissions from known sources in these regions were — in some cases — two to three times lower than satellite-based estimates. Altogether, the unreported and underreported sources account for about 12 percent of all human-made emissions of sulfur dioxide — a discrepancy that can have a large impact on regional air quality, said Chris McLinden, an atmospheric scientist and lead author of the study. The co-author of the study, Nickolay Krotkov, says quantifying the sulfur dioxide bull’s-eyes is a two-step process that would not have been possible without an improvement in the computer processing that transforms raw satellite observations from the Dutch-Finnish Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard NASA’s Aura spacecraft into precise estimates of sulfur dioxide concentrations, and the ability to detect smaller concentrations using a new computer program that precisely detects sulfur dioxide that had been dispersed and diluted by winds. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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NASA Satellite Finds 39 Unreported Sources of Toxic Air Pollution
This electric car took almost a decade to build
We drive the Arcimoto SRK from Mark Frohnmayer’s Oregon-based electric carmaker to see how the eighth-generation concept stacks up against previous prototypes.The last time we checked in with Arcimoto, the Oregon-based electric carmaker was on the fifth version of its “everyday electric” SRK prototype. The year was 2011 and Arcimoto President and Founder Mark Frohnmayer was brimming with ideas to further improve the company’s SRK concept. Now, four years and three generations later, we catch up with Frohnmayer and the team at Arcimoto to see how the company’s eighth-generation SRK improves on its predecessors in every way. “A few weeks ago we finished our generation-eight prototype, ” said Frohnmayer. “It’s certainly a huge leap beyond what we had on the road in 2011 and this is what we’re actually intending to bring to the marketplace late next year.” By dropping nearly half the weight of previous versions, the eighth-gen SRK improves on range, performance and price, at a target MSRP of $11, 900. “The notion of the SRK was to be a product that anybody could afford, ” said Frohnmayer. Have an RSS feed? Click here to add Translogic . Follow Translogic on Twitter and Facebook . Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley.
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This electric car took almost a decade to build
Small eel photographed by accident on coral reef is first green fluorescent fish ever recorded
A new study says that this small eel photographed by accident on a Caribbean coral reef is the first green fluorescent fish ever recorded. (more…)
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Small eel photographed by accident on coral reef is first green fluorescent fish ever recorded
Patricia, Strongest Hurricane Ever Seen In Eastern Pacific, Strikes In Mexico
CNN reports that Hurricane Patricia has made landfall in Mexico; Patricia is notable for having the third-lowest barometer reading ever recorded, and as “the strongest hurricane ever observed in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic oceans.” Slate points out that at one point, “satellite estimates of Patricia’s intensity broke the Dvorak scale, peaking at 8.3 on the 8.0 scale. … In fact, Patricia is now very close to the theoretical maximum strength for a tropical cyclone on planet Earth.” The Weather Channel is tracking the storm’s path, and predicts “catastrophic damage … along a narrow path as the eye slices into the interior of southwest Mexico Friday night.” Here’s a map from the National Weather Service showing Patricia’s track as well as projected path. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Patricia, Strongest Hurricane Ever Seen In Eastern Pacific, Strikes In Mexico