Tag: open source

Canonical Reveals the BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Tablet

LichtSpektren writes: Several tech sites have now broke the news that Canonical has revealed their BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Tablet. Joey-Elijah Sneddon builds the hype: “A stunning 10.1-inch IPS touch display powered a full HD 1920×1200 pixel resolution at 240 ppi. Inside is a 64-bit MediaTek MT8163A 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal memory. A micro SD memory card is included, adding storage expansion of up to 64GB. Furthermore, the converged slate includes an 8-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and dual LED flash (and capable of recording in full 1080p), plus a front facing 3-megapixel camera for video chats, vlogs and selfies. Front facing Dolby Atmos speakers will provide a superior sound experience during movie playback. The M10 measure 246mm x 171mm x 8.2mm, weighs just 470 grams — lighter than the Apple iPad Air — and has a 7280 mAh battery to give up to 10 hours of use. … Tablet mode offers a side stage for running two apps side-by-side, plus a full range of legacy desktop applications, mobile apps and scopes. LibreOffice, Mozilla Firefox, The GIMP and Gedit are among a ‘curated collection of legacy apps’ to ship pre-installed on the tablet. It will also be possible for developers and enthusiasts to install virtually any ARM compatible app available on Ubuntu using the familiar ‘apt-get’ command.” A photo gallery can also be seen on his website here. The price is not yet announced, but the Android version of the same tablet is currently on sale for €229. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Canonical Reveals the BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Tablet

Low-Cost EEG Head-Sets Promise Virtual Reality Feedback Loops

An anonymous reader writes: Researchers from the University of Memphis have found that it’s possible to use a low-cost EEG device such as the $300 Emotiv Epoc to understand how a user is feeling — opening up the path to genuine psycho-biological feedback in virtual/augmented reality scenarios. The Epoc has been used, in combination with the Razer Hydra, to give users control over VR/AR environments, but integrating emotional feedback into VR environments heralds many new possibilities in the fields of medical research, gaming — and, of course, marketing research. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Low-Cost EEG Head-Sets Promise Virtual Reality Feedback Loops

Severe and Unpatched eBay Vulnerability Allows Attackers To Distribute Malware

An anonymous reader writes: Check Point researchers have discovered a severe vulnerability in eBay’s online sales platform, which allows criminals to distribute malware and do phishing campaigns. This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass eBay’s code validation and control the vulnerable code remotely, to execute malicious Javascript code on targeted eBay users. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Severe and Unpatched eBay Vulnerability Allows Attackers To Distribute Malware

First Hidden Electric Motor In Cycling World Championship

An anonymous reader writes with the story that the world championship cyclocross competition this weekend in Zolder (Belgium) was scandalized by the first case of “mechanical doping.” European champion Femke Van Den Driessche was caught with a bicycle with a hidden electric motor. From the article: The Union Cycliste Internationale said in a statement âoethat pursuant to the UCIâ(TM)s Regulations on technological fraud a bike has been detained for further investigation following checks at the Womenâ(TM)s Under 23 race of the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. This does not concern any of the riders on the podium. Further details will be shared in due course.â The Belgian media outlet Sporza reported that the Belgian Cycling Federation had confirmed that the detained bike belonged to Van den Driessche. Ironically, Van den Driessche had abandoned the race due to a mechanical issue shortly before the bike was scrutinised. Van den Driesscheâ(TM)s name did not feature in the official results on the UCI website on Saturday evening. Cyclocross Magazine adds some details. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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First Hidden Electric Motor In Cycling World Championship

Ask Slashdot: Why Are Major Companies Exiting the Spam Filtering Business?

broswell writes: For years we used Postini for spam filtering. Google bought Postini in 2007, operated it for 5 years and then began shutting it down. Then we moved to MX Logic. McAfee bought MX Logic, and McAfee was purchased by Intel. Now Intel is shutting down the service. Neither company chose to raise prices, or spin off the division. Anyone want to speculate on the reasons? Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ask Slashdot: Why Are Major Companies Exiting the Spam Filtering Business?

Slashdot and SourceForge Sold, Now Under New Management

kodiaktau writes with a link to today’s announcement that DHI Group, Inc. (which you might know better as Dice, the company that bought Slashdot and sister site SourceForge in 2012) today announced that it completed the sale of its Slashdot and SourceForge businesses (together referred to as ‘Slashdot Media’) to BIZX, LLC in a transaction that closed on January 27, 2016. Financial terms were not disclosed. DHI first announced its plan to sell Slashdot Media in July 2015 as part of its strategy to focus on its core brands, as Slashdot Media no longer fits within the Company’s core strategic initiatives. KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. served as the Company’s exclusive financial advisor for the transaction. (FOSS Force has a short article with some more info BIZX and the sale.) Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Slashdot and SourceForge Sold, Now Under New Management

Insurance Companies Looking For Fallback Plans To Survive Driverless Cars

An anonymous reader writes: Driverless cars could mean a huge downsizing of the auto insurance industry, as the frequency of accidents declines and liability shifts from the driver to the vehicle’s software or automaker. This is compounded by the rise of ride-sharing services. Once summoning a vehicle to take you somewhere isn’t limited by the number of people available to drive them (and are correspondingly cheaper), car ownership is likely to decline. Many major automakers and tech companies are throwing billions of research dollars into making this happen, and insurance companies are trying to figure out how to survive. For example, a recent patent application shows State Farm is betting on collecting massive amounts of data about you. While they’ll no doubt use it to set your insurance rates, they also plan to “send you advice, alerts, coupons or discounts on insurance or other goods and services.” Traveler’s Insurance is thinking along somewhat similar lines. They want to create “a device that offers specific suggestions for managing errands and other travel. Customers would be able to see a map of ‘risk zone’ data for places they want to go, such as stores, restaurants and roads. They could then plan the day ‘with an eye toward how risky such endeavors may be, ‘ according to the patent application.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Insurance Companies Looking For Fallback Plans To Survive Driverless Cars

Civil Construction Wipes Out Internet Connectivity Across Africa

An anonymous reader writes: Submarine cable operator Seacom has announced that civil construction activity was the cause of widespread outages which left large parts of Africa without internet connectivity yesterday. According to the firm, its Northern Trans-Egypt cable was damaged between Cairo and Alexandria, and the Southern Trans-Egypt route was also disrupted outside of Cairo. Adding to the interruption, Seacom’s backup route, the West Africa Cable System (WACS), was also down at the same time, leaving most African countries without connectivity. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Civil Construction Wipes Out Internet Connectivity Across Africa

Symantec Disavows Business Partner Caught Running a Tech Support Scam

An anonymous reader writes: Malwarebytes has caught one of Symantec’s resellers running a tech support scam that was scaring users into thinking they were infected with malware and then graciously offering to sell Symantec’s security software at inflated rates. Malwarebytes played along with their scam and found out the company behind it was Silurian Tech Support, located somewhere in North India (surprised?).Symantec told El Reg that it terminated the reseller’s contract and will work with law enforcement to defend its brand and intellectual property. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Symantec Disavows Business Partner Caught Running a Tech Support Scam

Caltech Astronomers Say a Ninth Planet Lurks Beyond Pluto

sciencehabit writes: The solar system may have a new ninth planet. Today, two scientists announced evidence that a body nearly the size of Neptune — but as yet unseen — orbits the sun every 15, 000 years. During the solar system’s infancy 4.5 billion years ago, they say, the giant planet was knocked out of the planet-forming region near the sun. Slowed down by gas, the planet settled into a distant elliptical orbit, where it still lurks today. Here’s a link to the full academic paper published in The Astronomical Journal. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Caltech Astronomers Say a Ninth Planet Lurks Beyond Pluto