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"Splat" of Schiaparelli Mars Lander Likely Found

Long-time Slashdot reader Tablizer quotes Space Flight Now: Views from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter released Friday show the crash site where Europe’s experimental Schiaparelli lander fell to the red planet’s surface from a height of several miles, leaving a distinct dark patch on the Martian landscape…The image from MRO’s context camera shows two new features attributed to the Schiaparelli spacecraft, including a large dark scar spanning an estimated 50 feet (15 meters) by 130 feet (40 meters). Schiaparelli’s ground team believes it is from the high-speed impact of the lander’s main body… A little more than a half-mile (1 kilometer) to the south, a bright spot appears in the image, likely the 39-foot-diameter (12-meter) supersonic parachute and part of Schiaparelli’s heat shield, which released from the lander just before ESA lost contact.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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"Splat" of Schiaparelli Mars Lander Likely Found

Canonical Names Ubuntu Linux 17.04 ‘Zesty Zapus’

“Linux distributions and silly names go together like peanut butter and jelly, ” notes BetaNews. BrianFagioli writes: One of the most well-known Linux distributions to use funny names is Ubuntu. It famously uses the convention of an adjective and a lesser-known animal, each starting with the same letter… For example, Ubuntu 16.10 uses the letter “Y” — “Yakkety Yak”. The next version of the operating system will use the letter “Z” [and] Canonical has chosen “Zesty Zapus”… It is apparently a type of jumping mouse… “As we come to the end of the alphabet, I want to thank everyone who makes this fun. Your passion and focus and intellect, and occasionally your sharp differences, all make it a privilege to be part of this body incorporate. Right now, Ubuntu is moving even faster to the centre of the cloud and edge operations. From AWS to the zaniest new devices, Ubuntu helps people get things done faster, cleaner, and more efficiently, thanks to you…”, says Mark Shuttleworth, CEO, Canonical… “we are a tiny band in a market of giants, but our focus on delivering free software freely together with enterprise support, services and solutions appears to be opening doors, and minds, everywhere. So, in honour of the valiantly tiny leaping long-tailed over the obstacles of life, our next release which will be Ubuntu 17.04, is hereby code named the Zesty Zapus”. My favorite was Xenial Xerus. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Canonical Names Ubuntu Linux 17.04 ‘Zesty Zapus’

First New US Nuclear Reactor In 20 Years Goes Live

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: The Tennessee Valley Authority is celebrating an event 43 years in the making: the completion of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. In 1973, the TVA, one of the nation’s largest public power providers, began building two reactors that combined promised to generate enough power to light up 1.3 million homes. The first reactor, delayed by design flaws, eventually went live in 1996. Now, after billions of dollars in budget overruns, the second reactor has finally started sending power to homes and businesses. Standing in front of both reactors Wednesday, TVA President Bill Johnson said Watts Bar 2, the first U.S. reactor to enter commercial operation in 20 years, would offer clean, cheap and reliable energy to residents of several southern states for at least another generation. Before Watts Bar 2, the last time an American reactor had fired up was in 1996. It was Watts Bar 1 — and according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it cost $6.8 billion, far greater than the original price tag at $370 million. In the 2000s, some American power companies, faced with growing environmental regulations, eyed nuclear power again as a top alternative to fossil fuels such as coal and oil. A handful of companies, taking advantage of federal loan guarantees from the Bush administration, revived nuclear reactor proposals in a period now known as the so-called “nuclear renaissance.” Eventually, nuclear regulators started to green light new reactors, including ones in Georgia and South Carolina. In 2007, the TVA resumed construction on Watts Bar 2, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The TVA originally said it would take five years to complete. The TVA, which today serves seven different southern states, relies on nuclear power to light up approximately 4.5 million homes. Watts Bar 2, the company’s seventh operating reactor, reaffirms its commitment to nukes for at least four more decades, Johnson said Wednesday. In the end, TVA required more than five years to build the project. The final cost, far exceeding its initial budget, stood at $4.7 billion. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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First New US Nuclear Reactor In 20 Years Goes Live

India’s Biggest ATM Breach? 3.2 Million Debit Cards Across 19 Banks May Have Been Compromised

A total of 32 lakh (3.2 million) debit cards across 19 banks could have been compromised on account of a purported fraud, the National Payment Corporation of India said in a statement. BloombergQuint adds: “The genesis of the problem was receipt of complaints from few banks that their customer’s cards were used fraudulently mainly in China and USA while customers were in India, ” the NPCI said. “The complaints of fraudulent withdrawal are limited to cards of 19 banks and 641 customers. The total amount involved is Rs 1.3 crore as reported by various affected banks to NPCI.” SISA Security, a Bengaluru-based company is currently undertaking a forensic study to identify the extent of the problem and will submit a final report in November. Initial reports had suggested that ATMs operated by Hitachi Payment Services had been attacked by malware and were the source of the breach. However, the company has said in a statement that an interim report by the audit agency does not suggest any breach or compromise in its systems. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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India’s Biggest ATM Breach? 3.2 Million Debit Cards Across 19 Banks May Have Been Compromised

Google To Divide Its Index, Giving Mobile Users Better and Fresher Content

Desktop Google searches could soon feel slightly out of touch compared to those done via smartphones as the company begins to push mobile search. Google has said it is fully splitting its search index into two versions: a rapid updated mobile one, and a secondary search index for the desktop web. SearchEngineLand reports: The news came today during a keynote address from Gary Illyes, a webmaster trends analyst with Google, at Pubcon. Illyes didn’t give a timeline in his talk, but in a follow-up with Search Engine Land, he confirmed that it would happen within “months.” Google first announced that it was experimenting with the idea of a mobile index last year at SMX East. Since that time, Google’s clearly decided that a mobile index makes sense and is moving ahead with the idea. It’s unclear exactly how the mobile index will work. For example, since the mobile index is the “primary” index, will it really not be used for any desktop queries? Will it only contain “mobile-friendly” content? How out-of-date will the desktop index be? Desktop usage is now a minority of Google queries but still generates substantial usage. The most substantial change will likely be that by having a mobile index, Google can run its ranking algorithm in a different fashion across “pure” mobile content rather than the current system that extracts data from desktop content to determine mobile rankings. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Google To Divide Its Index, Giving Mobile Users Better and Fresher Content

Ubuntu 16.10 Released, Ready to Download

After six months of development, Ubuntu 16.10, the latest stable release of the world’s most popular desktop Linux distro, is now available to download. The ISO image file of Ubuntu 16.10 is a little larger (up from 1.4GB to 1.5GB). OMGUbuntu talks about the new features (condensed): Ubuntu 16.10 is not a big update over Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, released back in April. If you were hoping it’d be a compelling or must-have upgrade you’ll be sadly disappointed. There are a number of small improvements to the Unity desktop and the Compiz window manager that powers it. Improvements that help everything work that little bit faster, and that little bit smoother. Ubuntu 16.10 also performs better in virtual machines thanks to the new Unity Low Graphics Mode. An all-new version of the Nautilus file manager also features, and is packed with some significant UI and UX differences. Plus, as always, there’s a newer Linux kernel to enjoy. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ubuntu 16.10 Released, Ready to Download

Android 7.1 To Roll Out To Nexus Devices in December; Preview Goes Out This Month

Google said today it will roll out Android 7.1 to a range of Nexus devices — including Nexus 6 — later this year (December). A developer preview of Android 7.1 will be available to enthusiasts later this month. From an Engadget report: They also confirmed what 7.1 will bring to the table. Aside from Daydream VR support, most of the new features focus on giving developers more options to spruce up their apps’ functionality. First, they can now make custom shortcuts, much like the ones popping up in iOS via 3D Touch. There’s also support for image keyboards so users can insert stickers or GIFs within apps. For carriers and calling apps, 7.1 has APIs for multi-endpoint calling and telephony configuration. Lastly, developers can now route users to a Settings page to free up storage space by deleting unused files. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Android 7.1 To Roll Out To Nexus Devices in December; Preview Goes Out This Month

‘StrongPity’ Malware Infects Users Through Legitimate WinRAR and TrueCrypt Installers

Kaspersky Labs has revealed a new strain of malware — named ‘StrongPity’ which targets users looking for two popular applications – WinRaR and TrueCrypt. The malware contains components that not only has the ability to give attackers complete control on the victim’s computer, but also steal disk contents and download other software that the cybercriminals need. From a Neowin report: To be able to gather victims, the attackers have built special fake websites that supposedly host the two programs. One instance that was discovered by the researchers is that the criminals transposed two letters in a domain name, in order to fool the potential victim into thinking that the program was a legitimate WinRAR installer website. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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‘StrongPity’ Malware Infects Users Through Legitimate WinRAR and TrueCrypt Installers

Sprint To Provide 1 Million Students With Free Internet, Mobile Devices

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Wireless carrier Sprint Corp on Tuesday pledged to provide 1 million U.S. high school students with free mobile devices and internet access as part of a White House initiative to expand opportunities for lower income kids. Marcelo Claure, chief executive of Sprint, said the plan builds on the company’s prior commitment through the White House’s ConnectED program to get 50, 000 students high speed internet. He said Sprint realized that while providing students with internet at school was helpful, students would still need to be able to use the internet at home. “We are going to equip 1 million kids with the tools they need to reach their full potential and achieve their dreams, ” Claure told reporters on a White House call. Sprint aims to give cell phones, tablets, laptops or mobile hot spots to students who do not have internet at home. Students would be able to choose the type of device that might meet their needs and it would be coupled with four years of free data plans. The company hopes to reach its goal of a million students in five years. Manufacturers have agreed to provide the mobile devices at no cost, Claure said. He also said the company would encourage customers to donate their old devices to the program and that it would not cost Sprint much to allow the free use of its network. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Sprint To Provide 1 Million Students With Free Internet, Mobile Devices

When Her Best Friend Died, She Rebuilt Him Using Artificial Intelligence

When Roman Mazurenko died, his friend Eugenia Kuyda created a digital monument to him: an artificial intelligent bot that could “speak” as Roman using thousands of lines of texts sent to friends and family. From the report: “It’s pretty weird when you open the messenger and there’s a bot of your deceased friend, who actually talks to you, ” Fayfer said. “What really struck me is that the phrases he speaks are really his. You can tell that’s the way he would say it — even short answers to ‘Hey what’s up.’ It has been less than a year since Mazurenko died, and he continues to loom large in the lives of the people who knew him. When they miss him, they send messages to his avatar, and they feel closer to him when they do. “There was a lot I didn’t know about my child, ” Roman’s mother told me. “But now that I can read about what he thought about different subjects, I’m getting to know him more. This gives the illusion that he’s here now.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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When Her Best Friend Died, She Rebuilt Him Using Artificial Intelligence