science – Page 267

AMC Theaters is considering letting people text during movies

Just as AMC Theaters was starting to win customers back by replacing every old seat in its auditoriums with recliners , the company wants to destroy that good will among moviegoers. That’s because CEO Adam Aron thinks letting people use their phones during a movie would be a good idea. “When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off their phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear ‘please cut off your left arm above the elbow, ‘” Aron tells Variety . “You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life.” Yes, he actually said that. This could be seen as an extension of recreating a home-like experience at a theater, vis a vis said recliner seats. But the difference here is that if you’re using your phone while watching a flick at home, you’re only affecting yourself and maybe your significant other — not the 100 or more people who paid to get into the theater. Movie theaters and places of worship are a few of the remaining places where using a cellphone is verboten, and by pandering to this demographic’s horrible habit AMC is stripping away common courtesy and setting a gross precedent in the name of profits. Aron says that certain sections where texting would be allowed is one possibility for this, while the more likely situation would be having specific auditoriums set up to be “more texting friendly.” If the chain is willing to kick out someone wearing Google Glass for fear of piracy, though, how is it going to differentiate someone texting from a person recording what’s on the screen with their phone? Contrast this with The Alamo Drafthouse which will happily eject you from a showing if you’re talking or texting, or won’t even let you into the auditorium if you’re late. As you can imagine, Twitter is lighting up with people decrying this , and for good reason: It’s an absolutely stupid move that could drive away already loyal customers in an effort to chase those it isn’t reaching anyway. “22-year-olds like to shoplift! What can we do??” — if the AMC CEO ran Macy’s — Scott Weinberg (@scottEweinberg) April 13, 2016 And that’s one way to keep me out of AMC theaters. Really hope they reconsider. https://t.co/DNthAggJIs — Chris Pugh (@ChrisLikesDinos) April 13, 2016 No @CEOAdam , I don’t want to go to a theater where people can text. We already have that, it’s a living room. #amctheaters — Rachel Stuhler (@RachelStuhler) April 13, 2016 Source: Variety

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AMC Theaters is considering letting people text during movies

The ‘Game of Thrones’ credits are more fun in 360-degrees

There are still ten days to go until Game of Thrones season six debuts, but HBO is doing its best to keep fans’ appetites for new footage satiated until then. After dropping a dingy new trailer on Monday, and some behind-the-scenes footage yesterday, it’s now released a 360-degree video of the show’s opening credits on Facebook. The extended sequence lets you explore the famous clockwork map of Westeros and Essos. The map is arranged inside a sphere, which means looking in the right direction will give you a little peek across the water at Sothoryos and the Basilisk Isles. Many of the show’s iconic locations are there, from King’s Landing and Winterfell to Dorne. There are more than a few easter eggs to discover just by looking around as well, including a glimpse of an unnamed direwolf by the wall — make of that what you will — and a PG-13 view of the Titan of Braavos. Via: Deadline Source: Game of Thrones (Facebook)

World’s largest coal mining firm declares bankruptcy

It won’t shock you to hear that the coal industry is facing tough times lately. Job cuts, mine closures and other signs of financial trouble are par for the course. However, that downturn just reached an important milestone: Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal mining company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy across most of its US divisions. The firm says it didn’t have much choice between steep drops in the price of coal, a weak Chinese market, overproduction of shale gas and “regulatory challenges” (read: better environmental policies ). In plainer terms, people just aren’t as interested in coal energy as they were in years past. This isn’t the end for Peabody, let alone the industry. It’ll be business as usual while the company reorganizes, and this doesn’t include Peabody’s Australian (steelmaking-focused) business. As Bloomberg notes , developing regions like India and Southeast Asia still lean heavily on coal. Even in the US, where many are shifting toward renewable energy, about 28 percent of power comes from coal. Nonetheless, the bankruptcy shows just how far the coal business has fallen. While the industry has tried to remain relevant with “sustainable” practices (such as restoring land), it’s just not as desirable as it once was — especially not in a world where carbon emissions are becoming enemy number one . And when clean energy sources like solar and wind power are almost as cheap as the dirty kind, it’s doubtful that coal will ever return to its heyday. Via: Bloomberg Source: Peabody Energy (PDF)

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World’s largest coal mining firm declares bankruptcy

Jigsaw Ransomware Deletes Your Files If You Don’t Pay Or When You Reboot Your PC

An anonymous reader writes: Researchers found a new ransomware yesterday called Jigsaw which will first lock your files and ask for a 0.4 Bitcoin ($150 USD) payment. If users don’t pay, every hour the ransomware deletes your files. If the user restarts their PC, the ransomware also deletes 1, 000 more files. The good news is there’s a free Decrypter available to unlock the ransomware. The Decrypter was built by Michael Gillespie, who announced yesterday on Softpedia the ID Ransomware service, which tells infected victims what kind of ransomware infection they have by allowing them to upload an encrypted file and the ransom note. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Amazon’s high-end Kindle Oasis is sleek, sharp and pricey

Jeff Bezos probably wasn’t pleased to see his surprise spoiled this week, but e-book fans still have reason to get pumped. Amazon just pulled back the curtain on its new premium reader, the Kindle Oasis, and it’s the slimmest and sleekest model the company has ever cooked up. Of course, with a price tag starting at $289.99 (£269.99), it’s also one of the most expensive. To hear Amazon tell the tale, all the decisions were made with one goal in mind: to let the hardware itself almost disappear from view and readers lose themselves in their stories. “We’re not going to be happy until we’ve got this magic sheet of paper that contains all the books in the world, ” quipped Chris Green, VP of industrial design at Amazon’s Lab126. “Edge-to-edge, all content, no device. And when we get there, I might be out of a job.” Realizing that ideal is going to take a while, but the Oasis is a fascinating step in that direction. To get the Oasis as light and sturdy as it is, Amazon took a plastic chassis and electroplated with a special metal alloy. I’m told it’s a pricey process, which no doubt reflects in the Oasis’s steep asking price, but the end result weighs in at a paltry 4.6 ounces. The company also used a startlingly thin Paperwhite display and fitted even more LEDs along one side for brighter, more consistent lighting. Amazon let me toss a few books onto their demo Oasis, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World looked fantastically crisp on it. That said, don’t expect the Oasis to be any sharper than current models: it runs at the same 300PPI resolution as the Kindle Voyage and new Paperwhite . So, the screen is still pretty great. The Oasis’s design, on the other hand, is… pretty divisive. Most of it is incredibly thin — think 3.4mm — with a flared edge meant to nestle into your palm. The asymmetric look takes a little getting used to, certainly, but let’s not forget that Amazon is no stranger to asymmetry. Remember how kooky the original Kindle looked ? Anyway, after using it for about a half hour, I’m down with Amazon’s deign decision. I’ve always gripped (or tried to grip) my e-readers with one hand, and the Oasis’s odd look is perfect for it. Its hump has a nice angle to it that’s easy to hang onto, and the larger bezel — where two physical page-turn buttons also live — is spacious enough to accommodate by fat thumb without letting meat spill over onto the screen. The Oasis is also the first Kindle with an accelerometer, so lefties can turn the thing over and use it just fine. Alas, it’s still not waterproof. Amazon wouldn’t comment on future plans when I asked, but one of the Kindle’s designers seemed very well versed on what it takes to waterproof a gadget — make of that what you will. That slimness comes with a price — the Oasis by itself has a battery that’ll last about two weeks on a single charge, down from the nearly six weeks the Voyage gets. To help, Amazon crafted a leather-backed case that houses an additional battery that adds about seven weeks to the Oasis’s modest battery life. Don’t worry: it’s free and comes in the Oasis’s box. Slap the cover onto the Oasis and it automatically starts charging, and if you charge the Kindle while the case is connected, both charge at the same time. Throw a new hibernation mode into the mix and the combined Kindle-and-case can sit untouched for even longer without needing a charge — perfect for when the pull of paper books is too hard to resist. You’ll be able to pre-order an Oasis of your very own starting today, with your choice of black, merlot or walnut leather cover. What remains to be seen is whether anyone but full-tilt e-reading fanatics should invest in an Oasis — stay tuned for a full verdict in the weeks to come.

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Amazon’s high-end Kindle Oasis is sleek, sharp and pricey

HTC 10 With 5.2-inch QHD Display, Snapdragon 820 SoC, 12MP Camera Launched at $699

Dan Seifert, writing for The Verge: HTC is today formally announcing the 10, its flagship smartphone for 2016. The HTC 10 follows last year’s M9 and blends the design of the M series with the A9 that came last fall. HTC says it spent 12 months designing this phone and integrated feedback from its customers throughout the development process. The 10 has everything you might expect from a flagship Android phone in 2016. There’s a 5.2-inch, quad HD Super LCD 5 display that HTC says displays 30 percent more color than last year’s phone. The screen is covered in Gorilla Glass with curved edges that blend into the phone’s metal frame. You’ll be able to find out if that’s enough for HTC to compete when the phone ships next month for $699. One interesting feature, which separates HTC 10 from many other Android flagship smartphones, is support for AirPlay. The feature enables the smartphone to stream media content to an Apple TV. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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HTC 10 With 5.2-inch QHD Display, Snapdragon 820 SoC, 12MP Camera Launched at $699

Surveillance Cameras Sold On Amazon Found Infected With Malware

An anonymous reader shares a report on ZDNet: Security researcher Mike Olsen has warned that some products sold through the Amazon marketplace are harboring a dark secret — malware. Olsen said in a blog post that while scouring Amazon for a decent set of outdoor surveillance cameras for a friend, he came across a deal for 6 PoE cameras and recording equipment. The seller, Urban Security Group, had generally good reviews and was offering a particular Sony setup on sale. After purchasing the kit, Olsen started setting up the surveillance system, logging into the administrator panel to configure it. Upon investigation, Olsen found that the device was talking to a server with hostname Brenz.pl, which is linked to malware distribution. If the device’s firmware links to this domain, malware can be downloaded and installed, potentially leading to unlawful surveillance and data theft.Perhaps the company which made the device didn’t realize its source code was compromised. While the aforementioned incident should serve as a reminder to people on why they need to be wary of the product they are purchasing, this isolated occurrence doesn’t prove in any way that “plenty” of cameras on Amazon are also infected, as the article and the original blog post are subtly trying to imply. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Surveillance Cameras Sold On Amazon Found Infected With Malware

Ticketmaster will start selling tickets on Facebook this month

You can already buy things on Facebook, and later this month, you’ll be able to snag concert tickets without leaving the site, too. Ticketmaster VP Dan Armstrong told BuzzFeed in an interview that the ticket retailer would begin selling admission to live music and other events through the social network’s site and mobile app before April’s end. While Ticketmaster isn’t the first to coordinate purchases from Facebook, making tickets to events available on the social channel seems like a good move for both companies. Facebook users already RSVP to events on the regular, so there’s certainly a convenience in having the tickets easily accessible there. You know, so you can catch up when one of your pals RSVPs to a show you either didn’t know about or forgot was coming to town. It also keeps you on Facebook longer rather than having to head elsewhere to complete the transaction. As you might expect, Ticketmaster is hoping the integration will lead to more ticket sales. Details are scarce on exactly how the process will work, but BuzzFeed does mention that Facebook stands to collect “a standard affiliate fee” from each purchase. We’ll have to wait and see if that will affect those pesky service charges, but you will still have to claim any tickets you buy from the Ticketmaster site after the initial transaction. To start, the option will be limited to a select few general admission events, so it could be a while before you can use the feature to grab all of your concert tickets. And when it’s time to head home afterwards, just fire up Facebook Messenger to hail a ride . Source: BuzzFeed

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Ticketmaster will start selling tickets on Facebook this month

Syrian Government Hacked, 43GB of Data Spilled Online By Hacktivists

An anonymous reader writes: On April 6, a hacking outfit going by the name of Cyber Justice Team leaked data from multiple Syrian government and private websites. The leak includes the password file from the breached server, along with MySQL host permissions, admin passwords, and a link to the 10GB compressed file, uploaded to the file sharing site MEGA. While some of the data seems to be from older data breaches, some of it is also new. This is one of the biggest leaks of Syrian government data, a regime that has remained protected against such threats due to an aggressive cyber-policy. The government has been known to secretly back the Syrian Electronic Army hacker group, who the US government recently indicted (3 members at least). Read more of this story at Slashdot.

World’s Longest Snake Captured, Promptly Dies

Late last week, an absolutely ginormous python was found caught under a tree that had fallen near a Malaysian construction site. Its length has been pegged at 26 feet (8 meters), which, if verified, would make it the longest snake ever captured. Read more…

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World’s Longest Snake Captured, Promptly Dies

Ken May

Tag: science