Emulator Now Runs x86 Apps On All Raspberry Pi Models

DeviceGuru writes: Russia-based Eltechs announced its ExaGear Desktop virtual machine last August, enabling Linux/ARMv7 SBCs and mini-PCs to run x86 software. That meant that users of the quad-core, Cortex-A7-based Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, could use it as well, although the software was not yet optimized for it. Now Eltechs has extended extended ExaGear to support earlier ARMv6 versions of the Raspberry Pi. The company also optimized the emulator for the Pi 2 allowing, for example, Pi 2 users to use automatically forwarding startup scripts. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Emulator Now Runs x86 Apps On All Raspberry Pi Models

First Ultraviolet Quantum Dots Shine In an LED

ckwu with word that South Korean researchers have created the first UV-emitting quantum dots, and employed them in the creation of a flexible LED. Their achievement is notable because no one has previously succeeded in making quantum dots capable of emitting light at wavelengths shorter than 400 nm, which defines the upper range of the UV spectrum. Writes ckwu: To get quantum dots that emit UV, the researchers figured out how make them with light-emitting cores smaller than 3 nm in diameter. They did it by coating a light-emitting cadmium zinc selenide nanoparticle with a zinc sulfide shell, which caused the core to shrink to 2.5 nm. The quantum dots give off true UV light, at 377 nm. An LED made with the quantum dots could illuminate the anticounterfeiting marks on a paper bill. The article names a few applications of the technology, besides, including water sterilization and industrial applications. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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First Ultraviolet Quantum Dots Shine In an LED

Everything We’ve Learned About Mummies Using 21st Century Technology

Researchers in fields from epidemiology to genetics are studying mummies, using the latest imaging technology. Now we know more than ever before about what lies beneath the mummies’ wrappings — and these long-dead people are telling us a lot about ancient lives and cultures. Read more…

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Everything We’ve Learned About Mummies Using 21st Century Technology

FCC Proposes To Extend So-Called "Obamaphone" Program To Broadband

jfruh writes: The FCC’s Lifeline program subsidizes phone service for very poor Americans; it gained notoriety under the label “Obamaphone, ” even though the program started under Reagan and was extended to cell phones under Clinton. Now the FCC is proposing that the program, which is funded by a fee on telecom providers, be extended to broadband, on the logic that high-speed internet is as necessary today as telephone service was a generation ago. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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FCC Proposes To Extend So-Called "Obamaphone" Program To Broadband

Russian Space Agency Misused $1.8 Billion, May Be Replaced

An anonymous reader writes: After a pair of high profile launch failures in the past few months, Russian space agency Roscosmos is making headlines again: this time for corruption. A public spending watchdog reported that the organization had misused 92 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) in 2014 alone. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said their space efforts have been undermined by rampant corruption. “We have uncovered acts of fraud, abuse of authority (and) document forgery. With such a level of moral decay, one should not be surprised at the high accident rate.” He also said Roscosmos is to be “abolished, ” and replaced by a state corporation of the same name by the end of the year. “In its new, corporate identity, Roscosmos will be responsible not only for setting mission goals but managing wages for space industry workers and modernizing production facilities.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Russian Space Agency Misused $1.8 Billion, May Be Replaced

No, Your SSD Won’t Quickly Lose Data While Powered Down

An anonymous reader writes: A few weeks ago, we discussed reports that enterprise SSDs would lose data in a surprisingly short amount of time if left powered off. The reports were based on a presentation from Alvin Cox, a Seagate engineer, about enterprise storage practices. PCWorld spoke to him and another engineer for Seagate, and they say the whole thing was blown out of proportion. Alan Cox said, “I wouldn’t worry about (losing data). This all pertains to end of life. As a consumer, an SSD product or even a flash product is never going to get to the point where it’s temperature-dependent on retaining the data.” The intent of the original presentation was to set expectations for a worst case scenario — a data center writing huge amounts of data to old SSDs and then storing them long-term at unusual temperatures. It’s not a very realistic situation for businesses with responsible IT departments, and almost impossible for personal drives. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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No, Your SSD Won’t Quickly Lose Data While Powered Down

Ads Based On Browsing History Are Coming To All Firefox Users

An anonymous reader writes: Mozilla has announced plans to launch a feature called “Suggested Tiles, ” which will provide sponsored recommendations to visit certain websites when other websites show up in the user’s new tab page. The tiles will begin to show up for beta channel users next week, and the company is asking for feedback. For testing purposes, users will only see Suggested Tiles “promoting Firefox for Android, Firefox Marketplace, and other Mozilla causes.” It’s not yet known what websites will show up on the tiles when the feature launches later this summer. The company says, “With Suggested Tiles, we want to show the world that it is possible to do relevant advertising and content recommendations while still respecting users’ privacy and giving them control over their data.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ads Based On Browsing History Are Coming To All Firefox Users

Factory Reset On Millions of Android Devices Doesn’t Wipe Storage

Bismillah writes: Ross Anderson and Laurent Simon of Cambridge University studied a range of Android devices and found that even though a “factory reset” is supposed to fully wipe storage, it often doesn’t. Interestingly enough, full-device encryption could be compromised by the incomplete wiping too. ITnews reports: “The researchers estimated that 500 million Android devices may not fully wipe device disk partitions. As many as 630 million phones may not wipe internal SD cards. Five ‘critical failures’ were outlined in the researchers’ Security Analysis of Android Factory Resets paper. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Factory Reset On Millions of Android Devices Doesn’t Wipe Storage

Swedish Court Orders Seizure of Pirate Bay Domains

The Pirate Bay will probably never be the darling of any government; we’ve seen various Pirate Bay domains cracked down on, and the arrests of site founders. An anonymous reader writes now with the news reported this morning by TorrentFreak that: the Stockholm District Court has ordered two key domains owned by The Pirate Bay to be seized. While the ruling means that the site will lose its famous ThePirateBay.se domain, don’t expect the site to simply disappear. TPB informs TorrentFreak that they have plenty more domains left in store. From the point of view of the down-crackers, It’s a hard problem, particularly when it’s easy for people to spin up their own instances of the site. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Swedish Court Orders Seizure of Pirate Bay Domains

Feds Order Amtrak To Turn On System That Would’ve Prevented Crash

McGruber writes: Last Tuesday evening, northbound Amtrak Northeast Regional train No. 188 derailed on a curve in Philadelphia, killing eight passengers. The train was traveling in excess of 100 mph, while the curve had a passenger-train speed limit of 50 mph. In response, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is issuing formal emergency orders that will require Amtrak to make sure automatic train control systems work Northbound through Philadelphia at and near the site of the derailment. The FRA is also requiring that Amtrak assess the risk of all curves along the NEC and increase the amount and frequency of speed limit signs along the railroad. FRA’s emergency order is newsworthy because Amtrak’s existing signal system could have been configured to prevent a train from exceeding speed limits, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Feds Order Amtrak To Turn On System That Would’ve Prevented Crash