Tag: technology

Pioneering Link-Sharing Site Del.icio.us Shuts Down

Long-time Slashdot reader brentlaminack writes: One of the first and best social bookmarking platforms, Del.icio.us has changed hands about four times, one was to Yahoo for > $15M. Its most recent relaunch was over a year back, which was their last blog entry. Now images are broken, little “advertisement” blocks show up with no advertisements, things seem moribund. What’s the deal? The Next Web reports: It’s the end of the road for social bookmarking website del.icio.us. After almost fifteen years, the site has been acquired by rival Pinboard, and will be shuttered on June 15, when it goes into read-only mode. While the site will continue to be viewable, users won’t be able to save any new bookmarks. Del.icio.us pioneered the social bookmarking paradigm. Its influence can be seen everywhere, from Reddit to Twitter… After del.icio.us was acquired by AVOS Systems in 2011, users fled to Pinboard in droves over complaints AVOS was fundamentally changing the makeup of the site. By purchasing del.icio.us, Pinboard is able to coax the few remaining del.icio.us users to jump ship. Depending on how much Pinboard paid for the site, how many users remain, and how many users Pinboard is able to convert, this could be a financially lucrative move. A Pinboard subscription costs $11 per annum. A late update to the article includes a quote from Pinboard founder Maciej Ceglowski. “In a statement, he said ‘I am the greatest.’ Ceglowski also confirmed the purchase price for del.icio.us, which was $35, 000.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Pioneering Link-Sharing Site Del.icio.us Shuts Down

Java 9 Delayed Due To Modularity Controversy

An anonymous reader quotes InfoWorld: Java 9 won’t be released on July 27 after all. Oracle has proposed that Java 9 Standard Edition be delayed until September 21 so the open source community that is finalizing Java 9 can address the ongoing controversy over a planned but later rejected approach to modularity, said Georges Saab, vice president of software development in the Java platform group at Oracle and chairman of the OpenJDK governing board… The [Java Platform Module System] measure was sent back to the proposal’s expert group for further discussion. Since then, the group has reached consensus on addressing the modularity concerns, Saab said. But they cannot rework Java 9 in time for the original July 27 release date… If the revised JSR 376 approved, as expected, work can proceed on implementing it in the official version of Java 9 SE. This setback for Java 9s upcoming upgrade, however, should just be temporary, with Oracle expecting a more rapid cadence of Java SE releases going forward, Saab said. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Java 9 Delayed Due To Modularity Controversy

Chinese ‘Fireball’ Malware Infects Nearly 250 Million Computers Worldwide

Check Point researchers have discovered a massive malware campaign, dubbed Fireball, that has already infected more than 250 million computers across the world, including Windows and Mac OS. The Fireball malware “is an adware package that takes complete control of victim’s web browsers and turns them into zombies, potentially allowing attackers to spy on victim’s web traffic and potentially steal their data, ” reports The Hacker News. From the report: Check Point researchers, who discovered this massive malware campaign, linked the operation to Rafotech, a Chinese company which claims to offer digital marketing and game apps to 300 million customers. While the company is currently using Fireball for generating revenue by injecting advertisements onto the browsers, the malware can be quickly turned into a massive destroyer to cause a significant cyber security incident worldwide. Fireball comes bundled with other free software programs that you download off of the Internet. Once installed, the malware installs browser plugins to manipulate the victim’s web browser configurations to replace their default search engines and home pages with fake search engines (trotux.com). “It’s important to remember that when a user installs freeware, additional malware isn’t necessarily dropped at the same time, ” researchers said. “Furthermore, it is likely that Rafotech is using additional distribution methods, such as spreading freeware under fake names, spam, or even buying installs from threat actors.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Chinese ‘Fireball’ Malware Infects Nearly 250 Million Computers Worldwide

JRR Tolkien Book ‘Beren and Luthien’ Published After 100 Years

seoras quotes a report from BBC: A new book by Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien is going on sale — 100 years after it was first conceived. Beren and Luthien has been described as a “very personal story” that the Oxford professor thought up after returning from the Battle of the Somme. It was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and contains versions of a tale that became part of The Silmarillion. The book features illustrations by Alan Lee, who won an Academy Award for his work on Peter Jackson’s film trilogy. It is being published on Thursday by HarperCollins on the 10th anniversary of the last Middle Earth book, The Children of Hurin. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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JRR Tolkien Book ‘Beren and Luthien’ Published After 100 Years

Intel adopts e-SIM to support Microsoft’s connected PC vision

PCs are making a comeback, if the news out of Computex 2017 is any indication, and Microsoft wants to make sure they’re all constantly connected . To support that vision, Intel is making its current and future modems compatible with e-SIMs, so future laptops can connect to LTE networks without physical SIM-card trays. That’s because the technology you’d typically find in a SIM card will be embedded into its modems, so you can connect your machine just by entering a phone number and avoid having to fiddle with a tiny tray. The chip maker says it is working on validating “e-SIM-enabled always-connected platforms with multiple carriers using the Intel XMMTM 7260 modem and our upcoming Intel XMM 7360 modem.” At its keynote, Microsoft announced a slew of carriers that will support the e-SIM devices, including T-Mobile, AT&T, Vodafone and other international service providers. The always connected PC project is another part of the two brands’ Project Evo collaboration to deliver Windows devices across multiple product categories. So this could mean e-SIM-enabled speakers or VR headsets in future, too. Click here to catch up on the latest news from Computex 2017!

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Intel adopts e-SIM to support Microsoft’s connected PC vision

Researchers Found Perfect Contraceptives In Traditional Chinese Medicine

hackingbear writes: Researchers at U.C. Berkeley found a birth control that was hormone-free, 100 percent natural, resulted in no side effects, didn’t harm either eggs nor sperm, could be used in the long-term or short-term, and — perhaps the best part of all — could be used either before or after conception, from ancient Chinese folk medicine… “Because these two plant compounds block fertilization at very, very low concentrations — about 10 times lower than levels of levonorgestrel in Plan B — they could be a new generation of emergency contraceptive we nicknamed ‘molecular condoms, ‘” team leader Polina Lishko. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Researchers Found Perfect Contraceptives In Traditional Chinese Medicine

New Solar Plane Plans Non-Stop Flight Around The World

An anonymous reader quotes Bloomberg: [A] Russian tycoon and his Renova Group plan a record-breaking effort to send a plane around the world nonstop using only the power of the sun. If all goes well, a single pilot will fly for five days straight at altitudes of up to 10 miles, about a third higher than commercial airliners. The project isn’t just a stunt. The glider-style airplane with a 36-meter (120-foot) wingspan will be a test of technologies that are set to be used to build new generations of autonomous craft for the military and business, say aerospace experts. They will fly continuously, have far greater reach and control than satellites and expand broadcast, communication and spying capabilities around the globe… “Our flight should prove that it’s possible to make long-distance flights using solar energy, ” said Mikhail Lifshitz, Renova’s director of high-tech asset development and a qualified pilot-instructor. A “flying laboratory” test-plane will be ready by year-end, Lifshitz said in an interview. The plane will conserve power by slowly gliding down from the high altitudes at night — without ever touching the ground. In comparison a solar plane (partially funded by Google) already circled the earth last year — but it took 22 days, and made 17 different stops. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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New Solar Plane Plans Non-Stop Flight Around The World

IT Crash Causes British Airways To Cancel All Flights

An anonymous reader quotes CNBC: British Airways canceled all flights from London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy U.K. holiday weekend. The airline said it was suffering a “major IT systems failure” around the world. Chief executive Alex Cruz said “we believe the root cause was a power-supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyberattack.” He said the crash had affected “all of our check-in and operational systems.” BA operates hundreds of flights from the two London airports on a typical day — and both are major hubs for worldwide travel. Several hours after problems began cropping up Saturday morning, BA suspended flights up to 6 p.m. because the two airports had become severely congested. The airline later scrapped flights from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of the day. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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IT Crash Causes British Airways To Cancel All Flights

Bitcoin Surges 10% To All-Time High Above $2,700, Has Now Doubled in May

An anonymous reader writes: In another intraday jump of more than $200, bitcoin surged to a record Thursday on strong Asian demand overnight. Bitcoin jumped more than 10 percent to an all-time high of $2, 752.07, more than twice its April 30 price of $1, 347.96 according to CoinDesk. The digital currency last traded near $2, 726. At Thursday’s record, Bitcoin has now gained more than 45 percent since last Thursday and more than 180 percent for the year so far. “There is no question that we are in the middle of a price frenzy, ” said Brian Kelly of BKCM, in a note to clients Thursday. “There will be a correction and it could be severe, but it’s unclear if that correction will start from current prices of $2700 or from some place much higher.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Bitcoin Surges 10% To All-Time High Above $2,700, Has Now Doubled in May

Malicious Subtitles Threaten VLC, Kodi and Popcorn Time Users, Researchers Warn

Millions of people risk having their devices and systems compromised by malicious subtitles, according to a new research published by security firm Check Point. The threat comes from a previously undocumented vulnerability which affects users of popular streaming software, including Kodi, Popcorn-Time, and VLC. Developers of the applications have already applied fixes and in some cases, working on it. From a report: While most subtitle makers do no harm, it appears that those with malicious intent can exploit these popular streaming applications to penetrate the devices and systems of these users. Researchers from Check Point, who uncovered the problem, describe the subtitle ‘attack vector’ as the most widespread, easily accessed and zero-resistance vulnerability that has been reported in recent years. “By conducting attacks through subtitles, hackers can take complete control over any device running them. From this point on, the attacker can do whatever he wants with the victim’s machine, whether it is a PC, a smart TV, or a mobile device, ” they write. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Malicious Subtitles Threaten VLC, Kodi and Popcorn Time Users, Researchers Warn