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AnonTechie writes:

A man convicted of child porn possession has been fighting to reclaim his personal emails and photos from the government, but so far has been rebuffed by its claims that separating the good and bad files would be too difficult to pursue. A lower court agreed with the government's assessment of the situation, but this has now been overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

As the ruling [pdf link] notes, the lower court failed in its duty to shift the burden of proof from the convicted man to the government.

The panel held that the district court’s decision not to put the burden of proof on the government was legal error, where the defendant filed the Rule 41(g) motion after he pleaded guilty and the government no longer needed his property as evidence. The panel held that the government could not have carried its burden of proof had the district court correctly placed it on the government, where the government failed to submit any evidence of the difficulty and costs of segregating the defendant’s data, which it claimed was a legitimate reason for retention of the non-contraband files.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150103/12585929589/appeals-court-orders-government-to-return-non-child-porn-files-to-convicted-man.shtml

AnonTechie writes:

On Saturday, the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks will meet for a NFC divisional playoff [American-style football] game at CenturyLink Field in downtown Seattle. But while football fans across the country watch the showdown, a team of scientists from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) will be keeping an eye on a different part of the action — testing an earthquake early warning system with the (inadvertent) help of Seahawks fans.

Back in 2011, a stunning comeback by the Seahawks led to such raucous celebration by the fans in CenturyLink Field that a nearby earthquake sensor picked up on the vibrations caused by the stomping of elated fans. Quickly nicknamed the 'Beast Quake' researchers decided to install more sensors to see if they could capture the phenomenon again. With the new sensors active, last year they were able to monitor 'DanceQuakes' caused by fans dancing in between large plays.

http://www.popsci.com/scientists-set-monitor-seahawks-stadium-fan-quakes

AnonTechie writes:

The CBP's (Customs and Border Patrol) drone squadron has been a tightly-held secret. Documents have been pried loose by FOIA lawsuits, but it's pretty clear the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the CBP would rather not discuss its flying surveillance technology. Not that the CBP drones are strictly for patrolling our nation's borders. They've been spotted far inland, being used by law enforcement agencies taking advantage of the CBP's drone lending library.

Finally, more details on the CBP's drones have made their way into the public domain, thanks to an Office of the Inspector General report. [https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1391066/oig-15-17-dec14.pdf (pdf link)] The information contained in this document points to two seeming contradictions, albeit the sort of contradictions often found in government agencies that run long on Congressional support but short on effective oversight.

They're expensive: "We estimate that, in fiscal year 2013, it cost at least $62.5 million to operate the program, or about $12,255 per hour."

And they're worthless: Given the cost of the Unmanned Aircraft System program and its unproven effectiveness, CBP should reconsider its plan to expand the program. The $443 million that CBP plans to spend on program expansion could be put to better use by investing in alternatives, such as manned aircraft and ground surveillance assets.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150106/18214929616/dhs-watchdog-says-border-patrols-drones-are-expensive-useless.shtml

AnonTechie writes:

Many cars now include cameras or other sensors that record the passing world and trigger intelligent behavior, such as automatic braking or steering to avoid an obstacle. Today’s systems are usually unable to tell the difference between a trash can and traffic cop standing next to it, though.

This week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nvidia, a leading marking of computer graphics chips, unveiled a vehicle computer called the Drive PX ( http://www.nvidia.com/object/drive-px.html ) that could help cars interpret and react to the world around them.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/533936/ces-2015-nvidia-demos-a-car-computer-trained-with-deep-learning/

sudo rm -rf writes:

Researchers at the Australian National University have developed a prototype quantum hard drive with storage times of up to six hours:

“We believe it will soon be possible to distribute quantum information between any two points on the globe,” said lead author Manjin Zhong, from the Research School of Physics and Engineering (RSPE).

“Quantum states are very fragile and normally collapse in milliseconds. Our long storage times have the potential to revolutionise the transmission of quantum information.”[...]

The team of physicists at ANU and the University of Otago stored quantum information in atoms of the rare earth element europium embedded in a crystal.

Their solid-state technique is a promising alternative to using laser beams in optical fibres, an approach which is currently used to create quantum networks around 100 kilometres long.

Using this method, one can store entangled light on two hard drives and then seperate them spatially, hopefully creating new methods of end-to-end encryption.

“Even transporting our crystals at pedestrian speeds we have less loss than laser systems for a given distance.” [Ms Zhong said]

Their research is published in Nature, as well as a review of the work (both paywalled)

[Also submitted by AnonTechie]

Hugh Pickens writes:

Sara Stewart reports at the NY Post that the new sci-fi movie "Predestination," opening January 9, is "loopier than Speilberg's [Minority Report]; its plot twists and turns “like a snake eating its tail,” one character remarks, until you’re not sure whether its developments are even plausible in a fictional universe."

Based on Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction classic "All You Zombies," and first published in 1959 - the story involves a number of paradoxes caused by time travel further developing themes explored by Heinlein in a previous work, "By His Bootstraps", published some 18 years earlier. The plot concerns the intersection of Ethan Hawke’s time-traveling assassin and an androgynous young writer who becomes a key player in the quest by Hawke (he’s only billed as The Barkeep) to catch a New York-based serial bomber.

The story is the movie's long set-up, a tale of a bullied childhood told by one who was bullied, a romantic rendezvous that may or may not happen, a single mother exploited by science and the debris, scattered through time, of every wound, ordeal and heartbreak that a single life has to endure writes Roger Moore. "Will "The Bartender" find his prey and prevent a tragedy? Will he be able to pull the trigger, one last time? Will "The Unmarried Mother" improve her lot or change her destiny?"

azrael writes:

New research from the University of Kent suggests that chickens have experienced fewer gross genomic changes than other birds as they evolved from their dinosaur ancestor.

Professor Darren Griffin and a team at the University’s School of Biosciences have conducted research that suggests that chromosomes of the chicken and turkey lineage have undergone the fewest number of changes compared to their ancient avian ancestor, thought to be a feathered dinosaur.

The living descendants of dinosaurs were thought to have undergone a rapid burst of evolution after most dinosaur species were wiped out. The detailed family tree of modern birds has however confused biologists for centuries and the molecular details of how birds arrived at the spectacular biodiversity of more than 10,000 species is barely known.

Professor Griffin explained that bird genomes are distinctive in that they have more tiny microchromosomes than any other vertebrate group. These small packages of gene-rich material are thought to have been present in their dinosaur ancestors. The team found that the chicken has the most similar overall chromosome pattern to its avian dinosaur ancestor.

"gewg_" writes:

El Reg reports

Ford has issued a recall for its Lincoln MKC SUVs, because drivers trying to operate the gearshift are shutting the car down by mistake.

As computers invade the world of motor vehicles and car-makers replace the old ignition key assembly with a start button, it seems they're having to relearn the basics of interface design.

In the case of the Ford recall, the salient detail is: "don't put the 'gearshift sports-mode button' next to the start-stop button".

As CNN reports, the car-maker also put the start-stop button next to the touchscreen that controls radio, bluetooth, and navigation, which means a driver trying to operate any of these while watching the road might bring the SUV to a screaming halt.

A very serious side-effect of a driver inadvertently shutting down the engine is that it would also render the air-bags inoperable.

rts008 writes:

In the recent news, it seems Net Neutrality may not be quite as doomed as earlier news.

The Federal Communications Commission’s proposal for open-Internet rules will align with a blueprint President Barack Obama offered last year for strong regulation to guarantee Web traffic is treated equally, the head of the agency said.

From the article:http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20150107-fcc-head-plans-to-heed-obama-blueprint-to-ban-web-fast-lanes.ece
“We’re both pulling in the same direction,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “We’re going to propose rules that say no blocking, no throttling, no paid prioritization.”

I guess we will see how this actually turns out after the vote on Feb. 26.

Also noted on Ars Technica - Title II for Internet providers is all but confirmed by FCC chairman

"gewg_" writes:

Canada's National Post reports

Radioactivity from Japan's crippled nuclear reactors has turned up off the British Columbia coast and the level will likely peak in waters off North America in the next year or two, according to a Canadian-led team that's intercepted the nuclear plume.

The radioactivity "does not represent a threat to human health or the environment", but is detectable off Canada's west coast and the level is climbing, a team led by oceanographer John Smith at Fisheries and Ocean Canada (also known as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans) reported [January 5] in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[...] The background level for Cesium-137 in the Pacific Ocean is about one becquerel (Bq) [...] per cubic metre of seawater. Fukushima has increased the radiation level off the B.C. coast to about 2 Bq and the level is expected to peak about 3 to 5 Bq per cubic metre of water by 2015-16. Canada's drinking-water standard for Cesium-137 is 10,000 becquerels (10 kBq) per cubic metre.

frojack writes:

A French company, NewWind, has produced several working models of a "Wind Tree", (L’Arbre à Vent), a windmill the size and shape of a tree sporting multiple independent leaf-shaped vertical axis wind turbines. Each tree could produce 3.1 kW of power with winds as light as 4.4 mph (2 meters/second).

The trees stand 26 to 36 feet tall, and can be configured in various shapes. Installation can be on street corners, parks, or parking lots, or near individual homes, wherever there is an opportunity to capture local winds. The power can be used for lighting purposes or electric vehicle recharging, and several trees can be connected in parallel.

They operate silently, and each "leaf" is a turbine: a vertical synchronous permanent magnet machine (PMSM) direct drive, gearless, generator as the inventor calls them.

The Wind Tree was designed to last over time (over 25 years) and withstand storms (wind class 3).

Over 40 units, all pre-mass-production models have already been sold and, and a formal installation will be in March through May of this year at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

The Company's web site (in French) has YouTube videos of several of the prototypes in operation.

Cost is said to be $36 thousand dollars, which mass production should bring down substantially. Even at this cost, payout is expected within "a few years", or as little as one year in open spaces with an average wind speed of 7.8 mph.

[Ed's note: Corrected typos.]

Nerdfest writes:

Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation launched a new app that will make it easier for people to take action on digital rights issues using their phone. The app allows folks to connect to their action center quickly and easily, using a variety of mobile devices. Sadly, though, they had to leave out Apple devices and the folks who use them.

Why? "Because we could not agree to the outrageous terms in Apple’s Developer Agreement and Apple’s DRM requirements. As we have been saying for years now, the Developer Agreement is bad for developers and users alike."

The EFF has a petition to try to get Apple to change their abusive and anti-competitive policies. The EFF does a lot of good work defending everyone's rights and freedoms online. Consider signing it. Note: you can sign on any browser, including mobile browsers on an iPhone

"gewg_" writes:

Astrobiology Magazine reports

A careful study of images taken by the NASA rover Curiosity has revealed intriguing similarities between ancient sedimentary rocks on Mars and structures shaped by microbes on Earth. The findings suggest, but do not prove, that life may have existed earlier on the Red Planet.

The photos were taken as Curiosity drove through the Gillespie Lake outcrop in Yellowknife Bay, a dry lake bed that underwent seasonal flooding billions of years ago. Mars and Earth shared a similar early history. The Red Planet was a much warmer and wetter world back then.

On Earth, carpet-like colonies of microbes trap and rearrange sediments in shallow bodies of water such as lakes and costal areas, forming distinctive features that fossilize over time. These structures, known as microbially-induced sedimentary structures (or MISS), are found in shallow water settings all over the world and in ancient rocks spanning Earth's history.

Nora Noffke, a geobiologist at Old Dominion University in Virginia, has spent the past 20 years studying these microbial structures. Last year, she reported the discovery of MISS that are 3.48 billion years old in the Western Australia's Dresser Formation, making them potentially the oldest signs of life on Earth.

In a paper (PDF) published online last month in the journal Astrobiology (the print version comes out this week), Noffke details the striking morphological similarities between Martian sedimentary structures in the Gillespie Lake outcrop (which is at most 3.7 billion years old) and microbial structures on Earth.

[...] "if the Martian structures aren't of biological origin," Noffke says, "then the similarities in morphology, but also in distribution patterns with regards to MISS on Earth would be an extraordinary coincidence."

tonyPick writes:

Spotted at The Southgate Amateur Radio Club News Site is a link to various reports on a possible Ofcom crackdown on polluting power line devices. Ofcom is the "Office of Communications" and is the UK's regulator for broadcasting and communications, and has been prompted to this action by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

The newspaper says GCHQ has become increasingly concerned in recent years about "power line" networking equipment. This allows people to use the mains wiring in their homes to transmit data, as an alternative to a Wi-Fi network, and has been distributed to BT and TalkTalk customers to connect their television set-top boxes to broadband.

Ofcom, the communications watchdog, published a consultation on Monday on new regulations that would allow its officials to issue enforcement notices to shut down such networks when the electromagnetic radiation they can emit interferes with radio signals. Those who fail to comply will face criminal prosecution.

Power line networking has been a persistent problem for radio amateurs, who have experienced interference from these devices for some time now, and this legislation could have a significant impact as a result.

Blackmoore writes:

The Local - Danish wind energy has record year

With 39 percent of Denmark's electricity use covered by wind power in 2014, the climate minister says the nation is well on its way to hits its 2020 goals.

According to year-end numbers from Energinet.dk, 39 percent of all electricity used in Denmark last year was produced by wind power. The 2014 totals dipped slightly from the 41.2 percent of electricity generated by wind through the year’s first six months, but the climate minister said Denmark is still well on its way to achieving its energy goals.

The Danish government has set the goal of having half of all electricity produced by wind power by 2020.