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takyon writes:

Google has updated its Cardboard VR template. The cardboard frame holds your smartphone and lenses in order to make a simple and cheap virtual reality headset:

Even with the simplicity of the design, the company did make a few changes to Cardboard 2. The base model now requires only three steps to set up with your smartphone instead of seven. The viewports are smaller and circular, indicating that there's more cardboard used to hold the phone in place. Even with the increase of material used throughout the viewer, it's able to hold large phones such as the iPhone 6 Plus and the Nexus 6.

Here's a direct download link. It's about 9 megabytes and contains the technical specifications, "Works with Google Cardboard" - the best practices for third-party Cardboard sellers, technical drawings, and 3D models.

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Phoenix666 writes:

This week EFF presented evidence in two of its NSA cases confirming the participation of Verizon Wireless, Sprint and AT&T in the NSA's mass telephone records collection under the Patriot Act. This is important because, despite broad public acknowledgement, the government is still claiming that it can dismiss our cases because it has never confirmed that anyone other than Verizon Business participated and that disclosing which providers assist the agency is a state secret. This argument was successful recently in convincing the D.C. Circuit to reverse and remand the case of Klayman v. Obama.

EFF filed requests with the courts in two lawsuits, Smith v. Obama and First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. NSA, asking that they accept as evidence and take into account government filings in the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that were recently made public. The filings confirm that AT&T, Verizon, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint participated in the NSA's programs since they report on a "compliance incident" involving those companies.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket writes in with this item found on the BBC:

An ancient virus has "come back to life" after lying dormant for at least 30,000 years, scientists say.

It was found frozen in a deep layer of the Siberian permafrost, but after it thawed it became infectious once again. The French scientists say the contagion poses no danger to humans or animals, but other viruses could be unleashed as the ground becomes exposed.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Professor Jean-Michel Claverie, from the National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) at the University of Aix-Marseille in France, said: "This is the first time we've seen a virus that's still infectious after this length of time."

The ancient pathogen was discovered buried 30m (100ft) down in the frozen ground. Called Pithovirus sibericum, it belongs to a class of giant viruses that were discovered 10 years ago. These are all so large that, unlike other viruses, they can be seen under a microscope. And this one, measuring 1.5 micrometres in length, is the biggest that has ever been found. The last time it infected anything was more than 30,000 years ago, but in the laboratory it has sprung to life once again.

Tests show that it attacks amoebas, which are single-celled organisms, but does not infect humans or other animals.

Co-author Dr Chantal Abergel, also from the CNRS, said: "It comes into the cell, multiplies and finally kills the cell. It is able to kill the amoeba - but it won't infect a human cell."

However, the researchers believe that other more deadly pathogens could be locked in Siberia's permafrost. "We are addressing this issue by sequencing the DNA that is present in those layers," said Dr Abergel. "This would be the best way to work out what is dangerous in there."

The researchers say this region is under threat. Since the 1970s, the permafrost has retreated and reduced in thickness, and climate change projections suggest it will decrease further. It has also become more accessible, and is being eyed for its natural resources.

Prof Claverie warns that exposing the deep layers could expose new viral threats.

He said: "It is a recipe for disaster. If you start having industrial explorations, people will start to move around the deep permafrost layers. Through mining and drilling, those old layers will be penetrated and this is where the danger is coming from."

He told BBC News that ancient strains of the smallpox virus, which was declared eradicated 30 years ago, could pose a risk. "If it is true that these viruses survive in the same way those amoeba viruses survive, then smallpox is not eradicated from the planet - only the surface," he said.

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tt0337960 writes:

A group of students from Harvard used a weather balloon to send a sony camcorder, a gopro and a samsung phone 30 kilometers into the atmosphere to take pictures of the grand canyon. They planned on using the phone's GPS unit to locate the phone after its return to Earth. But once it landed, there was no signal from the phone and it was never recovered. Until Two years later when an AT&T employee just happened to be hiking in the area and found it. It turned out that despite AT&T's coverage maps indicating full coverage in the landing area, it was in a dead zone.

One of the students posted the story along with gorgeous photos and videos over on Reddit.

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Phoenix666 writes:

"Despite the fact that Sigg boasts of the recyclability of their aluminum water bottles – and to be clear, aluminum is completely recyclable – their bottles are made from 100 percent virgin aluminum. Consequently, each 150 gram, 1 liter Sigg bottle releases roughly .77 pounds of carbon before it's even left the aluminum smelter.

        "In fact, a 1999 MIT study showed that producing one ton of virgin aluminum generates approximately 10 times more carbon dioxide than the production of a ton of steel. Recycled aluminum by contrast would only utilize 5 percent of the energy that virgin aluminum does."

Stainless steel production is also extremely resource-intensive, relying on open-pit nickel mining and notoriously toxic iron smelting. The process makes Klean Kanteen's boasts about wind-powered webhost and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified in-store displays sound hollow.

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"gewg_" writes:

El Reg reports

The open router Linux disto OpenWrt, 15.05 "Chaos Calmer" [named after a cocktail], has hit the intertubes.

One highlight of the release is an update to Version 3.18 of the Linux kernel, and security has been upgraded with ed25519 package signing support, and support for jails and hardened builds.

[The big news, however]--at least according to the project's announcement [permalink]--is a "fully writable filesystem with package management".

This, OpenWrt explains, gives users different options for installation and customisation. Instead of having to use a vendor's application and selection framework, OpenWrt can now be configured using developer-supplied applications.

"OpenWrt is the framework to build an application without having to build a complete firmware", the announcement says, while users get "full customisation [to] ... use the device in ways never envisioned".

That almost sounds like a challenge to America's Federal Communications Commission, which late in August issued a proposed rule-making that would demand Wi-Fi "lock down".

[...] [The device support for Chaos Calmer] has now passed 950 products from 159 vendors, with new devices added from Mediatek, Marvell, Broadcom, Freescale, AllWinner, and Raspberry Pi.

Previous: New FCC Rules Could Ban WiFi Router Firmware Modification

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Phoenix666 writes:

Those of you who spend hours at the gym with the aim of burning as many calories as possible may be disappointed to learn that all the while your nervous system is subconsciously working against you. Researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on September 10 have found that our nervous systems are remarkably adept in changing the way we move so as to expend the least amount of energy possible. In other words, humans are wired for laziness.

The findings, which were made by studying the energetic costs of walking, likely apply to most of our movements, the researchers say.

"We found that people readily change the way they walk--including characteristics of their gait that have been established with millions of steps over the course of their lifetime--to save quite small amounts of energy," says Max Donelan of Simon Fraser University in Canada. "This is completely consistent with the sense that most of us have that we prefer to do things in the least effortful way, like when we choose the shortest walking path, or choose to sit rather than stand. Here we have provided a physiological basis for this laziness by demonstrating that even within a well-rehearsed movement like walking, the nervous system subconsciously monitors energy use and continuously re-optimizes movement patterns in a constant quest to move as cheaply as possible."
...
The experiment revealed that people adapt their step frequency to converge on a new energetic optimum very quickly--within minutes. What's more, people do this even when the energy savings is quite small: less than 5%. The findings show that the energetic costs of our activities aren't just an outcome of our movements, but in fact play a central role in continuously shaping them.

Couch potatoes, rejoice!

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Phoenix666 writes:

A giant slab of ice as big as California and Texas combined lurks just beneath the surface of Mars between its equator and north pole, researchers say.

This ice may be the result of snowfall tens of millions of years ago on Mars, scientists added.

Mars is now dry and cold, but lots of evidence suggests that rivers, lakes and seas once covered the planet. Scientists have discovered life virtually wherever there is liquid water on Earth, leading some researchers to believe that life might have evolved on Mars when it was wet, and that life could be there even now, hidden in subterranean aquifers.

Also covered at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) blog. An abstract is available.

Imagine that this movie is the one that got it right.

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janrinok writes:

Spectral Edge, an image processing company (started by researches with the University of East Anglia in the U.K) has announced that it has integrated its technology into a chipset with STMicroelectronics 'Cannes' set-top-box, offering customers with colorblindness an improved viewing performance. The new technology is called Eyeteq— Spectral Edge was created as a spin-off to market the technology to TV makers.

Approximately 250 million people, 4 percent of the world's population, are colorblind (8 percent of men) to some extent, with the majority having difficulty distinguishing between red and green—most see them both as a shade of grey. The new technology does not change that, instead, it makes subtle changes to the image to make the two shades of grey shown distinguishable by those with color blindness. Spectral Edge is, of course, hoping to integrate the technology into other set top boxes as well, perhaps making it a standard option on future television screens. That could happen, because the changes that are made to assist colorblind viewers are not evident to those without colorblindness—thus, families, friends, etc. could watch the same programs together, with both getting the most benefit.

The technology works by operating on individual screen images, grabbing, fixing them, and then sending them to the screen—all quickly enough so that the person viewing the screen is unaware that it is occurring. The company has been working on the technology for several years but has just recently integrated it into a chipset, one that also comes with setup software that allows users to adjust the kind and amount of fixing that is performed, customizing it for their own vision abilities.

There is also a video.

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"gewg_" writes:

The Associated Press reports via Nebraska TV:

A federal appeals court says drugs found in a car during a Nebraska traffic stop can be used as evidence, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April that said the search was unconstitutional.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' action Thursday is the second time it has ruled against Dennys Rodriguez, who was stopped on a Nebraska highway in 2012 and given a warning for driving on the shoulder. He was then made to wait about 10 minutes while officers walked a drug-sniffing dog around the car, which turned up methamphetamine.

The U.S. Supreme Court said the search was unconstitutional. But an 8th Circuit panel cited a 2011 Supreme Court ruling that said searches relying on binding precedent are permissible, even if such searches are later deemed unconstitutional.

TechDirt adds more details:

Dennys Rodriguez took his Fourth Amendment case all the way to the Supreme Court and won. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court concluded that a traffic stop cannot be extended to indulge in fishing expeditions. Instead, it ends when the objective is complete. If an officer pulled someone over for speeding, the stop ends when the citation or warning is delivered, no matter how many favors the officer asks after that point ("Mind if we look in the trunk?" "Would you mind waiting for our K9 unit?").

The court declared that anything past this point is an "unreasonable search". It sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration in light of its ruling. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals took another look at its decision... and found a different way to screw Rodriguez out of his Fourth Amendment rights.

It found (PDF) that the Rodriguez decision (named after the man in front of them for the second time) was all well and good, but existing precedent said the cops could get away with an "unreasonable search" because their actions were "reasonable". Adios, Rodriguez. Hello, Davis (Redirects to a PDF).

[...] The Supreme Court may have found in his favor, but he's going to jail anyway.

Not only has the "good faith" exception swallowed the rule, it has consumed a citizen's Supreme Court victory.

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The Mighty Buzzard writes:

Jonathan Haidt has an interesting if long-winded review of a recent paper on microaggressions and their origins:

Conflict occurs when someone defines another's behavior as deviant – as immoral or otherwise objectionable.... Conflict and social control are both ubiquitous and diverse, as the issues that spark grievances and ways of handling them vary enormously across social settings. Here we address changing patterns of conflict in modern societies by focusing on a new species of social control that is increasingly common at American colleges and universities: the publicizing of micro aggressions.[p.693]... As we dissect this phenomenon, then, we first address how it fits into a larger class of conflict tactics in which the aggrieved seek to attract and mobilize the support of third parties. We note that these tactics sometimes involve building a case for action by documenting, exaggerating, or even falsifying offenses. We address the social logic by which such tactics operate and the social conditions likely to produce them – those that encourage aggrieved individuals to rely on third parties to manage their conflicts, but make obtaining third party support problematic. We then turn to the content of the grievances expressed in microaggression complaints and related forms of social control, which focus on inequality and emphasize the dominance of offenders and the oppression of the aggrieved.

We argue that the social conditions that promote complaints of oppression and victimization overlap with those that promote case-building attempts to attract third parties. When such social conditions are all present in high degrees, the result is a culture of victimhood in which individuals and groups display high sensitivity to slight, have a tendency to handle conflicts through complaints to third parties, and seek to cultivate an image of being victims who deserve assistance.

The paper itself is linked above but it is a typical journal publication in that you have to pay to read it unless you've shelled out for a journal subscription. A free copy of the full paper can be found here.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket writes with a story from El Reg:

Dial-a-ride service Lyft has been rapped on the knuckles by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for making customers sign up for a telemarketing list before being able to use the service.

The FCC cited Lyft for violating the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act and warned that further penalties could be imposed if the company doesn't clean up its act immediately.

Lyft made customers who signed up for its car service agree to also put their numbers on a list it used for telemarketing and text messages. Those who opted out, the FCC claimed, could not use Lyft.

"The investigation into Lyft showed that while its terms of service state that a consumer may opt out of receiving auto-dialed and/or pre-recorded telemarketing texts and calls by using 'provided unsubscribe options', the company does not, in fact, provide unsubscribe options or any information or links that would allow consumers to easily opt out of receiving such calls and texts," said the FCC.

"If consumers, through navigating the company's website, are able to locate the opt-out page and manage to opt out of such calls and texts, they are not able to use Lyft's services unless they opt back into receiving such calls and texts."

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

The Daily Mirror and the BBC News have picked up a story, previously covered in more detail by the Electronic Intifada blog, about how the St. Louis police have purchased hand-held canisters of a foul-smelling liquid known as "skunk" or "skunk water". The substance is said by its manufactuer to be made of edible, eco-friendly ingredients, but its smell can linger. It was developed in Israel, where it has been used since 2008 against the Palestinians.

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takyon writes:

California legislators have passed legislation (AB243, AB266, and SB643) that will transform the regulation of medical cannabis:

Nearly 20 years after California became the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana, legislators have a plan to impose order on the erratic patchwork of inconsistent policies that currently govern the billion-dollar industry. "We're making up for two decades of inaction", said state senator Mike McGuire, whose district includes the "Emerald Triangle" in Northern California where 60% of the marijuana grown in the US is cultivated. "This legislation brings clarity and desperately needed rules and regulations."

In the final hours of the legislative session that ended late Friday night, lawmakers passed a trio of bills that create a legal framework that puts the state firmly in control of managing marijuana from "seed to sale" while still leaving local municipalities with the ability to craft their own ordinances and impose taxes, according to state assembly member Ken Cooley, author of one of the bills. The deal was brokered with the assistance of governor Jerry Brown, virtually ensuring it will be signed into law.

Under the plan, a new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation will be created inside the existing Department of Consumer Affairs, charged with managing almost all aspects of marijuana growing, distribution and sale. The bureau would oversee state licenses in these areas, but only if a local license has already been approved. [...] That "local control" element has been a major sticking point for the legislation since discussions began early this year, with law enforcement and city and county governments insistent that they have the ability to regulate the specifics of cannabis commerce within their communities, and some growers initially wary of a plan that was supported by police.

But after "10,000 human hours," of input from stakeholders, "the current proposals are much different than what we were looking at back then," says Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the Emerald Growers Association, a trade group of cannabis cultivators with 250 members. "I couldn't imagine a better policy package", he said. "For the first time in generations, we are not going to be criminals ... we are on a level playing field with the other stakeholders".

The bills also cover a large array of other issues, big and small, including tracking mechanisms such as bar coding to follow marijuana from the time it is planted until sold to consumers. They also will allow distributors who have been charged with felonies connected to the sale of marijuana to still qualify for licenses from the state – an issue for many dispensary owners who have operated in grey areas of the law for many years.

[...] Unions may also benefit from the legislation, which includes a component that creates an apprenticeship-training program. Often in California, such programs are union-operated, and some cannabis workers in places including Oakland have already joined unions. The United Food and Commercial Workers and the Teamsters support the legislation. But medical practitioners who issue licenses will face additional scrutiny. The bill adds "oomph" to the state medical board's ability to crack down on physicians who issue cannabis prescriptions without a "bonafide basis", said Cooley. The law may also have a component that creates a state database of prescription holders.

Other measures include changes to address the "environmental crisis" caused by illegal (outdoor) growers, and the imposition on cannabis growers of the same water and chemical use restrictions that are imposed on other agricultural crops. The legislation empowers the California Department of Food and Agriculture to offer an organic label for qualified growers as well as "appellation" labeling rules similar to those in the wine industry (to prevent misrepresentation of where cannabis/grapes are grown). The "edibles" market must meet the same types of state-mandated health and safety standards that apply to other food industries. A proposed excise tax on finished cannabis products did not make it into the final legislation.

The new medical cannabis regulations could be used as a starting point for recreational cannabis should California voters legalize it via ballot initiative in 2016.

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takyon writes:

A leaked presentation from 2006 shows that Sony Pictures considered the merits of acquiring BitTorrent Inc., Netflix, and TiVo:

Sony Pictures considered BitTorrent Inc. as a potential acquisition opportunity to diversify its business, leaked information reveals. The file-sharing company made it onto a shortlist together with Netflix and TiVo, with Sony praising its effectiveness at downloading online media.

In Hollywood, BitTorrent is often framed as a threat due to its pirate stigma, but the technology also offers opportunities. BitTorrent Inc, the company behind the popular uTorrent software, helps artists to legally distribute their work to millions of people every year.

TF can now reveal that Sony Pictures' interest in the technology was so concrete that the movie studio listed it as a potential acquisition. In a draft presentation from early 2006 BitTorrent flanks other buying opportunities such as TiVo and Netflix. The Sony presentation discusses options to "refine" its business and saw BitTorrent as a potential candidate to diversify. Among other things, buying BitTorrent could improve margins and facilitate growth. To accomplish this goal Sony could invest $2 to $4 billion dollars, certainly enough to buy BitTorrent. Even Netflix, which didn't offer video streaming yet, was within reach based on a $1.2 billion valuation at the time.

According to the presentation the acquisition candidates would bridge a gap between Sony's entertainment content and the company's technology devices. In the case of BitTorrent this could facilitate the development of set-top boxes and TVs with built-in technology to download and play video content. This is an area BitTorrent was already working on with other partners.

In an overview sheet Sony sums up some of BitTorrent's strengths as well as recent developments. It mentions the agreement with the MPAA to keep infringing content off its website, among others. Sony was also aware of BitTorrent's plans to launch its own entertainment store. This eventually launched a year later but never got any real traction.

Original Submission