SoylentNews

HughPickens.com writes:

Amy Zipkin writes in the New York Times that a growing number of so-called microhotels that are taking a smaller-is-better approach to fight Airbnb offering rooms in New York City for about $100 a night. The catch? Some rooms measure 65 square feet and offer a shared bathroom. "Disruptions from short-term rentals are creating a whole new supply channel," says Scott Berman. The micro concept first gained traction in Europe with brands like CitizenM and Yotel at airports and in urban centers. Now the model is expanding. Yotel, which has a property in Manhattan, plans to open others in San Francisco, Boston, Miami and Brooklyn, as well as London, Geneva and Singapore. Pod expects to open another hotel in Manhattan, as well as in Brooklyn and Washington. "We are focused on the Millennial-minded consumer, with an emphasis on style, attitude and design at an economical value," says Vicki Poulos. But some travelers don't necessarily agree that the comfort level equals that of regular hotels. "At first, it is entirely novel," says Diana Edelman. "But then reality hits that it is nearly impossible to open a suitcase in the room without hitting your head on the bed's 'roof' or that you are showering next to the toilet and sink."

Original Submission

HughPickens.com writes:

Bryant Jordan reports at Defense Tech that the Cognitive Science and Applications Team at the US Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center is creating a computer-generated reality "dome" to immerse warfighters in a virtual environment that not only tests their skills, but allows Army researchers to assess soldier cognitive abilities and study the impact of real-world operational situations on decision-making, spatial memory and wayfinding. The dome is a concave virtual-reality system that provides a full 180-degree horizontal field, using high-density, front-projection to create a high-resolution, visual world where the simulations will be modeled on real-world locations. "The integration of multiple input modalities, along with multisensory feedback, increases the realism, immersion and engagement on behalf of users subjected to prolonged, workload-intensive activities," says Dr. Caroline Mahoney. "These novel integrations provide unprecedented opportunities to monitor and optimize human behavior during real-world task execution, and to evaluate and predict the impact of innovative human-systems technologies on operational performance."

In the virtual dome, users can interact and alter the environment through hand-held and weapon-based devices, which control movement, orientation and weapon aiming. Future additions to the dome will include whole-body motion tracking, low-frequency vibration and directional wind. Vibro-tactile collision feedback -- which combines vibration and touch to help give participants a physical sense of constraints in a virtual environment -- will also be included. "Our new, virtual-reality capability provides unprecedented translational value to basic and applied cognitive sciences, allowing us to bridge the gap between highly controlled laboratory research and the inherent richness, dynamics and complexity of real-world Soldier experiences," says Dr. Tad Brunyé.

Original Submission

bitstream writes:

A group of independent security researchers and major US corporation giants like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and Comcast have submitted a proposal for an encrypted email transport protocol called SMTP STS (Strict Transport Security). That is supposed to plug the hole that spoofed STARTTLS responses can enable. In theory, this new extension looks like the HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) extension to HTTPS. SMTP STS brings much like HSTS message confidentiality and server authenticity to the process of initiating an encrypted email communications channel. The new protocol also works with HTTPS to avoid SSL/TLS downgrades and MITM attacks. Last year, Oracle submitted a similar proposal called DEEP (Deployable Enhanced Email Privacy).

There's a earlier protocol called DANE with similar characteristics and the primary difference between the mechanism in SMTP STS and DANE is that DANE requires the use of DNSSEC to authenticate DANE TLSA records, whereas SMTP STS relies on the certificate authority (CA) system and a trust-on-first-use (TOFU) approach to avoid interception. The TOFU model allows a degree of security similar to that of HPKP [RFC7469], reducing the complexity but without the guarantees on first use offered by DNSSEC. In addition, SMTP STS introduces a mechanism for failure reporting and a report-only mode, enabling progressive roll-out and auditing for compliance.

Don't forget the smiley fact that had engineers with close ties to Google explode in profanity.Splicing fibers between datacenters that Google and Yahoo used wasn't popular.

Original Submission

martyb writes:

First Optical Detection of a Shock Breakout From a Type II-P Supernova:

For the first time, a "shock breakout" in an exploding supergiant star has been discovered at visible wavelengths.

... Supernovae like these — known as Type II — begin when the internal furnace of a star runs out of nuclear fuel, causing its core to collapse as gravity takes over. Stars 10 to 20 times the mass of our sun often expand to supergiants before ending their lives as supernovae. ...When these massive stars run out of fuel in their center, their core collapses down to a neutron star and a supersonic shock wave is sent out. When the shock wave reaches the surface of the star, a bright flash of light, called a "shock breakout," is predicted.

In 2011, two of these massive red supergiants exploded while in Kepler's view. The first, KSN 2011a, is nearly 300 times the size of our sun and a mere 700 million light years from Earth. The second, KSN 2011d, is roughly 500 times the size of our sun and some 1.2 billion light years away.

"The flash from a breakout should last about an hour, so you have to be very lucky or continuously stare at millions of stars just to catch one flash," said [lead astronomer] [Peter] Garnavich.

Understanding the physics of these explosions allows scientists to better understand how the seeds of chemical complexity and life itself have been scattered in space and time in the Milky Way galaxy.

Here is a video animation that illustrates a shock breakout. The research paper has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal and can be found at: http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.05657.

KSN 2011d is so large that it would take light nearly 20 minutes to travel from its center to its outer edge — the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars would all very easily fit within it.

Original Submission

oaklandwatch writes:

Stack Overflow just released "the most comprehensive developer survey ever conducted," reporting the responses of 56,033 developers in 173 countries for the Stack Overflow 2016 Survey.

For the first time, more developers reported reading Stack Overflow using Mac OS rather than Linux as their primary operating system. Windows is dropping in popularity, now reported by just 52% of the survey's respondents (down from 60% in 2013). JavaScript was the most popular language in each category of developers -- front-end, back-end, and full stack. And for the crucial question of "Star Wars vs. Star Trek," every cohort below the age of 50 chose Star Wars, while the older cohorts chose Star Trek.

Original Submission

stormwyrm writes:

Dominic Frisby at The Guardian has an interesting opinion piece on the dangers of a cashless society. He argues that since the poor and small businesses rely on cash, the move away from cash will only serve to entrench poverty and pave the way for terrifying levels of surveillance.

[...] Money is tech. The casting of coins made shells, whales' teeth and other such primitive forms of money redundant. The printing press did the same for precious metals: we started using paper notes instead. Electronic banking put paid to the cheque. Contactless payment is now doing the same to cash, which is becoming less and less convenient. In the marketplace convenience usually wins.

[...] We already live in a world that is, as far as the distribution of wealth is concerned, about as unequal as it gets. It may even be as unequal as it's ever been. My worry is that a cashless society may exacerbate inequality even further.

It will hand yet more power to the financial sector in that banks and related fintech companies will oversee all transactions. The crash of 2008 showed that, when push comes to shove, banks have already been exempted from the very effective regulation that is bankruptcy – one by which the rest of us must all operate. Do we want this sector to have yet more power and influence?

In a world without cash, every payment you make will be traceable. Do you want governments (which are not always benevolent), banks or payment processors to have potential access to that information? The power this would hand them is enormous and the potential scope for Orwellian levels of surveillance is terrifying.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

DraftKings and FanDuel will suspend paid contests in New York, the second biggest market for daily fantasy sports, until a hearing in their court case:

Daily fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel have agreed to suspend paid contests in New York until an appellate court hearing in September on whether the sites violate state gambling laws. The agreement, struck with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, comes as the companies are lobbying state lawmakers to pass legislation that would explicitly legalize the industry. As NPR's Joel Rose reports, New York is the second-biggest market for daily fantasy sports, after California.

Schneiderman "sued the two companies last year, arguing that they're essentially gambling operations and therefore illegal under state law," as Joel reports. "The fantasy sports companies deny that. They say they're offering games of skill, not chance."

Statements from the New York Attorney General, DraftKings, and FanDuel.

Previously:

Scandal Erupts in Unregulated Online World of Fantasy Sports
The Law Can't Keep Up With Technology...and That's a Very Good Thing
Fantasy Sports Ordered to Stop Taking Bets in New York State

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Parents often get a jump on formal instruction when it comes to language and literacy by reading to their toddlers and teaching the alphabet before their kids ever set foot in a classroom. But getting a head start on mathematics is often restricted to teaching children to count, says Lynn McGarvey, a professor of elementary education at the University of Alberta whose research looks at teaching and learning math in early childhood.

McGarvey says her research focus on instilling mathematical concepts in young learners aims to promote numeracy the way literacy has been emphasized as a foundational educational experience.

"When educators and parents create opportunities for mathematical engagement in day-to-day activities, then children will experience mathematics not just as a skill or a tool, but a way of thinking and being in the world," she says.

McGarvey says there are a few things math-minded parents and early childhood educators can think about when interacting with young learners.

I've tried lots of things to get my kids interested in math. So far, the most effective has been demonstrating the power of purposeful laziness. What are your experiences?

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Protesters gathered outside a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) meeting to protest the adoption of digital rights management (DRM) standards:

A crowd upset about the possibility of DRM in Web standards gathered to protest outside the World Wide Web Consortium's Advisory Committee meeting in Cambridge, MA last night. EFF is participating in these W3C meetings as a member, encouraging the group to adopt a non-aggression covenant to protect security researchers, standards implementors and others from the effects of including DRM-related technology in open standards.

Is this a part of the "real dialog" the W3C has called for?

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) will consider adopting a DRM non-aggression covenant at its Advisory Committee meeting in Boston next week. EFF has attended several of these meetings before as a W3C member, always with the intent to persuade the W3C that supporting DRM is a bad idea for the Web, bad for interoperability, and bad for the organization. By even considering Web standards connected with DRM, the W3C has entered an unusually controversial space. Next week's membership meeting will be accompanied by demonstrations organized in Boston by the Free Software Foundation, and other cities where the W3C has a presence.

The W3C responded last week by calling for "real dialog" on how to solve problems together. EFF will be there, once again talking through with our fellow W3C members, the legal, technical and social risks of putting DRM in the heart of the Web.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Shortly after 8 am this morning certainly 1 but possibly 2 large explosions were heard in the main departure hall of a Brussels Airport (Belgium), one of Europe's busiest airports. Fire services confirm casualties; first news is that part of the roof of the departure hall has collapsed. The explosion(s) were situated at the American Airlines check-in booth, according to first reports by Belgian news (without mentioning of source(s)).

Last week saw the arrest by Belgian police of Europe's main wanted fugitive, IS operative Salah Abdeslam.

UPDATE: More attacks in Brussels Subway system, CNBC has some info here.

Original Submission

bitstream writes:

There's a new operating system that wants to do away with the old mistakes and cruft in other operating systems. It's called Redox OS and is available on GitHub. It's aimed at creating an alternative OS that is able to run almost all Linux executables with only minimal modifications. It features a pure ecosystem using the Rust programming language which they hope will improve correctness and security over other OSes. They are not afraid to prioritize correctness over compatibility. The philosophy being that "Redox isn't afraid of dropping the bad parts of POSIX while preserving modest Linux API compatibility."

Redox levels harsh criticisms at other OSes, saying "...we will not replicate the mistakes made by others. This is probably the most important tenet of Redox. In the past, bad design choices were made by Linux, Unix, BSD, HURD, and so on. We all make mistakes, that's no secret, but there is no reason to repeat others' mistakes." Not stopping there, the Redox documentation contains blunt critiques of Plan 9, the GPL, and other mainstays.

Redox OS seems to be supported on the i386 and x86_64 platforms. The aims are microkernel design, implementation in Rust language, optional GUI — Orbital, newlib for C programs, MIT license, drivers in userspace, common Unix commands included, and plans for ZFS.

They want to do away with syscalls that stay around forever and drivers for hardware that, for a long time, simply isn't possible to buy any more. They also provide a codebase that doesn't require you to navigate around 25 million lines of code like Linux.

Perhaps the mathematically proven L4 microkernel is something to consider over the monolithic kernel approach where any single driver can wreck the system? One aspect to look out for is if they map the graphic cards into user space.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The FBI has moved to vacate a Tuesday hearing while it explores an option that may allow it to access the contents of a San Bernardino shooter's iPhone without cooperation from Apple. The FBI wants time to test the method so that it can be sure that it is viable and won't destroy the data:

The FBI says it may have found a way to crack into the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone without Apple's help. While it explores this option, the government has filed a motion to vacate a hearing set for Tuesday that would be the next step toward settling the battle between Apple and the FBI. The FBI says that on Sunday, an "outside party" demonstrated to the FBI a "possible method for unlocking" Syed Rizwan Farook's iPhone.

Who is the "outside party"? Is there any such agency that could help?

At Apple's latest launch event, CEO Time Cook reiterated his commitment to privacy and security:

Like the iPhone 5C, the new iPhone SE includes Apple's encryption technology, which jumbles up information stored in the phone so that it can only be viewed with a passcode. The phone's powered by Apple's iOS 9 software, which includes a feature that automatically wipes out data stored on the phone if someone incorrectly enters the wrong passcode 10 times.

This software, which Apple said is running on more than 80 percent of all the active iPhones and iPads in the world, is at the heart of Cook's battle with the government. And since this new phone uses some of Apple's latest and most powerful processors, customers will be able to upgrade and run new versions of iOS for the next several years. That means any new security precautions Apple puts in place can be added to this model.

"Many, many customers have asked for this, and I think they're going to love it," Cook, said during a media event announcing the device at Apple's Cupertino, California, headquarters. He kicked off the event to applause by saying Apple never planned to face off with the government over its security, but that it isn't going to back down. "This is an issue that impacts all of us, and we will not shrink from this responsibility."

Original Submission

bradley13 writes:

Last week, several major eCommerce sites in Switzerland were targetted by DDoS attacks (German). As far as I have been able to discover, no one knows who was behind the attacks[*]. One might have thought the attackers would identify themselves and demand ransom to stop the attacks, but apparently not. Anyhow, I should hope that no company would be stupid enough to pay, since that would just put them on the list of "suckers" to be targetted again.

This past weekend, it was Swedish government sites, among others.

Today, I have come across two sites that I cannot reach: dilbert.com and an EU governmental site about a minor software project. Dilbert is definitely the target of a DDoS attack; I cannot confirm this for the .eu site, but it seems likely.

Here are a few random thoughts from a non-expert:

- Why would anyone bother with attacks, without claiming credit or demanding ransom? The same reason kids throw rocks through windows? Showing off capability for potential paying customers? Something else?

- If the second (demonstrating capability), isn't this stupid? They've provided ample motivation to disable these attacks, or at least seriously filter them, thus reducing their impact in the future attacks.

- The current DDoS attacks are apparently NTP-reflection attacks (send spoofed queries to vulnerable NTP servers, which then reply to the victim), and similar DNS-based attacks. Is it possible to eliminate these attack vectors, just as Poodle and Heartbleed have been largely eliminated? I.e., issue patches, offer free tests, even blacklist noncompliant servers? Or are the affected protocols so broken that this is not possible?

The whole situation is strange - it seems like there are a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle. I'd be interested in hearing opinions from other Soylentils - what do you think?

[* My German is rusty, but the first-linked story references the "Armada Collective". -Ed.]

Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Phoronix reports

The inaugural release of ubuntuBSD is now available, which the developers have codenamed "Escape From SystemD". [It] pairs the Ubuntu userspace with the FreeBSD kernel.

... This first ubuntuBSD beta release is based off Ubuntu 15.10 Wily Werewolf and the FreeBSD 10.1 kernel.

This Ubuntu+FreeBSD operating system ships with the Xfce desktop, is designed for both servers and desktops, and offers complete ZFS file-system support.

The project's SourceForge page
N.B. The ubuntuBSD Web Site link is currently a circular trip back to SourceForge.

[Additional coverage at softpedia. For the impatient/adventuresome here is a direct link to download the latest ISO (893.8 MB ubuntuBSD 15.10~BETA2-amd64.iso). -Ed.]

Original Submission

GungnirSniper writes:

Intel's longtime President and CEO Andy Grove has died. He was 79, and was Intel's first hire. Born in pre-war Hungary, he survived both the Nazi occupation and Communist rule to immigrate to America at the age of 20.

Present at Intel's 1968 founding with Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, Andy Grove became Intel's President in 1979 and CEO in 1987. He served as Chairman of the Board from 1997 to 2005. Both during his time at Intel and in retirement, Grove was one of the most influential figures in technology and business, writing best-selling books and widely cited articles, and speaking out on an array of prominent public issues.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Intel Chairman and CEO Andy Grove," said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. "Andy made the impossible happen, time and again, and inspired generations of technologists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders."

Grove played a critical role in the decision to move Intel's focus from memory chips to microprocessors and led the firm's transformation into a widely recognized consumer brand. Under his leadership Intel produced the chips, including the 386 and Pentium, which helped usher in the PC era. The company also increased annual revenues from $1.9 billion to more than $26 billion.

Wikipedia and Wikiquote have more background:

Technology will always win. You can delay technology by legal interference, but technology will flow around legal barriers.

Original Submission