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takyon writes:

A team of engineers has created plasma engines that work at ground level, with the hope of eventually enabling plasma propulsion for airplanes:

Plasma engines have been stuck in the lab for the past decade or so. And research on them has largely been limited to the idea of propelling satellites once in space.

[...] Plasma jet engines tend to be designed to work in a vacuum or the low pressures found high in the atmosphere, where they would need to carry a gas supply. But now Göksel's team has tested one that can operate on air at a pressure of one atmosphere (Journal of Physics Conference Series, doi.org/b66g). "We are the first to produce fast and powerful plasma jets at ground level," says Göksel. "These jets of plasma can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometres a second."

[...] But there are several hurdles to overcome before the technology can propel an actual plane. For a start, the team tested mini thrusters 80 millimetres long, and a commercial airliner would need some 10,000 of them to fly, which makes the current design too complex for aircraft of that size. Göksel's team plans to target smaller planes and airships for now. Between 100 and 1000 thrusters would be enough for a small plane, which the team thinks is feasible.

[...] Göksel is hoping for a breakthrough in compact fusion reactors to power his system. Other possible options could be solar panels or beaming power wirelessly to the engines, he says.

Similar concepts: VASIMR and SABRE.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Very recently, Amazon made a small, barely noticeable tweak to the way it sells books. And that little tweak has publishers very, very worried.

The change has to do with what Amazon calls the "Buy Box." That's the little box on the right-hand side of Amazon product pages that lets you buy stuff through the company's massive retail enterprise.

[...] It used to be that when you were shopping for a new copy of a book and clicked "Add to Cart," you were buying the book from Amazon itself. Amazon, in turn, had bought the book from its publisher or its publisher's wholesalers, just like if you went to any other bookstore selling new copies of books. There was a clear supply chain that sent your money directly into the pockets of the people who wrote and published the book you were buying.

But now, reports The Huffington Post, that's no longer the default scenario. Now you might be buying the book from Amazon, or you might be buying it from a third-party seller. And there's no guarantee that if the latter is true, said third-party seller bought the book from the publisher. In fact, it's most likely they didn't.

Which means the publisher might not be getting paid. And, by extension, neither is the author.

Understandably, both publishers and authors are deeply unhappy about this change.

-- submitted from IRC

Original Submission

Fnord666 writes:

After learning that one of its most prized hacking tools was stolen by a mysterious group calling itself the Shadow Brokers, National Security Agency officials warned Microsoft of the critical Windows vulnerability the tool exploited, according to a report published Tuesday by The Washington Post. The private disclosure led to a patch that was issued in March.

Those same NSA officials, according to Tuesday's report, failed to communicate the severity of the vulnerability to the outside world. A month after Microsoft released the patch, the Shadow Brokers published the attack code, code-named EternalBlue, that exploited the critical Windows vulnerability. A month after that, attackers used a modified version of EternalBlue to infect computers around the world with malware that blocked access to data. Within hours of the outbreak of the ransomware worm dubbed WCry, infected hospitals turned away patients; banks, telecommunications companies, and government agencies shut down computers.

"NSA identified a risk and communicated it to Microsoft, who put out an immediate patch," Mike McNerney, a former Pentagon cybersecurity official and a fellow at the Truman National Security Project, told The Washington Post. The problem, he said, is that no senior official took the step of shouting to the world: "This one is very serious, and we need to protect ourselves."

Source: ArsTechnica

Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ alerted us to an event occurring this weekend:

Reuters reports:

About 37,000 AT&T Inc (T.N) workers, or less than 14 percent of the company's total workforce, began a three-day strike on Friday after failing to reach an agreement with the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier over new contracts.

This is the first time that AT&T wireless workers are on strike, which could result in closed retail stores during the weekend, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union. The workers on strike are members of the CWA.

The workers are demanding wage increases that cover rising healthcare costs, job security against outsourcing, affordable healthcare and a fair scheduling policy.

Other coverage at UCOMM Communications Blog and The New York Times

Previously on SoylentNews: Largest Labor Action in 5 Years Slated for Wednesday, April 13 Against Verizon

[Ed. Note: This story was rewritten with a different source because the original story substantially altered the quoted material and contained a longer off-topic text than the section quoted. As always, the original submission is available at the link below.]

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

When soldiers go into the field, they carry with them tiny miracles of engineering. And we're not just talking about weaponry: some very technical and forward-thinking research has gone into military meals. They must be light and easy to carry, capable of staying edible even after weeks in the hot sun, supply the surprisingly high number of calories that soldiers in the field need (more than 4,000 a day), and, of course, not cost the taxpayer an inordinate amount. That has led to some clever tricks of science that have even made their way into the goods you may find on your shopping list.

One of the most interesting items in army rations, from an innovation perspective, is the bread, says writer Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, author of the book Combat-Ready Kitchen. Freshly baked bread begins going stale the moment it comes out of the oven, as strands of a starch called amylose spread all throughout its structure and start to harden. Amylose can be snipped up by enzymes called amylases, but these are denatured by heat as the bread cooks – hence the generally unappealing, razor-to-the-gums qualities of a baguette after a few days.

In the mid-20th Century, however, food scientists at Kansas State College with connections to the US military discovered that adding amylases that stand up to heat changed the equation. These enzymes, which come from heat-tolerant bacteria, kept right on snipping after baking, keeping bread almost eerily soft and flexible and giving it a long shelf-life.

-- submitted from IRC

Original Submission

"exec" writes:

So if you've ever picked out paint, you know that every infinitesimally different shade of blue, beige, and gray has its own descriptive, attractive name. Tuscan sunrise, blushing pear, Tradewind, etc... There are in fact people who invent these names for a living. But given that the human eye can see millions of distinct colors, sooner or later we're going to run out of good names. Can AI help?

For this experiment, I gave the neural network a list of about 7,700 Sherwin-Williams paint colors along with their RGB values. (RGB = red, green, and blue color values) Could the neural network learn to invent new paint colors and give them attractive names?

The answer, not surprisingly, is no. But some of them are hilarious. My own personal favorites are Gray Pubic (close to aqua blue), Clardic Fug (brownish green), and Stanky Bean (inexplicably a rather nice dusty rose).

http://lewisandquark.tumblr.com/post/160776374467/new-paint-colors-invented-by-neural-network

-- submitted from IRC

Original Submission

Fnord666 writes:

Researchers have detected a new worm that is spreading via SMB, but unlike the worm component of the WannaCry ransomware, this one is using seven NSA tools instead of two.

The worm's existence first came to light on Wednesday, after it infected the SMB honeypot of Miroslav Stampar, member of the Croatian Government CERT, and creator of the sqlmap tool used for detecting and exploiting SQL injection flaws.

The worm, which Stampar named EternalRocks based on worm executable properties found in one sample, works by using six SMB-centric NSA tools to infect a computer with SMB ports exposed online. These are ETERNALBLUE, ETERNALCHAMPION, ETERNALROMANCE, and ETERNALSYNERGY, which are SMB exploits used to compromise vulnerable computers, while SMBTOUCH and ARCHITOUCH are two NSA tools used for SMB reconnaissance operations.

Once the worm has obtained this initial foothold, it then uses another NSA tool, DOUBLEPULSAR, to propagate to new vulnerable machines.

Source: BleepingComputer

Original Submission

Fnord666 writes:

Uber drivers have been complaining that the gap between the fare a rider pays and what the driver receives is getting wider. After months of unsatisfying answers, Uber Technologies Inc. is providing an explanation: It's charging some passengers more because it needs the extra cash.

The company detailed for the first time in an interview with Bloomberg a new pricing system that's been in testing for months in certain cities. On Friday, Uber acknowledged to drivers the discrepancy between their compensation and what riders pay. The new fare system is called "route-based pricing," and it charges customers based on what it predicts they're willing to pay. It's a break from the past, when Uber calculated fares using a combination of mileage, time and multipliers based on geographic demand.

Daniel Graf, Uber's head of product, said the company applies machine-learning techniques to estimate how much groups of customers are willing to shell out for a ride. Uber calculates riders' propensity for paying a higher price for a particular route at a certain time of day. For instance, someone traveling from a wealthy neighborhood to another tony spot might be asked to pay more than another person heading to a poorer part of town, even if demand, traffic and distance are the same.

Source: Bloomberg

Original Submission

takyon writes:

https://www.hpcwire.com/2017/05/18/ibm-d-wave-report-quantum-computing-advances/

IBM said this week it has built and tested a pair of quantum computing processors, including a prototype of a commercial version. That progress follows an announcement earlier this week that commercial quantum computer developer D-Wave Systems has garnered venture funding that could total up to $50 million to build it next-generation machine with up to 2,000 qubits.

[...] Meanwhile, IBM researchers continue to push the boundaries of quantum computing as part of its IBM Q initiative launched in March to promote development of a "universal" quantum computer. Access to a 16-qubit processor via the IBM cloud would allow developers and researchers to run quantum algorithms. The new version replaces an earlier 5-qubit processor.

The company also rolled on Wednesday (May 17) the first prototype of a 17-qubit commercial processor, making it IBM's most powerful quantum device. The prototype will serve as the foundation of IBM Q's commercial access program. The goal is to eventually scale future prototypes to 50 or more qubits.

The article also notes Hewlett Packard Enterprise's prototype of "The Machine", with 160 terabytes of RAM.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The IKEA effect is a cognitive bias that can influence the outcome and perceived value of products to a big degree. People tend to place high value on products they partially have created. Hence, the name IKEA effect. It is derived from the Swedish furniture retailer famous for products that require to be assembled by the customers.

Products designed by IKEA and LEGO are great examples of this psychological effect. Designers must have the IKEA effect in mind when designing solutions and use it when appropriate.

The more the needs for customization and co-production are present in your target audience the more the IKEA effect is relevant for you as a designer. The effect can help you instill feelings of competence in the user when the task is completed successfully.

The IKEA effect will create stronger bond between the user and the product. The effort that users will put into completing the product to a complete state will transform into love for that product. The subjective value will be higher in comparison to a product that hasn't cost any effort.

It is important to point out that the IKEA effect is not about putting the effort be it small or big, it is more about the completion of the task. The IKEA effect is present when the user can enjoy the completed task and the product. If the product is disassembled soon after the assembling the effect is lost.

[...] People are willing to pay more for products they create than equivalent pre-assembled products. The general rule is the higher the contribution the higher the valuation is. Yet, if the effort required is too big or the contribution too small, people won't probably complete the task. The IKEA effect is possible only when the user actually completes the task.

-- submitted from IRC

Original Submission

Fnord666 writes:

The Boston Globe website is closing off a hole in its paywall by preventing visitors who aren't logged in from reading articles in a browser's private mode.

"You're using a browser set to private or incognito mode" is the message given to BostonGlobe.com visitors who click on articles in private mode. "To continue reading articles in this mode, please log in to your Globe account." People who aren't already Globe subscribers are urged to subscribe.

Like other news sites, the Globe limits the number of articles people can read without a subscription. Until the recent change, Globe website visitors could read more articles for free by switching to private or incognito mode.

Source: ArsTechnica

Original Submission

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

WikiLeaks has published a new batch of the ongoing Vault 7 leak, detailing a spyware framework – which "provides remote beacon and loader capabilities on target computers" – allegedly being used by the CIA that works against every version of Microsoft's Windows operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10.

Dubbed Athena/Hera, the spyware has been designed to take full control over the infected Windows PCs remotely, allowing the agency to perform all sorts of things on the target machine, including deleting data or uploading malicious software, and stealing data and send them to CIA server.

[...] According to the whistleblower organization, Athena has the ability to allow the CIA agents to modify its configuration in real time, while the implant is on target "to customize it to an operation."

"Once installed, the malware provides a beaconing capability (including configuration and task handling), the memory loading/unloading of malicious payloads for specific tasks and the delivery and retrieval of files to/from a specified directory on the target system," WikiLeaks claims.

The leaked documents suggest that Athena, written in Python programming language, was developed in August 2015, just a month after Microsoft released its Windows 10 operating system.

Interestingly, one document also suggests that the CIA agents have been advised to make sure that the spyware should not get caught by antivirus software programs, especially Kaspersky AV software.

Source: http://thehackernews.com/2017/05/athena-cia-windows-hacking.html

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Tabby's Star, speculated to be surrounded by a cloud of debris or alien megastructures, has dimmed yet again, causing multiple observatories to take notice:

Among the telescopes [Jason] Wright said researchers now hope to use to catch this dimming event in the act:

—The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope
—The Automated Planet Finder at Lick Observatory near San Jose, Calif., a robotic optical telescope
—Both telescopes at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, which operate in optical and near-infrared wavelengths
—The MMT Observatory in Arizona, an optical telescope
—NASA's Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission, which operates in gamma ray, x-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavelengths
—Las Cumbres Observatory, a worldwide network of robotic optical telescopes
—Fairborn Observatory in Arizona, which operates in optical wavelengths
—The Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, which operates in optical and near-infrared wavelengths
—The Hobby–Eberly Telescope in Texas, an optical telescope

Also at The Verge.

One astronomer has proposed looking at the nearest 43 to 85 pulsars for megastructures (arXiv):

Osmanov estimates that the habitable zone around a relatively slowly-rotating pulsar (with a period of about half a second) would be on the order of 0.1 AU. According to his calculations, a ring-like megastructure that orbited a pulsar at this distance would emit temperatures on the order of 390 K (116.85 °C; 242.33 °F), which means that the megastructure would be visible in the IR band.

Previously: Mysterious Star May Be Orbited by Alien Megastructures
I'm STILL Not Sayin' Aliens. but This Star is Really Weird.
"Breakthrough Listen" to Search for Alien Radio Transmissions Near Tabby's Star
Non-Alien Explanation for Tabby's Star Dimming: It Ate a Planet

Original Submission

[Ed Note 2: Damn devs have made a liar out of me... moved it back to the original schedule noted below. - cmn32480]

[TMB Note: Site update complete. Bumped so folks will notice.]

martyb writes:

It has been a few months since we last updated SoylentNews, and we've not been content to rest on our laurels. Our next site update is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, 2017-05-21, depending on staff availability. We'll update this story when we know for sure when it will take place.

Since this post was started, other things have come to light, so there's a bit of everything in here. Read on for the full scoop:

Web Site Changes

In this latest update (scheduled around 00:00 UTC on 5.21.2017, but we are flexible), we have made the following improvements:

1. Supported subscription payments made with Bitcoin [again].
2. Fixed a bug which blocked non-whole-dollar bitcoin subscriptions.
3. Provided immediate feedback of theme changes.
4. Added button that, when clicked, marks all comments in a story as "unread".
5. Added support for "<s>" and "<strike>" tags.
6. Fixed bug where a plus sign "+" in a user's nickname made their user page inaccessible from site links.
7. Removed unused Javascript code.
8. Made minor, non-user-facing changes (code cleanup, etc.)

Backend Changes

As always, we appreciate constructive feedback. Reply with a comment to this story, join us in #dev on IRC (Internet Relay Chat), or submit a bug on GitHub.

Separately, the team has made great strides in moving to running on Gentoo. We are taking this step very methodically, making sure we have a solid foundation in place on one server before we even think of rolling it out to the rest of our systems. Yes, that means we will be free from systemd. Kudos to NCommander, Mechanicjay, Audioguy, TheMightyBuzzard, Paulej72, and Deucalion.

SoylentNews' Folding@Home Team Update

It's amazing how spare compute cycles add up! SoylentNews has a Folding@Home team which is helping researchers find a cure for diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's — among many others. Our team was launched on Feb. 12, 2016. In just over 15 months, we have amassed well over 300 million points which places us at Team 304 out of 226564! Barring any surprises, and continuing at our current rate, we are on track to break past 300 and into the 2xx's on or about May 28th, 2017.

We are always open to receiving new team members. Contact Sir Finkus for more information, either via email at this site, or via the #Soylent or #folding channels on our IRC -- Internet Relay Chat server.

Accounts Milestone

New account creation has been relatively consistent and steady over the past year averaging out to a new account pretty much every day. It is a pleasure to inform the community that, on May 18th, account number 6600 was registered on the site.

Funding Shortfall

Lastly, it is my sad duty to inform the community that our cash intake has been seriously deficient so far this year. Our budget for the six-month period of Jan 1, 2017 through June 30, 2017 is $3,000 and we are currently at approximately half that, with less than 6 weeks to go.

We have in excess of 100 users who have been active on the site within the last 30 days whose subscription has lapsed. It is easy enough to do — I have failed to notice my own subscription's end on more than one occasion!

Plain and simple, the site needs to pay its bills. Please look at your subscription page and consider making a contribution. The dollar amounts shown in the text-entry fields are the minimum amount required for that subscription duration. We've had a few users anonymously contribute significantly more than that in the past.

Some have chosen to give a gift subscription to NCommander (UID: 2) as a sign of support. However you choose to make a contribution, please do so now.

Thank-you
-- martyb

butthurt writes:

Source: Reuters

Additional coverage:

• Al-Arabiya
• Washington Examiner
• Yahoo News UK

Related stories:
U.S. President to Visit Saudi Arabia; Arms Sales Expected
SoftBank May Sell 25% of ARM to Vision Fund; Chairman Meets With Saudi King
General Electric Attempts to Purchase Two Metal 3d-Printing Firms for $1.4 Billion
Light Bulb Efficiency Loophole Exploited in the EU
The FAA Warned Boeing About the Flaw That Caused a 777 Engine to Explode in Las Vegas
General Electric 3D-Prints a Working Jet Engine
Collaborative Smart Refrigerator "ChillHub" to Debut at 2nd Annual IoT Conference

Original Submission

Geezer writes:

A rather limited study by neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart of brain patterns in 40 volunteer journalist subjects seems to show a prevalence of lack of emotional self-control, as well as lower than average problem-solving skills, among other deficiencies. High blood levels of cortisol were significant.

The headline conclusion reached is that journalists are undoubtedly subject to a range of pressures at work and home, but the meaning and purpose they attribute to their work contributes to helping them remain mentally resilient despite this. Nevertheless, there are areas for improvement, including drinking more water and reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption to increase executive functioning and improve recovery during sleep.

[...] As a group, the journalists also exhibited lower executive functioning scores than the average person, indicating a lower than average ability to regulate emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and think flexibly and creatively. It is likely that the levels of caffeine/alcohol and the lack of water consumed contributed to the low scores recorded for executive functioning because of the severe impact of dehydration on cognitive ability.

Read the study here: TaraSwart.com [PDF]

[ n1: This is not a peer reviewed study. It was launched in association with the London Press Club, and the objective was to determine how journalists can thrive under stress. Tara Swart is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan, she holds a BsC in Biomedical Science and PhD in Neuropharmacology from Kings College London, and a BM BcH in Medicine from Oxford University. ]

Original Submission