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takyon writes:

Mars is extremely dry and cold, but may still experience snowfall under certain conditions:

Mars is dry compared to Earth: Its cold nature makes it unlikely that any of the ice on the Red Planet's surface would melt, and its extremely thin atmosphere would cause any liquid water on the surface to vaporize nearly immediately. Still, Mars' atmosphere does possess clouds of frozen water.

Previous research suggested that if snow did fall from those clouds, it would waft down very slowly. "We thought that snow on Mars fell very gently, taking hours or days to fall 1 or 2 kilometers [0.6 to 1.2 miles]," said study lead author Aymeric Spiga, a planetary scientist at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris.

Now, Spiga and his colleagues have found that snow can rapidly descend on Mars in storms. "Snow could take something like just 5 or 10 minutes to fall 1 to 2 km [0.6 to 1.2 miles]," Spiga told Space.com.

The researchers were analyzing data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft when they noticed a strong mixing of heat in the Martian atmosphere at night "about 5 km [3 miles] from the surface," Spiga said. "This was never seen before."

Also at The Conversation and New Scientist.

Snow precipitation on Mars driven by cloud-induced night-time convection (DOI: 10.1038/ngeo3008) (DX)

Previously: NASA Observations Point to 'Dry Ice' Snowfall on Mars

Original Submission

tonyPick writes:

Spotted at Bruce Schneier's blog is a link to a story on CNBC about an insider attack on the Multi-State Lottery Association by computer programmer Eddie Tipton.

After hitting the first ill-gotten jackpot in Colorado in 2005, Tipton began building himself a 4,800-square-foot (446-sq. meter) house with a movie theater and gym on 22 acres (9 hectares) with a pond outside of Des Moines. Over the course of the next six years, Tipton would go on to fix six more lottery games across five states, netting more than $2 million. Yet his employer trusted him so much that he was promoted in 2013 to head information security, placing him in charge of protecting the very lottery computer systems he had been cheating.

[...] Tipton admitted as part of his plea that in 2005 he added two extra routines to the computer coded[sic] that generated the random numbers, allowing him to predict numbers on specific drawing days.

[...] The Multi-State Lottery Association provides computers for lotteries in 33 states the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The computers are designed to randomly draw numbers in several games, including Powerball, Mega Millions and Hot Lotto. Players have sued the association alleging they were defrauded by Tipton's scheme.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Verizon is making some changes to its unlimited data plan:

Well, now we know why Verizon Wireless was "testing" reduced Netflix streaming speeds last month. Today the biggest US carrier announced that its existing unlimited data plan is being divided into three new options: Go Unlimited (starting at $75 for a single line), Beyond Unlimited ($85 for first line), and Business Unlimited. Unlike the relatively straightforward unlimited plan that Verizon surprised customers with in February, these new monthly plans are chock-full of fine print and caveats. And in a move sure to anger net neutrality advocates, the regular "Go Unlimited" plan throttles all smartphone video streaming to 480p / DVD-quality. The new plans go into effect beginning tomorrow, August 23rd, so this change is happening fast. Existing postpaid customers can keep their current plan, but some things will change even for them.

Also at Engadget, BGR, and Tom's Guide.

Previously: T-Mobile and Verizon Mobile Plans Change; Probably Not Better for Consumers

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Google is launching a Chrome Enterprise service for businesses that use ChromeOS devices:

Chromebooks are headed to work this fall, thanks to a new program that Google introduced today. The new Chrome Enterprise bundle provides enterprises with a set of services that help bring Chromebooks on par with Microsoft Windows PCs.

Chrome Enterprise will give IT administrators a cloud-based management portal for handling a fleet of Chromebooks, support for virtualized desktop applications, theft prevention, and a host of other features. One of the most important features in the bundle for many enterprises will be support for authentication through Microsoft Active Directory, even when the directory server is held in an on-premises environment.

The service will cost businesses $50 per managed Chromebook per year. Google didn't say whether it will offer large enterprises discounts on massive volume orders.

Google is rumored to be launching a new Chromebook Pixel this fall.

Also at TechCrunch and Android Headlines.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2017-08-21-scientists-create-diamond-rain-forms-interior-icy-giant-planets.aspx

In an experiment designed to mimic the conditions deep inside the icy giant planets of our solar system, scientists were able to observe "diamond rain" for the first time as it formed in high-pressure conditions. Extremely high pressure squeezes hydrogen and carbon found in the interior of these planets to form solid diamonds that sink slowly down further into the interior.

The glittering precipitation has long been hypothesized to arise more than 5,000 miles below the surface of Uranus and Neptune, created from commonly found mixtures of just hydrogen and carbon. The interiors of these planets are similar—both contain solid cores surrounded by a dense slush of different ices. With the icy planets in our solar system, "ice" refers to hydrogen molecules connected to lighter elements, such as carbon, oxygen and/or nitrogen.

Researchers simulated the environment found inside these planets by creating shock waves in plastic with an intense optical laser at the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's X-ray free-electron laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). SLAC is one of 10 Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science laboratories.

Formation of diamonds in laser-compressed hydrocarbons at planetary interior conditions (DOI: 10.1038/s41550-017-0219-9) (DX)

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

Elizabeth Kolbert at The New Yorker writes about the implications that technology monopolies have for culture by asking "Who owns the Internet?". Three decades ago, few used the Internet for much of anything and the web wasn't even around. Today, nearly everybody uses the web, and to a lesser extent, other parts of the Internet for just about everything. However, despite massive growth, the Web has narrowed very much: "Google now controls nearly ninety per cent of search advertising, Facebook almost eighty per cent of mobile social traffic, and Amazon about seventy-five per cent of e-book sales."

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Engineers have made wireless antennas much smaller, which could enable applications such as brain implants:

Antennas receive information by resonating with EM waves, which they convert into electrical voltage. For such resonance to occur, a traditional antenna's length must roughly match the wavelength of the EM wave it receives, meaning that the antenna must be relatively big. However, like a guitar string, an antenna can also resonate with acoustic waves. The new antennas take advantage of this fact. They will pick up EM waves of a given frequency if its size matches the wavelength of the much shorter acoustic waves of the same frequency. That means that that for any given signal frequency, the antennas can be much smaller.

The trick is, of course, to quickly turn the incoming EM waves into acoustic waves. To do that, the two-part antenna employs a thin sheet of a so-called piezomagnetic material, which expands and contracts when exposed to a magnetic field. If it's the right size and shape, the sheet efficiently converts the incoming EM wave to acoustic vibrations. That piezomagnetic material is then attached to a piezoelectric material, which converts the vibrations to an oscillating electrical voltage. When the antenna sends out a signal, information travels in the reverse direction, from electrical voltage to vibrations to EM waves. The biggest challenge, Sun says, was finding the right piezomagnetic material—he settled on a combination of iron, gallium, and boron—and then producing it at high quality.

The team created two kinds of acoustic antennas. One has a circular membrane, which works for frequencies in the gigahertz range, including those for WiFi. The other has a rectangular membrane, suitable for megahertz frequencies used for TV and radio. Each is less than a millimeter across, and both can be manufactured together on a single chip. When researchers tested one of the antennas in a specially insulated room, they found that compared to a conventional ring antenna of the same size, it sent and received 2.5 gigahertz signals about 100,000 times more efficiently [open, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00343-8] [DX], they report today in Nature Communications.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

DJI Spark drones will not fly after September 1 until users have applied a mandatory software update:

DJI Spark drones will not fly after 1 September unless owners apply a mandatory software update, the device's maker has warned. DJI said the update to the small drone's core software fixes some flight control issues suffered by the gadget.

The drone maker said it had warned owners about the deadline so they could avoid having their craft grounded. But the mandatory update has caused some owners to question the control DJI retains over their devices.

In a statement, DJI said the update would improve how the Spark manages power. It also helps it work with smart spectacles that give owners an immersive view of what the drone films. It added: "If the firmware of either the aircraft or the battery is not updated by September 1, Spark will not be able to take off."

Also at The Verge and Quartz.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

An unspecified number of sailors have been found dead in sealed compartments aboard the USS John S. McCain. 10 were reported missing after the McCain collided with a merchant vessel near Singapore. The Malaysian navy also reported finding remains:

Swift said the Malaysian navy, which is conducting a search in the area where the collision took place, has also reported finding remains, but it was not yet clear if they were from the McCain. "We have a report from the Malaysians ... that they have found a body, we are in the process of effecting the transfer of the body," Swift told reporters.

"We are always hopeful that there are survivors. Until we have exhausted any potential of recovering survivors or bodies, the search will continue," he said.

In a statement posted earlier on its website, the Pacific Command said divers equipped with "surface supplied air rigs ... will access sealed compartments located in damaged parts of the ship. Additionally, they will conduct damage assessments of the hull and flooded areas."

Update: U.S. Navy to relieve Seventh Fleet commander after collisions in Asia

Previously: 10 Sailors Still Missing After U.S. Destroyer Collision With Oil Tanker

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Scientists have added cadmium to bacteria, causing them to accumulate cadmium sulphide crystals on their surfaces:

Scientists have created bacteria covered in tiny semiconductors that generate a potential fuel source from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. The so-called "cyborg" bugs produce acetic acid, a chemical that can then be turned into fuel and plastic. In lab experiments, the bacteria proved much more efficient at harvesting sunlight than plants. The work was presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington.

[...] These newly boosted bacteria produce acetic acid, essentially vinegar, from CO2, water and light. They have an efficiency of around 80%, which is four times the level of commercial solar panels, and more than six times the level of chlorophyll.

Also at IEEE.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Microsoft has announced a new title in the Age of Empires series, as well as "Definitive" editions for some of the existing games:

A new of Age of Empires is in the works. Microsoft introduced a teaser trailer for the game, and announced that Relic Entertainment was tasked with developing the next installment in the real-time strategy series.

The short announcement trailer didn't reveal any gameplay, with the studio opting instead to show artwork, but it did provide us with some information. Whereas previous games in the series focused on a small portion in history, Age of Empires IV seems to encompass multiple time periods. We saw the pinnacle of the Roman Empire, Native Americans charging toward battle, the banners of multiple Japanese clans during the Warring States period, and British redcoats ready to fire at a target.

[...] Microsoft also announced that its previously revealed Age of Empires: Definitive Edition has a release date of October 19, and it didn't stop there. The company also said that it will give the "Definitive Edition" treatment to Age of Empires II and III, and more news on those titles is coming in the future.

Age of Empires II (the best one) needs a "Definitive Edition" to fix more bugs.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Accident? Or not?

When the UC3 Nautilus sailed from the Port of Copenhagen on the evening of Aug. 10, the homemade submarine bore just two people: its famed Danish inventor and the Swedish journalist reporting on his invention.

Less than a day later, only one of them was still alive.

Peter Madsen's submarine sank midday Aug. 11; he was rescued by a private boat, but journalist Kim Wall was nowhere to be found. It was Wall's boyfriend who reported her missing, and authorities wasted no time in arresting the 46-year-old Madsen after he came ashore, charging him that same day with manslaughter and arranging his first court appearance for the following day, a Saturday.

Initially he told authorities he had dropped off his 30-year-old companion back in Copenhagen. Now, according to a statement released Monday by Copenhagen police at the behest of the defense and the prosecutor's office, Madsen has recanted that story.

"The defendant has explained to the police and the Court, that there was an accident on board which caused Kim Wall's death," police say in the statement, "and that he consequently buried her at sea at a non-defined location in the Bay of Køge."

[...] Compounding the speculation is Madsen's outsize reputation. Something of a "wannabe Elon Musk or Richard Branson on a much smaller scale," according to Overgaard, the man often known as "Rocket Madsen" has built three submarines with the aid of crowdfunding and aspires to send a homemade rocket to space.

More about Peter Madsen. Related Kickstarter.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Microsoft has detailed the system-on-a-chip powering its refresh of the Xbox One (the company's answer to the PS4 Pro, which was released in November 2016):

Today at the Hot Chips conference, the company released schematics and details about the internal workings of the SoC that is set to power the upcoming 4K-ready gaming console. We already knew much of what the company discussed at the Hot Chips presentation, including the core count; clock speed; and bandwidth specifications of the CPU, GPU, and memory used in the system, but now we know how the components interact with each other.

[...] The Scorpio Engine is a monster of an SoC developed by AMD, featuring a 359mm² die with seven billion transistors built on TSMC's 16nm FinFETT+ technology. The GPU compute units (the yellow section of the layout) consume most of the large die's surface area. The Scorpio Engine's GPU components include four shader arrays that each offer 11 compute units. Microsoft said that one compute unit per shader array is left inactive to compensate for yield problems that may occur.

The right side of the SoC die features the two four-core 2.3GHz CPU clusters (represented in dark green on the diagram). A pair of cache controllers flanks each CPU cluster. Twelve GDDR5 memory controllers line the top, bottom, and right edges of the SoC. The retail Xbox One X features 12GB of memory. Developer kits offer 2GB per channel for a total of 24GB system memory.

[...] When Microsoft announced Project Scorpio, the company boasted that the new console would be the first to deliver 6Tflops of 32-bit floating point performance. During the Hot Chips presentation, the company said that it managed to squeeze out "just a hair more than 6Tflops." Each of the 40 compute units can perform 128 floating point operations second. Multiplied by the 1,172MHz core clock, that's a total of 6,000,640 Flops. [sic - see comment below -- Ed.(FP)]

[...] The new console features an eight-core Jaguar-derived CPU like the one found in the Xbox One S console, but it operates 31% faster than the previous version. Microsoft said that most of the CPU performance optimizations revolve around memory latency improvements of the main memory controllers (up to 20%). The company attributes the improvement to tripling the available memory channels and increasing the number of main memory banks by a multiple of six. It also credits the rearrangement and enlargement of the TLB cache, and the introduction of a redesigned and larger Page Descriptor Cache, which "caches information about nesting page translations" and improves performance by "up to 4.3%."

The image in question from the article.

Previously: PlayStation Neo and Xbox "Project Scorpio" to Bring 4K Resolution and VR to Console Gaming
The Race for 4K: How Project Scorpio Targets Ultra HD Gaming
More Details About the "Project Scorpio" Xbox One Successor
Xbox One X, Formerly Project Scorpio, to be Released November 7th for $499

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages to a woman who claimed to have developed ovarian cancer as a result of using J&J powder products. Baby/talcum powder contains talc, a clay mineral:

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $417m (£323.4m) to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after using products such as baby powder. The California jury's decision marks the largest award yet in a string of lawsuits that claim the firm did not adequately warn about cancer risks from talc-based products.

A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson defended the products' safety. The firm plans to appeal, as it has in previous cases. "We will appeal today's verdict because we are guided by the science," Carol Goodrich, spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc, said in a statement.

The evidence around any link between talc use and cancer is inconclusive. Johnson & Johnson, headquartered in New Jersey, faces thousands of claims from women who say they developed cancer due to using the firm's products to address concerns about vaginal odour and moisture. Johnson & Johnson has lost four of five previous cases tried before juries in Missouri, which have led to more than $300m in penalties.

Also at NYT and CNN.

Previously: The Baby Powder Trials: How Courts Deal with Inconclusive Science

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Android 8.0 Oreo system images have been released:

Android 8.0 Oreo is shipping out across all the usual distribution methods. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is getting the 8.0 code drop. OTAs will begin to roll out "soon" to the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, and Pixel C, and system images should be up on developers.google.com soon. Any device enrolled in the Android Beta Program will also be upgraded to these final builds.

Thanks to several developer preview releases, we mostly know what's in Android 8.0 Oreo. The update brings a big revamp of the notification panel, with a new layout, colors, and features, like "snoozing." Google is clamping down on background apps for more consistent performance and better battery life. There are new, updatable emoji, a faster startup time, all new settings, and plenty of security enhancements, including the new "Google Play Protect" malware system. Most importantly, Android 8.0 brings Project Treble to new devices, a modularization of the OS away from the hardware, which should make it easier to develop and roll out new Android updates.

Google blog. And "When will your device actually get Android Oreo?"

Previously: iOS 11 Versus Android O on a Tablet? It's Not Even Close

Original Submission

takyon writes:

https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-wins-movie-piracy-case-in-china-after-failed-anti-piracy-deal-170822/

The international arm of the Motion Picture Association of America has chalked up a copyright victory against a huge Chinese video platform. The suit, filed against Xunlei in 2015 following the failure of an oppressive anti-piracy initiative, claimed copyright infringement on 28 Hollywood titles. The MPAA was awarded just over $210,000 in damages, plus legal fees [of $24,400].

As one of China's top 10 Internet companies, Xunlei is a massive operation with hundreds of millions of monthly users. Among other file-sharing ventures, Xunlei operates 'Thunder', the world's most popular torrent client. This and other almost inevitable copyright-related issues put the company on the radar of the MPAA.

With Xunlei pursuing an IPO in the United States in 2014, relationships with the MPAA began to thaw, resulting in the breakthrough signing of a Content Protection Agreement (CPA) requiring Xunlei to protect MPAA studio content including movies and TV shows. But in October 2014, with things clearly not going to plan, the MPAA reported Xunlei to the U.S. government, complaining of rampant piracy on the service. In January 2015, the MPAA stepped up a gear and sued Xunlei for copyright infringement.

Copyright victory or pocket change?

Original Submission