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Phoenix666 writes:

Spotify and Hulu are teaming up to give US college students access to both companies' premium services for $4.99 a month. The new service is aptly called "Spotify Premium for Students, now with Hulu."

Spotify's announcement hints that this package is just the first of many bundles to come for the two services. This one pairs Spotify Premium, the company's ad-free music streaming service, with Hulu's Limited Commercials plan, which lets you stream current TV shows, movies and original content.

Meanwhile, torrents are free, and commercial-free--100% cheaper, 100% less suck.

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Phoenix666 writes:

BMW is putting some big numbers to its electrification efforts. At a media event in Munich on Thursday ahead of next week's Frankfurt Motor Show, the automaker announced plans to bring to market at least 25 electrified vehicles by 2025 -- 13 of which will be fully electric. The new models are expected to be marketed through all of BMW AG's brands, including Mini and Rolls-Royce, but may also include BMW Motorrad, its motorbike division.

Most interestingly, Harald Krüger, BMW chairman of the board, revealed Tuesday that his company will show a four-door, pure-electric concept car in Frankfurt under its i sub-brand. The car will be designed to slot between its i3 electric urban runabout and i8 plug-in hybrid sports coupe. Few concrete details were revealed about the coming show car, but reading between the lines, it's clear that BMW is incubating a Tesla competitor -- likely a rival for the Model 3. The car's design is expected to be influenced by the Vision Next 100 (shown below), a futurethink concept vehicle designed to commemorate BMW's centennial.

Word from inside the executive circles at Ford is that they're gearing up to chase Tesla, too. How long before the last internal combustion engine production car rolls off the line, 5 years, 10 years, or 15?

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DeathMonkey writes:

Visiting Equifax's site to see if you're a victim of the recent data breach can require you to waive lawsuit rights:

By all accounts, the Equifax data breach is, as we reported Thursday, "very possibly the worst leak of personal info ever." The incident affects possibly as many as 143 million people.

But if you want to find out if your data might have been exposed, you waive your right to sue the Atlanta-based company. We're not making this up. The company has now published a website allowing consumers to input their last six digits of their Social Security numbers to find out.

Like most websites, at the bottom of this new site is a section called "Terms of Use." There, in paragraph 4, is bolded, uppercase text of note. It tells site visitors that you agree to waive your right to sue and instead must "resolve all disputes by binding, individual arbitration."

AGREEMENT TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES BY BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS BY REQUIRING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES (EXCEPT AS SET FORTH BELOW) AND A WAIVER OF THE ABILITY TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. ARBITRATION PROVIDES A QUICK AND COST EFFECTIVE MECHANISM FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES, BUT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT IT ALSO LIMITS YOUR RIGHTS TO DISCOVERY AND APPEAL.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/are-you-an-equifax-breach-victim-you-must-give-up-right-to-sue-to-find-out/

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Phoenix666 writes:

Order a Lyft in San Francisco and you may soon be able to catch a ride in a self-driving car. The ride-hailing company said Thursday it's partnered with autonomous vehicle software company Drive.ai to bring self-driving cars to the city's streets.

"Pilot programs like this are vital to build public awareness and familiarity with autonomous vehicle technology," Sameep Tandon, CEO of Drive.ai, said in a statement. "Together, we can take the next step in autonomous vehicles, from testing to deployment in real, urban environments."

Is San Francisco, with its many public transit options, the right place for this, or would LA make more sense?

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canopic jug writes:

The Market Mogul covers why the European Patent Office's (EPO) current patent filing system may be stifling innovation. Among many other reasons, the European Patent Office prioritizes the applications from large multinationals over smaller European businesses from any of 38 European nations. Not quite half of all European patent applications come from the EPO member states, followed by the US, Japan, China and South Korea. Another large point of contention caused by the EPO is their granting of software patents in direct violations of the European Patent Convention (EPC).

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Facebook admits Russian ad campaign on divisive social and political issues

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Facebook has coughed up it has detected Russian ads bought for around $100,000 on issues not directly naming parties or candidates and further $50,000 on directly political messages. They use the terms "information operations" and "US presidential election" in the press release. After sharing some more specifics the press release degenerates to rambling about "inauthentic accounts" and how Facebook will not allow accounts to repeatedly spread fake news via ads.

Submitter: I think Facebook is a dangerous corporation you should steer clear of. Don't give them your activity or your money. For the sake of democracy.

Russian Bots Bought Facebook Ads During the Election

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/technology/facebook-russian-political-ads.html

Providing new evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Facebook disclosed on Wednesday that it had identified more than $100,000 worth of divisive ads on hot-button issues purchased by a shadowy Russian company linked to the Kremlin.

Most of the 3,000 ads did not refer to particular candidates but instead focused on divisive social issues such as race, gay rights, gun control and immigration, according to a post on Facebook by Alex Stamos, the company’s chief security officer. The ads, which ran between June 2015 and May 2017, were linked to some 470 fake accounts and pages the company said it had shut down.

Facebook officials said the fake accounts were created by a Russian company called the Internet Research Agency, which is known for using “troll” accounts to post on social media and comment on news websites.

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How many 18-34 year old people live in the US?

stretch611 writes:

Facebook tells advertisers that they can reach up to 41 million users in the 18-24 age bracket. Sounds reasonable... However, one stock analyst (who unlike most analysts, has a "SELL" rating for Facebook shares) noticed that there are only 31 million people in the country in that age bracket (according to the Census Bureau.)

So who is right?

On the one hand, the Census Bureau has decades of experience coming up with scientifically accurate population estimates based on birth and death rates, immigration rates, representative surveys, and even literally going door to door and counting people.

On the other hand, Facebook data is both specific and granular. Users provide their birthdays, and Facebook captures where you log in from. So the company knows if you’re inside the boundaries of the U.S., and it knows how old you are.

Of course, in the advertising world, if a person doesn't exist how can you reach them?

Also reported by Reuters

Facebook Offering Access to more US Customers Than Actually Exist (Claims Analyst)

tonyPick writes:

Spotted on The Register is an article on claims about the unreliability of Facebook's advertising statistics:

Facebook has an extensive and sophisticated ad-buying system that assures potential advertisers it can reach no fewer than 41 million of a core target group of 18 to 24-year-olds in the United States.

The only problem, analyst Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research Group pointed out in a note to customers, is that there are only 31 million of them that actually exist in the US, according to the official census data. The same gap in reality also holds for other groups, including the next most-targeted group of 25 to 34-year-olds.

Also at CNBC and Bloomberg

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takyon writes:

Malala Yousafzai Criticizes Aung San Suu Kyi Over Violence On Myanmar's Rohingya

Malala Yousafzai, known as just Malala, has joined other human rights activists and officials in publicly criticizing Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's effective leader, for the treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

More than 73,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar in the latest wave of violence by the Myanmar military, spurred by an attack from a group of Rohingya militants on a military post on Aug. 25.

The brutal treatment of Myanmar's Rohingya is longstanding — they've been called the most persecuted minority group on the planet.

A Pakistani education activist, Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize for her promotion of girls' education. She took to Twitter Sunday to criticize Aung San Suu Kyi, a fellow Peace Prize recipient.

The Rohingya people live in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(17)30328-0/fulltext?elsca1=tlpr

In the largest randomized control trial for mental health, researchers discovered a link from insomnia to paranoia and hallucinations. Successful treatment of insomnia cut paranoia and hallucinations by around half. While the researchers don't extend similar links as existing outside the studied population, the correlation is quite clear and strong that treatment of insomnia could lead to improvements in other mental health symptoms in other populations.

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Phoenix666 writes:

India is the latest nation to make plans for its own Hyperloop, with the south eastern state of Andhra Pradesh signing a deal with startup Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) to build a high-speed transport route between two of its major cities.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is just one of the startups working away on Elon Musk's futuristic transport concept. When fully realized, such a system would see passengers and cargo flung through near-vacuum tubes at around the speed of sound in specially designed capsules that could cut the travel time between Los Angeles and San Francisco to just 30 minutes.

[...] And now it is making a move in India. The agreement signed between HTT and the government of Andhra Pradesh aims to connect the city centers of Amaravati and Vijayawada, which take around an hour to travel between by car but would take just six minutes by Hyperloop. HTT will start with a six-month feasibility study in October looking at the cityscapes to determine the best route for its transport tubes. If all goes to plan, construction will begin thereafter.

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[Ed note: for up-to-date info, see also: NOAA National Hurricane Center, Mike's Weather Page, windy.com, NWS - Hourly Weather Forecast Graph - Tampa, and NWS - Hourly Weather Forecast Graph - Miami.]

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

At 8:28AM September 5, Zero Hedge reported

Irma is now the [strongest] hurricane [ever] in the Atlantic basin, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, in [US National Hurricane Center] records.

[...] meteorologist Eric Holthaus writes that Hurricane Irma is now expected to *exceed* the theoretical maximum intensity for a storm in its environment, or as he puts it "Redefining the rules".

[...] Irma's current path--headed straight for Florida--has prompted the state to prepare for the "catastrophic" system.

Unlike Harvey, which caused widespread damage, power outages and flooding and taking almost a fifth of U.S. oil refining capacity offline, Irma is a bigger threat to agriculture, with orange juice futures surging.

[...] Florida is the world's largest producer of orange juice after Brazil. About two-thirds of the state's citrus crop is located in the lower two-thirds of the peninsula.

[...] Airlines have canceled flights across the Caribbean and are adding planes to evacuate tourists, while cruise-line stocks have tumbled.

[...] Only three Category 5 hurricanes have hit the contiguous 48 U.S. states, [said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Weather Underground:] The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 that devastated the Florida Keys, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Andrew that cut across Florida in 1992. Andrew was originally classified as a Category 4 storm only to be upgraded years later after further analysis.

"It is obviously a rare breed", Henson said. "We are in rare territory."

At 12:37PM September 5, Heavy.com reported

The Florida governor has declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Irma reaches a Category 5 storm. The Florida Keys are currently in the hurricane's path, although the storm remains unpredictable.

[...] Irma has [...] maximum sustained winds [of] 185 mph. It was moving west at 14 mph and is about 270 miles east of Antigua. The Florida Keys are in the projected path of the hurricane, according to September 4 late evening forecasts.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Amazon will invest $5 billion in a second headquarters in a North American city outside of Seattle.

Amazon.com Inc. already has a sprawling Seattle headquarters that attests to its size and ambition. Now the world's largest online retailer plans to open a second North American campus -- dubbed HQ2 -- that Amazon says could be just as big as the existing one.

The company is asking local and state governments to submit proposals for a development that will likely cost more than $5 billion over the next 15 to 17 years and give the winning city or town an enormous economic boost. Amazon is already one of the biggest employers in Seattle and expects the new headquarters to house as many as 50,000 workers, many of them new hires. Cities have until next month to apply through a special website, and the company said it will make a final decision next year.

The mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, quickly expressed interest. So did officials in Chicago; Philadelphia; Hartford, Connecticut; Tulsa, Oklahoma; St. Louis; and Rhode Island, demonstrating that Amazon will wield a lot of leverage in making its choice.

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said in a statement. "Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-07/amazon-hunting-for-second-u-s-headquarters-to-host-50-000-staff

Will the new HQ be in the U.S.?

Additional coverage at Reuters, NPR, Business Wire and The Washington Post

Original Submission

darnkitten writes:

In a rare moment of sanity in the literary world, the manager of the late Sir Terry Pratchett's estate has followed the beloved author's wishes and destroyed the hard drive of the computer containing his unfinished works by crushing it with a steamroller. As many as ten unfinished works were on the drive, which, after being unsuccessfully steamrolled several times, was finally securely destroyed by being put through a rock crusher.

The pieces will be displayed at the Salisbury Museum as part of a Pratchett exhibition.

While I do, personally and professionally, mourn the loss of Sir Terry's remaining work; as a librarian navigating a publishing world increasingly dominated by the likes of James Patterson's literary mill, I applaud the Pratchett estate's willingness to defend him from a legacy of eternal "new releases" based on random back-of-a-napkin jottings and used-bubble-gum-wrapper sketches, as seems to be the industry norm these days.

Now, all they have to do is resist the no-doubt-considerable monetary lure of officially-licensed Terry Pratchett's Discworld (TM) novels.

That being said, what posthumous releases or ghostwritten literary sequels have you read and enjoyed? Also, do you consider any of those be considered worthy sequels or additions to the originals?

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

The US Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) at Fort Benning, Georgia recently provided a glimpse into the future of combat as robotic and autonomous systems worked together as robotic "wingmen" in simulated combat operations. The Maneuver Robotics and Autonomous Systems (MRAS) demonstration conducted on August 22 was the first such event in a three-year program aimed at bringing together robotic combat vehicles and unmanned aerial systems (UASs) to improve ground combat formations.

According to the Army, MRAS is a joint operation between the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center and the Office of Naval Research. The purpose is to pair UASs and unmanned ground systems as a way to extend the range and engagement time of ground forces while reducing the risk to flesh and blood soldiers.

[...] "Robotics and autonomous systems help provide a way to give us enhanced capability to the formation, and provide a greater range of operations," says Dr. Robert Sadowski, Robotics Senior Research Scientist, US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. "We can use robots to do those things they do well and offset those things that humans do well."

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41191327

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy says he will ask the courts to revoke a law passed by the Catalan regional government to hold a referendum on independence. He described the vote, planned for 1 October, as illegal.

Earlier, state prosecutors said they would bring criminal charges against Catalan leaders for their endorsement of the referendum.

The pro-independence majority in Catalonia's parliament passed the referendum law on Wednesday. Spain's wealthy north-eastern region already has autonomous powers but the regional government says it has popular support for full secession.

See also:

• Will Catalonia try to secede from Spain this year? [Jan 2017]
• Catalan independence: Plan for quick split from Spain after vote [Jul 2017]
• Catalonia's push for independence from Spain [Nov 2015]

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