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takyon writes:

Silicon Valley Warms to Trump After a Chilly Start

Two days after Donald J. Trump won the 2016 election, executives at Google consoled their employees in an all-staff meeting broadcast around the world.

"There is a lot of fear within Google," said Sundar Pichai, the company's chief executive, according to a video of the meeting viewed by The New York Times. When asked by an employee if there was any silver lining to Mr. Trump's election, the Google co-founder Sergey Brin said, "Boy, that's a really tough one right now." Ruth Porat, the finance chief, said Mr. Trump's victory felt "like a ton of bricks dropped on my chest." Then she instructed members of the audience to hug the person next to them.

Sixteen months later, Google's parent company, Alphabet, has most likely saved billions of dollars in taxes on its overseas cash under a new tax law signed by Mr. Trump. Alphabet also stands to benefit from the Trump administration's looser regulations for self-driving cars and delivery drones, as well as from proposed changes to the trade pact with Mexico and Canada that would limit Google's liability for user content on its sites.

Once one of Mr. Trump's most vocal opponents, Silicon Valley's technology industry has increasingly found common ground with the White House. When Mr. Trump was elected, tech executives were largely up in arms over a leader who espoused policies on immigration and other issues that were antithetical to their companies' values. Now, many of the industry's executives are growing more comfortable with the president and how his economic agenda furthers their business interests, even as many of their employees continue to disagree with Mr. Trump on social issues.

💔 💰💰💰 💕👌

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Gaaark writes:

A galaxy has been found containing no dark matter, but that proves dark matter is real?

A distant galaxy that appears completely devoid of dark matter has baffled astronomers and deepened the mystery of the universe's most elusive substance.

[...] In the Milky Way there is about 30 times more dark matter than normal matter. The latest observations focused on an ultra-diffuse galaxy – ghostly galaxies that are large but have hardly any stars – called NGC 1052-DF2.

The team tracked the motions of 10 bright star clusters and found that they were travelling way below the velocities expected. "They basically look like they're standing still," said van Dokkum.

The velocities gave an upper estimate for the galactic mass of 400 times lower than expected. "If there is any dark matter at all, it's very little," van Dokkum explained. "The stars in the galaxy can account for all of the mass, and there doesn't seem to be any room for dark matter."

Paradoxically, the authors said the discovery of a galaxy without dark matter counts as evidence that it probably does exist. A competing explanation for the fast-orbiting stars is that the way gravity drops off with distance has been misunderstood – but if this were the case, all galaxies should follow the same pattern.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/28/galaxy-without-any-dark-matter-baffles-astronomers. The findings are published in the journal Nature.

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takyon writes:

Coffee sold in California must carry cancer warning, judge rules

Coffee sold in California must carry a cancer warning, a court has ruled. The judge in Los Angeles said Starbucks and about 90 other coffee sellers had failed to warn customers about a potentially toxic compound that is produced during the roasting process.

The firms were sued by a California-based non profit-group over the chemical acrylamide. The group argued that as acrylamide is regarded as carcinogenic under state law, it should be sold with a warning.

Ruling in favour of the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said the companies should not be exempt from the law, as they had failed to prove that the "consumption of coffee confers a benefit to human health". The companies have until 10 April to appeal the decision.

Also at The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Related: California Issues Warning Over Cellphones; Study Links Non-Ionizing Radiation to Miscarriage

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-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Common Dreams reports

A new report details how local officials can create publicly owned internet programs that not only protect free speech and privacy, but also are accessible and affordable

In response to Republicans' recent attacks on net neutrality and digital privacy protections at the behest of giant telecommunications companies, the ACLU is calling on local government leaders to establish municipal broadband systems.

"States, cities, towns, and counties should take matters into their own hands by creating publicly owned services that do honor those values and can help ensure an open internet." —ACLU report

"Net neutrality and privacy protections are essential for the open internet that has transformed our society. With the Trump administration and for-profit companies abandoning those values, what we're seeing around the country is that local governments can protect them and provide access for all", said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, and the principal author of an ACLU report released [March 29].

"exec" & Arthur T Knackerbracket write:

As readers of these pages know, I've always been obsessed with audio and video compression for humble machines. My game Planet Golf for the Commodore 64 even includes Full Motion Video running from a floppy disk. The problem with this stuff, though, is that, as much as it's interesting to see these experiments run on such a limited piece of HW, and as much as it feels like an achievement to the programmer, that doesn't change their gimmicky nature. In other words, let's be honest, no person in their right frame of mind would waste a second of their time listening to those scratchy sounds, unless deafened by unconditional love for the machine. Spoiled as we are with high quality sound coming from all kinds of devices around us, poor Commodore 64 cannot be our to-go solution for our aural pleasure.

Or can it?

Mission

To build a C64 software player that can play a whole song at 48Khz (higher frequency than CDs' 44.1Khz) using a stock Commodore 64 and a regular ROM cartridge, which is your typical 80s setup.

Now, there are all kinds of devilish pieces of hardware available for your Commodore 64 nowadays, such as 16Mb RAM Expansion Units, or even mp3 hardware players. Of course, this stuff was not around in the 80s, and it therefore does not appeal to purists. In other words, any reliance on these monstrosities would get me disqualified. You might as well run a marathon riding a motorbike. The largest "legitimate" ROM Cartridges are those that Ocean used for their games. You can store a whopping one megabyte of data onto them. We are going to need all of it!

Original URL: https://brokenbytes.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-48khz-digital-music-player-for.html

-- submitted from IRC

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sophiewilson0191 writes:

Synthetic biology is the study of the interdisciplinary fields of engineering and biology. It was described by the UK Royal Society as "an emerging area of research that can broadly be described as the design and construction of novel artificial biological pathways, organisms or devices, or the redesign of existing natural biological systems."

https://www.evolving-science.com/bioengineering/timothy-lu-seeks-combat-diseases-combining-biology-computer-science-00604

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Booga1 writes:

Ever change your mind while composing a video to post on Facebook? If you used Facebook's tools, they kept it anyway.

Earlier this week, like many people around the world, my sister Bailey downloaded her Facebook data archives. Along with the contact lists and relationship statuses was something unexpected: several different videos of her attempting to play a scale on a wooden flute in her childhood bedroom. Each video, she discovered, was a different "take" — recorded on Facebook, but then, she assumed, discarded before she posted the final version to a friend's wall.

[...] Facebook's current data policy says that the company can "collect the content and other information you provide when you use our Services, including when you sign up for an account, create or share, and message or communicate with others." "Create" is the operative word in there. By that logic, Facebook technically could save any video a user filmed but did not publish because you created it on the platform.

Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Common Dreams reports

Teachers in Oklahoma applauded the state Senate's passage of a $447 million bill to fund educators' first raise in a decade by raising taxes on oil and gas production as well as cigarettes and fuel--but warned that the plan is not enough to keep them from striking.

The proposal was approved in a 36-10 vote on Wednesday night [March 28] after weeks of speculation that teachers would stage a walkout beginning April 2 to demand salary increases as well as more funding for their overcrowded schools--where teachers are frequently forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.

"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect", said Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) President Alicia Priest in a press release.[1] "Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students."

The mobilization by teachers in Oklahoma follows a multi-day strike in West Virginia earlier this month during which educators and school employees also occupied the state capitol to demand raises and a permanent funding solution for their health insurance program. The West Virginia strike kept the state's schools closed for nine consecutive school days and continued after lawmakers passed a one-time five percent raise, with teachers insisting that all their demands be met.

[...] "This package doesn't overcome shortfall caused by four-day weeks, overcrowded classrooms that deprive kids of the one-on-one attention they need. It's not enough", Priest said. "We must continue to push for more annual funding for our schools to reduce class size and restore more of the 28 percent of funds they cut from education over the last decade."

[1] Content is behind scripts.

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canopic jug writes:

Claire Reilly writes about her commutes and other travels in Sydney, Australia while trying to avoid the excessive surveillance that arrived with the abolition of paper tickets. Australia passed invasive surveillance laws that also affect travel. It eventually emerged that authorities could search commuter card data tied to individual users, including all movement and payments.

I'm all for escaping the Orwellian nightmare of the modern surveillance state. But when you rage against the machine, you still have to associate with the bulls on parade.

All the top-up machines at train stations, light rail stops and ferry terminals were card-only affairs. One tap on that baby and you were back in the system.

So, if I was busing downtown for a work meeting, I'd have to factor in extra time to get to an ATM, get cash out and then find somewhere to top up my card. Running for the train with friends, I was the one who had to divert three blocks, change jackets, burn off my fingerprints and find a nondescript corner store to top up.

Here's what I learned.

She gave a good effort at traveling in traditional, anonymous style. Eventually, a shortfall of 9 cents made all the difference.

From CNet : How I went dark in Australia's surveillance state for 2 years

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canopic jug writes:

China has been using biometric technologies for a while to scan the public. Now they are being used to identify jaywalkers and send them warning via SMS, along with a fine.

China plans to roll out a national social credit system by 2020, which will keep a record of citizens' violation of laws and directly affect their ability to do things like get a loan or get hired for a job. According to the South China Morning Post, devices like the jaywalking facial recognition system will be part of this network to keep track of the number of jaywalking violations and change a person's social credit score accordingly.

Major cities have already deployed similar facial recognition activities to monitor traffic behavior and track drivers.

From Motherboard : China Is Using Facial Recognition Technology to Send Jaywalkers Fines Through Text Messages.
See also South China Morning Post : Jaywalkers under surveillance in Shenzhen soon to be punished via text messages.

Original Submission

edIII writes:

10 Years Since The 2008 Financial Crisis

The financial crisis and the massive federal response reshaped the world we live in. Though the economy is in one of its longest expansions and stock indexes have hit new highs, many people across the political spectrum complain that the recovery is uneven and the markets' gains aren't fairly distributed. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at some of the most eventful aspects of the response and how we got to where we are today.

America lost a lot of strength and stability, there were no consequences for the most egregious offenders, and those involved are now part of the regulatory capture in the financial markets.

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McGruber writes:

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Katrin Verclas, age 50, a native and citizen of Germany residing in Washington, D.C., on a charge related to a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of State of $1.231 million. The indictment was returned on March 26, 2018, and was unsealed upon the arrest of Verclas.

The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Steve A. Linick, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State.

According to the indictment, Verclas, as director of MobileActive Corp, obtained a grant from the U.S. Department of State intended to support and promote U.S. global internet freedom efforts. Verclas represented to the U.S. Department of State that MobileActive was a non-profit organization pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) with the legal authority to apply for a grant, and that MobileActive had the financial capability to ensure proper planning, management, and completion of the grant project.

MobileActive was not a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and thus, did not have the legal authority to apply for the grant. Verclas spent much of the money from the U.S. Department of State on personal expenses and expenses unrelated to the grant. Verclas caused the U.S. Department of State to transfer $1.222 million into her control.

Verclas faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/german-citizen-indicted-major-fraud-connection-state-department-grant

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Google has censored the term "Kodi" from its search engine's autocomplete feature, despite it being completely legal open source software:

Google has banned the term "Kodi" from the autocomplete feature of its search engine. This means that the popular software and related suggestions won't appear unless users type out the full term. Google has previously taken similar measures against "pirate" related terms and confirms that Kodi is targeted because it's "closely associated with copyright infringement."

[...] The company demotes results from domain names for which it receives many DMCA takedown notices, for example, and it has also removed several piracy-related terms from its autocomplete feature. The latter means that when one types "pirate ba" it won't suggest pirate bay. Instead, people see "pirate bays" or "pirate books" as suggestions. Whether that's very effective is up for debate, but it's intentional.

[...] The Kodi team, operated by the XBMC Foundation, is disappointed with the decision and points out that their software does not cross any lines. "We are surprised and disappointed to discover Kodi has been removed from autocomplete, as Kodi is perfectly legal open source software," XBMC Foundation President Nathan Betzen told us.

The Kodi team has been actively trying to distance itself from pirate elements. They enforce their trademark against sellers of pirate boxes and are in good contact with Hollywood's industry group, the MPAA.

Related: MPAA Chief Focuses Attention on the Kodi Platform
Hollywood Strikes Back Against Illegal Streaming Kodi Add-Ons
Kodi Returns to its Roots With an Xbox One Release
Kodi Media Player Addon Developers Under Pressure from ACE, Dish Network

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The Alliance for Open Media, which includes the likes of Amazon, Apple, ARM, Cisco, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, Netflix, and Nvidia, among others, has announced the release of the AOMedia Video Codec 1.0 (AV1) specification. The new open source and royalty-free codec is based on elements of other codecs that were recently in development: Daala, Thor, and VP10.

Tests of the codec have found that it can reduce the bitrate by 10-40% at the same quality when compared to VP9 and H.265/HEVC. The difference is more apparent at higher resolutions such as 4K/2160p.

By delivering 4K UHD video at an average of 30 percent greater compression over competing codecs according to independent member tests, AV1 enables more screens to display the vivid images, deeper colors, brighter highlights, darker shadows, and other enhanced UHD imaging features that consumers have come to expect – all while using less data.

“We expect that the installed base of 4K television sets to reach 300 million by the end of 2019 and therefore there is already latent demand for UHD services over today’s infrastructure. AV1 will be widely supported across the entire content chain, especially including services. We forecast rapid introduction of AV1 content delivery to help the widespread proliferation of UHD streaming,” said Paul Gray, a Research Director at IHS Markit, a global business information provider.

Also at Engadget, Tom's Hardware, and Advanced Television.

Original Submission

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

A Google-led plan to overhaul how valuable airwaves are used for calls and texts is gaining momentum across the wireless industry, giving the company the chance to play a central role in networks of the future.

Citizens Broadband Radio Service, or CBRS, is a fat slice of the U.S. airwaves being freed this year from the military's exclusive control. Instead of just zipping messages between aircraft carriers and fighter jets, the spectrum will be shared by the Navy, wireless carriers like Verizon, cable companies including Comcast, and even hospitals, refineries and sports stadiums.

Alphabet Inc.'s Google, with help from some smaller tech companies, is leading the charge on ways to make the new service work seamlessly. They've built databases and sensor systems that switch users to different CBRS channels to avoid interference, especially when the Navy sails into town.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-29/google-led-plan-to-upend-wireless-industry-gains-momentum

Original Submission