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An Anonymous Coward writes:

Senate Passes Short-Term Deal To Reopen Government, With Trump's Endorsement

President Trump has endorsed a bipartisan deal that would end the 35-day partial government shutdown. The three-week stopgap funding measure would reopen shuttered agencies while negotiations continue.

Trump announces deal to lift shutdown

President Donald Trump has endorsed a deal to reopen the US government for three weeks, after a record-breaking shutdown of federal agencies.

But the pact does not include any money that Mr Trump has demanded for a US-Mexico border wall.

See also: Dem senator unveils 'Stop STUPIDITY Act' to prevent all shutdowns
White House: 'Large down payment' on wall could end government shutdown
35 ways the shutdown is affecting America

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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

It's Now Clear None of the Supposed Benefits of Killing Net Neutrality Are Real

Network investment is down, layoffs abound, and networks are falling apart. This isn't the glorious future Ajit Pai promised.

In the months leading up to the FCC assault on net neutrality, big telecom and FCC boss Ajit Pai told anybody who'd listen that killing net neutrality would boost broadband industry investment, spark job creation, and drive broadband into underserved areas at an unprecedented rate.

As it turns out, none of those promises were actually true.

Despite the FCC voting to kill the popular consumer protections late last year, Comcast's latest earnings report indicates that the cable giant's capital expenditures (CAPEX) for 2018 actually decreased 3 percent. The revelation comes on the heels by similar statements by Verizon and Charter Spectrum that they'd also be seeing lower network investment numbers in 2018.

It's not expected to get any better in 2019. According to analysis this week by Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson, capital spending among the nation's four biggest cable providers (Altice, Comcast, Charter Spectrum, CableONE) is expected to decline upwards of 5.8 percent this year.

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karthikaqpt writes:

Researchers at North Carolina State University have created 3D-printed flexible mesh structures that can be controlled with applied magnetic fields while floating on water. The structures can grab small objects and carry water droplets, giving them the potential to be useful as soft robots that mimic creatures living on water surfaces or that can serve as tissue scaffolds for cell cultures.

This research shows capabilities in the emerging field of combining 3D printing and soft robotics.

https://www.rtoz.org/2019/01/24/3d-printed-soft-mesh-robots-created/

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/us-video-game-sales-hit-43-billion-2018-1178345

Video game revenue reached a new high in the U.S. last year, soaring to $43.4 billion, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and The NPD Group. That figure represents an 18 percent increase from 2017.

Software sales — which posted an 18 percent growth in revenue year-over-year, up from $35.8 billion — were fueled by megahits such as Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 (the year's top-selling game in the U.S.), Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, God of War and Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Meanwhile, hardware sales also increased significantly from 2017 to 2018. Up 15 percent, hardware revenue (which includes peripherals such as controllers, VR headsets and plug-and-play consoles like the SNES Classic and PlayStation Classic) grossed $7.5 billion across all three major consoles, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

[...] The gaming industry's 2018 total revenue eclipsed the record North American box office last year. Ticket sales for the year hit $11.9 billion, compared to the previous $11.4 billion record set in 2016. Meanwhile, music industry revenue in the U.S. for the first half of 2018 came in at $4.6 billion, according to an RIAA report in September, suggesting that when total year-end numbers are released, they will fall well short of the gaming industry's total.

The latest figures show that gaming is the top money-driving entertainment industry in the U.S., as well as globally. According to a report last week by Nielsen's SuperData Research division, global digital revenue (which doesn't include sales from consoles or physical copies of games) reached $109.8 billion in 2018 (up 11 percent year-over-year). That number was driven largely by the success of Epic Games' Fortnite, which alone made $2.4 billion last year and solidified itself as a cultural phenomenon worldwide. 

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martyb writes:

Prolonged Spaceflight Could Weaken Astronauts' Immune Systems:

NASA hopes to send humans to Mars by 2030 on a round-trip mission that could take up to three years -- far longer than any human has ever traveled in space. Such long-term spaceflights could adversely affect certain cells in the immune systems of astronauts, according to a new study led by University of Arizona [(UA)] researchers.

"What NASA and other space agencies are concerned about is whether or not the immune system is going to be compromised during very prolonged spaceflight missions," said Richard Simpson, senior author and associate professor of nutritional sciences at the UA. "What clinical risks are there to the astronauts during these missions when they're exposed to things like microgravity, radiation and isolation stress? Could it be catastrophic to the level that the astronaut wouldn't be able to complete the mission?"

Simpson and his team of researchers at the UA, the University of Houston, Louisiana State University and NASA-Johnson Space Center, studied the effects of spaceflights of six months or more on natural killer cells, or NK cells, a type of white blood cell that kills cancerous cells in the body and prevents old viruses from reactivating.

"Cancer is a big risk to astronauts during very prolonged spaceflight missions because of the exposure to radiation," Simpson said. "[NK-cells] are also very important to kill off virally infected cells. When you're in the space station, it's a very sterile environment -- you're not likely to pick up the flu or a rhinovirus or some community-type infection -- but the infections that are a problem are the viruses that are already in your body. These are mostly viruses that cause things like shingles, mononucleosis or cold sores; they stay in your body for the rest of your life, and they do reactivate when you're stressed."

Scientists compared blood samples of eight crewmembers who completed missions to the International Space Station with healthy individuals who remained on Earth. Blood samples were taken before launch, at several points during the mission and after the astronauts' return to Earth.

The results showed that NK-cell function is impaired in astronauts as compared with pre-flight levels and ground-based controls. At flight day 90, NK-cell cytotoxic activity against leukemia cells in vitro was reduced by approximately 50 percent in International Space Station crew members.

[...] Whether the drop in NK-cell function makes astronauts more susceptible to cancer and viral reactivation remains to be seen, Simpson said. He hopes to learn more from future studies.

So not only do astronauts face risks like muscle and bone loss, they now face the prospect of reactivation of old illnesses. Will Mars' gravity (38% that of Earth's) be enough to ward off this decline?

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martyb writes:

[Update 20190127_200249 UTC: corrected number of downmods to qualify for mod bomb from 4 to 5. Clarified that no mod bans have been handed out in a long while. --martyb]

Our primary goal at SoylentNews is to provide a forum for the community; In as much as is reasonably possible, we try to take a hands-off approach.

The infrastructure provides a means by which the community can (among other things) vote on polls, publish journal articles, submit comments, and perform moderations.

There are, however, some things that require an active role by the admins.

One of these is dealing with moderation abuse, something which can come in different forms. See the FAQ for some background. Addressed there are "mod bombs" and "spam mods". A mod bomb is deemed to have happened when one user (user1) has performed 4 5 or more downmods against comments by another user (user2). Upon review, if a mod bomb has been found to occur, then the moderator (user1) gets a 1-month mod ban on the first occasion; 6 months on the second and subsequent times. Mod bans have not been issued in a LONG while; extra mods are reversed.

Sockpuppets: And now we come to the focus of this article: there is another form of moderation abuse: sockpuppet accounts. Wikipedia has a suitable description:

*SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term, a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock, originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an Internet community who spoke to, or about, themselves while pretending to be another person.[1]

The term now includes other misleading uses of online identities, such as those created to praise, defend or support a person or organization,[2] to manipulate public opinion,[3] or to circumvent a suspension or ban from a website. A significant difference between the use of a pseudonym[4] and the creation of a sockpuppet is that the sockpuppet poses as an independent third-party unaffiliated with the puppeteer. Sockpuppets are unwelcome in many online communities and may be blocked.

Right here I'll admit that I was sorely tempted to take unilateral action. Name names. Apply mod bans. And... you get the idea. Instead, I'm trying to take the high road. So, instead, I chose to present what I found to the community, solicit input, and then see what, if anything, needs to be done.

There may well be other cases, but the one I have discovered shows this history of upmods. Out of the 100 most recent moderations performed by "user1", 80 of those have been upmods of the same user "user2". And of these, there have been 10 upmods on January 21, 10 more on January 22, and yet 10 more on January 23. (For those keeping score that is 30 points in 3 days).

I cannot imagine in any way that 30 upmods in three days by "user1" on "user2" is reasonable or desirable.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Recent observations and climate model outlooks suggest the immediate risk of El Niño has passed.

However, there remains an increased likelihood that El Niño will develop later in 2019. The Bureau's ENSO [(El Niño-Southern Oscillation)] Outlook has therefore moved to El Niño WATCH, meaning there is approximately a 50% chance of El Niño developing during the southern hemisphere autumn or winter.

Tropical Pacific sea surface and sub-surface temperatures remain warmer than average, but since late 2018 they have cooled from El Niño-like values towards ENSO-neutral values. Atmospheric indicators such as cloudiness, trade winds and the Southern Oscillation Index all continue to generally remain within the ENSO-neutral range.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/index.shtml

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

Winter winds brought extreme cold and ice-slicked roads to the Midwestern and Eastern United States on Monday, with the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday and an ongoing government shutdown allowing many to heed official advice to stay indoors.

[...] “This is definitely dangerous, life-and-death kind of weather happening,” Chenard said. “Minnesota and Wisconsin will see temperatures in the negative 20s.”

“Boston will be just 3 degrees (Fahrenheit) this morning, with wind chills of minus 12 or more,” he said. “New York City and D.C. will be in that same range, maybe hitting the teens later today. It’ll be record or near-record cold.”

The NWS [(National Weather Service)] issued wind-chill advisories and warnings for more than 10 states, from North Dakota and to East Coast metropolitan centers.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-weather/life-and-death-cold-grips-eastern-midwest-united-states-idUSKCN1PF0QK

Severe winter weather will be hitting Chicago over the next week, bringing “dangerous cold” with below zero temperatures before the wind chill, according to the National Weather Service.

An arctic front is expected to hit the area Thursday, with another following next week, dropping the wind chill as low as 30 degrees below zero. The Chicagoland area may even break records for cold temperatures in January, though it’s too early to predict the exact numbers, according to the weather service.

The first wave of “dangerous cold” is expected Thursday night into Friday morning, according to meteorologist Gino Izzi.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/dangerous-cold-to-blast-through-chicago-this-week/

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takyon writes:

Coming Soon to a Police Station Near You: The DNA 'Magic Box'

They call it the "magic box." Its trick is speedy, nearly automated processing of DNA. "It's groundbreaking to have it in the police department," said Detective Glenn Vandegrift of the Bensalem Police Department. "If we can do it, any department in the country can do it." Bensalem, a suburb in Bucks County, near Philadelphia, is on the leading edge of a revolution in how crimes are solved. For years, when police wanted to learn whether a suspect's DNA matched previously collected crime-scene DNA, they sent a sample to an outside lab, then waited a month or more for results.

But in early 2017, the police booking station in Bensalem became the first in the country to install a Rapid DNA machine, which provides results in 90 minutes, and which police can operate themselves. Since then, a growing number of law enforcement agencies across the country — in Houston, Utah, Delaware — have begun operating similar machines and analyzing DNA on their own.

The science-fiction future, in which police can swiftly identify robbers and murderers from discarded soda cans and cigarette butts, has arrived. In 2017, President Trump signed into law the Rapid DNA Act, which, starting this year, will enable approved police booking stations in several states to connect their Rapid DNA machines to Codis, the national DNA database. Genetic fingerprinting is set to become as routine as the old-fashioned kind.

[...] But already many legal experts and scientists are troubled by the way the technology is being used. As police agencies build out their local DNA databases, they are collecting DNA not only from people who have been charged with major crimes but also, increasingly, from people who are merely deemed suspicious, permanently linking their genetic identities to criminal databases.

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

At CES earlier this month, Intel finally demonstrated its first 10nm processor for desktops. The Ice Lake CPU is supposed to arrive by the end of 2019 after plenty of delays. Unfortunately, there may still be unforeseen complications, as industry rumours claim that Intel is struggling with implementing PCIe 4.0 support in the chipset.

Intel’s struggle to bring 10nm processors to the market has been well documented. During CES, there was some discussion around Ice Lake but very little was said about the accompanying chipset. We have heard through our industry sources (who will remain anonymous) that Intel is struggling in this area, with the upgrade to PCIe 4.0 being an issue in particular. There is some concern that this will end up causing more delays for Intel’s 10nm launch.

https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/rumour-intels-10nm-launch-may-be-impacted-by-chipset-issues/

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RandomFactor writes:

According to this article

A couple living in a California town near San Francisco told local media they experienced "sheer terror" over the weekend when a Nest security camera atop their family's television issued a realistic-sounding warning of missiles heading to the United States from North Korea.

Other instances of hacked Nest devices with various results have occurred recently.

Nest, which is owned by Google-parent Alphabet, told AFP that incidents of commandeered camera control in recent months were the result of hackers using passwords stolen from other online venues.

If you haven't done so recently (regardless of whether you own a Nest device) it is worthwhile to check for known compromises of your account(s). You need do nothing wrong to have your credentials exposed other than signing up on one of the thousands of internet sites that have been compromised over the years.

People can check online at sites such as http://www.haveibeenpwned.com to see whether their email addresses have been found in troves of stolen data.

Having your credentials exposed is the norm these days, and rare indeed is someone without at least one or two breaches that include their information. This is why avoiding password re-use is critical in today's online world - so that when your Blizzard account is pwned, it doesn't expose your Paypal, banking, or worse, SoylentNews account.

It is a pain, but keep those passwords different somehow. Password managers such as Keepass are useful for this.

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

The media industry's current round of cuts and consolidation is accelerating. Sizable layoffs at Buzzfeed, Gannett and Verizon Media (home of AOL, Yahoo, HuffPost and others) were announced Wednesday, totaling over 1,000 jobs cut.

Why it matters: If the headlines signal anything, it's that the news media will continue to struggle to find a sustainable business model in an advertising and attention ecosystem dominated by tech companies like Google, Facebook and Netflix.

By the numbers:

• Verizon Media will cut roughly 800 jobs, or 7% of its global workforce across the organization, as well as certain brands and products. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told Axios earlier this month that each of the company's three units, including the media business, needed to be able to stand on their own. (A company spokesperson later clarified to Axios that Verizon Media Group will still have access to Verizon customer data when customers opt in to provide such information.)
• Buzzfeed will cut roughly 250 jobs, or roughly 15% of its workforce, including jobs within its news division.
• Gannett cut over 20 jobs Wednesday, per Poynter, with more expected as the company tries to shed costs amid buyout talks.

[...] Bottom line: Many news companies are struggling to find sustainable business models in the digital era. There's no sign it's getting any easier.

https://www.axios.com/digital-media-layoffs-consolidation-continue-1548289098-d3bd0e23-aef7-4ad5-8778-428391e80ac8.html

Previous: BuzzFeed to Cut 15% of Staff in New Round of Layoffs

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

iPhone users rejoice! A simple workaround has been found to allow your iPhone to recognise naughty words without autocorrecting them. The hack is to add a new contact to the phone with the lowercase version of the ducking word the ducking autocorrect keeps ducking up. Wash rinse repeat for any other word the iPhone auto-correct doesn't ducking like.

<sarcasm>Alternatively, switch to a real mobile OS like Android which has entirely different ways to disrespect its users.</sarcasm>

[Or adapt the quaint example so ably employed in this story submission. --Ed.]

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karthikaqpt writes:

The piezoelectric materials that inhabit everything from our cell phones to musical greeting cards may be getting an upgrade thanks to work discussed in the journal Nature Materials released online Jan 21.

Xiaoyu ‘Rayne’ Zheng, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, and a member of the Macromolecules Innovation Institute, and his team have developed methods to 3D print piezoelectric materials that can be custom-designed to convert movement, impact and stress from any directions to electrical energy.

“Piezoelectric materials convert strain and stress into electric charges,” Zheng explained.

The piezoelectric materials come in only a few defined shapes and are made of brittle crystal and ceramic – the kind that require a clean room to manufacture. Zheng’s team has developed a technique to 3D print these materials so they are not restricted by shape or size. The material can also be activated – providing the next generation of intelligent infrastructures and smart materials for tactile sensing, impact and vibration monitoring, energy harvesting, and other applications.

[...] The material has sensitivities 5-fold higher than flexible piezoelectric polymers. The stiffness and shape of the material can be tuned and produced as a thin sheet resembling a strip of gauze, or as a stiff block. “We have a team making them into wearable devices, like rings, insoles, and fitting them into a boxing glove where we will be able to record impact forces and monitor the health of the user.

https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2019/01/3d_printing_discovery.email.html

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darkfeline writes:

Russ Cox, who developed the dependency/package management system for Go, writes about the problems with software dependencies. A choice excerpt:

Dependency managers now exist for essentially every programming language. [...] The arrival of this kind of fine-grained, widespread software reuse is one of the most consequential shifts in software development over the past two decades. And if we’re not more careful, it will lead to serious problems.

A package, for this discussion, is code you download from the internet. Adding a package as a dependency outsources the work of developing that code [...] to someone else on the internet, someone you often don’t know. By using that code, you are exposing your own program to all the failures and flaws in the dependency. Your program’s execution now literally depends on code downloaded from this stranger on the internet. Presented this way, it sounds incredibly unsafe. Why would anyone do this?

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