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Freeman writes:

Fallout76 is now descending the slippery slope of micro-transactions. Some arguments can be made with regards to a few cosmetic items or other obvious, please support us, downloadable content (DLC), but I generally relegate all other micro-transaction games to the cash grab category. When you take a story-driven RPG with FPS elements, and take out the story elements, all you have is a husk of a game. In addition, online-only games need a certain level of income to be able to pay the bills with regards to server maintenance, etc. The reputable online-only games generally take care of that by including a monthly fee or by creating more quality content for people to upgrade to. An issue I see is that this is very much in line with what free-to-play games would do to generate more revenue. This kind of practice doesn't belong in games that already demand an up-front purchase price. It also seems to go against their original stance of no pay-to-win elements in the game.

That addition has some fans up in arms that developer Bethesda has broken a promise to keep so-called "pay-to-win" elements out of the premium game. As Bethesda's Pete Hines told Gamespot last October [emphasis added]:

If you don't want to spend money in the Atomic Shop for cosmetic stuff, you don't have to. We give you a shitload of Atoms just for playing the game. Folks that want to spend money on whatever the hell it is because they don't have enough Atoms, they can, but it's not, "I'm now better playing against other players because I spent money." It's not pay-to-win. And it's not loot crates.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/04/fallout-76-repair-kits-raise-new-pay-to-win-concerns/

Original Submission

[Update #2] (2019-04-10 7:30pm EDT (23:30 UTC))

This launch has been scrubbed until tomorrow. :

"Standing down from today’s Falcon Heavy launch attempt; next opportunity is tomorrow, April 11."

New launch window is: "Thursday, April 11 at 6:35 p.m. EDT, or 22:35 UTC, and closes at 8:31 p.m. EDT, or 00:31 UTC on Friday, April 12"

[Update #1] (2019-04-10 8:40pm EDT (22:40 UTC)):

It appears the launch has been delayed 85 minutes from 6:35pm EDT (22:35 UTC) until 8:00pm EDT (00:00 UTC on 2019-04-11); see the tweet:

Falcon Heavy and Arabsat-6A are vertical on Launch Complex 39A. Currently targeting liftoff at 8:00 p.m. EDT; monitoring upper-level winds that could push us to the end of the window (8:32 p.m. EDT)

Also noted on SpaceX's webcast page:

SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, April 10 for a Falcon Heavy launch of the Arabsat-6A satellite from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 8:00 p.m. EDT, or 00:00 UTC on April 11, and the launch window closes at 8:32 p.m. EDT, or 00:32 UTC on April 11. A backup launch window opens on Thursday, April 11 at 6:35 p.m. EDT, or 22:35 UTC, and closes at 8:31 p.m. EDT, or 00:31 UTC on Friday, April 12. The satellite will be deployed approximately 34 minutes after liftoff.

Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will attempt to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Falcon Heavy’s center core will attempt to land on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

You can watch a webcast of the launch below, which will start about 20 minutes before liftoff, and find out more about the mission in our press kit (pdf).

Original story follows.

martyb writes:

For only the second time ever, and the first time with a commercial payload (Arabsat-6A), SpaceX is planning to launch its Falcon Heavy (FH) rocket today. The launch was rescheduled from April 7th and April 9th. The FH is currently the most powerful rocket in the world. According to Wikipedia, the:

Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX. It is derived from the Falcon 9 vehicle and consists of a strengthened Falcon 9 first stage as a central core with two additional first stages as strap-on boosters. Falcon Heavy has the highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle, and the fourth-highest capacity of any rocket ever built, trailing the American Saturn V and the Soviet Energia and N1.

SpaceX conducted Falcon Heavy's maiden launch on February 6, 2018, at 3:45 p.m. EST (20:45 UTC). The rocket carried a Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, as a dummy payload.

From an article at Teslarati, SpaceX to Livestream Falcon Heavy Block 5 Launch Debut Today:

SpaceX is half a day away from the planned launch debut of Falcon Heavy Block 5, a milestone that will also be the rocket's second launch ever and first mission with a commercial payload.

First and foremost, Falcon Heavy's job is to safely place the Saudi Arabian communications satellite Arabsat 6A into a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) more than 35,000 km (~22,000 mi) above Earth's surface. Despite the satellite weighing no less than 6000 kg (13,200 lb), Falcon Heavy will still have enough latent performance to attempt the recovery of all three of its new Block 5 boosters. With any luck, this will hopefully return SpaceX's East Coast landing zones (LZ-1 and LZ-2) to successful operations after an anomaly in December 2018 caused Falcon 9 B1051 to landing a mile or so offshore.

[...] This time around, Falcon Heavy will be made entirely out of Block 5 hardware, including three new boosters (likely B1052, B1053, and B1055), a Block 5 upper stage with a Merlin Vacuum engine, and a recovery-optimized "Version 2" payload fairing. Altogether, Falcon Heavy likely weighs upwards of 80,000 kg (175,000 lb) empty and more than 1,420 metric tons (3,125,000 lb) when fully fueled. At liftoff, the Falcon Heavy Block 5 rocket's 27 Merlin 1D engines are expected to produce no less than 5.1 million pounds (~2300 mT/23,000 kN) of thrust at full throttle, but that figure could rise as high as 5.6 million pounds (2550 mT/25,500 kN) of thrust depending on how one interprets rather vague official numbers from CEO Elon Musk.

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for boru

Event Horizon Telescope

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration — was designed to capture images of a black hole. Today, in coordinated press conferences across the globe, EHT researchers reveal that they have succeeded, unveiling the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole and its shadow.

This breakthrough was announced today in a series of six papers published in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The image reveals the black hole at the center of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides 55 million light-years from Earth and has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun.

The EHT links telescopes around the globe to form an Earth-sized virtual telescope with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution. The EHT is the result of years of international collaboration, and offers scientists a new way to study the most extreme objects in the Universe predicted by Einstein's general relativity during the centennial year of the historic experiment that first confirmed the theory.

[...] This research was presented in a series of six papers published today in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters, along with a Focus Issue:

• Paper I: The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole
• Paper II: Array and Instrumentation
• Paper III: Data processing and Calibration
• Paper IV: Imaging the Central Supermassive Black Hole
• Paper V: Physical Origin of the Asymmetric Ring
• Paper VI: The Shadow and Mass of the Central Black Hole

Press release images in higher resolution (4000x2330 pixels) can be found here in PNG (16-bit), and JPG (8-bit) format. The highest-quality image (7416x4320 pixels, TIF, 16-bit, 180 Mb) can be obtained from repositories of our partners, NSF and ESO. A summary of latest press and media resources can be found on this page.

Also at Ars Technica.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Rocket Lab, known for its Electron smallsat launcher, will also build satellites it launches for customers:

Rocket Lab, one of the biggest startups in the NewSpace category of companies providing launch and satellite services, has added satellite manufacturing to the array of services it offers to customers.

The company, which already had developed launch capabilities and has begun sending payloads into space, can now deliver fully built satellites to its customers, according to a statement.

The "Photon" satellite platform was developed so that customers would not have to build their own satellite hardware.

"Small satellite operators want to focus on providing data or services from space, but building satellite hardware is a significant barrier to achieving this," said Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck, in a statement. "The time, resources and expertise required to build hardware can draw small satellite operators away from their core purpose, delaying their path to orbit and revenue. As the turn-key solution for complete small satellite missions, Rocket Lab brings space within easy reach. We enable our customers to focus on their payload and mission – we look after the rest."

Also at Space News and The Verge.

See also: Rocket Lab building spacecraft to pair with its rockets, likely saving start-ups millions of dollars

Previously: Rocket Lab's Modest Launch is Giant Leap for Small Rocket Business
Rocket Lab Mission for NASA Successfully Launches 13 CubeSats
Rocket Lab Successfully Launches R3D2 Mission for DARPA

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Blue Origin urging Air Force to postpone launch competition

Blue Origin wants the U.S. Air Force to wait until 2021 before picking the two companies it intends [to] use for launching critical military satellites in the decade ahead.

The Air Force, however, aims to solicit proposals this spring and choose its two preferred launch providers in 2020 — perhaps a year or more before the new rockets that the Air Force is fostering at Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance and Northrop Grumman make their first flights.

All three companies were chosen in October by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center to share $2.3 billion in so-called Launch Service Agreement (LSA) funding to support development of next-generation rockets capable of meeting the military's satellite launch needs.

The Air Force said last fall that all three LSA winners plus SpaceX would be required to submit new proposals in 2019 if they want to be among the two providers the Air Force intends to select in 2020 to split up to 25 future launch contracts.

Wait long enough, and maybe Starship will become a contender.

See also: The Air Force will soon take bids for mid-2020s launches. It's controversial

Related: Blue Origin to Compete to Launch U.S. Military Payloads
The Military Chooses Which Rockets It Wants Built for the Next Decade

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

Off-topic review bombs are something I've really noticed taking place on Steam over the last year. Steam is working on ways to counteract the off-topic reviews, while also trying to let people's opinions be heard. It seems to be working somewhat, but it's far from perfect. Off-topic review bombing isn't helpful in the slightest, when trying to decide whether the current product is any good. Yet, how else should a consumer let others know that a company is going off the rails?

Personally, I would love an option to also rate the developers/corporations behind games as well. Perhaps a second rating for a game is needed? One rating for the game, and one rating for the publisher.

Borderlands review bomb triggers Steam’s “off topic” fix

Original Submission

Zapping Elderly Brains with Electricity Improves Short-term Memory—for Almost an Hour

Phoenix666 writes:

Science Mag:

despite its critical role, working memory is a fragile cognitive resource that declines with age, Reinhart says. Previous studies had suggested that reduced working-memory performance in the elderly is linked to uncoupled activity in different brain areas. So Reinhart and his team set out to test whether recoupling brain waves in older adults could boost the brain's ability to temporarily store information.

To do so, the researchers used jolts of weak electrical current to synchronize waves in the prefrontal and temporal cortex—two brain areas critical for cognition—and applied the current to the scalps of 42 healthy people in their 60s and 70s who showed no signs of decline in mental ability. Before their brains were zapped, participants looked at a series of images: an everyday object, followed briefly by a blank screen, and then either an identical or a modified version of the same object. The goal was to spot whether the two images were different.

Then the participants took the test again, while their brains were stimulated with a current. After about 25 minutes of applying electricity, participants were on average more accurate at identifying changes in the images than they were before the stimulation. Following stimulation, their performance in the test was indistinguishable from that of a group of 42 people in their 20s.

tl;dr;: electrocute grandpa, then ask him where he hid his will.

Transcranial Brain Stimulation Could Improve Working Memory

takyon writes:

Scientists Test Whether Brain Stimulation Could Help Sharpen Aging Memory

One leading hypothesis contends that working memory works by far-flung brain areas firing synchronously. When two areas are on the same brain wavelength, communication is tight, and working memory functions seamlessly.

But as we age, these brain areas start falling out of step, and these once tightly linked brain areas are no longer on the same page. A study published Monday in [DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0371-x] [DX] Nature Neuroscience demonstrates a link between these mismatched brain rhythms and declines in working memory in older adults and shows that a precise form of electrical stimulation applied to the scalp can coax these brain areas back into sync.

Applied to the brain via a skullcap studded with electrodes, an experimental form of transcranial brain stimulation delivers alternating current to a small group of neurons to nudge them to a specific wavelength. Imagine two giant pendulums swinging at different rates. The brain stimulation nudges each pendulum with a pair of electrical hands pushing at the same frequency, causing them to sync up and swing synchronously.

Also at The Guardian.

Related: Memory Enhancement Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation Could Speed Learning by 40%
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Could Reduce People's Intentions to Commit Violence
Scientists Connect 3 Actual Human Brains (Then Make Them Play Tetris)

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

Paleontologists are used to finding dinosaur bones and tracks. But remnants of soft tissue, like muscles or skin, are rare and often not well preserved. A very small percentage of tracks – much less than 1% – show skin traces [i.e. impressions].

Kyung-Soo Kim, Ph.D., of Chinju National University of Education recently found a set of very small tracks with perfect skin traces near Jinju City, Korea. CU Denver Professor Emeritus of Geology Martin Lockley, Ph.D., – with Kim, Jong Deock Lim of Korea and Lida Xing of Beijing – wrote a paper about the skin traces for the journal Scientific Reports. They described the skin as "exquisitely preserved."

"The skin traces come from tracks of the smallest known theropod, the Minisauripus."

[Editorial update - clarifying that "skin traces" means "impressions of skin", rather than "traces of skin" - thanks to poster below. --FP.]

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Alphabet's Wing launches drone delivery service in Australia

After months of testing, Alphabet's Wing division is launching a drone delivery service in Australia. It will cover roughly 100 homes in the suburbs of Crace, Palmerston and Franklin, just outside the capital city of Canberra. Customers will be able to request small goods, such as medicine, coffee and groceries, from a range of local businesses including Kickstart Expresso, Capital Chemist, Pure Gelato, Jasper + Myrtle, Bakers Delight, Guzman Y Gomez, and Drummond Golf. Wing says it will slowly expand to more neighborhoods "in the coming weeks and months" and "connect with more local businesses" to expand the products that are available to order.

It's a huge moment for Wing. The team, which started as a massively-ambitious "moonshot" project inside X (then called Google X) has been testing drones in Australia since 2014. The company had planned to launch a commercial service in 2017, but clearly fell short. Instead, Wing teamed up with Mexican food chain Guzman Y Gomez and pharmaceutical retailer Chemist Warehouse for some advanced trials in October 2017. Since then, Wing has delivered 3,000 packages to homes in Fernleigh Park, Royalla and Bonython -- three communities just south of Canberra, close to the border between Australia Capital Territory and New South Wales.

Previously: Google Wants Order in Uncontrolled Airspace So its Wing Drones Can Fly
Alphabet/Google-Chipotle-Virginia Tech Burrito Delivery by Drone

Related: Donuts in Flight in First US-Approved Drone Delivery
Amazon Reports First Ever Successful Autonomous Drone Delivery
New World Record Set for Longest Drone Delivery
Walmart Files Patent for a Blimp Warehouse

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

"When we think about the future, we are confronted by a vast array of possibilities," explains Assistant Professor Mile Gu of NTU Singapore, who led development of the quantum algorithm that underpins the prototype "These possibilities grow exponentially as we go deeper into the future. For instance, even if we have only two possibilities to choose from each minute, in less than half an hour there are 14 million possible futures. In less than a day, the number exceeds the number of atoms in the universe." What he and his research group realised, however, was that a quantum computer can examine all possible futures by placing them in a quantum superposition – similar to Schrödinger's famous cat, which is simultaneously alive and dead.

To realise this scheme, they joined forces with the experimental group led by Professor Geoff Pryde at Griffith University. Together, the team implemented a specially devised photonic quantum information processor in which the potential future outcomes of a decision process are represented by the locations of photons – quantum particles of light. They then demonstrated that the state of the quantum device was a superposition of multiple potential futures, weighted by their probability of occurrence.

Will they call it the "Omega 13 Device?"

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The ISS is crawling with nasty bacteria

NASA scientists have found that the International Space Station (ISS), home to six astronauts, is infested with disease-inducing bacteria. Many of the organisms breeding on the craft's surfaces are known to form both bacterial and fungal biofilms that promote resistance to antibiotics. The NASA team published their findings in a new study -- the first comprehensive catalog of germs in closed space systems -- in the journal Microbiome [open, DOI: 10.1186/s40168-019-0666-x] [DX]. The biofilms ability to cause microbial-induced corrosion on Earth could also play havoc with the ISS' infrastructure by causing mechanical blockages, claim the researchers.

The microbes come from humans and are similar to the ones in gyms, offices, and hospitals on Earth. They include so-called opportunistic pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (commonly found on the skin and in the nasal passage) and Enterobacter (associated with the human gastrointestinal tract). Though they can cause diseases back on Earth, it's unclear what, if any, affect they'd have on the ISS' inhabitants.

Also at BGR.

Related: Space Builds Better Bugs?
Microbes Sampled and Sequenced Aboard the ISS
Prolonged Spaceflight Could Weaken Astronauts' Immune Systems

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

The robocall crisis will never totally be fixed

Years into the robocalling frenzy, your phone probably still rings off the hook with "important information about your account," updates from the "Chinese embassy," and every bogus sweepstakes offer imaginable. That's despite promises from the telecom industry and the US government that solutions would be coming. Much like the firehose of spam that made email almost unusable in the late 1990s, robocalls have made people in the US wary of picking up their cell phones and landlines. In fact, email spam offers a useful analogy: a scourge that probably can't be eliminated but can be effectively managed.

Finding the right tools for that job remains a challenge. The Federal Trade Commission has had a strong track record in its 140 robocall-related suits, including a recent victory at the end of March that targeted four massive operations. Bipartisan anti-robocalling legislation is gaining traction in Congress. Apps that flag or block unwanted calls have matured and are solidly effective. And wireless carriers—in part facing pressure from the Federal Communications Commission—have increasingly offered their own anti-robocalling apps and tools for free.

Yet the number of robocalls continues to hit new highs. The anti-robocalling company YouMail estimates that March 2019 saw 5.23 billion robocalls, the highest volume ever. And other firms recorded similar highs. But those numbers don't take into account calls that were successfully blocked. A more useful measure might be the number of complaints filed per month to the FCC and FTC, which remained mostly static in 2018 and the beginning of 2019.

"Even though we're at an all-time high, there's some good news," says YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "The numbers may be creeping up a little bit, but the situation seems to be mostly stable at this point. We have not turned the corner, but maybe the corner is in sight."

In fact, some consensus has emerged about where that corner is. Industry groups led by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions have been working since 2016 on a pair of standards, dubbed "STIR" and "SHAKEN," that will be used across landline, mobile, and VoIP carriers to cryptographically authenticate the source of calls. Basically, this means that the "spoofed" phone numbers robocallers rely on to ramp up their call volume—also the reason so many robocalls appear to come from your area code—will be easily flagged as untrustworthy.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

GIMP.org:

We haven't had any updates for a few months but the wait is hopefully worth it! We've got many nice new features, optimizations, and stability fixes in this release!

Version 2.10.10 highlights include:

• Line art detection in the Bucket Fill tool for comic artists
• Various usability improvements in transformation tools
• Sample Merged option added to the Heal tool and fixed in the Clone tool
• Parametric brushes now have 32-bit per channel precision
• Easier brush and pattern creation workflow
• On-canvas layer selection
• Faster saving/exporting and layer groups rendering
• Initial DDS support
• Many improvements in GEGL, the image processing engine

GIMP, the software that might have taken over the world if not for a fatal branding decision...

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

CNet:

I thought the precautions would reduce how much data Facebook gathered about me. Turns out, I was wasting my time.

Even when your account is deactivated, the social network continues collecting data about your online activities. All that data gets sent back to Facebook and is tied to your account while it's in this state of limbo. It's as if you'd changed nothing.

Facebook says it only removes all of your data if you permanently delete your account. Deactivating isn't as extreme, the company says, and the social network continues collecting your data in case you change your mind and want to return to your profile. Facebook expects deactivated users to return and wants to continue serving them ads relevant to their new interests.

In Soviet America, Facebook will deactivate you?

Original Submission

takyon writes:

New insights on the form and function of the dolphin clitoris

Despite decades of fascination with dolphins, scientists have long overlooked one aspect of the species' anatomy. For the first time, researchers offer an up-close look at the clitoris of female dolphins along with insights on the potential for the animals to experience sexual pleasure.

The scientists discovered that female bottlenose dolphins have large and well-developed clitorises. The structure of the tissue suggests the clitoris may expand, for example, in response to stimulation. The skin under the clitoral hood contains bundles of nerves that may increase sensitivity and the potential for pleasure, as has been found in the human clitoris.

Previous studies suggest sex plays an important role in social bonding among dolphins, as seen in other social species. Dolphins copulate year-round, including during periods when they cannot conceive.

"In other mammalian species with year-round copulation, such as humans and bonobos, sex is known to be pleasurable for females, often through clitoral stimulation that leads to orgasm," said Dara Orbach, PhD, research associate at Mount Holyoke College, who conducted the research along with Assistant Professor of Biology Patricia Brennan, PhD. "Our anatomical observations suggest the clitoris is functional in bottlenose dolphins, but further research, including physiological and behavioral analyses, are necessary to test if sexual experiences can be pleasurable for female dolphins."

Functional Morphology of the Dolphin Clitoris

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

Dolphins copulate year-round despite short estrus periods. Copulation may be pleasurable for female dolphins through clitoral stimulation, as they have large and well-developed clitorises. Although female mammals possess a clitoris homologous to the penis, the general structure and functional morphology has only been described in a few species. We explore the gross morphology and microanatomy of the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) clitoris at different developmental stages to assess the potential for erectile tissue to expand during copulation. Excised clitorises were collected opportunistically from eleven post-mortem dolphins including adults, subadults, and calves. Specimens were subdivided for use in: 1) gross morphology dissections, 2) micro-computed tomography scans, or 3) paraffin histology and staining (modified Mason's trichrome and hematoxylin and eosin). Erectile tissue was present consistently along the clitoral body that extended from the hood tip to the base. The erectile tissue had a forked shape and similar relative volumes in both the calf and subadult specimens. The erectile tissue was surrounded by a thick layer of smooth muscle along the lateral sides of the crurae, clitoral body, and hood, but not cranially or caudally. Muscle tissue was surrounded by connective tissue. There was a hard bulb with a capsule around it at the root of the clitoris proper that was comprised of dense connective tissue. It appeared to be structural rather than erectile or secretory in nature. Our data provide a baseline for comparisons with other species known to have sex for pleasure (e.g., humans). The consistent shape and relative volumes of erectile tissues between calves and subadults suggest there are few developmental changes except for allometric size increases. Future research that compares the density of connective tissue in cetaceans and other marine and terrestrial mammals may be able to yield insights if the unexpectedly dense tissue of the dolphin clitoris is an adaptation driven by natural selection or sexual selection.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Inkstone News:

Federal officials have labeled Boston a major target of Chinese spies who are looking to steal trade and technology secrets from the US.

US Assistant Attorney General John Demers, who leads a federal force against Chinese espionage in America, said Massachusetts had become a focus of his team's work, the Associated Press reported.
...
Massachusetts is home to top-ranked universities including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It also hosts military contractors such as weapon maker Raytheon and defense system provider Mercury Systems.

As part of the China Initiative, officials said they had met with local companies and colleges last week to encourage them to bring suspected instances of espionage to the attention of federal investigators.

Lelling said the large number of Chinese nationals living in Boston also made the city a potential espionage target, but officials added that most were in the US for legitimate reasons, such as study.

Technology workers should keep a close eye on Wang?

Original Submission

jas writes:

Extended support for Windows Embedded POSReady 2009—the last supported version of Windows based on Windows XP—ended on April 9, 2019, marking the final end of the Windows NT 5.1 product line after 17 years, 7 months, and 16 days. Counting this edition, Windows XP is the longest-lived version of Windows ever—a record which is unlikely to be beaten.

[...] Despite the nominal end of support for Windows XP five years ago, the existence of POSReady 2009 allowed users to receive security updates on Windows XP Home and Professional SP3 through the use of a registry hack. Microsoft dissuaded users from doing this, stating that they "do not fully protect Windows XP customers," though no attempt was apparently made to prevent users from using this hack. With POSReady reaching the end of support, the flow of these security updates will likewise come to an end.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/windows-xp-dies-final-death-as-embedded-posready-2009-reaches-end-of-life/

Original Submission