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takyon writes:

Microsoft and Oracle link up their clouds

Microsoft and Oracle announced a new alliance today that will see the two companies directly connect their clouds over a direct network connection so that their users can then move workloads and data seamlessly between the two. This alliance goes a bit beyond just basic direct connectivity and also includes identity interoperability.

This kind of alliance is relatively unusual between what are essentially competing clouds, but while Oracle wants to be seen as a major player in this space, it also realizes that it isn't likely to get to the size of an AWS, Azure or Google Cloud anytime soon. For Oracle, this alliance means that its users can run services like the Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle JD Edwards on Azure while still using an Oracle database in the Oracle cloud, for example. With that, Microsoft still gets to run the workloads and Oracle gets to do what it does best (though Azure users will also continue be able to run their Oracle databases in the Azure cloud, too).

Also at Reuters, VentureBeat, and Wccftech.

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takyon writes:

Where Are All the Internet Cafes Going in Asia?

Rewind the clock 20 years and walk down a major street in Asia, and you'll likely see a sign advertising an Internet Cafe. "網吧", "网吧", "Kafe Internet", "PC 뱅", "อินเทอร์เน็ตคาเฟ่"; these were all signs offering anyone from the everyman to the wayward traveller a chance to connect to the World Wide Web or engage in virtual battle with Zombies, Orcs, or the Protoss.

[...] Despite all signs that the internet cafe industry should be alive and well within Asia, the data shows otherwise. Tax data from Taiwan's Ministry of Finance has the number of internet cafes dropping by over 50% since 2011.

Over in China, it's a decline though not as pronounced: the number of internet cafes continues to trickle downwards, having peaked in 2016 at approximately 150,000 and hitting 138,000 establishments in 2018. Local analysts believe the industry will continue to decline by 4.5% year-over-year.

Down in Singapore, the capital of rich-world Asia, the trend continues: only 11 are currently operating in the city-state of 4.5 million down from 20 a few years ago.

However, in the developing world, this trend towards oblivion starts to slow down. While in Indonesia, the number of internet cafes has declined but stabilized, in contrast, in the Philippines this number has grown substantially in the past decade.

Internet café (not to be confused with using the Wi-Fi at Starbucks).

Related: Man Dies in Taiwan after 3-day Online Gaming Binge

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takyon writes:

House Intelligence panel to examine 'deepfake' videos in June

The House Intelligence Committee has slated a hearing in June that will examine a series of national security matters, including the threat of videos manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI) that look strikingly real, a panel aide said.

The congressional hearing on June 13 will be one of the first to primarily focus on so-called deepfakes, which experts and lawmakers say pose a major disinformation threat heading into the 2020 election.

The hearing comes amid a spotlight on a fake video of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that made its way across Facebook and other social media platforms in late May.

This video, which was viewed millions of times, was edited in a way that made her appear to slur her words. While the video was not made with advanced AI technology, experts say that will be the next step in the disinformation threat.

Also at CNN and CNET.

See also: The 2020 campaigns aren't ready for deepfakes

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takyon writes:

GameStop's future is grim as its stock price crumbles

GameStop is falling, and many analysts and industry observers are skeptical it can recover. The retailer reported earnings yesterday for Q1 of its fiscal 2020 yesterday where it missed its revenue target. Now, the company's stock price has crumbled to $5, which is the lowest this has been since 2013.

For Q1, GameStop generated $1.55 billion in revenues. That was significantly short of Wall Street's expected $1.64 billion. The company did cut costs to improve its earnings per share, but that's not something it can do every quarter. And GameStop's outlook is dire in part because its core business — selling hardware and used games — is starting to dry up.

Used game revenues dropped 20% year-over-year last quarter. And hardware revenues dropped 35 percent in the same comparison. And while the company has diversified into collectibles with its ThinkGeek brand, that growth wasn't enough to offset other declines.

[...] "Pre-owned revenues declined 20% year-on-year in Q1 2019, driven by continued traffic headwinds from a tougher year-on-year software release slate," Baird analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in a note to investors. "While new hardware sales declined 35% year-on-year, as Switch growth was more than offset by declines in Xbox One and PlayStation 4 sales. Reflecting a console cycle now long in the tooth."

Services like Google Stadia won't help GameStop's situation.

See also: GameStop Slumps 40% to 16-Year Low as Gaming Passes It By
The video game sales slump is killing GameStop
GameStop Stock Is Plummeting. The Bonds Are Doing Fine.
GameStop Has Become the Poster Child for Retail Woes and Tech Disruption

Previously: GameStop's Future in Question after Failing to Secure Buyout
GameStop Posts Massive Loss as Pre-Owned Game Sales Plummet

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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

After more than two decades battling internet hoaxes, retouched photos, and other fake news, David Mikkelson, co-founder of Snopes, faces a much larger and more existential adversary.

Since 2017, Mikkelson has been locked in a nasty legal dispute with former business associates over control of Snopes, the pioneering fact-checking website that Mikkelson launched with a former wife in 1994 and which he now runs with his current wife from their house in Tacoma.

The dispute, which is playing out in the California courts, has generated claims and counterclaims of financial mismanagement, conspiracy and embezzlement. Mikkelson stands accused of, among other things, using company funds for "lavish" vacations, while he in turn levels accusations of fraud.

It has also been so costly that, by Mikkelson's account, Snopes and its parent company, Bardav, might have gone under without help from GoFundMe campaigns, and Snopes hasn't been able to operate at full capacity, even as demand for internet fact-checking grows by the week.

"We could have had a larger staff of more fact checkers and more editors," said Mikkelson from his home near the University of Puget Sound, where he relocated in 2016 from California. "We could have put more resources into developing the technological tools that we use."

But officials with Proper Media, the San Diego-based web and advertising-services firm that worked for nearly two years to build up Snopes' site traffic and ad revenues, say it was Mikkelson himself who drained the company's coffers.

Indeed, the dispute between Proper Media and Bardav arose "because there was a sense that David is siphoning money from the business to fund a fairly extravagant lifestyle," said Stephen Fox, a Dallas-based attorney representing Proper Media.

The case, which may not go to trial until next spring, will likely turn on the precise nature of the relationship between Proper Media and Bardav.

Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/tacoma-based-snopes-debunker-of-fake-news-is-locked-in-a-nasty-legal-dispute/

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

RandomFactor writes:

You may recall that back in November, NASA's Insight lander began drilling down into the surface of Mars hoping to reach a depth of 16 feet (5 meters) with an instrument affectionately dubbed "The Mole"

NASA scientists now have a plan to hopefully determine the cause of the Lander's shallow shoveling.

Although the mission went well, at the last moment the heat probe only managed to reach a depth of 13cm before progress stalled.

There are a couple of theories for what is causing this.

1) The probe may have simply hit a rock.
2) The soil around the heat probe may be too 'slick'. "(The mole needs a certain amount of soil friction to dig; otherwise, it will simply bounce in place.)"

Unfortunately right now, it is simply impossible to be sure. This is because the Insight Lander's support structure blocks the onboard camera's view of the instrument.

So, the mission team plans to use the lander's robotic arm to lift that support structure out of the way.

According to Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, this will allow the scientists to "gather more information and try at least one solution."

The lifting maneuver, which the team has been practicing with mock-ups at JPL, will begin on the Red Planet in late June. And InSight's handlers will proceed carefully.

"Over the course of a week, the arm will lift the structure in three steps, taking images and returning them so that engineers can make sure the mole isn't being pulled out of the ground while the structure is moved," NASA officials wrote in the same statement. "If removed from the soil, the mole can't go back in."

The investigation process itself will add friction to the soil near the mole according to Tilman Spohn of the German Aerospace Center which built the mole.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for AnonymousLuser

Apple's new App Store policies push developers to use its sign-in

At WWDC Apple continued to position itself as separate from tech rivals like Google and Facebook on the issue of privacy, unveiling a new "Sign-in with Apple" feature that hides your identity even from developers. So, given the value of collecting information about their users, why would any developer actually include the option in their app? Because they have to, according to the company's refreshed guidelines.

Sign In with Apple will be available for beta testing this summer. It will be required as an option for users in apps that support third-party sign-in when it is commercially available later this year.

At least, if it offers third-party sign-ins as an option (read: Google or Facebook authentication), then it has to include Apple's privacy-focused setup too. These are the same guidelines that now further restrict data collection on apps meant for kids, and they don't stop there.

There are several new or updated guidelines highlighting some familiar privacy pain points, like VPNs and the use of MDM (remember Facebook's Onavo / Research dustups?), or apps that compile information from public databases without the user's consent. VPN and MDM apps "may not sell, use, or disclose to third parties any data for any purpose," while the ban on apps that scrape information could have far reaching implications.

Original Submission

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

A new tool launched by privacy activists offers to help travelers avoid increasingly invasive facial recognition technologies in airports.

Activist groups Fight for the Future, Demand Progress and CREDO on Wednesday unveiled a new website called AirlinePrivacy.com, which shows users what airlines use facial recognition to verify the identity of passengers before boarding. The site also helps customers to directly book flights with airlines that don't use facial recognition technologies.

[...] Though biometric boarding programs are not a security requirement for flights in the US, many passengers may not know they can decline its use. In most cases, the technology is implemented on an opt-out basis, meaning passengers are automatically enrolled unless they instruct otherwise.

The opt-out basis of the programs puts the onus of maintaining privacy on the consumer, who may not know they are being tracked to begin with, said Tihi Hayslett, a senior campaigner at Demand Progress, another activist group.

[...] Wednesday's launch of the website comes as scrutiny of facial recognition technologies has heightened. In May, San Francisco became the first city in the United states to ban the use of facial recognition technology. Shareholders of Amazon have been pushing the company to stop selling facial recognition technology to law enforcement. A 2016 Georgetown University study found roughly 117 million people's identities are already in facial recognition databases and there is minimal legal instruction on how that data can be used.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jun/05/airlines-facial-recognition-privacy

Original Submission

takyon wrote in with a story which was the basis for:

NSA warns Microsoft Windows users of cyber-attack risk

The US National Security Agency (NSA) has warned Microsoft Windows users to make sure they are using updated systems to guard against cyber-attacks.

US officials and Microsoft executives say older versions of the programs may be vulnerable to malware. In the advisory, NSA officials said a flaw known as "BlueKeep" exists in past editions of Microsoft Windows.

Last week Microsoft warned that "some older versions of Windows" could be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. "All customers on affected operating systems [Windows 7 and earlier] should update as soon as possible," said Microsoft.

US officials said the "BlueKeep" flaw could leave computers vulnerable to infection by viruses through automated attacks or by the downloading of malicious attachments.

According to HelpNetSecurity:

An unauthenticated BlueKeep network scanner tool has been released and so has a Metasploit module for unauthenticated checking for the vulnerability.

And, from ZDNet:

Intense scanning activity detected for BlueKeep RDP flaw. A threat actor hidden behind Tor nodes is scanning for Windows systems vulnerable to BlueKeep flaw.

Also at Gizmodo.

Official entry on the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database: CVE-2019-0708.

Previously:
Microsoft Issues Urgent Windows XP Patch to Prevent WannaCry-Style Attack
Why a Windows Flaw Patched Nine Days Ago is Still Spooking the Internet

Original Submission

AnonTechie writes:

An international team of researchers from Western Sydney University, Harvard University, Kings College, Oxford University and University of Manchester have found the Internet can produce both acute and sustained alterations in specific areas of cognition, which may reflect changes in the brain, affecting our attentional capacities, memory processes, and social interactions.

In a first of its kind review, published in World Psychiatry -- the world's leading psychiatric research journal, the researchers investigated leading hypotheses on how the Internet may alter cognitive processes, and further examined the extent to which these hypotheses were supported by recent findings from psychological, psychiatric and neuro-imaging research.

[...] "It's clear the Internet has drastically altered the opportunity for social interactions, and the contexts within which social relationships can take place. So, it's now critical to understand the potential for the online world to actually alter our social functioning, and determine which aspects of our social behaviour will change, and which won't."

How the Internet may be changing the brain

[Abstract]: The "online brain":

[Source]: Research reveals how the Internet may be changing the brain

Original Submission

AnonTechie writes:

Researchers have demonstrated that vehicle armor using composite metal foam (CMF) can stop ball and armor-piercing .50 caliber rounds as well as conventional steel armor, even though it weighs less than half as much. The finding means that vehicle designers will be able to develop lighter military vehicles without sacrificing safety, or can improve protection without making vehicles heavier.

CMF is a foam that consists of hollow, metallic spheres -- made of materials such as stainless steel or titanium -- embedded in a metallic matrix made of steel, titanium, aluminum or other metallic alloys. In this study, the researchers used steel-steel CMF, meaning that both the spheres and the matrix were made of steel.

The CMF layer of the armor was able to absorb 72-75% of the kinetic energy of the ball rounds, and 68-78% of the kinetic energy of the armor-piercing rounds.

In addition, Rabiei's group has shown that CMFs, in addition to being lightweight, are very effective at shielding X-rays, gamma rays and neutron radiation -- and can handle fire and heat twice as well as the plain metals they are made of.

[...] "In short, CMFs hold promise for a variety of applications: from space exploration to shipping nuclear waste, explosives and hazardous materials, to military and security applications and even cars, buses and trains," Rabiei says.

Metal foam stops .50 caliber rounds

[Source]: NC State University

[Related Video]: YouTube Video

[Abstract]: Ballistic Performance of Composite Metal Foam against Large Caliber Threats

Original Submission

takyon writes:

AMD has no plans to license its Zen 2 microarchitecture to the Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co. Ltd. (THATIC) joint venture:

AMD CEO Lisa Su confirmed to Tom's Hardware at Computex 2019 that the company isn't licensing further chip designs to its China-backed joint venture. That means that AMD's chip-producing joint venture in China will be confined to the Zen architecture that debuted in first-gen Ryzen and EPYC Naples processors, but will not move forward with designs based on AMD's new Zen 2 microarchitecture that powers the third-gen Ryzen and EPYC Rome processors.

[...] The agreement allowed Hygon, a Chinese server vendor, to design specialized processors based upon AMD's Zen microarchitecture, which is the underlying design of AMD's Ryzen and EPYC processors. Many of the architectural customizations consisted of specialized cryptographic elements that meet the requirements of the Chinese government, with the first products consisting of Hygon's 'Dhyana' x86 processors that appeared to be near-replicas of AMD's EPYC data center processors. We are told there are other optimizations to the architecture that are designed specifically for the Chinese market, but we haven't been given more details. Sugon, a Chinese government-backed server vendor, also had plans for a Zen 2-based exascale supercomputer, but the status of that project is now unknown.

[...] We asked Lisa Su if the company would continue working with the THATIC joint venture amid the U.S.-China trade war, and Su said that while the company is continuing the joint venture, "we are not discussing any additional technology transfers," and elaborated that most of the work took place on the JV's side, while there "is not a lot of work on the AMD side."

"THATIC was a single-generation technology license, and there are no additional technology licenses," Su explained, though she did not clarify if the decision not to extend the technology transfers was a direct result of the trade war. That means that the technology transfer, which provided THATIC with access to the first-gen Zen microarchitecture, will not be extended to allow the Chinese chipmaker access to AMD's Zen 2 microarchitecture.

Also at TechSpot.

Previously: Chinese Company Produces Chips Closely Based on AMD's Zen Microarchitecture
More on AMD's Licensing of Epyc Server Chips to Chinese Companies

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Could Prostitution Be Next to Be Decriminalized?

Marijuana has gone mainstream, casino gambling is everywhere and sports wagering is spreading. Could prostitution be next? Lawmakers across the country are beginning to reconsider how to handle prostitution, as calls for decriminalization are slowly gaining momentum.

Decriminalization bills have been introduced in Maine and Massachusetts; a similar bill is expected to be introduced to the City Council in Washington D.C. in June; and lawmakers in Rhode Island held hearings in April on a proposal to study the impact of decriminalizing prostitution.

New York may be next: Some Democratic lawmakers are about to propose a comprehensive decriminalization bill that would eliminate penalties for both women and men engaged in prostitution, as well as the johns whom they service. "This is about the oldest profession, and understanding that we haven't been able to deter or end it, in millennia," said Senator Jessica Ramos, a Democrat from Queens who is one of the plan's backers. "So I think it's time to confront reality."

[...] At a recent rally in Albany to repeal a statute criminalizing loitering for the purposes of prostitution, former sex workers stood next to lawmakers like Senator Ramos and Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, the chairman of the health committee. Organizers of the protest cast their efforts as a civil and economic rights battle — reflecting a broader progressive passion for gay and transgender rights, as well as criminal justice reform — that was also defending the rights of minorities and illegal immigrants, and even "bodily autonomy," the ability to make ends meet by any means necessary.

See also: Net worth of Americans aged 18 to 35 has dropped 34 percent since 1996: study

Previously: Prostitution Decriminalized: Rhode Island's Experiment
Washington, D.C. Bill Would Decriminalize Sex Work

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

The United States says it will take "unprecedented actions" to ensure the supply of strategic elements and rare earths, as China mulls possible export controls for materials that are critical to modern technology.
...
In December 2017, Trump called on the Department of Commerce and other US agencies to develop new sources of critical materials to reduce vulnerabilities to supply disruptions, especially from foreign sources.

The US report calls for improving supplies "through investment and trade with America's allies," while streamlining the issuance of permits for mining in the United States, including on federal lands.

It also lists a plan to improve mapping and data collection to promote domestic exploration.

And to think only a few short decades ago we were going to war for oil...

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Bloomberg:

As the world strives to wean itself off fossil fuels, oil companies have been turning to plastic as the key to their future. Now even that's looking overly optimistic.

The global crackdown on plastic trash threatens to take a big chunk out of demand growth just as oil companies like Saudi Aramco sink billions into plastic and chemicals assets. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc, Total SA and Exxon Mobil Corp. are all ramping up investments in the sector.

Renewed emphasis on recycling and the spread of local bans on some kinds of plastic products could cut petrochemical demand growth to one-third of its historical pace, to about 1.5% a year, said Paul Bjacek, a principal director at consulting firm Accenture Plc.

Maybe they can convince consumers to accept clamshell packaging for everything.

Original Submission