SoylentNews

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/google-will-keep-200000-workers-home-through-next-summer/

Google will keep "nearly all" of its workforce—around 200,000 employees and contractors—working from home for another year, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly made the decision last week.

The long timeline gives more certainty for Googlers who are making school and housing decisions for the coming academic year. Previously Google workers were due back in the office in January.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

U.S. agency: Pandemic masks thwarting face recognition tech:

Having a tough time recognizing your neighbors behind their pandemic masks? Computers are finding it more difficult, too.

A preliminary study published by a U.S. agency on Monday found that even the best commercial facial recognition systems have error rates as high as 50% when trying to identify masked faces.

The mask problem is why Apple earlier this year made it easier for iPhone owners to unlock their phones without Face ID. It could also be thwarting attempts by authorities to identify individual people at Black Lives Matter protests and other gatherings.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology says it is launching an investigation to better understand how facial recognition performs on covered faces. Its preliminary study examined only those algorithms created before the pandemic, but its next step is to look at how accuracy could improve as commercial providers adapt their technology to an era when so many people are wearing masks.

Some companies, including those that work with law enforcement, have tried to tailor their face-scanning algorithms to focus on people's eyes and eyebrows.

NIST, which is a part of the Commerce Department, is working with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security's science office to study the problem.

Aww, I feel so bad for the little guy! Perhaps we can help out by training up a neural net to correlate masked and unmasked photos.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Despite debate, even the world's oldest trees are not immortal:

The oldest trees on Earth have stood for nearly five millennia, and researchers have long wondered to what extent these ancient organisms undergo senescence, physically deteriorating as they age. A recent paper studying ginkgoes, one of the world's longest-lived trees, even found that they may be able to "escape senescence at the whole-plant level," raising questions about the apparent lack of aging in centuries-old trees. However, in a Forum publishing July 27 in the journal Trends in Plant Science, plant biologist Sergi Munné-Bosch argues that although signs of senescence in long-lived trees may be almost imperceptible to people, this does not mean that they're immortal.

[...] Despite trees' well-evolved methods of prolonging the aging process, research has shown that they still undergo physiological stress associated with senescence. "They have limits," says Munné-Bosch. "There are physical and mechanical constraints that limit their ability to live indefinitely."

However, due to the difficulty of conducting research on trees with such long lifespans, little is known about what the process of senescence looks like. Simply finding enough millennial trees to study can be challenging. "When a species of tree can live for five millennia, it's very difficult to find even two trees that are between two and five millennia," says Munné-Bosch. For these long-lived trees, dying of senescence is a possibility, but the probability of dying from other causes is significantly higher. "They don't have to worry about senescence because they have other things that worry them more," he says.

Journal Reference:
Li Wang, Jiawen Cui, Biao Jin, et al. Multifeature analyses of vascular cambial cells reveal longevity mechanisms in old Ginkgo biloba trees [open], Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1916548117)

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Testing Chernobyl fungi as a radiation shield for astronauts:

[...] In this new effort, the researchers have built on research that showed some kinds of fungus are able to flourish in a very highly radioactive place here on Earth—inside the destroyed reactors at the Chernobyl site in Ukraine. Testing of several types of the fungus has showed that they not only survive in the former reactors, but actually flourish. They have the ability to absorb radiation and to convert it into energy for their own use. [...T]he researchers arranged with NASA to send a sample of one of the types of fungus found at Chernobyl—cladosporium sphaerospermum—to the International Space Station.

Once the fungus sample arrived at the ISS, astronauts monitored the petri dish set up by the researchers. One side of the petri dish was coated with the fungus; the other side had no fungus and served as a control. [...] The researchers found that the side of the petri dish that was covered with fungus reduced radiation levels coming through the dish by approximately 2% compared to the control side.

Journal Reference:
Graham K. Shunk, Xavier R. Gomez, Nils J. H. Averesch. A Self-Replicating Radiation-Shield for Human Deep-Space Exploration: Radiotrophic Fungi can Attenuate Ionizing Radiation aboard the International Space Station, bioRxiv (DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.16.205534)

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

New study reveals how day- and night-biting mosquitoes respond differently to colors of light and time of day:

The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine-led team studied mosquito species that bite in the daytime (Aedes aegypti, aka the Yellow Fever mosquito) and those that bite at night (Anopheles coluzzi, a member of the Anopheles gambiae family, the major vector for malaria). They found distinct responses to ultraviolet light and other colors of light between the two species.

[...] We find that day-biting mosquitoes are attracted to a wide range of light spectra during the daytime, whereas night-biting mosquitoes are strongly photophobic to short-wavelength light during the daytime," said principal investigator Todd C. Holmes, PhD, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the UCI School of Medicine. "Our results show that timing and light spectra are critical for species-specific light control of harmful mosquitoes."

[...] The new work shows that day-biting mosquitoes, particularly females that require blood meals for their fertilized eggs, are attracted to light during the day regardless of spectra. In contrast, night-biting mosquitoes specifically avoid ultraviolet (UV) and blue light during the day.

[...] "Light is the primary regulator of circadian rhythms and evokes a wide range of time-of-day specific behaviors," said Holmes. "By gaining an understanding of how insects respond to short wavelength light in a species-specific manner, we can develop new, environmentally friendly alternatives to controlling harmful insects more effectively and reduce the need for environmentally damaging toxic pesticides."

Journal Reference:
Lisa S. Baik, Ceazar Nave, David D. Au, et al. Circadian Regulation of Light-Evoked Attraction and Avoidance Behaviors in Daytime- versus Nighttime-Biting Mosquitoes, (DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.010)

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Garmin Begins Recovery From Ransomware Attack - BBC News:

The American GPS and fitness-tracker company Garmin is dealing with the aftermath of a ransomware attack, the BBC has confirmed.

Owners of its products had been unable to use its services since Thursday.

However, some of its online tools are now being provided in a "limited" state, according to its online dashboard.

Garmin has said it was "the victim of a cyber-attack that encrypted some of our systems".

[...] "Many of our online services were interrupted including website functions, customer support, customer-facing applications, and company communications," it said.

"We have no indication that any customer data, including payment information from Garmin Pay, was accessed, lost or stolen."

The firm added that it expected all its systems to return to normal operation within a few days, but warned that there might be a "backlog" of user data to process.

[...] Pilots who use flyGarmin were unable to download up-to-date aviation databases, which aviation regulators such as the FAA require pilots to have, before they can fly.

Customers were also unable to log into Garmin Connect to record and analyse their health and fitness data.

Previously:
(2020-07-27) Garmin Hit by Massive Outage After Possible Ransomware Attack

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Huge apparent leak unearths Nintendo's prototype history:

A massive leak of apparent Nintendo source code is giving gamers a rare, unauthorized look at Nintendo's development process dating back to the Super NES era.

The massive trove of files, first posted to 4chan Friday and quickly dubbed the "Gigaleak" by the community, includes compilable code and assets for Super NES, Game Boy, and N64 games in the Mario,Mario Kart, Zelda, F-Zero, and Pokemon series. Hidden among that code is a bevy of pre-release art and sound files that have never seen the light of day, as well as fully playable prototype versions of some games.

Nintendo has not responded to a request for comment, but the sheer size and complexity of the leak points to its authenticity—faking this much data in a believable (and workable) way would just be an incredible amount of work.

[...] Modders and homebrew developers have been digging through the trove of data over the weekend and taking to Twitter and YouTube with their discoveries. Among the most interesting findings:

[...] While many are reveling in a treasure trove of previously unknown historical information contained in the leaks, some are worried over the privacy implications of some internal emails included in the leak, complete with personally identifiable information in some cases. Others are worried about how the revelations will ripple through the industry.

"This Nintendo leak is bad on so many levels," Digital Eclipse developer Mike Mika tweeted. "It hurts them, it hurts fans, and it turns the topic of preservation into a topic of security and tightening the grip on intellectual property regardless of its historical or educational value to history."

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/22/error-tricare-tells-600k-beneficiaries-theyve-had-covid-19.html:

More than 600,000 people in Tricare, a health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System, received emails July 17 asking if they would donate blood for research as "survivors of COVID-19."

But just 31,000 people affiliated with the U.S. military have been officially diagnosed with the coronavirus, which prompted confusion, Military.com reported last week.

"Just wondering [if] anybody [got] an email from Tricare saying since you are a COVID survivor, please donate your plasma.?? I have NOT been tested," wrote a beneficiary on Facebook. "Just remember all those people inputting data are human and make mistakes."

The mass email went to every beneficiary located near a collection point.

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quietus writes:

Last week Monday VW opened up its pre-orders list for the ID.3, its first all-electric car built on its MEB platform. A week later, and 37,000 customers have put €1000 [~1,176 USD] in advance already.

There are a couple of reasons for the apparent enthusiasm. First the range, going from an official 330 km [~200 mi] (45kWh battery) standard range over 420 km [~250 mi] (58kWh) medium to 550 km [~330 mi] (77kWh) for the long range battery. Practical range is estimated at 260, 330 and 430 km. [~156, ~200, and ~260 mi],

Second the price. The standard version comes in at €21,000 [~24,700 USD] in Germany (€30,000 [~35,300 USD] list price, €9,000 [~10,600 USD] subsidy). Medium range has a list price of €36,000 [~42,300 USD], for the maximum range the price is not yet known, but below €50,000 [~58,800 USD].

The car is rear-wheel driven by an 150kW motor, with top speed limited at 160 km/h [~100 mph]. Torque is 310Nm, delivering 0-60 kph [~37 mph] in 3.7 seconds (1st version; the standard version 9 seconds).

No talk about autonomous driving though: only lane assist and adaptive cruise control are provided.

Delivery of the car starts in September. There are no plans to bring the ID.3 to the US. Volkswagen said it is on track to deliver 70,000 ID.3's by year's end, and an additional 30,000 upcoming ID.4 SUVs along with that. Tesla, in contrast, sold more than 90,000 of its cars last quarter alone.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Microsoft is Working on an Azure-Powered Cloud PC service:

Microsoft is building a new desktop-as-a-service offering built on top of Windows Virtual Desktop that could launch as soon as 2021.

Microsoft is currently calling the coming virtualization service "Cloud PC." Cloud PC won't replace locally installed Windows (and Office) -- for the foreseeable future, anyway. It will be an option for customers who want to use their own Windows PCs made by Microsoft and/or other PC makers basically like thin clients, with Windows, Office and potentially other software delivered virtually by Microsoft.

[...] "Microsoft Cloud PC is a strategic, new offering that is built on top of Windows Virtual Desktop to delivering Desktop as a Service. At its core, Cloud PC provides business customers a modern, elastic, cloud-based Windows experience and will allow organizations to stay current in a more simplistic and scalable manner," the job description says.

Microsoft is planning to make Cloud PC a Microsoft-365-powered experience that is managed by Microsoft and sold for a flat per user price, the job description says. This pricing piece is key. Windows Virtual Desktop pricing revolves around Azure consumption. Cloud PC sounds like it will be available for a set subscription fee.

takyon writes:

Immersive Display Creates Panoramic Virtual Screens

Immersive displays generally either involve giant screens à la IMAX, virtual reality (VR), or augmented reality (AR) headsets that place tiny screens and lenses close to a person's eyes to simulate large screens that encompass most of a user's field of view. Engaging as immersive displays are, electrical engineer Barmak Heshmat and his colleagues at an AR startup, "realized the bitter reality that people don't want to wear headgear; it's just too much friction to have something on your face. I think people can talk volumes about that, considering that now everyone has to wear masks.

"Just imagine wearing a 200-gram object on your face for 6.5 hours," Heshmat says. "It is really exhausting, but 6.5 hours is the average time we spend in front of computers, easily, every day."

[...] The 13-by-30-inch pilot displays Brelyon is developing will have a perceived screen 122 inches large, as seen from 55 inches away, says Heshmat, who is Brelyon's CEO. The displays will each provide an immersive 101-degree field of view, with a 4K to 8K resolution and high frame rate, he adds. "We can replace six 32-inch monitors with the size of one," Heshmat says.

The company says that, whereas conventional displays direct flat images at viewers, its light-field display creates a window-like 3-D scene by recreating the field of light rays that might travel from every point and in every direction within a 3-D space.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

no soylents were surprised

Paper blaming COVID-19 on 5G technology withdrawn:

A paper which argued that 5G cellphone technology could lead to infection with the novel coronavirus has been retracted, but not before scientific sleuth Elisabeth Bik wondered whether it was the "worst paper of 2020."

The article, "5G Technology and induction of coronavirus in skin cells," came from a group from Italy, the United States and Russia, and appeared in theJournal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents. The journal is published by Biolife, which asserts that it's peer reviewed but has not responded to a request for comment.

The abstract is now marked "WITHDRAWN" on PubMed and the paper has disappeared from the journal's website. The abstract has been preserved here.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

Tandem catalytic system efficiently converts carbon dioxide to methanol:

Converting carbon dioxide to methanol, a potentially renewable alternative fuel, offers an opportunity to simultaneously form an alternative fuel and cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.

Inspired by naturally occurring processes, a team of Boston College chemists used a multi-catalyst system to convert carbon dioxide to methanol at the lowest temperatures reported with high activity and selectivity, the researchers reported in a recent online edition of the journal Chem.

The team's discovery was made possible by installing multiple catalysts in a single system constructed within a sponge-like porous crystalline material known as a metal-organic framework, said Boston College Associate Professors of Chemistry Jeffery Byers and Frank Tsung, lead authors of the report.

Held in place by the sponge, the separate catalysts work in harmony. Without isolation of the catalytically active species in this way, the reaction did not proceed and no product was obtained, they reported.

The team drew its inspiration from the biological machinery in cells, which use multicomponent chemical reactions with great efficiency, Tsung said.

[...] In addition to achieving site isolation by encapsulating the catalysts, which led to catalyst activity and recyclability, the team discovered an autocatalytic feature of the catalyst that enabled the reaction to be run without the need for large amounts of additives. Most previous reports for similar reactions use large amounts of additives, but the team's approach avoids this necessity and it is the first to use carbon dioxide in an energy-related reaction, Tsung said.

The team plans to do further research into the modularity of both the encapsulation method and the metal-organic frameworks to gain a deeper understanding of the multicomponent system and optimize it further, as well as access new, unexplored reactivity through the formation of new host-guest constructs, Tsung said.

Journal Reference:
Thomas M. Rayder, Enric H. Adillon, Jeffery A. Byers, Chia-Kuang Tsung. A Bioinspired Multicomponent Catalytic System for Converting Carbon Dioxide into Methanol Autocatalytically [$]. Chem May 05, 2020. DOI:10.1016/j.chempr.2020.04.008

Original Submission

Garmin International hit by ransomware attack, global outages

CheesyMoo writes:

Multiple outlets reporting on a ransomeware attack against Garmin International

TechCrunch:
"An ongoing global outage at sport and fitness tech giant Garmin was caused by a ransomware attack, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the incident."

https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/25/garmin-outage-ransomware-sources/

The Guardian [paywall]:

"Garmin has been forced to shut down its call centres, website and some other online services after a ransomware attack encrypted the smartwatch maker's internal network and some production systems.
The US company shut down services including the official Garmin website and all customer services, including phone lines, online chat and email."

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/24/smartwatch-maker-garmin-hit-by-outages-after-ransomware-attack

The Aviationist:
"The FlyGarmin app for pilots using Garmin GPS based instruments and navigation equipment experienced an outage beginning on Jul. 23, 2020, evening, Eastern Daylight Savings Time in the United States. Some sections of the website appear to have been restored after what some media outlets are calling a "ransomware attack"."
https://theaviationist.com/2020/07/25/garmin-aviation-app-and-services-down-in-ransomware-attack/

Garmin Hit by Massive Outage After Possible Ransomware Attack

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

Garmin hit by massive outage after possible ransomware attack:

Garmin's fitness wearables like its popular Forerunner series remain disconnected after almost a day. The issue appears to be ransomware related, as hackers have reportedly locked critical internal systems.

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Google taken to court by ACCC for 'misleading consumers on targeted ads':

The competition watchdog has launched Federal Court proceedings against Google alleging the tech giant misled Australian consumers about how their personal data was collected and used to improve its advertising service.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced on Monday it had commenced proceedings claiming Google failed to properly inform consumers and did not get their explicit informed consent to expand the scope of personal information that it could collect and combine a user's activity on non-Google sites with the information on their Google accounts.

Google disputes the allegations and said it intends to defend its position.

[...] ACCC chair Rod Sims said the watchdog was taking legal action because it considered Google misled Australian consumers about what it planned to do with large amounts of their personal information, including internet activity on websites not connected to Google.

[...] A spokesperson for Google said the tech giant updated its ad systems and associated user controls in June 2016 to match the way people use Google products across many different devices.

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