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takyon writes:

Google to Face $5B Lawsuit Over Tracking Users in Incognito Mode

Google Chrome's Incognito Mode is at the forefront of a $5 billion class-action lawsuit which alleges users are being tracked during private browsing sessions.

The lawsuit alleges Google is in violation of wiretapping and privacy laws for intercepting, tracking, and collecting communications when Chrome's Incognito mode is in use.

Google has been trying to get the lawsuit dismissed since it was filed last June. A federal judge ruled the lawsuit must go forward.

In the judge's ruling it's stated Google does not adequately inform users that their data can be collected in Incognito mode.

Also at Ars Technica and Wccftech.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Lightning strikes played vital role in origins of life on Earth:

Minerals delivered to Earth in meteorites more than 4 billion years ago have long been advocated as key ingredients for the development of life on our planet.

Scientists believed minimal amounts of these minerals were also brought to early Earth through billions of lightning strikes.

But now researchers from the University of Leeds have established that lightning strikes were just as significant as meteorites in performing this essential function and allowing life to manifest.

They say this shows that life could develop on Earth-like planets through the same mechanism at any time if atmospheric conditions are right.

The research was led by Benjamin Hess during his undergraduate studies at the University of Leeds in the School of Earth and Environment.

Journal Reference:
Benjamin L. Hess, Sandra Piazolo, Jason Harvey. Lightning strikes as a major facilitator of prebiotic phosphorus reduction on early Earth [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21849-2)

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Europol 'unlocks' encrypted Sky ECC chat service to make arrests:

European law enforcement authorities have made a large number of arrests after a joint operation involving the monitoring of organized crime communication channels after "unlocking" Sky ECC chat's encryption.

Sky ECC is advertised as a secure messaging platform used by around 170,000 individuals worldwide. The service's US, Canadian, and European servers are being used to exchange over three million messages each day.

[...] "By successfully unlocking the encryption of Sky ECC, the information acquired will provide insights into criminal activities in various EU Member States and beyond and will assist in expanding investigations and solving serious and cross-border organized crime for the coming months, possibly years," Europol said in a press release published today.

[...] The investigation started after Belgium police seized mobile phones from criminals who used Sky ECC. After "unlocking" the chat platform's encryption, investigators have been able to monitor communications between roughly 70,000 Sky ECC users.

[...] Sky ECC told BleepingComputer Tuesday that statements of the platform's encryption being cracked are false. According to the company, the hacked software was running on cloned devices running a fake phishing application designed to impersonate the Sky ECC app.

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martyb writes:

NASA’s Massive Artemis Moon Rocket Set for Second Hot Fire Test – Watch Live Coverage Today:

NASA is targeting a two-hour test window that opens at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 18, for the second hot fire test of the core stage for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The agency plans to begin live coverage on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app approximately 30 minutes before the hot fire. The team will refine the timeline as it proceeds through operations. NASA will provide updates on the operations and the target hot fire time at @NASA and the Artemis blog.

[...] A post-test briefing will follow on NASA Television approximately two hours after the test.

Previously:
Green Run Update: NASA Proceeds with Plans for Second Hot Fire Test
After a Decade, NASA’s Big Rocket Fails its First Real Test
NASA TV to Air Hot Fire Test of Rocket Core Stage for Artemis Missions

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Microsoft fixes Office issue causing memory, disk space errors:

Microsoft has addressed a known issue causing memory or disk space errors when opening some documents using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or other Microsoft Office apps.

This known issue only affects customers who have installed Microsoft Office apps from the Microsoft Store and are trying to open an Office document that triggers the Protected View feature.

Protected View is an Office feature that opens documents in read-only mode and disables most editing functions for documents received as email attachments or opened from an unsafe location (the Internet, someone else's OneDrive storage, etc.).

Users encountering this issue will see a "Microsoft Excel cannot open or save any more documents because there is not enough available memory or disk space" error.

Microsoft has resolved the issue using Known Issue Rollback (KIR), a Windows 10 capability Redmond uses to revert buggy non-security fixes delivered through Windows Update.

The fix is rolling out to all affected customers, but it might take up to 24 hours to propagate to all non-managed Windows systems.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:

Gig economy: Europe tells companies to negotiate with workers or face new laws:

Europe's lawmakers have a message for "gig-economy" companies—get negotiating with unions and other workers' representatives, or face new EU-wide legislation.

On Wednesday, the European Commission launched an initial consultation on improving working conditions for people who provide services through digital platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo. It said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted both the value of such services and the "vulnerable situation" of those offering them, putting the health and safety of delivery people, for instance, at risk.

This six-week consultation is meant for what the Commission calls "social partners," or representatives of labor and management. The EU's executive body would like these representatives to offer their views on the "need and direction" of possible EU legislation.

If these social partners don't then start negotiations among themselves on issues such as employment status, benefits, and automated management, the Commission will consult with them again on the content of a new law. And if that doesn't get them to the table, the Commission will formally propose the law by the end of the year.

"The digital age opens up great opportunities for businesses, consumers, and citizens. Platforms can help people to find new jobs and explore new business ideas," said Margrethe Vestager, the Commission's digital chief, in a statement. "At the same time we must ensure that our European values are well integrated in the digital economy. We need to make sure that these new forms of work remain sustainable and fair."

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:

A Hacker Just Stole $5.7 Million From Social Token Startup Roll:

Over the weekend, hackers stole millions of dollars in crypto from Roll, a social currency startup that allows so-called "creatives" to launch and manage their own Ethereum blockchain-based money systems.

According to the company, someone managed to get inside its "hot wallet" early Sunday morning, making off with the equivalent of $5.7 million in currencies. (A "hot wallet" is basically an online crypto-bank account.) The hacker then sold the tokens on Uniswap, a crypto exchange platform. Roll said the hack seems to have occurred via a compromise of one of the wallet's "private keys," which is the equivalent of someone learning your master password.

"As of this writing, [the cause appears to be] a compromise of the private keys of our hot wallet and not a bug in the Roll smart contracts or any token contracts," the company said in a statement Sunday. "We are investigating this with our infrastructure provider and law enforcement." The company further promised to do a third-party security audit and a forensic analysis to "figure out how the key was compromised," as it's currently unclear how the hacker got their hands on it.

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Eratosthenes writes:

Latest on ʻOumuamua at CNN:

(CNN)The first observed interstellar object zipped through our solar system in October 2017 -- and astronomers have been trying to understand it ever since.
Scientists scrambled to observe the object before it disappeared, moving along at 196,000 miles per hour, and their observations caused more questions than answers about the "oddball," as scientists dubbed it.
Now, the latest research suggests it is a fragment of a Pluto-like planet from another solar system.

Steven Desch and Alan Jackson, two astrophysicists at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration, have studied observations made of the unusual features of 'Oumuamua. Their findings published Tuesday in two studies in the American Geophysical Union Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

Nitrogen Ice, seems to be the answer. But, not conclusive.

Theories that 'Oumuamua is an alien object or piece of technology have circulated since the object appeared, and it's the basis for the new book "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth" by Avi Loeb, a professor of science at Harvard University.
There is no evidence to prove that 'Oumuamua is alien technology, the researchers for this study said, although it's natural that the first observed object from outside of our solar system would bring aliens to mind.
"But it's important in science not to jump to conclusions," Desch said. "It took two or three years to figure out a natural explanation — a chunk of nitrogen ice — that matches everything we know about 'Oumuamua. That's not that long in science, and far too soon to say we had exhausted all natural explanations."

Not saying it was Aliens, but, not saying it was aliens.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Scientists determine the origin of extra-solar object 'Oumuamua:

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/03/amd-radeon-rx-6700-review-if-another-sold-out-gpu-falls-in-the-forest/

Look, I'll level with you: reviewing a GPU amidst a global chip shortage is ludicrous enough to count as dark comedy. Your ability to buy new, higher-end GPUs from either Nvidia or AMD has been hamstrung for months—a fact borne out by their very low ranks on Steam's gaming PC stats gathered around the world.

As of press time, AMD's latest "Big Navi" GPUs barely make a ripple in Steam's list. That's arguably a matter of timing, with their November 2020 launch coming two months after Nvidia began shipping its own 3000-series GPUs. But how much is that compounded by low supplies and shopping bots? AMD isn't saying, and on the eve of the Radeon RX 6700's launch, the first in its "Little Navi" line, the company's assurances aren't entirely comforting.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Texas energy company that charged huge electric bills during storm files for bankruptcy:

The company made the announcement on its website in a post that blamed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state's electric grid.

"The actions of ERCOT destroyed our business and caused financial harm to our customers," Griddy Chief Executive Officer Michael Fallquist said in a statement.

Griddy has $1 million to $10 million in estimated assets and $10 million to $50 million in estimated liabilities, the company said in the filing. Over $29 million is owed to ERCOT, the filing says.

The bankruptcy filing stems from February's devastating winter storm, which shut down power for millions of Texans for days and led to shortages of heat, water, food and medicine. Chapter 11 is a form of bankruptcy that allows a company to restructure its debts and reorganize in order to pay creditors back over time.

Griddy was a feature of Texas' unusual, deregulated system for electric power. The vast majority of Texans -- and Americans -- pay a fixed rate for electric power and get predictable monthly bills. However, Griddy works by connecting customers to the wholesale market for electricity, which can change by the minute and is more volatile, for a monthly fee of $9.99.

That setup can lead to savings sometimes, but also exposes customers to big risks.

[...] Two weeks ago, Texas' attorney general filed a lawsuit against Griddy Energy and Griddy Holdings for "false, misleading, and deceptive advertising and marketing practices." The lawsuit said Griddy misled customers and downplayed the incredible risk of its pricing scheme, which charges the most when customers are most vulnerable.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:

Sacramento Might be Undergoing a Broadband Policy Reboot:

Senator Lena Gonzalez, the original author of EFF's sponsored S.B. 1130, has introduced the next iteration of that effort with S.B. 4. We go into more detail about the legislation here. But, in short, the bill would affirmative embrace the small local government/non-profit model of broadband by creating a state-backed bond financing program that would enable them to take 30- to 40-year, long-term, low-interest loans to finance fiber. The legislation also makes more modest adjustments to the California Advanced Service Fund grant program, with a handful of concessions agreed to after discussions over a previous version of this bill. But, in concert with the bond program, these changes would still yield a powerful formula for ending the digital divide.

Companion legislation in the Assembly led by Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry (A.B. 14) has also been introduced and indicates a merger of support from both California's Senate and Assembly on the path forward. This is welcome news, and EFF intends to support both bills as they are brought together. Local governments, particularly in rural California, are eager to take matters into their own hands, having seen the successes of other local governments in states such as Utah. There, 11 local governments banded together to build open access fiber infrastructure to enable local private competition and multi-gigabit services.

In this session,  S.B. 4 and A.B. 14 should be considered the means to enable smaller local government fiber. A.B. 34 will be well-situated to address problems for major cities such as Los Angeles, where systemic digital redlining against low income users is occurring today.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Who is Camille Noûs, the fictitious French researcher with nearly 200 papers?:

Camille Noûs first appeared on the research scene 1 year ago, as a signatory to an open letter protesting French science policy. Since then, Noûs has been an author on 180 journal papers, in fields as disparate as astrophysics, molecular biology, and ecology, and is racking up citations.

But Noûs is not a real person. The name—intentionally added to papers, sometimes without the knowledge of journal editors—is meant to personify collective efforts in science and to protest individualism, according to RogueESR, a French research advocacy group that dreamed up the character. But the campaign is naïve and ethically questionable, says Lisa Rasmussen, a bioethicist at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. It flouts the basic principle of taking responsibility alongside the credit of authorship, she says. And some journal editors are balking at going along with the protest.

RogueESR has spent the past year protesting a French research reform law that introduced new types of temporary research jobs. The group, which has no formal leader, says the changes threaten academic freedom and job security, and that the law's focus on metric-based research evaluation—such as numbers of publications or citations—emphasizes individual accomplishment too much and is damaging to the research culture.

Amid the protests, members of RogueESR had a subversive idea: What if they slipped a fictitious researcher in their author lists? "Hundreds of articles will make this name the top author on the planet," they wrote in a newsletter, "with the consequence of distorting certain bibliometric statistics and demonstrating the absurdity of individual quantitative assessment."

aristarchus writes:

Aurorae on Jupiter. Very interesting.

NASA's Juno reveals dark origins of one of Jupiter's grand light shows:

New results from the Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument on NASA's Juno mission reveal for the first time the birth of auroral dawn storms—the early morning brightening unique to Jupiter's spectacular aurorae. These immense, transient displays of light occur at both Jovian poles and had previously been observed only by ground-based and Earth-orbiting observatories, notably NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Results of this study were published March 16 in the journal AGU Advances.

First discovered by Hubble's Faint Object Camera in 1994, dawn storms consist of short-lived but intense brightening and broadening of Jupiter's main auroral oval—an oblong curtain of light that surrounds both poles—near where the atmosphere emerges from darkness in the early morning region. Before Juno, observations of Jovian ultraviolet aurora had offered only side views, hiding everything happening on the nightside of the planet.

"Observing Jupiter's aurora from Earth does not allow you to see beyond the limb, into the nightside of Jupiter's poles. Explorations by other spacecraft—Voyager, Galileo, Cassini—happened from relatively large distances and did not fly over the poles, so they could not see the complete picture," said Bertrand Bonfond, a researcher from the University of Liège in Belgium and lead author of the study. "That's why the Juno data is a real game changer, allowing us a better understanding what is happening on the nightside, where the dawn storms are born."

MP4 video of a storm

Dawn Storms! Hmm, not quite what they were expecting! But it is light rather than darkness.

Journal Reference:
B. Bonfond, Z. H. Yao, G. R. Gladstone, et al. Are Dawn Storms Jupiter's Auroral Substorms? [open], AGU Advances (DOI: 10.1029/2020AV000275)

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:

Spain to launch trial of four-day working week:

Spain could become one of the first countries in the world to trial the four-day working week after the government agreed to launch a modest pilot project for companies interested in the idea.

Earlier this year, the small leftwing Spanish party Más País announced that the government had accepted its proposal to test out the idea. Talks have since been held, with the next meeting expected to take place in the coming weeks.

"With the four-day work week (32 hours), we're launching into the real debate of our times," said Iñigo Errejón of Más País on Twitter. "It's an idea whose time has come."

From New Zealand to Germany, the idea has been steadily gaining ground globally. Hailed by its proponents as a means to increase productivity, improve the mental health of workers and fight climate change, the proposal has taken on new significance as the pandemic sharpens issues around wellbeing, burnout and work-life balance.

Leftwing parties in Spain – where a 44-day strike in Barcelona in 1919 resulted in the country becoming one of the first in western Europe to adopt the eight-hour workday – have seized on the idea. "Spain is one of the countries where workers put in more hours than the European average. But we're not among the most productive countries," said Errejón. "I maintain that working more hours does not mean working better."

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:

For the first time in years, someone is building a web browser from scratch:

For more than two decades, building a new web browser from scratch has been practically unheard of. But a small company called Ekioh has its reasons.

The Cambridge, U.K.-based company is developing a browser called Flow, and unlike the vast majority of browsers that have arrived in recent years, it's not based on Google's Chromium or Apple's WebKit open-source code. Instead, Flow is starting with a blank slate and building its own rendering engine. Its goal is to make web-based apps run smoothly even on cheap microcomputers such as the Raspberry Pi.

There's a reason companies don't do this anymore: Experts say building new browsers isn't worth the trouble when anyone can just modify the work that Apple and Google are doing. But if Flow succeeds, it could rethink the way we browse the web and open the door to cheaper gadgets. That at least seems like a goal worth pursuing.

"It's a huge task, but if you want something which is very small and very fast, you typically can't start with one of the other engines," says Stephen Reeder, Ekioh's commercial director.

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