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Freenode hijacked

Free Software Projects Defenestrate The Freenode IRC Network
Freenode IRC staff resign en masse, unhappy about new management
Developers flee Freenode after 'takeover' by Korean crown prince
Freenode Debacle Prompts Staff Exodus, New Network
IRC Will Never Die
On freenode and its commitment to FOSS (Andrew Lee's May 19th response)
https://libera.chat/ (new network)

wirelessduck writes:

https://kline.sh/

Freenode IRC operators now engaging in routine abuses of power

wirelessduck writes:

https://www.devever.net/~hl/freenode_abuse

There have been several allegations of this since the handover of the Freenode infrastructure to its new custodians, but I can now provide a first-hand account of one incident — because I am the victim of it.

A channel which I registered, ##hntop, has been taken over by Andrew Lee (rasengan) without my knowledge or consent.

...

Conclusions. In other words, it appears that a Freenode services admin, presumably rasengan,

• forcibly dropped the channel and reregistered it so as to put themselves in control of it, and render me no longer in control of it;
• clearly did this with the express purpose of frustrating an attempt by that channel's founder (me) to relocate it to another IRC network; and
• cover up the fact that I had sought to do so.

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Vulnerabilities in billions of Wi-Fi devices let hackers bypass firewalls:

One of the things that makes Wi-Fi work is its ability to break big chunks of data into smaller chunks and combine smaller chunks into bigger chunks, depending on the needs of the network at any given moment. These mundane network plumbing features, it turns out, have been harboring vulnerabilities that can be exploited to send users to malicious websites or exploit or tamper with network-connected devices, newly published research shows.

In all, researcher Mathy Vanhoef found a dozen vulnerabilities, either in the Wi-Fi specification or in the way the specification has been implemented in huge numbers of devices. Vanhoef has dubbed the vulnerabilities FragAttacks, short for fragmentation and aggregation attacks, because they all involve frame fragmentation or frame aggregation. Broadly speaking, they allow people within radio range to inject frames of their choice into networks protected by WPA-based encryption.

martyb writes:

This is a follow-up to our site crash.

If you are just tuning in, SoylentNews experienced a database crash on 2021-05-20. We tried to restore from recent backups, but found they were corrupted and unusable. Thanks to heroic work by mechanicjay the site is back up and running!

Many thanks to mechanicjay for his 16-hour(!) day on Thursday to get us back up and then move us to a single back-end configuration. He didn't stop there, but has continued on gathering information and guiding work to get us to a more stable foundation. We'll keep you posted as to our progress.

Read on if interested... otherwise, another story will be along presently.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

SpaceShipTwo makes first flight to space from New Mexico - SpaceNews:

WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo made its first flight to space in more than two years May 22, completing the first in a series of four suborbital flights planned by the company over the next several months.

The SpaceShipTwo vehicle named VSS Unity, with pilots CJ Sturckow and Dave Mackay on board, took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico at 10:34 a.m. Eastern, carried aloft by its WhiteKnightTwo aircraft. The plane released VSS Unity at 11:26 a.m. Eastern, at which time the spaceplane fired its hybrid rocket motor for approximately 60 seconds.

VSS Unity ascended on a suborbital trajectory before gliding back to a runway landing at Spaceport America at 11:43 a.m. Eastern. The company did not webcast the flight, providing only updates via social media, although NASASpaceFlight.com did webcast the successful release and powered ascent of the vehicle.

The flight was the first human launch to space from New Mexico. Besides the two pilots on board, the vehicle carried payloads for NASA's Flight Opportunities program.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:

Facebook faces prospect of 'devastating' data transfer ban after Irish ruling:

Ireland’s data regulator can resume a probe that may trigger a ban on Facebook’s transatlantic data transfers, the High Court ruled on Friday (14 May), raising the prospect of a stoppage that the company warns would have a devastating impact on its business.

The case stems from EU concerns that US government surveillance may not respect the privacy rights of EU citizens when their personal data is sent to the United States for commercial use.

[...] Facebook had challenged both the inquiry and the Preliminary Draft Decision (PDD), saying they threatened “devastating” and “irreversible” consequences for its business, which relies on processing user data to serve targeted online ads.

The High Court rejected the challenge on Friday.

“I refuse all of the reliefs sought by FBI (Facebook Ireland) and dismiss the claims made by it in the proceedings,” Justice David Barniville said in a judgment that ran to nearly 200 pages.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

4 vulnerabilities under attack give hackers full control of Android devices:

Unknown hackers have been exploiting four Android vulnerabilities that allow the execution of malicious code that can take complete control of devices, Google warned on Wednesday.

All four of the vulnerabilities were disclosed two weeks ago in Google’s Android Security Bulletin for May. Google has released security updates to device manufacturers, who are then responsible for distributing the patches to users.

Google’s May 3 bulletin initially didn’t report that any of the roughly 50 vulnerabilities it covered were under active exploitation. On Wednesday, Google updated the advisory to say that there are “indications” that four of the vulnerabilities “may be under limited, targeted exploitation.” Maddie Stone, a member of Google’s Project Zero exploit research group, removed the ambiguity. She declared on Twitter that the “4 vulns were exploited in-the-wild” as zero-days.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Startup Unisantis Proposes DRAM Alternative

Singapore-based DRAM specialist Unisantis Electronics revealed at this week's (virtual) IEEE International Memory Workshop (IMW) advances in its work on dynamic flash memory (DFM) that it claims is a faster and denser technology than DRAM or other types of volatile memory.

[...] DFM is also a type of volatile memory, but since it does not rely on capacitors it has fewer leak paths, it has no connection between switching transistors and a capacitor. The result is a cell design with the potential for significant increases in transistor density and —because it not only offers block refresh, but as a Flash memory it offers block erase — DFM reduces the frequency and the overhead of the refresh cycle and is capable of delivering significant improvements in speed and power compared to DRAM.

Using TCAD simulation, researchers at Unisantis have proven that DFM has a substantial potential to increase density 4X compared to DRAM. The scaling of DRAM has almost stopped at 16Gb, according to recent IEEE ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference) papers.

Using a PCIe Slot to Install DRAM: New Samsung CXL.mem Expansion Module

mrpg writes:

Tardigrades Shot Out of a Gun to Test Origin-of-Life Theory:

[...] So, we've got enough plausible bits and pieces to cobble together a theory. Only problem is, can life actually survive slamming into another planet at the sorts of temperatures and speeds associated with meteorite impacts? This is where the tardigrades come in.

Testing Tardigrades

As scientists Alejandra Traspas and Mark J. Burchell write in Astrobiology: "The ability of tardigrades to survive impact shocks in the kilometer per second and gigapascal range was investigated." Tardigrades, it turns out, can only withstand a shock pressure of ~1.14 gigapascals. Above 2,000 miles per hour, or above 900 meters per second, even the tardigrade's legendary toughness fails it. This has implications for the types of scenarios in which panspermia could occur. Spores and microbes are hardier, surviving impacts of up to 5000 meters per second and pressures of 40 gigapascals or more. According to the authors, tardigrades have been tested for static loading of up to 7.5 gigapascal (and survived it), but no one has tested to see if they can survive the impact. The scientists write: "Accordingly, we have fired tardigrades at high speed in a gun onto sand targets, subjecting them to impact shocks and evaluating their survival."

Journal Reference:
Alejandra Traspas , Mark J. Burchell. Tardigrade Survival Limits in High-Speed Impacts [open], Astrobiology (DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2405)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Opera GX, the "gaming browser", is coming to smartphones

Opera GX Mobile was just announced by Opera, is currently in a beta stage, and comes with features like the GX Corner, which can allow you to see a game release calendar, getting the latest news in the gaming ecosystem, as well as deals and links to game sales. It also comes with the same "gamery" aesthetic that is commonplace in the desktop version of the browser, and "Flow", a feature that allows you to send files, links, and photos from your phone to your PC and vice-versa, provided, of course, that you sync your PC with your smartphone. It also supports one-handed navigation with haptic feedback with a feature known as the Fast Action Button (FAB).

Opera thinks gamers are stupid

Now, upon first hearing about this browser, my first thought was that this is a really sly way to serve gaming ads to a gaming audience, hence the focus on highlighting gaming deals within the browser. This is why you'll find information about upcoming game releases as well as a deals aggregator that links to game sales directly below the browser's search bar and speed dial. Clearly, this info can be useful for those heavy into gaming, though it's hard to shake the feeling this space is just one big advertisement for games and their sales.

Opera Software was bought by a Chinese consortium in 2016. It filed for an IPO in July 2018. The Opera GX browser for desktops was launched in July 2019, adding features to limit CPU/RAM usage, integrating Discord and Twitch services, as well as a built-in VPN and adblocker.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Scientists Bring The Sense Of Touch To A Robotic Arm

A robotic arm with a sense of touch has allowed a man who is paralyzed to quickly perform tasks like pouring water from one cup into another.

The robotic arm provides tactile feedback directly to the man's brain as he uses his thoughts to control the device, a team reports [DOI: 10.1126/science.abd0380] [DX] Thursday in the journal Science.

Previous versions of the arm required the participant, Nathan Copeland, to guide the arm using vision alone.

"When I only had visual feedback, I could see that the hand had touched the object," Copeland says. "But sometimes I would go to pick it up and it would fall out."

A typical grasping task also took Copeland about 20 seconds to complete. "With sensory feedback he was able to complete it in 10," says Jennifer Collinger, an associate professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh.

Journal Reference:
Sharlene N. Flesher, John E. Downey, Jeffrey M. Weiss, et al. A brain-computer interface that evokes tactile sensations improves robotic arm control [$], Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.abd0380)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

SpaceX set to launch six commercial Moon landers after latest win

After securing yet another contract, SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are now scheduled to launch at least six commercial Moon landers over the next two and a half years.

On May 20th, rocket startup Firefly Aerospace announced that it had selected a SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch its first Blue Ghost Moon lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. While Firefly is preparing to launch its own Alpha rocket for the first time later this year, a rocket that is technically capable of launching Blue Ghost with the help of an electric 'space tug,' the company is apparently prioritizing maximum payload delivery and on-time performance.

As a result, Firefly has contracted with a direct competitor to launch its first Moon lander, becoming the sixth company to select SpaceX's Falcon rockets for that purpose.

Also at Space News.

Original Submission

mrpg writes:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210514134222.htm

A groundbreaking study led by engineering and medical researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities shows how engineered immune cells used in new cancer therapies can overcome physical barriers to allow a patient's own immune system to fight tumors. The research could improve cancer therapies in the future for millions of people worldwide.

[...] Instead of using chemicals or radiation, immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps the patient's immune system fight cancer. T cells are a type of white blood cell that are of key importance to the immune system. Cytotoxic T cells are like soldiers who search out and destroy the targeted invader cells.

[...] In this first-of-its-kind study, the researchers are working to engineer the T cells and develop engineering design criteria to mechanically optimize the cells or make them more "fit" to overcome the barriers. If these immune cells can recognize and get to the cancer cells, then they can destroy the tumor.

In a fibrous mass of a tumor, the stiffness of the tumor causes immune cells to slow down about two-fold -- almost like they are running in quicksand.

"This study is our first publication where we have identified some structural and signaling elements where we can tune these T cells to make them more effective cancer fighters," said Provenzano, a researcher in the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center. "Every 'obstacle course' within a tumor is slightly different, but there are some similarities. After engineering these immune cells, we found that they moved through the tumor almost twice as fast no matter what obstacles were in their way."

takyon writes:

Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law

Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law:

Bloomberg today released a report on how companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are working together to put a stop to laws that would make it necessary for companies to provide device schematics, genuine repair parts, and repair manuals to independent repair technicians.

Almost 27 states have considered the laws in 2021 alone, but in more than half of them, the laws have been voted down or dismissed. Many lobbyists and trade groups representing tech companies have fought hard against this law with Apple pointing out that such measures could lead to device damage or consumers harming themselves when attempting to repair their devices.

In Washington, for example, Washington House of Representatives Democrat Mia Gregerson sponsored a Right to Repair measure that was fought by Microsoft, Google, Amazon, along with lobbyists representing Apple. Lobbyists later said that Apple would endorse repair programs at local colleges if the bill was dropped.

Also at Bloomberg and MacRumors.

See also: Leaked Apple Documents Inadvertently Helped the Right-to-Repair Movement

Louis Rossmann Starts a GoFundMe to Get "Right to Repair" Legistation Passed Through a Direct Ballot

takyon writes:

TSMC and Partners Develop Key Feature for Sub 1nm Process Technology

According to a publication by TSMC, NTU, and MIT in Nature [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03472-9] [DX] (noticed by Verdict), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and its research partners from the National University of Taiwan (NTU) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have said that they have developed material that will be used for transistor contact electrodes with an upcoming 1nm fabrication process.

[...] The publication indicates that usage of semi-metal bismuth (Bi) as the transistor's contact electrode can greatly reduce the resistance and increase the current. TSMC currently uses tungsten interconnects (made using selective tungsten deposition process), whereas Intel uses cobalt interconnects. Both have their advantages and both require specific factory tools.

In a bid to use semi-metal bismuth (Bi) as transistor's contact electrode, researchers had to use a helium ion beam (HIB) lithography system and design an 'easy deposition process.' This 'process' was only used on an R&D production line, so it is not quite ready for mass production.

Original Submission

mrpg writes:

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-05-solid-state-batteries-line.html

A new study, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign materials science and engineering professor Paul Braun, postdoctoral research associate Beniamin Zahiri, and Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. director of research and development John Cook, demonstrates how control over the atomic alignment of solid materials can improve the cathode-solid electrolyte interface and stability in solid-state batteries. The results are published in the journal Nature Materials.

"With batteries, it's not just materials that are important, but also how the atoms on the surfaces of those materials are arranged," Zahiri said. "Currently, solid-state battery electrodes contain materials with a large diversity of surface atom arrangements. This leads to a seemingly infinite number of electrode-solid electrolyte contact interface possibilities, all with different levels of chemical reactivity. We are interested in finding which arrangements lead to practical improvements in battery cycle life, energy density and power."

The researchers said an electrolyte's stability controls how many charging and discharging cycles a battery can handle before it starts to lose power. Because of this, scientists are in a race to find the most stable electrolyte materials.