Non-IT News Thread
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Earth is (always has been) round, so why have the flat-out wrong become so lively?
Every fringe theorist needs an amplifier—used to be the penny press; today it's the Web.
Until the 17th century, the Fens—a broad, flat swath of marshland in eastern England—were home only to game-hunters and fishermen. Eventually, though, their value as potential agricultural land became too enticing to ignore, and the Earl of Bedford, along with a number of “gentlemen adventurers,” signed contracts with Charles I to drain the area, beginning in the 1630s. A series of drainage channels were cut, criss-crossing the wetlands of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The plan was a qualified success; a vast area was now farmable, though wind-powered pumps were needed to keep the water at bay.
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To rival Amazon, UPS enters healthcare—with doorstep nurse delivery
A test is set to launch this year, but UPS mum on which vaccines it will deliver.
A test for the new service is scheduled for later this year, but UPS didn’t name where it will take place or which vaccine it will offer, only saying that it would be an immunization for adults against a viral illness. Vaccine-maker Merck & Co is reportedly considering partnering with UPS on the service.
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@StuartJordan said in Non-IT News Thread:
@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
BBC News - Millions of Facebook passwords exposed internally
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47653656all plain text, how mad is that!
But hey if they were to find a low level company doing the same with that they will get fined.
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Nintendo planning two new Switch models
One would come with a power increase, the other with cut features/costs.
One model would be a higher-end system with enhanced hardware akin to the Xbox One X or PS4 Pro, though not as powerful as either, according to the report. The other would be a "cheaper option" intended to replace the aging Nintendo DS, whose sales have finally started to collapse.
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Massive Ebola outbreak continues to rage; case count surpasses 1,000
Responders have vaccinated thousands, but disease spread continues.
The outbreak has been raging since August in the country’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces, which sit on the eastern side of the country, bordering South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda. The World Health Organization reported 1,009 cases (944 confirmed, 65 probable), including 629 deaths (564 confirmed, 65 probable) on Saturday, March 23.
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Hijacked ASUS software updates installed backdoor on at least 0.5 million PCs
"ShadowHammer" used ASUS' own digital certificate and update system to infect systems worldwide.
An attack on the update system for ASUS personal computers running Microsoft Windows allowed attackers to inject backdoor malware into thousands of computers, according to researchers at Kaspersky Labs. The attack, reported today on Motherboard by Kim Zetter, took place last year and dropped malicious software signed with ASUS’ own digital certificate—making the software look like a legitimate update. Kaspersky analysts told Zetter that the backdoor malware was pushed to ASUS customers for at least five months before it was discovered and shut down.
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@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Hijacked ASUS software updates installed backdoor on at least 0.5 million PCs
"ShadowHammer" used ASUS' own digital certificate and update system to infect systems worldwide.
An attack on the update system for ASUS personal computers running Microsoft Windows allowed attackers to inject backdoor malware into thousands of computers, according to researchers at Kaspersky Labs. The attack, reported today on Motherboard by Kim Zetter, took place last year and dropped malicious software signed with ASUS’ own digital certificate—making the software look like a legitimate update. Kaspersky analysts told Zetter that the backdoor malware was pushed to ASUS customers for at least five months before it was discovered and shut down.
So Asus was breached? Just confirming - is that right?
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@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Hijacked ASUS software updates installed backdoor on at least 0.5 million PCs
"ShadowHammer" used ASUS' own digital certificate and update system to infect systems worldwide.
An attack on the update system for ASUS personal computers running Microsoft Windows allowed attackers to inject backdoor malware into thousands of computers, according to researchers at Kaspersky Labs. The attack, reported today on Motherboard by Kim Zetter, took place last year and dropped malicious software signed with ASUS’ own digital certificate—making the software look like a legitimate update. Kaspersky analysts told Zetter that the backdoor malware was pushed to ASUS customers for at least five months before it was discovered and shut down.
Thank goodness for Linux!
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Elon Musk’s latest defense: Tesla says my tweets were kosher
The SEC says Musk broke a settlement deal by tweeting without lawyers' approval.
As part of a September settlement, Musk promised to get sign-off from Tesla lawyers for any tweets that "contain, or reasonably could contain" material information—legal jargon for information significant to people trading Tesla's stock. The SEC argues that Musk's February tweet, stating that Tesla would produce "around 500k" vehicles in 2019, violated that requirement.
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It’s unfortunate NASA canceled the all-female EVA, but it’s the right decision
Yes, NASA is telling the truth.
NASA announced on Monday afternoon that it had canceled a plan to have astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch perform the agency's first all-female spacewalk on Friday. The decision follows McClain's first spacewalk outside the International Space Station, which occurred last Friday, March 22.
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@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
It’s unfortunate NASA canceled the all-female EVA, but it’s the right decision
Yes, NASA is telling the truth.
NASA announced on Monday afternoon that it had canceled a plan to have astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch perform the agency's first all-female spacewalk on Friday. The decision follows McClain's first spacewalk outside the International Space Station, which occurred last Friday, March 22.
Why is this news?
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@scottalanmiller you will be ok out in America lol.
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EU starts down the path of requiring driverless cars.
BBC News - Road safety: EU plans vehicle speed limiters from 2022
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47715415 -
@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
EU starts down the path of requiring driverless cars.
BBC News - Road safety: EU plans vehicle speed limiters from 2022
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47715415LOL
The EU says the plan could help avoid 140,000 serious injuries by 2038 and aims ultimately to cut road deaths to zero by 2050.
Seems impractical to think they can actually achieve zero ever, should have said near zero.
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We put our hands all over the weirdest game controllers of the year
Plus, eat a puzzle game, feed book pages to a robot, and sit on a couch... from hell.
Every year, international teams submit their craziest hardwired contraptions to GDC's Alt.Ctrl Competition, and the winners get massive booth space to let passersby grab, smack, pull, and sit on whatever custom rigs the teams have dreamed up. (We've written about these exhibits a few years running.) Some of our favorites from that booth are in the above gallery, and their captions explain what's going on in each game.
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Lion Air 737 MAX crew had seconds to react, Boeing simulation finds
Boeing test pilots determine crash was unavoidable if MCAS wasn't shut down in 40 seconds.
In testing performed in a simulator, Boeing test pilots recreated the conditions aboard Lion Air Flight 610 when it went down in the Java Sea in October, killing 189 people. The tests showed that the crew of the 737 MAX 8 would have only had 40 seconds to respond to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System’s (MCAS’s) attempts to correct a stall that wasn’t happening before the aircraft went into an unrecoverable dive, according to a report by The New York Times.
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Kintetsu Railway in Japan installs 42 Tesla Powerpacks as backup electricity
The installation will be Tesla's fourth largest in the Asia-Pacific region.
The electric railway encompasses 311 miles of track powered by overhead lines and third rails. In its "disaster preparedness" capacity, the Tesla batteries will provide emergency backup power in the event of a blackout, providing a short burst of electricity to move any trains that might be stalled in tunnels or under bridges to safety.
