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How Sydney Destroyed Its Trams For Love of the Car Published on August 01, 2019 at 09:00AM An anonymous reader shares a report from The Guardian about the questionable decision in the 1950s to get rid of Sydney's trams in favor of private cars. From the report: In the late 1950s Sydney ripped up its tram network, once one of the largest in the world. Nearly 1,000 trams -- some only a few years old -- were rolled to the workshops in the city's eastern suburbs and stripped of anything that could be sold, before being unceremoniously tipped on their sides, doused with sump oil and set ablaze. Barely a decade before its closure, Sydney's tram system had carried 400 million passenger journeys a year on a network of more than 250km, primarily serving the eastern, southern and inner-west suburbs, and stretching as far north as Narrabeen at its peak. But the explosion of car traffic in the postwar years persuaded the New South Wales government that urban freeways were the way of ...

Researchers Develop Speedy Soft Robot That's More Robust Than a Cockroach Published on August 01, 2019 at 07:32AM Researchers from Tsinghua University in China and University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new kind of soft robot that looks like a bent strip of paper, but is able to move at 20 body lengths per second and survive being stomped on. The robot has been presented in the current issue of Science Robotics. IEEE Spectrum reports: This prototype robot measures just 3 centimeters by 1.5 cm. It takes a scanning electron microscope to actually see what the robot is made of -- a thermoplastic layer is sandwiched by palladium-gold electrodes, bonded with adhesive silicone to a structural plastic at the bottom. When an AC voltage (as low as 8 volts but typically about 60 volts) is run through the electrodes, the thermoplastic extends and contracts, causing the robot's back to flex and the little "foot" to shuffle. A complete step cycle takes just 50 mill...

Cisco To Pay $8.6 Million Fine For Selling Hackable Surveillance Tech Published on August 01, 2019 at 06:55AM Cisco has agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle a claim that it sold video surveillance software it knew was vulnerable to hackers to hospitals, airports, schools, state governments and federal agencies. SFGate reports: The tech giant continued to sell the software and didn't fix the massive security weakness for about four years after a whistleblower alerted the company about it in 2008, according to a settlement unsealed Wednesday with the Justice Department and 15 states as well as the District of Columbia. Hackers could use the flaw not just to spy on video footage but to turn surveillance cameras on and off, delete footage and even potentially compromise other connected physical security systems such as alarms or locks - all without being detected, according to Hamsa Mahendranathan, an attorney at Constantine Cannon, which represented whistleblower James Glenn. The se...

Spotify Keeps Big Lead Over Apple Music But Disappoints With 108M Subscribers Published on August 01, 2019 at 06:15AM In its second-quarter report, Spotify said its subscribers rose 31% year over year to hit 108 million subscribers at the end of June. "That figure was weaker than Spotify expected but keeps it well above its closest competitor, Apple Music, which had 60 million subscribers as of June," reports CNET. From the report: Spotify also said Wednesday that 232 million people now use its service at least once a month, up 29% from a year earlier. Spotify, unlike Apple, has a free tier that lets anyone listen to music with advertising. Apple has never disclosed a monthly-active-user stat; almost all people who use Apple Music are subscribers. Spotify's growth in monthly active users beat the best-case prediction the company made in April, coming in 4 million above the 228 million high end of guidance. But its subscribers -- who make Spotify way more money than ad-s...

French Startup Transition-One Plans a $5,600 Electric Makeover For Your Old Diesel Car Published on August 01, 2019 at 05:32AM An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: About 5,000 euros ($5,600) are set to buy your 10-year-old combustion clunker an electric makeover -- and offer a cut-price way to avoid driving bans across European cities. French startup Transition-One has developed retrofitting technology that adds an electric engine, batteries and a connected dashboard into older models of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Volkswagen AG, Renault SA and PSA Group for about 8,500 euros, or 5,000 euros after government subsidies in France. In the prototype Twingo, three battery packs are fitted in front and two in what used to be the gas tank. The whole pack, bought from a Tesla Inc. parts reseller, weighs 120 kilograms (265 pounds). To compare, Renault's electric Zoe has a 290 kilogram battery for a 210 kilometer driving range. Prices start at around 23,000 euros excluding...

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has named George Morrow to serve as acting director of the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, effective Thursday, Aug. 1. July 31, 2019 from NASA https://ift.tt/2MvEwLs

FTC Says 'You Will Be Disappointed' if You Choose $125 For Equifax Payout Published on August 01, 2019 at 01:00AM The Federal Trade Commission said today there's been "overwhelming" interest in a settlement agreement with Equifax, and that consumers looking for a previously announced payout of up to $125 may be disappointed. From a report: The agency said this month that it had reached a $700 million agreement with the credit reporting agency over a massive breach of private data in 2017. As part of the settlement, consumers whose data was compromised could request up to $125 or free credit monitoring services. The potential for a quick payout generated major interest, but only $31 million of the settlement was set aside for cash payouts, meaning each payout could be far smaller than $125, depending on how many people request one. In a blog post today, the FTC tempered expectations. "A large number of claims for cash instead of credit monitoring means only ...

Trump Administration Plans To Allow Imports Of Some Prescription Drugs From Canada Published on August 01, 2019 at 12:19AM The Trump administration is outlining two possible ways certain drugs that were intended for foreign markets could be imported to the U.S. -- a move that would clear the way to import some prescription drugs from Canada. From a report: "Today's announcement outlines the pathways the Administration intends to explore to allow safe importation of certain prescription drugs to lower prices and reduce out of pocket costs for American patients," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement about the plan. "This is the next important step in the Administration's work to end foreign freeloading and put American patients first." The Department of Health and Human Services outlined two "pathways" for importing the drugs to the U.S. In one initiative, the Food and Drug Administration and HHS will rely on their rule...

Fox News Breaking News Alert The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter-point on Wednesday, the first cut since the start of the financial recession 07/31/19 11:10 AM

Google Brings the Titan Security Key To More Countries Published on July 31, 2019 at 11:35PM Google on Wednesday announced it's making its Titan Security Key available via the Google Store in multiple new countries: Canada, France, Japan and the United Kingdom. Google launched the second-factor security key last year, starting with availability in the US. From a report: Google touts the Titan Security Key as one of the best ways to protect Google Accounts from hacking and phishing, especially high-value accounts that are regularly probed and attacked. The key is used as part of Google's Advanced Protection Program. Based on FIDO open standards, the security key comes in both USB and Bluetooth varieties. Back in May, Google had to issue replacements for the Bluetooth keys due to a vulnerability in the pairing process. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Fox News Breaking News Alert Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti, who starred on the undefeated Miami Dolphins 1972 team, has died at 78 07/31/19 10:46 AM

Your Next iPhone Might Be Made in Vietnam. Thank the Trade War. Published on July 31, 2019 at 10:55PM No country on earth has benefited from President Trump's trade fight with China more than Vietnam. From a report: The country's factories have swelled with orders as American tariffs cause companies to reconsider making their products in China. Now, more big technology firms are looking to bulk up their manufacturing operations in Vietnam, lifting the ambitions of a nation already well on its way to becoming a powerhouse maker of smartphones and other high-end gadgets. First, though, Vietnam needs to get better at making the little plastic casings on your earbuds. Vu Huu Thang's company in the northern city of Bac Ninh, Bac Viet Technology, produces small plastic parts for Canon printers, Korg musical instruments, and Samsung cellphones and phone accessories, including earbuds. He said it would be hard for his firm to compete against Chinese suppliers as long as he had to...

Major Broadcasters Sue TV Streaming Nonprofit Locast Published on July 31, 2019 at 10:15PM Four major broadcast networks have filed a lawsuit against Locast, a New York-based nonprofit that streams local broadcast programming over the internet. From a report: In their lawsuit, ABC, CBS, NBC Universal and Fox allege that Locast violates their copyright by retransmitting their programming without permission, likening it to Aereo, the TV retransmission startup that shut down in 2014 as the result of a similar lawsuit. "Locast is simply Aereo 2.0, a business built on illegally using broadcaster content," the lawsuit reads in part. "While it pretends to be a public service without any commercial purpose, Locast's marketing and deep connections to AT&T and Dish make clear that it exists to serve its pay-tv patrons." Locast responded to the lawsuit Wednesday morning with the following statement: "Locast is an independent, non-profit organization that provide...

This week in 1971, Apollo 15 became the first mission to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle. via NASA https://ift.tt/2YuDDoN

'The White House Blocked My Report on Climate Change and National Security' Published on July 31, 2019 at 09:35PM Dr. Rod Schoonover, who until recently served as a senior analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the State Department, writing for The New York Times: Ten years ago, I left my job as a tenured university professor to work as an intelligence analyst for the federal government, primarily in the State Department but with an intervening tour at the National Intelligence Council. My focus was on the impact of environmental and climate change on national security, a growing concern of the military and intelligence communities. It was important work. Two words that national security professionals abhor are uncertainty and surprise, and there's no question that the changing climate promises ample amounts of both. I always appreciated the apolitical nature of the work. Our job in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research was to gener...

iPhone Bluetooth Traffic Leaks Phone Numbers -- in Certain Scenarios Published on July 31, 2019 at 08:55PM Security researchers say they can extract a user's phone number from the Bluetooth traffic coming from an iPhone smartphone during certain operations. From a report: The attack works because, when Bluetooth is enabled on an Apple device, the device sends BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) packets in all directions, broadcasting the device's position and various details. This behavior is part of the Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL), a protocol that can work either via WiFi or BLE to interconnect and allow data transfers between nearby devices. Previous academic research has revealed that AWDL BLE traffic contains device identification details such as the phone status, Wi-Fi status, OS version, buffer availability, and others. However, in new research published last week, security researchers from Hexway said that during certain operations these BLE packets can also contain a SHA...

Facebook's Ex-Security Chief Details His 'Observatory' for Internet Abuse Published on July 31, 2019 at 08:17PM Andy Greenberg, writing for Wired: When Alex Stamos describes the challenge of studying the worst problems of mass-scale bad behavior on the internet, he compares it to astronomy. To chart the cosmos, astronomers don't build their own Hubble telescopes or Arecibo observatories. They concentrate their resources in a few well-situated places and share time on expensive hardware. But when it comes to tackling internet abuse ranging from extremism to disinformation to child exploitation, Stamos argues, Silicon Valley companies and academics are still trying to build their own telescopes. What if, instead, they shared their tools -- and more importantly, the massive data sets they've assembled? That's the idea behind the Stanford Internet Observatory, part of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center where Stamos is a visiting professor. Founded with a $5 million ...

Linus Torvalds Prepares To Wave Goodbye To Linux Floppy Drives Published on July 31, 2019 at 07:31PM Freshly Exhumed writes: When Linus Torvalds first created Linux in 1991, he built it on a 386-powered PC with a floppy drive. Things change. In 2012, Torvalds bid the i386 processor adieu saying, "I'm not sentimental. Good riddance." Now, it's the floppy drive's turn to bid Linux adieu. Torvalds has declared the floppy drive project "orphaned." Why? Because floppy drives have become historical relics. No one's using them. Indeed, Jiri Kosina, the Czech Linux kernel developer in charge of the floppy drive driver, said he "no longer has working hardware." Torvalds continued, "Actual working physical floppy hardware is getting hard to find, and while Willy was able to test this, I think the driver can be considered pretty much dead from an actual hardware standpoint. The hardware that is still sold seems to be mainly USB-based, which doe...

Apple Reports Declining Profits and Stagnant Growth, Again Published on July 31, 2019 at 06:30PM An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Apple has long performed like clockwork, growing steadily and producing an ever-growing stream of profit. Not anymore. On Tuesday, the Silicon Valley behemoth said that its net income had fallen 13 percent and that its revenue rose 1 percent in the latest quarter, with iPhone sales continuing to decline and gains in the company's services and wearables business failing to make up the difference. The results showed persistent signs of weakness for one of the world's financial standouts. Apple built its enormous business on the iPhone, but sales of the device have slipped for three straight quarters in a saturated market for smartphones. Yet the results also suggested that the company could be starting to halt declines in those sales and other key areas, including revenue from the Chinese market. Over the previous two quar...

Employee Happiness and Business Success Are Linked, Study Finds Published on July 31, 2019 at 03:30PM A new study (PDF) by Christian Krekel, George Ward and Jan-Emmanuael de Neve finds a link between employee happiness and business success. "The study, based on data compiled by Gallup, a polliging organization, covers nearly 1.9 million employees across 230 separate organizations in 73 countries," reports The Economist. From the report: The authors studied four potential measures of corporate performance: customer loyalty, employee productivity, profitability and staff turnover. They found that employee satisfaction had a substantial positive correlation with customer loyalty and a negative link with staff turnover. Furthermore, worker satisfaction was correlated with higher productivity and profitability. Of course, correlation does not prove causality. It could be that working for a successful firm makes employees more contented, rather than the other way round. However, ...

University of California Sues Five Major Retailers Over Edison-Style LED Bulbs Published on July 31, 2019 at 12:30PM The University of California is suing five major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, IKEA, and Bed Bath & Beyond, for infringing on four patents related to "filament" LED light bulbs. Reuters reports: These patents relate to what the university called the "reinvention of the light bulb" by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara led by professor Shuji Nakamura, who won the 2014 Nobel prize for physics. The university is seeking unspecified damages, including royalties, in lawsuits filed with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, and wants the retailers to enter license agreements. It has also asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to open a probe into the retailers' conduct, saying the retailers have failed to require their suppliers to honor the university's patents. Filament LED light bulbs are som...