An anonymous reader quotes CNN:
CNN reports that government shutdowns of the internet are becoming the new normal: An ongoing internet blackout in Indian-controlled Kashmir is now the longest ever in a democracy — at more than 135 days — according to Access Now, an advocacy group that tracks internet freedom. Only the autocratic governments of China and junta-era Myanmar have cut…
Tag: help
Google/NASA/Maxar Images Reveal This Decade’s Engineering Accomplishments As Seen From Space
USA Today wondered how this decade’s new construction would look from space. “With the help of Maxar, a provider of advanced, space-based technology solutions, Google and NASA, we’ve taken many more steps back — more than 300 miles above Earth to be exact.” As Apple stormed toward becoming one of the most valuable companies on the planet, its campus in Cupertino,…
Stack Exchange Apologizes, Offers ‘Possible Reinstatement’ To Moderator Removed Over Pronouns Policy
In October the Register reported that 20 Stack Exchange moderators had distanced themselves from the geeky Q&A site to protest policy changes and the removal of moderator Monica Cellio “over alleged violations of as-yet unpublished Code of Conduct changes.” Cellio just posted an update to the GoFundMe page where she’d raised $25,314 for legal action — a new announcement from Stack…
Fast Retailing, the World’s Third-Largest Retailer, Says It’s Cracked the Final Barrier To Full Automation
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Los Angeles Times: There was only one job that robots could not do when Fast Retailing, the owner of Uniqlo, replaced 90% of its workers with robots at its flagship warehouse in Tokyo last year. But now, with the help of a Japanese start-up called Mujin, the world’s third-largest retailer says it has cracked…
Amazon, Ring Face Class-Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Security Camera Hacks
Alabama resident John Orange has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Amazon and Ring of failing to do enough to secure their security systems against hacks, including Orange’s. Engadget reports: He alleged that a stranger compromised his Ring outdoor camera and spooked his kids as a “direct and proximate” result of the company’s inability to protect its devices “against cyber-attack.” He pointed…
Don’t miss the young moon and Venus
Think photo opportunity this weekend (December 27-29) as the brightest and 2nd-brightest sky objects – the moon and Venus – beautify the evening twilight shortly after sunset. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/see-young-moon-venus-after-sunset…
How Amazon Sacrifices Safety For Speed For Its Delivery Network
An anonymous reader shares a report: The speed and convenience of Amazon’s own delivery network has regularly come at the price of safety, as detailed in an extensive report by BuzzFeed News and ProPublica — including the death of Joy Covey, Amazon’s first CFO, who died when a van delivering Amazon packages turned left in front of her while she was…
Electric Buses on London’s 100 Route Will Play a Soundtrack To Alert Pedestrians To Their Presence
Matt Burgess, writing for Wired UK: Last year London’s 8,000 or so buses traveled 279 million miles and completed 2.23 billion journeys — more than half of all bus trips completed in England. But they’re not green enough. Yet. According to mayor Sadiq Khan, London has Europe’s biggest electric bus fleet with more than 200 currently in use. It’s a small…
‘Fox News Is Now a Threat to National Security’
The network’s furthering of lies from foreign adversaries and flagrant disregard for the truth have gotten downright dangerous. Garrett M. Graff, writing for Wired earlier this month: Monday’s split-screen drama, as the House Judiciary Committee weighed impeachment charges against President Trump and as the Justice Department’s inspector general released a 476-page report on the FBI’s handling of its 2016 investigation into…
Colleges Are Turning Students’ Phones Into Surveillance Machines, Tracking the Locations of Hundreds of Thousands
Colleges are tracking students’ location to enforce attendance, analyze their behavior and assess their mental health. One company calculates a student’s “risk score” based on factors such as whether she is going to the library enough. Washington Post reports: When Syracuse University freshmen walk into professor Jeff Rubin’s Introduction to Information Technologies class, seven small Bluetooth beacons hidden around the Grant…