Anti-Vaxxers Could Find an Ally in President Trump

The movement against vaccinating children has, for the most part, been dismissed by pretty much anyone who matters as a bunch of fringe whackadoodles. While there is no credible evidence that vaccines cause autism, as anti-vaccine activists say they do, there is plenty of evidence that vaccines prevent epidemics of…

Read more…



Source: Gizmodo – Anti-Vaxxers Could Find an Ally in President Trump

Living in Underground Bunkers Is Even Worse Than It Sounds in Domain

The whole deal with underground bunkers is that they’re supposed to be secure survival spaces, right? Apocalypse comes calling, get your ass into a well-stocked, reinforced hidey-hole. But this new, exclusive clip from the 2017 movie Domain shows that bunkers don’t solve everything.

Read more…



Source: io9 – Living in Underground Bunkers Is Even Worse Than It Sounds in Domain

PC Market Shows Signs of Recovery

PC shipments will continue to decline in 2016, according to a new IDC forecast, but the drop will be slightly lower than previously expected. What’s more, things will improve even more in 2017. BetaNews adds: IDC expects PC vendors to ship a total of 258.2 million units this year, a figure which would be 6.4 percent lower than last year. The previous estimate was a 7.2 percent fall, which IDC announced in August. Growth will still be negative in 2017, but shipments are expected to decrease by just 2.6 percent compared to this year. IDC believes that commercial shipments of notebooks will grow this year, while desktops should stay flat in terms of growth. The pressure from mobile devices is said to decrease as the markets mature. The tablet market, in particular, is not as big of a concern or threat as it sees declining shipments as well. “The PC market continues to perform close to expectations”, says IDC Worldwide Tracker Forecasting and PC research vice president Loren Loverde. “Some volatility in emerging regions is being offset by incremental gains in larger mature markets while the interaction with tablets and phones is stabilizing. We continue to see steady progression toward smaller desktops and notebooks as replacement buying helps stabilize overall shipments in the coming years”.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – PC Market Shows Signs of Recovery

ZOTAC VR GO Backpack PC Gets Priced: Core i7-6700T, GeForce GTX 1070, $1999

ZOTAC this week plans to start sales of its VR GO backpack PC designed for virtual reality enthusiasts. The system uses a quad-core processor from Intel, and is equipped with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1070 graphics processor and comes with I/O capabilities, just like any normal desktop. The manufacturer plans to sell only fully configured VR GO backpacks for $1999, but the PCs can be upgraded by end-users themselves in a bid to meet their requirements.


ZOTAC formally introduced its VR GO backpack PC earlier this month, but kept the final specifications under wraps. This week, the company revealed that the system will feature Intel’s Core i7-6700T CPU, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1070 GPU with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory (MXM module), 16 GB of DDR4-2133 RAM as well as a 240 GB M.2 SSD with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface from an undisclosed supplier. End-users can then upgrade the VR GO machines with a 2.5” SATA SSD (obviously, nobody wants a hard drive in a backpack PC due to extreme failure risks) as well as install up to 32 GB of DRAM. In theory, the CPU and the GPU could be swapped for higher-performance parts, but since the proprietary low-profile air cooling system was designed with the particular components (the i7-6700T and the GTX 1070) and TDP (150W) in mind, such upgrade would be considerably trickier.


Meanwhile, I/O capabilities of the ZOTAC VR GO are clearly worth a mention as the system has an HDMI 2.0 output as well as two USB Type-A ports on top to connect a VR headset as well as four additional USB 3.0/3.1 Type-A ports, four display outputs (two HDMI 2.0, two DP 1.3), an 802.11ac Wi-Fi + BT 4.2 module, two GbE ports, an SD card reader as well as two 3.5-mm audio jacks.





















ZOTAC VR GO Specifications
    ZBOX-VR7N70-W2B/W4B-BE/J/U/K
CPU Intel Core i7-6700T

4 cores/8 threads
PCH unknown 100-series
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

2048 stream processors

128 texture units

64 ROPs

256-bit memory interface

8 GB of GDDR5 8 GT/s memory
Memory Two SO-DIMM slots
16 GB DDR4-2133 installed

compatible with 
up to 32 GB of DDR4-2133
Storage 240 GB M.2/PCIe SSD

+ one extra 2.5″/SATA bay
Wi-Fi 802.11ac + BT 4.2
Ethernet 2 × GbE ports (Realtek)
Display Outputs 3 × HDMI 2.0

2 × DP 1.3
Audio 3.5 mm audio in and 3.5 mm audio out
USB 6 × USB 3.0 Type-A (5 Gbps)
Other I/O DC12V-out for HTC Vive
Dimensions 410 mm × 270 mm × 76 mm

16.14 × 10.63 × 2.99 inches
Weight 5.95 kilograms
PSU External
Batteries 2 batteries, rated at 95Wh, 6600mAh
OS Windows 10 Home
Price $1999.99

The ZOTAC VR GO can work autonomously for two hours (obviously, the figure depends on applications used) on two Li-ion batteries rated at 95Wh (6600mAh). The batteries can be hot-swapped and charged separately. When not in use as a backpack to play virtual reality games, the VR GO can be used like a normal desktop computer: its form-factor allows it to be placed on a desk either vertically or horizontally and all the ports will remain accessible.



ZOTAC will sell its VR GO backpack PC with Windows 10 Home for $1999 in the U.S. The MSRP of the system is similar to the price of MSI’s VR One backpack computer that became available earlier this month. Each system has its own set of peculiarities, which is good as we see a competition in an emerging segment. For example, ZOTAC’s VR GO for $1999 has the GeForce GTX 1070 GPU, whereas a comparable MSI’s VR One 6RD comes with the GeForce GTX 1060. On the other hand, MSI’s machine has a Thunderbolt 3 port and comes with Windows 10 Pro, whereas ZOTAC’s backpack has a desktop-friendly form-factor and more I/O ports, but uses Windows 10 Home. To sum up, VR enthusiasts now have at least two models of backpack PCs to choose from. Meanwhile, both are quite expensive for niche PCs.




Source: AnandTech – ZOTAC VR GO Backpack PC Gets Priced: Core i7-6700T, GeForce GTX 1070, 99

The Coolest Features You Can Unlock in Android's Developer Options

Android’s developer options menu is a secret treasure trove of tweaks that adventurous users can play with. If you want to install any app to your SD card, speed up window animations, or even save some battery life, here’s how to unlock and use this hidden menu.

Read more…



Source: LifeHacker – The Coolest Features You Can Unlock in Android’s Developer Options

Mirrored signs could protect protesters taking a stand against Dakota Access Pipeline (Video)


People who are protesting against this pipeline don’t have many items at their disposal against an armed force. Here’s one that may not only offer some shielding, it also offers a simple message.

Source: TreeHugger – Mirrored signs could protect protesters taking a stand against Dakota Access Pipeline (Video)

SourceForge Introduces HTTPS Support For Project Websites

SourceForge announced on Wednesday that it is introducing HTTPS for all project websites on its platform. Once a project has been moved to HTTPS, old domain will automatically redirect to their new counterparts, resulting in no loss of traffic or inconvenience. From a blog post on the site: With a single click, projects can opt-in to switch their web hosting from http://name.sourceforge.net to https://name.sourceforge.io. Project admins can find this option in the Admin page, under “HTTPS”, naturally.There’s also a guide to assist developers with the transition. SourceForge launched HTTPS support for SourceForge.net back in February, but this rolls out HTTPS support to individual project websites hosted on SourceForge. There’s also a Site News section on the website now where you can read about all SourceForge changes and improvements over the past year such as eliminating the DevShare program and scanning all projects for malware.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – SourceForge Introduces HTTPS Support For Project Websites

Patrol the Skies (And Crash Dramatically) With This Star Wars Star Destroyer Drone

Air Hogs has released enough Star Wars drones at this point you could probably do a pretty good job of recreating the space battle over Endor from Return of the Jedi, if you had the time or the money—but its latest R/C toy is certainly one of its most impressive yet.

Read more…



Source: io9 – Patrol the Skies (And Crash Dramatically) With This Star Wars Star Destroyer Drone

Cop filmed killing fleeing suspect testified he felt “total fear”

Australian Man Mistakes Jellyfish For Breast Implant, Takes It To Police

jellyfish-implant.jpg

A man in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in Australia recently put a beached jellyfish in a bag and took it to police believing it was a breast implant and possible evidence of a drowning or murder. It wasn’t through, it was just a dead jellyfish. No word how many times this guy has called the police thinking there was a shootout next door when somebody was playing Call Of Duty.

“Investigations revealed what police suspected… the item was indeed a jellyfish.”

Colin Sparkes, from Surf Life Saving Queensland, said the discovery was most likely a blubber jellyfish.

He said the species was commonly found in Queensland waters and its sting was irritating, but not dangerous.

“[The] tentacles have been knocked off by wave action or eaten by fish,” he said of the one handed to police.

I still think this guy should get some sort of dum-dum do-gooder award. Like, hey, you were trying. I’m not saying give him the key to the city, but you could give him a key to like, I dunno, a bike lock or something. Just give him a key, any key. Here — take this one. “Is this what I think it is?” Depends, what do you think it is? “The key…to your heart?” Mhmm! “It says ‘Please tolerate my video game addiction.'” Yeah that’s been a problem in the past.

Thanks to Thedirtofluck, who once took a seashell to a lifeguard concerned that Ariel might have lost half her top.

Source: Geekologie – Australian Man Mistakes Jellyfish For Breast Implant, Takes It To Police

Trump’s latest FCC advisor opposes Title II, supports data cap exemptions

Enlarge / President-elect Donald Trump on the campaign trail. (credit: Getty Images | Joe Raedle)

President-elect Donald Trump yesterday announced a third advisor to oversee the Federal Communications Commission’s transition from Democratic to Republican control.

Roslyn Layton, Trump’s new addition, joins Jeffrey Eisenach and Mark Jamison on the FCC transition team. All three are outspoken opponents of the FCC’s Title II net neutrality rules and are affiliated with the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Current FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s signature move was the reclassification of ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act and imposition of net neutrality rules. The move was supported by Democrats and consumer advocates who say ISPs shouldn’t be able to favor or disfavor online content by blocking, throttling, or charging for prioritization. Wheeler’s Title II net neutrality rules survived a court challenge from ISPs but could be eliminated under Trump either with Congressional legislation or FCC action.

Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments



Source: Ars Technica – Trump’s latest FCC advisor opposes Title II, supports data cap exemptions

More Than 1 Million Android Devices Rooted By Gooligan Malware

Reader Trailrunner7 writes: A new version of an existing piece of malware has emerged in some third-party Android app stores and researchers say it has infected more than a million devices around the world, giving the attackers full access to victims’ Google accounts in the process. The malware campaign, known as Gooligan, is a variant of older malware called Ghost Push that has been found in many malicious apps. Researchers at Check Point recently discovered several dozen apps, mainly in third-party app stores, that contain the malware, which is designed to download and install other apps and generate income for the attackers through click fraud. The malware uses phantom clicks on ads to generate revenue for the attackers through pay-per-install schemes, but that’s not the main concern for victims. The Gooligan malware also employs exploits that take advantage of several known vulnerabilities in older versions of Android, including Kit Kat and Lollipop to install a rootlet that is capable of stealing users’ Google credentials.Although the malware has full remote access to infected devices, it doesn’t appear to be stealing user data, but rather is content to go the click-fraud route. Most users are being infected through the installation of apps that appear to be legitimate but contain the Gooligan code, a familiar infection routine for mobile devices.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – More Than 1 Million Android Devices Rooted By Gooligan Malware