Or, this could just be clickbait.
Source: TreeHugger – Another possible impact of self-driving cars: organ shortages
Monthly Archives: December 2016
Encrypted chat app Signal sidesteps censorship in Cuba and Oman
Signal, the messaging app that prides itself on circumventing government censorship, has a few new places where its flagship feature works. Last week it was Egypt, and now users in Cuba and Oman can send messages without fear of them being intercepte…
Source: Engadget – Encrypted chat app Signal sidesteps censorship in Cuba and Oman
Space exploration game Elite: Dangerous will add Fisher’s Rest, a memorial outpost to Carrie Fisher,
Space exploration game Elite: Dangerous will add Fisher’s Rest, a memorial outpost to Carrie Fisher, in its 2.3 update, according to a forum post by Executive Producer Michael Brookes. The Star Wars actress passed away at the age of 60 this week.
Source: Kotaku – Space exploration game Elite: Dangerous will add Fisher’s Rest, a memorial outpost to Carrie Fisher,
Apple To Cut iPhone Production By 10%: Nikkei
A new report from Nikkei Asian Review says that Apple will cut iPhone production by around 10% in the first quarter of 2017. From the report: This comes after the company slashed output in January-March 2016 due to accumulated inventory of the iPhone 6s line at the end of 2015. That experience led Apple to curb production of the iPhone 7, introduced in September, by around 20%. But the phones still have sold more sluggishly than expected. Information on production of the latest models and global sales suggests cuts in both the 7 and 7 Plus lines in the coming quarter. The larger iPhone 7 Plus, which features two cameras on its back face, remains popular. But a shortage of camera sensors has curbed Apple’s ability to meet demand for the phones. U.S. research company IDC forecasts global smartphone shipments in 2016 on par with the 2015 level. Even Apple has had difficulty creating appealing new features, stifling demand from customers who otherwise would look to upgrade to the latest device.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Apple To Cut iPhone Production By 10%: Nikkei
Stop Calling Everything A "Hack"
This annoys me to no end. I post links to stories all the damn time that refer to everything as a “hack” or call a 12 year old that used social engineering to gain access to someone’s Facebook account a “hacker.”
When you call a leak a “hack,” you’re calling the person who found the vulnerability a “hacker.” That immediately tarnishes what is usually an act of good intention — reporting a bug either to the affected party or the media — with that of an illegal act. But better a good guy finding the flaw than a bad guy. And this kind of response by Nevada state is just one incident in a list of many that pose a larger question for security researchers.
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Source: [H]ardOCP – Stop Calling Everything A “Hack”
iPhone 7 Has 'Sold More Sluggishly Than Expected'
According to reports out of Japan, Apple is planning on cutting back production of the iPhone 7 due to sluggish demand.
Citing data from Apple suppliers, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported on Friday that “sluggish sales” of the iPhone 7 lineup have come in softer than Apple expected. Somewhat confusingly, the report said that Apple plans to cut production of both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. But it also notes that Apple has not been able to meet demand for the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus due to a shortage of camera sensors, noting that the jumbo-sized handset “remains popular.”
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Source: [H]ardOCP – iPhone 7 Has ‘Sold More Sluggishly Than Expected’
Matthew McConaughey Chose The Dark Tower Over Guardians of the Galaxy, But Who Was He Going To Play?
Actors on the level of Matthew McConaughey often turn down the biggest roles imaginable for any number of reasons. What we rarely hear, though, is their reasoning, and in a new interview, McConaughey explains why he turned down a role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but did choose to appear in The Dark Tower.
Source: io9 – Matthew McConaughey Chose The Dark Tower Over Guardians of the Galaxy, But Who Was He Going To Play?
Wine 2.0 Is Looking Like It Will Be A Late January Release
Alexandre Julliard had been issuing weekly release candidates of Wine 2.0 but given the holidays, he’s skipping this week but has provided a status update…
Source: Phoronix – Wine 2.0 Is Looking Like It Will Be A Late January Release
Postal, the Legendarily Violent Video Game by Running With Scissors, Is Now Open Source
An anonymous reader writes: Video game developer Running With Scissors has announced that it is open sourcing the original version of its most popular title-Postal, which was released back in 1997. Even though violence in video games has been a topic of debate for over decades now, Postal has been one of the most criticised games out of the lot. Running With Scissors has published the code for the game on Bitbucket under the GPL2 license and further said that it is entrusting the fans with the fate of its game. “Anyone with the time and skills can now tweak/change/update/modify anything in the game at all!” the company was quoted as saying in the report. Postal is popularly known for being termed “digital poison” by US Senator Joe Lieberman but developed an audience for itself over the years. Earlier this year, a high-definition remaster of the game called Postal Redux was released on Steam as well as PS4.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Postal, the Legendarily Violent Video Game by Running With Scissors, Is Now Open Source
Boston is the latest city to allow self-driving car tests
You can add Boston to the list of places where autonomous vehicles are being tested legally. Rather than trials on the city’s, ahem, interesting street layout, company NuTonomy will start small, beginning at the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park on Januar…
Source: Engadget – Boston is the latest city to allow self-driving car tests
Is this rainbow lobster the 'craziest crustacean'?
Thought lobsters were all one color? Think again.
Source: TreeHugger – Is this rainbow lobster the ‘craziest crustacean’?
Microsoft Is No Longer Selling Any Lumia Windows Phones On Its US Store
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Neowin: It seems that Lumia has reached the end of the line, as the Microsoft Store is no longer selling any of the company’s Windows Phone 8.1 or Windows 10 Mobile handsets in the U.S. The first signs that the end was approaching for Lumia came back in February, when Microsoft launched the Lumia 650, which was said to be the last in the company’s Lumia line. In August, Microsoft removed all mention of Windows handsets from its U.S. store homepage, relegating ‘Windows phone’ to a dropdown menu instead. This week, just one Lumia handset remained on sale: the ATT-locked Lumia 950, available only in white. Now, that model has sold out too, leaving none of the company’s Lumia handsets available to buy on its store. The Windows phones page on the Microsoft Store lists thirteen products, but eight of these are out of stock. When more stock is expected on a temporarily sold-out product, Microsoft typically replaces the ‘Add to cart’ button with one that says ‘Email me when available’. Instead, each of these products now has a grayed-out button, stating “Out of stock.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Microsoft Is No Longer Selling Any Lumia Windows Phones On Its US Store
Finnish Man Crushes Toilet Paper Into World's Shittiest Skateboard
If you want to make a skateboard on the cheap, all you need is 20 rolls of toilet paper and a hydraulic press. A word of warning though, it probably won’t be very good.
Source: Gizmodo – Finnish Man Crushes Toilet Paper Into World’s Shittiest Skateboard
Super Mario Run's Not-So-Super Gender Politics
Here we go again. Could you imagine being this guy’s poor kid? I guess now, any time a woman is captured in a game, you should just leave them there. I mean, she got herself into that mess, she can get herself out.
Unfortunately, despite Nintendo’s history and reputation, Super Mario Run is not a family-friendly game — or at least not one my wife and I will be letting our 6-year-old daughter play. The game is rife with stale, retrograde gender stereotypes — elements that were perhaps expected in 1985, when the first Super Mario Bros. was released in the United States, but that today are just embarrassing.
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Source: [H]ardOCP – Super Mario Run’s Not-So-Super Gender Politics
Blast Directly Into a Mars Battle in This Clip From The Expanse Season Two
It’s not even January 1 yet but we’re already counting down to February 1, when Syfy’s The Expanse returns with a double episode to kick off its second season. So far, we’ve gotten a few trailers and a behind-the-scenes peek with megafan Adam Savage—but this clip of a heated clash on Mars is our best glimpse yet.
Source: io9 – Blast Directly Into a Mars Battle in This Clip From The Expanse Season Two
The World's Largest Legal Ivory Market Is Shutting Down
In what is being hailed a major victory for elephant conservation, China announced today that it will ban all commercial ivory trading by the end of 2017.
Source: Gizmodo – The World’s Largest Legal Ivory Market Is Shutting Down
2016's hacks, attacks and security blunders
Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse than 2015’s security and privacy disasters, the asshole known as 2016 came along to trample and pee on any hope we had left for a hack-free, secure future. This was the year Hollywood hacking scare-fanta…
Source: Engadget – 2016’s hacks, attacks and security blunders
One Father's Issue With Peach Getting Kidnapped In Super Mario Run
Super Mario Run, Nintendo’s first mobile game, follows the standard Mario formula: Princess Peach gets kidnapped right away, and it’s up to Mario to save her. It’s for this reason that Chris Suellentrop doesn’t want his daughter to play it, as he wrote in an Op-Ed for The New York Times, saying, “the game is rife with stale, retrograde gender stereotypes … that today are just embarrassing.”
Source: Kotaku – One Father’s Issue With Peach Getting Kidnapped In Super Mario Run
Yuri On Ice: The Kotaku Review
This season’s breakout anime was Yuri on Ice, a welcoming show about an insecure Japanese figure skater named Yuri, and Victor, the Russian skating legend who mysteriously decides to become his coach. Yuri and Victor develop a relationship flush with love and young sensuality. Since October, fans feverishly watched the simulcast, playing “will-they-or-won’t-they?” while the protagonists teased sexual consummation.
Source: Kotaku – Yuri On Ice: The Kotaku Review
New test can diagnose cancer and other diseases by "smelling" your breath
An “artificially intelligent nanoarray” can offer a fast and inexpensive diagnosis of 17 diseases, by identifying their unique chemical signatures in your breath.
Source: TreeHugger – New test can diagnose cancer and other diseases by “smelling” your breath