In a surprising move, the New York Times announced to its staff on Wednesday that it will immediately eliminate the position of Public Editor at its publication. The role will instead be filled by an expanded comments section — one that is moderated…
Source: Engadget – New York Times picks an AI moderator over a Public Editor
Monthly Archives: May 2017
Use These Apps to Learn How to Speed Read
Reading is dope, so if you want to do more of it you should probably get better at it. The average human meat sack can inhale words through their eyes at a prodigious 250 words per minute, but speed-reading software can supposedly up your intake to close to 1000 words per minute if you’re dedicated. Be warned: various…
Source: LifeHacker – Use These Apps to Learn How to Speed Read
Mesa 17.2-dev + Linux 4.12 Intel Skylake HD Graphics 530 Benchmarks
With having powered up the Core i5 6600K “Skylake” test rig that I haven’t run many benchmarks on recent in the days of Kabylake, I ran some fresh HD Graphics 530 tests with Linux 4.12 and Mesa 17.2-dev to see if these upgrades are worthwhile for Skylake Linux users…
Source: Phoronix – Mesa 17.2-dev + Linux 4.12 Intel Skylake HD Graphics 530 Benchmarks
2018 Camry Using Open-Source Linux Infotainment
Toyota has announced that as an option for the 2018 Camry, you can get “Automotive Grade Linux” as the backbone of the Infotainment system. Toyota is still using Entune branding, with AGL 3.0 forming the base for its latest Entune 3.0 system in the Camry.
This could be pretty interesting in my opinion, once modders and the like get their hands on it to play with, who knows perhaps we will be rooting our cars and installing custom software of our own. And depending on the hardware running the infotainment in these upcoming cars, we may be able to do a whole lot more. A few months ago we showed that you can run Doom on a Porsche 911, perhaps now we will have a more affordable option.
“The flexibility of the AGL platform allows us to quickly roll-out Toyota’s infotainment system across our vehicle line-up, providing customers with greater connectivity and new functionalities at a pace that is more consistent with consumer technology,” said Keiji Yamamoto, Executive Vice President, Connected Company of Toyota Motor Corporation. “Adopting an open source development approach has enabled us to focus resources on developing innovative new features and bringing them to market faster.”
Discussion
Source: [H]ardOCP – 2018 Camry Using Open-Source Linux Infotainment
Twitter Helps those Overwhelmed with Bad News
It is good to see that Twitter is teaming up with ReachOut to provide services for those young people in our society that are so fragile that they get overwhelmed with bad news. HardOCP is starting its own campaign as well. It is called GTFOPGO. That is “Gee Tee Fop Go,” for those of you not in the know. So, click the X in the corner of your browser right now, turn off your phone, and go outside. Pet a dog or something.
So, it is encouraging to see some technology companies proactively showing concern about their users’ mental health. For example, Twitter is teaming up with the youth mental health organisation ReachOut to provide resources to help young people learn about the possible negative impacts of social media, so they won’t be overly consumed by it and know how to cope if they are.
Many people have a negativity bias, such that they are more likely to focus on bad events and news, rather than on good events and news. The media capitalise on this by sensationalising stories, using hyperbole and reporting on more bad events than good ones.
Discussion
Source: [H]ardOCP – Twitter Helps those Overwhelmed with Bad News
Photo: The understated elegance of California quail
They might be ‘plump, short-necked game birds,’ but these exquisite quail can’t hide their panache.
Source: TreeHugger – Photo: The understated elegance of California quail
I bio-engineered glowing beer and it hasn’t killed me (yet)
I’ve been making beer for about 10 years and, in the name of fun and experimentation, I’ve done some weird stuff. Toss some sarsaparilla and birch bark in the pot? Why not? “Dry hop” with a box of Apple Jacks? Try and stop me. But I may have finally…
Source: Engadget – I bio-engineered glowing beer and it hasn’t killed me (yet)
Uptalk Actually Serves a Powerful Purpose
Uptalk used to seem like a bad thing. The “Valley girl” speech pattern, wherein a speaker’s statements end with an upward inflection that makes them sound like questions, was first recognized by linguists in the 1970s and was long mocked as a sign of unseriousness. In 1993, New York Times writer James Gorman admitted…
Source: LifeHacker – Uptalk Actually Serves a Powerful Purpose
Hackers Leak Cosmetic Surgery Patient Photos After Obscene Ransom Demands Denied
Not every hacker on the planet is a callous basement dweller. Many are actually using their skills to make the world a better place, securing our favorite websites and vital infrastructures—not to mention all those tiny internet devices with cameras and microphones we’ve idiotically placed throughout our homes where…
Source: Gizmodo – Hackers Leak Cosmetic Surgery Patient Photos After Obscene Ransom Demands Denied
Ethiopia Turns Off Internet Nationwide as Students Sit Exams
Ethiopia shut down the internet yesterday ahead of a scheduled national examination that is underway in the country today. Social media users noted that the internet service was interrupted from around 7 pm on Tuesday — reportedly to prevent exam leaks. About 1.2 million students are taking the grade 10 national exams, with another 288,000 preparing for the grade 12 university entrance exams that will take place next week. From a report: Outbound traffic from Ethiopia was shutdown around 4pm UK time on Tuesday, according to Google’s transparency report, which registered Ethiopian visits to the company’s sites plummeting over the evening. By Wednesday afternoon, access still had not been restored. Last year, activists leaked the papers for the country’s 12th grade national exams, calling for the postponement of the papers due to a school shutdown in the regional state of Oromia. Now, the government appears to have taken the move to shut down internet access as a preventative measure.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Ethiopia Turns Off Internet Nationwide as Students Sit Exams
WSJ: Bixby Voice won't debut on Galaxy S8 until late June
To hear Samsung’s Galaxy S8 ad campaign tell it, the company’s Bixby digital assistant was already fully featured and ready to go at the handset’s launch. The reality is quite a bit different, however. Bixby Voice, the would-be competitor to Siri and…
Source: Engadget – WSJ: Bixby Voice won’t debut on Galaxy S8 until late June
How Have I Lived My Whole Life Without an Extra Pair of Robot Arms?
If you’re jealous of Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit, but don’t have billions of dollars to build your own, a group of Japanese researchers have come up with a cheaper, and arguably more useful alternative: an extra pair of robot arms that can help out when your own limbs are busy.
Source: Gizmodo – How Have I Lived My Whole Life Without an Extra Pair of Robot Arms?
Holy Smokes: Video Of An Underground Water Main Exploding In Ukraine
This is some surveillance camera footage of an underground water main exploding in Kiev, Ukraine. I don’t know why, but when I think of water mains exploding, I think of Ukraine. I wonder why that is. Could you imagine if you were on the toilet at a date’s house when this happened? “Nothing would have happened.” Sure, not until you needed to double-flush because those spicy nachos ran right through you and now there’s no water for the second flush. Then what? “Climb out the window and tell yourself it’s cool, she wasn’t the one anyways.” Exactly.
Keep going for the whole video with different angles.
Source: Geekologie – Holy Smokes: Video Of An Underground Water Main Exploding In Ukraine
What “Homeopathy" Is, And Why it's Useless
Echinacea is not a homeopathic remedy. Neither are essential oils, neti pots, or visits to the chiropractor. If you have a vague sense that homeopathy is outside the mainstream and that I’m about to pooh-pooh it, you’re right, but the weirdness goes farther than most people realize.
Source: LifeHacker – What “Homeopathy” Is, And Why it’s Useless
AMD EPYC Launching 20 June, Are You Interested?
Besides confirming the RX Vega launch for SIGGRAPH, AMD also announced today from Computex Taipei that their AMD EPYC launch is happening on 20 June…
Source: Phoronix – AMD EPYC Launching 20 June, Are You Interested?
Roboticist says that with Tesla’s Autopilot, “Bikers will die”
Well that certainly got everyone’s attention.
Source: TreeHugger – Roboticist says that with Tesla’s Autopilot, “Bikers will die”
Why Prairie Voles Cuddle The Shit Out Of Their Partners
Here’s some news you desperately need today: A team of intrepid scientists has boldly gone where others have never dared, into the minds of tiny prairie voles in love. By studying the neural circuits of these adorable rodents, the researchers have uncovered some of the mechanisms behind their social bonding.…
Source: Gizmodo – Why Prairie Voles Cuddle The Shit Out Of Their Partners
Take-Two nabs the rights to 'Kerbal Space Program'
The news about ex-Squad members leaving for Valve was ultimately overblown, but there’s still plenty of drama in the indie developer’s life: Take-Two Interactive has bought the rights to Kerbal Space Program. The move will turn the spaceship buildin…
Source: Engadget – Take-Two nabs the rights to ‘Kerbal Space Program’
Be the Saddest Guy in the Office With Amazon's Embarrassing 'Covfefe' Swag
The loud man did a word bad on the internet and now you can buy an everything of it. Welcome to The Resistance™, we take credit or debit.
Source: Gizmodo – Be the Saddest Guy in the Office With Amazon’s Embarrassing ‘Covfefe’ Swag
Fight on the moon in new ‘Overwatch’ Lunar Base map
Last week, Overwatch celebrated its one-year anniversary by dropping scores of new event-themed character skins and extras to the game. But it also added three new maps for the game’s small-team and 1v1 Arena modes. It seems the title’s team wasn’t d…
Source: Engadget – Fight on the moon in new ‘Overwatch’ Lunar Base map