Report: Obama authorized a secret cyber operation against Russia

President Barack Obama learned of Russia’s attempts to hack US election systems in early August 2016, and as intelligence mounted over the following months, the White House deployed secrecy protocols it hadn’t used since the 2011 raid on Osama bin La…

Source: Engadget – Report: Obama authorized a secret cyber operation against Russia

6 Female Founders Accuse VC Justin Caldbeck of Making Unwanted Advances

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Yesterday The Information reported on allegations made by half a dozen women working in the tech industry who say they have faced unwanted and inappropriate advances from Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Justin Caldbeck, co-founder and managing partner of Binary Capital. The women include Niniane Wang, co-creator of Google Desktop and a prior CTO of Minted; and Susan Ho and Leiti Hsu, co-founders of Journy, a travel planning and booking service. The Information also talked to three other women who said Caldbeck made inappropriate advances to them. It says these women did not want their names disclosed for fear of retaliation from the VC — and because of wider concerns they might suffer a backlash from men in the industry who don’t see inappropriate advances as a problem. Among the allegations made to The Information are that Caldbeck sent explicit text messages to women; that Caldbeck sent messages in the middle of the night suggesting meeting up; that Caldbeck suggested going to a hotel bedroom during a meeting; that Caldbeck made a proposition about having an open relationship; and that Caldbeck grabbed a woman’s thigh under the table of a bar during a meeting. Several of the women reported finding Caldbeck’s advances so awkward they gave up on continued dealings with him. In Caldbeck’s initial statement, he “strongly” denied the allegations and claimed: “I have always enjoyed respectful relationships with female founders, business partners, and investors.” However, in response to The Information’s story, his tone changed significantly: “Obviously, I am deeply disturbed by these allegations. While significant context is missing from the incidents reported by The Information, I deeply regret ever causing anyone to feel uncomfortable. The fact is that I have been privileged to have worked with female entrepreneurs throughout my career and I sincerely apologize to anyone who I made uncomfortable by my actions. There’s no denying this is an issue in the venture community, and I hate that my behavior has contributed to it.” Caldbeck has since released a full statement to Axios, where he says he “will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from Binary Capital…”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – 6 Female Founders Accuse VC Justin Caldbeck of Making Unwanted Advances

Tesla Is 'In Talks' To Build a Factory In China

Tesla confirmed yesterday that it is “in talks” with the municipal government of Shanghai to manufacture its vehicles in the country. Tesla said in a statement: “Tesla is working with the Shanghai Municipal Government to explore the possibility of establishing a manufacturing facility in the region to serve the Chinese market. As we’ve said before, we expect to more clearly define our plans for production in China by the end of the year. Tesla is deeply committed to the Chinese market, and we continue to evaluate potential manufacturing sites around the globe to serve the local markets. While we expect most of our production to remain in the U.S., we do need to establish local factories to ensure affordability for the markets they serve.” Quartz reports: The announcement follows more than a year of speculation that the electric-vehicle maker would set up shop in China, and confirms that Tesla is altering its China strategy away from merely exporting vehicles in order to reach more Chinese consumers. Earlier this year, Musk made a stealth visit to China to visit Wang Yang, one of the nation’s highest-ranking officials, to discuss Tesla’s plans. Tesla has been selling vehicles in China since 2014, but to date, its share of the electric vehicle market remains marginal, at just 2% as of June 2016, according to trade blog CleanTechnica. There are several reasons for this, one of which is price. Tesla currently exports its vehicles to China, and the government places an import tax of 50% on Tesla cars. The sticker price for the most simple Model S in China is $104,972, compared to $69,500 in the US.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Tesla Is ‘In Talks’ To Build a Factory In China

Justice Department Tries to Take Microsoft Email Warrant Fight to Supreme Court

The US Department of Justice is attempting to take its long-running legal battle with Microsoft over access to emails stored on foreign servers to the Supreme Court. After several delays, the Justice Department tonight filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to take its case. An appeals court previously ruled in…

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Source: Gizmodo – Justice Department Tries to Take Microsoft Email Warrant Fight to Supreme Court

'Titanfall 2' DLC adds another weapon slot and new maps on June 27th

It might be hard to top Titanfall 2’s last DLC release that dropped the first new playable titan since the game launched. But the mech-filled multiplayer shooter’s next free content block will add something back that fans have been wanting for months…

Source: Engadget – ‘Titanfall 2’ DLC adds another weapon slot and new maps on June 27th

32TB of Windows 10 beta builds, driver source code leaked

Enlarge (credit: Rural Learning Center)

32TB of unreleased, private Windows 10 builds, along with source code for certain parts of the driver stack, have been leaked to BetaArchive, reports The Register.

The dump appears to contain a number of Windows 10 builds from the development of codenamed Redstone 2. Redstone 2 was released earlier this year, branded as the Creators Update.

Some of these builds are said to include private debug symbols. Microsoft routinely releases debug symbols for Windows; the symbols contain additional information not found in the compiled Windows binaries that helps software developers identify which functions their code is calling. The symbols normally released are public symbols; while they identify many (though not all) functions and data structures, they don’t contain information about each function’s variables or parameters. The private symbols, in contrast, contain much more extensive information, giving much more insight into what each piece of code is doing and how it’s doing it.

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Source: Ars Technica – 32TB of Windows 10 beta builds, driver source code leaked

'Chiropractors Are Bullshit'

From an article on The Outline, submitted by two readers: If you’re one of the approximately 80 percent of Americans who have suffered from back pain, you may have been referred to a chiropractor for medical help. In the modern-day internet landscape, you’ll find chiropractic celebrities like Dr. Josh Axe (1.7 million Facebook followers), Dr. Billy DeMoss (20,000 Facebook followers), and Dr. Eric Berg (472,000 YouTube subscribers) giving advice that goes beyond managing spinal issues. Both in their offices and on social media, chiropractors have adapted to a marketplace that’s demanding more than just pain management: they extol the virtues of an “alkaline diet,” tell you how to manage stress with detoxing, and wax scientific about the adrenal gland. […] Chiropractic care, I’m sorry to say, is little more than the buffoonery of a 19th-century lunatic who derived most of his medical theory from seances. It has not evolved much since its creation. Chiropractic beliefs are dangerously far removed from mainstream medicine, and the vocation’s practices have been linked to strokes, herniated discs, and even death. Chiropractors can’t replace your doctor, and I’m amazed that they’re still even allowed to practice. […] Though some chiropractors are now making an effort to introduce evidence-based practices into their treatment, chiropractic as a whole hasn’t evolved like other areas of medicine — with hypotheses, experimentation, and peer review. Instead, it was birthed by a strange combination of hocus pocus, guesswork, and strongly held religious beliefs.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – ‘Chiropractors Are Bullshit’

Texting While Driving Now Legal In Colorado — In Some Cases

Fines for texting and driving in Colorado have jumped to $300, but according to the fine print, the increased fine only applies to drivers who are texting in “a careless or imprudent manner.” Therefore, drivers who are texting in any other manner are still within the law. FOX31 Denver reports: Before the new legislation, any texting while driving was illegal. Tim Lane of the Colorado District Attorney’s Office confirmed the softening crackdown on all texting and driving. “The simple fact is that if you are texting while driving but not being careless, it’s no longer illegal,” he said. What constitutes “careless” driving is up to the discretion of each individual law enforcement officer. Cellphone use of any kind is still banned for drivers younger than 18. Teens caught with a phone in hand while driving will be slapped with a $50 fine.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Texting While Driving Now Legal In Colorado — In Some Cases

IT Services Company Wipro Forces 600 Employees To Work In Bed Bug Infested Office

McGruber writes: Information Technology Services CorporationWipro’s 600-employee call center in Chamblee, Georgia is in infected with bed bugs according to Atlanta television station 11Alive. The facilities manager admits there is a bed bug problem and it’s been an issue since late May. Employees told the tv station that the bugs are all over the three floors — and they’re biting. But employees are being told they still must go to work. Kwanita Holmes sent 11Alive photos of what she said is a bed bug bite on her arm: “We’re at work 8 hours a day and we’re getting munched on all day,” she said. Wipro said it’s paying for in-home bed bug consultations and treatments for employees.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – IT Services Company Wipro Forces 600 Employees To Work In Bed Bug Infested Office

Dear God: SpongeBob And Patrick Imagined In Real Life

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These are some renderings created by artist Miguel Vasquez imagining SpongeBob and Patrick as real life terrifying beings. Those faces…my God. After seeing these I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to watch the cartoon the same way again. “How did you watch the cartoon?” Naked as the– “Day you were born?” No, as the day I was arrested the second time — socks only.

Keep going for some closeups of each and a couple more prom photos. More of Miguel’s work on his Instagrams HERE.

Source: Geekologie – Dear God: SpongeBob And Patrick Imagined In Real Life

Nike’s SNKRS app uses AR to help you buy limited-edition shoes

Nike is the latest company to join the augmented reality craze. The sportswear giant has started using the tech to sell limited-edition kicks through its SNRKS app, with the system’s first drop being the Nike SB Dunk High Pro “Momofuku,” a model desi…

Source: Engadget – Nike’s SNKRS app uses AR to help you buy limited-edition shoes

WikiLeaks Doc Dump Reveals CIA Tools For Hacking Air-Gapped PCs

An anonymous reader writes: “WikiLeaks dumped today the manuals of several hacking utilities part of Brutal Kangaroo, a CIA malware toolkit for hacking into air-gapped (offline) networks using tainted USB thumb drives,” reports Bleeping Computer. The CIA uses these tools as part of a very complex attack process, that allows CIA operatives to infect offline, air-gapped networks. The first stage of these attacks start with the infection of a “primary host,” an internet-connected computer at a targeted company. Malware on this primary host automatically infects all USB thumb drives inserted into the machine. If this thumb drive is connected to computers on an air-gapped network, a second malware is planted on these devices. This malware is so advanced, that it can even create a network of hacked air-gapped PCs that talk to each other and exchange commands. To infect the air-gapped computers, the CIA malware uses LNK (shortcut) files placed on the USB thumb drive. Once the user opens and views the content of the thumb drive in Windows Explorer, his air-gapped PC is infected without any other interaction.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – WikiLeaks Doc Dump Reveals CIA Tools For Hacking Air-Gapped PCs

This App Can Choose Your Best Photos For You

Android: If your phone’s storage is running low, you might want to start deleting some low-quality photos from your phone or backing it up with an app like Google Photos. Luckily the photo app EyeEm announced an update on Wednesday that uses artificial intelligence to pick out your best photos.

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Source: LifeHacker – This App Can Choose Your Best Photos For You

Cool: Man Uses Augmented Reality To Recreate The Moon Landing In His Kitchen

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This is a video from Youtube Tomás García who used Unity and Apple’s augment reality development kit ARkit to recreate an entirely-not-to-scale 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing in his kitchen, presumably much to the delight of his portrait of Sir Batman. Lowlights include NEVER ACTUALLY ZOOMING IN ON THE LUNAR LANDING MODULE — WHAT THE HELL, TOMAS? You had one job. Although, now that I think about it, you actually have two jobs. “What’s my second job?” Well you are in the kitchen, aren’t you? “Yes…” Well that is where sandwiches come from, right?

Keep going for the video of what I assumed at first was the Death Star.

Source: Geekologie – Cool: Man Uses Augmented Reality To Recreate The Moon Landing In His Kitchen

It's OK to Say No to a Wedding Invitation

You don’t have to say yes to every wedding invitation, says Dante Jordan at The Awl. And while Jordan targets people who wish they could say no to every wedding, this is also good advice for those of us who like to occasionally witness two friends declare their love, then eat dinner.

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Source: LifeHacker – It’s OK to Say No to a Wedding Invitation

Deadspin SI Swimsuit Is Apparently Phasing Out Those Inconvenient Swimsuits | The Grapevine German W

Deadspin SI Swimsuit Is Apparently Phasing Out Those Inconvenient Swimsuits | The Grapevine German White Woman Completes Her ‘Transition’ Into a Black Woman | Jezebel Diddy and Queen Elizabeth Have Some Shady Tendencies in Common | Fusion It Is Humanly Impossible to Be a Good Newspaper Columnist |

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Source: LifeHacker – Deadspin SI Swimsuit Is Apparently Phasing Out Those Inconvenient Swimsuits | The Grapevine German W