Last month, Russia lost contact with a 6,062-pound, $45 million satellite. Turns out, that happened because the Meteor-M weather satellite was programmed with the wrong coordinates. Gizmodo reports: On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told the Rossiya 24 state TV channel that a human error was responsible for the screw-up, according to Reuters. While the Meteor-M launched last month from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Far East, it was reportedly programmed with take-off coordinates for the Baikonur cosmodrome, which is located in southern Kazakhstan. “The rocket was really programmed as if it was taking off from Baikonur,” Rogozin said. “They didn’t get the coordinates right.” And the rocket had some precious cargo on board: “18 smaller satellites belonging to scientific, research and commercial companies from Russia, Norway, Sweden, the U.S., Japan, Canada and Germany,” Reuters reported.

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Source: Slashdot – Russia Lost a Million Satellite Because ‘They Didn’t Get the Coordinates Right’

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Comcast issued a statement last week claiming that the government’s new tax plan and the end of net neutrality will directly result in a dramatic spike in Comcast’s network investment and job creation plans. If you look at Comcast’s capital investments over the past 12 months and calculate continued investment growth at current rates — you’ll find that Comcast was already on pace to spend more than $50 billion on investment over the next five years.

Journalists that could be bothered to take a closer look at Comcast’s earnings discovered that the company’s promise of $50 billion in investment over five years is something that would have occurred regardless of the net neutrality repeal or Comcast’s shiny new tax cut. “In Q3 2017, the most recent quarter, Comcast’s capital expenditures were $2.4 billion,” noted Ars Technica’s Jon Brodkin. “Continuing to spend at that rate, even if Comcast doesn’t increase spending to account for inflation, would push Comcast to $9.6 billion a year or $48 billion over the next five years.” Indeed; if you look at Comcast’s capital investments over the past 12 months and calculate continued investment growth at current rates — you’ll find that Comcast was already on pace to spend more than $50 billion on investment over the next five years.

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Source: Slashdot – There’s No Evidence Comcast’s New ‘Network Investment’ Is Because of Net Neutrality Repeal or Tax Cuts

In what may be a signal of changing attitudes for Windows 10, visits to U.S. government sites via Windows 10 have surpassed Windows 7 for the first time. On MSFT reports: This United States government website reports that of the 2.54 billion visits to U.S. Government websites over the past 90 days, 20.9% came from Windows 10, and 20.7% from Windows 7. Interestingly, Windows 8.1 came in at 2.7%, Windows 8 .05%, and other OS 0.8%. The numbers are a bit niche and could be just from a holiday bump based on the sites 90-day average, but they still do give a solid number comparison for the state of various OS and browser stats. When it comes to browser share, Edge was not popularly used to visit U.S. Government websites. Chrome was on top with 44.4%, Followed up Safari with 27.6%, Internet Explorer at 12.3%, and then Firefox at 5.9% and Edge at 3.9%. Though all these government percentages may be bleak for Microsoft, the latest AdDuplex December report also shows strong adoption for Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, so things can only go up from Microsoft from here on out.

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Source: Slashdot – Windows 10 Visits To US Government Sites Surpass Windows 7 For the First Time

An Italian clothing company that uses the name “Steve Jobs” as its brand will be able to continue using the moniker after winning a multi-year legal battle, reports Italian site la Repubblica Napoli. Mac Rumors reports: Brothers Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato named their clothing brand “Steve Jobs” in 2012 after learning that Apple had not trademarked his name. “We did our market research and we noticed that Apple, one of the best known companies in the world, never thought about registering its founder’s brand, so we decided to do it,” the two told la Repubblica Napoli. The Barbatos designed a logo that resembles Apple’s own, choosing the letter “J” with a bite taken out of the side. Apple, of course, sued the two brothers for using Jobs’ name and a logo that mimics the Apple logo. In 2014, the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office ruled in favor of the Barbatos and rejected Apple’s trademark opposition. While the outcome of the legal battle was decided in 2014, Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato have been unable to discuss the case until now, as their claim on the brand was not settled until 2017. The two told la Repubblica Napoli that Apple went after the logo, something that may have been a mistake. The Intellectual Property Office decided that the “J” logo that appears bitten was not infringing on Apple’s own designs as a letter is not edible and thus the cutout in the letter cannot be perceived as a bite. The report goes on to note that the company plans to produce electronic devices under the Steve Jobs brand.

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Source: Slashdot – Italian Clothing Company Defeats Apple, Wins the Right To Use Steve Jobs’ Name

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Apple just published a letter to customers apologizing for the “misunderstanding” around older iPhones being slowed down, following its recent admission that it was, in fact, slowing down older phones in order to compensate for degrading batteries. “We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down,” says the company. “We apologize.” Apple says in its letter that batteries are “consumable components,” and is offering anyone with an iPhone 6 or later a battery replacement for $29 starting in late January through December 2018 — a discount of $50 from the usual replacement cost. Apple’s also promising to add features to iOS that provide more information about the battery health in early 2018, so that users are aware of when their batteries are no longer capable of supporting maximum phone performance.

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Source: Slashdot – Apple Apologizes For iPhone Slowdown Drama, Will Offer Battery Replacements