Category: Technology

My interests in technology

Omicron ‘sub-variant’ throws up new virus questions

Technology


BA.2 has yet to be designated a variant of concern — but Flahault says countries have to be alert to the latest development as scientists ramp up surveillance. Photo: Damien Meyer/AFP

Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently-discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of the Covid-19 virus to determine how its emergence could effect future pandemic spread.

The initial Omicron variant has become the dominant virus strain in recent months but British health authorities have notably identified hundreds of cases of the latest version, dubbed BA.2, while international data suggest it could spread relatively quickly.

https://www.thelocal.no/20220122/omicron-sub-variant-throws-up-new-virus-questions/

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The secret lives of Neanderthal children

Technology

Among the growing collection of Neanderthal remains to be discovered are fossilised bones belonging to children. Now we are gaining unprecedented insights into what being a young Neanderthal was like.
In any normal summer, Spain’s famous Playa de la Castilla – a perfect 20km (12 mile) long stretch of sand backed by the Doñana nature reserve and close to the resort of Matalascañas, Huelva – would have been covered by the footprints of visiting tourists. But in June 2020 with international flights banned due to Covid-19, the beach was uncharacteristically quiet. Two biologists – María Dolores Cobo and Ana Mateos – who were strolling along the peaceful beach, nonetheless found many footprints. These, however, were made by a very different kind of visitor.
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What it’s really like to negotiate with ransomware attackers

International news, Technology

The most critical moment in a ransomware negotiation usually comes long before the victim and the hackers discuss a price.

By the time the two sides start talking, the hackers have already gained significant control of a company’s network, most likely securing access to sensitive account data, business contracts, and other key details of an organization. The more they steal, the greater the leverage they have.
The only way for the victim to regain some ground, cybersecurity experts say, is to come armed with information about how much the hackers have really stolen and knowledge of the attackers’ past negotiating tactics.
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Concorde successor AS2 takes leap forward

International news, Technology

Concorde successor AS2 takes leap forward with vast new Florida HQ

(CNN) — The race is heating up to produce the first supersonic passenger aircraft to enter commercial service in more than 50 years.
US planemaker Aerion, whose AS2 jet promises to fly New York to London in 4.5 hours, is building a massive new global headquarters in Florida ahead of production beginning on the supersonic craft in 2023.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/as2-supersonic-jet-florida-hq/index.html

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The United States is ‘looking at’ banning TikTok

International news, Technology

Hong Kong/Washington (CNN Business)The United States is “looking at” banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday.

Pompeo suggested the possible move during an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, adding that “we’re taking this very seriously.”
Pompeo was asked by Ingraham whether the United States should be considering a ban on Chinese social media apps, “especially TikTok.”
“With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too, Laura,” he said. “I don’t want to get out in front of the President [Donald Trump], but it’s something we’re looking at.”
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China is investing billions in chipmaking to close the gap with its global rivals

International news, Technology

Hong Kong (CNN Business)China’s largest semiconductor maker could raise as much as $7.5 billion this year by listing its stock in Shanghai — a move that could deliver the Chinese mainland its largest share sale in a decade, and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign chips.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), which already trades in Hong Kong, said in a stock exchange filing last week that it wants to raise at least $6.6 billion. The bigger number would be hit if the company exercises an “over-allotment option” and issues additional shares in response to strong demand from investors.
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Google Chrome users may have been impacted by a massive spying campaign, report says

Technology

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San Francisco (CNN Business)Google Chrome extensions downloaded more than 32 million times were used to spy on the popular browser’s users in a massive global surveillance campaign, according to a new report.

The report, from cybersecurity firm Awake Security, found at least 111 “malicious or fake” Chrome extensions capable of taking screenshots, stealing login credentials and capturing passwords as users typed them. The campaign impacted a wide range of sectors including financial services, healthcare and government organizations, it added.
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Google employees resign in protest against China censorship

Technology

Monday, September 17, 2018

Several Google employees have resigned in protest against the company’s plans to develop a search engine adapted to China’s desire for censorship.

It reports more foreign media.

According to Buzzfeed, seven employees have resigned because of the company’s lack of openness about the project called “Dragonfly”.

Google pulled its search engine from the Chinese market eight years ago because of censorship and hacking. According to the Tech Times, the new search engine should ignore topics that the Chinese government believes has “sensitive content”, such as democracy, speech freedom and human rights.

A loss of values

One of the employees who have terminated is Jack Poulson who has worked for Google since May 2016.

“I see our intention to provide for censorship and monitoring requirements in exchange for access to the Chinese market, as a loss of our values ​​and our state-of-the-art negotiating position worldwide, he wrote in his resignation made by The Intercept.

Ask for openness

In addition to terminations, 1,400 employees have signed a letter delivered to Google’s management. The letter states that the development of a search engine specifically adapted to China’s desire for censorship and control, raises moral and ethical questions about the work they are doing, writes the New York Times.

Google has not commented on the redundancies or the new project, which was made known to the public by a whistleblower.

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Today Facebook releases something brand new

Technology

Thursday 30 August 2018


Facebook will roll out the world wide video service, the company announced Wednesday.

The service has been available in the United States for over a year and the plan was all the way that it should eventually be rolled out globally.

The watch library will consist of a mix of entertainment and serious content, according to Facebook.

“We designed this product not only for thoughtless consumption, but also to make people get involved,” says Fidji Simo, Facebook’s video director.

The power service is being launched at a time when consumers move away from traditional linear TV, and also use streaming services like Netflix and HBO or video services like YouTube.

In the last year, Facebook has been working to expand its video library with its own TV productions and announced this week that they will also introduce new formats like interactive competition programs, quizzes and polls.

The announcement that the service is rolled out globally comes two weeks after Facebook secured the rights to send Spanish Elite Series in India and European Championship matches in Latin America.

However, most of the content will be user-generated, and the service is more compared to YouTube than Netflix.

– Content funded by us is a very small percentage of the content available at Watch, says Simo.

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Windows 95 is now an app you install on macOS, Windows, and Linux

Technology

Wednesday 29 August 2018

From The Verge

Windows 95 is the operating system that’s now used as a yardstick for what’s possible on modern devices and platforms. We’ve seen Microsoft’s popular OS appear on the Apple Watch, an Android Wear smartwatch, and even the Xbox One. Today, someone has gone a step further and made Windows 95 into an app that you can run on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Slack developer Felix Rieseberg is responsible for this glorious app, based on an existing web project that supports Windows 95, Windows 98, and a whole host of older operating systems. Now nostalgia lovers can play around with Windows 95 in an electron app. Rieseberg has published the source code and app installers for this project on Github, and apps like Wordpad, phone dialer, MS Paint, and Minesweeper all run like you’d expect. Sadly, Internet Explorer isn’t fully functional as it simply refuses to load pages.

The app its only 129MB in size and you can download it over at Github for both macOS and Windows. Once it’s running it surprisingly only takes up around 200MB of RAM, even when running all of the old Windows 95 system utilities, apps, and games. If you run into any issues with the app you can always reset the Windows 95 instance inside the app and start over again. Enjoy this quirky trip down memory lane.

 

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