Day: October 13, 2018

Facebook Says Russian Firms ‘Scraped’ Data, Some for Facial Recognition

An anonymous reader quotes the New York Times: On the same day Facebook announced that it had carried out its biggest purge yet of American accounts peddling disinformation, the company quietly made another revelation: It had removed 66 accounts, pages and apps linked to Russian firms that build facial recognition software for the Russian government….


Here’s what photos from the Pixel 3 camera look like – CNET

Come check out some photos we took with the Pixel 3! …read more Source:: CNet


Why Someone Put a Giant, Inflatable Bitcoin Rat on Wall Street

There’s now a giant, inflatable rat covered in crypto code across from the Federal Reserve. An anonymous reader quotes Fortune: The bitcoin rat, first noted on Reddit, was created by Nelson Saiers, an artist and former hedge fund manager, according to Coindesk. The art installation, which appeared earlier this week and is temporary, is intended…


The Solution To DJs Playing Their MacBooks

The greatest invention relating to music in the 20th century was multi-track recording, for which we have Les Paul to thank. The second greatest? Non-linear editing and Pro Tools. For some bizarre reason, we have Ricky Martin to thank for that because Livin’ La Vida Loca was the first #1 single to be recorded and…


America Finally Abandons Plan To Convert Plutonium Bombs Into Nuclear Fuel

MOX hoped to convert plutonium from Cold War bombs into fuel for nuclear power plants, but even though the project was about 70% complete, Washington has pulled the plug. Slashdot reader Mr. Dollar Ton shared this story from Reuters: The Department of Energy told Senate and House of Representatives committees in May that MOX, a…


RIP Greg Stafford, a Fundamental Personage of the RPG Industry

“The first published RPG was Dungeons & Dragons, shortly followed by some other imitative games,” Greg Stafford once said. “Chaosium, however, was never content to imitate but published games that were original in style of play, content and design.” Greg Stafford died Thursday at the age of 71. Long-time Slashdot reader argStyopa shares this memorial…


Scientists Are Getting Seriously Worried About Synthetic Smallpox

An anonymous reader quotes ScienceAlert: Earlier this year, scientists published a paper describing how they pieced together segments of DNA in order to bring back a previously eradicated virus called horsepox. The paper, written by two University of Alberta researchers and the co-founder of a New York pharmaceutical company, was controversial because, as various experts…


McKinsey: time to rethink Agile in complex digital environments

Agile development often runs aground in large-scale software environments. With digital and automation, every software environment is growing in scale. …read more Source:: ZDNet


Pentagon discloses card breach

Around 30,000 DOD civilian and military personnel are believed to be affected. …read more Source:: ZDNet


Tiny Telescope For Simple Radio Astronomy

We are used to imagining radio telescopes as immense pieces of scientific apparatus, such as the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, or the Lovell telescope in the UK. It’s a surprise then that they can be constructed on a far more modest sale using off-the-shelf components, and it’s a path that [Gonçalo Nespral] has taken…