America’s FBI and its Customs Enforcement agency “have turned state driver license databases into a facial-recognition gold mine, scanning through hundreds of millions of Americans’ photos without their knowledge or consent,” reports the Washington Post. They cite thousands of newly-released facial-recognition requests, internal documents, and emails from the last five years, revealed after a public-records…

Prime Day starts next week, but there are already some notable sales on wearables. …read more Source:: CNet

Remember when the small town of Lake City, Florida paid $460,000 for a ransomware’s decryption key? As they slowly recover 100 years of encrypted municipal records, the New York Times looks at the lessons learned, arguing that cyberattackers have simply found a juicy target: small governments with weak computer protections — and strong insurance policies….

Today, it can feel like you’re always connected to the grid. We’re constantly alerted to notifications from smart phones, smart watches, and our houses have begun to swell with all manner of internet-enabled devices. [Jake P] wanted a less connected lifestyle, and built a shelf to help realise that goal. The idea of [Jake]’s Analog…

Adam Sandler and others remember the young actor, who starred in Descendants and Grown-Ups. …read more Source:: CNet

“Researchers in a warming Arctic are discovering organisms, frozen and presumed dead for millennia, that can bear life anew,” reports the Washington Post: These ice age zombies range from simple bacteria to multicellular animals, and their endurance is prompting scientists to revise their understanding of what it means to survive… Mosses have forged a tougher…

Save on Instant Pot, Apple HomePod, Google Home Mini, TVs, car rentals, appliances and more. …read more Source:: CNet

“Windows 10 continues to be a danger zone,” writes Forbes senior contributor Gordon Kelly: Not only have problems been piling up in recent weeks, Microsoft has also been worryingly deceptive about the operation of key services. And now the company has warned millions about another problem. Spotted by the always excellent Windows Latest, Microsoft has…

Megan Rapinoe is our president now, according to Twitter. …read more Source:: CNet

“AMD is unleashing an arsenal of products today,” writes Slashdot reader MojoKid. Hot Hardware writes: The Zen 2-based AMD Ryzen 3000 series is easily one of the most anticipated product launches in the PC space in recent memory. AMD has essentially promised to address virtually all of the perceived shortcomings of the original Zen-based Ryzen…