Day: December 20, 2020

China Accused of Spying On Americans Via Caribbean Phone Networks

“A mobile security expert has accused China of exploiting cellphone networks in the Caribbean to conduct ‘mass surveillance’ on Americans,” reports Newsweek: Gary Miller, a former vice president of network security at California-based analytics company Mobileum, told The Guardian he had amassed evidence of espionage conducted via “decades-old vulnerabilities” in the global telecommunications system. While…


Facing Overwhelming Demand, Non-Profit ‘RPG Research’ Looks for Help

Software developer/sys-admin Hawke Robinson is the CEO of RPG Research, a 501(c)3 non-profit, volunteer-run, charitable organization founded in 1977. He’s also long-time Slashdot reader kmleon, and shares this story from the gaming-news site The Gamer: RPG Research recently sent out an urgent call requesting more volunteers, more warehouse space, and more donations to help meet…


Lidar House Looks Good, Looks All Around

A lighthouse beams light out to make itself and its shoreline visible. [Daniel’s] lighthouse has the opposite function, using lasers to map out the area around itself. Using an Arduino and a ToF sensor, the concept is relatively simple. However, connecting to something that rotates 360 degrees is always a challenge. The lighthouse is inexpensive…


Facebook’s Criticism of Apple’s Tracking Change Called ‘Laughable’ by EFF

The MacRumors site writes: Facebook’s recent criticism directed at Apple over an upcoming tracking-related privacy measure is “laughable,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit organization that defends civil liberties in the digital world. Facebook has claimed that Apple’s new opt-in tracking policy will hurt small businesses who benefit from personalized advertising, but…


Best Apple deals right now: Save on Apple Watch, AirPods Pro and Intel MacBooks – CNET

Here are the best Apple deals currently available this holiday shopping season. …read more Source:: CNet


The Mandalorian season 2 finale postcredits scene explained: a major teaser – CNET

Star Wars fans better clear time in December 2021. …read more Source:: CNet


The Mandalorian season 2 finale recap: Mando and Baby Yoda meet Star Wars legends – CNET

In the season 2 finale, the live-action Star Wars show on Disney Plus took some wild turns. …read more Source:: CNet


Due to Covid-19, Apple Closes Nearly a Fifth of Its Retail Stores

“New COVID-19 restrictions and worsening outbreaks have compelled Apple to temporarily close nearly one fifth of its retail stores during one of the busiest shopping weeks of the holiday season,” reports 9to5Mac. 401 of Apple’s 509 locations worldwide remain open as of publication. Most open locations in the US are limited to Express storefront pickup…


Status Display Lets Them Know You Can’t Play

All this ongoing forced togetherness is great, but sometimes you just need to be able to pretend you’re alone so you can get some work done. So, how do you keep family members out of your home office? Our own [Bob Baddeley]’s free/busy indicator is about as simple as it gets. The best part is…


Should America’s Next President Abolish the Space Force?

An anonymous reader writes: The U.S. military’s Space Force branch celebrated its one-year anniversary Friday by announcing that its members would now be known as “guardians”. But the name was not universally greeted with respect and appreciation. Gizmodo announced the news with a headline which read “Space Force Personnel Will Be Called ‘Guardians’ Because Sure,…