InfoQ reports on surprising results from research sponsored by the Institutes for Application Security and System Security at Germany’s Technische UniversitÃt Braunschweig: A study published in June 2019 reveals that in the Alexa Top 1 million websites, one out of 600 sites executes WebAssembly (Wasm) code. The study moreover finds that over 50% of those…

In a move to fight spam and improve the health of the web, Mozilla will hide notification popups — a feature nobody asked for. …read more Source:: ZDNet

“Police in Hallandale Beach believe there may have been a witness to the July murder of Silvia Galva, and ‘her’ name was Alexa,” reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Slashdot reader PolygamousRanchKid tipped us off to the story: According to a search warrant, investigators want to know what the popular voice-controlled smart speakers overheard during a…

Clinton speaks out about social media and the “war on truth.” …read more Source:: CNet

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) recently developed a new technique for growing watch springs to tiny specifications. As it turns out, the creation of watch springs is ripe with opportunity for new materials research. The technique involves using photo-etching and electrochemical deposition into cold, aqueous solutions. Compared to…

“Local politics are a bigger problem for renewable energy growth than competition from fossil fuels,” warns a Bloomberg columnist: It’s getting harder to get permission to erect the turbine towers. Local regulations are getting stricter. Bavaria decided back in 2014 that the distance between a wind turbine and the nearest housing must be 10 times…

Also, what the hell is a BMF title? …read more Source:: CNet