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Submission + - Trump DHS asked CISA to Secretly Aquire and Hack a Voting Machine (propublica.org)

fahrbot-bot writes: ProPublica (and others) is reporting that a few months into President Donald Trump’s second term, political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wanted Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to secretly acquire a voting machine and hack it.

In addition, the agency had been directed not to alert the voting machine company if it uncovered flaws, contrary to its standard practices. The request made the CISA employees fear they were being asked to take part in political interference.

“My thought was they could keep it in their back pocket to invalidate any [election] results they don’t like,” one of the former officials said. “This goes against everything CISA represents.” [Or, perhaps do something worse?]

The CISA employees repeatedly told the political appointees that their request was impossible, in part because the agents capable of pulling off such an operation had just been laid off by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The appointees eventually stopped pressing CISA.

Comment Re:The truth is... (Score 2) 67

There are TONS of sold listings on eBay already. Lots of order confirmation screenshots. A lot of them around the $3k mark... which, after tax and eBay/Paypal/whatever fees, doens't feel as high of a markup as I expected. A bunch higher than that too, but most with higher storage (a couple 2 TB ones I saw "sold" for about $5k).

Comment Is this really what people will pay for? (Score 5, Interesting) 183

"keep their stories up for 48 hours instead of 24, send animated super reactions and super hearts to stories, preview stories without showing up as a viewer in other users' list"

Surely, they have some kind of data that says someone will pay for this, right? Is this really what people can't wait to hand over money to Facebook for? Super Reactions? "Exclusive" stickers and ringtones? I'd love to hear from someone that actually pays for that kind of stuff and what they are really getting out of it - because I REALLY don't get it.

Comment Re:Protectionism (Score 1) 504

As a European my perception of US cars is that they are fairly crap. A few models make it here and don't compare well to European brands.

The especially sad thing about that is most of the US cars that are sold in Europe seem to be either customized to the Euro market or only sold in Europe (or maybe more accurately, anywhere but the US?). So, they are likely better in many ways than what we have in the US market - and they're still kind of shit. It's just that the US only models seem to be even worse with less variety on top.

Submission + - Human Intelligence vs Artificial Intelligence

gethotelreviews writes: As AI gets better at "AI things," do humans need to get better at "human stuff"? Self-awareness, empathy, relationships, and purpose might become far more important as artificial intelligence advances.

Discover what AI might be teaching us about ourselves. https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Froguesinparadise.com%2Fw...

Comment Re:Can't you already pay with the app? (Score 1) 79

3) They never have enough checkout lanes open, so are always INCREDIBLY slow.

Between our local stores, I have checkout issues are Target FAR MORE than I do at Walmart. My biggest issue at one of our Walmarts is that I always prefer self-checkout but they sometimes only open one set of 4 kiosks, which generates a line of 4-5 people at a time. I'm sure there are registers open somewhere, but I'll take a minute or two of pain over wandering to find an open staffed register most days.

Our Target is a complete clusterfuck for checkout (and it's not even a big city or anything). There are just FOUR self-checkouts total and maybe 10-15 actual registers. But at any given time I end up there there are 0 to 1 registers actually staffed and open and a line of literally 10-12 people waiting at self-checkout. It is completely absurd and I fill out the stupid receipt survey every time. It happens almost every single time I walk in that store.

Right now, this month, they are finally doing some renovations at our Target and I am really hoping they are adding more self-checkout kiosks. If they refuse to staff actual registers, they need 8-10 kiosks at a minimum most days.

Comment Re:False dichotomy (Score 1) 245

It's been reported that the center dash will be able to fit a double din head unit (though physical mounting/wiring may be up to you - I would expect eventually someone makes a slightly more plug and play kit for it).

There's only one screen in the slate (a very tiny one in the center of the instrument cluster) that is basically only there to display the backup camera video, in addition to being the speedometer and showing other charging and vehicle information. It has nothing to do with infotainment though. It doesn't even connect to their optional speaker kits - you'd still need to connect your phone or some other device to those, even the ones that mount into the dash.

Submission + - Disable Autoplay and Infinite Scroll or Risk Massive Fines, EU Tells Meta (arstechnica.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The European Union is ramping up pressure on Meta to make big changes to Facebook and Instagram after the European Commission preliminarily found that features like autoplay, infinite scroll, and highly personalized content recommendations were addictive. On Thursday, the EC said its investigation indicated that “Meta did not adequately assess the risks of its addictive design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including minors and vulnerable adults.” “These features fuel the user’s urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain into ‘autopilot mode,’ contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use,” the commission said.

Over the next few months, Meta will have an opportunity to dispute the claims, and it has already taken a defensive stance. Meta’s spokesperson, Ben Walters, told Reuters that Meta disagrees with the commission’s preliminary findings, which supposedly “don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens.” “Since this investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents in control—allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes,” Walters said. However, the EC emphasized that Meta’s current mitigation efforts, including time management tools activated by default for teens, “failed to effectively tackle the risks stemming from its addictive design.” Additionally, parental controls were deemed “only effective if parents and guardians possess adequate technical expertise” and dedicated “effort and time to understand them effectively.” “This undermines the efficiency of such measures in addressing the inherent risks posed by Instagram and Facebook’s addictive design,” the EC said, particularly for minors.

At this stage, the EC recommended that Meta consider “disabling key addictive features such as ‘autoplay’ and ‘infinite scroll’ by default, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks,’ and adapting its recommender system to make it less engagement-oriented.” If Meta fails to make changes to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, the company risks fines up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover when the EC makes its final decision in the coming months. “Our starting point is that, based on our findings, this design is too addictive and changes need to be made,” Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s tech chief, told Reuters. “The next step is either that Meta changes its design or a non-compliance decision will follow,” she said, noting in the press release that the EU’s priority is “protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans.”

Submission + - County With 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

An anonymous reader writes: County With 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to ‘Conserve Electricity’

‘On June 26, the County Manager of Henrico County, Virginia, John Vithoulkas, sent an email to thousands of county employees asking them to help the local government conserve electricity.

“Beginning July 1st, the rate we pay for electricity used in all Henrico County government and school facilities will increase dramatically — by 25%, increasing costs by an estimated $5 million next fiscal year. We anticipate more rate increases for electricity in the years ahead,” a copy of the email obtained by 404 Media said (emphasis his).’

Comment Re:Overpriced (Score 1) 204

Yes, definitely overpriced compared to a Tesla which has almost every "luxury" feature possible for $36K. The Tesla Model 3 even has practically double the driving range and higher towing capacity. The only possible reason to buy this truck is for cargo hauling - but at 205 miles range empty, maybe it's just for picking stuff up from Home Depot.

What?

Practically double the driving range? Hmm. 205 miles vs 321 for the base RWD M3, which is the $36k version. Yes, it is "more" miles, but not 100%, more like 60%. Even the Premium RWD model is 363, which is still pretty far from "double" and an additional $5500.
Higher towing capacity? Sure... for another $1300 tow package. And it's 2200 vs the Slate's 2000 - technically higher but barely worth considering it different.

I can't figure out why so many people seem to have made it their life's work to convince other people they don't want this truck.

Comment Re:No infotainment screen makes little sense (Score 1) 204

There's a small screen for the driver display that shows the speed, estimated range, odometer, etc. That is the backup camera screen. But it's tiny. Maybe 5" diagonal? And the rest of the display area in front of the driver is just indicator lights (drive selection and other stuff).

Comment Re:REO Slate (Score 2) 204

Your post is actually the first I've heard of this one, so I poked around a little.

Literally nothing I found instilled any confidence this guy will be delivering any trucks. At all. It almost reads like a ploy to scam money out of people who are anti-Slate and playing up as much as possible about the differences between the gas and electric. Just reading the "how it stacks up" section on their website tells me everything I need to know about their intentions.

Somehow the "gas I4" is "proven" - but they don't say what engine it is or will be, but it's already "proven" (and never mind the 500k mile "powertrain life" claim). The REO seats "up to 6" but for the Slate, 5 "costs extra". Are they trying to imply the double cab or SUV version of the REO will be the same price as the 2-door pickup? Good luck with that. And the big-ticket repair? Surely an engine failure would be considered a big-ticket repair and not "affordable" for the REO, no? If the battery on an EV is "$$$$", so is the I4. And let's just ignore the 10 yr/110k mile battery warranty for the Slate. Are these people going to warranty their engine for 10 years (or maybe the 500k miles they claim for the powertrain life)? I also don't quite buy the 600 mile range of the REO - that would require, at a minimum, a 24 gallon tank (using their estimated 25 mpg) - which would be HUGE for a truck that size. Where do they plan to put that? That's way bigger than any current mid-size pickup and this thing is supposed to be a lot smaller than those.

And I'm just going to otherwise ignore the out-of-date other specs for the Slate. Sure, they were just officially updated yesterday - but there's no way anyone at REO doesn't already know that.

There's usual marketing speak and then there's just plain deception and bullshit.

Having said all of that, if they can manage to produce something at least close to the specs they're claiming, close to the timeline they're projecting, and close to the price they're estimating, that would be great. We need more disruption in the US auto industry, of any kind. But I just don't see a single reason to believe anything will actually happen with it - especially at $21k (more than 2 years from now). I hope they prove me wrong though.

Website: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Freotrucks.com%2F

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