73730637
submission
siddesu writes:
The California Labor Commission has ruled Uber drivers are employees and not independent contractors. The ruling has serious implications for Uber’s business model, since it will now be required to offer its drivers benefits that meet the requirements of the Californian labor laws. The labor commissioner's office has apparently awarded $4k per driver, which Uber is appealing.
71579235
submission
siddesu writes:
A popular 'encryption' package for Android that even charges a yearly subscription fee of $8, actually does nothing more than give false sense of security to its users. Not only is the app using a worthless encryption method, it also uses weak keys and 'encrypts' only a small portion of the files. One wonders how much snake oil flows through the app stores, from 'battery savers' to 'antivirus'. What is the most worthless app purchase you made? Did you ask for a refund?
71267361
submission
siddesu writes:
Asimov's three laws of robotics don't say anything about how robots should treat each other. The common fear is robots will turn against humans. But who will save us all from the wreckage that would ensue if they 'just' start fighting each other?
71130131
submission
siddesu writes:
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel (above) said this week in Homburg that the U.S. government threatened to cease sharing intelligence with Germany if Berlin offered asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden or otherwise arranged for him to travel to that country. “They told us they would stop notifying us of plots and other intelligence matters,” Gabriel said.
69819727
submission
siddesu writes:
The US Department of Energy’s 2008 proposal to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, was technically sound, a report by the NRC says. However, the closed-down project is unlikely to revive, as its staff has moved on, and there are few funds available to restart it.
19698952
submission
siddesu writes:
The TV in Tokyo is just announcing a schedule for electricity blackouts to last from tomorrow until the end of April.
Practically all suburbs of Tokyo will be affected by the blackouts. The 23 districts of central Tokyo seem to be exempt for the moment, but if supply is not sufficient, blackouts are possible.
Electricity will be interrupted for about 3 hours a day in each area.
19188394
submission
siddesu writes:
After 30 years of being around computers, I have, like everyone else, amassed a huge amount of files in huge amount of formats about a huge amount of topics. And it isn't only me — the family has now a ton of data that they want managed and easily accessible.
Keeping all that information in order has always been a pain, but it has gone harder as the storage has increased and people and files and sizes have multiplied.
What do you folks use to keep your odd terabyte of document, picture, video and code files organized — that is, relatively uniformly tagged, versioned, searchable and ultimately findable, without 50 duplicates over your 50 devices and without typing arcane commands in a terminal window?
I found this discussion from 2003 and this tangentially relevant post from 2006. How have things changed for you in 2011?
And how satisfied is your extended family with the solution you have unleashed upon them?
11862374
submission
siddesu writes:
Japanese big retail stores were ordered a week or so ago to stop selling Apple products online. The comments in the Japanese business newspapers suggest that Apple believes online shopping adds an aura of "cheapness" to their products, but killing the competition of the Apple store has surely been considered as well. As of today, most of the largest retailers have notices on their Apple catalog pages that ask you to kindly visit the shop if you want to acquire a piece of magic. It seems that for the moment the campaign is aimed at the big fish, as smaller shops still seem to carry and sell Apple items.
(Link goes to a google translate of the commentary of cnet japan, this is the original in Japanese).
7314526
submission
siddesu writes:
Compelling new data that chemical and fossil evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars was carried to Earth in a Martian meteorite is being elevated to a higher plane by the same NASA team which made the initial discovery 13 years ago. Time to bow to our Marsian overlords?
6590501
submission
siddesu writes:
New study of storage technology by the former CTO of Seagate predicts that harddisks will remain the cheapest storage technology in the next decade and probably beyond.
290203
submission
siddesu writes:
Nice high-level BBC overview of some technologies for surveillance developed in the US and the UK.
From the article:
"The US and UK governments are developing increasingly sophisticated gadgets to keep individuals under their surveillance. When it comes to technology, the US is determined to stay ahead of the game."
"But it [a through-the wall sensing device in development] will also show whether someone inside a house is looking to harm you, because if they are, their heart rate will be raised. And 10 years from now, the technology will be much smarter. We'll scan a person with one of these things and tell what they're actually thinking."
Time for developing the next generation tinfoil hats?
127639
submission
siddesu writes:
Marxist revolution, WMDs, flashmobs and other sci-fi items are coming soon in a country near you, according to the UK Ministry of Defence and this article in the Guardian.
"Information chips implanted in the brain. Electromagnetic pulse weapons. The middle classes becoming revolutionary, taking on the role of Marx's proletariat. The population of countries in the Middle East increasing by 132%, while Europe's drops as fertility falls. "Flashmobs" — groups rapidly mobilised by criminal gangs or terrorists groups.
This is the world in 30 years' time envisaged by a Ministry of Defence team responsible for painting a picture of the "future strategic context" likely to face Britain's armed forces."
Perhaps now is the right time to stock on those electronic parts that you'll need for your robot army.
