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Now, now lets not have any name calling...he's just stating common sense. The other mfrs take the base Android stack and modify it (extensively at a low level) to work with their hardware and make the ROM image and with that (or the hardware itself) you can insert any backdoor you want.

An example we know about is our friend Lenovo using the PC ROM they modified to install their phone home spyware onto your PC after you do a clean install - it was Windows but something similar or worse could be done in Android if the mfrs felt they should (by govt suggestion perhaps):
http://arstechnica.com/informa...

Most of the other smartphone mfrs are keeping quiet because they are friendly with their Governments - Samsung (I have a Galaxy S5) for example is very close to the South Korean Govt (who is a good partner with the USA and in particular its military and intelligence apparatus). Microsoft is very friendly with the U.S. government and a "partner" with the NSA and they certainly won't protest this either. Cause they would line up with their govts not their customers.

It's important to look at the big picture, from a business standpoint it makes sense to work with your govt and their desire to spy on their citizens as they control your market access. Frankly its odd that Apple is doing this from a purely business perspective, from a moral perspective it makes sense - but most companies don't care about moral issues and will faithfully line up with their govts surveilance apparatus when the call comes no matter the consequences for their cutsomers / citizenry. Remember all those German companies that closed up shop and moved out of country in the 30's after the Nazi's were elected? Yeah, most just shrugged and fell in line. That is exactly what is happening (and what would be expected to happen) in this fight over privacy - if the govts want to surveil the population of the planet (which they do), most smartphone companies will ask how they can help.

If the bug population changes at all, they will blame "global warming" er... climate change. It doesn't matter what actually happens, they will blame one thing, and one thing only.

And you'll be there, denying that climate change is responsible for anything, it doesn't matter what actually happens.

And there there is the problem, it creates sloppy science, and lazy record keeping.

[Citation Needed]

Here's one that proves you're either ignorant (probably willfully) or lying:

Why trust climate models? It’s a matter of simple science

I am waiting for the Zika virus to be blamed on global warming.

And we're waiting for you to tell us which branches of science that you, in your omniscience, condone.

Meanwhile, here in reality, even Alexander Graham Bell, of the telephone inventor fame, recognized that CO2 had been proven a greenhouse gas 1 or 2 generations prior to him, and that the long term consequences could be significant. A lot of CO2 has been released since then, in case you hadn't noticed or chose to ignore.

Get with the 19th century levels of discovery; this is a damned tech site.

...I guarantee you that Disney is working on a real restoration of Eps 4-6...somewhere...probably in a non-descript building near the Burbank Airport...

While we wait, here is a good explanation some of the difficulties the restorers face. I've also heard that the separation masters are, unfortunately, in pretty lousy condition.

The US is using the All Writs Act to compel Apple.

"At its core, the 18th-century catchall statute simply allows courts to issue a writ, or order, which compels a person or company to do something. In the past, feds have used this law to compel unnamed smartphone manufacturers to bypass security measures for phones involved in legal cases. The government has previously tried using this same legal justification against Apple as well." http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...

So basically Apple needs to take this to the Supreme Court and hope the court doesn't support this argument.

The terrorists who attacked used GSM telephones and unencrypted SMS.

May I be the first one ot call bullsh*t on that evil crypto shtick? Me an the rest of /. of course...

FTA: Rogers' claims about Paris contradict the information that came out of France following the attacks. There were claims by former US intelligence officials that encrypted communications had been used by the Islamic State affiliated terrorists in the immediate wake of the attacks. But those claims were largely dismissed by French authorities when they looked at the actual communications on devices recovered from the group. According to statements from French law enforcement, the attackers had used standard SMS messages to communicate—not encrypted messaging apps on smartphones. http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...

Oh, no, density of SSD is already far surpassed that of spinning disks. This is just Intel playing catch-up at this point.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets...

I haven't seen any research indicating that an LTSB install with appropriate policies in place leaks data

Nope, you simply didn't want to read and/or believe:
http://arstechnica.com/informa...

Slashdot is kind of my warm up, perfect for when I wake up and the drool has yet to dry. When the coffee kicks in I move on to these:
https://www.reddit.com/r/techn...
http://arstechnica.com/

And then some more in-depth evening reading:
https://www.reddit.com/r/progr...
http://regulargeek.com/

At the very least in the US.

But, don't forget, all those treaties have been harmonizing IP laws .. the TPP and other treaties are likely in the process of shoving this stuff up your asses too.

All of those treaties the US are pushing will really only benefit multinational corporations and strengthen their hold over what you can do. When that TTIP comes into play, guess what? You'll suddenly have the same kinds of framework.

Have you missed the bits where the US government exists to advance the interests of multinational corporations at the expense of humans? The intellectual property aspects aren't there to make your life better.

One thing I see missing from all of these Global Warming articles is any semblance of actual science.

Then you aren't even trying to look. Yet here it is, handed to you on a virtual silver platter: Bloodstar has posted lots of links for you, and I'll contribute one about the models scientists use:

Why trust climate models? It’s a matter of simple science

Steve Easterbrook, a professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, has been studying climate models for several years. “I'd done a lot of research in the past studying the development of commercial and open source software systems, including four years with NASA studying the verification and validation processes used on their spacecraft flight control software,” he told Ars.

When Easterbrook started looking into the processes followed by climate modeling groups, he was surprised by what he found. “I expected to see a messy process, dominated by quick fixes and muddling through, as that's the typical practice in much small-scale scientific software. What I found instead was a community that takes very seriously the importance of rigorous testing, and which is already using most of the tools a modern software development company would use (version control, automated testing, bug tracking systems, a planned release cycle, etc.).”

“I was blown away by the testing process that every proposed change to the model has to go through,” Easterbrook wrote. “Basically, each change is set up like a scientific experiment, with a hypothesis describing the expected improvement in the simulation results. The old and new versions of the code are then treated as the two experimental conditions. They are run on the same simulations, and the results are compared in detail to see if the hypothesis was correct. Only after convincing each other that the change really does offer an improvement is it accepted into the model baseline.”

Is Pale Moon fixed? I don't see any mention of that.

We switched to Pale Moon and are now not having problems with the instability of Firefox when there are many windows and tabs open. Since Pale Moon is based on Firefox, most of the Firefox add-ons work.

In the past, Google paid Mozilla Foundation $300 million each year to make Google search the default search engine in Firefox. Google apparently didn't cause problems, even though it paid a shocking amount.

Now, I understand, Mozilla Foundation gets most of its money from Microsoft. Microsoft pays Yahoo. Yahoo pays Mozilla Foundation to make "Yahoo search" (actually mostly Microsoft Bing search) the default search engine in Firefox.

The Thunderbird and SeaMonkey Composer GUIs have been damaged, apparently deliberately. File saves in the newer versions of both ask for a new file name, and don't suggest the last one chosen. The damage was reported several months ago, but has not been fixed.

Is that another example of Microsoft's Embrace, Extend, Extinguish? People who feel forced away from Thunderbird may choose Microsoft software to replace it. Is that something Microsoft is trying to accomplish?

In my opinion, dishonest people should not be employed in management. In my opinion, the managers and members of the board of directors of both Microsoft and Mozilla Foundation who approved the dishonesty of sneakily re-configuring Mozilla Foundation products should be immediately fired, and not allowed to have management positions in the future.

Mozilla Foundation may be desperate now that it has lost the incredible amount of money paid by Google.

A few of the many, many articles about abuse by Microsoft:

Microsoft has no plans to tell us what's in Windows patches. Each update is a black box, and it's going to stay that way.

Leaks show that Microsoft writes release notes, so why can't it publish them? The lack of documentation of Windows' updates is a baffling move on Microsoft's part.

Microsoft's Software is Malware. Malware means software designed to function in ways that mistreat or harm the user.

How Can Any Company Ever Trust Microsoft Again?

NSA Backdoor Exploit in Windows 8 Uncovered

Microsoft Gave the NSA Direct Backdoor Access to Outlook, Skype

Microsoft [lack of] Privacy Statement

Here's how to Block Windows 10 "Spying"

Is Pale Moon fixed? I don't see any mention of that.

We switched to Pale Moon and are now not having problems with the instability of Firefox when there are many windows and tabs open. Since Pale Moon is based on Firefox, most of the Firefox add-ons work.

In the past, Google paid Mozilla Foundation $300 million each year to make Google search the default search engine in Firefox. Google apparently didn't cause problems, even though it paid a shocking amount.

Now, I understand, Mozilla Foundation gets most of its money from Microsoft. Microsoft pays Yahoo. Yahoo pays Mozilla Foundation to make "Yahoo search" (actually mostly Microsoft Bing search) the default search engine in Firefox.

The Thunderbird and SeaMonkey Composer GUIs have been damaged, apparently deliberately. File saves in the newer versions of both ask for a new file name, and don't suggest the last one chosen. The damage was reported several months ago, but has not been fixed.

Is that another example of Microsoft's Embrace, Extend, Extinguish? People who feel forced away from Thunderbird may choose Microsoft software to replace it. Is that something Microsoft is trying to accomplish?

In my opinion, dishonest people should not be employed in management. In my opinion, the managers and members of the board of directors of both Microsoft and Mozilla Foundation who approved the dishonesty of sneakily re-configuring Mozilla Foundation products should be immediately fired, and not allowed to have management positions in the future.

Mozilla Foundation may be desperate now that it has lost the incredible amount of money paid by Google.

A few of the many, many articles about abuse by Microsoft:

Microsoft has no plans to tell us what's in Windows patches. Each update is a black box, and it's going to stay that way.

Leaks show that Microsoft writes release notes, so why can't it publish them? The lack of documentation of Windows' updates is a baffling move on Microsoft's part.

Microsoft's Software is Malware. Malware means software designed to function in ways that mistreat or harm the user.

How Can Any Company Ever Trust Microsoft Again?

NSA Backdoor Exploit in Windows 8 Uncovered

Microsoft Gave the NSA Direct Backdoor Access to Outlook, Skype

Microsoft [lack of] Privacy Statement

Here's how to Block Windows 10 "Spying"

Her game was criticized for sucking and she was criticized for lying.. It was justified. 'Depression quest' is a shitty game and she is a liar.

I've never heard of that game but I just read the ars technica write-up on it and ... well, based on the write-up, I think it matches depression and its effects pretty well. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it as 'shitty', but it certainly is not trying to be a fun game either. Educational, I think, is the goal.

I understand that many people try to help the clinically depressed by dispensing near-worthless advice such as 'just cheer up'. I think the game is aimed at those folks, to help them better understand the mindset of a depressed person.

You keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. The reality is that Aaron repeatedly ignored both rules and advice only to draw negative attention to himself that made life difficult for him and others. The JSTOR event wasn't the first time he's done stuff like this. Take a look at what he did during the free PACER trial.

Swartz asked a friend to go to a Sacramento library that was participating in the program. After the librarian logged the friend into the library's PACER account, the friend extracted an authentication cookie set by the PACER site. Because this cookie wasn't tied to any specific IP address, it allowed access to the library's PACER account from anywhere on the Internet. But Swartz admitted to Malamud that he didn't have the library's permission to use this cookie for off-site scraping.

"This is not how we do things," Malamud scolded in a September 4 e-mail. "We don't cut corners, we belly up to the bar and get permission."

"Fair enough," Swartz replied. "Stephen is building a team to go to the library."

But without telling Malamud or Schultze, Swartz pushed forward with his offsite scraping plan. Rather than using Malamud's server, he began crawling PACER from Amazon cloud servers.

And do you know what happened? The trial was shut down because of the huge amount of traffic that was coming from the Sacramento library account. Aaron ignored the advice of Carl Malamud, hammered the PACER servers with his script, and ruined it for everyone nation-wide who could have participated in the PACER free-access trial. Who knows if the PACER folks will ever have a free-access trial again or if they are fearful that someone will abuse the access and hammer the servers like Aaron did.

The JSTOR thing is yet another example of him being a cowboy and hammering the servers. Why did he need to hide the laptops in a data closet instead of putting them in his office? Could it be that he knew what he was doing was wrong and wanted to avoid being caught?

I can understand that Aaron's heart was in the right place. However, his methods only brought negative and unnecessary attention to themselves. He undermined his own goals with his actions.

Those in the San Francisco vicinity appear to be totally disconnected from everything happening in the rest of the world.

We saw the same kind of shenanigans from Mozilla when it came to Firefox OS. When it became obvious that Firefox OS wasn't anywhere near capable of competing with Android and iOS in first-world markets, Mozilla started going on and on about how Firefox OS was going to appear on cheap phones for second- and third-worlders to use.

But why the fuck would even third-worlders want to use a mobile OS that was remarkably awful according to at least one review? Guess what, they didn't want to use Firefox OS!

It turned out that they could get cheap used Android and iOS phones that, although a few years behind what first-worlders were using, could still run old versions of Android and iOS that were far superior to even the latest versions of Firefox OS.

Firefox OS is perhaps one of the most pathetic software failures we've ever seen. It wasn't even a matter of it being a risky, yet innovative, project that happened to fail. It was a fucking awful idea from the very beginning, and lots of people pointed this out right away! Why the fuck did Mozilla ever think that anyone would want to use a mobile OS that was built on the slowest web engine around, limited developers only to JavaScript, didn't have any useful apps, and was years behind its competitors?! Everything about Firefox OS made sensible people want to scream "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

http://arstechnica.com/science...

"The other problematic drug combinations that the data flagged as possibly producing the same heart problem are: cefazolin, an antibiotic, and meperidine, a pain medicine; meperidine and vancomycin, another antibiotic; and metoprolol, a blood pressure medication, and fosphenytoin, a seizure medication."

Son of a Bit@# /. might of saved my life, at the least added to it; till this article I took Metoprolol.

http://arstechnica.com/science... "The results of the analysis so far suggest that four drug combinations—including the combination of the common antibiotic, ceftriaxone, with the over-the-counter heartburn medication, Prevacid (lansoprazole)—may cause a potentially fatal heart rhythm." "The other problematic drug combinations that the data flagged as possibly producing the same heart problem are: cefazolin, an antibiotic, and meperidine, a pain medicine; meperidine and vancomycin, another antibiotic; and metoprolol, a blood pressure medication, and fosphenytoin, a seizure medication." Paywalled original story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/...

Heck, one feature of Google Glass was to have it upload the photos and Google recognizes everyone on the street.

No it wasn't. Google removed facial recognition from their Glass SDK and explicitly banned app developers from using it in their apps.

http://arstechnica.com/informa...

The birth of a troll. Not that he hadn't been kicked out of several other online forums for the same behavior. I've had some fun googling the alecstaar username and seeing his banned self being talked about as a sort of trolling legend, while most are unaware of his Slashdot antics.

Or weirder, making coherent positive contributions on other web sites.

Im genuinely curious about what makes him tick

It looks like severe bipolar disorder, with Persecutory delusions - http://psycheducation.org/diag...

A few of the many stories about backdoors in U.S. hardware:

D-Link: Reverse Engineering a D-Link Backdoor (Oct. 12, 2013)

Arris: 600,000 Arris cable modems have 'backdoors in backdoors', researcher claims (Nov. 20, 2015)

Juniper Networks: Juniper drops NSA-developed code following new backdoor revelations (Jan. 10, 2016)

Cisco: Snowden: The NSA planted backdoors in Cisco products (May 15, 2014)

Netgear: Netgear Patch Said to Leave Backdoor Problem in Router (April 23, 2014)

Windows 8: NSA Backdoor Exploit in Windows 8 Uncovered (Aug. 22, 2013)

Windows: NSA "backdoor" mandates lead to a computer-security FREAK show Quote: "Microsoft Windows OS vulnerable to hackers, thanks to National Security Agency requirements." (March 6, 2015)

Windows: NSA Built Back Door In All Windows Software by 1999 (June 7, 2013)

Hard drives: Breaking: Kaspersky Exposes NSA's Worldwide, Backdoor Hacking of Virtually All Hard-Drive Firmware (Feb. 17, 2015)

Is every backdoor the work of the NSA? There is no way of knowing.

It's cute when you can't win the argument and start calling names.

It's cute when you don't read the name-calling I'm replying to.

Butt-hurt victim of nasty name calling, boo-hoo.

BTW, I have probably looked at more simulation data than all climate scientists put together

Do try to be less transparent in your lies - ALL climate scientists put together? Bull-fucking-shit.

and had plenty of opportunity to check simulation results against real life.

You have your own global set of temperature sensors and have examined ice cores, etc? Impressive.

And I'm curious; how do you deal with the 19th century discovery that CO2 is a green house gas?

If the predictions fall out 6-sigma low - which the best-case (lest warming) model did a few years ago - the simulation is wrong, period, back to the drawing board.

There's more than one simulation (model), they've mostly been conservative in their predictions, and you're 100% full of shit since you didn't know that.

Learn something about climate models when you've finished digesting the fact that CO2 has been known to be a green house gas since ~1850.

Start with an independent review of climate models:

Steve Easterbrook, a professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, has been studying climate models for several years. “I'd done a lot of research in the past studying the development of commercial and open source software systems, including four years with NASA studying the verification and validation processes used on their spacecraft flight control software,” he told Ars.

When Easterbrook started looking into the processes followed by climate modeling groups, he was surprised by what he found. “I expected to see a messy process, dominated by quick fixes and muddling through, as that's the typical practice in much small-scale scientific software. What I found instead was a community that takes very seriously the importance of rigorous testing, and which is already using most of the tools a modern software development company would use (version control, automated testing, bug tracking systems, a planned release cycle, etc.).”

Telemetry functions become malware at the point when even if you disable them they stay operational. It has then effectively become malicious software because it deceives the user. Many big tech companies still do this even if you explicitly say no . This worries me.

I'm sure StartsWithABang moved from Medium.com to Forbes.com for more money, and I'm still very interested in astronomy articles on Slashdot, but I refuse to read anything on Forbes. Thus we keep having these discussions about how horrible Forbes is and look for alternate links, like a parent poster graciously left us:

http://arstechnica.com/science...

Making some observations from recent events, I've noticed:

1) You can order a computer, and the delivery can be intercepted so that spyware can be installed. Especially laptops, which are difficult for the end user to peek inside.

2) The Intel management engine is essentially an attached microprocessor with complete and total remote control of your system, including access to all peripherals, the network, the disk data, and the ability to wake up and run while the main computer is off.

3) The Intel built-in programmable number generator was built in a way to be unverifiable. Essentially, the system reads physically generated random data and puts it through a hashing algorithm before giving it to the user. If the random number generator section is damaged (say, if someone modified the chip mask films before fab), you will get much less than the advertized 256-bits of entropy, but because the data is hashed there is no way to tell.

Buy American!

Yes the hops part was always interesting.
"Three degrees of separation: breaking down the NSA's 'hops' surveillance method" ( 29 October 2013)
http://www.theguardian.com/wor...
You may already be a winner in NSA’s “three-degrees” surveillance sweepstakes! (Jul 19, 2013 )
http://arstechnica.com/informa...
Australia is even trying it with images.
Facial recognition: Privacy advocates raise concern over 'creepy' system Government says will enhance national security (10 Sep 2015)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/201...

The number of hops the security forces and mil felt comfortable connecting under collect it all fits with the ~3 hop news :)

If someone can come up with a cryptocurrency which is independent of central control, yet its supply increases at roughly the same rate the economy expands, that is the boat you want to get on. It just won't be as lucrative for early adopters as bitcoin because it won't be a ponzi scheme.

There's actually one rather popular cryptocurrency with built-in inflation. But I'm not sure how seriously you'll consider a business that deals in "doggie" money.

I wouldn't phrase it quite like that, but you're absolutely right that PC gamers should wait for a bit. I picked up Rage for the PC right when it came out, and it was a complete mess. Carmack even apologized for it. He's not at id Software anymore, but hopefully the folks who are remember that lesson.

You haven't denied it was you, either. Because it is. The reason you post as AC is that you've been banned from every forum you've ever signed up for for being a troll:

https://forums.techguy.org/thr...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
I'm honestly don't feel like finding more right now, but you know they're out there.

I really have no problem with software that helps automate hosts file generation. What I and everyone in the world has a problem with is a person spamming forums with off-topic posts and attacking people who disagree with your methods.

Here's the full quote:

"In early grades, students differentiate between responsible and irresponsible computing
behaviors. Students learn that responsible behaviors can help individuals while
irresponsible behaviors can hurt individuals. They examine legal and ethical
considerations for obtaining and sharing information and apply those behaviors to protect
original ideas. As students progress academically, they engage in legal and ethical
behaviors to guard against intrusive applications and promote a safe and secure
computing experience. "

What these Kings of the Universe don't realize is normal people don't share and will never share their Ayn Rand -cocaine-driven amphetamine-fueled vision of extreme indivuduality at the expense of the health of society (which is the bedrock upon which protection of individuality rests).

So, sure, go ahead promote those discussions. The more discussion there is, the less well it goes for software patent lawyers like Brad Smith who, readers should know, basically originated the idea of using software patents as an offense weapon to supress innovation while he was at M$:

http://arstechnica.com/busines...

http://archive.fortune.com/mag...

which directly led to all other tech companies following suit and finally the fantastical, supernatrual prosperity of every Chinese take-out in Tyler, Texas.

All that's going to happen is they're going to find out no one shares their idea of societal good and justice. Every survey finds that young people are far more concerned with creating an fair, free and egalitarian society that benefits everyone, rather than the winner-take-all psychopathic shithole that is America at this particular tick of the clock.

  Not everyone blew their brains out snorting coke while reading Ayn Rand in the 80s. That's a particular generation and they have a particular , uh, "view" of what the goals laws of society should support. Going on 40 years later now, it's getting to be old-man-dying-time for this particular strain of sociopathic, societal predators. Can't happen too soon for my money. Here, take it with you; fuckin' see ya later.

Now who does this remind me of?
http://www.thorschrock.com/200...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...

No I'm not saying the name, but three letters capitalized

Now who does this remind me of?
http://www.thorschrock.com/200...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...

No I'm not saying the name, but three letters capitalized

Now who does this remind me of?
http://www.thorschrock.com/200...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...

No I'm not saying the name, but three letters capitalized

Okay, the comment with link back to Chandra:

http://arstechnica.com/science...

Also, in previous comment, I neglected to mention that I have RequestPolicy also running as plugin in Firefox to further prevent 3rd party content.

I see I do have a couple scripts allowed to run there, NoScript is giving options to Forbid scripts from:

• jquerytools.org
• ajax.googleapis.com

si.org is not allowed.

Oddly, RequestPolicy doesn't show jquerytools.org nor ajax.googleapis.com in neither the "Allowed" nor "Blocked" lists yet NoScript give the choice to Forbid them both at that site.

I'm now suspecting some kind of JS confusion, perhaps the main site not being able to run JS but the other two can contributed to the storm.

Anyway, that's a little more about my situation - if only I had a 2nd pc or even a working VM that I could re-visit Chandra from to test. As I don't, I really don't want to risk a logout or crash since this pc is also doing some other functionality (server stuff) I don't want to interrupt.

Google has been doing it for year: Google's Tax Tricks: 'Double Irish' And 'Dutch Sandwich' Published October 21, 2010

Arstechnica had the balls to report it in 2013, it is also a tech site.

Slashdot is run by pussies, whoever the new owner is.

Google is moving even more money through a shell corporation in Bermudaâ"reaching a total of â8.8 billion ($11.91 billion) in 2012, 25 percent more than it did in 2011. By employing a legal yet ethically questionable practice, Google is saving itself billions in taxes worldwide.

The new figures were first reported by the Financial Times on Friday, citing âoe[recent] filings by one of Googleâ(TM)s Dutch subsidiaries.â This widespread strategy of moving money around involves two specific tactics known as the âoeDutch Sandwichâ and the âoeDouble Irish.â (Ars obtained a copy of this filing, dated September 27, 2013, from an anonymous source.)

As the Times concluded, these disclosures mean âoethat royalty payments made to Bermudaâ"where the company holds its non-US intellectual propertyâ"have doubled over the past three years. This increase reflects the rapid growth of Googleâ(TM)s global business.â

The British newspaper cited filings from Google Netherlands Holdings, which represents the âoeDutch Sandwichâ part of the equation.
Bermuda triangle of taxation

As Ars has reported before, hereâ(TM)s how the Double Irish works. Bloomberg first described the process in 2010: a company sells or licenses its foreign rights to intellectual property developed in the United States to a subsidiary in a country with lower tax rates. The result? Foreign profits that come from that techâ"like the rights to Googleâ(TM)s search and advertising technology, effectively the keys to the kingdomâ"are now attributed to that offshore subsidiary rather than the Mountain View, California headquarters. The subsidiaries have to pay âoearmâ(TM)s lengthâ prices for those rights, just like an outside company would.

Once you get the right cable you won't have to worry about your camera issues anymore!

back in 2013 and was able to see this from the inside. Everyone would spend most of their time playing Diplomacy and just like the board game, it was impossible to win without stabbing someone in the back. Even if you survive one round, to survive the next you'd need to betray someone new. I have no idea why anyone would think "Survivor" would be a good work atmosphere -- but that's probably why I don't have a multi-million dollar salary.

I was happy being a contractor because (a) free food was good (b) I had no job security -- but neither did they and (c) pleasing my manager by doing good work was easy enough.

The other problem, was of course, most of their products are completely worthless. As one investor put it, Y! has three businesses worth keeping: mail (most popular provider in the world), Finance (most popular free stocks site), and Sports (again, most popular free site -- more users than ESPN). All three teams could easily fit inside a single building with some room to spare for day-to-day operational stuff (server maintenance and the like).

So cutting divisions like Games (bingo...seriously?) totally makes sense.

If you really want
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
http://www.thorschrock.com/200...

Windows is becoming less and less relevant for gaming. Most people game on smartphones/tablets or consoles and SteamOS is gaining more support by the day.

Microsoft can't fuck with Valve when it comes to PC gaming. Not long ago I think Steam was up to around 1500 titles for Linux and now it's already up to 3700.

Hey, competition is great. Wake me up when SteamOS can actually perform as well as Windows graphically, because like it or not, Windows wins hands down.

reposted from ARS Technica

We know a few basic things about the SpaceX Mars architecture:

Two stages to orbit. First stage is a single booster with many Raptor engines which returns to launch site for reuse. Second stage is the Mars Colonial Transport, comprising a pressurized cabin section and a propulsion section, also powered by multiple Raptor engines.

MCT is refueled in earth orbit by multiple propellant tankers after expending its initial propellant load during launch. After refueling, MCT departs for Mars and performs a propulsive entry, descent, and landing on Mars. MCT is refueled for the return trip using methane and oxygen produced on Mars. It returns to Earth and lands propulsively. Both stages are 100% reusable. Nothing is jettisoned.

We also know that SpaceX will send Dragon spacecraft to Mars (using Falcon Heavy) before sending the first MCTs, which will be unmanned cargo ships for landing habitation modules and other surface hardware in preparation for the arrival of the first humans.

We don't yet know some of the technical details, including the number of Raptor engines on each stage and the precise stage diameter. We don't know how many distinct variants of the MCT will be produced (cargo, tanker, etc.) and exactly how they will be configured.

But mostly, we don't know the business model: Is this a hobby project funded by their commercial launch business, or is there a profit-making opportunity inherent to the Mars plan? To what extent is SpaceX banking on substantial funding from NASA, who might be able to buy rides from SpaceX long before they are able to send astronauts to Mars using their own equipment?

I don't know if the business model will be clarified as well as the technical architecture when Elon does the reveal in September. That's the part that has space enthusiasts genuinely scratching our heads.

Windows is becoming less and less relevant for gaming. Most people game on smartphones/tablets or consoles and SteamOS is gaining more support by the day.

As for as the number of players you are probably right. But most gaming revenue is still on PC: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/...

But the trend indicates the mobile platforms will eventually prevail.

You have no clue what you're talking about. I wish people would take the time to be informed before posting to Slashdot.

The Fine Brothers didn't request the trademarks for webisodes. That's factually incorrect. They requested the trademark for "observing and interviewing groups of people." That's overly broad and encompasses a lot of things, including in science and psychology. A lot of news outlets interview people for their reactions to big news. That, too, was seemingly covered by the trademark applications.

There are also things called exclusive trademarks, which cover things like the Olympics. If you have a business or a product with the word "olympic" in it, you may very well get contacted by the IOC. It doesn't matter that you're clearly not related to athletic competitions. Most trademarks aren't exclusive, but there is such a thing. Your post is wrong in that respect, too.

The backlash was significant enough that the Fine Brothers have rescinded their trademark claims and applications (http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/02/fine-bros-back-down-rescind-trademark-claim-on-the-word-react/). Infringement claims were already made on their behalf, which angered a lot of people. They had plans to create something called "React World" where people would need to license the format of their videos to produce similar things. All references to React World have been removed. They're begging for forgiveness now. They don't deserve it, though. This wasn't an honest mistake. Windows Vista was a horrible mistake. Apple adding a U2 album to everyone's library was a well-intentioned but big mistake. Infringing on a patent or trademark you didn't know about is a mistake. This was no mistake. This was pure greed and people need to punish greed by not doing supporting greedy businesses.

"Or are you just very young and don't know that everything you typed is a false statement?"

A, hmmph. Pollyanna about MS, or youthful.

Active X, you really don't remember? An OCX is a DLL that IE used to run. Maybe still do...

Mail transported virus,
http://arstechnica.com/securit...
Wow, recent. I recall this was an issue back in the day.

User processes running in kernel mode.
Thru all of DOS, Windows 1, Windows 2, Windows 3, Windows 9x, and NT, this has never been true?

The problem is that UEFI missed the KISS principal and is basically an OS itself.

Yeah, agreed.
Security researchers looked at the complexity of EFI and said, "Anything so complex has to be insecure." They were right.

Sorry, the link embedded within the article is http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/01/nsa-gchq-used-open-source-software-to-spy-on-israeli-syrian-drones/, which is a link relevant to the previous story. I have no idea how that would happen, but editors should at least check the links. The correct link is actually http://www.wired.com/2016/01/nsa-hacker-chief-explains-how-to-keep-him-out-of-your-system/.

Yes all that cyber cash is starting to spread wide and deep.
The back part has been on the books for a while now.

"U.S. spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show" (August 30, 2013)
https://www.washingtonpost.com...
under GENIE for "“.. covert implants,” sophisticated malware transmitted .."

For first time, US military says it would use offensive cyberweapons (Mar 14, 2013)
http://arstechnica.com/securit...
"This is an offensive team"

Agreed, since this Apple story is consumer news at best, propaganda at worst, and definitely not news for nerds.
I had not heard about the VMWare layoffs, so thanks for your post!

http://arstechnica.com/informa...

It was more on the domestic, warrantless use of mass collection of U.S. residents.
Paper work was been created to give cover to staff asking questions but it was not from a court ie just an authority.
ie it was a lot of news about how the domestic paperwork was been created to cover for domestic, warrantless collection.
The authorizing of warrantless surveillance of American citizens was the issue and how deep, far the program went.

Thats why the US had its FISA court, the F been for "Foreign" that made warrantless surveillance of American citizens not legal after what was slowly uncovered in the mid 1970's
The Church Committee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... tried to look at the domestic role of the NSA and CIA back in 1975.
After that warrantless collect it all on US was not to be legal and a real court order was needed per person of interest. The later use of any wide "authority" was not from a court.

The Room 641A news also helped the US press understand how data was collected and where. US domestic networks.

Stellar Wind or Stellarwind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/....
also see MUSCULAR (surveillance program) for the UK options https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

"Behind the legal fight over NSA’s “Stellar Wind” surveillance (Dec 17, 2008)
http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...

You pointed out that all the apple articles were only from non-approved sources, so i was just pointing out that the malware from this article is also installed from non-approved sources. i didn't mention anything saying android hadn't had any other malware infections.

you want only app store apps for apple? how about this one

and here is a proof of concept showing that apple isn't immune.

BTW, that took exactly ONE SECOND of Google-ing.

Research, THEN Post. Otherwise prepare to be outed as the pompous ass you are.

1. I didn't say the Articles were from "non-approved sources". Rather that the Software-containing-Malware was from sources other than the iOS App Store.

2. Actually, you DID state quite clearly that "it should also be pointed out that this android malware also only comes from non-approved channels". So I'm not sure what you are talking about with "i didn't mention anything saying android hadn't had any other malware infections." Is English a second-language for you; or are you just illiterate?

3. The "Find and Call" App WAS apparently actually a Trojan that affected both iOS and Android, I will give you that. However, it was NOT part of the original examples that I argued-against; so it constitutes a "moving of the goalposts". Also, you fail to mention that Apple not only pulled the Dev's credentials; but also modified iOS so that that type of App cannot work in the background to steal personal information. So ultimately, the system still worked. As I said, I NEVER said iOS was IMMUNE; just that the examples given were not legit examples of "Malware from Approved Sources" (in this case, the iOS App Store). That remains a true statement, sorry!

4. While the "Jekyll" App may have actually worked in a real-world application (and no, a Proof-of-Concept is not "Real-World"), there are three things that make your inclusion of this a strawman: a. It was not in the original "List", and thus constitutes a moving of the goalposts.

b. It was never actually "In the Wild".

c. I NEVER said that iOS was IMMUNE; rather, again, I simply stated that the four EXAMPLES in the original post were not scenarios for people using Apps from the iOS App Store with non-jailbroken phones (a point which you haven't actually rebutted).

So, after your EXHAUSTIVE search, we have a sum-total of ONE legit Trojan from 2012 (which fortunately doesn't seem to have targeted the U.S.A.), and one possible Proof-of-Concept in 2013. Not 100% perfect; but the difference between a typical iOS user's exposure to Malware vs. a typical Android user is both striking and utterly undeniable.

Again, wanna compare that track-record to Android, even from the Play Store?

You pointed out that all the apple articles were only from non-approved sources, so i was just pointing out that the malware from this article is also installed from non-approved sources. i didn't mention anything saying android hadn't had any other malware infections.

you want only app store apps for apple? how about this one

and here is a proof of concept showing that apple isn't immune.

BTW, that took exactly ONE SECOND of Google-ing.

Research, THEN Post. Otherwise prepare to be outed as the pompous ass you are.