Slashdot Mirror

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: In the last four or five years, Intel's "Next Unit of Computing" (NUC) hardware has evolved from interesting experiments to pace cars for the rest of the mini desktop business. Mini PCs represent one of the few segments of the desktop computing business that actually has growth left in it, and every year the NUC has added new features that make it work for a wider audience. This year's models, introduced alongside the rest of Intel's new "Kaby Lake" processor lineup at CES, include new processors with new integrated GPUs, but that's probably the least interesting thing about them. Thanks to the demise of Intel's "tick-tock" strategy, the processing updates are minor. Kaby Lake chips include smaller performance and architectural improvements than past generations, and the year-over-year improvements have been mild over the last few years. The big news is in all the ways you can get bytes into and out of these machines. There are two Core i3 models (NUC7i3BNK and NUC7i3BNH), two Core i5 models (NUC7i5BNK and NUC7i5BNH), and one Core i7 model (NUC7i7BNH) -- that last one is intended to replace the older dual-core Broadwell i7 NUC and not the recent quad-core "Skull Canyon" model. The Core i3 and i5 versions come in both "short" and "tall" cases, the latter of which offers space for a 2.5-inch laptop-sized SATA hard drive or SSD. The i7 version only comes in a "tall" version. Like past NUCs, all five models offer two laptop-sized DDR4 RAM slots and an M.2 slot for SATA and PCI Express SSDs (up to four lanes of PCIe 3.0 bandwidth is available). Bluetooth and 802.11ac Wi-Fi is built-in. As for the rest of the NUCs' features, Intel has drawn a line between the Core i3 model and the i5/i7 models. All of the boxes include four USB 3.0 ports (two on the front, two on the back), a headphone jack, an IR receiver, an HDMI 2.0 port, a gigabit Ethernet port, a microSD card slot, a dedicated power jack, and a new USB-C port that can be used for data or DisplayPort output (the dedicated DisplayPort is gone, and this port can't be used to power the NUCs). In the i5 and i7 models, the USB-C port is also a full-fledged Thunderbolt 3 port, the first time any of the smaller dual-core NUCs have included Thunderbolt since the old Ivy Bridge model back in 2012.

Reader Mickeycaskill writes: The extra leap second added on to the end of 2016 may not have had an effect on most people, but it did catch out a few web companies who failed to factor it in. Web services and security firm CloudFlare was one such example. A small number of its servers went down at midnight UTC on New Year's Day due to an error in its RRDNS software, a domain name service (DNS) proxy that was written to help scale CloudFlare's DNS infrastructure, which limited web access for some of its customers. As CloudFlare explained, a number went negative in the software when it should have been zero, causing RRDNS to "panic" and affect the DNS resolutions to some websites. The issue was confirmed by the company's engineers at 00:34 UTC on New Year's Day and the fix -- which involved patching the clock source to ensure it normalises if time ever skips backwards -- was rolled out to the majority of the affected data centres by 02:50 UTC. Cloudflare said the outage only hit customers who use CNAME DNS records with its service. Google works around leap seconds with a so-called "smearing" technique -- running clocks slightly slower than usual on its Network Time Protocol servers.

Television production factory LG has saved Darren Cauthon's new year by providing hidden reset instructions to liberate his Google TV from ransomware. From a report on The Register: The company initially demanded more money than the idiot box was worth to repair the TV and relented offering instructions for resetting the telly after Cauthon took to Twitter to express his displeasure. The infection came after the programmer's wife downloaded an app to the TV promising free movies. Instead, it installed the ransomware, with a demand of US$500 to have the menace removed. Cauthon said LG offered factory reset steps which are not publicly revealed nor known to its customer support technicians. He says a family member showed him the TV over Christmas laden with ransomware purporting to be a FBI message bearing a notice that suspicious files were found and the user has been fined.

An anonymous reader quotes Fortune: A new French law establishing workers' "right to disconnect" goes into effect today. The law requires companies with more than 50 employees to establish hours when staff should not send or answer emails. The goals of the law include making sure employees are fairly paid for work, and preventing burnout by protecting private time. French legislator Benoit Hamon, speaking to the BBC, described the law as an answer to the travails of employees who "leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash -- like a dog."
The BBC reports that France already has a 35-hour work week, while Fortune adds that many European companies have already taken steps to curtail after-work emails. "In 2012, Volkswagen blocked all emails to employees' Blackberries after-hours," and "Daimler took the step of deleting all emails received by employees while on vacation."

An anonymous reader quotes Fortune: A new French law establishing workers' "right to disconnect" goes into effect today. The law requires companies with more than 50 employees to establish hours when staff should not send or answer emails. The goals of the law include making sure employees are fairly paid for work, and preventing burnout by protecting private time. French legislator Benoit Hamon, speaking to the BBC, described the law as an answer to the travails of employees who "leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash -- like a dog."
The BBC reports that France already has a 35-hour work week, while Fortune adds that many European companies have already taken steps to curtail after-work emails. "In 2012, Volkswagen blocked all emails to employees' Blackberries after-hours," and "Daimler took the step of deleting all emails received by employees while on vacation."

An anonymous reader quotes PC Gamer: In a surprise announcement today to kick off 2017, Valve has revealed the 100 best-selling Steam games of 2016... Although the "Top Sellers" section of Steam gives a constant sense of what's selling now, Valve hasn't previously compiled an annual list of which Steam games earned the most money... Rather than ranked in order from 1-100, the list is separated into tiers, from Platinum to Bronze, based on revenue (as opposed to copies sold)... Doom didn't crack the top 12, but it may have gotten close: it's ranked somewhere between 13th and 24th
That second-place Gold tier included more modern throwbacks to classic games, including Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20-Year Celebration. Meanwhile, No Man's Sky, which got off to a rocky start this summer before its massive November update, still turned up in the top "Platinum" tier for revenue earned in 2016. (And it's now discounted 40%.)

In fact, "As an extension of the Winter Sale, all but six of these games are on sale," reports PC Gamer. The other top-earning Steam games were Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Grand Theft Auto V, Civilization VI, and DOTA 2 (which is free to play), as well as Rocket League, XCOM 2, Dark Souls III, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Fallout 4, Total War: Warhammer, and Tom Clancy's The Division.

An anonymous reader quotes PC Gamer: In a surprise announcement today to kick off 2017, Valve has revealed the 100 best-selling Steam games of 2016... Although the "Top Sellers" section of Steam gives a constant sense of what's selling now, Valve hasn't previously compiled an annual list of which Steam games earned the most money... Rather than ranked in order from 1-100, the list is separated into tiers, from Platinum to Bronze, based on revenue (as opposed to copies sold)... Doom didn't crack the top 12, but it may have gotten close: it's ranked somewhere between 13th and 24th
That second-place Gold tier included more modern throwbacks to classic games, including Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20-Year Celebration. Meanwhile, No Man's Sky, which got off to a rocky start this summer before its massive November update, still turned up in the top "Platinum" tier for revenue earned in 2016. (And it's now discounted 40%.)

In fact, "As an extension of the Winter Sale, all but six of these games are on sale," reports PC Gamer. The other top-earning Steam games were Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Grand Theft Auto V, Civilization VI, and DOTA 2 (which is free to play), as well as Rocket League, XCOM 2, Dark Souls III, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Fallout 4, Total War: Warhammer, and Tom Clancy's The Division.

anderzole writes: "In April of 2012, Facebook shocked the tech world when it acquired Instagram for $1 billion," reports BGR. "At the time, the acquisition raised quite a few eyebrows, along with many more questions than answers. Not only did people wonder how Instagram would fit into Facebook's existing business, many also questioned if Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had lost his mind by outlaying $1 billion for a company that, at the time, had no revenue." Nearly five years later, Facebook's Instagram acquisition "not only looks like a bargain, but a full-fledged stroke of genius."

Today Instagram still shows no signs of slowing down. Instagram's active user base jumped from 500 to 600 million in just the last 6 months alone, marking its fastest growth rate ever. "Incredibly, Facebook saw the long-term potential and impact of Instagram and managed to swoop in and acquire the company long before its user base began to accelerate wildly," writes BGR. "From an economic standpoint, Instagram is already paying dividends via highly targeted and lucrative ads. During the first quarter of 2016, for example, it was estimated that revenue from Instagram checked in at $572.5 million and accounted for 10% of Facebook's overall revenue. In fact, analysts at Credit Suisse believe that Instagram will have delivered $3.2 billion in revenue for Facebook by the time 2016 comes to a close. That's not bad for a $1 billion acquisition that Facebook is still in the relatively early stages of monetizing."
Instagram was also the second-fastest growing app of 2016, increasing its user base by 36% in just 12 months.

anderzole writes: "In April of 2012, Facebook shocked the tech world when it acquired Instagram for $1 billion," reports BGR. "At the time, the acquisition raised quite a few eyebrows, along with many more questions than answers. Not only did people wonder how Instagram would fit into Facebook's existing business, many also questioned if Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had lost his mind by outlaying $1 billion for a company that, at the time, had no revenue." Nearly five years later, Facebook's Instagram acquisition "not only looks like a bargain, but a full-fledged stroke of genius."

Today Instagram still shows no signs of slowing down. Instagram's active user base jumped from 500 to 600 million in just the last 6 months alone, marking its fastest growth rate ever. "Incredibly, Facebook saw the long-term potential and impact of Instagram and managed to swoop in and acquire the company long before its user base began to accelerate wildly," writes BGR. "From an economic standpoint, Instagram is already paying dividends via highly targeted and lucrative ads. During the first quarter of 2016, for example, it was estimated that revenue from Instagram checked in at $572.5 million and accounted for 10% of Facebook's overall revenue. In fact, analysts at Credit Suisse believe that Instagram will have delivered $3.2 billion in revenue for Facebook by the time 2016 comes to a close. That's not bad for a $1 billion acquisition that Facebook is still in the relatively early stages of monetizing."
Instagram was also the second-fastest growing app of 2016, increasing its user base by 36% in just 12 months.

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

Slashdot's most-visited story of the year was "Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above," which was visited more than 330,910 times since we published it August 16. And our second and third most popular stories came in the spring -- Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone and Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button. Click through for a complete list of Slashdot's 10 most-visited stories of 2016.
Here's a quick reminder for 2017. You can always find a list of Slashdot's ten most-visited stories for the preceding year in the Slashdot "Hall of Fame." It will also tell you which stories got the most comments during the preceding year, and also reveals the most active submitters and most active poll topics.

Here's our 10 most-visited stories for 2016.

Microsoft Live Account Credentials Leaking From Windows 8 And Above
Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone
Google Chrome To Disallow Backspace As a 'Back' Button
Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions?
Confirmed: In an Unprecedented Move, Samsung Recalls All Galaxy Note 7
World Reacts To The Worst Mass Shooting In U.S. History
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
FBI: Review of New Emails Doesn't Change Conclusion on Clinton
The Slashdot Interview With Larry Wall

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

In technology, you're always "standing on the shoulders" of those who came before you -- and together, each individual's contribution becomes part of a larger ongoing story. So as this year finally winds to a close, click through to see our list of some of the pioneers who left us in 2016. And feel free to share any memories and reflections of your own in the comments.

• David Balme, the lieutenant-commander in Britain's royal Navy during World War II who captured one of the Nazi's Enigma encryption device
• Jane Fawcett, one of the British codebreakers who deciphered a crucial Enigma-encoded message
• Erich Bloch, who helped develop the first IBM mainframe
• Intel CEO (and first hire) Andy Grove
• Ray Tomlinson, considered the inventor of email
• John Ellenby, "godfather of the modern laptop"
• Bill Campbell, the legendary tech executive who passed along his advice to Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
• Joe Sutter, the lead designer on the 747
• Bob Ebeling, one of five engineers who'd forewarned NASA that the Challenger Space Shuttle could explode at liftoff.
• Vera Rubin, the astronomer who helped confirm the existence of dark matter.
• The 'Radioactive Boy Scout', the ambitious teenager whose efforts to build a breeder reactor turned his parents' home in Michigan into an EPA superfund cleanup site.
• Sound designer Jory K. Prum, who worked on more than 120 video games
• David Bunnell, said to have founded more computer magazines than anyone (including PC Magazine and Macworld)

Foxconn was in the news recently for plans to "automate entire factories" in China, but the electronics manufacturing company has also announced plans with Sharp to build a $8.8 billion (61 million yuan) factory in China to produce liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Reuters reports: Sakai Display Products Corp's plant will be a so-called Gen-10.5 facility specializing in large-screen LCDs and will be operational by 2019, the company said at a signing event with local officials in Guangzhou on Friday. It said the plant will have capacity equating to 92 billion yuan a year. The heavy investment is aimed at increasing production to meet expected rising demand for large-screen televisions and monitors in Asia. Sakai Display Products Corp's plans for the Guangzhou plant come as Hon Hai seeks to turn the joint venture into a subsidiary, investing a total of 15.1 billion yuan in the company. The venture will also sell 436,000 shares for 17.1 billion yuan to an investment co-owned by Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou, giving Hon Hai a 53 percent interest in the business and lowering Sharp's stake from to 26 percent from 40 percent.

A new report from Nikkei Asian Review says that Apple will cut iPhone production by around 10% in the first quarter of 2017. From the report: This comes after the company slashed output in January-March 2016 due to accumulated inventory of the iPhone 6s line at the end of 2015. That experience led Apple to curb production of the iPhone 7, introduced in September, by around 20%. But the phones still have sold more sluggishly than expected. Information on production of the latest models and global sales suggests cuts in both the 7 and 7 Plus lines in the coming quarter. The larger iPhone 7 Plus, which features two cameras on its back face, remains popular. But a shortage of camera sensors has curbed Apple's ability to meet demand for the phones. U.S. research company IDC forecasts global smartphone shipments in 2016 on par with the 2015 level. Even Apple has had difficulty creating appealing new features, stifling demand from customers who otherwise would look to upgrade to the latest device.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Neowin: It seems that Lumia has reached the end of the line, as the Microsoft Store is no longer selling any of the company's Windows Phone 8.1 or Windows 10 Mobile handsets in the U.S. The first signs that the end was approaching for Lumia came back in February, when Microsoft launched the Lumia 650, which was said to be the last in the company's Lumia line. In August, Microsoft removed all mention of Windows handsets from its U.S. store homepage, relegating 'Windows phone' to a dropdown menu instead. This week, just one Lumia handset remained on sale: the ATT-locked Lumia 950, available only in white. Now, that model has sold out too, leaving none of the company's Lumia handsets available to buy on its store. The Windows phones page on the Microsoft Store lists thirteen products, but eight of these are out of stock. When more stock is expected on a temporarily sold-out product, Microsoft typically replaces the 'Add to cart' button with one that says 'Email me when available'. Instead, each of these products now has a grayed-out button, stating "Out of stock."

From a report on TorrentFreak: 2016 has been a memorable year for torrent users but not in a good way. Over a period of just a few months, several of the largest torrent sites vanished from the scene. From KickassTorrents, through Torrentz to What.cd, several torrent giants have left the scene.Another notable website which vanished is TorrentHound. ThePirateBay is back, but is often facing issues. Not long ago, ExtraTorrent noted that it was on the receiving end of several DDoS attacks.

Consumer Reports took many by surprise last week -- certainly Apple -- when it said it doesn't recommend the company's new MacBook Pro models. The American magazine, which has garnered credibility over 80 years of its existence, said battery life on Apple's new laptops was all over the place -- hitting 19 hours in a test, but less than four hours in another. Last week, Apple's VP of Marketing, Phil Schiller insisted that Consumer Reports' findings didn't match the company's field data, and that Apple was working with Consumer Reports to understand its review. Now Consumer Reports has responded: The nonprofit organization is standing by its initial verdict in which it did not give the MacBook Pro (2016) its "recommended" rating. The organization has now said it doesn't think re-running the tests will change anything. "In this case, we don't believe re-running the tests are warranted for several reasons. First, as we point out in our original article, experiencing very high battery life on MacBooks is not unusual for us -- in fact we had a model in our comparative tests that got 19 hours," it said. "Second, we confirmed our brightness with three different meters, so we feel confident in our findings using this equipment. Finally, we monitor our tests very closely. There is an entry logged every minute, so we know from these entries that the app worked correctly," it added.

Consumer Reports took many by surprise last week -- certainly Apple -- when it said it doesn't recommend the company's new MacBook Pro models. The American magazine, which has garnered credibility over 80 years of its existence, said battery life on Apple's new laptops was all over the place -- hitting 19 hours in a test, but less than four hours in another. Last week, Apple's VP of Marketing, Phil Schiller insisted that Consumer Reports' findings didn't match the company's field data, and that Apple was working with Consumer Reports to understand its review. Now Consumer Reports has responded: The nonprofit organization is standing by its initial verdict in which it did not give the MacBook Pro (2016) its "recommended" rating. The organization has now said it doesn't think re-running the tests will change anything. "In this case, we don't believe re-running the tests are warranted for several reasons. First, as we point out in our original article, experiencing very high battery life on MacBooks is not unusual for us -- in fact we had a model in our comparative tests that got 19 hours," it said. "Second, we confirmed our brightness with three different meters, so we feel confident in our findings using this equipment. Finally, we monitor our tests very closely. There is an entry logged every minute, so we know from these entries that the app worked correctly," it added.

China's cash-strapped LeEco said it is in talks to secure 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) from an unidentified strategic investor, but the announcement was seen as insufficient to dispel concern over the high-tech conglomerate's financial health. From a report on Reuters: Led by tycoon Jia Yueting, LeEco expanded aggressively into electric and driverless cars and smartphones after making its name in video streaming, but last month warned staff it was facing 'a big company disease' after growing too fast and in too many directions left it short of funds. LeEco is still finalizing details of the investment, according to a filing by its Shenzhen-listed unit Leshi Internet Information and Technology. Leshi said it would extend a trading halt on its stock but the halt would not exceed 10 days. Following its admission of a cash crunch, LeEco said soon after that it had secured commitments for $600 million to support its automotive unit and other high-tech businesses.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FBI have released an analysis of the allegedly Russian government-sponsored hacking groups blamed for breaching several different parts of the Democratic party during the 2016 elections. The 13-page document, released on Thursday and meant for information technology professionals, came as Barack Obama announced sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2016 elections. The report was criticized by security experts, who said it lacked depth and came too late. "The activity by [Russian intelligence services] is part of an ongoing campaign of cyber-enabled operations directed at the U.S. government and its citizens," wrote the authors of the government report. "This [joint analysis report] provides technical indicators related to many of these operations, recommended mitigations, suggested actions to take in response to the indicators provided, and information on how to report such incidents to the U.S. government." The government report follows several from the private sector, notably a lengthy section in a Microsoft report from 2015 on a hacking team referred to as "advanced persistent threat 28" (APT 28), which the company's internal nomenclature calls Strontium and others have called Fancy Bear. Also mentioned in the government document is another group called APT 29 or Cozy Bear. The Microsoft report contains a history of the groups' operation; a report by security analysts ThreatConnect describes the team's modus operandi; and competing firm CrowdStrike detailed the attack on the Democratic National Committee shortly before subsequent breaches of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign were discovered.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Billboard: As Facebook continues to grapple with its role in proliferating "fake news" amidst the heated U.S. election this year, it has another showdown looming on the horizon -- this one with the music industry. In the wake of NMPA president/CEO David Israelite's op-ed in Billboard in October, in which he called out the social media giant for hosting videos with copyrighted music without securing licensing deals or paying creators, Facebook is working to develop a copyright identification system -- similar to YouTube's Content ID -- that would find and remove videos containing copyrighted music, a source tells Billboard. The story was first reported by the Financial Times. One music industry source, confirming Facebook's plans to develop a copyright ID system, says the company has a massive infringement problem in regards to music on the site. "They see the huge amount of traffic music content is responsible for on their platform and don't want to be on the wrong end of an artist fight," the person says. "They also see that there's a potential opportunity to position themselves as friendly to content creators as opposed to YouTube, so they are working fast to get this right." Talks between Facebook and the major labels are underway to license content moving forward, Billboard has learned, though they are still in the preliminary stages. In its report, the Financial Times referenced a source saying a deal would not be done before the spring.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: We've known about Amazon's drone delivery ambitions since 2013. But patent filings from Amazon, circulated today by CB Insights' Zoe Leavitt, reveal more details about how the e-commerce titan could make drone deliveries work at scale, namely through "airborne fulfillment centers." Yes, that's a warehouse in a zeppelin. The airborne fulfillment centers, or AFCs, would be stocked with a certain amount of inventory and positioned near a location where Amazon predicts demand for certain items will soon spike. Drones, including temperature-controlled models ideally suited for food delivery, could be stocked at the AFCs and sent down to make a precise, safe scheduled or on-demand delivery. An example cited in the filing was around a sporting event. If there's a big championship game down below, Amazon AFC's above could be loaded with snacks and souvenirs sports fans crave. The AFCs could be flown close to a stadium to deliver audio or outdoor display advertising near the main event, as well, the filing suggested. The patent reflects a complex network of systems to facilitate delivery by air. Besides the airborne fulfillment centers and affiliated drones, the company has envisioned larger shuttles that could carry people, supplies and drones to the AFCs or back to the ground. Using a larger shuttle to bring drones up to the AFC would allow Amazon to reserve their drones' power for making deliveries only. Of course, all these elements would be connected to inventory management systems, and other software and remote computing resources managed by people in the air or on the ground. The filing also reveals that the shuttles and drones, as they fly deliveries around, could function in a mesh network, relaying data to each other about weather, wind speed and routing, for example, or beaming e-book content down to readers on the ground. Amazon also recently patented a system to defend its drones against hackers, jammers and bows and arrows.

In response to the California Department of Motor Vehicles ordering Uber's autonomous vehicles off the roads in San Francisco due to a lack of a permit, Florida state Sen. Jeff Brandes said he welcomes the company with open arms. Brandes tweeted: "Hey @Uber, unlike California we in Florida welcome driverless cars -- no permit required. #OpenForBusiness #FlaPol." PolitiFact reports: Several car companies are developing fully autonomous or self-driving cars operated by computers and testing them in some states. But it could be several years before they are broadly publicly available due to the cost, questions about liability and the technology and as state government officials grapple with oversight. While California's law requires a permit, that's not the case in Florida. "Florida has the least restrictive active state laws for the operation of autonomous vehicles," said John Terwilleger, an attorney at Gunster, Yoakley -- Stewart in West Palm Beach. Terwilleger represents a company that is involved in developing and using autonomous vehicles in Florida. In 2012, the Florida Legislature passed a law co-sponsored by Brandes that allowed a person with a valid driver's license to operate an autonomous vehicle. Before companies could test autonomous cars, they had to submit proof that they had $5 million in insurance. But in 2016, the Florida Legislature passed new rules that eliminated some of the previous requirements, including the $5 million in insurance. The new law also got rid of the requirement that a human operator be present in the vehicle, as long as an operator can be alerted in case of technology failure and stop the vehicle. Since there is no permit for autonomous vehicles, the state has no information regarding how many Floridians own one, said Beth Frady, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida law treats an autonomous vehicle in the same manner as any other motor vehicle operating on our roads, said Chris Spencer, a spokesman for Brandes. "There are no requirements for additional permitting, licensing, or approval from any state or local government body to operate an autonomous vehicle on our roads," he said. That's still the case, even though Florida was the location of the first fatality involving a self-driving car. In May, Joshua Brown, was killed when his Tesla while on autopilot crashed into a tractor-trailer in Williston.

In response to the California Department of Motor Vehicles ordering Uber's autonomous vehicles off the roads in San Francisco due to a lack of a permit, Florida state Sen. Jeff Brandes said he welcomes the company with open arms. Brandes tweeted: "Hey @Uber, unlike California we in Florida welcome driverless cars -- no permit required. #OpenForBusiness #FlaPol." PolitiFact reports: Several car companies are developing fully autonomous or self-driving cars operated by computers and testing them in some states. But it could be several years before they are broadly publicly available due to the cost, questions about liability and the technology and as state government officials grapple with oversight. While California's law requires a permit, that's not the case in Florida. "Florida has the least restrictive active state laws for the operation of autonomous vehicles," said John Terwilleger, an attorney at Gunster, Yoakley -- Stewart in West Palm Beach. Terwilleger represents a company that is involved in developing and using autonomous vehicles in Florida. In 2012, the Florida Legislature passed a law co-sponsored by Brandes that allowed a person with a valid driver's license to operate an autonomous vehicle. Before companies could test autonomous cars, they had to submit proof that they had $5 million in insurance. But in 2016, the Florida Legislature passed new rules that eliminated some of the previous requirements, including the $5 million in insurance. The new law also got rid of the requirement that a human operator be present in the vehicle, as long as an operator can be alerted in case of technology failure and stop the vehicle. Since there is no permit for autonomous vehicles, the state has no information regarding how many Floridians own one, said Beth Frady, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida law treats an autonomous vehicle in the same manner as any other motor vehicle operating on our roads, said Chris Spencer, a spokesman for Brandes. "There are no requirements for additional permitting, licensing, or approval from any state or local government body to operate an autonomous vehicle on our roads," he said. That's still the case, even though Florida was the location of the first fatality involving a self-driving car. In May, Joshua Brown, was killed when his Tesla while on autopilot crashed into a tractor-trailer in Williston.