Innholdsfortegnelse for #296 i Techlife News

At Facebook, mere “sharing” is getting old. Finding deeper meaning in online communities is the next big thing. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is no longer satisfied with just connecting the world so that people can pass around baby pictures and live video - or fake news and hate symbols. So the Facebook founder wants to bring more meaning to its nearly 2 billion users by shepherding them into online groups that bring together people with common passions, problems and ambitions. Much like the creation of Facebook itself - arguably the largest social-engineering project in history - that shift could have broad and unanticipated consequences. Facebook will apply the same powerful computer algorithms that make its service so compelling to the task of boosting membership in “meaningful” groups to more than a…

Inside a cavernous northern Utah warehouse, hydraulic engineers send water rushing down a replica of a section of a dam built out of wood, concrete and steel - trying to pinpoint what repairs will work best at the tallest dam in the U.S. for a spillway torn apart during heavy winter rains that triggered the evacuation of 200,000 people living downstream. The sound of rushing water is deafening as Utah State University hydraulics engineering professor Michael Johnson kneels in front of a replica of an Oroville Dam spillway the size of a small house to examine one of two channels that run the width of the spillway to allow air into the water to prevent bubble formations that can damage the concrete spillway of the real dam. The new channels,…

Twice in the space of six weeks, the world has suffered major attacks of ransomware - malicious software that locks up photos and other files stored on your computer, then demands money to release them. It’s clear that the world needs better defenses, and fortunately those are starting to emerge, if slowly and in patchwork fashion. When they arrive, we may have artificial intelligence to thank. Ransomware isn’t necessary trickier or more dangerous than other malware that sneaks onto your computer, but it can be much more aggravating, and at times devastating. Most such infections don’t get in your face about taking your digital stuff away from you the way ransomware does, nor do they shake you down for hundreds of dollars or more. Despite those risks, many people just…

Avis is teaming up with Waymo on a self-driving car program. The partnership aims to support Waymo’s fleet and its early rider program, which has a public trial in Phoenix. Avis Budget Group Inc. said Monday that it will provide fleet support and maintenance services for Waymo’s program at its Avis and Budget car rental locations. Under the multiyear deal, Waymo’s cars will receive automotive services such as cleanings and oil changes from Avis and be allowed to park at its locations. Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet Inc., will continue to own and run its self-driving cars and will continue with its existing partnerships. Shares of Avis Budget jumped more than 9 percent in morning trading.…

Wizarding legend Harry Potter’s tale has turned 20. Author J.K. Rowling’s first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in Britain on June 26, 1997. Since then, it has sold more than 450 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 79 languages. The books’ magical world has inspired multiple films, spinoffs, memorabilia and amusement park attractions. The White Elephant Cafe, the Edinburgh spot where Rowling wrote the first book, has become an international tourist destination. “20 years ago today a world that I had lived in alone was suddenly open to others,” Rowling tweeted. “It’s been wonderful. Thank you.” Rowling’s publisher, Bloomsbury, will release four new editions of the book, one for each house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, in honor of the anniversary.…

Apparently all the new Planet of the Apes films needed to do to really hit a home run was take the humans out of the equation. It’s what this whole trilogy has been leading to, really, as we dipped our toes into the rise, dawn and now war of this burgeoning civilization of apes and the humans who are desperately and often dishonorably fighting for their survival. “War for the Planet of the Apes“ is a riveting and surprisingly poignant epic that’s a shade above the rest of the franchise dreck populating every multiplex in the country. It’s as though director Matt Reeves, screenwriter Mark Bomback and the production actually put care and thought into what they were doing with their characters. Reeves wastes no time getting the action started…

Just in time for summer comes a film that seriously threatens the core component of barbeques, baseball games and block parties. To be blunt, “Okja” may force you to put down that hot dog. Director Bong Joon Ho’s uneven movie is about a girl, her giant, adorable pet pig and an evil corporation that wants to separate them - and also to separate our porcine heroine into bacon strips. There’s not a lot of nuance here: The bad guys are very bad and the heroes are very good. It makes the finger-wagging of “Avatar” seem demure. But it’s not always a well-marbled ride. There’s an inconsistent tone, with horrific moments spliced with satire and detours into vaudeville and a few moments when it’s kidnapped into a heist movie. “Okja” also…

While hiking in the Himalayas for three weeks, Mike Scanlin had no cellphone service much of the time and no way to charge his phone. Running his business - a one-man operation - became a very sporadic proposition. It was a calculated risk. “I felt I was going to lose customers, lose some business if they couldn’t get a response for three days,” says Scanlin, owner of Born to Sell, a business software company based in Las Vegas. “But it’s worth maybe losing a bit of business to accomplish the items on your bucket list.” Changes in technology have made it possible for vacationing small business owners to never be out of touch - unless they decide to go to a part of the world without enough cellphone towers, bandwidth…

The United States will get hit again by Russian cyberattacks if the country doesn’t pay closer attention and work more closely with European allies who are also victims, international elections experts warned on Wednesday. In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, experts described extensive Russian interference in European elections and encouraged more awareness among the American of how Russians are trying to undermine U.S. candidates and faith in government. One witness, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, criticized both former President Barack Obama and current President Donald Trump for not doing more to publicize the problem and combat it. “I do think that it’s time for Congress and not the president to lead the response to Russia’s cyberattack on the United States,” said Nicholas Burns, who worked as NATO ambassador…

European regulators fined Google a record 2.42 billion euros ($2.72 billion) for abusing its dominance of the online search market in a case that could be just the opening salvo in Europe’s attempt to curb the company’s clout on that continent. The decision announced Tuesday by the European Commission punished Google for unfairly favoring its own online shopping recommendations in its search results. The commission is also conducting at least two other probes into the company’s business practices that could force Google to make even more changes in the way it bundles services on mobile devices and sells digital advertising. Even so, Europe’s crackdown is unlikely to affect Google’s products in the U.S. or elsewhere. But it could provide an opportunity to contrast how consumers fare when the company operates…

Disney has confirmed that an animatronic version of President Donald Trump will have a speaking role at its Hall of Presidents attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida. The company is pushing back against reports that Trump’s figure wouldn’t have a speaking part in the show, which features figures of all U.S. presidents. Disney Parks editorial content director Thomas Smith writes in a blog post that Disney is working closely with the White House on Trump’s words and a recording session with the president has been scheduled. The attraction closed in January so Trump’s figure could be added. Smith says it will reopen late this year with a new show and upgraded theater. An online petition was launched in January to push Disney to keep its animatronic Trump silent.…

TRACKING THE LEGENDARY SMARTPHONE OVER TIME By now, it feels like almost everyone who’s anyone owns an iPhone. The constantly evolving smartphone is about to get another make over with the release of the much anticipated iPhone 8. The iPhone was released 10 years ago this week, on 29th June 2007, and to commemorate its anniversary, we decided to take a look back over the years to where it all began. A TRIP BACK IN TIME To really understand the impact Apple has had on our lives with arguably the most iconic series of phones ever, we need to start at the very beginning with the invention of the telephone. The telephone was invented by Scottish-born scientist Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 and has undergone various dramatic transformations over the…

Kong: Skull Island A once-great monster hunter embarks on a journey to an unexplored island in the South Pacific, ‘Skull Island’, under the pretence of undertaking geological research. The film is visually breathtaking and the team encounters several deafly creatures, keeping viewers gripped throughout. FIVE FACTS: 1. The sets were constructed near where Jurassic World was shot in Hawaii. 2. Samuel L. Jackson even repeats his famous line, “Hold onto your butts” from Jurassic Park in the film. 3. The film is set in 1973, at the end of the Vietnam War. 4. Jackson replaced J.K. Simmons, who was originally supposed to act in the film. 5. King Kong is even bigger than in previous films because Jordan Vogt-Roberts said he wanted him to appear like a God. The Zookeeper’s…

From the murderous Laura in “Logan” to the mysterious Eleven in “Stranger Things” to the audacious determination of Mija in“Okja,”opening Wednesday, powerful young girls are starring in mainstream action fare like never before. Though Nancy Drew was solving mysteries in the 1930s and Buffy slayed vampires all through high school in the late 1990s, young girls are rarely shown as heroes in programs aimed at general audiences, said Mary Celeste Kearney, director of gender studies and a professor of film, television and theater at University of Notre Dame. “Girls have seen these figures... but when they’ve looked to mainstream stuff and what their brothers and their dads and boys are watching, those girls are never there,” Kearney said. “And now they are, and that’s huge.” It means girls don’t have…

The Force was with George Lucas this week as the Los Angeles City Council moved with lightsaber speed to clear the way for a $1.5 billion Museum of Narrative Art the “Star Wars” creator plans to build down the road from his alma mater. After hearing from Lucas himself, the council voted 14-0 to approve an environmental impact report and other requirements for the museum’s construction adjacent to the University of Southern California. “For a very brief time I actually grew up here,” said Lucas, who earned a degree in film from USC. “That’s where I learned movies. That’s where I learned my craft. Basically where I started my career was in school here.” Lucas said his museum won’t just focus on movies, however, but on the entire history of…

Just before sunrise, there’s typically nothing atop Round Butte but the whistle of the wind and a panoramic view of Oregon’s second-highest peak glowing pink in the faint light. But on Aug. 21, local officials expect this lookout point just outside the small town of Madras to be crammed with people from around the world, all hoping for the first glimpse of the moon’s shadow as it crosses Mount Jefferson’s snow fields. Then, a solar eclipse will throw the entire region into complete darkness for two minutes. The first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years will first be visible in Oregon, and Madras is predicted to be among the country’s best viewing spots because of its clear, high-desert skies, flat landscape and stunning…

The Homeland Security Department is demanding that airlines around the world step up security measures for international flights bound for the United States or face the possibility of a total electronics ban for planes. Compliance with the new rules could lead to the lifting of a ban on laptops and other large electronics already in place for airlines flying to the United States from 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa. It could also stave off a much-discussed expansion of the ban to flights from Europe. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly announced the rollout of the new rules Wednesday. The changes will be phased in over time and include enhanced passenger vetting, explosives detection and efforts to root out insider threats to airlines. “Security is my No. 1 concern,”…

President Donald Trump attacked The Washington Post and Amazon on Twitter Wednesday, arguing that the online retailer was not paying “internet taxes.” Trump stated on Twitter Wednesday: “The #AmazonWashingtonPost, sometimes referred to as the guardian of Amazon not paying internet taxes (which they should) is FAKE NEWS!” It was not immediately clear what Trump meant by“internet taxes.” The White House declined to answer questions about the president’s statement. Amazon.com collects state sales taxes in all 45 states with a sales tax and the District of Columbia, according to their website. State governments have sought to capture sales taxes lost to internet retailers, though they have struggled with a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that retailers must have a physical presence in a state before officials can make them collect sales…

A new and highly virulent outbreak of data-scrambling software caused disruption across the world this week. Following a similar attack in May , the fresh assault paralyzed some hospitals, government offices and major multinational corporations in a dramatic demonstration of how easily malicious programs can bring daily life to a halt. Ukraine and other parts of Europe were hit particularly hard by the new strain of ransomware - malicious software that locks up computer files with all-but-unbreakable encryption and then demands a ransom for its release. As the malware began to spread across the United States, it affected companies such as the drugmaker Merck and Mondelez International, the owner of food brands such as Oreo and Nabisco. But its pace appeared to slow as the day wore on. The origins of…

A Florida man was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison by a judge who said he used a “pyramid of lies” to boost a business that helped criminals process millions of dollars in illegal bitcoin transactions. Anthony Murgio, of Tampa, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy charges, admitting he knew he was acting illegally when he enticed friends and family members, including his father, to help him operate a crooked money exchange business. “I screwed up badly,” he said in court. His father, a former Palm Beach County, Florida, school board member, also has pleaded guilty in the scheme. U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan in Manhattan noted that Murgio’s victims included a federal credit union that served a low-income community in Lakewood, New Jersey. Prosecutors said the…

Michelle Rodriguez is threatening to leave “The Fast and the Furious” franchise unless its female characters are treated differently. Rodriguez wrote on Instagram on Tuesday that she hopes filmmakers decide “to show some love to the women of the franchise” in its next installment. If not, she says, she “just might have to say goodbye.” F. Gary Gray directed the eighth film in the series, “The Fate of the Furious,” and is defending the treatment of women in that movie. He tells Business Insider he “thought the combination of female characters was pretty strong.” Gray notes that Charlize Theron played the antagonist in the film and Helen Mirren made a cameo. The ninth film in the franchise is due out in 2019.…

Evolve Imagine Dragons The rock band from Las Vegas release their third studio album in five years, with its second single, “Thunder”, related to the theme of following dreams and not conforming to society’s standards. With parts reminiscent of bands like Arcade Fire and The Killers, the new album encompasses everything the alternative band represents. FIVE FACTS: 1. Three of the four members of the band are named Daniel. 2. The band’s fans refer to themselves as ‘Firebreathers’. 3. The band members are all big fans of the Beatles. They performed a Beatles song in acoustic style at a 50th anniversary show for the Fab Four. 4. The band’s manager is the lead singer’s brother. 5. The band name is an a nagram. MOSAIC 311 Nebraska’s 311 once again encompass…

A new song from Prince’s late father, produced at Paisley Park, is being released this week to celebrate what would have been his 101st birthday. Prince’s half-sister, Sharon Nelson, produced the jazzy “Heart of Mine” by John L. Nelson and said it is the first single from the album, “Don’t Play With Love, The John L. Nelson Project,” to be released Oct. 27. The new song will be available for streaming and for sale at digital retailers on Thursday. John Nelson, a jazz pianist who performed with the Prince Rogers Trio, died in 2001 at age 85. He co-wrote some songs with Prince, including “Computer Blue” from “Purple Rain.” “We are making his music available for the world to hear,” Sharon Nelson said in a statement Wednesday. “Contrary to what…

The co-founder and CEO of Pandora, under intensifying competitive pressure from Spotify and Apple Music, has relinquished his position and will step down from the company board as well. Westergren, who helped found the company 17 years ago, returned as CEO about 15 months ago with Pandora struggling to match the subscribers heading to rival services. He had also been CEO between 2002 and 2004. After Westergren’s return as CEO in March, the company launched a new $10 a month on-demand music service which lets users select the songs they want to hear, copying what Spotify and Apple Music already offers. “Tim stepped in to be CEO at a critical time for the company and was quickly able to reset relations with the major labels, launch our on-demand service, reconstitute…

Money-losing Japanese electronics and nuclear company Toshiba Corp. has until Aug. 10 to get auditors to sign off on its earnings statements, or else it faces the risk of getting delisted. Tokyo-based Toshiba, whose U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co. filed for bankruptcy protection in March, it received an extension of an earlier June deadline to give its earnings report for the fiscal year that ended in March. But it’s getting bumped down from the first to the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Toshiba said earlier this week it chose a consortium led by a Japanese government-backed fund as the preferred bidder to purchase its lucrative computer memory chip business. It sorely needs to cash to survive. Toshiba’s board of directors chose the bid for Toshiba Memory Corp.,…