The MDL Times - Science and Tech. News on MDL

Discussion in 'Serious Discussion' started by kldpdas, Jun 30, 2011.

  1. prashantsays

    prashantsays MDL Member

    Jun 13, 2016
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    very true, most laptops dont come with dvd writer nowadays, can't even remember the last time i used a cd. Its an old tech already, next is probably USB B.
     
  2. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

    Jan 12, 2012
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    I have two motherboards that can use USB-C/ Thunderbolt devices but I have yet to use one, they do not seem to be mainstream yet
     
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  3. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    I was thinking that abandoned vinyl records, if stored properly without being played, will last longer than CDs, which deteriorate also if left unused.
     
  4. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    Websites Can Now Track You Online Across Multiple Web Browsers
    February 14, 2017

    You are no doubt aware of websites, banks, retailers, and advertisers tracking your online activities using different Web "fingerprinting" techniques even in incognito/private mode, but now sites can track you anywhere online — even if you switch browsers.

    A team of researchers has recently developed a cross-browser fingerprinting technique — the first reliable technique to accurately track users across multiple browsers based on information like extensions, plugins, time zone and whether or not an ad blocker is installed.

    Previous fingerprinting methods usually only work across a single browser, but the new method uses operating system and hardware level features and works across multiple browsers.

    This new fingerprinting technique ties digital fingerprint left behind by a Firefox browser to the fingerprint from a Chrome browser or Windows Edge running on the same device.

    The cross-browser fingerprinting technique relies on "many novel OS and hardware features, especially computer graphics ones" that are slightly different for each computer.

    For example, the technology can be used to identify the machine by performing 20 unique WebGL tasks while rendering 3D graphics in web browsers with carefully selected computer graphics parameters, such as texture, anti-aliasing, light, and transparency.

    In total, 36 new features work independently of a particular browser, and are not confined to one specific web browser on the machine.

    https://thehackernews.com/2017/02/cross-browser-tracking.html
     
  5. Tiger-1

    Tiger-1 MDL Guru

    Oct 18, 2014
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  6. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    Staffers Quit Google's Car Project Because the Company Paid Them Too Much
    February 13, 2017

    Workers called it "F-you money".

    Any big business that wants to hold on to its top employees would be wise to compensate them well, but there’s also the other extreme of a firm being too generous. According to Bloomberg, Google paid its self-driving car experts so much money that they didn’t need the job security and decided to quit.

    Some payments reached into the millions of dollars - one member of the team had a multiplier of 16 applied to bonuses and equity amassed over four years.

    The two staffers Bloomberg talked to referred to the payments as “f-you money.” As more key milestones were reached, more money was handed over to the workers. In the end, they were paid so much that they lost any incentive to stay at Google.

    Even with all the resources being poured into the technology right now, it’ll take many more years before self-driving cars become mainstream. The company may have to wait a long time before it sees a return on its investment.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...e-s-car-project-the-company-paid-them-so-much
     
  7. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    You can now preorder the world's first certified flying car, starting from $400,000
    Feb 14, 2017

    The future is now

    [​IMG]

    According to sci-fi movies and shows from decades ago, we should all be traveling around in our flying cars by now. That prediction turned out to be slightly optimistic, but thanks to Dutch company PAL-V, we now have “the first certified commercial flying car ever.”

    Admittedly, the Liberty doesn’t exactly bring to mind the flying DeLorean from Back to the Future 2. The three wheels and foldable rotor makes it look more like a gyrocopter than most people's idea of a flying car, but it’s still equally at home on the road as it is in the sky.

    As you might imagine, these vehicles don’t come cheap - the Liberty Sport base model costs $400,000 before taxes. If you want luxuries such as flying lessons, power heating, detailing, and an electronic flight instrument display, you’ll have to hand over $600,000 for the Pioneer Edition.

    The 197bhp Liberty can hit 100 mph on the road and gets 31 miles to the gallon, giving it an impressive range of 817 miles on a full tank. In the air, it’ll reach 112 mph and has a maximum altitude of almost 11,500 feet, though the range drops to 310 miles while airborne.

    Only 90 Pioneer Editions are being built for its initial construction run, so if you want one you’d better get your order in fast. The company’s asking for a non-returnable deposit of $25,000 for the more expensive Liberty, or $10,000 for the Sport version, with delivery set for the end of next year. Alternatively, a $2500 returnable escrow deposit will put you on the waiting list.

    http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2017/02...ds-first-certified-commercial-flying-car.html

    My comment: Despite my initial rejection of the idea, for someone young with the money, it might not be a bad investment, especially given the small “limited edition” number. Keep it unused and sell it as history-making vintage at some suitable time in the future.
     
  8. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    Best TVs

    February 14, 2017

    The Consumers Association of USA analyzed test results of TVs over 3 years, from 2014 to 2016.

    According to these, TVs from Samsung, LG, and Sony earned top scores. These also tend to be expensive.

    Other findings:

    Performance can vary by series and even model within a single brand. It pays to consult test ratings for the particular set you’re thinking of buying.

    There’s often little need to settle for poor performance just because you're on a budget, especially if you’re looking for a smaller TV. In some size categories there are only small price differences between the highest- and lowest-performing brands.

    http://www.consumerreports.org/lcd-...m_campaign=20170216_nsltr_whatsnew_newsletter
     
  9. Tiger-1

    Tiger-1 MDL Guru

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    @Katz looks very interesting but imagine if a lot of people's buy the "car" how stay flux of transit :rolleyes:
     
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  10. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

    Jan 12, 2012
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    Samsung uses a proprietary operating system for their smart tv's and many apps are not supported. Consider getting a tv that runs on Android for better compatibility with apps
     
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  11. gorski

    gorski MDL Guru

    Oct 21, 2009
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    I would recommend a Droid based STB with Kodi etc.

    Those are cheap and much stronger than TVs, better supported and running much better than trying to do it using your TV...

    So, maybe it is better to buy a good quality TV, for its picture quality, like Panasonic, plus a Droid STB (2GHz octa core processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB flash, quad core GPU etc.) with Kodi and enjoy the best combination (via a VPN, if at all possible)... :D
     
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  12. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    Seems long gone are the days when TVs were used for watching TV transmissions and what mattered was picture quality. Nostalgia creeping in again.
     
  13. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    I suppose, just as we now have traffic congestion in the streets, we'll be having traffic congestion in the air. And just as it's difficult to get to the other side of a street, the sun will have difficulty getting tru for us to see it. Not to mention what kind of air we'll be breathing.
     
  14. Tiger-1

    Tiger-1 MDL Guru

    Oct 18, 2014
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    ^^
    this is one thing I'm refering principally related to air polution
     
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  15. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

    Jan 12, 2012
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    Yup.... My grand kids are watching you tube videos on it right now.
     
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  16. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    I am not grandpa yet, knock on wood lol, and yes my children are watching youtube videos many hours at day.
    Cyberspace is in their lifetime and that's fine to me. I love technological breakthroughs like this. Hell I even use it a lot. Thanks to the Internet...
     
  17. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    Component shortages are making PCs more expensive
    Feb 16, 2017

    Higher chip prices and a shortage of memory and SSDs are among the culprits driving up PC prices

    Not only are PC sales falling, the people buying the computers are paying a lot more for them, all thanks to a shortage of components. Sadly, it's a situation that won’t be improving anytime soon.

    Component shortages aren't the only thing pushing up PC prices; it’s also due to the shrinking market. With fewer people buying new machines, manufacturers want to get the highest profit margin from each sale. And the best way to do that is to raise the selling point even higher.

    Some PC makers are encouraging (forcing?) people to spend more on their devices though restricted customization options. Dell’s base model XPS 13 laptop, for example, comes with a 128GB SSD. But if you want to add more storage space, the limited configuration options mean you’ll also have to upgrade the CPU and memory as well, adding an extra $300 to the price.

    http://www.cio.com/article/3171263/...e-to-go-up-due-to-shortage-of-components.html
     
  18. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

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    Apple doesn't want you to repair your phone, and they're going to court to stop you
    Feb 15, 2017

    Apple will take Nebraska to court on March 9th over proposed "Right to Repair" bill

    Apple devices are notoriously tricky to repair. Legitimate replacement parts are nearly impossible to purchase, many internal components are glued or use tamper-proof construction, and service manuals are rarely available. Nebraska and seven other states are now considering "right to repair" legislation to solve all three of these issues. An unidentified source within the legislature told Motherboard that Apple is planning on fighting the upcoming bill in court.

    The source has stated that Apple and AT&T will both testify against the Nebraska bill on March 9th. Among their planned arguments are claims that "consumers who repair their own phones could cause lithium batteries to catch fire."
    Independent repair shops around the nation formed the Repair.org trade organization to help advance the right to repair legislation. As expected, the tech industry has heavily lobbied against it in their hopes to gain a monopoly on the repair of their devices. The organization helped successfully pass an automobile repair law back in 2012, and now their sights are set on the tech industry.

    Apple and other manufacturers have argued in the past that it's unsafe to repair your own devices. Lobbyists have claimed that broken glass can harm consumers who try to repair their screen, among others.
    To combat this constant pressure, the repair community has been using a shotgun approach. They file requests in numerous states and hope corporations don't want to deal with the required paperwork to stop them. The hope is that if a law is passed in at least one state, rather than deal with the varying laws, manufacturers will just implement the change across their whole line.

    https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/source-apple-will-fight-right-to-repair-legislation
     
  19. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

    Jul 15, 2016
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    Google and Bing to demote piracy websites in UK search results
    Feb 20, 2017

    Internet users in the UK will soon find that browsing for pirated music, movies and streams isn’t as easy as it used to be, after a ‘Voluntary Code of Practice’ was drawn up by the government that reduces the visibility of copyright-infringing sites.

    Google, Bing, the Motion Picture Association, and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) have all signed the code, which will accelerate the demotion of illegal sites following takedown notices from rights holders. The UK’s Intellectual Property Office states that if a DMCA notice is upheld, the site’s link will be removed from "the first page of search results."

    “Sometimes people will search for something and they will end up unwittingly being taken to a pirated piece of content,” said Eddy Leviten, director general at the Alliance for Intellectual Property. “What we want to ensure is that the results at the top of the search engines are the genuine ones. It is about protecting people who use the internet, but also protecting the creators of that material too.”
    Additionally, the code means users who search for movies, music, digital books, and sports coverage will more likely be directed to legitimate content providers rather than pirate sites.

    The changes, schedule to roll out by June 1, will run alongside the UK’s existing anti-piracy measures, which includes court-ordered site blocking, written warnings, attempts to reduce advertising on illegal sites, and consumer education campaigns.

    The BPI admits that the change “will not be a silver bullet fix” – most people access their favorite pirate sites directly rather than via search engines. But it could mean fewer people unintentionally discovering illegal content.

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/20/google-and-bing-to-demote-piracy-websites

    I can think of quite a few more workarounds, but I don't know if we should encourage piracy here.
     
  20. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

    Jul 15, 2016
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    Sony's 'world's fastest' SD card writes data at 299 MB/s
    Photographers and 4K video enthusiasts rejoice!
    Feb 22, 2107
    [​IMG]

    Sony's upcoming SF-G series of SD cards will be available this spring, the company announced today. Sony said they "will be the world's fastest SD cards." Boasting a maximum write speed of 299 MB/s.

    The cards (available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB sizes) also have a slightly higher top read speed of 300 MB/s. Speed is a priority, so the cards also support the UHS-II interface, which adds a second row of connecting pins to the card for increased transfer rates on compatible hardware. More than any card before it, the SF-G series will be able to handle quick-shooting cameras smoothly, as well as capturing 4K video and other technically demanding uses.

    To fully take advantage of the tremendous speed, Sony also revealed it will offer a specialized card reader so users can quickly transfer files to and from their computers. These SD's are also waterproof, temperature resistant, shockproof and X-Ray proof.

    For comparison, Amazon's best-selling card, the 32GB SanDisk Ultra Class 10 SDHC UHS-I, tops out at 80 MB/s for read and write speeds.

    Sony has yet to announce the pricing for these cards, but the 32GB version of the aforementioned SanDisk card sells for about $60. The SF-G cards are technically superior, though, so expect them to retail for a bit more than that.

    https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/22/sonys-worlds-fastest-sd-card-writes-data-at-299-mb-s/