Bost 7 News

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Dutch police arrest 35-year-old suspect in The Hague stabbings

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Police said the suspect, described as having no fixed address, was brought to a police station for questioning.

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Facebook Bows to Singapore's 'Fake News' Law, Posts 'Correction'

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

An anonymous reader quotes the BBC: Facebook has added a correction notice to a post that Singapore's government said contained false information. It is the first time Facebook has issued such a notice under the city-state's controversial "fake news" law. Singapore claimed the post, by fringe news site States Times Review, contained "scurrilous accusations". The note issued by the social media giant said it "is legally required to tell you that the Singapore government says this post has false information". Facebook's addition was embedded at the bottom of the original post, which was not altered. It was only visible to social media users in Singapore... Critics say the law threatens freedom of expression. Amnesty International said it would "give authorities unchecked powers to clamp down on online views of which it disapproves". But Singapore's law minister said free speech "should not be affected by this bill", adding that it was aimed only at tackling "falsehoods, bots, trolls and fake accounts". The government has argued that the law safeguards against abuse of power by allowing judicial reviews of its orders. Singapore had first ordered the page's editor to correct the post, but as an Australian citizen he'd refused and promised (on Facebook) that he would "not comply with any order from a foreign government".

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US: 9 killed, 3 injured in South Dakota plane crash

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Three survivors were taken to the hospital after rescuers pulled them from the wreckage during a winter storm.

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Who was London bridge attacker Usman Khan?

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

More information has emerged about man who killed two people in knife attack in London on Friday.

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At least 14 killed in bloody gunfight in northern Mexico

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Daytime shootout took place days after US President said he would designate drug cartels as terrorist groups.

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China accuses UN rights chief of emboldening Hong Kong protesters

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

China says Bachelet's call for an investigation into police conduct is interference and inappropriate.

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Apple's and Microsoft's 2019 Holiday Ads: Naughty Or Nice?

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: In Apple's 2019 holiday ad The Surprise (YouTube, 11.8M views), the reveal at the end is that two young girls thought to have been frittering away time on their iPads have been making an unforgettable, heartwarming tribute to their recently passed grandmother that brings tears to their grandpa's eyes. "This is a master class in comfy reassurance commercialism," writes Fast Company's Jeff Beer. "It's something we see all the time in advertising, where a product of convenience pitches itself as a problem-solver, simultaneously making you feel less guilty for needing it. Better meals. A cool, organized house. A clean house. Screen time. The emotional journey from haggard travel to family loss to inspirational kids, all set to the soundtrack from perhaps the most tear-inducing scene Pixar ever made? It's a sentimental super weapon." And in Microsoft's holiday spot Lucy & the Reindeer (YouTube, 66K views), 6-year-old Lucy marches outside and uses her Mom's Surface and Microsoft Translator to question Santa's reindeer ("How do you guys fly? What does Santa do in the summer?") after seeing how Microsoft's Cloud solution enabled her Mom to close a big deal with her Japanese clients without having to understand a word of their language. So, do the Apple and Microsoft holiday ads appeal to your sentimental or cynical side?

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Leonardo DiCaprio Responds to Brazil’s President About Amazon Fires

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

The actor and environmentalist released a statement on Saturday after President Jair Bolsonaro falsely accused him of funding the fires recently set in the Amazon rainforest.

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Ask Slashdot: Is Your Company Using Linux Desktops?

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

SomeoneFromBelgium writes: Yesterday I spoke to a friend of mine who works for a company developing mostly integrated network solutions which are purely Linux-based. He complained that he was unable to convince his IT department to provide him and his fellow developers and testers with a Linux desktop. They stated that "it was more secure when using a VM". We both agreed that the more likely problem is that the IT department is solely geared towards a Windows desktop environment and that they have neither the skills nor the inclination to support any other platform. This got me wondering: is this also your experience? I bet Slashdot's readers have stories to tell, with enlightening experiences in corporate workplaces over the years gone by. So feel free to share your thoughts, opinions, and anecdotes in the comments. And is your company using Linux desktops?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Wealthy Businessman Charged in Murder Case That Rocked Malta

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Stalled for years, the inquiry into the killing of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has stirred suspicions of Maltese officials and calls for the premier to resign.

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The China Cables: Disrupting Beijing's Xinjiang narrative

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Unprecedented leak of Chinese documents reveals the extent of camps in Xinjiang. Plus, the spyware hacking journalists.

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Kenyan flood rescue missions hindered by havoc

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Fears toll of 120 people may rise as rescue workers struggle to reach remote areas due to damaged roads and bridges.

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DR Congo anger grows over deadly unrest

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

All 28 people killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this week buried as many say UN troops have failed to provide protection from armed groups.

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In pictures: November's extreme weather

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

A photo round-up of some of this month's major weather events, including floods in Kenya and fires in Australia and US.

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Wild Silkworms Produce Proteins Primed for Bioprinting

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

A mix of silkworms' proteins acts as a scaffold for 3-D-printed tissues and organs. From a report: Many research groups are testing "ink" made from silk proteins to print human tissues, implants and perhaps even organs. The process is a less costly alternative to conventional 3-D printing with collagen, a key protein in the body's natural scaffolding. Researchers in Assam, a state in India, are investigating using local silkworm species for the task -- they recently submitted a patent for bioinks using a combination of proteins extracted from local species Antheraea assamensis and Samia ricini, as well as the commonly used Bombyx mori. The scientists have woven them into synthetic structures ranging from blood vessels to liver lobes; in a paper published in September in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, they described mimicking the cartilage of an entire ear. Silk is a natural polymer, a substance with long, repeating molecular chains. It is mechanically strong and completely biodegradable, well suited for applications in tissue engineering. To use it, researchers draw liquid silk from the silkworm's glands or dissolve silk fibers in solvents. They carefully mix the gelatinous liquid with a patient's stem cells, then build structures layer by layer with a 3-D printer. After implantation, the cells grow and replace the silken scaffold, which eventually degenerates into amino acids. Extracting and purifying collagen from animal remains, a common medical source, is complex and expensive. "Compared with collagen, silks have an immense advantage in terms of supply and processing. Local sourcing is also a clear plus in their use in India," says David Kaplan, who heads the department of biomedical engineering at Tufts University and is not involved in the new research. Silk from domesticated silkworms has been used widely in bioprinting, but Biman B. Mandal's laboratory at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in Assam is among the first to incorporate wild silks.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Two K-Pop Stars Sentenced to Prison for Rape

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

The two men raped women who were too drunk to resist, and one of them shared videos of the assaults, a court found.

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Warming Waters, Moving Fish: How Climate Change Is Reshaping Iceland

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Ocean temperatures are on the rise and warming waters are causing fish to swim for their lives, causing financial disruption and international conflicts.

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How an Anti-Brexit London District Could Help Boris Johnson Triumph

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

With a big but divided pro-European vote, one of Labour’s most glamorous election targets risks becoming a symbol of opposition campaign failure.

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Spain’s Leftist Outsiders Are on the Verge of Getting Inside

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Pablo Iglesias and his Unidas Podemos party, who are likely to join a governing coalition for the first time, have had a bumpy ride. What lies ahead could be just as rough.

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Macron is in a state of 'brain death', Erdogan says

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Turkish president attacks French counterpart who criticised Ankara's Syria operation and lamented NATO's 'brain death'.

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China criminalises 'fake news' created with AI, bots

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

New rules require videos, audio tracks produced using AI or virtual reality technologies to carry clear warning labels.

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Brazil's Bolsonaro claims DiCaprio paid for Amazon forest fires

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

The far-right leader accuses the Hollywood actor and environmental activist without providing evidence.

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Suriname President Bouterse sentenced to 20 years for killings

By November 30, 2019 No comments:

Desi Bouterse found guilty of killing 15 political opponents in 1982, two years after he seized power in a coup.

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Germany's far-right AfD to pick new leaders as hardliners rise

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

Third biggest bloc in parliament could pick as leader a candidate who recently railed about 'Islamisation of the West'.

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Study Reveals Music's Universal Patterns Across Societies Worldwide

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

From love songs to dance tunes to lullabies, music made in disparate cultures worldwide displays certain universal patterns, according to a study by researchers who suggest a commonality in the way human minds create music. From a report: The study focused on musical recordings and ethnographic records from 60 societies around the world including such diverse cultures as the Highland Scots in Scotland, Nyangatom nomads in Ethiopia, Mentawai rain forest dwellers in Indonesia, the Saramaka descendants of African slaves in Suriname and Aranda hunter-gatherers in Australia. Music was broadly found to be associated with behaviors including infant care, dance, love, healing, weddings, funerals, warfare, processions and religious rituals. The researchers detected strong similarities in musical features across the various cultures, according to Samuel Mehr, a Harvard University research associate in psychology and the lead author of the study published in the journal Science. "The study gives credence to the idea that there is some sort of set of governing rules for how human minds produce music worldwide. And that's something we could not really test until we had a lot of data about music from many different cultures," Mehr said.

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Indian police question suspects in Telangana rape and murder case

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

27-year-old veterinarian was reportedly attacked and her body burned after the motorbike she drove broke down.

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The WTO 20 years after the 'battle of Seattle'

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

More than two decades after its creation, the WTO's promise of prosperity and job creation has not been fulfilled.

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Peru's Keiko Fujimori leaves prison after court order

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

Constitutional Tribunal had ordered release of opposition leader after she was handed an 18-month pre-trial sentence.

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Gas station strike paralyses Lebanon as crisis deepens

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

Motorists block roads to express their anger against closure of gas stations as government scrambles to handle crisis.

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With Suction Cups and Lots of Luck, Scientists Measure Blue Whale's Heart Rate

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

Using a bright orange electrocardiogram machine attached with suction cups to the body of a blue whale, scientists for the first time have measured the heart rate of the world's largest creature and came away with insight about the renowned behemoth's physiology. From a report: The blue whale, which can reach up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and weigh 200 tons, lowers its heart rate to as little as two beats per minute as it lunges under the ocean surface for food, researchers said. The maximum heart rate they recorded was 37 beats per minute after the air-breathing marine mammal returned to the surface from a foraging dive. "The blue whale is the largest animal of all-time and has long fascinated biologists," said Stanford University marine biologist Jeremy Goldbogen, who led the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "In particular, new measures of vital rates and physiological rates help us understand how animals work at the upper extreme of body mass," Goldbogen added. "What is life like and what is the pace of life at such a large scale?" Generally speaking, the larger the animal, the lower the heart rate, minimizing the amount of work the heart does while distributing blood around the body. The normal human resting heart rate ranges from about 60 to 100 beats per minute and tops out at about 200 during athletic exertion. The smallest mammals, shrews, have heart rates upwards of a thousand beats per minute.

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3 Young People Stabbed on Busy Hague Street, Setting Off Alarm in Dutch City

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

The police were still searching for a suspect and a motive. The attack came just hours after a burst of violence in London.

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N Korea warns Japan's Abe may soon see 'real ballistic missile'

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

Pyongyang lashes out at Japanese leader stepping up rhetoric against close US ally in the region as nuclear talks stall.

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Shmoo Cake, Persians and Spudnuts: Touring Canada’s Regional Cuisine

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

In appreciation of the delicacies that provoke local pride and debate.

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Yemen's Houthi rebels say they shot down Saudi Apache helicopter

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

Rebel spokesman says Houthis used surface-to-air missile to down Saudi helicopter near border, killing its two pilots.

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Studio B, Unscripted: With Priyamvada Gopal and George the Poet

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

The professor and the poet discuss slavery, colonialism, and the future of diaspora communities.

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Fear, evacuations and introspection in Albania after deadly quake

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

Death toll nears 50, with one man watching his wife, mother and children pulled from rubble.

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UK, NZ send medics to Samoa as measles outbreak kills 42

By November 29, 2019 No comments:

The health ministry says 3,149 cases of measles have been reported in the outbreak, with 213 in the last 24 hours.

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Hong Kong Police End 2-Week Campus Siege

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

The police found no protesters during a final search of Polytechnic University, the site of some of the most violent clashes the city has seen this year.

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East Africa struggles with heavy rains as thousands displaced

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Flood-hit Djibouti, Kenya struggle to cope after major downpours affect hundreds of thousands across the Horn of Africa.

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Eight detained in Gabon anti-graft crackdown

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Reports say more than US$142m have 'evaporated' over the past two years from the Gabon Oil Company due to corruption.

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Espionage and Interference? Australia Grapples With Its China Relationship

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

This talk of Australia this week was China, after revelations that a businessman said Chinese agents sought to implant him in Parliament and other espionage allegations raised questions about foreign interference.

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Japan's ex-Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone dead at 101

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Tokyo native and former Imperial Navy lieutenant served as Japan's leader from 1982 to 1987.

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Pole jailed in Indonesia's West Papua faces 'declining health'

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

European diplomats step up pressure as they call on Jakarta to move Jakub Skrzypski to another facility pending appeal.

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Some Uber Drivers Use Bogus Identities and Shared Accounts

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

An anonymous reader shares a report: Uber faced a blow on Monday when London regulators refused to renew the ride-hailing company's operating permit because of safety concerns. The biggest issue lawmakers cited was drivers using false identities as they ferried unsuspecting passengers. At least 14,000 trips were made by unauthorized drivers, according to city regulator Transport for London. The way it worked is this: A number of drivers would share one account, and whenever one of them went out to drive, they'd upload their own photo to fool passengers. The unauthorized drivers were able to pose as vetted, licensed and insured, when often they weren't. Turns out, the issue of fraudulent Uber drivers isn't isolated to London. Instances of unauthorized drivers, including convicted felons, being on the Uber app have surfaced in other cities, including San Francisco, Houston and Boston. Sometimes drivers reportedly used another person's license and Social Security number to sign up for the ride-hailing service. Other times they used fake names. And on some occasions they bought bogus identities on the internet. "For bad actors, it's not hard to circumvent Uber's signup process since it's designed to get drivers onboarded as quickly as possible and with as little hassle as possible," said Harry Campbell, a ride-hail driver who runs the popular Rideshare Guy blog. "From time to time, Uber uses a 'selfie check' to verify the driver, but it's not clear how accurate this method is."

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Suddenly, the Chinese Threat to Australia Seems Very Real

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

After a businessman said Chinese agents sought to implant him in Parliament, that revelation and other espionage cases have finally signaled the end of a “let’s get rich together” era.

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Chinese Online Streaming Service iQiyi Says AI Has Enhanced Efficiency Throughout Its Business

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Wang Xuepu, vice president of Chinese online video streaming company iQiyi, says that artificial intelligence has enhanced the company's efficiency in all aspects of the business. From a report: "Now we can cut thousands of hours of work to just hours," Wang said in Mandarin at CNBC's East Tech West conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China. He said that the company is using AI across its business like adding subtitles or integrating multimedia more quickly. Wang added AI has increased efficiency in the company's operations in many ways, including content creation, approval processes and market distribution. "iQiyi embodies the culture of Silicon Valley and culture of Hollywood. We really put an emphasis on technology development. More than half of our employees work in the technical side. We have invested in AI significantly. More than 60% of our patent submissions this year were related AI," said Wang. Wang said, for example, iQiyi has been able to predict the popularity of films and TV shows before taking them online by using big data. "We can use AI to help forecast film and TV series' viewer numbers before they are aired. With the data, we can predict the traffic and for TV series and that accuracy rate is 88%, with films we can reach near 90% accuracy," he said, according to a CNBC translation.

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'Frustratingly slow' vote count in Namibia after extended polling

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

President Geingob faces strong challenge from fellow ruling party member running as an independent, Panduleni Itula.

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7 Killed in Plane Crash in Ontario

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

The authorities in Canada said they were still investigating what caused the plane to crash on Wednesday.

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Kim expresses 'great satisfaction' over North Korea rocket test

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

North Korea leader oversaw the launching of the projectiles that were fired eastwards and came down in the Sea of Japan.

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Transcript: Has Trump impeachment probe divided the US further?

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Read the full transcript of our discussion about the Trump impeachment inquiry and what it means for a polarised nation.

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Maltese Businessman Accuses Top Government Officials in Murder of Journalist

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Yorgen Fenech, who was arrested in connection with the killing, promised to supply information related to several people “close to the prime minister” if pardoned.

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NATO Offers Trump a Budget Bonbon as Summit Nears

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

The United States and Germany will now pay the same amount into the military alliance’s relatively small central funding pot, its secretary general said.

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Sudan approves new law 'dismantling' Omar al-Bashir's regime

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok says new law is not an act of revenge, but rather aimed at preserving people's dignity.

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Is Venezuela really a threat to Latin America and the Caribbean?

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

The accusation that Caracas is a 'threat' to the region is a political talking point rather than a demonstrable reality.

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Palestine is a climate justice issue

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

The fight for climate justice for all is directly connected to the Palestinian struggle.

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Cambodia's Casino Gamble

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

101 East investigates the growing criminal underbelly of a new Chinese casino empire in Cambodia.

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Apple, Bowing to Pressure, Recognizes Russian Annexation of Crimea on Map

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

The tech giant, following Google and others, has bowed to Russian demands that its apps not show Crimea as belonging to Ukraine on digital maps seen in Russia.

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Deadly attack on Ebola centre as violence surges in DR Congo

By November 28, 2019 No comments:

Mai-Mai rebels kill three people in latest attack, as more than 80 killed in eastern DRC in recent weeks.

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Gordon Sondland: US ambassador to EU accused of sexual misconduct

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Envoy key in Trump impeachment inquiry denies allegations after three women accuse him of sexual misconduct.

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Dubai Is Adding Tesla Cybertrucks To Its Police Car Fleet

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

The Dubai Police department is officially planning on adding Tesla Cybertrucks to its fleet next year. Futurism reports: The official account of the Dubai Police department tweeted an image of a Cybertruck with its logos on it with the caption "2020" on Tuesday. Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri told Arabian Business that the new cars will help enhance security presence in tourist destinations. The Dubai Police department already has a pretty astonishing fleet of luxury sportscars, including some of the fastest cars in the world, from the Bugatti Veyron to the Lamborghini Aventador. [...] As for how the Dubai Police is expecting to get their hands on Cybertrucks next year when production is expected to start in late 2021 is still unclear.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Uighur activists say China running hundreds more camps

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

A group said it assessed images from Google Earth and found 182 suspected 'concentration camps'.

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TikTok apologises for removing viral Uighur 'makeup tutorial'

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Chinese-owned app TikTok admits it briefly removed video that condemned China's crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang.

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Hong Kong police enter Polytechnic University as siege ends

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Some 100 personnel, including hazmat teams and explosive disposal experts, fanned out across the vast campus.

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South Korea's top court orders second retrial for ex-leader Park

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Supreme Court says charges dropped on appeal 'misunderstood the legal principles' adding Park 'should be found guilty'.

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Myanmar sets up special legal unit as Rohingya cases loom

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

The unit will provide advice on international criminal justice as government prepares to defend itself at The Hague.

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Cambodiaâ€™s Hun Sen tells Trump he welcomes better relations

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Cambodia's leader says he is 'reassured' by US president's efforts for 'genuine engagement' in sign of warming ties.

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'Enough is enough': Protests continue into 7th day in Colombia

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Anti-government demonstrations continue as protesters commemorate the death of a teenager killed by a police projectile

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Still Rising, UN Report Says

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Greenhouse gas emissions have risen steadily for the past decade despite the current and future threat posed by climate change, according to a new United Nations report. The annual report compares how clean the world's economies are to how clean they need to be to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change -- a disparity known as the "emissions gap." However, this year's report describes more of a chasm than a gap. Global emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases have continued to steadily increase over the past decade. In 2018, the report notes that global fossil fuel CO2 emissions from electricity generation and industry grew by 2%. "There is no sign of [greenhouse gas] emissions peaking in the next few years," the authors write. Every year that emissions continue to increase "means that deeper and faster cuts will be required" to keep Earth from warming more than 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. [...] The United States is currently not on track to meet its greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement, which the United States ratified and is technically still part of until its withdrawal takes effect in November 2020. According to the new report, six other major economies are also lagging behind their commitments, including Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, the Republic of Korea and South Africa. What's interesting is that China's per capita emissions are now "in the same range" as the European Union, thanks to the country's large investments in renewable energy such as solar and wind. Some of the recommendations for how the world's top economies could cut emissions include: banning new coal-fired power plants, requiring all new vehicles to be CO2-free by 2030, expanding mass transit and/or requiring all new buildings to be entirely electric.

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TikTok Reverses Ban on Teen Who Slammed China’s Muslim Crackdown

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

The video app said it would review its policies after a 17-year-old in New Jersey who discussed Chinese detention camps was locked out of her account.

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AT&T and Verizon Agree To Change Their eSIM Practices

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

In early 2018, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into whether AT&T, Verizon and the GSM Association (GSMA) worked together to limit eSIM technology. Today, The New York Times reports that the DOJ is closing the investigation and has found no evidence of wrongdoing. From a report: The DOJ was initially concerned that AT&T and Verizon attempted to lock devices on their networks even if the device had an eSIM. But the parties have agreed to change how they determine standards for eSIM, which will allow consumers to use eSIM to switch carriers, rather than having to insert a new SIM card. And as a result, the DOJ is dropping the investigation.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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No excuse for silence on China's camps for Uighurs: exiled leader

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Dolkun Isa, president of World Uighur Congress, urges countries in Europe to review its trade deals with Beijing.

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Valve's Steam Controller Is Dead

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Valve has confirmed to The Verge that it will stop making its Steam Controller. Currently, the gamepads are on sale for just $5 -- 90 percent off its original price -- but once these controllers are gone, Valve doesn't plan to make any more. From the report: [W]hile I can't recommend it wholeheartedly like I did when Valve discontinued its amazing Steam Link wireless HDMI cable-in-a-box, I will say that $13 is a pretty excellent price if you ever plug your PC into your television, or sling your PC games wirelessly to the Steam Link app on your phone and need an accurate solution. That's because the controller, originally introduced in 2013 as part of Valve's failed Steam Machines initiative, is one of the most fully customizable gamepads ever made, and perhaps the only one to offer mouse-like pinpoint precision. That's because it uses a pair of trackpads, complete with tiny solenoid actuators for haptic feedback, so you can emulate a mouse or trackball. Plus, there are paddles around back for crouching, jumping, strafing, you name it without needing to take your thumbs off those trackpads. But that's just the beginning. Thanks to Valve's robust configuration software, the Steam Controller has developed something of a cult following with thousands of gamers uploading their custom configurations for their entire game libraries on Steam. It's not uncommon to fire up a game and find dozens of fancy profiles that place the game's functions at your fingertips plus add entirely new control modes. One common modifier is to hold down a button to switch the entire gamepad into a gyroscopic aiming mode, not only readying your character's weapon, but slowing down your aiming sensitivity while allowing you to physically shift the controller a small amount to line up a shot using its built-in gyroscope. [...] I doubt I'm actually going to convince you to buy a Steam Controller if you've never been sold on the idea before. (Plus, paying $8 for shipping seems a bit much.) But I'm keeping mine around as a piece of gaming history, and I'm a little tempted to buy a second just in case I ever lose its USB dongle.

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Trump approves legislation backing Hong Kong protesters

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Trump says signed bills that threaten sanctions for rights abuses and ban munition exports out of 'respect' for China.

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Cable Execs Now Falsely Claiming Cord Cutting Is Slowing Down

By November 27, 2019 No comments:

Cable executives like Charter CEO Tom Rutledge are insisting that cord cutting is slowing down. "I think in aggregate they're going to slow down," said Rutledge. "Because I think most single-family homes have big TVs in them and that's where you get sports, that's where you get news, that's where you get live TV like this. It's still going to be under price pressure. I'm not saying the category isn't under pressure. But I think the rate of decline will slow." Techdirt reports that "there's no actual evidence to support that conclusion," and that cord cutting "has only been accelerating and breaking records throughout 2019." From the report: [W]ith a number of high profile streaming alternatives like Disney+ and Apple TV+ having launched this month, there's absolutely no indication that trend is going to change. That's something being made clear at research firms like UBS, which is actually predicting that things will be getting slightly better for AT&T, and marginally worse for cable giants like Charter: "UBS predicted that the U.S. pay TV industry will lose another 6.2 million video subscribers in 2020, down slightly from the 6.4 million the analyst firm predicts will be lost in total this year. If that loss comes to bear it will represent a 6.7% rate of decline, ahead of 6.2% in 2019 and well ahead of 1.2% in 2018 when video subscriber losses totaled 1.2 million. 'We now expect industry losses to remain in the 6-7% per year range for the medium term, suggesting worsening trends in domestic core affiliate into next year,' wrote UBS analyst John Hodulik in a research report. He said that improvement at AT&T will likely be offset by worsening trends for cable providers and other MVPDs." The irony here is that Rutledge's prediction would actually be true if cable giants were willing to compete on price and customer service. But they're not, so the losses are likely to continue, especially with new services like Disney+ jumping into the fray at a measly $6 a month.

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