16 Years of GPS Space Weather Data Made Publicly Available Slashdotby EditorDavid on earth at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 11:04 pm)

"It's not often that a scientific discipline gains a 23-satellite constellation overnight," reports Science magazine, describing 16 years worth of radiation measurements from GPS satellites finally released by Los Alamos National Lab. "Although billions of people globally use data from GPS satellites, they remain U.S. military assets." Scientists have long sought the data generated by sensors used to monitor the status of the satellites, which operate in the heavy radiation of medium-Earth orbit and can be vulnerable to solar storms. But few have been allowed to tap this resource... That attitude changed in October 2016, when the outgoing Obama administration issued an executive order aimed at preparing the country for extreme space weather. Such bursts in charged particles, originating in a solar flare or coronal mass ejection, could disable the electrical power grid or divert flights away from the Arctic, where radiation exposure is heightened. The GPS data, which dates from December 2000, fill a hole in studies of space weather, the complex interplay of Earth's magnetic field with bombarding radiation from cosmic rays and the sun.

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Kaspersky Lab Promises New Backup Tool To Help Unhappy Social Media Users Quit Slashdotby EditorDavid on social at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 10:04 pm)

Kaspersky Lab surveyed 16,750 people and concluded that often negative experiences on social experience overpower their positive effects -- and they're doing something about it. JustAnotherOldGuy pointed us to their latest announcement. 59% have felt unhappy when they have seen friends' posts from a party they were not invited to, and 45% revealed that their friends' happy holiday pictures have had a negative influence on them. Furthermore, 37% also admitted that looking at past happy posts of their own can leave them with the feeling that their own past was better than their present life. Previous research has also demonstrated peoples' frustration with social media as 78% admitted that they have considered leaving social networks altogether. The only thing that makes people stay on social media is the fear of losing their digital memories, such as photos, and contacts with their friends. To help people decide more freely if they want to stay in social media or leave without losing their digital memories, Kaspersky Lab is developing a new app -- FFForget will allow people to back up all of their memories from the social networks they use and keep them in a safe, encrypted memory container and will give people the freedom to leave any network whenever they want, without losing what belongs to them -- their digital lives. The FFForget app will be released in 2017, but there's already a web page where you can sign up for early access. Kaspersky plans to monetize this by creating both a free version of the app -- limited to one social network -- and a $1.99-per-month version which automatically backs up social content from Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Instagram in real-time with a fancier interface and more powerful encryption.

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Tree-Simple-View-0.180001 search.cpan.orgby Mario Zieschang at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 10:03 pm)

A set of classes for viewing Tree::Simple hierarchies
Tree-Simple-View-0.18 search.cpan.orgby Mario Zieschang at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 10:03 pm)

A set of classes for viewing Tree::Simple hierarchies
Test-Map-Tube-0.22 search.cpan.orgby Mohammad S Anwar at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 10:03 pm)

Interface to test Map::Tube features.
The Gambia hoping to revive key tourism industry AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 4, 2017, 10:00 pm)

After a weeks-long political crisis, tourism officials are keen to lure foreign visitors back to the W African country.
The Gambia hoping to revive key tourism industry AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 4, 2017, 10:00 pm)

After a weeks-long political crisis, tourism officials are keen to lure foreign visitors back to the W African country.
What is Donald Trump's foreign policy? AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 4, 2017, 9:30 pm)

The US president stands accused of alienating friends and enemies alike.
What is Donald Trump's foreign policy? AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 4, 2017, 9:30 pm)

The US president stands accused of alienating friends and enemies alike.
Peter Thiel Thinks There's Not Enough Sex In Silicon Valley Slashdotby EditorDavid on stats at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 9:04 pm)

Peter Thiel recently complained parts of Silicon Valley are "hyper-politically correct" about sexual activity, and shared a friend's theory that conservative parts of America tolerate Silicon Valley "because people there just don't have that much sex. They're not having that much fun." Long-time Slashdot reader SonicSpike quotes Business Insider's investigation into Thiel's claim. Silicon Valley has the highest ratio of single men to single women... (However, it's worth noting that the San Francisco metropolitan area also has the highest ratio of people who identify as LGBT in the U.S.) In fact, Dr. Sandra Lindholm, a sex therapist and clinical psychologist in the Bay Area, recently told Forbes that she's now seeing an uptick in young, male clients who complain about a variety of sexual challenges and issues. "They're coming to sex therapy because they don't feel they have time or energy for sex," Lindhold said. Some of the common issues include low sexual desire, difficulty meeting women, and performance issues. Plus, she points out people in tech generally have a reputation for being introverted. Another particular issue that frequently comes up is what she calls "tech overload": people spend so much time on their gadgets that they "forget about being in the moment." Although there's no official data on Silicon Valley's sex frequency, a 2012 survey by condom maker Trojan revealed that Bay Area residents had the least amount of sex and the shortest time in bed, in a sample of 10 major US cities including New York, Chicago, Miami, and so on.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Peter Thiel Thinks There's Not Enough Sex In Silicon Valley Slashdotby EditorDavid on stats at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 9:04 pm)

Peter Thiel recently complained parts of Silicon Valley are "hyper-politically correct" about sexual activity, and shared a friend's theory that conservative parts of America tolerate Silicon Valley "because people there just don't have that much sex. They're not having that much fun." Long-time Slashdot reader SonicSpike quotes Business Insider's investigation into Thiel's claim. Silicon Valley has the highest ratio of single men to single women... (However, it's worth noting that the San Francisco metropolitan area also has the highest ratio of people who identify as LGBT in the U.S.) In fact, Dr. Sandra Lindholm, a sex therapist and clinical psychologist in the Bay Area, recently told Forbes that she's now seeing an uptick in young, male clients who complain about a variety of sexual challenges and issues. "They're coming to sex therapy because they don't feel they have time or energy for sex," Lindhold said. Some of the common issues include low sexual desire, difficulty meeting women, and performance issues. Plus, she points out people in tech generally have a reputation for being introverted. Another particular issue that frequently comes up is what she calls "tech overload": people spend so much time on their gadgets that they "forget about being in the moment." Although there's no official data on Silicon Valley's sex frequency, a 2012 survey by condom maker Trojan revealed that Bay Area residents had the least amount of sex and the shortest time in bed, in a sample of 10 major US cities including New York, Chicago, Miami, and so on.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Libya halts hundreds of Europe-bound refugees AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 4, 2017, 9:00 pm)

More than 400 people, including many women and children, intercepted by Libya's coastguard attempting to reach Europe.
Libya halts hundreds of Europe-bound refugees AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 4, 2017, 9:00 pm)

More than 400 people, including many women and children, intercepted by Libya's coastguard attempting to reach Europe.
A Hacker Just Pwned Over 150,000 Printers Exposed Online Slashdotby EditorDavid on printer at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 8:04 pm)

Last year an attacker forced thousands of unsecured printers to spew racist and anti-semitic messages. But this year's attack is even bigger. An anonymous reader writes: A grey-hat hacker going by the name of Stackoverflowin has pwned over 150,000 printers that have been left accessible online. For the past 24 hours, Stackoverflowin has been running an automated script that searches for open printer ports and sends a rogue print job to the target's device. The script targets IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) ports, LPD (Line Printer Daemon) ports, and port 9100 left open to external connections. From high-end multi-functional printers at corporate headquarters to lowly receipt printers in small town restaurants, all have been affected. The list includes brands such as Afico, Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Lexmark, Konica Minolta, Oki, and Samsung. The printed out message included recommendations for printer owners to secure their device. The hacker said that people who reached out were very nice and thanked him. The printers apparently spew out an ASCII drawing of a robot, along with the words "stackoverflowin the hacker god has returned. your printer is part of a flaming botnet... For the love of God, please close this port." The messages sometimes also include a link to a Twitter feed named LMAOstack.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A Hacker Just Pwned Over 150,000 Printers Exposed Online Slashdotby EditorDavid on printer at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 4, 2017, 8:04 pm)

Last year an attacker forced thousands of unsecured printers to spew racist and anti-semitic messages. But this year's attack is even bigger. An anonymous reader writes: A grey-hat hacker going by the name of Stackoverflowin has pwned over 150,000 printers that have been left accessible online. For the past 24 hours, Stackoverflowin has been running an automated script that searches for open printer ports and sends a rogue print job to the target's device. The script targets IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) ports, LPD (Line Printer Daemon) ports, and port 9100 left open to external connections. From high-end multi-functional printers at corporate headquarters to lowly receipt printers in small town restaurants, all have been affected. The list includes brands such as Afico, Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Lexmark, Konica Minolta, Oki, and Samsung. The printed out message included recommendations for printer owners to secure their device. The hacker said that people who reached out were very nice and thanked him. The printers apparently spew out an ASCII drawing of a robot, along with the words "stackoverflowin the hacker god has returned. your printer is part of a flaming botnet... For the love of God, please close this port." The messages sometimes also include a link to a Twitter feed named LMAOstack.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.