IBM Pushes Beyond 7 Nanometers, Uses Graphene To Place Nanomaterials on Wafers Slashdotby msmash on ibm at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 8, 2018, 11:34 pm)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Four years ago, IBM announced that it was investing $3 billion over the next five years into the future of nanoelectronics with a broad project it dubbed "7nm and Beyond." With at least one major chipmaker, GlobalFoundries, hitting the wall at the 7-nm node, IBM is forging ahead, using graphene to deposit nanomaterials in predefined locations without chemical contamination. In research described in the journal Nature Communications, the IBM researchers for the first time electrified graphene so that it helps to deposit nanomaterials with 97% accuracy. "As this method works for a wide variety of nanomaterials, we envision integrated devices with functionalities that represent the unique physical properties of the nanomaterial," said Mathias Steiner, manager at IBM Research-Brazil. "We also can envision on-chip light detectors and emitters operating within a distinct wavelength range determined by the optical properties of the nanomaterial." As an example, Steiner explained that if you wanted to modify the spectral performance of an optoelectronic device, you could simply replace the nanomaterial while keeping the manufacturing process flow the same. If you take the method one step further, you could assemble different nanomaterials in different places doing multiple passes of assembly to create on-chip light detectors operating in different detection windows at the same time.

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Climate change: How 1.5 degrees could change the world BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition(cached at October 8, 2018, 11:30 pm)

Why it's vital we take steps to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees
Climate change: What would you be prepared to do? BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition(cached at October 8, 2018, 11:30 pm)

Here's five things we can do to help prevent global temperatures rising more than 1.5 degrees C.
Cambridge Analytica chief called Barbados leader N-word: Report AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 8, 2018, 11:30 pm)

Emails obtained by The Guardian show Alexander Nix referring to Barbados PM and information minister as 'n*****s'.
Hubble Telescope Hit By Mechanical Failure Slashdotby msmash on space at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 8, 2018, 11:04 pm)

The Hubble Space Telescope is operating with only essential functions after it lost one of the gyroscopes needed to point the spacecraft. From a report: The observatory, described as one of the most important scientific instruments ever created, was placed in "safe mode" over the weekend, while scientists try to fix the problem. Hubble had been operating with four of its six gyroscopes when one of them failed on Friday. The telescope was launched in 1990. After the gyro failure at the weekend, controllers tried to switch on a different one, but that was found to be malfunctioning. That leaves Hubble with only two fully functional gyros. At any given time, Hubble needs three of its gyroscopes to work for optimal efficiency.

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London's Radio Pirates Changed Music. Then Came the Internet. Slashdotby msmash on music at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 8, 2018, 10:34 pm)

Earlier this month, The New York Times ran a story which looks at the ways a network of illegal radio stations changed British music, and wonders where young people are going to make culture now, now that the internet is killing off the pirate radio. An excerpt from the story: Ofcom, the British communications regulator, estimated there are now just 50 pirate stations in London, down from about 100 a decade ago, and hundreds in the 1990s, when stations were constantly starting up and shutting down. Ofcom considers this good news, because illegal broadcasters could interfere with radio frequencies used by emergency services and air traffic control, a spokesman said. But pirate radio stations also offered public services, of a different sort: They gave immigrant communities programming in their native languages, ran charity drives and created the first radio specifically for black Britons. Pirate radio was also the site of some of Britain's most important musical innovations, introducing pop to the airwaves in the 1960s and incubating the major underground British music trends of recent decades, up to and including dubstep and grime: Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Skepta all launched their careers on the pirates.

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Are ethnic divisions deepening once again in the Balkans? AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 8, 2018, 10:30 pm)

Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina elect president who campaigned to break away.
Pakistan to seek IMF bailout to overcome financial crisis AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 8, 2018, 10:30 pm)

PM Imran Khan gives go-ahead to approach the International Monetary Fund as country battles a balance-of-payment crisis.
Previously Hidden Text on a 500-Year-Old Map Reveals New Clues About the Cartographe Slashdotby msmash on technology at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 8, 2018, 10:04 pm)

Greg Miller, writing for National Geographic: This 1491 map is the best surviving map of the world as Christopher Columbus knew it as he made his first voyage across the Atlantic. In fact, Columbus likely used a copy of it in planning his journey. The map, created by the German cartographer Henricus Martellus, was originally covered with dozens of legends and bits of descriptive text, all in Latin. Most of it has faded over the centuries. But now researchers have used modern technology to uncover much of this previously illegible text. In the process, they've discovered new clues about the sources Martellus used to make his map and confirmed the huge influence it had on later maps, including a famous 1507 map by Martin Waldseemuller that was the first to use the name "America."

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[no title] Scripting News(cached at October 8, 2018, 10:03 pm)

Google+ was unmotivated by any need for what it did. No one loved it. It was born only to slow Facebook growth. It’s like having a kid so it can beat up your neighbor’s kid. Products, to be any good, must be motivated, have a creative purpose.
Can Iraq's new prime minister solve its old problems? AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 8, 2018, 9:30 pm)

Adel Abdul Mahdi will have a better chance of forging the political consensus that has eluded his predecessors.
Chinese Police Get Power To Inspect ISPs Slashdotby msmash on china at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 8, 2018, 9:04 pm)

China has issued a new regulation setting out wide-ranging police powers to inspect internet service providers and users, as the government tightens its grip on the country's heavily restricted cyberspace. Local media reports: Under the new rule, effective from November 1, central and local public security authorities can enter the premises of all companies and entities that provide internet services and look up and copy information considered relevant to cybersecurity. The regulation was issued by the Ministry of Public Security last month and released on its website on Sunday. It comes more than a year after a controversial cybersecurity law was introduced that has caused widespread concern among foreign companies operating in China. Despite its broad scope, the legislation gives few details about implementation, making it all the more difficult for companies trying to avoid its repercussions. Analysts said the new regulation sheds some light on how the law will be implemented. "That's obviously how Chinese laws go. First there is a big concept, then there is a sweeping law, and then implementing regulations will come in to flesh out the details," said William Nee, a China expert with Amnesty International.

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China demands US stop 'misguided actions' amid frosty ties AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 8, 2018, 9:00 pm)

Chinese foreign minister appeals to Pompeo to repair relations damaged by US tariff hikes and support for Taiwan.
Cameroon opposition candidate Maurice Kamto claims election win AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 8, 2018, 9:00 pm)

Opposition candidate Maurice Kamto claims he has received a clear mandate from the people and intends to defend it.
Network Middleware Still Can't Handle TLS Without Breaking Encryption Slashdotby msmash on network at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 8, 2018, 8:34 pm)

An academic study published last month shows that despite years worth of research into the woeful state of network traffic inspection equipment, vendors are still having issues in shipping appliances that don't irrevocably break TLS encryption for the end user. From a report: Encrypted traffic inspection devices (also known as middleware), either special hardware or sophisticated software, have been used in enterprise networks for more than two decades. System administrators deploy such appliances to create a man-in-the-middle TLS proxy that can look inside HTTPS encrypted traffic, to scan for malware or phishing links or to comply with law enforcement or national security requirements. [...] In the last decade, security researchers have looked closely at the issue of TLS inspection appliances that break or downgrade encryption. There has been much research on the topic, from research teams from all over the world. But despite years worth of warnings and research, some vendors still fail at keeping the proper security level of a TLS connection when relaying traffic through their equipment/software. Academic research [PDF] published at the end of September by three researchers from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, shows that network traffic inspection appliances still break TLS security, even today.

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