MongoDB is taking action against cloud giants who are taking its open-source code and offering a hosted commercial version of its database to their users without playing by the open-source rules. The company announced today that it has issued a new software license, the Server Side Public License (SSPL), "that will apply to all new releases of its MongoDB Community Server, as well as all patch fixes for prior versions," reports TechCrunch. From the report: For virtually all regular users who are currently using the community server, nothing changes because the changes to the license don't apply to them. Instead, this is about what MongoDB sees as the misuse of the AGPLv3 license. "MongoDB was previously licensed under the GNU AGPLv3, which meant companies who wanted to run MongoDB as a publicly available service had to open source their software or obtain a commercial license from MongoDB," the company explains. "However, MongoDB's popularity has led some organizations to test the boundaries of the GNU AGPLv3." So while the SSPL isn't all that different from the GNU GPLv3, with all the usual freedoms to use, modify and redistribute the code (and virtually the same language), the SSPL explicitly states that anybody who wants to offer MongoDB as a service -- or really any other software that uses this license -- needs to either get a commercial license or open source the service to give back the community. "The market is increasingly consuming software as a service, creating an incredible opportunity to foster a new wave of great open source server-side software. Unfortunately, once an open source project becomes interesting, it is too easy for cloud vendors who have not developed the software to capture all of the value but contribute nothing back to the community," said Eliot Horowitz, the CTO and co-founder of MongoDB, in a statement. "We have greatly contributed to -- and benefited from -- open source and we are in a unique position to lead on an issue impacting many organizations. We hope this will help inspire more projects and protect open source innovation."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Army spokesman said more than 1,200 explosives devices, 1,900 vehicles were destroyed as part of operation 'Sinai 2018'.

Friday's air strike in Mudug province is the deadliest US attack since a November 2017 attack, which killed about 100.

Treasury says measures target businesses financing Iran's Basij Resistance Force, which allegedly uses child soldiers.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Recode: Facebook announced Portal last week, its take on the in-home, voice-activated speaker to rival competitors from Amazon, Google and Apple. Last Monday, we wrote: "No data collected through Portal -- even call log data or app usage data, like the fact that you listened to Spotify -- will be used to target users with ads on Facebook." We wrote that because that's what we were told by Facebook executives. But Facebook has since reached out to change its answer: Portal doesn't have ads, but data about who you call and data about which apps you use on Portal can be used to target you with ads on other Facebook-owned properties. "Portal voice calling is built on the Messenger infrastructure, so when you make a video call on Portal, we collect the same types of information (i.e. usage data such as length of calls, frequency of calls) that we collect on other Messenger-enabled devices. We may use this information to inform the ads we show you across our platforms. Other general usage data, such as aggregate usage of apps, etc., may also feed into the information that we use to serve ads," a spokesperson said in an email to Recode. That isn't very surprising, considering Facebook's business model. The biggest benefit of Facebook owning a device in your home is that it provides the company with another data stream for its ad-targeting business.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Turkish officials now say they have evidence Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The New York attorney general subpoenaed more than a dozen telecommunications trade groups, lobbying contractors and Washington advocacy organizations on Tuesday, seeking to determine whether the groups sought to sway a critical federal decision on internet regulation last year by submitting millions of fraudulent public comments, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. From a report: Some of the groups played a highly public role in last year's battle, when the Republican-appointed majority on the Federal Communications Commission voted to revoke a regulation issued under President Barack Obama that classified internet service providers as public utilities. The telecommunications industry bitterly opposed the rules -- which imposed what supporters call "net neutrality" on internet providers -- and enthusiastically backed their repeal under President Trump. The attorney general, Barbara D. Underwood, last year began investigating the source of more than 22 million public comments submitted to the F.C.C. during the battle. Millions of comments were provided using temporary or duplicate email addresses, others recycled identical phrases, and seven popular comments, repeated verbatim, accounted for millions more.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

President Donald Trump goes on the attack after the Cherokee nation dismisses Elizabeth Warren's claim.

Ships are the lifeblood of global trade, but their fuel is highly polluting. What's the answer?

Revolutionary Guards officers among those kidnapped in attack claimed by al-Qaeda-linked group on southeastern border.

The Netherlands, from whence the UK imports many of its vegetables, prepares for the worst-case scenario of a potential failure to reach a Brexit deal.

An anonymous reader shares a report: "Helsinki VTS, thank you for permission to depart," the captain says over the radio. He checks with the Vessel Traffic Service to see if there's anything to be looking out for. Just one other big ship, but also lots of small boats, enjoying the calm water, which could be hazards. Not a problem for this captain -- he has a giant screen on the bridge, which overlays the environment around his vessel with an augmented reality view. He can navigate the Baltic Discoverer confidently out of Finland's Helsinki Port using the computer-enhanced vision of the world, with artificial intelligence spotting and labeling every other water user, the shore, and navigation markers. This not-too-far-in-the-future vision comes from Rolls-Royce. (One iteration of it, anyway: The Rolls-Royce car company, the jet engine maker, and this marine-focused enterprise all have different corporate owners.) The view provided to the crew of the (fictional) Baltic Discoverer is an example of the company's Intelligent Awareness system, which mashes together data from sensors all over a vessel, to give its humans a better view of the world. But that's just the early part of the plan. Using cameras, lidar, and radar, Rolls wants to make completely autonomous ships. And it's already running trials around the world. "Tugs, ferries, and short-sea transport, these are all classes of vessels that we believe would be suitable for completely autonomous operations, monitored by a land based crew, who get to go home every night," says Kevin Daffey, Rolls-Royce's director of marine engineering and technology. Suitable, because they all currently rely on humans who demand to be paid -- and can make costly mistakes. Over the past decade, there have been more than 1,000 total losses of large ships, and at least 70 percent of those resulted from human error. [...] Moreover, the economic case for automating shipping is clear: About 100,000 large vessels are currently sailing the world's oceans, and the amount of cargo they carry is projected to grow around 4 percent a year, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Beyond preventing accidents, human-free ships could be 15 percent more efficient to run, because they don't need energy-gobbling life support systems, doing things like heating, cooking, and lugging drinking water along for the ride.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I scattered $25 contributions all around the country for Senate races, so of course now I'm getting calls and spam from Dems wanting more.

If they're willing to call me, with a real human being (it seems) why not send an email written by a human being, asking if I have anything I want to contribute that might not be money?

Someday political parties will do more than advertise, they will gather the best ideas from the people and implement them. A different kind of transparency.

Right now I'd tell the Dems to talk about oversight.

Restoring power to Congress.

And that means voting out the Repubs.

I'd like to hear some promises from Dems that they plan to provide the missing oversight.

I just gave $25 to Joe Donnelly who's running for Senate in Indiana.

Facebook is developing hardware for the TV, news outlet Cheddar reported Tuesday. From the report: The world's largest social network is building a camera-equipped device that sits atop a TV and allows video calling along with entertainment services like Facebook's YouTube competitor, according to people familiar with the matter. The project, internally codenamed "Ripley," uses the same core technology as Facebook's recently announced Portal video chat device for the home. Portal begins shipping next month and uses A.I. to automatically detect and follow people as they move throughout the frame during a video call. Facebook currently plans to announce project Ripley in the spring of 2019, according to a person with direct knowledge of the project. But the device is still in development and the date could be changed.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.