Tissue Engineering: 3D-Drucker produziert Haut

Heilung für Patienten mit großflächigen Verletzungen und günstiges Material für Kosmetik- und andere Tests: Spanische Forscher haben ein 3D-Druckverfahren entwickelt, um menschliche Haut künstlich herzustellen. (Bioprinting, 3D-Drucker)

Heilung für Patienten mit großflächigen Verletzungen und günstiges Material für Kosmetik- und andere Tests: Spanische Forscher haben ein 3D-Druckverfahren entwickelt, um menschliche Haut künstlich herzustellen. (Bioprinting, 3D-Drucker)

No urban legend: Our rooftops are collecting stardust

Guitarist helps show a longstanding belief among amateur astronomers is correct.

Enlarge / A microscope image of some micrometeorites. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

To some extent, scientists are professional downers, the people whose job it is to respond to outrageously improbable stories with "well, actually..." But every now and again they manage to confirm something that lots of people wanted to believe anyway.

This is one of those stories.

For years, amateur astronomers have been suggesting that microscopic, spherical particles collected from their roofs are actually tiny meteorites, the dust that formed our Solar System fallen to Earth. Scientists took the claim at face value but ended up being the downers again, at least initially. As a recent paper on this topic describes it:

Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Google unveils two new stylus-toting Chromebooks for education (from Acer and Asus)

Google unveils two new stylus-toting Chromebooks for education (from Acer and Asus)

Samsung recently unveiled two of the first Chrome OS laptops with both a touchscreen display and support for stylus input. But the Samsung Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro aren’t the only models with stylus support coming this year.

Google for Education says an Acer Chromebook Spin 11 with a convertible tablet design and an Asus Chromebook C213 convertible will both be available in late spring, and both will support stylus input.

They’re aimed at the education market, and Google says the Chromebooks were designed with input from educators.

Continue reading Google unveils two new stylus-toting Chromebooks for education (from Acer and Asus) at Liliputing.

Google unveils two new stylus-toting Chromebooks for education (from Acer and Asus)

Samsung recently unveiled two of the first Chrome OS laptops with both a touchscreen display and support for stylus input. But the Samsung Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro aren’t the only models with stylus support coming this year.

Google for Education says an Acer Chromebook Spin 11 with a convertible tablet design and an Asus Chromebook C213 convertible will both be available in late spring, and both will support stylus input.

They’re aimed at the education market, and Google says the Chromebooks were designed with input from educators.

Continue reading Google unveils two new stylus-toting Chromebooks for education (from Acer and Asus) at Liliputing.

IBM-Übernahme: Agile 3 bringt Datenübersicht in die Chefetage

Bei der Einhaltung von Regelkonformität kann es bei großen Daten schnell unübersichtlich werden. Daher hat IBM das Startup Agile 3 übernommen und will risikobehaftete Daten für Geschäftskunden übersichtlich aufbereiten. (IBM, Unternehmenssoftware)

Bei der Einhaltung von Regelkonformität kann es bei großen Daten schnell unübersichtlich werden. Daher hat IBM das Startup Agile 3 übernommen und will risikobehaftete Daten für Geschäftskunden übersichtlich aufbereiten. (IBM, Unternehmenssoftware)

Sicherheitsupdate: Apple patcht Root-Exploits für fast alle Plattformen

Apple hat umfangreiche Sicherheitsupdates für alle Plattformen herausgegeben. Ein Root-Exploit im Kernel betrifft zahlreiche Geräte, darüber hinaus gibt es viele Fehler in Webkit und in verschiedenen Bibliotheken. (Apple, Google)

Apple hat umfangreiche Sicherheitsupdates für alle Plattformen herausgegeben. Ein Root-Exploit im Kernel betrifft zahlreiche Geräte, darüber hinaus gibt es viele Fehler in Webkit und in verschiedenen Bibliotheken. (Apple, Google)

Aktionsbündnis Gigabit: Nordrhein-Westfalen soll flächendeckend Glasfaser erhalten

Die Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone und Unitymedia haben nur weniger wichtige Manager zu dem Treffen gesandt. Dennoch soll das Aktionsbündnis Gigabit in Nordrhein-Westfalen Großes vollbringen. (Glasfaser, Internet)

Die Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone und Unitymedia haben nur weniger wichtige Manager zu dem Treffen gesandt. Dennoch soll das Aktionsbündnis Gigabit in Nordrhein-Westfalen Großes vollbringen. (Glasfaser, Internet)

Mozilla: Firefox 51 warnt vor unsicheren Webinhalten

Die aktuelle Version 51 des Firefox-Browsers warnt vor unverschlüsselt übertragenen Logins und vor kaputten Zertifikaten mit SHA-1-Signatur sowie jenen von Wosign und Startcom. Der Browser nutzt außerdem WebGL 2 und ermöglicht eine bessere Videowiedergabe ohne GPU. (Firefox, Browser)

Die aktuelle Version 51 des Firefox-Browsers warnt vor unverschlüsselt übertragenen Logins und vor kaputten Zertifikaten mit SHA-1-Signatur sowie jenen von Wosign und Startcom. Der Browser nutzt außerdem WebGL 2 und ermöglicht eine bessere Videowiedergabe ohne GPU. (Firefox, Browser)

Thaumistry: Bob Bates schreibt wieder ein Textadventure

Der Designer Bob Bates steckt hinter einigen Klassikern der Spielegeschichte, nun arbeitet er wieder an einem Textadventure. Das heißt Thaumistry und handelt von einem erfolglosen Erfinder – der aber ein besonderes Verhältnis zu Magie hat. (Adventure, Games)

Der Designer Bob Bates steckt hinter einigen Klassikern der Spielegeschichte, nun arbeitet er wieder an einem Textadventure. Das heißt Thaumistry und handelt von einem erfolglosen Erfinder - der aber ein besonderes Verhältnis zu Magie hat. (Adventure, Games)

President Trump Told That Strong Copyright Laws Are in His Interest

President Trump has been reminded that strong copyright laws are not only in the nation’s interests, but in his too. A letter from the Copyright Alliance notes that among US leaders, Trump’s copyright portfolio is unprecedented, while warning that high piracy rates run counter to his mission to “Make America Great Again.”

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

trumpdOn Friday January 20, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States after one of the most controversial election campaigns of modern times.

For those who watched the historic inauguration, the message from the new president was clear.

From now on and even at the expense of outsiders, America will come first. Time and time again the president reiterated that the power would be put back into the hands of the people to “Make America Great Again.”

With vows to boost America’s economy by supporting local businesses ringing loud, President Trump has now received a letter from a powerful group hoping that their interests will receive a boost from his incoming policies.

The Copyright Alliance, which claims to represent 1.8 million creators and 13,000 pro-copyright organizations in the United States, begin by reminding the President that they’re already on the very same page.

“Throughout the long history of our country, few, if any, Presidents have had a more sizable and diverse copyright portfolio than you,” CEO Keith Kupferschmid writes.

“Your experiences as a businessman have afforded you insights into the value and importance of copyright and how copyright protections help drive the U.S. economy and create millions of well-paying jobs and small businesses.”

With the RIAA, MPAA and 3,000 music publishers as members, the Copyright Alliance believes that its sheer horsepower should be enough to grab the President’s attention, particularly alongside reminders that in 2015 the copyright industries’ 5.5 million workers added $1.2 trillion to the US GDP.

“The growth within core copyright industries far surpasses the average growth rate for other industries; in fact, between 2012 and 2015, those industries grew at a rate of more than 127% greater than the remainder of the economy,” Kupferschmid notes.

But this huge contribution to the economy doesn’t exist in a vacuum, the Alliance adds. It only works thanks to a strong copyright system that rewards creativity and discourages piracy, which in turn is good for the economy and indeed, President Trump himself.

“You, as an author and holder of numerous copyrighted works, know first-hand that creators rely on copyright law for their livelihood and careers, and they are harmed when the system fails to adequately protect their valuable creations in the United States and abroad,” Kupferschmid adds.

Noting that piracy in the Internet age has an adverse effect on U.S companies and the economy as a whole, the Copyright Alliance says that stronger copyright law boosts culture and as a result supports Trump’s mission to ‘Make America Great Again.’

“We need to enhance the protections afforded to the creative communities, not dilute them. We hope you will support a strong and vibrant copyright system in the United States that protects copyright holders from online theft and ensures that creators share in the massive profits being made by internet platforms from these copyrighted works,” the Alliance concludes.

While the Copyright Alliance certainly expects action against mainly overseas ‘pirate’ sites, the use of the word “share” in the above paragraph suggests companies a little closer to home. Google’s YouTube, for example, that stands accused by the music industry of “gaming” the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA.

When compared to the outgoing Democrats, Hollywood in particular has a less than great relationship with President Trump. Nevertheless, Trump will be acutely aware of the contributions made by the creative industries as a whole and how largely overseas websites have some capacity to undermine that.

Only time will tell how America’s new President will respond, but keeping in mind his promise to always put the United States first, the next report from the USTR has the potential to be quite a read. Will it maintain the status quo? Or will it serve as a shot across the bows of countries who dare to undermine the US economy? Stay tuned.

The full letter is available here (pdf)

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Welcome to the world of trolling in virtual reality

Imagine being surrounded by hundreds of faceless avatars screaming at you.

Enlarge / Ahhh! I'm being attacked by an avatar who is REALLY, REALLY FRIENDLY. (credit: Rec Room)

The future of VR systems may be uncertain, but as consumer-grade devices come down in price, we're probably going to see a lot of apps that go beyond gaming. Companies are betting that VR (and, one day, AR) will become the new interface for what we're already doing on Web and mobile: shopping, working, and socializing. Imagine Twitter in VR: thousands of trolls and idiots, screaming into your face forever. Sounds like the apocalypse, right? Maybe. Developers are already thinking about how to prevent abuse from ruining their VR spaces. But first, they have to grapple with the changing face of trolling in VR.

People troll each other online for a million reasons, but one of the most obvious is that it's simply much easier to say cruel things to someone who isn't physically in front of you. Countless psychological studies have shown that people in real life have a difficult time saying negative things to each other's faces. And this could actually be good news in the fight against online abuse in VR. Once VR social spaces are good enough to create decent facsimiles of our faces, engaging in mass mobbing or trolling may become harder. There's a huge difference between sending a nasty tweet and speaking the same words to somebody's face.

The question is, will our psychological blocks against insulting people to their faces actually kick in when we're in a virtual space? Preliminary evidence from early social VR spaces suggests the answer is complicated.

Read 11 remaining paragraphs | Comments