Month: March 2017

Scammy science: 40 journals appointed a fake person as editor

Bogus, predatory journals fell for a sting operation.

Enlarge (credit: Jean-Etienne Minh-Duy Poirrier)

Anna O. Szust is not a real person. She is, literally, a fraud: oszust means “fraud” in Polish. Nonetheless, Szust has been appointed as an editor at 40 bogus academic journals. After sending out her fake application for an editorial role, the researchers responsible for the world’s nerdiest sting operation began to receive responses almost immediately. “Four titles immediately appointed Szust editor-in-chief,” report Piotr Sorokowski and colleagues in Nature this week.

At legitimate journals, editors play an important role in quality control. They decide whether a paper is worth sending out for peer review, and, if so, who is best qualified to review it. Then they decide whether to publish it, based on the advice of the reviewers. A high-quality journal has rigorous editors who work to ensure higher-quality science, which helps to stop bad science—ranging from the silly to the truly dangerous—from getting the approval stamp of publication and peer review.

Predatory journals

Bogus, predatory journals, on the other hand, are not concerned with quality; they’re concerned with making a buck or ten thousand. They take advantage of legitimate open access scientific journals, which often charge a fee for publication in order to cover their costs; papers are then made available without a subscription.

Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

1,000hp hybrid hypercars are the next big thing, and McLaren’s is called the BP23

In 2019 it will go up against the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Mercedes-AMG Project One.

McLaren

Pity the humble hypercar. For a brief moment in time you're the hottest thing on four wheels, splashed across thousands of desktop wallpapers (and bedroom walls, if car posters are still a thing). But these days that kind of star power doesn't last long. Blame the companies that build them. You'd think it would be hard to top something like a McLaren P1, a hybrid with 903hp (673kW) and a $1.6 million price tag, but that's just what McLaren intends to do with the next car in its "Ultimate" series, the BP23.

The BP23 is still two years off, and details are scarce on the ground. It will be a hybrid and have even more power than the P1, and more advanced aerodynamics.

Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

United Internet: 1&1 bietet VDSL immer mehr über sein eigenes Netz an

Laut Firmenchef Ralph Dommermuth setzt 1&1 United Internet bei VDSL immer weniger auf Vorleistung, sondern auf ein eigenes Glasfasernetz. Wir wollten die Zahl der FTTH-Kunden wissen. (Versatel, DSL)

Laut Firmenchef Ralph Dommermuth setzt 1&1 United Internet bei VDSL immer weniger auf Vorleistung, sondern auf ein eigenes Glasfasernetz. Wir wollten die Zahl der FTTH-Kunden wissen. (Versatel, DSL)

Videostreaming im Zug: Maxdome umwirbt Bahnfahrer bei Tempo 230

Bei Höchstgeschwindigkeit im ICE die Lieblingsserie auf den eigenen Rechner streamen und das auch noch ruckelfrei? Die Bahn will zusammen mit Maxdome eine flexible Unterhaltungslösung anbieten. Das funktioniert ganz gut – vor allem als Köder für Maxdome-Mitgliedschaften. Ein Praxistest von Hauke Gierow (Maxdome, WLAN)

Bei Höchstgeschwindigkeit im ICE die Lieblingsserie auf den eigenen Rechner streamen und das auch noch ruckelfrei? Die Bahn will zusammen mit Maxdome eine flexible Unterhaltungslösung anbieten. Das funktioniert ganz gut - vor allem als Köder für Maxdome-Mitgliedschaften. Ein Praxistest von Hauke Gierow (Maxdome, WLAN)

Synology FS1018: Kleine Flashstation für SSDs und Adapterkarte für M.2-SSDs

Synology erweitert seine Produkte um eine neue Flashstation, die nicht mehr ins Rack muss, und startet einen Cloud-Dienst als Betaphase, dessen Server in Deutschland beheimatet sind. (NAS, Speichermedien)

Synology erweitert seine Produkte um eine neue Flashstation, die nicht mehr ins Rack muss, und startet einen Cloud-Dienst als Betaphase, dessen Server in Deutschland beheimatet sind. (NAS, Speichermedien)

Reddit: Drei Alpha-Profilseiten sind online

Das Diskussionsportal Reddit plant größere Änderungen, unter anderem Profilseiten wie bei Facebook oder Twitter. Die ersten drei dieser Profile sind nun online. Neben Plattform-Mitgründer Alexis Ohanian und Riot Games (League of Legends) stellt sich auch ein in der Szene bekannter Maler vor. (Soziales Netz, Internet)

Das Diskussionsportal Reddit plant größere Änderungen, unter anderem Profilseiten wie bei Facebook oder Twitter. Die ersten drei dieser Profile sind nun online. Neben Plattform-Mitgründer Alexis Ohanian und Riot Games (League of Legends) stellt sich auch ein in der Szene bekannter Maler vor. (Soziales Netz, Internet)

Let’s Play: Facebook ermöglicht Livevideos vom PC

Nicht nur per Smartphone, sondern von jedem PC oder Laptop können Nutzer von Facebook nun Videos in Echtzeit übertragen. Das sei vor allem für Spieler interessant, findet Facebook. (Facebook, Browser)

Nicht nur per Smartphone, sondern von jedem PC oder Laptop können Nutzer von Facebook nun Videos in Echtzeit übertragen. Das sei vor allem für Spieler interessant, findet Facebook. (Facebook, Browser)

Australia Shelves Copyright Safe Harbor For Google, Facebook, et al

In a surprise setback for companies such as Google and Facebook that leverage user-generated content, Australia has dropped plans to extend its copyright safe harbor provisions. The move follows intense pressure from copyright holders, who said that a change in the law would hurt artists’ ability to get fairly paid for their work.

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

Due to what some have described as a drafting error in Australia’s implementation of the Australia – US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), so-called safe harbor provisions currently only apply to commercial Internet service providers Down Under.

This means that while local ISPs such as Telstra receive protection from copyright infringement complaints, platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube face legal uncertainty.

In order to put Australia on a similar footing to technology companies operating in the United States, proposed amendments to the Copyright Act would’ve seen enhanced safe harbor protections for technology platforms such as search engines and social networks.

But that dream has now received a considerable setback after the amendments were withdrawn at the eleventh hour.

In a blow to Google, Facebook and others, the government dropped the amendments before they were due to be introduced to parliament yesterday. That came as a big surprise, particularly as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had given the proposals his seal of approval just last week.

“Provisions relating to safe harbor were removed from the bill before its introduction to enable the government to further consider feedback received on this proposal whilst not delaying the passage of other important reforms,” Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said in a statement.

There can be little doubt that intense lobbying from entertainment industry groups played their part, with a series of articles published in ‎News Corp-owned The Australian piling on the pressure in favor of rightsholders.

This week the publication accused Google and others of “ruthlessly exploiting” safe harbor protections in the US and Europe, forcing copyright holders into an expensive and time-consuming battle to have infringing content taken down.

While large takedown efforts are indeed underway in both of those regions, companies like Google argue that doing business in countries without safe harbor provisions presents a risk to business development and innovation. Being held responsible for millions of other people’s infringements could prove massively costly and certainly not worth the risk.

Startup advocacy group StartupAUS criticized the withdrawal of the amendments, describing the move as “a blow to Australian entrepreneurs.”

“Australia’s copyright laws have still not caught up with the realities of the internet. As a result, the laws still struggle to provide clarity and protection for organizations doing business online,” said CEO Alex McCauley.

“Copyright safe harbor is international best practice and without it Australian startups will be held back from participating in the rich global market for content and ideas. We strongly urge the government to reconsider the need for safe harbor provisions.”

But for players in the entertainment industry, safe harbor protections are not something to be quickly revisited without significant preparation.

Welcoming their withdrawal, Dan Rosen, chief executive of the Australian Recording Industry Association, called for a “full, independent and evidence-based review” in advance of similar proposals being raised in the future.

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

Ryzen CPU: Ach AMD!

Drei Wochen nach dem Start der Ryzen-CPUs von AMD gibt es weiter kaputte Benchmarks, Probleme in Spielen und seltsame Bugs. Das führt zu nervigen Spekulationen und falschen Annahmen. Die Geheimniskrämerei von AMD und Microsoft hilft da leider nicht weiter – und das mit Absicht. Ein IMHO von Sebastian Grüner (IMHO, Microsoft)

Drei Wochen nach dem Start der Ryzen-CPUs von AMD gibt es weiter kaputte Benchmarks, Probleme in Spielen und seltsame Bugs. Das führt zu nervigen Spekulationen und falschen Annahmen. Die Geheimniskrämerei von AMD und Microsoft hilft da leider nicht weiter - und das mit Absicht. Ein IMHO von Sebastian Grüner (IMHO, Microsoft)