Month: December 2021

Corona-Soforthilfen: Böses Erwachen für kleine Selbstständige

Die Bundesländer fordern zunehmend die Corona-Soforthilfen zurück. Für viele Selbständige wird das nicht nur teuer, in vielen Fällen drohen auch Strafanzeigen, nicht immer gerechtfertigt

Die Bundesländer fordern zunehmend die Corona-Soforthilfen zurück. Für viele Selbständige wird das nicht nur teuer, in vielen Fällen drohen auch Strafanzeigen, nicht immer gerechtfertigt

With US swamped by omicron, Biden scraps travel bans

Experts have long argued that such travel restrictions are ineffective and harmful.

With US swamped by omicron, Biden scraps travel bans

Enlarge (credit: Craig Hastings | Getty Images)

President Joe Biden on Tuesday issued a proclamation revoking controversial travel restrictions targeting southern Africa where the ultra-transmissible omicron coronavirus variant was first detected in late November.

The travel restrictions on eight countries in southern Africa—Botswana, Eswatini/Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe—will be lifted at 12:01am ET on December 31.

The revocation was long sought by public health experts, who say such travel bans are ineffective and harmful.

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Tiny tardigrades walk like insects 500,000 times their size

Also: the controversial claim of a frozen water bear achieving quantum entangled state

SEM Micrograph of a tardigrade, commonly known as a water bear

Enlarge / SEM Micrograph of a tardigrade, more commonly known as a water bear or "moss piglet." (credit: Cultura RM Exclusive/Gregory S. Paulson/Getty Images)

There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we're once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one science story that fell through the cracks in 2020, each day from December 25 through January 5. Today: the amazing physics of the humble tardigrade.

Is there nothing the tiny tardigrade can't do? More commonly known as water bears (or "moss piglets"), these amazing micro-animals can survive in the harshest conditions: extreme pressure, extreme temperature, radiation, dehydration, starvation—even exposure in outer space.  That hardiness makes them a favorite case study for scientists.

Earlier this year, researchers at Rockefeller University examined the water bear's distinctive gait and concluded the creature's movement resembles that of insects 500,000 times their size, according to a paper published in August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Court Orders WhatsApp To Block Groups Sharing Pirated Newspapers

India’s largest newspaper publishing group has filed a complaint at the Delhi High Court against dozens of defendants said to have illegally offered its copyrighted publications via WhatsApp. The full case will be heard next year but in the interim, WhatsApp is required to take down or block the infringing groups.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

whattsappSharing copyrighted content online is certainly nothing new but over the years the sharing mechanisms have expanded to incorporate new methods of distribution.

Where once peer-to-peer services were the obvious choice, these days people also utilize platforms such as WhatsApp, Discord and Facebook, which add social elements to the sharing experience by bringing like-minded people together, often around a central topic.

This is proving to be a problem at DB Corp Ltd, India’s largest newspaper publishing group. The company publishes five newspapers with 61 editions but when people illegally share its digital content online, its ability to generate revenue comes under threat, the publisher says.

Legal Action Targeting WhatsApp and Pirates

According to DB Corp, part of the problem can be found on WhatsApp where dedicated groups are sharing their newspapers and magazines without permission. As a result, the company has filed for an injunction that would restrain WhatsApp and more than 80 other defendants from infringing its rights via the platform.

DB Corp offers its content via its official websites where a subscription model is deployed to generate income. The subscription allows users to browse publications in a browser but there is no option to permanently download the newspapers and magazines for offline reading.

WhatsApp is the main defendant in the application while defendants 3 to 88 are people who have formed groups on WhatsApp for the purposes of sharing DB Corp’s copyrighted works. The company says it has managed to track down the administrators of these groups using their phone numbers but concedes that there might be “many other groups” engaged in the same illegal sharing. At this point they remain unknown, however.

On August 30, 2021, DB Corp informed WhatsApp about the ‘infringing groups’ and asked for them to be removed. WhatsApp declined the request and informed DB Corp that it would only act in response to a court order.

Court Satisfied That Evidence Warrants an Injunction

After supplying the Delhi High Court with screenshots of messages being exchanged within the groups, the Court found that these indicate the illegal sharing of DB Corp’s copyrighted content.

“Thus, Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case and the balance of convenience also lies in favor of the Plaintiff. Further, an irreparable loss would be caused, in case an ex-parte order of injunction is not granted – restraining the infringing Defendants from illegally circulating and distributing the Plaintiff’s e-newspaper,” Justice Sanjeev Narula’s order reads.

With that, the Judge handed down an order requiring WhatsApp to take down or block the WhatsApp groups identified by DB Corp to prevent them from illegally distributing the company’s copyrighted works. WhatsApp was given seven days to comply.

The defendants’ written statements are due in 30 days and the injunction will remain in place until the case is heard. It is currently listed for May 2, 2022.

The order can be found here (pdf)

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Alexa suggests 10-year-old put a penny on partially exposed plug

“Alexa: Stop recommending stupid and dangerous things.”

Alexa suggests 10-year-old put a penny on partially exposed plug

Enlarge (credit: WichienTep | Getty Images)

A 10-year-old girl and her mother got a lesson about the utility of voice assistants after Amazon's Alexa suggested the girl try the TikTok plug challenge. According to the girl's mother, Kristin Livdahl, the dangerous suggestion came after her daughter asked Alexa for a challenge to do.

(credit: Twitter)

"We were doing some physical challenges, like laying down and rolling over holding a shot on your foot, from a Phy Ed teacher on YouTube earlier," Livdahl explained in her Twitter thread. "She just wanted another one."

For the (blessedly) uninitiated, the plug challenge consists of partially plugging a phone charger into an electrical outlet and then dropping a penny onto the exposed prongs. Results can run the gamut from a small spark to a full-on electrical fire.

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Daily Deals (12-28-2021)

Ebay is offering an extra 15% off select purchases of $25 or more when you use the coupon NY15OFF at checkout. Best Buy is running a New Year’s Eve sale, B&H is doing a Year-End Deals sale, and the Epic Games Store is giving away another free PC game today (so is GOG). Here are […]

The post Daily Deals (12-28-2021) appeared first on Liliputing.

Ebay is offering an extra 15% off select purchases of $25 or more when you use the coupon NY15OFF at checkout. Best Buy is running a New Year’s Eve sale, B&H is doing a Year-End Deals sale, and the Epic Games Store is giving away another free PC game today (so is GOG).

eBay

Here are some of the day’s best deals.

Sales

Networking

Audio 

Media Streamers

Downloads & Streaming

Other

The post Daily Deals (12-28-2021) appeared first on Liliputing.

China upset about needing to dodge SpaceX Starlink satellites

A formal complaint to the UN under space treaties says the US is responsible.

Image of a rocket launch.

Enlarge / A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in May 2021 carrying the 29th batch of approximately 60 satellites as part of SpaceX's Starlink broadband Internet network. (credit: SOPA Images / Getty Images)

Earlier in December, the Chinese government filed a document with the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at the United Nations. The body helps manage the terms of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, more commonly known as the Outer Space Treaty. In the document, China alleges that it had to move its space station twice this year due to potential collisions with Starlink satellites operated by SpaceX.

The document pointedly notes that signatories of the treaty, which include the US, are responsible for the actions of any nongovernmental activities based within their borders.

The document was filed back on December 6, but it only came to light recently when Chinese Internet users became aware of it and started flaming Elon Musk, head of SpaceX.

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