Verizon workers strike over lost jobs and refusal to expand fiber

Non-union employees will take over customer service and network repairs.

Verizon workers rallying in July 2015, just before their contract expired. (credit: Communications Workers of America)

After 10 months of failed negotiations, 36,000 Verizon workers went on strike this morning. As a result, Verizon will use nonunion workers to perform repairs, network maintenance, and customer service on its fiber and copper wireline networks.

The strike was called by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which complain that Verizon is seeking to move jobs offshore, outsource work to low-wage contractors, close call centers, and force technicians to go on months-long assignments away from home.

“Verizon executives want wireline technicians to work away from home for as long as two months at a time, anywhere from Massachusetts to Virginia, without seeing their families,” the CWA said yesterday. “Working parents like Isaac Collazo, a cable splicer from New York, fear they will be forced to choose between caring for their kids and keeping their jobs.”

Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments

EU data watchdogs: Privacy Shield needs fixes

US-EU pact allowing cross-Atlantic data transfers was signed in February.

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, chairman of the Article 29 Working Party.

Exceptions in the proposed EU-US Privacy Shield framework that would allow the US to carry out mass surveillance of EU citizens are "not acceptable," the Article 29 Working Party of EU data protection authorities said today in a press conference.

The Chairman of the group, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, explained that the Article 29 Working Party would look with "great interest" on the forthcoming ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on whether mass surveillance of EU citizens could be legal. If the CJEU finds that the surveillance carried out by GCHQ is unlawful, it would have a big impact on the national security exceptions included in Privacy Shield.

Falque-Pierrotin said that the data protection authorities also had some concerns about the independence and effectiveness of the Privacy Shield ombudsperson who will deal with complaints from Europeans about how their data has been used by the NSA.

Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

The lucky 500: applications open for the Ford GT supercar

We spoke to Henry Ford III about the Ford GT program.

So far, we've seen the new Ford GT in Forza, at auto shows, and on the track at Daytona. Deliveries of the 600hp (447kW) supercar begin later in the year, but with just 500 cars planned, many have wondered how they will be allocated. On Wednesday morning, the Blue Oval revealed its plan; customers will be chosen from online applicants, and if you have $400,000 and want a GT in your garage, you have until May 12th to apply.

On Tuesday afternoon, we spoke to Henry Ford III about the program. He told us there had been plenty of internal discussion on how to allocate 500 GTs across the 10,000 Ford dealers in the US and 18 other countries. "We want to put the car in the hands of people who are true brand ambassadors for Ford," he told us. That means people who will drive their GTs—to track days, to Cars and Coffee, and the like—rather than lock it away, or worse, flip it for a quick buck.

Senior management at Ford will review the applicant pool and make some hard choices after the May deadline. The lucky few will be guided through the ordering process by a concierge service that will liaise between the local Ford dealer and Ford Performance, the new division that is responsible for developing and building the GT (as well as some of Ford's other more interesting vehicles).

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Streik-Ende: Einigung bei Telekom über mehr Gehalt

Statt fünf Prozent muss die Telekom nur 2,2 Prozent mehr Gehalt zahlen. Im nächsten Jahr kommen noch einmal 2,1 Prozent hinzu. Der Personalchef freut sich über den schnellen Abschluss. (Telekom, Verdi)

Statt fünf Prozent muss die Telekom nur 2,2 Prozent mehr Gehalt zahlen. Im nächsten Jahr kommen noch einmal 2,1 Prozent hinzu. Der Personalchef freut sich über den schnellen Abschluss. (Telekom, Verdi)

Lawyers who won Happy Birthday copyright case sue over “We Shall Overcome”

Civil rights anthem never should have been copyrighted, plaintiffs say.

(credit: Thomas Hawk)

"We Shall Overcome," a song that was the "unofficial anthem to the civil rights movement," was wrongly placed under copyright and should be put in the public domain, according to a lawsuit filed today in federal court. The complaint (PDF) was filed by the same group of lawyers who succeeded at putting the world's most famous song, Happy Birthday, into the public domain after years of litigation. It's a proposed class action that seeks the return of copyright licensing fees they say were wrongfully collected by Ludlow Music Inc. and The Richmond Organization, which claim to have copyrighted "We Shall Overcome" in 1960.

According to the lawsuit, the song is much older than that. The plaintiffs say the song is based on "an African-American spiritual with exactly the same melody and nearly identical lyrics from the late 19th or early 20th century."

At most, they say, the defendant companies own specific arrangements of the song, or additional verses that were added in 1960 when the song was copyrighted and again in 1963.

Read 12 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Neue Ransomware Jigsaw: Jede Stunde muss eine Datei dran glauben

Ransomware wird immer gefährlicher. Jetzt droht eine neue Variante nicht nur mit dem Löschen von Daten, sondern sie löscht jede Stunde eine. Zum Glück gibt es Abhilfe. (Ransomware, Firefox)

Ransomware wird immer gefährlicher. Jetzt droht eine neue Variante nicht nur mit dem Löschen von Daten, sondern sie löscht jede Stunde eine. Zum Glück gibt es Abhilfe. (Ransomware, Firefox)

Amazon’s Kindle Oasis is a $290 eReader with a battery cover and a slim design

Amazon’s Kindle Oasis is a $290 eReader with a battery cover and a slim design

As expected, Amazon’s next high-end Kindle eReader is called the Kindle Oasis. And as expected, it features a brand new design with a set of page-turn buttons on one side, a sensor that automatically rotates the display when you flip the device over to hold in your other hand, and a removable cover with a […]

Amazon’s Kindle Oasis is a $290 eReader with a battery cover and a slim design is a post from: Liliputing

Amazon’s Kindle Oasis is a $290 eReader with a battery cover and a slim design

As expected, Amazon’s next high-end Kindle eReader is called the Kindle Oasis. And as expected, it features a brand new design with a set of page-turn buttons on one side, a sensor that automatically rotates the display when you flip the device over to hold in your other hand, and a removable cover with a […]

Amazon’s Kindle Oasis is a $290 eReader with a battery cover and a slim design is a post from: Liliputing

Watch the world’s first 360° VR surgery live stream on Thursday

VR operations: it’s all about stitch ‘em up, not shoot ’em up.

On May 22 2014, Mr Shafi Ahmed, consultant general colorectal, and laparoscopic surgeon at Barts NHS trust was in the news for bringing his craft a good deal closer to the gaze of his medical students.

By donning Google Glass as he removed tumours from the liver and bowel of a 78-year-old British man, he allowed 13,000 trainees and clinicians to witness a surgeon’s eye view of the procedure as it happened.

Now, the streaming surgeon is going live again. The Royal London hospital's operating theatre—with the surgery at centre stage—will be available for all to see live in virtual reality at lunchtime on Thursday, April 14.

Read 45 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Kindle Oasis im Hands-On: Amazon definiert die Luxusklasse für E-Book-Reader

E-Book-Reader haben nicht den Ruf, besonders sexy zu sein. Das will Amazon mit dem Kindle Oasis ändern. Das Gerät ist sehr dünn, besonders leicht und lässt einen fast vergessen, dass man nicht in einem echten Buch liest. Mit einem Kniff gibt es eine sehr lange Akkulaufzeit. (Kindle Oasis, Amazon)

E-Book-Reader haben nicht den Ruf, besonders sexy zu sein. Das will Amazon mit dem Kindle Oasis ändern. Das Gerät ist sehr dünn, besonders leicht und lässt einen fast vergessen, dass man nicht in einem echten Buch liest. Mit einem Kniff gibt es eine sehr lange Akkulaufzeit. (Kindle Oasis, Amazon)

Apple vs. FBI: FBI bezahlte Hacker fürs iPhone-Knacken

Eine bisher unbekannte Sicherheitslücke in der Software soll dem FBI Zugang zum iPhone eines getöteten Terroristen verschafft haben. Die Ermittler sollen sie Hackern abgekauft haben. Aber was passiert jetzt mit der Schwachstelle? (Apple vs. FBI, Apple)

Eine bisher unbekannte Sicherheitslücke in der Software soll dem FBI Zugang zum iPhone eines getöteten Terroristen verschafft haben. Die Ermittler sollen sie Hackern abgekauft haben. Aber was passiert jetzt mit der Schwachstelle? (Apple vs. FBI, Apple)