Kepler exits emergency mode, re-establishes full communication

Controllers now get to try to figure out what went wrong.

(credit: NASA)

Late last week, NASA's Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft experienced some sort of problem that caused it to enter what's called emergency mode. This should only occur when the spacecraft experiences a serious problem, as it limits its activity and burns through the probe's limited fuel supply at an accelerated pace. This incident marked the first time since Kepler was launched in 2009 that it entered emergency mode.

Today, NASA announced that it had re-established normal communication with Kepler, allowing the spacecraft to exit emergency mode. The telescope's communication hardware is once again pointed directly at Earth. This has allowed controllers to put Kepler in an operational mode where it consumes far less fuel, which will extend its usable life.

But first, the controllers must figure out why Kepler entered emergency mode in the first place. Full communications will allow them to download telemetry and operational data, which will hopefully allow them to identify the underlying problem. Until they do, however, planned observations of the Milky Way's galactic core have been put on hold. The window for observing the core from Kepler's current location closes on July first. Its previous observation work ended in late March, and all data from that work has already been transferred to Earth.

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Making transistors with dissolved nanocrystals

Solution-based processing of a field-effect transistor from inorganic nanocrystals.

A diagram of a typical field effect transistor. (credit: Wikimedia commons)

Semiconductors are integral to modern electronics. Currently, they're made by etching features into silicon, but researchers are constantly exploring new fabrication approaches that balance cost, energy efficiency, electronic capabilities, and mechanical properties.

Recently, scientists have demonstrated the ability to design and fabricate flexible, high-performance semiconductors out of colloidal nanocrystals. The approach allowed them to lay out the circuitry using simple solution processing, in which the components are put in place while suspended in a liquid. Solution processing is generally cheap and convenient, and it can be used to cover large areas at once.

Field effects

The specific type of device the researchers designed is called a field-effect transistor. In general, transistors are semiconductor devices used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. Field-effect transistors use an electric field in a device called a gate to influence the conductivity of a nearby semiconductor.

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More big-name sites hit by rash of malicious ads that attack end users

Some of country’s top sites ran ads that redirected to the Angler exploit kit.

Some of the Netherland' most popular websites have fallen victim to a malvertising campaign that managed to compromise a widely used ad platform, security researchers reported on Monday.

The malicious ads were served over at least 11 sites including marktplaats.nl, the Netherlands equivalent to eBay and the country's seventh most visited website, according to a blog post published by security firm Fox IT. Other affected sites included news site nu.nl (which is ranked No. 14), weather site buienradar.nl (54), and startpagina.nl (67). Other widely visited sites were operated by commercial TV stations and magazines.

According to the blog post:

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Skurrile Belästigungen: Von IP-Adressen, Kloschüsseln und einer abgelegenen Farm

Kansas ist das Herz des Cybercrime – zumindest wenn man einer Anwendung glauben schenkt, die IP-Adressen auf einer Karte verortet. Tatsächlich leben dort unschuldige Menschen, die nun viele wütende Anrufe und Kloschüsseln bekommen. (Spam, Internet)

Kansas ist das Herz des Cybercrime - zumindest wenn man einer Anwendung glauben schenkt, die IP-Adressen auf einer Karte verortet. Tatsächlich leben dort unschuldige Menschen, die nun viele wütende Anrufe und Kloschüsseln bekommen. (Spam, Internet)

U.S. ISPs Refuse to Disconnect Persistent Pirates

The U.S. broadband association USTelecom, a trade association representing many ISPs, is taking a stand against abusive takedown notices and a recent push to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. They argue that ISPs are not required to pass on takedown notices and stress that their subscribers shouldn’t lose Internet access based solely on copyright holder complaints.

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

ustelecoSigned into law nearly two decades ago, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) aimed to ready copyright law for the digital age.

The law introduced a safe harbor for Internet providers, meaning that they can’t be held liable for their pirating users as long as they ‘deal’ with repeat infringers.

Generally speaking, ISPs are not very eager to disconnect accounts of frequent copyright infringers. While the law allows for account terminations, it stipulates that this should happen under “appropriate” circumstances.

Some copyright holders have argued that three infringement notices are enough to warrant a disconnection, but most Internet providers don’t want to go this far.

In a recent recommendation to the Copyright Office the U.S. broadband association USTelecom points out that DMCA’s safe harbor provisions are generally working as intended, shielding Internet intermediaries from liability for copyright infringements carried out by their users.

However, the group stresses that in most cases ISPs act as mere conduits who pass on digital information. These type of services are not subject to takedown notices as they fall under section 512(a) of the DMCA, so all takedown notices are by definition invalid.

“It is inappropriate and contrary to the DMCA to suggest that ISPs should somehow be responsible for policing copyright rights when those service providers are acting as mere conduits for digital communications,” USTelecom writes.

Nonetheless, every month ISPs are bombarded with millions of takedown notices, triggered by allegedly pirating customers.

“Despite this well-established precedent, ISPs are receiving millions of invalid notices relating to conduit services. These notices frequently include improper ‘settlement’ demands that rights holders pressure ISPs to forward to unrepresented consumers.”

USTelecom stresses that ISPs have no obligation to process takedown notices under the DMCA, as they merely pass on traffic. While most forward this information as a courtesy, they are not required to do so.

Not all copyright holders agree with this stance. In fact, USTelecom points out that in recent years they have been pushing for tougher actions against Internet subscribers who receive multiple notices.

“In some cases, the senders of these notices even want the ISPs to terminate Internet access based on these allegations – which, again, the ISPs as mere conduits could not evaluate even if they were obligated to do so under the DMCA.”

“These actions constitute an abuse of the DMCA notice process, and should be acknowledged as such by the Copyright Office,” USTelecom adds.

Even if ISPs were required to forward DMCA notices, they believe that terminating Internet connections goes too far. The group points out that the notices are not always sent to the right person, for example, and add that the senders do not always represent the copyright holder.

It should be up to a court to decide if a person loses his or her Internet access, not the Internet provider acting solely on claims of alleged copyright infringements.

“Any allegations intended to justify the termination or long-term suspension of Internet access connections should be subject to some form of judicial review before depriving subscribers of all access to the Internet,” USTelecom writes.

“Internet access is essential to modern life, including economic life and exercise of other fundamental rights. It is simply unthinkable, that a consumer should be able to lose access to such a fundamental and crucial tool absent some form of formal adjudication.”

USTelecom’s response to the DMCA consultation of the Copyright Office comes at an interesting time. Just a few months ago, Cox Communication was ordered to pay $25 million because it failed to disconnect subscribers whose connections were repeatedly used to pirate content.

The telecom group clearly disagrees with this verdict, which is currently under appeal, and hopes to have the U.S. Government on its side.

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

Decades later, a new Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Easter Egg has been found

Developers suggest more “hidden elements” may be lurking in classic cart.

You might think that gamers have combed through every secret and available strategy in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (aka simply Punch-Out!!) since its original release on the NES in 1987. You'd be wrong, though. Just this weekend, word first started to spread of a previously unnoticed background Easter Egg that can help players with the split-second timing needed for some crucial knockout punches.

The three-minute video explanation from YouTuber midwesternhousewives lays out the specifics, but in short, the newly discovered secret hinges on a bearded man on the bottom row of the on-screen audience, near the left side of the screen. If you watch his face closely during the first fight with Piston Honda and the second fight with Bald Bull, this one audience member will duck slightly at the precise moment you can throw an instant, body blow knockout punch.

While the general timing for those one-hit knockouts have been well-known for decades, this is the first time anyone has publicized the existence of this specific timing clue. The animation timing could theoretically be a coincidence, but since the man doesn't seem to react at any other point in the game—and ducks consistently whenever the knockout opportunity presents itself—it seem highly unlikely.

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M-net: Glasfaser für 70 Prozent der Münchner Haushalte

M-net will bald 70 Prozent aller Münchner Haushalte einen echten Glasfaseranschluss anbieten. In einer Wohnsiedlung wird allen Mietern ein upgradefähiger Glasfaseranschluss mit einer Basisdatenrate von 3 MBit/s kostenfrei zur Verfügung gestellt. (Glasfaser, Internet)

M-net will bald 70 Prozent aller Münchner Haushalte einen echten Glasfaseranschluss anbieten. In einer Wohnsiedlung wird allen Mietern ein upgradefähiger Glasfaseranschluss mit einer Basisdatenrate von 3 MBit/s kostenfrei zur Verfügung gestellt. (Glasfaser, Internet)

Windows 10 business roadmap: Unlock your PC with a phone, use laptop-like accessories with a phone

Windows 10 business roadmap: Unlock your PC with a phone, use laptop-like accessories with a phone

Microsoft has added a list of features “in development” to its Windows 10 for business website, providing a partial roadmap for new things you’ll be able to do with Windows 10 devices in the coming months. Among other things, you’ll eventually be able to use an Android or Windows phone to unlock a PC, or pair […]

Windows 10 business roadmap: Unlock your PC with a phone, use laptop-like accessories with a phone is a post from: Liliputing

Windows 10 business roadmap: Unlock your PC with a phone, use laptop-like accessories with a phone

Microsoft has added a list of features “in development” to its Windows 10 for business website, providing a partial roadmap for new things you’ll be able to do with Windows 10 devices in the coming months. Among other things, you’ll eventually be able to use an Android or Windows phone to unlock a PC, or pair […]

Windows 10 business roadmap: Unlock your PC with a phone, use laptop-like accessories with a phone is a post from: Liliputing

Amazon Kindle Oasis leaks suggest a radically new eReader design

Amazon Kindle Oasis leaks suggest a radically new eReader design

Amazon’s next Kindle eReader is coming soon, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said that the 8th-gen Kindle will be a “top of the line” device. While the company hasn’t made an official announcement yet, a listing at Chinese retail outlet TMall may have just spilled the beans. The Kindle Oasis features a brand new […]

Amazon Kindle Oasis leaks suggest a radically new eReader design is a post from: Liliputing

Amazon Kindle Oasis leaks suggest a radically new eReader design

Amazon’s next Kindle eReader is coming soon, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said that the 8th-gen Kindle will be a “top of the line” device. While the company hasn’t made an official announcement yet, a listing at Chinese retail outlet TMall may have just spilled the beans. The Kindle Oasis features a brand new […]

Amazon Kindle Oasis leaks suggest a radically new eReader design is a post from: Liliputing

After latest rocket test, North Korea claims it can lob nukes at the US

Kim Jong Un claims “ballistic rocket” will allow nuke strikes on US mainland.

A test firing of a rocket engine North Korea claims will power an ICBM, in a state media photo.

On Saturday, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the North Korean government had conducted a ground test of a new rocket engine intended to power the first stage of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The test, which took place at Sohae Space Center in North Phyongan Province near the Chinese border, was hailed as a success.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un boasted that the engine would make it possible to launch nuclear strikes against the US. "Now the DPRK can tip new type inter-continental ballistic rockets with more powerful nuclear warheads and keep any cesspool of evils in the earth including the US mainland within our striking range and reduce them to ashes,” Kim was quoted as saying, according to North Korea watchdog site NK News.

Photos of the test published by KCNA don't reveal whether it was a liquid or solid-fuel rocket engine being tested. Late in March, North Korea performed a ground test of a solid-fuel rocket that may have been for an upper stage of the KN-08, also known as the Hwasong-13 (and previously referred to as the No-dong-C)—a road-mobile ICBM that North Korea has been reportedly developing since at least 2011. And on March 9, North Korea's government announced that it had successfully completed the "standardized" design for a miniaturized nuclear weapon to be carried by ballistic missiles.

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