Book returns - 120 years late!
‘The Microscope and its Revelations’ by Dr William B Carpenter was discovered by Alice Gillett, granddaughter of Professor Boycott, when she was sorting through a collection of 6,000 books following the death of her husband earlier this year.
If the book had been borrowed from Hereford Library, which charges 17p a day, the fine would have been £7,446, although the school has promised to waive any fines.
RAISR: Is Google’s AI-driven image resizing algorithm ‘dishonest’?
Google has released the fruits of new research into upscaling low-resolution images using machine learning to ‘fill in’ the missing details. Compared to the hoary standards Photoshop users have been used to for over twenty years, the results are quite impressive.
RAISR (Rapid and Accurate Image Super Resolution) uses machine learning to develop ‘routes’ from low to higher resolution versions of an originally small image, based on sampling the differences between smaller and (genuinely) higher-resolution versions of data training images in a set.
9 tweets to celebrate the birthday of Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse turned 88 today and Twitter responded with tons of tweets to wish a happy birthday to the Disney character who started it all.
Soylent Thinks It Found What Was Making People Sick: Algae
Customers complained of nausea and other stomach issues after eating newer formulations of its products. In October, Soylent maker Rosa Foods Inc. stopped selling its powder mix and recalled its protein bars.
Soylent prides itself on rapid product development—an ideal popularized by Google and Facebook Inc., and one that endears the startup to techies around the world. The product descriptions for Soylent read like release notes you’d find bundled with a new version of an app.
Android spyware targets business executives
The name of the malicious package is “com.android.protect”, and it comes disguised as a Google Play Services app. It disables Samsung’s SPCM service in order to keep running, installs itself as a system package to prevent removal by the user (if it can get root access), and also hides itself from the launcher.
Once installed and run, the malware requests device admin rights, asks the licence number to be entered, hides itself (its presence can be revealed by dialing “11223344”), and finally asks to be granted root access (if the device is rooted).
Rogue FBI Twitter Bot dumps months of FOIAs, causing controversy
According to an FBI official, the flood of tweets occurred because of a backlog of updates dating to June. The logjam finally broke when a content management system software patch was installed last week.
The documents linked in the Twitter posts that were already queued for posting dated back several months. When the software was updated, the backlog was suddenly, automatically, cleared in a spew of tweets.
People who use Facebook live longer, study finds
The study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people who use Facebook live longer than those who do not, and that certain types of Facebook activities — like posting pictures and accepting friend requests — are associated with a lower risk of mortality.
Apple's Cook: 'We're going to kill cash'
Cook, speaking with a small group of reporters after Thursday's MacBook event, said the uptake for the company's mobile payments service Apple Pay has been dramatic.
"We're going to kill cash," he said. "Nobody likes to carry around cash."
German arms maker Armatix to release second smart gun in U.S.
Unlike the iP1, which used RFID technology, the new iP9 9mm semi-automatic pistol will have a fingerprint reader. The iP9 will be available in mid-2017, according to Wolfgang Tweraser, CEO and president of Armatix LLC.
Gun advocacy groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSA) have said they do not oppose smart gun technology -- only smart gun mandates from the government.
Apple creates Red Cross donation program for Hurricane Matthew relief
Apple has created a donation program that allows visitors to donate to the American Red Cross via iTunes to support Hurricane Matthew relief efforts.