Innholdsfortegnelse for #424 i Techlife News

A new technique to protect the privacy of participants in the 2020 Census could foster distrust between the Census Bureau and researchers if it results in too many inaccuracies, demographers warned officials Wednesday. The demographers, who study population changes, delivered the message to bureau officials at a workshop at The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington. The agency was participating in the workshop to hear from data users about the technique known as “differential privacy,” which will be implemented next year for the 2020 Census. The technique adds some mathematical “noise” to the data to obscure any given individual’s identity but still gather statistically valid information. Bureau officials said the change is needed in an era of Big Data when participants can be identified through public and…

Elizabeth Warren’s signature “wealth tax” would bring in at least $1 trillion less in new government revenue than the Democratic presidential candidate estimates while ultimately shrinking the economy over the next 30 years, according to a new academic analysis. The Massachusetts senator wants a 2% tax on fortunes worth $50 million-plus and a levy three times that on anyone who has a net worth of more than $1 billion. She has pledged to use those to dramatically remake government, offering universal child care and free tuition at public universities while wiping out most student debt for 42 million Americans and helping to finance a “Medicare for All” plan providing government-sponsored health care nationwide. But the piggy bank that Warren wants to use to accomplish her sweeping policy promises won’t be…

The European Union says it is taking measures to protect its trade interests in the ongoing row with the United States over the shutdown of the World Trade Organization’s appellate body. EU trade chief Phil Hogan said Thursday that the 28-nation bloc “cannot afford being defenseless if there is no possibility to get a satisfactory solution within the WTO.” Since Wednesday the WTO’s appellate body, whose decisions affect billions of dollars in trade, lost its ability to rule on new dispute cases. Without having to worry about possible penalties, countries could use tariffs or be tempted to implement protectionist measures. Hogan said that with the proposal to change some EU trade rules will enable it to act even when the WTO cannot give a final ruling. Anticipating the end of…

Social media companies are failing to stop manipulated activity, according to a report by NATO-affiliated researchers who said they were easily able to buy tens of thousands of likes, comments and views on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Most of the phony accounts and the activity they engaged in remained online weeks later, even after researchers at the NATO Strategic Command Centre of Excellence flagged them up as fake. The center, an independent group based in Latvia that advises the military alliance, said the findings contrast with statements from tech companies that say they’ve been working harder on stamping out manipulation. “Overall social media companies are experiencing significant challenges in countering the malicious use of their platforms,” the report said. Online manipulation emerged as a major issue for tech companies…

Santa Claus House operations manager Paul Brown says that the business is almost like an “Alaska house.” “You know, in Alaska, as you have a new kid, you just add a bedroom to the house?” Brown said during a recent interview with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “That’s kind of the story of Santa Claus House. Eventually it will just be this huge giant building with all different rooms coming off it.” Brown was referring to the 2018 renovation of the North Pole business, which saw its retail space double in size as part of the largest refurbishment the store has seen since the 1970s. Brown has been working at the Santa Claus House for about 20 years. “I worked my way up to management,” he said. “I actually married into…

Facebook is rebuffing efforts by U.S. Attorney General William Barr to give authorities a way to read encrypted messages. The heads of Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Messenger services told Barr and his U.K. and Australian counterparts that Facebook is moving forward with plans to enable end-to-end encryption on all of its messaging services. End-to-end encryption locks up messages so that not even Facebook can read their contents. WhatsApp already uses end-to-end encryption. Facebook plans to extend that protection to Messenger and Instagram Direct. Barr and other officials had asked the company in October to hold off. In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, they insisted that precluding access by law enforcement could hinder efforts to prevent or investigate crimes. The letter repeatedly emphasized the dangers of child sexual exploitation to…

Would you like to ride in Eddie Redmayne’s beautiful balloon? Tom Harper’s “The Aeronauts,” starring Felicity Jones and Redmayne, is loosely based on a record-setting 19th century balloon expedition into the atmosphere. On Sept. 5, 1862, James Glaisher (Redmayne) took off from London with the aim to ascend higher into the firmament than anyone had before in a balloon floated by coal gas. Hot air balloons haven’t often been the favored modus of flight in movies. They have historically rated somewhere in between blimps and feathered bird suits. Since “The Wizard of Oz,” it’s been mostly losing air, save for the occasional cameo: the aloft opening of Tarkovsky’s “Andrei Rublev” (1966), the harrowing runaway balloon of the Ian McEwan adaptation “Enduring Love” (1997). But Harper, the British director of one…

Netflix says that 26.4 million households worldwide watched “The Irishman” in its first week of streaming. That figure includes those who watched at least 70% of Martin Scorsese’s 3 1/2 hour crime epic.Netflix selectively announces viewership for its films and series, and they aren’t substantiated by third-party data firms. Nielsen last week estimated that “The Irishman” had an average viewership of 13.2 million in its first five days in the U.S. About one in five viewers watched the film in its entirety over its first day of streaming on Nov. 27, Nielsen said. If Netflix’s figures are accurate, that would make “The Irishman” one of this year’s most widely watched Oscar contenders. The film, made for about $160 million, played exclusively in theaters for about three weeks, but the largest…

Information technology problems at the U.S. Census Bureau have been fixed or are in the process of being remedied, despite recent reports raising concerns about the bureau’s preparedness for the 2020 Census, the agency’s director said. Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham said in a brief interview with The Associated Press during a visit in Florida that the agency’s IT systems are undergoing “some tremendous testing.” “There were some previous reports ... that have been overcome by events in that we have made the progress needed in remedying them,” Dillingham said while visiting Orlando City Hall. Dillingham was in Florida to promote the Census Bureau’s efforts to recruit and hire as many as 500,000 temporary workers for next spring’s 2020 Census. The once-a-decade head count is the largest peacetime operation by…

For years, Kim Cobb was the Indiana Jones of climate science. The Georgia Tech professor flew to the caves of Borneo to study ancient and current climate conditions. She jetted to a remote South Pacific island to see the effects of warming on coral. Add to that flights to Paris, Rome, Vancouver and elsewhere. All told, in the last three years, she’s flown 29 times to study, meet or talk about global warming. Then Cobb thought about how much her personal actions were contributing to the climate crisis, so she created a spreadsheet. She found that those flights added more than 73,000 pounds of heat-trapping carbon to the air. Now she is about to ground herself, and she is not alone. Some climate scientists and activists are limiting their flying,…

At least for now, controversial facial-recognition technology won’t be installed at boarding gates at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The decision makes the airport the first in the country to resist the rollout of a federal biometric identification program. The Seattle Times reports the Port of Seattle Commission unanimously approved a moratorium on some uses of the technology after hours of impassioned public comment Tuesday, much of it from people calling facial recognition intrusive and dangerous. The five-member commission, which oversees Sea-Tac, suspended the introduction of some new biometric technologies — including facial recognition — until the commission adopts “tangible, enforceable” policies to govern their use. The commission’s vote halts plans by Delta Air Lines to roll out facial-recognition cameras at its Sea-Tac boarding gates by year-end. The moratorium, though, applies only…

Construction on a high-speed train between Las Vegas and Southern California could start late next year if bonds are approved by February, the company planning the project said. Virgin Trains USA executive Tina Quigley told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that work will begin first in California, where state lawmakers recently approved a $3.25 billion bond request. Virgin is seeking approval in Nevada for $950 million in bonds that state Department of Business chief Terry Reynolds said could get approval next month or in February. Project designers say the track along Interstate 15 could whisk passengers about 185 miles (297 kilometers) between Las Vegas and Victorville, California, in about 90 minutes. Victorville is 85 miles (137 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. Construction is expected to take three years and cost $4.8…

Adrien Lachevre and Nailat Msoili live a few kilometers (miles) apart in Paris’ northwest suburbs, but their paths had never crossed until Lachevre picked Msoili up in his gray Fiat on Tuesday morning. An app had matched their schedules and morning commutes, and the two had arranged to meet at a nearly deserted gas station well before dawn, hoping to beat the traffic that has clogged highways in recent days. As a general strike across France stretched into its sixth day, they were among many commuters who have turned to technology — and strangers — to get by. Use of carpool apps, big and small, has spiked. So has demand for shared bikes and electric scooters that you activate with your phone and pick up and drop off where you…

With Apple inviting the world’s most prolific developers to an exclusive Media Event in New York City to honor the best iOS apps and games of 2019, we take a closer look at the winners and reminisce on one of the most exciting years in the history of the App Store… NEXT-LEVEL APPS Last month, Apple sent out invites for an exclusive media event to be held on December 2 in New York City. At the time, journalists were speculating whether the Mac Pro and other new devices would be unveiled on the day, but it soon became clear that Tim Cook was ready to take a new approach to honor the top apps of the year. It’s a tradition for the Cupertino company to compile a list of the…

Grants from a robotics education fund have been awarded to 101 New Hampshire schools so far up from 57 last year, the state Department of Education said this week. The grants totaling $522,000 fund the purchase of robotics kits, stipends for coaches, and competition expenses. Schools can still apply. The purpose of the program is to motivate students to pursue educational and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, while building critical life and work-related skills. Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said robotics tournaments combine teambuilding, problem solving, and hands-on high-tech experience. “Funding is still available, and I would encourage any eligible school with a robotics team, or starting one, to apply,” he said. To be eligible, students must attend public, traditional or charter schools; the school must develop a…

Amazon has signed a lease for a new office space in Manhattan that will house more than 1,500 employees, less than a year after pulling out of a deal for a larger headquarters in the borough of Queens after politicians and activists objected to nearly $3 billion in incentives. The new office almost immediately renewed a debate over whether the tax breaks and other incentives were excessive, given the likelihood that Amazon would continue to expand in New York City regardless because of the city’s large talent pool. The online retail giant received no incentives for its new 335,000-square-foot complex in a building near Hudson Yards, a high-end commercial and residential development on the west side in midtown Manhattan. Amazon said the new office will open in 2021 and will…

The Golden Globe TV nominations were most striking not for what they included, but what they didn’t: The traditional broadcast networks were completely shut out in all 55 nominations. It was a crowning moment for Netflix, and not just for the jeweled one on Queen Elizabeth’s head. The streaming service, which dominated the Globe nominations overall, edged out HBO to win the most TV nods. Netflix got 17 TV nods, to go with its 17 on the movie side. HBO was a close successor at 15. Two Netflix shows got four nods: “The Crown,” in its new Olivia Colman incarnation, in the drama category, and “Unbelievable” in the limited series category, tying with HBO’s “Chernobyl.” The shutout, believed to be for the first time, of the broadcast networks — ABC,…

New results from the largest long-term study of brain development and children’s health raise provocative questions about obesity and brain function. Does excess body weight somehow reduce brain regions that regulate planning and impulse control? Is obesity a result of that brain difference? Or are eating habits, lifestyle, family circumstances and genetics to blame? Previous studies in children and adults have had conflicting results. The new research doesn’t settle the matter and outside experts cautioned that misinterpreting it could unfairly perpetuate weight stigma. But an editorial published with the study this week in JAMA Pediatrics called it an important addition to mounting evidence of a link between weight, brain structure and mental function. If follow-up research confirms the findings, it could lead to new ways to prevent obesity that target…

Three men were charged with running a cryptocurrency mining operation that officials labeled a “high-tech Ponzi scheme” that bilked investors out of $722 million, federal officials announced Tuesday. Matthew Goettsche, 37, was arrested Tuesday in Colorado, while Jobadiah Weeks, 38, was taken into custody in Florida and Joseph Abel, 49, was arrested in California, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. It wasn’t immediately clear whether they had attorneys who could speak for them. According to federal prosecutors, the men ran a business called BitClub Network from April 2014 through this month that promised earnings to investors who bought shares in its supposed cyrptocurrency mining pool. Mining involves using computers to solve mathematical problems in order to record virtual currency transactions. Miners receive cryptocurrency for their work. But the earnings reported…

Critics say we’re in an era called Peak TV, with hundreds of original scripted streaming, cable, and broadcast series competing for eyeballs. But even in a peak era some peak characters emerge. These are some of the fictional folk that we’ll look back respectfully when we think of the 2010s. DON DRAPER Only a month after “The Sopranos” ended, AMC took a chance by debuting a ’60s period piece set in a New York ad agency filled with guys who took three-martini lunches and had trysts with secretaries. It was “Mad Men” and its anti-hero was the manly, forever mysterious Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm. The show was an indictment of the soul-crushing nature of commercialization set in the Eisenhower years, before the counterculture and the sexual revolution. Soon…

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, has scored another successful spaceflight. Blue Origin used the same rocket for the sixth time Wednesday in West Texas. The suborbital flight exposed the capsule and its contents — including NASA experiments, artwork and a commercial grape vine study — to more than three minutes of weightlessness. The capsule reached a peak altitude of 65 miles (104 kilometers), just above the official threshold for space. The New Shepard rocket landed vertically seven minutes after liftoff, followed by the capsule, which parachuted down to end the 10-minute flight. “Welcome back, New Shepard. A beautiful launch to space and back,” said launch commentator Ariane Cornell, director of astronaut and orbital sales. “We can’t wait to do it again.” Cornell said the company plans another couple of…

Tired of San Francisco streets being used as a testing ground for the latest delivery technology and transportation apps, city leaders are now requiring businesses to get permits before trying out new high-tech ideas in public. Supporters of the legislation, which the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved this week, say it is the first of its kind in the U.S. They say it’s long overdue in a city that’s a hub for major tech companies but is more accustomed to reacting to the sudden arrival of new technology — such as when hundreds of dockless electric scooters appeared overnight last year. The e-scooter trend has led to complaints from people in cities across the country. The tech industry has showered San Francisco with high-paying jobs and cemented its reputation as…

Two dozen state attorneys general are asking a federal agency to implement better online protections for children. The bipartisan coalition submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Monday asking the agency to strengthen the rules surrounding the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13. The letter also asked for enhanced prohibitions on using that information to track children on the internet. “Without modification to the current rule, companies will continue to build profiles on children based on collected data,”Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III said in a statement.“Those profiles will be used to target them for many decades to come.” The letter says that websites and mobile applications often collect personal information from users, ranging from search histories to geological information. The attorneys…

DISPLAY ADVANCES PAYING OFF FOR THE MAC AND APPLE TV+ When Apple recently revealed that it would release its long-anticipated 6K-resolution Pro Display XDR on December 10, it was a reminder of how the company continues to push up standards in screen technology. Indeed, Jonny Evans of Computerworld declared that the new monitor “sets the bar for pro displays”. However, Apple’s commitment to innovating in the display space can be traced as far back as the 1980s, with the new display hardly the only recent example. INTRODUCING THE APPLE PRO DISPLAY XDR What actually is the Pro Display XDR? It’s a professional-grade, 32-inch display capable of 6K-resolution output. It’s also the first Apple-branded display since the Apple Thunderbolt Display was discontinued in 2016, but the new monitor is far from…

SpaceX made an early holiday delivery to the International Space Station last weekend, bringing muscle-bound “mighty mice,” pest-killing worms and a smart, empathetic robot. The station commander, Italy’s Luca Parmitano, used a large robot arm to grab onto the Dragon three days after its launch from Cape Canaveral. The two spacecraft soared 260 miles (420 kilometers) above the South Pacific at the time of capture. “Whenever we welcome a new vehicle on board, we take on board also a little bit of the soul of everybody that contributed to the project, so welcome on board,” Parmitano told Mission Control. It marks the third visit for this recycled Dragon. Flight controllers quickly secured the capsule to the orbiting lab, paving the way for the hatch to open and the unloading to…

Nominations for the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards: Best motion picture, drama: “The Irishman”; “Marriage Story”; “1917”; “Joker”; “The Two Popes.” Best motion picture, musical or comedy: “Dolemite Is My Name”; “Jojo Rabbit”; “Knives Out”; “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”; “Rocketman.” Best foreign language film: “The Farewell”; “Les Misérables”; “Pain and Glory”; “Parasite.” Best animated motion picture: “Frozen 2”; “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”; “The Lion King”; “Missing Link”; “Toy Story 4.” Best actress in a motion picture, drama: Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”; Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”; Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”; Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”; Renée Zellweger, “Judy.” Best actor in a motion picture, drama: Christian Bale, “Ford v Ferrari”; Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”; Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”; Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”; Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes.”…

One Kreps brother uses a wheelchair and the other doesn’t, yet they are able to play sports together on a level playing field thanks to an augmented reality system developed at the University of Michigan. The technology, called iGYM, allows people with mobility disabilities and their non-disabled peers to exercise together in a fun environment. The system carries several games. “This is something that’s kind of neat, where they can both play,”said father Erik Kreps, who brought 10-year-old Darren and 9-year-old Bryan to Ann Arbor on a recent Sunday to use the iGYM system. Bryan, who has a neuromuscular disorder, uses a wheelchair and a walker to help him get around. Both mobility aids are welcome on the court that iGYM projects onto the floor. In one game — a…

Global concerns about climate change are not stopping General Motors from making large SUVs for U.S. drivers. GM on Tuesday rolled out the next generation of its big truck-based SUVs with more space and features. They’re also heavier with only a small improvement in gas mileage. The 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban will come out in the middle of next year. They’ll be longer and weigh more, because customer research showed a need for more interior space. “People wanted a greater ability to haul families and their cargo, so that was the baseline that set our decision-making process,” said Dwight Schoenefeld, lead development engineer on the SUVs. But Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, a Washington environmental group, said GM and other automakers spend billions on advertising to…