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Showing posts from July 26, 2018

Embracing a DevOps Mindset in VMware IT Private Cloud Operations

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by Brian Smith, Senior Director, Cloud and Productivity Engineering, and Shane van Bentum, Director, Cloud Operations, VMware VMware's private cloud is continually evolving as new services are added to meet business demand. As with many established operations teams, Senior Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) were assigned to architecture, engineering, and development, while the Junior SREs focused The post Embracing a DevOps Mindset in VMware IT Private Cloud Operations appeared first on VMware on VMware . via Latest imported feed items on VMware Blogs https://ift.tt/2LSs456 If New feed item from https://blogs.vmware.com/feed , then send me an email at kr

Nintendo's Vehicle Labo kit builds cardboard controls Sept. 14th

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The Nintendo Labo family of cardboard Switch accessories is growing, with a third kit that will arrive September 14th. The Toy-Con 03 Vehicle Kit can be configured to control an on-screen car, plane or submarine, plus a key to activate them. The various pieces and rubber bands put your Joy-Con to work in a steering wheel, pedal or joystick-like configuration, similar to the other Labo kits (Robot and Variety). Once they're built you can link them to the switch and go adventuring via land, sea or air in one- or two-player modes. We've seen a few expansions arrive already for the existing Labo devices like an update adding support for use as a Mario Kart controller , and anticipate similar enhancements for this one. When it arrives, it will go on sale for $70 just like the existing Variety kit, which is $10 cheaper than the Robot setup. Make, Play &a

Astronomy Picture of the Day: Mars Opposition

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Mars Opposition Look opposite the Sun in the sky tonight and you'll see Mars at its brightest . Also within days of its closest approach Mars rises at sunset, near its brightest and best for telescopic observers too, except for the dust storm still blanketing the Red Planet. These two Hubble Space Telescope images compare Mars' appearance near its 2016 and 2018 oppositions . In 2016 the martian atmosphere was clear. Captured just days ago , the 2018 image shows almost the same face of Mars. Surface features obscured by dust, the planet's cloud enshrouded south pole is tilted more toward the Sun. Increased heat in the southern hemisphere spring and summer likely triggers planet wide dust storms. Of course, if you look opposite the Sun in the sky tonight, you'll also see a Full Moon near Mars. Skygazers NOT located in North America could see the Red Planet near a Red Mo

Facebook pulls back the curtain on its content moderators

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When someone reports an offensive post on Facebook (or asks for a review on a message caught by its automatic filters, where does it go? Part of the the process is, as it always has been , powered by humans, with thousands of content reviewers around the world. Last year Facebook said it would expand the team to 7,500 people , and in an update posted today explaining more about their jobs , it appears that mark has been hit. The size is intended to have people available for review in a post's native language, although some items like nudity might be handled without regard to location. Of course, there's extensive training and ongoing reviews to try and keep everyone consistent -- although some would argue that the bar for consistency is misplaced . Facebook didn't reveal too much about the individuals behind the moderation curtain, specifically citing the shoo

Stealth horror game 'Hello Neighbor' arrives on mobile devices

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Stealth horror game Hello Neighbor puts you at odds with the creepy next-door neighbor, tasking you with sneaking in to his house to find his secrets while you avoid getting found out. Just one day before the game is slated to launch on PS4 and Switch (it originally came out for Xbox and PC), it's available on mobile platforms . Developer TinyBuild is releasing the first act for free on mobile so you can try before you buy; the full game can be unlocked for $15. That's not a bad deal, as it will run you $30 on PS4 and Xbox and cost $10 more on Switch. Hello Neighbor is available on both the App Store and Google Play now. Supported mobile devices include iPhone 6s, iPad 5 (2017), iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4 or newer iOS gadgets, along with select Android devices. Source: TinyBuild/Twitter via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.

Twitter again says it doesn't 'shadow ban'

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Over the last day or so, an article alleged that Twitter was showing bias against conservative political figures by failing to auto-populate their names in the search box. Once the president's account tweeted about it this morning, it officially became a thing, and the company repeatedly tried to explain how multiple factors affected a number of accounts showing up in search , not just those on one particular political side. We've gone in-depth on the issue already , but if you need more information from the source, there's a new blog post from Twitter explaining more about what goes into its search feature and why a certain account might not appear right away. Once again, product lead Kayvon Beykpour and Legal, Policy and Trust & Safety Lead Vijaya Gadde put their names out there proclaiming that Twitter does not "shadow ban," and said that hundred

Oddball is a drum machine controller you toss around to make beats

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Making beats with various drum machines and sequencers can be a fairly sterile affair. Typically, you hit some buttons on a rectangular box or click grid squares in a software interface, looping the pattern again and again until you've created a beat you're happy with. A new Kickstarter project, however, changes the game completely with Oddball , the beat-making ball that you can bounce, hit and toss to create beats kinesthetically. Oddball is both a bouncy ball with pressure sensitive sensors inside and a mobile app. You use the app to connect to the Oddball and assign different drum-like sounds to it, then bounce. You can build up beats as you change the sound of the Oddball, looping them all together while you record into the app. You can monitor the beat you're making with headphones, external speakers or even just your phone. The bouncing beat-makers

Georgia congressman is the latest to introduce data privacy bills

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Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) announced today that he's introducing two bills that address digital privacy, one that specifically focuses on data privacy on mobile devices and another that would allow consumers to opt out of data collection. In a press release, he noted that the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed how little control consumers have over their digital data and highlighted evidence that US residents want more. "Privacy is an issue that should unite us, not drive us apart," Johnson said in a statement . "We have fully entered the era of big data, and consumers access the internet through mobile devices now more than ever. It's past time our laws to reflect this reality through common sense rules for data collection, transparency and use." The first piece of legislation, the Application Privacy, Protection and Security (APPS

Idaho prison inmates exploited tablet vulnerability to steal $225,000 in credits

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A group of 364 prison inmates housed across a series of Idaho corrections facilities collectively stole nearly $225,000 worth of digital credits by exploiting a vulnerability in tablets provided by a company called JPay, according to the Associated Press . JPay is a private company that provides digital services like email, music, games, and money transfer to prison inmates. JPay provides inmates with access to the outside world, and prisons often adopt its services to help with rehabilitation and education. It does not appear to use taxpayer money to fund any of its services, nor does any of its revenue from digital sales typically go to the state. Instead, JPay will either let family members or friends of inmates purchase the tablet for... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2NJMw8T

Centauro is a disaster-response robot that looks like a horse

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These days, most robots under development seem to be based on humans. However, a tweak to these designs might actually make robots more effective and stable. Centauro is based on the design of a centaur, hence the name, and its four legs on wheels provide movement and freedom that have been unachievable with comparable bipedal models. Its human-like torso and arms allow it to perform fine motor functions. The robot stands 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet) tall and weighs 93 kgs (just over 200 lbs). Its skeleton is composed of lightweight metals, and its body is covered in 3D-printed plastic. Batteries can keep Centauro operational for about 2.5 hours. The robot is not autonomous; it requires a human operator, which is a job that takes quite a bit of training. Disaster response is the main goal for Centauro, and its leg structure give it added mobility in precarious are

This cat-poop parasite can change your brain, but it probably won't make you an entrepreneur

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Health Let's all say it together: correlations are not causations! The infamous parasite has been making headlines for supposedly making entrepreneurs less risk-averse. But does the science really bear that out? via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2Lr3mfV"

Coinbase finds no wrongdoing in Bitcoin Cash insider trading probe

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Last December, Coinbase halted trading of Bitcoin Cash just hours after it unexpectedly announced the addition of the cryptocurrency to its platform. The company, which initially said it wouldn't support Bitcoin Cash, a hard fork of Bitcoin, reversed its position, later saying it would add the currency by January 1st, 2018. Surprising many, it then announced access to Bitcoin Cash on December 19th, but the currency had already begun experi encing a price surge in the hours before the announcement, leading many to speculate that Coinbase employees who knew about the addition ahead of time had started buying up Bitcoin Cash in expectation of a price increase once Coinbase officially announced its availability. Accusations of insider trading led Coinbase to launch an investigation into the matter, which has now been wrapped up. A spokesperson told Fortune that the