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The Iris Nebula in a Field of Dust What blue flower grows in this field of dark interstellar dust? The Iris Nebula . The striking blue color of the Iris Nebula is created by light from the bright star SAO 19158 reflecting off of a dense patch of normally dark dust . Not only is the star itself mostly blue, but blue light from the star is preferentially reflected by the dust -- the same affect that makes Earth's sky blue . The brown tint of the pervasive dust comes partly from photoluminescence -- dust converting ultraviolet radiation to red light. Cataloged as NGC 7023, the Iris Nebula is studied frequently because of the unusual prevalence there of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), complex molecules that are also released on Earth during the incomplete combustion of wood fires. The bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula spans about six light years. The Iris Nebula, ...

Facebook's Cambridge Analytica troubles are far from over and a new class action lawsuit over the scandal might be on the way. Wired reports today that a group of UK residents has sent the company a letter before claim, in which they highlight the many instances where the social media giant failed to protect its users' privacy and demand answers to a list of questions. Represented by UK-based law firm Irvine Thanvi Natas Solicitors, the UK residents all had their data obtained by Cambridge Analytica, and their attorney says that if their questions aren't answered within 14 days, legal action could be taken. The 27-page letter, which Wired was able to review, claims that Facebook violated the UK's Data Protection Act, which could entitle the dozens of claimants to compensation. The claimants want more thorough answers to questions about who had access t...

Robot vacuums can frequently map a floor of your home to clean without much fuss. But if you aren't living in an apartment or bungalow, you probably have multiple floors -- where's the robovac for that? Neato thinks it can oblige. It's releasing a software update to the Botvac D7 Connected that lets its automated cleaner create maps for up to three floors. You'll still have to haul the robot up and down the sta irs, but that beats buying another model just to avoid breaking out conventional cleaning tools. Neato is selling stand-alone charging stations (currently $40 each) to save you from moving the power source every time. The update promises to make larger cleaning jobs easier, for that matter. It includes a "Quick Boost" charging feature that has the robot calculate the electricity it needs to complete a given cleaning task, and ...

It's a toll free "Apple Care" number, meaning that in theory it shouldn't cost you a thing - so what's the harm in calling just in case? via Naked Security https://ift.tt/2Oswdi1 If New feed item from http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/feed/ , then send m

Teslas are nothing if not giant batteries on wheels , so it would only make sense if you could use the battery for something other than getting from A to B, wouldn't it? You will soon. Elon Musk has teased the future addition of a "party & camper mode" that will keep the car's climate systems, "selective" lights, audio and device-powering features alive for "48 hours or more" while the car is stationary. Yes, you could host an all-day tailgate party with your Model X while the music keeps pumping and your phone stays charged. The automaker introduced a pseudo-camper mode in 2017, but that would only keep the climate system turned on -- and then only while you were present in the car. There are plenty of unanswered questions, and not just about the release schedule. We don't know how much battery life you'll hav...

Congress is still a long way off from greenlighting Trump's proposed Space Force , but that isn't stopping the Pentagon from outlining plans for the new military branch. Defense One has obtained a leaked draft proposal that reveals some of the potential changes. The military would move quickly, creating a US Space Command by the end of 2018 that watches over space operations across the armed forces. The Pentagon would rec ommend that the leader of Air Force Space Command also head up this new division. Simultaneously, officials would establish a Space Operations Force that would include personnel (including civilians) from the whole military. It'd be ready quickly -- "space experts" would go to the European and Indo-Pacific Commands by summer 2019. The proposal, crafted by Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, would also lead to a maj...

Huawei overtook Apple and moved up into second place in market share of worldwide smartphone shipments in Q2 2018, according to data from IDC, Canalys, and Strategy Analytics. The company shipped over 54 million handsets in the second quarter compared to the 41.3 million iPhones that Apple sold and Samsung's 73 million units. "The arrival of Huawei in the second position marks the first quarter since 2Q10 where Apple has not been the number one or two smartphone company in terms of market share," IDC said in its press release . According to IDC's figures, Q2 market share breaks down as follows: Samsung had 20.9 percent, Huawei had 15.8 (a new record for the company), and Apple had 12.1 percent share. Xiaomi and Oppo rounded out the list.... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2LIdGjK ...

A judge today granted a request for a restraining order temporarily blocking a controversial plan to post 3D-printed gun blueprints online. The restraining order was one more turn in a years-long legal skirmish over Defense Distributed, a Texas organization run by a man named Cody Wilson that is looking to make homemade firearms available to the masses through 3D printing. Wilson had planned to post the blueprints tomorrow, after reaching a settlement with the Trump administration last month that allowed the plan to go forward. Blueprints were set to be posted tomorrow But nine attorneys general intervened earlier this week, arguing that the settlement is unconstitutional. A federal judge in Seattle today halted the scheduled release of... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2AsUNMK ...

Today U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik granted a temporary restraining order sought by eight state attorneys general to block the sale of designs for 3D-printed guns. Based on a settlement between Defense Distributed and the US Department of State, they could have gone on sale starting tomorrow, but now that is on hold. In both the House and Senate, bills were introduced to block the sales, and this morning the President tweeted the plan "doesn't seem to make much sense!" Developing... Granted: Judge issues temporary restraining order blocking federal government from allowing distribution of downloadable 3D printed ghost guns — WA Attorney General (@AGOWA) July 31, 2018 Source: AP , New York Times via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2Owm1VH ...

Apple Pay is making its way to two of its fiercest opponents. As part of Apple's financial results call, Tim Cook revealed that both 7-Eleven and CVS would introduce support for the tap-to-pay service (and, by extension, equivalents like Google Pay) later in 2018. He also confirmed that Germany would offer Apple Pay by the end of the year. There wasn't any mention of how quickly it would roll out to the two retailers or why they'd changed their mind, but the news likely represe nts an admission of defeat for the two store chains. If you'll recall, both 7-Eleven and CVS were members of Merchant Customer Exchange , the alliance that created the CurrentC mobile payment format. It was supposed to help stores both cut transaction fees and gather more shopper data, and retailers even dropped support for tap-to-pay to spur adoption. They were fully ready ...

Facebook this evening announced that it's shutting off access to its application programming interface, the developer platform that lets app makers access user data, for hundreds of thousands of inactive apps. The company had set an August 1st deadline back in May, during its F8 developer conference , for developers and businesses to re-submit apps to an internal review, a process that involves signing new contracts around user data collection and verifying one's authenticity. The goal is to ensure third-party software on Facebook was in line with the company's data privacy rules and new restrictions put in place in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal , in which a third-party developer siphoned user data and sold it to another... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2n1X2Ns ...