computers

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Prosecutors: Ex-Yale Worker Swiped $40M in Electronics

Jamie Petrone pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which could land her in jail for up to 20 years

(Newser) - For nearly a decade, Jamie Petrone had the ability, in her role as an administrator for the Yale School of Medicine, to place orders for computers and other electronics for the school's Department of Emergency Medicine. Prosecutors say that routine administrative task turned into a yearslong scheme that brought...

FBI Warning: Beware of Free USB Drives
Free USB Drives
Could Be Costly
Jan 10, 2022 6:00 PM CST

Free USB Drives Could Be Costly

Hackers are loading malware and ransomware, hoping to fool users

(Newser) - The gesture seems so thoughtful. A package apparently from the Department of Health and Human Services is sent to a workplace, with a note saying the USB drives inside have important information about COVID-19 guidelines. Or an Amazon "decorative gift box" arrives, containing a thank-you note, a bogus gift...

Among Charges in Capitol Riot, a 'Bizarre Claim' About Russia

FBI investigating whether Pa. woman swiped computer from Pelosi office to sell to Russians

(Newser) - An engraved nameplate apparently isn't the only thing swiped from Nancy Pelosi's office during the Capitol riot. The FBI filed an arrest warrant Sunday against Pennsylvania woman Riley June Williams, with charges linked to the Jan. 6 attack in DC including entering a restricted building, disrupting the orderly...

Older Programmers Are Suddenly in High Demand

NJ urgently needs volunteers who know COBOL

(Newser) - People who know a computer programming language that has been around since the Eisenhower administration are suddenly in high demand. With unemployment claims surging amid the coronavirus pandemic, New Jersey has put out an urgent call for volunteers who know COBOL, the language that still underpins the state's unemployment...

For Poorer Students, School Shutdowns Illustrate a Problem

Some families don't have internet or computers at home

(Newser) - The pandemic that has launched a massive, unplanned experiment with distance learning has created extraordinary hurdles for schoolchildren left behind by the digital divide, per the AP . School districts and governments are now racing to give the millions of US students without home internet a chance of keeping up. Nationwide,...

Guy Who Invented Computer Task You Use a Lot Is Dead

Larry Tesler invented the copy-paste function for personal computers

(Newser) - You don't know the name, but you surely know one of his most famous innovations: Larry Tesler, the man who created the copy-paste function in personal computers, is dead at 74, reports the BBC . Tesler also is credited with creating the "find and replace" and "cut" functions....

Computer Plate Umps OK'd in New Labor Deal

Ping! "Steeee-rike!"

(Newser) - Computer plate umpires could be called up to the major leagues at some point during the next five seasons. Umpires agreed to cooperate with Major League Baseball in the development and testing of an automated ball-strike system as part of a five-year labor contract announced Saturday, sources tell the AP...

Japan's Cybersecurity Chief Doesn't Know What USB Drives Are

Yoshitaka Sakurada also doesn't use computers; that's what he has secretaries for

(Newser) - "Fake it until you make it" has apparently been the secret M.O. of Japan's cybersecurity chief, though it's not so secret anymore. The New York Times reports lawmakers there were "aghast" Wednesday when, during a parliamentary questioning session, 68-year-old Yoshitaka Sakurada admitted he doesn't...

Man Who Helped Shape the Computer Age Is Gone
Microsoft Co-Founder
Is Dead at 65
OBITUARY
Oct 16, 2018 12:21 AM CDT

Microsoft Co-Founder Is Dead at 65

Paul G. Allen is gone

(Newser) - Paul G. Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates before becoming a billionaire philanthropist who invested in conservation, space travel, and professional sports, died Monday. He was 65, the AP reports. His death was announced by his company, Vulcan Inc. Earlier this month Allen announced that the...

Scientists Link Devices' Blue Light to Serious Eye Trouble

When blue light hits our retinas, toxic molecules flow, killing eye cells we can't get back

(Newser) - Staring at your smartphone, tablet, or computer screen for hours on end may not only be fueling your online addiction—it could be wreaking havoc on your eyesight. So says a new study out of the University of Toledo, published in the Scientific Reports journal, and it's all because...

US Again Has World's Most Powerful Supercomputer

Summit will study everything from Alzheimer’s disease to supernovas

(Newser) - The Department of Energy is introducing a supercomputer that it believes is the world’s fastest, which would put the US at the head of the pack in a twice-a-year official ranking of the world’s 500 fastest computers . As the Wall Street Journal points out, the competition for fastest...

Users React to Possible Removal of Microsoft Paint

Computer graphics program may not show up in next update of Windows 10

(Newser) - For more than 30 years, purchasers of Microsoft's Windows package were assured their acquisition would come with Paint, the computer graphics program that allows users to create and edit image files. But per CNBC , a list updated last week by the company deems Paint "deprecated"—meaning it'...

There Is Now a 'Vaccine' for the Latest Global Cyberattack

Experts suspect motive for attack isn't money

(Newser) - Security researchers have been unable to find a "kill switch" for the latest cyberattack hitting systems around the world—but they have developed a vaccine. Researchers say that the Petya ransomware will not encrypt files on computers that have the read-only file "C:\Windows\perfc.dat," the BBC...

The Jobs That Bots Will Take Over First

Translators and truck drivers, beware

(Newser) - It’s not a question of "if," but "when" artificial intelligence will be able to perform your job better than you do, reports the MIT Technology Review . So when is when? That depends on what you do. According to 352 AI experts surveyed by researchers at the...

Musk: I Want to Link Brains to Computers in 4 Years

SpaceX CEO's new Neuralink firm would initially do this to help brain-injured humans

(Newser) - Elon Musk might be somewhat skittish at the prospect of artificial intelligence (or at least at its more nefarious potential), but that hasn't curbed his latest goal: merging human brains with computers by the time we reach the next presidential inauguration, Reuters reports. In what TechCrunch calls "the...

These Inmates Had One Job ... and Hid It in Prison Ceiling

Ohio prisoners tasked with recycling PCs used them to store porn, drug-making advice

(Newser) - In what sounds like a combo of The Shawshank Redemption and Hackers, two inmates at an Ohio prison were busted for repurposing PCs meant to be taken apart for recycling purposes, then stashing the DIY devices in a prison ceiling, the BBC reports. Even though the hidden handiwork was discovered...

Elon Musk's New Project Will Merge Brains, Computers

He wants to make 'neural lace' a reality

(Newser) - Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk's new venture isn't rocket science—it's brain surgery. The futurist entrepreneur's new company, Neuralink Corp., plans to merge human brains with computers, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . The computer interface would become part of the brain with the help...

How Scientists Are Cracking One of the World's Oldest Codes

Cognitive science and complex statistical processes are both playing into it: the Verge

(Newser) - Since the late 1800s, scientists have been stumped over small pieces of stone found buried in India and Pakistan, each carved with a line of symbols over a depiction of an animal—all evidence of the since-IDed Indus Valley Civilization, said to be the oldest Indian civilization known to exist....

The First Curved Laptop Is Here
The First Curved
Laptop Is Here
Aug 31, 2016 9:07 AM CDT

The First Curved Laptop Is Here

Acer's Predator 21x expected to cost more than $5K

(Newser) - With curved TVs in stores, it was only a matter of time before a curved laptop turned up. Revealed Wednesday in Berlin, Acer's Predator 21x is the first with a curved screen to go along with its two subwoofers, four speakers, five cooling fans, and a keypad that transforms...

'Rookie Card' Apple-1, Likely Finished by Jobs, Is for Sale

Expect the winning bid to be over $1M

(Newser) - An early Apple computer is up for auction, and it's a safe bet the winning bidder will be shelling out north of $1 million. The reason? The Apple-1 being sold at Charitybuzz appears to be a rare prototype likely hand-finished by Steve Jobs himself four decades ago, reports Recode...

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