Password power rankings: A look at the practices of 40+ popular websites Nothing should be more important for these sites and apps than the security of the users who keep them in business. Unfortunately, Dashlane found that that 46% of consumer sites, including Dropbox, Netflix, and Pandora, and 36% of enterprise sites, including DocuSign and Amazon Web Services, failed to implement the most basic password security requirements. Help Net Security
Army discovery may offer new energy source Army scientists and engineers recently made a groundbreaking discovery – an aluminum nanomaterial of their design produces high amounts of energy when it comes in contact with water, or with any liquid containing water. During routine materials experimentation at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, a team of researchers observed a bubbling reaction when adding water to a nano-galvanic aluminum-based powder. Army.mil
Every internet provider we've found offering plans with data caps This table includes every broadband Internet provider currently using "data caps" to limit Internet usage. As of Aug 13, 2017, we have 196 providers with data caps in our database. To help make sense of this data, we have also included the number of customers served by each provider so you can see how many people are affected by data limits. Broadband Now
HyperCard on the archive (celebrating 30 years of HyperCard) On August 11, 1987, Bill Atkinsonannounced a new product from Apple for the Macintosh; a multimedia, easily programmed system called HyperCard. HyperCard brought into one sharp package the ability for a Macintosh to do interactive documents with calculation, sound, music and graphics. It was a popular package, and thousands of HyperCard "stacks" were created using the software. Archive.org
The sensors automating your commute In a bout of frustration I recently realized that the roads have all updated --- most people have no idea how --- and this sometimes hurts the flow of traffic. This realization happened when an unfortunate person stopped in a left turn lane well before the stop line. The vehicle didn't trigger the sensor, so cycle after cycle went by and the traffic system never gave the left turn lane a green light, thinking the lane was unoccupied. Hackaday
Linux load averages: Solving the mystery Load averages are an industry-critical metric - my company spends millions auto-scaling cloud instances based on them and other metrics - but on Linux there's some mystery around them. Linux load averages track not just runnable tasks, but also tasks in the uninterruptible sleep state. Why? I've never seen an explanation. In this post I'll solve this mystery... Brendan Gregg
I fell victim to a $1,500 used camera lens scam on Amazon I've been ordering used lenses for years and have never had a problem with any purchases. That is, until now. I recently ordered a $1,500 used camera lens from Amazon. The lens never showed up, and Amazon is refusing to return my money because they claim the tracking number shows that it was delivered to my address. Petapixel
Low cost doppler radar J Beale took a low cost dopler radar and used a Teensy 3.2 and the audio library's Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) function to improve the sensor range. This is a really cool project. He used the audio library for a non-audio project to make an inexpensive radar module work much better. PJRC
Biohackers encoded malware in a strand of DNA When biologists synthesize DNA, they take pains not to create or spread a dangerous stretch of genetic code that could be used to create a toxin or, worse, an infectious disease. But one group of biohackers has demonstrated how DNA can carry a less expected threat---one designed to infect not humans nor animals but computers. Wired
How I reverse-engineered Hacker News Hacker News has a public API, and it's great. Live frontpage updates, live upvote counts, live comments. Everything you want or need at the tip of your fingers in real-time. But there's no write. You can't login, you can't upvote, and you can't post. You can't do anything but read. And you need writes to make a Hacker News App. Swizec
Intel EOLs Atom chip used for Microsoft HoloLens Intel is retiring its Atom x5-Z8100P SoC that is used inside Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality headset. With the last units shipped in late October, it looks like the software giant is on track with its next-generation HoloLens that is due to arrive in the coming quarters. AnandTech
480 Hz monitor prototype now at Blur Busters! We have received a prototype 480 Hz monitor at Blur Busters. Sent to us in kit form, we are now currently testing --- and an article is coming out shortly. Blur Busters
New Amiga to go on sale in late 2017 The world's getting a new Amiga for Christmas. Yes, that Amiga - the seminal Commodore microcomputers that brought mouse-driven GUIs plus slick and speedy graphics to the masses from 1985 to 1996. The Register