Tech News Flash

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Tech News Flash: Monday -- August 19, 2019

TechNewsWorld -- All Tech - All The Time
https://www.TechNewsWorld.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Sanity-Saving Tips From a Heavy Traveler
YouTube as Political Influencer Takes the Spotlight
Slackel Linux Works Well Inside Its Openbox
28M Records Exposed in Biometric Security Data Breach
Snap Unwraps $380 High-Tech Specs

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Today's Story Highlights

Sanity-Saving Tips From a Heavy Traveler
I'm on the road about 50 percent of the time, and I'm often asked for
advice on how to have a better trip -- what to carry with you, where to
sit, how to manage frequent flier programs, and so forth. One of my
first really bad travel experiences was during my stint in IBM Internal
Audit. I was auditing an IBM corporate site when the rules were three-
piece suit, white shirt and tie.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86190.html

YouTube as Political Influencer Takes the Spotlight
YouTube, which operates as one of Google's subsidiaries, is under
increased scrutiny after a report earlier this month highlighted the
role it played in the recent presidential election in Brazil. Among
concerns is YouTube's installation of a new AI system that can suggest
additional videos to watch. The goal arguably is not much different from
the way newspapers offer links to other stories.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86188.html

Slackel Linux Works Well Inside Its Openbox
The latest release of Slackel Linux renews and improves the mashup of
Slackware and Salix built around an Openbox pseudo desktop environment.
Slackel 7.2 hit the download servers on July 20, eight months after the
release of Slackel 7.1 Openbox edition. Slackel also is available in two
older versions running the KDE and Fluxbox environments. All releases
are available in 64-bit and 32-bit builds.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86185.html

28M Records Exposed in Biometric Security Data Breach
Researchers associated with vpnMentor, which provides virtual private
network reviews, discovered a data breach involving nearly 28 million
records in a BioStar 2 biometric security database belonging to Suprema.
"BioStar 2's database was left open, unprotected and unencrypted,"
vpnMentor said. "After we reached out to them, they were able to close
the leak."
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86186.html

Snap Unwraps $380 High-Tech Specs
With the announcement of its Spectacles 3 sunglasses, Snap must be
hoping three times will be the charm. Unlike the two previous
generations, Spectacles 3 has two HD cameras to add depth perception to
the peepers' repertoire. "The second camera for depth should improve
capture and the overall experience, if not add anything truly new," said
Eric Abbruzzese, senior analyst at ABI Research.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86184.html

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The beauty of a ray-traced 'Minecraft'

It's Monday, August 19, 2019. Hey, good morning! Welcome back! Over the weekend, you might have missed a pretty intense graphical overhaul of Minecraft, Twitter ads as political weapons in Hong Kong and if you’ve been looking for a Sonos speaker, but portable, we’ve got news for you. Some things are already clear.   24 hours with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+   Late last week, Chris Velazco picked up a shiny new Galaxy Note 10+ (in that trippy Aura Glow finish, no less). It was too early for a  full review, but after 24 hours of fiddling with it, there are a few features and flourishes that are worth digging into right now. He dives into the S Pen and the new display.   Other new ray-traced titles include ‘Dying Light 2’ and ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.’   NVIDIA ray-tracing on 'Minecraft' looks surprisingly cool   Minecraft's blocky world is a surreal place to bring realism. However, NVIDIA and Microsoft have announced that they've done exactly that, bringing RTX ray-tracing powers to the world-building game. "In normal Minecraft, a block of gold just appears yellow," said Minecraft's Saxs Persson, "but with ray tracing turned on, you really get to see the specular highlight, you get to see the reflection, you can even see a mob reflected in it." I love me some specular highlights. Microsoft developer Mojang and NVIDIA added a type of ray tracing called path tracing to the Windows 10 version of the game. That realistically simulates a variety of lighting conditions, including direct light sources (like the sun or glowing lava), hard and soft shadows, diffuse global illumination, reflections, refraction and atmospheric scattering. On top of the Minecraft update, NVIDIA also announced ray-tracing for new games including RPG Dying Light 2, Metro Exodus - The Two Colonels DLC and SYNCED: Off Planet. It's also bringing the feature to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Control, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Watch Dogs: Legion and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. If you bought an old model, you might be stuck with it.   Nintendo says there is no Switch exchange program   You might not want to buy a first-generation Switch with the assumption Nintendo will replace it with a new model. A Nintendo spokesperson has denied that swaps are available, telling The Verge that "we do not have a Nintendo Switch exchange program." It's not clear why customer service representatives are saying otherwise.  Sponsored Content by Stack Commerce Become an ethical hacker with this $39 bundle Twitter ads are being used as political weapons.   Twitter is displaying China-made ads attacking Hong Kong protesters   Twitter is finding itself at the heart of a heated political battle. Pinboard and other users have observed Twitter running ads from China's state-backed media outlet Xinhua attacking the Hong Kong protesters opposed to both a (since-suspended) extradition bill and broader dissatisfaction with the government. The ads try to portray the protests as "escalating violence" and calls for "order to be restored." Other ads have highlighted alleged supporters of the Chinese "motherland" and have pointed out Hong Kong's economic troubles from earlier in the year.   Including its Sonos Move name.   Sonos' portable smart speaker leaks in greater detail   There might not be much of a surprise left by the time Sonos unveils its first portable speaker. Leaked pictures show off how the hybrid smart speaker will work -- including what it's called. Known as the Sonos Move, it won't be just a slightly squashed Sonos One with a battery. There looks to be a recessed grip to help you tote the speaker from place to place, and you'll also find a toggle for switching between Bluetooth (portable) and WiFi (home) connections. The leak also offers a first peek at the Move's docking station and reveals just how you'll charge after your audio adventures are over. In addition to the USB-C connection for on-the-go power, there will be dedicated contacts to hook into the charging station itself. You'll just have to click the Move into place to recover.   But wait, there's more... 1. How to stream college sports without losing your mind 2. The best consoles, games and accessories ahead of the start of term 3. SpaceX Starman Roadster completes its first orbit around the Sun 4. MIT experts find a way to reduce video stream buffering on busy WiFi

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Editor's Pick: YouTube as Political Influencer Takes the Spotlight

YouTube as Political Influencer Takes the Spotlight

Peter Suciu Aug 16, 2019 2:45 AM PT

YouTube, which operates as one of Google's subsidiaries, is under increased scrutiny after a report earlier this month highlighted the role it played in the recent presidential election in Brazil. Among concerns is YouTube's installation of a new AI system that can suggest additional videos to watch. The goal arguably is not much different from the way newspapers offer links to other stories. [More...]

More Picks:

Faulty Driver Coding Exposes Microsoft Windows to Malware Risks Numerous driver design flaws by 20 different hardware vendors expose Microsoft Windows users to widespread security compromises that can cause persistent malware attacks. A report titled "Screwed Drivers," which Eclypsium security researchers presented at DEF CON, urges Microsoft to support solutions to better protect against this class of vulnerabilities. [More...]

How to Distro Hop With a Web Browser Getting familiar with Linux up close and personal is easy to do with a free service provided by DistroTest.net, which allows testing without ISO downloads or local installations. Are you a wandering Linux distro hopper looking for a way to streamline the selection process? Are you a Windows or macOS user who wants to try Linux? Linux has countless distributions and dozens of desktop environments. [More...]

28M Records Exposed in Biometric Security Data Breach Researchers associated with vpnMentor, which provides virtual private network reviews, discovered a data breach involving nearly 28 million records in a BioStar 2 biometric security database belonging to Suprema. "BioStar 2's database was left open, unprotected and unencrypted," vpnMentor said. "After we reached out to them, they were able to close the leak." [More...]

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ECT News Network, Inc. 16133 Ventura Blvd., Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436

ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter

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ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter: Friday -- August 16, 2019

ECT News Network -- Where Business Meets Technology
https://www.ectnews.com
E-Commerce Times | TechNewsWorld
CRM Buyer | LinuxInsider

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This Week's Top News Headlines From the E-Commerce Times

Faulty Driver Coding Exposes Microsoft Windows to Malware Risks
(Posted 15-Aug-19)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86187.html

Spotify for Podcasters Hits the Open Road
(Posted 14-Aug-19)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86182.html

The Apple Card Difference: Security
(Posted 13-Aug-19)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86181.html

The Future of Entertainment Services Authentication
(Posted 12-Aug-19)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86179.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From TechNewsWorld

YouTube as Political Influencer Takes the Spotlight
(Posted 16-Aug-19)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86188.html

28M Records Exposed in Biometric Security Data Breach
(Posted 15-Aug-19)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86186.html

Snap Unwraps $380 High-Tech Specs
(Posted 14-Aug-19)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86184.html

Samsung Announces Monster 108MP Smartphone Sensor
(Posted 13-Aug-19)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86180.html

Technology Could End Mass Shootings
(Posted 12-Aug-19)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86176.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From CRM Buyer

ClickSoftware Buy Signals Important Directional Shift for Salesforce
(Posted 13-Aug-19)
http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/86183.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From LinuxInsider

How to Distro Hop With a Web Browser
(Posted 14-Aug-19)
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/86178.html

News Alerts From ECT News Network
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You are receiving this newsletter in response to your request on an
ECT News Network site. If you wish to make changes to your
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FREE newsletter, please use our Newsletter sign-up wizard:
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Copyright 2019 ECT News Network, Inc.
16133 Ventura Blvd., Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436
All Rights Reserved.