Tech News Today For December 2, 2016
Tech News Today For December 2, 2016
A massive cybercrime cloud-hosting network called Avalanche was dismantled, with raids in five countries after a four-year investigation. The botnet comprised more than 830,000 internet domains that were seized in the operation. At least 17 malware families are known to have been served from Avalanche, which has made its business renting out its cloud platform to cyber criminals dating as far back as 2009. Read more at ArsTechnica.com.
Whatever your feelings about Snapchat, the company has done a fantastic job avoiding the fake news problem by carefully curating stories from reputable hand-picked sources in its Snapchat Discover section. Now, Facebook might start doing that too. The first step is always admitting that you have a problem. There's no timeline for the new feature, but it looks like it will be separate from what your friends share so as to pop some of your filter bubble. Read more at businessinsider.com.
Cyanogen Inc, the company founded by those who had helped develop one of the most popular open source versions of Android for enthusiasts, has had a rocky road in its pursuit of commercializing CyanogenMod. First, CEO Kirt McMaster, who was once quoted as saying the company would “put a bullet through Google’s head” stepped aside a few months back to be replaced by COO Lior Tal. And now, Steve Kondik, the creator of the CyanogenMod ROM and Cyanogen Inc co-founder, has confirmed that he too is out. Read more at androidpolice.com.
The Human-Sized Atlas Robot from Boston Dynamics just achieved a new skill -- moving quickly on uneven, rough terrain. The better to chase you down, say those who don't welcome our robot overlords or to go into disaster zones and rescue people. The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition posted a video on YouTube showing Atlas balancing on partial footholds and using angular arm movements for balance, with none of the hijinks of those robot falling over videos we're used to seeing. The movement is very slow, but since it's based on an algorithm, roboticists could potentially speed it up so Atlas could travel more speedily off road. Read more at Engadget.com.
Long haul semis shouldn’t be left out in the cold when it comes to zero-emissions power, and the newly announced Nikola One is driving that point home with an operational range of up to 1200 miles on a charge. It’s powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and controls six electric motors, one for each axle. The big challenge, of course, is the small number of hydrogen fueling stations, but in 2018, Nikola is beginning construction of 364 stations across North America that all hydrogen-powered vehicles can use starting in late 2019. Read more at ArsTechnica.com.
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