Brute Force Updates

Brute Force Updates
Number	2539
Broadcast Date	JULY 17, 2015
Episode Length	43:42
Hosts	Tom Merritt
Guests	Patrick Norton, Len Peralta

Patrick Norton and Tom Merritt discuss Microsoft’s new policy to force updates on Windows 10 Home users and get Patrick’s early thoughts on living in Windows 10. Len Peralta will upstage all that with another awesome in-show illustration.

Guest

• Patrick Norton
  • TekThing
  • Threatwire's Patreon
• Len Peralta
  • All DTNS drawings
  • This episode's drawing

Headlines

• Windows 10 updates to be automatic and mandatory for Home users

Windows 10 Home users will not be able to turn off automatic updates. Build 10240 of Windows 10’s Insider Preview has finalized settings and terms of service. Tim Anderson at the Register spotted a line in the terms that says “By accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of automatic updates without any additional notice.” Ars Technica notes that Windows Pro users will get a little more leeway, seemingly around 8 months to delay updates and Enterprise users can delay them for years if they wish.

• Tesla's new 'Ludicrous Speed Upgrade' for the Model S costs $10,000

The Verge reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a $10,000 upgrade to the P85D Model S electric sedan called "Ludicrous Mode." The upgrade will allow the electric car to go from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds with 1.1 G of force. The car will achieve 155 miles per hour 20% faster than a standard P85D. Musk described the acceleration as "faster than falling." There's also a battery pack upgrade from 85 kilowatt-hours to 90 kilowatt-hours, and a rear-wheel-drive Model S 70 available for $70,000. But seriously. Musk announced the Tesla P85D gets to "Ludicrous speed." And lest you think Tesla was not in on their own joke: from the press release "There is of course one speed faster than ludicrous, but that is reserved for the next generation Roadster in 4 years: maximum plaid."

• reddit rolls out new rules, CEO says hiding racist subreddits is better than banning them

reddit's co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman conducted an AMA yesterday posting some details of new policies. The following will not be allowed on Reddit: Spam, Anything illegal, Publication of private and confidential information, inciting harm or violence harassment and bullying, and Sexually suggestive content featuring minors. Certain offensive or adult subreddits will be reclassified carrying a warning an requiring opt-in such as logging in.

• Car hits Google self-driving vehicle, drivers checked for “minor whiplash”

In a blog post yesterday Google announced once of its self-driving cars got into its first injury accident causing a “a bit of minor whiplash.” according to Ars Technica. The July 1st accident is Google’s 14th since 2009 all of which have been the fault of other drivers. Chris Urmson, the head of the self-driving car team, wrote the Google car was rear-ended at 17 mph.

• Email Spam Rates Dip Below 50 Percent

PC Mag reports that overall spam rates have dropped below 50 percent for the first time in 12 years. According to Symantec, the rate of unwanted emails reached 49.7 percent. The last time the rate was so low was September 2003. The industry with the highest rate of spam e-mail sent? Mining.

• MPs win surveillance powers legal challenge

The BBC reports that Two British MPs have won a High Court battle over laws which require businesses to keep records on data and phone calls and allow law enforcement powers to view records for suspected criminals. David Davis and Tom Watson argued the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act was incompatible with human rights. The high court found aspects of the law breached Article 7 and 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The ruling effectively nullifies aspects of the legislation, although that order has been suspended until next March. Her Majesty's government will appeal the ruling.

• Nanotechnology to be translated into Setswana

BizTechAfrica notes the Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation or BITRI is conducting a nanotechnology challenge. People within Botswana have until July 31st to submit a suggested translation of the term nanotechnology into a Setswana word or phrase. The program is meant to raise awareness of nanotechnology and winners will receive tablets.

News From You

• Internet TV streaming isn't dead yet: US judge delivers potential landmark ruling

A US federal judge ruled that Internet-based video-streaming service FilmOn is entitled to the same compulsory copyright license that cable systems get according to Ars Technica. Aereo lost a similar case when it made the same arguments in court last year. US District Judge George Wu acknowledged that his preliminary decision is in direct conflict with the 2nd Circuit, and he said he'll allow an immediate appeal to the 9th Circuit. The TV broadcasters who sued FilmOn for copyright infringement, which include all four major TV networks, are almost certain to appeal.

Submitted by ComplexedOne

• Electric vehicle batteries are getting cheaper much faster than we expected
• Life cycle air quality impacts of conventional and alternative light-duty transportation in the United States
• New Study Doesn't Say 'Electric Cars Aren't Green' (Headlines To The Contrary)

Ars Technica has a writeup of a paper published in Nature Climate Change confirming that the cost of Lithium-ion battery packs are falling. Costs of producing battery packs fell faster than projected from $1,000/kWh in 2007 to $450/kWh in 2014 and continue to fall. And the largest manufacturers are creating the packs at $300/kWh. Costs of battery packs need to fall below $150/kWh to become cost-competitive with internal combustion vehicles. The authors of the paper estimate that won’t happen until after 2020.

Submitted by gacorley

Discussion

• Windows 10 updates to be automatic and mandatory for Home users
• Microsoft to Windows 10 consumers: You'll get updates LIKE IT or NOT
• Microsoft confirms plans to sell Windows 10 on USB drives, opens preorders on Amazon
• Windows 10's forced automatic updates are a good idea

Pick of the Day

• Disa | Unified Messenger

Samuel from Semi-Sunny Pretoria, South Africa here and I have a pick of the day for you.

In the last episode Veronica was in she (or was it you?) lamented about Facebook Messenger and that she wished for an alternative. Well, there is one! It is called Disa (www.disa.im). It proclaims itself as your Messaging hub so its like a universal inbox for messaging.

It works via plugins and at the moment there is plugins for SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram. It also has PushBullet (www.pushbullet.com) support. The framework is also open source, so anyone can develop a plugin for it. Its currently available in Beta form for Android with iOS coming soon. I have been using it for a while now and find it quite good, although being a Beta there are some quirks, like messages taking a while to arrive, but I am sure they are working on it!

Keep up the good work, I very much enjoy your show here in deep darkest Africa ;)

Cheers!

Submitted by Samuel from Semi-Sunny Pretoria, South Africa

Links

• This episode on dailytechnewsshow.com
• Support DTNS on Patreon
• DTNS subreddit

Preceded by: "Amazon Is Past Its Prime Day"

Brute Force Updates

Followed by: "Stop, Drop, and Land Your Drone"