Saturday, August 29, 2015

Removing those ignoring folders from “This PC” in Windows 10 | BJ's Technology News Blog

Removing those ignoring folders from “This PC” in Windows 10 | BJ's Technology News Blog:



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How to remove Quick access from File Explorer in Windows 10 | Windows Central

How to remove Quick access from File Explorer in Windows 10 | Windows Central:



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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

[WP] You are a world-class programmer who has died. God agrees to allow you in to Heaven on the condition that you work for him while he debugs the human body. Write the patch notes for the next version of humans. : WritingPrompts

hehe

Homo v. 1.5 release: Homo modernus
New features:
  • Improved and sustained acuity of visual sensory systems. They should no longer wear out as quickly.
  • Female models now have access to facial hair growth.
  • In order to facilitate numerical reasoning, an arithmetic logic unit has been included in the frontal lobe.
Bugfixes:
  • Fixed an issue where memory systems would report a new experience as having happened before.
  • Fixed an issue where the immune system would incorrectly respond to nonthreatening foreign substances.
  • Fixed multiple issues where the immune system would incorrectly attack other native systems, causing significant damage.
  • Fixed an issue where sensory systems would produce unintelligible output while asleep.
  • Fixed an issue where the male reproductive system would identify various foreign objects as being suitable to mate with.
  • Fixed an issue where memory systems would report a new experience as having happened before.
  • Fixed an issue where cell growth restrictions could be ignored, causing uncontrollable cell growth, leading to severe damage to nearby systems and potentially full system shutdown.
  • Fixed an issue in some models where lactase production would continue past physical maturity.
Additional notes:
Multiple bodily systems are no longer supported and will be removed from subsequent models, including:
  • Appendix
  • Wisdom teeth
  • Coccyx
Previous patch notes:
v1.0 Homo habilis[1]
v1.1 Homo erectus[2]
v1.4 Homo sapiens[5]

SACRAMENTO, Calif.: California lawmakers approve drone trespassing crime bills | Technology | Bradenton Herald

Good news, everyone!

Saturday, August 22, 2015

[ANN][XMG] Coin Magi | CPU mining | PoS-II | PoM | Unique BLK reward | [MagiPay]

XMG mining software for Windows

Windows 64 bit

Full packages:-

.rar https://www.dropbox.com/s/hiadf8o5u7bsit7/XMGpoolminerWin64.rar?dl=0

.zip https://www.dropbox.com/s/6hmlajdp0qgmcfi/XMGpoolminerWin64.zip?dl=0

self-extracting .exe (extracts to C:\XMGminer by default) https://www.dropbox.com/s/dw7yjssjrrqp0m1/XMGpoolminerWin64.exe?dl=0

Minerd binaries only:-

.rar https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8puq9w6uc240mx/Spexx-Win64-generic-XMGminerd.rar?dl=0

.zip https://www.dropbox.com/s/o8i726sxnwe2wxa/Spexx-Win64-generic-XMGminerd.zip?dl=0

self-extracting .exe (extracts to C:\XMGminer by default) https://www.dropbox.com/s/uudj2npeyixesjb/Spexx-Win64-generic-XMGminerd.exe?dl=0

Windows 32 bit (new release today)

Full packages:-

.rar https://www.dropbox.com/s/dii8cvz7lp8xuey/XMGpoolminerWin32.rar?dl=0

.zip https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwb4xvkv15kpol1/XMGpoolminerWin32.zip?dl=0

self-extracting .exe (extracts to C:\XMGminer\32bit by default) https://www.dropbox.com/s/qlak24sxn6ookaz/XMGpoolminerWin32.exe?dl=0

Minerd binaries only:-

.rar https://www.dropbox.com/s/5nikel2wglhpsrk/Spexx-Win32-generic-XMGminerd.rar?dl=0

.zip https://www.dropbox.com/s/ti8rnetlqmin4t1/Spexx-Win32-generic-XMGminerd.zip?dl=0

self-extracting .exe (extracts to C:\XMGminer\32bit by default) https://www.dropbox.com/s/z8mjcrxavgnfalu/Spexx-Win32-generic-XMGminerd.exe?dl=0

Please refer to this earlier post https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=735170.msg9285948#msg9285948 for some details about the full package versions. The package includes some Windows batch file "wrappers" and a Setup.bat file to help you get up and running.

Please also refer to these later posts for updates:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=735170.msg9732786#msg9732786
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=735170.msg10712548#msg10712548

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Bitcoin Fork Due To Algorithmic Differences

Written by Mike James   
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
We all know that Bitcoin has been a huge success and that it is based on an innovative algorithm that allows a decentralized ledger to be constructed. However, not everything about the Bitcoin algorithm is perfect and now an attempt to make up for its biggest problem has the potential to cause a split.
Not everyone agrees as to what the biggest problem with the Bitcoin algorithm is. A lot depends on what you think Bitcoin is for.

bitcoing

Some think that Bitcoin is an alternative currency to be used for big infrequent transactions. Others think that you should be able to use it to buy your morning coffee. 
Currently Bitcoin isn't really suited to high-volume, low-value transactions for many different reasons, but the main one is the rate at which transactions are processed.
The Bitcoin algorithm builds a ledger of transactions - the blockchain - using a proof-of-work authentication algorithm. Transactions which are candidates to be added to the ledger are grouped together into a block. Miners then verify the block and compete in a race to complete an algorithm. When a miner has solved the problem they have the right to validate the block and add it to the ledger. They also get a reward of newly minted Bitcoins for their effort. The miner who solves the problem can be considered as being picked at random (pseudo random to be closer to the truth). This means that it isn't possible to forge a block and self verify it. The proof of work algorithm means that miners have no incentive to cheat.  
The problem is that the algorithm modifies the difficulty of the proof of work task so that it takes about ten minutes. Given that a block cannot be bigger than 1Mbyte you can see that that this limits the number of transactions per second. Currently is it around 3 per second, which needs to be compared to the VISA network which processes 20,000 plus transactions per second. 
You can't change the proof-of-work algorithm easily, but increasing the block size would increase the number of transactions per second and this is what the argument is all about. 

bitcoinxt

Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn, two of the five core developers, have released Bitcoin XT, an alternative version of the core software that supports increasing the block size when required.
It is suggested that if XT is adopted then the default block size should go up to 8Mbytes, which would allow 24 transactions per second to be processed. There are other improvements in XT but the block size is the controversial issue.
Why could increasing the block size be something to object to?
There are some strange objections which are more to do with the very nature of the Bitcoin technology. Currently the complete ledger is over 40GBytes, which has to be downloaded in its entirety to operate a full node. Once downloaded the ledger is updated incrementally. It is argued that a bigger block size would deter smaller operators from dealing with Bitcoin. This doesn't seem to be a reasonable objection because the size of the ledger is a function of the total number of transactions.
The increased difficulty of the proof-of-work algorithm because of the bigger block size could mean that smaller mining operations give up, resulting in a centralization of the mining operation. However, as the time to complete the task is always adjusted to be ten minutes this seems unlikely. 
A more serious complaint is that bigger blocks propagate more slowly and this might cause an increase in the orphan rate. An orphan block is one that has been mined but has been displaced from the blockchain because another miner had a block accepted by more nodes. If propagation times increase then orphan blocks become more common. 
So how to resolve the issue?
Interestingly the same sort of decentralized voting characteristic of the Bitcoin algorithm is being used. The Bitcoin XT is currently compatible with Bitcoin core,  making it possible for miners to adopt the new software without making the change to a larger block size. This will remain the state of things until January 11, 2016, when a change will occur if 75% of the mining operation is using XT. If this threshold isn't reached then the block size will stay at a 1MByte max. 
If the threshold is reached the result will be an effective fork of Bitcoin. The 25% of miners not using XT will form one blockchain and the 75% using XT will form another. If good sense prevails then the minority will move over to XT and there will still only be one Bitcoin. Anything else is likely to damage the currency. 

The Ridiculous Dress Code Rule That Made This Teen's Outfit 'Inappropriate'

Ridiculous indeed.

39 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Bad | Inc.com

39 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Bad | Inc.com:



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Monday, August 3, 2015

Petition · Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Dave Wehner: Stop Facebook Freebooting! · Change.org

LETTER TO
Mark Zuckerberg
Sheryl Sandberg
Dave Wehner
“Freebooting” is the practice of downloading copyrighted content from a media-hosting website and re-uploading it without the creator’s permission, typically in order to accumulate a large following or for commercial profit through advertising revenue.

Facebook, Inc. hosts an enormous amount of freebooted content because it has no content ID system nor protection for independent creators. Being a multi-billion dollar company, Facebook, Inc. should be able to get away with this.

We are calling on Facebook, Inc. to implement a Content ID System like YouTube in order to protect independent creators from copyright infringement.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

950 million Android phones can be hijacked by malicious text messages | Ars Technica

The vulnerability affects about 950 million Android phones and tablets, according to Joshua Drake, vice president of platform research and exploitation at security firm Zimperium. It resides in "Stagefright," an Android code library that processes several widely used media formats. The most serious exploit scenario is the use of a specially modified text message using the multimedia message (MMS) format. All an attacker needs is the phone number of the vulnerable Android phone. From there, the malicious message will surreptitiously execute malicious code on the vulnerable device with no action required by the end user and no indication that anything is amiss.
In a blog post published Monday, Zimperium researchers wrote:
A fully weaponized successful attack could even delete the message before you see it. You will only see the notification. These vulnerabilities are extremely dangerous because they do not require that the victim take any action to be exploited. Unlike spear-phishing, where the victim needs to open a PDF file or a link sent by the attacker, this vulnerability can be triggered while you sleep. Before you wake up, the attacker will remove any signs of the device being compromised and you will continue your day as usual—with a trojaned phone.

Bitcoin chief arrested in Japan!

Japanese police have arrested the CEO of the failed company MtGox, which was once the world's biggest exchange of the virtual currency, bitcoin.
Mark Karpeles, 30, is being held in connection with the loss of bitcoins worth $387m (£247m, €351m) last February.
He is suspected of having accessed the exchange's computer system to falsify data on its outstanding balance.
MtGox claimed it was caused by a bug but it later filed for bankruptcy.
Japan's Kyodo News said a lawyer acting on Mr Karpeles' behalf denied his client had done anything illegal.
Mr Karpeles, who was born in France, is suspected of benefiting to the tune of $1m (£640,000), the agency said.
In March 2014, a month after filing for bankruptcy, MtGox said it had found 200,000 lost bitcoins.
The firm said it found the bitcoins - worth around $116m - in an old digital wallet from 2011.
That brings the total number of bitcoins the firm lost down to 650,000 from 850,000.
That total amounts to about 7% of all the bitcoins in existence.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency built around a complicated cryptographic protocol and a global network of computers that oversees and verifies which coins have been spent by whom.