University students in courses from engineering to physics are having to be taught what files and folders are, The Verge reports, because that's not how they've grown up using computers. Whenever they need a file, they just search for it. PCGamer summarizes the findings: "I tend to think an item lives in a particular folder. It lives in one place, and I have to go to that folder to find it," astrophysicist Catherine Garland said. "They see it like one bucket, and everything's in the bucket." Strange as it may seem to older generations of computer users who grew up maintaining an elaborate collection of nested subfolders, thanks to powerful search functions now being the default in operating systems, as well as the way phones and tablets obfuscate their file structure, and cloud storage, high school graduates don't see their hard drives the same way. "Students have had these computers in my lab; they'll have a thousand files on their desktop completely unorganized," Peter Plavchan, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at George Mason University, told The Verge. "I'm kind of an obsessive organizer ... but they have no problem having 1,000 files in the same directory. And I think that is fundamentally because of a shift in how we access files." As The Verge points out, "The first internet search engines were used around 1990, but features like Windows Search and Spotlight on macOS are both products of the early 2000s [...] While many of today's professors grew up without search functions on their phones and computers, today's students increasingly don't remember a world without them." This isn't necessarily a bad thing, or a reason to recoil in horror because how dare the youth of today do things differently, why the very idea. "When I was a student, I'm sure there was a professor that said, 'Oh my god, I don't understand how this person doesn't know how to solder a chip on a motherboard,'" Plavachan said. "This kind of generational issue has always been around." And Garland, the astrophysicist teaching an engineering course, has started using her PC's search function to find files in the same way her students do. "I'm like, huh ... I don't even need these subfolders," she said.

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According to the SEC, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev unwittingly inspired brokerages to engage in a scheme involving illegal wash trading, or trading with yourself. An anonymous reader shares the report from Bloomberg: The SEC accused Suyun Gu and Yong Lee of improperly pocketing more than $1 million of rebates from stock exchanges from February through April, after placing thousands of options trades for hot shares like GameStop, AMC , BlackBerry and Nokia. The U.S. equity market, including the related options business, is built atop a system known as maker-taker. Traders who submit orders that sit on an exchange's public order book are, in many cases, paid a "maker" rebate -- an incentive designed to attract more liquidity. Those who trade against those resting orders are charged a "taker" fee. Gu, who lives in Miami, and Lee, a resident of Torrance, California, placed the first part of their trades through a broker based in Greenwich, Connecticut and another in Morristown, New Jersey, that pass along the maker rebates to their clients, according to the SEC's complaint. They targeted out-of-the-money puts for their resting orders, investments that others were unlikely to trade against because the holdings offered little opportunity to make money -- barring something nefarious. Gu, 35, and Lee, 37, then traded against their own orders through accounts they opened at brokers including Robinhood, which doesn't pass along "taker" fees to customers. In summary, their profits came from collecting maker rebates without having to pay taker fees. Gu executed approximately 11,430 wash trades, pocketing $668,671, according to the SEC. For Lee, it was 2,360 wash trades and $51,334 of profits, the regulator said. The SEC didn't name Tenev or Robinhood. Instead, the agency refers to a "Broker-dealer B" based in Menlo Park, California. The SEC complaint adds that the firm's CEO appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 18, where he said the firm "pioneered commission free and zero contract fee options trading." For Tenev, that day was a grueling five-hour ordeal. He faced dozens of probing questions from lawmakers, who accused Robinhood of turning the stock market into a casino while failing to protect retail investors amid the frenzied run-up of GameStop and other stocks. But Gu heard opportunity, according to the SEC. The former trade-system developer who had worked at several financial firms concluded from Tenev's testimony that Robinhood didn't charge its customers "take fees," the agency said. Gu's friend, Lee, joined in the scheme, according to the SEC. While Gu is contesting the regulator's claims, Lee agreed to pay a $25,000 fine and about $52,000 in disgorgement and interest without admitting or denying wrongdoing. The SEC added that its investigation didn't initially prompt Gu to stop breaking the law.

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A batch of feature updates was submitted today for DRM-Next of early feature work slated to come to the next version of the Linux kernel...

In a blog post, Imgur announced that it has been acquired by a company called MediaLab. "It's the beginning of a new chapter, and we're excited to share the news with you," writes the Imgur team. From the post: We've been acquired by MediaLab! MediaLab, based in Santa Monica, CA, is a company that owns great internet brands like Whisper, Kik, WorldStarHipHop, Amino, Genius and others. They're a team of technologists, product managers, designers, and community builders who geek out over building cool stuff for large scale audiences. We made the choice to join the MediaLab portfolio because their resources and shared services can help accelerate us closer toward our goal and keep the main Imgur team focused on what we do best: creating the best place for community-powered entertainment online. MediaLab has committed to investing more resources in engineering and community to continue adding new features, new tools for creators, and growing Imgur. Details on the sale price haven't been announced. You can read the full post here.

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Alphabet unit Google on Monday blasted EU antitrust regulators for ignoring rival Apple as it launched a bid to get Europe's second-highest court to annul a record 4.34-billion euro ($5.1 billion) fine related to its Android operating system. From a report: Far from holding back rivals and harming users, Android has been a massive success story of competition at work, representatives of Google told a panel of five judges at the General Court at the start of a five-day hearing. The European Commission fined Google in 2018, saying that it had used Android since 2011 to thwart rivals and cement its dominance in general internet search. Regardless of how the court rules, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook will have to change their business models in the coming years to ensure a level playing field for rivals following tough new rules proposed by European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. "The Commission shut its eyes to the real competitive dynamic in this industry, that between Apple and Android," Google's lawyer Meredith Pickford told the court. "By defining markets too narrowly and downplaying the potent constraint imposed by the highly powerful Apple, the Commission has mistakenly found Google to be dominant in mobile operating systems and app stores, when it was in fact a vigorous market disrupter," he said. Pickford said Android "is an exceptional success story of the power of competition in action."

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Mexico's scientific community has reacted with outrage after the country's chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants for 31 scientists, researchers and academics on accusations of organised crime, money laundering and embezzlement -- charges that could land them alongside drug cartel kingpins in one of the country's most notorious lockups. From a report: A judge at the maximum security Altiplano prison -- from which Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escaped in 2015 -- denied granting the arrest warrants on Wednesday. But the federal prosecutor immediately announced plans to pursue arrest warrants for the third time. The university professors have been accused of violating a law that prevents members of an advisory board from receiving money from a government science fund. But that law was passed in 2019, and the scientists got the $2.5m years earlier when it was apparently legal. Those involved have denied the funds were illegal or misused. The National Council on Science and Technology (Conacyt) has described the reaction to the arrest warrant applications as "a concerted wave of disinformation," which was spreading "terror" in the scientific community.

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Cryptocurrency company Coinbase is announcing a handful of new features. While the company is better known for its exchange that lets you convert USD into various cryptocurrencies, Coinbase wants to expand its consumer services so that you use the platform for different use cases with more financial services. From a report: First, the company will soon launch direct deposit in the U.S. This way, customers will be able to deposit a portion of their paycheck into Coinbase. Coinbase app users can find their current payroll company or employer and update paycheck allocation from there. The most extreme users will probably choose to deposit 100% of their paycheck into their Coinbase account. Once the money hits your Coinbase account, you can choose what the company is supposed to do with your dollars. You can just keep everything in USD or you can choose to convert everything to a cryptocurrency. Users can choose any of the crypto assets available on the platform. This feature alone is particularly useful if you want to set up recurring buys without even having to think about it. But direct deposit makes more sense when you realize that Coinbase also has its own debit card powered by Marqeta. It's a Visa debit card that works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. It's all about getting money in and out of your Coinbase account. From the Coinbase app, you can choose the source wallet for your card transactions. Every time you make a purchase, Coinbase converts your crypto assets to USD with a 2.49% transaction fee.

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There has been talk of Intel moving to offer more license-able/opt-in features for hardware capabilities found within a given processor as an upgrade. We are now seeing the Linux signs of that support coming with a driver for "Intel Software Defined Silicon" to allow for the secure activation of such features baked into the processor's silicon but only available as an up-charge option...

Eftpos has become Australia's first accredited non-government operator of a digital identity exchange under the federal government's Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF). From a report: By becoming an accredited operator, Eftpos connectID can now facilitate online transactions requiring a digital identity from Australians. Eftpos sent connectID live in June as a fully-owned subsidiary of the organisation and as a standalone fintech company. It's been set up to act as "broker" between identity service providers and merchants or government agencies that require identity verification, such as proof of age, address details, or bank account information. It has been designed to work within the federal government's Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) and the banking industry's TrustID framework. Although the Australian government has its own digital identity solution with myGovID, Eftpos has previously said its solution could provide a "smoother, faster, and more secure onboarding experience, including for government services." Eftpos has also assured that connectID does not store any identity data.

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Facebook has announced a $50 million fund that it says will help it develop the metaverse more responsibly. From a report: It's officially called the XR Programs and Research Fund, and the company says it'll be invested into "programs and external research" over the course of two years. Facebook has previously funded academic research into the social impact of AR wearables and solicited VR hardware proposals. Facebook's announcement blog calls the metaverse the "next computing platform" and says that the company will be working with policymakers, researchers, and industry partners while building it. The announcement also gives us Facebook's definition of the sometimes nebulous word "metaverse." The company describes it as "virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people" that you're not physically with, spread out over a variety of products and services.

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Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou would appear in a Brooklyn federal courtroom today via streaming video and enter a plea regarding US charges against her. From a report: Canadian authorities arrested the Chinese executive in December 2018 on suspicion of violating US sanctions, and she has remained there on house arrest ever since, fighting US attempts at extradition. Hearings in her extradition case ended in August, with the ruling scheduled for October 21st. Meng was indicted on fraud charges claiming the Chinese technology and telecommunications company misrepresented its relationship with an Iranian affiliate, along with accusations it stole intellectual property from T-Mobile. The 13-count indictment named Meng, Huawei, and two of its subsidiaries -- Huawei USA and Skycom. On Friday afternoon, Meng pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors submitted a statement of facts asserting that in 2013 she told financial institutions the Iranian company Skycom was a partner of Huawei while knowing that Skycom was owned and controlled by a Huawei subsidiary to act as its agent in the region. As part of the deal in making this admission, the prosecution says "Meng has agreed to the accuracy of a four-page statement of facts that details the knowingly false statements she made to Financial Institution 1."

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Le Beelink SER 3750H se présente comme un MiniPC compact assez classique avec 11.3 cm de large pour 12.6 cm de profondeur et 4 cm d’épaisseur. Son châssis diffère un peu des productions habituelles de la marque avec une aération sur les côtés mais  aussi sur le dessus du châssis.

Ce choix s’explique par l’équipement du Beelink SER 3750H qui, comme son nom l’indique, embarque un processeur Ryzen 7 3750H de la gamme . une puce 4 coeurs et 8 Threads cadencée de 2.3 à 4 GHz accompagnée par un circuit graphique Radeon RX Vega 10.

Un processeur qui annonce un RDP de 35 watts assez difficile à dissiper et qui explique assez simplement le choix de ce boitier plus aéré. Beelink fait appel à un système de dissipation classique de machine portable, un dispositif d’ailettes refroidies par un ventilateur en extraction. 

Autour du processeur, le Beelink proposera 8 Go de mémoire vive en DDR4 2400, deux slots SoDIMM permettront de faire évoluer ce poste tout comme il sera possible de changer le SSD PCIe NVMe X4 au format M.2 2280 ou d’ajouter un stockage 2.5″ SATA facilement. Des solutions en 256 / 512 Go de SSD par défaut, via le port M.2, seront disponibles à la vente.

La connectique, enfin, est assez bonne avec en face avant deux ports USB 3.0, un USB 3.1 Type-Cun port jack audio combo et le bouton de démarrage de l’engin. Sur la partie arrière, on retrouve deux autres ports USB 3.0, un Ethernet Gigabit, deux HDMI 2.0 et l’alimentation jack de la machine. Le Beelink SER 3750H est censé savoir piloter trois affichages en simultané, ce qui nous indique que le port USB Type-C devrait prendre en charge un affichage DisplayPort mais la marque ne communique pas ce détail explicitement. A noter la présence d’un étrange module réseau puisque la machine semble compatible Wifi 5 et Bluetooth 4.0, d’après sa fiche technique. Un appareillage très daté et qui ne se justifie plus sur ce type de machine puisque les solutions plus évoluées sont au même prix chez les grossistes. Il est possible qu’il s’agisse d’une erreur sur la fiche technique.

A noter enfin que les systèmes d’exploitation Linux, Windows 10 et Windows 11 seront pris en charge par la machine. Pour le moment, pas de disponibilités mais un aperçu du tarif de celle-ci. Comptez 417€ pour la version de base de cet engin en 8/256 Go et 493€ pour le modèle 16/512 Go. Ces tarifs sont élevés comme c’est souvent le cas avec les prix publics donnés par les constructeurs. Il arrive très souvent que les prix dévissent très rapidement une fois chez les revendeurs. 

Beelink SER 3750H : un MiniPC plus aéré et évolutif © MiniMachines.net. 2021.

Instagram is pressing pause on plans to develop a version of its service for kids under 13 after facing pressure from lawmakers to back down on the effort and new questions about the impact the photo-sharing service has on teen girls. From a report: "While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we've decided to pause this project," Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, wrote in a blog post published Monday. "This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns, and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today." The move comes just days before the US Senate was set to hold a hearing entitled "Protecting Kids Online: Facebook, Instagram, and Mental Health Harms" to discuss the pressure today's youth face on social media. That hearing comes after a Wall Street Journal investigation around what Facebook knows about how Instagram affects teen users, including their mental health. In the blog post Monday, Mosseri acknowledged that the Journal's reporting "has raised a lot of questions for people."

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TikTok announced in a blog post today that 1 billion people use TikTok every month. From a report: That means that on this big rock in space that we call home, about one in seven-and-a-half people are regularly watching short-form videos of dancing, dangerous "milk crate challenges" and even actual educational content. For context, Facebook said that in June it had 2.9 billion monthly active users, up 7% year over year. But TikTok's growth is rapid -- this new user data marks a 45% increase in monthly active users since July 2020, when it had 689 million users. Plus, this July, TikTok became the first non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion global downloads, per app analytics firm SensorTower. The competition that TikTok poses to Western tech giants is palpable -- Instagram, owned by Facebook, has radically shifted its focus, declaring that it's no longer a photo-sharing app. Instagram is heavily promoting Reels, its TikTok clone, and even discussion forums like Reddit are enticed by the promise of short-form video feeds. Instagram even advised creators that if they recycle watermarked TikToks as posts on Reels, the content will be less discoverable.

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Aux dernières nouvelles, ou rumeurs, c'est selon, Intel prévoyait, semble-t-il, de lancer Alder Lake en deux temps. 26 et 27 octobre, le géant aurait organisé son salon Innovation autour de ce thème, tandis que les ventes et tests devraient arriver le 19 novembre... [Tout lire]

Après le DMS 7.0 de Synology, QNAP dégaine son interface QTS 5.0. Comme chez la concurrence il est surtout question d'une refonte structurelle, avec peu de changements graphiques et ergonomiques. On vous explique comment sauter le...

The U.S. Space Force, the military branch spun out of the Air Force in December 2019, has announced its next batch of awards for projects related to next-gen rocket engine testing and upper stage improvements. From a report: The awards were granted by the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC), a program managed by the Space Force's Space Systems Command. SpEC facilitates engagement between the U.S. Department and Defense and the space industry, by allowing its nearly 600 members to compete for contracts. The awards, which total $87.5 million, were granted to four launch companies:

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Il y a quelques jours, une première fuite d'Alder Lake sur CPU-Z était dénichée sur la toile. Il s'agissait d'un sample de 12600K, et ce dernier déjà faisait parler la poudre sur le benchmark monocoeur du soft en sus-cité... [Tout lire]

Cloudflare, the internet infrastructure company, already has its fingers in a lot of customer security pots, from DDoS protection to browser isolation to a mobile VPN. Now the company is taking on a classic web foe: email. From a report: On Monday, Cloudflare is announcing a pair of email safety and security offerings that it views as a first step toward catching more targeted phishing attacks, reducing the effectiveness of address spoofing, and mitigating the fallout if a user does click a malicious link. The features, which the company will offer for free, are mainly geared toward small business and corporate customers. And they're made for use on top of any email hosting a customer already has, whether it's provided by Google's Gmail, Microsoft 365, Yahoo, or even relics like AOL. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince says that from its founding in 2009, the company very intentionally avoided going anywhere near the thorny problem of email. But he adds that email security issues are unrelenting, so it has become necessary. "I think what I had assumed is that hosting providers like Google and Microsoft and Yahoo were going to solve this issue, so we weren't sure there was anything for us to do in the space," Prince says. "But what's become clear over the course of the last two years is that email security is still not a solved issue." Prince says that Cloudflare employees have been "astonished by how many targeted threats were getting through Google Workspace," the company's email provider. That's not for lack of progress by Google or the other big providers on anti-spam and anti-malware efforts, he adds. But with so many types of email threats to deal with at once, strategically crafted phishing messages still slip through. So Cloudflare decided to build additional defense tools that both the company itself as well as its customers could use.

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