AI Platforms Welcome Devs With Open Arms

Two leaders in the field of artificial intelligence have announced that they're open-sourcing their AI platforms. After investing in building rich simulated environments to serve as laboratories for AI research, Google's DeepMind Lab on Saturday said it would open the platform for the broader research community's use. DeepMind has been using its AI lab for some time, and it has "only barely scratched the surface of what is possible" in it, noted team members Charlie Beattie, Joel Leibo, Stig Petersen and Shane Legg in an online post.

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Multinational Effort Halts Malware Avalanche

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday released new details about the multinational takedown of Avalanche, a multimillion-dollar malware and money-laundering network, following a four-year probe led by German police and prosecutors. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song and Assistant Director Scott S. Smith of the FBI's Cyber Division made the announcement in Pittsburgh. Prosecutors and investigators in 40 countries were involved in the probe, led by the Public Prosecutor's office in Verden, Germany.

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Facebook Videos Explain AI in a Nutshell

Facebook last week released six videos to educate people about artificial intelligence. AI will bring major changes to society, and will be the backbone of many of the most innovative apps and services of the future, but it remains mysterious, noted Yann LeCun, Facebook's director of AI research, and Joaquin Candela, the company's director of applied machine learning in an online post. The videos are "simple and short introductions" that will "help everyone understand how this complex field of computer science works," they said.

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Isn't Fake News Propaganda?

A few years back, when it was one company, HP made a huge mistake that cost a number of people their jobs and forced the replacement of many of its board members. The company suffered through some nasty litigation and several top executives almost landed in jail. The mistake was tied back to something the board authorized, which at the time was called "pretexting." It also went by the more common term "identity theft." It is my belief that the board wouldn't have authorized the effort if it had known what the teams planned to do.

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Refracta 8.0 Is a Pint-Sized Powerhouse

Refracta is a somewhat obscure Linux distribution that offers exceptional functionality and stability. Obscurity is not always a bad thing when it comes to Linux distros. You can find some very worthwhile alternatives to your current operating system. Refracta is a big surprise in a small package. Many look-alike desktop distros are difficult to distinguish from run-of-the-mill garden varieties. Others offer new adopters something unique that makes using them fun and productive.

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Apple Drone Fleet to Gather Maps Data

Apple reportedly has assembled a group of robotics and data-collection experts who will use drones to obtain data for updates to its Maps app. Apple, Google and others in the cartography space currently collect a lot of their data using motor vehicles equipped with high-tech gear. "That's a very expensive and time-consuming process," said Sam Abuelsamid, a senior research analyst at Navigant Research. "Doing it with drones provides the potential to gather the same kind of data in a much more cost-effective manner and do it more rapidly."

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Gooligan Ransacks More Than 1M Android Accounts

More than 1 million Google accounts have been breached by Android malware dubbed "Gooligan," Check Point reported Wednesday. The malware roots infected devices and steals authentication tokens that can be used to access data from various Google apps including Gmail, Google Docs, G Suite and Google Drive. It potentially affects devices running Android 4 and 5. Devices are infected when their users download infected apps or click on poisoned links, Check Point said.

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Reddit Has Had It With Trolls

Reddit has announced reforms designed to crack down on trolls and punish the most abusive members of its community. Reddit has identified hundreds of the most "toxic users," said CEO Steve Huffman, and it has devised a plan to take action against them. Consequence for unacceptable behavior could range from warnings to timeouts to permanent bans. Reddit's latest move serendipitously mirrors the current plotline of Comedy Central's hit animated series South Park, which depicts Internet trolls as having become a serious global issue.

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Docker, Canonical Team on Enterprise Support

Docker and Canonical on Wednesday announced a commercial agreement to integrate support for Docker Engine. The partnership gives Canonical customers a single path for support of the Ubuntu operating system and CS Docker Engine in enterprise Docker operations. It provides a streamlined operations and support experience for joint customers by splitting the service obligations in four ways. First, Docker will publish and update stable snap installation packages on Ubuntu, which will enable direct access to the Docker build for all Ubuntu users.

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Gadget Ogling: Smarter Slumber and Pod-Free Coffee

In a previous column, I revealed how terrible a sleeper I am. My mattress is old, and there's a sizable dent on my side of the bed. It's probably time to find a new mattress, so perhaps it's time to consider one that connects with the rest of my home. Eight's smart mattress gives you a little more incentive to get out of bed, as you can set up a string of IFTTT recipes to improve your morning routine. The mattress's IFTTT channel offers recipes, for instance, that can start brewing coffee when you hit the snooze button, or turn down your connected lights.

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