Next US Elections: Open Source vs. Commercial Software?

San Francisco in January could become the first U.S. city to adopt open source software to run its voting machines. City officials last month authorized consulting group Slalom to prepare a report on the benefits and challenges involved in using an open source voting machine platform. The city voted to pay Slalom $150,000 for its research. Meanwhile, the city this year will pay Dominion Voting Systems $2.3 million to renew its contract for the company's proprietary voting machine software. That system is nearing the end of its life cycle.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2wd9Z9i
via

Global Cyberattack on Energy Sector Stokes Deep Fears

The hacker group known as "Dragonfly" is behind sophisticated wave of recent cyberattacks on the energy sectors of Europe and North America, Symantec reported Wednesday. The attacks could provide the group with the means to severely disrupt energy operations on both continents. Dragonfly launched a simililar campaign from 2011 to 2014, but it entered a quiet period in 2014 after Symantec and others exposed its activities. The current campaign began in December 2015, Symantec noted.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2xejDgR
via

Scientists are rethinking their understanding of Jupiter's powerful auroras after receiving data from NASA's Juno spacecraft.

from CNN.com - RSS Channel - App Tech Section http://ift.tt/2vQb5MK
via

Bodhi Linux With Moksha Is Truly Enlightening

Bodhi Linux 4.3.1's implementation of the Enlightenment desktop, released late last month, continues this distro's tradition of providing an awesome desktop computing platform for office or home. When I last reviewed Bodhi Linux, I was attracted to the relatively new desktop environment. When the backup computer that hosted that earlier version of Bodhi finally needed replacement, I installed the latest version on the new hardware, mostly out of curiosity about the current progress of Enlightenment computing. Bodhi Linux did not disappoint.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2w8Uv6c
via

Pixelmator Pro Whirlwind Appears on the Horizon

Pixelmator on Tuesday unveiled Pixelmator Pro 1.0 Whirlwind, a high-powered version of its popular photo editing application for macOS. The app's interface has gotten an overhaul -- it's now in a single window with no floating toolbars -- and it boasts new nondestructive, GPU-powered image editing tools and enhanced machine-learning features. Nondestructive tools for color adjustments, effects, styles and layouts give users the freedom to make or remove changes at any point in the workflow of a photo editing project.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2f4jzFG
via

LG Unveils V30 Flagship With Super Camera, Sound Features

LG Electronics last week unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the LG V30, at IFA 2017 in Berlin. Among the LG V30's innovations: an F1.6 aperture camera lens; a glass Crystal Clear Lens; the first OLED FullVision display; Cine Video mode for producing movie-quality videos; the Point Zoom feature, which lets users zoom in on any subject anywhere in the frame; Cine Effect, which has 15 preset effects to give videos a movie-like look; premium sound with advanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC, sound tuning by B&O Play; and voice recognition.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2wFdwim
via

Has Google Become a National Threat?

The idea that Google might be becoming a national threat is what struck me when I read a recent column by a law professor making a compelling argument that Google has reached a point where it no longer allows dissent outside the company. Given the recent firing of a Google engineer, that may be true inside the firm as well. Apparently, Google has been funding an organization that is set up to fight monopolies, but when that organization called it out, Google allegedly orchestrated the termination of the group.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2xK5CEG
via

Alexa, Cortana Become New BFFs

Microsoft and Amazon this week announced a deal that will let their voice-controlled digital assistants, Cortana and Alexa, engage in cross-platform communications. Microsoft customers will be able to access Alexa voice commands by saying "Cortana, open Alexa" on any device that supports Cortana, which is available on millions of desktops, laptops, tablets and other devices. Under the agreement, Microsoft customers first will be able to access Alexa via Cortana on Windows PCs, and later on Android and iOS devices.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2et9bqc
via

New technology brings objects to life on your phone.

from CNN.com - RSS Channel - App Tech Section http://ift.tt/2wtnWBG
via

SIGGRAPH 2017: Virtual Reality Is Alive and Flourishing

The SIGGRAPH conference is a year event that focuses on the latest in computer graphics and other interactive arts. It is a multidiscipline show, mixing computer imaging with other physical creations. It is also a crossroads for the film, video game, commercial, research and education industries. It has a forward-looking vision while celebrating the recent and not-so-recent past. Although the conference is not a typical launchpad for new products, companies often use it for technology-related debuts.

from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2euOYUM
via