Mozilla launches an iOS 9 content blocker, Focus by Firefox

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/12/08/focus-by-firefox-ios-9/

Even Mozilla is getting into the iOS 9 ad blocking arena with Focus by Firefox, a free content blocker for Safari on Apple's mobile OS. Just like the early batch of blockers, it can keep your mobile browsing experience free of ads, as well as web analytics and social media trackers. But Mozilla says it'll also be transparent about how it's blocking content. It's using Disconnect's open source block list, which also powers Firefox's Private Browsing on desktop platforms, and it'll inform users as it builds on Focus by Firefox. In addition to making your mobile browsing more private, the blocker can also speed up performance by blocking things like web fonts. Ironically, Focus by Firefox isn't yet compatible with Firefox on iOS, because Apple doesn't allow content blockers to work with third-party browsers.

"We want to build an Internet that respects users, puts them in control, and creates and maintains trust," Mozilla's chief business and legal officer, Denelle Dixon-Thayer, wrote in a blog post. "Too many users have lost trust and lack meaningful controls over their digital lives. This loss of trust has impacted the ecosystem -- sometimes negatively. Content blockers offer a way to rebuild that trust by empowering users."

Source: Mozilla

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MicroSD Card Quality Makes a Massive Difference in Raspberry Pi Performance

Source: http://lifehacker.com/microsd-card-quality-makes-a-massive-difference-in-rasp-1745961206

When you’re putting together your Raspberry Pi projects, you likely just grab whatever microSD card is on sale without thinking much about it. However, over on Midwestern Mac, they did speed comparison between cards, and found a big difference in performance.

Testing over a dozen cards, they found that the card’s speed drastically affected performance, with cheaper cards performing significantly slower than name brand ones. The winner, when cost is factored in, was the Samsung EVO+ Class 10 card, which typically comes in around $10. If you’re interested in the testing methods and some more details, head over to Midwestern Mac. Obviously this isn’t entirely comprehensive, but it covers the bases well enough considering how cheap microSD cards are these days. It sounds like the Samsung EVO and EVO+ cards are you best bet when you’re out shopping for a card for your Pi.

Raspberry Pi microSD card performance comparison 2015 | Midwestern Mac, LLC

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Scientists show that gene editing can 'turn off' human diseases

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/29/gene-editing-to-fix-human-diseases/

Gene editing has already been used to fight diseases, but there's now hope that it might eliminate the diseases altgether. Researchers have shown that it's possible to eliminate facial muscular dystrophy using a newer editing technique, CRISPR (Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) to replace the offending gene and 'turn off' the condition. The approach sends a mix of protein and RNA to bind to a gene and give it an overhaul.

Via: Huffington Post

Source: Molecular Therapy

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Raspberry Pi's latest computer costs just $5

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/26/raspberry-pi-zero/

Over the years, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has enabled universities and hobbyists to create their own DIY computing projects with its affordable boards. But that doesn't mean it's stopping there. Today, the company unveiled its latest programmable computing board, the Raspberry Pi Zero, and it costs just $5 (£4). With its Broadcom BCM2835 application processor (1GHz ARM11 core), 512MB of RAM, a microSD card slot, a mini-HDMI socket supporting 1080p (at 60 frames per second), micro-USB sockets and an identical pin layout to its larger Pi siblings, the Zero can do plenty of heavy lifting, despite its tiny size. For context: at 65mm x 30mm, it's smaller than a credit card and has 40-percent faster chip than the first ever Pi.

Via: Raspberry Pi Blog

Source: The Pi Hut (UK), Pimoroni (UK), Element 14 (UK), Adafruit (US)

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Dell is the latest PC maker with a gaping security flaw (update: solution)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/23/dell-security-key-flaw/

Lenovo and Samsung might not be the only big Windows PC makers pre-installing software that compromises your security. Computer buyers have discovered that Dell is shipping at least some PCs (such as the new XPS 15) with a self-signed security certificate that's the same on every system. If intruders get a raw copy of the certificate's private key, which isn't hard, they have an easy way to attack every PC shipping with this code. The kicker? This is much like Lenovo's Superfish exploit, only written by the hardware vendor itself -- Dell had plenty of time to learn from its rival's mistake.

Via: The Inquirer

Source: Reddit

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