Lawrence Livermore Lab Buys Brainy IBM Supercomputer

IBM last week announced that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has purchased its TrueNorth processor-based cognitive computing platform. The purchase included an end-to-end ecosystem and a multisocket host node. The lab will build a supercomputer based on the platform to see how neural networks might be used in the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration's cybersecurity program. The NNSA's Advanced Simulation and Computing Program will conduct general computing feasibility studies using the supercomputer.

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Oculus' Controversial ToS a Stark Reminder of Its Facebook Parentage

Oculus last week updated its terms of service to accompany the release of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, raising privacy and content ownership concerns. Software will be installed to monitor how the device is used, and the usage data will be sent back to Oculus and its parent company, Facebook, according to the terms of service. Collected data could be shared with third parties, including service providers and researchers. The terms of service also limit the ability to claim ownership of content created for the VR system.

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The Hololens Academy: How I Became a Novice Wizard

At last week's Microsoft Build conference, I attended the Hololens Academy -- a whirlwind effort to turn me into a master programmer able to create things out of thin air. It failed. Apparently it takes longer than an hour to teach someone who hasn't coded in decades to be a master programmer -- go figure. However, by the end of the class I was gleefully throwing fireballs at the heads of my co-wizards and their digital familiars. That took me down a Hogwarts-like path to the idea that doing things like Harry Potter did won't be that difficult.

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That Time When Instead of Saying 'April Fool!' Google Had to Say 'Sorry!'

Unintentional consequences led Google to pull its April Fools' prank, Gmail Mic Drop, a few hours after launching it on Friday. The joke let users claim the last word in an email thread by clicking on the "Send + Mic Drop" option. A GIF of a minion from the animated movie Despicable Me -- would accompany the reply, and the sender would not receive any further responses to the thread. The "send and mic drop" button, which was located next to the "send" button, replaced the "send and archive" button.

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Facebook Plots Secret Chat for Messenger

Facebook has been working on mobile pay and secret chat features for its Messenger app, according to a report published this week, based on clues found in extracted software code on Messenger for iPhone. Commands embedded in the software hint at secret conversations, similar to what's found in WhatsApp, the voice and messaging service owned by Facebook, according to the report. Other references reportedly found in the code include commands to pay in person and pay in Messenger when picking up an item.

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Ubuntu Goes to Microsoft's Windows 10 Bash

Microsoft on Wednesday unwrapped a major open source coup for Canonical when it announced that Ubuntu Linux will be able to run on Windows 10. Kevin Gallo, Microsoft's director of Windows developer platform, announced the development during a keynote address at Microsoft's Build 2016 conference in San Francisco. The Linux Bash command-line tool will run natively within Windows 10. That has been possible using third-party tools for years, but a direct partnership with Canonical should offer developers more flexibility and convenience, he said.

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DC Healthcare Provider Limps On After Malware Attack

Despite its computer systems being infected with malware since Monday, MedStar Health, which operates 10 hospitals and more than 250 outpatient facilities in and around Washington, D.C., has continued to provide patient care at near normal levels, according to several updates released this week. Since the malware attack occurred, MedStar Health has treated an average of 3,380 patients a day at its 10 facilities, it announced Thursday. It has treated nearly 4,000 patients in its ERs and performed more than 1,000 surgeries.

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