Inventing the microprocessor: The Intel 4004 We recently looked at the origins of the integrated circuit (IC) and the calculator, which was the IC's first killer app, but a surprise twist is that the calculator played a big part in the invention of the next world-changing marvel, the microprocessor. There is some dispute as to which company invented the microprocessor, and we'll talk about that further down. But who invented the first commercially available microprocessor? That honor goes to Intel for the 4004. Hackaday
Pocket-sized DNA reader used to scan entire human genome sequence A few years back, a company called Oxford Nanopore announced it was developing a radically different way of sequencing DNA. Its approach involved taking single strands of the double helix and stuffing them through a protein pore. With a small bit of current flowing across the pore, the four bases of DNA each created a distinct (if tiny) change in the voltage as it passed through. These could be used to read the DNA one base at a time as it wiggled through the pore. Ars Technica
Best Buy to Pull CDs, Target Threatens to Pay Labels for CDs Only When Customers Buy Them If the majors don't play ball and give in to Target's new sale terms, it could considerably hasten the phase down of the CD format. Even though digital is on the upswing, physical is still performing relatively well on a global basis – if not in the U.S. market, where CD sales were down 18.5 percent last year. But things are about to get worse here, if some of the noise coming out of the big-box retailers comes to fruition. Billboard
Windows to remove apps with coercive messaging: cleaners and optimizers put on notice Microsoft is stepping up its efforts to protect Windows users from programs that use fear to convince people to buy or upgrade products. The Redmond company is taking aim at all software that use scary messaging to convince people to upgrade to a paid product that purportedly fixes a problem detected by a free version. CSO
Ford files patent application for an autonomous police vehicle While you might have been too busy considering the leisure possibilities inherent in autonomous vehicles, Ford Global Technologies was not. The division that owns, manages and commercializes patents and copyrights for Ford applied for a patent for an autonomous police vehicle (APV) in 2016. Said vehicle is a long way off, but should it ever arrive as described in the patent, it would be able to hide, detect violations from that hidden position, give chase, issue warnings and fines, and much more. Autoblog
Preventing data leaks by stripping path information in HTTP Referrers To help prevent third party data leakage while browsing privately, Firefox Private Browsing Mode will remove path information from referrers sent to third parties starting in Firefox 59. When you click a link in your browser to navigate to a new site, the new site you visit receives the exact address of the site you came from through the so-called "Referrer value". Mozilla
The hidden "well-known" phishing sites Thousands of phishing sites have been finding homes in special hidden directories on compromised web servers. In the past month alone, over 400 new phishing sites were found hosted within directories named /.well-known/; but rather than being created by fraudsters, these special directories are already present on millions of websites. Netcraft
Automating materials design For decades, materials scientists have taken inspiration from the natural world. They'll identify a biological material that has some desirable trait --- such as the toughness of bones or conch shells --- and reverse-engineer it. Then, once they've determined the material's "microstructure," they'll try to approximate it in human-made materials. MIT