Gas stations are a lifeline. They not only fuel our cars but us, too — whether it’s with lukewarm coffee during the morning commute or the salty-sweet buffet during road trips. They’re a glowing oasis when the gas tank is empty and our bladders are…
Source: Engadget – The rise of electric cars will kill the gas station
Monthly Archives: June 2017
Your Smartphone is Making You Stupid
You lock yourself in a study room on the second floor of your college’s library, surrounded by dusty tomes and people who just love making out, and proceed to work on your graduate thesis. Unfortunately, you didn’t get rid of the biggest distraction to your studying: your smartphone. Turning it off might keep you from…
Source: LifeHacker – Your Smartphone is Making You Stupid
Has the Age of Powerful and Convenient Gaming Laptops Finally Arrived?
A couple of weeks ago I was braving the big crowds of E3 to meet with the Nvidia team, and while I was ostensibly there to check out Destiny 2 on a PC, what I really wanted to know was what the hell Max-Q Design was. Nvidia announced its new design philosophy back in May, and I’d spent the intervening weeks unable to…
Source: Gizmodo – Has the Age of Powerful and Convenient Gaming Laptops Finally Arrived?
Intel SSD 545s Announced With 64-Layer 3D TLC NAND And 550 MB/s Reads
If you’re in the market for a spacious new SSD that won’t break the bank, Intel has just tossed another option into the super-packed arena. The company’s brand-new SSD 545s debuts with a 512GB model, although post-launch, densities between 128GB to 2TB will begin to populate the market. As of the time of writing, the 512GB model retails for
Source: Hot Hardware – Intel SSD 545s Announced With 64-Layer 3D TLC NAND And 550 MB/s Reads
UK copyright body throws idle threats at Kodi box owners
Audio-visual enthusiasts know and recognise that Kodi is the swiss-army knife of media centres. But for lots of people around the world, the software is synonymous with movie and TV show piracy. “Fully-loaded” Kodi boxes have made the open-source pla…
Source: Engadget – UK copyright body throws idle threats at Kodi box owners
Deadspin Russell Westbrook’s MVP Acceptance Speech Was Worth The Wait | The Slot Poll: Other Countri
Deadspin Russell Westbrook’s MVP Acceptance Speech Was Worth The Wait | The Slot Poll: Other Countries Hate Trump Even More Than We Do | The Root ‘I Could Kill You’: Video Shows Off-Duty Ill. Police Officer Pinning Black Teen to the Ground | Fusion How to Give Poor People Money In Order to Save the World |
Source: Gizmodo – Deadspin Russell Westbrook’s MVP Acceptance Speech Was Worth The Wait | The Slot Poll: Other Countri
Facebook Now Serving 2 Billion Active Users Per Month
Facebook is a social network behemoth, and the company today announced that its global reach has hit the 2 billion active monthly user threshold. The company’s user base has been growing at a torrid pace since its inception in 2004 — it reached 1 billion active users in 2012 and crossed the 1.5 billion mark in 2015.
Founder and CEO Mark
Source: Hot Hardware – Facebook Now Serving 2 Billion Active Users Per Month
Honor 9 Makes Its Way West: Launching Today in Europe for £380/€450
A couple of weeks back at an event in China, Huawei’s Honor sub-brand announced their flagship smartphone for 2017: the Honor 9. Following in the footsteps of the Honor 8 before it, the Honor 9 continues in Honor’s tradition of offering flagship-level smartphones with high-end components at a more mainstream price. At the time of the reveal, the Honor 9 was only being released in China. But now a short few weeks later, Honor is announcing that it is making its way west for its European launch, which kicks off today.
Honor’s latest flagship is a 5.15-inch phone that, at first glance, looks a lot like parent company Huawei’s recently-launched P10 smartphone. The Honor phone gets the same latest-generation Kirin 960 SoC from Huawei’s HiSilicon division, and the 5.15-inch 1080p display is only a hair larger than the P10’s 5.1-inch display. This is similar to what we have seen in past generations, with the Honor flagship serving as a more value-priced alternative for consumers who are after the latest Huawei tech.
| Honor Flagship Phones | ||
| Honor 9 | Honor 8 | |
| SoC | HiSilicon Kirin 960
|
HiSilicon Kirin 950
|
| Display | 5.15-inch 1920×1080 IPS LCD | 5.2-inch 1920×1080 IPS LCD |
| Dimensions | 147.3 x 70.9 x 7.45 mm 155 grams |
145.5 x 71.0 x 7.45 mm 153 grams |
| RAM | 4GB / 6GB | 3GB / 4GB |
| NAND | 64GB + microSD |
32GB / 64GB (eMMC) + microSD |
| Battery | 3200 mAh (12.23 Wh) non-replaceable |
3000 mAh (11.46 Wh) non-replaceable |
| Modem | HiSilicon LTE (Integrated) 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 12/13) |
HiSilicon Balong (Integrated) 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 6) |
| SIM Size | 2x NanoSIM | |
| Wireless | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.2, NFC, GPS/Glonass/BDS | |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0 Type-C, 3.5mm headset | |
| Launch OS | Android 7.1 with EMUI 5.1 | Android 6.0 with EMUI 4.1 |
Rounding out the specifications, depending on the configuration the phone is paired with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM. All (listed) SKUs come with 64GB of NAND for storage, along with a microSD card for additional storage. For wired connectivity, Honor offers a USB 2.0 port as well as a 3.5mm audio jack. Powering the phone is a 3200mAh battery, which works out to being a bit bigger than the battery on last year’s Honor phone. Finally, Honor has thankfully moved the fingerprint sensor for this year’s phone; rather than being on the rear of the phone it’s now on the front of the phone, where it’s easier to access.
Meanwhile like the Honor 8 before it, the Honor 9 gets a dual camera implementation. This time however instead of matching color and monochrome cameras, the monochrome camera gets a resolution boost, resulting in a 12MP color (RGB) camera paired with a 20MP monochrome camera. As you’d expect with the significant resolution increase for one of the cameras, along with the more powerful Kirin 960 SoC, the camera is the second major focal point for Honor’s promotion of the phone. Specifically, the company is promising improved low-light photography thanks to the improved monochrome camera.
As for the build of the phone, Honor has once again gone with glass for the front and back of the phone. In fact the overall design of the phone and its construction appears to be very similar to the Honor 8 in this respect; the edge-to-edge glass is comprised of 15 layers, with a 2.5D curve at the edges. New to this year’s model is what Honor is calling “Glacier Grey”, which joins their other color options.
As for the launch of the phone, the Honor 9 is available today in much of Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Italy, Russia, and the UK. Interestingly, different countries are getting slightly different phone configurations: the UK gets a 4GB RAM / 64GB NAND configuration for £379.99, meanwhile the rest of Europe is reportedly getting a 6GB RAM / 64GB NAND configuration for €449.99. As for a US release, Honor isn’t announcing anything at this time. However given Honor’s recent struggles, at this point a US release should not be considered a given.
Gallery: Honor 9 (Blue)
Source: AnandTech – Honor 9 Makes Its Way West: Launching Today in Europe for £380/€450
Queen Elizabeth gets rich(er) thanks to wind farms
The money is going to help Buckingham Palace go solar too.
Source: TreeHugger – Queen Elizabeth gets rich(er) thanks to wind farms
Ukrainian Banks, Electricity Firm Hit by Fresh Cyber Attack; Reports Claim the Ransomware Is Quickly Spreading Across the World
A massive cyber attack has disrupted businesses and services in Ukraine on Tuesday, bringing down the government’s website and sparking officials to warn that airline flights to and from the country’s capital city Kiev could face delays. Motherboard reports that the ransomware is quickly spreading across the world. From a report: A number of Ukrainian banks and companies, including the state power distributor, were hit by a cyber attack on Tuesday that disrupted some operations (a non-paywalled source), the Ukrainian central bank said. The latest disruptions follow a spate of hacking attempts on state websites in late-2016 and repeated attacks on Ukraine’s power grid that prompted security chiefs to call for improved cyber defences. The central bank said an “unknown virus” was to blame for the latest attacks, but did not give further details or say which banks and firms had been affected. “As a result of these cyber attacks these banks are having difficulties with client services and carrying out banking operations,” the central bank said in a statement. BBC reports that Ukraine’s aircraft manufacturer Antonov, and two postal services, Russian oil producer Rosneft and Danish shipping company Maersk are also facing “disruption, including its offices in the UK and Ireland.” According to local media reports, the “unknown virus” cited above is a ransomware strain known as Petya.A. Here’s how Petya encrypts files on a system (video). News outlet Motherboard reports that Petya has hit targets in Spain, France, Ukraine, Russia, and other countries as well. From the report: “We are seeing several thousands of infection attempts at the moment, comparable in size to Wannacry’s first hours,” Costin Raiu, a security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, told Motherboard in an online chat. Judging by photos posted to Twitter and images provided by sources, many of the alleged attacks involved a piece of ransomware that displays red text on a black background, and demands $300 worth of bitcoin. “If you see this text, then your files are no longer accessible, because they are encrypted,” the text reads, according to one of the photos. “Perhaps you are busy looking for a way to recover your files, but don’t waste your time. Nobody can recover your files without our decryption service.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Ukrainian Banks, Electricity Firm Hit by Fresh Cyber Attack; Reports Claim the Ransomware Is Quickly Spreading Across the World
The high-tech war on Tibetan communication
Each year, March 10th in Tibet brings more police onto the streets, closer online censorship of terms like “Free Tibet” and “Dalai Lama” and a spate of cyberattacks.
“Every March 10th, almost all major Tibetan organizations in Dharamsala are targete…
Source: Engadget – The high-tech war on Tibetan communication
How to Give Poor People Money In Order to Save the World
Paul Niehaus is the cofounder and president of GiveDirectly, a direct cash transfer program rated as one of the most effective anti-poverty charities in the world. He is currently putting together the largest basic income experiment ever designed. We spoke to him about the politics and perils of changing how the world…
Source: Gizmodo – How to Give Poor People Money In Order to Save the World
Volkswagen and NVIDIA want to help humans and robots work together
After just confirming its plans to help Volvo create self-driving cars, NVIDIA has now revealed that it’s also working with another leading car manufacturer. Announcing a partnership with Volkswagen, the tech company states its artificial intelligenc…
Source: Engadget – Volkswagen and NVIDIA want to help humans and robots work together
8 dreamlike abandoned settings being reclaimed by nature
Humans might make a mess of things, but patient Mother Nature has no problem moving back in once we’ve hit the road.
Source: TreeHugger – 8 dreamlike abandoned settings being reclaimed by nature
Today's Best Deals: Anker RoboVac, T-Fal Cookware, 4K Monitor, and More
The most popular robotic vacuum, an affordable 4K monitor, and discounted cookware lead off Tuesday’s best deals from around the web.
Source: Gizmodo – Today’s Best Deals: Anker RoboVac, T-Fal Cookware, 4K Monitor, and More
Sonic launches part-mushroom, part-beef burger
It’s not a veggie burger. But there’s a lot less beef in it than normal.
Source: TreeHugger – Sonic launches part-mushroom, part-beef burger
Microsoft Promises Next-Generation Security with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
Microsoft is beefing up security for businesses in Windows 10 with a variety of new features and capabilities that include the Windows Defender Exploit Guard and Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG). The former is essentially an update to the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET), while the latter isolates accidentally downloaded malicious software from your devices, apps, data, and network. Cloud intelligence is also being utilized to provide better protection for Windows Defender Antivirus users.
By integrating the power of EMET along with new vulnerability mitigations, Exploit Guard includes prevention capabilities that help make vulnerabilities dramatically more difficult to exploit. In addition, Exploit Guard delivers a new class of capabilities for intrusion prevention. Using intelligence from the Microsoft Intelligent Security Graph (ISG), Exploit Guard comes with a rich set of intrusion rules and policies to protect organziations from advanced threats, including zero day exploits.
Discussion
Source: [H]ardOCP – Microsoft Promises Next-Generation Security with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
Cloud Imperium Issues Official Statement about Rumored Financial Issues
Rumors about Star Citizen’s financials sprouted during the weekend after a NeoGAF member posted filings from the UK Companies House offering new insight on Cloud Imperium’s activity. The implication was that the company applied for a significant loan and offered up everything they had in the process: the Star Citizen IP, all assets, all code, and distribution rights. CI has clarified that this was just a “regular advance” for tax credit rebate purposes – but not everyone seems to be convinced.
In other words, Cloud Imperium will take a loan to obtain money from a UK tax rebate for game companies early. Cloud Imperium will take the loan money now and when the tax rebate comes in, it will go to the bank. The catch here is that Cloud Imperium will pay in GBP. As such, and given the fact that its collections are mostly in USD and EUR, if GBP drops below current currency levels, Cloud Imperium will pay less. And to be honest, that’s a really smart business move.
Discussion
Source: [H]ardOCP – Cloud Imperium Issues Official Statement about Rumored Financial Issues
A biometric ring could replace your passwords, cards and keys
Smart rings aren’t a novel idea — there are plenty of fitness tracking, notification-sending, payment or even protective finger ornaments around. But none have the ability to identify you and authorize your transactions wherever you go. That is, unt…
Source: Engadget – A biometric ring could replace your passwords, cards and keys
Facebook Messenger's AI assistant helps you save links for later
Two months ago, Facebook finally rolled out M, its AI-powered personal assistant, to the general public. Well, sort of. Instead of the limited edition of M that would answer your every beck and call (it had a lot of human help), the public version of…
Source: Engadget – Facebook Messenger’s AI assistant helps you save links for later