Monthly Archives: February 2020

Compilation Video From A Wildlife Camera Set Up By A Tree Fallen Across A Creek To See All The Animals That Utilize It

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This is ‘The Log 2: Another Year’ (the sequel to 2018’s sleeper hit ‘The Log Movie’, not to be confused with The Lego Movie’), another compilation video of the highlights of a wildlife camera cleverly set up in Pennsylvania next to a long fallen across a creek to capture footage of all the different animals that use the log. I’m talking about black bears and their cubs, ducks, heron, a wild turkey doing battle with a great horned owl (damn!), a bunch of other birds, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, deer, beavers, foxes, coyotes, muskrats, bobcats, AND MORE. Now are you thinking what I’m thinking? “Does it involve pretending to be a bridge troll and charging all these animals to cross your log?” *repeatedly hitting palm with wooden club* Next crossing is two miles upstream if it isn’t flooded, I’m just saying.

Keep going for both videos, the sequel first.

Source: Geekologie – Compilation Video From A Wildlife Camera Set Up By A Tree Fallen Across A Creek To See All The Animals That Utilize It

MSI Launches Optix MAG272CRX: A 27-Inch, 240Hz Curved Monitor with USB-C

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Having announced a number of interesting displays recently, MSI this week unveiled a yet another monitor featuring a rare combination of capabilities. The Optix MAG272CRX is a 27-inch curved monitor that has a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz and only one direct rival on the market. The launch of the LCD corresponds with MSI’s general strategy to release monitors in less common configurations/markets to avoid the race to the bottom of highly commoditized markets.


The MSI Optix MAG272CRX display is designed for gamers and eSports professionals looking for high-end performance. To that end, the LCD relies on an 8-bit+FRC VA panel featuring a rather aggressive 1500R curvature, a 1920×1080 resolution, 300 nits maximum brightness, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178°/178° viewing angles, a 1 ms response time, and a 240 Hz maximum refresh rate. The monitor can display 16.7 million colors and reproduce 89% of the DCI-P3 and 113% of the sRGB color spaces, which is something one expects from a fast VA panel.



A panel with very similar characteristics is used by the Samsung CRG5 and considering the fact that the South Korean company is one of the primary makers of VA panels, it is highly likely that the model Optix MAG272CRX uses the same panel as the CRG5. As a result, the latter has only one direct competitor on the market (at least from a well-known brand), which is positive for MSI.



Being aimed at gamers, the Optix MAG272CRX naturally supports VESA’s Adaptive-Sync technology and is AMD FreeSync certified (for a 48 Hz to 240 Hz range). In addition, the monitor is marked ‘HDR Ready’ (though without elaborating about supported HDR transport) and features MSI’s customizable Mystic Light RGB LEDs on the back.



On the connectivity side of things, the LCD has one DisplayPort 1.2a inputs, two HDMI 2.0b ports, and a USB Type-C input (with DP Alt mode and Power Delivery). The monitor also has a dual-port USB 3.2 Gen 1 hub, and a headphone out. As for ergonomics, the stand used by the Optix MAG272CRX can adjust height and tilt, but not swivel.
























The MSI Curved Gaming Display w/ 240 Hz Refresh
  Optix MAG272CRX
Panel 27″ VA
Native Resolution 1920 × 1080
Maximum Refresh Rate 240 Hz
Response Time 1 ms
Brightness 300 cd/m² (typical)
Contrast 3000:1
Backlighting LED
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Curvature 1500R
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Color Gamut 89% DCI-P3

113% sRGB
HDR ‘HDR Ready’

No DisplayHDR tier
Dynamic Refresh Rate Tech VESA Adaptive-Sync

AMD FreeSync certified

48 Hz – 240 Hz
Pixel Pitch 0.3113 mm²
Pixel Density 81 PPI
Inputs 1 × DisplayPort 1.2

2 × HDMI 2.0
Audio 3.5 mm output
USB Hub 1 × USB 3.0 Type-A input
Stand Adjustments Height: 130 mm

Tilt: -5˚ – 20˚

Swivel: no
MSRP ?

MSI has announced neither pricing nor availability timeframe of its Optix MAG272CRX curved display. Meanwhile, Samsung’s CRG5 monitor that presumably uses the same panel is available directly from the manufacturer for $369.99, which at least gives us a baseline for expectations.


Related Reading:


Source: MSI (via Hermitage Akihabara)



Source: AnandTech – MSI Launches Optix MAG272CRX: A 27-Inch, 240Hz Curved Monitor with USB-C

Spring Is Almost Here, and March Is Overflowing With New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

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It’s nearly March, and that means much-anticipated new novels by N.K. Jemisin and Emily St. John Mandel are about to drop. You’ll find both of their books on this list, of course, along with tales of space police, reanimated bodies, magical powers, supernatural murder mysteries, monsters, dragons, and so much more.

Read more…



Source: io9 – Spring Is Almost Here, and March Is Overflowing With New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Overwatch's New Experimental Card Turns Tanks Into Powerhouses

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It’s a longtime dream of mine to be extremely large and basically unkillable. I’ve yet to accomplish my goal in real life, but I will—mark my words. Until then, I’ve at least got Overwatch’s new experimental card, which turns tanks into nigh-unstoppable meat walls, to help me imagine a better world.

Read more…



Source: Kotaku – Overwatch’s New Experimental Card Turns Tanks Into Powerhouses

IBM and Microsoft Sign Vatican Pledge For Ethical AI

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IBM and Microsoft have signed an “ethical resolution” with the Vatican to develop AI in a way that will protect the planet and the rights of all people [Editor’s note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source]. From a report: The pledge, called the “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” will be presented on Friday morning to Pope Francis by Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft, and John Kelly, IBM’s executive vice-president, as well as Vatican officials and Qu Dongyu, the Chinese director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The two US tech companies lead the world in AI development, measured by the number of patents they have amassed. The document calls for AI to safeguard the rights of all humankind, particularly the weak and underprivileged, and for new regulations in fields such as facial recognition. It said that there must be a “duty of explanation” that would show not only how AI algorithms come to their decisions but also what their purpose and objectives are.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – IBM and Microsoft Sign Vatican Pledge For Ethical AI

Sweet Baby Ray's Is the Best Dipping Sauce, According to Our Readers

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Although most of the options nominated weren’t dipping sauces at all (turns out, even true democracy is flawed), Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce has been elected the best dipping sauce by our readers after two rounds of voting. Sweet Baby Ray’s took home 1,039 votes, almost half the total at 43%.

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Source: LifeHacker – Sweet Baby Ray’s Is the Best Dipping Sauce, According to Our Readers

AMD Posts Radeon Software 20.2.2 Drivers: Focusing on Bug Fixes and Stability

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Finding themselves under some fire as of late for driver quality, AMD has released their second Radeon driver update for February. Focused on improving driver stability, today’s release, 20.2.2, incorporates a number of quality-of-life fixes for the drivers, including resolving system hangs and Chrome issues.


As this is essentially a bugfix driver, there are no new features to speak of. Instead, AMD’s focus, according to their release notes, is all about cataloging and fixing various driver bugs. Along with immediate stability issues, the drivers also make note of fixing issues with The Witcher 3, Metro Exodus, AMD’s software overlay, and Battlefield V.


As always, AMD’s latest drivers can be found on their driver download page.


  • Performing a task switch with some Radeon Software features enabled or some third-party applications with hardware acceleration running in the background may cause a system hang or black screen.

  • Improvements have been made that allow for more responsive fan ramp up or fan ramp down times on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.

  • Performance Metrics Overlay and Radeon WattMan incorrectly report lower than expected clock speeds on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products during gaming workloads.

  • When Instant Replay is enabled, a TDR or black screen may occur when launching games or applications.

  • A black screen may occur when toggling HDR on in the game settings of Battlefield™ V.

  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt™ may experience an application hang or black screen during certain parts of the game or intermittently during gameplay.

  • Some video content in Chrome™ may appear as a black screen or be unresponsive on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products when hardware acceleration is enabled.

  • Metro Exodus™ may experience an application hang or TDR when choosing some specific dialogue prompts in the Sam’s Story DLC.

  • Grand Theft Auto™ V may experience an application crash when invoking Radeon Software’s overlay with third party OSD applications running.

  • Monster Hunter World™: Iceborne may experience intermittent crashes while idle or on the character creation screen.

  • Some games colors may appear washed out when HDR mode has been enabled in game and Windows® on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products

  • After a Factory Reset installation with the ‘Keep My Settings’ option chosen, Instant Replay could fail to function if it was enabled in the previous Radeon Software installation.

  • When invoking Radeon Software’s overlay while a game is open users may observe flickering in the game or in the Radeon Software interface.

  • Radeon Software may experience a crash and error message when locking Windows® or performing a sleep or hibernate with the Radeon Software Streaming tab open.

  • A loss of display with working audio may be experienced on a limited number of displays when performing a mode change on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products.

  • Radeon Software may fail to launch if Radeon Software’s overlay is disabled and a game is running in the background.

  • Battlefield™ V may experience an application hang or TDR after extended periods of play.

  • Some Origin™ games may fail to be detected or may detect the incorrect game title in Radeon Software.

  • Some productivity applications are being detected and listed in the Radeon Software games tab.

  • The Radeon Chill hotkey could sometimes continue to remain enabled once the user has removed or disabled the hotkey.

  • Red Dead Redemption™ 2 may exhibit blocky textures on snow covered terrain.

  • After resuming from sleep, Chrome™ may experience an application crash if video content was previously playing on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.

  • Radeon FreeSync status in Radeon Software may sometimes fail to update when enabling or disabling the feature through the display itself.

  • Fortnite™ may experience an application crash on Radeon RX 500 series Hybrid Graphics system configurations.



Source: AnandTech – AMD Posts Radeon Software 20.2.2 Drivers: Focusing on Bug Fixes and Stability

Huawei Hopes to Win Over Europe With Plans to Build 5G Factory in France

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After the U.S. government warned European nations numerous times that the use of Huawei networking equipment poses a security risk, now it appears Huawei is hoping to alleviate those fears with new plans to build a 5G manufacturing facility in France.

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Source: Gizmodo – Huawei Hopes to Win Over Europe With Plans to Build 5G Factory in France

Can't Decide What To Play In Dreams? Try These

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It’s not an exaggeration to say the possibilities in Dreams are endless. Media Molecule’s creativity game, which officially came out for PS4 a few weeks back, puts the tools of a developer in the hands of a gamer. It’s not the Frostbite Engine or iD Tech 4, but, on the other hand, you don’t need advanced training to…

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Source: Kotaku – Can’t Decide What To Play In Dreams? Try These

How to Test the Best Features in the Android 11 Preview Builds

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With so many Android devices still waiting on Android 10, it’s hard to believe the first preview builds of Android 11 are already available. There’s currently no official release date for Android 11 and it’s going to be a while before general users will have chance to check out a public beta version, but early testers…

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Source: LifeHacker – How to Test the Best Features in the Android 11 Preview Builds

Getting started with Linux firewalls

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A sensible firewall is your computer’s first line of defense against network intrusion. When you’re at home, you’re probably behind a firewall built into the router supplied by your internet service provider. When you’re away from home, though, the only firewall you have is the one running on your computer, so it’s important to configure and control the firewall on your Linux computer. If you run a Linux server, it’s just as important to know how to manage your firewall so that you can protect it from unwanted traffic both locally and remotely.read more

Source: LXer – Getting started with Linux firewalls

GDC running out of time to cancel as Amazon, Blizzard join no-show list

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The state of GDC 2020 as of 3:00pm (Eastern) on February 28. Most of the major sponsors have withdrawn.

Enlarge / The state of GDC 2020 as of 3:00pm (Eastern) on February 28. Most of the major sponsors have withdrawn.

Attempts to contain and mitigate the spread of novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 are wreaking havoc on travel plans around the globe, and the annual Game Developers Conference is no exception. The majority of major sponsors for GDC 2020 in San Francisco have already pulled out a little more than two weeks ahead of the event’s scheduled March 16 start. As of publication time, however, the event is still on, which raises the question: what would it take to make the GDC cancel?

On February 28 (Friday), GDC posted an update saying, “We are closely monitoring the COVID19 (coronavirus) situation and want to assure everyone that your health and safety are a top priority. If our assessment of the situation changes, based on new and evolving developments or updated information, we will promptly update this statement regarding the status of GDC 2020 accordingly.”

Sony and Facebook both backed out on February 20, the first of the dominoes to fall. Since then, other cancellations have followed rapidly. EA and Kojima Productions both backed out on February 24, then Unity, Microsoft, Epic Games (and Unreal Engine) bowed out on February 27, with Amazon and Activision/Blizzard following on February 28.

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Source: Ars Technica – GDC running out of time to cancel as Amazon, Blizzard join no-show list

Amazing Isolated Vocals Of Cyndi Lauper Singing 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun'

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cydi-lauper-girls-just-want-to-have-fun-vocals-only.jpg

This is the audio of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ with the vocals isolated from the rest of the song. Or was this her singing in the studio? Whatever the case, damn *gets goose bumps* she’s good. Just give it a listen, you won’t regret it. Just like my motorcycle, she’s really got some pipes on her. “Do you even own a motorcycle?” Don’t you try to take this away from Cyndi.

Keep going for the video while I 1) go around the office arguing Cyndi is twice the singer whoever anybody else likes will ever be, then 2) play the entirety of She’s So Unusual on the internet jukebox at happy hour.

Source: Geekologie – Amazing Isolated Vocals Of Cyndi Lauper Singing ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’

Sonnet Unveils Solo5G: A USB-C to 5 GbE Network Adapter

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Sonnet has started sales of its Solo5G, one of the industry’s first 5 Gigabit Ethernet USB-C dongles. Designed to quickly and easily add support for faster networking to any laptop or desktop with a USB interface, the device is compatible with all three of the major OSes.


Adoption of NBASE-T networks is proceeding slowly due to two reasons: expensive Multi-Gig Ethernet switches and sporadic support of NBASE-T by PCs. Fortunately, higher-end desktops as well as gaming laptops are finally getting native NBASE-T support, but when it comes to mainstream and ultra-thin machines, such support is a rare occurrence; so to gain Multi-Gig support they need external USB adapters. A couple of years ago Aquantia (an independent company back then) developed its AQtion AQC111U and AQtion AQC112U USB-to-Ethernet chips along with reference designs for USB 3.0 to 2.5GbE/5GbE adapters to simplify production of such devices.



Sonnet’s Solo5G is based on the Marvell AQC111U controller (since Aquantia is now a part of Marvell), allowing 5GbE support to be added to any PC with a USB port. The device supports 5GBASE-T, 2.5GBASE-T, 1000BASE-T, 100BASE-TX networks over Cat5e cables at up to 100 meters. The dongle also supports advanced LAN features such as flow control or 802.11p QoS and works like a typical network adapter, so a driver for an appropriate OS is required.



The Sonnet Solo5G comes bundled with 0.5-meter USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables to maintain compatibility with new USB-C and legacy USB-A-enabled computers. As for portability, the dongle weighs 70 grams, so it should be easy to carry around.



The Solo5G USB-C to 5 GbE adapter is available now directly from the company at an MSRP of $79.99, which is not particularly cheap, but which is affordable enough to add NBASE-T capabilities to a PC without breaking the bank.


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Source: Sonnet




Source: AnandTech – Sonnet Unveils Solo5G: A USB-C to 5 GbE Network Adapter

Apple Has Blocked Clearview AI's iPhone App for Violating Its Rules

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An iPhone app built by controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI has been blocked by Apple, effectively banning the app from use. From a report: Apple confirmed to TechCrunch that the startup “violated” the terms of its enterprise program. The app allows its users — which the company claims it serves only law enforcement officers — to use their phone camera or upload a photo to search its database of three billion photos. But BuzzFeed News revealed that the company — which claims to only cater to law enforcement users — also includes many private sector users, including Macy’s, Walmart, and Wells Fargo. Clearview AI has been at the middle of a media — and legal — storm since its public debut in The New York Times last month. The company scrapes public photos from social media sites, drawing ire from the big tech giants which claim Clearview AI misused their services. But it’s also gained attention from hackers. On Wednesday, Clearview AI confirmed a data breach, in which its client list was stolen.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Apple Has Blocked Clearview AI’s iPhone App for Violating Its Rules

Boeing acknowledges “gaps” in its Starliner software testing

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Starliner touches down in December.

Enlarge / Starliner touches down in December. (credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

On Friday during a detailed, 75-minute briefing with reporters, a key Boeing spaceflight official sought to be as clear as possible about the company’s troubles with its Starliner spacecraft.

After an uncrewed test flight in December of the spacecraft, Boeing “learned some hard lessons,” said John Mulholland, a vice president who manages the company’s commercial crew program. The December mission landed safely but suffered two serious software problems. Now, Mulholland said, Boeing will work hard to rebuild trust between itself and the vehicle’s customer, NASA. During the last decade, NASA has paid Boeing a total of $4.8 billion to develop a safe capsule to fly US astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

At the outset of the briefing, Mulholland sought to provide information about the vehicle’s performance, including its life support systems, heat shield, guidance, and navigation. He noted that there were relatively few issues discovered. However, when he invited questions from reporters, the focus quickly turned to software. In particular, Mulholland was asked several times how the company made decisions on procedures for testing flight software before the mission—which led to the two two mistakes.

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Source: Ars Technica – Boeing acknowledges “gaps” in its Starliner software testing