NASA’s DART spacecraft was 6.8 million miles from Earth when it slammed into a football stadium-sized asteroid on Monday. Despite this immense distance, images from the impact and its aftermath are coming in, and they’re proving to be better—and far more bizarre—than we expected.
Source: Gizmodo – The Most Intriguing Images of DART’s Fatal Encounter With an Asteroid
Haven’t you always wanted to play a card game featuring Kirby’s Chef Kawasaki wearing a series of microscopic bikinis? Me neither, but for a brief shining window this month, you theoretically could thanks to a Japanese fan creating an M-rated card game that delivered exactly that. But that’s all in the past as Kirby…
Source: Kotaku – Lewd Card Game Gets Shut Down By Kirby Studio
VidCutter is a free, open-source application that can be used to cut video and audio files. Learn how to install VidCutter on Linux Mint 21 here.
The post How to Install VidCutter on Linux Mint 21 appeared first on Linux Today.
Source: Linux Today – How to Install VidCutter on Linux Mint 21
Enlarge / CAPTCHAs are meant to prevent these kinds of browsing scenarios, not train us all to better recognize vehicles and infrastructure in grainy photos. (credit: Getty Images)
Cloudflare has recently made an audacious claim: We could all be doing something better with our lives than deciding which images contain crosswalks or stop lights or clicking an “I’m not a robot” checkbox. Now the cloud services company is offering up a free CAPTCHA alternative, Turnstile, available to anyone, Cloudflare customer or not, and specifically calling out Google’s role in the existing “prove you’re a human” hegemony.
Turnstile utilizes Cloudflare’s Managed Challenge system, which takes cues from user behavior, browser data, and, on Apple devices, Private Access Tokens, to distinguish human visitors from bots and scripts. Cloudflare claims that its Managed Challenge system was able to reduce 91 percent of CAPTCHAs served to its customers’ visitors over the course of a year.
Turnstile integrations run “a series of small non-interactive JavaScript challenges” to investigate the visitor, including proof of work and space, probing for web APIs, and “various other challenges for detecting browser-quirks and human behavior,” Cloudflare’s post states. The challenges vary by visitor, and machine learning can update the model with the common features of visitors who previously passed a test. The user only sees a “Verifying …” widget for a moment, then “Success!”
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Source: Ars Technica – Cloudflare’s CAPTCHA replacement lacks crosswalks, checkboxes, Google
Adobe plans to add technology from its creative software portfolio to Figma without tweaking pricing or simplicity after its acquisition, seeking to ease concerns among loyal users that the deal may significantly change the design app. From a report: Photo, video and illustration editing will likely be implemented into the software design app after the acquisition closes, as well as the ability to link projects from Adobe products such as Photoshop or Premiere, Adobe Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky said in an interview. The company is conscious that Figma customers appreciate its simplicity, and any updates will avoid clogging up the way users maneuver around the app, he said. Figma’s pricing model will remain “freemium,” Belsky said — meaning that a basic tier will always be accessible without cost. “We don’t want to fix something that’s working really well.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Adobe Outlines Figma Feature Ideas, Commits to Keeping Free Tier
Amazon held its annual fall hardware event on Tuesday. As in years past, the company had a lot to share in a short amount of time. We saw it announce new Echo, Kindle and Ring devices. It also had a few surprises up its sleeve from Eero and some of its other subsidiaries. Here’s everything the company unveiled today.
It only took the better part of 15 years, but Amazon is finally about to begin selling a Kindle with a stylus. Available later this year and starting at $339, the Kindle Scribe features a 10.2-inch, 300ppi front-lit display and magnetic pen. The nifty thing about Scribe is that you don’t need to sync or charge the stylus, and you can use it to jot down notes, annotate books and journal. You can preorder Kindle Scribe starting today.
It wouldn’t much of an Amazon hardware event if the company didn’t update its Echo line. This year it obliged by introducing a redesigned Echo Studio that features a new spatial audio processor that Amazon claims allows the speaker to deliver better stereo sound with “greater, width, clarity and presence.” According to the company, the new speaker also delivers better midrange clarity and deeper bass. Additionally, it now comes in a white colorway. The Echo Studio will cost $200 when it ships next month.
Amazon also redesigned the Echo Dot to fit a larger driver into the diminutive speaker. The company claims the new model offers twice the bass of its predecessor and clearer vocals. Its equally adorable sibling, the Echo Dot with Clock, now features a more capable display that can show information like the current artist and song title. Both models also feature more responsible touch controls. The Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock are available to preorder today for $50 and $60 respectively. Amazon is also releasing two new Kids versions that go on sale next month for $60.
After announcing a security drone in 2020 and apatrolling robot in 2021, Amazon’s home security-related announcements were a bit more subdued this time around. The company introduced two new cameras from Ring, the Spotlight Cam Pro and Spotlight Cam Plus. Both devices include Ring’s advanced Bird’s Eye View motion detection technology, a feature that was previously only available on the company’s flagship cameras. Amazon will offer the Spotlight Cam Pro and Spotlight Cam Plus in battery, plug-in, solar and wired variants, with the most affordable version of the Pro starting at $230. The Plus, meanwhile, will set you back at least $200.
Blink, Amazon’s other home security company, is also releasing new products. Today it announced the $100 Wired Floodlight Camera. It offers a 2,600-lumen LED light, 1080p live view and two-way audio, as well as motion detection. If you own one of the company’s Mini security cameras, you can now buy a pan-and-tilt mount for it that expands the camera’s coverage. The $30 accessory is available to preorder today.
Amazon’s Eero didn’t have as many announcements as we’re used to seeing from it, but if you already own one of the company’s mesh WiFi devices, you’ll appreciate what it did have to share. To start, Amazon’s new Echo Dot speakers will now double as Eero WiFi extenders. Add one to your existing network, and you can add as much as 1,000 square feet of additional coverage to your home. The Eero team is also preparing an Internet Backup feature that will automatically switch your router to an alternate connection during internet outages. That functionality will be available in the “coming months” to Eero Plus customers and from supporting internet providers.
Eero did have new hardware to share, though it’s a device that’s more aimed at businesses. The Eero PoE 6 draws power from an Ethernet connection, making it easier to mount on a wall or ceiling. It offers speeds of up to 1.5Gbps and a maximum of 2,000 square feet of coverage. It will be available this October for $300.
Unspursingly, Amazon is continuing its expansion into the health and wellness market, with a “no-contact” sleep tracker called the Halo Rise. According to the company, the device uses a “low-energy sensor” to detect the movement and respiratory patterns of the person sleeping closest to it. Each morning, you’ll see a summary of your data, with a few tips on how to get more restful sleep. It also doubles as an Alexa-compatible smart speaker and a sunrise clock, meaning you can configure Rise to gradually wake you up in the winter months when the sun might not be up before you need to get out of bed. Halo Rise will cost $140 when it goes on sale later this year.
Amazon began the Fire TV portion of its fall event with a refresh of the Fire TV Cube. The new model features a more mature design that should help the Fire TV Cube look less out of place in your living room. Amazon has also equipped it with a more powerful 2GHz octa-core processor, and an HDMI connection for TV passthrough. Taking advantage of the latter feature, you can switch to specific channels with voice commands. Alongside the Fire TV Cube, Amazon introduced the $35 Alexa Voice Remote Pro. It comes with a finder feature that can trigger a noise if you ever lose the remote.
Amazon is also expanding its Fire TV Omni line to add two premium QLED models. Available in 65- and 75-inch models that will cost $800 and $1,100 respectively, they’re the first TVs from the company to include support for Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10 Plus Adaptive. Additionally, they feature full array local dimming, with the latter model making use of 96 zones. They also come with an Ambient Experience mode that will display art or Alexa widgets when you enter the room. The series will go on sale next month.
Oh, and if you own an Echo Show 15, Amazon says you can expect a free update in the near future that will let you use the smart display as a Fire TV device. Handy that.
Amazon had a few other announcements mostly centered around the car. First, there’s a new Echo Auto that’s slimmer than its predecessor and features a more secure adhesive grip. BMW also joined Amazon on stage to announce that it’s working with the retailer to build the next version of its in-vehicle voice assistant using Alexa as a base. The automaker didn’t share too many details about the project, but promised it would “enable an even more natural dialogue between driver and vehicle.”
Follow all of the news from Amazon’s event right here!
Source: Engadget – Here’s everything Amazon announced at its fall hardware event
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 completed its beta testing on September 26, and, despite a few hiccups, Kick-Ass actress Chloë Grace Moretz (and, presumably, other people) want to know what to play while waiting for the full game’s release on October 28.
Source: Kotaku – 14 Shooters To Play While Waiting On Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
A new feature being worked on for the Flash-Friendly File-System (F2FS) is the ability to atomically replace files…
Source: Phoronix – F2FS Preparing Support For Atomic Replace
Over the last 20 years, the OSI has been the guardian of open-source licenses, but now it will also address non-open-source licenses more and AI[he]#039[/he]s role in software development.
Source: LXer – Open Source Initiative expands its role to AI and machine learning
A team of astronomers studying the gas surrounding a distant quasar believe it may carry remnants of one of the universe’s first stars.
Source: Gizmodo – Astronomers May Have Spotted the Remnants of One of the Earliest Stars
We are definitely living in the future. Smartphones and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have granted the average citizen access to resources once reserved only for folks with money. Need a personal chef? Sign up to have gourmet meal kits delivered to your door. Need a chauffeur?…
Source: LifeHacker – When to Use a Legal App (and When to Hire an Actual Lawyer)
US regulators reached settlements with a dozen banks in a sprawling probe into how global financial firms failed to monitor employees’ communications on unauthorized messaging apps, bringing total penalties in the matter to more than $2 billion. From a report: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced $1.1 billion in fines and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission disclosed $710 million in penalties in separate statements Tuesday. Those levies — against firms including Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs Group — combined with JPMorgan Chase’s $200 million in fines from December, bring the total to $2.01 billion, making them the biggest penalties ever against US banks for record-keeping lapses.
“Finance, ultimately, depends on trust. By failing to honor their record-keeping and books-and-records obligations, the market participants we have charged today have failed to maintain that trust,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in the agency’s statement. “As technology changes, it’s even more important that registrants appropriately conduct their communications about business matters within only official channels, and they must maintain and preserve those communications.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Wall Street Hit With Billion of Fines in WhatsApp Probe
Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg)
For drivers choosing electric vehicles, convenient access to reliable charging stations remains one of the biggest pain points after adopting the eco-friendlier way to cruise. Just the thought of driving out of the way to find a charging station when planning road trips—rather than pop into a choice of many gas stations at any exit—deters so many drivers that it was starting to look like unreliable charging could be the deciding factor that could ultimately doom EVs.
Instead, the Department of Transportation and the Biden administration announced yesterday that America greenlit a plan to invest $5 billion over the next five years to create a more reliable charging network by installing EV chargers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The first wave of funding is available now, granting access to all states to “more than $1.5 billion to help build EV chargers covering approximately 75,000 miles of highway across the country.”
“President Biden is leading the shift to electrify transportation—ensuring drivers can commute and charge confidently and affordably and lessening our oversized reliance on fossil fuels while combatting climate change,” US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in the press release.
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Source: Ars Technica – More EV charging stations coming nationwide, electrifying 75K miles of highways
What’s the best way for YouTube Shorts to take on TikTok? Apparently, it’s by continually copying its popular competitor. Yesterday, YouTube announced (via TechCrunch) that it would be adding voiceover narrations to Shorts on iOS. It’ll let you add your own commentary on top of existing videos with just a few taps. That’s simple enough, but it’s also something that TikTok has offered for a while, and it brings to mind Instagram’s repeated attempts to copy TikTok’s core features.
Previously, YouTube also lifted TikTok’s feature that lets you reply to comments with your own video. It’s not unusual to tech companies copy each other — Facebook and Instagram practically made a habit of it. But it also makes it clear when established companies are starting to feel defensive about their younger, and usually more innovative, competition. To its credit, YouTube is trying to separate itself by sharing ad revenue with Shorts creators. TikTok may be wildly popular, but that historically hasn’t led to much money for creators.
Source: Engadget – YouTube Shorts copies TikTok again with voiceover narration
Andor is so refreshing in part because it does not feel like the kind of Star Wars show that is going to drop everything, point at a familiar character arriving onto the scene, and go “look! Star War!” And yet, out of nowhere, this week’s thrilling episode dropped maybe one of the most absurdly deep-cut canonizations…
Source: Gizmodo – Andor Just Dropped One of Star Wars’ Wildest Easter Eggs
There are a lot of expensive credit cards on the market these days: Some of them have annual fees that can be as high as $500, so it’s natural to wonder if they’re really worth it. In most cases, the answer is no—at least not for everyone. That said, there are cards out there that are both expensive and can be a good…
Source: LifeHacker – Expensive Credit Cards That Don’t Seem Worth It, But Are
Of all of Amazon’s in-home technology, the Fire TV lineup of devices is quite compelling when you stack it up against its main competition, like Google TV and Roku. But is it enough to bring a whole-ass Amazon television set into your home?
Source: Gizmodo – Amazon Wants to Sell You a Presence Detecting QLED Fire TV
Enlarge / A limited number of customers have had Astro in their living room. (credit: Amazon)
Amazon’s press-only hardware event today included reveals of the Kindle Scribe, Eero extending mesh networks with Echo, updated Echo Dot and Studio speakers, plus an Echo dashboard accessory. Like last year, there was also talk of the Amazon Astro robot that can roll around homes equipped with a digital smile, camera, and microphones. This time, Amazon detailed new and planned features for Astro; however, a year after its initial announcement, Astro remains an invite-only experimental product.
Astro is a 17.3×9.8-inch robot, with Alexa, a smart display, microphones, speakers, night-vision LEDs, a periscope camera, cupholder, and visual simultaneous location and mapping (V-SLAM) for navigating around people’s homes and unexpected obstacles, like a dropped item. You need to request an invite to pay $1,000 for the bot. An Amazon rep told Ars Technica that invites are currently sent out at “fairly regular intervals.”
Amazon appears to be accepting invite requests while developing new features ahead of expected mass availability, whenever that may be. Amazon’s event today didn’t provide any updates to Astro seeing general availability. When Ars Technica asked Amazon about when general availability would happen, an Amazon rep wouldn’t get more specific than “as quickly as possible.”
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Source: Ars Technica – Amazon’s Astro robot still isn’t ready for prime time
The head of WhatsApp has warned UK ministers that moves to undermine encryption in a relaunched online safety bill would threaten the security of the government’s own communications and embolden authoritarian regimes. From a report: In an interview with the Financial Times, Will Cathcart, who runs the Meta-owned messaging app, insisted that alternative techniques were available to protect children using WhatsApp, without having to abandon the underlying security technology that safeguards its more than 2bn users. The UK’s bill, which the government argues will make the internet safer, has become a focus of global debate over whether companies such as Google, Meta and Twitter should be forced to proactively scan and remove harmful content on their networks.
Tech companies claim it is not technically possible for encrypted messaging apps to scan for material such as child pornography without undermining the security of the entire network, which prevents anyone — including platform operators — from reading users’ messages. Cathcart said the UK’s ultimate position on the issue would have a global impact. “If the UK decides that it is OK for a government to get rid of encryption, there are governments all around the world that will do exactly the same thing, where liberal democracy is not as strong, where there are different concerns that really implicate deep-seated human rights,” he said, citing Hong Kong as a potential example.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – UK Online Safety Bill Threatens Security, WhatsApp Chief Warns
