Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hit back Apple CEO Tim Cook, calling Cook’s comments about Facebook “extremely glib.” Cook told Recodelast week that he would never be in the situation that Zuckerberg has found himself in, facing backlash for the massive Cambridge Analytica data breach.
Cook said, “The truth is, we could make a ton of money if we monetized our customer — if our customer was our product. We’ve elected not to do that.” Apple, instead, has monetized products to customers, and Cook argued that was a sounder business model and not vulnerable to the same problems Facebook is having.
In an interview with Vox, Zuckerberg dismissed Cook’s argument as insincere and shallow. He said, “You know, I find that argument, that if you’re…
During GDC 2018 this week we got something of a blast from the past as we checked out Shift Quantum from Fishing Cactus, which is set to be published by Red Panda on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC. The origins of the game date back to over a decade ago with the original Shift Flash game, which you can still play today. The main hook is that each level is made up of black areas and white areas, and pressing the shift key would switch which area would be the “active” one. So say the ground was black and the sky was white, hitting the shift key would flip things so the white would become the ground and the black become the sky. This is used to solve various puzzle platforming levels, and that original Shift even made its way to iPhone way back in 2009 and was a perfect fit for the touchscreen. Shift Quantum takes that defining shifting mechanic and builds it out with new levels, a fantastic new art style, a compelling narrative, and even a fully featured level editor. While sadly a mobile version of Shift Quantum isn’t in the cards, it’s at least coming to the Nintendo Switch as well as the other major consoles and PC, so check out our hands-on time with the Switch version below and look for a launch in the next coming months.
As technology advances, so does cybercrime. In 2017 alone, a number of cybersecurity breaches have caused problems for individual companies and even whole industries, but when militaries are hacked, the leaking of information could be a matter of life and death.
A team of Korean researchers, led by Yang-Kyu Choi from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) School of Electrical Engineering, came up with a potential solution that could work extremely well in the harshest of environments, such as those where the armed services operate.
In a study published in the journal ACS Nano, the researchers detail a new kind of physical unclonable function (PUF) device that’s potentially unhackable and extremely durable.
PUFs have become a popular hardware solution to security hacks, especially since software checks are often not enough to prevent breaches. Each PUF is fabricated with random physical variations that function like fingerprints — no two PUFs are identical.
The problem with today’s PUFs, however, is that they aren’t robust enough for harsh environments, which is particularly an issue for military or outdoor use.
The researchers developed what they call a nano-electromechanical PUF (NEM-PUF). It is made up of a small silicon-nanowire kept suspended in a liquid between two gates, which represent either a zero or a one.
During manufacturing, the liquid in the NEM-PUF evaporates, and the nanowire sticks to one of the gates in a random fashion. When grouped together, the NEM-PUFs create a complex security code that’s nearly impossible to break.
According to the study, the NEM-PUF is also extremely durable, standing up to tests under high temperatures, high-dose radiation, and microwaves. The chip was even designed with the ability to self-destruct in the event of a breach.
Better Security
The military is an obvious application for Choi’s NEM-PUF. Not only are military electronics often subjected to harsh environments that typical hardware can’t withstand, security is also of the utmost importance.
However, it’s not difficult to imagine these NEM-PUF devices eventually finding their way into civilian use. After all, GPS, drones, and wristwatches all have military origins.
Image Credit: Yang-Kyu Choi, et al./American Chemical Society
Beyond the financial implications, security breaches are simply a hassle. Millions of people will be dealing with the fallout of the recent Equifax hack for years to come. Then there’s the WannaCry security breach in May that rendered some 200,000 computers inaccessible, crippling hospitals, businesses, and governments in more than 150 countries.
Any way to minimize or altogether prevent security hacks from occurring is valuable, and eventually, improved encryption methods, such as those that quantum computers are expected to provide, could be enough.
Still, hack-proofing hardware is worth serious consideration, and the NEM-PUF may be the device we need to protect our data in this era of cyber warfare.
For the past few years, governments have been gradually remaking the airport, transforming the single security check into a system of tiered clearances and background checks. You can see this logic at work in programs like CBP’s Global Entry and TSA’s Pre-Check, which let you pass through security lines faster if you’ve gone through the pre-clearance system in advance.
Facial recognition is shaping up to be a big part of the system too, as the cameras and databases put in place for biometric exit start to extend to US citizens at TSA checkpoints. That would let airport security quietly separate both low-risk passengers (if you’re in Global Entry) and high-risk passengers (if your face is on a watchlist) from the main group. If it works,…
People recognize Tivoli Audio for its wooden, classic gadget designs, and today, the company is launching a wireless subwoofer called the Model Sub. It can pair over Wi-Fi with any products from the company’s Art line, including the Model One Digital, the Sphera, and the Cube.
The Sub looks like a rectangular platform with engraved branding across the front. It can lie flat, hang on a wall, or stand on the floor. It costs $ 399.99, and you’ll need at least two additional speakers to create a full 2.1 surround sound setup. If you don’t want to totally opt into Tivoli Audio, the Sub also features a line-in, so you can physically connect it to an existing setup.
I don’t love excessive branding, so the Sub is a miss for me aesthetically….
The Cary42 is best described as a larger, upgraded version of Hultén’s originalR-Kaid-R console, that doubles the controls to allow two players to enjoy classic games together. It features a 12-inch LCD display, stereo speakers, a 12V DC Power supply, and 16GB of storage preinstalled with 100 games (but its expandable over USB, so you can add as many emulated games as you can fit.)
The default version of the Cary42 is made out of solid American walnut, and…
The new S60 is a manly phone, says its Chinese phone maker Doogee. It’s absolutely the manliest manly man phone ever created. I’m impressed because it’s a rugged hunk of metal that’s clearly made for doing manly things like having adventures and going outside and “working in the fields.” The body is strong and made of metal, and can “take care of itself” as you’d expect any self-respecting man to be (except for the metal part, unless you’re into that).
There’s a suite of apps collected into what the company calls a toolbox (toolboxes are obviously essential for any self-respecting man) that includes a protractor, “pic hanging,” a magnifier, and a compass for “exploring the fields,” the company says. It features a 5,580mAh battery, a 21…
Elon Musk tweeted a few weeks ago that there’s “no need to rely on scientists for global warming — just use a thermometer.” While climate change is more complicated that that, with implications that extend far beyond just temperature, Musk’s point stands. Summers across the globe are hotter than they used to be, and extreme weather has never been more common.
According to Hansen’s data, 15 percent of summers between 2005 and 2015 fall into the category of “extremely hot,” while the number of “hot” summers has doubled compared to the base period (1951 to 1980), jumping from around 33 percent to 66 percent.
Todd Sanford, director of research at Climate Central, told The New York Times that the findings “really highlight that changes in the average, while they may seem modest, have big implications for the extremes. And that’s what’s going to affect society and ecosystems.” He also asserted that this upward trend provides “a glimpse to what’s in our future.”
What Can We Do?
An increase in high temperatures is one of many facets of climate change. Erratic weather phenomena, pollution, and ecosystem shifts due to other manifestations of the same cause have resulted in millions of deaths worldwide. In recent years, increased nitrogen levels caused the beaches of Florida to flood with foul-spelling green algae that killed animals and diseased people, and tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons have wrecked homes and damaged lives.
However, the last few years have marked a shift in the way we approach climate change, as well. While the 2000s were marked by a distrust of statistics and skepticism regarding the true extent of the problem, the 2010s have seen more people asking the question, “What can we do?”
Advanced microscope technology now lets us view objects at the nanoscale, meaning, when it comes to biology, we can see details of living cells that were never possible before. But doing that comes with a few requirements that have been fairly limiti… Engadget RSS Feed
The PC game Darkest Dungeon is a fantastic roguelike RPG that’s been very successful, and it looks like we’re very close to getting it on our tablets. Back in 2016, we wrote a story about a blog post from the Darkest Dungeon‘s developers where they announced they were considering bringing the game to tablets, but we haven’t heard much till then, until today that is. The developers just finished a Reddit AMA in celebration of the game’s DLC, Crimson Court, and stated that the chance of a tablet release is “extremely high,” which is great news to me and, possible, many of you. No other details on a tablet release were discussed—and no references to phones either—but it does look like we’re getting the game after all.
If you haven’t heard about the game yet, this roguelike RPG highlights the psychological stresses that come with adventuring as your band of heroes gradually suffer from stress and even madness. They can get paranoid, greedy, angry, and even hopeless, and those mental states have direct effects on gameplay. Add to that the fantastic art, and you can see why I really want to get it on my tablet. We’ll let you know once we have more information.
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