If you’re about to get on an airplane, you might want to wait until you land before you read this post. Because cyber security whiz Ruben Santamarta has devised a method that can give hackers access to a passenger jet’s satellite communications equipment through the passenger Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment systems*. And that’s scary. Read more…
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Researcher Can Hack Airplanes Through In-Flight Entertainment Systems
Taco Cowboy writes Japan is planning to launch a military space force by 2019. The Mainichi Shimbun is reporting that Japan plans to create a “space force” within its existing Self Defence Force, hoping to have it operational by 2019. Japan would provide the US military with information obtained by the force as part of the joint bid to strengthen ties in space, the so-called “fourth battlefield”, Kyodo news agency said, citing unnamed sources. Note that this plan, which involves simply looking into space using old civilian astronomy equipment and radar, is just the beginning. The transforming space fighters and combat mechs will presumably come later. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Japan To Launch a Military Space Force In 2019
Google has long used automatic image scanning to fight online child exploitation, but it’s now clear that this monitoring applies to email, too. Houston police have arrested a registered sex offender after Google tipped them off to illegal photos of children in his Gmail account. The notice only led to a warrant at first, but it helped the cops discover locally stored images that they wouldn’t have found otherwise. The bust is notable in that there were no public clues to the offender’s activity, such as a website; besides the people he contacted, only Google would have known what he was doing online. That will undoubtedly raise concerns for some, since it wasn’t immediately apparent that Mountain View’s servers were checking Gmail images. However, the activity isn’t a complete surprise. Google’s terms of service already indicate that the company is analyzing Gmail for both targeted ads and security — while illegal pornography isn’t explicitly mentioned in the terms, it only makes sense that this content would be considered as well. Filed under: Internet , Google Comments Via: Business Insider Source: KHOU
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Google email scan helps police arrest a sex offender
If BioShock Infinite ‘s brief stopover in Rapture wasn’t enough to sate your Randian desires, 2K Games’ China studio is currently in the process of moving the original BioShock from last-gen consoles and PC to iOS. Like XCOM: Enemy Unknown before it , BioShock is a “premium” iOS game and thus carries a “premium” price — that price is unknown thus far, but we’d put it somewhere in the $10 – $30 range. As one 2K Games rep told us in an interview late last week, “It is a seven year old game.” So perhaps on the lower-end of that scale, then. Other than that, well, it’s BioShock . Would you kindly head past the break if you’d like to know more? Yes, BioShock doesn’t look as good on iOS. It’s the truth. In-game lighting and shadows are cut down pretty dramatically, as are art assets. The grandeur of Rapture is distinctly less grand , which sucks some of the life out of one of my personal favorites. The first thing you’ll notice is “iOS fire.” The game’s opening — a plane crash — puts main character Jack in the ocean surrounded by some hideously ugly fire animations. It’s the first hint that the iOS version of Rapture has been shrunken down to fit within Apple’s app store file size limitation, and it’s a nagging issue that I couldn’t shake in my hands-on time. But maybe you haven’t played BioShock before and you’re not overloaded with lofty expectations (like me). First things first, you’re in for a treat! Second, even without my lofty expectations, you should probably play this on a couch with an Xbox 360. BioShock is a great example of world-building in video games, and the iOS experience is a subpar representation. Simply put, between the lessened scale and the delivery medium, BioShock iOS is distinctly less immersive. The good news is that it plays perfectly fine, even with touch controls. Admittedly, the touch control situation is not ideal. Like Grand Theft Auto ‘s mobile ports, virtual buttons appear contextually on screen. Also like Grand Theft Auto ‘s mobile ports, I found myself scrambling to figure out which virtual button to push as a gang of enemies descended on me. “But Ben, ” you ask with a hint of hesitation in your voice. “Why not use a bluetooth controller?” Well, you can. And I tried that with a MOGA bluetooth controller. That totally works. Here’s the thing: I don’t carry a bluetooth gamepad on me. Do you? Does anyone? Okay, does anyone who isn’t a crazy person? You can play BioShock iOS with a gamepad. But will anyone? In terms of nuts and bolts, BioShock iOS doesn’t have any of the extra downloadable content that the console/PC version has. It requires a newer iOS device — iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, iPad 4, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C or iPhone 5 — and straight up won’t run on earlier devices (says 2K). It’ll arrive sometime this summer at an unknown, “premium” price. Filed under: Cellphones , Gaming , Handhelds , Tablets , Software , Mobile , Apple Comments
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The original BioShock is headed to iOS this summer
If you’ve ever tried to send a large PDF over email, you know that email systems have file size limits. SmallPDF will combine and shrink PDFs from the cloud so you can send it along. Read more…
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SmallPDF Compresses PDFs From the Cloud
An anonymous reader writes Intelligence agency GCHQ has just accredited six UK universities to teach Master’s degrees in online security that meet the intelligence agency’s “stringent criteria.” From the press release: “The certification of six Master’s degrees in Cyber Security was announced by Rt.Hon Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he visited GCHQ today. This marks another significant step in the development of the UK’s knowledge, skills and capability in all fields of Cyber Security as part of the National Cyber Security Programme. The National Cyber Security Strategy recognises education as key to the development of Cyber Security skills and, earlier in the year, UK universities were invited to submit their Cyber Security Master’s degrees for certification against GCHQ’s stringent criteria for a broad foundation in Cyber Security.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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UK Spy Agency Certifies Master’s Degrees In Cyber Security
BagoGames Few people know what to make of the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood mobile game. By reputation it’s boring, vapid, materialistic, and shallow—according to many serious gamers—and is deplorable not least because players can spend money to get ahead. The wails only grew louder when reports indicated that the game earned $1.6 million in its first five days and is on track to make $200 million in annual revenue , according to one analyst. While many gamers and gaming journalists struggled to figure out why anyone would spend money on a game made by and featuring a reality TV star, we aren’t totally in the dark. For one, casting shade on the subject matter is a value judgment of a certain set of interests and lifestyle. And on a meta level, how people use their leisure time . Let he who has lived every moment deliberately immersed in deep consideration of the universe cast the first Angry Bird. Materialism in games probably does not cause materialism in the streets . For another, Kim K is actually pretty self-aware of its own materialism and glorification of social climbing and has a sense of irony about the world it gives players to try and thrive in. To wit, one of the things you can spend in-game money on is new body parts. Read 25 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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What we judge when we judge freemium, and the money we’ve spent on Hearthstone
Welcome to Reading List , Gizmodo’s weekend collection of the best writing from around the web. Today we’ve got pieces from The Daily Dot, Motherboard, Medium, and more! Read more…
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How a Stoned Teen’s Wikipedia Hoax Is Still Fooling Scholars and Experts
The cops may be eager to experiment with drones for tracking bombs and (possibly) suspects, but they’re apparently not that keen on people turning the tables. The LAPD claims that activist Daniel Saulmon was trespassing when he flew a machine over a Hollywood police station’s parking lot. He was spying on “private property, ” Lieutenant Michael Ling claims. As you might imagine, Saulmon (who has a history of recording officers on the ground) disagrees. He didn’t step inside, after all, and he contends that law enforcement doesn’t have the same privacy rights as individuals. Saulmon wasn’t busted for his drone flight, and it’s not clear that the LAPD can do much at this stage. It’s a public institution, and the Hollywood location has a see-through fence — it’s not as if the police were guarding a secret operation. He wasn’t interfering with their activities, either. There’s a chance that California and other states will draft rules limiting what both civilians and cops can do with unmanned craft, but it looks like these confrontations between cops and accountability advocates could continue so long as a gray area exists. Filed under: Robots Comments Via: Ars Technica Source: LA Times , Tom Zebra (YouTube)
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Los Angeles police don’t want you flying drones over their stations
Big Bertha was all set to dig a nearly two-mile tunnel in Seattle, but just 1, 000 feet into her journey she hit a mysterious object that halted her progress. Now, crews are beginning the process of rescuing her, in what could be the world’s largest recovery mission . Read more…
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The Enormous Mission to Rescue the World’s Largest Tunneling Machine