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Unlocked PS4 consoles can now run copies of PS2 games

Video of Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for the PS2 running on an unlocked PlayStation 4. After years of work, hackers have finally managed to unlock the PS4 hardware with an exploit that lets the system run homebrew and pirated PS4 software. In a somewhat more surprising discovery, those hackers have also unlocked the ability to run many PS2 games directly on the console, using the same system-level emulation that powers legitimate PlayStation Classics downloads. While hackers managed to install Linux on the PS4 years ago , the biggest breakthrough in the PS4 hacking scene came late last month, when two different teams of hackers released a WebKit exploit for version 4.05 of the PS4 firmware . That firmware was patched (and automatically updated on many systems) in late 2016, and there’s currently no known way to downgrade an updated system to the older firmware, which limits the range of consoles that can run the exploit. For compatible consoles, though, the kernel-level exploit allows for pretty much full control of the system, including the running of unsigned code. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Unlocked PS4 consoles can now run copies of PS2 games

Coinbase Is Making $2.7 Million a Day

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bitcoin News: In information released to shareholders this week, Coinbase revealed that it recorded turnover of $1 billion last year, which works out at an astonishing $2.74 million a day or $2, 000 a minute. As America’s largest bitcoin broker, Coinbase claims the lion’s share of the money that’s pouring into the crypto space at a dizzying rate. 2017 was a bumper year for all crypto exchanges, which reported record numbers across the board: new signups, new staff hired, new trading pairs, and new revenue. Those revenue streams have turned into a torrent that has caused Coinbase’ coffers to swell. Recode reports that the company’s revenue exceeded $1 billion last year, most of it derived from the trading fees it levies. These vary from between 0.25% and 1%. and quickly add up: in the past 24 hours, 36, 000 BTC were traded on Coinbase, accounting for more than 15% of the total market. Coinbase isn’t the world’s largest exchange (and is technically a broker rather than a conventional exchange — that duty falls to its GDAX subsidiary) but it’s the best known and carries great weight in the cryptocurrency industry. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Coinbase Is Making $2.7 Million a Day

iOS 11.3 will introduce new battery features and AR improvements

Apple is bringing iOS 11.3 to iPhones and iPads this spring, and today the company released a preview of what we can expect from the upgrade. The most notable improvements are the battery health indicator, upgrades to ARKit and the introduction of Health Records. iPhone batteries have been a big subject of discussion lately, with the recent news that Apple has been throttling performance on older phones to balance aging battery life. Now, Apple is replacing batteries on some phones for a low fee. This latest update includes a feature that shows the health of your phone’s battery, as well as if it needs to be serviced. What’s more, users will be able to see if that power management feature is turned on, and toggle it off if they so choose. Additionally, the company introduced improvements to ARKit, its AR SDK for developers. ARKit 1.5 will be able to recognize vertical surfaces such as walls and doors, as well as map objects that are irregular in shape, such as a circular or oval table. The experience will also be clearer, as the real-world view now has 50 percent sharper resolution. Apple also announced Health Records , which allows users to bring all their medical records together within one app. Rather than logging into every single provider separately, Health Records will work with your existing doctors and hospitals to put all your health information into one place. It’s currently available to patients of 12 medical institutions, but more will follow, and all data will be encrypted to ensure privacy. iOS 11.3 has four new Animoji, including a bear, a dragon, a skull and a lion; this brings the total number of Animoji up to 16. Business Chat will also launch within the Messages app as an 11.3 beta feature. This will allow users to communicate directly with businesses such as Hilton, Lowe’s, Discover and Wells Fargo. If you have an Apple developer account, the iOS 11.3 preview is available today; the free public beta preview will follow. The upgrade will be available widely this spring, for the iPhone 5s and later, all iPad Airs and iPad Pros, the iPad fifth generation, iPad Mini 2 and later and the sixth generation of the iPod Touch. Source: Apple (1) , Apple (2)

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iOS 11.3 will introduce new battery features and AR improvements

MilliDelta robot surgeon is the size of a one cent coin

Another tiny robot is gearing up to join the ranks of microsurgeons , but this one is small enough to fit in your coin purse. Inspired by pop-up books and origami, the milliDelta bot measures mere millimetres when unfolded (roughly the size of a one cent coin). But, even at that scale, the miniature helper packs flexible joints and bending, piezoelectric actuators that allow it to work with force, precision, and high speed. Its creators (from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) claim it can perform a range of microsurgery and manufacturing tasks in compact spaces. Unlike existing Delta robots, which scientists have been shrinking down for workspace use for years, the new bot is a swift operator. “Currently available Delta robots are only able to operate at a few hertz, ” said Hayley McClintock, a Harvard researcher who helped design the device. “So for our robot to be able to draw circles at frequencies up to 75 Hz is quite impressive.” Scientists developed the new bot using a technique known as pop-up microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), allowing them to create a complex structure from flat pieces of materials. The same approach was used to create the flying RoboBee . Next up for the milliDelta bot, the researchers plan to refine its specs in order to pin down its final design and add power and control electronics. Source: ScienceRobotics

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MilliDelta robot surgeon is the size of a one cent coin

Rescue Drone Saves Two Boys from Drowning on Its First Day in Service

Imagine being in the ocean, trapped in a swell some 700 meters from shore. Suddenly a yellow package drops out of the sky as if sent by a god, hits the water next to you and expands into a flotation device. That was the experience of two unlucky, then lucky teenage boys off the coast of Lennox Head in Australia last week. Someone spotted the boys in distress and called it in, but the nearest lifeguard station was a kilometer away. Just that morning, however, Lennox Head had brought their new lifesaving drone into service. In a little over a minute, a lifeguard supervisor had launched the drone, spotted the boys, flew it over to them, and remotely dropped the flotation device. The boys were able to grab it and swim to shore. Here’s the footage: The drone is manufactured by a company called Little Ripper Lifesaver , founded by Kevin Weldon after he witnessed a drone canvassing the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and realized its lifesaving potential. The Marine Pod dropped over Lennox Head contained a water-triggered flotation device, which is repackable and reusable. The company is now testing a saltwater-activated electromagnetic shark repellent device, with plans to include that in future kits. Little Ripper also makes a Land Pod, which contains an automatic defibrillator, a location beacon, a thermal blanket, a radio, a highly-visible rescue banner and a first aid kit. Lastly they make a Snow Pod, which adds skin warmers and energy bars to the Land Pod. Lennox Head received the drone as part of a trial set up by an organization called Surf Life Saving NSW and the New South Wales Government. According to ABC News , Surf Life Saving NSW project manager for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Kelvin Morton, said the project was a world-first. “These UAVs that we’re using to drop these inflatable pods is innovative, and we know that most or all of the lifesaving organisations around the world are stepping back and waiting to see how this goes.” Mr Morton said the drones gave surf lifesavers a new advantage. “It gives them eyes across the water at a height of 60 metres and they can move at 50 kilometres an hour, ” he said.  “They’ve never had that ability before. They can see things in the water that a jet-ski simply cannot.”

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Rescue Drone Saves Two Boys from Drowning on Its First Day in Service

Linux 4.15 Becomes Slowest Release Since 2011

An anonymous reader shares a report: Linus Torvalds has decided that Linux 4.15 needs a ninth release candidate, making it the first kernel release to need that much work since 2011. Torvalds flagged up the possibility of an extra release candidate last week, with the caveat that “it obviously requires this upcoming week to not come with any huge surprises” after “all the Meltdown and Spectre hoopla” made his job rather more complicated in recent weeks. Fast-forward another week and Torvalds has announced “I really really wanted to just release 4.15 today, but things haven’t calmed down enough for me to feel comfy about it.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Linux 4.15 Becomes Slowest Release Since 2011

Android Oreo now shows WiFi network speeds before you connect

Ever hop on a WiFi hotspot to save mobile data or boost speed, only to find out that it’s so slow that you might as well have stayed on cellular access? If you’re using Android 8.1 Oreo, that shouldn’t be a problem going forward. After several weeks of teasing , Google is rolling out a feature that gauges the speed of WiFi networks before you connect. It’s not giving you exact bandwidth readings — instead, it’s lumping the overall performance into categories that give you an idea of what to expect. You may want to avoid a “slow” (under 1Mbps) or “OK” (1-5Mbps) network unless you have no choice, but “fast” (5-20Mbps) and “very fast” (20Mbps and above) should do the job if you’re catching up on YouTube. The ratings are a bit conservative, and might not help much if you’re hoping to stream 4K or download a multi-gigabyte app. However, it should help you make more informed decisions. You might skip that overloaded airport connection instead of wasting minutes trying to visit a basic page. Now if only this prompted hotspot owners to improve the quality of their connections… Public Wi-Fi can be spotty. For the first time, #AndroidOreo 8.1 lets you take out the guesswork & see the speed of networks before you hit connect. Rolling out now: https://t.co/lSzvCFgNk7 pic.twitter.com/60EmoPxUX4 — Android (@Android) January 22, 2018 Source: Google Support , Android (Twitter)

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Android Oreo now shows WiFi network speeds before you connect

The first 512GB microSD card arrives in February

It didn’t take long for someone to topple 2017’s microSD storage record . The UK’s Integral Memory has unveiled what it says it the first shipping 512GB microSD card. So long as your device can handle microSDXC (most Android phones and tablets, as well as PCs like the Surface Pro ), you too can have half a terabyte in the space of a fingernail. The card’s 80MB/s peak transfer speed isn’t the fastest you’ll find, but it should be enough for apps and recording gobs of 4K video. The card arrives in February, although it’s not clear how much it will cost or how readily available it will be outside of the UK. Don’t expect it to be cheap, though — the 400GB card still carries a premium (around $250 on Amazon), and it’s virtually certain that 512GB will cost more. This is more about bragging rights, both for Integral Memory and for well-heeled techies who want the kind of capacity normally reserved for laptops. Source: BusinessWire

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The first 512GB microSD card arrives in February

These are not paintings of Jupiter

Citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran amped up the color and contrast of images of Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere as captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft . Below, for, um, comparison, Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” (1889) and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” (1893). More of Eichstädt and Doran’s stunning work here .

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These are not paintings of Jupiter