Tech Today w/ Ken May

Continue reading Tech’s biggest misfires of 2011

Tech’s biggest misfires of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tech’s biggest misfires of 2011

In his Republic, presents an allegory of the value of philosophy and the nature of knowledge that is popularly known as Plato’s Cave: to the unenlightened mind, the world is filled with confusing ideas, like shadows on the wall of a cave, that only reflect truths not yet discerned. Michael Ramsey’s stop-motion animated presentation of this story won first place at the USA Film Festival Short Film and Video Competition in 2008.

Link -via Nerdcore (which has a different animated short narrated by Orson Welles)

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Award-Winning Animated Short of Plato’s Cave

The US military is serious about reducing its dependence on traditional fuel sources. Case in point: the FED solar and hybrid Humvees that will burn 70 percent less fuel than traditional armored troop transports. More »

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The FED Hybrid Humvee Will Save the US Army Millions at the Pump [Monster Machines]

LG let us know at CES 2011 that it had 4K LCD televisions in the pipeline, but unfortunately they didn’t make it out this year. Expect for that to change in 2012, as the company just announced it’s bringing an 84-inch “ultra definition” (3840×2160) TV to Las Vegas to go along with its 55-inch OLED. It has all of LG’s Cinema 3D and Smart TV features built-in, including support for that upgraded Magic Motion remote and voice control. There’s no official word yet on when we’ll see these on shelves or at what price, but it certainly looks production ready compared to other prototypes that have been displayed over the years. While we don’t have easy sources of 4K-res video content yet, one of the reasons LG is making the jump first is for 3D. Its Cinema 3D tech uses a Film Pattern Retarder (FPR) screen and passive glasses that result in lowered resolution, but with those extra pixels there’s no question about whether viewers are still getting at least an HD picture. So far 4K at home is the domain of Sony and JVC’s high-priced projectors, but we’ll see if any other companies (we’ll check off Toshiba right now) show off upgrades in size and resolution of their HDTVs this year. Check the press release after the break for a few more details.

Continue reading LG unveils 84-inch ‘ultra definition’ 4K TV it’s bringing to CES 2012

LG unveils 84-inch ‘ultra definition’ 4K TV it’s bringing to CES 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG unveils 84-inch ‘ultra definition’ 4K TV it’s bringing to CES 2012

iOS devices certainly aren’t lacking for gaming accessories, but we’re always willing to welcome a new contender. 60beat believes it’s got the ideal solution in the shape of this familiar-looking controller. It connects to an iPhone, iPad or iPod through the headphone jack and offers up some familiar gaming options in the shape of dual-analog sticks and digital inputs. Unfortunately, the controller’s been saddled with a $50 price tag and is only fully enabled with two games. More games are promised for next year, and here’s hoping they’ll include some big hitters. Anyone rolling in cash money can check out 60beat’s hard sell — and some unusual spa relaxation music — in its promo vid right after the break.

Continue reading 60beat GamePad connects to iOS devices, requests 50 bucks for the privilege

60beat GamePad connects to iOS devices, requests 50 bucks for the privilege originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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60beat GamePad connects to iOS devices, requests 50 bucks for the privilege

Many bacteria found at the bottom of the ocean glow in the dark thanks to light generated by their internal chemical reactions. This makes it easier for fish to see and eat them — which is exactly what the bacteria want. More »

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Deep sea bacteria use bioluminescence to hitchhike across the ocean [Biology]

On the plus side, your router’s mostly secure. Security researcher Stefan Viehbock has just discovered a major security hole which allowed him to use a brute force technique to access a WPS PIN-protected network in about two hours. According to Viehbock, a design flaw allows the WPS protocol’s 8-digit PIN security to fall dramatically as additional attempts are made. With each attempt, the router will send a message stating whether the first four digits are correct while the last digit of the key is used as a checksum and then given out by the router in negotiation. As a result, the 100,000,000 possibilities that the WPS should represent becomes roughly to 11,000.

The US-CERT has picked up on this and advised users to disable WPS on their routers. Viehbock, in turn, claims to have attempted to discuss the vulnerability with hardware vendors such as Buffalo, D-Link, Linksys, and Netgear, but says he has been roundly ignored and that no public acknowledgement of the issue has been released. As a possible final step, Viehbock has promised to release a brute force tool soon, thereby pushing the manufacturers to work to resolve the issue. In other news, that evil supercomputer from the movie War Games just got a few more digits of the nuclear launch codes — maybe one of Stefan’s pals can look into that one.

Researcher finds vulnerability in WPS protocol, looks for manufacturers to offer fix originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researcher finds vulnerability in WPS protocol, looks for manufacturers to offer fix

I had the privilege of being interviewed by Bill Frank on his radio show “Brainstormin’ with Billy the Brain” available HERE. We spoke about whether we as a society are better off now with the changes caused by technology than we were five years ago. Enjoy!

nbauman writes “In June 1903, Gugliemo Marconi and his partner Ambrose Flemming were about to give the first demonstration of long-range wireless communication at the Royal Institution in London, which, Marconi said, could be sent in complete confidentiality with no fear of the messages being hijacked. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a huge mysterious wireless pulse strong enough to take over the carbon-arc projector and make it sputter messages in Morse Code. First, it repeated the word ‘Rats’ over and over again (abusive at that time). Then it tapped out, ‘There was a young fellow of Italy, who diddled the public quite prettily.’ Further rude epithets followed. It was Nevil Maskelyne, a stage musician and inventor who was annoyed because Marconi’s patents prevented him from using wireless. It was the first hacking, to demonstrate an insecure system.”

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Progressive Era Hacker Griefed Marconi Demonstration

2012 may be the year that Thunderbolt finally comes into its own, with a new report suggesting PC vendors will launch products with support for the new high-bandwidth connectivity standard as early as April next year. Apple was that first vendor to support the standard, having worked with Intel to develop the technology, but support among Windows-based computers has so far been nonexistent. Among the companies that could have products ready next spring are Asus, Acer, Sony, and Gigabyte.

Intel has reportedly informed its partners that it will “fully release” Thunderbolt in April 2012, according to DigiTimes, though the company declined to comment when we asked for confirmation. Still, Intel did indicate that its plans do seem to coincide with the cited timeframe.

“Our guidance remains that we expect to see Windows-based systems with Thunderbolt in the first half of 2012,” Intel spokesperson Dave Salvatore told Ars.

Gigabyte Technology reportedly plans to have Thunderbolt-equipped motherboards available around that time, while Sony is expected to incorporate the standard in its high-end laptops. Sony’s current Vaio Z ultraportable already uses Thunderbolt controllers mated with a modified, optical-equipped USB 3 port; the report suggests Sony may adopt the standard Thunderbolt port, based on the Apple-developed MiniDisplay Port, for future products.

Acer and Asus both announced plans to ship products with Thunderbolt ports beginning next year during the Intel Developers Forum in September. HP, currently the world’s largest PC maker, has so far decided to pass on Thunderbolt, despite initially claiming support for the standard in early 2011. Dell, still one on the largest PC vendors despite continually declining sales, hasn’t committed to Thunderbolt support, nor has Lenovo or Toshiba.

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Windows PCs with Thunderbolt ports on track for early 2012