Tag: announced-today

NASA tests small nuclear reactor that could power a habitat on Mars

Everyone from Elon Musk to Donald Trump wants to send a manned mission to Mars in the not too distant future, but there are quite a few problems that need to be solved before we can achieve that goal. A major one is the issue of energy. Long-term stays on Mars, or anywhere else for that matter, will require lots of energy, as will the trip back to Earth. However, loading a rocket up with all of the necessary fuel won’t work — we would need too much. So a way to create fuel on the go is a must and researchers at NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of Energy announced today that they’ve conducted successful tests of a system that can do just that. Kilopower is a small nuclear reactor that can generate a reliable power supply. Versions range from 1 kilowatt — enough to power a basic toaster — to ten kilowatts and Kilopower project researchers said in a Space.com article that around four or five of the latter would be needed to power a habitat on Mars . “Kilopower’s compact size and robustness allows us to deliver multiple units on a single lander to the surface that provides tens of kilowatts of power, ” Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said during a press conference today. Testing of the Kilopower system has gone smoothly so far and in March, the team plans to conduct a full-power test. To hear more about how Kilopower works, check out the video below. Via: Reuters

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NASA tests small nuclear reactor that could power a habitat on Mars

Azure Confidential Computing will keep data secret, even from Microsoft

Enlarge / The Trusted Execution Environment means that, even if the application and operating system are compromised, the green code and data can’t be accessed. (credit: Microsoft ) Microsoft announced today a new feature coming to its Azure cloud platform named “Confidential Compute.” The feature will allow applications running on Azure to keep data encrypted not only when it’s at rest (in storage) or in transit (over a network) but when it’s being computed on in-memory. This ability to encrypt data when it’s in-use means that it can be kept secure even from Microsoft’s administrators, government warrants, and hackers. Confidential Computing will have two modes: one is built on virtual machines, while the other uses the SGX (“Software Guard Extensions”) feature found in Intel’s recently introduced Skylake-SP Xeon processors. Both modes will allow applications to ringfence certain parts of their code and data so that they operate in a “trusted execution environment” (TEE). Code and data that are inside a TEE cannot be inspected from outside the TEE. The virtual machine mode uses the Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) functionality of Hyper-V that was introduced in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. With VSM, most parts of an application will run in a regular virtual machine atop a regular operating system. The protected, TEE parts will run in a separate virtual machine containing only a basic stub operating system (enough that it can communicate with the regular VM) and only those parts of the application code that need to handle the sensitive data. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Azure Confidential Computing will keep data secret, even from Microsoft

US carriers partner on a better mobile authentication system

Two-factor authentication ( 2FA ) via SMS and a smartphone provides a heavy dose of additional security for your data, but as the US government declared last year, it’s not without its flaws. To fix that, the big four US mobile operators, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T have formed a coalition called the Mobile Authentication Taskforce to come up with a new system. Working with app developers and others, they’ll explore the use of SIM card recognition, network-based authentication, geo-location, and other carrier-specific capabilities. The idea is to marry current 2FA with systems that “reduce mobile identity risks by analyzing data and activity patterns on a mobile network to predict, with a high degree of certainty, whether the user is who they say they are, ” according to the news release. The problem with SMS authentication is that skilled hackers have successfully hijacked SMS codes in the past, often simply by contacting the carrier and impersonating the victim. It also falls apart if thieves grab your smartphone along with your PC, gain access to your phone via malware, or just steal a glance at a 2FA message on your lockscreen. Through strong collaboration, the taskforce announced today has the potential to create impactful benefits for US customers by helping to decrease fraud and identity theft, and increase trust in online transactions. The system will be an open one that can work the four carriers and others. “We will be working closely with the taskforce to ensure this solution is aligned and interoperable with solutions deployed by operators, ” said Alex Sinclair, CTO of mobile industry group GSMA. The goal to improve 2FA security sounds like a noble one, but Congress, at the urging of carriers and ISPs, recently eliminated certain customer privacy protection rules. As such, consumer protection groups might have concerns about 2FA systems that could be used by operators to track customers, for example. The new system is supposed to arrive for “enterprises and customers in 2018, ” the group says. In the meantime, if you’re still not using two-factor authentication (SMS or otherwise), you really, really should be . Source: AT&T

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US carriers partner on a better mobile authentication system

Semi-autonomous truck convoys due to hit UK roads next year

Convoys of semi-autonomous trucks are expected to be tested on public roads in the UK before the end of next year, the government announced today . The Department for Transport and Highways England have rustled up £8.1 million in funding between them to pass on to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the independent organisation that’ll conduct the trials. TRL will start with simulation studies and driver training before moving onto a test track and finally, public roads by the end of 2018. Platooning, as it’s known, is one of the simpler ways of harnessing self-driving technology. While the truck at the front of a convoy remains under human control, trailing vehicles follow its lead autonomously. Wireless connections (aka vehicle-to-vehicle communication) keep all trucks talking to each other so the self-driving members of the conga line can immediately respond to changes in the lead lorry’s direction and speed. With software managing the distance between vehicles, it should be possible to create a much tighter convoy than would be safe if human limbs were in charge of the wheel and pedals. This has the potential to ease congestion, but more importantly reduces drag on the trailing trucks, meaning better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. TRL has already done some preliminary feasibility studies on the government’s instruction. In fact, platooning trials on UK motorways were originally due to start in late 2016 , but the project has been delayed for one reason or another. At the time, the Financial Times reported that various manufacturers of heavy goods vehicles were just not particularly keen on taking part. Several real-world trials of semi-autonomous convoys are taking place elsewhere , and TRL is looking at how these are addressing the technical and practical challenges of public platooning tests. There’s no substitute for conducting your own in situ , though, which is why TRL will investigate everything from fuel efficiency to safety, acceptance by drivers and the public, the suitability of UK infrastructure and future, commercial viability. Source: Department for Transport

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Semi-autonomous truck convoys due to hit UK roads next year

Adobe is ending development and support for Flash in 2020

Adobe announced today that it is ending support for and development of Flash in 2020. The company cited declining usage statistics (80 percent of Chrome users visited a site with Flash daily in 2014, as compared to 17 percent today) and a plethora of alternatives as the reason for the termination. Developing… Via: Axios Source: Adobe

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Adobe is ending development and support for Flash in 2020

Qualcomm pays BlackBerry $940 million in royalty spat

Qualcomm hasn’t been very successful with its licensing practices. It’s gotten into trouble in South Korea for charging phone makers over an “unnecessarily broad set of patents” It has also been dealing with lawsuits from the FTC and Apple for similar tactics. Qualcomm was ordered to pay BlackBerry $815 million in an arbitration settlement last April. BlackBerry announced today that the two companies have reached a final agreement amount of $940 miillion, which includes the original arbitration amount along with interst and attorneys’ fees. The release says that Qualcomm will pay the full amount before the end of May. BlackBerry has been trying to change its fortune after getting out of phone design . It brought in $286 million in revenue last quarter, making this $940 million settlement a much needed infusion of cash to can help the beleaguered company pivot towards self-driving cars . For its part, Qualcomm seems to be weathering the storm of lawsuits and anti-trust fines with countersuits and settlements like the current BlackBerry agreement. Qualcomm’s chips power a large number of mobile devices, with a Snapdragon system-on-chips in high-end Android phones. The company also continues to expand to as many other devices as possible, including IoT and connected cars . We’ve reached out to Qualcomm for comment on this story and will update when we hear back. Source: Blackberry

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Qualcomm pays BlackBerry $940 million in royalty spat

Indian IT firm Infosys to hire 10,000 American workers

Enlarge / Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka discussing financial results in Bangalore in April 2017. (credit: MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images) An Indian company that has been accused of abusing the H-1B visa process says it will hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years. Bangalore-based Infosys, which has been criticized in testimony before Congress  over its use of the H-1B visa program, announced today that it will open four new US-based “Technology and Innovation Hubs” to serve Infosys clients in financial services, manufacturing, health care, and other industries. The first one will open in Indiana by August and is expected to create 2,000 jobs there by 2021. The move comes shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order asking agencies to study changes to the H-1B program, which is largely used to hire technology workers. Members of Congress from both parties have introduced bills this year that would change the H-1B program dramatically. Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Indian IT firm Infosys to hire 10,000 American workers

Windows 10 Creators Update starts rolling out on April 11th

Windows 10 users won’t have to wait much longer to get their hands on Paint 3D . Microsoft announced today that the upcoming Creators Update for the OS will be available starting on April 11th. As usual, though, Microsoft is staggering the rollout so it doesn’t inundate every Windows user (and its servers) at once. Windows 10 desktop users will have their go at it first, and afterwards it’ll head to laptops and mobile devices. The Creators Update is a big deal for a few reasons: It’ll introduce Paint 3D, Microsoft’s new 3D creation app that’s simple enough for children to use. And it packs in some useful new features like Game Mode , which devotes more system resources to games, ensuring better overall performance. There are also some helpful Edge upgrades , like the ability to preview tabs and file away collections of tabs for later use. The Creators Update won’t make Windows 10 look much different, but it should hopefully make it a much more useful OS.

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Windows 10 Creators Update starts rolling out on April 11th

Sony’s ‘world’s fastest’ SD card writes data at 299 MB/s

Sony’s upcoming SF-G series of SD cards will be available this spring, the company announced today . When that time comes, Sony said they “will be the world’s fastest SD cards.” Boasting a maximum write speed of 299 MB/s, that claim is right on point. The cards (available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB sizes) also have a slightly higher top read speed of 300 MB/s. Speed is a priority, so the cards also support the UHS-II interface, which adds a second row of connecting pins to the card for increased transfer rates on compatible hardware. More than any card before it, the SF-G series will be able to handle quick-shooting cameras smoothly, as well as capturing 4K video and other technically demanding uses. To fully take advantage of the tremendous speed, Sony also revealed it will offer a specialized card reader so users can quickly transfer files to and from their computers. The SF-G series will take good care of your files, too. In addition to being compatible with Sony’s file rescue software , these SD’s are also waterproof, temperature resistant, shockproof and X-Ray proof. For comparison, B&H Photo Video says that two of the fastest SD card lines out there today, SanDisk’s Extreme PRO UHS-II series and Lexar’s Professional 2000x UHS-II series, can achieve read speeds of 300 MB/s and write speeds of 260 MB/s. For the more casual user, Amazon’s best-selling card, the 32GB SanDisk Ultra Class 10 SDHC UHS-I , tops out at 80 MB/s for read and write speeds. Sony has yet to announce the pricing for these cards, but the 32GB version of the aforementioned SanDisk card sells for about $60 . The SF-G cards are technically superior, though, so expect them to retail for a bit more than that. Source: Sony

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Sony’s ‘world’s fastest’ SD card writes data at 299 MB/s