engadget – Page 2 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Microsoft unlocks framerates for smoother gameplay on Windows 10

Microsoft wants folks to believe Windows 10 is a serious gaming platform and has showcased its capabilities with tech demos like its retooling of Forza 6 for powerhouse PCs. Today, they’re letting games designed for the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) unlock their framerates from the refresh rate of their monitors. This fixes a long-standing complaint from gamers and developers who want to play games at higher framerates on UWP but were prevented from doing so. Framerate, measured in frames per second, is an important benchmark in graphical power: your high-resolution game might be gorgeous, but you’ll get flak if players can only run through it at a choppy 30fps. 343 Studios prioritized Halo 5 ‘s consistent 60fps so much that the game sacrifices resolution on the fly and ditched splitscreen multiplayer entirely. Microsoft also announced support for AMD Freesync and NVIDIA G-SYNC, which enables smarter refreshing of the monitor’s display. This and the framerate unlocking are exactly the granular support needed for computers to run titles to their maximum graphical capability. Other PC gaming platforms like Steam don’t lock framerates, so it’s strange for UWP to have set a framerate cap to begin with. Eliminating limits in graphical capability is a good way to win over the core computer gaming fanbase, which takes its visuals seriously . Source: DirectX Developer Blog

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Microsoft unlocks framerates for smoother gameplay on Windows 10

Three Earth-sized planets exist in the Aquarius constellation

It’s the dawning of the age of Aquarius. Well, the discovery of three planets orbiting a cooler-than-the-Sun dwarf star located in the Aquarius constellation , according to NASA . A number of telescopes, including the TRAPPIST at the La Silla Observatory in Chile were used in this trio, and the star itself bears the name TRAPPIST-1 for pretty obvious reasons. The planets are Earth-like in size and two of them orbit the star roughly every 1.5 and 2.4 days. The third one has proven a bit harder to track, with NASA saying its orbit is anywhere between 4.5 to 73 days. From the sounds of it, though, none of them are in the habitable zone for their orbits because of how close they are to TRAPPIST-1. The inner two? They might have habitable regions, and the outermost (with the unknown orbital period) might be habitable considering that it “probably” gleans less radiation than Earth does from our sun. Come May 4th, astronomers will be able to get a better look at TRAPPIST-1 and measure two of the planets as they transit the star via the Hubble telescope, analyzing their atmosphere and seeing if there are any bits of water vapor present. An extended campaign will give NASA a chance to study these with the relatively new James Webb Space Telescope’s infrared capabilities to further study their atmospheres. Source: NASA

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Three Earth-sized planets exist in the Aquarius constellation

Flow is Microsoft’s take on IFTTT automation (Updated)

Microsoft is about to release its take on the automation service IFTTT called Flow, according to a blog post published and removed by the company. Update : the service is now live ! Flow connects to over 35 services, with more integrations planned. These include Microsoft products like Office 365 and OneDrive; third-party platforms such as Twitter, Dropbox, MailChimp, Google Drive, Slack and Trello; and developer-focused options like Github and SQL. Just like IFTTT, you’ll be able to create workflows across multiple services. Examples include adding a card in Trello if your boss emails you with “to do” in the subject line, sending a text alert if a Dropbox file is modified, or saving all of a user’s tweets to OneDrive. Some of this functionality has been available as part of a private preview for Microsoft’s Azure business customers, but Flow appears to be a more user-friendly take on the concept. It’s aimed squarely at businesses, schools and other large institutions, but there’s no reason that it couldn’t be useful to individuals, especially if you’re the sort of person that organizes your life through Trello. It’s not clear exactly when Flow will be ready. Twitter user @h0x0d first discovered the service (as spotted by The Verge ) along with the blog post, but it was swiftly removed. The article itself had a typo and didn’t appear finished, so it seems that it was posted before it was ready. Ironically, one of the workflows mentioned in the post intended to ensure “that all of the posts [about Flow] were reviewed and approved.” It appears that particular Flow failed. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for more information on Flow, and will update you once we have more details. Update : As noted above, Microsoft’s Flow service went live on Friday morning. Via: The Verge Source: Microsoft Flow (Google cache)

Hubble discovers that dwarf planet Makemake has a moon

The Hubble telescope has spotted a shadowy moon with a charcoal black surface orbiting the dwarf planet Makemake. Astronomers first observed Makemake in 2005, but since it’s the second brightest icy dwarf planet after Pluto , it took some time to see a satellite that’s 1, 300 times fainter than the celestial body it’s orbiting. Also, it’s positively tiny with a diameter measuring 100 miles across, making it but a fraction of our own moon that has a diameter measuring 2, 159.2 miles. The Hubble team used the telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and the same technique that found Pluto’s satellite’s in 2005, 2011 and 2012 to discover Makemake’s companion that has been christened “MK 2.” NASA says its presence can tell us more about the dwarf planet, including its density. “Makemake is in the class of rare Pluto-like objects, so finding a companion is important, ” Southwest Research Institute’s Alex Parker said. “The discovery of this moon has given us an opportunity to study Makemake in far greater detail than we ever would have been able to without the companion.” Astronomers plan to look more closely into the satellite to find out if it’s the “warm region” they’ve been seeing on Makemake’s surface, which is inconsistent with its icy shell. They also intend to observe its movements: a tight orbit means it’s the product of a collision, while a wide one means it was captured from the Kuiper belt. Either way, MK 2 — just like our Earth’s own satellite — has been orbiting Makemake for billions of years. Via: Space Source: Space Telescope Science Institute , NASA

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Hubble discovers that dwarf planet Makemake has a moon

‘Hearthstone’ update brings drastic changes to the card game

Hearthstone is undergoing some changes in the interest of keeping the digital-trading-card game fresh. But in introducing the “Whispers of the Old Gods” — expansion out on the 26th — developer Blizzard is tweaking a bunch of cards and, based on the 5, 000-plus comment Reddit thread , this isn’t exactly for the better. Fan favorite cards like Molten Giant have gotten a casting cost increase up to 25 from 20, while the Knife Juggler card has had its attack decreased by a point. Polygon breaks the changes down on a card-by-card basis incredibly well. Blizzard says that “careful consideration” went into these choices, and that it was based on both the company’s own ideas and checking out community feedback. So, chances are that the developer is listening to what you have to say regarding the new expansion. Just remember to keep polite when airing your thoughts, okay? You can grab the expansion from the in-game store across all platforms next Tuesday. Via: Polygon Source: Blizzard (1) , (2)

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‘Hearthstone’ update brings drastic changes to the card game

Firefighter mask offers hands-free thermal imaging

When firefighters tackle a dangerous blaze, thermal imaging can be their greatest ally. It’s usually integrated in a small handheld camera, helping team members to quickly locate civilians, peak through walls and identify safe passageways. Tyco’s Scott Safety has now developed a face mask which includes an integrated thermal camera and display, called “Scott Sight.” A small image is shown inside the mask — similar to how Google Glass ‘ would appear in your peripheral vision — at nine frames per second, for up to four hours. The user can also switch between four different interfaces, as well as ambient and max temperature settings. The combination should allow firefighters to keep their hands free. Whether they’re guiding people to safety, or using specialized equipment, Scott Sight should help firefighters to be more effective and tackle blazes faster. The only downside is that each crew member will need their own mask to see the world through thermal vision — a handheld camera, in comparison, can be easily viewed and shared between multiple people. Nevertheless, Scott Sight feels like a logical step forward. It sets the foundation for a more advanced overlay, similar to Microsoft’s HoloLens , which firefighters could enable on the fly. Such a system would remove the need to constantly peer at a tiny screen, keeping the wearer’s gaze front and center — a behavior that’s paramount in a fire-fuelled situation, where potential dangers could present themselves at any moment. Via: Gizmodo Source: Tyco , Scott Safety

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Firefighter mask offers hands-free thermal imaging

Homeland Security urges you to uninstall QuickTime on Windows

The Department of Homeland Security is echoing Trend Micro’s advice to uninstall QuickTime if you have it on your Windows computer. While the multimedia program’s working just fine, the security firm has discovered two new critical vulnerabilities lurking within it that could allow remote attackers to take over your system. Unfortunately, they might never be patched up: Trend Micro says Apple will no longer release security updates for the Windows version of the software, hence the call to jettison it completely. The good news is that Trend Micro hasn’t spotted any active attacks targeting those specific vulnerabilities yet. But both the firm and Homeland Security stress that because Apple has abandoned the program, the only way to protect yourself from potential threats is to dump it — Windows has a lot of safer alternatives you can use anyway. These flaws don’t affect QuickTime for Mac in any way, though, so OS X users can carry on. Source: Reuters , Department of Homeland Security , Trend Micro

The ‘Game of Thrones’ credits are more fun in 360-degrees

There are still ten days to go until Game of Thrones season six debuts, but HBO is doing its best to keep fans’ appetites for new footage satiated until then. After dropping a dingy new trailer on Monday, and some behind-the-scenes footage yesterday, it’s now released a 360-degree video of the show’s opening credits on Facebook. The extended sequence lets you explore the famous clockwork map of Westeros and Essos. The map is arranged inside a sphere, which means looking in the right direction will give you a little peek across the water at Sothoryos and the Basilisk Isles. Many of the show’s iconic locations are there, from King’s Landing and Winterfell to Dorne. There are more than a few easter eggs to discover just by looking around as well, including a glimpse of an unnamed direwolf by the wall — make of that what you will — and a PG-13 view of the Titan of Braavos. Via: Deadline Source: Game of Thrones (Facebook)

Carbon fiber strings protect buildings against earthquakes

The problem with earthquake -proofing a building is that it usually involves grafting on a lot of support — not really an option with historic buildings or other particularly delicate structures. Komatsu Seiren Fabric Laboratory might have a better way, however. Its carbon fiber-based CABKOMA Strand Rods can protect a building against quakes by tying the roof to the ground, making sure that the whole building moves together — and thus stays together — during a tremor. The fibers are both very strong and very light (you can easily carry a 520-foot strand by yourself), so it’s more like draping spiderwebs over a building than anchors. As you might have gathered just by looking at the photo above, the technology has its limits. It won’t work for tall buildings, or those in dense urban areas where there’s simply no room. This is more for mid-size structures that have plenty of free space. All the same, it might be the key to saving lives in areas where conventional bolts and braces just won’t work. Via: Gizmodo Source: Komatsu Seiren Fabric Laboratory

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Carbon fiber strings protect buildings against earthquakes

Solar cell generates power from raindrops

Rain is normally a solar energy cell’s worst nightmare, but a team of Chinese scientists could make it a tremendous ally. They’ve developed a solar cell with an atom-thick graphene layer that harvests energy from raindrops, making it useful even on the gloomiest days. Water actually sticks to the graphene, creating a sort of natural capacitor — the sharp difference in energy between the graphene’s electrons and the water’s ions produces electricity. The catch is that the current technology isn’t all that efficient. It only converts about 6.5 percent of the energy it gets, which pales in comparison to the 22 percent you see among the world’s better solar panels . If the creators can improve the performance of this graphene-coated cell, though, they could have a dream solution on their hands — you wouldn’t have to live in a consistently sunny part of the world to reduce your dependency on conventional power. Via: Science News Journal Source: Wiley Online Library

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Solar cell generates power from raindrops