Tag: entertainment

Newly unveiled iOS 9 focuses on more proactive Siri, better multitasking

SAN FRANCISCO—As expected, Apple used its WWDC keynote today to take the wraps off iOS 9, the newest version of its operating system for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. While iOS 7 and iOS 8 ushered in big changes, iOS 9 will instead focus on speed and stability. In other words, iOS 9 will be to iOS 8 as OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard was to OS X 10.5 . That said, Apple isn’t promoting iOS 9 using Snow Leopard’s “no new features” label. The new operating system harvests some of iOS 8’s lowest-hanging fruit and continues the work of opening the platform up to developers. It also tweaks the aesthetic introduced back in iOS 7. You fancy, WatchOS-like UI. 3 more images in gallery Among the highlighted updates for iOS 9, Apple VP Craig Federighi started by detailing an improved Siri. The assistant now has an updated UI to match WatchOS, but more importantly Siri has evolved into a more proactive assistant. For examples of this functionality, Federighi mentioned Siri can automatically play music you like from the lockscreen while on a run. iOS 9 Siri can add things to the calendar alongside a “time to leave” reminder that keeps traffic data in mind. And when unknown phone numbers reach out, the newly proactive Siri will scan your e-mail to try to identify who is getting in touch. Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

See the article here:
Newly unveiled iOS 9 focuses on more proactive Siri, better multitasking

5G Is On Its Way, But Approaching Slowly

New submitter CarlottaHapsburg writes: Ericsson and Nokia are leading the pack when it comes to developing 5G, but there are some major complicating factors: flexible architecture, functioning key standards, the U.S.’s lethargy in expanding mmWave, and even the definition of what 5G is and can do. It’ll get here, but not soon: “5G networks are widely expected to start to roll out by 2020, with a few early debuts at such global events as the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. It is an ambitious deadline given what is expected from 5G — no less than the disruption of the communications market in general, and telecom in particular, as well as related sectors such as test equipment.” The FCC’s Tom Wheeler says 5G is different for every manufacturer, like a Picasso painting. It should be an exciting five years of further developments and definitions — and, hopefully, American preparedness. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

See more here:
5G Is On Its Way, But Approaching Slowly

Technology Won’t Fix America’s Neediest Schools — It Makes Bad Education Worse

theodp writes: In an adapted excerpt from Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology, Univ. of Michigan prof Kentaro Toyama begins: “‘Technology is a game-changer in the field of education, ‘” Education Secretary Arne Duncan once said, and there was a time when I would have agreed. Over the last decade, I’ve built, used, and studied educational technology in countries around the world. As a computer scientist and former Microsoft employee, I wanted nothing more than to see innovation triumph in the classroom. But no matter how good the design, and despite rigorous tests of impact, I have never seen technology systematically overcome the socio-economic divides that exist in education. Children who are behind need high-quality adult guidance more than anything else. Many people believe that technology ‘levels the playing field’ of learning, but what I’ve discovered is that it does no such thing.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read more here:
Technology Won’t Fix America’s Neediest Schools — It Makes Bad Education Worse

NAND Flash Shrinks To 15/16nm Process, Further Driving Prices Down

Lucas123 writes: Both Micron and Toshiba are producing NAND flash memory based on 15 and 16 nanometer process technology, which reduces die area over a 16GB MLC chip by 28% compared with previous die technology. Additionally, Micron announced its upcoming consumer USB flash drives and internal SSDs will also use triple-level cell NAND flash (a technology expected to soon dominate the market) storing three bits instead of two for the first time and further reducing production cost. The advancement in NAND flash density has been driving SSD pricing down dramatically over the past few years. In fact, over the last year, the average price for 128GB and 256GB SSDs have dropped to $50 and $90, respectively, for system manufacturers, according to DRAMeXchange. And prices for consumers have dropped to an average of $91.55 for a 128GB SSD and $164.34 for a 256GB SSD. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More here:
NAND Flash Shrinks To 15/16nm Process, Further Driving Prices Down

Macs Vulnerable To Userland Injected EFI Rootkits

Bismillah writes that a new vulnerability in recent Macs — and potentially older ones — can be used to plant code such as rootkits into areas of EFI memory that shouldn’t be writeable, but become unlocked after the computer wakes up from sleep mode. The article explains that [The vulnerability] appears to be due to a bug in Apple’s sleep-mode energy conservation implementation that can leave areas of memory in the extensible firmware interface (EFI) (which provides low-level hardware control and access) writeable from user accounts on the computer. Memory areas are normally locked as read-only to protect them. However, putting some late-model Macs to sleep for around 20 seconds and then waking them up unlocks the EFI memory for writing. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Continued here:
Macs Vulnerable To Userland Injected EFI Rootkits

Windows 10 RTM In 6 Weeks

Billly Gates writes: Arstechnica has the scoop on a new build with less flat icons and a confirmation of a mid July release date. While Microsoft is in a hurry to fix the damage done by the Windows 8 versions of its operating system, the next question is, is ready for prime time? On Neowin there’s a list of problems already mentioned by MS and its users with this latest release, including Wi-Fi and sound not working without a reboot, and users complaining about tiles and apps not working in the new start menu. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View article:
Windows 10 RTM In 6 Weeks

Emulator Now Runs x86 Apps On All Raspberry Pi Models

DeviceGuru writes: Russia-based Eltechs announced its ExaGear Desktop virtual machine last August, enabling Linux/ARMv7 SBCs and mini-PCs to run x86 software. That meant that users of the quad-core, Cortex-A7-based Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, could use it as well, although the software was not yet optimized for it. Now Eltechs has extended extended ExaGear to support earlier ARMv6 versions of the Raspberry Pi. The company also optimized the emulator for the Pi 2 allowing, for example, Pi 2 users to use automatically forwarding startup scripts. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More:
Emulator Now Runs x86 Apps On All Raspberry Pi Models

First Ultraviolet Quantum Dots Shine In an LED

ckwu with word that South Korean researchers have created the first UV-emitting quantum dots, and employed them in the creation of a flexible LED. Their achievement is notable because no one has previously succeeded in making quantum dots capable of emitting light at wavelengths shorter than 400 nm, which defines the upper range of the UV spectrum. Writes ckwu: To get quantum dots that emit UV, the researchers figured out how make them with light-emitting cores smaller than 3 nm in diameter. They did it by coating a light-emitting cadmium zinc selenide nanoparticle with a zinc sulfide shell, which caused the core to shrink to 2.5 nm. The quantum dots give off true UV light, at 377 nm. An LED made with the quantum dots could illuminate the anticounterfeiting marks on a paper bill. The article names a few applications of the technology, besides, including water sterilization and industrial applications. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post:
First Ultraviolet Quantum Dots Shine In an LED

Feds Bust a Dark-Web Counterfeit Coupon Kingpin

Sparrowvsrevolution writes: The dark web has become the go-to corner of the Internet to buy drugs, stolen financial data, guns…and counterfeit coupons for Clif bars and condoms? The FBI indicted Beauregard Wattigney yesterday for wire fraud and trademark counterfeiting on digital black market sites Silk Road and Silk Road 2. Wattigney allegedly spoofed coupons for dozens of products and sold collections of them online in exchange for Bitcoin. The FBI accused him of doing $1 million worth of collective damage to the companies he made coupons for, but a fraud consultancy believes the total financial cost of his actions was much higher. Wattigney also offered expensive lessons that taught people how to make their own coupons. “In his tutorials, [he] explained the simple breakdown of barcode creation using the increasingly universal GS1 standard: GS1 codes begin with a ‘company prefix’ that can be copied from any of the company’s products. The next six digits are the ‘offer code, ‘ which can be any random number for a counterfeit coupon, followed by the savings amount listed in cents and the required number of item purchases necessary to receive the discount.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read the original:
Feds Bust a Dark-Web Counterfeit Coupon Kingpin

Russian Space Agency Misused $1.8 Billion, May Be Replaced

An anonymous reader writes: After a pair of high profile launch failures in the past few months, Russian space agency Roscosmos is making headlines again: this time for corruption. A public spending watchdog reported that the organization had misused 92 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) in 2014 alone. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said their space efforts have been undermined by rampant corruption. “We have uncovered acts of fraud, abuse of authority (and) document forgery. With such a level of moral decay, one should not be surprised at the high accident rate.” He also said Roscosmos is to be “abolished, ” and replaced by a state corporation of the same name by the end of the year. “In its new, corporate identity, Roscosmos will be responsible not only for setting mission goals but managing wages for space industry workers and modernizing production facilities.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read the original:
Russian Space Agency Misused $1.8 Billion, May Be Replaced