Tag: production

Wi-Fi gets multi-gigabit, multi-user boost with upgrades to 802.11ac

(credit: Aurich Lawson) The Wi-Fi Alliance industry group is now certifying products that can deliver multi-gigabit speeds and improve coverage in dense networks by delivering data to multiple devices simultaneously. The new certification program, announced today , focuses on the so-called “Wave 2” features of the 802.11ac specification. 802.11ac is a few years old , but it includes several important features that were not available at launch. One such feature is MU-MIMO (multi-user, multiple-input, and multiple-output), which we wrote a feature on in May 2014. MU-MIMO is powered by multi-user beamforming technology that lets wireless access points send data streams to at least three users simultaneously. Without MU-MIMO, routers stream to just one device at a time but switch between them very fast so that users don’t notice a slowdown except when lots of devices are on the network. With the 80MHz channels supported in 802.11ac Wave 1, each data stream could provide up to 433Mbps and, when coupled with MU-MIMO routers, can send up to 433Mbps to at least three users simultaneously for a total of 1.3Gbps. But in addition to supporting MU-MIMO, Wave 2 also doubles the maximum channel bandwidth from 80MHz to 160MHz, boosting the potential throughput of each stream to 866Mbps. Wave 2 also supports four spatial streams instead of three, further boosting the theoretical maximum capacity. Technically, 802.11ac supports up to eight streams, but the certification program is still at four. Delivering eight streams with these data rates would use a lot of electricity. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Wi-Fi gets multi-gigabit, multi-user boost with upgrades to 802.11ac

“Godless” apps, some found in Google Play, root 90% of Android phones

(credit: greyweed ) Researchers have detected a family of malicious apps, some that were available in Google Play , that contain malicious code capable of secretly rooting an estimated 90 percent of all Android phones. In a recently published blog post , antivirus provider Trend Micro said that Godless, as the malware family has been dubbed, contains a collection of rooting exploits that works against virtually any device running Android 5.1 or earlier. That accounts for an estimated 90 percent of all Android devices. Members of the family have been found in a variety of app stores, including Google Play, and have been installed on more than 850,000 devices worldwide. Godless has struck hardest at users in India, Indonesia, and Thailand, but so far less than 2 percent of those infected are in the US. Once an app with the malicious code is installed, it has the ability to pull from a vast repository of exploits to root the particular device it’s running on. In that respect, the app functions something like the many available exploit kits that cause hacked websites to identify specific vulnerabilities in individual visitors’ browsers and serve drive-by exploits. Trend Micro Mobile Threats Analyst Veo Zhang wrote: Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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“Godless” apps, some found in Google Play, root 90% of Android phones

Instagram will start automatically translating image captions soon

(credit: Instagram) On the heels of announcing that it has reached 500 million active monthly users, Instagram says it will soon add a translation feature to its app. Through a post on the image-sharing app, the company announced that within a month, users will be able to translate image captions, comments, and profile bios using a new translate button. The Facebook-owned social media app will structure its translations similarly to its parent company. When you come across a post you want to translate into a language that isn’t your default language, you can hit the “See Translation” button to convert it into the language you’ve chosen in your profile’s language settings. Both Facebook and Twitter have translation features already, so this addition brings Instagram up to par with its competition in that respect. Considering that  80 percent of Instagram’s user base lives outside the United States, this feature will likely be welcomed by many. There’s no word on how many languages Instagram will support with the first rollout of this feature. The company does explain on its Help website that if a translation isn’t showing up, it might be because the app doesn’t currently support that language or couldn’t detect the initial language being used. It also warns users that translations may not be available for older posts. The full translation feature should be ready for most users by July. Read on Ars Technica | Comments

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Instagram will start automatically translating image captions soon

15 years later, new Ecco the Dolphin game leaks onto Dreamcast

The Dreamcast Ecco sequel you never expected is now available as a prototype download. (credit: Hidden Palace ) You probably thought that Sega’s official abandonment of the Dreamcast back in 2001 meant we wouldn’t see any new, Sega-produced Ecco the Dolphin games for that system. If so, you thought wrong. That’s because a newly unearthed prototype of the Dreamcast’s cancelled Ecco II: Sentinels of the Universe has hit the Internet, more than 15 years after it was made. The prototype build, uploaded by the game preservationists at Hidden Palace , is dated February 19, 2001, less than a month after Sega announced it would stop supporting the Dreamcast and step away from the hardware business for good. It comes to the Internet via a large lot of Ecco Dreamcast assets acquired by Hidden Palace , and the site promises “more exciting (and long overdue) [ Ecco ] stuff in the weeks to follow.” In addition to the ripped GD-ROM version, which is fully playable on PC Dreamcast emulators, Hidden Palace also released a self-boot CDI image that can be burned to disc and played on actual Dreamcast hardware (and hopefully on a real CRT television, for that authentic 2001 console gaming experience). We can thank the Dreamcast’s extremely broken copy protection technology for that little wrinkle and for the widespread piracy that  helped doom and/or popularize the system back in its day. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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15 years later, new Ecco the Dolphin game leaks onto Dreamcast

Microsoft will use Steam to sell Windows games, not just its own store

Quantum Break : not available on Steam. While some of Microsoft’s older game titles, such as Age of Empires II HD (a 2013 update of a 1999 game) are found on Valve’s Steam platform, its latest high-profile titles, such as Forza 6 Apex and Quantum Break, are exclusive to the Windows Store. But this is going to change, with Microsoft planning to release more titles on the popular store. Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox team at Microsoft, was talking on Giant Bomb’s E3 stream , via GameSpot . When it comes to PC gaming, the Windows Store is very much an also-ran, with Steam the dominant force. As Spencer noted, “I don’t think Valve’s hurt by not having [Microsoft’s] first-party games in their store right now. They’re doing incredibly well.” Accordingly, Spencer said that Microsoft “will ship games on Steam again.” Meanwhile, Microsoft’s own experience had been more inconsistent. While some games have done well in the Windows Store, with Spencer naming both Forza 6 Apex and Killer Instinct as successful titles, he said that ” Quantum Break wasn’t our best PC release” and that Gears of War Ultimate Edition was merely “OK.” Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Microsoft will use Steam to sell Windows games, not just its own store

Apple announced iOS 10 for iPhones and iPads at WWDC today

(credit: Apple) Apple today announced iOS 10, a new major version of its operating system for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. There is a redesigned control center with interactive notifications, and improvements to widgets (such as those that show calendar and weather information). 3D Touch can now do more: For example, you can press your screen to clear all notifications at once. Siri is getting improvements, with the ability to book rides on services like Uber and Lyft, the ability to start and pause workouts, and make payments to send money to friends with SquareCash and other services. Siri’s will be more intelligent in messaging. For example, if a friend asks for the contact information of another friend, Siri can automatically provide the contact. Siri can also pull up calendar availability in message threads, and let you do multilingual typing without switching the keyboard language. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Apple announced iOS 10 for iPhones and iPads at WWDC today

“Bluetooth 5” spec coming next week with 2x more range and 4x better speed

Bluetooth 5.0, the latest version of the ubiquitous wireless standard, is set to be announced on June 16, according to an e-mail sent by Bluetooth SIG Executive Director Mark Powell. The update will apparently be called “Bluetooth 5” without a point number in an effort to “[simplify] marketing.” It’s primarily of interest because the update promises to double the range and quadruple the speed of Bluetooth 4.2. It also adds “significantly more capacity to advertising transmissions,” which is more exciting than it sounds because it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with what you normally think of when you think of “advertising.” In the Bluetooth spec, an “advertising packet” allows Bluetooth devices to send small snippets of information to other Bluetooth devices even if the two aren’t actually paired or connected to one another. For instance, when you go to pair a Bluetooth keyboard or speaker with one of your devices, advertising packets can let you see the name of the device before you’ve paired it so you can distinguish it from all the other Bluetooth devices that are within range. The same technology is used by wireless beacons to transmit information about the location you’re in and by Apple’s AirDrop and Handoff features to let your Macs and iDevices know what your other Macs and iDevices are up to. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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“Bluetooth 5” spec coming next week with 2x more range and 4x better speed

Firefox 48 finally enables Electrolysis for multi-process goodness

Firefox, at long last, is going multi-process. Electrolysis (e10s), barring an eleventh-hour mishap, is coming to the masses with Firefox 48. In the words of long-time Mozillan Asa Dotzler, this is the most significant Firefox change the foundation has ever shipped. Back in July 2015, Firefox’s director of engineering Dave Camp said that some major changes were on their way, with the hope of winning back users and developers . Firefox’s market share has been flat or declining since 2010, ever since Chrome first started making major inroads. Finally getting e10s out the door (it was first announced in 2009!) was listed as one of Camp’s priorities, along with accelerating the retirement of XUL and XBL. Mozilla has been trialling Electrolysis to small groups of beta users since December 2015. In Firefox 48, which should be entering beta later today, e10s will be available to all users. Then, assuming no game-breaking issues are found, in six weeks (around August 2) the stable build of Firefox 48 will be released to the public with e10s enabled. Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Firefox 48 finally enables Electrolysis for multi-process goodness

Human eye might be able to detect entangled photons

(credit: Flickr user Hullabaloon. ) One of the less satisfying aspects of modern physics is the increasing separation between the phenomena that we measure and the experimenter. We measure almost everything today indirectly. If we operate our lab safely, we never directly detect an electron—instead, that charge creates a tiny potential difference on an amplifier. The amplifier generates a larger current that might drive a coil that is attached to a needle on a dial. This level of indirection is the reality of modern physics. And the alternative—passing large currents through your body—is discouraged. Yet, the desire to really see what is going on is hard to resist. This has led to an interesting publication that proposes a way to detect quantum mechanical behavior directly with the human eye. Seeing single photons The behavior in question is entanglement. But before getting to that, let’s talk about the eye. The human visual system is a pretty poor instrument as far as optics go. The eye is actually pretty good; experiments have revealed that the rods in your eye are sensitive to single photons. The brain, however, is smart; rather than try to sort out all the noise associated with every single photon detection, it tells the rods and cones not to bother it until the light reaches a certain intensity. Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Human eye might be able to detect entangled photons

Paris bans pre-1997 cars from its streets during the week

Don’t expect to see cars like this on Parisian streets after this summer (unless it’s a weekend). (credit: Don O’Brien @ Flickr ) Parisians with cars built before 1997 are going to need to head to the nearest car dealership if they want to keep driving in the city after July 1. The French capital has experienced quite horrific air pollution in the last few years, and there was  a massive spike in March 2015 that saw the city’s air quality drop lower than that of Beijing, China. After trying out temporary restrictions to vehicle traffic, Les Echos reports that the city has decided to implement new rules that will ban older and more polluting vehicles from its streets on weekdays. Those restrictions will also tighten over time; in 2020, only cars built since 2011 will be allowed. The vehicle classification scheme means you get one of these window stickers based on which Euro emissions standard your vehicle complies with. This announcement follows a decision by the French government to finalize a nation-wide scheme of ranking vehicle emissions (the system is based on the European emissions standards ). Any vehicle made on or before December 31, 1996 was built to conform with Euro 1, the weakest of these standards, and it’s these cars that are no longer allowed in the capital. Pre-2000 motorbikes and other two-wheeled vehicles are also on the hit list. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Paris bans pre-1997 cars from its streets during the week