reprints – Page 48

Snow Leopard updates are probably done—here are your OS X upgrade options

End of the line, Snowy. Apple Apple offers no end-of-life roadmaps for its operating systems, and it doesn’t officially comment on whether support has dried up for this or that version of OS X. The best you can do is look at historical data. Since switching to a yearly release cadence with Lion back in 2011, Apple seems to be willing to support whatever the latest version is plus the two preceding versions. When OS X 10.9.2 was released earlier this week, it was accompanied by security updates for OS X 10.8 and 10.7 but not for 2009’s OS X 10.6. It’s the first major security update that Snow Leopard has missed—the OS is still getting iTunes updates, but its last major security patch happened back in September. This has prompted a flurry of posts from various outlets. All point out the same Net Applications data that says 10.6 still powers around 19 percent of Macs. Most compare the OS X support cycle to the much-longer Windows cycle. Some make a bigger deal about it than others. None really tell anyone in that 19 percent what to do next. You’ll need to know the exact kind of Mac you’re using before proceeding—typing your serial number into this Service and Support page should give you the information you need if you’re not sure. Launching the System Profiler application from the Utilities folder will show you your serial number and your Mac’s specific model identifier (something like MacBook4,1 or iMac11,2), the latter of which can be used with this EveryMac lookup page to find what you’re looking for. Read 17 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Snow Leopard updates are probably done—here are your OS X upgrade options

Two new Windows 8.1 SKUs coming: Standalone Enterprise and low-cost Bing edition

Microsoft is expected to expand the lineup of Windows 8.1 versions with at least one, and probably two, new editions of the operating system. The first is a straightforward affair. At the moment, Windows Enterprise is only available to organizations buying Software Assurance agreements. Microsoft has confirmed to ZDNet that from March 1, Windows Enterprise will be sold to any company with an Open, Select, or Select Plus plan. This will enable companies that don’t want to pay for Software Assurance’s features such as the automatic upgrade entitlements and extras such as the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack to have a way to get their hands on the Enterprise edition. Microsoft is also making changes to the interactions between Software Assurance and Windows Pro; you can read the full, complicated story at Directions on Microsoft , written by perhaps the only people on earth with a solid understanding of how Microsoft’s licensing works. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Two new Windows 8.1 SKUs coming: Standalone Enterprise and low-cost Bing edition

Exoplanet discovery rate goes from a trickle to a flood

The Kepler spacecraft NASA Today, NASA’s Kepler team has announced that it has developed a new technique to verify the existence of many of the planetary candidates in its back catalog. The technique, which relies on the presence of multiple planets in the system, has led to the single largest announcement of new planets in history: 715 of them, orbiting a total of 305 stars. Most of these are small, between the sizes of Earth and Neptune, and are tightly packed in the inner regions of the systems in which they reside, but four appear to be in the habitable zone. If you visit Kepler’s home page , you’ll see a count of confirmed planets in the upper right (it’s currently at 961). Hover over it, and you’ll see there are over 3,800 unconfirmed planetary candidates. Those candidates come from the method that Kepler uses to discover planets: watching for a mini-eclipse that causes a slight dimming of their host star’s light. A similar pattern can be caused by a dim star orbiting in the system (a configuration called an eclipsing binary system), which raises the prospect of false positives. In the past, this has generally involved multiple follow-up observations with a large telescope, which has held back the announcement of confirmed planets to a relative trickle. However, there have been a number of discoveries that have been based on Kepler data alone. These discoveries have come from multi-planet systems, where the planets gravitationally interacted, speeding up or slowing each other down. This activity creates regular variations in the timing and duration of the eclipses as the exoplanets transit between their host star and Earth. Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Exoplanet discovery rate goes from a trickle to a flood

World of Warcraft’s $60 level-boosts reflect important economic reality

That’s only 67 cents per level. ORDER NOW! WoW Insider In games, as in life, the only truly nonrenewable resource is time. Thus, anything that saves a player time in getting something they want will have some important real-world value. World of Warcraft seems to finally be acknowledging this basic economic fact of life, letting players pay $60 to instantly level any character all the way up to level 90 in its upcoming expansion. Blizzard announced back at Blizzcon 2013 in November that players who purchased the upcoming Warlords of Draenor expansion would be able to instantly level a single character up to level 90 as a free bonus, thereby gaining the ability to take part in new content that’s balanced for characters from level 90 to the new level cap of 100. Then, in January, the company said it was also “testing out a feature that gives you the option to purchase a character upgrade directly,” allowing players with multiple characters to get the instant boost without, say, buying multiple copies of the expansion (which isn’t yet available for preorder). Last week, WoW Insider noticed a “Level 90 character boost” item briefly listed in the in-game shop during server maintenance before being quickly removed. The asking price on the listing: $60. Read 11 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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World of Warcraft’s $60 level-boosts reflect important economic reality

Everything you wanted to know about the security-focused Blackphone

BARCELONA, SPAIN—Here at Mobile World Congress, Silent Circle and Geeksphone have just announced more details on the Blackphone , a phone focused on security and privacy. “Blackphone” seems to be both a product and a company, as in the company Blackphone will provide updates and support for the product Blackphone. Having been cofounded by Phil Zimmerman, the creator of PGP e-mail encryption, the company has tons of security talent. Blackphone was announced about a month ago, but this is the first time we’re getting details on just what the Blackphone is and how it works. First to be announced were the specs of the Blackphone. The hardware is being built by Geeksphone , and the current specs are a 2GHz quad-core SoC, a 4.7-inch “HD” IPS screen, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, 8MP rear and 1.3MP front cameras, and HSPA+ and LTE connectivity. Blackphone notes that “certain specifications are subject to change” but the Geeksphone CEO said that any change would be “better,” and that the goal is to offer a premium phone. At $629 for a contract-free, unlocked phone, the cost is certainly in line with that goal. Blackphone notes that it “does not use proprietary hardware in any way,” which will allow it to release source code for “as much of the Blackphone code base as possible.” While Geeksphone is handling the hardware, Silent Circle is handling the software. The Blackphone runs a Google-less version of Android called “PrivatOS.” Besides removing the user-tracking Google parts, most of the Blackphone’s security and privacy advantages seem to come from the integration of Silent Circle apps. The suite of apps mentioned at the event were the existing Silent Phone and Silent Text apps, and a new product called “Silent Contacts.” Silent Phone and Silent Text encrypt your phone calls, text messages, and file transfers to other users of the apps. Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Everything you wanted to know about the security-focused Blackphone

Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, shuts down

Mt. Gox As of late Monday evening, the embattled Bitcoin site Mt. Gox appears to have pulled the plug entirely in the wake of sustained DDOS attacks and the “transaction malleability” problem that has plagued other websites. The site is gone and the company’s Twitter account appears to have been erased entirely. Ars’ requests to Mt. Gox for comment were not immediately returned. Bitcoin’s trading price has been steadily declining since the beginning of 2014, and as of this writing is hovering around $470 and falling . Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Artificial muscles made with fishing line

Fishing line of different diameters, formed into the coiled-coils used in these experiments. Science/AAAS Take a rubber band and twist it. Keep twisting it until it starts to collapse onto itself and form larger loops—it’s something you can do with almost any strand-like structure. Now, scientists from the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson are taking advantage of this property in everyday materials such as fishing line and sewing thread and using it to make artificial muscles. The scientists took pieces of fiber that were a few hundred micrometers long and twisted them until they began to coil. As the pieces coiled, the twisted fibers became shorter and thicker; once tightly coiled, the scientists heat-treated them to prevent the fibers from unfolding. If heat is applied to the finished coil after this procedure, the individual fibers try to untwist. The untwisting causes the coils to expand in volume as they shorten in length, just like a muscle. The researchers found that if they made the fiber form larger coils in the same direction as the initial twists, the fibers contracted. If the fibers were made to coil in the opposite direction from the twist, the fibers expanded. By combining large quantities of these twisted fibers, the team could produce artificial muscles with above-average characteristics. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Artificial muscles made with fishing line

Lync-Skype video chat shown for the first time, coming later this year

Ever since Microsoft bought Skype in 2011, one of the biggest questions has been how the company would integrate the voice and video messaging service with its other voice and video messaging software: Lync. Last year, the company integrated the two systems for voice calling, allowing Lync users to talk to, and see the online status of, Skype users. This year, the company will take another big step toward bringing the systems together, with cross-network video calling. The company demonstrated Lync-to-Skype video calling at its Lync Conference today. The feature will go into a limited beta in summer or fall. In addition to improved interoperability with Skype, the company is also adding native interoperability with Cisco/Tandberg video conferencing systems. Joining its existing Lync clients for Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, and Android phones, Microsoft says that it will have a Lync client for Android tablets available in the Google Play store by the end of June. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Lync-Skype video chat shown for the first time, coming later this year

Feds seek contractor to build new federal license plate reader database

According to a new job advertisement posted this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently seeking a contractor to build and operate a national license plate reader database. While license plate readers are on the rise by federal and local law enforcement agencies, they typically are not linked together into a one-stop shop beyond federally-funded “fusion centers,” which depend on local data. Apparently that is not enough for the feds anymore. The DHS further posted a 29-page document (PDF) outlining its requirements, including “featuring Smartphone technology based application for at least one Smartphone type, i.e. Android/iPhone/BlackBerry etc. currently in use by [Department of Homeland Security / Immigration and Customs Enforcement] allowing for license plate pictures to be taken and uploaded. Any positive matches shall return to the Smartphone an alert notification indicating to the User a positive match.” Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Feds seek contractor to build new federal license plate reader database

US team to switch speed skating suits due to poor physics

Shani Davis wearing the Under Armour suit in question, in the race that placed him eighth overall. NBC The Under Armor speed skating suits meant to help US Olympic team members win may have actually been slowing them down, writes the Wall Street Journal in a report . A “design flaw” meant to aid with one element of the skaters’ physics may be hurting them in another way, resulting in no US skaters finishing higher than seventh place despite high rankings going in. The US requested a change on Thursday, and in the early hours of Saturday it was decided that the team could revert to the suits they used in previous World cup events, also made by Under Armour. The suits were designed with a vent on the back that is supposed to allow heat to escape. But the WSJ now suggests that the same vent may be letting air into the suit, creating drag and affecting skaters’ low stance. Kevin Haley, senior vice president of Under Armour, already copped to the problem, telling the WSJ “we’ll move heaven and earth to make them better.” Long-track team coach Ryan Shimabukuro refused to criticize the suits, but skater and 1,000-meter world-record holder Shani Davis claimed to have had his fastest start ever in the 1,000 meter race Wednesday while wearing the suit. An NBC commentator speaking over the event’s delayed broadcast in the US also asserted that the start was “the fastest [he’d] seen [Davis] open up this year.” Still, he finished eighth. Heather Richardson, the top-ranked women’s skater, finished seventh in the 1000m event; Brittany Bowe, the world record-holder for the same event, finished eighth. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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US team to switch speed skating suits due to poor physics

Ken May

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