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Neil Armstrong kept the original Moon landing camera in his closet

If you were the first to set foot on a celestial body, wouldn’t you keep a few mementos from the trip? The late, great Neil Armstrong certainly did — including one of the most important gadgets in recent history. The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum has revealed that the astronaut stored numerous items from the Apollo 11 Moon landing in a closet at home, the highlight of which is undoubtedly the 16mm Data Acquisition Camera used to record the iconic moment he reached the Lunar surface. Armstrong apparently held on to the camera and other “odds and ends” (as he told Mission Control) on the way back to Earth, and never mentioned them when he returned. Thankfully, you won’t have much trouble seeing some of these artifacts in the near future. They’re part of an exhibit at the museum, so you only have to book a trip to Washington, DC by June 8th to see some of the technology that defined early space travel. [Image credit: Dane Penland, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution] Filed under: Cameras , Science Comments Via: Washington Post Source: Airspace Blog

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Neil Armstrong kept the original Moon landing camera in his closet

BioWare cancels ‘Shadow Realms,’ its first original game in six years

Well, that was quick. Six months after its debut, BioWare’s announced it’s canceled its online action-RPG, Shadow Realms . The Austin-based studio isn’t moving forward with the four-versus-one PC game because, as the studio’s general manager Jeff Hickman tells it, it’s working on other things at the moment –including the next Mass Effect , add-on content for last year’s Dragon Age: Inquisition and the team’s Star Wars online RPG, The Old Republic . As GamesIndustry notes , that last title might attract new players given this December’s release of The Force Awakens . Don’t fret if you signed up for Shadow Realms ‘ closed alpha, though, as BioWare says it’s working on a reward for your trouble. In addition to all the above sequels and additional content it’s working on, the Texas team apparently has its hands in something new, as well. Could it be what the outfit teased last E3? Perhaps. We might not have long to wait until we see it, though — the Game Developer’s Conference is in early March immediately followed by PAX East and then E3 in June. Filed under: Gaming , Home Entertainment , HD Comments Via: GamesIndustry Source: BioWare

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BioWare cancels ‘Shadow Realms,’ its first original game in six years

‘Braid’ creator sacrifices his fortune to build his next game

One of the indie world’s first superstar developers made millions from one game. He’s spent it all to make his next. Jonathan Blow’s beautiful, distinct 2008 platformer Braid is largely regarded as the original indie game — The Notorious OIG, if you will. Blow spent roughly $200, 000 to create Braid and it made him a millionaire . Blow said in 2012 that he was funneling all of the money from Braid into his next project, a Myst -inspired puzzle game called The Witness that he’s been working on since 2009 . He wasn’t kidding when he said all. ” Braid still sells well on platforms that are thriving, but two of Braid ‘s big platforms were the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, both of which are sunsetting at this point, ” Blow tells me in an email interview. Braid was pivotal on Xbox 360. It launched as an exclusive on the digital storefront Xbox Live Arcade and ushered in a wave of successful independent games for the console. “Not so many people are buying digital games there, ” Blow says. “So the Braid income is not nearly enough anymore to fund the team. I have borrowed a bunch of money to finish The Witness . So I hope when it’s done, some people buy the game.” The current console generation kicked off in late 2013 with the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and these consoles now dominate the market. Previous-generation games do sometimes make their way to new consoles; Braid isn’t one of them. It’s still available for PC, Mac and Linux on digital distribution service Steam , where it’s now six years old. GROWING PAINS Since starting development on The Witness in 2009, the game has at least tripled in size , from eight hours to 25-40 hours. The Witness dev team, nine people credited in full and eight additional contributors, hit a development milestone last month: All of the game’s puzzles are complete. There’s still plenty to work on, but the creative heavy lifting is done. There are 677 puzzles in The Witness currently. Blow generally keeps gameplay details vague for fear of spoiling The Witness ‘ main focus, but he says there are 11 different puzzle areas, and to “beat” the game, players will need to solve seven or eight of these. Each section has a different number of puzzles, and some areas can be completed without solving every puzzle therein. “It’s a pretty flexible game that way, ” Blow says. “But if you solve all the areas, of course, you might get a little something extra. Or a lot.” The Witness The Witness ‘ premise may sound familiar to some of you. Late last year, The Talos Principle launched on PC: a 3D, first-person puzzle game composed of separate puzzle areas and a mysterious, overarching story. The Witness is also a 3D, first-person puzzle game bathed in mystery, but Blow says it’s a completely different experience. The Talos Principle , for instance, involves communication with a booming, god-like voice and others via computer terminals. The Witness is about the experience of being alone on an island, finding beauty in that solitude and solving puzzles along the way. “There are some similarities between The Witness and Talos Principle , but most of those similarities are on the surface, ” he says. “I think these two games are ultimately about very different subjects, and were made for very different reasons, and you feel the differences when you play. That said, it is likely that someone interested in one game may be interested in the other game.” Clearly, there’s not a case of any developer “stealing” ideas from another, as Blow has been building The Witness for six years. That’s a long time to tease fans, and Blow knows it. “If there is such a thing as taking ‘too long, ‘ we have probably already done that, ” he says. “20 years from now, I am not going to care about whether we took an extra six months or a year in development; I am going to care about the quality of the game people got to play. It’d be a shame to sacrifice some of that quality just to squeak the game out a little sooner. Though I do sympathize with people who have been waiting a long time to play.” Filed under: Gaming , Software , HD , Sony Comments

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‘Braid’ creator sacrifices his fortune to build his next game

Anthem health insurance hack exposes details of over 80 million people

Hackers have accessed millions of customer and employee details from US-based health insurance firm Anthem, including name addresses and social security numbers. The database that was accessed included details for roughly 80 million people, but Anthem, the second biggest insurer in the country, believes that the hack likely affected a fraction in the “tens of millions”. Its Chief Information Officer said that they didn’t yet know how hackers were able to pull off the attack. In a statement on Anthem’s site, CEO Joseph Swedish said that the company was the target of “a very sophisticated external cyberattack ” — although medical and financial details were apparently not breached. Notably, the company decided to reveal it had been attacked just days after it had, even as their internal investigation continues. It also managed to detect the breach itself – something that also doesn’t happen so often. The health insurer is the latest in a list of big companies targeted by a cyberattack, including the likes of Target , Sony , eBay and Home Depot. Anthem plans to reach out to everyone whose information was stored in the hacked database through letters and email. Image Credit: A.J. Mast/Getty Images Filed under: Internet Comments Source: WSJ , Anthem

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Anthem health insurance hack exposes details of over 80 million people

Aphex Twin gives away 150 unreleased tracks on SoundCloud

To say that Richard D. James likes mixing music and technology is the biggest understatement this side of Bruce Willis admitting he’s a bit thin on top. The artist better known as Aphex Twin has previously tweaked his music so that, if you ran the track Formula through a spectroscope, you’d see his face , not to mention launching his last album through Tor . 2015 has seen the musician decide to release a plethora of demo material onto SoundCloud , albeit under the guide of user48736353001 . According to FACT Magazine , the tracks are all demos and unfinished works that were written and performed in the late ’80s and early ’90s. When he started back in January, there were only a handful of tracks on the page, but that figure has ballooned to 150, all of which are downloadable for AFX completists. If all of these tracks haven’t satisfied your yearning for new Twin, then you should also be aware that Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt. 2 is also available to buy. [Image Credit: NRK P3/ Flickr ] Filed under: Home Entertainment , Portable Audio/Video , Internet Comments Via: FACT , (2) Source: Soundcloud

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Aphex Twin gives away 150 unreleased tracks on SoundCloud

BT confirms it’s bought EE for £12.5 billion

It’s been nearly a decade, but BT is officially returning to mobile . After months of talks, the landline and broadband giant has confirmed it will pay £12.5 billion to acquire EE, the UK’s biggest operator. In an announcement, the telecoms giant says that with EE under its wing, the company will provide customers with “innovative, seamless services that combine the power of fibre broadband with wi-fi and advanced mobile capabilities, ” targeting EE customers that don’t already use its broadband services and delivering 4G connectivity to BT customers for the first time. This is a developing story, please fresh for updates . As part of the deal, EE’s original owners, Deutsche Telekom and Orange, will gain shares of BT. Deutsche Telekom will own a 12 percent stake of the company, while Orange will grab 4 percent. That is, of course, after the deal closes, which BT thinks will complete by the end of the year — if it can navigate the choppy regulatory waters that is the UK Competition and Markets Authority and communications Ofcom. Filed under: Wireless , Mobile Comments Source: BT

Pope Francis to address the world’s children on Google Hangouts

Pope Francis likes mixing it up with the public, and has no problem using the internet to do so. To wit, he’ll be hosting his second video chat on Google Hangout, a forum that’s been popular with other public figures like President Obama for face time with the masses. The chat will be sponsored by his educational entity Scholas , like it was last year when he spoke to students from around the globe (see the video below for a wrap-up). This time, he’ll be taking questions from children with special needs and disabilities from Spain, Brazil, India and the US. If you’re interested, you can catch the whole event tomorrow at 10:00 AM ET. Filed under: Internet Comments Via: The Verge Source: Scholas (YouTube)

Uber and Google to duke it out over self-driving taxis

It’s no secret that Mountain View and Uber are friends , what with Google Ventures investing $258 million into the ride-sharing service in 2013. But if both companies really are developing their own ride-sharing services that use driverless cars, as some publications are saying, then these friends will turn into rivals in the future. Now, Uber might be years behind Google when it comes to autonomous cars , but TechCrunch says the company’s teaming up with Carnegie Mellon scientists to develop its own technology. While the ride-sharing service didn’t go into detail when it announced the partnership earlier, TC reports Uber is building a robotics research lab in Pittsburgh, PA for the newly hired lead engineers, scientists and commercialization experts. Carnegie Mellon’s scientists are known for creating advanced , autonomous robots and even Mars rovers , so they definitely have the skills to get it done, especially if they were truly hired en masse. TC even says Uber has begun putting together engineering workstations worth several hundred thousand dollars for its new employees, so they can begin developing the core technology necessary to build a fleet of driverless taxis. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick mentioned in the past that he’d replace human drivers with autonomous cars if possible and that fares would be cheaper if that happens. Add that to the fact that the company’s now valued at around $40 billion, and this report’s not that hard to believe. Google, on the other hand, has been working on a ride-hailing app “most likely in conjunction with its long-in-development driverless car project” for a quite a while now, according to Bloomberg . Its employees have reportedly been test driving it for the company, so David Drummond (Google’s chief legal office who also joined Uber’s board of directors after Mountain View’s investment) was able to show Uber some screenshots of the app, perhaps in the essence of transparency. While Mountain View hasn’t confirmed this piece of info yet, it has talked about using its driverless cars as a taxi service before. At this year’s Detroit Auto Show, for instance, Chris Urmson (who leads Google’s self-driving car project) said there’s a possibility for its autonomous cars to be used as a shared vehicle. Just like current ride-sharing services, you’d be able to call one through an app and ask it to take you to your destination. Bloomberg says the Uber board is now debating whether to ask Drummond to resign, and its executives are “deeply concerned” that Google is about to become its staunchest rival. Aside from Google having a lot more money, Uber relies heavily on the former’s map data (its app was even integrated into Google Maps, if you recall), and losing access to it would be devastating. The publication also notes that a recent Google Now update adds data from Lyft, but not from Uber. Whether that means the companies’ relationship has already soured remains to be seen, but thus far, Google still seems to consider both Lyft and Uber as friends. @business We think you’ll find Uber and Lyft work quite well. We use them all the time. – Google (@google) February 2, 2015 Filed under: Transportation , Google Comments Source: TechCrunch , Bloomberg , Uber

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Uber and Google to duke it out over self-driving taxis

Amazon, Google and Microsoft whitelisted by Adblock Plus, for a price

It’s long been rumored that Google, among other companies, has been paying Adblock Plus in order to get through its filters. Now, Financial Times says that it’s not only Google that’s been paying the ad-blocking service to be part of its whitelisted websites, but also Microsoft, Amazon and ad platform Taboola. Adblock Plus, as you might know, is a popular Chrome and Firefox extension that blocks ads: as such, some websites that rely on advertisements for revenue haven’t been too happy with it, with a handful of German publishers taking the service to court. While what these companies are doing might not sit well with some Adblock Plus users, it’s not bribery and is entirely legal. While Adblock Plus’ developer, German company Eyeo, doesn’t list its fees anywhere, a digital media company that talked to FT said Eyeo asks for 30 percent of the ad revenues that would otherwise not exist. Eyeo claims Adblock Plus has been downloaded 300 million times, and these tech giants’ actions just prove that they’re at least a bit worried that it will affect their business. Adblock Plus does whitelist other smaller websites for free, though, so long as they meet its criteria. These include being transparent and not passing off ads as content, as well as not using overly large and obnoxious advertisements that distort web pages. Filed under: Misc , Microsoft , Google , Amazon Comments Via: The Verge Source: Financial Times

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Amazon, Google and Microsoft whitelisted by Adblock Plus, for a price

Which fitness bands are worth buying?

We spend a lot of time in front of our computers, which could be why we’re so keen to track all the times we actually step away from our screens and get a little walking or running done. To that end, every manufacturer seems to be coming out with a fitness band to brandish on your wrist. But when one wearable looks like the others, and they each operate in different ecosystems, it’s hard to know which will best suit your needs. We’ve taken a look at a few recent releases and their reviews, narrowing the field to six of the better models out there — plus one you should avoid. Frank Spinillo contributed to this report. Filed under: Wearables , Sony , LG Comments

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Which fitness bands are worth buying?

Ken May

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