All-in-One Lab Device Gets New Instruments via Software Update

All-in-One Lab Device Gets New Instruments via Software Update

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Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in the fields of health and medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety, computer technology, and environmental resources.

Tech

via NASA Tech Briefs https://ift.tt/2BVPq4O

May 1, 2018 at 12:24PM

Can the $200 Oculus Go make virtual reality mainstream?

Can the $200 Oculus Go make virtual reality mainstream?

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Facebook wants to take virtual reality mainstream, and it hopes its new headset, Oculus Go, could be the product that helps makes that happen.

The Oculus Go is Facebook’s first standalone headset. It’s sleek, it’s comfortable, and, most importantly, it costs just $200. Most VR systems cost at least $500.

The standalone device makes for a more seamless experience than the flagship Oculus Rift or other high-end VR systems. It doesn’t need cords, an expensive PC or a specific smartphone.

The headset is made of a breathable mesh fabric, has a vibrant display and built-in speakers, so you don’t have to use headphones.

It even comes with a special eyeglasses spacer, so I could play comfortably with my glasses on. Soon, you will be able to order special prescription lenses for the headset for $80.

oculus go 1
The Oculus Go.

Related: Robot co-workers? 7 cool technologies changing the way we work

The interface is easy to use, even for someone who isn’t a frequent VR user like me. You can browse Facebook, watch 360-degree videos, play your favorite Netflix shows or buy 3D movies. It’s comfortable to wear for extended periods of time.

Overall, the visuals were smooth and crisp, although some of the 360-degree videos I watched — especially those taken with smartphone cameras — were lower quality.

Social will be an important part of Oculus Go. The company has revamped its Rooms app, which lets people make a custom environment and create an avatar of themselves. Oculus owners can invite their friends to visit their room, play tabletop games such as Boggle, watch movies together or share photos from their phone.

Facebook is also emphasizing its Venues feature. You can watch live events, such as Major League Baseball games, stadium shows from artists like Vance Joy, and standup events like Gotham Comedy Club. I wasn’t able to test this feature — the first live event won’t happen until May 30.

The Oculus Go has plenty of room for improvement. Its library of 1,000 VR experiences pales in comparison to the near-infinite amount of content available on smartphones or gaming consoles.

Another potential drawback is that the Go has a so-called “3DoF” controller, which can only tell if you move your head up, down or side to side. More advanced VR headsets have 6DoF controllers, which offer a more immersive experience and cut down on motion sickness, according to analysts.

The battery life could also be a problem. Oculus says you can expect about one hour of battery life for gaming, and about two hours for watching TV or other entertainment. The Oculus Rift doesn’t need to be charged, because it’s plugged in to power.

Related: Facebook finally makes a virtual reality world

Virtual reality hasn’t yet taken off with consumers. Only 4% of internet users around the world owned a VR headset at the end of 2017, according to analytics firm GlobalWebIndex.

Is the Oculus Go enough to fuel consumer adoption of virtual reality? Experts have mixed opinions.

“I don’t think all of a sudden [this device] will change the market,” said Victoria Petrock, principal analyst at eMarketer. “It may move the needle in terms of moving the technology toward something that is more mainstream. The fact that it doesn’t have to be tethered to anything is a big plus.”

Anshel Sag, ?an associate analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, was more upbeat.

“I really think [Go] will bring VR much closer to the mainstream, if not kick off the beginning of mainstream usage for VR,” he said. “At $199, it’s a very palatable price for a lot of people.”

The Go’s success could ultimately come down to the content. If developers can deliver valuable and entertaining experiences, it could be an appealing gift for the 2018 holiday season.

News

via Business and financial news – CNNMoney.com https://ift.tt/UU2JWz

May 1, 2018 at 12:40PM

This Insanely Complex Rube Goldberg Machine Dispenses Tape [Video]

This Insanely Complex Rube Goldberg Machine Dispenses Tape [Video]

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Tech

via [Geeks Are Sexy] Technology News https://ift.tt/23BIq6h

May 1, 2018 at 11:34AM

Subaru investigation confirms vehicle data tampering in Japan

Subaru investigation confirms vehicle data tampering in Japan

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Subaru

has admitted that alteration of fuel-economy and emissions data took place in its Gunma and Yajima manufacturing plants between December 2012 and November 2017. Some 900 vehicles were affected by data tampering, which Subaru says was done in the vehicles’ final inspections by factory-floor inspectors.

In a report, Subaru says “non-conforming” final vehicle inspections were identified in late 2017, and that the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism demanded that Subaru undertake an internal investigation of the matter. Almost 7,000 vehicles were subject to inspection in the investigated time period, and the measurement equipment retained test data for some 6,500 of those. It showed that 903 vehicles had had their data “inappropriately altered,” partially so that average data values would meet quality control standards. Subaru says that the decision to do this was made among vehicle inspectors and their foremen.

As Subaru’s statement reads: “Inspectors engaging in sampling of

fuel economy

and emissions were instructed by their seniors that, if results for each vehicle did not meet such standards, measurement values should be altered to those that meet such standards, and, according to such instructions, the inspectors altered measurement values. […] Even if there were no problems in comparison with the internal quality control standards, inspectors altered measurement values with the intention of reducing variance in measurement values in order to avoid questions from the Group Chiefs and the Section Chief on such variance. It should be noted that alterations were made not only to make results better, but also to make them worse.” It appears that everything was done to keep the average values right.

Subaru adds: “Although the relevant laws and regulations stipulate that, in certain limited cases, measurement values could be altered in order to adjust errors caused by measurement equipment, inspectors misunderstand such adjustment method because of deficient internal rules and inadequate training. Inspectors altered measurement values by adjustment methods not stipulated in the relevant laws and regulations, without understanding that their methods were inappropriate.”

Test equipment did not contain data from earlier than 2012, but Subaru suspects such tampering took place as long ago as 2002.

However, the matter will not result in

recalls

. Subaru says that the quality control standards are stricter than stipulated by law, and that the data alterations will not require recalls or cause quality issues to customers. Subaru has apologized, stating that it regrets the issue and has taken measures to prevent such tampering from happening again.

Related Video:

Cars

via Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com

May 1, 2018 at 10:16AM

The Curious Case of North Korea’s Homegrown Antivirus Software

The Curious Case of North Korea’s Homegrown Antivirus Software

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There’s something not quite right about North Korea’s antivirus software.

SiliVaccine, as the software is known, appears to contain a decade-old component pirated from a Japanese security firm. What’s more, investigators who’ve examined the software say it was purposefully designed to ignore a known malware signature linked to a number of malware families.

The software was reportedly acquired by freelance journalist Martyn Williams, the operator of a website dedicated to North Korean technology. Williams received a link to the software in a suspicious email years ago and has written about installing and testing the program. The files, which Williams received via a Dropbox link, were sent by somebody claiming to be a Japanese engineer.

Per Williams, who ran the software on a Windows machine after confirming it wasn’t malicious, the home-grown antivirus application was in its fourth version, as of September 2014.

The IP address used by SiliVaccine, Williams reported, “resides in a block set aside for use on local networks rather than the global Internet, so only works from within North Korea’s nationwide intranet.”

Check Point, a Tel Aviv-based IT software company, more recently analyzed SiliVaccine. It announced Tuesday that SiliVaccine’s antivirus engine code belongs to Trend Micro, a threat intelligence firm headquartered in Japan that specializes in cloud computing.

Trend Micro confirmed its developers created the code over a decade ago. “Trend Micro has never done business in or with North Korea,” the company said. “We are confident that any such usage of the module is entirely unlicensed and illegal, and we have seen no evidence that source code was involved.”

Trend Micro said it was confident the alleged theft of the module did not pose any risk to its customers.

What’s more, the malware SiliVaccine was apparently designed to ignore is normally blocked by Trend Micro’s detection engine. Check Point said it wasn’t clear which malicious file was being ignored by the software, adding: “What is clear is that the North Korean regime does not want to alert its users to it.”

Trend Micro told Gizmodo that the signature is normally detected using heuristics, a scanning method that identifies malware based on behavior patterns, used primarily for unrecognized malware. The signature whitelisted by SiliVaccine has been used in the past to detect a number of NUWAR, TIBS, and ZHELAT variants.

Trend Micro added that while it takes a strong stance against software piracy, taking legal action against the North Korean government (DPRK) would not be very productive.

How Trend Micro’s code found its way into SiliVaccine is a mystery that’s difficult to unravel, but Check Point said there are two companies through to have authored the software, the North Korean state IT company known as PGI, and STS Tech-Service.

According to Check Point, STS Tech-Service is known to have worked with two companies based in Japan, Silver Star and Magnolia, which have previously cooperated with a North Korean research entity known as the Korean Computer Center.

The file received by Williams is also said to have contained malware affiliated with JAKU, which is used to construct botnets and has reportedly been used to target and track specific individuals—namely, academics, scientists, and government employees. According to a 2016 report by the Raytheon-owned security firm Forcepoint, the individuals specifically targeted shared a common theme: North Korea.

Check Point’s investigation found that the JAKU file contained the digital signature of “Ningbo Gaoxinqu zhidian Electric Power Technology,” which is known to distribute malware, including those used by Dark Hotel, an advanced persistent threat (APT) known to selectively target travelers using hotel-provided wifi. The aim, presumably, is to gain corporate network access through the use of keylogger and backdoor malware.

The JAKU malware was not found combined with SiliVaccine, Check Point said, “but could have been included in the zip file as a way to target journalists such as Mr. Williams.”

Tech

via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com

May 1, 2018 at 08:06AM

Woman Demonstrates ‘Hologram Generator’ At Tech Convention

Woman Demonstrates ‘Hologram Generator’ At Tech Convention

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This is a video of a woman demonstrating a spinning ‘hologram generator’ at a recent tech convention. Obviously, it doesn’t actually project holograms, just 3-D looking graphics on two quickly spinning blades (previously: a similar device that people in the comments really wanted to make clear is not actually projecting holograms). Still, cool to watch. Although I wish whoever filmed it would have had the foresight to bring an actual high-res camera or phone to capture the action instead of the loaded baked potato they used instead.

Keep going for two versions of the video in case you think one might have higher resolution and like being disappointed while I watch Back To The Future II.

Thanks to zootghost, who agrees the future is always just a split-second away.

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Tech

via Geekologie – Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome http://geekologie.com/

April 30, 2018 at 11:16AM

‘PUBG’ hackers arrested and fined in China for selling game cheats

‘PUBG’ hackers arrested and fined in China for selling game cheats

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Timothy J. Seppala/Engadget

Combatting hacking and cheating in online games has taken a serious turn for PlayerUknown’s Battlegrounds developer Bluehole/PubgCorp. Over the weekend it was revealed that Chinese authorities arrested some 15 people for their roles in making and selling cheats for the online shooter, and the offending parties have been fined over $4.5 million (30m yuan). What’s more, this doesn’t sound like it’ll be an isolated incident: the BBC writes that more arrests are expected as the investigation goes on.

More than just giving shady players an unfair advantage, the software was apparently mining users’ computers for login information and personal data. Bluehole has a vested interest in keeping PUBG as level a playing field as possible: If players leave because the game is overrun with hackers, the single-game company will go out of business. Nipping this in the bud sends a clear message that nefarious deeds won’t be tolerated and will be punished to the furthest extent of the law. And you thought an IP ban was the end of the world…

Tech

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

April 30, 2018 at 12:33PM