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From bots to bullying to fake-news conspiracy theories Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2GuYU96"

It’s probably not a stretch to say that the droids of Star Wars , like R2-D2 or C-3P0, are some of the most famous robots in science fiction. But how feasible are these iconic droids in real life? Robin R. Murphy, a researcher at Texas A&M University, looked at how realistic some of the Star Wars robots are. In a study published today in the journal Science Robotics , she concluded that while having an intelligent, sentient robot buddy fix your spaceship might be a little beyond today’s science, there are parts of Star Wars ’ droids that do hold up in the real world. Chief among those is how they communicate. While some droids in Star Wars talk out loud in regular English, most of the robotic characters use nonverbal communications... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2GA8A2m"

The world is getting flooded with tiny (creepy) robots that can crawl all over the place, including your clothes . The latest one, created by scientists at Harvard University, uses artificial scaly skins to move forward — kind of like a snake. The soft robot is just a silicone rubber tube. But what’s special about it is its skin — a thin, stretchable plastic sheet that’s been cut with a laser. The cuts, in the shape of triangles or circles, resemble the scales on the skin of snakes. When air is pumped into the tube, the robot expands and contracts, allowing the scales to pop up, anchor against the surface, and pull the robot forward. In a study published today in Science Robotics , scientists showed that the artificial snakeskins work... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2GuWGGE"

Last week, Google’s Area 120 division announced that it’s building a new app that would add Smart Reply features to a number of popular messaging apps , such as Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Hangouts. This week, Android Police surfaced an APK so you can download and try Reply on Android devices right now. Note, however, that it’s just a beta, so try it at your own risk. In my initial testing, the app does work as promised, though it is a little less contextual than Gmail’s version of the feature . When you set up the app, you can add different modes such as “Vacation responder” or “Urgent sound” so the app can detect tones from incoming messages and know how to respond to them. Based on your phone accelerometer, Reply can also tell if... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2ogtKvo"

Facebook has dealt with some criticism over the unpaid use of licensed music in videos on the company's various platforms like Instagram. Back in September of last year, it was reported that the social network was paying out "hundreds of millions of dollars" to labels to clear songs for this kind of use. The company also made deals with Sony and Universal to let you use the publishers' respective catalogs within uploaded videos. Now, according to a report at TechCrunch , Facebook signed a deal with licensing group ICE Services to allow around 31 million musical works from the UK, Sweden and Germany to grace the home movies you share on Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and Oculus. The deal doesn't cover WhatsApp, as the licensing company thinks of it as a simple one-to-one app. "We understand that WhatsApp is currently used as a pure communication tool akin to private email / messaging," a spokesperson for ICE told TechCrunch . "This will be kep...

The Eurasian Economic Commission approved two mysterious devices for Apple this week, which could be new, yet unseen iPads, as spotted by the French outlet Consomac . It’s the first time the EEC, which executes business decisions for the Eurasian Union, has approved Apple’s devices, so it’s unclear what devices those model numbers indicate. Apple is also going to bring several iPad and iPhone devices into Eastern European countries and Russia, with the legislators’ approval. These iPad and iPhone models have “CC” and “AA” prefixes in front of their numbers, which is unusual. We know very little about the two mystery iPads and what we can piece together is just speculation. In January, a developer found references to an “iPad_Modern” in... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2BHghV1"

Intel is attempting to patch Spectre again today with the rollout of patches for Kaby Lake-, Coffee Lake-, and Skylake-based platforms. The updates will cover the company’s sixth, seventh, and eighth-generation Intel Core product lines, as well as the X-series processor family. The Xeon Scalable and Intel Xeon D processors for data center systems will also be protected. The updates will be issued through OEM firmware pushes. Intel previously issued a patch to address Spectre, but then had to tell users to stop deploying the fix because it sometimes caused computers to spontaneously reboot. At the time, executive vice president Navin Shenoy recommended users skip the patches until a better version could be deployed, which appears to be... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EKezoM"

Twitter is announcing major limits on how users and apps can automate tweets, in order to combat spam and political propaganda bots. Developers are now banned from using any system that simultaneously posts “identical or substantially similar” tweets from multiple accounts at once, or makes actions like liking, retweeting, and following across multiple accounts at once. Twitter will remove these options from its own TweetDeck app, and third-party developers have until March 23rd to comply. Twitter says these actions are “an important step in ensuring we stay ahead of malicious activity targeting the crucial conversations taking place on Twitter — including elections in the United States and around the world.” It alluded to the plan last... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2CCmVIT"

Google announced the launch of Android Enterprise Recommnded today, a business-focused certification program to convince more companies to trust and rely on certain Android smartphones that meet a new set of requirements. Because of the scale of Android, the number of handsets out in the wild, and the lack of consistency when it comes to security and operating system updates, Google has found it difficult to ensure companies. This program is designed to green light a handful of devices for corporate use. The initial list of devices that meet Google’s new requirements naturally includes its own Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL. The list also includes the BlackBerry KeyOne and Motion, Huawei Mate 10 and P10 lines, LG V30 and G6,... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EHaWzG"

Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to the next four films from the Duplass Brothers, Jay and Mark. The indie filmmaker duo's credits include Creep and Jeff Who Lives at Home . The deal covers the brothers' upcoming untitled film starring Ray Romano, which will be released later this year, reports Variety . The Duplass Brothers' relationship with the streaming service goes back to their first film in 2005, The Puffy Chair . It was the first feature film acquired by Netflix, and Red Envelope Entertainment co-distributed the movie. "Turns out when you make films for Netflix, millions of people all over the world watch them. This is not a terrible thing for an independent filmmaker," the Duplass Brothers told Variety . "As Netflix continues to grow and develop new ways to reach viewers, we couldn't be more thrilled to grow our partnership." Source: Variety via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2EHrg3w"

A newly published attack let researchers take over Tinder accounts with just a user’s phone number, according to a new report by Appsecure. Tinder has changed its login system to protect against the attack and there’s no evidence it was exploited before the patch. Still, it’s a reminder of how fragile many login systems still are, and how powerful even basic vulnerabilities can be when chained together. The attack worked by exploiting two separate vulnerabilities: one in Tinder and another in Facebook’s Account Kit system, which Tinder uses to manage logins. The Account Kit vulnerability exposed users’ access tokens (also called an “aks” token), making them accessible through a simple API request with an associated phone number. That... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2CBK5PQ"

Bluetooth 5.0 and good battery life aren’t enough to make up for a mushy experience elsewhere Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2CCgXrt"

Qualcomm announced a Wi-Fi chip for phones and tablets today that’s compatible with the forthcoming generation of Wi-Fi. The company says it’s the first to deliver 802.11ax features to manufacturers and the first to support WPA3 encryption, which protects user passwords and privacy. The 802.11ax generation of Wi-Fi, which is supposed to begin seeing mass adoption next year , will deliver higher network throughput and use less power compared to the previous generation, 802.11ac. Qualcomm’s new chip gives phone and computer makers the option to start building the tech into their new products. It’s called the Atheros WCN3998, and manufacturers are supposed to start getting access in the next few months. Qualcomm’s chips support older... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2CahENd"

The Overwatch League is blowing up and Twitch wants to make some extra money off its exclusive streaming partnership . To encourage viewership, you'll be able to earn Overwatch League Tokens (what you use to buy League skins). You'll pick up one token per live map finish, and a "percentage" of viewers of the "conclusion of the final map" during a live 'cast will randomly win 100 tokens. If you're keeping track at home, that's enough tokens to buy a single skin (around $5). So, you'll earn roughly 3 - 4 tokens per every hour you watch. If one team is getting its ass handed to it, the time investment will be much lower, of course. You'll have to link your Battle.net account with the Twitch, MLG or OverwatchLeague websites first, but regardless of where you play, console or PC, you'll be able to earn Tokens. Naturally, Twitch has special for-pay emotes ( Cheers and Bits ) on tap that will unlock time-exclusive skins and team-branded...

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The Nest Cam IQ is the smartest camera in the company's security-oriented lineup, and now it's even smarter. Today, Nest announced that the Cam IQ natively supports Google Assistant, thanks to an over-the-air update. It's important to note, though, that this is only for the indoor version of the Cam IQ. Once devices have received the update, they can perform the same tasks as any other tech with Google Assistant on board. It can perform basic Google searches, tell you about the temperature and weather, add appointments to your calendar and more. Users can also control other Nest devices in their home through the Nest Cam IQ. Nest is also tweaking its subscription service tiers. Now, subscribers to Nest Aware will have the option of a $5/month plan for five days of cloud storage. Current plans include $10 for 10 days and $30 for 30 days of 24/7 cloud video recording. Nest also claims to have made its Nest Aware alerts more intelligent; the camera can now differentiate b...