Geek News

The US Treasury Department has instituted a new set of sanctions against five entities and 19 individuals tied to Russian hacking and influence operations. The sanctions target many of the same Internet Research Agency employees charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in February , as well as various members of Russian intelligence. US persons and corporations are forbidden from doing business with anyone designated by the sanctions, cutting targets off from much of the world’s financial infrastructure. “The Administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in U.S. elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” said Treasury... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2pg5ute"

Microsoft is introducing a new bug bounty reward for the “speculative execution” CPU vulnerabilities that were disclosed recently. The software giant is offering up to $250,000 for bugs that are similar to the Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws . Microsoft’s bounty will run until the end of the year, and it’s clearly designed to discover additional flaws as researchers begin to look at these types of vulnerabilities in processor designs. “Speculative execution is truly a new class of vulnerabilities,” says Phillip Misner , a security group manager at Microsoft. “We expect that research is already underway exploring new attack methods.” Microsoft wants to encourage security researchers to responsibly disclose any potential CPU flaws, and up to... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2FSnwMx"

Anker has a new line of wireless chargers that it’s calling the PowerWave series , via MobileScout . The new chargers are designed to work specifically with Apple’s iPhone X and iPhone 8 smartphones and charge at the Apple-specified 7.5-watt spec for faster wireless charging on iPhones. That said, the new chargers can also charge at up to 10 watts, should you have a phone (like Samsung’s Galaxy S9) that supports a faster wireless charging speed. The new PowerWave chargers bear a striking resemblance to the company’s existing PowerPort chargers, which also come in stand and flat styles, although those are black, not white, only charge at 5 watts, and don’t include a wall plug. But aside from the updated internals, the PowerWave chargers... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2FT04i2"

Science Very little—even if it's very big. Scientists used to think brain-to-body ratio revealed intelligence. Plot twist: it doesn't. Otherwise, tree shrews and ants would rule the world. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2tNxqtX"

It’s a tale as old as time. Inspired by a famous manga about basketball, a group of engineers from Toyota worked together in their free hours to build a robot capable of shooting perfect free throws. Eventually, after perfecting their mechanical creation, they challenged professional human players and beat them shot for shot. That’s the story reported by Japanese news agency Asahi Shimbun anyway, and the video evidence (above and below) certainly bears it out. Although, exactly what technology is powering this free throw-shooting bot is unclear. Asahi Shimbun says AI was used to teach the robot how to shoot, but the video evidence makes the bot look pretty unsophisticated. It moves about on wheels and just repeats the same motions again... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2pfCrWM"

Intel is revealing today that the company is introducing hardware protections against the Spectre CPU flaw that was discovered last year. While the Meltdown vulnerability will continue to be addressed through software updates, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich says the company has “redesigned parts of the processor to introduce new levels of protection through partitioning” that will protect against the Spectre variants. Intel’s next-generation Xeon processors (Cascade Lake) will include the new partitioning, alongside 8th generation Intel Core processors that ship in the second half of 2018. The partitioning will work as an extra protective wall between regular applications and the user privilege levels to deter vulnerabilities like Spectre.... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2tR2zN2"

Nest just announced a new $39 Temperature Sensor that works in tandem with the company’s smart thermostats to keep particular rooms in your home at the ideal temperature. The device is scheduled to ship in April, and there’s also a $99 three-pack available for preorder. To use it, you’ll need the latest-generation Nest Learning Thermostat or the Nest Thermostat E; the Temperature Sensor doesn’t work with first-get or second-gen Nest thermostats. Setting up the Temperature Sensor is pretty simple. You put it on a wall or shelf, add it to your Nest system in the Nest app, and choose the temperature you want for the room it’s in. If you’ve got multiple sensors around the house, you can tell Nest which one to prioritize at a certain time of... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2pgdgDs"

The popular language-learning app Duolingo is adding courses for one of the most famous made-up languages of all time: Star Trek ’s Klingon, via Engadget . The new course has been in progress on Duolingo’s “Incubator” site for the last couple of years, and it has now finally launched on the web version of Duolingo (with iOS and Android availability coming later). The language was first invented by Marc Okrand for use in the Star Trek films and TV shows, although Okrand would later go on to develop it into a full, working language. The Duolingo course was created by a team of volunteers fluent in the constructed language, although it is officially licensed by CBS. There were apparently a few oddities of the Klingon language that needed to... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2tTbddY"

Internet service providers in Bali will turn off mobile internet for 24 hours on March 17th to mark Nyepi, or New Year, on the Balinese calendar according to multiple media outlets . Authorities requested the companies switch off services for Nyepi, a Hindu holiday also known as the Day of Silence, which is a sacred day for reflection. The shutdown isn’t total, though. Internet access will still be available at places like hotels, and security, aviation, and disaster agencies. Hospitals will still have connectivity as well. The Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association is still considering whether or not to also shut down home internet connections. The internet shutdown for Nyepi will be a first in the Indonesian island’s history,... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2FL6Zq6"

DIY With apps, it can translate text, identify stars, and more. The camera in your phone is incredibly versatile. In addition to creating Instagram-worthy selfies, here are some extra feats it can perform. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2DtGOTd"

Microsoft shipped its first video game in 1981, appropriately named Microsoft Adventure . It was an MS-DOS game that booted directly from a floppy disk, and set the stage for Microsoft’s adventures in gaming. A lot has changed over the past 37 years, and when you think of Microsoft’s efforts in gaming these days you’ll immediately think of Xbox. It’s fair to say a lot is about to change over the next few decades too, and Microsoft is getting ready. Today, the software giant is unveiling a new gaming cloud division that’s ready for a future where consoles and gaming itself are very different to today. Microsoft has been building up to this move for a while. The company has been mysteriously acquiring gaming-related companies over the past... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2FZdb1r"

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute and Northeastern University may have figured out how to beat ad discrimination on Facebook once and for all. After a string of alarming ProPublica stories , Facebook has had trouble keeping advertisers from targeting ads to specific races, potentially violating discrimination laws around housing and employment. But the Planck institute team has a new idea for how to approach the problem, judging an ad based on the overall users targeted instead of the inputs used to achieve that target. The researchers laid out how such a system might work in a paper last month , the first step in a project that could rewrite the way ads are targeted online. But with the basic idea laid out, the team has... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2DucNlZ"

China is where virtually all smartphones are produced, but chances are if you’re in North America, you’re not familiar with any Chinese smartphone brands. Huawei, OnePlus, and Xiaomi are three companies producing some interesting handsets, with some equally interesting ideas on how the software on a smartphone should look and behave. OnePlus has been selling phones in the US for a few years, and it builds devices targeted towards an enthusiast audience, with high-end specs and simple software tweaks. Its version of Android doesn’t stray far from what you might find on a Google Pixel phone. On the other end of the spectrum is Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 2, which has a completely overhauled Android that looks much closer to iOS than anything that... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2FD2rpV"

Science And we might be in for another one. We’ve all spent the last several weeks reading nonstop nor’easter news, as three major winter storms bombarded the East with wet snow and power outages. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2FL5OqI"

Uber is launching its urban planning tool Uber Movement in London. The software, which the ride-hailing company first unveiled last year , gives city planners and members of the public access to anonymous data from millions of Uber trips in specific cities. This means that anyone can use Movement to compare current and past travel conditions, finding out how long specific journeys are likely to take at different times of the year. Uber Movement is part of the company’s wider plan to mollify regulators by sharing valuable data with them after years of abrasive business tactics. This is particularly relevant in London, where the local transport agency, TfL, announced it would not renew Uber’s license to operate last September . Uber is... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2pgagqz"

It’s now become practically a tradition for any unannounced phone worthy of even moderate interest that it will leak out in pictures, specs, price, release date, and eventually on video before it becomes official. Such is the case with the Huawei P20 Lite, the most affordable of Huawei’s upcoming P20 family of devices , which today stars in a hands-on video from inside an Italian phone store, as first spotted by Android World Italy . The video shows the P20 Lite to have a highly reflective glass back, like almost every phone on the market this year , and a notch at the top of the screen, like almost every phone on the market this year . A rear fingerprint sensor and a dual-camera system are also par for the course, though the Lite’s more... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2DtEPOI"