TechAmok News Archive
GTX 1070 Ti reveal set for October 26 - [hardware]
04:48 PM EDT - Sep,29 2017 - post a comment Looks like that the GTX 1070 Ti from Nvidia will make its debut on October 26 with in-store availability slated for the following week on November 2. Expect Nvidia to position it between the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 in the $400 range. AMD's Radeon RX Vega was positioned for this price slot and it looks like the GTX 1070 Ti is the green team's response to maintain market dominance. Although the most recent GPU mining craze has ended, it appears that the GTX 1070 Ti will still be up for the task. The card will feature GDDR5 memory as opposed to GDDR5X which, while not as fast, is better suited for mining and will help keep overall costs down. Based on the hardware specs, it's easier to think of the GTX 1070 Ti as a lite version of the GTX 1080 instead of a beefed up GTX 1070. It will have 2,432 CUDA cores and 152 TMUs, only slightly below the GTX 1080's 2,560 CUDA cores and 160 TMUs. The card will contain the same 8GB of RAM on a 256-bit bus as both of its neighbors but will maintain the 1,607MHz base clock speed of the GTX 1080. The card's overall compute power was benchmarked at 7.8 TFLOPS, a considerable bump over the GTX 1070's 5.8 TFLOPS and not far behind the GTX 1080's 8.2 TFLOPS. |
Making Life Multiplanetary - [technology]
04:41 PM EDT - Sep,29 2017 - post a comment This week at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, SpaceX CEO and Lead Designer Elon Musk will provide an update to his 2016 presentation regarding the long-term technical challenges that need to be solved to support the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars.
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Google and Levi's $350 Smart Jacket Can Only Be Washed 10 Times - [gadgets]
02:15 PM EDT - Sep,28 2017 - post a comment Google and Levi Strauss have begun selling their so-called smart jacket: "Jacquard Threads" woven into the cuff and wirelessly connected to your mobile phone using tiny electronics embedded inside the sleeve and a flexible snap tag allow for notifications with light and haptic feedback, and wearers can assign gestures to invoke different digital "abilities" such as playing and stopping music. Unfortunately, the fabric can ?a target="_new" href="http://sfist.com/2017/09/26/you_can_only_wash_google_and_levis.php">only survive being washed 10 times.
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Google Assistant Comes to the NVIDIA Shield TV - [briefly]
01:23 PM EDT - Sep,28 2017 - post a comment The Shield TV is the first Android TV device to get the full Google Assistant experience, which allows for hands-free control of media playback, voice search, and smart home control: while it sounds similar to the Google Voice Search that was available in prior versions, it has been enhanced with a cleaner visual design and more capabilities. NVIDIA says that apart from a handful of functions, such as timers, alarms, and phone calls, the Assistant on the Shield TV can do everything that it can do on the Google Home.
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Leaked Slides Hint at "Ultra Pixel" Phone by Google - [mobile]
10:13 AM EDT - Sep,28 2017 - post a comment Does Google have an iPhone X competitor up its sleeve? Arun Maini, of YouTube's Mrwhosetheboss channel, received a couple of images and videos from an anonymous source that seem to indicate that Google is working on something called the "Ultra pixel." The source seems to have secretly caught images from a slide presentation being worked on inside a Google office.
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Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.9.3 - [software]
04:10 AM EDT - Sep,28 2017 - post a comment AMD just released their latest Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.9.3 drivers to the public. The new drivers include support for new titles like Total War: WARHAMMER II and Forza Motorsport 7, while also bringing several bug fixes for Radeon RX Vega and RX 580 graphics cards. There are also several known issues for Radeon WattMan, games profiles, Overwatch, GPU scaling, and many more.
Support For:
Total War: WARHAMMER II: Radeon Chill profile added,
Multi GPU support enabled
Forza Motorsport 7
Fixed Issues
The drop-down option to enable Enhanced Sync may be
missing in Radeon Settings on Radeon RX Vega Series Graphics Products.
ReLive may cause higher idle clocks on the secondary
Radeon RX Vega Series Graphics Product in a multi-GPU configuration on
certain AMD Ryzen based systems.
Negative scaling in F1 2017 may be observed on
Radeon RX 580 Series Graphics products in multi-GPU system
configurations.
Known Issues
Unstable Radeon WattMan profiles may not be restored
to default after a system hang. A workaround is to launch Radeon
WattMan after reboot and restore settings to default.
Wattman may fail to apply user adjusted voltage
values on certain configurations.
Radeon Settings may not populate game profiles after
Radeon Software's initial install.
Overwatch may experience a random or intermittent
hang on some system configurations.
GPU Scaling may fail to work on some DirectX11
applications.
Secondary displays may show corruption or green
screen when the display/system enters sleep or hibernate with content
playing.
Bezel compensation in mixed mode Eyefinity cannot be
applied.
When recording with Radeon ReLive on Radeon RX Vega
Series graphics products GPU usage and clocks may remain in high states
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Internet Explorer bug can reveal your browsing habits - [security]
06:22 PM EDT - Sep,27 2017 - post a comment A new vulnerability has been discovered within Microsoft's legacy web browser, Internet Explorer, that can allow attackers and unwanted parties to record a user's browsing habits. According to a recent blog post by Michael Caballero, a web security expert, the bug occurs when a page is loaded with the malicious HTML object tag in combination with the compatibility mode meta tag. The malicious HTML object tags can be injected through hacked websites or ads that allow the addition of custom HTML or JavaScript code. As a result, when a piece of code is run, the malicious tag will inadvertently capture information initially only available in the main browser window. This will now allow attackers and other interested parties to hijack the host user's data, which can be used for other malicious activities or the harvesting of user data for advertising purposes. Caballero has made it possible for anyone to test out the bug, which obviously will only work when ran through Internet Explorer.
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Apple Pushes iOS 11.0.1 to Fix Bugs - [briefly]
01:33 PM EDT - Sep,27 2017 - post a comment Apple has released iOS 11.0.1 a week after that platform's first public debut in a move to stamp out early bugs. The new operating system is rife with small glitches and Apple says this release helps smooth some of them over on the iPhone and iPad. According to Ars Technica, one of the most significant bugs repaired in the patch impacted email syncing from certain Microsoft Exchange-based email services. iOS 11.0.1 is free to download from Apple. |
Microsoft Is Releasing Windows 10 S for the Enterprise - [briefly]
09:00 AM EDT - Sep,27 2017 - post a comment Microsoft has just announced a range of Windows 10 S PCs aimed at businesses, or more specifically, frontline workers: it's part of their plan to target the broader enterprise, and that effort will continue in Spring 2018 when the company releases a new version of W10 S called Windows 10 Enterprise in S mode. Users will be able to upgrade from Enterprise in S mode to Enterprise, and the differences between the two Windows 10 S SKUs should be the same as the differences between Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise.
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Project CARS 2 running in 8K, Ultra, 60fps - [gaming]
08:47 AM EDT - Sep,27 2017 - post a comment DudeRandom84 has shared a new video, showing Project CARS 2 running in glorious 8K. DudeRandom84 has used two NVIDIA GeForce GTX1080Ti graphics cards and the latest version of the NVIDIA GeForce drivers. And as we can see, this combo can handle the game with more than 60fps on Ultra settings in sunny days.
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Bill Gates Now Uses an Android Phone - [briefly]
09:41 AM EDT - Sep,26 2017 - post a comment In a recent interview with Fox News, Bill Gates revealed that he has switched to an Android-based smartphone: "Recently, I actually did switch to an Android phone with a lot of Microsoft software." It isn't too surprising that he chose Android over iOS, as the former offers more Windows-like customization features. It's not clear what Android phone it is that Gates uses as his daily driver, but one could assume that it's the Microsoft Edition of the Samsung Galaxy S8 that Microsoft launched this year. That phone has long been available at Microsoft's many retail stores and ships with lots of Microsoft software pre-loaded. Gates' choosing of the Android ecosystem seems to suit him well, considering Android essentially cloned the Microsoft model he helped create.
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Intel unveils its 8th gen Core processors for desktop - [hardware]
06:30 PM EDT - Sep,25 2017 - post a comment Intel has issued an official press release in which the company claimed that its new 8th generation desktop CPUs will be up to 25% faster than its 7th generation desktop CPUs in multi-threaded games. The new family of Core processors will initially have six SKUs; three of them are unlocked and can be overclocked with a supported motherboard. The top of the line i7-8700K and i7-8700 have six cores and 12 threads. The i5 variants: i5-8400 and i5-8600k also have six cores but lack hyper-threading. While lower-end i3 CPUs have usually featured hyper-threading, this time around, Intel has decided to ditch it in favor of the updated core counts. The new processors are based on Intel's 14nm FinFET process introduced with Skylake. Compared to previous generations, the new 14nm++ architecture provide better boost clocks and multitasking capability. However, the updated core counts come with a penalty: base clocks are marginally lower compared to Kaby Lake CPUs. Although according to Intel, this shouldn't be an issue; the company claims Coffee Lake CPUs will perform 25 percent better in FPS games than their predecessors. The additional physical cores and threads should also perform better under multithreaded workloads. Intel is also launching a new chipset with its latest processors called Z370. This will introduce a better power delivery system for the new CPUs; native support for 2666 MHz DDR4 RAM and Thunderbolt 3 is also on board. Intel says its new platform will not be backward compatible with older Skylake and Kaby Lake, so people who want to upgrade to Coffee Lake, will have to buy new motherboards. With Coffee Lake, Intel is finally bringing six-core processors to mainstream desktop PCs. Whether this is a proper reply to AMD's recent success, time will tell.
It appears that the first third-party gaming benchmarks have been leaked online. Expreview has tested Intel's latest CPU with both default and overclock frequencies. |
Yakuza Kiwami 2 - New Gameplay Video - [gaming]
03:13 AM EDT - Sep,25 2017 - post a comment Today Sega hosted a stage presentation at Tokyo Game Show, showcasing some new gameplay of the upcoming Yakuza 2 remake Yakuza Kiwami 2. Yakuza Kiwami 2 will launch in Japan on December 7th, exclusively for PS4. No western release has been announced, for the moment.
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Asus Brings ZenFone 4 Lineup to U.S. - [mobile]
03:13 AM EDT - Sep,25 2017 - post a comment Asus recently announced plans to bring its ZenFone 4 series of phones to the U.S. unlocked market this year. The lineup includes the flagship ZenFone 4 Pro, the mid-range ZenFone 4, and two versions of the ZenFone 4 Max, both of which have large batteries but otherwise lower-end specs. The ZenFone 4 Max 5.5" is available now, while the rest will go on sale in the coming months. All have basic support for AT&T and T-Mobile LTE networks, including bands 2, 4, 5, and 12.
- ZenFone 4 Max 5.2": Has a 4,100 mAh battery, 5.2-inch HD LCD display, Snapdragon 425 processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of storage. Also includes a fingerprint reader, memory card slot, 13 megapixel camera, 5-megapixel wide-angle camera, and 8-megapixel front camera.
- ZenFone 4 Max 5.5": Has a 5,000 mAh battery, 5.5-inch HD LCD display, Snapdragon 430 processor, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, and a metal body. Other features are the same as the 5.2" version. (shown)
- ZenFone 4: Has a 3,300 mAh battery, 5.5-inch Full-HD LCD display, Snapdragon 630 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and a glass back. It also sports NFC, USB-C, Cat. 12 LTE, and a better main camera with OIS and 4K video recording. Like the rest of the series, it has dual rear cameras and the touch screen works through gloves.
- ZenFone 4 Pro: A flagship-class phone with all of the features of the ZenFone 4, plus a Snapdragon 835 processor, 6 GB of RAM, an AMOLED screen, 3,600 mAh battery, fast charging, auto-focus front camera, 16-megapixel telephoto camera (instead of a wide-angle camera), laser focusing, and better support for AT&T's LTE network with bands 29 and 30.
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How Much Money Can Pirate Bay Make from a Cryptocoin Miner? - [briefly]
03:12 AM EDT - Sep,25 2017 - post a comment How much money can a site like The Pirate Bay make through mining? TorrentFreak did some back-of-the-envelope calculations, starting with the site's visitor numbers (roughly 315 million visits per month) and ultimately found that TPB could get $12,000 a month based on the miner used, Coinhive, which pays out 0.00015 XMR per 1M hashes.
SimilarWeb estimates that The Pirate Bay has roughly 315 million visits per month. On average, users spend five minutes on the site per "visit". While we have reason to believe that this underestimates the site's popularity, we'll use it as an illustration.
We spoke to Coinhive and they estimate that a user with a mid-range laptop would have a hashrate of 30 h/s.
In Pirate Bay's case this would translate to 30 hashes * 300 seconds * 315M visits = 2,835,000M hashes per month. If the miner is throttled at 30% this would drop to 850,000M hashes.
If Coinhive pays out 0.00015 XMR per million hashes, TPB would get 127.5 XMR per month, which is roughly $12,000 at the moment. Since the miner doesn't appear on all pages and because some may actively block it, this number will drop a bit further.
Keep in mind that this is just an illustration using several estimated variables which may vary greatly over time. Still, it gives a broad idea of the potential.
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Tungsten Carbide Is Basically Indestructible - [briefly]
04:54 PM EDT - Sep,23 2017 - post a comment Tungsten is a super element. It's incredibly dense, it has the highest melting point of any known element (nearly 6,200 degrees Fahrenheit), and, when combined with carbon to form tungsten carbide, it's nearly indestructible!
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Synthetic Muscle Breakthrough Could Lead to "Lifelike" Robots - [technology]
03:19 PM EDT - Sep,23 2017 - post a comment Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a 3D-printed synthetic tissue that can act as active muscle. The material, which can push, pull, bend, and twist (thanks to its use of silicone rubber and ethanol-dispensing micro-bubbles) is also capable of carrying 1,000 times its own weight!
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iPhone 8 Plus unboxing and hands on - [mobile]
12:23 PM EDT - Sep,23 2017 - post a comment While the design is very similar to its predecessor, it does contain a few new features. Perhaps the most important is the new A11 Bionic chip, which early benchmarks show is much more powerful than the competition. The device also captures 4K video at 60fps, something that isn't just unavailable on competing handsets, but isn't even supported by Qualcomm's latest chipset, the Snapdragon 835.
Another thing that folks will be looking forward to is wireless charging, something that's been on Android and Windows phones for years. Apple stuck with the Qi standard, so you can use any old wireless charger that you have lying around.
Upon opening up the box, you'll find that there is no fast charger included, despite the device supporting it. You'll need to grab some extra gear from Apple for that.
The iPhone 8 supposedly has a MacBook Pro Intel-level processor inside that "leaves the Samsung S8 for dead": on the multicore portion of one test, the iPhone 8 hit 10,170, edging out the score from the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro with a 7th-generation Core i5 processor (9,213). They say that the impressive performance won't necessarily make a massive difference in everyday use when it comes to simple tasks like opening apps, however. |
Apple won't allow 4K iTunes downloads - [briefly]
12:21 PM EDT - Sep,23 2017 - post a comment Apple announced its new 4K compatible Apple TV during its press event last week. During its event, it also made mention that it would be upgrading all HD content purchased by customers to 4K. Now that the new media box has gotten into the hands of the masses, it appears that the firm is imposing some limitations on its 4K content that is either purchased or rented from the iTunes Store. The chaps at MacRumors have discovered through a support document that Apple will allow 4K content to be streamed, along with Dolby Vision and HDR versions, but won't allow 4K to be downloaded, as of this time. The firm is very clear stating that:
You can download a local copy of an HD movie, and you might be able to download HDR and Dolby Vision versions, but you can't download a 4K version.
It's unknown at the moment why this limitation exists, but it could have to do with the smaller storage capacities of the Apple TV 4K that currently comes in a 32GB and 64GB variant. |
Outlast Deluxe Edition for Free Now - [gaming]
06:51 AM EDT - Sep,22 2017 - post a comment The Humble Store is now offering Outlast Deluxe Edition for free, a 100% discount on this package that bundles Outlast with the Whistleblower DLC for the Windows, macOS, and Linux survival/horror game. The deal is for a limited time, but for those who jump on it, the package will be theirs to keep.
In the remote mountains of Colorado, horrors wait inside Mount Massive Asylum. A long-abandoned home for the mentally ill, recently re-opened by the 'research and charity' branch of the transnational Murkoff Corporation, the asylum has been operating in strict secrecy… until now.
Acting on a tip from an anonymous source, independent journalist Miles Upshur breaks into the facility, and what he discovers walks a terrifying line between science and religion, nature and something else entirely. Once inside, his only hope of escape lies with the terrible truth at the heart of Mount Massive.
Outlast is a true survival horror experience which aims to show that the most terrifying monsters of all come from the human mind.
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Radeon Software Crimson ReLive 17.9.2 - [software]
06:49 AM EDT - Sep,22 2017 - post a comment AMD has released their latest Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.9.2 drivers, with a surprise feature: 2-way multi-GPU support for Radeon RX Vega graphics card.
Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.9.2 Highlights
Support For
Radeon RX Vega Series
Up to 2x Multi GPU support
Project CARS 2
Multi GPU profile support added
Fixed Issues
Hearts of Iron IV may experience a system hang when
the campaign scenario is launched.
Radeon Software may display an erroneous "1603
Error" after installing Radeon Software. This error will not affect
your Radeon Software installation.
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iOS 11 Muddies WiFi and Bluetooth Controls - [briefly]
05:42 PM EDT - Sep,21 2017 - post a comment Apple's new mobile operating system, iOS 11, introduces some counterintuitive behaviors with respect to Control Center and the wireless radios. Tapping the WiFi or Bluetooth toggles in Control Center does not actually turn off these radios. "In iOS 11 and later, when you toggle the WiFi or Bluetooth buttons in Control Center, your device will immediately disconnect from WiFi and Bluetooth accessories. Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will continue to be available," explained Apple in its documentation for iOS 11. In earlier versions of iOS, tapping these toggles did in fact turn the radios off. iPhone and iPad owners who wish to completely turn off their Bluetooth and WiFi radios will need to do so from the settings menu. According to Apple, disabled WiFi radios will wake back up under certain circumstances: when toggled on, when users encounter a new WiFi network, when the device is restarted, or automatically at 5am. Turning WiFi and Bluetooth off is often viewed as a good security practice. Apple did not rationalize these changes in behavior.
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NVIDIA Releases 385.69 Game Ready WHQL Drivers - [briefly]
12:03 PM EDT - Sep,21 2017 - post a comment GeForce Game Ready 385.69 WHQL drivers are optimized for the Call of Duty: WWII open beta, EVE: Valkyrie - Warzone, FIFA 18, Forza Motorsport 7, From Other Suns' open beta, Project Cars 2, Raiders of the Broken Planet, Star Wars Battlefront 2's open beta, and Total War: WARHAMMER II. To download and install, simply fire up GeForce Experience and click the "Drivers" tab.
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The CCleaner Malware Fiasco Targeted at Least 20 Specific Tech Firms - [security]
12:02 PM EDT - Sep,21 2017 - post a comment Researchers believe that the hackers behind the CCleaner malware were bent not only on mass infections, but on targeted espionage that tried to gain access to the networks of Intel, Google, Microsoft, and other tech titans. Some have linked the hack to cyberespionage group APT17, also known as DeputyDog.
arlier this week, security firms Morphisec and Cisco revealed that CCleaner, a piece of security software distributed by Czech company Avast, had been hijacked by hackers and loaded with a backdoor that evaded the company's security checks. It wound up installed on more than 700,000 computers. On Wednesday, researchers at Cisco's Talos security division revealed that they've now analyzed the hackers' "command-and-control" server to which those malicious versions of CCleaner connected.
On that server, they found evidence that the hackers had attempted to filter their collection of backdoored victim machines to find computers inside the networks of 20 tech firms, including Intel, Google, Microsoft, Akamai, Samsung, Sony, VMware, HTC, Linksys, D-Link and Cisco itself. In about half of those cases, says Talos research manager Craig Williams, the hackers successfully found a machine they'd compromised within the company's network, and used their backdoor to infect it with another piece of malware intended to serve as a deeper foothold, one that Cisco now believes was likely intended for industrial espionage.
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TOMB RAIDER - Official Trailer #1 - [briefly]
04:41 PM EDT - Sep,20 2017 - post a comment Warner Bros. Pictures' 2018 Tomb Raider Film starring Alicia Vikander now has its very first trailer, and you can watch it right here! Tomb Raider is expected to release on March 16, 2018.
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Xbox One X Standard Edition Pre-Orders - [gaming]
04:19 PM EDT - Sep,20 2017 - post a comment If you're on the market for a brand new Xbox One X, but you missed out on the initial wave of pre-orders for the Project Scorpio Edition, it's time to get ready. American retailer GameStop reached out with a press release announcing that pre-orders for the standard edition will begin on September 20th at noon Central time. The press release also mentions that the original pre-orders for the Project Scorpio Edition were sold out in 'record time.'
PowerUp Rewards members pre-ordering the new console can get up to $200 in credit to purchase an Xbox One X by trading in their current consoles, and a few layaway bundles are also available allowing people who want to grab a few accessories on top of the console to save some bucks.
Gold: Save $120
Microsoft Xbox One Black/Silver Elite Wireless Controller
ASTRO A40 TR Headset with M80 Adapter for Xbox One
Xbox One SCUF Elite Pro Kit – Green
Microsoft Xbox Live Six-Month Subscription
2. Silver: Save $50
Xbox Wireless Black/Gold Recon Tech Controller (GameStop exclusive)
Microsoft Xbox Live Three-Month Gold Membership
Turtle Beach Xbox One XO Three Gaming Headset Black + Green
BD&A Xbox One Play & Charge Kit
CyberPower Six-Outlet & Two USB Surge Protector with White USB Charger
3. Bronze: Save $25
Microsoft Xbox One Red Wireless Controller
CyberPower Six-Outlet & Two USB Surge Protector with White USB Charger
Microsoft Xbox Live Three-Month Gold Membership
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New Wolfenstein II Gameplay Trailer - [gaming]
05:18 PM EDT - Sep,19 2017 - post a comment Bethesda Softworks and MachineGames have released a new gameplay trailer for the highly anticipated first-person shooter Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. This new trailer is entitled "No More Nazis" and gives us perhaps our best - and bloodiest - look at the combat of Wolfenstein II since it was revealed this summer at E3 2017. If you like your trailers packed full of Nazi headshots, explosions, and sex, then this new gameplay video will be right up your alley. Wolfenstein II is out next month on October 27 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC with a version coming to Nintendo Switch sometime in 2018
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Update Lets Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note8 Owners Disable Bixby Home Button - [mobile]
04:05 PM EDT - Sep,19 2017 - post a comment Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note8 smartphones can now modify the behavior of their handset's dedicated Bixby button. The hardware key, located on the left edge of the phone, automatically calls up Bixby Home with a short press or Bixby Voice with a long press. A new software update that recently hit S8, S8+, and Note8 phones adds a toggle for controlling the Bixby button. Owners of these phones can opt to disable the short press function, which launches Bixby Home. This prevents accidental presses from opening the app. A long press still calls up Bixby Voice. The Bixby button has been a point of contention with some S8, S8+, and Note8 owners who'd prefer the button handled other tasks. The update from Samsung also makes a few performance tweaks. |
Apple Releases WatchOS 4.0 for the Apple Watch - [briefly]
04:04 PM EDT - Sep,19 2017 - post a comment Apple today made watchOS 4.0 available to the Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 wearables. The platform prioritizes the heart rate monitor. Apple Watches will now notify people when it senses a high heart rate if owners are not active. The new software can also look for atrial fibrillation and provide health alerts when necessary. WatchOS 4.0 includes the new Siri watch face that contains the owner's personalized data, such as commute times, calendar appointments, reminders, photo memories, weather updates, and more. The kaleidoscope watch face changes over time, and a wider selection of Disney characters are being added as watch faces. Activity notifications will be more personalized, including goal achievements. Apple says the new workout app makes it quicker to start workouts, such as swims, hikes, and runs. WatchOS 4.0 is more compatible with gym equipment for counting reps. The music player now supports multiple playlists and a wider selection of album art for workouts when using Apple EarPods. Moreover, music functionality will be much more accessible within workout apps. Other features include a new flashlight, a blinking light for nighttime visibility, and support for other sensors, such as glucose monitors. WatchOS 4.0 is free to download from Apple. |
Apple Releases iOS 11 for iPhones and iPads - [briefly]
04:04 PM EDT - Sep,19 2017 - post a comment Apple today made new system software available to its smartphones and tablets. iPhone and iPad owners can download iOS 11, which introduces new lock screen behaviors, new control center behaviors, as well as new features for the camera, messages, maps and more. For the first time, iPhone owners will be able to use augmented reality thanks to the addition of ARKit and apps in the App Store. iOS 11 is free to download. Apple suggests users back up their devices before updating. iOS 11 is compatible with the iPhone 5SE, iPhone 6/6 Plus, 6s/6s Plus, and 7/7s Plus.
According to Apple, the peer-to-peer mobile payment function is "coming this fall with an update to iOS 11 and watchOS 4." Once installed, Apple Pay users will be able to send and receive money from friends and family quickly, easily, and securely. Payments will work through the Messages app and/or Siri. The money is funneled into the Apple Pay Cash card, which is found in Apple Wallet. The funds can be used instantly to pay for goods and services through any credit or debit card stored in Apple Wallet. Apple has held back other features in previous iOS launches so the news that Apple Pay will arrive later than iOS 11 itself isn't uncommon |
The iPhone X Needs a $25 USB Type-C Cable to Fast Charge - [mobile]
06:42 AM EDT - Sep,18 2017 - post a comment While the iPhone X is already an expensive device, prospective owners will have to pay even more for fast charging: you'll need to spend at least $74 on a special charger and a USB Type-C Lightning cable for the privilege. It all comes down to the fact that Apple's Lightning protocol doesn't support the wattage, voltage, and amperage needed to enable true fast charging when it's connected to a standard USB Type-A port on the other end of the cable.
Because the Lightning cables that Apple includes in the box with every iPhone have a USB Type-A connector on the end that plugs into the charger, they don't possess the pins needed to facilitate USB Power Delivery. Namely, the two channel configuration pins, CC1 and CC2. This is why the new iPhone models need a special cable -- one that uses USB Type-C on the charger side -- to take advantage of USB-PD 2.0 and enable fast charging.
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Rocket Bicycle World Record ǀ 333 km/h (207 mph) - [off-topic]
04:24 AM EDT - Sep,17 2017 - post a comment On November 7th of 2014, on the Circuit Paul Ricard located at Le Castellet in South of France, I have reached a speed of 333 km/h on a rocket-propelled bicycle, after only 4.8 seconds of acceleration. A velocity of more than 300 km/h on a skinny and completely stripped bicycle, this is amazing, and a bit crazy! Who thought that one day a daredevil on a bicycle, with a rocket under the saddle, could travel the quarter mile in less than 7 seconds?
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Search Party (2017) Season 2 Trailer - [briefly]
04:04 AM EDT - Sep,17 2017 - post a comment Search Party is a single-camera dark comedy about four self-absorbed twenty-somethings who become entangled in an ominous mystery when a former college acquaintance suddenly disappears.
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Intel May Launch Ice Lake 8 Core/16 Thread CPUs in Q2/2018 - [hardware]
04:43 PM EDT - Sep,16 2017 - post a comment A Eurocom representative has revealed that his company (which manufacturers high-end laptops and workstations) is updating their Tornado F5 notebook to the Z390 chipset, noting that 8C/16T CPUs will land in H2/18. These will presumably be Ice Lake chips that utilize Intel's second-generation 10nm architecture.
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Verizon Is Disconnecting 8,500 Leechers - [internet]
04:41 PM EDT - Sep,16 2017 - post a comment Verizon is booting customers over data use, including some on "unlimited" plans: the carrier has confirmed that it's disconnecting 8,500 customers in rural areas, thanks to excessive domestic data roaming on Verizon partner networks. It pays roaming fees to the partner networks for Verizon customers to use those networks, and in some cases, those fees are getting excessive. |
Bashware Security Software Bypass Attack - [security]
02:51 PM EDT - Sep,16 2017 - post a comment A New Attacking Technique called 'Bashware' can able to Bypass all Windows Based Security Software solutions by abusing the New Windows 10 Future called Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Injecting the Backdoor. WSL is Compatibility Layer for running Linux binary executable on Windows 10 based Computers that helps to Enable the bash terminal available for Windows OS users. This Flow can able to allow any Malware's to bypass the Advanced security solutions, Next Generation Anti Virus software, inspection tools, Anti-Ransomware solutions.
Presently Available security software Futures is not that much Effectively Monitoring the processes of Linux Executable's running on Windows OS. This will leads to open a backdoor to the hackers and run their Malicious code by abusing the WSL futures which allow hiding from the current intelligence that is given by the security vendors.
Bashware Technique Mainly abusing the 'Netcat' utility Futures that is used for reading and writing to network connections using TCP or UDP. Netcat has some list of Futures including port scanning, transferring files, and port listening, and also it can be used as a backdoor. In some case, Security Software like Anti-Virus is not allowed the Netcat Futures to get Executed.
By Default, 1337 port is closed because it leads to create a Backdoor and allow the Trojan services to run on the Windows Computers. Once Bashware Execute the Malware, then it will Bypass all the security solutions and it will later Enable the WSL Future. End of the Execution will Successfully open the Netcat Listener port(1337) that will helps to Attackers to Open a Backdoor. Windows Inspection Tools such as Task Manager will not Identify the Malicious Payload Process. Instead of that, it can only show the WSL Loader process.
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Stupid Android app so you can turn your phone into an iPhone X - [mobile]
12:42 PM EDT - Sep,16 2017 - post a comment A developer going by the name of damianpiwowarski on Reddit has clearly been inspired by the recent reveal of the iPhone X and its top center screen "cutout", and has subsequently made an app to turn any smartphone into an iPhone X, for those who feel like they are being left out of this seemingly new phenomenon. Upon installing the app, which is free, there's also an option to turn it into Essential's PH-1 phone for the "diehard Android fans" (also featuring a smaller, but more visible cut out) and installers can also donate, which according to the developer, does nothing but remove ads from the app. A word of warning though, as noted on the Play Store page for the app, "This app may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised". FYI, the developer is responsible for a couple of other more serious apps; Adapticons, which has been downloaded over 800 times, with an average rating of 4.1 and Navbar Apps, a Nav bar skinner for Android, downloaded over 12,000 times with a rating of 4.4.
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Google Deletes Inactive Android Backups After 2 Months - [briefly]
12:18 PM EDT - Sep,15 2017 - post a comment Google will delete Android device backups that are left inactive for two months with little or no warning. The discovery was made by a Reddit user who left a Nexus 6P backup in his Google Drive Backup folder for more than two months, only to later find it had been deleted by Google automatically. Google Support documentation appears to confirm the behavior. "Your backup will remain as long as you use your device. If you don't use your device for 2 weeks, you may see an expiration date below your backup. Example: 'Expires in 54 days.'" The maximum limit for device backups appears to be 60 days, or two months. The short expiration date on device backups is odd, given how freely Google offers online storage to its users. Google has not addressed the discovery directly. |
Downsizing (2017) - Official Trailer - [briefly]
12:16 PM EDT - Sep,15 2017 - post a comment A big world is waiting. Watch the new trailer for #Downsizing, directed by Alexander Payne and starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, and Kristen Wiig! In theatres this December.
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BlueBorne Attacks Impact Billions of Bluetooth Devices - [security]
03:57 AM EDT - Sep,15 2017 - (1 comments) IoT-focused security company Armis Labs revealed a Bluetooth-based attack that impacts billions of devices, including Android, Linux, and unpatched Windows and iOS10 or earlier devices. Along with the Bluetooth attack, which the company called "BlueBorne," Armis also revealed eight zero-day vulnerabilities that could be used to facilitate the BlueBorne attack against some devices. According to Armis Labs, BlueBorne not only affects billions of smartphones, desktops, sound systems, and medical devices, but it requires no action from users. It's also invisible to users, and worst of all, it can start spreading from device to device on its own. Because the Bluetooth process has high privileges on most operating systems, that means once BlueBorne reaches a device, it can also cause significant damage through remote code execution, man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, or by penetrating air-gapped networks that otherwise have no internet connectivity. This can make the BlueBorne attack vector useful in cyber espionage, data theft, ransomware, and even for creating large botnets out of infected IoT devices.
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Bitcoin Crashes after Chinese Exchange Says It Will Halt Trading - [briefly]
12:48 PM EDT - Sep,14 2017 - (2 comments) Bitcoin has seen its longest losing streak in more than a year after one of China's largest online exchanges said it would stop handling trades by the end of the month amid a government crackdown on cryptocurrencies: China accounts for about 23 percent of bitcoin trades and is home to many of the world's biggest bitcoin miners, but BTC has crashed as much as 35% in Chinese trading. The communist nation plans to ban trading of bitcoin and other virtual currencies on domestic exchanges, Bloomberg News reported Monday. The ban will only apply to trading of cryptocurrencies on exchanges, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is private. Authorities don't have plans to stop over-the-counter transactions, the people said. Shanghai Financial Service Office has also ordered to close down bitcoin trading platforms in the city, China Business News reported, citing an unidentified person. |
Exploit Available for Critical Apache Struts Vulnerability - [security]
03:51 PM EDT - Sep,13 2017 - post a comment Apache Struts is a free and open-source framework designed for creating modern Java web applications. The framework is reportedly used by at least 65 percent of Fortune 100 companies, and they could all be exposed to attacks due to a recently discovered security hole. Researchers at lgtm, a company that provides code analysis solutions, discovered that all versions of Apache Struts released since 2008 are affected by a severe vulnerability related to the REST communication plugin. The Apache Struts group has described the flaw, tracked as CVE-2017-9805, as a potential remote code execution issue when the REST plugin is used with the XStream handler for XML payloads.
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