Month: May 2023
VR Rhythm Game ‘Beat Saber’ Could Be Available for Apple’s AR/VR Headset
Popular virtual reality rhythm game Beat Saber could be one title that Apple is planning to promote for its upcoming AR/VR headset, according to a tweet shared by Beat Games co-founder Jaroslav Beck.
Beck today shared a tweet about June 5th, saying that the date would be “??️,” which seems to hint that a version of Beat Saber for the Apple AR/VR headset could perhaps be part of Apple’s presentation. Beat Saber for Apple’s platform is just speculation at this point, but Beck does not regularly tweet about Apple, and would seemingly have no reason to comment on the event.
June 5th is going to be??️— Jaroslav Beck (@JaroslavBeck) May 30, 2023
Rumors have suggested that Apple is already working with select game developers to help them update existing content for mixed reality, and Beat Games could be one of the companies that Apple is working with. Beat Saber is one of the most well-known virtual reality games.
Players are tasked with using arm gestures to slash beats timed to music in a futuristic virtual environment. As the game involves both dancing and movement, it has been used as an exercise tool. Apple plans to promote the headset as a fitness device in addition to a gaming and media consumption device.
Earlier this week, the founder of the company behind survival game “No Man’s Sky” tweeted an Apple emoji, which also led to speculation that No Man’s Sky will have an announcement for Apple’s platforms at WWDC. No Man’s Sky is available for several VR platforms, such as the PlayStation VR.
Apple has been hinting at the headset this week, teasing the dawn of a “new era” on Twitter and “coding new worlds” on its developer site. Multiple rumors indicate that Apple is ready to show off the AR/VR headset and the xrOS software that will run on it, and while it won’t launch until later this year, announcing in June will give developers time to create virtual reality experiences for the device.Related Roundup: AR/VR Headset
Related Forum: Apple Glasses, AR and VR
This article, “VR Rhythm Game ‘Beat Saber’ Could Be Available for Apple’s AR/VR Headset” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Popular virtual reality rhythm game Beat Saber could be one title that Apple is planning to promote for its upcoming AR/VR headset, according to a tweet shared by Beat Games co-founder Jaroslav Beck.
Beck today shared a tweet about June 5th, saying that the date would be “??️,” which seems to hint that a version of Beat Saber for the Apple AR/VR headset could perhaps be part of Apple’s presentation. Beat Saber for Apple’s platform is just speculation at this point, but Beck does not regularly tweet about Apple, and would seemingly have no reason to comment on the event.
June 5th is going to be??️
— Jaroslav Beck (@JaroslavBeck) May 30, 2023
Rumors have suggested that Apple is already working with select game developers to help them update existing content for mixed reality, and Beat Games could be one of the companies that Apple is working with. Beat Saber is one of the most well-known virtual reality games.
Players are tasked with using arm gestures to slash beats timed to music in a futuristic virtual environment. As the game involves both dancing and movement, it has been used as an exercise tool. Apple plans to promote the headset as a fitness device in addition to a gaming and media consumption device.
Earlier this week, the founder of the company behind survival game “No Man’s Sky” tweeted an Apple emoji, which also led to speculation that No Man’s Sky will have an announcement for Apple’s platforms at WWDC. No Man’s Sky is available for several VR platforms, such as the PlayStation VR.
Apple has been hinting at the headset this week, teasing the dawn of a “new era” on Twitter and “coding new worlds” on its developer site. Multiple rumors indicate that Apple is ready to show off the AR/VR headset and the xrOS software that will run on it, and while it won’t launch until later this year, announcing in June will give developers time to create virtual reality experiences for the device.
This article, “VR Rhythm Game ‘Beat Saber’ Could Be Available for Apple’s AR/VR Headset” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
Revolutionary Crowdfunding Platform For AI Startups, InQubeta launches QUBE Presale
Mahe Island, Beau Vallon, Seychelles, May 31st, 2023, Chainwire InQubeta, a pioneering platform in the crypto crowdfunding space, is thrilled to announce the launch of its innovative ecosystem powered by the QUBE token. Designed to revolutionize the investment landscape for
Mahe Island, Beau Vallon, Seychelles, May 31st, 2023, Chainwire InQubeta, a pioneering platform in the crypto crowdfunding space, is thrilled to announce the launch of its innovative ecosystem powered by the QUBE token. Designed to revolutionize the investment landscape for […]
This is the first X-ray taken of a single atom
SX-STM enables detection of atom type, simultaneous measurement of its chemical state.
Enlarge / An image of a ring-shaped supramolecule where only one Fe atom is present in the entire ring. (credit: Saw-Wai Hla)
Atomic-scale imaging emerged in the mid-1950s and has been advancing rapidly ever since—so much so, that back in 2008, physicists successfully used an electron microscope to image a single hydrogen atom. Five years later, scientists were able to peer inside a hydrogen atom using a “quantum microscope,” resulting in the first direct observation of electron orbitals. And now we have the first X-ray taken of a single atom, courtesy of scientists from Ohio University, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Illinois-Chicago, according to a new paper published in the journal Nature.
“Atoms can be routinely imaged with scanning probe microscopes, but without X-rays one cannot tell what they are made of,” said co-author Saw-Wai Hla, a physicist at Ohio University and Argonne National Laboratory. “We can now detect exactly the type of a particular atom, one atom at a time, and can simultaneously measure its chemical state. Once we are able to do that, we can trace the materials down to [the] ultimate limit of just one atom. This will have a great impact on environmental and medical sciences.”
When the average non-scientist thinks of an atom, chances are they envision some popularized version of the classic, much-maligned Bohr model of the atom. That’s the one where electrons move about the atomic nucleus in circular orbits, like planets orbiting the Sun in our Solar System. The orbits have set discrete energies, and those energies are related to an orbit’s size: The lowest energy, or “ground state,” is associated with the smallest orbit. Whenever an electron changes speed or direction (according to the Bohr model), it emits radiation in the specific frequencies associated with particular orbitals.
Amazon’s Ring agrees to pay $5.8 million to settle FTC spying suit
Image: Ring
Amazon’s Ring unit has agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that its doorbells illegally spied on users.
The settlement addresses a lawsuit filed by the FTC Wednesday accusing Ring of unlawfully deceiving its customers over the privacy of their data and the videos collected by its products. According to the agency’s complaint, Ring failed to restrict employees and contractors from accessing customer videos and used them to train algorithms without user consent.
“Ring’s disregard for privacy and security exposed consumers to spying and harassment,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine said in a statement Wednesday. “The FTC’s order makes clear that putting profit over privacy doesn’t pay.”
The FTC’s complaint alleges that Ring failed to implement meaningful guardrails to protect employees and third-party contractors from accessing customer videos. In one case, the FTC claims a Ring employee viewed “thousands of video recordings” originating from female users that “surveilled intimate spaces in their homes,” like their bedrooms and bathrooms. This offending behavior continued until it was discovered by another employee, the FTC said.
Under the FTC’s proposed order, Ring would be required to delete all data and algorithms that originated from unlawfully viewed videos. Ring must also create a new privacy and security program barring workers from viewing customer videos except under specific law enforcement circumstances. The order would also ban the company from using some geolocation and voice information to help improve or create products.
Before Ring can formally settle the case, a federal court must approve the proposed settlement.
The complaint also accuses Ring of illegally failing to prevent multiple cyber attacks, like two 2017 and 2018 credential stuffing attacks. After gaining access to around 55,000 customer accounts, the FTC alleges that hackers were able to “harass, threaten, and insult customers” through their devices.
“For example, hackers taunted several children with racist slurs, sexually propositioned individuals, and threatened a family with physical harm if they didn’t pay a ransom,” the FTC’s Wednesday press release said.
In a statement to The Verge Wednesday, Ring spokesperson Emma Daniels said that the company did not deny the FTC’s claims but that the company “promptly addressed these issues on its own years ago, well before the FTC began its inquiry.”
“While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and deny violating the law, this settlement resolves this matter so we can focus on innovating on behalf of our customers,” Daniels said.
Image: Ring
Amazon’s Ring unit has agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that its doorbells illegally spied on users.
The settlement addresses a lawsuit filed by the FTC Wednesday accusing Ring of unlawfully deceiving its customers over the privacy of their data and the videos collected by its products. According to the agency’s complaint, Ring failed to restrict employees and contractors from accessing customer videos and used them to train algorithms without user consent.
“Ring’s disregard for privacy and security exposed consumers to spying and harassment,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine said in a statement Wednesday. “The FTC’s order makes clear that putting profit over privacy doesn’t pay.”
The FTC’s complaint alleges that Ring failed to implement meaningful guardrails to protect employees and third-party contractors from accessing customer videos. In one case, the FTC claims a Ring employee viewed “thousands of video recordings” originating from female users that “surveilled intimate spaces in their homes,” like their bedrooms and bathrooms. This offending behavior continued until it was discovered by another employee, the FTC said.
Under the FTC’s proposed order, Ring would be required to delete all data and algorithms that originated from unlawfully viewed videos. Ring must also create a new privacy and security program barring workers from viewing customer videos except under specific law enforcement circumstances. The order would also ban the company from using some geolocation and voice information to help improve or create products.
Before Ring can formally settle the case, a federal court must approve the proposed settlement.
The complaint also accuses Ring of illegally failing to prevent multiple cyber attacks, like two 2017 and 2018 credential stuffing attacks. After gaining access to around 55,000 customer accounts, the FTC alleges that hackers were able to “harass, threaten, and insult customers” through their devices.
“For example, hackers taunted several children with racist slurs, sexually propositioned individuals, and threatened a family with physical harm if they didn’t pay a ransom,” the FTC’s Wednesday press release said.
In a statement to The Verge Wednesday, Ring spokesperson Emma Daniels said that the company did not deny the FTC’s claims but that the company “promptly addressed these issues on its own years ago, well before the FTC began its inquiry.”
“While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and deny violating the law, this settlement resolves this matter so we can focus on innovating on behalf of our customers,” Daniels said.
Firefox Users on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 Moving To Extended Support Release
Mozilla: Firefox version 115 will be the last supported Firefox version for users of Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. If you are using these versions of Windows you will be moved to the Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) channel by an application update. Mozilla will provide security updates for these users until September 2024. No security updates will be provided after that date.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Mozilla: Firefox version 115 will be the last supported Firefox version for users of Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. If you are using these versions of Windows you will be moved to the Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) channel by an application update. Mozilla will provide security updates for these users until September 2024. No security updates will be provided after that date.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
First-gen Chromecast owners will need to upgrade after Google terminates support
Google is pulling the plug for good on its original Chromecast after months of no support.
Google has quietly ended support for its first-generation Chromecast dongle, capping off a nearly decade-long run (it missed the mark by a couple of months).
If you check out the firmware release notes on the Chromecast Help website, you’ll notice the last update was on April 27. It’s been a while since the company pulled the plug, but no one noticed until very recently. At the bottom of the page, you’ll see a notice stating old Chromecasts will “no longer receive software or security updates” nor will Google provide any sort of “technical support”. Because there won’t be any more patches moving forward, people “may notice a degradation in performance” over time, although some would argue the dip in quality has been around for a while now.
Several comments from users on the Chromecast subreddit, for example, mention how they haven’t used their devices in years due to how slow it became. It is worth pointing out that the last major firmware patch for the original Chromecast was back in November 2022, which “itself was the first update in over three years”, according to 9to5 Google. It appears this end-of-service move was in the works for quite a while.
Upgrading
For those who have an old Chromecast, we strongly recommend recycling the dongle instead of throwing it away. E-waste is a major problem after all, and it doesn’t do anybody any good stuffing old gadgets in a drawer or attic. Google has a recycling program for unwanted hardware. The company will send you a free shipping label that you can slap on a box to then send the device back. Once received, the Chromecast will be “recycled responsibly.” Or you can hop on Google Maps to find a local recycler.
If you still want a Chromecast, there are several options available. You can buy the third generation Chromecast from 2018 to give your TV access to several streaming platforms like Netflix in 1080p resolution (1920×1080 pixels). Prices for the latest model average around $40/£32/$60 AUD so it has gone up from its initial cost at launch, but it is still pretty cheap. We also recommend the slightly more expensive Chromecast with Google TV which supports 4K resolution as well as the Dolby Vision and HDR10 Plus formats to ensure an optimal stream.
Be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the six new Netflix originals coming in June that you should definitely watch on your Chromecast. The sixth season of Black Mirror is releasing very, very soon.
Throw out all those black boxes and say hello to the software-defined car
Instead of dozens or hundreds of modules, a car will use four or five computers.
Enlarge / The prototype of the Q6 e-tron is the first on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) technology architecture. (credit: Audi)
One of the auto industry trends I’m most excited about these days is the move to clean-sheet designs for car platforms and architectures. For decades, features have accumulated like cruft in new vehicles: a box here to control the antilock brakes, a module there to run the cruise control radar, and so on. Now engineers and designers are rationalizing the way they go about building new models, taking advantage of much more powerful hardware to consolidate all those discrete functions into a small number of domain controllers.
The behavior of new cars is increasingly defined by software, too. This is merely the progression of a trend that began at the end of the 1970s with the introduction of the first electronic engine control units; today, code controls a car’s engine and transmission (or its electric motors and battery pack), the steering, brakes, suspension, interior and exterior lighting, and more, depending on how new (and how expensive) it is. And those systems are being leveraged for convenience or safety features like adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, remote parking, and so on.
Of course, this only works if that software is any good. “There is absolutely no question that software has been treated like a stepchild—I always say the fifth wheel in the car. So like a necessity, but not something that has been managed with care,” said Maria Anhalt, CEO of the automotive supplier Elektrobit, which develops digital systems and software for OEMs.
Amazon workers walk out to protest return to office mandates and the company’s climate impact
Two employee groups at Amazon have joined together to stage a corporate walk out today, uniting to protest the company’s return-to-office policy and to raise concerns about Amazon’s climate impact.
Amazon Employees are walking out! https://t.co/3kxrYUZAy2— Amazon Employees For Climate Justice (@AMZNforClimate) May 31, 2023
Standing in front of Amazon’s Seattle Headquarters, the group streamed the event live on Twitter — featuring speakers for both groups advocating for their united cause. Some speakers vented their frustrations with the company’s policy to have workers return to the office for at least three days a week, telling stories about how the remote work kicked off by the COVID pandemic bought them precious hours at home with their family and saved them from hours of daily commute time. Another speaker married this idea to the company’s climate goals, highlighting how remote work allowed more families to become one-car households. This dovetails into some of the groups’ complaints that Amazon is failing to meet its own goals in its climate pledge of reaching zero emissions by 2040.
Despite touting the leadership of @climatepledge, Amazon’s emissions have surged by a staggering 40% since signing on. https://t.co/Wgk3638uad— Amazon Employees For Climate Justice (@AMZNforClimate) May 23, 2023
According to the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice Twitter page, more than 1900 Amazon employees pledged to participate in the walk out. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-workers-walk-out-to-protest-return-to-office-mandates-and-the-companys-climate-impact-194937443.html?src=rss
Two employee groups at Amazon have joined together to stage a corporate walk out today, uniting to protest the company’s return-to-office policy and to raise concerns about Amazon’s climate impact.
Amazon Employees are walking out! https://t.co/3kxrYUZAy2
— Amazon Employees For Climate Justice (@AMZNforClimate) May 31, 2023
Standing in front of Amazon’s Seattle Headquarters, the group streamed the event live on Twitter — featuring speakers for both groups advocating for their united cause. Some speakers vented their frustrations with the company’s policy to have workers return to the office for at least three days a week, telling stories about how the remote work kicked off by the COVID pandemic bought them precious hours at home with their family and saved them from hours of daily commute time. Another speaker married this idea to the company’s climate goals, highlighting how remote work allowed more families to become one-car households. This dovetails into some of the groups’ complaints that Amazon is failing to meet its own goals in its climate pledge of reaching zero emissions by 2040.
Despite touting the leadership of @climatepledge, Amazon’s emissions have surged by a staggering 40% since signing on. https://t.co/Wgk3638uad
— Amazon Employees For Climate Justice (@AMZNforClimate) May 23, 2023
According to the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice Twitter page, more than 1900 Amazon employees pledged to participate in the walk out. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-workers-walk-out-to-protest-return-to-office-mandates-and-the-companys-climate-impact-194937443.html?src=rss
Popular Reddit App Apollo Would Need To Pay $20 Million Per Year Under New API Pricing
Popular Reddit app Apollo might not be able to operate as is in the future due to planned API pricing that Reddit is implementing. From a report: Apollo developer Christian Selig was today told that Reddit plans to charge $12,000 for 50 million API requests. Last month, Apollo made seven billion requests, which would mean Selig would need to pay $1.7 million per month or $20 million per year to Reddit to keep the app running. The average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would be priced at $2.50 per month, more than double the current subscription cost, or a sum that Selig is not able to afford. Right now, Apollo Pro is a one-time $4.99 fee that unlocks additional features, and Apollo Ultra is an even more premium tier that costs $12.99 per year.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Popular Reddit app Apollo might not be able to operate as is in the future due to planned API pricing that Reddit is implementing. From a report: Apollo developer Christian Selig was today told that Reddit plans to charge $12,000 for 50 million API requests. Last month, Apollo made seven billion requests, which would mean Selig would need to pay $1.7 million per month or $20 million per year to Reddit to keep the app running. The average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would be priced at $2.50 per month, more than double the current subscription cost, or a sum that Selig is not able to afford. Right now, Apollo Pro is a one-time $4.99 fee that unlocks additional features, and Apollo Ultra is an even more premium tier that costs $12.99 per year.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.