Blog

It took Google months to patch a serious Android security flaw

[ad_1]

Google noted the patch (CVE-2020-0069) in its March Android security bulletin. While this is the first public disclosure, details about the exploit have been online for months. The vulnerability is still exploitable on dozens of device models, and hackers are actively using it. Worse, in all likelihood, many devices will never get the patch at all.

Hackers that use the exploit can cause damage in a number of ways. For instance, they could install any app and then grant it whatever permission it needs to hack the device. In the wrong hands, root access can empower ransomware and hypothetically make an entire device inoperable.

MediaTek has had patches available to fix this vulnerability since May 2019, but the company can’t force OEMs to fix their devices. Google, however, can force many OEMs to do so, through license agreements and program terms, XDA explains. Still according to XDA, Google knew about the vulnerability months before it took action. That’s especially disconcerting considering how widespread and dangerous the flaw is.

Engadget has reached out to Google for comment.

[ad_2]

Source link

Google makes Hangouts Meet features free in the wake of coronavirus

[ad_1]

At least part of the decision to extend the functionality of Hangouts Meet comes out of recent usage stats Google has seen in places where there’s a good reason for people to stay home. In Hong Kong and Vietnam, the company says it’s noticed “hundreds of thousands” of students use its Hangouts Meet and Classroom apps to keep up with their classes while schools are closed. The move should also help the company keep up with competitors like Zoom, which have seen the usage of their apps jump due to the crisis.

“As more employees, educators, and students work remotely in response to the spread of COVID-19, we want to do our part to help them stay connected and productive,” Google said. “We’re committed to supporting our users and customers during this challenging time, and are continuing to scale our infrastructure to support greater Hangouts Meet demand, ensuring streamlined, reliable access to the service throughout this period.”

Since the disease started spreading, COVID-19 has had numerous effects on the tech industry, with conferences being one of the more visible casualties. Earlier this week, for instance, Google announced it will hold its upcoming Cloud Next conference virtually, instead of asking people to attend the event in person.



[ad_2]

Source link

NASA maps show the effect of a quarantine on air pollution

[ad_1]

Maps of the Wuhan region from January 1st to February 25th, 2019 show a noticeable drop in air pollution during the Lunar New Year. However, pollution levels quickly rebounded, as seen in the dark red images from the same time last year.

Wuhan pollution level drop over coronavirus

This year has been another story, however. The virus story started to explode early in the New Year, after Chinese authorities had confirmed that the illness was caused by a new coronavirus similar to those that caused the SARS and MERS outbreaks. By January 23rd, the government had shut down all transportation into and out of Wuhan, while closing local businesses and factories in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

As a result, NASA’s NO2 maps of the region during the same period in 2020 show very light levels of pollution (as blue, rather than yellow and red) on the maps. Another key indicator of pollution, ozone, shows a similar result, according to NASA. Liu said that the agency has mapped pollution drops around Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, and in other nations around the 2007-2009 economic recession, but never to that level.

One of the great values of an airborne observatory is that scientists can assess pollution events and compare them to past periods. “There is always this general slowdown around this time of the year,” said NASA air quality scientist Barry Lefer, an air quality scientist at NASA. “Our long-term OMI data allows us to see if these amounts are abnormal and why.”

This time, the decrease is more than a holiday-related dropoff compared to past events going back to 2005. Overall, NO2 values during the COVID-19 outbreak were from 10 to 30 percent lower than what is normally seen at this time of year.

While that provides some breathing relief for residents, the coronavirus has devastated the region, causing nearly 3,000 deaths so far in China. “I am not surprised [about the pollution drop] because many cities nationwide have taken measures to minimize spread of the virus,” said Liu.

[ad_2]

Source link

Xiaomi’s Black Shark 3 Pro gaming phone has pop-up shoulder buttons

[ad_1]

The Black Shark 3 Pro has a 7.1-inch, 3,120 x 1,440 AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. Its 270Hz touch sampling rate makes it that much more responsive to your finger taps, and it comes with a 5,000 mAh battery. The 8GB RAM version costs 4,699 yuan ($675), and the 12GB RAM option costs 4,999 yuan ($718). Both come with 256GB of storage.

Black Shark

If you aren’t ready to spend that much and you don’t mind sacrificing the pop-up shoulder buttons, the Black Shark 3 ranges from 3,499 yuan ($502) to 3,999 yuan ($575). The non-Pro model has capacitive shoulder buttons, a 6.67-inch, 2,400 x 1,800 AMOLED display, with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 270Hz touch sampling rate. It comes with a 4,720mAh battery.

Both of the 5G phones have the Snapdragon 865 chipset, two heat pipes that sandwich the logic board to keep it cool and adjustable pressure sensitivity on the left and right parts of the screen (when the phone is in landscape). The Black Shark 3 and Pro both have a triple-camera setup on the back, with a 64-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel ultra wide camera and a five-megapixel bokeh camera. The front-facing selfie camera has a 20-megapixel sensor, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The backs of the phones have pins for an 18W magnetic charging plug, which could be convenient when you’re gaming. The phones are capable of 65W fast charging through the USB-C port, and both take just 12 minutes to reach a 50 percent charge (38 minutes to reach 100 percent). All of the models are now available for preorder.

[ad_2]

Source link

The Koenigsegg Gemera is a four-seater hybrid with 31 miles of EV-only range

[ad_1]

As the brand’s first four-seater, the Gemera marks the start of a new era for Koenigsegg. While others, even many of the world’s top performance names, are making high-utility crossovers and SUVs, Koenigsegg has chosen to add function while maintaining the coolness factor of a coupe. A real coupe. Who cares if you have to cram into a rear seat when the cramming is achieved through a scissor door?

With the Gemera, which has a shape inspired by an egg, Koenigsegg aimed to make a car with the personality of a mid-engined two-seater but the practicality of a road-trip vehicle. CEO Christian von Koenigsegg says he’s been planning this car since 2003 and wanted to make sure every seat is equally as spacious and comfortable, unlike many 2+2s that only have two usable seats.

The front seats are made from hollow carbon-fiber monocoques and weigh only 37.5 pounds. The slim design of the seats, which integrates the back into the bottom, and the nature of the scissor doors mean ingress and egress is simple and doesn’t require moving the front seats.

The rest of the interior is focused on luxury. The sideview mirrors have been replaced with cameras, seats are heated and cooled, the front and rear each both have large digital infotainment touchscreens to control entertainment and climate, each seat has a hot and a cold cup holder, and the audio system has 11 speakers. The clever design packaging allows all this, plus storage for four pieces of luggage, three in the rear and one up front.

The Gemera will coddle and comfort, but it will also thrill with its high-tech hybrid powertrain. Koenigsegg claims 1,700 hp and 2,581 lb-ft of torque, and a zero-to-62-mph sprint in 1.9 seconds. This is accomplished with a combination of three electric motors, a twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter three-cylinder camless gas engine, and a direct-drive transmission. It also has all-wheel drive, all-wheel torque vectoring, and all-wheel steering.

Two of those electric motors, each of which makes 500 bhp and 738 lb-ft of torque, are on the rear wheels. A third e-motor is attached to the engine crankshaft and makes 400 bhp and 369 lb-ft of torque. Simultaneously, these electric motors make 1,100 bhp. Working with the e-motor to propel the front wheels is what Koenigsegg calls the Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG) engine. It is rated at 600 bhp and 443 lb-ft of torque and uses the company’s Freevalve technology.

The Gemera, which uses carbon fiber for the chassis, body, and wheels, is built to be eco-conscious, as well. An 800-V, 15-kWh battery allows up to approximately 31 miles of totally electric driving, and the car has an overall range of 621 miles. The Gemera is a flex-fuel vehicle, too, so it can run on Gen 2.0 ethanol or C02-neutral methanol. That means it could potentially be as C02-friendly as an electric vehicle, under certain circumstances.

Koenigsegg is limiting Gemera production to 300 vehicles.

Jesko Absolut

Koenigsegg says the Jesko Absolut is the fastest car it’s ever made, and that “the company will never endeavor to make a faster series-production road car – ever.” So, it’s likely Koenigsegg will make faster one-offs and track specials, but this will be the pinnacle of speed, and will be used to chase the top-speed record.

The Jesko launched as an all-new Koenigsegg in 2019, and the Absolut continues its story with a different purpose. With the Absolut, Koenigsegg set out to reduce drag as much as possible and make the Jesko as slippery as possible. That started with reducing downforce, so the massive wing was replaced with two fins inspired by F-15 fighter jets. These fins “clean up airflow over the rear end,” which helps increase high-speed stability.

Further reducing the drag coefficient to 0.278, Koenigsegg extended the rear hood, added rear wheel covers, lowered the ride height, removed the front wheel louvres, and removed the front hood closed air duct. The front suspension, which is more compact that the setup found on the Jesko, is also slightly softer, which makes the car more comfortable on the road, as well.

Getting comfortable with the power might be a different story. The engine is unchanged from the Jesko, so it carries on with the twin-turbocharged V8 that is connected to a nine-speed transmission. The engine revs up to 8,500 rpm, and Koenigsegg claims 1,600 bhp on E85 fuel. Unique innovations also allow drivers to shift from any gear to any other gear.

Related Video:

This article originally appeared on Autoblog, the complete authority for news, reviews and car-buying research.

[ad_2]

Source link

‘Connected’ is a kids’ movie about the dangers of tech obsession

[ad_1]

Connected starts as a story about a dad upset that his kids spend too much time on their devices. He attempts to change that by taking them on a family road trip, but things change quickly when robots turn evil and technology as a whole seems to revolt.

What makes Connected more interesting is that it’s being produced by Christopher Miller and Philip Lord, who both worked on The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s directed by Michael Rianda, the creative director behind Gravity Falls. Connected will build on the Into the Spider-Verse animation tech and offer a “more sophisticated take on tech than ‘phone bad,'” Miller said in a tweet.

Connected will arrive in theaters on September 18th.



[ad_2]

Source link

Amazon will deliver some same-day orders in just a few hours

[ad_1]

According to Amazon, up to three million items marked “Today by” can be ordered for speedy same-day delivery in those cities. Amazon will even deliver packages while you sleep. If you select the “Overnight by 8AM,” your order will arrive between 4:30AM and 8AM.

The orders will ship from local fulfillment centers. So, Amazon says, “while it may seem counterintuitive, the faster delivery speeds enabled by these facilities actually help us lower carbon emissions.” Because the facilities are close to customers, the quick deliveries reduce the need for aircraft transport and decrease the distance drivers have to travel, the company says. Last year, Amazon pledged to make half of its deliveries carbon-neutral by 2030.

Whether or not these even-faster same-day deliveries are actually good for the environment, or for the people shipping and delivering the packages, is debatable. These mini-warehouses need power, heating and cooling, all of which lead to more emissions. This model could also encourage consumers to place more frequent, smaller orders, resulting in more trips, and again, more emissions.

While the local warehouses will create more jobs, Amazon doesn’t have a great employee-satisfaction track record. It may get even worse if Amazon starts asking more employees to work overnight and deliver packages at 4:30AM.

[ad_2]

Source link

Atari classic ‘Missile Command’ is coming back as a mobile game

[ad_1]

The title will be available in spring as a free-to-play title with ads, although there will be a one-and-done purchase option to play the game ad-free. You shouldn’t be nickel-and-dimed to death, then. This won’t be the most spectacular way to celebrate Missile Command‘s 40th anniversary (it first hit arcades in July 1980). However, it does show how far gaming has come over four decades. A game that used to require a hulking cabinet and a trackball now fits easily into your pocket, with touch and AR technology that wasn’t even on the radar 40 years ago. And look at it this way: it’ll be a much more affordable trip down memory lane than Atari’s long-delayed VCS console.

[ad_2]

Source link

Mercedes’ new E-Class knows when you’re holding the wheel

[ad_1]

The new system is much more direct, and should be a bit harder (though not impossible) to fool. That will help ensure drivers keep their hands on the steering wheel when using E-class features like active steering assist, active brake assist and adaptive cruise control.

Mercedes isn’t the first to use capacitive steering wheel tech. Cadillac’s excellent Super Cruise driver assist uses not only a touch-sensitive steering wheel, but also eye-tracking cameras to ensure that drivers are paying attention. Audi’s E-Tron also has a touch-sensitive capacitive steering wheel.

All of this is particularly relevant in the US. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) recently concluded an investigation into a Tesla Model X accident that resulted in the driver’s death. It found, in part, that drivers are often over-reliant on self-driving features. It recommended that regulators draw up monitoring systems to “account for foreseeable misuse of automation.” To that end, we’re likely to see more features like the E-Class capacitive touch steering wheels down the road.

[ad_2]

Source link

An algorithm could make CPUs a cheap way to train AI

[ad_1]

Typically, companies use GPUs as acceleration hardware in implementing deep learning in technology. But this is pricey — top of the line GPU platforms cost around $100,000. Rice researchers have now created a cost-saving alternative, an algorithm called sub-linear deep learning engine (SLIDE) that is able to do the same job of implementing deep learning, but without the specialized acceleration hardware.

The team then took a complex workload and fed it to both a top-line GPU using Google’s TensorFlow software, and a “44-core Xeon-class CPU” using SLIDE, and found the CPU could complete the training in just one hour, compared to three and a half hours for the GPU. (There is, to our knowledge, no such thing as a 44-core Xeon-class CPU, so it’s likely that the team is referring to a 22-core, 44-thread CPU.)

SLIDE works by taking a fundamentally different approach to deep learning. GPUs leverage such networks by studying huge amounts of data — often using millions or billions of neurons, and employing different neurons to recognize different types of information. But you don’t need to train every neuron on every case. SLIDE only picks the neurons that are relevant to the learning at hand.

According to Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor at Rice’s Brown School of Engineering, SLIDE also has the advantage of being data parallel. “By data parallel I mean that if I have two data instances that I want to train on, let’s say one is an image of a cat and the other of a bus, they will likely activate different neurons, and SLIDE can update, or train on these two independently,” he said. “This is much a better utilization of parallelism for CPUs.”

This did bring its own challenges, however. “The flipside, compared to GPU, is that we require a big memory,” he said. “There is a cache hierarchy in main memory, and if you’re not careful with it you can run into a problem called cache thrashing, where you get a lot of cache misses.” After the team published their initial findings, however, Intel got in touch to collaborate on the problem. “They told us they could work with us to make it train even faster, and they were right. Our results improved by about 50 percent with their help.”

SLIDE is a promising development for those involved in AI. It’s unlikely to replace GPU-based training any time soon, because it’s far easier to add multiple GPUs to one system than multiple CPUs. (The aforementioned $100,000 GPU system, for example, has eight V100s.) What SLIDE does have, though, is the potential to make AI training more accessible and more efficient.

Shrivastava says there’s much more to explore. “We’ve just scratched the surface,” he said. “There’s a lot we can still do to optimize. We have not used vectorization, for example, or built-in accelerators in the CPU, like Intel Deep Learning Boost. There are a lot of other tricks we could still use to make this even faster.” However, the key takeaway, Shrivastava says, is that SLIDE shows there are other ways to implement deep learning. “Ours may be the first algorithmic approach to beat GPU, but I hope it’s not the last.”

[ad_2]

Source link