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NASA reopens Apollo mission control in time for Moon landing anniversary

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The restoration team went out of its way to source authentic material, whether it was wallpaper from the Johnson Space Center or material sourced from eBay.

Thankfully, you’re not limited to gazing from afar. Public tours of Apollo mission control will start on July 1st, 19 days before the Moon landing milestone. There’s certainly a promotional angle here — this is a reminder that NASA has been tasked with returning humans to the Moon by 2024, and that half a century has elapsed since people set foot on the celestial body. Still, this is bound to be valuable for anyone interested in a vivid reminder of space history — it might be as close as you get without visiting the Moon yourself.

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Microsoft starts public tests for ‘Halo: Reach’ on PC

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As it is, there’s good news for players when the finished Master Chief Collection update arrives. While it Forge won’t be available on launch for PC, the team is planning a “one-time” transfer of legacy Forge maps and game types from players’ file shares to incorporate them in MCC. If you had a favorite Halo 3, Halo 4 or Halo: Reach custom map, you might get to play it in a modernized form. There’s no specific date yet, and there doesn’t appear to be a “workable solution” to bring films and screenshots to MCC, but it beats losing all your old content to the mists of time.

The devs also clarified plans for an MCC-wide progression system. Unlike some season-driven games, you won’t lose the chance to unlock gear from one season once the new season starts. You can even use points earned in one game toward customization in another. Also, Reach may include ways to unlock content that required promos the first time, such as pre-orders and account links. Although there’s no guarantee you’ll see everything you ever had, you probably won’t be limited to the base version of each game.

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Court convicts murder suspect found through a DNA database

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Investigators linked Talbott to the 1987 murders of Canadian couple Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg after two of his cousins (from both sides of the family) uploaded their DNA profile to GEDMatch. The database, which also led to the Golden State Killer arrest, allows users to upload their DNA test results from services like Ancestry and 23andMe, so they can find other relatives and create a comprehensive family tree.

CeCe Moore, the genetic genealogist who worked with the authorities on the case, traced the DNA extracted from semen left on Van Cuylenborg’s body to Talbott’s parents through his cousins. His parents only have one son. It was only after he was identified through the database that authorities were able to match his palm print to a print lifted from the scene.

According to Wired, both sides agreed to treat the DNA identification as a tip before the trial even began, and nobody questioned the method used to link Talbott to the case. If more and more cold cases go to trial due to DNA databases, though, there’s bound to be serious discussions on whether using them to solve crimes should be regulated.

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Recommended Reading: Algorithms and school surveillance

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Aggression Detectors: The unproven, invasive surveillance technology schools are using to monitor students
Jack Gillum and Jeff Kao,
ProPublica

Following the rise in mass shootings, schools, hospitals and other public places are installing tech to…

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Trump to lift some restrictions on Huawei as part of China truce

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The change of heart leaves Huawei highly restricted. It’s still on the Commerce Department’s Entities List, preventing it doing business with US companies unless there’s explicit government approval. Trump said the US would decide on removing Huawei from the list later, and noted that there was a meeting to discuss the subject on July 2nd.

The turnaround comes as part of a larger concession that could be good news for technology as a whole. The US is indefinitely postponing additional tariffs on Chinese goods in return for China buying large quantities of American farm products. This is far from a permanent solution, but it could reduce pressure on tech companies to move some production outside of China in their bid to avoid tariffs.

If Huawei does resume key US partnerships, it might come just in time to mitigate a crisis. Huawei has reportedly scaled back phone production knowing that its loss of official Android support and other partnerships would hurt its phone sales, and its PC business was in serious trouble without parts from American firms like Intel. Some of the damage is already done, but Huawei could leap back into the consumer space in key countries without resorting to alternate operating systems and less-than-ideal PC processors.

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SIM-swap cell phone hacking horror stories

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Ready for a horror story?How a trivial cell phone hack is ruining lives

Violet Blue explains how SIM-swap attacks have been used to steal online accounts and even as much as $100,000 from a victim’s bank account. In these attacks, someone uses pieces of personal information to convince your cell service provider to transfer (port) your number and associated phone account to a device in the attacker’s possession.

If you use accounts that verify identity with a text message, then you could be vulnerable to them too. One man who lost $25k, his Gmail and his Twitter got his phone number back only to see T-Mobile give it over to a hacker again.

Now what?Reactions to Jony Ive’s departure from Apple

Now that we’ve had some time to think about the news that Apple’s design chief Jony Ive — the man behind iconic products like the iPod, iPhone and more — is leaving, what does it mean? Nicole Lee considers Ive’s legacy and how he helped make the company what it is today, noting that “Ive was inextricably tied to Jobs’ and Apple’s comeback, and therefore to the company’s meteoric rise to where it is today.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Cooper focuses on Apple’s shift from hardware to services. For the devices we’ll see in the future, he wonders if Ive’s successors “loosen up on some of his more famous hangups” in favor of bigger batteries or a more functional keyboard.

Hands-on with iOS 13’s tablet-focused version.iPadOS makes Apple’s tablets feel like a priority again

After using the tablet edition of iOS 13 for a few days, Chris Velazco says he’s “already impressed with the changes Apple has made… Apple addressed many of the criticisms that prevented the iPad Pro from being the do-it-all computer it aspires to be. As for everyone else, they’ll benefit from subtle performance improvements and some extra polish.”

Microsoft’s attempts to win at mobile were unremarkable.Bill Gates says his ‘greatest mistake’ was not beating Android

The founder of Microsoft recently admitted in an interview at venture-capital firm Village Global that his biggest mistake was not making what Android came to be. Gates admitted that the company struggled to adjust to mobile, as both the iPhone and Google’s Android swept up customers in the smartphone revolution. If you don’t remember Windows Mobile, well, let’s just say you’re not missing out on much.

It also packs better Bluetooth and USB connectivity.The new Raspberry Pi 4 is ready for 4K video

The newly released Raspberry Pi 4 Model B combines familiar tiny computer-on-a-board design with some major boosts to performance, particularly for media. With a more potent 1.5GHz quad-core Broadcom processor with H.265 decoding, two micro-HDMI ports and up to 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, the Pi 4 can output 4K video at 60 fps. It could well be your next, slightly more future-proofed DIY media hub.

Someone has to push the envelope.Valve Index review: Next-level VR

Priced at $1,000, Devindra Hardawar notes that the Valve Index is “not even vaguely affordable” compared to other VR options. Still, this “aspirational” piece of gear impresses, with a comfortable headset, slick finger-tracking controllers and excellent image quality. Take a look and see why the Index “has almost everything we want in a next-generation PC VR headset.”

But wait, there’s more…

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Can the police make me unlock my smartphone?

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Terrence O'Brien

Terrence O’Brien
Managing Editor

Although I’m not a lawyer, I was able to find some information courtesy of the ACLU and the EFF. (Note that this information pertains to US citizens specifically.)

If you’re at the border, police are permitted to search your computer and portable devices, regardless of whether they have a warrant. Other times law enforcement doesn’t need a warrant to search your phone: If you consent to a search, if they’ve asked a roommate or spouse for access to the device, or if you’ve just been arrested. If you’re arrested, police are permitted to search your phone under limited circumstances but you’re not required to turn over encryption keys or passwords.

The Supreme Court has ruled that police cannot search data on a cell phone unless they believe there is evidence on the phone that is likely to be destroyed. However, they can remove a case or battery. The Fifth Amendment, which protects citizens from being forced to give self-incriminating testimony, has generally been taken to extend to passwords or encryption keys. Law enforcement cannot threaten or force you into giving up a password or unlocking a phone or computer. (However, a judge or a grand jury may be able to compel you unlock devices.) The EFF recommends contacting them and seeking legal help if you find yourself in circumstances where law enforcement or someone in the justice system is pressing you to provide a password or encryption keys.

According to the ACLU, if an officer has asked for your phone while you’re recording video or taking photographs or a protest or police activity, you are within your rights to refuse to comply, as the request is unlawful. Police officers “may not confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant,” and they are never permitted to delete any photographs or video off of your phone. Taking photographs and video in public is covered under your First Amendment rights, but there’s still a chance you could be (unlawfully) arrested if you refuse to comply with the request.

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ActionDash 3.0’s new ‘Focus’ mode keeps Android users on task

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ActionDash

If you’d rather just limit the use of certain apps altogether, then try its daily limits. That feature similarly locks down chosen apps once you’ve done enough mindless scrolling for the day. Don’t need the willpower assist and want to manage use on your own? Then check out another beta feature, the Usage Assistant brings the stat tracking of how much you’ve been using a particular app to the notification shutter and lock screen.

ActionDash works on versions of Android going back to Lollipop, and while it’s free in the Play Store, the app isn’t an attempt to siphon usage data. Instead, information remains on your device (unless you choose to enable backups to Dropbox or similar), since it’s supported by a $6.99 upgrade that enables these new features and allows for those backups. Also, it pulls the data from the Android OS, so it shouldn’t add any additional battery drain.

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SpaceX plans to launch Starship’s first commercial flight in 2021

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SpaceX introduced the launch system as the Big Falcon Rocket or BFR until its upper stage was renamed to Starship and its rocket booster to Super Heavy. Two competing builds are currently undergoing development in Texas and in Florida, and it’s possible that the final spacecraft will combine the best solutions the two teams can come up with.

Although there might be differences between the two builds, both groups are designing a vehicle that can carry 20 metric tons to geostationary orbit and over 100 metric tons to Low Earth Orbit. SpaceX ultimately plans to use the SpaceX-Super Heavy combo to bring payloads to the moon and Mars, though it’s also looking to offer quick point-to-point trips on Earth aboard the vehicle.

Before any of that can happen, SpaceX has to put the launch system through more rigorous testing. Hofeller said it’s doing more hop tests in the coming months and that the company’s goal is “to get orbital as quickly as possible, potentially even this year, with the full stack operational by the end of next year and then customers in early 2021.”

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Wizards Unite’ festival occurs Labor Day weekend

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Niantic’s announcement is pretty scarce on details, though. It sounds like the company is still ironing out things — and probably making sure not to repeat the mistakes that led to that disastrous Pokémon Go Fest in 2017 — but it says it will reveal more information in the future through its social media channels.

Harry Potter: Wizard’s Unite is an AR game for mobile that works pretty much like Pokémon Go. You walk around looking for rogue magical objects and creatures, which you then have to magick away from the prying eyes of muggles. It first rolled out in the US and the UK on June 21st but has since become available in other regions.



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