‘Quantum Break’ reaches Steam on September 14th
When Microsoft vowed that it would resume releasing games on Steam, it wasn’t making an idle promise. Microsoft and Remedy have announced that Quantum Break will reach Steam on September 14th for $40. You won’t get anything special for your patience (just all the updates released since launch), but that’s not the point — the big deal is that you won’t have to shop at the Windows Store to get a PC copy. If you were worried that Microsoft would use Windows Store exclusives as part of a bid to dictate the future of PC gaming, you can relax.
If you are looking for something special that day, you’re in luck. Remedy will also be launching a Timeless Collector’s Edition of the game in retail stores that includes a physical copy as well as a making-of Blu-ray disc, a making-of book, the soundtrack on CD and two posters. The odds are that you bought the game months ago if you’re a big Quantum Break fan, but hey — this is a good way to either show your appreciation or avoid a massive download.
Source: Xbox Wire, Remedy Entertainment
You can now message President Obama on Facebook
President Obama is no stranger to social media, and now the leader of the free world is making it even easier to reach him on the world’s largest social network. In a Facebook post today, the White House announced you can now send them a note via Messenger, exactly as you might send a message to friend.
Of course, since this is the president we’re talking about, there’s actually one or two extra steps you’ll need to take to make sure your message gets though. Users hoping to send the President a note will need to head to Facebook.com/WhiteHouse or find the White House on the Messenger app to start a thread with the President’s new chat bot. After a fun fact (“The President reads ten of these messages every night.”), you’ll be asked to enter your message, confirm the text and then add your contact information. If you’re lucky, your message will get make it into the President’s batch of ten must-reads, just don’t try hitting him up on BBM.
This drum machine recreates the 808’s features in your browser
We’ve seen drum machines and synthesizers that are playable in a browser before, but now one of the most iconic instruments has a more detailed web version. The HTML-808 and HTML5 Drum Machine made a virtual TR-808 easy to use with the likes of Chrome, Firefox and others. Debuting this week on 808 Day, the io-808 offers a lot more of the design, knobs, controls and functionality that the real drum machine employs. io-808 is the work of Vincent Jackson (a DJ whose real name is Vincent Riemer) using the Web Audio API to mimic the sounds of the physical 808. Sure, sounds aren’t direct from samples, but they still sound quite good, especially for messing around in your cubicle at work.
Jackson also laid out some directions for folks who aren’t as familiar with how the 808 or other drum machines work. This means that the io-808 can serve as an educational tool as well as a toy for aspiring musicians who are looking for a bit of nostalgia. He also says that more features are on the way, including a play mode and the ability to adjust the time signature from a straight 4/4 beat.
As Fact Magazine points out, there’s are also a web-based version of the TR-303 and an HTML-909 from the creator of the HTML-808. If you want to make some noise with some pretty legendary gear, you can do so free of charge with just your computer. However, if you are looking to grab the physical instruments, Roland’s AIRA line revived the 808, 909 and 303 back in 2014 with modern interpretations of the drum machines that range from $400 to $600 each.
Via: Fact Magazine
Source: io-808
Researcher finds huge security flaws in Bluetooth locks
Security research Anthony Rose just wanted to try out his Bluetooth range-finding setup. While wandering in his neighborhood, he noticed a lot of Bluetooth locks popping up and decided to do some sniffing of those “security” gadgets (read: capturing packets being sent between devices). “I discovered plaintext passwords being sent that anybody could read. I couldn’t imagine I was the only one that could see this,” Rose told Engadget following a presentation at last week’s Def Con security conference.
Rose then purchased 16 Bluetooth-enabled door locks. With the help of his partner Ben Ramsey, he found that across the board, security was either non-existent or seriously flawed. “I never imagined that I would come across 12 of the 16 locks that I bought having either no security or poorly implemented security,” Rose said.
Of those security-impaired locks, four of them sent plaintext-passwords. They were the Quicklock Doorlock, Quicklock Padloock, iBluLock Padlock and Plantraco PhantomLock. The QuickLock brand was especially troubling because Rose could change the admin password and lock out the user. The only way to reset it is to remove the battery which can only be accessed when the door it’s attached to is open.
Four other locks were prone to replay attacks (when validated data is played again or delayed in transmission). Those were the Ceomate Bluetooth Smartlock, Elecycle Smart Padlock, Vians Bluetooth Smart Doorlock and Lagute Sciener Smart Doorlock. Some of these locks even claimed that encryption was being used. Which really doesn’t matter if you can capture, store and later send out passwords.
Rose and Ramsey were also able to hijack the “encrypted” with “patented cryptographic solutions” of the Okidokey Smart Doorlock by changing the third byte in its unique key to 00. The lock gets confused and opens. The researcher contacted Okidokey and instead of replying to his email, the company shut down its site. But the doorlock is still available on Amazon.
He also found that the Danalock Doorlock had a hard-coded password and that the Mesh Motion Bitlock Padlock could be impersonated (known as device spoofing) with a Raspberry Pi that would trick the device’s cloud server to send out a password.
This is all extremely troubling when you realize that these pieces of technology are all that stand between a burglar and the inside of your house. With a long range antenna, some of these locks could be open from half a mile away. Someone trying to jimmy your front door would arouse suspicion. If that same person just walked up and opened the door, there’s a good chance neighbors would believe everything was above board.
Rose’s team only tested 16 locks. But the Bluetooth-enabled security market continues to grow which concerns Rose. “In most cases convenience their top goal because they’re trying to sell a product. Security usually ends up being a second thought in these cases,” he told Engadget. It’s equally worrisome that only one of the companies he contacted replied to his findings. He had expected at least half to get back to him.
The four locks that the team couldn’t hack were the Noke Padlock, Masterlock Padlock, Kwikset Kevo Doorlock and August Doorlock. But he did note that the earlier versions of the Kwikset could be opened by jamming a screwdriver into the keyhole, while another researcher at this year’s Def Con was able to crack the August.
Rose says he will continue testing not only Bluetooth door locks, but other connected devices as well. When asked if he’d seen any locks on the market he would add to his front door, Rose replied, “absolutely not.”
Source: Merculite
The ‘Final Fantasy XV’ season pass includes six DLC packs
Final Fantasy XV is hurtling toward a finalized release date of September 30th for both Xbox One and PlayStation 4, so there’s still plenty of time left to decide what console you want to play on and which edition you’re going to purchase.
If you’ve yet to put any money down on the release, you might want to consider going digital going forward, as Square Enix has announced the Digital Premium Edition and Season Pass upgrade available for preorder today, which contains access to six additional packs of digital content.
The Digital Premium Edition of Final Fantasy XV will come with the six different DLC packages: the Booster Pack, Episode Gladio, Holiday Pack, Episode Ignis, Episode Prompto and a less interestingly-named Expansion Pack. All of these, Square Enix notes, are working titles at present, so they’re subject to change.
Additionally, there are different items available for players depending on the console chosen for preorder. For instance, Xbox One buys will receive a Noctis male and female costume for avatars as well as a Carbuncle pet prop. In addition, PlayStation 4 buyers will get a Final Fantasy XV “Big Bang” theme in addition to a Digital Mini Sound Track and a Digital Premium Edition Original Theme.
If you’re looking to pick up the Final Fantasy XV Digital Premium Edition, the entire package will cost you $84.99. If all you need to do is upgrade, you can do so for $24.99 to grab those six additional DLC packs.
Via: Gamasutra
FCC loses its bid to protect city-run broadband
If you were hoping that the FCC’s efforts to protect municipal broadband would survive telecoms’ attempts to destroy it, we have bad news. A federal appeals court has shot down an FCC order that preempted laws banning city-run internet access in North Carolina and Tennessee, prompting both states to file lawsuits. According to the decision, the Commission was overriding state rights without legal authority. While the FCC interpreted a clause in the Telecommunications Act (that it must “encourage” a timely rollout of broadband) as giving it permission to step in, the court sees it as insisting that cities must expand their internet options. There has to be a clearer mandate, the judges say.
To no one’s surprise, the FCC is less than enthusiastic about the ruling. It’s still looking over the decision, but Chairman Tom Wheeler already believes the lost appeal will “halt the promise of jobs, investment and opportunity” that municipal broadband offers.
This doesn’t eliminate city broadband by any stretch, but it will let at least some states limit attempted rollouts. And unfortunately, that’s a win for incumbent internet providers that could hurt competition. Many (including Wheeler) have complained that laws like those in North Carolina are the result of cable and phone monopolies effectively writing their own regulations though intense lobbying — they want to avoid competing against cities that may well offer higher speeds, lower prices and wider coverage areas. Unfortunately, your best choices for real competition may come down to rare, privately-owned newcomers like Google Fiber that can afford to play by the existing carriers’ rules.
Source: FCC, Consumerist
‘Gwent: The Witcher Card Game’ beta delayed to October
At E3 2016 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt developer CD Projekt Red announced that it’s working on a standalone Gwent title for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4. It was supposed to enter closed beta for the former two platforms in September, but players will now have to wait until October 25th to get their hands on the virtual card game. In a statement, the studio said it still needs a little more time to work on Gwent before it feels comfortable letting the public play.
“We know we can make a first impression only once, and want to be sure everything is ready before we blast off,” CD Projekt Red said. “Delivering a good game is more important to us than keeping a deadline. Still, that doesn’t mean we don’t realize that delays can be disappointing, and we apologize for making you wait.”
You can still register for the beta on Gwent’s site, and you can check the game out earlier if you’re attending Gamescom from August 17th to August 21st. CD Projekt will let people play one round of Gwent for the first time at the show floor two months before the beta starts, and you can always play it in The Witcher 3 as well.
Source: PlayGwent
Apple Releases Safari 10 Developer Beta 5 for OS X Yosemite and El Capitan
Apple today released the fifth developer beta of Safari 10 for OS X Yosemite and OS X El Capitan users, allowing those who don’t yet want to install the macOS Sierra operating system to test out the upcoming Safari update.
The fifth Safari 10 beta for Yosemite and El Capitan can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who installed the first four Safari 10 betas.
Safari 10 for Yosemite and El Capitan does not include all of the features that are available or will be available in macOS Sierra, like Apple Pay on the web and Picture in Picture support, but the Safari 10 functions listed below are available.
- Safari Extensions
- New Bookmarks sidebar, including double-click to focus in on a folder
- Redesigned Bookmarks and History views
- Site-specific zoom
- Improved AutoFill from your Contacts card
- Reader improvements
- HTML5 and legacy Plug-ins
- Allow reopening of recently closed tabs
- Back closing spawned tabs
- Improved ranking of Frequently Visited Sites
- Web Inspector Timelines Tab
- Debugging using Web Inspector
With OS X El Capitan, Safari 10 also supports the development of Safari App Extensions, allowing developers to start creating extensions that will eventually be sold through the Mac App Store. Also unique to El Capitan (and Sierra) is Spotlight suggestions for Top Hits.
Safari 10 will be released this fall alongside macOS Sierra.
Tag: Safari
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Apple’s ConnectED Program Has Helped Over 32,000 Students
Apple today announced that its ConnectED program, which saw the company donating $100 million in products to schools and teachers across the country, has impacted the lives of more than 30,000 students.
As of the 2016-2017 school year, there are 32,145 students at underserved public schools who have received iPads from Apple to bolster their education. Teachers have received more than 9,042 Macs and iPads and Apple has helped to install 189 miles of internet cable in schools.
Along with equipment, Apple sends Professional Learning Specialists to schools around the country to help administrators, teachers, and students get the most out of the technology.
The latest school to join Apple’s ConnectED program is the Carver Elementary School in Indianola, Mississippi, the 66th ConnectED school. Carver Elementary School has 701 students, all whom now have iPads with educational-focused apps to work with.
Apple joined ConnectED, a $750 million corporate educational initiative announced by President Obama, in 2014 and has since remained committed to providing underserved schools with cutting edge classroom equipment. Other companies involved in the ConnectED initiative include AT&T, Verizon, and Microsoft.
Tags: education, ConnectED
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Celebrate the Rio Olympics with these sporty wallpapers!
While most of us can be forgiven if we show our patriotism on the inside, but during the Olympics it’s time to let the flags and face paint fly… or, you could put an Olympic wallpaper on your phone to remind yourself to check out the results every now and then. Whether you’re rooting for athletes you watch all year long or athletes you’ve never seen before (and never will again), the Olympics has something for everyone…
Let’s just hope it’s not Zika.
Olympic Flame
While there have been many awesome Olympic flames over the years, the one in Vancouver remains my favorite. Even if it did mess up during the opening ceremony. We don’t talk about that, though. Isn’t it pretty? Does it light the fires of patriotism and athletic competition in your heart?
Olympic Flame
Rio Olympics
This stylized poster feels like ti could fit on your home screen long after the closing ceremony, with its subtle rings and beautiful layers. With the moon and the stars, it kinda takes my breath away…
Rio Olympics
Flags Collection from GaryckArntzen
Want to cheer on your country of choice? Well, they may not have every country, but these spattered flag wallpapers are messy enough for real life yet still easy enough to recognize instantly and stir some national pride within you! U! S! A! U! S! A! U! S! A! Oh, and the rest of the other countries. Go for gold!
Flags Collection from GaryckArntzen
The Olympic Pokeball by wazzy88
There’s something about the Olympic motto that makes it feel like it applies to Pokemon Training…also, this beautiful lunar Poké Ball looks like it’s ready to hold the strongest Pokémon a country can find. Which Pokémon would you want to compete in Olympic events? I’m saying Manaphy for the 100 meter freestyle.
The Olympic Poké Ball by wazzy88
2020 Olympics
The closing ceremony will be here before we know it, but never fear! There’ll be another one in four years, and guess what?! NEXT ONE’S IN JAPAN! Pardon me for a moment as I squee at the idea of being able to both see an Olympics, take in the culture of Japan, and then pop over to Tokyo Disney and die of happiness at all of the magic in there. Well, it may be four years away, but it’s never too early to start planning the trip of a lifetime, right?
2020 Olympics
AIVAnet 