Boeing’s spacesuit is light, cool and flexible

Virgin isn’t the only company determined to make conventional spacesuits seem like ungainly beasts. Boeing has unveiled the spacesuit it wants to use for people aboard its Starliner CST-100 vessels, and they promise to be far more livable than the clunky spacewear you’ve seen before. It’s roughly 40 percent lighter than previous suits, with layers that should keep astronauts cooler than usual. Wearers also won’t feel quite so trapped or claustrophobic — zippers help them transition from sitting to standing, and there’s a wide plastic visor that should improve peripheral vision.

The suit is also designed for the nature of a cutting-edge cockpit. There’s a built-in communications headset, and the gloves are touchscreen-friendly.

It’ll be a while before you see how the suit works in practice when the Starliner’s first International Space Station mission doesn’t launch until late 2018. Also, we’d add that Boeing’s suit may not be the coolest on the block before long, especially not if SpaceX’s superhero-inspired gear lives up to early hype. All the same, we’ll take it — the basic template for spacesuits hasn’t changed a whole lot over the decades, and it’s about time that they reflect the demands of modern spaceflight.

Source: Boeing

Facebook starts testing ads in Messenger

It was only a matter of time before Facebook Messenger would start testing ads, after rumors of its plans to do so leaked nearly a year ago. Earlier today, it announced that users in Australia and Thailand will begin seeing sponsored content in the coming weeks, with the experiment being labeled as a way “for people and brands to engage on Messenger.” What this means, really, is that you and your friends should expect to see targeted ads in the app soon — which won’t be hard to miss, judging by the image above.

Facebook didn’t say whether it plans to roll out ads for Messenger globally, only noting that it hopes to “learn a lot” from the test. Of course, nothing is free and the social network needs to find ways to benefit from the 1 billion people who use the app, but hopefully that doesn’t come at the expense of their experience with the service.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Facebook

Russian authorities arrest Kaspersky researcher for high treason

Security researcher Ruslan Stoyanov from Russia’s Kaspersky Labs was arrested for treason last December. According to Russian newspaper Kommersant (translated), Stoyanov was taken in for breach of Article 275 of the Crimes Against the Fundamentals of the Constitutional System and State Security. The specifics of why aren’t exactly clear, however. Kaspersky has issued a statement saying that the arrest had nothing to do with Stoyanov’s work at the Lab, and didn’t offer any information beyond the following:

“The employee, who is head of the Computer Incidents Investigations Team (CIIT), is under investigation for a period predating his employment at Kaspersky Lab. We do not possess details of the investigation.”

The company says that the CIIT won’t be affected by the arrest. As Ars Technica notes, Stoyanov was a major in the Russian Ministry of Interior from 2000 to 2006 prior to joining Kaspersky in 2012.

Article 275 is a broad ruling that defines high treason as “espionage, disclosure of state secrets, or any other assistance rendered to a foreign organization, or their representatives in hostile activities to the detriment of the external security of the Russian Federation committed by a citizen of the Russian Federation.” Punishment includes a “deprivation of liberty for a term of 12 to 20 years with confiscation of property.”

One of Forbes’ Russian infosec sources says that simply giving the FBI information on a botnet could be considered treason. What’s interesting are his accomplishments while at the Lab. Stoyanov’s work apparently helped jail plenty of Russian cyber criminals, including a trio who extorted UK betting shops for $4 million, and another group of thugs who stole $45 million from Russian banks.

Precisely what the outcome of the arrest will be, or any details coming from it could be difficult to come by. Forbes’ source further explains that violations of Article 275 are handled by a secret military tribunal.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Kommersant (Russian), Kaspersky Labs (Twitter)

Beam, Windows 10 Game Mode tests start tomorrow on XB1 and PC

Starting tomorrow, Creators Update features coming in for testing are integrated support for Beam streaming on both platforms, Cortana updates on Xbox One, and for PC gamers, the new Game Mode and gaming settings section. With Snap Mode on the way out, it’s time to see what the sacrifice will bring to the table.

Beam support is fairly self-explanatory, as Microsoft said it was on the way after acquiring the game streaming service a few months back. This offering is all about low-latency streams with under one second of delay, which Windows players can access starting tomorrow from the Game Bar (press the Windows key + G), and eventually, Xbox One owners will be able to initiate directly from the guide.

As far as that Game Mode, the company has exposed a bit more information on exactly what it is. Xbox Platform team member Kevin Gammill tells Windows Central, the focus isn’t just on high performance, but consistency. Using processes already at work on Xbox One, it makes sure your PC is focused on delivering every frame on time, prioritizing the game (whether it’s a UWP title from the Store or a legacy Win32 title from Steam) over other tasks. Of course, if you want to do some heavy processing work in the background and have a rig that can handle it, the mode can be disabled, and it disables itself whenever the game is minimized or in the background.

All the relevant settings for gaming will also live in a new area under the main system settings. Marked with an Xbox logo, it’s where players can adjust things for the game bar, DVR and broadcasting, with Game Mode settings coming soon.

Finally, the last addition it’s testing a Screen Time setting on Xbox One. While the Xbox already has support for some parental settings, these will mimic the controls already included with Windows 10.

Source: Xbox News

Roqos Core review

The Roqos Core is a router that packs a 64-bit quad-core 2GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. Yes, it sounds like a phone, doesn’t it? Moreover, it features Dual Band support (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and provides two independent 802.11n and 802.11ac Wi-Fi networks; total bandwidth comes in at 1600Mbps.

In short, the Roqos Core works for home and office environments with tools to support both. The Roqos app, which communicates with the Roqos Cloud, alerts users of potential threats, secirty breaches, malware, viruses, ransomware, and more.

Additionally, the router comes with filters to help protect younger users from inappropriate content. Parents will enjoy the peace of mind that comes with options such as scheduling internet usage by day and time and one-click pausing of connection.

More savvy and experienced users who like to bend technology to their will might appreciate the open source software and advanced settings. Spend some time with the Roqos Core and you’ll be able to toggle options like DHCP server, UPnP, manual DNS server settings, port forwarding, and more.

General Impressions

As a parent of a teenage (13) son, I have grown increasingly more aware of my child’s internet and smartphone usage. No longer is he simply playing a few games here and there; today he stays in contact with friends over various social media services and apps. What’s more, he’s spending much more time in the browser and using the internet for both school and personal reasons.

When offered the chance to review the Roqos Core (Roqos sent us a demo unit at no cost), I was excited at the prospect of getting a little bit more control over my son’s phone. We have a policy in our house that I can pick his phone up at any moment to see what he is/was working on and how he is going about things.

The problem that I face is not so much that he cannot be trusted with his usage. Rather, the biggest issue I run into is that he’s using his phone in bed when he’s supposed to be going to sleep. Or, he’s playing XBox far too late into the night. The Roqos Core gave me an opportunity to deal with these pain points.

Setting up the Core was really quite simple, amounting to little more than plugging it into my current router and installing an app. A few minutes after starting out I was already creating profiles for my son and various devices in the house.

A couple of days after I was up and running, I had guests over who were asking to connect to my Wi-Fi. Prior to the Roqos I would have to give them my full password. That’s not a terrible problem to have by any stretch, but when repeated across multiple users at a gathering, it gets to be pesky. Additionally, it’s a pain point when people are asking to repeat it or whether they should join the 2.4GHz connection or the 5GHz one.

The Roqos app made this much easier as I could shoot out a text or email message to people with the exact connection information needed. And, even better, I could let some connect without knowing any of the credentials. There’s a handy guest option that offers temporary codes and even time durations.

There’s an interesting thing about being protected, or shielded, from something. When done right, you often don’t know it’s working. It’s only when an intruder gets into your house that you realize you have a breach of security. You’re likely not aware, though, of all of the other times someone was turned away at the gate or scared off by a sign or blinking light. This is somewhat analogous to my experience with the Roqos setup.

I don’t do too much with my computer, laptop, or phone that should raise flags for security or outside threats. The websites I visit are largely on the up and up and I’m not exposing myself to shady situations – at least to the best of my knowledge.

The Roqos Cloud works 24 hours a day, continuously monitoring my data usage. Should it have found something malicious, the suspicious activity would have been blocked and I would have been notified. As it turns out, there was nothing in the last couple of weeks to trigger such a problem. It is my understanding that I would receive the IP address of wherever the threat initiated.

As I indicated above, my household is not one where I am too concerned about who is going where. At least not yet. With that said, the Roqos does let me filter out certain websites so that they can not be viewed by specific user profiles. This would be handy for blocking Facebook on a laptop, or maybe Netflix on the home computer.

I’ve come to like the scheduled pause option. Between the various devices my son uses, I can now feel better knowing that he’s not using the XBox or tablet to access Wi-Fi after 9PM. It’s possible to set multiple schedules to one user so I’m currently exploring whether to block out XBox from 3PM-5PM, just so he’s not quick to jump on it after school.

My wife isn’t going to use any of the administrative settings of the app, but it is possible to set her up as one. This would be a good tool for scenarios where the Roqos is being used in a business environment and more than one person is trusted with sensitive information. Perhaps you are a landlord or office manager who offers wireless internet as part of your plan and there are a few staff members who you turn to for help in dealing with new tenants.

Where to Buy

The Roqos Core can be purchased in a variety of options, each of which come with the monthly access to the Roqos Cloud. While the router functions fine on its own and pretty much like any other one you’ll encounter, the monthly service fee is what opens the door to the parental control and cybersecurity tools.

For $219 you can buy the Roqos Core and receive one year of service, breaking out to about $18.25 per month. Alternatively, you can pay $17 per month (additional $19 due in first bill) with the option to cancel any time after the first year. Lastly, there’s a $595 option that includes a three-year hardware warranty and lifetime subscription to the service.

Conclusion

I appreciate that the Roqos Core works just as good as any other router I’ve used in the house, with room for growth. I don’t expect to go digging through the settings any time soon, but do like that I could easily expand my home network, tweak configurations, or install software features and extensions.

The Core was easy to setup and manage; the next few weeks were quite simple to keep up with, even with more devices and users added in. I’ve felt comfortable playing around inside of the app and checking the Roqos website’s support center helped answer questions before they arose.

As much as I enjoyed the Roqos Core, I would really like to try out some of the future features. There are a number of updates coming to the experience, some of which are excellent tools for parents. On the horizon are real-time activity monitoring, internet usage history, backup LTE internet, and VPN capabilities.

Given I have only used the router for a few weeks and haven’t tapped into its full potential, I am reluctant to say I’ve put it through its full paces. Moreover, I don’t know that I ever will. The parental controls are excellent and the interface is very friendly. The security tools deliver peace of mind, but, again, I cannot attest to how strong they are, yet. Were I more technically inclined I am sure that it would be fun to leverage the hardware and open source software.

If you’re a parent or someone who looks for extra control over the Wi-Fi connection in your home or office, I don’t have a problem recommending the Roqos Core. It’s right in line with what you might get from similar products in the Google Wi-Fi, Luma, or Eero and the price fits accordingly.

GOP pushes new FCC chief to kill set-top box rental proposal

If you were excited at the prospect of no longer having to pay your local cable company a monthly stipend to use their set top boxes, boy does the House GOP have a surprise for you! Now that the FCC is being helmed by famed net neutrality opponent, Ajit Pai, Republican lawmakers are seizing upon the opportunity to squeeze a little more money out of the American public.

Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler initially proposed the plan, which would have required cable companies to make their systems work with third-party devices, without the need for a CableCard, over a year ago. Doing so would have saved cable subscribers a few bucks a month promoting competition within the industry and loosening the iron grip on consumers that cable companies now enjoy.

Had it passed, cable company apps would have been required to run on any device operating with an iOS, Android or Windows OS, including Apple TV and Roku boxes. Unsurprisingly, cable companies like Comcast, COX and Time-Warner all heavily lobbied against the idea.

On Wednesday 19 GOP lawmakers signed and delivered a letter to the newly-installed FCC Chairman, asking that he close the docket on the proposal’s proceedings, which officially ends the debate on matter, killing the proposal outright. “We are writing to ask that you close the docket on the set-top box proceeding… and signal clearly to consumers, content producers, consumer electronics manufacturers, and video programming distributors that the Commission’s consideration of the set-top box proposal is at an end,” the letter reads.

But don’t worry. The GOP lawmakers are certain that pay-tv companies — the same ones that fought so stridently against this regulation and the loss of income that it would have entailed for them — will be given “a clear sign that they can bring technological advances to set-top boxes and video delivery without fear that the Commission [will] overturn them by regulation” by this action. Don’t hold your breath.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Verizon debuts new $15 Unlimited Together plan with unlimited calling to select countries

Keeping in touch just got a little cheaper.

Verizon has a new plan option for people who make calls outside the U.S. dubbed Unlimited Together – World. The $15 monthly add-on provides unlimited voice calling minutes to landlines in over 70 countries and unlimited calling minutes to mobile numbers in over 40 countries. Additionally, rates are discounted for calls in over 160 other countries. Verizon’s VP of Marketing Rob Miller comments:

Talking with family and friends abroad should not be limited by distance or a cut-rate network. With the introduction of Unlimited Together, it is easier and more affordable than ever for our customers to call their loved ones and talk as long as they want.

The new program can be added to any post-paid service plan. See Verizon’s International Services page for more details, and the full press release is below.

NEW YORK– Calling loved ones abroad just got easier on the next gen network.

Whether you have family in Brazil or friends in the United Kingdom, Verizon has you covered with Unlimited Together – World, a new international plan that gives customers unlimited* minutes to landline phones in over 70 countries and mobile phones in nearly 40 countries and discounted calling to 160+ countries worldwide — all for just $15 per month.

“Talking with family and friends abroad should not be limited by distance or a cut-rate network,” said Rob Miller, vice president of marketing for Verizon. “With the introduction of Unlimited TogetherSM, it is easier and more affordable than ever for our customers to call their loved ones and talk as long as they want.”

Unlimited Together joins the Verizon suite of international services that enables customers to stay connected around the world.

Best wallpapers submitted by readers!

We’ve shown you a lot of wallpapers these last few months.

While there will never be enough time to show you all the wonderful wallpapers I come across, I believe in making the time to see and showcase the wallpapers that my readers show me. In that spirit, this week is the first of what I hope to be a periodic Wallpaper Weekly episode featuring reader wallpapers. All the wallpapers showcased today come from reader suggestions via social media and email.

A recurring theme in the wallpapers I’ve been sent is photos that the users took themselves. When you come across beauty in the world around you, it’s only natural to snap a pic with the stellar cameras many of our phones have built in. While landscapes and kids are obvious targets, this shot by Pseu 42 is both unique and beautiful. Being a lifelong Texan, I don’t often get to see snow or ice, and during our hellacious summers, a snowy wallpaper helps us stay cool, at least in spirit. We also have some excellent background colors thanks to the sunrise behind this frosty car window.

Snowy Sunrise by Pseu 42

This monochrome majesty was another reader photo, this one taken on a Google Pixel by Richard Colon. Lens flares are easy to get wrong, but this one is so right, and the tight focus on the chains in the foreground give the photo detail while allowing the background to blur and blend behind it.

Monochrome Chains by Richard Colon

IFTTT applets like these are awesome for mixing things up daily, but they put wallpaper searchers like me out of a job! That said, this one is too good not to feature, and Joey Riz knows it. This IFTTT applet puts NASA’s Image of the Day on your Android phone or tablet as a daily wallpaper. The images are gorgeous and the resolution is usually enough to make even a 4K home screen happy.

IFTTT NASA Wallpaper of the Day Applet

This coastline is picturesque — I’m just waiting for the castle to come into view just down the shoreline. The caption with it on Unsplash is also a wonderful reminder that we need to change up our perspective every now and again. Thanks to icon maker Kevin Aguilar for suggesting it!

Perspective Matters by Will van Wingerden

We’ll wrap up this week with another viewer photo that resonates with me. This photo was taken by Hugh Richardson the first time he reached the Pacific Ocean after getting out of the military. It’s a sunny wallpaper of hope, promise, and waves. It invites us to explore the horizon, it reminds us to cleanse ourselves in the water, it beckons us back to the shore and beyond.

Or in my case, it reminds me that it’s going to be awhile before I get to see the ocean again, but I can always dream.

Pacific Waves by Hugh Richardson

Want to be featured here?

If you want to be featured in the next ones, whenever they may be, feel free to contact me on email, Twitter, or Google+, sing out in the comments below, or in our theming forum!

Which Android phone does Donald Trump use?

POTUS’s ‘old, unsecure Android phone’ is probably a Samsung Galaxy S3.

The New York Times has reported that Donald Trump still tweets from the White House on his “old, unsecured Android phone, to the protests of some of his aides,” contradicting earlier reports that the president had turned in the handset in exchange for a “secure, encrypted device approved by the Secret Service.” It’s difficult to know with 100% certainty which Android device Trump currently uses to tweet (or whether it’s the off-the-shelf model he likely used during his campaign, or some secured variant.)

But we sure can offer you some informed speculation!

There are only a few photos out in the wild of Trump using his smartphone, usually reported to be a “Samsung Galaxy.” That doesn’t exactly narrow it down, and most of the photos available online are low-res, making the matter trickier still. What’s more, the device appears to be in a case, obscuring some identifying features. Of the two clearest images we have of Trump using his Android phone, one comes from a NYT report dated October 2015:

The back is pretty revealing, but you have to zoom in close to pick out identifying features. The two dead giveaways are the features flanking the camera bump — even in this low-res shot, Trump’s phone quite clearly has an LED flash on the left, and a less reflective marking in the same place over on the right. The only major Samsung phone released in the U.S. with these features is the Galaxy S3, launched way back in 2012. (A different angle of the same shot shows a device roughly the right size and shape to be a GS3, with the familiar LED – camera – speaker arrangement only found on this phone.)

You have to look really close to see exactly which Galaxy Trump is using.

The GS3 is very similar in appearance to 2013’s Galaxy S4, but the GS4’s LED is below the camera bulge, not to the side. Same deal with the Galaxy S5. And the headphone jack being situated on the top-left side (as you face the phone) eliminates the Galaxy S6 or anything newer.

In 2017, a GS3 certainly fits the description of an “old, unsecure Android phone.”

Further evidence comes from a more recent pic of Trump on his phone, dated February 2016. Here, Trump the candidate is using what appears to be the same Samsung phone — note the home button — in a similar case. But there’s another important clue in this pic — the bottom edge of the device, showing a USB port and no headphone jack. Again, this eliminates the GS6 and newer. The USB port is also too small for it to be a GS5, which used a weird double-width USB 3.0 port. Another important clue is the mic hole placement — to the right of the charging port here, like the GS3. The GS4 relocated the mic to the left of the USB port. (The irregular shape of the home key — larger at the top — also matches the GS3, but not the GS4.)

So there you go. Trump’s personal Android phone is more than likely a Samsung Galaxy S3, released in 2012, and which last received a software update in mid-2015, with firmware based on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

As noted in the intro, we don’t know for sure that Trump is still using this specific Galaxy S3. The two NYT reports conflict on whether he turned it in, or is still using it to fire out tweets from the White House. But if he is, and it’s the same consumer GS3 model he was apparently using as of February 2016, it’s safe to say it’s a good three years out of step with the latest Android security updates. Many Android security scares have come and gone since the GS3 got its last update in August of 2015.

Naturally, there’s huge (YUGE!) interest in which smartphone — secured, or otherwise — the most powerful man in the world is using. (And understandable concern over how protected it is from digital threats.) We may never have an entirely clear answer. Nevertheless, in 2017, a GS3 certainly fits the description of an “old, unsecure Android phone.”

Google I/O 2017: Sticking with Shoreline is a smart move

I’m heartened that Google hasn’t given up on what was a good idea, imperfectly executed.

Google I/O will apparently return to Shoreline Amphitheater, a short walk from Google’s Mountain View, Calif. headquarters, this May. It’ll be the second time Google has hired the concert venue for its developer conference, and that’s a significant development because last year’s event didn’t run entirely smoothly.

Ask developers who paid $900 of their own money to attend, and they’d complain of long lines, longer waits, lack of shade, inadequate seating for many sessions. Google’s intention was to create a more open, festival-like atmosphere, in contrast to the traditional event space of San Francisco’s Moscone West, where I/O was held in years past. Moscone is a purpose-built convention complex — air conditioned, with plentiful seating, and places to stand that aren’t in direct sunlight. The other side of that coin is it’s a relatively stuffy, nondescript place — the very opposite of Shoreline.

The fact that Google is willing to stick with this unconventional venue — for a dev conference, anyway — shows that it believes I/O ’16 wasn’t a total loss.

So it must’ve been tempting for Google to fall back on I/O’s old home territory, even if it meant losing some of the whimsical magic of Shoreline, and cutting back on attendee numbers. (The Moscone Expansion Project, which will expand the venue, won’t be completed until January 2018.) The fact that Google is willing to stick with this unconventional venue — for a dev conference, anyway — shows that it believes I/O ’16 wasn’t a total loss.

And I agree. At its core, an open, outdoor event where developers, enthusiasts and Googlers can mix — and where the company can show off all manner of crazy experiments, and bring devs face to face with things like Project Loon — is a great idea. The flaws with last year’s I/O stemmed from the execution, not the concept. With a little improvement to its crowd management, larger tents and shaded spaces (and perhaps a more realistic attitude towards the numbers it can accomodate under the sun in late May.)

It’s also heartening to see Google mostly eschewing the expensive swag bags for which earlier I/O events had become known. The money it would’ve spent handing out free toys to attendees surely contributed to it being able to invite more people, and secure a larger venue. (Google has deep pockets, but its events budget isn’t infinite.)

I’m expecting Google I/O 2017 to build on the genuinely enjoyable aspects of last year’s show, while ironing out logistical issues that left attendees baking in the California sun. It’s going to be a big year for Google, and we’ll be looking for the company to set out its vision for the future of Chromebooks, Assistant, Home, Android and much more!