The Russian government has its own ‘fake news’ watchdog site

In Russia’s heavily state-controlled media landscape, the government wants to make it clear when Western news outlets publish work it disagrees with. As Newsweek reports today, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a “fake news” tracking page, which emblazons a comically large, red “FAKE” stamp on articles it deems untrue.

So far, the site has only attacked outlets in the US and the UK like the New York Times, Bloomberg, the Telegraph, NBC News and the Santa Monica Observer. As the ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova explained to the government’s own state-run RIA Novosti news agency, the site is intended to prevent the sharing of articles it believes are inaccurate.

“Here we will make an example of such propaganda dumped by various media outlets, providing links to their sources, and so on,” Zakharova said. The site does not, however, explain why Russia’s foreign ministry believes the articles are incorrect, it only provides the cryptic message “This material contains data, not corresponding to the truth” and a link to the original article. As Newsweek notes, in the Bloomberg article that currently appears on the site, the author quoted a Kremlin spokesperson denying allegations that the country was involved in hacking a French politician. So, it’s unclear whether labeling the article “FAKE” is Russia’s way of doubling down on their denial of the hacking, or disputing the article in its entirety. According to a recent poll conducted by the Russian government, the country’s citizens are growing increasingly skeptical of objectivity and a quarter of the country feels that no source of information — either on TV or online — is trustworthy.

Via: Newsweek

Source: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Sony’s ‘world’s fastest’ SD card writes data at 299 MB/s

Sony’s upcoming SF-G series of SD cards will be available this spring, the company announced today. When that time comes, Sony said they “will be the world’s fastest SD cards.” Boasting a maximum write speed of 299 MB/s, that claim is right on point.

The cards (available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB sizes) also have a slightly higher top read speed of 300 MB/s. Speed is a priority, so the cards also support the UHS-II interface, which adds a second row of connecting pins to the card for increased transfer rates on compatible hardware. More than any card before it, the SF-G series will be able to handle quick-shooting cameras smoothly, as well as capturing 4K video and other technically demanding uses.

To fully take advantage of the tremendous speed, Sony also revealed it will offer a specialized card reader so users can quickly transfer files to and from their computers. The SF-G series will take good care of your files, too. In addition to being compatible with Sony’s file rescue software, these SD’s are also waterproof, temperature resistant, shockproof and X-Ray proof.

For comparison, B&H Photo Video says that two of the fastest SD card lines out there today, SanDisk’s Extreme PRO UHS-II series and Lexar’s Professional 2000x UHS-II series, can achieve read speeds of 300 MB/s and write speeds of 260 MB/s. For the more casual user, Amazon’s best-selling card, the 32GB SanDisk Ultra Class 10 SDHC UHS-I, tops out at 80 MB/s for read and write speeds.

Sony has yet to announce the pricing for these cards, but the 32GB version of the aforementioned SanDisk card sells for about $60. The SF-G cards are technically superior, though, so expect them to retail for a bit more than that.

Source: Sony

SkyRunner flying car soars just about as high in the sky as its sticker price

Why it matters to you

The SkyRunner can make you feel like James Bond – and who doesn’t want that?

SkyRunner, the company responsible for giving a dune buggy the power of flight, is back with a new model, which retails for $119,000. The goal is to provide off-road capability with the thrill of extended flight — and even the Federal Aviation Administration has signed off on the vehicle this time around.

A hybrid composite chassis, including carbon fiber body panels, uses a Polaris ProStar 1000 engine for the ground game and a Rotax 914 UL light-sport aircraft engine for sky sport. The new SkyRunner can reach air speeds of up to 40 mph for a distance of 120 nautical miles. When the driver is ready to land, the wing stows in a bag behind the rear passenger.

“We set out to build the ultimate adventure vehicle but have since discovered it fills tremendous gaps as a tool,” said SkyRunner CEO Stewart Hamel.  “Designed initially as a toy, the market has translated SkyRunner into a low-cost, high-utility multimodal tool for ranchers, law enforcement, border security, and even Department of Defense agencies. With operating costs of approximately $50 an hour, SkyRunner will take you places no pickup truck or UTV can go and at a fraction of the cost of a helicopter.”

More: Polaris Ride Command Technology

The vehicle relies on Maxxis Bighorn tires and FOX Piggyback shocks to handle just about any surface, but with just 450 feet of runway, the SkyRunner can be sent soaring into the air. All this excitement does come at a high price, though – more even than the earlier version. SkyRunner retails for $139,000 and can be purchased direct from the factory.

The dream of having a car capable of comfortable day-to-day driving and winged sky soaring has been part of the American psyche for generations.

Until recently, this ambitious goal has been out of reach. Now, though, the wealthiest among us will be able to achieve this lofty goal, as SkyRunner is unveiling its flying car, capable of all-terrain driving and actual flight.

SkyRunner designed the car to appeal to rescue teams and recreational enthusiasts alike with its reflex paraglide wing technology that allows it to transform from car to aircraft in three minutes.

Stewart Hamel, SkyRunner CEO, says, “Open fields, grass strips and secluded beaches will be the runways of choice.” Don’t get too excited, though, backyard flyboys; SkyRunner owners who wish to take flight will need to first procure a flying license that requires 12 hours of flight with a Certified Flight Instructor.

Once in the air, the SkyRunner will top out at 55 mph. On the ground, however, it’ll be able to go 0-60 in 4.3 seconds and onto 115 mph thanks to its 125 horsepower 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine sourced from Ford.

SkyRunner debuted the all-terrain flyer at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. No other dune buggy — for this $119,000 price or otherwise — will get airborne for more than a few seconds. Considering its capability, then, the SkyRunner is a steal.

Updated on 2-22-2017 by Miles Branman: Added information about Skyrunner’s new all-terrain buggy/flying car.

Intel’s new modem can deliver gigabit download speeds

Why it matters to you

Intel’s new modem can handle gigabit speeds — fast enough to download an HD movie in mere seconds.

It’s a battle of the wireless modems. Not to be outdone by Qualcomm’s speedy new X16, Intel on February 22 announced the XMM 7650 modem, a new chip that promises to deliver gigabit download speeds for tablets, smartphones, laptops, and other mobile devices.

The device is what’s known as a category 16/13 modem, meaning it can offer download speeds of up to 1Gbps and upload speeds of 225Mbps. It supports network technologies like carrier aggregation, which cuts down on congestion by leveraging multiple LTE frequencies, and 4X4 MIMO configurations, which use multiple antennas to boost download speeds. And it’s compatible with multiple cellular technologies, including LTE, GSM, and CDMA.

More: Apple vs. Qualcomm: Everything you need to know

It’s not quite able to match the peak speeds of Qualcomm’s wireless chip, which can reach peaks of up to 1.2Gbps. But it’s fast enough to download an HD movie in about 8 seconds, or 10GB of music in a minute and a half.

The absence of networks able to take advantage of the modem’s gigabit capabilities makes the launch seem a tad premature. Australia carrier Telstra upgraded its 4G LTE network to gigabit capacity last year, but it’s the world’s first — and only — to do so. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, AT&T said it expected to achieve widespread 4G LTE speeds of 1Gbps thanks to “optimizations” and “thousands” of new antennas.

Verizon began testing 1Gbps connectivity in select cities earlier this year. Sprint said that it would deliver 1Gbps speeds in 2017. T-Mobile, meanwhile, claims that it’s the only network in the U.S. to have measured 1Gbps on its existing network.

More: Qualcomm faces a potential $900 million fine in South Korea over unfair market practices

AT&T announced the deployment of gigabit technologies last year,

The XMM 7560 modem, which is the first to be manufactured on 14nm process, is expected to supply cellular connectivity to Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7S, 7S Plus, and iPhone 8. Apple sourced Intel modems in iPhone 7 models sold on AT&T and T-Mobile, but was forced to tap Qualcomm’s solution for the Verizon and Sprint models because of the incompatibility of Intel’s last-generation modems with CDMA networks.

Intel’s got an upward climb if it hopes to make a dent. This past year, Qualcomm held a 52-percent share of the mobile processor market and produced 65 percent of all LTE chips.

But Intel does has some leverage. Apple filed suit against Qualcomm last month, claiming $1 billion in damages over patent royalties. And lawsuits filed over the past year by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission allege that Qualcomm has abused its virtual monopoly in the smartphone market to charge its manufacturing partners excessively fees.

Given this background, it’s no surprise that Apple’s looking for an alternative.

Intel’s new modem can deliver gigabit download speeds

Why it matters to you

Intel’s new modem can handle gigabit speeds — fast enough to download an HD movie in mere seconds.

It’s a battle of the wireless modems. Not to be outdone by Qualcomm’s speedy new X16, Intel on February 22 announced the XMM 7650 modem, a new chip that promises to deliver gigabit download speeds for tablets, smartphones, laptops, and other mobile devices.

The device is what’s known as a category 16/13 modem, meaning it can offer download speeds of up to 1Gbps and upload speeds of 225Mbps. It supports network technologies like carrier aggregation, which cuts down on congestion by leveraging multiple LTE frequencies, and 4X4 MIMO configurations, which use multiple antennas to boost download speeds. And it’s compatible with multiple cellular technologies, including LTE, GSM, and CDMA.

More: Apple vs. Qualcomm: Everything you need to know

It’s not quite able to match the peak speeds of Qualcomm’s wireless chip, which can reach peaks of up to 1.2Gbps. But it’s fast enough to download an HD movie in about 8 seconds, or 10GB of music in a minute and a half.

The absence of networks able to take advantage of the modem’s gigabit capabilities makes the launch seem a tad premature. Australia carrier Telstra upgraded its 4G LTE network to gigabit capacity last year, but it’s the world’s first — and only — to do so. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, AT&T said it expected to achieve widespread 4G LTE speeds of 1Gbps thanks to “optimizations” and “thousands” of new antennas.

Verizon began testing 1Gbps connectivity in select cities earlier this year. Sprint said that it would deliver 1Gbps speeds in 2017. T-Mobile, meanwhile, claims that it’s the only network in the U.S. to have measured 1Gbps on its existing network.

More: Qualcomm faces a potential $900 million fine in South Korea over unfair market practices

AT&T announced the deployment of gigabit technologies last year,

The XMM 7560 modem, which is the first to be manufactured on 14nm process, is expected to supply cellular connectivity to Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7S, 7S Plus, and iPhone 8. Apple sourced Intel modems in iPhone 7 models sold on AT&T and T-Mobile, but was forced to tap Qualcomm’s solution for the Verizon and Sprint models because of the incompatibility of Intel’s last-generation modems with CDMA networks.

Intel’s got an upward climb if it hopes to make a dent. This past year, Qualcomm held a 52-percent share of the mobile processor market and produced 65 percent of all LTE chips.

But Intel does has some leverage. Apple filed suit against Qualcomm last month, claiming $1 billion in damages over patent royalties. And lawsuits filed over the past year by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission allege that Qualcomm has abused its virtual monopoly in the smartphone market to charge its manufacturing partners excessively fees.

Given this background, it’s no surprise that Apple’s looking for an alternative.

NASA just discovered 7 Earth-sized exoplanets, 3 in the habitable zone of a dwarf star

Why it matters to you

The discovery offers a unique opportunity to study Earth-like exoplanets that might harbor life.

Seven Earth-sized planets have been discovered around a star that’s roughy 39 light-years from our solar system, by a team behind NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Three of these exoplanets are believed to orbit the star’s “Goldilocks zone,” the single largest haul of potentially habitable planets around a single star. The agency made the announcement today in a news conference and published the findings in the journal Nature.

“This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a press release. “Answering the question ‘are we alone’ is a top science priority and finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable step forward toward that goal.”

The exoplanets were discovered around TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool dwarf star 235 trillion miles from Earth. Compared to our Sun, TRAPPIST-1 is small and cold, making the habitable zone much closer to the star. Thus, the planets orbit very close to the star and close to each other.

By using data collected by Spitzer, the team was able to measure the exact size of the seven exoplanets, while making estimates of the mass and density of six of these. The measurements suggest that all of them are likely rocky.

More: Kepler finds 104 exoplanets in the largest single haul of confirmed planets

“The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star,” said Michael Gillon, lead author of the paper and the principal investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanet survey. “It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds.”

Atmosphere is necessary for life as we know if. As such, the  studying these planets’ atmospheres will be a major focus in the coming years.

“The TRAPPIST-1 system provides one of the best opportunities in the next decade to study the atmospheres around Earth-size planets,” said Nikole Lewis, co-leader of the Hubble study.

NASA released a 360º simulation of what it would be like to stand on one of the potentially habitable planets.

Holographic 3D printer uses lasers to print thousands of times faster than its rivals

Why it matters to you

This experimental laser-powered 3D printer not only looks impossibly futuristic, it promises to be far faster than its rivals, too.

Fed up with the world-weary, jaded expressions of your additive manufacturing friends, who think they’ve seen it all when it comes to 3D printers?

If so, you may be interested in Daqri, an augmented reality startup, which has developed a cutting-edge hologram-powered 3D printer. If you’ve always felt that what was missing from 3D printing was green lasers and tubs of goo, this could be the technology you’ve been waiting for!

“This system uses our software-defined light modulators to 3D print in an entirely different way,” Brian Mullins, CEO of Daqri, told Digital Trends. “The modulator is able to change the speed of individual bundles of light and cause them to interfere into analog light fields. This is essentially an object made out of light in three dimensions. When we form one of these objects inside a monomer resin, the light starts a chain reaction and solidifies into a polymer. The reaction happens all at once and it doesn’t matter how big or small the object is — you get an instant 3D print.”

More: New 6-axis 3D printer can print complex objects with gravity-defying overhangs

Aside from making you look like a time traveler from the future, Daqri’s holographic printing technology has a practical advantage over traditional rival: speed.

“This method prints instantly, so it’s thousands of times faster than any other method on the market and, because of that, we don’t need support materials to hold the object together as we print,” Mullins continued. “We also are able to create structures in polymer that have uniform material properties, so that the materials are much more useful versus those that are printed one layer at a time.”

The printer isn’t quite ready to be unleashed on the public just yet. “We are working with partners now and hope to be able to power 3D printers with our software-defined light-print engine in the next 24 months,” he said.

Will it work as well as its creators claim? Will we all be 3D printing the light fantastic within the next few years? We’ll have to wait and see, but we’re giddily excited about trying out Daqri’s technology for ourselves at the earliest possible opportunity.

Or maybe that’s just the daiquiris talking.

Almost 80 percent of Apple devices are on iOS 10, latest figures reveal

Why it matters to you

More Apple devices running the latest version of iOS means more people have better security, and are accessing Apple’s latest features.

Apple’s latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 10, has been out since September 2016. In the five months since then, nearly 80 percent of active iOS devices have adopted it.

The Cupertino company frequently updates the number of devices on its latest operating system based on App Store data, and the latest numbers as of February 20 say that 79 percent of active iOS devices run some version of iOS 10. Sixteen percent of devices run iOS 9, while five percent of active devices are using an even earlier version.

More: Apple’s UFO-shaped campus is named ‘Apple Park’, and it opens in April

It’s great news for Apple, as the majority of the company’s customers are staying on its most up-to-date software. The same can’t be said for Google’s Android mobile operating system, where only 1.2 percent of active devices run Android 7.0 Nougat or higher. Nougat was released towards the end of August 2016.

MacRumors reports that iOS 10 adoption is “outpacing” iOS 9 adoption, as last February iOS 9 was on 77 percent of active devices. The adoption rate could get even higher soon, as the company just pushed a public beta for iOS 10.3.

iOS 10.3 introduces a “Find my Airpods” feature, in case users misplace one or both of their Apple Airpods. Developers will also get the ability to respond to App Store reviews by customers, and the update also switches devices to the new Apple File System.

More: Big day for Android 7.0: Nougat finally cracks 1 percent of Android devices

Apple maintains tight control over its operating system and hardware, which allows the company to see high adoption rates of its latest software. Google’s Android version updates, on the other hand, have to be released by a myriad of manufacturers and then by carriers if the device is locked.

Snap off or flip around? Microsoft Surface Book vs. HP Spectre x360 15-inch

Today, the two most common types of Windows 10 2-in-1s are tablets with detachable keyboards like Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4, and more standard notebooks with screens that swivel 360 degrees into tablet mode. Microsoft’s Surface Book is in its own category as a sort of hybrid between the two. It’s a more traditional notebook that morphs into a tablet, but with its own unique twist — the display detaches completely from its keyboard base via Microsoft’s unique “muscle wire” locking mechanism, and becomes a large yet still thin-and-light tablet.

Although it’s an innovative — and somewhat complex — approach to the notebook-oriented 2-in-1, the Surface Book provides the same basic benefits as more common flip-around 2-in-1s like HP’s new Spectre x360 15. The Surface Book is also an expensive machine, and while its 13.5-inch screen is smaller than the 15.6-inch display on HP’s machine, it’s also quite a bit larger than the 12-inch or so screens on tablets with detachable keyboards.

That makes the comparison between the Surface Book and the Spectre x360 15 an interesting one. The question is: does the Surface Book’s unique design make it better than the much less expensive Spectre x360 15?

Microsoft Surface Book

HP Spectre x360 15

Dimensions
 12.30 x 9.14 x .51 – .90 (in)
14.00 x 9.88 x .70 (in)
Weight
3.34 pounds, Intel HD graphics
3.48 pounds, GTX 940M graphics
3.68 pounds, GTX 965M graphics (Performance Base)
4.42 pounds
Processor
6th Generation Intel Core i5 and i7 dual-core
7th Generation Intel Core i7 dual-core
RAM
8GB or 16GB DDR4
8 or 16GB DDR4
Display
13.5-inch IPS touchscreen
15.6-inch IPS touchscreen
Resolution
3,000 x 2,000, 3:2 aspect ratio
3,840 x 2,160, 16:9 aspect ratio
Storage
256GB, 512GB, 1TB PCIe SSD
256GB, 512GB, 1TB PCIe SSD
Networking
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
Ports
2 x USB 3.0, 1 x mini-DisplayPort, Headset, SD Card Reader
1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB Type-C, 1 x USB Type-c with Thunderbolt 3, 1 x HDMI, Headset, SD Card reader
Webcam
1080P webcam with IR camera and Windows Hello support
1080p webcam with IR camera and Windows Hello support
Operating System
Windows 10
Windows 10
Battery
70 watt-hours
81 watt-hours (Performance Base)
79.2 watt-hours
Price

$1,499+$2,399+ (Performance Base)
$1,280+
Availability
Available now – Amazon, Microsoft

Available late-February – HP

Review
3.5 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars

Content developers now have access to the SteamVR for Linux beta

Why it matters to you

Valve Software’s new developer build of SteamVR means that customers will eventually see support for the HTC Vive on Linux.

Pierre-Loup Griffais of Valve Software recently jumped on Twitter to announce the launch of a developer build of SteamVR for Linux. Available now on GitHub, it is offered in the beta branch only so that developers can begin creating Linux-based content that will be distributed through Steam. Limited hardware support is provided, the release notes indicate, and developers will need pre-release drivers to run the beta.

According to the notes, SteamVR for Linux is based on the Vulkan graphics API, which is an open-source alternative to Microsoft’s DirectX and another older, open-source API called OpenGL. These APIs are what is used for games and other software to interact specifically with a graphics card. Vulkan is the latest of the trio, offering more access to the graphics chip than its OpenGL predecessor.

More: Nolo is a phone-based SteamVR Project that Kickstarter backers love

That said, to use SteamVR for Linux, developers will need the latest Vulkan drivers. If they are working with Nvidia cards, they will also need version 375.27.10 of the Nvidia Developer Beta Driver, which can be downloaded from Nvidia here. It can also be obtained as a Debian packaged version from Nvidia’s online development drivers repository.

Meanwhile, developers creating content on AMD hardware will need a pre-release version of the RADV open-source Radeon Vulkan driver. Valve provides a build in the SteamVR for Linux repository that can be cloned and used after setting an environment variable. Currently, SteamVR for Linux doesn’t support direct mode, so the VR headset must be set to extended mode.

“SteamVR needs to be able to access the HTC Vive’s USB devices,” the release notes state. “On most Linux distributions this is not allowed by default. The latest version (1.0.0.54) of the Steam package will automatically install udev rules that allow this. However, many distributions repackage Steam. If you have installed one of those packages, you may not have the latest Steam udev rules.”

Finally, developers will need Unity 5.6 or later. However, because SteamVR on Linux only supports the Vulkan driver, developers will need to go into the game engine and add “Vulkan (Experimental)” to the Graphics APIs for Linux option. Also, make sure the “Auto Graphics API for Linux” option is unchecked.

Ultimately, this move to add SteamVR support to Linux is just one step closer to Valve’s infiltration into the living room. The company set out to overthrow the console market with its Steam Machine initiative, which consists of console-like gaming PCs. These PCs are typically powered by Valve’s open-source SteamOS operating system, which is based on Linux.

The move to add Linux support is also Valve’s attempt to provide an open-VR solution across multiple markets, including MacOS. Valve’s Joe Ludwig promised during the Steam Dev Days event in October that SteamVR would come to Linux in a matter of months, and Valve has lived up to that promise. Next up should be MacOS, which may be officially revealed during Game Developers Conference at the end of February.