Shipping giant tests IBM’s blockchain tech to track cargo

Maersk Line, known as the world’s largest container shipping company, has teamed up with IBM to start using blockchain to track its cargo. From the time the tech titan opened its Watson-powered blockchain service to enterprise customers last year, it has already signed up over 400 clients, including Walmart. It helps companies use blockchain — a digital leader that logs transactions that can’t be modified later — in different ways, not just for financial transactions. For Maersk, it’s to give buyers, sellers and customs officials a way to keep track of the goods it hauls as they make their way across the globe. Everybody involved can check where the shipment is at any point.

According to the shipping giant, a single container making its way from East Africa to Europe could require stamps and approvals from as many as 30 people. By the time it reaches its destination, it would have gone through over 200 different interactions. By using blockchain, Maersk can get rid of all the paperwork and make the process smoother and faster.

The New York Times says when customs officials upload a copy of a signed document approving a container to the blockchain, everybody involved would be able to see it. They could just check the blockchain if anything seems amiss instead of digging through mountains of paperwork. Thus far, the company has already used IBM’s technology to ship flowers from Kenya, oranges from California and pineapples from Colombia. But it could take the shipping titan five to ten years to be able to fully deploy its use, considering all the people and channels it typically deals with. For the system to work, all the clients and customs authorities in every country along the way should be on board.

Source: ShippingWatch, MIT Technology Review

The Morning After: Tuesday, March 7th 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Some good news / weird news for the Nintendo Switch, a video game cheating service lost in court and a look inside Sonos’ newest speaker. Keep an eye on the site for news today from the Geneva Motor Show (spoiler: electric cars, hybrid cars and drones + cars), but first, here’s everything you might have missed on Monday.

Can an aimbot take the stand?‘League of Legends’ developer wins $10 million settlement from a cheating service

LeagueSharp offered a sort of subscription hacking service for people who wanted to win at League of Legends instead of playing League of Legends. Last fall, League developer Riot sued the company, claiming a DMCA violation, plus alleged attacks on company servers and the doxxing of one of its employees. Now, LeagueSharp is shut down after a court-ordered ban, and other makers of cheating software may have been put on notice.

Next fastest is the WiiThe Switch is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo history

Nintendo told a New York Times reporter that the Switch is off to a flying start. It claims the new console is its fastest-selling launch ever, with sales over its first two days topping even the Nintendo Wii. While that number mostly represents its ability to build more devices these days, it means the unusual console is experiencing a warm reception, while it’s new Zelda game is the top-selling launch title.

But not everything is perfectCan a DIY antenna upgrade fix the left Joy-Con?

Some Switch owners are already complaining the left side Joy-Con input has a tendency to lose sync with the console. As iFixit’s teardown showed, the two remotes are not identical, and YouTuber Spawn Wave decided to try to address the issue on his own. By soldering a bit of extra wire onto the circuit board he was able to not only stop the disconnects, but even get some extra range.

So sci-fi it hurts.NASA wants to protect Mars with a magnetic shield

NASA wants to protect what’s left of Mars’ atmosphere, and it involves creating a magnetic shield that would deflect solar winds and radiation.

‘Conan Exiles’ recouped its development costs in less than a week.A naked barbarian simulator saved a game developer from bankruptcy

Sometimes you just don’t hear about game development struggles until the company goes bust. FunCom was teetering on the brink before it decided to make Conan Exiles. Despite the popularity of its previous Conan games, critical acclaim for titles like The Park and being the developer behind the LEGO Minifigures Online MMO, the company was hemorrhaging money. Exiles reversed the company’s fortunes, thanks to streaming gamers’ support… and some in-game nudity.

Microsoft’s been designing again.Imagine the perfect Surface office

With the Surface Book, Surface Studio and other products, Microsoft has managed to attract graphics pros, designers and engineers, many who were used to working with Apple products. It’s now taking it further, by expanding into workspace lifestyle concepts via a partnership with Steelcase. The two companies have unveiled “Creative Spaces,” which are office furniture layout concepts optimized to work with Surface products. I hope you’re in the market for a $1,000 chair.

Go back to sleepFitbit introduces new sleep monitoring features, plus the Alta HR

The latest piece of hardware from Fitbit is an update to its style-conscious Alta line, now upgraded with a heart rate monitoring sensor. The Alta HR will go on sale for $150 in early April, but that’s not all that’s new. Every Fitbit tracker that supports sleep tracking is getting an update later this month for “Sleep Insights,” a new feature that combines sleep data with your workout and weight loss info to make recommendations. Meanwhile, “Sleep Stages” adds heart rate tracking and other metrics to the usual accelerometer-based data to get a better idea of how much sleep you’re really getting each night.

Round two, fight.Trump’s new immigration ban restricts residents of six countries

After multiple court decisions put the brakes on Donald Trump’s first ban restricting immigration and travel from several countries with majority Muslim populations, the president is trying again. A new Executive Order has been signed and will go into effect March 16th, with a number of changes including the removal of Iraq from the list. A number of tech companies spoke out against the previous order and supported lawsuits against it and now we wait to see what happens this time around.

But wait, there’s more…

• Public Access’ time is done, but a better Engadget community awaits
• Russian hackers are reportedly extorting American left-wing groups
• Blue Origin’s latest rocket engine is finally complete
• ‘Marines United’ Facebook group shut down, investigated by DoD for spreading naked photos of female servicemembers
• How Sonos made the new Playbase sound a lot better than it should

Doppler Labs sues Bose over ‘Hearphones’ name and tech

When the Bose Hearphones first came out, we noted that they looked like Bose’s QuietControl 30 with the technology of Doppler Labs’ Here One earbuds. Apparently Doppler Labs also noticed the similarity in technology, look and name (it calls its product “Here Buds”) and is taking its rival to court. As Business Insider noticed, it alleges that Bose took several meetings under the guise of forming a partnership, but instead used the secret information it learned to develop a similar product with a similar name.

Doppler made a splash in 2015 when it unveiled its Here Active Listening earbuds. Those models didn’t actually let you listen to music — you could just eliminate or augment outside sounds by, say, adding bass to a concert. You could also turn down or block outside sounds like regular active noise-cancelling headphones.

The Here One buds, which launched last year, have all those functions but add the ability to stream your own music, broadcasts and other audio. That means that you could listen to music on a bike ride while still hearing cars and follow a game broadcast without missing the ambient crowd sounds or crack of a bat.

Bose’s Hearphones (above) are based on the QuietControl 30 noise-cancelling earphones, but use tech that’s pretty similar to Doppler’s Here One. You can “focus, amplify or reduce real-world sounds to the level you want,” according to Bose’s website, and “improve the listening comfort of conversations and take the edge off the background noise.” (The Hearphones are reportedly available to buy, but only in very limited test markets.)

The problem, says Doppler Labs, is that Bose didn’t come up with those ideas on its own. Doppler said it pursued partnerships last year and Bose was one of the first companies to respond. According to the complaint, Doppler shared its “proprietary technology, market approach … product capabilities and product road map” during the first meeting.

Later on, it let Bose try the Hear One earbuds prior to market release and told it more about its audio tech. It said that a Bose executive was one of the first to purchase it Here Active Listening buds on Kickstarter, and even followed up to make sure he’d be the first to get one. “It now appears that [the individual] was doing this to gain early access to a competitor’s technology,” the complaint states.

Doppler Labs claims that Bose infringed on its Here Buds trademark with the Hearphones name (earbuds versus earphones, get it?) and “engaged in unfair and deceptive acts” with regard to the tech. Consequently, it’s asking for damages and wants a “formal retraction by means of a national email campaign … and a full-page advertisement in the appropriate publications.”

It’s a big question as to whether it can prove the claims — after all, Bose has been making active listening products since 1989. We’ve reached out to Bose for comment and will update the article if we, um, hear back.

Source: Business Insider

IMDb adds ‘F-Rating’ to help users identify feminist-friendly movies

In a bid to highlight movies that celebrate women in cinema, popular film information site IMDb has incorporated a new feminist classification into its listings. In order for a movie to earn the new ‘F-Rating’, it must either be written or directed by a woman or feature significant female characters on screen in their own right. Created in 2014 by Bath Film Festival director Holly Tarquini, the new classification has since been adopted by over 40 cinemas and film festivals in the UK. Tarquini states that 21,800 films have been awarded the rating on IMDb so far.

With Hollywood largely seen as a male dominated industry, IMDb embracing the rating could have a positive impact on highlighting gender inequality while simultaneously celebrating women in film.

The criteria for the F-Rating was inspired by the renowned feminist movie barometer, the “Bechdel Test”. Originating from a comic strip by American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the characters in the comic decide that a movie should include at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man. Surprisingly to some, there are many films that do not manage to achieve this, including The Lord of The Rings and the original Star Wars trilogies.

Recent movies that have been awarded a triple star rating for meeting all the criteria include Frozen, American Honey and Bridget Jones’ Baby. While it isn’t live yet, the F-Rating is due to be rolled out on IMDb imminently.

Source: BBC

Apple Face Detection Patent Hints at Possible PrimeSense Tech Headed For ‘iPhone 8’

Apple was awarded a patent today that details a method of detecting faces in a digital video feed through the use of depth information.

Published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the document describes how face detection algorithms could identify the presence of faces in a live video when people in the scene are located at different distances from the camera.

To reduce processing overhead and minimize error rates, the system applies depth information to existing face detection algorithms used in photography and intelligently scales the face window sizes according to their depth coordinates – i.e., the further away a face is from the lens, the smaller the capture frame around it.

The method utilizes a special infrared light to project an optical radiation pattern onto the scene, which is then converted into a depth map. As noted by AppleInsider, the depth mapping system referenced in the patent is based on motion tracking technology developed by Israeli motion capture firm PrimeSense, which Apple acquired in 2013.

While the system is able to recognize faces in general, it lacks the ability to identify individual differences between faces, so this isn’t a bio-recognition solution in itself, but it could become a crucial enabling step in a wider authentication system.

Apple is said to be developing a “revolutionary” front-facing camera system for the upcoming “iPhone 8”. The technology is rumored to consist of three modules to enable fully-featured 3D sensing capabilities. While there’s no way to know for sure if this particular patent describes one of those modules, the upgraded camera system is said to be fueled by PrimeSense algorithms.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tag: patent
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Adobe Lightroom Mobile App Gets New Raw HDR Capture Mode

Adobe has announced that the latest update to its Lightroom mobile app now allows users to capture HDR images in RAW format.

The upgrade means the app now automatically determines the ideal exposure range of the subject before capturing three photos as RAW DNG files, before applying align, merge, and tone mapping algorithms to generate the final 32-bit RAW image.

We’re excited to announce that Lightroom Mobile now has a new raw HDR capture mode that lets you achieve a dynamic range on your mobile device that was previously only possible shooting with an DSLR or mirrorless camera.

[…]

You get a 16-bit floating point DNG, with all of the benefits of both an HDR and a raw photo, which is processed by the same algorithms with the same quality as the HDR technology built into Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom.

In addition to the RAW mode, the update adds an Export Original option, enabling users to to export the original files, including DNGs captured in the camera as well as raw files imported through Lightroom Mobile and Lightroom web. Adobe has also added Gestures to the Rate & Review mode, to speed up the review process.

Lastly, there’s a new 3D Touch and Notification Center widget, to make it easier and faster to launch Lightroom’s camera.

Lightroom for iOS devices is a free download, but its sync and cloud features require a subscription to Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photography plan, priced at $9.99 per month. A 30-day free trial is available.

Adobe has separate Lightroom apps for the iPad [Direct Link] and the iPhone [Direct Link].

Tag: Adobe Lightroom
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Oreo just flew 5 ‘cookie drones’ over NY City in a wacky milk dunk stunt

Why it matters to you

Companies are discovering a myriad of uses for drones, but this has to be the most absurd yet.

Remotely operated multi-rotor flying machines, or “drones” for short, are coming to the attention of not just indie filmmakers who’ve realized how much cheaper they are compared to hiring a helicopter for the day, but also power companies for inspection operations, farmers for crop monitoring, and real estate workers for property photography.

They’re great for Oreo milk dunks, too.

In case it somehow slipped you by, March 6 was National Oreo Cookie Day. To celebrate this wondrous occasion – which also happened to mark the 105th anniversary of “milk’s favorite cookie” – the global biscuit brand created five flying Oreo drones and flew them over New York City’s East River.

Oreo

What in the name of chocolate sandwich edibles is an “Oreo drone,” you may well be asking. Well, in this case, it’s a quadcopter dressed up to look like a giant Oreo cookie and … err, that’s it.

More: Wacky “human torch drone” promotes movie

As the video above shows, once the five cookies were airborne, they were flown to a great height over hundreds — possibly thousands — of mugs of milk placed on a floating barge. Each one then dropped an Oreo cookie, aiming, like we all do from time to time, for the perfect dunk.

The video reminds viewers that the entire exercise was a “professional stunt,” and should not be attempted by cookie-scoffing amateurs. “Dunk responsibly,” it urges.

And if you’ve been having dunking issues lately, then here’s a guide explaining in great detail how to do it with an Oreo.

Logitech’s esports mechanical keyboard will dazzle enemies with looks, speed

Why it matters to you

PC gamers looking for a competitive edge should keep an eye on Logitech’s new portable mechanical keyboard.

Popular peripheral maker Logitech launched a new mechanical keyboard for esports athletes. Called the Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, the device is built specifically for PC gaming tournaments and does not come packed with a numeric keypad. It also doesn’t have dedicated macro keys, making it extremely compact and portable.

The big selling angle with Logitech’s new mechanical keyboard is speed. During competitive PC gaming, the time between a finger pressing down on a key to the game receiving the command is critical. Laggy input means a missed opportunity that could lead to the other team winning. Logitech set out to make sure that doesn’t happen.

More: Now $44, the Logitech G602 is an affordable, feature-rich wireless mouse

Logitech focused on three key points of performance: actuation speed, keystroke signaling processing, and USB polling. For starters, the keyboard features Romer-G mechanical switches that are supposedly 10 milliseconds faster than what is used in the Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition keyboards. These switches have an actuation distance of 1.5mm, which is the space between the key at rest and the point the contacts signal a command.

Meanwhile, keystroke signaling processing ensures that the correct keystroke command is sent to the PC. Logitech’s switches include an optimized micro-control unit and signal processing to reduce the amount of chatter caused before the switch’s metal contacts make a strong electrical connection. Although the chatter can last only microseconds, it can cause the PC to register multiple key presses. The new switches “clear the air” so the proper switch command gets through, providing a faster response.

Next is the USB polling rate. This is the number of times the USB connection between the PC and attached device is updated. For instance, a polling rate of 125Hz means the connection is updated 125 times a second. Like a good framerate, the higher the polling rate, the more responsive the user’s input is rendered on screen. Logitech doesn’t provide an actual polling rate number, but Razer’s Blackwidow X TE Chroma keyboard has a 1,000Hz rate.

As for other features, the new keyboard has a detachable fork-shaped USB cable so a short isn’t created when continuously wrapping the cable around the peripheral during transportation. It also has customizable RGB lighting that can be programmed through the Logitech Gaming Software tool and stored directly on the keyboard’s onboard memory. There is a steel back plate, too, reinforcing the overall compact design.

Finally, the Logitech Gaming Software tool can be used to convert the function keys into macro keys. The tool can also be used to create profiles for each game, such as blacking out unnecessary keys. Logitech already created more than 300 pre-generated profiles specifically for its Logitech G RGB keyboards, and developers are integrating profiles into their PC games as well.

Here are a few additional details including the availability and price:

• Durability: 70 million key presses
• Actuation force: 45g
• Total travel distance: 3.0mm
• Supported colors: More than 16.8 million
• Size: 6.02 (length) x 14.19 (width) x 1.35 (height) inches
• Weight (no cable): 2.16 pounds
• Cable length: 6 feet
• Availability: March
• Price: $130

Jeff Bezos offers a sneak peek at Blue Origin’s newest rocket engine

Why it matters to you

With R&D work among the likes of Blue Origin and SpaceX continuing apace, the 21st-century space race continues to edge forward.

Jeff Bezos doesn’t want SpaceX grabbing the headlines the whole time, especially considering all the dollars going into his Blue Origin space company.

Keen to let everyone know his space team also wants to go to the moon, as well as other places far beyond, Bezos this week tweeted a couple of photos of a gleaming new rocket engine.

The images show Blue Origin’s very first BE-4 booster, the rocket engine that it claims will end American dependence on Russian engines by 2019.

1st BE-4 engine fully assembled. 2nd and 3rd following close behind. #GradatimFerociter pic.twitter.com/duE4Tnzvkx

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) March 6, 2017

Two additional BE-4 engines are currently in production, Bezos added on Twitter.

Fully paid for by the private sector, seven of the BE-4 engines will be used to power the first stage of Blue Origin’s awesome New Glenn reusable rocket, which is currently under development.

The new rocket engine could one day play a part in taking astronauts on missions to the moon. Indeed, news surfaced just last week that Bezos is keen to launch “an Amazon-like shipment service” to the lunar surface.

No, such a service wouldn’t be viable today, as there’s no one there just now. But in the future, there could be a community of scientists stationed there for research purposes, or perhaps a small “tourist resort” for people who’re cool with really-long-haul travel.

“It is time for America to return to the moon — this time to stay,” Bezos wrote recently in an email to the Washington Post. “A permanently inhabited lunar settlement is a difficult and worthy objective. I sense a lot of people are excited about this.”

Bezos’s proposal, which was sent to NASA as well as top members of the U.S. government, focuses first on transporting cargo and other important gear for setting up a colony — possibly starting in the mid-2020s — with humans arriving on the planet some time (perhaps a long time) later.

More: As billionaires ogle Mars, the space race is back on

The Amazon founder and CEO said the ambitious project could only happen in partnership with NASA, adding, “Our liquid hydrogen expertise and experience with precision vertical landing offer the fastest path to a lunar lander mission. I’m excited about this and am ready to invest my own money alongside NASA to make it happen.”

Anyway, all that’s far in the future. First up are tests for the BE-4 rocket, and if they all go swimmingly, the booster should one day help to transport astronauts to the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit, or whatever inhabited satellite replaces it in the coming years.

Huawei P10 Plus gallery: First photos from Huawei’s best camera yet

The P10 Plus’s new Leica Summilux f/1.8 lens boosts low-light performance.

The Huawei P10 Plus brings a much-needed optic upgrade to Huawei’s Leica-branded camera setup. Like the regular P10 (and Mate 9), you’ve still got a dual-camera setup, combining 12- and 20-megapixel shooters, the former using an optically stabilized color sensor, and the latter being a monochrome sensor for added detail. But the big upgrade for the “Plus” is a new f/1.8 lens, allowing in more light for brighter low-light shots, and improved image quality all-round.

We’ll have a full review of both new Huawei phones soon. In the meantime, we’ve rounded up a handful of sample shots to showcase what the P10 Plus’s camera can do. Using the phone throughout MWC week in Barcelona gave us some great opportunities to see what the cameras are capable of.

Shooting directly into the sun allows the P10 Plus’s strengths in dynamic range to shine through.

The software-based low depth-of-field mode can produce some neat effects when focusing off into the distance.

Low-light performance in general is stronger than earlier Huawei cameras, through fine details are sharper in rivals like the LG G6

With an f/1.8 lens, you don’t always need to rely on software bokeh effects.

The same shot taken in color and monochrome shooting modes.

The P10 Plus’s high dynamic range is a good fit for street photography out in Barcelona.

The P10 Plus’s portrait mode zooms in, detects your subject’s face, adjusts lighting and defocuses the background.

Brightly lit landscapes are far from challenging, but the P10 Plus excels nonetheless.

Hybrid zoom, which uses the data from the secondary monochrome sensor, returns in the P10 Plus.

Software bokeh effects sometimes result in fringing, but generally work well with harder edges.

Some color detail is lost in extremely bright, high-contrast scenes.

Sunset scenes can be challenging, but the P10 Plus’s HDR mode always served us well.

Some shadow detail is lost in darker street scenes, but colors remain true to life.

More: Hands-on with the Huawei P10 Plus