New NASA budget focuses almost exclusively on space

Congress has finally passed a bill authorizing NASA’s new budget that gives the agency annual funding of$19.5 billion. The paperwork remains mostly unchanged from when it was passed in the Senate last December, with only minor alterations being made. The NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 was passed without opposition and focuses almost exclusively on space travel and science. Details about the agency’s more contentious Earth-based research, however, will have to wait another day.

For instance, NASA has been tasked with pushing through its Orion and SLS programs, and needs to fly an un-crewed mission by 2018. In addition, the agency has been told to work out a plan to get humans on, or at least close to, Mars by the year 2030. Closer to home, scientists will look at establishing a human presence beyond low-Earth orbit, as well as kickstarting innovation in supersonic aircraft and travel capabilities.

One project whose fate hangs in the balance is the Asteroid Redirect Mission, which NASA planned to use to capture a near-Earth asteroid. The rock was intended to be experimented on by crewed missions as a way to help scientists understand how to keep astronauts safe as they flew to Mars. Unfortunately, the project was attacked by Lamar Smith and Brian Babin, who failed to see how the project would benefit NASA’s ambitions to travel further into space. NASA has 180 days to evaluate an alternative plan or justify its continuation, or else it’ll be all but dead.

Space News quotes Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who says that the legislation “is not a perfect bill,” adding that it does not “directly address all of NASA’s science programs.” Unfortunately, those elements of NASA’s activity that aren’t covered include Earth science — the study and monitoring of anthropogenic climate change. That’s not surprising, since the president and many republican leaders have expressed disdain for “politicized science,” a euphemism for climate change research.

The bill must now go to the White House for the president to sign it into law. We contacted the White House to see how likely that is, and will update this when we hear back.

Via: BusinessInsider

Source: US Congress

Visit the ISS in virtual reality with an Oculus Rift

Most of us will (sadly) never be able to visit the ISS in person and will have to make do with photos and videos of the orbiting lab. If you have an Oculus Rift, though, you have a far more immersive choice: a true-to-life simulation you can visit in virtual reality. Oculus has teamed up with NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency to create the Mission:ISS VR experience. You can explore the virtual station like you’re actually in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), but you can do more than that, as well. So long as you’re using an Oculus Touch controller, you can dock incoming spacecraft, go out on spacewalks and even perform mission-critical tasks like a real crew member.

Hollywood visual effects firm Magnopus made sure the virtual ISS is as close to reality as possible by basing its design on NASA models and astronaut descriptions. It also got some help recreating the spacecraft’s details from NASA Johnson Space Center’s VR Laboratory. Mission:ISS is completely free and is now available from the Oculus Store. But since very few people have a Rift, Oculus has also launched a pilot program in the US that gives high school students the chance to try the experience for themselves.

In addition to announcing Mission:ISS, the company has also revealed that it’s sending a Rift headset to the actual space station through the French Space Agency. European astronaut Thomas Pesquet will use it to test the effects of zero G on our spatial awareness and balance. Its results will help us understand how our body could respond to future long-term missions that will take humans farther than LEO and the moon.

Source: Oculus

Ubisoft reveals year two ‘The Division’ expansions and gifts

Ubisoft has unveiled its roadmap for The Division year two expansions and is throwing in some gifts for the game’s first anniversary. Judging by the details it revealed, you’re not going to get a big updates à la one of the game’s main rivals, Destiny. However, it’s free, and Ubisoft is keeping the game ticking along until it’s able to release a sequel.

The first expansion will use an event system “that drives players to activities that feature modifiers, leaderboards and unique vanity items,” Ubisoft writes. It’ll also have a loadout feature that lets you quickly switch gear combinations and a system to show your greatest feats. “It will reward players for … long-term activities, short-term activities and medium-term activities within the game,” said Creative Director Julian Gerighty in a statement.

The team says the second expansion pack is “more content-focused,” but wouldn’t comment further on what that might entail. Unfortunately, neither the first or second expansion are unlikely to include any new missions. “We can’t really deliver story missions that will fit into the RPG aspects of the game in a simple way,” said Gerighty. “So we’re not going to be doing the classic main mission type of thing.”

There’s still no news of a Division sequel, but Ubisoft’s Massive studio took pains to reassure players that a new Avatar universe game wouldn’t draw resources away from it. “This is something that’s been in the works for a while,” said Gerighty. “The studio here is already much bigger than it was at the time of the release of The Division.”

Long-term plans aside, Ubisoft is also giving The Division players some instant gratification. You’ll be able to claim free credits, higher target rewards, celebration emotes and more starting today.

Source: Ubisoft

Apple’s New Jacksonville Store Opens March 11 as Grand Rapids Location Set to Expand

Apple has announced that its relocated St. Johns Town Center store in Jacksonville, Florida opens Saturday, March 11 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The next-generation store will be located at 4835 River City Drive, just down the street from its current store at 4712 River City Drive in the open-air shopping complex.

Apple’s existing St. Johns Town Center store opened in March 2005
Apple’s new 9,100-square-foot store is situated between Tesla and Tory Burch stores near the southeast end of the Town Center. The space, which was vacated by Forever 21 last year, is over twice as large as its current store, which opened in March 2005. The older location will likely close by Saturday.

Elsewhere, Apple plans to double the size of its Woodland Mall store in Grand Rapids, Michigan to 8,000 square feet, according to MLive. And in China, a store with a beautiful staircase is set to open at Jinmao Place in Nanjing in the near future. Apple has yet to announce an official grand opening date.

(Thanks, Larry!)

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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‘Plex Cloud’ for Accessing Media Anywhere is Now Available to All Plex Pass Users

Plex today announced that its new Plex Cloud service has officially launched, making it available to all Plex Pass users. Plex Cloud has been in beta testing since September of 2016, but is now ready for a wider release.

Plex Cloud is designed to allow Plex users to store their media in the cloud so that it’s accessible from anywhere without the need to set up a local server.

Using a compatible cloud service, Plex Pass subscribers can create an always-on Plex Media Server that can stream any media content to any device with Plex installed in 60 seconds or less. As with a standard local server, media is organized using the Plex app for quick access to TV shows, movies, music, pictures, and more.

Because Plex Cloud relies on cloud storage, Plex Pass customers will need access to Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. A subscription may be required, based on how much storage space is required for an individual’s media library.

A Plex Pass is also required for access to Plex Cloud. The Plex Pass, which includes access to other upgraded features as well, is priced at $4.99 per month, $39.99 per year, or $119.99 for lifetime usage.

Tag: Plex
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OK, Google: What can Home do? The speaker’s most useful skills

Google Home has been on the market for several months now, and the debate between Amazon Echo owners and Google Home aficionados remains fierce. Naturally, Google’s smart speaker features fewer applications than Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, namely because it’s only been on the market for a short time.

More: What smart home devices work with Google Home? Here’s everything announced so far

Nonetheless, many Google Home owners still believe that, in the long run, Google Home will prove to be a more robust platform than Alexa. Interest rose considerably in the device when Google launched Actions, a platform that allows third-party developers to create reply-based actions via Google Assistant, which is the engine that drives the smart speaker. It’s a welcome change for a company that has long rejected Apple’s “walled garden” approach to app development.

When it comes to using the device, there’s still a lot it can’t do. But it’s learning. Here are just a few of Google Home’s most useful skills.

Automate your life with Tasker, Todoist, IFTTT, Wonder, and AutoVoice

If you took a brain scan of any Google-minded developer in December, you’d see their synapses firing up to connect the dots. One of the most useful facets of Google Home is its ability to pair with other tools, applets, and apps, which allows you to create custom commands for a variety of tasks. It’s also easy to find tutorials that demonstrate how to use the free applet creation software, IFTTT (If This, Then That), to create custom commands that can then be integrated into Google Assistant’s Tasker productivity app (Android, $3) or AutoVoice, a useful Tasker plugin. Just glancing at the Google applets will reveal a medley of skills, some of which will allow you to track your work hours in Google Calendar or back up your texts to a Google spreadsheet.

AutoVoice lets you create voice commands that trigger different responses from Google Home. Setup and getting started takes a bit of work and practice, but the results are worth it. You will need an Android device, though.

IFTTT and Tasker offer great workarounds for things Google Home can’t do on its own yet, but the speaker does have some native capabilities. Unlike with Alexa, Google Home has its abilities activated by default, so you don’t have to set them up. For some, like Todoist, you’ll still need to link your account. Ask Google to talk to Wonder, and you’ll be greeted by a different voice. You can then tell it to remember your gate code or sister’s birthday. Whenever you talk to Wonder again, you can ask to have the information recited back to you.

How to set parental controls for your Nintendo Switch from your phone

Are your kids enjoying the Nintendo Switch? Considering the console just launched, you may have allowed them to spend most of their time playing Breath of the Wild. But it’s been a few days now, so it may be time to start setting some ground rules — that’s where Nintendo’s new parental controls app comes in. Nintendo Switch Parental Controls is an iOS and Android app that lets you monitor Switch usage remotely. There are already some parental controls baked into the Switch, but  the app allows you to set up activity notifications and set a designated amount of play time for your child. Here’s how to use it.

More: How to connect with friends on Nintendo Switch

Setting up parental controls

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Head to the Settings menu on the Switch, and select Parental controls. Here, you can choose to use the Switch or the app to configure the controls — this is where you add the registration number to pair your Switch with your smartphone or tablet. Once you login via your Nintendo ID, you’ll need to pair the Switch with the app. You will need to create an account if you haven’t already, but you do not need to use the same account that’s on the Switch to control it.

Once paired, you can set a daily amount of play time on the Switch — from only 15 minutes (which seems cruel) up to six hours. You can also restrict the ability to post screenshots from games to social media, share profile information, and chat with users (once that feature becomes available).

For the games themselves, you can set a restriction based on age group, such as teen or pre-teen, so that your children are not playing games you might deem inappropriate. If you’d prefer to be more specific, you can also set restrictions based on a specific age. By default, the ratings system is linked to your regional content ratings body, such as the ESRB in North America, but can be changed to reflect other, international ratings groups.

Once you’ve successfully set your preferred parental controls for the Switch, you’ll get access to the default view of the app. Here, you can see how long your child has been playing on the Switch and which game, and you can check out a monthly summary as well. It’s also a neat way for anyone to check their Switch activity, though you may want to turn off all restrictions for yourself. The data is not logged in real time, but, instead, at several points during the day.

Slide over to the Console settings to change your app’s pin to something you can remember, or simply use the randomly-generated pin that’s provided.

DJI study suggests little risk from raising drone weight limit 4-times higher

Why it matters to you

The FAA guidelines require drones over 250 grams to file a registration — but that number was pulled from data on airplanes and missiles, which is leading DJI to suggest the limits be reconsidered.

How big does an out-of-control drone have to be to cause damage? Bigger than you think, at least according to a new white paper from the Chinese drone manufacturer DJI. The paper, published today, suggests that the FAA’s 250-gram weight limit is too low — and that a limit four times that would be a better standard for classifying a drone as safe.

FAA regulations allow unmanned drones to be flown without registration if they weigh 250 grams, or about 0.55 pounds, or less. For commercial flight, pilots must go through a rigorous certification process to fly a drone above 250 grams.

More: What you need to know to safely (and legally) fly your drone

DJI’s research suggests that unmanned aircraft systems as large as 2.2 kg., or about 4.85 pounds,pose little risk. The company’s drone lineup contains a wide range of sizes, with the folding Mavic Pro weighing in at 743 grams or 1.64 pounds.

The current FAA regulations were set in conformity with Registration Task Force (RTF) research from 2015. “The RTF had only three days to decide how much a drone should weigh to require registration, and RTF members — including myself — unanimously set a 250-gram limit for registration purposes only, not for safety rulemaking,” said the paper’s co-author, Brendan Schulman, DJI vice president of policy and legal affairs. “Nevertheless, regulators around the world are using the FAA’s 250-gram limit as a safety standard for the lowest-risk drones, despite its flaws. We hope our white paper spurs more detailed evaluation for better and more accurate rulemaking.”

DJI’s research suggests that the data the RTF had to find on short notice is outdated and flawed, including a 50-year-old equation that suggests an object with 80 Joules of kinetic energy would have a 30-percent fatality rate if it came in contact with a person. At the time, DJI says, there wasn’t enough research to the contrary, so the committee unanimously approved the 250-gram limit.

However, DJI suggests that using the same equation as the kinetic energy of a missile or actual aircraft isn’t accurate for a plastic drone with no fuel source to spark an explosion. Instead, DJI factored in a more specific calculation for just how much kinetic energy transfer a drone would create on impact using variables on where the drone might hit, as well as drag and the energy transfer on impact.

DJI also factored in more variables, such as the pilot’s skill level, probability of technical failure, and not just the population density of the area, but the amount of unsheltered pedestrians at any given time.

Most drone bodies are made from plastic foam or carbon fiber and will break on impact, and without fuel, there wouldn’t be an explosion on impact, DJI says. Worst case scenario, DJI suggests, the drone is falling straight out of the sky or flying horizontally at maximum speed.

“In its haste, the RFT had to use shortcuts and assumptions that are not well-matched to the characteristics of a UAS,” the report reads. “By making this additional ‘reality check’ adjustment to the calculation, we can conclude that the RTF’s calculation of mass for its cutoff should have been over four times higher.”

DJI’s research suggests that a more accurate “lowest risk” drone category would be drones weighing 2.2 kg. or less, but that further analysis is needed. “Given the faulty assumptions that underlie the selection of 250 grams, regulators should be hesitant to adopt a 250-gram UAS category without conducting their own rigorous safety analysis based on the desired policy goals,” the white paper concludes. “Review of the RTF’s work shows that its selection of 250 grams is far too low, and far too conservative, to be used to create a lowest-risk UAS regulatory category. Based on a similar approach to risk estimation, with adjustments for real-world factors, we propose 2.2 kg as the upper threshold of a ‘lowest-risk’ UAS category.”

Now you can buy refurbished 2016 MacBook pros without Touch Bars

Why it matters to you

Getting a MacBook Pro is possible on a budget, but you may have to be quick if you want one of the latest ones.

Apple has introduced MacBook Pros without Touch Bars from its 2016 range to the refurbished store, meaning anyone who wants one of the latest generation of Apple’s laptops can get one without having to splash out as much. Sure it won’t be able to play Doom in quite the same way, but did you really need that function anyway?

One of the more standout additions to the 2016 MacBook Pro was the Touch Bar, though Apple did launch a version without it in October 2016. It’s that version of the Pro which is now available in the refurbished store, in somewhat limited varieties. There are a few different configurations of internal hardware, with discounts over new versions by several hundred dollars.

Since these are refurbished models, the stock Apple has available is dependent on people sending them back, so there’s never a guarantee of a specific model in there. At the time of writing though there are two options for second-hand buyers.

More: Apple reportedly requesting to sell refurbished iPhones in India — again

The first, is a 2GHz dual-core, Core i5 model, with retina display. It features 8GB of RAM and 512GB of PCIe-based solid state storage and makes use of Intel’s on-board Graphics 540 chip. It’s priced at $1,440.

Although there are a number of older MacBooks available, too, the only other 2016 model packs a 2.4GHz dual-core, Core i7 CPU and 16GB of LPDDR3 memory, so it is a little more powerful, which is why its price tag is higher too: $1,870. As MacRumor’s listings show though, what’s available changes all of the time, so keep your eyes peeled if you’re looking for a specific deal.

Apple offers free shipping and free returns on all refurbished purchases.

Now sure which refurbished products you should consider? We have a handy guide that will help you know what’s safe and what’s not safe to buy used.

Best app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers make paid apps free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest apps on sale in the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money, and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

More: 200 Awesome iPhone Apps | The best Android apps for almost any occasion

Giffiti

Giffiti lets you add animated GIF stickers on your photos. Share your Giffitis through SMS, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email, and more.

Available on:

iOS

Simpler Pro

Simpler Pro is a completely redesigned contacts app that makes your address book light, smart, and user friendly.

Available on:

iOS

Quick Fit

7 minutes is all it takes to get in shape with this scientifically proven, full-body workout.

Available on:

iOS

noScroll

Maintain your privacy while showing friends and family photos on your phone. Simply select the photos you want to show, and those will be the only ones they can swipe between.

Available on:

iOS

PhotoGram

PhotoGram makes it easy to repost your favorite photos and videos on Instagram while giving credit to the original Instagramer. All it takes is three simple steps.

Available on:

iOS

QUIKchat

Enjoy fast and fun mobile conversations with your friends. Add a caption, snap a photo or a video, and send it to a friend.

Available on:

iOS