NASA offers first look at planet-rich Trappist-1 star system

NASA was quick to offer conceptual images of Trappist-1 and its abundance of Earth-sized planets. But what does the star system look like, really? At last, now we know… sort of. As part of a raw data release, NASA has offered a simple, 11-by-11 pixel animation that shows the dwarf star as it was on February 22nd. Technically, you’re looking at a target pixel file that represents the light levels the Kepler space telescope caught while studying Trappist-1 for an hour. You won’t see planets, unfortunately — an Earth-like planet would barely make a blip in the brightness levels, even if it crossed directly in front of the star.

Why rush to offer such a rough look? As with the raw info, it’s all in the name of research. NASA explains that this data gives scientists an “early look” so that they can shape their research proposals for further investigations that start next winter. They’ll have a better sense of what they want to look for. Fully calibrated data will be available in May, NASA says, so don’t despair if you’re hoping for more polished material.

This is a target pixel image of #TRAPPIST1. Its starlight and story traveled 40 yrs to reach the Kepler spacecraft.https://t.co/UJsLZ7sQgO pic.twitter.com/2Pg1DvuLTv

— NASA Kepler and K2 (@NASAKepler) March 11, 2017

Source: NASA (1), (2), (3)

The Hideez Key 2 is a universal key that will manage your passwords, open doors, and more

Why it matters to you

You need more security and efficiency in your life, and the universal key known as the Hideez Key 2 can help.

We briefly mentioned the Hideez Key 2 last week, when it made its debut at the London Wearable Technology Show, but there’s much more for you to know. The Hideez tech company is currently known best for its small password manager that you can clip onto your keyring, but its newest product, which is already up for pre-order and will be available for purchase in May, is a considerable step up from the original.

The Hideez Key 2 is a digital identity manager that allows you to do everything from store passwords to open doors to maintain a Bluetooth connection with your phone, laptop, or other device if it’s stolen.

More: 5 of our favorite mad gadgets from the London Wearable Technology Show

Branded as a “universal digital key designed to save time and give additional privacy and security to our digital lives,” the Hideez 2 comes with a hardware-encrypted password manager with second factor authentication, as well as RFID credential storage that lets you lock and unlock more than a thousand doors using this single wearable device. It also comes with a Bluetooth LE transceiver, which means you can unlock your mobile devices or laptops from a distance, and actually verifies your identity using your eye veins.

“As technology quickly develops and its importance in our daily life continues to grow, many digital security solutions are failing to keep up with the pace of development,” said Oleg Naumenko, Founder and CEO of Hideez Group. “Our company brings personal and digital security to a new level, allowing our customers to feel comfortable and confident in their digital lives. The Hideez Key 2 brings that sense of security in a neat, easy-to-use package like nothing else on the market.”

When the Hideez 2 becomes widely available this summer, it’ll come in four “easy-to-use form-factors — keychain fob, wristband, pendant or clip — each in a thin, water-resistant case” and set you back about $65. So if you need to keep your information secure, streamline your life, and otherwise become a denizen of the 21st century, this universal key just might do the trick for you.

The Hideez Key 2 is a universal key that will manage your passwords, open doors, and more

Why it matters to you

You need more security and efficiency in your life, and the universal key known as the Hideez Key 2 can help.

We briefly mentioned the Hideez Key 2 last week, when it made its debut at the London Wearable Technology Show, but there’s much more for you to know. The Hideez tech company is currently known best for its small password manager that you can clip onto your keyring, but its newest product, which is already up for pre-order and will be available for purchase in May, is a considerable step up from the original.

The Hideez Key 2 is a digital identity manager that allows you to do everything from store passwords to open doors to maintain a Bluetooth connection with your phone, laptop, or other device if it’s stolen.

More: 5 of our favorite mad gadgets from the London Wearable Technology Show

Branded as a “universal digital key designed to save time and give additional privacy and security to our digital lives,” the Hideez 2 comes with a hardware-encrypted password manager with second factor authentication, as well as RFID credential storage that lets you lock and unlock more than a thousand doors using this single wearable device. It also comes with a Bluetooth LE transceiver, which means you can unlock your mobile devices or laptops from a distance, and actually verifies your identity using your eye veins.

“As technology quickly develops and its importance in our daily life continues to grow, many digital security solutions are failing to keep up with the pace of development,” said Oleg Naumenko, Founder and CEO of Hideez Group. “Our company brings personal and digital security to a new level, allowing our customers to feel comfortable and confident in their digital lives. The Hideez Key 2 brings that sense of security in a neat, easy-to-use package like nothing else on the market.”

When the Hideez 2 becomes widely available this summer, it’ll come in four “easy-to-use form-factors — keychain fob, wristband, pendant or clip — each in a thin, water-resistant case” and set you back about $65. So if you need to keep your information secure, streamline your life, and otherwise become a denizen of the 21st century, this universal key just might do the trick for you.

Wave-cutting SV Alpha sport yacht tops 90 miles per hour

Why it matters to you

If the idea of owning a yacht is appealing but at heart you crave speed, here’s your vessel.

Some yachts are built for entertaining crowds in opulent spaces, while others are world travelers with room and facilities to keep owners and 10-20 of their best friends (and hangers-on) comfortable on long journeys. Newcomer SV Yachts has the straightforward goal of building the world’s fastest yacht. Its SV Alpha claims that position, and made its debut just before the Miami International Boat Show.

The SV Alpha is the yacht builders’ first vessel. Its 90-plus mph top speed and two Mercury Racing 700SCI racing engines make good on its performance claim. The SV Alpha isn’t a single-purpose racing boat, however. Maximum capacity is 15 people on board for day cruising in style. The 700SCIs aren’t the only power option. You can choose dual Mercury 520, 565, or 662 SCIs for power that’s formidable without the highest offshore top end.

More: Want a Bugatti Chiron supercar? Dream bigger and get the matching yacht

Performance boats usually have rows of switches and buttons at the helm, but the SV Alpha has virtually none. Three large touchscreen displays and a windshield with unobstructed view comprise an entirely glass helm. The exceptions are two large start buttons. When you start the SV Alpha, a sequence of events engages, activating blowers and providing visual feedback as the engine reaches readiness.

Even with all the power and drama of startup, SV Yachts says the SV Alpha is designed to keep the volume down using Mercury Racing noise reduction technology, including submerged muffler boxes to meet EU noise emission standards when the vessel is not on plane.

The SV Alpha is constructed entirely of composite components for strength, quality control, and weight reduction. The Aramid fiber hull is built of the same material used in tactical body armor to withstand the forces and strain of ocean racing.

The interior seating and sunning surfaces are patterned after vintage GT sports car upholstery. A Wi-Fi managed LED light system both on deck and underwater sets the mood when the vessel is docked or anchored for entertainment.

So whether you want to just sit on a yacht that has a performance-slanted look or if you can’t wait to take her out for booming, wave-cutting offshore high speed runs, the SV Alpha is sure to attract attention.

Android ‘Taste Test’ helps you make a personalized home screen

If you’re an Android fan, there’s a good chance you already know how to customize your home screen with launchers, icon packs and widgets. But what about everyday users? That’s where Google wants to help. It just launched a #myAndroid Taste Test that devises a personalized home screen based on a series of rapid-fire questions, such as whether you prefer a natural or human-made look, or your overall skill level. Once you’ve finished, you get download links to all the apps you need to create the intended effect, such as wallpaper utilities and keyboards.

Sadly, it’s not a tap-and-you’re-done affair. You’ll still have to go through each app to get the exact design you see when you’ve completed the test. However, this could still be particularly helpful, whether or not you’re an Android rookie. It’ll save you from having to search for apps if you’re a veteran, and could reveal a whole new side to the platform if you’re a newcomer. That last part is the point, really — Google wants to highlight Android’s personalization for everyday users who might not realize what their phone can do.

Via: Google+

Source: Android

TAG Heuer confirms March 14th debut for its next Android watch

Those rumors of TAG Heuer unveiling its next Android Wear watch this month? They’re true. The brand has posted a pair of teasers confirming that it will unveil a future Connected smartwatch on March 14th. There are no major giveaways regarding the design (surprise: it’ll likely be familiar), but there is a hint that it’ll be better-suited to women’s wrists than the chunky original. In a teaser video, TAG chief Jean-Claude Biver says that women had input — don’t be surprised if you see an option for a smaller case, different colors and other features that make the wristwear more accessible.

Previous leaks had hinted that the design would revolve around modularity, letting you swap in a mechanical timepiece if the digital one isn’t fashionable for a given situation. It would also pack in considerably more features, including Android Pay support, a brighter screen and GPS. The new Connected is still likely be mind-bogglingly expensive compared to most smartwatches, but we suspect TAG won’t mind. The first model easily outperformed the company’s (admittedly modest) expectations, and a follow-up won’t need to sell in massive numbers to justify its existence.

March 14, Stay Tuned… #ConnectedToEternity pic.twitter.com/fKaNJ8FLkv

— TAG Heuer (@TAGHeuer) March 11, 2017

March 14, Stay Tuned… #ConnectedToEternity pic.twitter.com/ioLH1DdcO7

— TAG Heuer (@TAGHeuer) March 10, 2017

Via: 9to5Google

Source: TAG Heuer (Twitter 1), (2)

Latch shows off its new Latch R Series, a smart access system for the modern home

Why it matters to you

The lock and key is old technology that doesn’t really fit with your modern home, but the new Latch R Series access system might be a good alternative.

The inside of your home is getting smarter, so shouldn’t the exterior be getting the same treatment? At the very least, your modern home should have a modern entry system. We’re talking about getting rid of that old lock and key, and looking to a company like Latch. Its new Latch R Series is heralded as the “first smart access [system] for apartment and office building entrances and elevators.” Now, in the same way that you can swipe a keycard and get into work, you can swipe your way into your home.

Thanks to the Latch R, residential users will be able to lock and unlock doors with a smartphone, smartcard, or special door code. No more worrying about losing your keys or someone duplicating them with your knowing. With the Latch R, security becomes a much more straightforward endeavor. And of course, you can manage guest access by way of Latch R’s digital log.

More: Factory living: Turning a disused industrial space into a garden home

“While many companies have focused on home automation gadgets, the R Series recognizes that a whole generation of users need smarter devices in the apartments and workplaces where they actually spend the most time ” said Luke Schoenfelder, Latch Co-Founder and CEO. “We have built our system to work through enterprise contexts that have been largely ignored and our philosophy is to make these environments great by default, providing an unmatched experience to the thousands of people who live and work in urban buildings.”

Promising to serve as a standalone access control system that doesn’t require any fancy wiring or reader devices that can get very expensive very quickly, the Latch R instead makes use of onboard Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Wiegand communications to help folks access their modern buildings.

“This is the second object we launched using our innovative interface that is offering a variety of ways to enter spaces,” said Thomas Meyerhoffer, Latch Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer. “The simple interface was designed to deliver a seamless and trustful experience. It’s very exciting for us to have more people using our system designed for the new life patterns in today’s cities.”

Meyerhoffer is an award-winning designer who has gained international attention with previous work, including his past tenure at Apple.

You can reserve your own Latch R today for $399, which comes with a two-year service contract.

The good and bad of Wikileaks’ Vault 7 dump

Separating the wheat from the chaff.

On Tuesday (March 7, 2017 if you’re reading from the future) Wikileaks released the Vault 7 CIA files. These dumped a ton of information along with some Tweets about how journalists were supposed to be afraid that the CIA has tapped into everyone’s phone and that encrypted messaging has been hacked. This produced the expected results, where words were quickly typed to let you know how everything has changed and this is some horrible new thing you should be afraid of. Wikileaks is good at that; they know how to dangle a carrot and make people spread their message regardless of any facts or truth. P.T. Barnum would approve.

But after taking the time to look at the claims and dig beyond the hyperbole, there are some things to be learned from the Vault 7 files. They should make you concerned, but not afraid, when you use your phone to do anything you wouldn’t want the rest of the world to see.

More: What is encryption?

The good news is that regardless of what’s being claimed, secure encryption methods appear to be secure. WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal are popular messaging apps that support tend to end encryption and were called out by Wikileaks in connection with the leaked materials. Further inspection of the claims shows that the actual encryption hasn’t been cracked. These apps don’t even appear in any of the files from the CIA by name, and the tools and tricks mentioned in the leaked documents say nothing about “bypassing” the encryption used by them. In fact, it all supports how strong the encryption is and shows that Wikileaks was just playing fast and loose with the news as they’re prone to do.

The takeaway from Vault 7 is that encryption methods really are strong and we should be using them.

The understanding from Wikileaks that your Android or iPhone isn’t secure is the same type of over the top claim that’s true on some level, but stretching the truth just enough to be sensational. There are plenty of valid tools to exploit known security issues for Android and iOS detailed in the leaks. The biggest issue is that none of them are new: they’re the same threats and vulnerabilities you see people like me talking about when we say you need to take your privacy a little more seriously. Some have been patched, some never worked as advertised and most involve someone having your phone in their hands connected to a computer. We should all be concerned about these things and it’s why we claim security patches are so important. But nothing leaked should make you more afraid to use your phone than you were last week.

The bad news from the CIA files is how the security landscape has changed. Where surveillance used to be casting a wide net then filtering out particular results for a closer look, people who want to know what’s on your phone are now using individually targeted methods to try to get in it. No matter how you define the good guys versus the bad guys, knowing that smart people are tasked with finding ways to have access to your phone is a very different scenario than a group of crooks fishing for Visa card numbers on Yahoo! mail servers.

This is a device security issue. Do your part and demand the people who made your phone do the same.

Someone who needs to get around the protection an app like Signal offers needs to find a way to tell the app they’re allowed to do so. They need to break into your phone and look, just as if they were looking over your shoulder while you were reading it. That means people like the ones who were able to tap into an encrypted iPhone without assistance from Apple are now working on ways to crack into every phone. Including yours. While you might be OK with knowing law enforcement can get in a criminal’s phone, know that these methods will become widespread. Two or more people can’t keep a secret, and these CIA leaked files show.

What should we do?

That’s the thing, isn’t it? I doubt anyone reading this is a target of interest for any three-letter government agency. But you still have a right to privacy.

Thankfully, the advice we’ve already heard is still the best way to do it. Common sense things like not opening attachments from people you don’t know, never installing a file from someone who shouldn’t be distributing it and not clicking random links through URL shorteners unless you know who is giving them to you. Do these things, but turn things up a notch and actually do them. If you need to step things up a notch, use secure messaging services for SMS and email.

Use these apps for true private messaging

There’s one more thing we all need to do: Only buy phones made by companies that care about security. If your phone isn’t getting regular patches to mitigate these exploits, don’t buy that brand next time. Phone manufacturers only care about profits, so to make them pay attention you have to put a dent in those profits.

There was no magic hacker tool pulled from the Vault 7 files and you don’t need to be paranoid. But there is a place between not caring and wearing a tinfoil hat, and that’s where we should be.

Stay safe.

This company can track motion with sound instead of light

When it comes to tracking physical objects in virtual spaces, pretty much every company is relying on light in some form. Oculus and HTC have their light mapping sensors, while Sony’s PlayStation VR relies on infrared for its motion tracking camera. Hauoli, a young Austin-based startup demoing at SXSW, has something different in mind. It’s developed a way to track virtual objects with sound. It’s entirely software based and works with just about any speaker, so it also removes the need for expensive motion tracking hardware.

But while making VR seamless is its ultimate goal, Hauoli’s technology can also be used anywhere you need motion tracking. In the video demonstration above, you can see how a standard Galaxy S7 can accurately track the distance from a speaker. It can also be used to draw, but at the moment that process is encumbered with significant delays (the company blames Bluetooth for the latency). And yes, like every good motion tracking innovation, you can play Fruit Ninja with it. The company also showed off how the technology can be used to make drones follow you.

And if you were wondering, yes Hauoli’s accostic motion tracking also works in noisy environments. I couldn’t hear much sound being emitted from the speaker in our demo, but our microphones picked up a low hum and clicking noise. The company also promises that it’s energy efficient (it doesn’t really take much to spit out sound), and it can deliver up to millimeter-level accuracy.

It’s all all very much in the early stages, but Hauoli says it currently has a patent pending for its audio technology. Lili Qiu, the company’s CTO, spun off the technology from her work at the University of Texas. While it’ll likely be a few years before we see Hauoli’s technology in any consumer products, it’s a promising glimpse of how things can evolve in the world of VR and motion tracking in general.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from SXSW 2017.

‘Toki’ uses 3D printing and projection to represent time

Akinori Goto is a stop-motion animator who has translated his art to work with modern materials and techniques. Goto creates smooth movement by passing simple light through highly complex wire mesh sculptures. He’s one of several artists picked to exhibit their work at SXSW this year, and his installation, Toki, is one of the most impressive on display.

Toki consists of three sculptures of varying complexity, each created with the same technique. Goto first crafts 3D animations of a ballet dancer, before taking each frame and translating it into a wire mesh sculpture. In the darkened room the pieces are installed in, beams of light are projected onto the mesh. Each cross-section of the sculpture represents a single frame of the animation, and so as the light passes through it, a visage of a ballerina dancing appears.

Goto has been working on this technique for some time now — he says it’s patent pending — but his most recent work ramps up the complexity by several degrees. While the first two sculptures (which had been exhibited prior to SXSW) are each continuous forms, his new work contains 24 unique sculptures. Each sculpture represents an hour of the day, and Goto says he is trying to express the relationship between time and movement, and “capture the beauty and nature of time itself.”

Click here to catch up on the latest news from SXSW 2017.