Google Photos can now stabilize your shaky handheld videos on Android

Why it matters to you

Shaky video? Google Photos can help, but you loose a bit of resolution in the process.

Google Photos is far from being about just about cloud storage — the latest Android app, which began rolling out to users Tuesday, can reportedly stabilize videos after you shoot them.

Google shared that they were working on adding stabilization last summer, but now the feature has officially arrived inside the app. After opening a video, tapping on the pen icon brings up editing options — a quick tap of “stabilize” starts the process, which can take some time depending on the size of the video file.

As an edit after the fact, the stabilization is electronic, not optical, which means the system is cropping the footage to stabilize each frame, but it may help salvage some shaky shots. Early users are reporting better results with occasional artifacts but not comparable with shooting the footage with a gimbal in the first place.

Along with the stabilization, the latest version of the app includes new smart filters along with a “Deep Blue” slider that helps enhance the color of the water and sky. The app’s automated movies built from photos also see a number of new options.

The stabilization joins a number of other editing tools inside Google Photos, including filters and contrast and color tweaking. The app also turns photos into movies as well as crafting collages, animations, and panoramas from still photos.

The editing features join one of the app’s biggest assets, free unlimited photo storage. Auto-tagging and object recognition software also makes photos searchable without manually adding tags, while automated albums assemble photos from one event into one place.

While a new Google Photos update rolled out to iOS on Monday, video editing options still only list rotations currently. The App Store only lists performance improvements as adjustments to the latest version.

Google Photos is a free download from both Google Play and the App Store.

Portable power station The River can hold its 500-watt charge for a year

Why it matters to you

Going off the grid doesn’t have to mean being without power — at least, not with the River, an eco-friendly portable power bank.

If you’re looking to go off the grid for a while without being completely without power, there’s finally a long-term solution for you. It’s called the River, and it promises smart, clean, mobile power for up to a year. You can charge it with a car jack, wall socket, or solar power, and in turn, it’ll charge all your various devices for you. So if you want to leave civilization but somehow stay plugged in, you may want to check out this out.

Thanks to the River Portable Power Station‘s 500-watt battery, you’ll be able to recharge a smartphone more than 30 times, or send enough electricity to a small refrigerator to keep it operational for up to 10 hours. And because the portable device is waterproof, weighs just 11 pounds, and will work in temperatures ranging from minus 4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, there really isn’t any place you can’t take the River.

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the River is the number of charging ports it contains. That means that no matter how many gadgets need juicing, this generator can probably find a way to accommodate them. With a total of 11 outlets, including two USB-C ports, two standard AC outlets, two DC outputs, a 12V car port, and four fast-charging USB-C ports, you can simultaneously charge your family’s smartphones, tablets, cameras, laptops, and sure, even a drone.

Not only will the River maintain its charge for a long time, it also takes very little time to power up itself. It’ll take just six hours if you plug it into a wall socket, nine hours with a car jack, or 10 to 15 hours with its solar panel (depending on the amount of sunlight).

With a month left in its campaign, the River has already raised well over $180,000, blowing past its original funding goal of $30,000. Over 300 backers have already pledged their support, and if you’d like to join their ranks, you can pre-order a River for $459, with an expected delivery date of July 2017.

Drones and robots wove the University of Stuttgart’s otherworldly new pavilion

Why it matters to you

The future is here: This striking new pavilion at Germany’s University of Stuttgart was constructed entirely by mechanical workers.

If you want evidence of the innovative technology-related work being carried out at Germany’s University of Stuttgart, all you have to do is take a stroll around campus. That’s where the university recently unveiled a new carbon-fibre pavilion, named the ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2016/7.

Resembling a piece of otherworldly landscape from Ridley Scott’s classic movie Alien, the 40-foot-long pavilion was constructed using a combination of cutting-edge drones and robots.

Its design was modeled on the silk hammocks created by moth larvae, and produced using more than 180 kilometers of woven resin-impregnated glass and carbon-fiber.

“Creating a long span structure, beyond the working space of standard industrial fabrication equipment, required a collaborative setup where multiple robotic systems could interface and communicate to create a seamless fiber laying process,” the University of Stuttgart’s website explains. “A fiber could be passed between multiple machines to ensure a continuous material structure. The concept of the fabrication process is based on the collaboration between strong and precise, yet stationary machines with limited reach and mobile, long-range machines with limited precision.”

The construction process involved two stationary industrial robotic arms with the strength and precision necessary for the fiber-winding work, while a drone carried out the fiber-laying process.

“The UAV could fly and land autonomously without the need of human pilots, the tension of the fiber was actively and adaptively controlled in response to both the UAV and robot behaviors,” the website continues.

Sure, we’re unlikely to reach a point any time soon when robots and drones carry out the bulk of building work. However, work like this shows that it’s certainly an available option if called for. “The series of adaptive behaviours and integrated sensors lay the foundation for developing novel multi-machine, cyber-physical fabrication processes for large scale fibre composite production,” the creators note.

Hey, it’s hard to argue with the quality of the results. Or to think of a way a human team could’ve so easily carried out the task!

Mirabook notebook works with a variety of mobile smartphone and PC platforms

Why it matters to you

Need access to a computer while on the go? Plug this ‘mobile convergence’ notebook into your smartphone for a more powerful productivity option.

One of the more forward-looking technology concepts today is the idea of connecting a smartphone to a larger display and external peripherals like a keyboard and mouse. The combination can provide the mobility benefits of a smartphone device with the productivity advantages of a notebook or desktop PC.

A number of companies are working specifically on notebook formats that work primarily with Windows 10 Mobile devices, such as HP’s Lap Dock that works with its Elite x3 smartphone and the NexDock. Now, there’s another player in the market, with the Miraxess Mirabook that’s now available to pledge at IndieGoGo.

Miraxess is a French startup that’s been offering “mobile convergence” products since 2015. The Mirabook is the latest product that it hopes will provide a notebook-like experience that mates with a number of different smartphone and PC platforms. In fact, it’s the Mirabook’s support for the following different convergence solutions that makes it different:

• Samsung DeX
• Oxi OS
• Leena OS
• Maru OS
• Remix Singularity
• Windows 10 Mobile Continuum
• PC sticks
• Raspberry Pi

In terms of hardware, the Mirabook is an aluminum-finished clamshell with a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution 13.3-inch IPS display, full-size keyboard and touchpad, and extra storage and battery life that plugs into one of the supported platforms to provide a bona fide notebook experience. Connectivity is provided by USB Type-C for input and charging, and USB Type-C, HDMI, USB Type-A, and audio jack connections provide for flexible output.

For only five more days, the Mirabook can be pledged at the significantly reduced cost of $180, down from the estimated retail price of $299. Anyone who pledges at the early-bird price gets three “secret tickets” that can be used to pass along the savings to friends and families. Normal early-bird pricing will be $199 including the three secret tickets, and normal pledges will run $249.

Miraxess plans to ship the Mirabook worldwide starting in December 2017. The company has a fixed IndieGoGo goal of $50,000 and has so far raised 13 percent from a total of 37 backers. There’s a month left to get in on the deal, so if you’re looking for a flexible mobile convergence product to use with your smartphone, the Mirabook looks like an attractive option.

Mirabook notebook works with a variety of mobile smartphone and PC platforms

Why it matters to you

Need access to a computer while on the go? Plug this ‘mobile convergence’ notebook into your smartphone for a more powerful productivity option.

One of the more forward-looking technology concepts today is the idea of connecting a smartphone to a larger display and external peripherals like a keyboard and mouse. The combination can provide the mobility benefits of a smartphone device with the productivity advantages of a notebook or desktop PC.

A number of companies are working specifically on notebook formats that work primarily with Windows 10 Mobile devices, such as HP’s Lap Dock that works with its Elite x3 smartphone and the NexDock. Now, there’s another player in the market, with the Miraxess Mirabook that’s now available to pledge at IndieGoGo.

Miraxess is a French startup that’s been offering “mobile convergence” products since 2015. The Mirabook is the latest product that it hopes will provide a notebook-like experience that mates with a number of different smartphone and PC platforms. In fact, it’s the Mirabook’s support for the following different convergence solutions that makes it different:

• Samsung DeX
• Oxi OS
• Leena OS
• Maru OS
• Remix Singularity
• Windows 10 Mobile Continuum
• PC sticks
• Raspberry Pi

In terms of hardware, the Mirabook is an aluminum-finished clamshell with a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution 13.3-inch IPS display, full-size keyboard and touchpad, and extra storage and battery life that plugs into one of the supported platforms to provide a bona fide notebook experience. Connectivity is provided by USB Type-C for input and charging, and USB Type-C, HDMI, USB Type-A, and audio jack connections provide for flexible output.

For only five more days, the Mirabook can be pledged at the significantly reduced cost of $180, down from the estimated retail price of $299. Anyone who pledges at the early-bird price gets three “secret tickets” that can be used to pass along the savings to friends and families. Normal early-bird pricing will be $199 including the three secret tickets, and normal pledges will run $249.

Miraxess plans to ship the Mirabook worldwide starting in December 2017. The company has a fixed IndieGoGo goal of $50,000 and has so far raised 13 percent from a total of 37 backers. There’s a month left to get in on the deal, so if you’re looking for a flexible mobile convergence product to use with your smartphone, the Mirabook looks like an attractive option.

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Armor 11G OC review

Research Center:
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Armor 11G OC

Nvidia’s decision to release the GTX 1080 Ti before AMD releases its Vega-based video cards, expected in the summer, felt like salt in the wound. While the Radeon RX 460 and 480 represent good mid-range value, the red team hasn’t been competitive in high-end gaming for several years. Adding a new card before competition bothered to show up felt excessive.

But, well – isn’t that a strange complaint? Better hardware is always appreciated. Besides, the performance is needed. While the GTX 1080 is fast, it’s not enough to play every modern game at maximum detail and 60 frames per second at 1440p resolution. The story worsens if you have a high-refresh monitor. A GTX 1080 is barely adequate to power a 120Hz display at 1080p.

The card hit a 3DMark Fire Strike score above 20,000.

Thus, we have the GTX 1080 Ti. Its lack of competition means that it wins the performance crown by default, though that doesn’t mean it’s the card you should buy. Value is always important, and the most affordable cards often charge exorbitant rates for minor improvements.

The card we’re reviewing here, MSI’s GTX 1080 Ti Armor 11G, is priced at $710. That’s a small jump over the base 1080 Ti, which is $700 – but worrying about a $10 difference is silly with hardware this pricey. Let’s see if MSI’s high-end 1080 Ti is a must-have for the most hardcore, or an attempt to part rich gamers with a few extra bucks.

My, what a big card you have

MSI’s GTX 1080 Ti Armor 11G is a fancy name for a card that, ultimately, is not that unusual. It drops the standard design’s single blower fan for a pair of conventional fans that sit directly on top of the card and exhaust heat into the case.

This has the advantage of reducing noise, because the fans are large, and don’t have to spin quickly to move a lot of air. However, the GTX 1080 Ti will blast your other components with hot air. Good case airflow is needed to keep the card from running hot.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Shoving larger fans onto the Armor card has resulted in a beefy card. It’s a massive slab of PCB at approximately five inches wide and 11 inches long. That’s about an inch larger than a GTX 1080 in both dimensions. We had no problem fitting the card into our test rig, but it’s going to give some Micro-ATX cases a hard time, and users can’t rely on the fact a previous flagship Nvidia card fit.

A slight overclock is applied to the card by default. The base clock has risen from 1,480MHz to 1,531MHz, and the Boost Clock is up from 1,582MHz to 1,645Mhz. That’s less than 5 percent more over stock, so low that it’s nothing more than a checkmark MSI’s marketing can add to the card’s feature list. On the other hand, MSI is only charging $10 more than stock.

On balance, MSI’s Armor card is not that exciting, but that’s fine. At $710 it’s essentially the same price as a reference design. The card is best suited for those who have a large case with a lot of cooling, while users with mid-sized cases should stick with a standard GTX 1080 Ti.

Our test rig

It’s almost time to put MSI’s card into the test chamber, but before that, a note about our test rig. We perform our benchmarks on our standard machine. It has a Core i7-6950X processor paired with 16GB of DDR4 memory and an Intel 750 Series solid state drive. As always, the goal of the rig is to get out of the video card’s way, so it has a chance to strut its stuff.

3DMark

We start our testing with 3DMark Fire Strike. This DirectX 11 benchmark is a reasonably taxing stress of the system’s overall capability. While it’s not a game, 3DMark is popular for a reason. The relative gap between cards in its benchmarks tends to be emulated in other games, overall.

As you might expect, the MSI Armor GTX 1080 Ti performs extremely well, hitting a score above 20,000. It’s the first single-GPU video card we’ve tested to exceed that mark in this benchmark. In fact, the 1080 Ti is not that far behind two GTX 1080 cards. Twin 1080s will set you back about 40 percent more than a single 1080 Ti, but only nets a performance gain just barely above 20 percent.

Based on that, it does appear the GTX 1080 Ti provides reasonable value. Further, the GTX 1080 Ti completely outclasses the GTX 980 Ti and AMD Radeon Fury X, cards that were top-of-the-line last year.

Game performance

3DMark is a great test, but it’s just one metric. Real-world gaming is what matters. We test using a suite or four games that includes Battlefield 1, For Honor, Civilization VI, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Our suite is chosen to provide examples of a variety of genres and engine techs. We test the first two games in DirectX 11 mode, while the latter two are tested in DirectX 12.

Battlefield 1 in DirectX 11 provides the most appealing jump, as it ramps up performance drastically compared to last generation’s high-end hardware. A GTX 980 Ti can only push 80 frames per second at 1440p and Ultra detail, while the MSI Armor GTX 1080 Ti can hit 141 frames per second. That may seem like overkill, but high-refresh monitors with 120Hz and 144Hz panels are becoming popular among hardcore gaming enthusiast. A last-generation card can’t make the most of those monitors, but the GTX 1080 Ti can.

The story is somewhat similar in For Honor. While the game doesn’t run quite well enough at 1440p and maximum detail to satisfy a 144Hz panel, it comes close to 120Hz panels. Those who want extreme refresh rates should stick to 1080p, where extreme detail hits 150 frames per second on average.

The GTX 1080 Ti can make the most of a high-refresh 1080p or 1440p monitor.

Our DirectX 12 games produce harsher results, though for distinct reasons. Performance in Civilization IV is hardly better than with a GTX 980 Ti or AMD Radeon Fury X, and equal to a GTX 1080 SLI configuration. Upgrading from last-generation hardware would not be recommended if this is your favorite game. Even in DirectX 12 mode, and on our test rig equipped with a Core i7-6950X processor, the game becomes CPU-bound.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided continues to humble cards with its sheer detail. It’s a gorgeous game, and the MSI Armor GTX 1080 Ti “only” hits 70 frames per second. That’s not enough to power a high-refresh panel. However, it does bump the game above 60 frames per second, while the last-generation cards did no better than 43 FPS. The GTX 1080 Ti will be a noticeable upgrade, even here.

While test results vary from game to game, it’s clear the GTX 1080 Ti is fast enough to provide a dramatic improvement over the last generation at 1440p resolution. It may even be worthwhile if you have a 1080p monitor with a 120Hz refresh rate.

What about 4K?

We do not include 4K testing as part of our regular test suite because an incredibly small fraction of gamers have a 4K panel. Further, we think that 4K gaming is an unrealistic target for most PC gamers. We believe gamers prefer high refresh rates and high detail settings in PC games, and test accordingly.

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Armor 11G OC Compared To

MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2G OC

AMD Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 380X

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950

Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X

Nvidia GeForce GTX 960

Nvidia GeForce GTX 980

AMD Radeon R9 295X2

NVIDIA DualTV MCE

ATI All-In-Wonder X1900

MSI RX800 XT

MSI GeForce FX5700-VT2DR256

ATI Radeon 9800 XT 256MB

ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro

Matrox Parhelia 128mb

It’s true that the GTX 1080 Ti is the best single video card for gaming at 4K, but that’s a given. It’s the most powerful video card available, so of course it will be the best. We prefer to test at 1080p and 1440p, as we think these resolutions remain the most relevant. And frankly, we’d rather play on a 1440p high-refresh monitor than a 4K 60Hz monitor.

Warranty information

MSI provides a one year warranty against manufacturer defects. That’s typical of video cards at any price point, so there’s no advantage or disadvantage here.

Our Take

Though a custom card, the MSI Armor GTX 1080 Ti is best considered a sensible alternative to the reference hardware at just $710. Its overclock isn’t high enough to be meaningful, so the main difference is its design. Compared to the “standard” reference GTX 1080 Ti, the MSI Armor GTX 1080 Ti is more suited for big cases with a lot of cooling already built-in.

Its performance, of course, is excellent. The GTX 1080 Ti is an incredibly fast card, and an upgrade even if you have a GTX 980 Ti or AMD Radeon Fury X.

Is there a better alternative?

The DT Accessory Pack

MSI 27 inch gaming monitor

$300

LG 34UC79G-B 34-inch gaming monitor

$637.43

Corsair Strafe mechanical gaming keyboard

$80

The MSI Armor GTX 1080 Ti has plenty of competition from other GTX 1080 Ti variants. The Armor edition is large, and dumps hot air into the case, so it’s only the right pick for certain situations. Its strongest competitor is likely the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC Gaming, which is $720 and includes more attractive lighting. The decision between them, though, may come down to price on the day the card is purchased.

How long will it last?

MSI’s Armor GTX 1080 Ti is one of the fastest video cards ever produced, and it’ll last a reasonable time. Generational improvements remain large here, so the GTX 1080 Ti will be obsolete in five years. A lesser card, however, may only last two or three.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The MSI Armor GTX 1080 Ti is a massive card, but it’s priced at $710, which is hardly more than a stock version of the card. We think this card a good fit for people who want a large, quiet version of the card, and aren’t worried about cooling. Many other custom GTX 1080 Ti designs use a similar cooling solution, but almost all of them are more expensive than MSI’s Armor. And, of course, the underlying GTX 1080 Ti GPU is incredible. Buy it for a high-refresh 1080p or 1440p monitor — you won’t be disappointed.

Alphabet’s Verily built a smartwatch to help track symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

The Study Watch lasts for a week and records your body activity with a multitude of sensors.

The Google Fit app may appear to be the extent of Google’s fitness efforts, but one of the brands under its parent company, Alphabet, has bigger plans. Verily announced that it will launch the Study Watch, a wearable designed to perform “unobtrusive biosensing.” Essentially, it passively collects health data while you’re wearing it.

Verily goes into detail:

The architecture of Study Watch was tailored specifically for high quality signals and seamless usage, with consideration of the needs of observational studies, such as how continuous wear impacts a user’s experience. These design and functionality decisions were reinforced by feedback from users, researchers, and clinicians.

Verily Study Watch is designed with these key features:

• Multiple physiological and environmental sensors are designed to measure relevant signals for studies spanning cardiovascular, movement disorders, and other areas. Examples include electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate, electrodermal activity, and inertial movements. 

• A long battery life of up to one week in order to drive better user compliance during longitudinal studies. 

• Large internal storage and data compression allow the device to store weeks’ worth of raw data, thus relaxing the need to frequently sync the device. 

• A powerful processor supports real time algorithms on the device. 

• The firmware is designed to be robust for future extensions, such as over-the-air updates, new algorithms, and user interface upgrades. 

• The display is always on so that time is always shown. The display is low power and high resolution for an appealing look and a robust user interface.

The Study Watch will be used in several observational studies conducted by Verily’s participating partners, including the Personalized Parkinson’s Project. You can read more about the wearable at its official blog.

Samsung Gear 360 (2017) preview: Fun all the way around

When thinking of great tech, often what comes to mind is the best quality, the best specs, the best design … but we sometimes forget what really drew us to it in the first place: the fun factor. 360 cameras came onto the scene in a big way in 2016, and while they may not be quite as hot a commodity this year, Samsung’s new Gear 360 stands a good chance of rekindling the public’s love for these special gadgets. And not just because it’s the most adorable little droid this side of BB-8; the Gear 360 2017 unlocks a whole new dimension in spherical storytelling.

I’m Michael Fisher, aka MrMobile, and believe it or not, I’m considering buying a selfie stick just for this camera. Since picking it up at Samsung’s big Galaxy S8 announcement, I’ve been having a blast using the new Gear 360 to shoot … well, everything in sight. But unless you’re like me and you want to see everything past the edge of the lens in every photo or video you shoot, you might want to steer clear. Hit that video up top and see what I mean.

And if you want to know more, check all of Android Central’s coverage on the Samsung Gear 360!

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SpaceX announces date for second Hyperloop pod competition

It’s been less than three months since the first Hyperloop Competition blasted test pods down a 1.25-kilometer test track in Southern California and SpaceX is already gearing up for the second edition. Hyperloop Pod Competition II will take place at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California facility over the weekend of August 25-27th, 2017.

Like the first event, the sequel will focus on the design and performance of the Hyperloop pods themselves, but this time the teams will be competing for sheer speed. The main criterion driving Competition II, SpaceX wrote in its announcement, is to hit the fastest speed possible. The second edition is also open to new student teams that want to get some time on the test track but the roster currently lists a slightly smaller field of 22 competitors this time around.

Source: SpaceX

Dallas siren hack: Coming to a city near you

At 11:42 PM last Friday night in Dallas, suddenly and for no apparent reason, what locals call the ‘tornado sirens’ went off. All of them. It was a clear, calm night; no foul weather presaged the blare of an emergency system so loud it’s meant to wake sleepers inside their houses.

When the 156 sirens continued to go off in repeating 90-second cycles, seemingly without end, people started to worry about being bombed.

By 12:30 AM, the Dallas Office of Emergency Management (OEM) began to start shutting off the alarms manually. People were freaking out, flooding the Dallas 911 call center. More than 800 calls came in between 12 and 12:15 AM, creating wait times of up to six minutes, and totaling 4,400 calls for the 90 minutes the sirens blared.

Since it took half an hour for Dallas OEM to acknowledge the screaming sirens and local news had nothing, people turned to each other on Twitter and Facebook. Which, of course, was filled with speculation that World War III had started.

Half an hour into the chaos, the OEM tried to quell panic by issuing social media alerts saying not to call 911. It backfired and people became convinced it was a conspiracy and their local officials were lying to them. Some speculated it was some kind of cover for a crime in progress.

The sirens went off continuously until 1:17 AM.

At first, the public was told it was a malfunction. But officials soon admitted to the press that it was a hack — but a very peculiar one.

In a press conference at Dallas City Hall on Monday morning, Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said the hack was done using a radio frequency, and not via a computer network. Mark Loveless at Duo Security posited a clarifying detail, that it was probably done “through the use of Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signaling via radio.” According to press, city officials said that “it’s a tonal-type system,” suggesting the hack was done by replicating the tonal code — the sounds — that would set off the sirens.

Authorities still don’t know who hacked and set off the Dallas County outdoor warning sirens, but they do know how it was done. This kind of hacking is usually called “phreaking,” which is typically associated with the telephone system. In this context, it would be the kind of phreaking done when radio-frequency signal tones are perfectly reproduced to trigger various functions normally reserved for operators or telephone company employees. Like making free calls, eavesdropping and more.

Since tornado sirens use radio-frequency communications to work, this is feasible. Indeed, Duo Security discovered in its research that “the usual setup involves a number of sirens which are triggered/controlled by a series of DTMF tones via radio, typically via UHF 450MHz.”

It’s as fascinating as it is disturbing when you consider how many other similar systems exist across the US that are probably about as secure as the ones in Dallas.

Broadnax insisted that the hack was “a radio issue” and not a system software problem, and wouldn’t tell reporters exactly how the compromise occurred. He added, “Our system is not software related and on a computer. It’s a radio system.”

This little detail caused the ears of hackers to perk up. They quickly discovered that the details for the city’s early warning system are available on the Dallas City Hall website (circa 2012, when the system was last improved). And, of course, they were being passed around Twitter as security nerds picked over the available information. They were going to sleuth it out themselves — because every hacker loves a mystery.

These hackers noticed that Broadnax was either mistaken or not being completely forthright: The city’s own documentation states that the siren system could be activated via internet access.

This comment on @Dallas_Observer
by Broadnax is BS
From their own briefing on the system https://t.co/yfsUFEQQc4
Backend is PC/software pic.twitter.com/rUj710IEfe

— OMG ΉΆXOR (@SynAckPwn) April 11, 2017

Getting a straight story out of city officials would be nice, plus it might cut down on hysteria and conspiracy theories.

One reasonable theory is that this was a prank — a really well researched and planned one, though. Another is that it was a test run to see how people panic and emergency services respond during an alarm. There’s also the disgruntled employee theory, and my favorite that it was a cover-up for an epic art or jewelry heist.

If you’re a fan of heist films and watch a lot of Mr. Robot, the hack seems almost exhilarating. I mean, if you weren’t one of the 1.3 million poor souls in Dallas wondering if they should run, cry, or stuff their kids and cats into a bomb shelter.

As fun as that all sounds, this was a reminder that security has been an afterthought for way too long on city systems. Shutdown of the alarms required them to disconnect everything, leaving the city without its emergency warning sirens until late Sunday night.

In the aftermath, local press noted that “no one at City Hall knew something like this was possible.” Meanwhile, the Dallas Police Department is currently leading an investigation, with the FCC and FBI assisting.

Will this happen in other cities? Undoubtedly.

We security nerds can joke about it with our bar buddies from afar and analyze it online, but for the people who experienced this it was very real. It was a reminder of how helpless we feel, and how clueless our officials are about hacks and hacking. All while our universe gets a little more incomprehensible because we’re not sure if our present peril is the result of incompetence or maliciousness.

Well, at least now city officials in at least one US city know something like this is possible. Broadnax told the press, “As we brought the system back up, some encryption was added as part of our process to prevent this type of error from occurring going forward.”

Error?

Well, anyway … some encryption sounds good.

Image: Jupiterimages via Getty (Siren); Getty Images/iStockphoto (Downtown Dallas, TX)