Hackers target French presidential candidate just before election

Why it matters to you

Hacking interference continues to be a threat to democratic elections all over the world.

Just two days prior to the presidential election in France, approximately nine gigabytes of hacked data related to centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron was published on Pastebin earlier today. In addition to email correspondence from professional and personal accounts as well as financial documents, the anonymous user that dumped the data mixed in a collection of fake documents; possibly in an attempt to confuse voters prior to the election.

Releasing a statement about the hack, a representative for Macron’s political movement En Marche! said “The En Marche! Movement has been the victim of a massive and co-ordinated hack this evening which has given rise to the diffusion on social media of various internal information. The seriousness of this event is certain and we shall not tolerate that the vital interests of democracy be put at risk.”

The leaked data appeared online late Friday night, specifically after the cutoff time which French candidates are barred from continued campaigning. Different from the United States, that ban continues until polls close on late Sunday evening.

Interestingly, the French presidential election commission announced that the media should be wary of publishing specific details about the hacked emails. They warned that publishing that information could potentially lead to criminal charges. The group is expected to meet on Saturday to further discuss the hacked data.

While the email hack is suspiciously similar to hacking activities that occurred during the U.S. Presidential election, the impact of the email release is unlikely to alter the course of the French election due to the short time period leading up to the end of the election. At this time, Macron is holding a sizable lead over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen. Recent polling indicates that Macron is leading Le Pen by more than 25 points, specifically attracting 63 percent of the vote over Le Pen’s 37 percent.

Touchable BlindPad puts visual information at your fingertips

This touchscreen tablet operates differently than your usual iPad, with 192 magnetic buttons across its 12 x 15cm surface. They can move up and down almost instantaneously to create patterns representing the layout of a room or other visual data and hold their position thanks to two steel plates inside the tablet or vibrate. That enables visually impaired users to “read” it with their fingers. Researchers at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) say it’s intended as a complement to a Braille display, or white canes with audio GPS embedded for navigation.

Source: EPFL

Nike is livestreaming an attempt to run a sub-2 hour marathon

While it’s Friday night here, three Nike-sponsored athletes are up early on a Saturday morning in Italy. The company has made it a quest to break the two-hour barrier for a marathon run, as Lelisa Desisa, Eliud Kipchoge and Zersenay Tadese go for that 1:59:59 time on the F1 track at Monza. You can watch live on Twitter or Facebook right now (we’re as shocked as you are that no network jumped to broadcast a two-hour run). They’re running with a pack arranged for maximum aerodynamic efficiency while following a Model S (no exhaust fumes) to find an optimal pace at an average of 4:34 for each mile. Sure, it’s no reusable rocket launch, but we’ll follow along with this potentially amazing feat from the couch.

Source: Nike

Facebook might launch its own premium TV shows next month

Facebook is going after Netflix and other streaming services with its own original programming. 

The social network, which has been focusing hardcore on video lately with a big push into live video broadcasts, 360-degree videos, stories, and auto-playing clips in the news feed, is reportedly developing about two dozen shows and plans to start premiering them in mid June, according to Business Insider. Some of the shows will even be longer, primetime-level shows like House of Cards on Netflix.

• Facebook Personal Fundraisers: What are they?

It’s also working on smaller shows, around 5 to 10 minutes each, which will be added to Facebook’s revamped video tab daily. There will even be a virtual reality dating show from Conde Nast. Other shows may feature A-list celebrities, too, with one major star already contracted in a deal. These new shows will presumably also be viewable through Facebook’s video app for the Apple TV and other set-top boxes.

• What’s the point of Snapchat and how does it work?
• What is Facebook Live, how does it work, and which devices support it?

Keep in mind Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has mentioned in the past that he wants Facebook to evolve into a platform that offers “episodic content” – probably because it’s a way for Facebook to tap into the billions of dollars spent on TV advertising each year.

Unlike Netflix, however, all of Facebook’s original video content will be free to watch and share. 

Microsoft HoloLens becomes an AR assistant for spinal surgery

Since the HoloLens was introduced, Microsoft has pitched it as both a gaming peripheral and a practical assistant in the workplace. Professionals have already started using its augmented reality tech to help out, from building engineers donning it to visualize structural blueprints or Duke surgeons testing it during brain operations. Those were preliminary applications, but augmented reality software company Scopis has released a platform for HoloLens specifically to aid in spinal surgeries.

The Holographic Navigation Platform, as Scopis calls it, projects a mixed-reality overlay on the patient through the HoloLens during a surgical procedure. Surgeons can use it to track pedicle screws and use gestures to adjust virtual displays like a customizable HUD, keeping important numbers in their field-of-view.

Obviously, improving accuracy with Scopis’ 3D-positioning tech would likely reduce surgery time and invasive depth. But using visual overlay technology would also cut down on the radiation exposure that comes with the current spine-envisioning method of fluoroscopy. As we noted in the Duke tests, wearing the wireless HoloLens headset is far less cumbersome than prior mixed reality setups. But a private company betting on Microsoft’s AR system is another step toward integrating the tech into professional use.

Source: Business Wire

People actually crowdfunded this smart pillow

The connected home is getting out of hand. These days your mattress can do everything from keep tabs on your cheating spouse to start your coffee each morning. But why let the surface you sleep on have all the smarts when you can pay $300 for a pillow that knows when you’re sleeping and when you’re awake. Like Santa but from 1984.

Behold the Sunrise Smart Pillow from Mode Modern. It’s currently being via a Kickstarter that has septupled its $50,000 funding goal with nearly two weeks left in the campaign.

This thing is, in a word, ridiculous. There are more gizmos packed into it than Inspector Gadget’s chest cavity. Embedded color-changing LED lights flip on in the mornings to both rouse you from your slumber and display customizable wake up message. The pillow incorporates a gyroscope and accelerometer monitor how often you toss and turn. It plays wireless music through a Bluetooth connection as well as a variety of white noises. Heck, the Sunrise can even guide you through meditation sessions.

And, of course, all that data it generates gets fed back into its associated mobile app. Because obviously your pillow needs an app. It’s 2017, everything needs an app. The Sunrise pillow is currently discounted to $130 through the end of its crowdfunding campaign if you want to throw away only half as much money as you would two weeks from now.

Via: CNet

Source: Kickstarter

DT Giveaway: Enter to win an LG G6, then kiss your point-and-shoot cam goodbye

With the success of the LG G5, the LG G6 is a phone to have on your radar. With an impressively large 5.7 inch screen, the latest Android 7.0 Nougat baked in and two 13 megapixel cameras, there’s a lot of phone to love in a compact and easy to use package. Teaming up with LG, we’re giving three winners their own unlocked LG G6 in Platinum! Follow the link below to enter, then check out our full review of the G6 here.

*Three prizes. Contest limited to participants in U.S. only.

LG G6

Palit’s GTX 1080 Ti HOF graphics card will nearly match the Titan Xp in price

Why it matters to you

If price isn’t an issue for you, Palit’s GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card surpasses the Titan Xp in performance.

After introducing new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti cards under its JetStream and GameRock brands, Palit Microsystems is serving up an overclocked limited edition GTX 1080 Ti card through its Galax and KFA2 labels: The Hall of Fame Limited Edition. The card was reportedly built from scratch with extreme overclocking in mind and will sell for more than $1,200 when it arrives at the end of May.

Here are the specs of the upcoming HOF Limited Edition card compared to Nvidia’s reference design and the GTX Titan Xp:

Nvidia GTX Titan Xp

Galax/KFA2 HOF Limited Edition

Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti

Graphics chip:
GP102
GP102
GP102
Manufacturing process:
16nm
16nm
16nm
Transistor count:
12 billion
12 billion
12 billion
CUDA cores:
3,840
3,584
3,584
Texture mapping units:
240
224
224
Render output units:
96
88
88
Base speed:
1,481MHz
1,645MHz
1,481MHz
Boost speed:
1,582MHz
1,759MHz
1,582MHz
Performance:
12.1 TFLOPS
12.6 TFLOPS
11.3 TFLOPS
Memory amount:
12GB GDDR5X
11GB GDDR5X
11GB GDDR5X
Memory speed:
11.4GT/s
11GT/s
11GT/s
Memory interface:
384-bit
352-bit
352-bit
Memory bandwidth
547.2GB/s
484GB/s
484GB/s
Max power usage:
250 watts
350 watts
250 watts
Price:
$1,200
~$1,200
$700

As the chart shows, Palit’s upcoming GTX 1080 Ti definitely cranks the performance up a notch with higher base and boost speeds. It will be slightly higher in price compared to the GTX Titan Xp card, which crams 256 more cores into the GP102 graphics chip. Palit’s card also appears to outperform the GTX Xp despite having a slightly smaller memory amount and memory bandwidth.

Overall, the Galax and KFA2 models appear to be identical outside their packaging. Both include one DVI-D port, one HDMI 2.0b port, and three DisplayPort 1.4 ports. They also have a HOF-branded anodized aluminum backplate to prevent the printed circuit board from bending and to increase the card’s cooling performance.

That said, both models ship with the Trimax cooler that comprises of three 90mm fans encased in a white shield. This shield also plays host to a nifty onboard display so users can quickly see the card’s real-time info such as the current speed, the temperature, the current driver version, and so on. Owners can also use the free Xtreme Tuner Plus software to program custom messages.

Highlighting this screen is the card’s HOF lighting system, which illuminates the center fan’s border, the HOF logos parked on each side of the display, and the three eight-pin power connectors. That is right: You need three eight-pin connectors to keep this overclocked card juiced given that the PCI Express bus does not provide enough electrical meat to feed this beast.

Based on the product pages, the illumination system features the full RGB spectrum and different lighting effects although the card appears to use the “breathing” effect out of the box. Palit suggests that users can “create your own gaming rig,” indicating that the illumination is customizable through the Xtreme Tuner Plus software.

Overclockers UK lists the KFA2 model now to pre-purchase for around $1,232. The product listing shows the card to feature several noise-reducing technologies, a 12-layer printed circuit board, and a two-slot height requirement. Palit suggests using a 600-watt power supply to handle the card.

Aerix Drones is bringing miniature drone racing to your living room, front yard

Why it matters to you

Drone racing is rapidly taking off as a sport. This Aerix Drones kit lets you organize your own races with buddies.

As summer approaches, you’re likely keeping an eye open for entertaining group activities that will push your house party over the edge in terms of greatness.

One possible idea  — miniature drone racing! If that sounds appealing, then popular dronemaker Aerix Drones want to help. With your party-hosting success in mind, it’s launching the Aerix Nano FPV Indoor Drone Racing Package, a kit containing everything you need to get your very own Tiny Whoop-inspired drone racing circuit up and running.

The kit comes with a pair of high-quality, first-person-view goggles, a ready-to-race drone, the necessary charging apparatus, and a series of glowing neon — or optional LED — race hoops for you to speed through.

The racing drone boasts four beefed-up motors for maximum speed and agility, plus an onboard 5.8ghz video camera and transmitter for putting you in the pilot’s seat. (That’s where the goggles come in). The tiny drone can travel at 25 miles-per-hour, although it looks a lot faster when viewed through its built-in miniature camera.

“The biggest challenge with tiny drones, especially tiny racing drones, is balancing power and flight time due to the weight of the batteries required to power the drones,” Robert Morrison, founder, CEO and head designer of Aerix Drones, told Digital Trends. “The 17,500kv motors we built the Nano FPV Drone with provide a perfect balance of power, speed and flight duration.”

By asking players to fly through 12-inch glowing racing hoops, the setup not only replicates the look and feel of larger-size drone racing courses, but also lets users customize their own tracks — including adding in friendship-destroying obstacles.

Right now, the only real limitation is a 3- to 4-minute flight time per battery, although Morrison said the team is working to improve on that time.

You only get one drone with the kit, meaning you’ll either be taking in turns to complete the course in time trial-type racing, or else you’ll have to buy multiple kits to get a maximum of eight drones racing against one another.

Shipping is set for May or June. The kit will set you back $250, although Aerix is currently offering a special pre-order price of $195.

Corsair Tenkeyless K63 review

Research Center:
Corsair Tenkeyless K63

If there’s one thing PC gamers demand, it’s a high-quality input device loaded with features and performance for an affordable price. They want a high-quality peripheral with customizable options to not only make the PC gaming experience better, but give their desktop a dash of visual flare.

There’s also a growing demand for compact solutions to free up desktop space, and that’s where Corsair’s $80 new K63 mechanical keyboard comes in. However, it faces stiff competition from the likes of Razer, Logitech, Cooler Master, and more, who are gradually filling up the compact keyboard space with great products. That said, do customers get their bang for the buck when investing in Corsair’s K63 solution? Let’s find out.

It’s compact, but not necessarily portable

Corsair’s K63 compact mechanical gaming keyboard sports a “tenkeyless” form factor, meaning its shorter in width due to the removal of the numeric keypad. That also means the peripheral is highly portable, although we’re not sure why Corsair doesn’t provide a removable USB cable. It’s permanent, and could lead to connectivity problems after users continually wrap the cord around the keyboard during transportation.

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

The K63 measures 14.37 x 6.73 x 1.61 inches, and weighs 2.46 pounds. There are no dedicated macro keys, or a Function key, but it does include four media keys along the top-left (stop, backward, play/pause, forward), one button for switching through four brightness levels, a Windows Key lock button, and three dedicated audio buttons in the top-right corner (mute, volume down, volume up). The only other notable attribute is the spacebar, which has a unique textured surface.

On the illumination front, the K63 provides red per-key illumination. There’s nothing wrong with that, but users wanting a rainbow of flavors dazzling their desktop will need to look elsewhere. Corsair is targeting PC gamers looking for a high-quality, feature-packed compact mechanical keyboard with an affordable, competitive price. Corsair delivers just – and only – that.

Solid as a…. very hard cherry

The keyboard relies on Cherry MX Red switches, which have an audible “ding” instead of the annoying “click” heard with mechanical switches used in old mainstream keyboards. In fact, Cherry MX Blue switches provide that sharp audible clicky feedback, although Red switches still aren’t exactly ideal for midnight stealth PC gaming when your significant other is asleep.

Cherry MX Red switches are typically sold in game-focused mechanical keyboards. They have an actuation force of 45g, meaning that’s how much force the finger needs to press the keycap to the point of hardware-based keystroke registration. This is due to a soft spring that doesn’t provide any tactile feedback until the switch is pressed all the way down, providing a smooth descent between keypress and actuation.

Cherry MX Red switch specifications

Durability: 50 million actuations

Actuator travel: 4.0mm (-0.4mm)

Pre-travel: 2mm (± 0.6mm)

Initial force: 30 cN minimum

Actuation force: 45 ± 15 cN

Bounce time: < 5 milliseconds

Spring: Stainless steel

Contacts: High-quality gold alloy

That “cN” symbol is short for centinewton, which is another way to measure the amount of force required to press a key. The lower the number, the less force is required to actuate the keystroke. PC gamers want their commands to respond quickly, but don’t want the method to feel mushy, semi-quiet, and too fast. Typically, the number is associated to gram-force (g), but the use of “cN” and “g” largely depends on the switch manufacturer.

Thus, because Corsair’s new keyboard uses Cherry MX Red switches, typing and PC gaming feels extremely solid. The audible aspect really depends on the end-user. Some may love the super-loud typewriter-style clicking, and some may prefer a semi-soft ding to serve as an audible acknowledgement for each keystroke. The keys provide enough “bounce,” for a firm feeling that seemingly resets instantly.

The magic is in the CUE

The company’s Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) software is where the customization magic takes place. Users can create custom profiles that will load with a specific game, setting up pre-determined key illumination, lighting effects, event assignments, key remapping, and more. The software also falls back on a “default” profile users can modify to make everyday tasks much easier too.

Corsair’s K63 is great for PC gamers who want performance, but not a whole lot of flair.

As an example, we created a custom profile for DOOM (2016). This is done by clicking on the “+” button next to the “Default” configuration listing. User can assign a name to the profile, link it to a specific executable (DOOMx64.exe in the case of DOOM), assign a custom profile icon, and assign a background image. The transparency of the tabs can even be lowered so the cool backdrop becomes more visually dominant.

Every profile has an “Actions,” “Lighting Effects,” and “Performance” subcategory. That latter section focuses on the Win Lock button, enabling users to disable additional keys when the button is active. For instance, users can choose to also disable ALT + Tab, ALT + F4, and SHIFT + Tab. There’s even an option to disable the Win Lock button LED, or to set its brightness from completely off (0) to completely on (255).

The Lighting Effects section is where the fun stuff can be found. For the DOOM profile, we created nine separate lighting effects, because we couldn’t figure out how to assign multiple keys across the keyboard in one specific effect. For instance, we created a “Movement” lighting effect that only illuminated the arrow keys, while another “Rocket” effect lit up the assigned key. We even created a “Background” lighting effect to illuminate the remaining keys not deemed important.

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

The keyboard supports seven visual effects: Visor (think Cylon), Rain, Pulse (think breathing), Wave, Type Lighting (Key), Type Lighting (Ripple), and Static. For our DOOM profile, all lighting effects used a static color save for the “Background” lighting effect. This used the Rain effect, which lights up keys in a rain-like descending, random order. Users can “customize” this effect by reducing or increasing its opacity, and changing the speed between slow, medium, and fast.

As for the Type Lighting (Key) effect, the keys will light up at each press, and then extinguish between one to five seconds later, depending on the duration setting. The Type Lighting (Ripple) effect is rather neat, which causes a red ripple effect emitting out from the pressed key. Like the previous effect, this one provides slow/medium/fast speed settings, and a slider for opacity.

Users can also mix and match lighting effects, too. For instance, we set two lighting effects for the default profile to create a wild mixture. The “Visor” effect moves back and forth horizontally, but we lowered the opacity to the halfway mark and at a medium speed. The “Rain” effect dropped full red illumination in droplets between the visor scans, with the opacity set to full, and the speed set to medium.

It’s just a shame red is the only color available.

Games can hijack your custom profiles

What’s interesting about Corsair’s K63 mechanical keyboard is that game developers can take control of the keyboard’s illumination — if you let them, of course. For instance, Epic Games’ Unreal Tournament 4 “Pre-Alpha” has a setting in the System Settings list labeled “Enable Keyboard Lighting.” A note says this feature is only supported by Razer Chrome and Corsair RGB keyboards, but the game has no problems managing the red illumination of Corsair’s new K63 keyboard.

Keystrokes feel crisp, responsive, and each press of a button isn’t annoying on an audible level.

Once users launch the game, the red illumination goes dark for a moment, then lights up the keyboard in full red brightness, bypassing the user’s default profile. When a match begins, the lighting will go dark for a split second, and then illuminate only the WASD keys and whatever weapon is currently in use. Upon death, the lighting blacks out again until the player spawns back into the current match. The user’s default profile then reloads after exiting the game.

For the life of us, we couldn’t figure out how to edit the keyboard illumination on the game side, and Epic Games didn’t respond to our questions. To get around the automatic lighting configuration, users must toggle off the in-game keyboard lighting support and create a profile in the CUE software. If you create a profile and leave the in-game keyboard illumination support, Unreal Tournament 4 will override your custom profile.

Plenty of performance for the price

As we previously stated, we love the “feel” of each key in and outside of gaming. The actuations feel crisp, responsive, and each press of a button isn’t overly annoying on an audible level. We’re not exactly use how many keys users can press simultaneously, but our 10-finger test showed that the keyboard registered each pressed key correctly. That backs the company’s 100-percent anti-ghosting claim, which means customers won’t see “ghost” keystrokes inserted into their multi-key commands.

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

The keycaps provided with the K63 model have a nice shape that doesn’t grip the fingertip, but don’t have an edgeless, feel either. All keycaps are super smooth save for the space bar, and sport a thick, squished font like the sans-serif Microgramma Bold Extended type face. The keycaps do not appear to be removable — at least, the puller we used couldn’t remove them.

Finally, Corsair states that the keyboard has a report rate of up to one millisecond, which could also be stated as a polling rate of 1,000Hz. That essentially means the keyboard can provide updated data to the host PC every millisecond. The typical non-gaming keyboard provides input info to the host PC every 10 milliseconds.

Corsair Tenkeyless K63 Compared To

Logitech K780

Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming…

Microsoft Universal Foldable…

Logitech G213 Prodigy

Steelseries Apex M500

Razer Turret

Razer Blackwidow X Chroma

Cougar Attack X3 gaming keyboard

Razer Deathstalker Chroma

Logitech K400

Microsoft Wireless Desktop 5000

Cooler Master Storm QuickFire

Logitech iPad 2 Keyboard Case by…

Cherry JK-0300

Logitech K750 Wireless Solar…

Input lag appeared nonexistent, although it’s admittingly been a long time since we tried to game on a standard mechanical keyboard. All this input lag talk was a major selling point for a similar tenkeyless keyboard provided by Logitech, which also felt tight. If anything, customers can walk away from this info knowing that Corsair’s K63 mechanical keyboard will perform even though it’s not a flashy RGB solution.

Warranty

Corsair provides warranty information on its website. Corsair will cover the keyboard for up to two years after purchase regarding defects in the material and workmanship. In other words, if it doesn’t work as advertised, then Corsair will repair or replace the keyboard, or refund the customer’s money. But don’t wait too long: Corsair will keep 10 percent of that money as a “usage” fee for each year since the date of purchase.

Our Take

Corsair’s new K63 compact mechanical keyboard is a great solution for PC gamers who want performance but not a whole lot of flair. It not only saves space on the desktop, but it seemingly focuses on providing the tools PC gamers need to win. Its compact size also indicates portability, but the keyboard doesn’t ship with a detachable USB cable. If anything, that’s the only real flaw we found.

The DT Accessory Pack

M65 PRO RGB FPS Gaming Mouse

$59.99

VOID Wireless Dolby 7.1 RGB Gaming Headset

$99.99

MM800 RGB POLARIS Gaming Mouse Pad

$59.99

Lapdog Gaming Control Center

$79.99

Is there a better alternative?

We loved the Logitech G Pro mechanical keyboard sporting the same compact “tenkeyless” size, but it costs $130. Logitech sells its comparable G410 Atlas Spectrum RGB for the same price, but it has a bulkier form factor. The Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Stealth ($67) is quite popular, as is the CM Storm QuickFire Rapid ($72). However, these do not quite as many backlighting options.

How long will it last?

The “tenkeyless” form factor is rather popular its small and portable. This isn’t the only compact keyboard Corsair provides, as the company offers the Vengeance K65 unit with Cherry MX Red switches, no backlighting, and a detachable USB cable. Customers who purchase the K63 likely won’t need to grab another mechanical keyboard for a long time.

Should you buy it?

Customers on the market for an excellent compact mechanical keyboard at $80 should look no further than the K63. It has plenty of customization and performance without the flair, making it a great choice for gamers who prefer go over show.