Biometric scans at airports across the country may not be legal, report claims

Going through security at our nation’s airports is always one of the lowlights of traveling, but now, it may not just be the inconvenience of the process that’s frustrating travelers — it could be the unlawfulness as well. A new report from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology calls into question the Department of Homeland Security’s new biometric exit pilot program.

Currently live in nine airports across the U.S., the program leverages facial recognition technology to ID passengers taking off on international travel. The point of the program, the DHS claims, is to prevent flyers from attempting to use others’ travel documents, like passports and visas. But according to Georgetown Law, it might not be totally legal.

The main issue at hand, the report notes, is that Congress has not approved DHS to scan American citizens’ faces. While Georgetown notes that Congress “has repeatedly ordered the collection of biometrics from foreign nationals at the border,” the lawmaking body has “never clearly authorized the border collection of biometrics from American citizens using face recognition technology.” As such, DHS does not actually have the explicit permission of Congress to collect the personal data of travelers (but obviously, it is doing so anyway).

Moreover, while a biometric screening system has been brought up in Congress, neither the legislative branch nor DHS “has ever justified the need for the program,” Georgetown Law noted. While DHS has claimed that airport scans can verify traveler identities, the Department has itself called into question “the additional value biometric air exit would provide,” as well as the “overall value and cost of a biometric air exit capability.”

Indeed, it doesn’t seem as though biometric scanning is in fact all that effective. DHS’ data suggests that one out of 25 travelers are mistakenly rejected — that is to say that 4 percent of folks using valid credentials are said to be impostors. This, Georgetown Law suggests, could result in more than 1,600 passengers to be delayed or denied boarding each day at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

Finally, Georgetown Law raises privacy concerns, calling the program “a serious escalation of biometric scanning of Americans” without any “codified rules that constrain it.” These concerns have not gone unnoticed, as lawmakers have since sent a letter to DHS to ask for more information about the program. But for the time being, you may have to have your face scanned at the airport.

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Biometric scans at airports across the country may not be legal, report claims

Going through security at our nation’s airports is always one of the lowlights of traveling, but now, it may not just be the inconvenience of the process that’s frustrating travelers — it could be the unlawfulness as well. A new report from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology calls into question the Department of Homeland Security’s new biometric exit pilot program.

Currently live in nine airports across the U.S., the program leverages facial recognition technology to ID passengers taking off on international travel. The point of the program, the DHS claims, is to prevent flyers from attempting to use others’ travel documents, like passports and visas. But according to Georgetown Law, it might not be totally legal.

The main issue at hand, the report notes, is that Congress has not approved DHS to scan American citizens’ faces. While Georgetown notes that Congress “has repeatedly ordered the collection of biometrics from foreign nationals at the border,” the lawmaking body has “never clearly authorized the border collection of biometrics from American citizens using face recognition technology.” As such, DHS does not actually have the explicit permission of Congress to collect the personal data of travelers (but obviously, it is doing so anyway).

Moreover, while a biometric screening system has been brought up in Congress, neither the legislative branch nor DHS “has ever justified the need for the program,” Georgetown Law noted. While DHS has claimed that airport scans can verify traveler identities, the Department has itself called into question “the additional value biometric air exit would provide,” as well as the “overall value and cost of a biometric air exit capability.”

Indeed, it doesn’t seem as though biometric scanning is in fact all that effective. DHS’ data suggests that one out of 25 travelers are mistakenly rejected — that is to say that 4 percent of folks using valid credentials are said to be impostors. This, Georgetown Law suggests, could result in more than 1,600 passengers to be delayed or denied boarding each day at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

Finally, Georgetown Law raises privacy concerns, calling the program “a serious escalation of biometric scanning of Americans” without any “codified rules that constrain it.” These concerns have not gone unnoticed, as lawmakers have since sent a letter to DHS to ask for more information about the program. But for the time being, you may have to have your face scanned at the airport.

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• Australian companies may soon be using a national facial recognition database
• Nintendo rule on live-streams highlights contentious relationship with YouTube
• Valve overhauls Steam Curators, gives community more control
• Microsoft’s quantum computing programming language is a big step forward
• Between brain-controlled VR and karaoke, HTC has wild plans for the Vive

NASA is planning an interstellar mission to Alpha Centauri — but not until 2069

One hundred years after man set foot on the moon, NASA hopes to launch an exploratory probe to investigate the system of our nearest neighbor, the star system Alpha Centauri. There’s only one problem: how do we get there?

An exclusive report in New Scientist reveals the plans of a group of engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. The mission concept, which was presented at the annual conference of the American Geophysical Union, also promises to use technology that doesn’t exist yet. “It’s very nebulous,” said Anthony Freeman of JPL.

The only spacecraft that’s ever left our solar system is Voyager 1, and it’s travelling through interstellar space at about 30,000 miles per hour. Although Alpha Centauri is right next door in galactic terms, it’s still 4.3 light-years away, or about 25 trillion miles to us Earthlings. A spacecraft like Voyager would take nearly 80,000 years to get there.

The NASA team hopes to develop technology that would propel the interstellar probe at one-tenth the speed of light. Outer Places speculates that such technology might involve generating thrust by using a laser shining on micro-organisms. Other possibilities being floated include using nuclear reactions or matter-antimatter collisions.

Even at 10 percent the speed of light, the future probe would take 44 years to get to Alpha Centauri. NASA may have some competition, however, if the space agency hopes to get there first.

Breakthrough Starshot is a venture from Breakthrough Initiatives, a $100 million non-governmental program created by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, and they also have their sights set on Alpha Centauri. They plan to reach 20 percent of light speed using a tiny wafer attached to a superthin sail propelled by laser beams.

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking is also part of the project. “With light beams, light sails and the lightest spacecraft ever built, we can launch a mission to Alpha Centauri within a generation,” he said during a news conference at the One World Observatory. The ambitious plan still has a few obstacles to overcome before it becomes a reality, however.

The Alpha Centauri system consists of three stars, two of them about the size of our sun orbiting each other as well as a tiny red dwarf star. The discovery of Proxima Centauri b, an Earth-sized exoplanet that may be suitable for life, has scientists excited about what we may discover.

“The limit that confronts us now is the great void between us and the stars, but now we can transcend it,” said Hawking. “Because we are human, and our nature is to fly.”

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Santa Claus is coming to town: Get ready with these Christmas apps

The holidays are upon us, and whether you’re going to be donning a Christmas jumper and singing carols or just playing up the Santa visit for your kids, we’ve got a bunch of Christmas apps to get you in the right spirit.

Are you going to a holiday party and need some help? Follow our guide on 13 white elephant gifts, but if you’re still not sure about what to get for your family and loved ones, take a look at some last-minute Christmas gift ideas that will help you out this holiday season.

Christmas Booth: Photo Fun

With this app, you can take a picture or just grab it from your camera roll and choose from a host of Christmas-themed stickers to turn anyone into a Christmas character. You can also send your photo via email, Twitter, or Facebook. It’s compatible with iMessage, too, so you can use the stickers there and message your friends.

Download now for:

iOS

A Charlie Brown Christmas ($5)

Help Charlie Brown and his friends find the meaning of Christmas. Narrated by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, and featuring the original soundtrack, this Christmas app transforms the classic story into an interactive storybook with animations that bring the charming illustrations to life. You can also use the app to create your own Charlie Brown Christmas Tree with over 150 ornaments and decorations. There’s an educational element, too, as you can tap individual words to hear them, and there’s support for word and note highlighting. This app also comes bundled with an iMessage sticker pack.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Christmas Sweeper 3

Are you a fan of Candy Crush? Then you’ll love Christmas Sweeper 3. This game comes with over 1,000 challenging levels. You can play as long as you want, as there are no lives to lose. Make matches of four and five to create bombs and power-ups. Get your reward of cookies and soda in a game that will keep you busy for a long time after Christmas. Check out our picks of the best iPhone games and best Android games for alternatives.

Download now for:

Android iOS

How the Grinch Stole Christmas ($4)

Dr. Seuss’ famous How the Grinch Stole Christmas has been made into an interactive book for kids. If you need something to keep them occupied while waiting to open their presents, this $4 app lets them follow the Grinch as he attempts to keep Christmas from coming. Tap on pictures to show new words, enjoy the narration, and watch out for the custom sound effects.

Download now for:

Android iOS

ElfYourself

This app is hilarious. You replace the Elf faces with the faces of up to five people. Maybe your family and friends? Once the faces are set, you select a dance theme, and the app creates a comical dance video. Once it’s done, you can share the video on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also purchase additional videos featuring different themes.

Download now for:

Android iOS

A Call From Santa!

If your kids are tech savvy they’ll love A Call From Santa! As the app says, you can call Santa, record a wish list, and hear what Santa is doing. This app also has a Santa Chatbot that chats with you, just like you’re chatting with the real Santa. You can also request a call from Santa, and you can let your children record a voice message for Santa. This app is free, and a must have for the kids.

Download now for:

Android iOS

PNP 2017 Portable North Pole

This will bring a smile to any child’s face. Portable North Pole has been around for a very long time, and it’s as magical as it has always been. Input some information about your child and a personalized video from Santa will play. There are some activities included in the app, but the main idea is for the kids to find out from Santa if they’re on the naughty or nice list. This app has some in-app purchases that include a reaction recorder, and story time. The purchases are valid until September 30, 2017.

Download now for:

Android iOS

NORAD Santa Tracker

Once a year NORAD takes a moment to track Santa’s journey. This lets you see where Santa is located around the world. The app starts tracking Santa on Christmas Eve, and shows you a satellite map where you can see in detail where he is. You can also follow @NoradSanta on Twitter to get the latest on Santa’s journey around the world.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Dr. Seuss Camera – The Grinch Edition ($1)

The Dr. Seuss Camera app allows you to create funny Christmas cards right on your iOS device. You select a card, and you can choose to become the Grinch himself, or you can take a picture with Dr. Seuss’ characters. Choose the character, position your face, and snap the picture. You can then add stamps, text, and format the picture with borders. You can email pictures to your friends and family, or save them in your camera roll to share on your social media.

Download now for:

iOS

The Christmas List ($3)

This app is great to keep track of your Christmas shopping. You can make a list of everyone you need to buy gifts for, and then you can set a budget for them. Let’s say that you add a friend. You’ll walk into the store, tap your friend’s name, and you’ll see the list of items you want to buy for this person, and, of course, the budget. You can then tap on the items as you buy them, and when you go back to the main screen, you can see how much you have left to spend on your gifts. This is a great way to keep track of what to buy, and most importantly not go over budget.

Download now for:

iOS

If you’re looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home, check out our picks for the top 10 Christmas movies and TV episodes streaming right now.

Update: We added Christmas Sweeper 3, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Christmas Booth: Photo Fun.

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Fixing lens scratches in your VR headset

The scratches are just Happy Little Accidents, and here’s how you fix them

The most fragile part of any VR headset is the place where you put your eyeballs. These lenses, regardless of type, are either glass or plastic and not particularly easy or cheap to replace. If your headset has been in the hands of many friends, family members, or even kids, chances are you’ve got a few scratches on your device.

No worries though, we’ve got plenty of helpful answers for you here on how to fix this.

Read More at VRHeads!

The stuff that launched at CES 2017 but never came out

CES is the busiest time of year for Engadget, with our team spending a week on the ground in Las Vegas looking for the latest and greatest products from companies of all sizes and persuasions. Last CES was no different, with our editors checking out a plethora of smart televisions, wireless earbuds and mesh routers. And there’s always a few oddball things — remember Razer’s three-screened laptop?

But while Project Valerie was just a prototype never really meant to see the light of day, most of the stuff we see does hit store shelves… eventually. Now that it’s mid-December and CES 2018 is mere weeks away, we thought we’d check on a few of the products that haven’t made it to market. Some were pushed back and will join the class of 2018, while others will only live on in Engadget’s post archives.

Mattel Aristotle

Quite a few companies tried to follow the Echo and Google Home with their own smart speakers at CES 2017, but the most surprising was toy giant Mattel. The Aristotle was an assistant meant to grow with your child, starting out as a glorified baby monitor but eventually telling them stories, playing games and even helping with homework. But the unit we saw back in January wasn’t quite ready for prime time and raised some privacy concerns among parents and politicians, leading Mattel to can the project entirely. But Mattel hasn’t given up completely on smart assistants — a similar product, the Barbie Hello Hologram, debuted at Toy Fair and, following a delay, will finally ship in 2018.

Polaroid Hoop

It’s been an interesting year for Polaroid. The instant camera brand brought back the classic OneStep camera and film, while also hitting the digital world with products like its very own photo-printing Moto Mod. But the oddest announcement of all might just be a home-security camera. The glossy white Hoop promised features like 1080p video capture and the ability to distinguish people from pets. These characteristics and its $200 price point are enough to compete with the original Nest Cam and Logi Circle 2. But with its release pushed back to the first quarter of 2018, it might be too late to compete against the likes of the Amazon Cloud Cam, which costs only $120 and offers Alexa integration for those already invested in the retailer’s ecosystem.

SmartBeings WooHoo

Of all the would-be Echo competitors we saw at CES, the absurdly named WooHoo was the most ambitious. It not only promised voice recognition, but also a touch screen, facial recognition and the ability to control all your connected home tech, too. Since January we’ve seen and reviewed the Echo Show which offers a lot of the same features thanks to Alexa’s robust inventory of Skills. The WooHoo still has a few tricks up its sleeve that Amazon hasn’t matched (yet) like a 360-degree camera and air quality sensors. But its biggest advantage, if it manages to arrive by its new release date of March 2018, will be the WooHoo’s $49 asking price, beating out the Echo Show as well as the recently released Echo Spot.

Das Keyboard 5Q

Das Keyboard makes some of the best mechanical keyboards out there, especially if you’re looking for a non-gaming model that isn’t studded with extra keys and garish LEDs. The 5Q, announced in a Kickstarter campaign last year, deviates from Das Keyboard’s stylish simplicity by adding internet-connected lighting into the mix. The keyboard’s open API means an incredible level of customization, like having it flash as you get closer to a work deadline or when products on your wishlist are on sale. As for the 5Q’s forthcoming availability, Das Keyboard tells us it’s now set to ship in late January — a full year after the Kickstarter’s projected on-sale date.

XYZprinting daVinci Nano

3D printers have become smaller and more affordable every year, and XYZprinting’s plug-and-play daVinci Nano would have hit a newbie-friendly sweet spot of $230. It promised features like auto-calibration and auto-leveling, great for people just getting into the technology. While other cheap printers like Mattel’s ThingMaker have failed to materialize, the Nano is still scheduled for release in 2018 with a brand-new look. In fact, it will make another appearance at CES next month, where we’ll hopefully get to check it out.

Samsung H7

Samsung’s wireless speakers have always offered cutting-edge design and solid audio. The sleek, stylish H7 would have continued that tradition thanks to its Ultra High Quality tech, which upgrades existing 8-bit and 16-bit sound to clearer, more faithful 32-bit audio. Unfortunately, if you really dug the silver chassis on the H7, we’re sorry to say the product’s been mothballed. But if all you care about is robust, clear sound and a super low bass response, Samsung tells us that all that tech made it into the MS750 soundbar, which you can pick up for $550.

Gryphon

Parental control hardware isn’t known for being particularly compelling, but the Gryphon promised to change all that with its stylish router. It promised to intelligently detect and filter out intrusions and monitor your kids’ internet activity, but also didn’t cut any corners on premium networking features like fast 802.11ac and easy mesh networking. The project raised a bit of cash last December on Indiegogo and it’s those backers who will get their first crack at the Gryphon when it finally ships to them this month, with the rest of the world getting their hands on it in January.

Earin M2

Headphone jacks seem to be on their way out in the past year, making a good pair of wireless earbuds a pretty good buy. Earin was ahead of the pack when it released its first set way back at the beginning of 2016, and its follow-up announced last January promised a more ergonomic design and touch controls. Originally slated to ship early this year, the M-2 is set to make another appearance at CES next month with even more features. Hopefully that extra time was put to good use, as Earin now faces a more crowded field of competitors.