DHS to release an active shooter training simulator for teachers

Last June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a virtual training program for first responders aimed at preparing them for an active shooter incident. Now, there’s a program specifically for teachers. “With teachers, they did not self-select into a role where they expect to have bullets flying near them. Unfortunately, it’s becoming a reality,” Tamara Griffith, one of the chief engineers of the program, told Gizmodo. “And so we want to give them that chance to understand what options are available to them and what might work well for them.”

The platform, called Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment, or EDGE, was developed by DHS and the US Army and was built on Epic Games’ Unreal engine. For this particular program, the developers listened to audio taken from the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shootings in order to make the simulations as accurate as possible. They also spoke to a mother of one of the Sandy Hook victims, according to the Associated Press, and she gave them details about what happened throughout that day.

In the training program, participants can play the role of teacher, shooter or officer and the program can take into account different safety measures that a particular school might have. For instance, intercom systems or automatic locks can be worked into the simulation. While working through the virtual shooting incident, participants are given tips on effective practices such as locking doors and constructing barricades. “The more experience you have, the better your chances of survival are,” said Griffith. “So this allows you to practice and have multiple experiences [and] know what works and what doesn’t work.”

The EDGE simulator for teachers is scheduled to be released this spring.

Via: Gizmodo

Indie game award finalists include ‘Cuphead’ and ‘Night in the Woods’

The Independent Games Festival has revealed the finalists for its 2018 awards, and this year there are a few definite favorites. Infinite Fall’s relentlessly witty adventure Night in the Woods is on the short list for not just the Seumas McNally grand prize, but also the narrative and visual art prizes. And to no one’s surprise, StudioMDHR’s almost fanatical devotion to classic cartoons in Cuphead has earned it some nods: it’s up for audio and visual art prizes in addition to getting an honorable mention for the grand prize.

A few other games make repeated appearances. The ridiculously silly Getting Over It, the rule-changing Baba is You and the turn-based strategy title Into the Breach are up for more than one award each. We’d also point to a few highly narrative-driven games making themselves known, such as the space drama Tacoma, the death-positive A Mortician’s Tale and the deeper-than-it-seems dating sim Dream Daddy.

You’ll have to wait until the awards take place on March 21st to find out who wins. Having said this, it’s notable that some of these games had a very wide audience — Cuphead sold over 1 million copies in just its first two weeks. While there’s no certainty that a critically successful indie game will find commercial success (Microsoft’s promotion of Cuphead undoubtedly gave it a boost), it’s clearer than ever that developers can forego major publishers and still make it big.

Source: Independent Games Festival

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai cancels appearance at CES

If you were hoping FCC Chairman Ajit Pai would answer for some of his policy decisions with his presence at CES… well, you’ll be disappointed. The Consumer Technology Association has issued a brief statement saying that Pai is “unable to attend” CES 2018, where he was slated to participate in a “candid conversation” on January 9th. There’s no reason given, and neither the CTA nor the FCC is willing to comment. However, it’s odd to cancel at the last minute with no explanation.

While it’s possible that this could be related to personal matters or scheduling, it’s easy to see at least one other reason. His crusade to kill net neutrality has been widely opposed by both the tech industry and the public, and he plowed forward with the plan despite ample evidence of comment fraud. Simply put, he spent the past several months antagonizing a large part of his potential CES audience — he wasn’t about to be welcomed with open arms.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Source: CES (1), (2)

Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws threaten PCs, phones and servers

By now you’ve probably heard about a bug Intel is dealing with that affects processors built since 1995. But according to the people who found “Meltdown” and “Spectre,” the errors behind these exploits can let someone swipe data running in other apps on devices using hardware from Intel, ARM and AMD. While server operators (like Amazon) apply Linux patches to keep people from accessing someone else’s information that’s being executed on the same system, what does this mean for your home computer or phone?

Google’s Project Zero researchers identified the problems last year, and according to its blog post, execution is “difficult and limited” on the majority of Android devices. A list of potentially impacted services and hardware is available here, while additional protection has been added in the latest Android security update.

In a statement, Microsoft said: “We are in the process of deploying mitigations to cloud services and have also released security updates to protect Windows customers against vulnerabilities affecting supported hardware chips from Intel, ARM, and AMD.” In a blog post directed towards customers on its Azure server platform, the company said its infrastructure has already been updated, and that a “majority” of customers should not see a performance impact.

Apple has not publicly commented on the issue, however security researcher Alex Ionescu points out that macOS 10.13.2 addresses the issue and said that the 10.13.3 update will include “surprises.”

According to AMD, “Due to differences in AMD’s architecture, we believe there is a near zero risk to AMD processors at this time,” however it has promised further updates as the information comes out. As for ARM, it says most processors are unaffected but it has specific information on the types that are available here.

So what does this mean for you? On your devices the prescription is the same as always — make sure you have the latest security updates installed and try to avoid malware-laden downloads from suspicious or unknown sources.

Source: MeltdownAttack.com

Apple’s $29 Battery Replacement Program Could Lead to 16M Fewer iPhones Sold in 2018

Apple’s decision to offer $29 battery replacements to customers with older iPhones could cause iPhone sales to drop in 2018, according to Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz (via CNBC).

Customers opting for a battery replacement instead of upgrading an iPhone could be a “mild headwind” for iPhone unit sales, potentially resulting in millions of fewer iPhone purchases during the year. Moskowitz believes up to 77 percent of iPhone users are eligible to upgrade their batteries.

In our base case scenario, 10% of those 519M users take the $29 offer, and around 30% of them decide not to buy a new iPhone this year. This means around 16M iPhone sales could be at risk, creating ~4% downside to our current revenue estimate for C2018.

It remains to be seen if and how the battery replacement program will impact sales in practice despite analyst predictions, as there are other considerations that drive upgrades, such as new features.

Apple began offering reduced-cost battery replacements following backlash from an admission that it slows down some older iPhone models with degraded batteries to prevent them from shutting down unexpectedly.

The power management issue impacts the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus, but only in situations where battery health has declined. Affected iPhones see throttling during times of peak power usage, such as when running a benchmark.

iPhones that are running slower can be restored to their original condition with a fresh battery, which is why Apple has decided to offer $29 replacements from now until the end of 2018.

While Apple implemented power management features in older iPhones in an attempt to extend their lives as long as possible, some people have claimed that Apple is intentionally slowing devices to push its customers to upgrade, which the company says is not true. From Apple:

First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.

Though Apple may not have been aiming to get customers to upgrade their devices by implementing power management features, it’s an inevitable side effect, hence why the battery program could cut into sales somewhat. Apple is currently facing several lawsuits from customers who claim they upgraded after experiencing slower speeds on their older iPhones.

Apple plans to offer $29 battery replacements throughout the year, and according to internal documentation, all customers who ask for a battery replacement for an affected iPhone will receive one, regardless of battery health.
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Promise Technology Now Offering Custom Configurations for Pegasus3 Desktop RAID Storage Solutions

Promise Technology will soon offer custom configurations for its Pegasus3 line of Thunderbolt 3 desktop RAID storage solutions, allowing customers to configure a Pegasus3 RAID enclosure to meet specific needs.

Pricing on custom Pegasus3 configurations starts at $1,499. Customers can choose R4, R6, or R8 enclosures and select 1 and 2TB SSds or 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10TB hard drives. Prior to now, only specific configurations offered by manufacturers were available.

Promise’s Pegasus3 storage solutions are designed for creative professionals who need speed and the protection that redundancy offers, with all options offering dual Thunderbolt 3 ports with 40Gb/s connectivity and support for six daisy-chained devices.

Custom configurations are available for purchase starting now on the Promise website, but the feature will officially be available on January 10.
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This device will tell you just how bad your hair is

If you’ve ever wanted a more precise analysis of your hair, if you want to add a little tech to your hair care routine, or if you just don’t trust your hairstylist, Schwarzkopf has you covered. Henkel Beauty Care and its Schwarzkopf Professional brand are launching a hair analyzer that can supposedly give you a much more detailed assessment on the health of your hair. Using near-infrared and visible light sensors, the device can measure moisture level, inner hair quality and true hair color and can help your hair care professional come up with a personalized color and care plan.

We’ve seen tech make its way into the hair care realm more and more in recent years. Withings and L’Oreal came up with a smart hairbrush that can tell you when you’re brushing too hard and Dyson’s Supersonic hair dryer has a microprocessor that keeps tabs on the temperature of the air it’s pumping out. L’Oreal has also turned to VR in order to train new hairstylists.

Schwarzkopf’s SalonLab Analyzer is part of a trio of products aimed at tailoring a person’s hair care to them. There’s also a Consultant App that assists the hairstylist through the analysis process and can show a client what a new hair color will look like on them ahead of time. The app also helps come up with personalized hair product recipes that can be mixed in the salon with the SalonLab Customizer.

The SalonLab system will hit hair salons in the US and Europe sometime this year but Henkel will also be showing it off at CES 2018, which kicks off in Las Vegas on January 9th.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Image: Henkel Beauty Care

Source: Henkel

Brazil Demands Apple Explain How iPhone Owners Can Obtain Battery Replacements

Brazilian state agency Procon-SP today asked Apple to better explain why it has implemented power management features in older iPhones and how Brazilian iPhone users can obtain battery replacements, reports Reuters.

In a blog post on the Procon-SP website, the agency says that it sent a notice to Apple on Wednesday demanding information on how iPhone customers can replace their batteries, what models are included in the action, how long replacements will be available for, and the cost in Brazil.

Image via iFixit
Procon-SP attempted to deliver a notice to Apple this morning, which Apple refused to sign, but the demand for information was left at the front desk and the agency is giving Apple 10 days to respond.

It is not clear what will happen if Apple does not provide the info, but Reuters says Procon-SP has the power to levy fines or propose legal action against Apple.

Apple first announced plans to begin offering reduced-cost battery replacements in late December to provide a fix for customers who have noticed their iPhones slowing down due to power management features impacting older devices with degraded batteries.

Initially, Apple said that low-cost battery replacements would be available starting in late January, but later moved the timeline up. In the United States, battery replacements are priced at $29 and are available for the iPhone 6 and newer. Pricing on battery replacements varies in other countries.

Customers in need of a battery replacement should contact Apple’s support staff in their country to initiate the replacement process. Reduced cost batteries will be available through the end of 2018.
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Intel CPU bug means your PC is soon going to be significantly slower

AMD has made some real progress in its battle against Intel for CPU market share, by releasing the new Ryzen processors based on the Zen architecture in 2017. Ryzen chips already provide a compelling price-performance advantage over Intel equivalents, and that advantage could get a real boost in 2018. Apparently, all Intel CPUs produced in the last decade suffer a security flaw that can only be fixed in software, with a real performance penalty.

As The Register reports, the bug is related to related how programs access memory, specifically information that should only be accessible to the operating system kernel that maintains the highest level of privileges. Thanks to the bug, user programs can access protected the protected kernel memory space and “see” information that should be locked away.

The full details are not yet available, and in any case, they’re quite technical and relate to how a CPU moves in and out of protected kernel mode. The result is what matters: Intel processors keep the kernel in virtual memory to make that process as fast as possible. If the CPU doesn’t have to dump and then reload the kernel, then it can achieve faster performance. Unfortunately, that practice makes kernel contents vulnerable to being accessed by nefarious programs, and it’s hard-coded into Intel’s x86/x64 architecture.

The fix, therefore, has to be implemented by the operating system, in a process labeled Kernel Page Table Isolation (KPTI) that puts the kernel in an area of protected memory space that cannot be accessed by other programs. That creates extra processing steps — dumping and then reloading kernel data — that slow things down, which is estimated to be anywhere from five percent to 30 percent depending on the process.

All operating systems will need to implement some form of KPTI in order to bypass the bug and improve security. Microsoft will be implementing its own changes in an upcoming Windows 10 Patch Tuesday update, and indeed has apparently been testing things in Windows Insider builds. Linux and MacOS will also need to be updated, meaning this is an equal-opportunity bug.

For its part, AMD has indicated that its own CPUs do not suffer from this kind of bug and so won’t require any performance-sapping fixes. If you’re thinking about building or buying a new PC, then you have yet another reason to consider an AMD Ryzen solution. If you currently own a system based on a modern Intel CPU, then you’ll need to be prepared to see lesser performance once the fixes are rolled out.

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3D-printed optical illusion tricks your eyeballs into perceiving a cube

Whether it’s green strawberries that look red, painted “three-dimensional” road bumps or that argument-provoking dress, we are suckers for a good optical illusion. And 29-year-old Sage Hansen, aka YouTuber 3DSage, created a doozy.

Using a 3D printer, some ingenuity, and a fixed camera, he created a perception-skewing 3D cube that turns out to be anything but. In fact, the apparent cube is just a flat object with three raised pole-like sections jutting out at crazy angles. However, when it’s viewed from the correct angle, the effect is so convincing that our brain doesn’t question what we’re seeing at all. Until a cat comes along and suddenly blows our mind by putting its face through one of the cube’s “solid” edges.

Hansen notes that the cube illusion is an update of the kind of forced perspective chalk art that has done the rounds online for years. This type of illusion, which appears distorted from every angle except one, is referred to as anamorphosis — and actually dates back hundreds of years. One of the most famous early works in this genre is Hans Holbein’s 1533 painting, “The Ambassadors,” which features a 3D-looking skull which appears to be a white smudge from every angle except one. The effect was also employed by Leonardo da Vinci.

3DSage/YouTube

For Hansen’s creation, though, he used technology a whole lot more at home in the 21st century, although the theory behind the illusion remains the same. He started out by creating a virtual cube using 3D modeling software. Once he had settled on a camera angle he then began manipulating the image — drawing lines at random positions and angles — until he had a largely flat object that nonetheless matched up to his 3D cube. Finally, he printed the piece, shot the video, and uploaded it to YouTube.

The results are definitely eye-catching. While it works a lot better as a filmed effect than it would as, say, a desk ornament, it’s undeniably awesome. Hopefully, at some point, Hansen will share the 3D model online so that others can have a go at creating it for themselves. (Although, having seen how it’s done, it should be fairly straightforward to design your own variation.)

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