Apple’s Work With India on Anti-Spam iPhone App Deadlocked as Apple Raises Privacy Concerns

Apple is at an impasse with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) over the development of an anti-spam iPhone app. The app is meant to allow users to report unsolicited calls and text messages as spam, preventing further spam on their devices (via Reuters).

Last October, Apple first agreed to help India “tap into new iOS features” to build the app, but in the ensuing months Apple is said to have raised concerns over the privacy implications of allowing the app broad access to customers’ call and text logs.

Apple and the Indian regulator have “not met since November,” and India in January reportedly asked Apple for “basic clarifications” on what the iOS app would be able to offer users. In a statement last week, Apple said that the app remains in ongoing development because as it stands now it “violates the privacy policy of the App Store.” Apple plans to keep working with the regulator and India’s engineers to “continue discussing ways they can design their app to keep users’ personal data safe.”

In hopes of moving thinks along at a faster clip, TRAI head R.S. Sharma has said that he is consulting a legal team to see how Apple could be pushed into a faster development cycle.

“We will take appropriate legal action,” Sharma told Reuters in an interview. “This is unjust, it shows the approach and attitude of this company.” He did not elaborate on what action the regulator might take.

Apple did not comment on Sharma’s remarks, but said that it shared TRAI’s goal of protecting customers from unwanted calls and messages. Apple said it would not modify its guidelines to allow any app access to contacts, see call logs or view text messages as those functionalities violate a user’s data security and privacy.

Prior to the iPhone app, there has been an Android version of India’s “Do Not Disturb” app for about two years, requiring users to grant the app permissions to access contacts and view text messages so that users can report spam and telemarketers. For Google’s version of the app, the company said that it believes in “the ability of users to make purchasing and downloading choices without top-down enforcement or censorship.”

For the next steps with Apple, the company offered to have its technical teams meet with TRAI, but the Indian government is said to be waiting on “more details” from Apple first. Although Sharma threatened legal action, one former TRAI consultant stated that the Apple/TRAI disagreement is “likely to be more of a public relations battle,” as opposed to a legal one.

Over the years, Apple has frequently had to balance its beliefs in user privacy and security as they sometimes conflicted with the laws and requests from foreign governments. Notably, last summer Apple removed a majority of VPN apps from the iOS App Store in China, following regulations passed earlier in 2017 that require such apps to be authorized by the Chinese government.

A few days later in an earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated: “We would obviously rather not remove the apps, but like we do in other countries, we follow the law wherever we do business. In this particular case … we hope that over time, the restrictions we’re seeing will be loosened, because innovation requires freedom to collaborate and communicate, and I know that is a major focus there.”

Tag: India
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Live Coverage of Apple’s Education Event in Chicago

Apple’s “Let’s Take a Field Trip” event in Chicago begins at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (8:00 a.m Pacific), where the company is widely expected to unveil a lower-cost iPad, new education-focused initiatives, and perhaps make some other announcements.

Photo via Tim Cook
Apple is not providing a live video stream of today’s event, but will post the video on its website and the Apple Events app on Apple TV following the event. We will be updating this article with live blog coverage—no need to refresh—and issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the keynote unfolds.

Highlights from the event and separate news stories regarding today’s announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.

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Apple’s online store is currently down in advance of the event. It should be accessible again shortly after the event ends.

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Tag: March 2018 event
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Watch the Huawei P20 reveal right here!

Want to watch the notch-screened Huawei P20 debut as it happens? We’ve got you covered. The smartphone maker will unveil its new handset with an iPhone-X-like divot in the top of its display tomorrow at 10 AM Eastern, live on YouTube and you can catch all the action right here. This should be especially useful if you’ve got an office pool dedicated to how big the smartphone’s camera sensor is. Rumors have the P20 Pro pegged for a 40-megapixel rear shooter, potentially with three lenses. Regardless, there’s less than 24 hours until the truth leaks out.

Source: Huawei (YouTube)

‘Final Fantasy XV’ team forms a studio to develop new IPs

Square Enix wants to expand its offerings with brand new AAA titles, and it’s relying on Final Fantasy XV’s developers to make that a reality. FFXV director Hajime Tabata and the game’s core developers are leaving their old division to form a studio within Square Enix called “Luminous Productions” (LP). The subsidiary’s purpose is to create new IPs and to “deliver new AAA titles to the world.”

Based on the studio’s name, we could expect it to produce some visually stunning creations. The video game giant’s custom engine used for FFXV is called “Luminous,” and while the game has its faults, it’s undeniably gorgeous. When we asked a Square Enix spokesperson whether LP will focus on RPGs, they said that the team “will strive to deliver new IPs with a wide range of entertainment content without limiting [themselves] to specific fields or genres.” We might see other types of games with graphics as fantastic as FFXV’s, though we won’t know for sure until LP reveals more info on what it’s working on.

It’s not entirely clear who will develop future Final Fantasy installments. The spokesperson confirmed that “the development team behind [FFXV] is at the core of Luminous Productions,” but assured that the franchise “will continue to be handled in the future as a valued IP.”

The division that developed FFXV, BD2, is still in operation, the spokesperson said, but “since most of the staff have been transferred over” to LP, “the functionality of the previous division no longer exists.” Square Enix might form a new team for the next entry, give the project to another division or move talent to FFXV’s old division while Luminous Productions focuses on conjuring up new titles. The new studio’s website, which features a bunch of job listings, says LP wants to create games “10 years ahead of their time.” We’ll likely hear about those titles soon enough, since Luminous promises to drop updates throughout the year.

Aaron Souppouris contributed to this report.

Source: Luminous Productions

Marshall’s Mid ANC are a worthy pair of noise-canceling headphones

Last year, Marshall introduced its highest-end wireless headphones, the Monitor Bluetooth. They had almost everything you’d want in cord-free cans — except for active noise cancellation (ANC). Now, Marshall is finally jumping aboard that bandwagon with the $269 Mid ANC. While they’re technically part of the company’s mid-range lineup, the addition of noise cancellation might make them worth the $30 premium over the $249 Monitor Bluetooth.

Like every pair of noise cancelling headphones, the Mid ANC rely on microphones on the outside of the headsets to monitor noise. That signal is then compared against what you’re actually hearing, using another two microphones within each cap, to block out external low-end noise, like the low hum of an airplane. The Mid ANC still let in some higher frequency sounds, so you’re not completely oblivious to a car honking as you cross the street. That’s not too different from other noise cancelling headphones, though. That technology is great at cancelling out low-end sound, but not so much at stopping high-pitched noise.

Marshall claims its implementation of ANC is better suited at urban environments, where you need to be more alert than if you were just sitting on an airplane. Based on a few days of testing, the Mid ANC did a solid job of blocking out plenty of city noise. It was particularly great at cutting out the random assortments of subway racket. But it didn’t sound significantly different than other noise canceling headphones, like Plantronics’ BackBeat Pro 2.

Outside of its ANC performance, the headphones also sound fantastic, with a well-defined (but not overpowering) low-end, and crisp mids and highs. The Mid ANC’s 40mm drivers had no trouble tackling my eclectic library of tunes, from film soundtracks to classic soul. Given the way noise canceling works, you typically lose a bit of sound quality when it’s activated, but I didn’t notice any significant changes with the Mid ANC. The headphones also feature the AptX codec, which will give you a bump in wireless fidelity from supported devices. If quality is your main concern though, and you’re not typically sitting in noisy environments, the Monitor Bluetooth might be a better option for you.

Even though the Mid ANC are on-ear headphones, unlike their older siblings which fit over your ears, they’re comfortable to wear. The earpads feature a generous amount of foam and are covered in a soft leather-like material. Marshall also upgraded its headband design to be less restrictive, and added a soft felt material on the bottom of the band. As much as I adored the sound quality of the Monitor Bluetooth, I never got used to its tight headband, so I’m glad the company tweaked the fit of this pair.

Marshall claims the Mid ANC will last for 30 hours using Bluetooth without ANC, and 20 hours with the feature turned on. And of course, you can also plug in the included line-in cable into the 3.5mm jack if you run out of juice. Just like with its last pair, you can also have a friend plug their headphones into the Mid ANC’s 3.5mm jack to share your tunes. They also come bundled with a velvet-lined carrying case — something that’ll appeal to longtime fans of the Marshall brand.

Floating calcium ‘sun shield’ could protect the Great Barrier Reef

Scientists in Australia are testing a new technology that may help protect the endangered Great Barrier Reef from environmental degradation. An ultra-fine biodegradable film, 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, could be used as a floating “sun shield” to protect the reef from the effects of coral bleaching.

The film, made from calcium carbonate, is designed to sit on the surface of the water above the corals. Trials on seven different types of coral so far have found that the shield decreased bleaching in most cases, cutting off sunlight by up to 30 percent.

The reef measures 216,000 square miles, so it’s unlikely the shield could be deployed across the entire World Heritage site, but managing director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Anna Marsden, says it could play an important role nonetheless: “It could be deployed on a smaller, local level to protect high-value or high-risk areas of reef.”

She added that the concept needs more testing before it gets to that stage, “but it’s an exciting development at a time when we need to explore all possible options to ensure we have a Great Barrier Reef for future generations.”

Source: phys.org

Sketchfab challenged people to ‘remix’ ancient art, and the results are amazing

Rhetorician by engine9 on Sketchfab

Last month, the 3D content platform Sketchfab presented some of its users with a challenge. Given a treasure trove of downloadable cultural heritage models — from ancient castles to dinosaur skulls and hellenistic statues — digital artists were asked to reimagine these artifacts and remix them with contemporary aesthetics.

There were thirty-six entries to the “CHRemixChallenge,” ranging from abstract to comical. Some pieces seemed to atone for past transgressions, such as the bison skull adorned with flowers. Others commented on the present, as in the chess queen with a cellphone held to her ear and the ancient vase stamped with the Coca Cola logo.

Digital artists were asked to reimagine these artifacts and remix them with contemporary aesthetics.

“Simply put, the challenge seemed like a great opportunity to facilitate a form of collaboration over time and space between modern, digital creators and historic, traditional artists,” Thomas Flynn, head of cultural heritage at Sketchfab, told Digital Trends. “We’re really at the very beginning of institutions discovering how to create and release 3D data. At the same time artists and designers are beginning to realize that this data is out there and available for reuse. This challenge seemed like a good way to stimulate some creativity.”

For a few years now, Sketchfab has been making an effort to share and promote culture through digitization. Over 600 museums currently use Sketchfab to scan and publish 3D content for anyone with an internet connection to access. The British Museum has hundreds of objects available to view online, including the fist 3D scan of the Rosetta Stone, which it released last year.

One of the company’s stated goals for projects like these is to make culture more accessible, while engaging people who may feel isolated from it.

Trajan Bust Remix by Manfred Kostka on Sketchfab

“Accessibility has many meanings,” Flynn said. “Something like this challenge is perhaps more about making cultural content more approachable and creating an example of engaging with a particular group — 3D artists.”

Flynn offered his own contribution to the challenge, remixing a scan he made of the bust of Zeus while working at the British Museum, and turning it’s marble translucent.

The winner of the challenge, selected via community votes, added a sort of vaporwave/cyberpunk halo to a bust of a rhetorician.

Sketchfab runs similar challenges every week, though Flynn said the CHRemixChallenge was the first to focus on cultural heritage specifically.

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Stem cells slashed alcoholism rates in rats. Can it do the same for humans?

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the ability to transform, as required, into many different types of cell in the body. They have previously been responsible for a number of major medical breakthroughs, doing everything from restoring sensation to people with paralysis to enabling almost blind people to read again. Now a new study from researchers at the University of Chile has another application for them: Helping fight alcoholism.

In clinical trials, the researchers found that one dose of human mesenchymal stem cells injected intravenously into rats significantly reduced the amount of alcohol they would willingly imbibe. Within 48 hours of treatment, the rats — which were previously downing the size-adjusted equivalent of a bottle of vodka per day — reduced their alcohol intake by up to 90 percent. The effects of one dose lasted up to five weeks.

“Alcohol use disorders constitute a leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide,” Dr. Fernando Ezquer, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “Several studies in humans and rodents have shown that chronic alcohol consumption leads to an increase in inflammatory cytokines, both in the periphery and the brain, and this alcohol-induced neuroinflammation remains up-regulated for long periods even after discontinuation of alcohol consumption. This phenomenon perpetuates alcohol consumption and is also associated with a marked increase in the risk of relapse in abstinent patients. Drugs currently available for alcoholics patients have very low effectiveness and are not focused in reducing neuroinflammation.”

Cell therapy based on mesenchymal stem cells is increasingly emerging as a clinical option for diseases in which this type of neuroinflammation occurs. Ezquer said that, in the case of this study, the stem cells work as a combination of an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant medication which could greatly reduce alcohol intake.

“We have proved efficacy and safety using rats [selectively] bred as alcohol consumers,” Ezquer continued. “This is a very robust animal model of alcoholism since these rats consume the equivalent in humans of over one bottle of vodka every day. We believe that in humans presenting an alcohol use disorder, this type of cell therapy may reasonably be used in conjunction with a cognitive-behavioral intervention. For other diseases, over 1,200 patients have received this type of cells.”

The researchers are currently harvesting small nano-particles which are shed by mesenchymal stem cells. These could then be administered as an intranasal spray. The team is also on the lookout for clinical partners interested in transferring these studies to humans.

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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What is a motherboard?

Most people have heard about the motherboard before, but may not be sure exactly what it does or why it seems so important. Let’s satisfy that curiosity with a closer look at a motherboard’s functions and why it matters so much.

The motherboard is a printed circuit that acts like the air traffic controller of the computer. It coordinates all the processes, makes sure power is routed properly, and connects all the other components of a computer together. Common brands like Intel, MSI, Gigabyte, and Asus manufacture motherboards for computers.

Note that this is not the same as the CPU, which is where all the computations are actually performed. The motherboard simply organizes these computations and their results. While it doesn’t hold a lot of power itself, nothing else could work without the motherboard, which is why it is considered so vital.

Motherboard components

There are a number of different motherboard designs and form factors, which have been updated over the years for different devices and evolving technology. However, all motherboards have a few things in common. All of them have circuits, for example, used to coordinate computer processes. All of them have a heat sink or some type of device for absorbing and redirecting heat so that the motherboard stays cool during operation. Most have a secondary source of power, too.

The primary thing you’ll notice when you look at any motherboard is that it has a lot of slots and connections. Since everything is routed through the motherboard, it needs physical contact with nearly all computer components. That includes main power, the CPU, video and sound cards, all types of memory that the computer may use, and expansion slots. If you use a mouse or keyboard, they have their own connections, too — along with any other important accessory you might want. This is why a motherboard appears to be a ring of connectors. That’s its primary function.

Over time the ports on a motherboard tend to change based on what current technology demands. This is why an old motherboard may have many obsolete ports for connections that are no longer used. But we will note two important connections specifically: The connection to the CPU, and the connection to power (I/O) functions. These are commonly regarded as the two most important motherboard connections, the backbone of the circuit, and together they are called the chipset, the core management of power and processing for all tasks.

A brief history of the motherboard

The modern motherboard was actually invented long after the first computers. Very old computers ended to be simpler machines, without the same need to coordinate so many different processes at the same time. Also, before the consumer market took off, there wasn’t much demand for mass-produced motherboards.

This started to change in 1981, when IBM released its Personal Computer. These computers did in fact need a way to regulate activity for consumers, and IBM developed the first motherboard to do it, a computer chip that took care of all the details while users completed their digital tasks.

At first, this component was called a “planar” and it went through a lot of additional names in time. The term motherboard became the most popular, since the circuit board essentially acted as the mother to all the other computer components. This is also that reason that motherboard expansions are sometimes known as daughterboards.

Upgrading motherboards

Typically, motherboards are mounted in the very back (farthest away from the opening panel) of the computer, content to sit back and do their work. However, motherboards also play an important role in computer upgrades. Anything you upgrade with a new model has to be properly connected to the motherboard.

However, you must make sure that the motherboard has the right connections for the upgrade you’re planning — and this can sometimes be a problem. Many motherboard upgrades are made to enable other upgrades like new video cards or CPUs that couldn’t be supported before. This can, of course, snowball the price of upgrading your computer, which is why it’s important to consider whether it’s less expensive to buy a new motherboard and components — or just purchase a new computer.

U.S. military is developing a sound weapon that sounds like a retro modem

If you’re a technology fan of a certain age (in your late 20s or beyond), the distinctively abrasive dial-up tone of an old modem may fill you with a warm sense of nostalgia. If the U.S. military has its way, however, it could soon have a totally different association for a large number of people: As an ear-splitting non-lethal weapon designed to annoy or even frighten enemies. And not just because of the promise of really slow download speeds!

The screeching sound is the result of something called the Laser-Induced Plasma Effect. This involves firing a femtosecond laser to create a ball of plasma, which is then oscillated by a second nanolaser, causing it to produce sounds. It’s the work of the Department of Defense’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Development Program (JNLWD) and is intended as a directed energy weapon that could be used in a range of different conflict scenarios. (We like to think of it like a way more high-tech version of the Rat Pack-blasting yacht that Tony Soprano utilizes to intimidate an unscrupulous attorney in the “Whitecaps” episode of The Sopranos.)

Right now, the Laser-Induced Plasma Effect still mainly produces vintage modem-esque sounds like the one in the video above. However, long-term the team that developed it hopes to be able to manipulate it finely enough that it could be used to create human-sounding voices. The idea of using lasers to create voices out of thin air sounds crazy, but that is exactly what the Pentagon may be capable of within just a few years.

Depending on the mirror that is used to achieve the effect, the weapon’s range could be extended to tens of kilometers. In fact, longer range applications may even turn out to be easier than short-range ones. That is because the Kerr effect — which refers to tiny changes in the refractive index thanks to electromagnetic field changes — is easier to create at a distance than it is at short range.

In addition to making sound, the Laser-Induced Plasma Effect technology could also be employed for assorted other laser applications, including producing both light and heat.

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