Standalone Oculus Go headset could debut at Facebook’s F8 event
Last year Oculus teased its standalone “Go” VR headset saying it would go on sale for $199 early in 2018. Now Variety cites unnamed sources claiming that it will debut at Facebook’s F8 conference May 1st. That should provide the kind of stage Zuckerberg, Barra & Co. would like for their first mass-market virtual reality product, although it does mean we have a few more weeks to wait before it arrives.
As Hugo Barra explained in January, standalone headsets are necessary to push the company’s vision of social VR. He said “It’s the idea of having a completely self-contained product that you can just put on and start using it. You can do everything in one step.” While other VR headsets are more powerful and include things like positional tracking that the Go won’t have, bypassing the need to plug in a powerful computer or game console should open it up to more people.
During CES the company revealed Xiaomi is building the hardware based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset, and an FCC filing previously leaked out. With its name, price and most of the technical details already available, the big question is how this will be supported by Facebook’s software and ecosystem — which will likely be answered soon in San Jose.
Source: Variety
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Visits Apple Park
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin today visited Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple Park, according to an image shared on Twitter by Mnuchin.
In his tweet, Mnuchin thanked Tim Cook for Apple’s commitment to invest $350 billion in the United States, which refers to a January announcement from Apple where the company said it planned to bolster the U.S. economy through job creation, existing investments, and new investments.
Glad to visit @Apple HQ with @tim_cook. Thank you for your commitment to invest 350B in USA! #TaxCutsJobsAct pic.twitter.com/TasRA55smG
— Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) March 16, 2018
Apple said it will contribute $55 billion to the economy in 2018 and $350 billion over the course of five years. At the same time, Apple also pledged to increase its Advanced Manufacturing Fund, designed to create jobs in the U.S. through investments in suppliers, to $5 billion, up from $1 billion.
Mnuchin’s visit to Apple Park comes just a few days after Tim Cook was spotted at Capitol Hill meeting with senators Mark Warren (D-VA) and Richard Burr (R-NC).
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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Here’s our guide on how to delete your Instagram account
Pixabay/Pexels
You can’t deny Instagram can be a ball-and-chain. Maybe you’re sick of feeling like you have to capture every single moment of your existence, or perhaps you’re tired of seeing the perfectly posed pictures of everyone else’s life. If you’re anything like us, maybe you’re just tired of the strain that comes from juggling multiple accounts or waiting for those minute-long videos to load on the bus.
Thankfully, deleting your Instagram account only requires a few clicks and confirmations on the Instagram website. Deleting it isn’t for the faint of heart, however, since doing so will permanently delete your account and everything associated with it (i.e., your photos, videos, comments, likes, follows, and followers). Instagram also claims it cannot — or simply will not — reactivate your account should you wind up changing your mind three days later when the hashtag withdrawals kick in. Likewise, you (nor anyone else) will never be able to sign up with the same username ever again. Bum deal.
If you’re unsure about the possibility of wanting to regain access to your Instagram account at a later time, Instagram offers a temporary deactivation feature. This allows you to deactivate your account for a brief period of time, and still access it later. It that doesn’t sound appealing, we’ve outlined how to deactivate your account below.
Step 1: Navigate to the “Delete Your Account” page
You cannot delete your Instagram account directly from the mobile app, meaning you must visit the Instagram website. There is also no easy way to access the Delete Your Account page from your profile, which is a bit frustrating. The easiest way to get there is just to go straight to the page.
If you aren’t already logged in on your browser, take this time to enter your username and password before clicking the Log In button below these text fields. Alternatively, click the blue Forgot button and follow the instructions to reset your password. You will need to know your username or email associated with your account to delete it.
Step 2: Choose a reason for leaving
From here, select a reason for deleting your account. Some of the reasons include being too busy for the app, you can’t find people to follow, too many ads, and a few others. Select whichever option best suits your situation (it doesn’t matter which one you chose) from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? You will be required to enter your password one more time.
Step 3: Delete your account
You’re almost there, but keep in mind, there’s no way to get back or even use the same username after you’ve deleted your account. Once you’re sure you want to delete, tap Permanently delete my account. And that’s it! If you would like to delete another account, you’ll need to log in again and repeat the process.
For security reasons, Instagram can’t delete an account for you (or your children’s accounts for that matter). You’ll need to be able to log into the account you want to delete in order to do the deed. Once you’ve gotten through the confirmations, there’s nothing else you need to do. Your Instagram account will be removed from the social network forever.
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Fall in love with Florence, our game of the week!
Who says video games can’t be considered works of art?
March 16, 2018: We’ve got a couple beautifully artful games to recommend this week. First, explore the highs and lows of falling in love with Florence, and then run from a gigantic world-eating worm in the hand-drawn Wormster Dash!
Florence
Who says that video games can’t be artistic? Florence is a brand new game released for Android and iOS designed by the Ken Wong, the lead designer of the incredible Monument Valley franchise who now leads a new indie studio, Mountains, based out of Australia. Florence is their first release and it is mesmerizing.
The game explores the titular character, Florence, as she falls in love for the first time. The interactive elements at play here are subtle at times, but it all manages to pull you into Florence’s day-to-day life. The game tracks the highs and lows of falling in love with an art style that will remind you of reading a graphic novel. It shouldn’t take you too long to play through Florence, but it’s a quality experience and should touch your heart.
Download: Florence ($2.99)
Wormster Dash
What can you do when a giant worm is trying to eat the entire world around you? Run for your life!
That’s the premise behind the beautifully hand-drawn game Wormster Dash. The graphics in this game were all hand drawn on paper, giving this game a look and feel that you just don’t see too often on mobile. This game is loaded with hidden passages, deadly traps, and a bunch of bizarre creatures that will try to distract you as you jump and smash past obstacles.
Officially listed as unreleased on the Google Play Store, if you’re brave enough you can download and play it today from the Google Play Store.
Download: Wormster Dash ($4.99)
Fitbit OS 2.0 rolling out to Fitbit Ionic with new gestures, Deezer, and more
Quick Replies are coming later in the spring.
The Fitbit Versa is Fitbit’s latest smartwatch, and with it comes an upgraded version of Fitbit OS that debuted on the Ionic last October. Now, Fitbit’s updating the Ionic with the Versa’s improved software.
Officially titled as Fitbit OS 2.0, the update is rolling out now to 10% of Ionic owners. Fitbit calls this a “progressive rollout,” and all Ionic users should have the update within the coming weeks.
This is a big update for the Ionic, and perhaps the most notable change is how you now interact with the watch. Swiping down now reveals your notifications and a swipe up takes you to the new “Fitbit Today” page. This houses all of the information found with the old Today app, including your steps, calories, floors, distance, and active minutes. Your main goal is shown first with a graph of your progress for the last seven days, and you can swipe left on this to see your other stats.
Below this is where you’ll find how many steps you’ve taken each hour, and now you can swipe to view your total active time throughout the day even when you still have steps to go for the current hour. Another swipe up will take you to a live readout of your current heart-rate and graph of what it’s been for the past seven days, and at the very bottom of Fitbit Today is a brief breakdown of your most recent workout.
Fitbit OS 2.0 makes the Ionic feel more polished and complete.
When you hold the left-side button on the Ionic, Fitbit OS 2.0 takes you two a new page with shortcuts for Fitbit Pay, any local music you have stored on the watch, and quick settings for screen wake and notifications.
Deezer is also available on the Ionic as part of the update, and between animations, swiping through the UI, and opening apps, everything feels noticeably smoother.
Also, before you freak out, Quick Replies are still coming to the Ionic. Fitbit announced this with the Versa as a new feature that lets Android users reply to text messages and other app notifications right from their wrist, but this won’t be available until sometime this spring.
I’ve personally been loving Fitbit OS 2.0 on my Ionic, but I’d love to hear from you. If you’ve got the new software on your watch, how do you like it so far?
Fitbit Versa hands-on: Fitbit’s finally getting serious about smartwatches
Today’s best deals you won’t want to miss
Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve got great discounts on Corsair mechanical keyboards, Vizio’s 70-inch 4K home theater displays, Sparkr plasma lighters, and more! Don’t pass these up.
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Alcatel 1X Android Go phone coming to the U.S. for less than $100
The Alcatel 3V is also heading to the States.
Alcatel was one of the many brands showing off new phones at MWC in Barcelona last month, and now we’ve got confirmation from the company that the 1X and 3V will both be heading to the United States.
The Alcatel 1X is the least powerful of all the phones Alcatel announced at MWC, but it’s notable as it’s the company’s first Android Go handset. The device is equipped with a 5.3-inch 960 x 480 display, a MediaTek quad-core 1.28GHz processor, 2,460 mAh battery, and 16GB of storage that can be expanded up to 32GB.
Those certainly aren’t the most impressive specs in the world, but considering that Alcatel will sell the 1X for under $100 in the U.S., there’s not much you can complain about. Plus, since this is an Android Go phone, you’ll get a lightweight version of Android Oreo out of the box that’s optimized to run well on less-powerful silicon. Oh, and there’s a fingerprint sensor.
Alcatel 3V
Moving on to the 3V, this is a considerably more impressive phone. It’s Alcatel’s first phone to launch in the U.S. with dual rear cameras, with the setup consisting of a 12MP and 2MP combo. Other specs include a TCL-built 6-inch 2160 x 1080 screen with an 18:9 aspect ratio, MT8735A processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 3,000 mAh battery. There’s a fingerprint sensor, face unlock feature, and Android Oreo is present out of the box.
Pricing for the 3V was previously announced at €189, and that comes out to a little over $232 USD.
Alcatel says both phones will be available “in the coming months”, and retail availability will be announced as we get closer to their launch.
Alcatel makes new 5, 3 and 1 series phones official, topping out at €229 and focusing on value
‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ brings dinosaurs to your phone this Spring
Open-world survival game ARK: Survival Evolved was one of the bigger early access games back in 2015, eventually launching a couple of years later on PS4, Xbox One and Steam and gathering 13 million players in the process. Now the title is coming to mobile devices as a free-to-play game. Publisher Studio Wildcard promises the same online experience as the PC and console versions, including a massive island to explore, more than 80 dinosaurs to tame, crafting and building features and multiplayer tribes to join.
Developer War Drum Studios (Bully, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Max Payne Mobile) launched a closed beta for ARK today (iOS-only for now), with a full launch set for later this Spring on both iOS and Android.
ARK: Survival Evolved sets you naked, cold and hungry on the beach of an island filled with dinosaurs and potentially hostile other players. You’ve got to gather resources, build tools, grow crops and hunt for food. You can tame the dinos as you come across them, riding your sauropods across the island for bragging rights. If exploration is more your bag, you can find rare blueprints and Explorer Notes from previous residents of the island, too. You can also team up with up to 50 other players to tame the wilderness or play on your own in single-player mode.
Source: War Drum Studios
Vanguard I has spent six decades in orbit, more than any other craft
As of this month, the US satellite Vanguard I has spent 60 years in orbit and it remains the oldest man-made object in space. Vanguard I was the fourth satellite launched into orbit — following the USSR’s Sputnik I and II and the US’ Explorer I. But none of the first three remain in orbit today and though Vanguard I can’t send signals back to Earth anymore, it’s still providing valuable data for researchers.
The first two attempts to launch the first Vanguard satellite failed, but on March 17th, 1958, Vanguard I was successfully placed into orbit. It was manufactured by the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which published a lookback this week honoring the satellite’s 60 years of service, and was part of a project that aimed to study Earth’s geophysical phenomena from space. The Vanguard Project was established as part of the US contribution to the International Geophysical Year — a multi-national effort to study geophysical phenomena during a period of time when the sun’s sunspot activity would be at a peak.
Once in orbit, Vanguard I began collecting a trove of data. “Vanguard’s orbital data proved invaluable toward the understanding of upper atmospheric physics, geodesy, geodynamics, solar terrestrial relationships, dynamical astronomy and exospheric structure,” said the NRL. “Additionally, Vanguard I returned a wealth of information on air density, temperature ranges and micrometeorite impacts as well as revealing that the earth is slightly pear-shaped rather than round.”
Vanguard I was the first satellite with solar electric power and while its batteries lasted just 20 days, its solar cells kept the satellite powered for seven years. Vanguard I stopped sending signals back to Earth in 1964, but since then, researchers have still used it to glean insight into how the sun, moon and Earth’s atmosphere affect orbiting satellites.
“We are all still in awe of what the Vanguard team accomplished 60 years ago,” John Schaub, director of the NRL’s Naval Center of Space Technology, said in a statement. “In just 30 months, with the successful launch of Vanguard I, their work brought to culmination the efforts of America’s first official space satellite program.” He added, “Vanguard I paved the way for NRL to leave our mark in the space technology field. We continue to draw inspiration from the innovation and uniqueness of the Vanguard Project, perpetuating our legacy of changing the way we see space down here on the surface.”
Vanguard II and III were both successfully launched in 1959 and both also remain in orbit today.
Image: US Naval Research Laboratory
Source: Naval Research Laboratory
When China hoards its hackers everyone loses
They say you don’t notice something good until it’s gone. With China’s decision to restrict its information security researchers from participating in global hacking competitions, we’re about to see what that looks like on the global “zero day” stage.
For over a decade Pwn2Own — happening this week — has brought together security talent from across the globe in a friendly hacking competition that is a cornerstone of research and advancement on par with Black Hat and Def Con.
China’s hackers routinely win, sweeping the board — notably, the Tencent and Keen teams. Pwn2Own is good-natured, and all in the name of researchers finding big bugs, nabbing great bounties and drawing attention to security holes and zero-days that need to be fixed.
But this year, according to Pwn2Own manager Brian Gorenc, China is no longer allowing its researchers to compete. Prior to the start of Pwn2Own this week, Gorenc told press “There have been regulatory changes in some countries that no longer allow participation in global exploit contests, such as Pwn2Own and Capture the Flag competitions.”
One thing’s for certain: yearly champions Tencent’s Keen Labs and Qihoo 360’s 360Vulcan team are nowhere to be found and Trend Micro, the conference organizer, has confirmed to Engadget that there are no Chinese competitors in this year’s competition.
Stuck behind the Great Firewall
A spokesperson from Trend Micro told us via email, “If regulatory changes do prevent certain countries from participating, we would expect it to be across many events and not just Pwn2Own. These regulatory changes likely apply to other types of competitions.”
It’s a worrying development in the direction of isolationism and away from the benefits of competition in the spirit of improving security for all. It comes at a time when relations between the US and China strain under the weight of Huawei security concerns, which are not at all new, but are certainly coming to a head as American companies sever business ties with the firm.
It definitely puts all eyes on Def Con, which is having its first Chinese conference in early May. When reached for comment, the organization was still observing these developments.
The wider infosec community was just plain disappointed. Microsoft Edge Security hacker Jonathan Norman said in a tweet that the decision to keep China’s hackers out of Pwn2Own was “depressing” because he “Worked really hard preparing for this year and wanted to see the results.” Others said it just wasn’t going to be the same without Keen participating, and they’re not wrong.
One could argue that Pwn2Own makes everyone more secure. It’s a contest that lights a fire under fat boys like Microsoft, Google, Apple, VMware, Mozilla and others, who routinely release big security patches immediately before the event. In addition, those behind Pwn2Own note that “There have been instances of teams filing bug reports with vendors prior to the contest in the hopes of killing competitor’s exploits.”
Pwn2Own was formed by Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative, an organization to “encourage the reporting of zero day vulnerabilities responsibly to the affected vendors.” They wrote in a blog post on Pwn2Own’s tenth anniversary:
Would movement towards more secure software like this happen without Pwn2Own? Possibly, but Pwn2Own serves as an annual forcing function for vendors. It’s an annual assessment of the state of security as we pit the best vendors have to offer against some of the best security researchers in the world.
A special edition of “Hoarders”
It appears that China’s government wants to keep vuln discoveries by its citizens within its borders, a sentiment expressed by the country’s top executives as well. Leading Chinese security company Qihoo 360’s CEO Zhou Hongyi is a vocal opponent of Chinese teams going abroad to compete in events like Pwn2Own.
In last year’s competition the top five winners were from China, with three of them hailing from Tencent. In reaction, Hongyi told Sina Technology that any vuln discoveries by Chinese researchers “should remain in China.” This suggests that while China’s hacking teams love to compete and skill-share, the country’s executives and managers are wont to hoard zero days and bugs.
For something like Pwn2Own, there are many bugs — and cash prizes — to be had. Last year, for the event’s ten-year anniversary, the Zero Day Initiative awarded $833,000 to white hat hackers, exposing 51 different zero-day bugs. Most were found by Chinese researchers. China’s researchers emerged as a force to reckon with at the 2013 Mobile Pwn2Own contest in Japan and Tencent’s Keen team hacked and remotely controlled Tesla cars, giving a presentation and demonstration of the hacks at Black Hat USA 2017.
Chinese teams have a solid track record at Pwn2Own, but their work at the 2016 contest is possibly the best example of how the global competition contributes to better security for everyone.
In 2016, Tencent’s rival Qihoo 360 walked away with $520,000 in prize money from sister event PwnFest; thanks to them the security of Google’s then-new Pixel phone was gone in 60 seconds by hackers from Qihoo 360. The same year, the Nexus 6p was hacked in under five minutes at Moblie Pwn2Own by the Tencent “Keen team” white hat hacking group.
“Google said the Chrome bug that Keen Team found was patched within 24 hours of the event and the changes have already been released into the stable branch by the Chrome team,” wrote The Register.
Divided we falter
Taking Chinese teams out of global hacking competitions may seem like a detail only noticed in the niche-est of security research chatter. Who cares if the guys making all the big strides in pushing the boundaries of big-name security get held back? Let’s give everyone else a chance, right?
If only it worked that way. One country’s decision to hoard its talent and their zero days shows us just how social security really is. It’s a group effort. Let’s set aside for the moment that taking one country’s teams off the playing field goes against the larger idea of Pwn2Own’s effectiveness. With everyone attacking the big companies under race-condition terms, everyone benefits.
Without groups like Keen Labs or 360Vulcan, we glimpse a future security landscape, one going backwards, into secular infosec practices, nationalism, and vuln hoarding. It’s a sick feeling, like watching the United States succumbing to separationism on the global stage, or the UK willfully cutting off its own oxygen with Brexit. It reminds us that a lot of the good parts of infosec, the conferences where other cultures mingle, are becoming a thing of the past.
China pulling researchers out of conferences so soldiers can create better weapons for an invisible arms race perfectly captures everything that makes us despair about both the state of infosec and the state of global politics — and all its brutish anti-intellectualism, its ignorance of what works over what’s more isolating. I just hope that somehow, eventually, we can right this ship and move forward, toward the security we’ve all been working for.
