Egypt
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How artificial intelligence can be corrupted to repress free speech
The internet was supposed to become an overwhelming democratizing force against illiberal administrations. It didn't. It was supposed to open repressed citizens' eyes, expose them to new democratic ideals and help them rise up against their authoritarian governments in declaring their basic human rights. It hasn't. It was supposed to be inherently resistant to centralized control. It isn't.
Google Tango AR takes you inside a mummy's sarcophagus
Everyone thinks augmented reality (AR) is loaded with potential, but what besides Pokémon Go can you actually do with it? Google is providing a concrete example by bringing its Tango technology to museums. At the Detroit Institute of Arts, visitors will be able to snag a Lenovo Phab 2 Pro phone and explore Egyption mummies and other exhibits. The tech will let you peer "inside" a sarcophagus, for instance, to see ancient skeletons and other hidden artifacts.
Machine learning is helping researchers decipher bat speech
Egyptian fruit bats are widespread throughout Africa and often roost together in colonies of 1,000 or more individuals. With that many neighbors packed together, it's no wonder they're such a noisy bunch. And thanks to some exciting machine learning research from Tel Aviv University, we now understand a bit of what they're saying.
Egypt has blocked encrypted messaging app Signal
Egypt has blocked its residents from accessing encrypted messaging app Signal, according to the application's developer. Mada Masr, an Egypt-based media organization, reported yesterday that several users took to Twitter over the weekend to report that they could no longer send or receive messages while on Egyptian IP addresses. Open Whisper Systems, the team behind the app, told a user asking about a situation that everything was working just as intended on their end. Now that the company has confirmed that the country is blocking access to Edward Snowden's preferred messaging app, it has begun working on a way to circumvent the ban. They intend to deploy their solution over the next few weeks.
Facebook's free internet service shut down in Egypt
Last week, regulators in India clamped down on Facebook's Free Basics in the country, and now Egypt is doing the same. The Associated Press reports that the program the social network launched with Etisalat Egypt two months ago was shut down today. In a statement to the AP, Facebook said that it hopes the issue is resolved soon, so that the nearly one million people that were previously without internet will have access restored.
ICYMI: Egyptian tomb tech, new fusion reactors and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-20787{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-20787, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-20787{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-20787").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Everyone who ever wanted to be Indiana Jones or just give up on it all and join an archeological dig will be interested in this: A new project called "Scan Pyramids" will use infrared scanners and cosmic ray detectors to search for new tombs inside pyramids in Egypt, as well as attempt to discover the engineering details of how pyramids were constructed. Fascinating stuff! Plus scientists at the Max Planck Institute want to launch a new design for a fusion reactor. It has a twisted shape unlike the traditional donut design, which its scientists believe is safer than the first version.
Egypt hunts for hidden pyramid chambers with cosmic rays
Egyptologists, rejoice. A new project was launched on the weekend with the goal of scanning Egypt's pyramids to find secrets about how they were built, and even discover hidden rooms and chambers. The project is headed by Egypt's antiquity ministry, which is heading a team of experts from Japan, France and Canada. The aim is to use infrared scanners and rare, esoteric cosmic ray detectors to map the interior of several pyramids, including the Pyramids of Cheops and Chephren at Giza. The team said it may also use the same technique to prove (or disprove) a theory that the legendary Queen Nefertiti is buried in a chamber next to Tutankhamun.
ICYMI: Pot breathalyzer, VR for pharaoh's tomb and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A prototype marijuana breathalyzer came out and oh lord, the glory days are over. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft got the best ever photos of Pluto and these scientists are adorably jacked up about it. And a Swiss motion capture company wants to put sensors and VR headsets together in museum settings to let people explore an ancient Egyptian tomb.
Stroll through Egypt's pyramids on Google Street View
If you're leery about taking a trip to Egypt just now, Google can at least give you part of the experience with new Pyramids of Giza Street View imagery. That includes the Great Pyramid, the only remaining ancient wonder of the ancient world that's still standing, along with the Great Sphinx and Imhotep's Pyramid of Djoser. As befitting the addition of such a famous landmark, Google also included a raft of extras: imagery from the Abu Mena Christian site, the medieval Cairo Citadel fortification and other iconic spots. From there, you can head to the Google Cultural Institute's Egyption Pyramid gallery and see archival photos and drawings. As we found, you'll be able to while away a few enjoyable hours, and (we think) a digital tour carries a minimal risk of any curses.
A Tale in the Desert is under new management
After years of inactivity on the A Tale in the Desert front, you might be forgiven from not noticing that the title changed hands last month. That's OK, we didn't see it before now either. Citing preoccupation with another project, eGenesis has handed over management and development of A Tale in the Desert to Pluribus Games. The upside to this transition for gamers is two-fold: The new owners have made the game free for the time being and are preparing to start up the next iteration of the story, Tale VII. "EGenesis has been overwhelmed with their newest project, Dragon's Tale, and has not been able to devote the time needed to ATitD. It is our belief that we will be able to greatly improve the game for you, our customers," Pluribus announced. [Thanks to Alan for the tip!]
Meet Civilization Online's four civs
XLGAMES announced its four civilizations from Civilization Online today, although sadly the Mole People were absent from this list. The four civilizations are China (led by Qin Shi Huang), Rome (led by Julius Caesar), Egypt (led by Hatshepsut), and Azteca (let by Montezuma). Civilization Online will be going into closed beta testing within the next few months and is slated to launch in Asia in 2014.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
The Mummy Online shuts down today
Do you remember The Mummy Online? It was a browser game by Bigpoint, it was in beta testing, it... you don't, do you? Apparently a lot of people didn't, seeing as how the company is shutting the game down as of today without much fanfare. According to the official announcement, Bigpoint has determined that due to the dropping playerbase it simply made more sense to sink more resources into games with an active group of players rather than trying to revive something slowly drying out. There's a metaphor in there. No word has been given on any kind of compensation for players who had spent money on the game. Readers may also note that the game never technically left beta testing, making it one of many titles to fold before an official launch. Our condolences to any gamers or developers affected deeply by this loss. [Thanks to Scott for the tip!]
Egyptian court suspends YouTube for a month over controversial film (Update: Google statement)
Users of YouTube in Egypt could face a month-long blackout of the service after an administrative court ruling ordered the website's suspension. The ministries of communication and investment have been ordered to block the popular video sharing site, reports news agency MENA, for hosting the movie short Innocence of Muslims. The American-made film has caused strong reactions since its release in September, at which point the initial complaint about YouTube's showing of it is said to have been made. Today's decision is a result of that ruling, and while the service should still currently remain online, Egypt's National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority has claimed it will uphold the suspension once it receives confirmation of the verdict. This isn't the first time access to YouTube has been restricted by a government, and the very same film caused the Pakistani prime minister to call for a similar ban at the time of the movie's release. The 13-minute video is still available on YouTube, implying that the site deems that it doesn't breach its own guidelines, but it does come with a warning for user discretion due to possible offence. We've reached out to Google for comment. Update: Google has responded with the following statement: "We have received nothing from the judge or government related to this matter." Update #2: Our friends in Egypt tell us YouTube is working fine for now -- at least as of 13.30pm today.
Choose My Adventure: My tale in the desert begins
Last week's Choose My Adventure poll was a real nail-biter! There were four games that were all within a few votes of each other. In the end, the winner by five votes was A Tale in the Desert, and I'm thrilled to be able to write about this game for my turn at CMA. As much as I like elves and orcs, I'm ready for obelisks, pyramids, and plenty of sand. I created my character over the weekend and began my path to citizenship. Did I make it through, or did flax farming get the better of me? Help me plan my course!
Wind Mobile to lose CEO, come under Egyptian telco's wing
We're only a few days into 2013, but that's not stopping Canada's Wind Mobile -- the Great White North's fourth largest carrier -- from announcing big changes for the year ahead. The firm just struck a deal with Egypt's Orascom that'll see the foreign telco gain control of the company through a stock deal and have Wind's founder and CEO, Anthony Lacavera, step down from his post. Barring hiccups in regulatory smell tests, the pact is expected to be rubber-stamped by the end of the year. As for Lacavera, he'll stay onboard as honorary chair and will spearhead a new effort dubbed Globalive Capital to invest in budding technology, telecom and media companies.
ITU treaty negotiations collapse as US, Canada and UK refuse to sign
As anticipated, several countries pushed to expand the UN's authority to regulate the internet and the US, along with many of its allies, have said they will not sign the updated treaty. Interestingly, the collapse of negotiations began when language was added to the new rules about "human rights obligations," which predictably met with stiff resistance from nations with spotty records on that front, including China and Iran. But the complete failure of the delegates to reach a consensus on updating international telecommunication laws seems to hinge primarily on the push by countries like Russia open the internet to additional UN regulation, that could cover everything from security to the assignment of addresses (something currently handled by ICANN). The US, along with Canada, the UK, Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic have refused to sign the treaty over to the proposed expansion of powers. The proposed change would, in effect, give the UN and other nations regulatory control over content. The concern is that it would open up the web to broader censorship and abuse from oppressive regimes seeking to control information and squash dissent. For now it seems as if the status quo will continue, though, any internet treaty coming out of the UN would likely face stiff opposition from the US, even without the content-related language.
MMO Blender: Beyond Shawn's Thunderdome
If there's one thing I've noticed about these MMO Blender articles, it's that the Massively staff members seem to really like their sandboxes. Maybe it's not even so much a staff preference as it is a statement about where we all are as MMO players. Themeparks have been done and have been perfected, but many of us want to stretch the limitations of a truly persistent and open online world. At least that's what I'd like to think. It's an ideal situation I can dream about, but do we all really want a truly open world with limitless possibilities? What would we do with so few rules? My perfect MMO has what I'd consider to be the best of all worlds. The trick is, of course, getting it all to work in one game.
Amateur archaeologist finds possible pyramids using Google Earth
While most Google Earth hobbyists are satisfied with a bit of snapping and geotagging, some have far loftier ambitions. Satellite archaeologist Angela Micol thinks she's discovered the locations of some of Egypt's lost pyramids, buried for centuries under the earth, including a three-in-a-line arrangement similar to those on the Giza Plateau. Egyptologists have already confirmed that the secret locations are undiscovered, so now it's down to scientists in the field to determine if it's worth calling the diggers in.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: liter of light project, space tourism and a 'Hyperloop' train
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This summer has been one of the harshest in recent memory in the US, with record heat waves and more than half of the country experiencing the worst drought conditions in more than 50 years. And in an even more troubling development, an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan broke away from Greenland this week. The need to develop clean alternatives to fossil fuels and water-saving technologies is more urgent than ever, but we're making progress in several key areas. In California, scientists fired 192 lasers onto a single point, producing an amazing 500 trillion watts of energy and bringing them one step closer to starting a nuclear fusion reaction that would produce an unlimited supply of clean energy. In another promising development, a teenager in Egypt figured out a way to turn the country's plastic waste into $78 million worth of fuel.
