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ICYMI: Smashing bacteria, high-jumping roboroaches and more
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers from Seoul National University and UC Berkeley developed a robotic roach that jumps more than five feet high because people weren't scared enough of robots as it is. A team from Brigham Young University wants to figure out how hard you have to hit bacteria to kill it. Apparently smashing them into walls at 670 MPH isn't hard enough. And one enterprising maker spent more than two years building a fully functional Pong table -- complete with a cubical "ball."
Samsung's Galaxy S7 phones get pink option that isn't rose gold
Not one to hold back on spinning out new colors and editions months after a smartphone debuts, Samsung's revealed metallic rose-hued Galaxy S7s and S7 Edges for Korean phone-shoppers. Wait, it's not rose gold. That's some other company. These phones are obviously pink gold. Completely different and "skin tone-inspired".
Scientists use lasers to sniff out E. coli on food
Scientists have developed a better sniff test for that plate of leftovers that's been hanging out in your fridge. Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institutes of Science and Technology are using lasers (the jury is out on whether they're of the "friggin'" variety or not) to determine just how much bacteria is crawling all over your stored food. MIT Technology Review says that by shooting a red, coherent laser at chicken breast coated with E. coli and Bacillus cereus, the Korean scientists were able to detect changes in laser refractions, indicating the bacteria's presence.
LG plans to triple its solar panel production by 2020
While LG's consumer electronics business has been pumping out high-res TVs and other gadgets, its solar panel division has apparently been making plans for its expansion, as well. The company has revealed that it's spending $435 million to add more six more production lines to its facility in Korea. By doing so, it hopes to increase its annual solar cell production from 1GW to 1.8GW by 2018 and ultimately to 3GW by 2020. LG says 3GW is equivalent to the yearly power consumption of a million households, hence the increase in its solar cell production could change the way a lot of people use electricity. "LG has been actively involved in the solar energy business for two decades," company president Lee Sang-bong said, "and we believe that mainstream consumers are more than ready to give solar more serious consideration."
PSY is finally getting the monument he deserves in Seoul
PSY's "Gangnam Style" is so recognizable, the second it starts to play people know what to do. To commemorate the track that broke YouTube's view counter, the Gangnam District Office announced that it will be erecting a statue in PSY's honor because, why the hell not? The structure will be two interlocking wrists symbolic of the song's horse-riding dance move and will contain sensors in it that will trigger Gangnam Style to play when you're standing under it. It will be built in the eponymous upscale Seoul district, so if you're ever in the area make sure you stop by and check out a ridiculous statue commemorating an even more ridiculous tune.
ICYMI: Magic robot fingers, borked Tesla Autopilots and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512653{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512653, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512653{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512653").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: A Korean startup is set to launch a crowdfunding campaign for its home smartening "robotic fingers" -- internet-connected gadgets that push analog buttons so you don't have to. The self-driving cars of the future could look like terrestrial BORG cubes if designer Tommaso Gecchelin has anything to say about it. And speaking of the future of self-driving cars, Tesla recently announced that it will dumb down its "Autopilot" feature to prevent customers from abusing the technology. And don't forget this awesome Judge Dredd-inspired short film from Corrior Digital and Parrot drones. If you come across any interesting videos, we'd love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
Professional 'StarCraft 2' players, coach accused of match-fixing
South Korean authorities have arrested nine people, including two professional players and their coach, on charges of fixing professional StarCraft 2 matches, according to translated reports on the Team Liquid forums. The site says PRIME head coach Park Wae-Sik ("Gerrard"), and professional players Choi Byeong-Heon ("YoDA") and Choi Jong-Hyuk ("BBoongBBoong") have been arrested and charged with manipulating the outcomes of five matches throughout 2015. They're suspected of receiving between 5 million and 20 million won ($4,400 and $17,600) for fixing the games. At least three other people have been arrested and charged with match-fixing in the same sting, and two additional people have been indicted but not arrested. One other is at large, the report says. The Korean eSports Association plans to ban Gerrard and YoDA from the organization for life, a statement translated on TeamLiquid reads.
Mandatory South Korean parental control app is a security nightmare
Back in April, South Korea required that wireless carriers install parental control apps on kids' phones to prevent young ones from seeing naughty content. It sounded wise to officials at the time, but it now looks like that cure is worse than the disease. Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab have discovered 26 security holes in Smart Sheriff, the most popular of these mandatory parental apps. The software has weak authentication, sends a lot of data without encryption and relies on servers using outdated, vulnerable code. It wouldn't be hard for an intruder to hijack the parent's account, intercept communications or even scoop up the kids' personal details. The worst part? Some of these vulnerabilities apply on a large scale, so a particularly sinister attacker could compromise hundreds of thousands of phones at once.
Samsung agrees to compensation for employees that contracted cancer
After admitting that it didn't do enough to prevent illnesses and deaths of workers at its Korean semiconductor plants, Samsung has launched a new fund to put things right. Reuters reports that the company has set aside 100 billion won ($85.8 million) to compensate employees after it was revealed that hazardous working conditions had caused workers to contract leukemia and other incurable diseases.
Smartphone 'mode' can speed up devices and lengthen battery life
Phones, tablets and other devices slow down over time, no matter how expensive or cutting edge they were when you bought them. Now, researchers from Hanyang University in Korea claim a technology they developed can delay the inevitable. It's called Where's WALDIO or Write Ahead Logging Direct IO, and according to team leader Professor You-jip Won, it's a mode that extends battery life and speeds up phones by minimizing the amount of data a device records. "The core of the newly-developed technology is to record a small amount of data," Won said. "This tech will make it possible to use low-priced flash memory for a long time, like expensive flash memory."
LG busts out budget and Note-style versions of the G4
LG's leather-clad flagship hits stores this week, but no blockbuster device can come to the party without its squad in tow. That's why, in addition to the G4, the company is outing the Galaxy Note-troubling G4 Stylus and the budget-level G4c. Much like its immediate rival, the G4 Stylus comes with a 5.7-inch display and that famous Rubberdium(TM) pencil for scribbling. You may, however, be upset to spot that the device comes with a few downgrades on its relative, with the 13-megapixel camera a small downgrade on the 16-megapixel lens on the original. Oh, and if you're looking to pick one up in North America or Korea, you'll have to ask the assistant for a G Stylo, because someone in a marketing department was paid too much money.
North Korea's must-have gadget is a $50 media player
In North Korea, the gadget you'd probably want is a Notel. Or a Notetel, a word that attempts to shoehorn notebook and television together, describing a pretty unassuming, very popular, Chinese-made media player. According to estimates from Reuters, up to half of all urban-based North Koreans have a Notel stashed somewhere in the house. Now, until recently, the device was only found on black markets, but the device has now been legalized and is apparently available in state-run shops and markets for just fifty bucks. Image credit: Reuters, Kim Hong-Ji
A Samurai class is coming to Black Desert
Black Desert is getting a new Samurai class in its next Korean update, according to MMO Culture. Little is known of the archetype at this point, though the site speculates that we may see some "Samurai-type skills like Yasuo's [from] League of Legends."
LG's bendy G Flex 2 hits Korea this month
We liked the LG G Flex 2 enough to both bring it onstage at CES this year and put it in the running for our Best of Show awards. The curved flagship phone didn't go all the way in the end, but hey, if you happen to be in Korea this month a mere 800,000 won (around $737 domestically) will put one in your pocket. But, let's say you aren't in Korea and you'd rather hold out for the red model you see above to hit the States -- totally justified! In that case, the videos after the break will make the wait just a bit shorter.
iPhone Market share taking off in Japan and Korea
That's the report from Counterpoint Research. According to the Counterpoint Research, global Apple iPhone sales grew 26 percent annually crossing 20 million unit monthly sales mark for the first time ever in November 2014. Apple's iPhone sales volumes grew across key countries with timely global roll out of the flagship iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models and was also helped by the relatively lower-priced iPhone 5s and 5c targeting prepaid users in emerging markets. The report adds: "Apple's iPhone market share soared and reached record levels in Japan and Korea markets. In Japan, one of the most premium smartphone markets in the world, Apple captured more than half of the smartphone sales in October as well as November. Japan has been one of the strongest market for Apple and it is becoming increasingly difficult for competition to challenge Apple's dominance in near- to mid-term. Apple will likely benefit from the upcoming Apple Watch with a growing and premium iPhone user-base in this highly advanced consumer market." There's no good news in Korea for Samsung, where the electronics giant has dominated the mobile phone business in its home country. Apple captured one-third of the total smartphone sales in Korea last November. Previously, no company had ever topped 20 percent on Samsung's home turf. In general, many analysts expect the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to have blow-out numbers for the 4th quarter of 2014 when Apple reports financial results on January 27.
Check out Black Desert's renamed Tamer class in quick combat trailer
Black Desert fans already knew that a Tamer class was heading into the game; today that class is available to play on the Korean servers under the new name of Beast Master. As the name would suggest, the Beast Master class utilizes summoned magical beasts during battle and has a close-to mid-range fighting style; the skills available will be dependent on whether or not the player is fighting alongside her pet or is mounted during the battle. If you want a quick peek at how the Beast Master plays, check out the class combat trailer below.
Get your Tree of Savior beta questions answered
Tomorrow's a big day for Tree of Savior, as the colorful fantasy title will begin its Korean closed beta. If you have questions about the beta test, MMO Culture posted a short interview that covers several of the details. The team's primary goal during the first closed beta test is to ascertain "development direction in the future." This will be done by letting gamers check out features like the circle ranking system, companions, and 28 playable classes. A post-beta wipe is confirmed as well. However, as 90,000 people have registered for Tree of Savior's test and only 3,000 of those will be admitted, the chances are not great that you can hop into the beta... at least for right now.
Black Desert readies sieges for January 17th
Ready to lay siege to your enemies and take control of whatever strikes your fancy (as long as it's a castle) in Black Desert? The developers are getting ready to let players do just that. Sieges will be enabled on a single server on January 17th for a live test, and as long as nothing breaks horrendously, all servers will have the mechanics enabled on January 24th. Each guild will be able to build two towers and one command center as part of the lead-in to the warfare; the last guild standing after a siege will take control of the castle and be the defenders during the next assault. Still no word has been offered on an exact date for a North American release, for those of you watching this with hungry eyes. You'll have to find out how the siege tests go from the sidelines.
See Black Desert's impish Tamer class in action
While we wait for word on Black Desert's arrival in the West, the game is ticking along in its Korean open beta and continuing to add more features. One of these is the addition of the Tamer class, which will be coming to the beta this month. Not much is known about the Tamer, other than what a short video reveals: that she is a little goofy and likes to hit things with sticks. Steparu reports that other classes are on the way, including the possible Blader and Ninja professions. You can watch the Tamer in action after the break!
Black Desert Korean OBT exploits lead to permabans
If you were hoping for an exploit-free experience when Korean sandbox import Black Desert heads west, you may still get it. But you may not, if Steparu's recent experience in the game's K-OBT is any indication. Problems include a buy-back dupe, mob kills that gave abnormal amounts of experience, and "something with the shop." Steparu also reports that developer Pearl Abyss and publisher Daum have permabanned serious offenders and deleted ill-gotten gains from "light abusers."
