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Amnesty International: Facebook and Google are a threat to human rights
Amnesty International, the premiere human rights organization, says Facebook and Google pose an unprecedented systematic threat to human rights. Specifically, Amnesty is concerned with the companies' "pervasive surveillance." In a new report, the organization warns against what it calls "omnipresent surveillance of billions of people" and calls for a "radical transformation of the tech giants' core business model."
Laser wormhole art is as dazzling as it is dangerous
When an artwork features both high-intensity lasers and a carbon fiber sculpture to keep spectators back, you know it's not going to be dull. Rita McBride's Particulates art installation at the Dia Art Foundation in Chelsea, New York features 16 lasers, scattered by particles of dust and water, forming a visual depiction of a science fiction "wormhole." The barrier, meanwhile, is meant to keep you away from said lasers, which are strong enough to do some harm.
Oculus disables Gear VR app on Samsung's Galaxy Note 7
Oculus has pushed an update to the Galaxy Note 7 that disables the Gear VR app on the device, according to several sources. Instead of loading the app, it shows a message (above) stating that "until further notice, Note 7 devices will not be compatible with the Gear VR." The move is a prudent one, given the device's tendency to catch fire or even explode, and the fact that the Gear VR puts the smartphone in close proximity to your face and eyes.
EVE Evolved: Wormholes should be more dangerous
When unstable wormholes began forming all over the EVE Online universe in 2009's Apocrypha expansion, players approached them with extreme caution. The promise of riches in the form of new loot and Tech 3 cruiser components was balanced by the incalculable risk of facing a powerful new enemy in untested circumstances. Between the Sleeper AI that had been reported to melt players' ships in seconds and the player pirates taking advantage of the hidden local chat channel to sneak up on unsuspecting victims, we had no idea whether any ship we sent into a wormhole would ever make it back out again. The risk of venturing into something truly unknown made wormhole exploration the single most exciting thing I've ever been a part of in an MMO, but the past five years have completely eroded that danger. Farmers now know exactly what to expect in every wormhole site and can efficiently farm Sleepers with the minimum of effort or risk, and PvP alliances can rapidly cycle through systems to find weak targets to attack. We've mapped and tamed all of the wormhole frontier, systematically reducing the risk to the lowest possible levels under the current game mechanics. Tuesday's Hyperion update aimed to shake things up with a few disruptive changes designed to keep wormholes dangerous, and I think it's a definite step in the right direction. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the changes in Hyperion designed to keep wormholes dangerous and ask what more could be done to keep things interesting.
Fisker completes investigation of latest Karma hybrid EV fire, issues vehicle-wide cooling fan recall
Recall Fisker's latest fiery episode last week that left the front left quarter panel of a Karma hybrid EV burnt to a crisp in a Woodside, California parking lot? As promised, the company has completed its investigation with Pacific Rim Investigative Services Group into the scene, reporting that it's "located the ignition source to the left front of the Karma, forward of the wheel, where the low temperature cooling fan is located." As such, Fisker has decided to issue a full-on recall of the unit, although it's currently unclear if this and it affects all Karmas on the road. That said, Fisker is also stressing "that the incident was not caused by the Lithium-ion battery pack, new technology components, engine component packaging or unique exhaust routing of the Fisker Karma" -- naturally, the usual suspects for these types of accidents that keep plaguing the fledgling automaker. At least its new CEO Tony Posawatz is extremely qualified to handle the task at hand -- after all, a few weeks ago he was Volt-maker, GM's, Vehicle Line Director. Hit up the press release after the break for details about the investigation and its findings. Update: When asked about whether the recall affects all Karma models currently on the road, a representative simply (and promptly) replied to us stating, "yes" -- well then.
Fisker issues second statement about self-combusting Karma
Fisker's inability to catch a break is matched only by its vehicles' worrying reliability record. The company has issued another statement after a parked, thankfully empty Karma EV opted for some self-immolation in a Californian parking lot last Friday. It currently doesn't believe the cause was its (previously recalled) Lithium-ion battery, exhaust routing or electrical components, having learned that the ignition zone was outside the engine compartment, in front of the driver's side front tire. We've got the full text after the break, meanwhile we're considering doing a lot more walking.
Cracking the Nexus Q, Google's 25-watt amplified obsession
"We're missing a nut," says a bemused Matt Hershenson, former Danger founder and now Google's director of hardware for Android, pointing at a vacant spot on an exploded photo of the Nexus Q. Its parts are strewn out across a white background, perfectly arranged in a linear pattern that starkly contrasts with the spherical nature of the thing. "Wow, you're right," agrees Joe Britt, engineering director at Google and another former Danger founder. "It's like the illuminators, you know, the monks who used to draw up the codexes." Hershenson picks up the reference without missing a beat: "Everybody needs to make at least one mistake. Nothing can be perfect." That goes against everything else we've been learning from the pair, who spend 45 minutes walking us through every detail of what went into the development of the new Nexus Q. They worked hand-in-hand with engineers and designers and materials experts, ensuring everything from the bearings to the LEDs were, well, perfect. But there is one thing, something larger, that many have said is a crucial flaw in this illuminated device: pricing. Will people pay $299 for a high-concept, low-functionality social media streamer? Join us after the break for how the Q came to be, and why Britt and Hershenson think it will be a success.
Baby Monkey devs Kihon get involved in Dojo Danger
It might be embarrassing to say, but I am a big fan of Kihon Games' first title Baby Monkey (going backwards on a pig). Yes, it's a silly game based on Parry Gripp's song of the same name, and yes, it's a pretty typical endless runner title. But I like it nevertheless, and so when Kihon offered to show me their second iOS title last week at GDC, I gladly assented. Turns out Baby Monkey was a trial, more or less. Kihon is a fairly new company (they've got seven employees so far) that was looking to dip its toe in iOS development, and Baby Monkey was the first result. Now that the water's been tested, however, they're ready to jump in, and they'll do that with a second title called Dojo Danger. Dojo Danger is a little more complicated than Baby Monkey was, as you might imagine. The game is turn-based strategy, and plays somewhat similarly to The Game Bakers' Squids -- you get a team of players pitted against another team (in this case, it's ninjas vs. zombies), and during each turn, you use a little slingshot mechanic on each round player to fling them across the board and try to do as much damage as possible. Though the basic mechanics are simple, Dojo Danger will have a huge amount of content: There will be 50 level campaigns for each of the two factions, and fifteen different units for each as well. Those units won't just vary in strength -- some will have healing abilities or other special functions, and there will also be consumable items used to boost up the troops (and sold via in-app purchase, of course). There will also be multiplayer available, both pass and play, and online asynchronous, where you'll be able to set up a dojo of units, and then your friends will come and try to take it down with their various armies. Maps vary as well -- some are just open battles, while others are a "Capture the Duck" variant (where you try to throw a duck into a goal on either side of the map), or have troops "frozen" on the field that need to be broken out of their ice blocks before being used. Finally, Kihon's business model for this one should be interesting -- aside from the standard freemium purchases, the company is also planning to release new units as often as possible, and sort of borrow the League of Legends model from Riot Games, where players will need to pay real money if they want to use those heroes right away. That should be interesting; obviously, balance will be an issue, but hopefully Kihon can make the profit they need without requiring players to buy specific units to win. Dojo Danger definitely looks interesting -- it's gearing up for a beta test right now, and expected out later on this year from Kihon.
GM to add 'enhancements' to Chevy Volt's battery coolant system, will call back 8,000 cars
In the wake of an NHSTA "formal safety investigation," GM today announced plans to add enhancements to the Chevy Volt's battery coolant system, in the hopes of preventing any post-crash electrical fires. As a result, some 8,000 Volt drivers will have to bring their cars back to their dealerships, as part of a move that's one notch below a formal recall. GM made the decision following federal investigation that saw three batteries erupt in flames after side-impact crash tests. Regulators blamed the irregularity on a coolant leak though thus far, no similar incidents have been reported among any Volt owners. The manufacturer plans to remedy the situation by adding extra support to protect the battery during side collisions, adding an extra sensor to keep an eye on coolant levels, and by incorporating an extra bracket atop the coolant reservoir to guard against potential overflows. Vehicles with these enhancements, GM said, passed the tests without any leakage or battery pack damage. Head past the break for the full PR. Update: Chevrolet has just reached out to us to clarify that adding these enhancements is voluntary, and not mandatory for Volt owners: "These modifications are part of a voluntary customer satisfaction effort. While we will encourage customers to return to a dealership to have their Volt's modified, it is voluntary for them as well."
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: the WHO changes its mind
To say that experts generally don't agree about whether cellphone radiation can fry your brain is an understatement of massive proportions, but amazingly enough, the World Health Organization has come to a pseudo-conclusion. A group of 31 scientists from 14 countries working in the org's International Agency for Research on Cancer says that -- based on a survey of the literature -- those electromagnetic fields are as likely to be potentially carcinogenic as 266 other worrisome substances, including DDT pesticide and the exhaust from your automobile. Mind you, the WHO isn't saying that cellphones cause cancer, as today's decision is merely the latest call for more research, but the fact that respected scientists even claim that a correlation should be considered will probably be enough to stir the pot.
Danger co-founders reunite with Andy Rubin at Google to focus on Android hardware
In the year 2000, former Apple, WebTV and Philips employees Andy Rubin, Joe Britt, and Matt Hershenson founded a little company called Danger Incorporated, which you may know from such hits as the original Sidekick and a $500 million sale to Microsoft. One of those three co-founders, Andy Rubin, has since become a very public face at Google, and it turns out he's recently gotten back together with his former compatriots to do more than just reminisce about the old days. As Fortune reports, both Britt and Hershenson quietly joined Google "within the last twelve months" to run a new Android Hardware wing of the company. So far, much of their work has apparently focused on accessories and, while there's reportedly no plans for any actual Google-branded accessories anytime soon, Britt reportedly said that he would like to see the company produce some Android peripherals of its own "in the long term." Of course, Danger also produced its own software back in the day and, as you're probably aware, the key architect of it, Matias Duarte, is now at Google as well. [Image: Entrepreneurship.org]
Sidekick 4G review
It's been nearly two years since we last reviewed a T-Mobile Sidekick, and it would be a vast understatement to say things have changed. Then, they were designed by Danger and manufactured by Sharp, and were the messaging phone of choice. Today, following fiasco and failure, the Sidekick empire is in ruins. But good ideas and their originators live on, and several of Danger's brightest wound up in Mountain View, California. Danger's Andy Rubin founded Android, design director Mattias Duarte built Honeycomb (after helping craft the Helio Ocean and webOS for Palm) and now, the Sidekick itself has joined its founders in the house that Google built. In many ways, the Sidekick 4G is a return to form, but in an ecosystem filled with similar Android devices, can it stand out from the crowd? %Gallery-122540%
Sharp Jump sidekicks its way onto Cincinnati Bell
Canada's Mobilicity relaunched the Sidekick LX as the Mobiflip out of nowhere late last year -- and the odd trend's picking up stream, it seems. Next is Cincinnati Bell, rechristening Sharp's latest (and most likely last) Hiptop model the "Jump." Now, seeing how Microsoft and Danger are shutting down the Hiptop back end on May 31st, we can only assume that both the Jump and the Mobiflip are both specially modified to bypass the cloud, much the same way Verizon tweaked and relaunched the Kins to turn them into low-end texting machines without the benefit of the Kin Studio. It's an odd move, but we suppose Sharp had some inventory to clear out -- and $39.99 on contract ain't bad for a WVGA device with a full QWERTY keyboard, we suppose. [Thanks, Adam]
T-Mobile offers Sidekick owners half off Samsung phones or waived ETFs
Well, we knew T-Mobile was promising an "easy transition" for Sidekick owners once Danger's long-running cloud service was shut down later this spring, and we now finally have the details on exactly what that transition will entail. According to a letter sent to Sidekick owners and obtained by TmoNews, the carrier will be offering either fifty percent off "select" Samsung phones purchased on a new two-year contract, or a waived early termination fee between March 31st and May 31st for those that prefer to just pack up and go elsewhere. Hit up the source link below to read the complete letter if you haven't already received one yourself.
RIP, Danger, 2002 - 2011: Microsoft axing service on May 31st, T-Mobile promises an 'easy transition'
Oh, come on, you saw this coming: Kin represented what was supposed to be Danger's rebirth under Microsoft's half-billion-dollar umbrella -- and when that failed, there wasn't really a future for these guys in the cards. We've received a statement today from T-Mobile breaking the news that Danger's cloud services will be decommissioned after May 31st, and the problem with Sidekicks is that they're more or less paperweights without a connection to Danger's servers... so if you're still using one, you're definitely going to need a new phone. For T-Mobile's part, they're saying that they'll "provide offers... to help make an easy transition" from old phone to new, and they'll be sharing those offers in the coming weeks. If anything, we wouldn't be surprised if the carrier was simply waiting for its all-new, Samsung-made, Android-powered Sidekick to be ready in the hopes that they'll be able to keep folks in the Sidekick fold even though Danger's gone. They're also providing web-based tools and Sidekick apps to get data off the devices, so you can't say they're not doing all the right things in light of the situation. Smart of Microsoft to make sure the statement comes from T-Mobile, too, since it means the carrier can get out ahead of the panic before it starts. See the full statement after the break.
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: handsets alter brain activity -- scientists don't know what that means
Cellphones are bad, mmkay? Or at least that is what many want us to believe, what with all these warning labels and studies telling us that mobile users will end up with brain cancer and kidney damage. Not to mention the dangers of phone addiction -- horror of horrors -- for our youth. Now, the National Institutes of Health have shown that radiation from your phone's antenna turns you into a supergenius increases brain activity. Using positron emission tomography (PET) scans on 47 individuals with a muted phone on each ear (to prevent aural brain stimulation), the study found a seven percent increase in brain activity in the area closest to the phones' antennas when receiving a call. The catch -- scientists don't know "whether this is detrimental or if it could even be beneficial," so don't go trading your Cell-Mate in for a Bluetooth headset just yet.
Sharp Mobiflip channels Sidekick LX's vibes for Mobilicity
Thought the launch of the Kin ONEm and TWOm was strange? Here's another oddity with a Microsoft tie-in: Canadian startup Mobilicity has just announced the "Mobiflip," a phone that the carrier's own press release calls out as being "similar to the Sidekick LX." It's unclear whether what's left of Danger will be supporting the device -- the Sidekick line basically pioneered mobile cloud computing, after all -- but what we see of the interface certainly rings true to the Sidekicks of days gone by. It runs CAD $99.99 ($98) contract-free, which is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than its American doppelganger launched for -- $250 on contract, if you recall. Yowza! Follow the break for the press release.
Israel to activate SMS-CB missile alert system next year
This one's been talked about since the middle of last year (at least), but it looks as if the time for contemplating is over and done with. It's bruited that the Israel Defense Forces will be moving forward on a plan to light up a new cellular system that will blast out SMS-CB alerts to citizens if and when a missile is fired in the direction of Israel. Just over $7 million will be invested, with the application itself being jointly designed by eVigilo and Ericsson. If all goes well, it'll be operational in June of 2011, and it's just one aspect of the country's effort to consolidate all emergency alerts into one centralized system. We're told that the blasts would be sent in a variety of languages, and there's even potential to send 'em to TVs, radios, websites and "billboards." And unlike various other SMS emergency alert systems that have been implemented, these would actually differ based on how the threat was forecasted to affect different geographic regions. Something tells us eVigilo's going to become a multinational company in no time. Update: eVigilo pinged us with a few extra details surrounding the service. For starters, it'll be using SMS-CB (read: not standard SMS) in order to circumvent core networks that tend to collapse during emergencies. This will enable the messages to bypass any congestion and hit all users at around the same time. The alerts would be delivered geographically, not to a specific number of users, with tests proving that "millions" could be reached within 20 seconds over 3G. Besides broadcast over mobile networks, the company will also connect to the national TV network using DVB and offer also DAB reaching digital radio subscribers. Additional capabilities will be given through multicast over IP (Billboards, Variable Message Signs and social networks).
'Toasted skin syndrome' caused by extreme laptop heat say researchers
In a new study from the medical journal Pediatrics, researchers confirm what you've known all along: laptop heat is the greatest threat to mankind's continued survival on this planet. In the report, researchers collected and analyzed various tales of woe from youngsters who'd been treated for exposure to extreme laptop heat, and discovered that prolonged periods of use can lead to a condition horrifically dubbed "toasted skin syndrome." The effects of gaming (or, uh, studying) too hard can leave skin in a mottled, sponge-like state, can cause permanent skin darkening, and generally makes you less attractive to the opposite sex -- from a lap perspective. When viewed under a microscope, the damage is similar to that of long-term sun exposure, and though unlikely in the case of laptop heat, prolonged skin irritation is linked to increased rates of some forms of skin cancer. Researchers suggest placing a carrying case or "heat shield" between you and your computer if you've got to keep it in your lap. At Engadget, the entire team has been issued Kevlar short-shorts -- we suggest you take similar precautions.
Power line inspecting robot isn't afraid of getting juiced
Inspecting power lines isn't the safest job we can imagine having, so we're pretty happy to see that robots -- which don't have the same... feelings we do about getting injured -- can be hacked to do the job. Hydro-Quebec's LineScout can get past most power line obstacles by partially detaching itself from the line and then grabbing a hold of it again once said obstacle has been cleared. It can also easily get from one section of the line to the next relatively quickly, and of course, the best part of this bot's ability is that it can pull all this off while the lines are powered. Check out the video below to see the bot in action.