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US charges Assange with conspiracy to commit computer hacking
The US Justice Department just officially charged Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, shortly after he was removed from the Ecuador embassy in London and arrested by local police. The charge is "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion" for agreeing to break a password to a classified US government computer. The Justice department also said it was in relation to "Assange's alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States." It's the same allegation that was made in the Chelsea Manning trial in 2013, in which the former US Army private was found guilty of theft and espionage in relation to the release of classified government documents. But now that Assange has had his asylum revoked by the Ecuadorian government and has been arrested, he can finally be extradited to the US to face these charges.
This is the first real picture of a black hole
Yes, it happened. After years of relying on computer-generated imagery, scientists using the Event Horizon Telescope have captured the first real image of a black hole. The snapshot of the supermassive black hole in the Messier 87 galaxy (about 55 million light years away) shows the "shadow" created as the event horizon bends and sucks in light. It also confirms that the black hole is truly huge, with a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. As you might imagine, taking this picture was tricky -- it required worldwide collaboration that wasn't possible until recently.
Huawei is ‘open’ to selling its 5G modems, but only to Apple
For years, Huawei has been developing its own high-powered processors and modems, all to power its big portfolio of mobile devices. And so far, the company has almost completely refused to sell any of those to its competitors. We've learned, however, that the company might be softening that stance. A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to Engadget that Huawei is now "open" to selling its 5G Balong 5000 chipsets, but only to one company: Apple.
Boston Dynamics' acquisition will help its robots see in 3D
While Boston Dynamics' robots make for fascinating -- sometimes disturbing -- internet videos, they haven't quite crossed into everyday life. That could change sooner rather than later. Boston Dynamics took a big step toward bringing its box-moving (and running, jumping, dishwashing) robots into the real world with its acquisition of Kinema Systems.
Nokia's X71 phone has a hole-punch display and a 48-megapixel camera
Nokia is the latest Android phone-maker to embrace the hole-punch display with the launch of the X71. Camera-centric phones have been par for the course for Nokia under both its previous owner Microsoft and current brand licensee HMD Global. The new handset, which touts a 48-megapixel triple-camera with Zeiss lenses, is no different.
A Russian drone hunts other drones with a shotgun
No, this isn't an April Fool's joke: A Russian defense contractor has patented a drone that uses a shotgun to blast other drones out of the sky. It comes from Almaz Antey, a Russian defense contractor that manufactures the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile that caused a rift between Turkey and the US. The tail-sitting drone takes off on the spot but flies like an airplane for greater efficiency, giving it a 40-minute range while packing a fully-automatic Vepr-12 shotgun with a 10-round magazine.
Watch Samsung bend the Galaxy Fold hundreds of times
Samsung is attempting to put to rest doubts over the Samsung Galaxy Fold's durability by revealing how each device is tested. The company released a video on Wednesday that shows its devices undergoing a factory stress-test, where a line-up of brand new Samsung Galaxy Folds fold, and then unfold, and then fold again.
Co-op shooter 'Wolfenstein: Youngblood' arrives July 26th
Bethesda has been mostly tight-lipped about Wolfenstein: Youngblood since unveiling it at E3 last year, but it's not holding back now. The publisher has revealed that its co-op anti-Nazi shooter will debut July 26th on PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One. You play as BJ Blazkowicz's daughters Jess and Soph (either with a friend or an AI substitute) as they track down their missing dad in an alternate history Nazi-occupied Paris circa 1980. The new story trailer (below) makes clear that there's plenty of the modern series' over-the-top action, although there's also a bit of mystery involved -- it's now clear that BJ doesn't want to be found, and that he's up to something big.
Samsung's Galaxy A70 has a huge display and 32-megapixel selfie camera
Samsung has launched its biggest A-series phone ever, and it has a pretty impressive camera setup, too. The Galaxy A70 packs a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED 20:9 1,080 x 2,400 display with an "Infinity-U" notch. That houses the 32-megapixel, f/2.0 selfie camera that beats the main camera on many other phones. On the back is a 32-megapixel F1.7 main camera (trumping the 24-megapixel main camera on the last model), an ultra-wide-angle camera and a depth sensor.
MoviePass founder's next big idea: Free movie tickets for watching ads
Stacy Spikes just wants to get people to the movies. As the co-founder and CEO of MoviePass, he helped popularize the idea of cinema subscriptions. (This was before MoviePass brought in a new CEO and his ambitious -- but ultimately unsustainable -- $10 monthly plan.) As he pondered his next endeavor, he started noticing just how many ads we're subjected to in theaters, something that seems especially egregious as ticket prices keep climbing. And that's not counting the product placement we see in films.
Apple's new AirPods offer longer battery life and wireless charging case
Apple's hardware trojan horse continues to gallop a week ahead of its "show time" event next Monday. We've seen two new iPads and an iMac update, and now its increasingly ubiquitous AirPods are up. The rumors have been around for a while as to what was next for the AirPods. Noise cancellation? All kinds of wireless charging? Always-on Siri? How about some, but not all, of the above?
Apple's 2019 iMac gets some fresh chips, including an eight-core CPU
It's shaping up to be a busy week for Apple. Yesterday the company unveiled two updated iPads, and today it announced the iMac is getting a minor refresh. Going forward, the 21.5-inch model will be offered with an eighth-gen six-core Intel Core i5 CPU at the high end, plus 4GB AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. That top-tier sku will also include an eighth-gen six-core Core i7 processor as a configure-to-order option. At the entry-level, the 21.5-inch model starts with a dual-core seventh-generation Core i5 processor, and then moves up to configurations with eighth-gen quad-core chips.
Apple quietly announces 10.5-inch iPad Air and refreshed iPad mini
Apple's online store went dark earlier this morning, and now it's clear why: The company decided to quietly roll out not one, but two new iPads ahead of its big event next week. The new, larger, 10.5-inch iPad Air will arrive with a 70 percent performance boost compared to its predecessor, thanks to the company's A12 Bionic chip with Apple's Neural Engine. That'll be useful alongside the now 20-percent larger display -- which is compatible with the first-gen Apple Pencil too.
The Android Q beta is here with a focus on privacy
It's that time of year when Google offers an early peek at the next version of Android, and sure enough, the first Android Q preview beta is here. Like previous Android betas, the emphasis here is more on functional updates rather than razzle-dazzle. Most notably, privacy is a major focus. You can limit location gathering to when an app is running (much like on iOS) and restrict apps' access to media, while Google will restrict apps' power to either jump to the foreground or collect sensitive info like IMEI and serial numbers.
NASA releases the final panorama that Opportunity took on Mars
Before a Martian dust storm took out Opportunity in June 2018, the rover was able to capture hundreds of images that NASA has now released as a panorama. The 360-degree photo is composed of 354 images overall, taken by the rover's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) from May 13th through June 10th. It shows the vehicle's final resting place in Perseverance Valley located in Endurance Crater's western rim. The rover lost touch with NASA in June after it reported the approaching storm that ultimately covered its solar panels with dust and rocks.
Japan's moon rover will be made by Toyota
Toyota is going to the moon. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has teamed up with the carmaker to build a pressurized self-driving rover that will land on the lunar surface in 2029. The six-wheeled transporter will be able to carry two humans for a distance of 10,000 kilometers using solar power and Toyota's fuel cell technology. The rover will be about the size of two minibuses, with 13 square meters of habitable space, and the astronauts on board will be able to take their suits off inside the vehicle as they explore. It will land on the moon before the human expedition arrives, and travel independently to meet them.
NVIDIA buys high-performance chip-maker Mellanox for $6.9 billion
NVIDIA confirmed that it has purchased Israeli chip-maker Mellanox for $6.9 billion, its largest acquisition to date. The bid, rumored for several days, trumped a $6 billion offer made by Intel several months ago. It will reportedly help NVIDIA better compete in the server market, which accounts for about a third of its sales.
Sony finally brings PS4 Remote Play to iPhone and iPad
The latest update to the PlayStation 4 operating system has a feature that some users have craved for years. From today, the console will now properly sync with iOS devices, giving iPhone and iPad users the ability to game with the PS4 Remote Play app. Given that Sony first launched remote play (for its Xperia Z3) in October 2014, it's certainly been a long time coming.
Samsung's Galaxy Fold could lead to two more folding phones soon
If you, for some unknown reason, thought Samsung's flexible device rollout would stop with the Galaxy Fold then we have bad news. Bloomberg cites unnamed sources saying that the company is already working on a pair of follow-up smartphones, with one shaped like a clamshell (folding vertically so that the top meets the bottom) and another that folds away just like Huawei's impressive Mate X. The rumors suggest that the vertically folding device could appear late this year or early next year, while the one that folds out is due after that.
Tesla will unveil the Model Y crossover on March 14th
Tesla is following up a very busy February with an even more hectic March. Elon Musk has announced that his brand will unveil the long-promised Model Y crossover at the LA Design Studio on March 14th. On top of that, you can expect the first "v3.0" Supercharger station to switch on March 6th at 8PM Pacific. Musk didn't provide more clues beyond that, but you might already have an idea as to what to expect.
