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Google's 3D scans recreate historical sites threatened by climate change
Google is no stranger to reproducing historical sites online, but it's now pushing technical boundaries to recreate those sites at risk of vanishing due to the ravages of climate change. It's launching a "Heritage on the Edge" collection in Arts & Culture that will include over 50 exhibitions illustrating the effect of an evolving climate on historical landmarks, including five locations recreated in detailed 3D (with 25 models total) using a mix of scans, photogrammetry and drone footage. You can see vivid depictions of the statues at Easter Island's Rapa Nui, the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, the trading port of Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanzania, Bangladesh's Mosque City of Bagerhat and Peru's ancient city of Chan Chan.
UK honors 'Tomb Raider', 'Worms' and other classics with retro postage stamps
The UK's video game legacy is being honored with a new set of commemorative stamps from the Royal Mail. The collection, which will set you back £14.25 (nearly $19), features iconic designs from the likes of Wipeout, Lemmings, Micro Machines, Worms and, of course, Tomb Raider.
Time Magazine is recreating the 'I Have a Dream' speech in VR
For many people, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington and the famous "I Have a Dream" speech exist as little more than photos and soundbites -- only the 200,000-plus people who were there can give you a sense of what it was really like. Time Magazine, however, hopes to recreate that experience as best it can. It's releasing a virtual reality museum experience, The March, that will recreate King and his speech in VR for the first time. The exhibit will use a mix of photogrammetry (taking measurements from photos), motion capture, AI and 3D rendering to give a sense of what it was like to see King speak in front of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th, 1963.
Sonar drone helps find a WWII Japanese aircraft carrier
The late Paul Allen's underwater robotics are still achieving firsts in discovering long-lost warships. Vulcan's research vessel Petrel and its two robotic vehicles have discovered the Kaga, a Japanese aircraft carrier sunk during WWII's pivotal Battle of Midway. It's the first time anyone has found a Japanese carrier, Vulcan said, and also the most extensive search the Petrel team has conducted. The team spent several weeks combing an entire battlefield, covering an area of more than 500 square nautical miles -- it found the Kaga more than 17,700 feet underwater.
Google starts rolling out Incognito mode for Maps
Google Maps' Incognito mode is now making its way to all users, just a couple of weeks after it arrived to the app's preview group for testing. Similar to Incognito mode for Chrome and YouTube, turning the feature on means Maps won't be able to save the locations and the directions you look up, or to associate them with your profile. To activate it, you'll simply have to tap on your profile picture and switch modes. That said, you might not be able to use it right now: Google will start rolling the feature out to Android users this month. It's "coming soon" to iOS, but there's no concrete release date for Apple's mobile platform yet.
On Nintendo's 130th birthday, here are five books about its history
Today is Nintendo's 130th birthday. No, that's not a typo. The company's been around since before video games or even televisions. It started way back in 1889 making hanafuda — that's a type of playing card with flowers on it. In fact, the company still makes them, and you can even buy a set with Mario's face on the cards ($22).
Astronomers believe the young Milky Way once swallowed a dwarf galaxy
Astronomers believe they've mapped an important sequence of events that shaped our galaxy 10 billion years ago. In a paper published in Nature Astronomy today, researchers from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) share their findings that a dwarf galaxy, Gaia-Enceladus, once collided and merged with the early Milky Way. Their discovery offers a new understanding of how the Milky Way formed.
Time says its AR depiction of Apollo 11 is the 'most accurate' yet
Time is joining Google in marking Apollo 11's 50th anniversary using augmented reality, although this one is decidedly different -- and may be particularly valuable if you're a history buff. The magazine has introduced a Landing on the Moon AR experience in the Time Immersive app for iOS (coming shortly for Android astronauts; the experience is also available in Engadget sister company Yahoo News's app) that lets you relive the landing (complete with audio), explore the lunar surface and even stand next to Neil Armstrong while he plants the flag.
Computer password inventor Fernando Corbato dies at 93
Computer security just lost one of its founders. Fernando "Corby" Corbato, credited with inventing the computer password, has died at the age of 93. The MIT researcher devised the concept of password-protected user accounts when establishing his Compatible Time-Sharing System, which let multiple people use a computer at the same time. It was just a matter of establishing "compartmentalization" and basic privacy, Corbato told the Wall Street Journal in a 2014 interview, but the move would help shape digital security going forward.
NASA reopens Apollo mission control in time for Moon landing anniversary
The fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing is rapidly approaching, and NASA is determined to mark it in a fitting way: by restoring the hub of Apollo's operations to its former glory. The agency has reopened Apollo mission control at the Johnson Space Center after a restoration that makes it look like it did in 1969. There's functioning electronics, familiar furniture and other attentions to detail. The New York Times noted that there are even period-appropriate soft drink cans and cigarettes.
Moog museum tells the history of popular synthesized music
There's no doubt that Bob Moog had a massive influence on music by making synthesizers popular and accessible, and now there's a dedicated place to pay homage to his legacy. The Bob Moog Foundation has opened the Moogseum, a museum in Asheville, North Carolina that includes static and interactive exhibits devoted to its namesake's synths as well as other electronic instruments.
NASA wants your memories of the Apollo 11 Moon landing
Were you fortunate enough to watch the Apollo 11 Moon landing as it happened, or know someone who did? NASA wants to hear from you. It recently launched a story program that asks the public to submit audio recordings of their Apollo 11 memories in a bid to create an oral history of the event in sync with its 50th anniversary. All you have to do is record a story or interview (shorter ones are preferred, email it and details to a special address (apollostories@mail.nasa.gov) and check your inbox in case NASA wants a follow-up. There are suggested questions if you're not sure what to ask.
Google will soon let you auto-delete activity and location data
If you're worried about your Google data history coming back to haunt you, you'll be glad to hear that there's now an easy way to keep that history brief. Google is rolling out auto-delete controls for your activity data and location history, letting you automatically scrub information after three or 18 months. While that's not particularly fine-grained, it does save you from having to manually wipe info just to avoid leaving a permanent record.
Facebook's 'Clear History' tool won't arrive until spring 2019
When Facebook introduced its Clear History feature in May, it expected to offer the privacy-oriented controls in the space of a few months. Well... it's going to take decidedly longer than that. The company's David Baser told Recode in an interview that Clear History will be available for testing "by spring of 2019." It's "taking longer" to implement the de-identification technology than Facebook first thought, Baser said. He pinned it on major technical hurdles that cropped up in development.
Canelo Álvarez signs $365 million contract with streaming service DAZN
Multiple world champion Canelo Álvarez has signed a staggering 11-fight, five year, $365 million contract with DAZN, a streaming service dedicated to sports. This beats out the previous record holder, Giancarlo Stanton, who signed a 13-year contract with the Miami Marlins for $325 million.
Recommended Reading: AI the music producer
How AI-generated music is changing the way hits are made Dani Deahl, The Verge The rise of streaming services is one of many challenges the music industry is currently having to contend with. In the latest installment of its "The Future of Music" series, The Verge tackles another pressing issue: AI. This piece tells the story of Taryn Southern, an artist who used AI to co-produce her debut album.
Google clarifies how it tracks users even with Location History off
After the Associated Press reported that certain Google apps still track you even if you turned off location history, Google has changed its help pages and tried to clarify the issue. "We have been updating the explanatory language about Location History to make it more consistent and clear across our platforms and help centers," Google told the AP in a statement.
Steam's new data portal shows your shameful purchase history
Like other platforms and websites, Steam recently rolled out policy and product changes to comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As part of those updates, it has also launched a new portal that puts all your data in one place -- and yes, it includes a list of all your games, including the ones you blindly purchased during sales that still sit unplayed and untouched in your library. It shows your subscriptions, the fund sources you used, tournament registrations and even the profiles you've reported over the years. You can also see your and your friends' activity feeds, your inventory, trades, uploaded content, broadcasts and chat messages.
Apple's influential, iconic iMac turns 20
There are few individual computer models that have left a lasting mark on the industry, but you can definitely put the iMac on that list. Apple introduced its signature all-in-one desktop at a special event on May 6th, 1998, and it's safe to say the system has had a lasting impact on technology at large. At the same time, the iMac has also been a symbol of the cultural zeitgeist, including for Apple itself -- it shows how the company evolved from an underdog in a Windows world to a behemoth focused more on phones than PCs. The iMac has had a long journey, but it's worth following to see just how much the industry has changed in the past 20 years.
A Nanjing Massacre survivor's story lives on digitally
On the morning of December 13th, 1937, Japanese troops pounded on the door of Xia Shuqin's family home in Nanjing, China. Thirteen people had taken shelter under this particular roof: Eight-year-old Xia, her mother and father, two grandparents, four sisters (one, four, 13 and 15 years old), and four neighbors. The Japanese army had ridden into the city on horseback that morning and faced little resistance; the Chinese army had made a full, chaotic retreat the prior evening, December 12th. When Xia's father answered the door, the Japanese soldiers immediately shot and killed him. They bludgeoned and killed her one-year-old sister. They raped and killed her mother. They killed her grandparents. They raped and killed her 13-year-old and 15-year-old sisters. And they bayoneted Xia three times in the arm and back.