Новости за 28.10.2019

Microsoft‘s been awarded the controversial Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, a $10 billion planned project to create and maintain an AI-powered, cloud-based weapons platform for the Pentagon. The company’s stocks hit a record intraday high on the back of the news, but shareholders may want to hold off before declaring victory. Amazon, the second-place runner up, is reportedly weighing its options and may take legal action to challenge the award. Few imagined Microsoft winning the contract. Читать дальше...

According to a report by Reuters, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) is trying to buy Fitbit. The tech giant has made a bid for the fitness hardware maker, but there’s no confirmation that an acquisition will take place at this time. We don’t know how much Alphabet bid for fitbit either. The partnership makes some sense. While Fitbit continues to be popular in the fitness market, it’s struggled to make a mark with the ‘smart’ portion of its smartwatches. Google, meanwhile, has been partnering with... Читать дальше...

The latest game in the Call of Duty series, the rather confusingly titled Modern Warfare, has dipped again into the well of controversy by naming a mission after a Gulf War attack. The problem? They may have accidentally named an attack by Russians after an attack made by Americans. Be forewarned, I’m gonna be dropping a few minor *spoilers* for the Modern Warfare campaign. During the mission “The Highway of Death,” major character Farah Karim describes a stretch of road in the fictional Urzikstan... Читать дальше...

They’re finally here: Apple today announced the AirPods Pro, a noise-cancelling, (presumably) better-sounding variant of its extremely popular true wireless earbuds. This marks the first time Apple has introduced a ‘serious’ headphone since 2008’s Apple In-Ear headphones. By serious, I mean a headphone that actually prioritizes sound quality. While the AirPods are decent for what they are, they won’t win any prizes for their fidelity. It’s difficult to make an earbud with a proper bass balance unless you create a seal with the ear canal. Читать дальше...

The new iPhones are here and life is good! We’ve already looked at what’s new with the entry-level iPhone 11, but we have something slightly different for you today: a video breaking down the differences between the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. (Spoiler: it’s not a whole lot). So, slap your eyeballs on our delightful moving pictures above to get all the information you need about what separates the iPhone 11 Pro from the iPhone 11 Pro Max. But… let’s say you don’t really want to watch a video? Читать дальше...

The more I think about it, the weirder it gets that I never used active noise-canceling headphones (ANC) on a flight. I mean, I review tech for a living for god’s sake. I’ve tried out a raft of noise-canceling cans. I’m pretty sure I’ve event been on flights with ANC headphones. But, for some cursed reason, I never actually turned on noise-canceling features during a flight. Until last week. And lord, my life has been altered forever. Now, just as a refresher, active noise-canceling headphones work as the name suggests... Читать дальше...

In the most extreme regions of the universe, galaxies are being killed. Their star formation is being shut down and astronomers want to know why. The first ever Canadian-led large project on one of the world’s leading telescopes is hoping to do just that. The new program, called the Virgo Environment Traced in Carbon Monoxide survey (VERTICO), is investigating, in brilliant detail, how galaxies are killed by their environment. As VERTICO’s principal investigator, I lead a team of 30 experts that... Читать дальше...

Are you used to browsing Instagram without signing in to check out what your favorite brands are sharing? If so, here’s a change you won’t like one bit. The photo-sharing social network is now locking down its platform by preventing signed-out users from having unlimited access to public profiles. As a result, you’ll now be prompted to either sign up or login after viewing a handful of photos and posts via mobile or desktop web. Worse, there’s no getting around it. “This is to help people see photos... Читать дальше...

Our robot colleague Satoshi Nakaboto writes about Bitcoin every fucking day. Welcome to another edition of Bitcoin Today, where I, Satoshi Nakaboto, tell you what’s been going on with Bitcoin in the past 24 hours. As Habermass used to say: Fight the power! Bitcoin Price We closed the day, October 27 2019, at a price of $9,551. That’s a respectable 3.35 percent increase in 24 hours, or $310. It was the highest closing price in thirty-three days. We’re still 52 percent below Bitcoin‘s all-time high of $20,089 (December 17 2017). Читать дальше...

Earlier this month, Adobe was the victim of a serious security incident that exposed the personal information of nearly 7.5 million users belonging to the company’s popular Creative Cloud service. Per security firm Comparitech, the software giant left an Elasticsearch server unsecured that was accessible on the web without any password or authentication. The leak, which was discovered on October 19, was plugged on the same day by Adobe upon alerting the company. “Late last week, Adobe became aware... Читать дальше...

Facial recognition systems are all the rage among government agencies around the world, as they seek to automate services and keep tabs on their citizens. If there’s a picture of you somewhere, you could potentially be identified in photos and videos from public camera feeds. Now, Facebook has devised a way to thwart this technology. Its face de-identification tech, developed by three AI researchers who work with the company, modifies your face slightly in video content, so that facial recognition... Читать дальше...

Tesla thinks its clever solar panel roof tiles are ready for primetime. Now in their third iteration, Tesla announced its new Solar Roof tiles are now available to order and installations will begin in a few weeks. The tiles are a pricey install at approximately $42,500 for a 2,000 sqft, although that price comes can be reduced by $8,550 with federal tax incentives if installed prior to the end of the year. Elon Musk claims that for most people, it’s cheaper than replacing your roof and adding separate solar panels at the same time. Читать дальше...