CES 2018 - Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public
CES 2018 -Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public
The augmented reality specialist Vuzix is trying out the mainstream market. The company presents a pair of connected glasses, Blade, which it is intended for sports fans. Augmented reality specialist Vuzix took advantage of CES 2018 to present its new pair of connected glasses, called Vuzix Blade. Unlike the rest of Vuzix products, these "smart glasses" are primarily intended for the consumer market and especially for sports enthusiasts. The glasses work in tandem with a smartphone (Android or iOS) to which they connect by bluetooth. This dependence allows them to keep a format close to a conventional pair of glasses, with a weight of less than 85 grams.
FIRST GLASSES CONNECTED COMPATIBLE WITH AMAZON ALEXA
CES 2018 -Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public
The user can receive a wide variety of notifications and features from his application directly on his field of vision (GPS directions, social networks, phone calls, videoconferencing, calendar reminders, biometrics for sports, etc.). The Vuzix Blades are also equipped with an 8 megapixel camera that allows, according to the company, to "never miss a picture". The user can use the touchpad located on the right arm of the glasses or use voice commands. Notably, these glasses will be the first to use Alexa, the personal assistant of Amazon.
A PROHIBITIVE PRICE OF 1000 DOLLARS
CES 2018 -Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public
This style-based and easy-to-use approach, unlike performance, differentiates Vuzix Blade from professional solutions like Microsoft HoloLens or its flagship product, the Vuzix M300. Vuzix rather positions Blade as a "wearable" of the same order as a smartwatch, even if it does not exclude an enterprise use for "light" tasks (by connecting the glasses to a Wi-Fi network to access to industrial applications). The professional market could well generate the majority of revenues related to Vuzix Blade ... Indeed, there is a major obstacle to these ambitions for the general public: the price. The Vuzix Blades are expected to be available for sale in the second quarter of 2018 as a development kit, at a cost of around $ 1000. A sum that does not place the product within the reach of many consumers. The CEO of the company, Paul Travers, is aware of this. He told Bloomberg that his goal is to reach a price of $ 500 in 2019.
CES 2018: Acer unveils the world's thinnest laptop
Acer Inc., The International Consumer Electronics Show
The race for finesse is a struggle between the different players in the market every year and at the CES 2018, the Acer Swift 7 definitely wins, with only 8.98 millimeters thickness. It's almost the size of a smartphone. At 8.98 millimeters thick, the new Acer Swift 7, introduced on the eve of the opening of CES 2018 in Las Vegas now claims the world's thinnest laptop label. Its predecessor was already only 10 millimeters, but the brand seems to want to continue to take us to the infinitely small by beating its own record.
Acer Swift 7, Just the Thickness of a Smartphone.
Visual level, it offers a 14-inch screen definition Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), all protected by a metal frame. So where is the trap? With such dimensions, the brand has had to make concessions somewhere no? The components are rather upscale with a Intel Core i7 seventh generation with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage in SSD format. On the other hand, exit the dedicated GPU and we also forget the standard USB ports and we pass on USB Type-C. It is actually for gamers that the device will quickly reach its limits. Suffice to say that for games too greedy, it will quickly forget. The new Acer Swift 7 slightly improves the brand on the side of autonomy with a maximum of 10 hours, one more than its predecessor. However, we are still very far from the best models of the market at this level. On the plus side, 4G LTE connectivity is rather useful for mobile connectivity users. Finally, there is the surprising presence of a fingerprint reader that avoids you to go through the box of the password. Located on the left of the keyboard, it is likely to surprise at first. The PC will also support face detection via Windows Hello. It will be possible to discover the laptop at CES 2018, if not appointment early April with a price that should be around 1800 €. Rather high. To see if the finesse is for you a decisive argument in your choice.
United States: Astronaut John Young, Pioneer of Spacewalk, Died at 87
Commander John Young at a photo opportunity at the Houston Space Center, May 7, 1979. (NASA TV)
John Young landed on the moon in 1972, during the Apollo 16 mission.
"NASA and the world have lost a pioneer." Astronaut John Young died at the age of 87, announces Nasa, Saturday, January 6th. With six spacewalks and a landing on the Moon, he has been an important man in the American space program. The octogenarian died Friday night complications of pneumonia. He lived in the suburbs of Houston (Texas-South) near the NASA Space Center.
John Young was the only astronaut to have participated in the Gemini-Apollo and Space Shuttle projects. He was also the first to make six spacewalks - and even seven, counting his takeoff from the moon - and for a while, he held the record for time spent in space, according to NASA.
John Young, NASA, Apollo program, History of spaceflight, Project Gemini
He had walked on the Moon in 1972
Test pilot for the Navy, he made the fastest climb from the ground on a F-4 Phantom II jet, before joining NASA. John Young then participated in the Gemini 3 mission (1965), before ordering Gemini 10 (1966), flying in orbit around the Moon with Apollo 10 1969, and landing there with Apollo 16 in 1972. He also commanded the first mission of the American Space Shuttle in 1981.
John Young, NASA, Apollo program, History of spaceflight, Project Gemini
An aeronautical engineer by training, he then joined Nasa's management - notably in charge of selecting (Astronauts) for the Space Shuttle. In his autobiography, he revealed that he felt responsible for the shuttle accidents Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003). When he retired in 2004, he said he was "very lucky" and enjoyed "every moment" of his career.
Jimmy Iovine could drop Apple Music's orders in August, after putting the streaming music platform into orbit.
Jimmy Iovine, in charge of developing the Apple Music streaming platform, is expected to leave the Apple group by mid-2018.
Billboard evokes a departure of the famous American producer of 64 years in August.
At this time, it should receive a final financial contribution related to the repurchase of Beats by Apple (which goes back to May 2014) for an amount of three billion dollars.
By starting his career in music studios in the 70s, Jimmy Iovine gradually developed his talents as a producer.
By helping to materialize more than 250 albums and working with stars like Bruce Springsteen or Patti Smith for the rock section but also Snoop Doggy Dog and Tupac Shakur for the rap component.
A last style of music he learned all the codes through the Interscope label set in the 1990s.
Beats ... A name that still resonates in music in the digital age. In 2008, Jimmy Iovine founded this company with another American rapper: Dr. Dre.
Initially, Beats had vocation to sell helmets, headphones and speakers. Then the business expands to streaming with the acquisition of the MOG music platform, which will become the Beats Music pay service. A base that will serve as a launch pad for Apple Music.
Manager and ambassador of music on behalf of Apple, Jimmy Iovine has contributed to the rise of Apple Music which now claims 30 million paid subscribers since its launch in June 2015. The platform is still challenger against Spotify which aims the Stock Exchange.
Manage the post-Iovine
It is necessary to go back to 2003 to find the first links of the interested party with Apple. Jimmy Iovine met for the first time Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, and Eddy Cue, in charge at the time of iTunes and iPods (now in charge of business services).
But relations between Jimmy Iovine and Eddy Cue have since deteriorated, according to Les Echos in an article of the day.
How to manage the departure of this charismatic manager (if it is confirmed)? The group led by Tim Cook has made Apple Music a key service in its overall strategy of services and content in the entertainment world.
The platform is natively integrated into iOS and will be a key element in the HomePod, the connected speaker with Siri voice recognition technology that Apple plans to launch later this year.
Another proof of Cupertino's interest in music is the recent acquisition of Shazam, the popular app that allows people to identify songs, TV shows, movies and advertising in the UK. space of a few seconds.
The International Consumer Electronics Show, Henrik Fisker, Fisker Automotive, 2018
Fisker will present the Emotion at CES in Las Vegas 2018. Meanwhile, Henri Fisker has fun revealing the scenes.
The Fisker Emotion will be handmade. That, we are sure when we see the different photos shared by the boss in person. It is already he who was staged for the first shot "in real life" of the sedan 4-door electric.
For the data sheet, we will have to wait for the Consumer Electronics Show in a few days. All we know are the promises of Fisker. More than 640 km of range, a recharge of 200 km in 9 minutes thanks to a battery using solid state electrolyte technology. This battery is 2.5 times denser than conventional lithium-ion according to Fisker. And works at -35 ° when other batteries see their capacity melt.
First competitor of the Tesla Model S?
We will add a LIDAR (laser to detect his environment) for autonomous driving, 4 wheel drive and a starting price of $ 129,900. A serious competitor to the Tesla Model S if the promises are kept. And if the production can follow the demand.
As for aesthetics, everyone will have their opinion. It's Henri Fisker, it's certain. Note that like Tesla, the Fisker Emotion plays the card of originality for the opening of its doors.
Cortana Microsoft’s digital assistant will show up soon on another smart device.
Johnson Controls and Microsoft today revealed a new smart thermostat called GLAS that Support Cortana and runs on the Windows 10 IoT platform.
This Device can be controlled via Smartphone app and through Voice Commands to Cortana and also a Touchscreen on the thermostat itself.
We not sure about the price or Release date but The Device will be available for pre-order in this March 2018.
GLAS lets users, check the weather, set temperature, monitor outdoor and indoor air quality.
the device will learn to Detect what time someone is or is not home and it will adjust settings accordingly.
in recent years, thermostats have become a big trend that Supports Digital assistants controlling.
ecobee, made several smart thermostats work with Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa.
in 2014, Google acquires Nest a thermostat maker and spent $3.2 Billion on it and now Nest thermostats can be controlled by Google assistant.
Another tech Gaint Apple makes own smart thermostat that can be controlled through Siri, it's a Virtual assistant of Apple.
Cortana Plays an important role in the Microsoft’s Windows 10 platform.A Cortana Powerd smart speaker appeared in October and going head-to-head with the Amazon Echo.
(CES) ThinkPad X280 and X380: Lenovo Renews the Range
Lenovo ThinkPad, Laptop, ThinkPad T Series, Intel
A few hours from CES, Lenovo renews part of its range. The ThinkPad X380 and X280 are computers primarily intended for professionals. The two machines have many things in common, starting with the processors used, Intel 8th generation chips (which have twice as many hearts as last year). The X360 and X280 are equipped with the same graphics chip, an Intel UHD Graphics 620, which although not a "gamer" graphics card, can decently have fun with the less recent games.
The RAM of both computers can be up to 16 GB, but the memory frequency of the X280 is adjustable up to 2133 MHz while that of the X380 can run up to 2400 MHz. Storage on SSD can be up to 1 TB.
Dolby Premium on the X380
A major difference between the X280 and the X380 could be connected to the SSD connectivity, which should be more efficient on the X380, but this remains to be confirmed by tests. The X380 hosts a Dolby Premium Audio system while the X280 hosts Dolby Advance Audio. The ThinkPad X280 has a 12.5-inch screen and the X380, a 13.3-inch screen. Both have a 1080p resolution (1980 × 1080), the X380 theoretically having a more colorful screen with wider viewing angles thanks to an IPS LCD panel.
The ThinkPad X280 is the lightest computer, so the most portable of the two (at 1.2 kg), while the ThinkPad X380 is more "imposing" (1.4 kg) and complete (note for example the presence of a card reader on this model) and a little faster (SSD performance).
Security researchers have uncovered a set of security vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to steal sensitive information from almost any modern computing device that is equipped with Intel's, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), or compatible chips. ARM Holdings architecture.
One of the vulnerabilities relates specifically to chips made by Intel over the last ten years and another one affects laptops and desktops, smartphones, tablets and internet servers.
But according to Intel and ARM, the flaw is not a design flaw, even though users must download a patch to update their operating system.
"The phones, the PCs, all are concerned, but the impact will vary from product to product," Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.
The team of computer security experts at Google's Project Zero, a subsidiary of Alphabet, in collaboration with researchers in several countries, discovered two flaws.
The first, called Meltdown, affects Intel chips and allows hackers to bypass the hardware barrier between user-run applications and computer memory, potentially leaving room for password access, for example. The second, called Spectrum, affects Intel, AMD and ARM chips and potentially allows hackers to seize secret data stored in the memory of applications running on the computer.
CORRECTIVES AVAILABLE
According to the researchers, Apple and Microsoft already have fixes for desktop users affected by Meltdown. Solicited, Microsoft refused to speak and Apple for its part did not respond immediately.
Daniel Gruss, one of the researchers at the Graz University of Technology at the origin of the Meltdown discovery, said it was "probably one of the worst processor bugs ever identified" in an interview with Reuters.
For this expert, Meltdown is the most serious problem in the short term, but could be corrected effectively through software updates.
The Spectrum Fault, however, which affects almost all computing devices, is harder to exploit by hackers, but it is also less easily correctable and will remain a serious problem in the long run, he explained.
Brian Krzanich said on CNBC that Intel had been informed by Google researchers for some time about these flaws and that the group had tested patches coming out next week.
Before the problems were revealed, Google said on its blog that Intel and others intended to disclose them on January 9. Google notified companies affected by the Specter Fault on June 1 and reported the Meltdown Fault after the first case of vulnerability but before July 28.
PC SLOW MOTION
The specialist publication The Register was the first to report the existence of these flaws on Wednesday. She also said that updates to fix problems could slow computers with Intel chips by 5% to 30%.
But Intel disputes this last statement.
"Intel has started providing software and firmware upgrades to mitigate these flaws," said the world's largest manufacturer of PC chips in a statement. "Contrary to some claims, the impact on performance depends on the workload and, for the average user, it should not be significant and will be mitigated over time," adds Intel.
ARM spokesman Phil Hughes said patches had already been shared with partner companies, including many smartphone manufacturers.
"This method only works if some type of malicious code is already running on a device and could at worst result in access to small data from the preferred memory," he said.
The AMD chips are also affected by at least one variant of the disclosed security flaws, but they can be corrected by a software update. Intel's competitor believes there is "almost no risk for AMD products at this time."
Google said on a blog that recently updated Android phones were also protected, including its Nexus and Pixel models. The US group added that no specific action was required for Gmail, but users of Chromebooks, Chrome web browsers, and other Google Cloud services will need to install updates.
Amazon, for its part, has corrected the problem on most of its Internet servers.
Dan Guido, General Manager of Trail of Bits, a computer security consulting company, is calling on companies to quickly update their systems, as he expects hackers to quickly develop malware that can exploit these vulnerabilities.
Security: Last night, breaking the embargo of Intel, Google revealed details of the vulnerabilities within Intel processors that attracted the attention of the community earlier this week. The Spectrum and Meltdown vulnerabilities allow an attacker to access the memory of the machine, despite any protections put in place.
If we listened to the evening yesterday, we could hear the cries of sysadmins pain that finally discovered the details of the latest security breach affecting Intel processors, but also those of other manufacturers. The rumors had begun following The Register's discovery of several patches planned for an upcoming update of the Linux Kernel and correcting the behavior of components interacting directly with the processor, which suggested a flaw in the Intel processors. But on the side of the founder, radio silence: the details of the security breach were embargoed until January 9 and Intel did not expect such a rapid publication.
Unfortunately, in the face of speculation and questions, the Google engineers behind the discovery decided to fire first and break the embargo by publishing details of two major vulnerabilities affecting the processors: Specter and Meltdown.
In a series of post blogs and sites dedicated to the flaws, Google engineers take stock and summarize the scope of the two vulnerabilities discovered. These two vulnerabilities are made possible by circumventing so-called KSLR memory space protection techniques as well as the integration within the processors of so-called "speculative execution" techniques used by many processors to improve their performances. These techniques are used by the vast majority of Intel processors marketed since 1995, but also by the competition: some models of ARM processors, as well as some AMD processors are also affected by these security vulnerabilities.
Two Flaws, Two Moods
Meltdown (CVE-2017-5754) is an exclusive Intel vulnerability. This flaw allows privilege elevation, since it allows a process to access protected memory resources at the Kernel, the operating system kernel. This flaw can thus allow an attacker to access confidential data stored on the machine, such as passwords or access identifiers. Meltdown allows an attacker capable of executing code on the machine to recover all of the memory address space allocated to the Kernel, as well as its contents.
In particular, it is problematic for machines shared by several users, such as cloud instances: a user of the Meltdown operating instance can access all the memory of the machine and thus potentially recover the data of others. users. Meltdown must be corrected at the operating system level, by implementing a so-called Kernel Page Table Isolation (KPTI) method that ensures complete separation between the memory space allocated to the kernel and those allocated to users. This included what was implemented by the Linux kernel patch set that put the community on the trail of these security holes.
Spectrum (CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715) is not an exclusive Intel vulnerability and other manufacturers are also affected by this variant. Spectrum allows, using mechanisms similar to Meltdown, to allow a program to access the memory spaces of another program and thus to retrieve confidential information.
Google researchers evoke a scenario that allows an attacker to steal data stored in the machine's RAM directly from a malicious website, running JavaScript code to exploit the security hole. Spectrum may nevertheless be a little more difficult to correct, since it this time requires corrections made directly at the level of the applications themselves or a redesign in depth of the architectures of the processors to completely eliminate this vulnerability.
These two flaws have so far not been exploited by cybercriminals, but the details of these are now public and they could be integrated with new malware in the future.
Do not confuse speed with precipitation
These flaws are made possible by exploiting methods used by processors to speed up the execution of commands. Meltdown relies on Out of order execution, a method used by processors to efficiently execute instructions sent to the processor. These are not necessarily executed in order, but the researchers discovered that this mechanism had defects, allowing an attacker to recover the memory of the machine by exploiting this technique.
The use of Meltdown allows access to all the memory of the machine, without security restrictions. Google researchers explain that this method can be used to recover data at a rate of 503kb / s.
Spectrum relies on a rather close mechanism, also used to improve the performance of the processors: the speculative execution, which consists of a processor executing instructions before they are actually transmitted to the processor, in order to optimize the performances. performance.
These different methods are quite common in the microprocessor industry and if Intel is widely blamed, the founder is not the only one whose processors have been affected by the security breach: AMD and ARM are also part of victims to a lesser extent. Intel remains the first manufacturer affected, because of its architecture choices as well as its dominance in the processor market. He defended it last night in a statement, but hard to deny: this security hole is mainly hurting the image of Intel.
The attack is therefore a real headache: besides the fact that it is particularly dangerous and not necessarily obvious to correct, the setbacks of synchronized communication and broken embargoes do not really simplify things. The flaw was discovered last year by researchers, and the industry planned to silently fix its systems before revealing the details of the vulnerability on January 9. Unfortunately for them, the embargo will not have held up there.
WhatsApp: Instagram Stories Land on Mail Application
WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook
WhatsApp will be able to host Instagram stories directly into its application. The feature is being tested and we can expect a launch in the coming months. Instagram stories have already appeared in Facebook and should therefore gain more visibility. What we spend even more time on the environment Facebook-WhatsApp-Instagram.
A new feature to share Instagram stories directly on WhatsApp is being tested in early January 2018, TechCrunch tells us. Users will be able to use their Instagram story as a WhatsApp status. Like the messages and content published through the instant messaging application, Instagram stories will be encrypted once shared on WhatsApp.
Instagram stories directly on WhatsApp
"We are always testing ways to improve the Instagram experience and make it easy to share with anyone you care about," said a spokesperson. To send an Instagram story to WhatsApp, users will have to go through the Instagram sharing menu and select "Share on WhatsApp". They will then have to validate the operation directly on the email application.
A small number of users can already benefit from the feature, which should be expanded in the coming weeks and months to become the norm. The stories have already landed on Facebook and Instagram ties were strengthened in the United States in October 2017. It is the turn of WhatsApp to spend, confirming the will to Facebook to create a Facebook-Messenger- eco-system WhatsApp-Instagram ultra-dominant in the social networking market and messaging applications.
Originally, it was of course Snapchat that had launched the stories, a feature much appreciated since taken over by its competitors. Instagram stories are even more popular than Snapchat's now. Even YouTube wants to go with Reels, an adaptation of stories that allow creators to share short videos to keep in touch with their community.
