New Nintendo NX leak hints console is more powerful than a PS4

Another day, another leak (or supposed leak) concerning the Nintendo NX. In this case, an unverified poster to the NX reddit forum is claiming that the machine is “slightly above the power of the PS4.” Others in the subreddit have pointed out some discrepancies in the original poster’s comments that could indicate the entire thread is bogus — or might imply that the person in question simply doesn’t know the hardware specs very well.

There’s been a tremendous amount of chatter around the Nintendo NX these last few months and reports continue to swirl that Nintendo has slashed Wii U production after sales in Japan collapsed this year.

Wii U sales have cratered in Japan, the one market where it showed some faint signs of life. Q1 is always the worst period for console sales, but the Wii U’s reported performance to-date is bad, even by Q1 standards. It’s even worse if you compare global sales. Nintendo may or may not have pulled the plug just yet, but we suspect the fall-off in Wii U sales is going to decide it for them quickly (and not in a positive direction).

What can Nintendo build?

Just as the Wii U offered roughly the same horsepower as the Xbox 360 and PS3 (albeit with a more advanced GPU), there’s no reason the Nintendo NX can’t match the performance of the existing Xbox One and PS4. Questions like this ultimately come down to cost, form factor, and noise level. Historically, Nintendo has chosen to build small, quiet systems with hardware performance ranging from roughly on par with its rivals to roughly one generation behind. The Wii U was built on 40nm process technology at a time when 28nm was already readily available because Nintendo wanted to save money. Total main memory bandwidth is 12.8GB/s, nearly an order of magnitude lower than the Xbox One, and games have just 1GB of memory to work with.

In short, the reason the Wii U has roughly the same performance as a last-gen console (with some notable exceptions), is because Nintendo made design decisions that used last-gen technology. There’s an important lesson here: One reason the Wii U’s gamepad never took off the way motion controller titles did is because many Nintendo games are best when used for local multiplayer — and the limited horsepower of the Wii U simply couldn’t handle multiple simultaneous gamepads (at least not without compromising game performance). The idea of a portable gaming tablet that you carry around your house while tethering to a larger system is something we’ve seen both Shield and Steam explore, but they rely on substantially more horsepower to back up the capability than the Wii U offers.

There’s been a great deal of speculation about the NX’s hardware — is it x86 or ARM, is it AMD or IBM, does it use a GCN or Polaris GPU? All of this is interesting, but it’s not what will decide the shape or function of the console. If Nintendo wants to build a PS4-equivalent in 2016, it can obviously do so — Sony, after all, built a PS4 in 2012 and shipped it in 2013.

Does the NX bet on gimmicks or firepower?

Instead of taking yet another trip through hypothetical capabilities, I’d like to reframe the NX discussion around a different idea. The past two cycles have been won and lost based on whether or not the platform in question centered around a gimmick or simply provided more firepower.

The Wii and Wii U bet on gimmicks, as did the Xbox One with Kinect. Sony bet on firepower with both the PS4 and PS3, as did the Xbox 360. The PS3 arguably lost that fight (at least as far as total revenue across the lifespan of the console), because Sony took such a shattering loss on the platform in the beginning that we’re not sure the PS3 was a net earning’s positive for the entire time it spent as a leading-edge console.

Given that the PS4’s estimated cost in 2013 was a bit over $300, it’s entirely reasonable to think that Nintendo could build a PS4-equivalent in the Nintendo NX today. But based on even the limited facts we’ve heard from corporate, we know that the company is doubling down on the controller design and wants to field a “hybrid” platform.

Gimmicks don’t have to eat the console’s R&D budget, but they need to be cheap if they aren’t going to overwhelm total costs. Microsoft boasted that Kinect 2 cost almost as much as the Xbox One to develop — and when gamer’s turned out to hate Kinect 2, the end result was an underpowered console relative to the competition. As curious as we are about the Nintendo NX’s various specs, what’s going to ultimately drive its capabilities is how much cash Nintendo devoted to its hybrid controller concept, whatever that might be, and whether or not the company insisted on its previous $250 – $300 target with launch-day hardware profitability, or if Nintendo decided to be daring in of those areas.

The Nintendo NX will probably put more emphasis on firepower this generation, because the failure of the Wii U was partly a sign that Nintendo had let a little too much space open between itself and the competition. Even if Sony and MS deliver new, more powerful iterations of their own hardware, an NX that targets the PS4 will still be a suitable platform for third-party game development. The company obviously wants a design that will help it stand out from the crowd, but hopefully it chooses to do that while simultaneously acknowledging that HDTVs are common now and people expect higher resolution targets and detail levels from console hardware — even if the company behind the console has a suite of first-party IP best described as “iconic.”

New ransomware uses disk-level encryption to hold your computer hostage

Encryption can be used to secure your personal communication from prying eyes, keep your banking details secure, and plenty of other great things. However, it’s also the key to an increasingly common form of malware called ransomware. When a computer is hit by a piece of ransomware, the user’s files are encrypted, and only paying a ransom in Bitcoin will get you the key to unlock. There’s a new variant of ransomware floating around, and it takes things to the extreme. Rather than just encrypting files, the Petya malware encrypts your entire hard drive.

Petya is actually very clever with the way it goes about locking up a computer. After it is installed, the system will spontaneously reboot. Instead of booting normally, the computer loads what appears to be a system CHKDSK. As one would expect, this screen makes it very clear that shutting off the PC in the middle of this operation would be a very bad idea. That’s all just a smokescreen, though. In reality, Petya is using disk-level encryption to lock the system down. The PC’s master boot record has already been compromised at this point, so shutting down won’t do any good.

When the process is complete, the user gets the classic ransomware sales pitch: your files are encrypted — pay up if you ever want to see that data again. In this case, the hard drive itself (including the OS) is inaccessible until the proper decryption key is entered. A number of German businesses have been targeted by Petya already, but the amount requested is surprisingly low at just 0.9 Bitcoins (about $380). The payment must be submitted to a Tor hidden service, which then provides the necessary key.

This approach to ransomware is especially devious in a few ways. With the system disabled, there’s little to no chance for the user to retrieve additional data from the drive. The PC’s original master boot record is also encrypted, so there’s no way to restore it to normal working order without the decryption key. Many pieces of ransomware have to pick and choose what to encrypt, usually going for files in the user’s personal directory. However, it’s possible the important things are elsewhere on the hard drive. That’s not a problem for Petya as it just locks down the whole disk.

The good news is that Petya can’t install itself silently. Because it’s making changes to the boot environment, Windows will pop up a security warning. Users have to click through that in order for Petya to gain control of the system. People will still do that, but at least you have a chance to stop Petya before it’s too late.

Sony Xperia Eye could thrust AI-based ‘lifelogging’ into the limelight

Lifelogging cameras, despite having been floating around in various R&D labs for well over a decade and inspiring many a strange and wonderful science fiction tale, have categorically failed to take hold in the mainstream. Now Sony is stepping up to the plate to have another crack at this concept with the Xperia Eye.

Before diving in the Xperia Eye, let’s take a quick survey of the lifelogging genre to throw into better relief the advantages Sony is hoping to bring to the table. Lifelogging, for those new to the concept, is the process of using technology to track personal data generated by our own behavioral activities. In its most ubiquitous form, lifelogging consists of recording health and fitness metrics. This is part of what’s been termed the quantified self-movement, the bulwark of which is formed by many popular smartphone apps such as Health Tracker and Under Armour Record. Lifelogging cameras take this a step further, adding a visual record to the layer cake of data that represents one’s unfolding life experience.

Lifelogging cameras have been touted on the basis of capturing important visual moments that one would otherwise miss if only possessed of a conventional camera, such as the gleeful exclamation spilling from a child when they glimpse a surprise birthday cake. And this is where Sony thinks they might have arrived at a means of improving upon the previous offerings. Rather than generate terabytes of superfluous photos and video footage, they have equipped their camera with forms of AI such as face recognition and voice detection, such that it selectively records the moments most likely to be significant to the individual. We have reported on similar developments before involving scene recognition by artificial intelligence, and it’s likely that Sony is using similar technology in their Xperia Eye.

Despite these kind of software breakthroughs, the Xperia Eye will still have to contend with a host of problems, the most significant being the lack of a really compelling use case. For most users, the inconvenience of wearing a camera 24/7 outweighs the benefits of capturing that one interesting photo or phrase that might occur during the course of a day. Rather than fancy voice-recognizing AI, Sony may be better served by taking a page from science fiction to promote the use of their device. In The Final Cut, a 2004 sci-fi thriller, Robin Williams plays a man who is responsible for curating video montages taken from a lifelogging device and forming a highlight reel of one’s life. Given the millennial generation’s penchant for selfies, a fast and easy method for both creating and sharing such a highlight reel might be the magic bullet necessary to take a device like Xperia Eye to prime time.

But science fiction also warns of a dark side to lifelogging and one we should probably heed before going gaga over video selfies. I will call this the Too Much Truth Dilemma, and it’s most clearly spelled out in an episode from Black Mirror, in which a husband and wife see the fabric of their lives gradually unravel thanks to the small disturbing truths they learn about each other from their lifelogging devices.

It turns out nature has already equipped us with a kind of lifelogging device in the form of our long and short term memories, which are in most cases curated to help us remain stable and happy individuals. Start examining our experiences in too much detail through the unapologetic lens of the lifelogging camera, and we may find that the truth is a poor substitute for fiction.

Apple may design its own servers to avoid government snooping

We’ve known for roughly two years the US government has programs devoted to intercepting computer hardware mid-shipment. These programs are used to insert backdoors or spyware deep into a system’s firmware before it even arrives at its destination. A new report claims Apple is looking into building its own servers as a way to thwart this type of insertion.

The Information (currently offline as of this writing) reported yesterday that:

Apple has long suspected that servers it ordered from the traditional supply chain were intercepted during shipping, with additional chips and firmware added to them by unknown third parties in order to make them vulnerable to infiltration, according to a person familiar with the matter. At one point, Apple even assigned people to take photographs of motherboards and annotate the function of each chip, explaining why it was supposed to be there. Building its own servers with motherboards it designed would be the most surefire way for Apple to prevent unauthorized snooping via extra chips.

Security isn’t Apple’s only motivation — the company has expressed unhappiness with Amazon Web Services and, according to VentureBeat, is working on a plan to build its own in-house data centers and software to run them. Currently, services like iTunes are mostly outsourced to other providers like Amazon or Microsoft’s competing Azure. Apple is far from the first company to take steps like this; Google publicly announced it would begin encrypting all data that travels through its data centers after information leaked that the NSA had tapped undersea cables to spy on Google’s data centers from the inside, where data was once unencrypted.

Whether or not this approach can actually lock out groups like the NSA is an incredibly difficult question. Apple could contract with companies like Foxconn to build hardware to its own specifications, but there’s no guarantee that the NSA wouldn’t find a different method of penetrating Apple’s security. A government agency that’s gone to the trouble of building infrastructure to intercept, bug, and re-ship network equipment and servers is obviously one that’s willing to spend top dollar to guarantee results. Apple can make the game more difficult, certainly, but can it close the loopholes altogether?

This rumor isn’t going to be well-received by the government, which has already indicated it believes Apple’s behavior is just shy of treasonous in various court filings related to the San Bernardino shooting. Building its own data centers and designing its own hardware from the ground up, at least partly for the express purpose of locking the government out, isn’t going to sit well with the folks in Washington.

Up to this point, the battle over encryption has largely been waged behind the scenes. The White House has declined to push for any legislation that would actually ban encryption or formally require companies to cooperate with the government in turning over keys and access. One likely reason for this state of affairs is that government agencies feel reasonably assured that they can get the data they want without the battle public legislation would spark. If government agencies start feeling less sure of their own ability to compel cooperation or access information at will, this fight could go more public than it has to date. The technology sector would ferociously oppose such legislative fiat (assuming Congress was willing to consider it in the first place), but whether that opposition would be sufficient to sway the final outcome is another unknown.

Both Republicans and Democrats have given great deference to the NSA, FBI, and their claims that warrantless wiretaps and mass surveillance are required if the American people are to be kept safe. Apple, however, isn’t alone in its efforts. Last year, Cisco’s security chief announced it purposefully shipped to fake locations to keep the NSA from targeting and intercepting its hardware.

Hand Jive: High-Tech Glove Turns Gestures into Music

If you find yourself tapping your hand to a beat while sitting at your desk, in the car or on a park bench, a high-tech glove might be just the gadget to help you turn the tunes in your head into music you can record.

The glove, called the Remidi T8 wearable instrument, is loaded with pressure-sensitive sensors along the fingertips and palm. Its wristband controls how the combination of sounds from each sensor are translated as a user moves his or her hand, according to a post on Kickstarter announcing a project to produce the glove, which is not yet available.
The glove aims to be a very intuitive device for music artists, enthusiasts and disc jockeys to use, according to the company. [Gallery: Futuristic 'Smart Textiles' Merge Fashion with Tech]

Users of the glove will be able to compose music, play and perform on the go, said Mark DeMay, co-founder and chief technology officer at Remidi. It can be thought of as a wearable MIDI controller, DeMay said, referring to the music synthesizers found in recording studios that let producers combine tracks, tweak vocals and adjust tempos.

But the glove is actually much more adaptable than the large synthesizer machines, and can be personalized to create new, custom sounds or remix existing ones, depending on how a user programs it.

"We wanted to give people a fun way to express themselves and start pushing the boundaries of what we can do with musical instruments," DeMay told Live Science.

The idea for the wearable music instrument was born when Remidi founder and CEO, Andrea Baldereschi, and DeMay met while working at Livid Instruments, an Austin, Texas-based company that designs MIDI controllers and mixers for DJs. Baldereschi had been a DJ for a number of years and would always tap out new beats whenever they were working together, DeMay said.

But he often forgot the new melodies before he could get around to recording the music, so Baldereschi decided he wanted to invent a way to record riffs on the go, without being limited to working in rooms with bulky, burdensome digital music systems.

"The digital world has gotten a little bit stagnant in terms of the MIDI controllers," DeMay said. "They all kind of do the same stuff, in the same way. They're all buttons, knobs, LEDs and faders, just in a different arrangement," he said. "The T8 glove is something truly different."

With the T8, a user could start jamming on any surface — a desk, wall, subway seat, park bench, car window, or on their own body. The data from the glove can then be sent to the Remidi app or to other recording software, DeMay said.

The T8 creates different sound intensities and rhythms based on which of its eight sensors you press, what combinations you press, and how long or how hard you press down on each point. And a tiny spinninggyroscope and accelerometer in the glove's wristband measures how fast your hand moves up and down or left and right, and adjusts the tone and tempo of the music you create in real-time.

"The glove's really adaptable as far as what is does," DeMay said. A prototype of the glove won a number of awards for its features and design, including the Marzotto CLN Corporate Price in Milan, and the Jury's Special Prize at the Wearable 2016 Awards in Paris.

Remidi's Kickstarter campaign raised more than $130,000 — nearly triple its original goal of $50,000. People can purchase a T8 for $349 through the company's pre-sale until September, DeMay said. After that, Remidi plans to sell the T8 for $399.

Electrifying Drone Race Tests Pilots' Sky-High Skills

The buzz of the engine roars as a vehicle launches from its start position, accelerates to high speeds and then banks hard around a corner. This may sound like your typical NASCAR event, but this thrilling race actually takes place on a different course — one that's high in the sky.

The Drone Racing League's semifinals for its first race of the season took place yesterday (Feb. 29) in Miami, where drone pilots from around the world gathered to test their chops on an aerial course that includes navigating tight turns, maneuvering through glowing gates and dodging objects throughout the stadium.

Racing at speeds that exceed 80 miles per hour (129 km/h) at times, the skilled pilots don first-person view (FPV) goggles (that show a video feed of what the drones are seeing) to race custom-built drones through a course that weaves in and out of Sun Life Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins. [Photos from Above: 8 Cool Camera-Carrying Drones]

Eight pilots racaed in yesterday's semifinals, a field narrowed from the 12 competitors who took part in the first round. The racecourse required pilots to navigate around the stadium, zooming around bleachers, through concession areas, up a spiraling staircase, and then back around the bleachers again, according to a Drone Racing League (DRL) video about the event.

Each of the pilots raced with a custom-built DRL Racer2 drone that has a carbon-fiber frame to protect electronic and camera components, according to the DRL. The drones were also equipped with ultrabright LED lights to make them easy to identify on the racecourse. When pilots put on their flight goggles, they were able to see a video feed from a camera attached to the drone that helps them direct their machine through the course with handheld controllers, according to the league's website.

After yesterday's race, only the four highest-scoring pilots will continue on to the final round. To obtain the highest score, a pilot needed to pass through two checkpoints and cross the finish line in less than 2 minutes, according to DRL officials. The faster a drone flew through the course, the more points the pilot was awarded.

The Drone Racing League's scoring system awards each pilot 50 points for each checkpoint his or her drone passes and for crossing the finish line, according to league officials. In addition, each pilot is awarded 10 points for every second under the 2-minute time cap he or she posts as a final time, DRL officials added.

World's Largest Aircraft Readies for Takeoff

The world's largest aircraft, some 65 feet (20 meters) longer than the world's biggest passenger airliner, is just about ready to leave its hangar near London and take to the skies.

At 302 feet (92 meters) long, the hybrid Airlander 10 — which mixes tech from airplanes, helicopters and airships — even dwarfs the largest passenger airliner, the Airbus A380 (also called the Superjumbo), and boasts a weight of 44,100 lbs. (20,000 kilograms), according to its maker, Hybrid Air Vehicles in Cardington, England. 

In addition to its gargantuan size, the prototype hybrid vehicle (which looks like a massive blimp) has endurance on its side: The Airlander 10 is designed to reach altitudes of up to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and stay aloft for five days when manned and up to two weeks when unmanned. [Huge Airship: See Photos of the Building of the Airlander 10]

The aerodynamic shape of the helium-filled hull provides 40 percent of the hefty vehicle's lift, according to company officials. Air-filled bags called ballonets in the hull can be inflated or deflated to change the craft's altitude. In addition to remaining buoyant, the Airlander will be able to cruise through the air at up to 91 mph (148 km/h), propelled by its four 350-horsepower, V8 diesel engines, said Hybrid Air Vehicles.

In the latest developments, engineers attached a series of parts to the Airlander's hull, including a massive lower port fin that had to be lifted up by a crane and four turbocharged diesel engines. The payload module, where passengers or cargo will sit, was also fitted beneath the hull and behind the cockpit.

"It's really quite a special machine to fly," said test pilot David Burns, as reported by CNN. "The view from the flight deck is excellent because of the large windows and the airship characteristics, flying at a fairly lowish altitude."

The Airlander 10 could be used for diverse missions, its functionality resting on two qualities: "It can stay in the air for days and even weeks carrying a lot of weight on an ultra-stable platform," Chris Daniels, head of partnerships and communication at Hybrid Air Vehicles. "And it also has the versatility to land and take off from pretty much any surface, including water, carrying up to 10 tonnes [about 22,000 lbs.] of cargo."

With its "ultra-stable platform," the Airlander 10 could be used for search and rescue, patrol and surveying. "This may be coastguard duties, academic research or perhaps a Wi-Fi platform for rock festivals," Daniels told Live Science in an email. "The second use is either passenger flight (think safaris and luxury tourism) or for cargo to remote regions where there aren't good roads or railways, or perhaps an airport doesn't exist."

Before reaching its lofty goals and offering rides to commercial passengers, the Airlander, which reportedly cost $35 million to produce, will complete ground tests and then 200 hours of test flights, according to CNN.