Thursday, May 05, 2016

Mankind Doesn't Stand a Chance Now That Robotic Cockroaches Have Started Cooperating

Source: http://gizmodo.com/mankind-doesnt-stand-a-chance-now-that-robotic-cockroac-1774920929

The scourge of puppies, babies, and robotic vacuums is no longer a problem for robotic cockroaches. Researchers at UC Berkeley have taught this pair of VelociRoACHes to cooperate and help each other tackle stairs using a tiny magnetic winch and old-fashioned teamwork.

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This New 'Skinterface' Could Make Smartwatches Suck Less

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-new-skinterface-could-make-smartwatches-suck-less-1774926857

This New 'Skinterface' Could Make Smartwatches Suck Less

If smartwatches are going to create a gadget future beyond smartphones, they’ll have to up their game . Researchers from Carnegie Mellon may have just the thing with a new smartwatch interface that uses that fleshy bezel right next to the typically tiny displays: your arm.

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A Robot's Stitched Up a Pig Gut All By Itself

Source: http://gizmodo.com/a-robots-performed-the-first-ever-autonomous-suturing-o-1774855279

Robot-assisted surgery is increasingly common in hospitals, but it’s always under the control of a human surgeon. Now, a robot’s sewn up incisions in a live pig’s gut, all by itself.

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Netflix adds data-saving quality controls to mobile apps

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/05/netflix-data-saving-quality-controls/

Back in March, Netflix revealed that it was working on a "data saver" feature for its mobile apps. Keeping its word, the streaming service announced today that the cellular data tool that allows users to adjust video quality to save data is available in its iOS and Android apps. In fact, we're seeing the new feature in both Netflix apps here at Engadget HQ. By default, the software adjusts video quality to allow for about 3 hours of streaming per gigabyte of data. The company says that tests showed this to be the best balance of data use and quality when streaming over a cellular connection.

In addition to the default setting, there are options for low, medium and high quality streaming that allow for four hours, two hours and one hour of watching with 1GB of data. There's also a setting for those with unlimited data plans, and if you don't want to use any of that monthly allotment, you can opt to only stream movies and TV shows on WiFi. Netflix also offered the reminder that even if you choose higher quality in the app, your mobile service provider may place its own limits on bandwidth. Regardless of networks fiddling with quality, these new quality settings should help folks who enjoy an episode of House of Cards on the go, but regularly exceed their data caps.

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Wednesday, May 04, 2016

Simple exploits use images to attack websites

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/04/imagemagick-web-exploits/

Would-be hackers don't always have to jump through hoops to bring down a website. Researchers have discovered relatively simple exploits in ImageMagick, a common package for processing pictures on the web, that let attackers run any code they like on a targeted server. If someone uploads a maliciously coded image and ImageMagick handles it, they could theoretically compromise both the site and anyone who visits it. That's particularly dangerous for forums and social networks, where user uploads are par for the course -- a vengeful member could wreck the site for everyone.

Thankfully, there are fixes. The ImageMagick team is closing the security holes within the next few days, and it's possible to thwart at least some attacks by either verifying the integrity of images or using a policy file to disable the susceptible features. The concerns are that these safeguards won't cover everything, or that website owners won't rush to shore up their defenses. It could be a while before you can assume that your favorite social sites are protected.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: ImageTragick, ImageMagick

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