Oculus unveils new prototype VR headset

Oculus unveils new prototype VR headset

DERRIK J. LANG

Associated Press 

LOS ANGELES — Oculus has unveiled a new prototype of its virtual reality headset. However, the VR company still isn't ready to release a consumer edition.
The new headset intended for creators of VR experiences is nicknamed Crescent Bay and features a higher resolution and refresh rate, integrated headphones and 360-degree head tracking.
"That was not easy," Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe told the audience Saturday at the company's first-ever developers conference. "It's still not perfect. None of this is perfect yet, but it's much, much better."

Oculus' headset covers a user's eyes and can create immersive worlds that react to head movement.
The original prototype of the Oculus Rift headset was unveiled in 2012 and has received considerable attention from film and video game makers. Oculus released a second prototype headset to developers earlier this year. Iribe said 100,000 development kits have been shipped to 130 countries.
"I never expected it go this quickly," Iribe said. "None of us did."

The Irvine, California-based Oculus VR Inc. was acquired by Facebook earlier this year for $2 billion. Iribe said Oculus' staff has doubled in the six months since the acquisition.
"We're really spiriting toward the consumer version," he said.
Oculus recently teamed up with Samsung to introduce Gear VR, a $200 headset with a slot for using the Galaxy Note 4 smartphone as a VR display.

Over the past two years, Oculus' technology has been demonstrated at events like San Diego Comic-Con and the Electronic Entertainment Expo with interactive experiences that recreate scenes from the "X-Men" and "Pacific Rim" films and thrust users into an intergalactic dogfight in the game "EVE: Valkyrie."

Iribe reiterated several times during his talk at the Oculus Connect conference that creating a sense of presence would be integral for the widespread adoption of VR technology, which continues to leave some users feeling queasy despite Oculus' strides in creating lower latency and more realistic imagery inside the goggles.

"You should believe you're there and feel great, even if you're super-sensitive like me," Iribe said

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Google's self-driving cars are now allowed on all roads in California

Google's self-driving cars are now allowed on all roads in California

Carl Franzen

The Verge 

Google's self-driving cars have made impressive progress in the past few years, logging over 700,000 accident-free miles without human intervention, according to the company (there has been at least one accident reportedly caused by a human driver). But those test-drives have been limited to a few closed courses and select areas. Starting this month,

Google and a few other ambitious automakers will be able to unleash self-driving vehicles on any public road in the state of California. Last week, the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) handed out its first 29 permits for testing autonomous cars on all of the state's public roads. Google won 25 of the 29 total permits, which will allow the company to test 25 modified, self-driving Lexus SUVs, according to The Guardian. Meanwhile, Audi and Daimler AG-Mercedes Benz also received two permits each to test their own modified, self-driving cars.

The permits are the result of a law California passed back in 2012 officially authorizing autonomous vehicle tests, which came after similar laws were passed in Florida and Nevada. In California, any qualified organization can apply for self-driving car permits: they cost $150 for the first car and $50 for every additional car, and require companies testing them to cover insurance costs up to $5 million. The permits are designed to help legitimize and regulate the burgeoning technology, while making sure that California remains at the forefront of its research and development. Small wonder the California DMV trumpeted the news.

 "Autonomous vehicles are the future of transportation. The potential safety and mobility benefits are enormous," said Jean Shiomoto, director of the California DMV in a statement. "Testing on public roads is one step to developing this technology, and the DMV is excited in facilitating the advancement of autonomous vehicles in California."

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Is Zendaya Becoming a Shoe Designer?

Credit: Getty

We're always wowed by the insanely cool fashions Zendaya wears, and that includes her shoes! From her casual high-tops to her glam red carpet platforms, Z's shoe collection is seriously enviable. While showing off her latest kicks in a new Instagram pic, she even said she should just start designing her own fashionable sneaks!

"I may just become a shoe designer," Zendaya wrote about her Nike ID Airmaxes, which read "DAYA" on the backs.

This isn't the first time Z has showed off cool customized kicks! Not only does she have a pair of Ruthie Davis heels named after her, she has awesome personalized sneaker wedges from the brand as well!

She clearly knows awesome shoe styles when she sees them!

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Is Ariana Grande's Diva Behavior Becoming Too Difficult to Handle?

Is Ariana Grande's Diva Behavior Becoming Too Difficult to Handle?

From reportedly saying that she hates her fans to having a long list of insane demands, Ariana Grande has recently been accused of being majorly difficult to work with. Now, reports are emerging that the "Problem" singer was such a diva that one of her employees quit! According to Page Six, her life coach stopped working for her because he was fed up with her behavior.

“He just couldn’t take it anymore. Everything people are saying about her is true," their source said.

However, another insider said that the disgruntled employee was actually a fired choreographer — and that the reports are far from true.

“It is nothing but a spiteful former employee that has been telling rumors around town for the last several months," they said.

Since we've always thought she's such a sweetheart, we're glad to hear that she hasn't turned into a major diva now that she's gotten more famous! In fact, Ariana hasn't even been responding to the latest stream of gossip, instead writing on Twitter that she laughs at it.

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This Is The Hardest Riddle On The Internet

This Is The Hardest Riddle On The Internet

Steven Tweedie
Business Insider 

The self-proclaimed "hardest riddle available on the internet" lives up to its name.
It's called Notpron, and since the website's launch in 2004, over 16 million people have tried to get to solve it, and only 31 have managed to.
That's a success rate of about 0.0003%.
With 140 levels, Notpron starts out relatively simple but quickly gets tougher.
Notpron can be played online in your web browser, but in order to make progress, you might have to get creative, and you'll definitely need to be both computer and internet savvy.
For example, the second level (spoiler alert) requires you to change the URL of the website, swapping out "level2" for "level3". Other levels require you to use Google, so Notpron provides a Google search bar embedded in the level.
If you get stumped, and you will, Notpron includes some spoiler-free hints, and there's a spoiler-free forum too.
If you want to try your luck, you can head on over to Notpron, just prepare for frustration, fast

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Now You Can Find Out What's Really Killing Your iPhone's Battery Life

Now You Can Find Out What's Really Killing Your iPhone's Battery Life

Caroline Moss

Business Insider

 

Somedays it seems like all you have to do is take your iPhone off the charger and it's already dipped below 90%. Carrying a Mophie or wireless charger around is a simple fix, but there are ways to see what's actually killing the life of your iPhone's battery.
The Daily Dot's Taylor Hatmaker explains how iOS 8 users can take a peek behind the curtain:
Once you open up Battery Usage [see below], you'll be able to view a list of apps in order of battery consumption. There's a 24-hour view and a view for the last seven days, which is handy whether you're trying to explain a sudden change in battery life or if you're just taking a look at your habits over time. It's an overdue addition to iOS, but an extremely useful one, assuming you know it's there at all. 
Here's what Battery Usage looks like, and where it can be found: Settings > General > Usage > Battery Usage.

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Microsoft delays launch of its Xbox One console in China

Microsoft delays launch of its Xbox One console in China

Reuters 

Microsoft Corp has delayed the launch of its Xbox One game console in China, which had been set for release on Tuesday, but the world's biggest software company said it would be released by the end of the year.
Microsoft did not give a reason for the delay in a statement overnight.
The delay is the latest in a series of setbacks for Microsoft in China, where it is under investigation for suspected anti-trust violations related to the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office.
The Chinese government lifted a 2000 ban on gaming consoles earlier this year. Microsoft had reached a deal with Chinese internet TV set-top box maker BesTV New Media Co Ltd to form a joint venture to manufacture the consoles in Shanghai's Free Trade Zone a year ago.
The Xbox One console will cost $602.37 without the Kinect motion detection system and $700 with Kinect, Microsoft said in July.
China is the world's third-biggest gaming market, where revenues grew by more than a third from 2012 to nearly $14 billion last year.
However, piracy and the dominance of PC and mobile gaming may leave little room for legitimate console and game sales.

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Study: Apple's new iPhones score big in durability

Study: Apple's new iPhones score big in durability

ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Apple's new and bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are more durable than last year's model and a leading Android phone, a study says.
Apple's iPhone 6, whose screen measures 4.7 inches, did the best across a variety of tests that measures how prone smartphones are to break due to everyday accidents, according to SquareTrade, a company that provides extended protection plans.

The iPhone Plus 6, whose screen measures 5.5 inches, wasn't far behind but lost points because it could slip out of a person's hand since some users may have a hard time gripping its large but slim form, SquareTrade says.

The iPhone 5s, which measures 4 inches and came out last year, fared better than Samsung's Galaxy S5, which measures 5.1 inches. The Samsung phone got poor marks on several tests including the slide test. The more a phone slides, the greater its chance of falling off the edge of a table.
Still, all four of the smartphones tested had a medium risk of breakage and had no drastic differences among them.

"The phones are getting more and more durable," says Ty Shay, chief marketing officer at SquareTrade. "Manufacturers are paying more attention."
SquareTrade examines the phones based on eight factors, including size, weight, grip and the quality of the front and back panels. The company measured how far the phones slide when pushed across a table on their backs and how well they withstand drops from 4 feet and being dunked in water for 10 seconds.

SquareTrade says it uses robots to do the testing to ensure consistency, and rates the phones on a 10-point durability scale, with 10 signifying the highest risk. Apple's iPhone 6 scored the best at 4; the iPhone 6 Plus scored a 5; the iPhone 5s a 6; and Samsung Galaxy S5 a 6.5.
Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus passed the slide test, but the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy's S5 got poor marks in that area. The iPhone 6 Plus was the only one that didn't fare as well when dropped 4 feet by the robot. The glass screen survived, but the case separated from the glass. All four phones fared well in the water resistance test.

SquareTrade provided The Associated Press with the results ahead of Monday's announcement.
Aside from larger screens, the new Apple iPhones 6 and 6 Plus announced this month promises faster performance and offers a wireless chip for making credit card payments at stores by holding the phone near the payment terminal. The phones start at $199 with a two-year service contact. The new iPhones initially were available this month in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the U.K. Availability is expanding to more than 20 additional countries.

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Researchers have created an oscillator that could silence the mechanical watch

Researchers have created an oscillator that could silence the mechanical watch

Sean Buckley

Engadget

You're running late to a meeting, glaring at your wrist in disbelief that it's fifteen minutes past the hour. Are you really that late?

Lifting the watch to your ear you hear the all-too familiar tick of its internal mechanisms.
Yes, it works -- and you are indeed late. This scenario could soon be a thing of the past, mostly because the mechanical watches of tomorrow may not tick at all. Researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have created a new, silent oscillator that could potentially be used to make watches with fewer mechanical parts.

It's not a digital conversion -- watches built on EPFL's new technology would still very much be mechanical timepieces, they would just operate on different principals.
The new oscillator, which is called IsoSpring, turns continuously in one direction instead of using gears and a balance wheel to alternate between oscillations.

Right now, the team is working on miniaturizing the technology to fit in clocks and watches. If successful, it'll mean more than just silent time pieces, but perhaps longer lived ones, too: traditional watches lose 60% of their energy to mechanical parts. Hate ticking, but can't wait for the new technology? Well, there's always smart watches.

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5 ways to protect yourself from data breaches

5 ways to protect yourself from data breaches

JOSEPH PISANI

Associated Press 

NEW YORK — Data breaches at retailers aren't going away but there are ways consumers can protect themselves from future heists of their payment card information.
Home Depot said Thursday that malicious software lurking in its check-out terminals between April and September affected 56 million debit and credit cards that customers swiped at its stores. Target, Michaels and Neiman Marcus have also been attacked by hackers in the past year.
More breaches are likely. The Department of Homeland Security Department warned last month that more than 1,000 retailers could have malware in their cash-register computers.
Here are five ways to protect yourself:

1. CONSIDER ANOTHER WAY TO PAY
Try newer ways to pay, such as PayPal or Apple Pay. "Any technology that avoids you having your credit card in your hand in a store is safer," says Craig Young, security researcher for software maker Tripwire. Those services store your credit card information and it's not given to the retailer when you make a payment. Many big retailers, including Home Depot, accept PayPal at their stores, but many others don't. Apple Pay, which was only introduced this month, has even more limitations: It is available in just a small number of stores so far and only people with an iPhone 6 can use it.
Stored-value cards or apps, such as the ones used at coffee chains Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, are also a safer bet, says Gartner security analyst Avivah Litan. That's because they don't expose credit card information at the register.

2. SIGN IT, DON'T PIN IT
If you're planning on paying with a debit card, sign for your purchase instead of typing in your personal identification number at the cash register. You can do this by asking the cashier to process the card as a credit card or select credit card on the display. Not entering you PIN into a keypad will help reduce the chances of a hacker stealing that number too, Young says. Crooks can do more damage with your PIN, possibly printing a copy of the card and taking money out of an ATM, he says. During Target's breach last year, the discount retailer said hackers gained access to customers' PINs. Home Depot, however, said there was no indication that PINs were compromised in the breach at its stores.

3. BEWARE OF EMAIL SCAMMERS
After big data breaches are exposed, and get a lot of media attention, scammers come out of the woodwork looking to steal personal information. Some emails may mention Home Depot or offer free credit monitoring, but you should never click on the links. Many are for fake sites that try to steal bank information or passwords. "Avoid these entirely," Young says. If an email looks credible, go to Home Depot's site directly instead of clicking on links.

4. KEEP UP WITH STATEMENTS
Scan credit card statements every month for any unauthorized charges. And keep an eye out for smaller charges. Thieves will charge smaller amounts to test to see if you notice and then charge a larger amount later, Litan says. They may also steal a small amount from millions of accounts, scoring a big payday, she says.
And check your credit report for any accounts that crooks may have opened in your name. Credit reports are available for free, from each of the three national credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — every 12 months from AnnualCreditReport.com. Home Depot is also offering free credit monitoring and identity protection services to customers. Customers can go to the company's website for more information or call them at 800-466-3337.

5. GO OLD SCHOOL
Use cash. When possible, the safest bet is to not swipe a card at all. Even if security gets stronger at stores, hackers are likely to figure out a way around it. "It's always a cat and mouse game," Young says.

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Here's How To Mathematically Beat Anyone At Rock-Paper-Scissors

Here's How To Mathematically Beat Anyone At Rock-Paper-Scissors

Harrison Jacobs

Business Insider 

The question of how to win at Rock-Paper-Scissors has, believe it or not, plagued mathematicians and game theorists for quite some time. While they previously had devised a theoretical answer to the question, a new experiment by Zhijian Wang at Zhejiang University in China that used real players, has revealed an interesting wrinkle to the original theory.

In the experiment, Zhijian noticed that winning players tended to stick with their winning strategy, while losers tended to switch to the next strategy in the sequence of rock-paper-scissors, following, what he calls, “persistent cyclic flows.”

Here's how it works in practice: Player A and Player B both start by using random strategies. If Player A uses rock and Player B uses paper, Player A loses. In the next round, Player A can assume that Player B will use paper again and should therefore use scissors to win. In the round after that, because Player B lost, Player A can assume that Player B will use the next strategy in the sequence — scissors — and Player A should then use rock, thus winning again.

If you take the game on a theoretical level, the most mathematically sound way to play Rock-Paper-Scissors is by choosing your strategy at random. Because there are three outcomes — a win, a loss, or a tie — and each strategy has one other strategy that it can beat and one other strategy that can beat it, and we don’t care what strategy we win with, it makes the most sense to pick paper exactly 1/3 of the time, rock 1/3 of the time, and scissors 1/3 of the time. 

This is called the game's Nash equilibrium.

While the Nash Equilibrium should be the best strategy in real life, Zhijian found a decidedly different pattern when he and some other researchers recruited 72 students to play the game. They divided the students into 12 groups of six players and had them each play 300 rounds of Rock-Paper-Scissors against each other. Zhijian also added a payout in proportion to the number of victories.

When Zhijian reviewed the results he found that students chose each strategy close to one third of the time, suggesting the Nash Equilibrium theory. However, when he looked closer, he noticed a more unusual pattern.

The pattern that Zhijian discovered — winners repeating their strategy and losers moving to the next strategy in the sequence — is called a “conditional response” in game theory. The researchers have theorized that the response may be hard-wired into the brain, a question they intend to investigate with further experiments.

For now, Zhijian suggests that exploiting the knowledge that most people use the conditional strategy may result in winning a lot more games of Rock-Paper-Scissors. 

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NASA spacecraft approaches Mars to seek answers to lost water

NASA spacecraft approaches Mars to seek answers to lost water

By Irene Klotz

Reuters

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft designed to investigate how Mars lost its water is expected to put itself into orbit around the Red Planet on Sunday after a 10-month journey.
After traveling 442 million miles (711 million km) from Earth, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, probe faces a do-or-die burn of its six braking rockets beginning at 9:37 p.m. EDT.

If successful, the thruster burns will trim enough speed for MAVEN to be captured by Mars' gravity and fall into a looping orbit.
Over the next six weeks, as engineers check MAVEN's nine science instruments, the spacecraft will maneuver itself into an operational orbit that comes as close as 93 miles (150 km) and as far away as 3,853 miles (6,200 km) from Mars' surface.

Unlike previous Mars orbiters, landers and rovers, MAVEN will focus on the planet's atmosphere, which scientists suspect was once far thicker than the puny envelope of mostly carbon dioxide gas that surrounds it today.

Denser air would be needed for water to pool on the surface. While no water appears there today, Mars is covered with ancient river channels, lakebeds and chemical evidence of a warmer, wetter past.

"Where did the water go? Where did the CO2 (carbon dioxide) go from that early environment?" MAVEN lead science Bruce Jakosky, of the University of Colorado, asked reporters this week. "It can go two places: down in the crust or up to the top of the atmosphere where it can be lost to space," he said.

MAVEN's focus is the latter. The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, will spend a year monitoring what happens when the solar wind and other charged particles hit the upper layers of Mars' atmosphere, stripping it away.

By studying the atmosphere today, scientists expect to learn about the processes involved and then use computer models to extrapolate back in time. Ultimately, scientists want to learn if Mars had the right conditions for life to evolve.

MAVEN, said Jakosky, will tell them "the boundary conditions that surround the potential for life."
MAVEN will join a fleet of two U.S. orbiters, two U.S. rovers and a European orbiter currently working at Mars. India's first Mars probe is due to arrive on Wednesday.

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