Month: September 2016

Enlarge / The Apple Watch Edition is now ceramic, and also like $9,000 cheaper. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

When Apple announced its Watch Series 2 earlier today, it said that the watch would come in a new ceramic white finish to complement the returning aluminum and stainless steel finishes. Completely absent was any mention of the Apple Watch Edition branding, which Apple used last year to launch a pair of $10,000-and-up Apple Watches that worked the same way as the cheap ones but were made out of actual gold instead of workaday, plebeian metals.

It turns out that the new ceramic watch is the Apple Watch Edition, and all mentions of the gold versions have been scrubbed from Apple's site. The company began downplaying the gold watches earlier this year, removing them from the main Apple Watch product page circa the iPhone SE launch.

The "reimagined" ceramic Apple Watch Edition starts at $1,249, roughly twice the cost of a stainless steel Series 2 and three times the cost of an aluminum Series 2 (the Sport branding also seems to have disappeared from the watches themselves, though it still applies to some of the bands). The Edition is still more expensive than the other models and is still intended as a sort of status symbol, but is no longer the hulking monument to conspicuous consumption that it once was. And on Apple's end, giving buyers an upmarket option they can actually afford is probably a good way to drive up the average selling price. Everyone wins.

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Snatching the login credentials of a locked computer just got easier and faster, thanks to a technique that requires only $50 worth of hardware and takes less than 30 seconds to carry out.

Rob Fuller, a principal security engineer at R5 Industries, said the hack works reliably on Windows devices and has also succeeded on OS X, although he's working with others to determine if it's just his setup that's vulnerable. The hack works by plugging a flash-sized minicomputer into an unattended computer that's logged in but currently locked. In about 20 seconds, the USB device will obtain the user name and password hash used to log into the computer. Fuller, who is better known by his hacker handle mubix, said the technique works using both the Hak5 Turtle ($50) and USB Armory ($155), both of which are USB-mounted computers that run Linux.

"First off, this is dead simple and shouldn’t work, but it does," mubix wrote in a blog post published Tuesday. "Also, there is no possible way that I’m the first one that has identified this, but here it is (trust me, I tested it so many ways to confirm it because I couldn’t believe it was true)."

BANGKOK, Thailand—Few people were watching when the prison truck doors swung open at Ratchada Criminal Court to reveal a 55-year-old Canadian inmate. But there he was: Roger Thomas Clark, the man accused of being “Variety Jones,” notorious dope dealer and top advisor to Silk Road founder Ross “Dread Pirate Roberts” Ulbricht.

Clark did the perp-walk, shuffling unchained and unnoticed past the Bangkok press brigade, which was focused that day on the trial of an accused Spanish murderer. Accompanied by a lone Thai corrections officer in a sand-coloured uniform, Clark was led to the eighth floor and was greeted by his team of lawyers and interpreters.

Clark was here to battle extradition to America and a possible life sentence on charges of narcotics conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering. But face-to-face, whether in a Thai court or a prison, Clark appeared unfazed by the powerful forces seeking him for a trial on the other side of the planet.

The rumors got a lot right about the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Its design isn't too far off from the 6S and 6S Plus, it has an immovable Home button, the Plus has a dual-camera setup to simulate optical zoom, and (crucially) that headphone jack is gone.

But aside from that sticking point, the new iPhones offer a lot of the solid technological improvements that we've come to expect. The battery life is a little better. The camera is a little better. It's faster by a significant margin. We were able to take a look at some of these things in our brief hands-on time with the phone today. Some details will have to wait for the full review, but until then, here's everything you can find out about the phone after holding it for 15 or 20 minutes.

Key comparisons to the iPhone 6S

Apple didn’t talk about things like screen size and resolution or measurements and weight onstage today and I’ve received a lot of questions about it, so let’s lay those facts out up front.

Enlarge (credit: NBCUniversal)

Warning: This piece contains minor spoilers for the most recent episode of Mr. Robot (S2E9)

Time and time again, Mr. Robot has proven to be a show that prides itself on extreme attention to detail. Whether it involves hiring ex-FBI employees as consultants or tracking down the duo behind the Full House theme, the series wants to ground its high stakes story in a healthy dose of realism. 

“The notion of there being an E-Corp, a conglomerate in charge of 70 percent of the world’s debt, is a big pill to swallow," Kor Adana, staff writer and the show's lead tech producer, told Ars recently. "The way I see it, anything we can do to ground the show in reality with all the other tools at our disposal, the better it is to sell this version of reality."

A natural gas fracking well near Shreveport, Louisiana. (credit: Daniel Foster)

Fracking has mostly been studied because of what it can potentially do to the surface environment. The chemicals used in fracking fluid, as well as the gas and brines that can come back up the wells, all pose environmental risks that have to be managed. What's often not considered is that the well is a bit like a two-way street. The fracking fluid, which is anything but sterile when injected, also contaminates the environment deep under the Earth's crust.

A new study, released this week by Nature Microbiology reveals that fracking creates an entire ecosystem 2.5km below the Earth's surface, one that can persist for at least a year after the frack. And the microbes that thrive there may actually have implications for the production and durability of the fracking wells.

The people behind the work (14 of them at three different institutions) took a relatively simple approach: sample the fracking fluid at a couple of wells before it's sent underground, then sample the fluid that comes back up the wells at various time points, including over 300 days after the fracking. The sampling included a look at the organic chemicals in the fluids, and DNA sequencing that's sufficient to reconstruct entire genomes from anything present.

While today's Apple event was all about the iPhone 7 and second-generation Apple Watch, Apple quietly updated its iPad line in a subtle yet important way. Now a few of the older models, specifically the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 4, start at 32GB of storage rather than the 16GB they used to have in their base models. But despite the upgrade in storage capacity, Apple hasn't raised the starting price for either model: both the Air 2 and the Mini 4 start at $399. Both models also have an option for 128GB of storage for those who want a lot of space.

This move is in line with Apple's decision to start the iPhone 7 models at 32GB of storage, foregoing the 16GB options completely. Not only does this simplify the lineup for each iPad model, but it should also make it easier for consumers to store all their photos, videos, and apps. 16GB of storage is simply not enough for most consumers, especially those who use their smartphone or tablet as their primary device. More storage at the base price will likely be an enticing point for anyone who has been thinking about upgrading.

The iPad Pro still has plenty of options, as it comes in two different display sizes and with or without LTE. iPad Pro models start at 32GB of storage and can be purchased with up to 256GB of storage. Apple also cut the prices for the top-tier iPad Pros; the 128GB models are now $50 cheaper (starting at $699, Wi-Fi only) and the 256GB models are $100 cheaper (starting at $899, Wi-Fi only). The final model on offer, the iPad Mini 2, is now only available as a 32GB model for $269.

Enlarge / The Tesla Model S. (credit: Tesla)

A state court has ruled that Tesla cannot issue itself a franchise to sell vehicles directly to consumers in Missouri, a blow to the electric carmaker that wanted to comport with the state's franchise requirement without having to sell cars through an independent dealership.

In a suit brought by the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association, a judge ruled that carmakers cannot issue themselves franchises, which means Tesla will have to stick to selling the vehicles online in Missouri if it wishes to continue its practice of not using a man-in-the-middle car dealership.

The dealers' suit said the state broke the law when it issued a dealer's license to Tesla of Palo Alto, California. That position was supported last week by Cole County Judge Daniel Green. The decision means Tesla can now only showcase its vehicles at its Kansas City and St. Louis locations. Under the ruling, buyers can't purchase them there. They have to go online.

Enlarge / "Asari? I'm sorry, too!" (credit: Electronic Arts / Bioware)

The Internet was abuzz with rumor and speculation prior to today’s Sony PlayStation 4 event that BioWare might sneak in with some surprise information about the next game in the Mass Effect series, Mass Effect: Andromeda. Since formally announcing the game way back at E3 2015, Bioware has played things very close to the vest—in spite of a few teases since, there are few concrete details on the game’s plot or the characters.

The rumors proved right: BioWare General Manager Aaryn Flynn took the stage and showed us a three-minute video that included a bit of gameplay and a bit of exploration—in addition to announcing that the game will take advantage of the Playstation Pro's 4K and HDR capabilities (as will FIFA 17 and Battlefield One). "You'll be totally immersed in Andromeda," he said to the crowd, "discovering all new alien worlds, brought to life with sharper graphics and high dynamic range lighting. We're also able to create more lifelike characters, which will continue to allow you to experience the best stories you can play."

We already know that Mass Effect: Andromeda takes place in the Helios Cluster, a region of space located in the distant Andromeda galaxy. The game breaks from previous Mass Effect titles and features a whole new cast of humans and aliens. Based on tweets and other hints, the humans in the new cast of characters appear to be part of a family with the surname "Ryder," with the story (possibly) centering around the young woman shown in the 2016 E3 trailer.