Month: April 2018

Enlarge (credit: Peter Bright)

The next big Windows 10 update, originally expected earlier this month until Microsoft delayed it at the last minute because of a bug causing blue screens of death, at last has an official name and a release date.

As expected, Microsoft is dropping its "themed" names for this update, instead calling it simply the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, with the version number 1803. It'll be available to download manually from April 30, just scraping into April. Broader distribution through Windows Update will start on the next Patch Tuesday: May 8.

Just as was the case with past updates, those installing it through Windows Update shouldn't expect to receive the update immediately; Microsoft rolls each update out in phases, checking for incompatibilities and other problems, before opening the floodgates and offering the upgrade to everyone. Microsoft stepped up the pace of this rollout with the last update, which saw it peak at more than 92 percent of Windows 10 systems.

Enlarge / A lightweight simulator version of NASA's Resource Prospector undergoes a mobility test in a regolith bin at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (credit: NASA)

There can be little question that new NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine wants humans to return to the Moon and to open Earth's celestial neighbor to commercial activity. Just check the lunar background of his new Twitter account or some of his writings on the subject. Soon, however, his commitment to the Moon will be tested.

On Thursday—just his third full day on the job—a group of lunar scientists, engineers, and mission planners sent Bridenstine a letter to complain about the cancellation of the Resource Prospector program. This mission would send a rover to the polar region of the Moon to look for, and study, ice deposits that scientists hypothesize are there. Advocates of lunar exploration say this source of water could provide propellant for exploration missions deeper into the Solar System.

In recent years, the existence of this water has become a key reason that NASA (and other national space agencies) have begun to formulate plans for the development of lunar resources. Indeed, when President Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1 last December, he redirected NASA back toward the Moon, including for the purposes of "long-term exploration and utilization" of that sphere.

Enlarge / Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones speaks about the arrest of accused rapist and killer Joseph James DeAngelo during a news conference on April 25, 2018 in Sacramento, California. (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

To get a leg up in the investigation in the cold case of the "Golden State Killer" (aka the "East Area Rapist"), authorities recently turned to modern DNA and genealogy analysis tools.

But they didn’t use any of the big-name DNA analysis firms like 23andMe; instead they relied on GEDmatch, a free, open source site run by a small two-man Florida company that just a few years ago was soliciting donations via PayPal.

According to the East Bay Times, which first reported the connection to GEDmatch late Thursday evening, California investigators caught a huge break in the case when they matched DNA from some of the original crime scenes with genetic data that had already been uploaded to GEDmatch. This familial link eventually led authorities to Joseph James DeAngelo, the man who authorities have named the chief suspect in the case. To confirm the genetic match, Citrus Heights police physically surveilled him and captured DNA off of something that he had discarded.

Enlarge / The AirPort Express was last updated in 2013. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

After sitting in silence for years, Apple's AirPort base station devices will fade away soon. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is officially discontinuing the AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and Time Capsule Wi-Fi routers.

The company hasn't updated any of the AirPort devices in nearly five years as it has focused more on other product categories. Apple will sell off its remaining inventory through Apple.com, Apple retail stores, and Apple authorized resellers "while supplies last." The company will also continue to provide hardware and software support for AirPort customers for the time being.

In the two decades since the introduction of the AirPort family, the Wi-Fi world has changed quite a bit. Wireless networking wasn't as ubiquitous then as it is now. Many customers now get wireless routers from Internet service providers, and those that are built into the providers' hardware are typically good enough for most users.