Month: January 2019

Enlarge / MINNEAPOLIS, MN; A nurse prepares to administer the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine as well as a vaccine used to help prevent the diseases of diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio at Children's Primary Care Clinic in Minneapolis, MN, Friday April 28, 2017. (credit: Getty | The Washington Post)

Officials in Minnesota have appointed anti-vaccine advocates to a newly formed state council on autism, sparking controversy in the wake of a record measles outbreak in the state.

State senator Jim Abeler formed the MN Autism Council last fall to address issues surrounding autism, including “treatment, educational options, employment opportunities, independent living, and more.”  While about one in 59 children in the US are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, the rate in Minnesota is one in 42.

Though the council is not designed to take up the issue of vaccination, it has been ensnared in controversy due to the anti-vaccine sentiments it includes, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. At least two of the council’s more than 30 members are skeptical of vaccine safety and oppose compulsory immunizations. One of those skeptical members, Wayne Rohde, was one of three initial people that Abeler appointed to the council. Rohde was charged with helping to shape the council and with picking other members.

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  The Nokia 3.1 Plus, complete with huge Nokia and Cricket logos. [credit: HMD ]

If you're looking for a bargain on a smartphone, HMD's Nokia lineup is one of the best and most unique in the industry. For 2019, the Finnish smartphone company says a North American expansion will be a big focus, and today, for the first time, it's announcing carrier deals for a few low-end models. Cricket is getting the Nokia 3.1 Plus, Verizon is getting the Nokia 2.1, and in Canada, Rogers will begin to carry an undisclosed Nokia phone.

Cricket Wireless, an AT&T MVNO, is getting the Nokia 3.1 Plus (pictured above), which is definitely the most impressive of the two phones. For just a $160, you get a fairly modern-looking smartphone design. The 3.1 Plus comes with a 6-inch, 1440×720, 18:9 LCD, a rear fingerprint reader, a dual rear camera system, and Android 9 Pie with two years of updates.

This is the first time the Nokia 3.1 Plus has come to the US, and interestingly, the trip to America also required a swap in the SoC. The international version uses a MediaTek Helio P22 SoC, but the American version switches to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 SoC. Both chips have eight 2GHz ARM Cortex A53 CPUs and are built on a 12nm manufacturing process, so there should not be a huge difference. Why bother making the switch, though? You've got to wonder if a move like this is driven by Qualcomm's allegedly unfair patent licensing.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. (credit: Sam Churchill)

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Oracle v. Google, a landmark case that considers whether application-programming interfaces can be protected by copyright. We first published this article about the case in early 2019, when Google asked the Supreme Court to consider the case. It has been edited to reflect the fact that oral arguments are this week.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in one of the decade's most significant software copyright decisions: the 2018 ruling by an appeals court that Google infringed Oracle's copyrights when Google created an independent implementation of the Java programming language. More broadly, the case could decide the copyright status of application-programming interfaces, with huge implications for the software industry.

An application-programming interface is the glue that holds complex software systems together. Until 2014, it was widely assumed that no one could use copyright law to restrict APIs' use—a view that promoted software interoperability.

Enlarge (credit: Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology)

The strange saga of a supposedly prehistoric monument in a Scottish farmer’s field came full circle this week. Archaeologists announced two weeks ago that they’d discovered a 3,500- to 4,500-year-old stone circle standing in a farmer’s field outside the town of Alford, 40km (25 miles) west of Aberdeen. In a surprising twist this week, the circle turned out to actually be the work of the local farmer who owned the land in the 1990s.

“It is totally OK to laugh at this story. We all have!” archaeologist Neil Ackerman of Aberdeen Council Archaeology told Ars Technica in an email. “While on the surface this is a humorous story about us getting it initially wrong, it is an example of how archaeological research is carried out and that initial interpretations end up changing as new information comes along.”

If it seems too good to be true...

The ten large stones—each about a meter (3.3 feet) tall—stand in a 7.7-meter-wide circle overlooking the surrounding countryside. They certainly look like the work of the ancient Celts, somehow remarkably untouched after thousands of years. On the southwest side of the circle, one large stone lies on its side between two standing stones, a design common to stone circles in the area, known as recumbent stone circles. Archaeologists are still debating the reason for that alignment, but it’s unique to northeast Scotland and southwest Ireland.

Enlarge / This continues to be the only image Nintendo has released of its apparently troubled Metroid Prime 4 project.

Nintendo has announced that it is "essentially... restarting development from the beginning" on the highly anticipated Metroid Prime 4, saying the game as it currently exists "has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series."

The surprise announcement comes from Nintendo General Manager for Development Shinya Takahashi. He said in a YouTube video posted this morning that current Metroid Prime 4 producer Kensuke Tanabe will begin "collaborating" on the game with Retro Studios, the studio responsible for the original Metroid Prime trilogy. Tanabe has previously worked as producer on multiple Retro-developed Metroid Prime titles.

"The current development status of the game is very challenged and we have made a very difficult decision as a development team," Takahashi said in the subtitled video. "We have decided to reexamine the development structure and change it."

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)

Apple released the first beta of iOS 12.2 to developers yesterday, and it reportedly hints at new features for upcoming AirPods. According to a report by 9to5Mac, a currently hidden setup screen suggests that new AirPods will be able to be configured to respond to "Hey Siri" voice commands without prompting them with a tap of your finger.

The setup screen looks similar to other "Hey Siri" prompts for devices like the iPhone. Reportedly, the setup is the same as well—users configure Siri to respond to their own voices rather than the voices of others. The difference is that this configuration allows AirPods to recognize "Hey Siri" voice commands on their own. With current AirPod models, users must tap on the side of an AirPod before asking anything of Siri, otherwise the AirPods will not listen for the command.

If this feature is indeed coming, it means that new AirPods will be able to hear "Hey Siri" commands without needing to be tapped first. As long as your iPhone is nearby (even if it's in your pocket), you can ask Siri to answer questions and get information for you hands-free.