Month: February 2019

Lawmakers in Oregon and Washington state are scrambling to pass new vaccination laws as a swiftly spreading measles outbreak rages in Washington’s Clark County, a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment just north of Portland, Oregon.

New bills aim to eliminate personal and philosophical exemptions for standard life-saving vaccines in schoolchildren—exemptions that have fueled such outbreaks and allowed once-bygone infectious diseases to come roaring back in the United States. But as the lawmakers work to craft their new bills, they may do well to keep a close eye on their counterparts in California, who are now realizing the pitfalls of such laws—and debating how to avoid them.

Since California banned non-medical vaccine waivers three years ago, the number of children with medical exemptions in the state has tripled. The medical exemption rate rose from 0.2 percent to 0.7 percent statewide. While California’s overall vaccination level increased two percent, there are still small pockets where vaccination rates are low. The boom in medical exemptions has left some counties’ vaccinations rates below the threshold necessary to keep diseases, such as measles, from spreading.

Enlarge / This single teaser image of characters Dazzler, Tigra, Hit-Monkey, Howard the Duck, and M.O.D.O.K. (L-R) seems to indicate the art style of each upcoming Hulu series, as we didn't immediately recognize these drawings from existing comics issues. (credit: Marvel)

Marvel Entertainment's shift away from Netflix became clearer on Monday with the announcement of a massive new multi-series initiative, dubbed The Offenders. Announced as part of a Television Critics Association press tour, this collection of four animated series revolves around a few Marvel Universe misfit characters—and it will land exclusively on Hulu.

That streaming-service destination makes some sense, as Marvel Entertainment is already two seasons into its Runaways series as a Hulu exclusive. But the news also emerges days after Marvel's corporate parent Disney talked up sweeping content plans for its own upcoming video-streaming service, Disney Plus.

Marvel didn't clarify exactly why Hulu was chosen, though the four series' combination of lesser heroes and boundary-pushing writers could have made Hulu a better fit than a family-friendlier Disney service. (Maybe the corporate lords of Disney didn't like the idea of kids clicking on a cartoon duck with no pants, only to wind up very, very surprised by what they got.) The series has yet to have any announced release dates or voice actors, but they are as follows, with their respective writers listed:

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Olena_T)

SpaceX is seeking US approval to deploy up to 1 million Earth stations to receive transmissions from its planned satellite broadband constellation.

The Federal Communications Commission last year gave SpaceX permission to deploy 11,943 low-Earth orbit satellites for the planned Starlink system. A new application from SpaceX Services, a sister company, asks the FCC for "a blanket license authorizing operation of up to 1,000,000 Earth stations that end-user customers will utilize to communicate with SpaceX's NGSO [non-geostationary orbit] constellation."

The application was published by FCC.report, a third-party site that tracks FCC filings. GeekWire reported the news on Friday. An FCC spokesperson confirmed to Ars today that SpaceX filed the application on February 1, 2019.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Olena_T)

SpaceX is seeking US approval to deploy up to 1 million Earth stations to receive transmissions from its planned satellite broadband constellation.

The Federal Communications Commission last year gave SpaceX permission to deploy 11,943 low-Earth orbit satellites for the planned Starlink system. A new application from SpaceX Services, a sister company, asks the FCC for "a blanket license authorizing operation of up to 1,000,000 Earth stations that end-user customers will utilize to communicate with SpaceX's NGSO [non-geostationary orbit] constellation."

The application was published by FCC.report, a third-party site that tracks FCC filings. GeekWire reported the news on Friday. An FCC spokesperson confirmed to Ars today that SpaceX filed the application on February 1, 2019.

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  Google Maps AR, in action. [credit: The Wall Street Journal ]

If you remember, in May 2018, Google showed off an augmented reality version of Google Maps during the Google I/O 2018 keynote. The feature was only described as a "what if" experiment and "How [augmented reality] could look in Google Maps"—it wasn't given a firm release date. Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal got to try a real working version of this concept, and, while there still isn't a release date, it sounds like Augmented Reality Google Maps is moving from "What if?" to an actual product.

The Journal was given a Google Pixel 3 XL with an "alpha" version of Google Maps to test. Just like what was shown at Google I/O, the new feature augmented the 2D, GPS-and-compass-powered map system with a 3D, augmented reality camera overlay and a camera-based positioning system. Basically, you hold your phone up, and it displays a camera feed with directions overlaid over it.

The feature seemed aimed at solving a lot of pain points that pop up when using Google Maps in a big city. The densely packed points-of-interest means GPS isn't really accurate enough for getting around, especially when you consider GPS doesn't work well indoors, or underground, or when you're surrounded by tall buildings, and it can take several minutes to reach full accuracy when stepping outside. Smartphone compasses are also, generally, terrible when you are standing still and need to figure out which direction to start walking.

• 

  Google Maps AR, in action. [credit: The Wall Street Journal ]

If you remember, in May 2018, Google showed off an augmented reality version of Google Maps during the Google I/O 2018 keynote. The feature was only described as a "what if" experiment and "How [augmented reality] could look in Google Maps"—it wasn't given a firm release date. Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal got to try a real working version of this concept, and, while there still isn't a release date, it sounds like Augmented Reality Google Maps is moving from "What if?" to an actual product.

The Journal was given a Google Pixel 3 XL with an "alpha" version of Google Maps to test. Just like what was shown at Google I/O, the new feature augmented the 2D, GPS-and-compass-powered map system with a 3D, augmented reality camera overlay and a camera-based positioning system. Basically, you hold your phone up, and it displays a camera feed with directions overlaid over it.

The feature seemed aimed at solving a lot of pain points that pop up when using Google Maps in a big city. The densely packed points-of-interest means GPS isn't really accurate enough for getting around, especially when you consider GPS doesn't work well indoors, or underground, or when you're surrounded by tall buildings, and it can take several minutes to reach full accuracy when stepping outside. Smartphone compasses are also, generally, terrible when you are standing still and need to figure out which direction to start walking.

Enlarge / You could get paid for your now-crippled version of Guitar Hero Live.

American players who purchased Guitar Hero Live recently may be eligible for a refund being offered by Activision. The move comes after a lawsuit over the December shutdown of the game's streaming "Guitar Hero Live" mode, which included more than 90 percent of the game's available song library.

Activision's support page was updated recently to announce what it is calling a "voluntary refund program" for anyone who purchased Guitar Hero Live between December 1, 2017 and January 1, 2019. Those players have until May 1 to fill out a claim form and submit proof of purchase (a receipt or credit card statement) for a refund up to the purchase price.

Activision announced last June that it would be shutting down the Guitar Hero TV servers in December, more than three years after the game's late 2015 launch. That move cut off in-game access to more than 480 in-game songs that were only playable via live streaming channels or microtransaction rentals through the server. Console versions of the game still have access to 42 songs included on the game disc, but the iOS and Apple TV versions of the game are now completely unplayable.

Enlarge / You could get paid for your now-crippled version of Guitar Hero Live.

American players who purchased Guitar Hero Live recently may be eligible for a refund being offered by Activision. The move comes after a lawsuit over the December shutdown of the game's streaming "Guitar Hero Live" mode, which included more than 90 percent of the game's available song library.

Activision's support page was updated recently to announce what it is calling a "voluntary refund program" for anyone who purchased Guitar Hero Live between December 1, 2017 and January 1, 2019. Those players have until May 1 to fill out a claim form and submit proof of purchase (a receipt or credit card statement) for a refund up to the purchase price.

Activision announced last June that it would be shutting down the Guitar Hero TV servers in December, more than three years after the game's late 2015 launch. That move cut off in-game access to more than 480 in-game songs that were only playable via live streaming channels or microtransaction rentals through the server. Console versions of the game still have access to 42 songs included on the game disc, but the iOS and Apple TV versions of the game are now completely unplayable.