Month: October 2022

Enlarge / It's not specific to Framework, but a number of Framework-owning Linux enthusiasts saw a kernel quirk set their screens flickering this week, potentially with lasting damage. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

For desktop Linux users, updating to a new Linux kernel typically carries relatively small, contained risks: wonky drivers, GRUB pain, maybe a full wipe and reinstall. For one subset of laptop owners on rolling release distributions, however, kernel version 5.19.2 could cause actual LCD screen damage.

"After looking at some logs we do end up with potentially bogus panel power sequencing delays, which may harm the LCD panel," wrote Intel engineer Ville Syrjälä in a discussion on the issue. "I recommend immediate revert of this stuff, and new stable release ASAP. Plus a recommendation that no one using laptops with Intel GPUs run 5.19.2."

One day later, kernel 5.19.13 was released. But there's a distribution chain between kernel work and distribution desktops, and certain laptop owners were caught up in it.

The Internet has been abuzz for weeks about a particularly juicy chess cheating controversy that erupted last month. The reigning chess world champion, Magnus Carlsen, lost in the third round to a 19-year-old upstart, Hans Niemann, in what was widely considered to be a shocking upset. Carlsen withdrew from the tournament the next day, and his cryptic comments on Twitter fueled rampant speculation that Niemann had cheated. The fact that Niemann admitted to cheating in online chess matches didn't help his case, but he steadfastly insisted he never cheated in over-the-board games.

The fierce debate eventually produced a bizarre viral conspiracy theory that Niemann had used anal beads to receive coded messages during the match. But would that even be possible? The folks at Adafruit Industries were sufficiently intrigued to put the theory to the test—you know, just to get to the bottom of the matter. The result is a prototype device called Cheekmate—because the Adafruit team rightfully loves their punny innuendoes—complete with a step-by-step guide for those who might want to build their own prototype.

This device, Adafruit insists, is not for actual cheating: "That would be asinine… in brief, a stain on the sport, but to record for posterior whether this sort of backdoor intrusion is even plausible or just an Internet myth." Lacking any willing human volunteers to test the prototype, they ended up embedding Cheekmate in a big, juicy slab of pork butt.

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  The Table Football set is smaller than a competition foosball table, but it's still fully functional.

The Lego Group has done a ton of intricate, video game-themed Lego sets in the last couple of years, from 2020's NES-and-TV replica to the love letter to Super Mario 64 to the detailed re-creation of the Atari 2600. But if you want a game you can actually play, today's announcement of a $249.99, 2,339-piece functional foosball table might be up your alley.

The Table Football set was inspired by the winner of a sports-themed contest that Lego ran last year; the foosball table submission got twice as many votes from fans as the next-best submission, so Lego decided to build its own take on the idea.

The end result is smaller than the original submission, which was large enough to accommodate the standard number of "players" on the field—10 on each side, plus a goalie for each team. The shipping version is a smaller but still fully functional tabletop version, with four players plus a goalie on each side.

Enlarge / Overwatch 2 characters offer varied reactions based on whether or not they are now exempt from Blizzard's "SMS Protect" system.

Blizzard has partially walked back a controversial policy that required Overwatch 2 players to confirm a valid mobile phone number to play the game. Now, players "with a connected Battle.net account"—a group Blizzard says includes "a majority of existing Overwatch players"— will be able to avoid that requirement.

Blizzard originally announced late last month that all Overwatch 2 players would be required to sign up for its "SMS Protect" service with a valid phone number. The move was sold as a way to bring "meaningful change when it comes to disruptive play" in the game.

In free-to-play games like Overwatch 2, problematic players can easily create new accounts in an attempt to evade bans. By linking all Overwatch 2 player accounts to a distinct phone number, Blizzard said it was "mak[ing] it more difficult for [disruptive players] to return to the game."

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  The Pixel Tablet in the magnetic dock.

Today's Google show saw the launch of the Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch, but Google really seems to wish its Pixel Tablet was also ready to go. The company spent a while talking about its upcoming tablet, which won't ship until 2023. The big news is the unveiling of the dock that this thing will sit on, turning it into a sort of Google Smart Display.

The Pixel Tablet has pogo pins on the back, and the other half of that connection is a "charging speaker dock." Click the tablet into a magnetic dock, align everything with the pogo pins, and now you've got a smart display with a beefier speaker. Besides the bigger scale, it looks almost indistinguishable from a Nest Hub once it is all hooked up, providing a bit of hardware lineup cohesiveness.

It doesn't seem like much is happening on the software side of things, though. The rumor mill has been rightfully pitching this device as a "smart display," and we know Android 13 includes a "hub mode" that seems custom-designed for the Pixel Tablet to kick it over into an interface you can see from across the room. Everything Google showed today while the tablet was in docked mode looked like the normal Android phone/tablet interface.

Enlarge / The Czinger 21C features tandem seating and a 3.5:1 lift-to-drag ratio. (credit: Rolex/Tom O'Neal)

MONTEREY, Calif.—Perhaps the coolest thing I saw at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show was a concept car showing off the work of Divergent 3D. The intriguing thing wasn't the concept itself but rather the direct-metal laser sintering technique that Divergent and its founder Kevin Czinger were developing as a much more rapid way to build low-volume vehicles.

Czinger started developing the 3D printers after earlier co-founding an electric vehicle company. "I learned that what slows down advances in the auto industry is hard-metal tooling and stamping," Czinger told me in 2016. "You need hundreds of millions of dollars up front for hardware design and construction, which needs to be amortized, and changes to that hardware become prohibitively expensive."

Sounds cool—did it go anywhere?

All too often, we get a glimpse of a promising new technology and then never hear about it again. Happily, that's not the case here. Fast-forward six years, and not only are Divergent's 3D printers in use at OEMs around the world, but Czinger is using them to create his own vehicles. They were on display at the Quail, an event that's part summer garden party, part car show. It's now a hot spot for the ultra-low-volume, ultra-high-performance side of the car industry.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Chesnot )

Elon Musk could be the owner of Twitter by sometime next week, but the sides have to resolve a few disagreements first. Musk told Twitter this week he is willing to honor their original deal in an attempt to avoid a court trial he's likely to lose. But as of late Wednesday, representatives of Musk and Twitter were reportedly still at odds over terms in an agreement that could end the litigation.

"Sticking points include what would be required from both sides for litigation over the stalled deal to be dropped and whether the deal's closing would be contingent on Mr. Musk's receiving the necessary debt financing," The Wall Street Journal wrote, citing people familiar with the discussions.

According to The New York Times, Twitter "has sought reassurances about how the two sides could guarantee closing and a reaffirmation of the specifics in the previously agreed contract. It's also considering options like court supervision of the closing process and requesting that Musk pay interest to compensate for delays."

Enlarge (credit: Nathan Stirk / Contributor | Getty Images News)

On Wednesday, a jury found former Uber security chief Joe Sullivan guilty of hiding a massive data breach from federal regulators who were already investigating the ride-share company for a different breach. With that verdict, Sullivan has likely become the first executive to be criminally prosecuted over a hack, The New York Times reported.

A jury of six men and six women started deliberating last Friday. After 19 hours, they decided that Sullivan was guilty on one count of obstructing the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation and “one count of misprision, or acting to conceal a felony from authorities,” according to the Times.

Sullivan’s legal team did not immediately provide comment for Ars, but one of his lawyers, David Angeli, told NYT how Sullivan received the verdict. “While we obviously disagree with the jury’s verdict, we appreciate their dedication and effort in this case,” Angeli told the paper. “Mr. Sullivan’s sole focus—in this incident and throughout his distinguished career—has been ensuring the safety of people’s personal data on the Internet.”