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(credit: Aurich Lawson)

Sony has begun briefing developers on plans to release a new version of the PS4 with increased graphical capabilities, according to a report from Kotaku.

The PS4.5 (as at least one overheard developer is apparently calling it) would sport a more powerful GPU than the current console, according to the report. That new hardware would allow the system to support games running at 4K resolution (the PS4 can currently only display photos and videos in 4K) and could help power more detailed experiences on the upcoming PlayStation VR. It's unclear from the report whether the improved power would be available in the form of a new console or as an upgrade program to existing PS4 units (or both).

Kotaku's Patrick Klepek cites two trusted development sources for the information and says other staffers at the site were able to independently confirm the same hardware plans with additional sources. That said, Klepek's sources warn that the plans they're hearing about seem more "exploratory" and vague than anything concrete at this point.

PTC

A demonstration of KTM's augmented reality app (running on an iPad) in action.

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Hyundai's use of augmented reality to create a 21st century owner's manual remains one of our favorite—and most practical—implementations of AR tech to date. However, it's not the only cool use of AR in the automotive industry. Motorbike firm KTM is getting in on the action with an AR workshop manual that also demonstrates the utility of this burgeoning technology. KTM's app recognizes different serviceable elements on its bikes and then walks the technician through the necessary steps to fix them.

To find out a little bit more about how KTM went about creating the AR app, we spoke with Vuforia's Jay Wright (Vuforia is an AR firm that was bought from Qualcomm last year by PTC). Wright told us that there are now more than 25,000 Vuforia-built AR applications in Google Play and Apple's App Store, but most of them are consumer-facing—largely marketing-oriented—apps. (You can find a great automotive example at McLaren Cars.) This will soon change. "We're about to see serious traction in enterprise [applications]," Wright said.

Building an AR app requires several steps. The first—which is relatively simple, according to Wright—is telling the app what it's seeing. "You'll notice the content appears 'stuck' to something," Wright told us. "The application has to recognize the environment or the target." These targets can be images, objects, or surfaces. "It can be as simple as taking a picture or using a little scanning tool that we have that runs on your phone."

(credit: Jason Farrar)

Prison phone companies are trying to stop a new Federal Communications Commission effort to impose rate caps on intrastate calls, with one executive claiming that immediate enforcement of new caps will cause "jail unrest."

The phone companies and the FCC have different interpretations of a stay order issued on March 7. Prison phone companies say the court order should mostly preserve the status quo, while the FCC argues that the order lets it apply its existing caps on interstate call rates to intrastate calls.

Securus Technologies CEO Richard Smith filed an affidavit in federal appeals court yesterday, arguing that the FCC has misinterpreted the court order and that imposing the rate caps on intrastate calls will cause problems in prisons and jails. Under a heading titled "Jail Unrest," Smith's affidavit stated:

(credit: Screenshot from 9th Circuit video)

In September, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued its ruling in the "Dancing Baby" copyright takedown case, initiated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation more than eight years ago. It was a victory for the EFF, but a very mixed one. Today, the court issued an amended opinion that makes the EFF's win stronger.

The initial ruling made it clear that copyright owners need to at least consider fair use before they issue a DMCA takedown notice. At the same time, the bar wasn't too high for what a rightsholder has to do to form a "good faith" belief that there's no fair use. The fair use consideration didn't have to be "searching or intensive," US Circuit Judge Richard Tallman wrote in his opinion.

Tallman also wrote a section of the opinion that appeared to endorse automated computer filters as a valid fair use consideration. "The implementation of computer algorithms appears to be a valid and good faith middle ground for processing a plethora of content while still meeting the DMCA's requirements to somehow consider fair use," he wrote.

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But even back then, it wasn't that simple. Thomas Henry Huxley, one of Darwin's earliest supporters, had a good look at Archaeopteryx and concluded that birds must have evolved from dinosaurs. Today, we know that's simply an understatement. Birds are dinosaurs, and when we talk about the great extinction that eliminated so many species in that group, we have to be careful to specify that it was the non-avian dinosaurs doing the dying.

"While not all hacking incidents may result in a risk to safety—such as an attacker taking control of a vehicle—it is important that consumers take appropriate steps to minimize risk," a bulletin from the agencies said. The announcement said the agencies "are warning the general public and manufacturers—of vehicles, vehicle components, and aftermarket devices—to maintain awareness of potential issues and cybersecurity threats related to connected vehicle technologies in modern vehicles."

The bulletin comes as the so-called "Internet of Things" is taking hold of the automotive sector. What's more, researchers are exposing remote vehicle exploits, and there's been high-profile vehicle recalls directly connected to hacking vulnerabilities. A video of a jeep Cherokee exploit that could affect more than a million vehicles triggered a large-scale recall of Jeep and Dodge vehicles last year. General Motors sent out an emergency update to its smartphone app that could allow hackers to unlock and start the engine of the Chevrolet Volt. BMW fixed a vulnerability where hackers could unlock doors on some 2.2 million vehicles.