Kalakshar US

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures in the US until at least 9:30AM Eastern time while it’s restoring its Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system. On early Wednesday morning, the agency issued a notice through an Air Traffic Control System Command Center Advisory that the US NOTAM system had failed. “Operations across the National Airspace System are affected,” the FAA said in a tweet, along with the information that it was working to fix the outage. 

In follow-up tweets, the agency said that while some of the system’s functions are coming back online, it was still working to fully restore the system. Pausing all domestic departures will give it time “to validate the integrity of flight and safety information.” The FAA originally announced that it was pausing all domestic flights until 9AM, but a newer notice from the agency says ground stops will continue until at least 14:30 Zulu/UTC (9:30AM ET).

According to Simple Flying, this is the first time the US NOTAM system has failed, affecting flights across the country. People have been reporting delayed flights since at least the evening of January 10th — based on the the FAA’s advisory, the system failed at 2028Z or 20:28 Zulu/UTC (3:28PM ET). Reuters says over 400 flights flying within, from and into the US had been delayed by 5:31AM ET today, January 11th. 

The FAA has also issued a newer advisory announcing the nationwide ground stop and promising further communication once system restoration is complete. It’s unclear whether the FAA will be able to fully remedy the issue by the suggested time. As the news organization notes, a NOTAM contains information that’s essential to flight personnel. Some NOTAMs for long-haul international flights could have as many as 200 pages and include details, such as runway closures and low-altitude construction obstacles.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has tweeted that the President has been briefed about the outage and that he has directed the Department of Transportation to conduct a full investigation to find out what caused it. At this point, Jean-Pierre said, there’s no evidence of a cyberattack.

 

Microsoft’s latest research in text-to-speech AI centers on a new AI model, VALL-E. While there are already multiple services that can create copies of your voice, they usually demand substantial input. Microsoft claims its model can simulate someone’s voice from just a three-second audio sample. The speech can match both the timbre and emotional tone of the speaker – even the acoustics of a room. It could one day be used for customized or high-end text-to-speech applications, but like deepfakes, there are risks of misuse.

Researchers trained VALL-E on 60,000 hours of English language speech from 7,000-plus speakers in Meta’s Libri-Light audio library. The results aren’t perfect: Some are tinny machine-like samples, while others are surprisingly realistic.

Microsoft isn’t making the code open source, possibly due to the inherent risks. In the paper, the company said: “Since VALL-E could synthesize speech that maintains speaker identity, it may carry potential risks in misuse of the model, such as spoofing voice identification or impersonating.”

We’ve all seen the 1992 movie Sneakers, right? Right?!

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2023 takes place February 1st

Hyundai managed to put its ‘crab-walking’ e-Corner technology into an Ioniq EV

What an ‘oddball’ star in the Cygnus cluster can teach us about how masers are made

The best fast chargers for 2023

DJI’s lightweight RS 3 Mini camera stabilizer is designed to be used with one hand

‘TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge’ hits iOS and Android as a Netflix mobile exclusive

Amazon expands Prime shipping to more shopping sites

But you’ll need a Prime subscription.

Amazon is expanding Prime to cover more of the web. The company says it’s making Buy with Prime “widely available” to eligible third-party sites in the US on January 31st. More shops can offer free shipping, streamlined checkout and simplified returns to Prime members. The theoretical advantages are clear: You get products with less hassle, while stores are more likely to turn visitors into paying customers. Amazon, meanwhile, is hoping to boost interest in Prime subscriptions. The catch, of course, is you have to pay for that pesky Prime sub.

Continue reading.

NASA funds ideas and prototypes for future space exploration

Including a Titan seaplane and faster deep space travel.

NASA is handing out $175,000 initial study grants to 14 new projects potentially useful for missions in and beyond the solar system. TitanAir might be the most unusual one: a seaplane from Planet Enterprises’ Quinn Morley that could fly through the nitrogen-and-methane atmosphere of Saturn’s biggest moon, Titan, and sail its oceans.

MIT’s Mary Knapp has proposed a deep space observatory that would use a swarm of thousands of tiny satellites to detect low-frequency radio emissions from the early universe, and UCLA’s Artur Davoyan’s idea could speed up exploration at the outer edges of space. His design would propel spacecraft with a “pellet-beam” of microscopic particles traveling at very high speed (over 74 miles per second) using laser blasts.

Continue reading.

The first-ever UK space flight fails to reach orbit

Virgin Orbit said the rocket suffered an anomaly that prevented it from reaching its destination.

Meanwhile, the UK’s first efforts at space flight have ended in failure. Virgin Orbit’s historic Start Me Up mission launched from Spaceport Cornwall on January 9th as planned, but it failed to reach orbit. Apparently, the company tweeted, because of “an anomaly.” The mission carried payload satellites from seven commercial and government customers. They include a joint UK–US project called CIRCE (Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment) and two CubeSats for the UK’s Ministry of Defense. As noted by Ars Technica, this failure could have a huge impact on the company, which is struggling to launch enough missions to break even.

Continue reading.

Apple may use in-house wireless chips in iPhones by 2025

Broadcom and Qualcomm may get the boot very soon.

Bloomberg sources claim Apple is not only prepping its first cellular modem (now slated for late 2024 or early 2025) but also a combination of Bluetooth and WiFi chips to replace the Broadcom chip currently handling those duties in iPhones. While the exact reasoning for the transition wasn’t mentioned, it’s no secret Apple started designing its own silicon across multiple products.

Continue reading.

 

In mid-2021, medical technology company Masimo sued Apple over the Watch Series 6’s blood oxygen monitoring capabilities. Masimo accused the tech giant of infringing on five of its pulse oximeter patents after introducing a device that has the ability to measure blood oxygen saturation. Now, a US International Trade Commission (ITC) judge has ruled that Apple did indeed infringe on one of Masimo’s pulse oximeter patents. 

While the judge has also concluded that the tech giant did not infringe on the other four patents involved in the case, the ITC will now reportedly examine whether to impose an import ban on Apple Watches with the feature, as Masimo had requested when it filed the lawsuit. Newer Apple Watches, namely the Series 7 and 8, Ultra and SE, have blood oxygen monitoring features, so the ITC’s decision will also affect them. 

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani told MD+DI in a statement that his company is happy that the judge “took this critical first step toward accountability.” Kiani continued by saying that “Apple has similarly infringed on other companies’ technologies” and that the “ruling exposes Apple as a company that takes other companies’ innovations and repackages them.”

Meanwhile, Apple accused Masimo of being the one that copied its intellectual property in its statement to the publication. “At Apple, our teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features. Masimo is attempting to take advantage of these many innovations by introducing a device that copies Apple Watch and infringes on our intellectual property, while also trying to eliminate competition from the market. We respectfully disagree with today’s decision, and look forward to a full review by the commission,” a spokesperson said. 

The judge’s decision was only an initial ruling that reflects the ITC’s findings during its investigation, and the final ruling for the case won’t be handed down until May 10th. 

 

Twitter has started to roll out a big change on iOS by replacing the “sparkle” button that switches between the algorithmic and reverse chronological feeds. Now, you swipe between two tabs called “For You” and “Following,” to change your timeline, and you’ll always see the For You tab first when you open the app.

The company more or less stole the For You name from TikTok, rather than using the Home moniker it had before. As with Home (and TikTok), it shows tweets from accounts you follow out of order, along with algorithmically-selected tweets from others you may like. 

In fact, Twitter introduced a very similar feature earlier this year, letting you swipe between “Home” and “Latest Tweets” to switch timelines. However, it abandoned the idea days later after a chorus of complaints from users who didn’t like the fact that Home was basically foisted on them.  

The company seems set on implementing it again anyway with a different name, and it may generate the same gripes, judging by the replies to Twitter Support. On the web or current Android app, selecting the chronological feed is a permanent choice, and stays even if you close the app. With the new iOS version, however, For You always appears when you close and reopen the app, so you’ll have to switch your timeline to Following every single time.

Elon Musk promised to make this change late last year, tweeting that “main timeline should allow for an easy sideways swipe between the top, latest, trending and topics that you follow.” With two of those now implemented, we could see further changes down the road . 

 

Apple will begin replacing its mobile devices’ displays with its in-house screen technology as soon as next year, according to Bloomberg. The tech giant will reportedly start with its highest-end Apple Watches in late 2024 and will swap the devices’ current OLED screens with its own microLED technology. Bloomberg says Apple’s homegrown display tech will also make its way to its other devices, including the iPhone. The new display is brighter with more vibrant colors and will reportedly make it seem as if watchfaces and other content are painted on top of the glass. Plus, it can be viewed better at an angle.

The publication first reported about Apple’s efforts to develop its own display way back in 2018. Apparently, Apple was originally working to introduce its technology in 2020, but it was hampered by the costs and technical challenges associated with the development. Those same concerns also prevented the company from including larger displays in its plans and had prompted it to focus on making the Watch the first device with its in-house screen. 

Despite the delay and potential future delays — Apple might push back the display’s debut to 2025, Bloomberg’s sources said — the technology is one of the company’s most critical projects. The tech giant has reportedly spent several billion dollars on its development and is already testing the new screen on an update to the Apple Watch Ultra. It’s also test manufacturing the screens in its facility in Santa Clara, California, though it may ultimately outsource its mass production.

As Bloomberg notes, Apple’s shift to its own displays could be a big blow to its suppliers, mainly Samsung and LG. But the manufacturers may have been bracing for it for quite some time now: After all, it’s no secret that Apple has been developing its own components in a bid to lessen reliance on third-party companies. It had previously moved away from Intel processors to its own chips for Mac computers and its reportedly planning to use its own wireless chipsets in iPhones by 2025.

 

Parler parent company Parlement Technologies has cut the “majority” of its staff in recent weeks, according to a new report. The Verge reports that the company has slashed close to 75 percent of staff, including several executives, in recent weeks with “approximately 20” workers remaining between both entities at the end of 2022.

Parler didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the layoffs or how many staffers remain. The layoffs seem to roughly coincide with other difficulties for the “free speech” social media app. Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, had struck a deal to buy the service for an undisclosed amount in October. In December, Parlement Technologies announced the deal was off, with a Parler rep claiming the decision had been made in mid-November due to Ye’s “ongoing business difficulties.” Layoffs began shortly after, at the end of November, The Verge now reports.

Parler was originally launched in 2018, but rose to prominence in 2020 as several high profile Republicans announced they were leaving Twitter in favor of Parler. The app billed itself as a “free speech” social network that eschewed the “censorship” of mainstream social media platforms like Twitter. It gained popularity as a free-wheeling alternative that had few rules or moderation policies.

That changed after January 6th 2021, when Amazon, Apple and Google all cut off the app from their services over the company’s inability to address violent threats on the platform. The app eventually made its way back to Apple and Google’s app stores after implementing substantial changes to its content moderation practices.

 

The rumors were true, apparently. Samsung has announced that its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2023 will take place February 1st at 1PM Eastern. And unlike last year’s events, the company is comfortable with an in-person presentation — it’s inviting the media to The Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. You can still watch a livestream on Samsung’s website, of course.

Samsung hasn’t said what to expect, but it’s not-so-subtly teasing a Galaxy S23 launch between a likely triple-camera teaser in the invitation (above) and the nature of its pre-order plans. Americans can reserve the future Galaxy devices on February 1st. Those who sign up for the reserve system by that day will get $50 in Samsung Credit if they pre-order one device, or $100 if they snap up two.

As for what the Galaxy S23 will entail? Leaks have suggested Samsung will drop the Exynos chips it frequently uses in some markets in favor of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The S23 Ultra might also pack a 200-megapixel main camera in place of the 108MP sensor from last year’s model, while the regular S23 and S23+ models might have 50MP cams. While the design might not change much, you could see improved selfie cameras, emergency satellite messaging and possibly a flat display on the Ultra variant. It’s safe to say we’ll be at the event to see the new hardware for ourselves.

 

Kano Computing is back with another oddball puck device with a creative but somewhat hazy premise. The Stem Projector is a spin-off of the Stem Player, the audio remixing gadget launched in 2021 in collaboration with the artist formerly known as Kanye West. With its new product, the company ditches the problematic Ye collaboration and shifts its focus from music to video.

Practically speaking, the new product is a battery-powered projector for movies or art. The Stem Projector lets you watch regular videos, remix preloaded clips and create visual landscapes. It looks similar to (but is slightly larger than) the Stem Player, as this model is also a fleshy puck with swirling lights and buttons. It has a mini-HDMI port to plug in other devices, and it supports AirPlay and Chromecast. However, it only has a reported maximum brightness of 300 lumens or 150 ANSI lumens, making it a hard sell as a standard projector.

But the Stem Projector also builds on the company’s creative focus, encouraging you to play and remix. For example, you can slide your finger along its haptic, touch-sensitive ring array to channel surf in the machine-learning-powered “Galaxy View,” a dreamlike collection of preloaded and live content. Additional controls let you change the size and shape of the images and trigger similar thematic content. In addition, Kano says it allows you to rotoscope characters and apply filters like splicing together clips with related color themes.

If that description still leaves you confused, this marketing video from Kano’s Twitter account may help:

The WiFi-enabled projector has 256GB of internal storage, and you can add more by inserting a microSD card. In addition, the device includes a built-in kickstand, allowing you to prop it up at various angles. (You can project video onto higher walls or a ceiling by placing the device upright in its opened carrying case.) The company says its battery can last four to five hours of continuous use.

It sounds like a gadget you would need to play with to fully understand — and determine whether it’s worth its steep asking price. However, without access to that, we’re left with a somewhat intriguing marketing tease that suggests a “what” but hasn’t yet offered a compelling “why.”

Kano is taking pre-orders now for the Stem Projector. The first 1,000 devices, available in a limited-edition “sediment” color, will cost $1,000 and begin shipping in the spring. After that, the company says its price will drop to $600 at an unannounced date.

 

Madden NFL 23 developer EA Sports says it will remove CPR touchdown celebrations from the game in light of Damar Hamlin’s recent light-threatening injury. Hamlin, a second-year safety with the Buffalo Bills, suffered an on-the-field cardiac arrest on January 2nd during a Monday Night Football match between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. Following a routine tackle of Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, Hamlin collapsed to the ground. The incident saw the Bills’ medical team administer CPR to Hamlin, and an ambulance eventually transport him off the field to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for critical care.

“EA Sports is taking steps to remove the celebration from Madden NFL 23 via an update in the coming days,” a spokesperson for the studio told CBS Sports. Incidentally, the announcement comes just days after Pittsburg Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith took part in a CPR celebration during his team’s Sunday win against the Cleveland Browns. The incident raised more than a few eyebrows on social media. “I just don’t want people to think of me that way and think I was doing anything,” Highsmith said after the game, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Because I would never, ever, ever, ever want to do that intentionally, and I never ever would do that.” On Tuesday, Hamlin shared an update on his recovery, posting on Twitter that he was at Buffalo General Hospital and completing a series of tests to ensure his heart is okay.

 

Yet more video game veterans are forming a new studio after leaving an industry heavyweight. Key leaders from Forza Horizon creator Playground Games have established Maverick Games, a Leamington Spak, UK development house devoted to ‘AAA’ titles. Gamesindustry.biznotes the studio is headed by former Horizon creative director Mike Brown, while executive producer Tom Butcher, technical chief Matt Craven, content director Gareth Harwood and audio lead Fraser Strachan.

The 10-person team’s art director is Ben Penrose, who most recently worked at Vampire the Masquerade: Blood Hunt developer Sharkmob but also has experience at Playground. Former EA experience director Elly Marshall is in charge of experience and interface development. Sega and Sumo veteran Harinder Sangha is the operations chief.

Maverick hasn’t shared much about its first project, but does say it will be an open-world title for consoles and PCs. Brown suggests the game will be a response to how people entertain themselves in the modern era — think subscription services and TikTok. That means games that are continuously involving without being repetitive, Brown explains.

As with similar launches, Maverick is hoping to veer away from ‘safe’ projects. Brown tells GI.biz he wants to encourage “creative risks,” but also wants to keep out “toxic” egos that can damage the team. Sangha hopes the company can help improve diversity in the game industry. This is about shaking up the existing formula which, while reliable, doesn’t allow for much variety.

Brown and Sangha stressed that they left their respective former employers on good terms. However, they and Maverick are part of a broader trend of high-profile game devs going independent after dealing with creative frustration (or simply boredom) at major studios. Simply speaking, big-name brands can’t assume their top talent will stick around.