Despite Funny Name Ideas, US Space Force Has a Serious Mission

Friday the U.S. military released 400 other names it considered for Space Force’s soliders (before settling on the word “guardians.”) Politico writes that the names were “crowdsourced” from the U.S. military’s space workforce, and “Troops clearly had fun with their submissions, which included Space Cadet, Spacies, Anti-Gravity Gang, Homo Spaciens and Spacefolk.” But the Space Force had more science fiction-inspired names…

iCloud For Windows Gaining Support For iCloud Passwords Chrome Extension

Apple yesterday released a new version of iCloud for Windows 10, and based on multiple reports and the update’s release notes, it appears Apple is introducing an iCloud Passwords extension designed for Chrome, which will allow “iCloud” Keychain passwords to be used on Windows machines. MacRumors reports: As noted by The 8-Bit and a few other sources, the update adds support…

Amazon’s Alexa Can Now Act On Its Own ‘Hunches’

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Amazon is enabling a new feature today that allows Alexa to proactively complete tasks around the house, such as turning off lights, based on your habits and frequent requests. Alexa has been able to sense these habits and ask about them since 2018 — the company calls them “hunches” — but before…

NASA “mole’s” attempts to dig into Mars failed. What’s next?

The mission team for NASA’s InSight lander called off its attempts to try to dig deeper into Mars with the heat probe known as “the mole.” Meanwhile, the rest of the mission gained an extension to December 2022. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nasa-calls-halt-to-attempts-by-insight-mole-to-dig-into-mars…

Mars 2020 Perseverance rover to capture sounds from the red planet

When the Mars Perseverance rover lands on the red planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will not only collect stunning images and rock samples; the data it returns may also include some recorded sounds from Mars. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-mars-perseverance-rover-capture-red.html…

New Side-Channel Attack Can Recover Encryption Keys From Google Titan Security Keys

A duo of French security researchers has discovered a vulnerability impacting chips used inside Google Titan and YubiKey hardware security keys. From a report: The vulnerability allows threat actors to recover the primary encryption key used by the hardware security key to generate cryptographic tokens for two-factor authentication (2FA) operations. Once obtained, the two security researchers say the encryption key, an…

Spotify’s Podcasting Problem: Loophole Allows Remixes and Unreleased Songs To Hide in Plain Sight

Spotify has joined the ranks of streaming services like SoundCloud and YouTube as a hub for bootlegs of popular songs. From a report: With obscured titles like “Jocelyn Flores but you’re in the bathroom at a party” by eraylandin, a new take on XXXTentacion’s popular “Jocelyn Flores,” and “Dead To Me — Kali Uchis (slowed + bass boosted)” by user Unreal…

Tesla Update Turns Cars into Boomboxes, Adds Three In-Car Videogames and Customizable Honking

Engadget reports:
Electrek notes that Tesla has released its promised holiday update, and the centerpiece appears to be a Boombox mode that pumps media outside as long as you have a recent-enough EV with a pedestrian speaker system, like later Model 3 production runs… Other updates include a smarter Scheduled Departure that preconditions the battery and cabin without plugging in, larger driving…

China Wants Hefty Fines For Viral Video Creators Who Binge Food and Drinks

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Lawmakers in China are considering new legislation that would impose fines against anyone who creates videos where people eat large quantities of food or binge drinks, according to a new report from Chinese state media outlet China News. The proposed media rule, part of broader legislation to discourage food waste, would also allow…