Gadgets

David Copperfield’s secret magic techniques crash-landed on the Moon – TechCrunch

Published

4 years ago

April 22, 2019

The loss of Israel’s Beresheet lander during its descent to the lunar surface was unfortunate, but the mission was still largely a success — and has certainly created an interesting cultural artifact on the Moon where it impacted. Perhaps more interesting than we could have known: It turns out David Copperfield stashed the secrets to his illusions onboard, and they may have survived the crash.

The data was kept on one of the Arch Mission Foundation’s tiny, high-capacity, high-endurance archival devices, meant to act as libraries or time capsules in a variety of sci-fi-sounding scenarios, like extraterrestrial visits or the near-extinction of humans. They’re “nearly indestructible,” and one was on Beresheet.

In a plot twist no one could have seen coming, among the data encoded on the DVD-sized (but much more sophisticated) storage medium are the famous magician’s “secret technological innovations.” Yes, David Copperfield shot his tricks to the Moon, and no, it doesn’t sound like it’s just some old ones or previously published information (I asked).

Why?

“When I was introduced to the Arch Mission Foundation, I was immediately enamored with the mission to preserve our civilization, and the possibilities of what we might do together,” Copperfield said in a press release. “One of my heroes is George Méliès, one of the fathers of modern cinema and also a great magician. His most famous movie was ‘A Trip to the Moon,’ which in 1902 visualized people landing on the Moon. It inspired a generation of scientists to actually achieve it, and 70 years later we actually landed on the Moon. Now 50 years later, we’re landing magic on the Moon. We’re bringing it full circle and I find that kind of poetic.”

There you have it. Quite absurd, but why not?

As for the device, AMF has put together a small team (including Stephen Wolfram) to look into what may have happened to it on impact.

“We have either installed the first library on the moon, or we have installed the first archaeological ruins of early human attempts to build a library on the moon,” read a preliminary document by the team containing various figures relating the crash and potential survival of the device.

Although AMF co-founder Nova Spivack said in the press release that “every indication thus far suggests that the Lunar Library is intact on the Moon,” the truth is there aren’t that many positive indications just yet.

Mission control lost contact with Beresheet when it was only 150 meters from the surface; it would have impacted about a second later with about 956 m/s of horizontal velocity, which translates to more than 2,000 miles per hour. So this thing was going faster than a bullet and was considerably less durable. The wreckage is likely strewn over kilometers of the lunar surface.

“We think it is highly unlikely that the Lunar Library was atomized in the impact,” writes the team. “Without knowing the impact energy directed at the library, it’s hard to know how the stack fared. But taking the construction of the Lunar Library into account, we believe it has a high chance of being intact.”

It isn’t just an archival-quality disc or something. It’s a special 25-layer sandwich of nickel and epoxy, the bottom 21 layers of which are filled with digital data. This is the information most at risk, since, like snapping a DVD in half, you can’t just put the pieces back together and hope the 0s and 1s align again.

But the top four layers are essentially a form of high-durability microfiche, etched with tiny letters that could be read with a basic microscope. These you really could just piece back together. The 60,000 pages of analog data include “the Arch Mission Primer, selections from Wikipedia, The Wearable Rosetta, The Israeli Time Capsule, a selection of books — and potentially all or some of the not-yet-announced secret Vaults of content.”

Among those “not-yet-announced secret Vaults” in the analog layers is in fact the collection of Copperfield’s illusions. Lucky, that!

Unfortunately, even if the device does theoretically survive, it may never be found: at those speeds the debris from the landing would have spread over a large area and perhaps buried itself in dust and regolith. So even if it were completely intact, it might be invisible even to the high-resolution cameras on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which AMF has requested to take a few images of the crash site (it was probably already going to, given the interest in the Beresheet mission).

“We think it is highly unlikely that the Lunar Library was atomized in the impact, given what we currently know. Therefore either the Lunar library remains entirely intact or it remains in a partially intact state — somewhere within a few kilometers of the landing zone,” writes the team. However, “This may not be verifiable without investigating the scene firsthand, on the ground at the crash site.”

So a trip to the Moon, Méliès-style, might be necessary after all.

The idea of a treasure hunt for a famous magician’s secrets in a Moon landing gone wrong really sounds more like science fiction than everyday news, but the two things have been growing closer and closer to one another for a while now, so I guess none of us should be surprised.

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Gadgets

Apple rolls out iOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3 with new emoji and features

Published

2 hours ago

March 27, 2023

Francisco Peguero

Enlarge / The 2021, 24-inch iMac with Apple’s M1.

Samuel Axon

Apple released new updates for most of its software platforms today, including macOS Ventura 13.3, iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, tvOS 16.4, and watchOS 9.4.

These are all feature updates, meaning they actually add new functionality in addition to fixing bugs or addressing security vulnerabilities.

iOS and iPadOS 16.4 add a number of minor features. The headliner is (of course) 21 new emojis, like new heart colors, additional animals, and a shaking head. Beyond that, though, Apple says you’ll see improved voice isolation on phone calls, support for notifications from web apps that have been added to your phone’s home screen, new ways to weed out duplicates in your Photos library, and a number of bug fixes.

As far as accessibility goes, iOS and iPadOS can now automatically dim the screen when a video with flashing lights is playing, and VoiceOver is now supported in the maps found inside the Weather app.

tvOS 16.4 has only one listed change: the flashing lights protection feature we just mentioned for iOS and iPadOS.

On the Apple Watch side, watchOS 9.4 is mostly about bringing features to new regions. Cycle Tracking is now supported in Moldova and Ukraine, and AFib history has made it to those two regions as well, plus Colombia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Then there’s the other big one: macOS Ventura 13.3. It includes several of the same features as iOS 16.4, including the new emoji, Photos duplicate album, and accessibility features. It also adds a “move background” feature in Apple’s visual note-taking app Freeform, which “isolates the subject in your image.” There are also some macOS-specific bug fixes, and you’ll find expanded language support for the keyboard.

iOS 16.4 release notes

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard

Notifications for web apps added to the Home Screen

Voice Isolation for cellular calls prioritizes your voice and blocks out ambient noise around you

Duplicates album in Photos expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library

VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app

Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected

Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent’s device

Addresses issues where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home

Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models

macOS Ventura 13.3 release notes

This update includes new emoji along with other enhancements, bug fixes, and security updates for your Mac.

21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard

Remove background option in Freeform automatically isolates the subject in your image

Photos duplicates album expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library

Transliteration support for Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu keyboards

New keyboard layouts for Choctaw, Chickasaw, Akan, Hausa, and Yoruba

Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected

VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app

Resolves an issue where Trackpad gestures may occasionally stop responding

Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent’s device

Addresses an issue where VoiceOver may be unresponsive after using Finder

Gadgets

Dealmaster: 1-day-only Nintendo Switch, Microsoft 365 deals; plus PS5 and AirTags

Published

3 hours ago

March 27, 2023

Francisco Peguero

Enlarge / The new OLED Switch above its predecessor.

Sam Machkovech

Kicking off the week, we have a couple of today-only sales, including a rare discount on Nintendo’s Switch OLED and a free $50 Amazon gift card deal on Microsoft’s 365 Family office software. There are also price cuts on the PS5 God of War Ragnarök bundle and Apple’s four-pack of AirTags.

Nintendo Switch OLED for $310 ($350)

Nintendo’s Switch OLED is the best Switch console that money can buy. In our review, we praised the larger, upgraded display’s completely blacked-out pixels and infinite contrast ratio whether gaming before bed or during the day. We also appreciated the bigger, sturdier hinge, ethernet-toting dock, and 64GB standard storage, as opposed to 32GB on other Switch models.

We still think the Switch Lite is an unbeatable deal in portable gaming for $200, but for those among us who like the best of the best, the Switch OLED is the ultimate portable gaming device. With today’s one-day-only $40 discount, it’s a bit more affordable now, too. Samsung’s 256 GB microSD Evo Select is also on sale for $20, which pairs well with the Switch for game storage.

PS5 God of War Ragnarök bundle for $510 ($560)

There’s not a lot we can say about the powerful, at times elusive PS5 that hasn’t already been said. Games load quickly thanks to built-in NVMe storage; it also includes an innovative controller; and the cooling fans are quieter and more efficient than on the PS4. The new DualSense controller also combines haptics and audio for a truly unique and immersive gaming experience, while also offering headset-free chat with a built-in speaker. As more legacy games migrate to PS5 and newer titles emerge, the value of PS5 only grows, making it a more enticing upgrade for PS4 owners since its launch. The God of War Ragnarök bundle is $50 off, which is the lowest we’ve seen for this bundle.

AirTags are the best way to find your lost stuff, if you're an iPhone user. — Enlarge / AirTags are the best way to find your lost stuff, if you’re an iPhone user.

Samuel Axon

Apple AirTags four-pack for $90 ($100)

AirTags are arguably the most capable item trackers on the market. The main reason for that is the theoretically endless range. Essentially, wherever there’s an iPhone or capable iDevice, there’s hope to find your lost item. The more devices in the area the better, so AirTags are ideal for densely to moderately populated areas. Without iDevices in the vicinity, they won’t do much for you, so they may not be the best pick if you’re more concerned with losing something on a mountain hike or romp through the forest. This deal gives you four AirTag trackers at a $10 discount from their typical price.

Enlarge / Microsoft 365 encompasses Teams, OneDrive, and the suite of productivity apps formerly known as Office. The Family version also offers 1TB of cloud storage per user.

Microsoft

Microsoft 365 Family office suite and $50 Amazon gift card for $100 ($150)

Work applications and deployments for Microsoft’s suite aside, if you and your family prefer creating and editing documents offline but also value vast online storage amounts, then this deal on Microsoft 365 Family is just for you. Today only, the gold standard of office software is on sale for $100 right now on Amazon with a free $50 Amazon gift card. That gives you six installations of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Skype, and Teams, along with six separate 1TB cloud storage spaces on OneDrive, and a $50 Amazon gift card. If you’re already a subscriber, you can stack years and pocket a nice $50 bonus.

Gadgets

Google is killing most of Fitbit’s social features today

Published

4 hours ago

March 27, 2023

Francisco Peguero

Enlarge / Fitbit’s now-dead Challenges feature.

Today’s the day for Google’s biggest change yet to Fitbit: It’s shutting down some more features. As Google announced in February, the popular fitness gamification features, Fitbit “Challenges” and “Adventures,” are being shut down today. Google is also removing the “Open Group” social networking feature.

Getting motivated to work out is tough for some people, so Fitbit’s software included a few ways to gamify fitness to keep people interested. Challenges were introduced in 2014 as a way to share and compare your step counts with friends, hopefully motivating both of you to get more exercise. The feature came with badges that could be earned for specific tasks and trophies for winning a battle. Adventures were announced in 2017 as location-specific challenges that highlighted local places that were good for exercise and hiking, like national parks and landmarks. You could tackle these areas solo at your own pace or participate in multiplayer “Adventure Races” where you could track your hiking speed or progress against other Fitbit users. This seems like something that would only get better with Google Maps integration. Oh, well.

Adventures, Challenges, and all player-earned trophies and badges are going away today. The Fitbit community on Reddit has been furious over the feature removals, with the most popular post of the past year being a call to cancel your Fitbit Premium subscription over the changes. On Twitter, Fitbit tried celebrating the company’s birthday yesterday, but nearly all the replies were about the feature shutdown and what other services people should switch to. Several users have confirmed today that the features are dead.

Enlarge / Adventures would have people battle it out in real-life hiking locations.

Fitbit

Google announced it would be acquiring Fitbit in 2019, and at the time, it described the deal by saying, “We see an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market.” Google’s blog post did not make any mention of continuing to produce or support Fitbit’s existing products and services, and rather than some kind of promise to supercharge Fitbit with Google technology, the blog post made it sound like Fitbit would be stripped for parts.

So far, we haven’t seen anything from Google to dissuade us from the initial impression that Fitbit will be slowly killed. Google announced plans to shut down the Fitbit account system sometime this year and move existing users to Google accounts. Google killed Fitbit’s PC and Mac syncing last year, so it’s no longer possible to load music onto the wearables. Fitbit Studio, a browser-based SDK for developing Fitbit apps, was given an April 20 shutdown date last month. Fitbit’s latest product launch, the Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4, brought big feature regressions compared to the old models. They were stripped of the Fitbit app store, Google Assistant, Wi-Fi support, and music controls.

The only non-shutdown action we’ve seen Google do with Fitbit is rush a half-baked Fitbit app out the door exclusively for the Pixel Watch. That Fitbit app is both worse than a real Fitbit and worse than Wear OS’ previous Google Fit app, before Google stripped out the advanced weight training options in 2020. There’s also Fitbit Premium on the Pixel Watch, a $10-a-month subscription service that enables some sleep-tracking features and new statistics. Is this the future of Fitbit? Some software? An app that replaces Google Fit? It’s still hard to say. Whatever Google’s plans for the future are, we can’t imagine that stripping all the key social features away from the existing community will earn it many repeat customers.