Hasta La Gadget!

Michael McFaul warns of the danger of filtering critical intelligence through “partisan politics.”

Since last spring, the government’s entity list ban against Huawei (and ZTE) has largely prevented US companies from working with them. Despite legal wrangling and trade negotiations between the two countries the ban is still in place, and in the cas…

These days, we’re starting to see more apps take the free-to-play approach. It is understandable because by removing the cost to play the game, players might be more tempted to give it a shot. However, developers and publishers still need to get paid, and as a result, ads are typically inserted into these games as a means of generating revenue.

Unfortunately, sometimes the ads chosen by developers and publishers can be annoying and disruptive, ultimately affecting the overall user experience, and as such, Google has since announced that they have removed about 600 apps from the Play Store that have been found to contain what Google claims are “disruptive ads”.

According to Google, “We define disruptive ads as ads that are displayed to users in unexpected ways, including impairing or interfering with the usability of device functions. While they can occur in-app, one form of disruptive ads we’ve seen on the rise is something we call out-of-context ads, which is when malicious developers serve ads on a mobile device when the user is not actually active in their app.”

Google also adds, “We recently developed an innovative machine-learning based approach to detect when apps show out-of-context ads, which led to the enforcement we’re announcing today.”

Google Removes 600 Apps From The Play Store Over Disruptive Ads , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

HTC has been working on VR headsets for a while now, and more recently, the company has taken the wraps off a new conceptual VR headset that they are working on. Dubbed Project Proton, this is unlike any VR headset that we have seen in the market today, where it feels like it resembles goggles more than your typical VR headset.

There are two versions of this VR headset that HTC has described. One of which is an all-in-one kind of design where the display is on the front while the processing unit is situated on the back. This means that when worn, the processing unit will be strapped to the back of your head, resulting in a more evenly-distributed weight system where not everything will be housed in the front.

The second (see image above) is more like a pair of goggles. This design will require users to attach their own processing module, like a smartphone or maybe a computer. While this should reduce the overall bulk and weight, we’re not sure how comfortable such a setup will be. It also appears that there will be a cable/wire of sorts.

Unfortunately, HTC’s Project Proton exists as a concept for now. The company does note that there are prototypes in its labs, but don’t hold your breath just yet. In a statement released to Engadget, HTC says, “Project Proton is a prototype of a future XR glasses-style device from HTC Vive that we hope to hear feedback on from the community as we continue to work on the product.”

HTC Shows Off Its Project Proton VR Headset , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Japan’s space agency JAXA has approved a mission that will, if successful, achieve a new milestone for human space exploration. The agency will launch the Martian Moon eXploration (MMX) mission in 2024, assuming everything goes according to schedule, with the goal of plucking a sample from the Martian moon Phobos. After studying the moons, MMX will return to Earth in … Continue reading