Again, Apple’s battle with the FBI over unlocking one of the San Bernadino terrorist’s iPhones, is stealing the headlines. Coming out of yesterday’s hearing in front of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, we’re learning new details of how investigators made a mistake in handling the terrorist’s iPhone 5c. In an attempt to access the device they tried to change its iCloud account password.
That actually made accessing the phone more difficult and stopped the phone’s iCloud backup. Apple has already cooperated by handing over previous iCloud data from the device to the Feds, so this error was a huge setback for them. If investigators hadn’t attempted the password change, this entire mess potentially wouldn’t have ever happened.
Following the launch of pre-orders for both the HTC vive virtual reality headset and Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality headset, a third headset this week is kicking off pre-orders. The Meta 2 dev kit provides similar functionality to the HoloLens, but its $950 price tag is less than a third the cost. It features a 90 degree field of view and high-res display. Meta also features hand tracking that allows the user to naturally interact with the holograms projected on the lens. It needs to be tethered to a PC or MAC to operate, but that keeps the headset lightweight and comfortable for extended use. The Meta will ship in late summer of this year, and pre-orders of the dev-kit are available here.
Straight from the don’t try this at home file we have Mischo Erban setting the Guinness world record for the fastest speed on an electric skateboard. Riding NGV’s all wheel drive prototype NEXTboard, Erban cracked 59.55 miles per hour. The record setting attempt wasn’t without incident. On one of the passes he encounters some speed-wobble and promptly meets the pavement.
It’s doubtful that this prototype will ever see its way into the hands of skaters in your neighborhood, and that’s probably a good thing.
