Your WIRED.co.uk daily briefing. Today, 3D barcodes to tackle drug counterfeiting, a 3.2 gigapixel space camera, all the Apple launch news and more.
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1. All the news, prices, and release dates from the Apple launch
Apple has taken the wraps off the iPhone 6S, which features an improved camera, a faster A9 processor and a ‘3D Touch’ display able to distinguish between different types of press on the screen (WIRED.co.uk). The company also revealed the iPad Pro with its Pencil stylus for precision and creative work and the latest incarnation of Apple TV, which has the new tvOS operating system and gaming support. We break down the features, prices and release dates for the new hardware.
2. UK company develops 3D barcodes to tackle counterfeit drugs
A 3D barcode system invented by Softmat Ltd uses precisely gauged indentations to generate millions of unique identification codes (BBC). The system is designed for sequential marking, which means that every item in a batch of pills, watches, or computer hardware could have its own unique code. The indentations are read using a light-based scanner and measure less than 0.5mm in depth.
3. AMD spins off graphics business into separate division
AMD’s graphics processor business has been split off to form the Radeon Technology Group, which will focus on gaming and virtual reality technologies (Fortune). The new group’s remit covers graphics cards, APU chips combining CPU and GPU capabilities, and GPU compute products. AMD bought its way into the graphics business with its purchase of ATI in 2006.
4. US Department of Energy to build 3.2 gigapixel space camera
The incredibly high resolution camera is being made for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), a ground-based telescope being built at the peak of Chile’s 1.6 mile (2.6km) Cerro Pachón mountain (io9). Due to begin testing in 2019 and to be fully operational by 2022, the telescope will be the first that’s able to observe more galaxies than there are humans on the planet.
5. Alzheimer’s disease could be transmissible
Nature has published findings which indicate that Alzheimer’s disease could be transmitted by contaminated hormone treatments, blood transfusions, or surgical instruments. The evidence emerged during autopsy studies of the brains of people who’d died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) after treatment with contaminated batches of human growth hormone. Six of the brains, alongside damage caused by CJD, also showed evidence of the plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Microsoft begins shutdown of Xbox Live Indie Games program
Microsoft has begun the gradual process of shutting down its Xbox 360 Indie Games Marketplace (Polygon). Developers can no longer longer join or renew their memberships in Microsoft’s Indie Games program, although current members can continue building games until 9 September 2016, when indie games publishing on the platform will come to an end. The Indie Marketplace itself will remain open until September 2017, after which Microsoft will issue final payments to all developers.
7. National Geographic gives up non-profit status, signs pact with Fox
After 127 years as a non-profit organisation, the National Geographic Society has joined a partnership giving 21st Century Fox control of its assets, including its magazine, TV channels, and digital properties (The Washington Post). The deal, worth $725 million (£472 million), is controversial, with doubts being raised as to how the magazine’s content will be affected. However, Fox chief executive James Murdoch has stated that there are no immediate plans to change the publication.
8. Bitcoin extortionists threaten UK corporations with DDoS attacks
Major UK companies including Lloyds Bank and BAE Systems are being threatened with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks by extortionists demanding payment in Bitcoins (Ars Technica). The extortionist groupm DD4BC, primarily targets financial institutions, demanding anywhere between one and 100 bitcoins (£160 to £16,000). DD4BC stands for “DDoS for Bitcoin”, and the group has been found to use standard scripted attacks.
9. New Valravn roller coaster will be world’s tallest and fastest
A new dive coaster set to open in 2016 at Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio, USA, will take ten world records (CNET). The ride has a top speed of 75mph (120kph), and its first 65m drop is the longest on a dive coaster. Cedar Point has released a spectacular point-of-view video of the ride for its launch announcement.
10. NASA releases 1970s graphic design manual as free PDF
NASA has made its 1976 design and branding bible available as a free download (Motherboard). Containing everything from logos and letterheads to staff uniforms and spacecraft markings, the book provides a window on the past. The release comes following recent press attention for NASA’s former “worm” logo and a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new print edition of the public domain manual.
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