Steam users can now vote their favorite games to become nominees for the first edition of the Steam Awards. The voting period coincides with the Steam Autumn Sale which is running from November 23 to Nov. 29.

Anyone with a steam account, new or old, can now cast their vote for whatever game they want for the eight different available final categories of the Steam Awards. Steam has decided that poke a bit of fun at awards in general. In an attempt to replace prestige and honor with humor, Steam has some of the most unique categories, drastically different from what you can expect from a standard award show for video games.

One of the most mediatized awards show is the Game Awards, which takes place in December. It features conventional categories like action-adventure, first-person shooter, and other. In order to avoid become another run of the mill awards show, Steam has decided on the following categories: Test of Time, which awards game based on how well they survived the test of time. The nominees should be games that players return to even though they’re old and new games are constantly released.

Another category is the “I’m Not Crying, There’s Something in My Eye” which recognizes the games that made players cry the most. The “ Just 5 More Minutes” category will feature games considered to be the most compelling and even addictive as they bring players to neglecting their other real life responsibilities.

Other quirky and unique awards include the “Whoooaaaa, dude!” which acknowledges games that are likely to blow a player’s mind. The “Game Within a Game” category will include games which feature the best mini-games inside the main title. “I Thought This Game Was Cool Before It Won an Award” recognizes the best games that aren’t widely known, such as indie games.

One of the strangest categories among the already unconventional ones must be the “Best Use of a Farm Animal” which is quite self-explanatory. Finally, Steam also implemented a “We Didn’t Think of Everything” award where gamers can come up with their own category.

To nominate a game for a specific category, you have to search the game and press the “Nominate this game for an award button.” The final winners from each category will be revealed in December.

Image credit: Steam

If you’re familiar with electric cars, then you should know that they don’t produce much sound. This can be either a positive aspect or negative one depending on your perspective. However, regulators think that electric cars need to make some noise in order to alert pedestrians that a car is near them.

Besides looking both ways before we cross the street, people also use the sound current cars that run on gasoline make in order to avoid them on the road. This safety measure cannot be applied to electric cars since the engine of the current models barely make any noise at all.

So besides asking EV drivers to turn up their speakers or scream at any nearby pedestrians, regulators have imposed on manufacturers a new rule.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires that all hybrid and electric cars make alert beeps when traveling at speeds slower than 18.6 miles per hour.

The rule applies to four-wheeled hybrids and EV’s that weigh below 10,000 pounds. However, the alert beeps won’t be required at speeds above 19 mph, since the tires and the wind friction provide enough sound to alert the nearby pedestrians about the presence of a vehicle.

The rule comes in effect only on September 1^st, 2019. However, the regulators have stated that at least half of the newly produced electric cars and hybrids must comply with the rule and produce an alert by at least September 1^st, 2018.

The new regulations are the direct result of the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act which gave the NHSTA the mandate to implement a noisemaking solution for quiet cars by 2014. Unfortunately, the government has kept pushing the initial date back until now.

The new rule will lead to 2,400 fewer injuries, according to an NHSTA projection. It will also cost automakers around $39 million annually to implement such a safety measure which requires an external, waterproof speaker. However, the costs are significantly lower than the $250 to $320 million reduced costs of healthcare thanks to injury prevention.

Car companies part of the Auto Alliance have expressed their support for the new safety measure.

Do you have an electric car? Do you think the new measure will be effective in alerting pedestrians?

Image source: Wikipedia

Researchers have developed a new type of materials that will allow the creation of semiconductor-free microelectronics. This means that electronic devices, from phones, computer to solar panels will be more efficient in handling their power.

Silicon semiconductors have revolutionized technology by allowing manufacturers to install billions of transistors in chips the size of a few square inches. As great as they are, the technology does have some limits. For example, the velocity of electrons in the electric current that pass through them is limited by the resistance of the materials from which the semiconductors are made of. This requires a boost of energy to allow the electrons to cross the gap, which is created by silicon’s insulating properties.

However, the new metamaterials invented by researchers at UC San Diego, are similar to old-school vacuum tubes because they use free electrons. The team of researchers solved the problem of electrons which require high voltage and high temperatures or a laser to release the electrons. They built a nanostructure from gold with additional gold strips parallel to it. It combines a low amount of voltage of only 10 volts with a low-powered laser to free the electrons from the gold.

Scientists discovered that this method led to 1000 percent increase in the conductivity of the entire system the metamaterial was used in. The change is high enough that it even allows the structure to maintain on and off states like an optical switch. The whole device can act as a transistor, power amplified or even a photodetector thanks to the metamaterials. The most amazing feature of this new invention is that it works with less resistance and even handle a much higher amount of power.

The research is still very much in its early stages. However, their findings, which were published in the journal Nature, represent a proof-of-concept. It can be used by the researchers to attract more research funds and further develop and improve their invention. Their next step is to determine how much can the metamaterials can be scaled without affecting their performance.

Its applications will lead to semiconductor-free microelectronics as well as photovoltaics, possibly weaponry and environmental applications. The research was funded by DARPA.

What do you think about the new discovery of metamaterials and semiconductor-free microelectronics?

Image credit: UC San Diego Applied Electromagnetics Group

A nine-years-old bug has finally been found on Linux. Despite being an open-source system which would allow for more scrutiny over its security standards by more users, the Dirty Cow exploit has only been recently discovered. It allows an attacker to gain full access to the system in a very short time

The Dirty Cow bug gets its name from the fact that it simply exploits a Linux mechanism called copy-on-write (COW). However, its official name is CVE-2016-5195 and it was initially introduced into the Linux kernel 9 years ago. It was unnoticed by both users with well-meaning intentions who want to address any possible security weakness in the system and by possible intruders as well, until now that is.

If you’re not familiar with Linux, it’s important to know that it’s a free open-source OS, used by a high number of applications.  Some of the most well-known uses of the OS are in web servers such as Ubuntu, Red Hat, and Debian. The Linux kernel is also at the core of the Google’s smartphone OS, Android.

Being a free open-source OS means that anyone can contribute and modify their license as they want. This feature would allow enhanced security since more people would track and fix bugs and other security exploits. However, according to a recently published study, a typical Linux bug can manage to be unnoticed for about five years before it’s fixed.

In this regard, Dirty Cow is a record breaker and according to Phil Oester, the researcher who managed to find the bug, users have already found an attempt to take advantage of the bug. The threat posed by Dirty Cow is serious, as the exploit is considered to be part of a class of vulnerabilities known as privilege escalation bugs. This means that any intruder who has already managed to get some measure of control over a device is able to leverage their access to gain full control.

The fact that the bug is nine-years-old means that it will be on a lot of computers and other devices. Fortunately, it’s already getting patched in some of the major applications of Linux such as Red Hat, Ubuntu, and Debian. Other devices running embedded versions of the OS will have a difficult time getting the security fix if at all.

Image source: Pixabay

Facebook has started to roll out some new features that help streamers plan and promote their live broadcasts. The Facebook update includes live video scheduling, the option to share scheduled streams and even create pre-broadcast lobbies. The feature will gradually become available in the coming weeks.

Currently, live-streaming on Facebook can be bothersome for both the streamer and the viewers, especially so if you like following multiple streams. Broadcasters can only announce when they will start streaming without any links to share, or just instantly broadcast without an audience. This way, viewers can either miss out on part of the stream before they know it’s live or just forget when it’s supposed to start.

The new live video scheduling promises to address these issue and more. First of all, creating a schedule for your broadcasts allows time for the viewers to decide what stream they will watch. The streamers can create a link to a future broadcast up to a week in advance. By helping their viewers plan their video watching habits, the streamers can get more viewers in turn.

The initial link will be available until the stream is finalized. This feature allows broadcasters to promote the respective stream using the link ahead of time so they don’t have to bother with it when the camera starts rolling.

When content creators schedule a stream using the live video scheduling, they automatically trigger a news feed post. Users receiving that respective post can choose to receive a one-time reminder a few minutes before the stream goes live.

Another new useful feature for streamers coming to Facebook is the possibility to create pre-broadcast lobbies. Currently, some streamers prefer to wait until there’s a certain number of viewers before they start talking or doing the things they want to. When the feature will be released, anyone who is committed to watching the stream can join a lobby three minutes ahead of its start.

The live video scheduling and other features coming with the Facebook update will be gradually released in the upcoming weeks. However, only content creators with verified pages and developers of Live API third-party tools will be able to use the features at first. No details on a full user release at this point.

What do you think about the new stream scheduling features?

Image source: Flickr

Verizon has announced a new unlimited data plan for limited sessions. This is a very different business plan for unlimited data compared to its competitors. Interested customers will have to pay $2 for 30 minutes or $3 for one hour.

Verizon is calling its new service, PopData. It basically is just a pay-as-you-go option that will allow consumers greater flexibility than standard plans, where you have to pay for an entire month of unlimited data, even though you only use it occasionally.

Verizon’s unlimited data plan was created with this exact purpose in mind, to allow users to only pay when they really know they will need unlimited internet access. Most common scenarios involve downloading large files, streaming high-quality videos and whatever else you may want to.

At this point, is isn’t entirely clear if PopData is indeed more beneficial to users than regular unlimited data plans. Your bill will be determined by how many times you’ll want to have unrestricted access to the internet. If you only use it a few times per month, then PopData is for you. However, heavy users of unlimited data would be better off by buying a standard plan.

The PopData service is currently in the beta but it’s available to anyone interested. It works by issuing a link in the My Verizon mobile app which prompts users to choose between the two options of unlimited data based on the time they need it for.

Before you can enjoy your data, the My Verizon app has to check if there is enough space on the network. The availability of the network depends on a lot on your location and how many other users are currently on the network.  The link and password provided by the Verizon app can only be used on your phone. However, tethering different devices to the hotspot you created using the PopData service is allowed.

For the My Verizon app to issue the link and password, users must enable the location services on their device. However, it can be turned off immediately after you receive them and while enjoying your data.

Are you a Verizon customer? If so, are you going the try out the new unlimited data plan?

Image source: Wikipedia