After a series of failures, the US Air Force on Monday announced that it has finally succeeded in the test launch of its air-launched hypersonic missile, a technology China has long mastered and even put on public display at a recent air show.
The US’ scheme is to use the hypersonic missile and the recently revealed B-21 stealth bomber to penetrate China’s air defense, but the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has what it takes to defend the country, experts said on Tuesday.
A full prototype of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, also known as the AGM-183A missile, was launched from a B-52 bomber off the coast of California on Friday, and all of the objectives of the test were met, CNN reported on Monday, citing a statement from the US Air Force.
The AGM-183A is a boost-glide missile that uses a booster rocket to accelerate a projectile to hypersonic speeds, before a glide vehicle separates from the booster and uses inertia to travel to its target, CNN said.
The successful test launch of the missile came after a series of failures in testing last year, forcing the Air Force to delay the project at a time when China and Russia have shown advances in their own programs, CNN reported.
During the Airshow China 2022 held in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province in November, the PLA Air Force put on display an H-6K bomber which carried a type of missile widely believed to be hypersonic.
China also displayed the DF-17 hypersonic boost-glide missile at the National Day military parade on October 1, 2019 in Beijing.
Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile has also been reportedly deployed in combat in the Ukraine crisis.
With China and Russia taking the lead in hypersonic weapons development, the US is hurrying to build ones of its own, with the rush felt in several previous failures, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Compared with its Chinese and Russian counterparts, as well as air-breathing hypersonic missiles, the AGM-183A should not be considered very advanced, the expert said.
On December 2, the US Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber, the B-21, made its public debut.. The US wants to use the low-end B-52 bomber which cannot penetrate air defense on its own to carry the strongly penetrative, standoff AGM-183A hypersonic missile, and use the high-end B-21 stealth bomber to drop inexpensive munitions within the opponent’s defense lines, Zhang Xuefeng, another Chinese military expert, told the Global Times.
Chinese military aviation expert Fu Qianshao told the Global Times that the AGM-183A can be intercepted before it is launched from the B-52, which is a large and slow target that can never be stealth.
Another option, which can also counter the B-21, is to attack bases and airfields where the bombers are deployed, Fu said.
China recently carried out the maiden flight for a type of new high-altitude, high-speed demonstrator drone, which can ...
HELSINKI
— China launched its new Jielong-3 rocket from a mobile sea platform in
the Yellow Sea Friday, successfully sending 14 satellites into orbit.
The Jielong-3 (“Smart Dragon-3”) lifted off at 1:35 a.m. Eastern (0635
UTC) Dec. 9, from the Tai Rui modified barge off in the Yellow Sea.
It is hoped that the US delegation can accurately convey China's attitude back to Washington, which is that we welcome China-US cooperation, but will never accept “cooperation” aimed at weakening,
containing and suppressing China.
In an interview released Sunday, the US' NASA chief once again smeared China's space missions and vowed to beat China in the “moon race.” The latest barrage of attacks was slammed by Chinese experts as a reflection of a lack of confidence
and a dangerous, narrow Cold War mentality in the US.
Shenzhou-14 crew safely return to Dongfeng landing site after 183 days at China Space Station
After concluding six-month stay at the China Space Station and completing first-ever direct handover in orbit in the country's aerospace history, three taikonauts of the Shenzhou-14 manned spaceflight mission have safely returned to the Dongfeng landing site in the Gobi Desert, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on
Sunday
5G connectivity promises faster Internet speeds and more efficiency to run complex tasks in the cloud. — 123rf.com
https://youtu.be/iJfCBqPUKHQ
https://youtu.be/6Pvp4Z07ftY
All the ways life could change with technology in 2019.
FASTER data connectivity, smartphones with a bold new look and more reasons to cheer for the national team at a sporting event? These are just some reasons we predict 2019 is going to be another exciting year in technology.
Bend and not break
We could be getting our hands on a foldable smartphone by Samsung very soon – the South Korean tech giant gave the world a glimpse of a working protoype at the Samsung Developer Conference in November.
According to Justin Denison, the senior vice-president of mobile product marketing at Samsung, the prototype measured at 18.5cm diagonally. The new design will give users the experience of having a pocket size device – with a 4.6in screen when folded – that can be unfolded to reveal a bigger tablet-sized 7.4in screen, a feature Samsung has dubbed the Infinty Flex Display.
A foldable phone by Samsung is coming our way in 2019. — AP
Sources told South Korea-based Yonhap News Agency that Samsung is planning to officially launch the device, tentatively known as the Galaxy F as Samsung has not given it an official name yet, at an event in March. Other companies looking to release a foldable smartphone include Huawei and Sony.
Samsung’s foldable device with Infinity Flex Display is a smartphone model that features a tablet-sized screen when unfolded and a smaller screen when folded like a book. — AP
Speaking of Galaxy phones, Samsung also has another highly-anticipated release in 2019 and it’s the flagship Galaxy S10. Some leaks suggest that we could be looking at a device with a bigger full screen bezel-less feature – reputable leaker UniverseIce claimed the model will have a 6.7in display – multiple rear camera setup and interestingly, a punch-hole screen design for the front camera. (Notch? What notch?)
Citing Yonhap News, The Verge reported that the South Korean tech giant is expected to unveil the flagship Galaxy S10 in February 2019, most likely at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Spain. Yonhap’s sources also say there are plans to showcase the Galaxy F at MWC ahead of its official March launch.
Gotta move faster
The dawn of 5G network connectivity is upon us. This new technology promises significantly faster data transmission speeds and capacity, less waiting around for an online task to be completed (also known as lower latency), and could connect more smart devices and sensors simultaneously than ever before.
According to Reuters, 5G is currently in the final testing phase and is poised to offer data speeds of up to 50 or even 100 times faster than current 4G networks. In theory, that is.
To test real-world 5G speeds, Qualcomm ran a simulation to approximate real-world 5G speeds in Frankfurt and San Francisco, taking into account various factors such as geography, user demands on the network as well as devices with varying levels of LTE and 5G connectivity.
As reported by The Verge, the tests yielded more down-to-earth but still vastly improved speeds – in Frankfurt, browsing speeds went up from 56Mbps for 4G users to 490Mbps for 5G users, with download speeds clocking in at 100Mbps for over 90% of users compared to 8Mbps on LTE. In San Francisco, browsing speeds jumped up from 71Mbps for the 4G user to 1.4Gbps for the 5G user, while download speeds clocked in at 186Mbps on 5G compared to 10Mbps on 4G.
As 5G is an entirely new technology, users will have to upgrade to new smartphones – to that end, one of the variants of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 is said to support 5G, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Apart from high speed mobile and data services, experts agree that 5G is essential for the next phase in developing technologies like self-driving cars and improving industries like healthcare, virtual and augmented reality and more.
Vodafone demonstrated how a young football fan could get Houghton (left) to teach her some football skills with a holographic 3D call on a 5G network. — AP
In September, Vodafone demonstrated how a live 3D holographic call is possible with 5G at the Vodafone Future Ready Conference in United Kingdom. In the demonstration, English footballer Steph Houghton appeared as a hologram to give an 11-year-old fan some game tips. This exchange showcases how the technology could potentially change the way people communicate with each other, with more chances for remote coaching, training as well as enabling more immersive interactions with famous personalities.
In Malaysia, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo announced that Putrajaya and Cyberjaya as testing grounds for national-level 5G trials. The one-year trial began in November and the findings will help the government develop plans and policies on the use of 5G network in the country.
Game on
In 2019, brace yourself for the possible release of another Nintendo Switch. The WSJ reported that Nintendo plans to release a new version of the popular gaming console, with one possible upgrade being a better display.
One of the biggest news in 2018 is Sony announcing that it will not be attending the 2019 E3 Expo for the first time in 24 years. Instead, the company shared that it will be “engaging with consumers and the community in different ways”, with unconfirmed rumours swirling that the company might hold its own event to announce details on the PlayStation 5.
Companies like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo could all be announcing new gaming consoles in 2019. — AP
According to tech website T3, the PS5 console may include upgrades to support 60FPS (frames per second) at 4K resolution and it will be running on next-generation AMD graphics cards. Sony could also be announcing details about the PlayStation VR2 – upgrades may include better controllers, new built-in cameras and gloves for enhanced virtual reality experience.
One company that is not skipping E3 in 2019 is Microsoft. Speculation is rife that the company will be using the event to announce details about two new next-generation Xbox consoles, codenamed Anaconda and Lockhart. Users could also be looking at a cloud-based streaming-only disc-less version of the Xbox One S for 2019, which could be announced as soon as next month, according to The Verge.
Microsoft is also expected to reveal more details about its Project xCloud, a Netflix-style streaming service for Xbox games. Not to be confused with Xbox Game Pass, Project xCloud – currently in beta testing mode – is said to make Xbox games available across PCs, phones, and consoles.
Gamers can also look forward to major videogame releases in 2019 – there’s the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3, The Last Of Us 2 and hopefully, Hideo Kojima’s star-studded and much-hyped Death Stranding.
For mobile gamers, there’s the 2019 release of the Harry Potter Wizards Unite AR game by Niantic, the same developer behind Pokémon Go. The game will allow users to encounter characters and creatures from the Harry Potter books, cast spells and solve mysteries.
Augmented Reality (AR) everywhere
AR technology is not exactly new to platforms like Snapchat and Instagram with its selfie filters, but we could be looking at more than just digital face masks in 2019.
In May, Facebook announced a new version of its AR developing tool AR Studio for content creators and developers. The tool is made for designing AR animations, visuals and interactions for the Facebook Camera. Along with existing features like AR Target Tracker and free-to-use sound files, Facebook said it will be adding other features like Body Tracking, Hand Tracking and analytics for AR effects. So you could expect more AR elements in the photos or videos your friends share on Facebook.
AR is likely to become a bigger part of the way we experience events in real life and consume content on social media platforms. Here, an attendee is trying out an AR baseball game at a trade show in Japan. — Bloomberg
AR could also be a part of more live experiences like concerts and sporting events in 2019. TechCrunch reported that rapper Eminem incorporated AR into his live performance at Coachella music festival in April.
Concertgoers could see added AR visual enhancements to the show by downloading the Eminem Augmented app.
In terms of gaming, something exciting is brewing at Niantic. The company announced that it is investing in holographic augmented reality display – technology developed by waveguide optics firm DigiLens, which specialises in wearable lightweight plastic AR displays. For users, it could mean that Niantic is looking to enhance game play interactivity with an AR device like smart glasses.
Cheer for Malaysia in eSports
Malaysia is beginning to embrace eSports as a mainstream sporting event. In the recent Budget 2019, the government announced a RM10mil budget for the development of eSports in the country.
In 2019, eSports will be a medal event at the South-East Asia Games (SEA) in Philippines. eSports Malaysia secretary-general Rinie Ramli said a national league will be held as the selection process for a squad to represent Malaysia at the SEA Games.
Get set to support a Malaysian eSports team at the 2019 SEA Games. — Bernama
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is going to be one of the titles contested at the Games, along with other shortlisted titles like Dota 2, StarCraft II, Tekken 7 and Arena Of Valor, according to a recent announcement by the Philippine SEA Games organising committee and its eSports partner, gaming hardware company Razer.
eSports is also currently being considered as a medal event for the 2022 Asian Games in China. However, the plan to announce eSports as an official medal event has been put on hold as the gaming committee does not want a violent or shooting-based game to be contested. Reuters reported that titles for the 2022 Asian Games may feature sports-themed games like Pro Evolution Soccer (PES). Whatever it may be, we’ll look to eSports as a way of getting everyone together to cheer for the same team.
Brothers Hway (left) and Tze-Co say networking will be a big part of the Blocfest conference. — ART CHEN/The Star
Educate yourself on blockchain technology which is transforming businesses around the globe.
What began as an experiment in buying Bitcoin for a holiday led two brothers to explore blockchain technology and eventually organise a blockchain conference – Blocfest 2018 – which will feature more than 30 international speakers.
Gwei Tze-Co, 49, started investing in Bitcoin four years ago, ahead of a trip to Brazil to attend the 2014 World Cup.
“I was planning to go to Argentina after the World Cup and read that the currency situation was so bad there that you could use Bitcoin instead. I bought some but didn’t end up using it,” he says.
But that initial investment got him hooked on blockchain and cryptocurrency, especially Ethereum.
Meanwhile, Gwei Hway, 43, who is a programmer and has worked in tech firms for the last 20 years, was drawn to blockchain and cryptocurrency because of his brother’s fascination for them.
Tze-Co says in Malaysia blockchain is still an emerging technology though a few good projects by local founders have been launched.
“However, lots of people just use blockchain and cryptocurrency for hype. To put it bluntly, there’s a lot of scams and many Malaysians are falling for them,” he says.
He says that a conference with legitimate speakers sharing their experience could go a long way in educating people on how blockchain can make a difference in their businesses.
He adds that once a person better understands blockchain technology and especially how it’s used in business, it will be easier for him or her to identify the fake ones.
This is one of the reasons the brothers are organising Blocfest through their company, Blockchain Asia Sdn Bhd, which is scheduled to take place at the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 26 and 27.
The two-day conference will focus on the potential of blockchain technology in South-East Asia and feature speakers from various backgrounds, including blockchain entrepreneurs, developers, global investors, academics and enthusiasts.
Discussions at the conference will be divided into three streams – Regulatory, Academic and Enterprise.
Regulatory will help you understand the current regulatory landscape and what’s in store in the future for blockchain; Academy will tackle academic concepts and their impact on blockchain; and Enterprise will highlight technological aspects of blockchain and potential use-case scenarios.
Hway expects half the attendees to come from enterprises which aren’t too familiar with blockchain technology but are exploring how it could be relevant to them, while the remaining will be investors, academics and experts in the field.
“Networking is definitely a big part of the conference, and as many solution providers will be present in the exhibition halls, we expect a lot of companies to ink deals or find partnerships,” he says.
Joining the conversation will be regulators from countries that have begun to explore the issue, including Taiwanese Member of Parliament Jason Hsu, better known as the Crypto Congressman due to his staunch support for the technology, and a representative from the Philippines’ Cagayan Economic Zone Authority which spearheads the country’s financial technology efforts.
Tze-Co says there have been talks to get Malaysian regulators to participate and share their thoughts on the laws required to facilitate blockchain in Malaysia but the discussion is ongoing.
Other key speakers that will be at Blocfest are cryptofinance platform Fusion’s founder Dejun Qian, blockchain veteran and ProximaX Ltd founder Lon Wong, anti-counterfeit system Wabi’s CEO Alexander Busarov, and dating marketplace Viola.AI’s CEO Violet Lim.
In addition to Blocfest, attendees can also take part in several other events during the KL Blockchain Week, which will be held between Sept 24 and 27, including a hackathon.
Those interested in attending Blocfest can get 40% off VIP tickets priced at US$450 (RM1,860) or normal tickets priced at US$375 (RM1,550) by keying in the promo code BLOC40D during checkout but this offer is only available for a limited time. Visit www.blocfest.asia for more information.
The Internet of Things is a big, juicy target for criminals. — Dreamstime/TNS
As more and more devices connect to the Internet, the risk of them being targeted by criminals is also increasing.
Internet-connected devices are nearly ubiquitous, with computer circuitry now found in a variety of common appliances. They can include security cameras, DVRs, printers, cars, baby monitors, and refrigerators – even “smart” lightbulbs and clothing. Collectively those devices are called the Internet of Things.
The Internet of Things is a big, juicy target for criminals. Up to a million devices were hijacked to create the Mirai botnet which was used to extort companies and bring a university computer system in New Jersey to its knees. The botnet was later exploited to bring down vast swaths of the Internet in a sustained attack on Oct 21, 2016.
Paras Jha, a former Rutgers University student, pleaded guilty Dec 8 with two other men who admitted they wrote the Mirai code. Named after an obscure anime film character, Mirai scoured the Internet for unsecured devices and easily found them.
Once discovered, the Internet of Things devices were hijacked by the Mirai malware and became part of a botnet that launched assaults on Internet service providers and scores of websites. Jha, 21, allegedly monetised the botnet by demanding ransom to call off the attacks, using it to inflate the number of advertising clicks on websites, and renting it out to other hackers for their own nefarious ends.
The attacks on Rutgers’ computer system may have cost the school US$9mil (RM36.70mil), prosecutors said. Rutgers officials told NJ.com the cost of enhancing security was one of the reasons the school hiked tuition in 2016.
When Jha discovered federal investigators were closing in, he released the Mirai source code to the world to cover his tracks. The code is still circulating online and causing damage, according to Brian Krebs, of KrebsOnSecurity.com.
Krebs advises taking these precautions to keep your Internet of Things devices protected:
– Avoid connecting your devices directly to the Internet.
– Change the default credentials to a complex password that only you will know and can remember.
– Check the defaults, and make sure things like UPnP (Universal Plug and Play – which can easily poke holes in your fire wall without you knowing it) are disabled.
– Avoid Internet of Things devices that advertise built-in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) capabilities. P2P Internet of things devices are notoriously difficult to secure, and research repeatedly has shown that they can be reachable even through a fire wall remotely over the internet. That’s because they’re configured to continuously find ways to connect to a global, shared network so that people can access them remotely.
– When it comes to Internet of things devices, cheaper is definitely not better. There is no direct correlation between price and security, but history has shown that less expensive devices tend to have the most vulnerabilities.
The US Department of Justice also offers these tips to protect Internet-connected devices.
– Do your research. Consider the security features of your Internet of things devices before buying. If the device uses a password, make sure it allows you to change it.
– Update firmware when available. Internet of Things devices can be susceptible if not regularly patched. Only install updates from known and reputable sites.
– Disconnect your insecure Internet of Things devices. Outdated security? Can’t update passwords? Then unplug it.
– Turn off Internet of Things devices when not in use, or periodically if otherwise always on. Malware is stored in memory and can often be erased by turning the device off and back on.
– Protect routers and WiFi networks. Use your router’s built-in fire wall, confirm it’s enabled.
– Avoid using public WiFi to check Internet of things devices from a smartphone.
– Use antivirus and intrusion-detection products.
– Ask for help, or hire help, if you can’t figure out fire walls or how to “segment” your network of Internet of things devices.
Some free online resources can help determine whether your devices are susceptible to being accessed by Mirai or other malware. Be cautious and use only well-known sources.
If you suspect your Internet of things device is infected, turn it off and on again to purge the device’s memory. Change the password. — The Philadelphia Inquirer/Tribune News Services
Just
as hurricane trackers chart storms in the Atlantic before they make
landfall, cybersecurity researchers track viral infections that threaten
mayhem. They've found a doozy.
Utilise various services: As different Cloud services are suited to different types of files, it makes sense to spread your files out over several different Cloud storage providers. — Illustrations: MUHAMMAD HAFEEZ AMINUDDIN/The Star
Find the best space for your personal files on the Cloud.
In the movie Creed, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa character looks baffled when a young boxer snaps a picture of a handwritten exercise regime with his smartphone instead of just keeping the paper.
Balboa gets even more confused and looks skywards when the young boxer tells him it’s stored on the Cloud so that the information won’t be lost even if he loses his handphone.
It’s hard to deny the rising importance of Cloud computing in our daily lives, as most of the content, services, apps, and even enterprise systems today reside on the Cloud.
Most of us are probably aware of or have used services such as Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive.
These services, also known as public Cloud, requires little effort from you other than having to sign up for them.
Most are free and offer up to 15GB of space – if that’s not enough you can subscribe for a nominal sum to bump up storage space.
As these services are mostly operated by tech giants, you don’t have to worry about any of the technical stuff, but on the flipside, you don’t have much control over it.
If you wish to create your own Cloud, it’s now easier than ever as the price of devices and components needed to set up such a service have fallen a lot.
Also known as private Cloud, it allows you to keep your files within your own servers and manage them as you see fit.
It takes a bit of investment and know how – our accompanying story will help you decide if you should go for public or private Cloud.
Here we will explore the best public Cloud services so that you can pick one (or two or three) that meets your needs best.
Free and easy
Almost all the public Cloud offerings have a free option – they differ mostly in the size or additional services offered.
Our pick for the best free Cloud service is Google Drive, as you get 15GB without having to spend a single sen.
More importantly, Google has tied Drive to its online services such as Gmail, Photos and Keep, as well as productivity tools like Docs, Sheets and Slides.
So all your photos and documents will be synced automatically and will be available from one place.
If 15GB option is too limiting then you can opt to subscribe. For US$1.99 (RM8) a month, you get 100GB of additional space.
If you just want sheer volume then try out Mega which offers a whopping 50GB of space for free.
It doesn’t set a limit on file size like most of the other services, but we found the data transfer speed to be a bit slow.
Space for shutterbugs
It goes without saying digital cameras and smartphones in particular have made it easier than ever for everyone to shoot photos.
The real problem, however, is in managing your photos and finding a place to store them.
Most back them up to a desktop or laptop and while it’s better than not backing up at all, is not a good solution as all hard drives have a finite lifespan.
If you don’t have redundancy then you need to find a better solution in the Cloud and we recommend Flickr.
It gets our vote because it offers 1TB of space for free, which should meet the requirements of most users.
Photo size is capped at 200MB while video at 1GB for a single file which is reasonable.
It also has smart photo management which will automatically sort out images according to groups such as animals, people and buildings.
Free users will, however, see ads and will not be able to access the desktop app for uploading photos.
Like most services, it doesn’t support the uncompressed RAW file format which is preferred by photographers who use DSLRs.
If you like keeping your file as RAW, you will need a service like Amazon Cloud Drive which allows you to upload an unlimited number of photos, including RAW files.
Its Unlimited Photos plan will cost you US$11.99 (RM50) a year which is not too bad as RAW files take up a lot of space.
The unlimited offer doesn’t extend to other files, including video – for these files you are limited to only 5GB.
If you need to find space for your videos then you will have to opt for the more expensive plan called Unlimited Everything which costs US$59.99 (RM240) a year. This service, while expensive, lets you upload to your heart’s content.
Cross platform
Nowadays it’s not uncommon to own multiple devices running on different platforms.
If you have, say a MacBook Air for work, Windows PC at home and Android smartphone, you need a Cloud service that supports as many platforms as possible.
While the dominant operating systems – Windows, OS X, Android and iOS are usually supported, other operating systems such as Windows Phone and Linux are often overlooked.
Thankfully Dropbox doesn’t do that – it supports almost every platform, including the ones mentioned above. If you want an alternative, try Box, as it also works on many platforms except Linux.
Samsung’s foldable device with Infinity Flex Display is a smartphone model that features a tablet-sized screen when unfolded and a smaller screen when folded like a book. — AP 
Vodafone demonstrated how a young football fan could get Houghton (left) to teach her some football skills with a holographic 3D call on a 5G network. — AP
Companies like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo could all be announcing new gaming consoles in 2019. — AP
AR is likely to become a bigger part of the way we experience events in real life and consume content on social media platforms. Here, an attendee is trying out an AR baseball game at a trade show in Japan. — Bloomberg
Get set to support a Malaysian eSports team at the 2019 SEA Games. — Bernama
