Just before the holiday break, CEO Sundar Pichai and other Google executives had a 2025 strategy meeting, with Gemini being the “biggest focus” looking ahead.
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The art of space mission patches is now more than six decades old, dating to the Vostok 6 mission in 1963 that carried Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova into low-Earth orbit for nearly three days. The patch for the first female human spaceflight showcased a dove flying above the letters designating the Soviet Union, CCCP.
That patch was not publicly revealed at the time, and the use of specially designed patches was employed only infrequently by subsequent Soviet missions. NASA's first mission patch would not follow for two years, but the practice would prove more sticky for missions in the United States and become a time-honored tradition.
The first NASA flight to produce a mission-specific patch worn by crew members was Gemini 5. It flew in August 1965, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad on an eight-day mission inside a small Gemini spacecraft. At the time, it was the longest spaceflight conducted by anyone.
© NRO
Google is testing a new Gemini-aligned loading animation for AI Overviews in Search that is flashier and bolder than the current approach.
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Meta updated a note on the top of its Quest support site to say that a “software update issue” has been bricking Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest 3S headsets. The company writes that while “most” people can now use their headsets normally, it’s “actively working on resolving the issue for all users.”
That Meta is now saying it’s working on a fix “for all users” may be good news for Quest 2 and 3 owners who’ve reported that Meta wouldn’t fix or replace their headsets because they were out of warranty. Some Reddit users say the company has emailed a confirmation that they were getting out-of-warranty service for the issue, and a Meta support forum community manager wrote in an update yesterday that Meta’s customer support “should have new directions on how to support users now.”
We're aware that some new Meta Quest 3S devices are having trouble with the initial software update. Our team is working on a solution but in the meantime, please use our software update tool (https://t.co/bgR14KPfvv) to resolve this issue. We appreciate your patience while we…
— Meta Quest Help (@MetaQuestHelp) December 6, 2024
Meta posted on December 6th that there were software update issues affecting “some new Quest 3S devices,” but didn’t mention Quest 2 or 3 headsets or what software version was involved, either then or in an earlier version of the new support site message that UploadVR reported this week. The company announced on December 9th that it was rolling out its most recent update, Meta Quest v71, adding features like a revamped virtual desktop display connection method and keyboard passthrough support in virtual environments.
A set of new requirements proposed by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights could bring healthcare organizations up to par with modern cybersecurity practices. The proposal, posted to the Federal Register on Friday, includes requirements for multifactor authentication, data encryption and routine scans for vulnerabilities and breaches. It would also make the use of anti-malware protection mandatory for systems handling sensitive information, along with network segmentation, the implementation of separate controls for data backup and recovery, and yearly audits to check for compliance.
HHS also shared a fact sheet outlining the proposal, which would update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule. A 60-day public comment period is expected to open soon. In a press briefing, US deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology Anne Neuberger said the plan would cost $9 billion in the first year to execute, and $6 billion over the subsequent four years, Reuters reports. The proposal comes in light of a marked increase in large-scale breaches over the past few years. Just this year, the healthcare industry was hit by multiple major cyberattacks, including hacks into Ascension and UnitedHealth systems that caused disruptions at hospitals, doctors’ offices and pharmacies.
“From 2018-2023, reports of large breaches increased by 102 percent, and the number of individuals affected by such breaches increased by 1002 percent, primarily because of increases in hacking and ransomware attacks,” according to the Office for Civil Rights. “In 2023, over 167 million individuals were affected by large breaches — a new record.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/healthcare-organizations-in-the-us-may-soon-get-a-cybersecurity-overhaul-220933165.html?src=rss
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© Pexels/Photo by Pavel Danilyuk
CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly told Google employees that 2025 will be a “critical” year for the company. CNBC reports that it obtained audio from a December 18 strategy meeting where Pichai and other executives put on ugly holiday sweaters and laid out their priorities for the coming year. “I think 2025 will be critical,” Pichai […]
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Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.
Type is a minimalist note taking app for your Mac, allowing you to easily capture notes and keep them organized – all from a simple keyboard shortcut. It’s the best way to jot something down in a pinch, without any of the potential distractions.
more…Apple Card passed its five year anniversary this year, and I’ve recently been thinking about whats next for the credit card. With Apple Card not being super profitable, combined with the fact that Apple wants to grow its services revenue among declining hardware sales, I think it could make a lot of sense for Apple to start offering a higher end credit card.
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The US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is proposing new cybersecurity requirements for healthcare organizations aimed at protecting patients’ private data in the event of cyberattacks, reports Reuters. The rules come after major cyberattacks like one that leaked the private information of more than 100 million UnitedHealth patients earlier this year.
The OCR’s proposal includes requiring that healthcare organizations make multifactor authentication mandatory in most situations, that they segment their networks to reduce risks of intrusions spreading from one system to another, and that they encrypt patient data so that even if it’s stolen, it can’t be accessed. It would also direct regulated groups to undertake certain risk analysis practices, keep compliance documentation, and more.
The rule is part of the cybersecurity strategy that the Biden administration announced last year. Once finalized, it would update the Security Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which regulates doctors, nursing homes, health insurance companies, and more, and was last updated in 2013.
US deputy national security advisor Anne Neuberger put the cost of implementing the requirements at “an estimated $9 billion in the first year, and $6 billion in years two through five,” writes Reuters. The proposal is due to be published in the Federal Register on January 6th, which will kick off the 60-day public comment period before the final rule is set.
Apple initially introduced the HomePod mini in 2020 alongside the iPhone 12 lineup, and since then, the product has remained mostly untouched. Apple added some new color options in 2021, including blue, orange, and yellow. The company also replaced Space Gray with Midnight this year, which looks the same – except its now 100% recycled mesh fabric.
However, for the first time in half a decade, Apple will finally be updating the HomePod mini, with a couple of enhancements.
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NASA said on Friday that it received a signal from the Parker Solar Probe confirming that the spacecraft had survived its closest ever flyby of the sun. The approach took it just 3.8 million miles from the surface, passing within the sun’s corona and allowing for unprecedented data collection in the vicinity of a star. A few million miles might seem like a pretty great distance, but to put things in perspective, NASA explains, “If the solar system was scaled down with the distance between the sun and Earth the length of a football field, Parker Solar Probe would be just four yards from the end zone.”
The probe’s current orbit takes it closest to the sun about every three months. It’ll swing back around for two more close flybys in 2025, on March 22 and June 19. The probe is expected to transmit the data from its latest close approach soon, once it’s in a better location to do so. “The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been,” said Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “It’s an amazing accomplishment.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/parker-solar-probe-survived-its-close-approach-to-the-sun-and-will-make-two-more-in-2025-180350510.html?src=rss
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© NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ben Smith
