Month: February 2022

Enlarge / Artist’s impression of low Earth-orbit satellites like those launched by SpaceX and OneWeb. (credit: NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / P. Marenfeld)

NASA has warned that SpaceX’s plan for 30,000 more Starlink satellites could cause problems for science missions, human spaceflight, the Hubble telescope, and ground-based telescopes that look for asteroids that might hit the Earth.

NASA outlined its concerns in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on Monday. “With the increase in large constellation proposals to the FCC, NASA has concerns with the potential for a significant increase in the frequency of conjunction events and possible impacts to NASA’s science and human spaceflight missions,” the agency said. “Consequently, NASA submits this letter for the purpose of providing a better understanding of NASA’s concerns with respect to its assets on-orbit and to further mitigate the risk of collisions for the benefit of all involved.”

NASA didn’t urge the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application, but it said it wants deployment to be “conducted prudently, in a manner that supports spaceflight safety and the long-term sustainability of the space environment.” NASA also said the large number of additional satellites “will require expanded coordination and communication between the two parties to ensure the continued safety of both SpaceX and NASA assets.”

Enlarge / Artist’s rendition of EA saying goodbye to Russia for this expansion pack. (credit: EA)

The “My Wedding Stories” expansion pack for The Sims 4 won’t be released in Russia, publisher Electronic Arts said. That’s due to a “gay-propaganda” law in the country that would have meant the pack’s “storytelling would be subject to changes because of federal laws.”

The pack, set to launch elsewhere on February 17, features a storyline taking players through a romantic relationship between Dominique and Camille, “a couple whose love knows no boundaries,” as EA puts it (and as can be seen in the official trailer for the pack). In an announcement posted Wednesday, The Sims development team writes that “as we moved through our development and brand storytelling process, we became aware that the way we wanted to tell Cam and Dom’s story would not be something we could freely share around the world.”

That’s an oblique reference to Russia’s Article 6.13.1 law, which was passed in 2013 to prohibit “propaganda or homosexualism among minors.” The law has previously been used in attempts to quiet youth protesters in the country and even to target Russians using the “same-sex kiss” emoji.

Enlarge (credit: Google)

On February 9, Google released the Android 12L Developer Preview #3, which is due for a final version in March. On February 10, Google is also releasing the Android 13 Developer Preview #1, which will hit devices sometime in the second half of the year. We now have Android developer previews for the next version of Android—and the version after that.

So what’s new in Android 13? A few leaks have already detailed more Material You color options, a new notification opt-in system for users (both still unconfirmed), and per-all language preferences (now confirmed!). Here are some of the more interesting tidbits that Google is willing to disclose at this early stage.

Themed icons graduate from beta

Themed icons graduate from beta in Android 13. (credit: Google)

Android 12 included a “beta” option for “themed icons,” which monochromed some of Google’s icon art and gave icons a round background that matches your Material You theme. The option pulled all the color out of an icon and reduced it to its shape.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Ars Technica)

Two years ago, researchers stumbled upon one of the Internet’s most intriguing botnets: a previously undiscovered network of 500 servers, many in well-known universities and businesses around the world, that was impervious to normal takedown methods. After lying low for 16 months, those researchers said, the botnet known as FritzFrog is back with new capabilities and a larger base of infected machines.

SSH servers, beware

FritzFrog targets just about anything with an SSH, or secure shell, server—cloud instances, data center servers, routers, and the like—and installs an unusually advanced payload that was written from scratch. When researchers from security firm Guardicore Labs (now Akamai Labs) reported it in mid-2020, they called it a “next-generation” botnet because of its full suite of capabilities and well-engineered design.

It was a decentralized, peer-to-peer architecture that distributed administration among many infected nodes rather than a central server, making it hard to detect or take it down using traditional methods. Some of its advanced traits included:

Enlarge / Photo taken on Jan. 20, 2022 shows a beach resort hit by a tsunami on the outskirts of Nuku’alofa, capital of Tonga. (credit: Getty | Xinhua News Agency)

The ultra-transmissible omicron coronavirus is now spreading in Tonga, causing the archipelago nation’s first COVID-19 outbreak as it tries to recover from an underwater volcanic eruption and tsunami on January 15. The disaster killed three, wiped out several small settlements, blanketed the main island in a thick layer of ash, and severed the only fiber-optic cable to Tonga, severely hampering communications.

Prior to the eruption, the island nation—home to around 106,000 people—had logged only one confirmed case of COVID-19, which was caught in a quarantine. But amid international aid and relief efforts, two wharf workers tested positive earlier this month, as did three of their family members.

Tonga’s case total is now up to 66, with 31 newly reported cases Thursday.