Windows 10 received its monthly host of security patches earlier this week, and the latest cumulative updates are causing serious problems with printers -- particularly Ricoh devices, but also other models. TechRadar reports: The so-called 'Patch Tuesday' fixes released earlier in the week which are causing chaos are KB4557957 and KB4560960, which are for the May 2020 Update and the November 2019 Update. (Note that in one case, KB4561608, for the October 2018 Update, is also mentioned). As one Ricoh owner observed on Reddit: "Has anyone had issues today with printing and the latest Windows update [KB4560960]? We're seeing problems with Ricoh printers that were previously stable. Changing the print driver seems to help but that's going to be a pain if I have to roll it out to too many clients." Other folks with Ricoh printers have chimed in on that thread with similar issues in terms of breaking printer functionality completely, or elements of it, such as causing wireless printing to fail.

Further reports of printer failures include Brother and Canon devices, as well as some Kyocera, HP, Toshiba and Panasonic models. A network technician for a mainly Ricoh dealership also contributed to that Reddit thread, and noted: "After an abundance of service calls these last 2 days, I can confidently say PCL5 [driver] does not work at all, regardless of driver age. Installing the newest version of the PCL6 universal driver *does* seem to work. Not a realistic approach to servicing hundreds of clients, but at least new clients setup before the new patch should be okay." Another solution is to simply uninstall the cumulative update. Thankfully, Microsoft is already working on a fix.

Google escalated a fight with Sonos over the wireless home-speaker market, filing a lawsuit that alleges patent infringement. From a report: The conflict between the two companies, which had been collaborating on incorporating some Google features in Sonos's speakers, erupted in January when Sonos sued Google for infringing its patents. The speaker maker is facing increased competition from tech giants such as Google and Amazon.com that are expanding into selling Internet-connected home gadgets, including less expensive wireless speakers. "Sonos has made false claims about the companies' shared work and Google's technology in the lawsuits," the Alphabet unit said in a complaint filed Thursday in San Francisco federal court. "While Google rarely sues other companies for patent infringement, it must assert its intellectual property rights here." Sonos, the Santa Barbara-based pioneer of wireless speakers, is using Google's patented technology for search, software, networking, audio processing and digital-media management and streaming, while refusing to pay a license, according to the lawsuit.

Mike Dano, reporting for Light Reading: Cox Communications -- one of the nation's largest cable providers -- is preparing to launch a mobile service, according to several sources familiar with the company's plans. However, the details of Cox's mobile strategy, including when it might launch and which wireless network provider it might partner with, are still unclear. AT&T executives have publicly indicated that the carrier is looking to sign MVNO partnerships with cable operators, and the sources said the two pursued MVNO talks earlier this year, but it's not clear whether the companies consummated the deal. It's noteworthy that Cox is preparing to re-enter the mobile industry by offering cellphones and wireless services to its broadband cable customers. The action would put Cox alongside fellow cable companies Altice USA, Comcast and Charter Communications, which have all also launched mobile services to their broadband customers. Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile piggyback on Verizon's wireless network. Altice Mobile runs on T-Mobile's network. A Cox representative confirmed the company is interested in entering the mobile industry. "We believe the market is becoming more attractive for us to enter the wireless space and we are exploring it more aggressively now, but have not announced any specific plans," company spokesperson Todd Smith wrote in response to questions from Light Reading. "We have not entered into any MVNO agreements yet."

An anonymous reader quotes Wired: When students return to school in New Albany, Ohio, in August, they'll be carefully watched as they wander through red-brick buildings and across well-kept lawns — and not only by teachers. The school district, with five schools and 4,800 students, plans to test a system that would require each student to wear an electronic beacon to track their location to within a few feet throughout the day. It will record where students sit in each classroom, show who they meet and talk to, and reveal how they gather in groups. The hope is such technology could prevent or minimize an outbreak of Covid-19, the deadly respiratory disease at the center of a global pandemic...

Many schools and colleges plan to proceed gradually and carefully, while keeping kids spread out as much as possible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines for reopening schools recommend staggered schedules that allow for smaller classes, opening windows to provide more air circulation, avoiding sharing books and computers, regular cleaning of buses and classes, and requiring masks and handwashing. Many see some form of distance learning continuing through next year. A handful also are considering deploying technology to help...

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers says she isn't aware of other schools looking to adopt detailed surveillance measures. But the AFT has issued guidelines on reopening schools and colleges that warns about vendors potentially using the crisis to expand data-mining practices. A small but growing surveillance industry has sprung up around Covid already, with firms pitching everything from temperature-tracking infrared cameras and contact tracing apps to wireless beacons and smart cameras to help enforce social distancing at work. "It's been one of the most disturbing parts of this," says Albert Fox Cahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.

Now, Cahn says, this cottage industry is keen to find a way into classrooms. "One of the things that will be a huge profit driver, potentially, is that younger children would need specially designed devices if they don't have smartphones," he says.
An official at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education also told Wired that some state universities are "exploring" the use of people-tracking Bluetooth beacons.

Canadian carriers Bell and Telus announced on Tuesday that each of them would not be continuing the use of Huawei equipment in their respective 5G networks, having signed deals with the Chinese giant's rivals instead. ZDNet reports: For Bell, it announced Ericsson would be supplying its radio access network. It added that it was looking to launch 5G services as the Canadian economy exited lockdown. Bell, which in Febraury announced it had signed an agreement with Nokia, said it was maintaining the use of multiple vendors in its upcoming network, as it had for 4G. "Ericsson plays an important role in enabling Bell's award-winning LTE network and we're pleased to grow our partnership into 5G mobile and fixed wireless technology," said Bell chief technology officer Stephen Howe.

Meanwhile, the British Columbia-based Telus also chose to go with a combination of Ericsson and Nokia. The company said it had spent CA$200 billion on its network since the turn of the century, and would part with a further CA$40 billion over the next three years to deploy its 5G network. Both Bell and Telus had previously used Huawei equipment in their networks. In February, Telus told the Financial Post it would be using Huawei in its 5G network. The third member of the Canadian major telco triumvirate -- Rogers -- said in January it would be using Ericsson equipment for its 5G rollout. The decisions from Canada's three major carriers now mean Huawei is increasingly isolated from 5G builds within the Five Eyes nations.

Rob Spence installed a wireless video camera in place of his right eye, reports CNN. And 29-year-old James Young's robotic arm "features a USB port, a screen displaying his Twitter feed and a retractable dock containing a remote-controlled drone..."

"As biotechnology advances, so too may our ideas of what it means to be human." Today, we can alter our bodies in previously unimaginable ways, whether that's implanting microchips, fitting advanced prosthetic limbs or even designing entirely new senses. So-called transhumanists — people who seek to improve their biology by enhancing their bodies with technology — believe that our natural condition inhibits our experience of the world, and that we can transcend our current capabilities through science.

Ideas that are "technoprogressive" to some are controversial to others. But to photographer David Vintiner, they are something else altogether: beautiful. "Beauty is in the engineered products," said Vintiner, who has spent years photographing real-life cyborgs and body-modifiers for his upcoming book, "I Want to Believe — An Exploration of Transhumanism." Made in collaboration with art director and critic Gem Fletcher, the book features a variety of people who identify, to some degree, as "transhuman" — including a man with bionic ears that sense changes in atmospheric pressure, a woman who can "feel" earthquakes taking place around the world and technicians who have developed lab-made organs...

Though the photographer admitted that the transhumanists' claims can seem outlandish at first, he soon saw the appeal of technological self-enhancement. "If given the chance, how would you design your own body and what would you want it to say about you?" he asked.

Peter Chou, the man who led HTC through its most prosperous years as an Android phone maker, is returning to consumer electronics with the unveiling of a new virtual reality headset, platform and company. From a report: Called XRSpace, the project has been in the works for three years and its centerpiece is a mobile VR headset equipped with fifth-generation wireless networking and over three hours of battery life. Partnering with Deutsche Telekom and Chunghwa Telecom, XRSpace is also building the VR platform on which services, games and social activities can be accessed and experienced. Priced at $599, the XRSpace headset has a high cost of entry, but the company envisions bundling it with carriers' 5G service packages or in other forms for educational institutions. After its home market of Taiwan, it'll look to expand to the U.S. and Europe, Chou said in an interview with Bloomberg News, with the rest of Asia to follow.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Academics from Germany and Italy say they developed a new practical attack that breaks the separation between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies running on the same device, such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Called Spectra, this attack works against "combo chips," specialized chips that handle multiple types of radio wave-based wireless communications, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, and others. More particularly, the Spectra attack takes advantage of the coexistence mechanisms that chipset vendors include with their devices. Combo chips use these mechanisms to switch between wireless technologies at a rapid pace. [The new Spectra attack allows attackers to break the barrier between these technologies to launch denial-of-service (DoS), arbitrary code execution (ACE), or information disclosure attacks.] Additional details are not available, but the research team plans to provide a technical rundown during a virtual session at the Black Hat security conference in August. An academic paper will also be available at that time.

AT&T says it will stop advertising its wireless network as "5G Evolution" after a division of the Better Business Bureau determined that its language was misleading. The Associated Press reports: While AT&T and other wireless carriers in the U.S. have now begun rolling true 5G wireless networks, AT&T in December 2018 began talking about a "5G Evolution" service that was already available in hundreds of markets, and placed a "5G E" icon on phones when they connected to the network. But it was not 5G. It was merely the existing 4G network with minor speed boosts, at least compared to the fastest type of 5G networks.

Now, a division of the Better Business Bureau that regulates the ad industry has recommended that AT&T stop using "5G Evolution" and "5G Evolution, The First Step to 5G" claims in its marketing. Rival T-Mobile had brought a complaint about AT&T's language. The panel found that this language "will mislead reasonable consumers into believing that AT&T is offering a 5G network." AT&T said it disagreed with the group's reasoning but will comply with the decision.

T-Mobile has launched a new initiative called "Connecting Heroes" that gives free wireless service to first responders for 10 years, which T-Mobile estimates could save $7.7 billion if all first responder agencies sign up. PhoneDog reports: Connecting Heroes will give unlimited talk, text, and smartphone data to first responders. That includes 5G access at no extra charge as well as 1GB of 4G LTE mobile hotspot data plus 3G speeds after that. Streaming video at 480p is included, as is Mobile Without Borders which offers unlimited calling and texting between the US, Canada, and Mexico. First responders can choose to upgrade their plan for $15 per month and get 20GB of mobile hotspot usage, unlimited texting and up to 256Kbps data in 210+ countries and destinations, plus free texting and in-flight Wi-Fi through Gogo. T-Mobile's Connecting Heroes initiative is open to every public and non-profit, state and local police, fire, and EMS first responders. If you feel that you qualify, you can learn more and begin the signup process right here.

Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser this week shared several details about Apple's rumored augmented reality glasses, including an "Apple Glass" marketing name, $499 starting price, prescription lens option, and more.The marketing name will be "Apple Glass" According to Prosser, who has established a reliable track record for Apple's product roadmap in recent months, here are some other key details about the Apple Glass: The glasses will start at $499 with the option for prescription lenses at an extra cost.
There will be displays in both lenses that can be interacted with using gestures.
The glasses will rely on a paired iPhone, similar to the original Apple Watch.
An early prototype featured LiDAR and wireless charging.
Apple originally planned to unveil the glasses as a "One More Thing" surprise at its iPhone event in the fall, but restrictions on in-person gatherings could push back the announcement to a March 2021 event.
Apple is targeting a late 2021 or early 2022 release.

TF International Securities' reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is at it again with another ominous note on the iPhone 12: it won't come with wired EarPods included in the box. From a report: We can already feel the palpable anger bubbling up inside of you as you read these words, shaking your head in disbelief and crossing your fingers in hopes it's not true. But this is news coming from Kuo, an analyst who rarely misses when he spreads his gospel, so there's a good chance the information is right and Apple is summoning up its infamous courage once again. Every version of the iPhone has shipped with wired earbuds in the box and removing them would make the iPhone 12 less accessible. Imagine ponying up the big bucks for a shiny new iPhone 12 and not being able to listen to music in private unless you shell out separately for wired or wireless earbuds.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly issuing alerts to wireless telecom providers and law enforcement agencies about potential attacks on cell towers and telecommunications workers by 5G/coronavirus conspiracy theorists. The DHS warned that there have already been "arson and physical attacks against cell towers in several U.S. states." The preposterous claim that 5G can spread the coronavirus, either by suppressing the immune system or by directly transmitting the virus over radio waves, led to dozens of tower burnings in the UK and mainland Europe. Now, the DHS "is preparing to advise the U.S. telecom industry on steps it can take to prevent attacks on 5G cell towers following a rash of incidents in Western Europe fueled by the false claim that the technology spreads the pathogen causing COVID-19," The Washington Post reported last week.

The DHS alert will include "advice on ways to reduce the risk of attack, including installing appropriate sensing and barriers, cyber-intrusion detection systems, closed-circuit television and monitoring drone activity near towers," the Post article said. A telecom-industry official said that carriers in the U.S. "have seen sporadic attacks on their cell towers that were apparently prompted by COVID-19 disinformation" over the past few weeks, the Post wrote. In addition to warning telecoms, DHS reportedly issued an intelligence report on the topic "to senior federal officials and law enforcement agencies around the country," ABC News reported Saturday. DHS also teamed with the FBI and National Counterterrorism Center to issue a joint intelligence bulletin to federal officials and law enforcement agencies, the ABC News report said.

[R]esearchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) have developed a new system (PDF) that can figure out when and where in-home appliances like hair dryers, stoves, microwaves and washing machines are being used, and they believe that info could help inform healthcare practitioners about the habits and challenges of people under their care. TechCrunch reports: The researchers devised a system called "Sapple" that uses just two sensors placed in a person's home to determine use patterns of devices including stoves, hair dryers and more. There's one location sensor that works using radio signals to figure out placement, with a user able to calibrate it to cover their area by simply walking the bounds of their space. A second sensor measures energy usage through the home, and combines that data with movement information to matching energy use signals with physical locations of specific applicants, to provide data both when a person is using the appliances around the house, and for how long.

This gets around a lot of the issues raised by similar systems, including more simple voltage meters used on their own. While appliances do tend to have specific energy use patterns that mean you can identify them just based on consumption, it's hard to tell when and how they're being used with that data on its own. This info can let health professionals know if a patient is taking proper care of hygiene, food preparation and intake and more.

Cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin sued AT&T over a SIM card attack in 2018 that lost him control over $23 million.

Now Bloomberg reports that he's suing the "15-year-old hacker and his crew of 'evil computer geniuses'" behind the attack. (Alternate source) Terpin, the founder and chief executive officer of blockchain advisory firm Transform Group, is suing Ellis Pinsky, now 18, for $71 million under a federal racketeering law that allows for triple damages. "Pinsky and his other cohorts are in fact evil computer geniuses with sociopathic traits who heartlessly ruin their innocent victims' lives and gleefully boast of their multi-million-dollar heists," Terpin said in his complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan.

Pinsky, of Irvington, New York, couldn't be reached for comment....

According to Terpin. Pinsky's ring identifies people with large cryptocurrency holdings and gains control of their phones by bribing or fooling employees of their wireless carriers. The hackers are then able to intercept authentication messages, gain information and drain the victims' cryptocurrency accounts.

Pinsky has boasted to friends that, starting at age 13, he stole more than $100 million worth of cryptocurrency, hundreds of thousands of dollars of which has been converted into cash stored in his bedroom, the lawsuit alleges. Terpin also claims that, after confronting Pinsky about his alleged role in the theft, the teenager sent him cryptocurrency, cash and a watch with a combined value of $2 million. He claims this was an admission by Pinsky that he had stolen from Terpin.

The NHS has released the source code behind its coronavirus contact-tracing app. The BBC reports: The NHS Covid-19 app is designed to use people's smartphones to keep track of when they come close to each other and for how long, by sending wireless Bluetooth signals. More than 40,000 people have installed the smartphone software so far. NHSX, the health service's digital innovation unit, has opted for a centralized system to power the app, so the contact-matching process happens on a UK-based computer server rather than individuals' smartphones. And there has been a lot of speculation this decision would mean the app was doomed to work badly on iPhones.

Apple limits the extent to which third-party apps can use Bluetooth when they are off-screen and running in the background, although it has promised to relax this rule for contact-tracing apps that use a decentralised system it is co-developing with Google. But NHSX had said it had come up with its own solution. Pen Test Partners installed the app on a handful of "jailbroken" iPhones - altered to allow them to monitor activity normally hidden from users. [...] There will be further scrutiny of the app now the source code has been published to Github, allowing others to see how the workarounds were achieved.

It might soon be much easier to buy a smartphone that can charge small devices like earbuds or smartwatches. From a report: The NFC Forum, responsible for near-field communications tech, has unveiled the Wireless Charging Specification (WLC). That will allow devices like chargers or smartphones, equipped with a single antenna, to transfer power to compatible devices at up to one watt, the organization said. At the same time, NFC devices equipped with the tech would also be able to communicate with each other. While it doesn't seem like a lot, one watt is enough to charge up a smartwatch or wireless earbuds relatively quickly. And since most smartphones come with NFC, it would be easier for manufacturers to implement this type of reverse charging.

"NFC wireless charging is truly transformative because it changes the way we design and interact with small, battery-powered devices as the elimination of plugs and cords enables the creation of smaller, hermetically-sealed devices," said NFC Forum chair Koichi Tagawa. The standard could work with other NFC-equipped devices besides smartphones, including chargers, PCs, tablets and even gaming controllers -- the Wii U gamepad has an NFC chip, for instance.

Verizon Communications, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, and cable giant Comcast said on Monday they will extend a commitment through June 30 not to cancel service or charge late fees to customers because of the coronavirus pandemic. From a report: In March, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said major wireless and internet providers -- including Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, T-Mobile and Alphabet's Google Fiber -- had agreed not to terminate service for subscribers for 60 days. In total, more than 700 companies have now agreed to the voluntary measures. Further reading: Comcast's Network Holding Up Fine Without Usage Caps.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Google: Motorola hasn't had a true flagship on the market in a few years after its Moto Z line was downgraded to mid-range status. Today, though, the company has officially unveiled the Motorola Edge and Edge+ with the Snapdragon 865, crazy cameras, and more. Here's what you need to know. The Motorola Edge+ is the true flagship of the two, offering a Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 6.7-inch FHD AMOLED display that has a "waterfall" curve on either side, a hole-punch containing the 24MP selfie shooter, and a 90Hz refresh rate. The Motorola Edge+ also features wireless charging, 18W wired charging, and a triple camera system. There's a 108MP sensor to headline that array, but also a 16MP ultrawide shooter and 8MP telephoto lens. There's also a 5,000 mAh battery to ensure plenty of power. It even offers reverse wireless charging.

What about the regular Motorola Edge? That device makes pretty smart cuts to keep a lower price. It has the same display and overall design but uses a Snapdragon 765 to keep 5G and good performance. It's paired with Android 10 and either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on all models. There's also a 64MP camera backed up by the same 16MP ultrawide and 8MP telephoto shooters. The regular Edge does lose wireless charging, though for its 4,500 mAh battery. Here's one fun part of both of these phones. They still have headphone jacks. Both the Edge and Edge+ also feature 5G support (only sub-6 for the Edge), offer red or black colors, and use their curved displays for a few neat software tricks. Both are also promised at least one major Android upgrade, too. As for pricing, the Motorola Edge+ will be available exclusively via Verizon for $1,000, or $41.66/month. The price of the regular Edge hasn't been announced yet, but it should be considerably cheaper and more broadly available.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: AT&T falsely reported to the Federal Communications Commission that it offers broadband in nearly 3,600 census blocks spread across parts of 20 states. AT&T disclosed the error to the FCC in a filing a week ago. The filing provides "a list of census blocks AT&T previously reported as having broadband deployment at speeds of at least 25Mbps downstream/3 Mbps upstream that AT&T has removed from its Form 477 reports." The 78-page list includes nearly 3,600 blocks.

With Form 477 reports, ISPs are required to tell the FCC which census blocks they offer service in. The FCC uses the data to track broadband-deployment progress and, crucially, to decide which census blocks get government funding for deploying Internet service. AT&T falsely reporting broadband-data coverage could prevent other ISPs from getting that funding and leave Americans without broadband access. When contacted by Ars, AT&T said the mistake was caused by a software problem. "The updates to the census blocks address an issue with a third party's geocoding software. There has been no change to our service area and this doesn't affect the service we provide our customers," AT&T told Ars.