Month: February 2022

Google would be laying the groundwork for the debut of the first gaming Chromebooks — or, at least, notebooks with an RGB keyboard. A new experimental feature in Chrome OS lets you enable color lighting of “supported devices”.

• MediaTek announces Kompanio 1380 for high-performance Chromebooks
• Acer renews lineup of Chromebooks for students with durable, eco-friendly design

The addition is as mysterious as the idea of a “Chromebook gamer”, which conflicts with the original concept of this type of notebook – light, more accessible and useful for basic everyday tasks. Machines running Chrome OS are usually equipped with entry-level processors, very limited storage, and no dedicated graphics card, as the platform is intended to rely on web resources such as the browser.

There isn't even a version of Steam for Chrome OS, so traditional gaming doesn't seem to be the plan. Google could be targeting this segment through streaming platforms, on platforms like Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

–
Canaltech Podcast: from Monday to Friday, you can listen to the main headlines and comments about technological developments in Brazil and around the world. Links here: https://canaltech.com.br/360/
–

The experimental feature is identified as #enable-rgb-keyboard and was found on Chromium Gerrit, Google's update code repository. According to the website 9to5Google, the function would allow customizing each key with a specific color, but only Chrome OS developers could try the functions by commands.

Although it seems to be a feature to support peripherals (such as keyboard and mouse), there are indications that the novelty is in preparation for devices not yet released. Reinforcing, once again, that Chromebooks aimed at games are in development.

What would be the new Chromebooks gamers?

For now, there are no official announcements about gaming-focused notebooks with Chrome OS. However, 9to5Google found codenames and clues that appear to refer to devices equipped with 12th generation Intel Alder Lake processors — one from Lenovo and one from HP.

Additionally, entries also mention a third device, a removable keyboard, not a Chromebook. The concept is very reminiscent of peripherals sold for notebooks with Windows.

However, despite the clues, nothing seems to refer to release dates. For now, it remains to wait and spy on what Google develops for the operating system of the house.

Read the article on Canaltech.

Trending on Canaltech:

• PFF2 or N95 mask: you may be using it wrong
• Why is the Moon moving away from Earth
• More than 400 Android apps serve as hiding places for malicious agents
• iPhone 11 or iPhone 13? What changes from one to another?
• Sore throat is the most common symptom of Omicron

The Israeli monitoring company NSO Group, responsible for the spy app Pegasus, offered representatives of a US mobile security firm “bags and more bags of money” in exchange for access to the global mobile communication network. The information was revealed by The Washington Post (TWJ).

• New ransomware poses risks to devices connected to NAS data networks
• What is Phishing?

The Washington Post obtained the information from US Department of Justice documents describing whistleblowing sessions held with Gary Miller, a mobile security expert, who described the negotiation between the NSO Group and Mobileum, a company in the mobile security landscape. in which the complainant was serving as vice president at the time of the incident.

Miller states that the negotiation took place in August 2017. In it, NSO Group executives specifically wanted access to the SS7 network, used by mobile phone companies to redirect calls and services to their users around the world, to assist in the investigation. of crimes.

–
Follow us on Instagram: follow our behind the scenes, talk to our team, ask your questions and learn first-hand about the news to come at Canaltech.
–

If NSO Group had gained access to the SS7 network at the time, its spying solutions could track the geolocation of targets, adding more functions for its customers to have more control over victims' daily lives.

US Department of Justice is investigating NSO Group

Miller's allegations come as the US Department of Justice is conducting investigations into the NSO Group and its flagship product, the spy app Pegasus. The agency's investigation finds the fact that some of the users of the service offered by the Israeli company have hacked into targets' phones to illegally spy on them – something that could be facilitated if the program could use the SS7 network.

However, it is important to note that, according to legal experts consulted by the TWJ, simply having access to the SS7 network does not violate any US law, but certain types of espionage and monitoring, such as that offered by Pegasus, do. As a result, Miller's whistle-blowing may not constitute a flagrant act for the NSO Group — although it may imply criminal intentions on the part of the Israeli company.

Both NSO Group and Mobileum, in a note sent to TWJ, deny that any conversation or negotiation took place between them.

Read the article on Canaltech.

Trending on Canaltech:

• Why is the Moon moving away from Earth
• After all, what is the relationship between myocarditis and vaccines against covid?
• Sore throat is the most common symptom of Omicron
• Isaac Bardavid │ 10 characters and voiceovers that marked the actor's career
• ButanVac produces more antibodies against covid than AstraZeneca, says study

To expand childhood vaccination against covid-19, the Ministry of Health must sign an agreement with the Butantan Institute for the purchase of another 10 million doses of the CoronaVac immunizer, produced by the institute itself. The new doses may be applied to children over 6 years of age.

• After all, what is the relationship between myocarditis and vaccines against covid?
• Childhood Vaccination: Which States Have Already Approved CoronaVac?

The agreement between Saúde and Butantan has not yet been made official, but an investigation by the GloboNews channel confirmed the negotiations for the purchase of vaccines against covid-19. In parallel, Brazil also has an active contract for the receipt of pediatric doses with the North American pharmaceutical Pfizer.

So far, Saúde has already distributed 7.5 million doses of vaccines to be administered to children against the coronavirus, of which 4.2 million were from Pfizer and the other 3.3 million are from Butantan.

–
Podcast Porta 101: the Canaltech team discusses relevant, curious, and often controversial subjects related to the world of technology, internet and innovation every fortnight. Don't forget to follow along.
–

CoronaVac in children

It is worth remembering that the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) approved, on January 20, the use of the CoronaVac vaccine against covid-19 for children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years, except for those who are immunocompromised (have low immunity). ).

As some states still had CoronaVac doses in stock, some Brazilian regions immediately started applying doses of formula to children, such as the state of São Paulo. Adding up all the doses, the states had about 6.4 million doses available. In health stocks, there were 7 million. These doses are already distributed gradually.

With the new Health contract – which still does not have a date to be signed -, Brazil should take another leap in immunization against covid-19, since a greater number of children will have access to the immunizer. According to the Our World in Data platform, 70.06% of the Brazilian population has already received both doses or the single-dose immunizer, which is equivalent to 149.9 million immunized people.

Read the article on Canaltech.

Trending on Canaltech:

• Why is the Moon moving away from Earth
• After all, what is the relationship between myocarditis and vaccines against covid?
• Sore throat is the most common symptom of Omicron
• Isaac Bardavid │ 10 characters and voiceovers that marked the actor's career
• ButanVac produces more antibodies against covid than AstraZeneca, says study