Technology

The NSA's SIM heist could have given it the power to plant spyware on any phone

Last week, The Intercept published shocking new documents detailing a campaign by US and UK spies to hack into the SIM manufacturer Gemalto, stealing crucial encryption keys that protect and authenticate cellphone signals. But while it was clearly a major attack, I had a hard time seeing the operational benefits for the world’s spy agencies. SIM encryption only protects calls between your phone and the cell tower, which means any would-be surveillers would need to stay within a mile of the target. It’s also puzzling because carriers are often happy to hand over all their data with a blanket court order. Why would the GCHQ go to so much trouble for access to data they mostly already have?

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This is the superhero hidden in the new Avengers: Age of Ultron poster

Marvel has released a new poster for Avengers: Age of Ultron, and while it isn't as intense as the first one (see "fighting a swarm of robots," below), this poster underscores the studios' ongoing tease of the film's brand new superhero, Vision.

Check out the official poster for #Marvel's @Avengers: #AgeOfUltron! http://ift.tt/17uDbMN

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) February 24, 2015

See him just above the Hulk? Here he is again in the top left corner:

Now... enhance!

In the comics, Vision (or "The Vision") is an android created by Ultron, our eponymous villain, but is convinced by The Avengers to fight alongside the good guys. That's not necessarily how it'll play out in the film, but we do have one...

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The best part of Final Fantasy VII is now in FFXIV

Final Fantasy VII is fondly remembered for a lot of reasons: its epic scope and huge world, the (at the time) stunning cinematic presentation, and of course all of the spiky hair and big swords. But really, the best part of the game was something else — the Gold Saucer, a futuristic casino where you could race chocobos, play all sorts of arcade games, and maybe even go on a date with a special someone. Now you can relive that iconic location thanks to a new update to the massively multiplayer game Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

Launching today, patch 2.51 for A Realm Reborn introduces the Gold Saucer as a location in the game. And it looks pretty similar to the original, with obscenely bright colors, along with mini-games ranging...

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The new Pee-wee movie will be a Netflix exclusive

Come in, and pull yourself up a chair: the new, Judd Apatow-produced Pee-wee movie is called Pee-wee's Big Holiday , and rumors that it would be a Netflix exclusive have been confirmed. The production starts filming in three weeks, and John Lee (Broad City, Inside Amy Schumer, Delocated) will make his feature film debut as a director.

Netflix is starting to push for feature-length exclusives

Not only has Netflix become extremely successful at launching its own scripted series (House of Cards, Orange is the New Black) but it's also an attractive venue for existing projects looking for a home. Tina Fey's new project, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, was supposed to air on NBC but has since moved to Netflix and will debut on the streaming...

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Talib Kweli has expressed all of my feelings about Parks and Recreation ending

We were going to write a PSA anyway to let you know that Parks & Recreation is ending its seven-season run tonight at 10PM on NBC (schedule around Twitter accordingly), even though technically the season itself takes places two years in the future so it doesn't "end" until 2017. That's when we noticed hip-hop icon Talib Kweli was having the same feels as we were. So take it away:

RT @justjenn: Tonight #ParksandRec ends! *sniff* Goodbye, Li'l Sebastian... http://t.co/1npQsENL2g @NerdistDotCom http://ift.tt/18hCTtB

— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) February 24, 2015

To the cast of Parks and Rec. I slept on season 1. I never thought a show abt an Indiana Parks Dept could be so great. I was wrong.

— Talib Kweli Greene...

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What is a smartphone? A helpful explainer from What's Tech?

My smartphone is my most personal electronic. It's the first and last screen I see each day. I give it a look a couple hundred times in between. I don't think much of my smartphone, though. And while I could confidently tell you what makes this phone "smart," I would be wondering in the back of my mind if what I know is wrong.

On this week's What's Tech?, The Verge's Executive Editor Dieter Bohn explains smartphones. The iPhone and Android have made smartphones ubiquitous. But when did cell phones become smartphones? And what makes them so smart anyway?

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Pebble launches new smartwatch exclusively on Kickstarter

After revealing that it would be launching new hardware and software this year and teasing an announcement with a countdown timer on its website last week, Pebble is today announcing the Pebble Time, its third-generation smartwatch. The Time features an all new design and a color e-paper display, a first for Pebble. It also has a microphone for responding to incoming messages and recording voice notes.

But Pebble isn't selling the Time directly or in stores as it has with its earlier watches, at least not yet. The Time will be available exclusively through a Kickstarter campaign, much like how Pebble funded its first smartwatch back in 2012. Early bird backers will be able to get a Time for $159, while the rest of the Kickstarter...

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Tuesday, February 24, 2015