Microsoft brings full Teams integration to HoloLens 2

Microsoft’s latest update for the HoloLens 2 makes it easier for users to collaborate with colleagues. One of the biggest additions is perhaps the full integration of Microsoft Teams, because users will no longer have to hop on a computer or a phone to attend meetings with the rest of their organization. While the headset has had the capability to make and receive Teams video calls for years, its collaborative features were still pretty limited. 

With this new update, Microsoft is giving HoloLens 2 users the capability to display an array of holographic windows with Teams calls, chats and calendars. Since the update also adds OneDrive integration, users will be able to access their cloud-based folders and see Word documents, PDFs and videos shared during calls. 

Microsoft has also combined its two Dynamics 365 Mixed Reality apps, namely the Dynamics 365 Guides app that provides step-by-step holographic instructions to users and the Dynamics 365 Remote Assist app that lets frontline workers show colleagues what they’re seeing in the field. The company said the combined application was a priority request from Toyota, which has been providing feedback for the headset since 2016. 

David Kleiner, who leads Toyota North America’s Applied Technology & Research Lab, explained that giving frontline workers laptops won’t work, because they don’t have desk jobs and that using a device they can wear with all the tools they need is much more practical. “Someone can grab a HoloLens, start a Guides session, and literally have a trainer in their head,” Kleiner said. “If they do need help, they can call an expert right from the app.”

In addition to discussing the headset’s new capabilities, Microsoft also said that it would release a successor to the current iteration. Reports earlier this year claimed that the tech giant scrapped its plans for the HoloLens 3 and that it was going to be the end for the device. Microsoft, however, denied that it was killing the HoloLens and called it “critical part of [the company’s] plans for emerging categories like mixed reality and the metaverse.” Now, Microsoft mixed reality VP Scott Evans said that the company is “just looking for the right design point to make it a meaningful update” because “[customers] want a successor device that’s going to enable an even higher return on investment.”

‘Hitman’ players can soon port their Stadia saves to other platforms

With Stadia set to be shut down next month, players have been understandably worried about losing game progress on the platform. Now, developer IO Interactive has announced that Stadia Hitman – World of Assassination players will be able to import save data into all other platforms including PC, Xbox and PlayStation. 

IOI said it will release a transfer tool a week before the Stadia shutdown, set for January 18th. If you play the game on Stadia, you can start to prepare in advance by linking your IOI account to your Stadia account. This needs to be done before the Stadia shutdown, or you’ll lose your save data. Once the accounts are linked, though, you’ll have an extra month (until February 17th) to complete the transfer. 

The developer said the “majority” of your Stadia achievements will be carried over, including your “player profile, XP, suits, items and mastery levels.” IOI noted that there are “compatibility issues” between Stadia and other achievement systems, so it’s focusing on achievements related to progression as a priority. Unfortunately, “your leaderboard positions, save games and created contracts will NOT be carried over during the Stadia progression carryover,” it added.

IOI joins other developers offering one-time progress transfers. Last month, CD Projekt Red wrote that Cyberpunk 2077 Stadia players could transfer game saves over to PC, and Bethesda announced something similar for Elder Scrolls Online. In September, Ubisoft said that Stadia users could transfer all their purchases to PC, but didn’t confirm if game progress would carry over. 

Tokyo will require new housing projects to install solar panels starting in 2025

Many new homes built in Tokyo will require solar panels to be installed starting in April 2025, Kyodo News has reported. The local assembly passed new regulations requiring major construction companies to equip homes smaller than 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet) with solar panels or other renewable power sources. The measure is the first of its kind in Japan and aims to cut the city’s carbon emissions in half. 

The government estimates that the 980,000 yen ($7,200) price of a 4kW installation can be recouped in about six years based on utility bill savings and an existing 100,000 yen ($728) per kW grant. Leasing costs will also be reduced through other subsidies, according to an information-packed slide deck (PDF). 

The measure applies only to around 50 builders who supply over 20,000 square meters (215,000 square feet) to the market, so it’s not clear what percentage of new homes will fall under the new rules. The measure should have a major effect, though, as the Tokyo government estimates that half of existing buildings (70 percent of which are homes) will be replaced with new construction by 2050. 

New construction starts in Japan averaged around 800,000-900,000 per year from 2012 to 2021, and a handful of major contractors called Super Zenecon dominate the construction sector, according to Statista. 

Japan is the world’s fifth largest producer of carbon emissions, but has promised to be carbon neutral by 2050. It’s not the only country mandating solar installations. In France, lawmakers recently approved a bill requiring parking lots with a minimum of 80 spaces to be covered by solar panels. The French government said the plan, aimed primarily at parking lots off freeways and major routes, could generate up to 11 gigawatts — the equivalent of 10 nuclear reactors.

‘Death Stranding’ will get a movie adaptation

Kojima Productions is working with LA-based Hammerstone Studios to develop a movie adaptation of Death Stranding. The 2019 action game already provides quite a cinematic experience with lengthy cut scenes and dramatic expositions, which is probably part of the reason why they aren’t directly adapting its story into film. According to Variety, the movie will introduce new elements and characters into the Death Stranding world, so we will see something fresh at the very least, even if they don’t create a brand new story for the big screen. 

The game is set in an apocalyptic version of the United States, where invisible creatures called “Beached Things” showed up and triggered nuclear bomb-like explosions. Death Stranding was a star-studded production, since Kojima chose to get known actors to play its characters. Norman Reedus portrayed Sam Porter Bridges, the game’s protagonist that the player controls. The game also stars Mads Mikkelsen and Léa Seydoux and even uses the likeness of director Guillermo del Toro. It’s unclear if any of the actors in the game will also appear in the film. 

Hideo Kojima will serve as the film’s executive producer, along with Hammerstone co-founder Alex Lebovici. “We are thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to partner with brilliant and iconic Hideo Kojima on his first film adaptation,” Lebovici said in a statement. “Unlike other big budget tentpole video game adaptations, this will be something far more intimate and grounded. Our goal is to redefine what a video game adaptation could be when you have creative and artistic freedom. This film will be an authentic ‘Hideo Kojima’ production.”

This announcement comes after Kojima announced Death Stranding 2 at The Game Awards. The upcoming sequel is just as star-studded as the first game, with Norman Reedus reprising his role, Léa Seydoux coming back and Elle Fanning playing a character that still remains a mystery. 

Twitter suspends journalists who were reporting on Elon Musk

Several journalists across various publications have found themselves unable to access their Twitter accounts tonight. They’ve been suspended on the website, and according to NBC News Senior Reporter Ben Collins, one thing they had in common was that they covered the social network and Elon Musk, who once described himself as a “free speech absolutist.” Collins listed the suspended journalists’ accounts on a Twitter thread, including CNN’sDonie O’Sullivan whose last tweets included his interview with Jack Sweeney, the college student who ran the @ElonJet account. 

The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell lost his account following a tweet about how Twitter suspended Mastodon, its rival social network that’s been gaining popularity since Musk took over, after it posted a link to the account that tracked Musk’s private jet. The New York Times’Ryan Mac lost access to his account after talking about Sweeney and Twitter’s policy changes following @ElonJet’s suspension. Mashable’sMatt Binder also found himself suspended after retweeting a post doubting Musk’s claim that he and his son were followed by a “crazy stalker” and another about how Twitter’s new head of trust and safety invited a QAnon-adjacent group to discuss a partnership. 

Next in the list is Micah Flee from The Intercept who recently tweeted: “So much more arbitrary censorship on Twitter since @elonmusk took over.” Sports and political commentator Keith Olbermann was suspended while one of Engadget’s editors was reading a thread on his account. Olbermann’s last tweets also included criticisms of Musk’s announcement that he’s taking legal action against Sweeney and Twitter’s policy changes after the suspension of the Musk’s stalker incident. Aaron Rupar, an independent journalist who was also suspended, posted a response on Substack and said he tweeted that the “@ElonJet account that was suspended from Twitter was still active on Facebook, with a link to the Facebook page.”

As you can see, most of the banned accounts talked about Sweeney or linked to @ElonJet in some way. Before the account got permanently suspended, it tracked flights of Musk’s private jet using publicly available data. (Other accounts tracking the planes of government agencies and high-profile individuals got suspended, as well.) Musk announced a policy change for Twitter after the account’s suspension that prohibits the doxxing of real-time location info. In a response to that announcement, he said the car carrying his child was followed by a stalker. He also said that he is taking legal action against Sweeney and organizations “who supported harm to [his] family.”

Engadget reached out to Twitter for a statement, and we’ll update this post when we hear back. But replying to a user saying they’ve confirmed that the suspended accounts linked to @ElonJet, Musk insinuated that they were booted off the website due to its new doxxing rules. He also said in a separate tweet that criticizing him “all day long is totally fine, but doxxing [his] real-time location and endangering [his] family is not.”

Following the suspensions, The Washington Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee released a statement via Mastodon saying that Harwell’s suspension “directly undermines Elon Musk’s claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech.” CNN said it asked Twitter why the website banned journalists and would “reevaluate [its] relationship based on that response.” Meanwhile, Musk said on Twitter that accounts “engaged in doxxing receive a temporary 7 day suspension” as a response to his tweet insinuating that the journalists were banned due to the website’s new doxxing rules.  

Later in the evening, Musk joined a Spaces chat hosted by BuzzFeed journalists. He was confronted by Drew Harwell, who was supposed to be suspended, consequently highlighting a “bug” in Spaces itself. 

Twitter ultimately ended up pulling the Spaces feature because it allowed suspended accounts to join voice chats. Musk had earlier left the chat silently after being asked the reasons behind the suspensions.

Ex-Twitter employee sentenced over spying for Saudi Arabia

In a rare case of Twitter drama unrelated to its owner, a former employee convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia received a three-and-a-half-year sentence on Wednesday. Ahmad Abouammo was found guilty in August of taking bribes from an aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In return, he allegedly supplied sensitive account info that could help track and silence dissidents.

Abouammo, a US resident born in Egypt, received about half of the more than seven years prosecutors sought. The former Twitter media partnership manager said he was only doing his job, but evidence revealed that he received $300,000 and a $20,000 Hublot watch from bin Salman’s aide. A Twitter whistleblower suggested in late August that the scandal reflected a broader practice of lax data security at the company.

Two other men were charged in the scheme. Ali Alzabarah, a Saudi citizen, is another former Twitter employee who prosecutors say acquired personal info for over 6,000 accounts, including that of high-profile dissident (and Jamal Khashoggi ally) Omar Abdulaziz. A third man, Ahmed Almutairi, was also charged but didn’t work at Twitter. Instead, he allegedly served as a contact between Twitter staffers and the Saudi government. Of the three, only Abouammo was in the US to face charges.

Georgia is the latest state to ban TikTok from government-owned devices

Georgia has become at least the 11th state to ban TikTok from state government-owned devices. Governor Brian Kemp has also prohibited state agencies from using WeChat and Telegram. Kemp cited concerns that the governments of China and Russia may access users’ personal information through the apps and use the data for spying purposes.

“The state of Georgia has a responsibility to prevent any attempt to access and infiltrate its secure data and sensitive information by foreign adversaries such as the [Chinese Communist Party],” Kemp wrote in a memo to state agency heads, as the Associated Press reports. “As such, it is our duty to take action to preserve the safety and security of our state against the CCP, entities it controls and other foreign cyberthreats.”

FBI Director Chris Wray said this month that China could use TikTok to collect data on users. Kemp cited those comments in his directive. A spokesperson for the governor told the AP that there would be exceptions to the rules for law enforcement and prosecutors to use the three apps after obtaining permission. Among those impacted by the ban are state colleges and universities.

Other states that have enacted similar bans include South Dakota, Maryland, Texas, Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. The US military has banned TikTok from devices it owns too. Meanwhile, Indiana sued the app this month over what it claims are security and child safety issues.

On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that seeks to ban TikTok from federal government devices. The legislation still requires House approval before it lands on President Joe Biden’s desk to sign it into law. Lawmakers also filed matching bipartisan bills in the House and Senate this week in the latest attempt to completely ban TikTok in the US.

TikTok has tried to assuage American politicians’ concerns over Chinese officials gaining access to data it holds on users in the country. As of June, TikTok has been routing all domestic traffic to Oracle’s servers so the data remains in the US. TikTok and parent company ByteDance have pledged to delete said information from their own data centers in the US and Singapore. In August, Oracle started reviewing TikTok’s algorithms and content moderation systems for signs of manipulation.

Radiator leak from Russian ISS module leaves spacewalkers cooling their heels

Russia’s Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, currently docked at the International Space Station (ISS), began leaking coolant Wednesday evening. According to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, the instrument and assembly compartment’s outer skin was damaged. Fortunately, the crew is safe, and they conducted normal operations afterward. NASA said in a blog post that “the external radiator cooling loop of the Soyuz is the suspected leak source.”

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin were already in their suits, preparing for a nearly seven-hour spacewalk, when the crew noticed low-pressure readings. The cosmonauts postponed their walk indefinitely and weren’t exposed to the coolant. “Roscosmos is closely monitoring Soyuz spacecraft temperatures, which remain within acceptable limits,” NASA said. “NASA and Roscosmos continue to coordinate external imagery and inspection plans to aid in evaluating the external leak location.” The crew plans to investigate further using the station’s robotic arm.

The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 21st, carrying the two cosmonauts and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio. The Russian space agency added that “a decision will be made” about the cosmonauts’ future aboard the ISS. A spacewalk scheduled for Dec. 21 is postponed indefinitely as the investigation continues.

The ISS orbiting Earth.
NASA

Russia’s war in Ukraine has complicated (to say the least) the relationship between NASA and Roscosmos. Earlier this year, Russia said it would pull out of the ISS after 2024 and focus on launching its own space station. Although removing Russia from the ISS would throw a tremendous wrench into the program, the US reportedly had contingency plans even before the invasion.