Good Morning! In the latest tech developments, Microsoft researchers unveil "Off the Clock," a system designed to enhance cloud-based gaming experiences by significantly reducing lag. Meanwhile, proposed U.S. legislation is stirring debate as it seeks to hold software makers accountable for the quality and security of their products, potentially reshaping the software industry landscape. On the cybersecurity front, Germany faces a staggering 206 billion euro bill due to cybercrime in 2023, highlighting the escalating global costs of digital threats.

— Forrest Knight & Meghanadh Vasireddy

Reduced Lag in Cloud-Based Gaming with New System by Microsoft Researchers

Microsoft researchers have developed a system to keep cloud-based gamers in sync. The system is called "Off the Clock" and was developed by a team of researchers led by Ali Hamadanian, a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The system aims to reduce the lag that cloud-based gamers experience when playing games online. The system uses a combination of machine learning and network optimization techniques to predict the actions of players and keep them in sync.

The system works by predicting the actions of players based on their past actions and the actions of other players. The system then sends these predictions to the cloud server, which uses them to update the game state. The system also uses network optimization techniques to reduce the lag between the cloud server and the players.

The system was tested on a number of popular cloud-based games, including Fortnite and Apex Legends. The researchers found that the system reduced the lag experienced by players by up to 50%. The system also reduced the number of dropped frames and improved the overall gaming experience.

The researchers plan to present their findings at the ACM SIGCOMM conference. The team hopes that their system will be adopted by cloud gaming providers to improve the gaming experience for players.

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Software Makers May Be Held Liable with New Legislation

The proposed U.S. legislation aims to mandate that organizations and their developers prioritize the development of software products and services that are of higher quality and more secure.

The goal is to shift the responsibility to the appropriate stakeholders rather than end-users who suffer the consequences of insecure software resulting from dirty code. Critics argue that holding open source developers liable for security issues will stifle innovation and harm the economy without providing a substantive improvement in security.

Imposing a liability regime on software companies may go too far and create unintended consequences, such as increased costs, potential legal battles, and disincentives to innovation. A liability regime could also burden smaller companies disproportionately and stifle the diversity and innovation present in the software industry. Transparency, rather than legality, is suggested as a better approach to ensure software security.

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Cybercrime to cost Germany 206 billion euros in 2023

According to Germany's digital association Bitkom, cybercrime will cost Germany 206 billion euros ($223.55 billion) in 2023. This includes the theft of IT equipment and data, as well as digital and industrial espionage and sabotage. This is a significant increase from the previous year's estimate of 175 billion euros. The rise in cybercrime is a global issue, with the world's total cost of cybercrime expected to reach 8 trillion dollars annually in 2023.

The cost of a data breach is also increasing globally, with the average cost of a data breach in 2023 expected to be USD 4.45 million, a 15% increase over three years. The healthcare industry has been hit particularly hard, with the cost of a breach in the industry going up 42% since 2020.

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Microsoft Discontinues Visual Studio for Mac

Microsoft has announced plans to discontinue Visual Studio for Mac, its integrated development environment (IDE) for macOS. The latest version of Visual Studio for Mac will continue to be supported by Microsoft through August 2024. The company stated that it will redirect its resources and focus on enhancing Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code for cross-platform development. No new framework, runtime, or language support will be added to Visual Studio for Mac.

As part of the wind-down process, Microsoft will continue to provide security updates, platform update compatibility, and runtime/workload updates for Visual Studio for Mac for the next 12 months. Microsoft recommends that developers access its IDE through Windows in a virtual machine on the Mac or in the cloud after Visual Studio for Mac support ends. The company also suggests using cross-platform compatible developer technology that runs on macOS, such as the recently announced C Dev Kit, .NET MAUI, and Unity Extensions for Visual Studio Code.

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Youtube Spotlight

I Built an AI That Feeds Me Coffee for Maximum Efficiency

Forrest shows the process of building an AI-driven contraption to maximize efficiency in the coffee-drinking experience :). The AI system consists of a Nerf gun used to deter distractions and a coffee dispenser that dispenses coffee directly into the maker’s mouth. The project utilizes object detection, TensorFlow, and Arduino rigs to achieve its functionalities.

Highlights

• The AI contraption repurposes a Nerf gun to deter distractions by aiming at the door.

• The coffee dispenser releases coffee into the maker’s mouth every five minutes.

• TensorFlow and object detection are used to track human intruders and aim the Nerf gun.

• The project demonstrates the use of AI, robotics, and programming skills.

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptops are highlighted as powerful tools for STEM projects like this.

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