BuildBox is a cross platform 2D (and soon 3D) game engine heavily targeted toward the “no programming easy to use” segment.  With the 3.0 release coming Thursday, May 22 2019, there are also price changes coming to the game engine.  Currently the pricing is as follows:

Monthly Pricing:

Annual Pricing:

According to the BuildBox blog, the new pricing is changing as follows:

The first announcement is that soon we’ll be rolling out new pricing options. We’re ditching the monthly subscription plans and switching over to just annual plans.

Our goal and vision for Buildbox is to create a suite of game development tools that makes the entire process of making games and getting started super simple. These new price changes are simplified to be the most economical plans we’ve ever had! 

New Simplified And Most Economical Plans Ever

• Plus Plan – $99 (per year)
• Indie Plan – $199 (per year)
• Pro Plan – $299 (per year)

If you already have a monthly subscription plan and love it, don’t worry, you’re good. However, the option to sign up for any of our monthly subscription plans or switch over to new monthly subscription will end on May 23. So, if you’ve been thinking about it now is the time.

We will honor the current monthly prices to anyone who signs up before that date. You can contact our awesome support team at [email protected] with any questions or for assistance in changing your plan.

Each plan includes all the core features of Buildbox like the menu editor, scene editor, actions, effects, logic, monetization, and creator with all gameplay possibilities.  The only difference between plans is the total amount of worlds, scenes, and export options you can have in your game. You can view current plans right here.

Learn more about the engine and pricing change in the video below.

GameDev News Engine

Score big when you cop the Hang Time Bundle. Get the Grind outfit, Clutch outfit, and a challenge pack unique to the set. #FortniteXJumpman pic.twitter.com/cC8eqG7kVh

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) May 22, 2019

Before the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Switch, there were only so many multiplayer arena games available on the system. One of these was Brawlout by Angry Mob Games, featuring a cast of unknowns, eventually supported by more recognisable indie faces such as Yooka-Laylee, Juan from Guacamelee! and the drifter from Hyper Light Drifter.

As rough around the edges as Brawlout is when compared to the likes of the Super Smash Bros. series, it has slowly improved over time. Even after more than 50k sales on Nintendo’s latest platform, the team behind this game wants to continue expanding the player base. In an attempt to do this, a demo has been released in the homeland of Smash Bros.

So, if you haven’t tried out this game, but are curious to see what it’s like, you can now test it out for free – provided you have a Japanese eShop account. In the demo, you can try out single player, local multiplayer and three different fighters. At this point in time, it’s unknown if this demo will be made available on the eShop here in the west.

Will you be heading over to the Japanese Switch eShop to download this demo? Tell us below.

Telnet is a client-server protocol that connects to a remote server through TCP over port 23. Telnet does not encrypt data and is considered insecure and passwords can be easily sniffed because data is sent in the clear. However there are still legacy systems that need to use it. This is where stunnel comes to the rescue.

Stunnel is designed to add SSL encryption to programs that have insecure connection protocols. This article shows you how to use it, with telnet as an example.

Server Installation

Install stunnel along with the telnet server and client using sudo:

sudo dnf -y install stunnel telnet-server telnet

Add a firewall rule, entering your password when prompted:

firewall-cmd --add-service=telnet --perm
firewall-cmd --reload

Next, generate an RSA private key and an SSL certificate:

openssl genrsa 2048 > stunnel.key
openssl req -new -key stunnel.key -x509 -days 90 -out stunnel.crt

You will be prompted for the following information one line at a time. When asked for Common Name you must enter the correct host name or IP address, but everything else you can skip through by hitting the Enter key.

You are about to be asked to enter information that will be
incorporated into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [XX]:
State or Province Name (full name) []:
Locality Name (eg, city) [Default City]:
Organization Name (eg, company) [Default Company Ltd]:
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
Common Name (eg, your name or your server's hostname) []:
Email Address []

Merge the RSA key and SSL certificate into a single .pem file, and copy that to the SSL certificate directory:

cat stunnel.crt stunnel.key > stunnel.pem
sudo cp stunnel.pem /etc/pki/tls/certs/

Now it’s time to define the service and the ports to use for encrypting your connection. Choose a port that is not already in use. This example uses port 450 for tunneling telnet. Edit or create the /etc/stunnel/telnet.conf file:

cert = /etc/pki/tls/certs/stunnel.pem
sslVersion = TLSv1
chroot = /var/run/stunnel
setuid = nobody
setgid = nobody
pid = /stunnel.pid
socket = l:TCP_NODELAY=1
socket = r:TCP_NODELAY=1
[telnet]
accept = 450
connect = 23

The accept option is the port the server will listen to for incoming telnet requests. The connect option is the internal port the telnet server listens to.

Next, make a copy of the systemd unit file that allows you to override the packaged version:

sudo cp /usr/lib/systemd/system/stunnel.service /etc/systemd/system

Edit the /etc/systemd/system/stunnel.service file to add two lines. These lines create a chroot jail for the service when it starts.

[Unit]
Description=TLS tunnel for network daemons
After=syslog.target network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/stunnel
Type=forking
PrivateTmp=true
ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/mkdir /var/run/stunnel
ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/chown -R nobody:nobody /var/run/stunnel

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Next, configure SELinux to listen to telnet on the new port you just specified:

sudo semanage port -a -t telnetd_port_t -p tcp 450

Finally, add a new firewall rule:

firewall-cmd --add-port=450/tcp --perm
firewall-cmd --reload

Now you can enable and start telnet and stunnel.

systemctl enable telnet.socket stunnel@telnet.service --now

A note on the systemctl command is in order. Systemd and the stunnel package provide an additional template unit file by default. The template lets you drop multiple configuration files for stunnel into /etc/stunnel, and use the filename to start the service. For instance, if you had a foobar.conf file, you could start that instance of stunnel with systemctl start stunnel@foobar.service, without having to write any unit files yourself.

If you want, you can set this stunnel template service to start on boot:

systemctl enable stunnel@telnet.service

Client Installation

This part of the article assumes you are logged in as a normal user (with sudo privileges) on the client system. Install stunnel and the telnet client:

dnf -y install stunnel telnet

Copy the stunnel.pem file from the remote server to your client /etc/pki/tls/certs directory. In this example, the IP address of the remote telnet server is 192.168.1.143.

sudo scp myuser@192.168.1.143:/etc/pki/tls/certs/stunnel.pem
/etc/pki/tls/certs/

Create the /etc/stunnel/telnet.conf file:

cert = /etc/pki/tls/certs/stunnel.pem
client=yes
[telnet]
accept=450
connect=192.168.1.143:450

The accept option is the port that will be used for telnet sessions. The connect option is the IP address of your remote server and the port it’s listening on.

Next, enable and start stunnel:

systemctl enable stunnel@telnet.service --now

Test your connection. Since you have a connection established, you will telnet to localhost instead of the hostname or IP address of the remote telnet server:

[user@client ~]$ telnet localhost 450
Trying ::1...
telnet: connect to address ::1: Connection refused
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.

Kernel 5.0.9-301.fc30.x86_64 on an x86_64 (0)
server login: myuser
Password: XXXXXXX
Last login: Sun May  5 14:28:22 from localhost
[myuser@server ~]$

As an engineering student at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1990s, Didem Un Ates was one of only five women in a graduating class of 180. Today, she’s on a mission is to drastically change those numbers.

Un Ates is part of a Microsoft team that launched “Alice envisions the future,” a boot camp for girls focused on artificial intelligence. The first event in Athens – packed with keynote speeches, panel discussions and hands-on workshops – helped spark the passion for AI in 160 girls from 16 countries.

After witnessing the success of the inaugural event, the team took the show on the road, first to London last October, and then to New York in March.

Registration is now open for two more “Girls in AI” hackathons for girls 14 to 18, which are scheduled for next month:

Registration is free and attendees do not need a laptop or any experience with coding – just a curiosity about AI and a creative mind. The first 80 students to register will be accepted.

About 50 girls between attended the “Girls in AI” hackathon in New York, tackling subjects ranging from human-centered design and AI ethics to machine learning.

Un Ates said the transformation over the course of the weekend can be astounding. Girls who may come into the program shy, timid and hesitant of delving into advanced technology such as AI can leave the program with an entirely different mindset.

“They may have heard of AI, but they don’t exactly know what it means or what a hackathon means. But by the end of Sunday, there are all these super-excited, confident individuals who cannot stop talking about how they are going to  build a business out of their project,” said Un Ates, senior director of customer care intelligence for the Microsoft Business Applications Group, Cloud & AI.

Winning teams from the hackathons are eligible to enter Microsoft’s AI for Good Idea Challenge, an international contest for developers, students and data scientists who use AI to tackle some of society’s greatest obstacles. The deadline for entries is June 26.

Un Ates says she is devoted to evangelizing STEM education – and artificial intelligence specifically – because of the dire underrepresentation of women in the field.

“Only 12% of artificial intelligence and machine learning experts are female,” Un Ates noted. “And we have the opportunity to change that.”

According to the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics, in 1985 women accounted for roughly 37% of all computer science undergraduate students. Today, that number is 12%. According to a recent WIRED & Element AI study, only 12% of machine learning researchers are women.

Un Ates said it’s important that women are well-represented in computer science both because of the perspective they bring to the field and because of the job opportunities the field can offer.

And that is exactly what Microsoft’s “Girls in AI” hackathons are designed to accomplish. According to the team’s event website, the curriculum gives teenage girls “the chance to utilize AI and machine learning techniques to tackle global challenges in a holistic manner.” The two-day event will give attendees an understanding of design thinking, strategy and business model development, ethics, social responsibility and pitching skills.

The “Alice Envisions the Future” hackathon program is just one of the ways Microsoft working to get more girls and young women involved in computer science. Microsoft also offers DigiGirlz Days, one-day events designed to provide girls with a better understanding of what a career in technology is like, and DigiGirlz High Tech Camp, a program developed 19 years ago to help dispel stereotypes in the high-tech industry.

Related:

Today, Microsoft is releasing The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing. This new book provides an in-depth look at how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the manufacturing sector by optimizing digital operations and driving efficiencies, enabling new products and services, and allowing for safer work environments. The book also offers a timely look at how society can respond to some of the challenges AI creates, and the need to develop new laws and regulations to address workforce disruption and develop AI in an ethical and responsible manner.

Written by Greg Shaw – co-author of Hit Refresh with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and The Ability Hacks about technology for people with disabilities – this book is the second in a series that began with the release last year of The Future Computed: Artificial Intelligence and its role in society.

In an era when digital technology is changing almost every aspect about how people live, work, play, and learn, we believe it is important to think carefully about the complex questions that AI raises. Through our Future Computed series, we hope to encourage a broad set of conversations about how AI can empower people in a trusted and respectful environment that benefits everyone.

We decided to focus the second Future Computed book on manufacturing because the industry plays such a central role in the global economy, and because, as in previous industrial revolutions, it is once again at the forefront of adopting new transformational technologies.

This means manufacturing is one of the industries that is leading the way in exploring the full potential of AI. It also means manufacturers already find themselves responding to some of the challenges of AI — challenges like how to optimize processes to keep up with the new speed of business, how to ensure their existing and incoming workforce has the right skills to build and leverage AI, and how to create the right organizational culture to realize the benefits of data-driven decision making.

In the book, you’ll hear from a range of customers including ABB, Colfax, Jabil, Tetra Pak, Toyota Materials Handling and ZF about the progress they are making on their AI journey. You’ll meet Patrick Bass, CEO of thyssenkrupp North America, who led the effort to implement a real-time cloud-based predictive maintenance solution that is maximizing uptime for 12 million elevators that move 1 billion people every day. And hear from Manuel Torres, a self-taught engineer who has used AI to transform his paper company into a leading supplier of composite material for airplane manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus.

The book also looks at how manufacturers will need to engage with governments and civil society to help craft new regulatory frameworks, guiding the use of this new technology as the industry transforms. These frameworks should address key societal challenges, including the need to retrain workers to take on new roles and be part of a talent supply chain capable of realizing the potential of AI in manufacturing. They should also address how to store the data generated from connected supply chains and digital factories safely, securely, and in ways that respect privacy and ensure that AI is used ethically. Drawing on insights from customers and policymakers from around the world The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing offers Microsoft’s perspective on how we might move forward on these important issues.

The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing does not pretend to have all the answers. But we hope it will play a role in furthering discussions about how to deliver this new technology responsibly and help manufacturers better understand the steps they need to take in their AI journey.

In writing the book, Greg conducted interviews with Microsoft manufacturing customers who are at the forefront of figuring out how AI can drive success for their companies. He also interviewed workforce experts, union leaders, and policymakers from around the world and identified some common themes across these conversations.

The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing points out the critical importance of cultural change as part of the digital transformation and the need for strong senior leadership in overseeing this shift. It also highlights the way in which the managers inside manufacturing operations who are closest to the workforce are often the most sensitive to AI’s impact on employees and are focused on improving worker safety and job satisfaction. And, while there is notable positivity from leaders in manufacturers around the impact of AI on jobs, there is also an understanding that a lot of work is needed to reinvent how we prepare people for the workforce.

The advent of AI makes this an exciting time to be in manufacturing. But it is also a time filled with great uncertainty. For anyone interested in learning more about why AI is so important to the future of manufacturing, I hope The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing offers a useful guide. I also love the final remark that suggests leaders of today should lead with optimism.

I encourage you to download a copy here. You can also find out more about the people and companies profiled in the book and access additional information by visiting Microsoft’s AI and Manufacturing website. Additional resources can also be found in the Microsoft AI Business School.

Tags: AI, Future Computed, manufacturing

By Mikey Campbell
Wednesday, May 22, 2019, 07:28 pm PT (10:28 pm ET)

A security researcher discovered a flaw in Instagram’s website that left user contact information exposed for months, potentially allowing nefarious actors to create databases containing the phone numbers and email addresses of thousands.

David Stier, a data scientist and business consultant, earlier this year discovered an issue with Instagram’s website in which source code for some user profiles contained private contact information not made available on public-facing pages, reports CNET.

Citing archived versions of Instagram profiles dating back to October 2018, Stier believes thousands of accounts were impacted by the flaw, including pages belonging to private individuals, minors and businesses. The researcher informed Instagram of the problem in February and the company issued a patch in March.

As noted by CNET, the exposure presented a prime opportunity to collect sensitive information from the photo sharing service. It is postulated that bad actors were able to create vast databases of user contact information simply by scraping Instagram’s website source code during the four-month period in question.

One such list might already be in use. A report on Monday revealed an unsecured database maintained by Indian social media marketing firm Chtrbox leaked personal contact information tied to millions of Instagram influencer accounts, including users not affiliated with the company. An ensuing investigation found the database included 49 million records, a figure that continued to grow until the list was pulled from Amazon Web Services later that day.

Chtrbox in a statement said the information it gathered was not private, nor was it sourced unethically, according to Wednesday’s report. Instagram’s terms of use prohibit profile scraping, though Chtrbox has failed to detail how it obtained data not easily available to general users.

Instagram is investigating both Stier’s report and the Chtrbox database.

“We’re looking into the issue to understand if the data described – including email and phone numbers – was from Instagram or from other sources,” Instagram owner Facebook said in a statement on Monday. “We’re also inquiring with Chtrbox to understand where this data came from and how it became publicly available.”

A year prior to the source code snafu, Instagram was embroiled in a similar privacy kerfuffle when hackers exploited a bug in the service’s developer API to glean phone numbers and email addresses attached to high-profile accounts.