Google Play Books for Android temporarily loses PDF upload support
We hope you weren’t too attached to Google Play Books’ PDF upload support on Android, because you just lost it — albeit temporarily. Following some code sleuthing, Android Police has confirmed that Google removed PDF uploading; for now, you’re limited to transferring EPUB books. The PDF support was experimental, Google says, and should come back with a future app update. That’s unfortunate for anyone hoping to save documents to Play Books, but we won’t object too much when there are at least a few alternatives for sending PDFs to the cloud.
Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Internet, Mobile, Google
Via: Talk Android
Source: Android Police
Google+ is automatically creating your own year in review video
If you’re anything like us, the thought of sifting through mountains of media to create a year in review video is more than a little intimidating. However, it just got a lot easier for some Google+ members. The social network is now using Auto Awesome to create year in review clips for anyone who has been uploading enough photos and videos throughout 2013; if you’re one of the lucky ones, the clip should be available in about a week. It won’t be quite the same as a lovingly crafted highlight reel, but it could prevent a few headaches during the holidays.
Source: Anil Sabharwal (Google+)
Foursquare updates Android app with Ken Burns effect, boosted performance
Foursquare’s rolling out a new Android app, adding in new motion effects and integrating some of this month’s iOS tweaks. That first feature, best known in the video community as the “Ken Burns effect,” animates location header images with panning and zoom. You can still scroll through the top five photos from each venue, but images up top won’t stop moving until you head over to the full-screen gallery tool. Other cosmetic adjustments include a refreshed sidebar, complete with avatar, and an updated profile page that matches the iOS equivalent. In a blog post today, Foursquare also referenced faster load times, though we didn’t notice much of a difference in a quick side-by-side test. Enhanced performance or not, the new version is clearly an improvement. It’s available today on Google Play.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Foursquare (Google Play)
Gresso dials up $1800 titanium Android smartphone
There are people who like a smartphone with a nice body, top-notch specs and a flexible price. And then there are people, who like to have a smartphone with a titanium or gold body, with diamonds on it. Gresso introduced an Android powered smartphone which will start from $1800. What so special about it is that it comes with a grade 5 solid titanium case, and it’s available in three versions.
The first one known as the Radical R1 has a titanium logo and case, Radical R2 features a 18K gold logo and titanium case, and the Radical R3 comes with a white gold logo and the same titanium case, and they cost $1800, $2300 and also $2300 respectively.
It’s a limited edition and there are only 999 models available. Have a look on specs:
- OS Android 4.1.2
- Processor: quad-core, 1.2 GHz
- Display: 4.5-inch touchscreen QHD
- Screen resolution: 960 x 540 pixels
- Camera: 8.0 MP
- Internal memory:36 GB
- Number of SIM-cards: 2
- Size: 138 х 69 х 12 mm
- Weight: 219 g
- Warranty period: 12 months
Well, are you planning to grab one? Or luxury smartphone is not your type? Tell us about it in the comment box below.
The post Gresso dials up $1800 titanium Android smartphone appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google Play offering deals on apps, music, books, and movies for the holidays
In light of the holidays, Google Play is offering up some pretty nice deals on apps, games, music, books, and movies. Many of the deals are dropped down to free, while a select few have pretty major discounts.
Some of the most notable deals are Asphalt 8: Airborne, Star Wars: Tiny Death Star, Elf, and Despicable Me: Minion Rush all for free! If you’ve never checked out any of the titles listed above, now is the time! Oh, and here is a nice promotional video to market the holiday deals, brought to you by the Google Play Elves.
Source: Google Play Holiday Deals & Steals
The post Google Play offering deals on apps, music, books, and movies for the holidays appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Computers share their secrets if you listen
Be afraid, friends, for science has given us a new way in which to circumvent some of the strongest encryption algorithms used to protect our data — and no, it’s not some super secret government method, either. Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science discovered that they could steal even the largest, most secure RSA 4,096-bit encryption keys simply by listening to a laptop as it decrypts data.
To accomplish the trick, the researchers used a microphone to record the noises made by the computer, then ran that audio through filters to isolate the vibrations made by the electronic internals during the decryption process. With that accomplished, some cryptanalysis revealed the encryption key in around an hour. Because the vibrations in question are so small, however, you need to have a high-powered mic or be recording them from close proximity. The researchers found that by using a highly sensitive parabolic microphone, they could record what they needed from around 13 feet away, but could also get the required audio by placing a regular smartphone within a foot of the laptop. Additionally, it turns out they could get the same information from certain computers by recording their electrical ground potential as it fluctuates during the decryption process.
Of course, the researchers only cracked one kind of RSA encryption, but they said that there’s no reason why the same method wouldn’t work on others — they’d just have to start all over to identify the specific sounds produced by each new encryption software. Guess this just goes to prove that while digital security is great, but it can be rendered useless without its physical counterpart. So, should you be among the tin-foil hat crowd convinced that everyone around you is a potential spy, waiting to steal your data, you’re welcome for this newest bit of food for your paranoid thoughts.
Filed under: Misc
Via: Extreme Tech
Source: Tel Aviv University (PDF)
AT&T echoes Verizon with plans to publish reports on law enforcement data requests
Sometimes, peer pressure can be a beautiful thing. Just hours after Verizon said it would start publishing transparency reports, AT&T has followed suit with plans of its own. Big Blue will largely mirror its rival’s moves and publish a semi-annual internet report that breaks down law enforcement requests by type, such as court orders. The initial study, due in early 2014, will summarize the telecom provider’s 2013 data. We’d note that AT&T is reversing its attitude from just days earlier, when it was hostile toward shareholders that wanted a similar level of accountability. Still, we don’t mind the contradiction if it brings more government surveillance activity to light — even if it doesn’t address thornier issues like warrantless wiretapping.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet, Mobile, AT&T
Via: The Verge
Source: AT&T Public Policy Blog
Popular iOS Apps Now Free or Discounted for the Holidays
Each year during the holidays, app developers offer deals on a wide variety of apps and games, giving customers a chance to purchase popular content at a significant discount. This year is no exception, with a slew of fantastic apps and games available at low prices.
Our sister site AppShopper tracks prices in real-time and is a great resource to use to keep an eye on app sales during the holiday. We’ve also listed some of the best deals on apps below:
– Fantastical 2 for iPhone ($1.99, down from $3.99): Popular calendar app, at its lowest price ever [Direct Link]
– Fantastical for Mac ($9.99, down from $19.99): Popular Mac calendar app that syncs with Fantastical 2 for iPhone [Direct Link]
– djay 2 ($4.99, down from $9.99): Popular DJ iPad app [Direct Link]
– vjay (Free, down from $9.99): Video and music remixing app [Direct Link]
– Inspire Pro (Free, down from $4.99): App for drawing and sketching [Direct Link]
– The Elements: A Visual Exploration (Free, down from $13.99): Limited time sale on a popular periodic table app [Direct Link]
– ArtRage ($2.99, down from $4.99): Popular iPad painting app [Direct Link]
Along with the apps listed above, several developers have teamed up to offer an App Santa promotion, offering discounts of up to 60 percent off apps like Twitter client Tweetbot, scanning app Scanner Pro, package tracking app Delivery Status Touch, password management app 1Password, and note taking app Vesper.
A forum member on our sister site TouchArcade has aggregated an extensive list of all the games on sale. Multiple studios, including Electronic Arts, Taito, CAPCOM, Square Enix, and Warner Bros. are offering deep discounts on their entire game catalogs. We’ve listed some of the more notable sales below:
– Angry Birds Star Wars II (Free, down from $0.99) [Direct Link]
– LostWinds (Free, down from $3.99) [Direct Link]
– Infinity Blade III ($2.99, down from $6.99) [Direct Link]
– XCOM: Enemy Unknown ($9.99, down from $19.99) [Direct Link]
– Final Fantasy V ($7.99, down from $15.99) [Direct Link]
– Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 ($0.99, down from $4.99) [Direct Link]
– Bastion ($0.99, down from $4.99) [Direct Link]
– Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga ($9.99 Full Unlock, down from $14.99) [Direct Link]
– Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic ($4.99, down from $9.99) [Direct Link]
– The World Ends With You: Solo Remix HD ($8.99/9.99, down from $17.99/$19.99) [Direct Link: iPhone/iPad]
Discount pricing on many of these apps will be in place for at least a week, as Apple will shut down iTunes Connect from December 21 to December 27, preventing developers from implementing app changes. For more sales, check out AppShopper’s price drop section.
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New Mac Pro: Simultaneous Real-Time 4K Effect Rendering, +900MB/s Read/Write
With the new Mac Pro in the hands of reviewers for more than a day now, the first impressions focused on performance are being published and they are impressive.
FCP.co posted a 24-hour hands on with the new Mac Pro. They found read speeds of 880MB/s from the Mac Pro’s solid state storage, with impressive write numbers of 985.5MB/s. Further, the team discovered that new machine could post full 4K video with multiple color corrections, effects and transitions playing back all in real time.
Macworld saw even more impressive SSD performance, with Black Magic reporting 952.8MB/s writes and 920.5MB/s reads. Black Magic‘s speed test app reports that the new Mac Pro can easily handle all video formats it currently tracks, with FCP.co adding that its Mac Pro was able to play back 16 simultaneous streams of 4K video.
On overall performance, FCP.co writes:
I can quite honestly say that, despite working with these huge file sizes and frame sizes, the editing experience has been silky smooth. Skimming, playback, shuttling, jogging and trimming are all responsive. In fact, editing 4K on the Mac Pro feels like editing HD on my current MacBook Pro – except I can see large numbers for the frame sizes where normally I’d expect to see the reassuringly familiar “1920×1080″.
They went on to push the machine by adding real-time effects to a 4K stream to see the breaking point.
I started slowly, adding a simple Dry Heat look. That played back in real time, no dropped frames. How about a Gaussian Blur? That’s usually a bit more intensive, especially with the huge numbers of pixels we’re dealing with here. No dropped frames. Nice. How about a Gaussian blur with a Bleach Bypass look? Still in real time… ok, let’s get serious…
And so it went on… Multiple colour corrections, effects, transitions. This thing keeps playing back! In fact at one point I took a RED RAW 4K clip into a 4K project and just started working through the list of video effects (many of which are 4K ready). Watch the result for yourself.
Back in September, GeekBench scores for the new 8-core 3.0Ghz Mac Pro appeared, giving the unit a single- and multi-core scores of 3349 and 24429. Now, on production hardware, Macworld got scores of 3599 and 25997, a modest improvement.
Both Macworld and FCP.co mentioned a gentle but notable current of warm air rising from the machine, but that the Mac Pro’s fan was barely noticeable. If something is placed on top of the machine’s vent hole, like a book, the Mac Pro will shut itself off before any damage can occur.
The new Mac Pro is available for order now, but shipments are not expected until well into the new year. An Apple spokesperson said yesterday that “demand for the all new Mac Pro is great and it will take time before supply catches up with demand”.
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Web Profiles for Vine and Vanity URL’s “Coming Soon”
The short video sharing phenomenon Vine is making its move to the web with Web Profiles. Up until now, your best bet to see Vine vids was through the mobile app on your device, unless of course they were shared via Twitter or Facebook and you happened across the link. Like Engadget surmises, we expect it to be a bit like how Instagram runs its online system. Letting you glance through your Vine history and peruse through your timeline of insanity. There will certainly be ways to share as well, but probably not upload.
To make things a little easier and smoother, you will also be able to snag a custom URL to attach to your profile. Much like the custom URL for G+. Be careful what you choose though, Vine mentions that you will be stuck with your choice for ever. That is a long time. You will need a minimum of two posts to claim your vanity URL though. If you want to get your Web Profile and Vanity URL all secured, head over to Vine now.
Via Engadget
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