Netflix finally comes to cable in the US

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Fierce Cable

EE and Three’s voicemail systems hacked using number-cloning trick

With the phone-hacking scandal still playing out in the courts, it should be safe to assume that UK mobile operators have put measures in place protect customers’ own voicemail inboxes. Unfortunately, that’s only half true. We know thanks to an investigation by The Register, which showed that two of the big four carriers had neglected to close a loophole that allows nefarious third-parties to spoof a customer’s phone number and immediately gain access to their voicemails. Those two companies? EE and Three.

Armed with a target’s phone number and VoIP calling system, researchers were able to trick both carriers’ voicemail systems into believing a call originated from one of their SIMs. Attempts to hack into Vodafone and O2, however, were unsuccessful. Vodafone blocked attempts with PIN requests, while O2′s systems always timed out. When pressed about the issue, Three simply pointed to the voicemail security pages on its website and warned users to set a PIN (which isn’t enforced by default). EE immediately set about fixing the flaw and sent out an announcement just a few hours later telling customers it had “patched the issues raised in the article.” The company said it also plans to run “a full review of all [its] voicemail platforms,” to head off any future issues.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: The Register, EE Support Forum

FCC fights back against claims it’s abandoned net neutrality, but few are convinced

Recent news that the FCC is drafting new net neutrality rules caused an uproar once it came out that they could let ISPs give certain traffic special access. That goes against the principles conventionally ascribed to net neutrality, which so far have required ISPs to treat any traffic on their networks the same. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler called those claims “flat out wrong” in a short statement, and in a blog post titled “Setting the Record Straight on the FCC’s Open Internet Rules” says his proposal does not abandon the FCC’s earlier policies. According to the chairman, the proposed draft is simply following the roadmap established by the court when the previous net neutrality standards were struck down and “would establish that behavior harmful to consumers or competition by limiting the openness of the Internet will not be permitted.” So, should you be worried about the new rules?

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler:

To be clear, this is what the Notice will propose:

1. That all ISPs must transparently disclose to their subscribers and users all relevant information as to the policies that govern their network;
2. That no legal content may be blocked; and
3. That ISPs may not act in a commercially unreasonable manner to harm the Internet, including favoring the traffic from an affiliated entity.

The problem is that net neutrality as it’s often understood and the way the FCC claims it can actually be implemented under the current laws, aren’t exactly the same. At issue here is if you believe the FCC’s claim that it can and will set a “high bar” for what kind of traffic management is “commercially reasonable.” The Chairman’s argument defending this position is that even redefining internet service as a public utility and regulating it under Title II rules (the way phone service is) would only ban “unjust and unreasonable discrimination” — potentially leaving a loophole for ISPs to sell the “fast lane” many worry they’ll use to tier internet services in a manner similar to cable TV. Additionally, the FCC claims the new rules would increase transparency, requiring ISPs disclose “all relevant information” about the policies in place on their networks.

The FCC claims it’s doing what it can to stop ISPs from potentially harming their competition or gouging customers, but not everyone is convinced. Consumer advocacy groups like Public Knowledge and Free Press have spoken out against the change, referencing Wheeler’s history as a cable industry lobbyist and calling the plan “internet payola.” The belief is that instead of going this route, the correct response to the court ruling that struck down the previous Open Internet rules is to reclassify ISPs as “common carriers” and regulate them like phone companies. Tim Wu of the New Yorker calls out President Obama’s campaign promises to protect net neutrality and based on the reports, says the new policies are a clear violation of that stance. Former FCC commissioner Michael Copps says that “If true, this proposal is a huge step backwards and just must be stopped. If the Commissioner subverts the Open Internet, it is an insult to both citizens and to the promise of the Net.” A main worry is that ISPs will either cause congestion or through inaction allow it to build up (sound familiar?) in order to extract extra fees for better connections

Reclassification of internet services remains an option, but not one that the FCC is floating yet. The next step now is for commissioners to “review, add, subtract, compromise,” from the draft until it comes to a vote at their meeting on May 15th. If three of the five commissioners vote to adopt it at that time, then it will go in front of the public for comments that could be included in the final rules, if they are adopted by the majority of the FCC. Whether you believe the proposed policies would allow for something no more harmful than Express Mail service or the end of the internet as we know it, your voice can be heard. There are always petitions to sign, and of course, contacting your elected officials in Washington is an option.

[Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

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Source: FCC, Free Press, Public Knowledge

Pinterest focuses on discovery with new Guided Search

With over 750 million boards and 30 billion pins, Pinterest has seen nearly a 50 percent increase in new pins in just the last six months. Indeed, CEO Ben Silbermann even calls it the “world’s largest human-curated collection of things.” Therein, however, lies a problem. With so much information, it can be difficult to find what you really want, but even worse, it becomes really (really) hard to find or even discover new things that might be of interest to you.

Today, in its San Francisco office packed full of journalists and guests, Pinterest announced a new feature that promises to fix that: Guided Search. Contrasting it to Google, Silbermann said that Pinterest’s new Guided Search is “more about exploration than it is about an ordered list for every person in the world.” So when you type a keyword into the search bar at the top, it’ll offer narrower topics that you can focus in on. For example, if you were to search for “chair,” it’ll show subcategories like “accents” or “living room” or “patio.” Silbermann also emphasized that these would be words used by real people, so if you were to search for “hairstyles”, some of the suggestions would be “medium length hair” or “up do” or “bangs.”

“I can go from inspiration all the way into doing something,” said Silbermann. “That’s the promise of Guided Search.”

To go along with Guided Search, Pinterest has also rolled out a couple of extra features, namely improved Related Pins and Custom Categories. As their names suggest, the new Related Pins now show 90 percent more related items, while custom categories expand on the 32 standard groups that Pinterest has as defaults. “We picked the categories relatively arbitrarily,” admitted Silbermann, referring to when the team first chose the group names. Now you can create your own, simply by tapping a button and entering a title like “Bob Dylan“.

According to Pinterest, the new search features will be rolled out in the next app updates on iOS and Android. Custom Categories, however, are still a little new to them and will be making a more gradual appearance to users.

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Source: Pinterest

Watch NASA’s Morpheus take to the air – then make a smooth landing

NASA’s Morpheus lander has gone a long way since it crashed and burned in 2012. The agency’s vertical landing and takeoff test vehicle now has a number of successful flights under its belt, including one that’s just concluded at the Kennedy Space Center. On this most recent flight, the lander easily traversed 1,300 feet at a speed of 36mph for 98 seconds, proving that it has a future in delivering cargo to space. As always, Morpheus had a very important passenger during this event: the team’s Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology. This equipment, called ALHAT for short, determines the best place to land by using lasers to scan for rocks and other hazards. That means it could be an essential tool when traveling to worlds we don’t know as well as Mars or the moon, as it can guide spacecraft to safety without human input. We’ve sadly yet to see ALHAT in action, as this particular flight used a predetermined landing point. But, since Morpheus breezed through it like a champ, the team will let the sophisticated landing tech take the reins next time.

NASA’s @MorpheusLander completed a 98-second free flight at Kennedy Space Center, landing in simulated lunar terrain. pic.twitter.com/iOL3G2gRkK

– Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) April 24, 2014

[Image credit: NASA/Frankie Martin]

Filed under: Misc

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Source: NASA, Morpheus Lander