Visualized: Curiosity rover takes us back to the surface of Mars
Been a while since you last took a trip to Mars? Once again, photographer Andrew Bodrov has stitched together the latest shots from the Curiosity rover so that you can spend a little time on another world. As before, the 360 Cities controls aren’t the most intuitive, but hey — it’s a lot cheaper than building your own space program just for a trip across Holst’s favorite planet.
Filed under: Transportation, Science
Via: Gizmodo
Source: 360 Cities
Here’s how Google’s modular phone will get its 3D-printed parts
Google’s modular Project Ara smartphone is all about customization, but that creates a challenge: how are manufacturers supposed to build so many uncommon (and possibly unique) parts? The crew at 3D Systems is more than happy to tell you — it just outlined the 3D printing techniques it’s using to make Ara a reality. The company is dropping the conventional printing process, which bogs down due to frequent changes in speed, in favor of a continuously moving system that’s fast enough to cope with mass production. The technique should generate “millions” of parts, even when some components need special treatment.
The manufacturing technique should be very flexible, to boot. We already knew that 3D Systems would be making conductive ink (with the help of Carnegie Mellon University and X5 Systems) to print working parts, like antennas. However, it will also print parts in a “full spectrum” of colors, including transparencies; there’s a possibility that you’ll get parts for your Project Ara phone in the exact hues you want. You’ll still have to wait until 2015 to get a modular mobile device of your own, but you’ll at least know how it came into being.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Via: SlashGear
Source: 3D Systems
T-Mobile ‘Very Interested’ in Adding iPhone to MetroPCS Prepaid Brand [iOS Blog]
In the wake of its acquisition of prepaid carrier MetroPCS last year, T-Mobile US indicated that adding the iPhone to MetroPCS’s lineup was “a possibility” but not an imminent move. A year later, things are looking a bit more positive for MetroPCS customers, with T-Mobile’s Mike Sievert telling Re/code the carrier is “very interested” in bringing the iPhone to MetroPCS.
“We are very interested in that,” Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert told Re/code. “We think the Metro PCS customer would be as well.” […]
Part of the challenge is finding an attractive way to make it affordable enough for all of MetroPCS’s customers, many of whom have tighter budgets and some of whom might not have good enough credit to qualify for device financing.
MetroPCS had approximately nine million customers at the time of its acquisition by T-Mobile, and the carrier now operates as a separate brand running on T-Mobile’s network in an expanded set of markets. T-Mobile has also reclaimed substantial portions of MetroPCS’s former spectrum for use in enhancing the overall T-Mobile network.
Sky’s raising Now TV package prices, but don’t blame Game of Thrones
If you’ve invested in Sky’s super-cheap Now TV box, the chances are that you’ve also been enjoying the company’s introductory pricing it offers on its streaming packages. Sky’s entertainment and movie bundles are currently priced at £4.99 and £8.99 per month respectively, but are set to rise to £6.99 and £9.99 later this month. At first glance, it looks like the broadcaster has chosen the optimum time to recoup some of the investment its made in exclusivity for shows like Game of Thrones, but the reality is a little less scandalous.
Prices were actually meant to shoot up in March, but Sky decided at the time to extend the introductory offers until May 29th. So while it appears like the Lannisters are after yet more coin ahead of the cut-off in the coming weeks, it was actually the plan all along. It’s probably not the news you were hoping for as you wait to see whether Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons can conquer the seven kingdoms, but the Now TV honeymoon period originally had an earlier deadline, so you’ve still had better luck than Ned and family.
Filed under: HD
Via: Recombu
Source: Now TV, Now TV Community
Popular login services have a security hole, but Facebook and Microsoft can’t fix it
The recent Heartbleed scare caused a huge stir, even though it was effectively fixed before it even happened. There are other sorts of security hole, however, which can’t be plugged so readily, and which affected companies therefore have less incentive to publicize. A researcher in Singapore, Wang Jing, claims to have uncovered a potentially serious example of this, involving the widely-used login services OAuth and OpenID. He says that he’s tried to alert major web services that rely on these platforms, including Facebook, Microsoft and Google, but they’re refusing to take responsibility for the issue.
If exploited, the vulnerability inside OAuth and OpenID could reportedly allow a malicious website to use a genuine website — such as Facebook.com — to authorize its illicit requests for personal information. Any pop-ups shown to the user, asking for their approval, would also appear to be coming from the genuine site. According CNET, Google says it’s “tracking the issue,” Facebook says it’s aware of the problem but solving it is “something that can’t be accomplished in the short-term,” and Microsoft says it can’t fix something that “exists on the domain of a third party.”
Other security analysts have corroborated Jing’s central finding, but some have described it as a “known WONTFIX” or as a fundamental problem with web security as a whole. Either way, the best advice is to be wary of following links that immediately ask you to login to Google or Facebook, and to close the tab if this happens, in order to prevent redirects. As ever, just don’t assume that the sites and services you use every day are necessarily safe — in the future, we could well look back on these years as the Wild West era of the internet.
[Image credit: Gamma Man/Flickr]
Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft, Google, Facebook
Source: CNET
LG’s G3 breaks cover with narrow bezels, redesigned back button
Earlier this week, LG said that the G2 successor would be called the G3 and launch before July — nothing terribly shocking. Now we get to see what the upcoming device (allegedly) looks like, thanks to leaks from GSM Arena and a Korean site called Seeko. The two images seem to show different body plastics, though the device shown by Seeko (at the source) has no logo and could be a prototype. Other notable design changes from the G2 are narrower bezels and new rear buttons. Spec-wise, GSM Arena‘s tipster said it’ll have a 3,000mAh battery, microSD slot and come in 2GB and 3GB RAM versions with 16GB and 32GB of storage, respectively. We’re also expecting a Quad HD display, so hopefully it’s more grippy than it looks in the pics — we’d hate to break that.
[Image credits: Seeko, GSM Arena]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
Via: Ameblo (translated)
White House advisors call for an internet privacy bill of rights
Nintey days ago, President Obama ordered a review about internet privacy, data use and other concerns sparked by the NSA spying revelations. Following a public consultation, the report has now been released by White House counselor John Podesta. Though flawed — there’s no mention of NSA spying activities, for instance — it’s already being lauded by consumer advocacy groups. The 85-page document notes that while the mountains of data collected by government and corporations like Google and Apple are incredibly useful, much more needs to be done to protect civil rights.
Though the report is part of a government probe about the NSA’s contentious data gathering practices, it also encompasses legitimate government and private data collection. In particular, the panel took umbrage to the “notice and consent” model used by Google and other firms, in which users only give permission one time for their data to be used. The panel worried that such policies give folks little control of their personal information, particularly about how it could be re-used in the future. As such, it recommended that a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights be created and passed, something Obama first proposed two years ago.
The document also singled out the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 and suggested sweeping amendments to make it more relevant to the modern digital world. In particular, the statute permits authorities to read email more than six months old, something the report described as an “archaic distinction.” Finally, it suggested policies to prevent data breaches (and deal with them correctly), extend privacy to non-US citizens and use student data responsibly. Given recent policy changes by Google on the latter point, we wonder if it didn’t see a draft copy.
All the suggested reforms were hailed by consumer groups like the ACLU, who sued the NSA (unsuccessfully) about its massive data collection activities. However, it warned that “now Congress and the administration need to make this vision a reality by enacting ECPA reform without any loopholes.” That, as we all know, is another story — but don’t forget that it’s now easier to add your two cents.
Filed under: Internet
Via: CNET
Source: The White House
EE’s homegrown Kestrel smartphone now available for £99
EE announced at the end of March it would be taking its first stab at own-brand hardware with the Kestrel, a 4G handset for thrifty speed merchants. Well, the Android smartphone is now available to buy online or over the phone for £99 on pay-as-you-go, or from £14 per month on EE’s new entry-level 4G tariffs. Aside from its price, the Kestrel has a few other things going for it, like a capable quad-core Snapdragon 400 heart and Cat 4 LTE radio which can, in theory, handle the maximum 150Mbps download speeds of EE’s “Extra” plans. It’s now the cheapest way to jump on EE’s ever-expanding 4G network, and we have one in our possession, so keep an eye out for our full review in the near future.
Filed under: Cellphones
Source: EE
Adidas confirms offline Spotify playback coming to its SmartRun Android watch
Yesterday we reported on a new collaboration between Spotify and Adidas that would allow runners to cook up a personalized playlist and fresh route for their next run. That’s great, if you run with your phone, but we mused that Adidas already has a device that could handle that task — the Android-powered SmartRun. Turns out, Adidas is one step ahead, and confirmed to us today that offline Spotify playback will be coming to the SmartRun later this year (towards Christmastime). So, a plus for Spotify subscribers, who get one more place to enjoy their music, and a definite boost for SmartRun owners, if for no other reason than the knowledge that it’s a product Adidas is clearly keen to expand the functionality of. Too much to dare that even more features could be in the pipeline?
Filed under: Wearables
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare trailer features futuristic action, Kevin Spacey
With Call of Duty being one of the most successful game franchises out there, you know there’s always going to be a next one. Well, the first trailer for that game has dropped, revealing its full title of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and Kevin Spacey. The House of Cards actor appears to be cast in the role of a powerful, politically driven antihero (how original), but what we’re more interested in is the little hints of new and changing gameplay elements. Just as CoD 4: Modern Warfare brought the series out of the WWII era, Advanced Warfare will send us further into the future, as the presence of spider tanks, hover bikes, the ‘copters from Avatar and weaponized exoskeletons suggests. The trailer shows super jumping too many times for it not to be one of the new mechanics, which we assume will be joined by cloaking and a perk that lets you see through walls — it looks something like the Active Radar Pulse from Titanfall in the fleeting clip, if you’ve been playing any of that recently. There’s also soldiers shown scaling walls with special gloves and unravelling a section of plantable cover, but as the whole trailer is shot cut-scene style, there’s no telling what gameplay elements you will actually be able to use, and whether they’ll be single-player or multiplayer only.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is being developed by Activision and Sledgehammer Games, a lesser-known studio that had a hand in creating Modern Warfare 3. This trailer footage comes from an Xbox One, but you can bet Advanced Warfare will also come to the PS4 and PCs, at the very least. With the hype train now rolling, you can bet we’ll be hearing a lot more about the game before its release date of November 4th this year. Trailer below the fold.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony, Microsoft
Source: YouTube
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