Yosemite National Park cracks down on drones that scare bears
Itching to get out there and make the most of your newly-upgraded drone’s ability to capture the majesty of Mother Nature? Well, your UAV isn’t welcome at Yosemite National Park. In fact, it never was. Flying a drone was already illegal according to the Code of Federal Regulations governing the park, which says that “delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or other airborne means” is prohibited for regular visitors. But a growing number of hobbyists have been ignoring this rule, forcing the Yosemite Park Service to reiterate the ban and explain why it’s necessary. In a statement, it says that drones “can be extremely noisy, and can impact the natural soundscape.” More generally, drones also “impact the wilderness experience,” because there’s nothing less nature-y than a hovering quadrocopter filming in Full HD. It’s not only the resident fauna that can be put in peril, either: drones can apparently also interfere with emergency rescue operations.
Filed under: Science
Via: The Verge
Source: Yosemite National Park
John McAfee’s latest project is yet another secure messaging app
Now that John McAfee’s days of running from the law appear to be over, he’s been left with plenty of time to slam the company he founded and mull over products that originally made him famous. We’ve already heard about DeCentral, a pocket-sized device that’s designed to block government agencies by creating secure private networks (that we’ve yet to lay eyes on), but the anti-virus pioneer has also been working on some new software tools too. One of those is Chadder, a secure messaging app that joins a long list of existing encryption-toting messaging services (think Wickr or Telegram) that promise to stop your communications from being spied upon by the NSA and other nefarious types.
What makes it different from its rivals? At the moment, nothing. Its design is basic, users aren’t afforded many customization options and the app’s friend-finding tools make it extremely difficult to do exactly that. It does have a engaging tagline though: “Say what you want! (We can’t see it anyway!)” McAfee and co. will hope the personal touch will kickstart downloads of the beta app, which is available on both Google Play and the Windows Phone Store. Expect to see it go live on the App Store “in the coming weeks.”
Via: Business Insider
Source: Chadder, (Google Play), (Windows Phone)
Amazon discounts Kindle Fire HD tablets by up to $40
Amazon is once again offering discounts on its Kindle Fire HD and Fire HDX line of tablets, this time for Mother’s Day. You do love the woman who brought you into the world, don’t you? Show that beautiful lady how much she means by scooping up a tablet. Well, we won’t say anything if you decide to keep it for yourself; just buy her something nice, ya dingus.
- Kindle Fire HD (7-inch) as low as $119
- Kindle Fire HDX (7-inch) as low as $199
- Kindle Fire HDX (8.9-inch) as low as $339
In addition to slashing prices for the tablets, Amazon is also offering 20% discounts for select accessories.
The post Amazon discounts Kindle Fire HD tablets by up to $40 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple Considering ‘Full Health and Fitness Services Platform’ Modeled on the App Store
Apple allegedly is looking beyond the iWatch wearable device and may be creating a new health and fitness ecosystem modeled on its successful iOS App Store, claims a mobile health executive who recently spoke to Reuters. Similar to the iOS App Store, this new platform may allow companies to develop their own mobile medical applications that could tie into Apple’s iWatch wearable device.
One mobile health executive, who asked not to be named, told Reuters he recently sat down with an Apple executive from the iWatch team. He said the company has aspirations beyond wearable devices, and is considering a full health and fitness services platform modeled on its apps store.
As part of iOS 8 later this year, Apple is rumored to be launching a new Healthbook app, which is expected to serve as a repository for health-related data acquired from a variety of sources. Based on the breadth of data the app appears to be able to track, it is unsurprising that Apple will be looking to open up the ecosystem to third parties to help users fill out all of the various content areas.
One company that could benefit from an Apple health and fitness ecosystem is Nike, which has scaled back its work on its Fuelband hardware to focus on expanding its software-based NikeFuel platform. Though Nike CEO Mark Parker would not directly comment on specific plans with Apple, Parker did note in a recent CNBC appearance that Apple is a longtime partner and that he is “excited about where that relationship will go forward.”
iWatch concept by Todd Hamilton, based on the Nike FuelBand
Much of today’s report focuses on Apple’s health- and sensor-related hires over the past several years, most of which have previously been detailed and which have been focused around non-invasive monitoring of vital health parameters such as sleep, oxygen saturation and blood glucose levels. Apple has hired talent from notable companies such as pulse oximetry company Masimo, medical sensor company Vital Connect and Philips Sleep Research.
Apple’s latest reported hire is MIT researcher Eric Winokur, who worked on ear-worn devices for monitoring blood pressure and heart rate. Information about Winokur’s hiring surfaced alongside a sketchy rumor claiming Apple is planning to launch an EarPods model with integrated heart rate and blood pressure sensors. While a new Tumblr blog claims to be from the person who made up the rumor, Apple patent applications suggest the company has indeed considered the integration of biometric sensors into its headphone line in the past.
Apple’s sensor-laden iWatch has been rumored for several years, with most recent rumors suggesting that it may debut late this year. It is not expected to be unveiled at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference set for early June.
iOS 7 Security Flaw Leaves Stored Email Attachments Unencrypted
Apple states that it uses data encryption to protect email message attachments, but a report from security researcher Andreas Kurtz, via ZDNet, claims iOS 7.0.4 and later does not include this security feature.
Kurtz detected this flaw in iOS by accessing the file system on an iPhone 4 running iOS 7.1 and 7.1.1. Browsing through the email folder for an IMAP account, Kurtz discovered that the email attachments were stored in an unencrypted state. Besides the iPhone 4, Kurtz also was able to reproduce this vulnerability on an iPhone 5s and an iPad 2 running iOS 7.0.4.
I verified this issue by restoring an iPhone 4 (GSM) device to the most recent iOS versions (7.1 and 7.1.1) and setting up an IMAP email account1, which provided me with some test emails and attachments. Afterwards, I shut down the device and accessed the file system using well-known techniques (DFU mode, custom ramdisk, SSH over usbmux). Finally, I mounted the iOS data partition and navigated to the actual email folder. Within this folder, I found all attachments accessible without any encryption/restriction
Kurtz reported this issue to Apple, which acknowledged the flaw, but provided no timetable for patching it. This isn’t the first security issue Apple has faced this year. The company recently patched a serious SSL connection verification flaw in both iOS and OS X that allowed an attacker with a “privileged network position” to capture data protected by SSL/TLS.
Google takes its same-day delivery service to New York and LA
Just over a year after it started offering same-day deliveries to San Franciscans, Google’s Shopping Express has finally made its way out of California. The service, which offers expedited shipping from major stores like Target, Staples and Walgreens but also local businesses, has expanded to parts of New York and Los Angeles. Residents living in Manhattan can now call upon Google to deliver groceries, gadgets and office supplies in super-fast time. Shoppers in Culver City, Inglewood, Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Venice, West Los Angeles and Westwood are now also eligible, extending the search giant’s California footprint in the process. To kickstart its expansion, Google is throwing in six months of unlimited free deliveries and says it’ll add other parts of Los Angeles in the coming months, undoubtedly giving Amazon and other brick-and-mortar stores something to think about.
Via: The Verge
Source: Google Commerce Blog
Target CEO steps down in aftermath of customer data breach
The fallout from Target’s massive customer data breach continues: following the departure of the retailer’s chief information officer in March, CEO Gregg Steinhafel has stepped down. The executive feels he’s “personally accountable” for the lax security that let the breach happen, and is bowing out after “extensive discussions” with the board of directors. He’ll hang on as an advisor while Target looks for a replacement, and CFO John Mulligan will run the company in the interim.
In his resignation letter, Steinhafel says that it’s the “right time” for him to leave. The store chain has passed “several key milestones” in bolstering security, he says, including a new CIO with expertise in protecting government data. However, the exit also comes several weeks after the firm recorded a 46 percent year-over-year drop in its holiday season profits. Target is under pressure to regain the confidence of both shareholders and shoppers, and a change in CEOs just might provide the reassurances needed to improve the company’s bottom line.
[Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Internet
Source: Target
Chairman tries to boost confidence in Acer as he slips out the back
Six months ago, the co-founder of Acer stepped out of retirement to take up the positions of Chairman and CEO, with the intention of turning the embattled PC maker’s fortunes around. Stan Shih now claims that he’s succeeded in this mission, and that people’s confidence in the company should be restored by the end of 2014, with a full-fledged “return to glory” to be expected within three years. He won’t be sticking around to see if any of that happens, however: The 69-year-old has already handed over the chief exec’s reins (twice), and now he’s decided to give up the chairmanship too. As of June, he’ll retreat to the relative obscurity of Acer’s cloud department. He’ll oversee the company’s effort to make money from its “Build Your Own Cloud” service, based on the idea that customers may want to store their data centrally but privately, rather than on someone else’s servers. Ultimately, though, Acer’s future still rests on its hardware, and its most recent products — the Switch 10 and Iconia Tab 7 — look a lot like business as usual.
[Image credit: CEIBS]
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Acer
Via: PC Advisor (IDG)
Source: PC Advisor (IDG)
WSJ: HTC begins outsourcing production
HTC has started calling on other companies to help build some of its products, reports the Wall Street Journal. Alleged, HTC has turned to Compal (Taiwan) and Wingtech (China) to manufacture its Desire family of phones. Designed to help cut costs, the move is likely a result of HTC’s Chairwoman Cher Wang’s more active involvement. HTC will continue producing the One line of smartphones in-house.
WSJ (subscription required)
The post WSJ: HTC begins outsourcing production appeared first on AndroidGuys.
The Crease Icon Pack joins Joshua Masih’s fold, Literally
Our good friend and icon designer, Joshua Masih, continues to roll with his repertoire of high quality icon packs. Following in the wake of his successful icon packs, Faint (review here) and DAB (review here), comes Crease. The premise for the Crease icon pack is very simple; putting a horizontal line through all the icons and giving the bottom half a bit of shading to give the appearance of a more 3D look, and I have to say the icons look pretty great all lined up on your homescreen.
The Crease icon pack was only released a few days ago and features over 800 icons and 22 matching wallpapers, a dashboard app and a designer who is happy to respond to your icon requests. Custom launcher support is all there as expected and the pack is currently going for $2.01 USD; if you’re interested in picking the pack up, Play Store links can be found down below. And of course, be sure to circle Joshua on Google+ as he often teases his upcoming packs and updates there.
What do you think about the Crease icon pack? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Icons: Crease Icon Pack
Price: $2.01
//<![CDATA[
ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random()*1E16);
document.write('’);
//]]>
AIVAnet 