The hacker who helped the FBI stop cyberattacks is now a free man
Lead LulzSec hacker Sabu (aka Hector Xavier Monsegur) was no doubt hoping for leniency when he turned informant, and it looks like his gamble has paid off. A federal court has sentenced him to the time he served in 2012, letting him walk away a free man. As prosecutors explain, Monsegur was a very “productive cooperator” — he provided complete, detailed information that helped the FBI take down LulzSec and stop a string of cyberattacks against both corporate and government targets, including Sony.
The sentence isn’t going to please those who supported LulzSec’s activities, which highlighted both dangerous security holes and questionable government policies. The US relocated Monsegur to help him avoid threats. However, it’s not hard to see why he would help out. Guidelines dictated a prison sentence of between 21 to 26 years, and fellow hacker Jeremy Hammond is serving 10 years for his role — if Monsegur didn’t share info, he was going to spend a large portion of his life behind bars.
[Image credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Internet
Source: New York Times
Comixology is giving away free comics for 20 days
If you’re an iOS user, you’re no doubt unhappy that Amazon made Comixology pull in-app purchases on your platform of choice. However, the service is offering a nice consolation prize: it’s giving away 20 free comics over 20 days, regardless of what technology you’re using. You only need to “buy” a freebie within 24 hours to add it to your collection. You’ll have already missed out on the first offer as we write this (sorry!), but there’s 19 more to be had through June 14th — that should be enough reading to keep you busy on your big vacation.
Via: The eBook Reader
Source: Comixology
#NowPlaying: Twitter and Billboard flip the switch on real-time music charts
Back in March, Billboard and Twitter announced plans to bring real-time tune-tracking charts to the masses. Well, today a couple of those charts went live. The Trending 140 keeps tabs on shared songs in the US, calculated by increased action in the last 60 minutes. As you might expect, you can filter the results for the last 24 hours and stats will get posted weekly as the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart. There’s an Emerging Artists ranking too, and it’ll work and be published in the same way. In case you’re wondering what lights up the ticker, tweets containing links to streaming services like Spotify or iTunes, music-specific hashtags (like #nowplaying or a song title) and words like “music,” “song,” or “listen” all weigh into the minute-by-minute tally. In the few minutes it took to write this post, John Mayer, Demi Lovato and Austin Mahone have all spent a moment in the number one spot.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Billboard
The LG G3 has a keyboard that grows, shrinks and learns
Despite an occasionally groan-inducing press conference in London, there’s little denying that LG’s new G3 has plenty going for it (personal aside: I’ve never been more smitten by an LG phone). It’s usually the little things that make the biggest difference, though, and the G3′s thoughtful Smart Keyboard seems to fall right into that category. Why? Because it pays attention.
The keyboard will slowly shift the way it interprets your touches as it learns how you type, though it won’t actually look any different. Do you always type S’s when you want A’s? The G3 will try to discern your meaning and expand the sensing area for the A key if it “thinks” you’re having trouble. That’ll sound more than a little familiar if you’re a BlackBerry buff: a very similar feature is baked into BlackBerry 10′s soft keyboard. You can also manually change the size of the G3′s keyboard, too, a real boon for those of us suffering with sausage fingers or bum eyes. You’ll only be able to stretch and compress the keyboard so much though — at their largest (see above), the keys are spacious and plenty accommodating for my gorilla thumbs, and the smallest is well-suited for preserving precious screen real estate. Throw in the ability to change the symbol keys that appear on either side of the spacebar and you’ve got yourself a pretty flexible way to jot down your innermost ruminations. On some level, it seems a little silly to get worked up over a keyboard (especially when LG has spent the better part of our morning/evening lauding other technical achievements), but it’s always nice to see companies shape our user experiences in subtle, smart ways.
Filed under: Mobile
Facebook will no longer share all of your activity by default
Facebook revoked Instagram’s auto-posting credentials recently, and it looks like the social network is going a lot further than it’s own properties. After noticing that links and other activity shared by knowingly tapping the blue “F” button garner more interest, Zuckerberg & Co. are scaling back the amount of automatically-posted content that shows up in the News Feed. Facebook will give preference to those items in its regularly updated rundown, which means less stuff from third-party apps will pop up in the days to come. However, as The Verge reports, those auto-posts will still populate areas of your profile dedicated to them — such as track-by-track Spotify activity and the like — and will still be used for targeted ads. The move follows last month’s announcement that the folks in Menlo Park were cracking down on spam in its News Feed, but we’d surmise sponsored posts are staying put.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Via: The Verge
Source: Facebook
Watch the LG G3 launch event live
With the LG event underway, we’ve embedded the live stream below for you to watch the company unveil their flagship LG G3 device.
Watch the company go into great detail about how they have achieved the specs with the LG G3, including what is expected to be a device powered by Android 4.4.2 KitKat, a 5.5-inch 1440×2560 pixel display and a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor. Other specs include 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, and a 3000mAh battery.
The post Watch the LG G3 launch event live appeared first on AndroidGuys.
LG announces flagship G3 for summer
After what feels like months of rumors, LG on Tuesday officially announced the flagship G3 will arrive this summer. Hardware details should not come as much of a surprise if you’ve been following the space closely these last few weeks. Oh, but what hardware it is indeed.
Powered by Android 4.4.2 KitKat, the G3 boasts a 5.5-inch 1440×2560 pixel display and a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor. Other details include 2GB/3GB RAM, 16GB/32GB internal storage configurations, and a 3000mAh battery.
In terms of cameras, the G3 features a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization and laser-assisted autofocus. Around front you’ll find a 2.1-megapixel shooter. Connectivity comes via 4G LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, DLNA, Miracast, and FM radio.
User Experience
Moving over to software, LG has put a tremendous level of custom touches to the user experience. Picking up where its predecessor leaves off, the G3 includes:
- Smart Keyboard: Adaptive technology learns as you type for faster input with fewer mistakes.
- Smart Notice: Like a personal assistant, Smart Notice provides suggestions and recommendations based on user behavior, phone usage patterns and location to offer user information when it’s needed the most.
- Smart Security: Understanding the importance of maintaining and securing confidential data when smartphonesare shared, misplaced, lost or stolen, the LG G3 offers a number of enhanced security features such as:
- Knock Code™ enables users to unlock their device with a pattern of taps.
- Content Lock keeps personal files safe and hidden from view when sharing the LG G3 with friends.
- Kill Switch gives LG G3 owners the ability to disable their phones remotely in the event of theft.
Accessories
LG will also be offering a collection of new premium accessories to accompany the LG G3:
- QuickCircle™ Case: Available in five colors, QuickCircleTM Case allows easy access to frequently used functions such as calling, text messaging, music and camera all from the QuickCircle window without opening the cover. In addition to the QuickCircleTM Case, LG will offer a lineup of Slim Guard Cases and premium Slim Hard Cases to protect the LG G3 in style.
- LG Tone Infinim™ (HBS-900): Developed in collaboration with Harman/Kardon, the Bluetooth stereo headset delivers premium audio quality sound in a stylish design. Built with retractable wire management technology and jog buttons for easy search, Tone Infinim also features Name AlertTM to verbally notify you who is calling before you answer.
- Wireless Charger: Compact and foldable, LG’s Wireless Charger is optimized for easy portability. Compatible with Qi’s wireless power charging technology, the Wireless Charger from LG makes staying powered up as convenient as possible.
The LG G3 will begin rolling out worldwide (starting on May 28 in South Korea) on over 170 carriers. The LG G3 will be sold in Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Moon Violet and Burgundy Red color options. Exact availability and pricing will be announced by various carriers in the coming days and weeks. We do know for certain that it will “arrive on U.S. soil later this summer with T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores.”
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T-Mobile giving an LG G3 away each day until June 29
T-Mobile is the first U.S. carrier to announce the upcoming availability for the newly introduced LG G3. Although the Un-carrier has yet to reveal pricing or a firm date, we can expect the flagship to touch down this summer. In other words, pretty much what LG said in their press announcement.
Current and prospective T-Mobile customers can now sign up for pre-registration of the LG G3. Doing so could actually earn them a free G3 ahead of its actual debut. Indeed, T-Mobile will be giving away one free LG G3 per day until June 29. Called the Open Beta Sweepstakes, it’s a chance to win an advance-release Beta model. Good luck!
The post T-Mobile giving an LG G3 away each day until June 29 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AT&T confirms LG G3 for “this year”
Talk about vague. AT&T has confirmed what LG already made public regarding the upcoming G3. Specifically, Ma Bell says they will carry the flagship 5.5-inch device “this summer”. We know better, of course, and expect to see the phone within the next few weeks. Would it have killed AT&T to pin it down to a season or quarter? Yeesh.
The LG G3 is set to join the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network. “We are excited to add the LG G3 to AT&T’s leading device portfolio this year,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president – Devices, AT&T. “With its razor sharp 5.5 inch Quad HD display to its laser auto camera focus, the LG G3 is an innovative smartphone for consumers looking for the latest technologies all running on the network that covers more than 99 percent of all Americans.”
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LG G3 gallery
You’ve heard the news by now and now you want to look at the biggest, baddest smartphone of 2014. Behold the LG G3 and its quad-core, Quad HD glory.
The post LG G3 gallery appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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