Military’s ‘Plan X’ would put cyberweapons into the hands of soldiers

A soldier’s natural home is on the battlefield. So what happens when to infantry when conflicts move online? It turns out that DARPA, America’s mad science division, has a solution called “Plan X.” The project is designed to make cyber-weapons as easy to use as a pistol, but also to use technology to turn soldiers into digital warriors. One of the more realistic aspects of the project is to equip marines with hardware that’ll sniff out wireless networks that could be hosting booby traps.

At its furthest reaches, however, the project aims to turn the digital world into a 3D world that could be accessed with an Oculus Rift. Rather than simply hiring legions of hackers to fight on the front-lines, trained military personnel would wander around the internet, shooting down malicious attacks as if they were on the front line. Project manager Frank Pound has said that he wants to “get rid of the keyboard,” but use harness a human’s natural ability to improvise to out-think hostile attackers. Yes, this does sound as if everyone involved has been reading far too much cyberpunk literature before bedtime.

Filed under: Wearables

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Via: The Verge

Source: DoD, DARPA

What you need to know about Amazon Prime Music

Remember all those rumors about Amazon launching a music streaming service? Well, they were absolutely true: Amazon pulled back the curtain on Prime Music earlier today, which gives paying Prime subscribers access to over a million songs for no additional cost and without a single obnoxious ad in earshot. Amazon Digital Music VP Steve Boom told us that customers have been clamoring for this little development for ages now — here are a few answers to the burning questions surrounding Amazon’s newest media play.

How do I get it?

Assuming you’ve already paid Amazon for the year, you can use one of its existing Cloud Player apps for iOS, Android, OS X, Windows and the web to start digging through that catalog of free tracks. Speaking of which, doesn’t the name “Cloud Player” seem a little clunky? Amazon seemed to think so, because all those apps will fly under the new “Amazon Music” banner starting today. If you’ve got a Kindle Fire HD or HDX kicking around, they’ll get an automatic update that grants them access to that gratis music — we’re keeping our eyes peeled and will update you once it goes live.​

What does it do for me?

There are already plenty of streaming services out there, but Amazon’s lateness to the game only means it had time to figure out what its rivals were getting right. You can, for example, save high-quality Prime tracks to your device for offline listening (take that Pandora). Itching for the perfect party mix? You can check out curated playlists for specific moods and activities (sorry Songza).

Meanwhile, one of Amazon’s mainstays will help you discover music to add to your collection — Prime Music will chew on your preferences to recommend other artists and albums worth checking out. For now you’ll just get recommendations based on your what you’ve listened to, but Boom said it wouldn’t be impossible for future suggestions could draw from a wider array of shopping signals.

What’s the catch?

Here’s the rub, friend: Amazon’s library pales in comparison to the over 20 million tracks available with services like Spotify or Rdio. Sure, some big names are part of the deal — Daft Punk, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen — but a closer look at the catalog reveals there’s nothing there that’s currently racing up the charts. The only one of Billboard’s current top songs that can be found in Prime Music is John Legend’s All Of Me, and that’s only because it first charted back in 2013. Boom promised that the catalog would grow at a steady clip, but make no mistake — unless Amazon’s licensing deals change drastically, Prime Music won’t be your source for the hottest new releases.

So why does this exist?

“We’d love it if people spent all their time listening to Prime Music,” Boom noted. “But music isn’t a zero-sum game.”

He’s got a point. The company has always said it goal is more about delighting customers than crushing competitors, and one need only look at its catalog to see why it isn’t a huge threat to others… yet. The service’s real value seems clear. Prime Music is another way to make that $99 annual subscription fee seem even more valuable. Think about it: in addition to getting ridiculously fast shipping and loads of premium video, you now have access to a small (but not insignificant) pool of music to flesh out your collection. It’s no secret that Prime customers buy more than regular ones do, and that’s what’s going to fuel Amazon’s continued dominance. The company has been around since 1995, and it survived a bursting tech bubble to become a global force — in short, it lives to play the long game.

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Starbucks to offer a wireless charging method that you likely won’t use

Wireless charging has always been extremely convenient way to get some extra juice, whether that be at home, at an airport, or in your car. But what about a coffee shop? Starbucks is aiming to make your life a little easier by offering wireless charging technology in its tables and counters, but you may not be able to use it.

Let’s begin by saying that wireless charging is a mess. There are so many types of wireless charging technology built into devices around the world that there is no standard. Most phones nowadays offer Qi technology, but it still isn’t the norm for all devices. Here’s the unfortunate thing: Duracell will soon power your Starbucks table a counter with the same technology they use for their Powermat series – PMA wireless charging.

For the most part, if it’s not Qi, it requires a special case or back cover to charge wirelessly. And that being said, it will likely perpetuate the wireless charging standard to move every which way, giving users more headaches than ever.

So why would Starbucks partner with Duracell to offer a horrible form of wireless charging in their stores? Who knows. Duracell is a popular brand, and so is Starbucks. It makes just as much sense as the Apple/Beats acquisition.

Source: Wall Street Journal (Tech)

The post Starbucks to offer a wireless charging method that you likely won’t use appeared first on AndroidGuys.

IN BRIEF: 5 Android related things you might have missed (June 11)

Welcome back to another IN BRIEF. Today were going to look at some apps, accessories, and a unique device that you may like to know more about.

If you are a fan of racing games you may be interested in “DESERT RAGE” produced by developer TIMUZ. In the game you play as a desert rider collecting as many coins as you can to upgrade your bike while trying to avoid crashing into one of the many obstacles throughout the course. The game is free to play and available now.

Over the years we’ve seen Android power a wide range of devices, from T.V.’s to computers, to gaming consoles. One thing that we haven’t seen is an “Android smart projector that you can carry in your pocket”. “ODIN” is a new kickstarter project created by Alex Yoo of Dos Owls. ODIN “projects online content from a compact, battery-operated device allowing sharing and viewing in unlimited way”. If this sounds interesting to you there are still 26 days left to pledge your support. “ODIN” has already reached $148,443 of its goal of $250,000 so it is highly likely that the device will come to be. More information is available at the link below.

  ODIN: Android ‘Smart’ Projector to Carry in Your Pocket

Developer MADFINGER Games is celebrating their 4th anniversary and on Wednesday June 12th will offer the hit game “SHADOWGUN” for just .99¢. Last week MADFINGER offered SAMURAI II: VENGEANCE in a similar deal. You many want to act fast as the sale ends Saturday June 14th.

Popular home replacement app “BUZZ LAUNCHER” released a new performance update last week. Developer HOMEPACK BUZZ TEAM is saying that the app is now up to 28 times faster than before. Some other features that were added include…

• Improved graphic rendering performance of screen transition effects, making screen transition response much faster and smoother
• Increased frames per second (FPS) for overall user experience.  This update can improve a user’s FPS up to 28 times more (the more on-screen information you have, the higher difference you will see in FPS % increase – thus enabling users to have more apps/widgets)
• 5 new screen transition effects (bringing total to 10)

The updated app is free to use and available now.

Lastly, if you have a multitude of devices and accessories to accompany your devices you may be interested in “MOD” (magnetically modifiable folio). The “MOD” looks as if its made of premium materials and offers a plethora of options for the arrangement of your, well, stuff. Its available now for as low as $250. Who said premium was cheap.

MOD

The post IN BRIEF: 5 Android related things you might have missed (June 11) appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Huawei launches an online store to sell its own unlocked phones

Remember Huawei’s Ascend Mate 2? The decidedly mid-range phablet that, among other things, can charge lesser phones for you? When the company revealed the thing at this past CES, about the only thing it didn’t proclaim was when you could get one in the US. Not so any more: Huawei says it’s going to sell for $299, and you can lay claim to one right now. Normally, that wouldn’t be such a huge deal. After all. everyone runs pre-orders promotions, right? What’s really new here is that Huawei has launched an online store — GetHuawei.com — that promises some shiny new Huawei hardware on a regular basis, plus a slew of free goodies to go with it.

Let’s say you pick up an Ascend Mate 2 after all — you’ll get a SIM card with a month of free service, along with a case, and 20GB of cloud storage courtesy of Bitcasa. Zhiqiang Xu, the newly installed head of Huawei’s US devices group, was quick reassure a gaggle of reporters in New York that there would be plenty of new unlocked devices making their debut in the Get Huawei store as time marches onward.

So yes, that’s pretty neat if you’re itching to pick up some solid hardware without breaking the bank. Make no mistake, though: this is a big, big bet on Huawei’s part. It’s striking out on its own and trying to directly convince people that Huawei phones are worth owning, that the brand has value beyond just being a magnet for espionage allegations. In some ways, it’s a culmination of the work Huawei’s been doing to improve its international image — the United States is one of those markets that can be tough but worthwhile to crack, and the company clearly isn’t giving up without a fight.

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