Could this ‘ASUS Nexus Player’ be an Android TV launch device?
You know what time it is? It’s speculation time. The above benchmark popped up today over at HDblog.it and suggests the existence of a device called the ‘ASUS Nexus Player‘. The only clues we have as to the nature of the device are the fact it runs a quadcore 1.8GHz processor with 1 GB RAM, likely 8GB of storage and runs Android L. There is one fact, however, that might suggest what this device truly is, and that is the display properties. While the 1080p resolution isn’t anything special, it’s the fact that it is on a 31.9-inch display. It would be easy to assume that this is a new All-In-One solution from ASUS, the lack of a touchscreen seems to allude to this ASUS Nexus Player being a Smart TV with Android TV capabilities.
We really haven’t heard all that much about Android TV since it was announced at Google I/O earlier this year, however we are now in the Fall window when Google claims Android TV is going to release. This new benchmark could suggest the ASUS Nexus Player might just be one of the first devices to be launched with Android TV, or even the first device given that it carries the ‘Nexus’ label. Of course, we’ll take this information with a grain of salt, but it is definitely compelling nonetheless.
What do you think the ASUS Nexus Player is? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: HDblog.it via TalkAndroid
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MIT’s soft robotic tentacle can squeeze into tight spots (video)
MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Lab (CSAIL) has been developing different types of soft robots for a while: you might remember the mechanical fish from earlier this year that can swim like a real one. Now, that same laboratory has come up with another soft robot, and this time it’s inspired by a wriggly, slithery octopus tentacle. CSAIL’s robotic “arm” is made entirely out of silicone using 3D-printed molds — even the “motors” that propel it forward are merely hollow expandable silicone divided into sections. Air is then pumped into the appropriate sections in order for the tentacle to bend, slither and squeeze through.
The researchers believe their soft robots have the potential to move through human environments a lot better than metal ones can. In the future, for instance, the arm could help handle delicate specimens in labs and even assist doctors on minimally invasive surgeries… but not until the team’s done making a second version with fingers to pick up objects. Aside from CSAIL, there are many other educational institutions developing soft robots of their own, from a slug that oozes along and a three-legged one that can jump like a grasshopper to a rugged starfish-like machine that can take a beating.
Filed under: Robots
Source: MIT
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Google’s fix to test self-driving cars: temporary steering wheels
Apparently, Google has always known that the California DMV wouldn’t allow it to test self-driving cars on the road unless they have manual controls and a backup driver onboard. The company has just revealed in a new Google+ post that its latest prototypes (designed to live without the now-vestigial controls) can accommodate temporary steering wheels and controls, as seen above. Once testing’s done, folks working on the self-driving car division can easily remove the steering wheel and any manual control they’ve had to add. Convenient, right?
Some of that prototype testing will take place at Moffett Field, home to NASA’s Ames Research Center. Unlike its California-bound cars, though, those slated to hit the federal property’s roads don’t need to have manual controls at all. According to Google, its private test track simulates traffic lights, construction zones and even wobbly cyclists to create a busy street environment. In fact, a month or two after their initial testing (that’s slated to begin three to six months from now), the prototypes don’t even need to have backup drivers onboard. Google started leasing Hangar One and its surrounding air field at Moffett earlier this year, so it’ll at least have a ton of parking space for its diminutive, cartoon-like vehicles.
Filed under: Transportation, Google
Source: Google Self-Driving Car Project (Google+)
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Engadget Daily: Microsoft buys ‘Minecraft’ developer Mojang, Google unveils Android One, and more!
The rumors were true: Microsoft is buying Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5 billion. Crazy, right? That’s not all that happened today though. Go ahead and spice up your Monday with Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours. You know you want to.
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US fines over data requests would have destroyed Yahoo in a year
The US government’s threat that it would fine Yahoo $250,000 per day back in 2008 was bad enough by itself, but declassified documents show that the penalties could easily have been much, much worse. Marc Zwillinger and Jacob Sommer (who were on Yahoo’s side in the case) note that $250,000 was merely the baseline, and that the requested fines would double for every week that Yahoo refused to hand over user data. There wasn’t a ceiling, either. At that rate, holding out for any significant amount of time would have been impossible — Yahoo would have lost all of its assets, or $13.8 billion, in just over a year. As such, the fine wasn’t so much a punishment as a weapon that forced the internet firm to comply with a surveillance order it was planning to contest in court.
Not that Yahoo had much chance of success even if the fine had been down to Earth. The Director of National Intelligence put tremendous pressure on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to deny Yahoo’s call for a stay on the data requests, saying that a pause “could cause great harm” to the country. Moreover, the government denied Yahoo access to evidence that would help its defense — it couldn’t cast doubt on the demands by showing that the US scoops up incidental data about innocent Americans, for example. That Yahoo resisted at all is significant given the tall odds, but it’s clearer than ever that US companies have few viable ways of fighting requests for your online info when national security is allegedly at stake.
[Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
Filed under: Internet
Via: Washington Post
Source: ZwillGen Blog
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PayPal Launches Ad Subtly Attacking Apple for Recent iCloud Photo Leak [iOS Blog]
Following the unveiling of Apple Pay last week, PayPal has gone on the offensive, taking out a full page ad in The New York Times that slams Apple for its recent iCloud photo leak while promoting PayPal’s own security.
“We the people want our money safer than our selfies,” reads the ad first shared by Pando Daily. “PayPal, protecting the people economy.”
The ad alludes to a recent attack on celebrity iCloud accounts, which saw hundreds of celebrity photos released on the Internet. Since the attack, Apple has gone to great lengths to point out that the leak was tied to weak usernames and passwords rather than an iCloud security breach, as the incident occurred just before plans to unveil Apple Pay.
The company released a public statement after an investigation, and then Tim Cook did an interview with The Wall Street Journal to let users know about plans to broaden the use of two-factor authentication and to send security emails when a device is restored, iCloud is accessed, or a password change is attempted.
On its Apple Pay website, Apple also goes into detail about the security of the service, pointing towards unique Device Account numbers, the iPhone’s Secure Element, and the ability to put a phone in Lost Mode if it goes missing, protecting all information including payment data.
Apple also says that all transactions are private, as the company does not store any details at all. Payment information is also directly stored on a device (within the Secure Element) and not in iCloud, making it inaccessible from a remote location.
Apple doesn’t save your transaction information. With Apple Pay, your payments are private. Apple doesn’t store the details of your transactions so they can’t be tied back to you. Your most recent purchases are kept in Passbook for your convenience, but that’s as far as it goes.
It’s no surprise that PayPal has launched an ad that subtly attacks Apple as it is facing significant competition from the company. In addition to allowing users to make purchases in retail stores with their iPhones, Apple Pay also lets users buy items in supported apps using a credit card or debit card connected with an iTunes account.
PayPal works in a very similar way, letting users attach a credit or debit card and then make purchases through the service, alleviating the need to enter credit card details. Major credit card companies, banks, and multiple retailers are also already on board with Apple Pay.
App developers have been instructed to use several different payment platforms in their APIs, including Authorize.Net, Chase Paymentech, CyberSource, First Data, Stripe, and TSYS. Noticeably absent is PayPal, though the service’s credit card processing subsidiary, Braintree, has pledged support for Apple Pay.
PayPal has had its own security issues in recent months, most recently facing a significant problem with its two-factor authentication system.
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What’s on your HDTV: ‘Godzilla’, ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘New Girl’
It didn’t get the best reception in theaters, but this year’s new Godzilla flick is coming home this week on Blu-ray, along with a re-release of Ghostbusters 1 & 2. We’re also getting our first taste of fall TV, as Fox lines up The Mindy Project and The New Girl (season three will be on Netflix if you haven’t seen it) on Tuesday night. If you don’t have Amazon Prime but want to watch Alpha House, the first season of that series is also on Blu-ray. Hit the gallery or just look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Blu-ray, Streaming movies & Games
- Godzilla (3D)
- Ghostbusters 1 & 2
- Arrow (S2)
- Hannibal (S2)
- Sleepy Hollow (S1)
- The Roosevelts
- Grimm (S3)
- South Park (S17)
- The Big Bang Theory (S7)
- The Fault in Our Stars
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (40th Anniversary Edition)
- The Nutty Professor (50th Anniversary)
- Alpha House (S1)
- Congo
- Fibbage (PS3)
- Flockers (PC, Xbox One)
- Silver Linings Playbook, Netflix
- Beginners, Netflix
Monday
- Monday Night Football: Eagles vs. Colts, ESPN, 8:15PM
- Dancing with the Stars (season premiere), ABC, 8PM
- American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 8PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- Terror at the Mall, HBO, 9PM
- Lotus Caves (special presentation), Syfy, 9PM
- Dallas, TNT, 9PM
- Under the Dome, CBS, 10PM
Tuesday
- New Girl (S3), Netflix
- Bones (S9), Netflix
- Alan Alda and the Actor Within You, HBO, 7:30PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Dancing with the Stars, ABC, 8PM
- The Roosevelts, PBS, 8PM
- Utopia, Fox, 8PM
- New Girl (season premiere), Fox, 9PM
- Fashion Rocks, CBS, 9PM
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 9PM
- Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9PM
- 4th and Loud, A&E, 9PM
- Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
- Matador, El Rey, 9PM
- The Mindy Project (season premiere), Fox, 9:30PM
- Sons of Anarchy, FX, 10PM
- Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
- The Singles Project, Bravo, 10PM
- Finding Carter (season finale), MTV, 10PM
- Brickleberry (season premiere), Comedy Central, 10:30PM
Wednesday
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
- Unsung: The Chi-lites, TV One, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- The Roosevelts, PBS, 8PM
- The Director’s Chair: Quentin Tarantino pt 2, El Rey Network, 9PM
- Red Band Society (series premiere), Fox, 9PM
- America’s Got Talent (season finale), NBC, 9PM
- Legends, TNT, 9PM
- Under the Lights, CBS, 9PM
- The League, FXX, 10PM
- Franklin & Bash, TNT, 10PM
- Extant (season finale), CBS, 10PM
- The Mysteries of Laura (series premiere), NBC, 10PM
- The Bridge, FX, 10PM
- Ali G: Rezurection, FXX, 10:30PM
- Virgin Territory, MTV, 11PM
- The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail (season finale), Comedy Central, 12:30AM
Thursday
- Buccaneers/Falcons football, CBS, 8:25PM
- The Biggest Loser, NBC, 8PM
- Haven, Syfy, 8PM
- The Roosevelts, PBS, 8PM
- Rush (season finale), USA, 9PM
- Dating Naked: Wedding Special (season finale), VH1, 9PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- Working the Engels, NBC, 9:30PM
- Married (season finale), FX, 10PM
- Satisfaction (season finale), USA, 10PM
- Ridiculousness, MTV, 10PM
- Garfunkel & Oates, IFC, 10PM
- You’re The Worst (season finale), FX, 10:30PM
- Black Jesus, Cartoon Network, 11PM
- Seven Deadly Sins (season finale), Showtime, 11PM
- Adam Devine’s House Party, Comedy Central, 12:30AM
Friday
- Utopia, Fox, 8PM
- The Roosevelts, PBS, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
- WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM
- A Football Life: Brandon Marshall, NFL Network, 9PM
- Real Time with Bill Maher, HBO, 10PM
- Z Nation, Syfy, 10PM
- The Knick, Cinemax, 10PM
Saturday
- F1 Singapore GP, NBC Sports Network, 7:30AM
- Florida/Alabama college football, CBS, 3:30PM
- Mississippi/LSU college football, ESPN, 7PM
- Clemson/Florida State college football, ABC, 8PM
- Oregon/Washington State college football, ESPN, 10:30PM
- The Assault, Lifetime, 8PM
- The Roosevelts, PBS, 8PM
- Cedar Cove, Hallmark, 8PM
- Perfect on Paper, Hallmark, 9PM
- On the Run Tour: Beyonce and Jay-Z, HBO, 9PM
- Doctor Who, BBC America, 9PM
- Hell on Wheels, AMC, 9PM
- Outlander, Starz, 9PM
- Intruders, BBC America, 10PM
- The Chair, Starz, 11PM
Sunday
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ New Hampshire, ESPN, 2PM
- 60 Minutes (season premiere), CBS, 7:30PM
- The Hazing Secret, Lifetime, 8PM
- Reds/Cardinals baseball, ESPN, 8PM
- Miss Marple (season premiere), PBS, 8PM
- Steelers / Panthers football, NBC, 8:20PM
- Madam Secretary (series premiere), CBS, 8:30PM
- Boardwalk Empire, HBO, 9PM
- Ray Donovan, Showtime, 9PM
- American Dad, Fox, 9:30PM
- The Good Wife (season premiere), CBS, 9:30PM
- Manhattan, WGN, 10PM
- The Strain, FX, 10PM
- Naked & Afraid, Discovery, 10PM
- Masters of Sex, Showtime, 10PM
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
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Chrome for Android starts answering your questions in search suggestions
Google’s as-you-type search suggestions have only offered the tiniest bit of help so far. They can handle basic math, but they won’t answer questions that require more than a few numbers. However, that might soon change. Chrome for Android now has an experimental feature that answers some of your queries before you’ve even finished asking. Switch it on and you can get the weather, historic dates and other valuable info without ever seeing Google’s usual results page. While the feature isn’t all that vital when you have access to Google Now, it may save you the trouble of switching apps (or leaving the page you’re on) when you just want to get a small factoid. There’s also no hint as to when Google might make the feature standard on Android or bring it to the desktop, but let’s hope that an upgrade comes soon — it could save a lot of unnecessary keystrokes.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google
Via: Phandroid
Source: OMGChrome
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Oppo teases Oppo N3 announcement in October in Singapore
The Oppo N1 was an interesting device – the first device to have the option of the CyanogenMod operating system available out of the box and one of the first to have a swivelling camera, it never really took off despite being being affectionately known as the ‘Cyanogen Phone’ by the Android community. Still, that hasn’t stopped Oppo from developing a successor to that phone, and has teased its existence and announcement in a new teaser. According to the teaser, the device is going to be called the Oppo N3, and is going to be announced in Singapore sometime in October. While the teaser doesn’t give away too much about the device, a series of press renders appear to show what the N3 is going to look like.
If these renders are to be believed, Oppo won’t be getting rid of the swivel camera made famous by the N1, and looks to have addressed the primary concern with the N1′s camera which was the flimsiness of the swivel mechanism. It’s arguably a sleeker device, despite the camera protrusion at the top of the device, though perhaps Oppo will rethink the size of the device after the N1 shocked the market with its 5.9-inch frame.
What do you think about the Oppo N3? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Facebook, GSM Arena via Phone Arena
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U2’s ‘Songs of Innocence’ Accessed Over 33 Million Times Since Start of iTunes Promotion [iOS Blog]
Six days after it began offering U2’s latest album “Songs of Innocence” for free to 500 million iTunes customers, Apple has announced (via the Associated Press) that over 33 million customers have accessed the record.
In a statement, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software and Services Eddy Cue called the numbers record-breaking, and said that the numbers include users who downloaded the album from their iTunes account, streamed it, or used iTunes Radio to listen to it.
Earlier this morning, Apple also released a tool for customers to delete the U2 album off of their iTunes accounts, as some users were upset with it being added to their devices without their knowledge.
Last Friday, it was reported that Songs of Innocence was downloaded 2 million times after three days of being made available. The album will be free for iTunes customers until October 13.
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AIVAnet 