Two Sundance experience apps available for Google Cardboard owners
Google Cardboard owners have the opportunity to experience the Sundance Film Festival from afar. Two Sundance experience apps are available right now in the Play Store and virtually bring people to the event. Evolution of Verse (or just VRSE) is an “expanding universe of Virtual Reality experiences.” The app combines beautiful landscapes and high quality sound for an immersive setup with Google Cardboard. The other app is Kaiju Fury and it places viewers in the midst of a battle between two massive creatures. Both creatures destroy the city as the military works to put an end to them.
Don’t have any way to use Google Cardboard? Then purchase the affordable equipment!
Hit the break for download links.
Play Store Download Link (Kaiju Fury)
Play Store Download Link (Evolution of Verse)
Source: Google
Come comment on this article: Two Sundance experience apps available for Google Cardboard owners
Largest Apple Store in Asia officially opens doors in Hangzhou, China
Apple has officially opened doors to the public at its Westlake store in Hangzhou, China. The Westlake Apple Store is one of five retail stores opening in the country before the Chinese New Year, which falls on February 19. Apple has promoted the launch of the store – which is the largest Apple Store in Asia – with a mural by famed calligrapher Wang Dongling.
Tim Cook shared the launch of the Westlake store on Twitter:
Starting Something New in Hangzhou, China! #AppleStoreWestLake pic.twitter.com/8L5gVKfLjn
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 24, 2015
The new stores increase Apple’s retail presence in China to 20, with Tim Cook stating that a further 25 stores will be opened in the country over the next two years. With iPhone sales amounting to 45 percent of all smartphone sales in the country, it makes sense for Apple to focus its attention in the region.
Source: Apple
Poll: Did you install the new Windows 10 Technical Preview?
Microsoft caught us off guard somewhat with an earlier than anticipated release of the new Windows 10 Technical Preview. Due to land next week, it pushed out earlier today to Windows Insiders allowing eager enthusiasts to get their own first look at the latest incarnation of Microsoft’s operating system.
But, while all insiders can download and install it, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they did, or are going to. So, did you install the new Windows 10 Technical Preview?
Google addresses WebView security concerns, makes recommendations on how to stay safe
If you are still waiting for Google to do something about the WebView vulnerabilities in older Android releases, you may not be a fan of their official response to the matter. Google says they’ve already fixed it, sort of, but at least offered ways that you can protect yourself and your data going forward.
In a recent Google+ post, echoing an older DevBytes video and our own take on the matter, Google has addressed the WebView issues that have been of growing target for complaints of the free and open source Android OS. Android releases prior to KitKat, that is, versions 4.3 and older, have a known code injection flaw in the WebView element.
WebView is broken, don’t use it
WebView is a tool within Android that allows apps to display web content within the app, you’ve all seen these before as ads at the bottom of a free game or an in-app web based help page. Although the Google+ post goes on to describe a few best practices, the underlying message is unforgiving and clear, WebView is broken, so don’t use it.
Perhaps Google’s advice is easier said than done, especially for the casual gamers in the crowd, but disabling the default Android browser and installing Chrome, Dolphin or another full web browser is good advice regardless the issues. Developers, please familiarize yourself with the best practices for your apps, to keep us secure.
Now, didn’t you say that Google fixed the issue? Well, yes, sort of. Google took the time in the Google+ post to explain that they have limited resources for working on older versions of Android. Plainly put, Android 4.4 KitKat included the fix to the WebView bug. Keeping in mind that KitKat is over a year old now itself, having been through versions up to 4.4.4 before giving way to Android 5.0 Lollipop, which is also a couple versions in already. Android 5.0.2 Lollipop is already shipping out to some devices.
Bottom line, users of devices running Jellybean and older are just out of luck. Please take the precautions discussed, or have a look at installing a custom ROM, if one is available for your Android unit.
Is this an acceptable response from Google, or should they dedicate more staff to fixing older Android releases? Before you answer, I might suggest taking a look at the latest Android distribution numbers.
Survey finds 50% of phones activated last quarter came from Apple, 26% from Samsung
Apple trumped all other smartphone manufacturers last quarter based on consumers activating a device. The usual Android foes were all far behind Apple with Samsung leading the way. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) conducted a survey with five hundred subjects in the United States and aimed to find which phone brands were most popular among activations. The devices, both old and new, were activated between October and December of last year.
Samsung trailed Apple by 24% and that was the closest any company came to catching the clan in Cupertino. After that, the numbers dropped off significantly. The third place company was LG with 11% and Motorola finished fourth at 4%. Rounding out the bottom was HTC (2%), Nokia (2%), Amazon (1%), and “other” with 4%. BlackBerry, who may or may not be facing an acquisition in the near future, had no activations from the survey.
Josh Lowitz, the co-founder of CIRP, explained that the loyalty of Apple customers is far greater than that of Samsung and LG’s. He said:
“iPhones drew from loyal Apple customers, with 86% of buyers upgrading from an older iPhone. Samsung and LG saw far lower loyalty rates, with 25% of Samsung owners and 18% of LG owners who activated a phone in the quarter switching to an iPhone.”
Source: Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (PDF)
Via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Survey finds 50% of phones activated last quarter came from Apple, 26% from Samsung
Spotify Receives Minor Update
Spotify is everyone’s favorite music streaming service is starting off the year with a few minor updates to keep its fantastic streaming experience up to standard. The updates are going to impact user experience positively, which is definitely important, due to the current massive subscriber growth from the limited-time, 3-month, 99 cent offer to kick off the year.
Some of the updates to the app are a snappier start, taking less time to open up and start running, even with a poor connection. Also, whenever you get a noisy notification while streaming a song, you won’t have to worry about your phone stopping the music, which can be very annoying!
So update your Spotify app if you haven’t already.
Come comment on this article: Spotify Receives Minor Update
Android Security lead engineer provides further insight to WebView security issues on devices running Jelly Bean and older versions
It was reported by Talk Android’s Jeff Causey on the 12th of January (link here) that Google would no longer be providing security updates to WebView on devices running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and earlier. In fact, it is even deeper than that: Google will not be managing the entire WebKit for these versions any longer, from which WebView is derived.
In a post on Google+ today, Android Security’s lead engineer, Adrian Ludwig, provided clarification and guidance to those nearly 1 billion device owners running Jelly Bean or earlier Android versions.
WebKit is a software component for web browsers that creates the layout engine for the browsers to render web pages. WebKit is used for both Google Chrome and Apple Safari, whereas Trident is used for Internet Explorer and Gecko is used for Firefox. WebKit is also found in the browser utilized by the Tizen Operating System.
WebView, a part of WebKit, is what allows apps to display web pages inside of the app itself. This is done to keep the user inside of the app, instead of exiting the app you’re in and redirecting you to the browser app.
WebKit, and thus WebView, is mostly open-source, with companies like Google pitching in and supporting the development of the software. By ending support for WebKit on Jelly Bean and earlier versions (from here forth, I will just say Jelly Bean), Google raised alarms that certain known exploits involving WebView may leave users running Jelly Bean exposed to malicious malware.
According to Ludwig, maintaining the legacy code for Jelly Bean in WebKit’s open-source environment was actually creating more security issues than abandoning support for it. Ludwig stated, “Until recently we have also provided backports for the version of WebKit that is used by WebView on Android 4.3 and earlier. But WebKit alone is over 5 million lines of code and hundreds of developers are adding thousands of new commits every month, so in some instances applying vulnerability patches to a 2+ year old branch of WebKit required changes to significant portions of the code and was no longer practical to do safely.”
Ludwig went on to say that the best practices that a user of Jelly Bean devices can do is to open web materials inside of the Chrome or Firefox browser, which is updated with the latest security patches regardless of what Android version they are running. This negates the ability for any exploits made possible by WebView, which again, is something that is used inside of third-party apps not wanting to redirect to the browser. “Using a browser that is updated through Google Play and using applications that follow security best practices by only loading content from trusted sources into WebView will help protect users.”
For developers of apps maintaining support on Jelly Bean devices, Ludwig encourages redirecting to the browser or making sure WebView only accesses content from local sources or over HTTPS. Additionally, he suggests that app developers abandon WebView altogether and instead incorporate a webpage renderer of their own design so they can maintain security patch updates on their own.
Adrian Ludwig came to Google after serving in technical leadership positions held at Adobe, Macromedia, and Joyent. He also worked for the National Security Agency. Since his arrival on the Android Security team, he’s been very vocal about Android’s minuscule vulnerability to malicious attacks.
During a speech to the Virus Bulletin conference in Berlin back in 2013, Ludwig claimed that Google and its data-driven methodology made it extremely difficult for it to be attacked by malcontents. He also pointed out the many layers of security that are in place to prevent malware from finding its way onto your Android device.
Source: Adrian Ludwig via Google+
Come comment on this article: Android Security lead engineer provides further insight to WebView security issues on devices running Jelly Bean and older versions
HTC One (M8) for AT&T getting software update “early next week”
In just a few days, expect a software update to begin rolling out to the HTC One (M8) for AT&T. Mo Versi, the Vice President of Product Management at HTC, responded to one eager customer on Friday. Versi announced that a software update would land on the device “early next week” and include a slew of items.
Here is what Versi said will be in the update:
- Android 4.4.4 KitKat
- HTC Eye Experience software
- Voice over LTE (VoLTE)
Even though it is not Android 5.0 Lollipop, it is a welcome
@jmchatton @htc We just received TA on 4.4.4 for AT&T M8. Will include VoLTE and the HTC Eye SW experience. OTA to start early next week
— Mo (@moversi) January 23, 2015
Source: @moversi (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: HTC One (M8) for AT&T getting software update “early next week”
Netflix and the Duplass brothers are working on four new movies
Last year at the Sundance Film Festival Mark Duplass implored indie filmmakers to “get their goddamn movies on Netflix” and this year, it’s clear he’ll be doing more of that. At this year’s festival, Netflix announced it has a four-picture deal with Mark (The League) and Jay Duplass (Transparent) to make their small-budget films. The two parties have had a relationship ever since Netflix bought The Puffy Chair from the brothers ten years ago. The brothers have produced a slew of indie flicks ever since, and their show Togetherness is airing on HBO. Unlike Netflix’s Crouching Tiger and Adam Sandler movie deals, Deadline reports these will premiere in theaters before they go to streaming shortly after. There’s no word on what the movies are, but fans of flicks like The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, Safety Not Guaranteed and The Skeleton Twins should have an idea of what to expect.
[Image credit: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Sundance]
@MarkDuplass @mindykaling @jayduplass We can work with this…
– Netflix US (@netflix) January 24, 2015
Ahhhhhhh!!! http://t.co/wf1pIkoM79
– Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) January 23, 2015
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Deadline
T-Mobile SCORE! program to launch on January 25
Just when it seems that T-Mobile has cooled down, the carrier announces something new. T-Mobile wants even more people to upgrade earlier than usual with the new SCORE! program.
The program, uncovered by TmoNews, allows customers that purchased their device at full-price, brought their own device, have a prepaid plan, or have a postpaid plan without an equipment installment plan (EIP) to upgrade after at least six months. The exact plans included with the SCORE! program are Simply Prepaid, SCNC, Simple Choice Pay in Advance Monthly, Simple Choice, New Classic, and Legacy. Basically, every customer not participating in the JUMP! program is eligible for the SCORE! program.
Once six months have passed, a customer can upgrade for free to an entry-level smartphone. Customers that want special pricing on a high-end device will have to wait until the twelve month mark to upgrade. The monthly cost for the SCORE! program is $5 per line while JUMP! is $10 per line. And, unlike the JUMP! program, no trade-in is required.
A launch is expected on Sunday, January 25.
Source: TmoNews
Come comment on this article: T-Mobile SCORE! program to launch on January 25
AIVAnet 