The Secret Service will start testing drones near the White House
The Secret Service has just announced that it’ll conduct a series of drone tests in typically flight restricted areas in DC. Why? Well, the announcement was pretty vague, but it did come a month after an intelligence officer drunk-crashed a DJI Phantom drone on White House grounds in the middle of the night. If you recall, DJI even issued an update that prevented its products from flying near the White House after that scandal. It was, however, forced to roll that update back after it started causing some unanticipated flight behaviors.
Maybe secret service is finally testing technology that can detect if drones carrying explosives or anything harmful to the president are nearby — the crash certainly highlighted security risks posed by unchecked hobby UAVs flying over the head of state’s residence. Of course, the exercises could have another purpose altogether, but we can’t say for sure. The law enforcement agency refused to answer when The Washington Post asked about the exact nature of the tests and about the drone models it’s going to use. Everything we know came from the succinct announcement below, but we’ll keep you updated if we find out more info.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The United States Secret Service, in conjunction with other inter-agency partners, will conduct a series of exercises involving unmanned aircraft systems, in the coming days and weeks.
Because these exercises will be conducted within the normally flight restricted areas in the Washington D.C. area, they have been carefully planned and will be tightly controlled. In preparation for these exercises the Secret Service has coordinated with all appropriate federal, state and local agencies.
Filed under: Misc
Via: The Verge
Source: The Washington Post
WSJ: YouTube isn’t making money, even with a billion viewers
Despite “Gangnam Style” having over two billion views, hosting countless other viral clips and netting over a billion users per-month, YouTube can’t seem to turn a profit. How’s that? Well, after paying for the infrastructure that makes Google’s video empire possible (and its content partners), The Wall Street Journal says that YouTube didn’t contribute to Mountain View’s earnings. The culprit, apparently, is that most users arrive at videos via links, rather than daily visits to the YouTube homepage where Google could charge a premium for ads. WSJ also reports that the site’s reach isn’t very wide either, with one source’s estimate that nine percent of viewers account for a whopping 85 percent of online-video views. That makes it a much less appealing audience for advertisers than traditional TV programming, despite the outfit’s increasing investment in original content.
Google’s hoping that the Music Key subscription service, among other ideas, can hold the tide of red ink back and turn that sea black. Another method is with targeted ads, so you can get inundated with sales pitches for stuff you’ve recently browsed on Amazon. WSJ‘s sources say that those might be a bit harder to add than Google previously expected, though, and thankfully could take some time to roll out. At least there’s some form of silver lining here.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Google
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Chinese government removes Apple and other U.S. vendors from state purchases list
The Chinese government has removed Apple along with other prominent U.S. technology vendors from its state purchase lists in favor of local vendors. According to Reuters, the change comes on the heels of cybersecurity concerns, with Chinese government officials reported to be wary of surveillance from Western government agencies.
Other US technology firms whose products were removed include networking equipment manufacturer Cisco, Intel’s McAfee and network and server software maker Citrix. The report highlights how the total number of products on the Central Government Procurement Center (CGPC) list increased by 2,000 to nearly 5,000 from 2012 to 2014, with a bulk of the new products manufactured by local vendors:
The number of products on the list, which covers regular spending by central ministries, jumped by more than 2,000 in two years to just under 5,000, but the increase is almost entirely due to local makers.
The number of approved foreign tech brands fell by a third, while less than half of those with security-related products survived the cull.
An official at the procurement agency said there were many reasons why local makers might be preferred, including sheer weight of numbers and the fact that domestic security technology firms offered more product guarantees than overseas rivals.
To allay security concerns in its consumer products, Apple moved Chinese users’ iCloud user data to servers located in China, and reportedly agreed to a security inspection by China’s State Council Informatization Office to remove doubts of any software backdoors that can be leveraged by the U.S. governement. However, anonymous sources cited by the Reuters revealed that the change was in fact enforced to favor Chinese technology firms:
“There’s no doubt that the SOE segment of the market has been favoring the local indigenous content,” said an executive at a Western technology firm who declined to be identified.
The executive said the post-Snowden security concerns were a pretext. The real objective was to nurture China’s domestic tech industry and subsequently support its expansion overseas.
China also wants to move to a more consumption-based economy, which would be helped by Chinese authorities and companies buying local technology, the executive said.
Source: Reuters
Revamped Android Pay will be announced at Google I/O
With Apple Pay off to a solid start and Samsung working on a better competitor to the service, it would make sense for Google to push their own mobile payment system front and center to stay competitive, and some rumors are pointing at that happening at I/O later this year.
This new service, called Android Pay, will actually be separate from Google Wallet. Android Pay will supposedly allow vendors to integrate the service into their Android apps so customers can quickly buy things without having to put in their debit or credit card information over and over. On top of that, retailers will also be able to set up tap-to-pay transactions in physical locations using Android Pay.
Sound similar to Google Wallet? In some ways, it is. It does have some differences in how open it is, since retailers will be able to use a completely open tool to set up payments instead of specifically having to go through Google Wallet. Currently you’d have to put your debit card info into Wallet, then the app would have to support Google Wallet checkout. Android Pay cuts out that middleman, which may or may not make a huge difference.
However Google plans to spin this, we’ll know more when I/O rolls around.
source: Ars Technica
Come comment on this article: Revamped Android Pay will be announced at Google I/O
Live stream of HTC One M9 event will begin at 7 a.m. PST on March 1st
Are you ready to get up early Sunday morning to watch a live stream event with HTC? I certainly won’t be in Barcelona to take part physically, but I might just be up early enough to catch the stream. Apparently they will make the stream available to all who wish to watch it directly on […]
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HTC will be streaming the new HTC One M9 unveiling online
We know the HTC One will be announced this Sunday, but watching that unveiling would be tricky if you weren’t at MWC. Fortunately for those of us that can’t make it HTC has updated their website with links to watch the show this Sunday, bright and early at 10 AM Eastern time. The site details what time the event will happen, depending on where you are in the world, and it’s even got a nifty little link to add it to your Google calendar so you don’t miss it.
Are you still excited for the M9, even though we’ve probably already seen all it has to offer?
source: HTC
Come comment on this article: HTC will be streaming the new HTC One M9 unveiling online
Microsoft releases Keyboard for Excel that works across all apps
Tapping out numbers on any tablet keyboard can be tedious. Think about having to work on a spreadsheet with a tablet. Constantly, you will have to go between the letters and the numbers/symbols. Microsoft Garage, which allows for the fostering of new ideas from within the company, has produced Keyboard for Excel. The keyboard layout is optimized for the use of numbers. Keyboard for Excel offers a number bad on the far right just as many full-sized physical keyboards do. Although the keyboard is tailored for Microsoft Excel, it is capable of operating in other apps.
The following are the key features listed by Microsoft:
- Keyboard layout optimized for numbers
- Excel operators prioritized in the keyboard layout
- 10-key number layout for fast number entry
- Tab key for quick navigation across columns
Hit the break for the gallery and download links.
Come comment on this article: Microsoft releases Keyboard for Excel that works across all apps
B&H starts selling the Lumia 435 in the U.S. for $99.99
U.S. retailer B&H has commenced sales of the unlocked Lumia 435 for $99.99. The retailer joins NewEgg in offering the entry-level device in the US.
Google raises Google Play Music storage limit to 50,000 tracks
Google Play Music is a pretty exceptional service that lets you import your entire music collection to a dedicated music cloud account. Once uploaded you have access to those songs on any device to stream, download or sync for offline listening. It is also where all your purchased music from the Play Store gets housed. […]
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Gameloft pushes first update for Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War with New Story, Game Mode and Guns
The first of many updates started rolling out today for Gameloft’s Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War. The update is live for iOS and Android devices and brings in a number of new things that players are sure to enjoy. Ont he single player front you will get 5 new story missions and 10 […]
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