Apple and Google Execs met in English mansion to secretly discuss government surveillance plans
Ditchley Park – the host of a truly unlikely meeting
An 18th-century Mansion in England hosted an unlikely meeting of spy chiefs from seven countries and representatives from tech giants last week. According to The Intercept, the meeting at Ditchley Park was held to discuss the topic of government surveillance and was an opportunity for the countries to discuss the reluctance of Apple and Google to allow access to their confidential servers.
Command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals
The three day conference was attended by spy chiefs from the CIA, GCHQ, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Sweden and was chaired by former British MI6 spy chief Sir John Scarlett. Alongside the chiefs, the other notable attendees included senior policy and legal staff from Google, Apple and Vodafone along with a handful of academics and journalists. The presence the Chief of the British electronic surveillance agency Government Communications (or GCHQ), Robert Hannigan, was certainly interesting given that he publicly accused the US tech giants of being “command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals”.
One attendee was veteran journalist Duncan Campbell – who has reported on British spy agencies for several decades – who said the event was a “remarkable” gathering that “would have been inconceivable without Snowden”. He added:
“Away from the fetid heat of political posturing and populist headlines, I heard some unexpected and surprising comments from senior intelligence voices, including that ‘cold winds of transparency’ had arrived and were here to stay.”
“Perhaps to many participants’ surprise, there was general agreement across broad divides of opinion that Snowden – love him or hate him – had changed the landscape; and that change towards transparency, or at least ‘translucency’ and providing more information about intelligence activities affecting privacy, was both overdue and necessary.”
Edward Snowden revealed that British and American spies, along with some of their allies, were guilty of extensive Internet surveillance and since the revelations, Google and other companies have begun enforcing their own privacy policies. As a result of the revelations, requests from spy chiefs for co-operation and assistance have been met with resistance but the meeting suggests that co-operation may yet be a possibility.
Apple vs Google in Videos:
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The net neutrality movement has arguably been one of the hottest topics in technology over the past year and has wide-reaching ramifications for all. Co-operation between the giants could mean access to all or some of information stored on your smartphone and given that it was recently revealed the NSA planned to use Google’s Play Store to add malware to suspects’ handsets, it’s clear that anything could be possible if co-operation does indeed happen.
Firefox browser for iOS is almost ready for testing
It’s been a long time coming, but Firefox for iOS is nearly here… in a manner of speaking. Mozilla has revealed that it’s about to conduct a “limited” beta test of the web browser, and has already posted source code for early testers. The organization would like to have an open beta that gives everyone an early peek (à la Android), but that’s not really possible with Apple’s current testing mechanism. Still, a public release is likely close behind — if you’re not a fan of your iPhone’s existing web surfing options, you’ll have another major alternative before long.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Source: Mozilla
CIA shuts down program using spy satellites to track climate change
For most of the past two decades, a handful of climate change scientists have had the CIA’s MEDEA (Measurement of Earth Data for Environmental Analysis) program as an ace in the hole: they could draw on classified info from spy satellites and subs to study global warming in extreme detail. However, they’ll now have to make do with alternatives. The agency has shut down MEDEA, saying that its projects to study the security implications of climate change “have been completed.” While the CIA says it’ll still “engage external experts” on the subject, it won’t be providing consistent access to its extremely accurate and rare data.
Whether or not the closure is a major problem depends on who you ask. There are doubts that the CIA is really a good leader in climate research, and it’s safe to say that the organization typically has its hands full with the espionage business. However, there are also concerns that officials are cutting off access to accurate info at the very moment when things are getting complicated — researchers need more data, not less. That may not be as much of an issue in the long run as non-classified satellites provide increasingly valuable findings, but the loss is still bound to hurt for at least a while.
[Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr]
Filed under: Science
Via: io9
Source: Mother Jones
NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet getting its Android 5.1 Lollipop upgrade
In a flurry of activity over the last day or so, NVIDIA has made available and began pushing out OTA Android 5.1 Lollipop to its SHIELD Tablet, both the WiFi and LTE versions.
The SHIELD Tablet Software Upgrade 3.0 comes in form of a roughly 200MB download and will bring your tablet to Android 5.1. Included in the update is your typically vague ‘Performance enhancements and bug fixes’, the full notification of improvements is as follows:
- Upgrade Android Operating System to version 5.1
- Improved performance and responsiveness.
- Enhanced security, including support for Android for Work.
- Improved quick-settings menu, profile management etc.
- Improved display performance
- Enabled Global Tone Mapping feature. This feature can be toggled by the user.
- New firmware update for SHIELD controller
- Improved pairing experience and other optimizations.
- Please note: You can update the SHIELD controller over WiFi. Look out for a notification on your SHIELD tablet.
Perhaps some of the best improvements in this Lollipop update are the display and camera performance bumps. Although the NVIDIA SHIELD‘s camera capabilities were already decent for a 5MP shooter on an 8-inch gaming focused tablet, improvements are always welcome. The display, however, we found to have fairly poor color reproduction – the new Tone Mapping feature looks to put color control in your hands, we hope it helps the 1920×1200 display come to life for you.
If you are not seeing the update on your NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet just yet, it is rolling out this weekend and may take half way into next week to get to everyone. Of course, XDA member gavin-phelan has arranged some links to the image files for you.
- SHIELD Tablet Wi-Fi update
- SHIELD Tablet LTE North American update
- SHIELD Tablet LTE International update
Do you have the Android 5.1 Lollipop update on your NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet yet? Anything fun to report?
DOJ lays down some privacy rules for feds flying drones
The Justice Department promises to keep a closer eye on how its agencies are using drones from now on — after all, they can be useful in nabbing suspects, but they can also be used as a tool to abuse power. In its new five-page policy guidance, the department has listed when its agencies can and can’t use drones, with a focus on people’s right to privacy. For instance, they can’t be deployed to monitor activities protected by the First Amendment, such as peaceful protests. Authorities will also have to secure warrants to use the machines in places where the subject of investigation has “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Obviously, the drones can only be used for authorized investigations and never for engaging in discriminatory acts.
In order to make sure the whole department follows these policies, the DOJ plans to train all its drone operators, subject its agencies to annual reviews by the deputy attorney general, and require them to keep logs of every drone flight. The department will then publish a flight summary from those logs on its website. At the moment, only the FBI has an operational drone program (reportedly with 17 machines and two pilots) within the DOJ, though the ATF has a suspended one it might relaunch in the future. Now that the department’s agencies finally have a concrete idea of what they can use drones for, they can get ones fit for the job instead of wasting so much money (again) on shoddy pieces of equipment.
[Image credit: Alamy]
Filed under: Misc
Via: The Hill, The Huffington Post
Source: US Department of Justice
Deal: Last chance to grab the IDrive 1TB Hard Drive and 10TB of Cloud Backup Bundle for $97 (79% off)
If you need the most storage you can get without breaking the bank, the AA Deals Store has a pretty sweet deal going on right now. This massive storage bundle comes with a 1TB wireless external hard drive and 10TB of IDrive Pro cloud backup storage. That’s a total of 11TB of storage for just $97! But if you’re interested, you’d better act fast… this deal ends soon!
The IDrive Wi-Fi Wireless 1TB Hard Drive allows you to backup important files, pictures, videos and more without dealing with internet lag. The benefits to using an external hard drive is that they can produce your data faster than a cloud backup can. The data on this drive is encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption to protect your information if it gets stolen. The best part? It’s completely wireless, so you can transfer files with ease, without having to plug it in or deal with any wires.
This storage bundle also comes with 10TB of IDrive Pro Personal Cloud Backup for one year. If you’ve never used cloud storage in the past, the main benefit is having instant access to all of your information from anywhere at anytime. The service is compatible with just about every mobile device out there, including Android, Windows, Mac and iOS.
The Android Authority Deals Store is offering this bundle for just $97 (79% off), which is one heck of a deal. The promotion ends at midnight tonight, so head to the link below before it’s too late!
Spotify evolves into 24-hour entertainment resource
With Apple’s yearly Developer Conference around the corner, and everyone expecting to see some type of Beats Music integration announced, Spotify has been pulling out all the stops to keep its’ customers around, as well as trying to entice some new ones. Spotify has recently launched a sweet deal for new Premium subscribers, and this week have announced a series of changes that will be taking place for their subscribers. Spotify is aiming to be your end-all-be-all source for just about everything media related.
“We are on a mission. With over 25 billion listening hours under the hood since our launch seven years ago, we’re obsessed with figuring out how to bring music into every part of your life, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, whatever your mood. More than ever, you’re telling us what you want: the best music to fit your mood and moment mixed with great entertainment throughout your day. We understand that how music fits into your life is as powerful as the music itself. So today we’re rolling out a richer mobile music experience built around your day, bringing you the music you love when you need it most. “
Once the Spotify app is updated, users will immediately see some of the new features that Spotify is bringing to its 40 million subscribers. The Now Start page is where all of the curated playlists will be housed. Spotify has also tweaked the application to learn what you like, so that it will be easier for you to find the right music for whatever type of mood you are in.
Spotify has also introduced Spotify Running with Nike+ integration. Due to the amount of users that Spotify has, they figured that more than just a few were taking advantage of the music selection and playlist creation while their users went for a run. Spotify Running is geared to match your tempo, step for step, and help you “go the extra mile.” Once you’ve started running, Spotify will recognize that your tempo has gone up and will help match songs up to help pump you up.
Next up on the docket for the latest changes to Spotify, is the addition of video clips and audio shows (or podcasts) to your subscription. You will be able to switch up from just listening to music all day, and either catch up on today’s news, or listen to your favorite podcast. All of this is available from directly within the Spotify app, so you will be able to get rid of any other apps that you have on your device that serve a specific purpose.
If you were worried about just catching some random news clips from somewhere that you’ve barely heard of, don’t worry. Spotify will have content from the following sources available right within the application:
- ABC
- BBC
- Comedy Central
- ESPN
- NBC
- TED
- Vice News
In order to accommodate for these changes, Spotify has announced that they will be rolling out the updated application to other platforms in the near future. iOS users have already begun to see their applications updated with the latest features provided through Spotify, so Android users really shouldn’t be far behind. I will say, being able to have a hub for my music, podcasts, sports news, and regular news, will be extremely useful, so I can’t wait for this to roll out for Android users. It’s only a matter of time before the rollout begins to those who are not tied to iOS whatsoever, but as a premium subscriber, I’m excited to have all of these things readily available in just one application.
The post Spotify evolves into 24-hour entertainment resource appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Daimler and Qualcomm team up on connected car tech
Car companies aren’t usually good at wireless tech, and wireless companies aren’t great with cars — if you want to make wireless-savvy vehicles, you’ll probably need some teamwork. Accordingly, Daimler and Qualcomm have forged a partnership that should improve connected cars. The first phase of this collaboration will focus on bringing cellular data and wireless electric car charging to your ride. They’re not saying when they expect to bring their combined efforts to market, or what comes next. With that said, it won’t be shocking if you’re one day driving an electric Mercedes that’s always online and never needs to plug in.
Filed under: Transportation, Wireless
Skully debuts AR helmet app while navigating delays
Skully CEO Marcus Weller stood in front of an crowd of customers that shelled out $1,500 to be one of the first recipients of the company’s helmet with a heads up display and rear-facing camera to answer their questions. A few weeks ago Weller sent those backers a video message explaining that their helmets would be delayed until the fall. Now he was about to talk to those people face to face to address their concerns and show off the helmet’s companion app for the first time. It’s a talk he’s prepared to give in multiple cities around the world.
It’s hard to point to a crowdfunding campaign that’s shipped on time. Pebble and Oculus Rift were both late. Regardless of the reasons why something is delayed, backers get angry and sometimes those running the campaign disappear behind updates, mass emails and Facebook posts. Weller didn’t do that, he told Engadget, “people online chewed me a new one and rightfully so.”
Weller decided to explain why the Skully was being delayed directly to his customers with a two week world tour traveling to seven cities including New York, Boston, London and Sydney. “You know what, these people backed us. They put $1,500 down a significant amount of time in advance and I want to go meet them. I want to thank them for that.” Weller said. “If they have complaints or are upset about the shipping, I want to address it face-to-face.”
The first event was in San francisco. After answering a bunch of technical questions about the camera, display and battery a backer finally asked the question every had on their mind, “when will it ship?” After the laughter died down, Weller told the room, “I don’t want to tell you something that will make you feel warm and fuzzy.” The helmet will ship to all backers by the end of the year. Weller told Engadget that those shipments will begin in the fall.
Weller says that part of the reason the for the delay is that the company has invested in manufacturing. The helmets will be built in the Flextronics factory in Milpitas in Silicon Valley. But there’s also this desire to make to keep making it better.
The helmet will now get a carbon fiber inlay on the inside to enhance crash protection. Considering the idea of the helmet was born out of an accident, it’s not hard to see why the team is willing to hold off a launch to safeguard the brains of its customers. The finished device will be DOT and ECE (the MotoGP standard) safety certified. “Our helmet is an extremely safe helmet. It vastly surpasses what we need to do from a shock absorption perspective,” said Weller. “When we ship this, it will be the most complex consumer device on the planet.”
Hyperbole aside, the app demoed at the San Francisco event, like the helmet itself, is still a work in progress. It currently syncs routes you’ve saved in the app to the helmet. If a rider finds themselves outside of cell range, the app will continue to offer turn-by-turn directions. It also works with Spotify and will automatically start playing your favorite playlist when you put on the Skully. The app was shown to people while they demoed the helmet and frankly, they didn’t seem to care that much. They were far more interested in the helmet itself and for good reason.
I tried the helmet this week. As a daily rider on the hectic roads of San Francisco, its benefits are immediately apparent. You can see what’s coming up behind you and that’s amazing. But it’s not quite there yet. When you’re riding a motorcycle, for the sake of safety, any additional element you add to that ride needs to be out of beta. It needs to be ready.
Weller and Skully want to be ready. The company wants to launch the safest and most technologically advanced helmet on the planet in the fall. If not, Weller might be back on the road again.
Filed under: Misc, Peripherals, Wearables, Software
Source: Skully
Rounds app review
For all that has changed for us as a civilization, from having super fast automobiles to very intelligent computers, one thing stands out the most, our means of communication. It was not so long ago that we were astounded by the fact that we could actually talk to someone across the street using nothing but a machine, let alone send a video and speak to them almost face to face. Yes, it truly is a great time to be alive (if you like technology and stuff). Well, there really can be too much of a good thing though, as you cannot log into any app store without seeing a plethora of messaging apps that all do very similar things, in different ways. So it can be hard to find the dimaong among the coals. Well, thankfully for all of us, I specialize in finding diamonds in piles of rocks. (Sometimes I even find two diamonds!) Today we are taking a look at the Rounds messaging app to see if it should be your next app download.
Design
Starting with the design, Rounds keeps a very minimalistic approach. When you frist download the app, you are greeted with some colorful graphics and prompt you to log in to your Facebook to get started. Once that process is complete, you are taken to another page where you are asked to add your friends to your Rounds contacts list. What ultimately ends up happening, since they would have to be using the Rounds app to be able to use it, is that Rounds will send out a mass message to all of your Facebook friends asking them to download the app. Since you all have to be using the app to make calls and send messages to ane another. All of which are free.
After you finish doing that, there really is nothing left to do but start making calls. There is a menu on-screen button on the upper left-hand corner that hold are the available actions for the app. On it you will find your friends contact list, so you can make private video calls, the option to make a group video call, send messages, find more friends and the advanced settings menu. All of wich preceded by a colorful menu button on an overall blackish gray background. Not the pretties app, but it gets the job
Functionality
After you finish setting things up, you are ready to make your frist phone call. I sent a request to one of my friends and asked to download the app. After they finished yelling at me for always asking them to download stuff, I was ready to show him my always happy mug over our smartphones. We made a call using the app, and everything went without a hitch. There were a few moments where things appeared to lag a bit, but it could have been the fact that he does not have good reception in his area. I was able to hear him perfectly over the other line and the image quality was great. We both have flagships devices though, so you may see image degradation if the front facing camera on your smartphone is not able to capture HD quality video. Some of the things that make using the ORunds apps such an interesting experience are all of the video effects that you can use when making video calls. Not something that I personally would find myself using a lot, but they do make for some fun times.
After we finished our video chat, we used the text messaging system included in the Rounds apps. Messages were sent of quikcly, with no issues. THere are some stickers that come with the text messaging part of Rounds, but other than that, it functions like any other messaging service.
Final Thoughts
Rounds is a good app for those that are always looking to try new things. It does what other messaging services do, with some added functionality thrown in the mix. If you are already in love with an app, there is little reason for you to switch over. For those of you that have been using the stock messaging services that come with your smartphones and are looking to expand on that a bit though, Rounds is a great app that should definitely be on your top priority list to try out.
The post Rounds app review appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AIVAnet 