‘The Bumper’ Review: Apple Watch Case Offers Ample Protection but Some Bulk [iOS Blog]
While charging stands of various designs have proven to be popular accessories for Apple Watch users, a perhaps lesser known category of accessories revolves around protecting the Apple Watch while wearing it.
One of these accessories is Actionproof’s “The Bumper,” a tight-fitting silicone sleeve that promises to protect your new Apple wearable from all the trips and spills made in everyday life. The Bumper may also provide some protection in extreme environments, with the bumper itself offering high resistance to UV radiation, ozone, outdoor exposure, extreme cold (minimum -40°C) and hot (maximum 120°C) temperatures, and basic chemical and abrasion combatants.
Positives
The good thing about The Bumper is that it does what it sets out to do. When placed safely around the 42mm Apple Watch case, The Bumper doesn’t move or jostle throughout the day. It’s a perfect fit for the wearable, with cutouts for the Digital Crown, microphone, speaker, and heart rate sensor. One of the only protective cases to cover the Digital Crown, The Bumper does so with a bracketed slice of silicone that bisects over the Crown, leaving an open space for your finger to manipulate and scroll the knob regardless of which wrist and orientation the watch is worn on.
The small piece covering the Digital Crown makes it so pressing on the button is still manageable, though not quite as easy as without The Bumper. And although a few phone conversations had over the Watch with The Bumper went smoothly, I felt my Apple Watch needed a closer positioning to my face than usual to both hear the conversation and provide ample speaking volume for the person to whom I was speaking. They, on the other hand, remarked no noticeable dip in quality or volume throughout the call.
Read more 
OS X El Capitan to Bring New Safari Extensions Gallery as Part of Unified $99 Developer Program
Apple earlier this week announced a new consolidated Apple Developer Program for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Safari, combining the previously separate iOS, OS X and Safari Dev Programs into one for a single $99 annual fee. The change should place more emphasis on and increase the security of Safari extensions, but some developers have voiced their frustrations about the new fee.
In particular, developers will now be required to pay $99 per year to distribute Safari extensions through the new Safari Extensions Gallery. Comparatively, the old standalone Safari Dev Program was free and did not charge developers a fee to distribute Safari extensions within or outside of the Safari Extensions Gallery. Chrome and other browsers also do not charge a fee to distribute extensions.
Reddit user honestbleeps shared the email Apple sent to Safari developers:
“Dear Developer,
As a creator of Safari Extensions, you’ve helped enrich the browsing experience for Safari users by taking advantage of development resources through the Safari Developer Program. This program is now part of the new Apple Developer Program, which combines everything you need to develop, distribute, and manage your apps on all Apple platforms.
Your existing Safari Developer Program membership will remain active until July 8, 2015 and your Safari extensions will continue to work for existing users.
You can continue building Safari extensions and bring your creativity to other Apple platforms by joining the Apple Developer Program. Join today to provide updates to your current extensions, build new extensions, and submit your extensions to the new Safari Extensions Gallery for OS X El Capitan. You can also learn how to extend your coding skills to create innovative new apps for Apple customers around the world.”
Apple aims to improve the security of Safari on OS X El Capitan by implementing Secure Extension Distribution, meaning that all extensions in the Safari Extensions Gallery will now be hosted and signed by Apple. Safari extensions installed from the Safari Extensions Gallery will be updated automatically, while those distributed outside of the Gallery are ineligible for automatic updating.
Apple has created a page for developers to submit Safari extensions for OS X El Capitan in the fall, and developers can read both the Safari Extensions Review Guidelines and Safari Extensions Development Guide to prepare. Safari extensions available now will continue working for current users, and existing Safari Developer Program memberships will remain active until July 8, 2015.
Safari 9.0 will also feature content blocking extensions for both iOS and OS X, providing users with a fast and efficient way to block cookies, images, resources, pop-ups and other content. Xcode includes a Content Blocker App Extension template that contains code for developers to send their JSON files to Safari that specifies which content should be blocked. A full Safari 9.0 changelog is in the Safari Developer Library.
‘Hyrule Warriors’ hacks and slashes its way to 3DS
Hyrule Warriors, the Zelda-themed hack-and-slash game that hit Wii U in 2014, is on its way to 3DS, according to a new Japanese trailer. The 3DS version comes from Wii U developers Omega Force and Team Ninja, and of course Japanese publisher Koei Tecmo. It looks like the pirate Tetra and the King of Hyrule are playable characters in the 3DS edition, and the final frames of the new trailer suggest compatibility with the Wii U version. The video’s title says, “Announced at E3,” and you better believe we’ll break out all of the Hylian information directly from the show, which runs from June 16th to 18th. In the meantime, we’ve reached out to Nintendo for more information about Hyrule Warriors on 3DS.
Source: YouTube
iOS 9 code hints at an iPhone with a front camera flash
Like it or not, selfies remain A Thing — and there are signs that Apple is about to embrace those narcissistic photos through a hardware upgrade. Programmer Hamza Sood has discovered code in iOS 9 which suggests that the next iPhone’s front camera will get a flash (increasingly common on camera-centric phones), so nighttime won’t prevent you from putting yourself in the frame. You could also see some big improvements to video and software-only features, including 1080p recording, 240 frames per second slow-motion capture and panoramas for those extra-wide group shots. There’s no guarantee that any of these features will make the cut in future devices, but they hint that Apple is eager to move past the creaky 720p front cam it offers today.
Photo by Will Lipman.
iOS 9 is hinting at future device front cameras having: 1080p resolution, 240fps slow mo, panoramamic capture, flash pic.twitter.com/NkMjdsUZEX
– Hamza Sood (@hamzasood) June 10, 2015
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Hamza Sood (Twitter)
Razer is in talks to buy OUYA, reports say
The OUYA rollercoaster is preparing to make its final run, according to a report on CNET: Apparently, Razer is in talks to buy the company. Razer and OUYA are working on a deal and discussing how to fold OUYA’s staff into Razer’s, though nothing is finalized, the site says. OUYA, as you’ll recall, raised $8.6 million on Kickstarter in 2012, pitching itself as an accessible, cheap, Android micro-console with a library of “free to try” games. When OUYA launched in July 2013, reviews critiqued its controller, game library and technical issues, and it simply never gained traction as a viable gaming system. In its first month, just 27 percent of OUYA owners had actually purchased a game and the console historically hasn’t provided much revenue for developers.
In January, reports emerged that OUYA was making moves in China, with a potential $10 million sale to Alibaba. That report remains unconfirmed, but it looks unlikely after today’s news of a potential Razer deal. We’ve reached out to Razer for comment.
Source: CNET
State-backed spyware targets antivirus maker, Iranian nuclear talks
The threat posed by state-sponsored malware might be even larger than first thought. Antivirus developer Kaspersky Lab says it discovered an attack on its network by allegedly government-made spyware that appears to be an upgraded version of Duqu, the Stuxnet-based worm used by Israel and the US to derail Iran’s nuclear efforts. This “Duqu 2.0″ not only tried to obtain details about Kaspersky’s investigations and detection abilities, but remained remarkably stealthy. Pre-release software was necessary to catch it, and there were attempts to throw researchers off the scent by suggesting that China or Eastern Europe was to blame.
While there’s no smoking gun proving who was responsible, the list of additional victims narrows the possible culprits. There were less than 100 targets, including participants in negotiations surrounding Iran’s nuclear program — it’s easy to see Israel or the US once again being involved. The scope of the attack is likely “much wider,” according to Kaspersky, and its competitor Symantec suspects that the snoops were using their tool for “multiple intelligence gathering campaigns.”
The good news? While it’s not certain just what the intruders collected, the immediate damage is relatively minimal. Kaspersky says that Duqu 2.0 didn’t compromise its customers or products, and Microsoft just recently patched the Windows vulnerability that let the attackers in. It almost goes without saying that Kaspersky’s antivirus tools now know to look for the offending software. However, the implications of the breach are severe. They suggest that a government body was willing to compromise a security company, one of its supposed allies, in the name of developing harder-to-find hacking technology — an “outrageous” idea in Kaspersky’s eyes. It’s now less likely that private security researchers will cooperate on cyberdefense issues, which could worsen the situation for everyone.
[Image credit: Image credit: IIPA via Getty Images]
Filed under: Internet
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Kaspersky Lab
New details emerge for Samsung Galaxy Tab E 9.6
A couple days ago a new tablet from Samsung, the Galaxy Tab E, was spotted in a sales catalog for Taiwan Mobile. New details about the device have emerged, revealing that both Wi-Fi and 3G wireless models will be hitting the market. As you may have guessed from the full device name, Galaxy Tab E 9.6, the device will come with a 9.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800.
Powering the new Galaxy Tab E 9.6 model will be a Spreadtrum processor running at 1.3 GHz, 1.5 GB of memory, and a mere 8 GB of storage. The device will support expanded memory of up to 128 GB via microSD cards. For cameras, the device gets a 5MP rear shooter and a 2MP front shooter. Unfortunately, signs point to Samsung only equipping this tablet with Android KitKat instead of Lollipop. The good news is that Samsung appears to be planning to release both Wi-Fi only and 3G compatible models of the device.
The presence of 3G without 4G support suggests Samsung may is likely targeting this device for sale in developing markets. Even in the initially planned Asian and Eastern European markets, the device will likely be considered a bargain tablet with prices ranging from €180 ($204 USD) to €200 ($226 USD). We do not yet know when Samsung may officially announce this product or whether there may be some changes to the final, official specs.
source: WinFuture
via: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: New details emerge for Samsung Galaxy Tab E 9.6
OUYA possible acquisition target for Razer
There is no hiding that OUYA has struggled since its launch in 2013. The Android-powered video game console, despite raising $8 million in a Kickstarter campaign, has struggled to be a hit with consumers and the company failed to repay investors that helped bring the product to life. Among the investors is Alibaba who made a $10 million investment as recent as January. Julie Uhrman, OUYA’s chief executive officer, sent an internal memo to employees in April stating that being sold is the only way to solve their problems.
OUYA could finally be acquired soon as another company in the gaming industry has been involved in negotiations.
Razer, the company behind various computer and gaming equipment, is working on a deal to absorb OUYA’s technology and staff. Razer does have limited experience in video game consoles based on Android, too. Last month, the company released its Forge TV set-top box that runs Android TV. While it does not contain groundbreaking components like NVIDIA’s SHIELD, the Forge TV does allow streaming a PC games. Merging OUYA’s backbone with Android TV could result in a more impressive ‘microconsole’.
Don’t have an OUYA or Android TV device? You can still play high-end games on your phone or tablet.
Source: CNET
Come comment on this article: OUYA possible acquisition target for Razer
Accounts you blocked on Twitter can be shared with others
Want to trade block accounts with other users on Twitter? Doesn’t sound like a bad idea. After all, Twitter is filled with a lot of spam and outrageous content. The service announced today that users can export lists of blocked accounts for other users to import and block on their own accounts.
Before exporting a list, Twitter will display a checklist to include or remove specific accounts. The export is then performed and results in a .csv file that can be downloaded and imported on another account.
Source: Twitter
Come comment on this article: Accounts you blocked on Twitter can be shared with others
Titanium Backup gets updated to version 7.2 bringing support for Android M
If you have ever rooted your Android device, then you know the importance of creating backups; and lots of them. And chances are, you’ve probably come across Titanium Backup, one of the best root apps on the Google Play Store. It offers a plethora of features that makes it easy for you to keep your data safe from accidental factory resets, data failure, and overzealous flashing. And now, Titanium Backup has reached version 7.2, and with it comes the regular bug fixes you’d expect, as well as official support for the Android M preview.
If you are lucky enough to own a Nexus device and currently have Android M installed, then now you actually have solid support for simple backups. While Titanium already supported Android M to a certain extent, there were a few bugs that needed ironing out. Also included in the update is support for the HTC One Max’s SD card, and for PRO users, bug fixes pertaining to the Box API code and an easy way to clear cloud-based authentication tokens.
So if you have been holding out on trying the Android M preview on your Nexus device, now it is a much cleaner process as you can safely backup your device prior to installing, then simply restore it after flashing Android M (which does require a full wipe of your device). Let us know what you think about Android M and this new update down in the comments.
AIVAnet 