‘Very British Problems’ Twitter feed gets a TV show
If you grew up in Britain, you’ve probably picked up a few odd societal quirks. Passive aggressive remarks, an inability to deal with extreme weather and an addiction to tea, for instance. For years, the Twitter account “Very British Problems” has been posting tweets that poke fun at these British mannerisms, attracting countless followers, retweets and favourites in the process. Now, Channel 4 is taking the concept and transforming it into a TV show. It’s commissioned a three episode mini-series that will debut later this summer with a combination of amusing anecdotes, animations and archive footage. A wealth of British comedians have signed on to the project, including Jonathan Ross, James Corden and Ruth Jones. It’s not the first show to take inspiration from social media, but hopefully Channel 4 will find a little more success than Selfie and $#*! My Dad Says.
Suddenly remembering your tea and necking it like a massive, lukewarm shot
– VeryBritishProblems (@SoVeryBritish) July 7, 2015
“Ooh, late night?” – Translation: You look awful. “Haha, yeah, something like that” – Translation: No. Thanks a bunch.
– VeryBritishProblems (@SoVeryBritish) June 19, 2015
7pm: “Right, shall we start making a move?” 10pm: Drive away while everyone waves from the front door
– VeryBritishProblems (@SoVeryBritish) May 31, 2015
[Image Credit: Philip Toscano/PA WIRE]
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Via: British Comedy Guide
Source: Channel 4
Hacking Team helped Italian police to hijack internet addresses
The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is used to route traffic across the Internet – and it’s a pretty old, creaky protocol that’s open to abuse. Back in August 2014, an Italian web hosting company faked ownership of 256 IP addresses, under the direction of a special arm of Italy’s Military Police and Hacking Team. The police were trying to use the latter’s remote control system malware to monitor targets of interest, but certain IP addresses were unreachable as their true owners, Santrex, kept them locked down for criminal use. Then, when Santrex apparently went out of business, the police remained locked out of these addresses.
As Filippo Valsorda, an engineer on the CloudFlare Security Team, told Ars Technica, BGP is “a stupid, old, insecure core protocol of the Internet… The affected IP class, 46.166.163.0/24, was unannounced (dead) at the time. However, the BGP trust game is delicate and critical and this reckless irresponsibility undermines the trust that the Internet survives on (and makes it sorely clear how it needs to move on from it).”
Due, to the loss of those IP addresses, the Italian police were unable to tap into several computers that had the Hacking Team’s malware. Emails from the recent leak show the Hack Team discussing how reclaim control. It’s apparently the first known case of an ISP fraudulently announcing it owns IP addresses that it actually doesn’t, although it’s certainly not the first problem that’s come from BGP. Back in 2008, YouTube was locked down unreachable to large portions of the Internet.when Pakistan Telecom tried to use BGP to reroute Youtube addresses elsewhere. This somehow got pushed to its Hong Kong ISP, and then to the rest of the world. Oops.
“BGP is a stupid, old, insecure core protocol of the Internet”
More recently, in 2013 Dyn Research showed that a large amount of internet traffic from financial institutions, government agencies, and ISPs had been diverted to strange, unauthorized locations – possibly being monitored or edited before reaching where it was meant to be sent. With the Hacking Team’s attempt, the fake routing table spread around Italian telecoms companies, then spread around the world. BGP has been noted as a weak point of the internet, but the Hacking Team proved there’s ways to manipulate the protocol, intercepting and affecting internet traffic in the process.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Ars Technica, MD at Debian
Android Wear could soon offer watch to watch communications
The next big version of Android Wear looks set to bring a couple of new features that have been present on the Apple Watch, if a new report is to be believed. According to information obtained by Phandroid, the next version of Android Wear will have a collection of cool, new features and was originally due for launch on July 28th but looks to be delayed until August.
The first of the new features is interactive watch faces, which will bring a new single tap gesture to Android Wear. Currently, developers are using a hacked method to offer watch faces that support the single tap gesture but this can lead to conflicts with the system.
The introduction of interactive watch faces means Google will officially support the single tap gesture but will also result in a change in the way you activate the launcher on Android Wear. Since the Android 5.1.1 update, the launcher on Android Wear can be activated by swiping from right to left and once Google brings out the next Android Wear update, this will be the only way to open the launcher.
Android Wear in video:
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In Google’s documentation, the company details four example cases of when you might want to use the single tap gesture. The gesture can be used for everything from making aesthetic changes to the watch face and state changes to revealing more information and even launching an activity. Google is actively working on the update and should be launching an API for the new interactive watch faces in the coming weeks.
The next version of Android Wear is also expected to bring another big new feature; cross-device communication. Users of the Apple Watch are able to send heartbeats and doodles to each other and it seems that Google wants to get into the action. From the next version of Android Wear, a new communication method called Together will let Android Wear users send each other messages, sticks, emojis and doodles but this seems to be limited to just one watch face at the moment.
The string below reveals more about Together:
“Stay together by sending messages directly to your friend’s watch face”
<string name=”wc_doodle_message_received”>%1$s sent you a doodle with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_photo_message_received”>%1$s sent you a photo with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_emoji_message_received”>%1$s sent you an emoji with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_sticker_message_received”>%1$s sent you a sticker with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_message_received”>%1$s sent you a message with %2$s</string>
If Google does limit the Together feature to just a single watch face (and doesn’t make it system-wide like on the Apple Watch), this will be unintuitive for users, as you’re likely to need the watch face enabled to send or receive messages. However, Google’s rapid development cycle means there’s no guarantee that Together will make it to Production and if it does, how it will be implemented.
There’s also good news for LG G Watch R users – like myself – as the update will also enable Wi-Fi on the watch. Like many users, I was quite disappointed to see that WiFi was left out of the 5.1.1 update on the G Watch R but it looks like LG will finally roll out the feature in the next version.
With the Apple Watch offering a credible alternative to Android Wear, the next version of Google’s wearable platform could be the most crucial in its development cycle yet. Features such as the single tap gesture and Together will offer additional features to improve the appeal of Android Wear but it remains to be seen whether this is enough to combat the impressive adoption of the Apple Watch.
Spotify account leads cops to alleged child abductors
Authorities tracked down two children in Mexico thanks to their alleged abductors’ Spotify habit, according to the Coloradoan. The 4- and 6-year-old girls were reportedly taken from Colorado by Peter Barr and Brittany Nunn after Nunn, their mother, lost a custody battle in court. Authorities were unable to find them until Sheriff’s investigator Drew Weber tried a decidedly new-school tactic. Nunn was apparently a Spotify user, so Weber demanded a search warrant for her account and tracked it to an IP address in Mexico.
He also tracked Nunn’s Netflix account, and eventually found her in Cabo San Lucas after she received a package there. Authorities then watched the couple for months while they worked out how to extradite the fugitives and get the children safely home. They were eventually arrested in Cabo San Lucas and brought back to the US, where they’re awaiting custody violation charges in Larimer County. The children were reunited with their fathers last week, with one saying “I just hugged her. It was just a surreal moment.”
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Coloradoan
Here’s your closest look yet at Pluto’s largest moon, Charon
Sure, Pluto may be hogging the spotlight (if deservedly so), but what about its largest moon, Charon? Don’t worry, NASA hasn’t forgotten about checking in on this celestial neighbor. The New Horizons probe has delivered one of the first true close-ups of Charon, and it’s clear that this is much more than a nondescript chunk of ice. It’s full of chasms and craters that make Earth seem flat by comparison — the largest crevice is “miles deeper” than the Grand Canyon, for a start. There’s also a curious, 200-mile “dark region” around its northern pole. The moon will play second fiddle once again when New Horizons flies by Pluto on the 14th, but it’s at least getting its moment in the (very distant) sun.
[Image credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI]
Filed under: Science
Source: NASA
[Deal] Get an entire year of BodBot Plus for free
People take an increased interest in health and fitness during summertime, so it would only make sense to take a look at the Play Store’s myriad of options. Among them is BodBot, a service that has assisted users in losing two million pounds of fat and gaining two hundred tons of muscle. BodBot acts as a digital personal trainer focusing on either losing fat or gaining muscle. The service tailors an individual workout plan for every user and adapts along the way.
Sounds like a good service to get and remain healthy, right? Go ahead and try its premium subscription at absolutely no cost.
The app, which already delivers a solid set of tools, received an update earlier this month to enhance the experience. Aside from usual bug fixes and performance improvements, BodBot’s update included tablet support and timers continue counting when the device is locked.
Here’s how you can get an entire year of BodBot Plus for free:
- Install BodBot Personal Fit Trainer
- Use redemption code TalkAndroid13th by July 13, 2015 at 11:59PM ET
- Save $120 and enjoy!
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Get an entire year of BodBot Plus for free
A sad day for the games industry: Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has passed away
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Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has passed away at the age of 55 in a statement made by the company earlier today.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.
Iwata had to miss E3 2014 due to a presumably related ailment, and unfortunately it appears he’s succumbed to the illness. Iwata has been the face of Nintendo for as long as most people can remember, taking the Japanese games company through many highs, including the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms, and many lows, namely the Nintendo Wii-U and GameCube. Iwatu first started at Nintendo in 1983 and worked on developing iconic games such as Earthbound and parts of the Kirby series, but went on to become director in 2000. He became president of Nintendo in 2002, the first president not to come from the founder’s Yamauchi family and fourth president overall. From there, Iwata became a very well known figure within the Nintendo franchise primarily due to his involvement in the Nintendo Direct program.
Unfortunately, Iwatu won’t be able see how Nintendo’s first foray into the mobile industry goes, but we thank him for how much he’s done to enlighten the lives of children and adults all over the world for the past few decades. Rest in peace, Mr. Iwata.
The post A sad day for the games industry: Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has passed away appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Test run paves the way for over-the-air 4K TV
You may not have to pony up for a streaming video service (or any service, for that matter) to get 4K video on your TV in the future. GatesAir, LG and Zenith have started field-testing Futurecast, a system that promises to drag over-the-air TV into the modern era. Thanks to HEVC video compression as well as boosts to overall throughput, the technology can stuff both 4K and two mobile broadcasts into a relatively small 6MHz frequency range. With enough bandwidth, you’d only need a set of rabbit ears to watch at least a few basic channels in Ultra HD.
Don’t rush to snag a 4K TV just yet. So far, Futurecast mostly exists as a bunch of technologies that will hopefully be rolled into the next-generation ATSC 3.0 standard. It’ll take some time before that standard is ready to go, and a while after that before you can buy a supporting set. Still, it’s good to know that plain HD will no longer be as good as it gets when you’re watching for free.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG
Source: LG Newsroom
Comcast launches its own cable-free TV with Stream
The latest (and most interesting) entrant to the cord-cutting TV wars is here: Comcast. Tonight the company announced Stream, a service that delivers TV exclusively over the internet (Correction: it is “IP-based managed network” connection, check after the break for why that matters). The catch? You’ll need Comcast internet service to subscribe, and the live TV feeds only work in your home (at least for now). It’s also only available in select areas to start, and will launch in Boston this summer. For $15 a month, subscribers get about a dozen channels, including all broadcast networks and HBO (but not ESPN or any other cable channels, according to the New York Times). It also has access to the usual TV Everywhere cable authenticated-streaming for when you’re away from home, plus Comcast’s Netflix-like Streampix service for movies.
Developing…
As for the at-home restriction on TV service, that’s because, as a Comcast representative tells Engadget, this is “an IP-based cable service that offers live, on demand and cloud DVR delivered over our managed network in the home.” In case you’re somehow not familiar with what that means, it translates to this service not using the same internet connection everyone else uses to reach subscriber’s homes, even though it runs through the same wiring and modem. Comcast made the same distinction when it launched video on-demand streaming to the Xbox 360 a few years back, and Reed Hastings was not happy with the explanation. Given the current climate around net neutrality, we can’t imagine this launch will go over without any controversy, and expect to hear more about that bit soon.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Comcast
Podcast 023: Android Authority… After Hours
In a most interesting episode, Josh gets together with most of the typical panel – Joe Hindy, Andrew Grush, and Jonathan Feist – to talk about a new trend in VR. They manage to keep it from getting too uncomfortable and have a hilarious discussion about pornography in the mobile and VR spaces! From there, talk about a couple highly anticipated devices that are just a couple months away from release, and end on a quick discussion about pizza!
It’s hardly a dull day at the Android Authority Podcast – discussing topics in Android every week.
Links to Podcast
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iTunes
Stitcher
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Relevant Links
VR Pornography
Smartphone users and porn
OnePlus Two Rumor Roundup
The Future of OnePlus
Galaxy Note 5 Rumor Roundup
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Joshua Vergara
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Recorded on July 10, 2015 – Hosted and Produced by Joshua Vergara
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