Drones are pestering Spain’s royal family
France isn’t the only European country grappling with suspicious drone flights, it seems. Reportedly, guards at the Spanish royal family’s La Zarzuela palace have spotted numerous robotic aircraft flying through its airspace at night, including the residences. That’s bad enough by itself, but the kicker is that radio jamming isn’t working — short of breaking out guns, the guards can’t just bring these machines down.
There aren’t any telltale clues as to who’s responsibility, and the palace isn’t commenting. While paparazzi seem like an obvious answer, nighttime doesn’t really provide the best conditions for taking photos of the King and Queen. There’s also a concern that terrorism might be afoot, but the pilots could just as easily be activists, pranksters or even curious locals. Either way, it looks like Spain will have to follow the lead of other countries and tighten its anti-drone measures around high-security areas.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Abraham Caro Marin]
Filed under: Robots
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S2 is slimmer, smaller and squarer
Samsung has revealed its new 8-inch and 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S2 models, and they’re considerably different from last year. As revealed by a leak yesterday, it shrunk both of last year’s models and killed the widescreen (16 x 9) aspect ratio, instead giving them an iPad-like 4 x 3 format. The company said that’ll help “recreate the viewing experience of browsing through traditional print media,” and make it easier to read e-books and web pages. On the other hand, less of the screen is now available for watching movies, particularly since both Galaxy Tab S2 models have also taken a step down in resolution from QuadHD to 2,048 x 1,536.
Obviously, Samsung thinks people use their tablets for reading more often than watching movies. It’s placed extra emphasis on that with the new Super AMOLED screen, which has a reading mode that “modifies the screen’s brightness level to help users read content for longer periods of time.” Helping as well is the fact that both models have slimmed down to 5.6mm and weigh in at 0.85 pounds (9.7-inch) and 0.56 pounds (8-inch). That’s a millimeter thinner and about 10 percent lighter than before.
Spec-wise, the new model is a nice leap over last year. The Tab S2 has an 8-core chip running at 1.9Ghz/1.3Ghz, likely the Exynos 5433 used in the Galaxy Note 4 (but not the Galaxy S6’s top-of-the-line Exynos 7420, as rumored). Other specs include 3GB of RAM, 32/64GB memory (expandable via MicroSD) and 5,870 mAh/4,000 mAh batteries. Those are considerably smaller than before, but then again, they won’t have to drive nearly as many pixels on the lower-res AMOLED screens. Meanwhile, the Tab S2 has a built-in fingerprint scanner like last year’s model, and will run Android 5 Lollipop with Samsung’s latest, toned-down version of TouchWiz.
The Galaxy Tab S2 will launch next month, but Samsung hasn’t said how much it’ll cost yet. Last year, however, it ran $400 and $500 for the smaller and larger models, respectively.
Source: Samsung
UK sets the rules of the road for driverless car tests
A bunch of driverless cars are now being trialled in the UK, so it makes sense to give researchers a special kind of road-testing rulebook. After all, Britain’s existing laws were never written with autonomous vehicles in mind. To support the new wave of research, the Department for Transport (DfT) has published a Code of Practice which sets out some basic ground rules for testing driverless cars on public roads. These include having a backup driver that can retake control at any moment — similar to how Google’s driverless cars operate in the US. Supervisors should also hold an appropriate UK driving licence and be familiar with new systems that might cause problems and require intervention.
Most of the rules should be obvious — for instance, the vehicles must be insured and obey the UK’s normal road laws. Even in an automated mode, however, the supervisor should adhere to the same rules as an active driver — that means they can’t use their phone or anything else that might distract them. The Code of Practice also suggests alerting the highway authorities to testing zones and setting up a specialised contact with the local police and fire services. Finally, driverless cars should capture and store data while they’re out on the road. Similar to a plane’s flight recorder, this will give researchers and investigators a way to determine what went wrong after an accident or mechanical failure.
The Code of Practice shouldn’t trouble the trials already underway in the UK. Most of the prototype vehicles haven’t been designed for public roads anyway — the Lutz pod and Meridian shuttle are gliding around parks and other pedestrian spaces, for instance — but it lays the groundwork for when researchers are ready to tackle the open road.
To coincide with today’s release, the UK government is opening up a fifth of the £100 million investment announced in George Osborne’s March budget statement. The DfT says it’s looking for projects that can improve the safety, reliability and awareness of driverless cars, as well as new research examining how such vehicles could be used to help elderly people. The investment is, however, dependent on bidders match-funding projects with their own money — so only companies with deep pockets should probably apply.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Department for Transport
Ashley Madison hack threatens to expose millions of users
Ashley Madison, the dating website that purports to connect people looking for an affair, has been the victim of a hack that has exposed the personal data of its 37 million users. Krebs on Security is reporting that the perpetrators are a hacker or hackers going by the name of Impact Team. So far, only a small selection of information has been uploaded, but the group is threatening to post the entire haul unless Ashley Madison and sister site Established Men are shut down for good. CEO Noel Biderman has confirmed that the attack is legitimate and has pledged to take down compromising files as they’re found online. Not that it’s likely to be much comfort to the people waking up to find their personal details splashed across the internet.
It’s believed that the hack was carried out because of a much-derided feature that the company offers called Full Delete. Should a user wish to leave the site, they can pay a $19 fee to have all of their personal data scrubbed from the Madison servers. There’s only one catch: according to Impact Team, it’s all a lie, and despite making $1.7 million from the service in 2014, the data remains safely preserved.
For his part, Biderman believes that the attack was an inside job and that he is close to confirming the identity of the culprit. Right now, it’s thought that the person wasn’t an employee, but someone who had “touched” the company’s “technical services.” That makes sense, since the Impact Team statement offers an apology to Mark Steele, the website’s director of security.
At the time of publication, Ashley Madison remains online, but we imagine that we’ll be spending the rest of the day updating this piece as new developments occur. Perhaps the company should change its tagline from “life is short, have an affair” to “it’s all fun and games until everybody finds out.”
[Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Internet
Via: FT
Source: Krebs on Security, PR Newswire
Sony starts software beta for a refreshed take on Android
It would appear that Sony is prepping a brand new skin of Android for their Xperia devices.
“‘Sony’s Android concept’ is a new initiative for Sony users that have a passion for innovation and the latest technology. As a Sony user you have the opportunity to trial a new concept Android software build for Xperia Z3. The initiative is all about letting you – our users – evaluate the software, so we can acquire feedback to improve the experience based on what you like and what you don’t.“
Sony’s Android concept appears to be an entirely new OS, not just a bump of their current Android skin to the latest Android version.
Sony is starting a beta test of this ‘Sony’s Android concept’ in Sweden. The beta is only for Z3 users in Sweden currently and can fill out a form to apply for a spot in the beta group.
It is also noted that this software beta will only be open to Sony Z3 owners and not compatible with compact model.
This beta will run from July 27th to September 13th. Signs point to this new Android concept to ship out with Sony’s newest flagship expected soon if the betas go well!
What do you think? Will this Android concept be the fire starter that Sony needs to get their devices into the limelight?
You always hear about Samsung’s Touchwiz or HTC’s Sense, but you never hear about Sony’s Xperia. Maybe this is what Sony needs to pick up sales and brand recognition.
And hopefully in a good way. People always talk about Touchwiz being the worst skin out there, but I find Xperia to be the worst OEM skin being shipped to customers.
Xperia is just looks awful and runs even worse than it looks in my opinion. Hopefully this sees Xperia brought into the modern age and the archaic design that it currently has is left behind for good.
Source: Swedroid via: Xperia Blog
The post Sony starts software beta for a refreshed take on Android appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Galaxy A8 to launch in South Korea on July 24th
Following its unveiling in China last week, the Samsung Galaxy A8 looks set to launch in its home country of South Korea on July 24th, in a partnership with local carrier SK Telecom.
The Galaxy A8 will initially be available in the white and gold color option, at a cost of ₩649,000 (approximately $560). For the price, Samsung is offering customers one of the thinnest Android phone’s ever made, with a depth of just 5.9mm.
In case you missed last week’s unveiling, the Galaxy A8 features a 5.7-inch display with a 1080p resolution, an octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage with a microSD slot. There’s also a 16 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera, 3050mAh battery, finger print scanner and Android 5.1.1 on board.
The A8 features everything you could ask from a daily driver and nicely bridges the gap between Samsung’s existing mid-range and flagship products. Although it might be a little pricey when compared to Samsung’s Galaxy S6 flagship.
SK Telecom will be accepting pre-orders for the A8 from 10am on July 21st until the 23rd. The black case option will also be made available at a later date. Other than China and South Korea, Samsung has not detailed any other launch regions, but we can probably expect a few more announcements as the weeks roll by.
LG Bello II announced, launches this month
LG’s entry-level L series range launched last year and today, the Korean manufacturer has added to the series with another handset, called the LG Bello II. The L Series is LG’s affordable range of smartphones and is aimed at emerging markets, bringing features such as Knock Code from its flagship handsets lower down the price points.
The LG Bello II features a 5-inch display with FWVGA (854×480 pixels) resolution and a low pixel density of 196 pixels per inch. Under the hood, the LG Bello II has a 1.3GHz quad-core CPU – which is likely to be a MediaTek chipset and possibly the same one used in the original Bello – coupled with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage which can be expanded using microSD.
On the back, the Bello II has an 8MP camera, while on the front is a 5MP snapper. The camera doesn’t have all the bells and whistles found on LG’s flagship handsets but does come with a few useful G-series features; Selfie Flash and Gesture Shot. The former turns your phone screen into a soft flash which is perfect for portraits while Gesture Shot lets you take selfies without pressing any buttons; when taking a selfie, opening and closing a hand in front of the camera activates the camera shutter button.
LG flagship in video:
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The Bello II runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and offers 3G connectivity along with Wi-FI 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS and micro-USB. The 2,540 mAh battery is accessible thanks to the removable back cover while the 155 gram weight will be reassuring in the hand.
The LG Bello II will be available in White, Titan and Gold and based on the specs, we can expect this to be a very affordable handset. The Bello II will launch in India and selected Latin American markets this month and a rollout in Europe, Russia and other countries is expected during the third quarter. The Bello II will be known as the LG Max in India, Mexico, Russia and some other Commonwealth countries while it will also debut as the LG Prime II in Brazil and Chile.
Amazon Prime rumored for Indian launch later this year
India is becoming an increasingly important market for gadget manufacturers and retailers, and Amazon apparently wants a bigger slice of the pie. The e-commerce giant is preparing to invest $5 billion into the country in a bid to rival local retailers such as Flipkart and Snapdeal, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
As part of its India expansion, Amazon is apparently planning to launch its music, instant video and Amazon Prime subscription delivery service in the country later this year.
In order to bundle an impressive line-up of music and video content for its regional Prime service, Amazon has already apparently begun talks with music labels and content producers. Amazon appointed former Sony Entertainment executive Nitesh Kripalani to spearhead this initiative late last year.
“Overall, the bet on India will pay off well for Amazon it’s a high-volume, low-margin business in the US; Amazon India will be similar. I don’t expect high profits from India but definitely good scale” – Kartik Hosanagar, professor at The Wharton School
The Indian retail market has become increasingly competitive over the past few years and Amazon’s rivals have also been raising funds for further investments. Flipkart recently generated around $3 billion following several rounds of funding, and Snapdeal raised nearly $1 billion since 2011. Amazon itself raised $2 billion in India last year.
Amazon is already one of the most popular e-commerce websites in India after just a couple of years operating within the country, but it isn’t the most profitable. Expanding its range of services in India could help Amazon realize additional revenue.
We’ll keep an ear to the ground for some official details later in the year.
Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S2 lineup officially announced
It’s not like we didn’t see this one coming, and as expected, Samsung have unveiled their new tablet lineup with the Galaxy Tab S2 in a 8-inch and 9.7-inch variation.
The design follows on from the Galaxy series that we’re used to seeing from Samsung, with the rounded corners, soft touch menu, and physical home buttons that now includes a fingerprint reader like the Galaxy S6. The devices have a metal frame, but still retain the same plastic rear from the previous models.
Both 8-inch and 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S2’s feature a 4:3 aspect ratio at 2048 x 1536, with a Exynos 5433 Octa-core SoC, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage with support for microSD, as well as Android 5.0.2. The 9.7-inch tablet will have a 5,870mAh battery, and the 8-inch will have a 4,000mAh battery.
Both the WiFi and 4G LTE variant of the Galaxy Tab S2 will ship next month in black and white, measuring just 5.6mm thick. Pricing is as follows:
Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 Wi-Fi: €399 ($432)
Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 LTE: €469 ($508)
Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 Wi-Fi: €499 ($540)
Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 LTE: €569 ($616)
The new Galaxy Tab S2 tablets from Samsung see the aspect ratio amended to reflect that of the iPad – drop us a comment below if you prefer this aspect ratio, or you would prefer the previous configuration.Will you be picking up a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 next month?
The post Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S2 lineup officially announced appeared first on AndroidGuys.
UK sets the rules of the road for driverless car tests
A bunch of driverless cars are now being trialled in the UK, so it makes sense to give researchers a special kind of road-testing rulebook. After all, Britain’s existing laws were never written with autonomous vehicles in mind. To support the new wave of research, the Department for Transport (DfT) has published a Code of Practice which sets out some basic ground rules for testing driverless cars on public roads. These include having a backup driver that can retake control at any moment — similar to how Google’s driverless cars operate in the US. Supervisors should also hold an appropriate UK driving licence and be familiar with the technology inside the vehicle.
Most of the rules should be obvious — for instance, the vehicles must be insured and always obey the UK’s road laws. Even in an automated mode, however, the supervisor should adhere to the same rules as an active driver — that means they can’t use their phone or anything else that might distract them. The Code of Practice also suggests alerting the highway authorities to testing zones and setting up a specialised contact with the local police and fire services. Finally, driverless cars should capture and store data while they’re out on the road. Similar to a plane’s flight recorder, this will give researchers and investigators a way to determine what went wrong after an accident or mechanical failure.
The Code of Practice shouldn’t trouble the trials already underway in the UK. Most of the prototype vehicles haven’t been designed for public roads anyway — the Lutz pod and Meridian shuttle are gliding around parks and other pedestrian spaces, for instance — but it lays the groundwork for when researchers are ready to tackle the open road.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Department for Transport
AIVAnet 