Deal: SanDisk Ultra 200GB Micro SD card for $220 from Amazon ($20 off)
Just a few months ago SanDisk finally released its massive 200GB Micro SD card, retailing at around $240-$250 from most sellers. If you’ve been waiting for the price to drop down a bit before you take the plunge, we have some good news. Amazon is now selling the SanDisk 200GB Micro SD card for just $219.99. We know this is only around $20 off the original asking price, but this is still a pretty nice discount.
Before you purchase one for yourself, however, keep in mind that many mobile devices only support Micro SD cards up to 128GB in size, so you’ll need to check out your device’s official specifications before purchasing. With that said, cards of this size are normally aimed at high-end DSLRs or video cameras, not just smartphones.
If you’re interested, feel free to head to the Amazon link below for more information. So, are there any takers? If this is still too pricey, how much would you be willing to spend on a 200GB card?
AT&T monopolizes another market: NSA collaboration
According to new revelations found in another leaked document, AT&T has been working closely with the National Surveillance Agency (NSA) to assist in the government agency’s need to spy on internet use. Billions of messages have been intercepted and hundreds of millions more were spent on programs to provide the agency with the data it needs.
It has been known due to Edward Snowden’s leaks that the NSA practiced spying operations on the internet and the world, but AT&T is at the center of this specific document due to the size and nature of the cooperation they had with the NSA. Since 1985, under the program “Fairview,” AT&T has been instrumental in the NSA’s efforts to amass data for the agency’s spying operation needs. A key component of the partnership was allowing the NSA to install surveillance equipment on at least 17 AT&T operated internet hubs. Once installed; the equipment on the hubs that AT&T allowed to be tampered with provided the NSA with billions of messages over the course of many years, most likely dating back to when they were first activated as a hub. There is more information on the document such as information on operations throughout 2002 and up to 2013, so we do have a more comprehensive scope of what processes were involved with the spying operations and their reasoning.
AT&T would intercept its own data, provide that information to the NSA and then the NSA would deem what what would be used and why once they had the data themselves. The NSA not only had the capability of snooping through the internet because ISPs such as AT&T and Verizon under the Strormbrew program practically handed them a majority of the data that flows through their networks. The key thing about AT&T’s involvement is that they contributed to 80% of the data that the NSA used for its spying operations during the time the document stated. Yes, you read that correctly. The majority of the NSA’s data came from AT&T during 2002 up to 2013 and it is possible a similar arrangement is still taking place.
AT&T has declined to elaborate on the matter but AT&T spokesman Brad Burns stated the following:
“We do not voluntarily provide information to any investigating authorities other than if a person’s life is in danger and time is of the essence.”
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Hangouts no longer drops calls when transitioning between WiFi and mobile networks
Google’s Hangouts app will no longer drop your calls when transitioning from WiFi to a mobile network (or vice versa). The feature works by pausing your call while the app waits for the connection to reestablish itself. It is a pretty seamless process so you don’t have to do anything extra when you move from connection to connection. You no longer have to wait wait 30-40 seconds to get back on a call with anyone. All it takes now is a few moments while your phone transitions the connection and your conversation is back in action.
The feature is implemented in both the Android and iOS versions of Hangouts.
Via: /r/Android
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Get the final Android M Developer Preview for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player
Right now, you can download the latest version of the Android M Developer Preview for select Nexus devices. People with the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player can go ahead and grab system images of the Developer Preview for their devices. Doing so is as simple as manually flashing the system images from the source link below.
This is the third and final version of the Android M Developer Preview before Google delivers Android 6.0 Marshmallow to consumers later in the year. Expect Marshmallow to remain relatively unchanged between now and its launch.
Source: Android Developers
Come comment on this article: Get the final Android M Developer Preview for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player
Australian Banks Hold Back on Apple Pay Support Due to Fees
Nearly ten months after Apple Pay launched in the United States, an increasing number of retailers including Rite Aid and Best Buy have reversed course and announced support for the mobile payments service.
Nevertheless, the United Kingdom is the only country that Apple Pay has expanded to since last October due to roadblocks from major banks and financial institutions in other countries.
Australia may offer a few clues as to why the international rollout of Apple Pay has taken so long, as The Sydney Morning Herald this week reported that its parent company Fairfax Media believes big banks in the country are unwilling to allow Apple to share a portion of the $2 billion interchange fees they collect from merchants each year in return for use of payment infrastructure.
In the United States, Apple is believed to earn about 15¢ on every $100 of transactions. It is understood Apple has been asking for the same amount of interchange fee in Australia.
But Australia’s big banks will not agree to this level given that interchange fees in Australia are about half the US level – equivalent to an average of 50¢ $100 of transaction compared with about $1 for $100 of transaction fees in the US.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia chief executive Ian Narev opined that Apple Pay’s launch in Australia will not be as easy compared to the United States because tap-to-pay transactions are already possible in the country. Narev says that his bank — and many others in Australia — implemented the underlying technology for Apple Pay between 18 months and two years ago.
Mr Narev said CBA had already offered the same functionality as Apple Pay through its app – for users of Android phones – for two years, so it was difficult for Apple to argue it is providing much value. In the US, Apple Pay was innovative because tap-and-go was not a feature of that market.
The report claims that Australian banks are also withholding Apple Pay support due to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the country’s central bank and banknote issuing authority, forcing the financial institutions to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the New Payments Platform, a “fast, versatile, data-rich payments system” that businesses will connect to for accepting low-value payments.
As well as being fast, the NPP will be versatile. The basic infrastructure will support various “overlay” services – specially tailored services which individual financial institutions may choose to offer their customers.
This multi-layered infrastructure has been designed to promote competition and drive innovation in payment services. It ensures the NPP will be equipped to meet the evolving needs of Australians in the digital age – and beyond.
Beyond Australia, Apple is planning to launch Apple Pay in Canada in November, according to The Wall Street Journal. The mid-April report claimed that six Canadian banks were in talks with Apple, including the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, CIBC and the National Bank of Canada. Meanwhile, Apple Pay faces similar roadblocks in China related to fees and market control.
How to Move Your Playlists from Spotify to Apple Music
We’ve been experimenting with Apple Music for over a month now, but there are still a few important questions that pop up with the new music streaming service, the first being “How can I import my playlists from Spotify?”
The short answer is that you can’t without using third-party software. After much research, we’ve found there are two fairly reliable third-party services that work well. One is called STAMP, and the other is called Move to Apple Music. Both automatically search for and add tracks from Spotify to Apple Music so you don’t have to manually go through your entire collection song-by-song. While the end result is pretty much the same, each app offers different features.
Before you get started, make sure you are logged into iTunes with your Apple ID and subscribed to Apple Music.
With both STAMP and Move to Apple Music, you can download the program from each company’s website. Both apps must be given special permission to control your computer.
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LG bets that OLEDs are the future of displays
It’s no secret that LG has been fond of OLED screens as of late, but the company is now proving that it’s committed to those organic displays for the long haul. It’s investing the equivalent of $8.5 billion into developing OLED technology over the next three years for everything from TVs to cars to wearables. LG only describes this as a bid to “pioneer this untapped OLED market” and “keep the competitors at bay,” but it’s not hard to see a few reasons why it’d pour cash into this relatively exotic technology — and it’s not all about one-upping Samsung.
The move is certainly necessary for cars and wearables, where flexible OLED is important for putting displays on less-than-flat surfaces. However, LG is also doing this to resist the race-to-the-bottom trend in screen pricing, especially in the TV space. Like 3D and 4K, OLED gives LG a reason to ask a premium for that giant TV or banana-shaped smartphone — it doesn’t have to compete as much on price. That effect will only last for so long — OLED TV prices have fallen rapidly in the past few years — but it could keep LG ahead of the pack (or at least, near the front) for a little while longer.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Displays, Home Entertainment, Tablets, Wearables, HD, LG
Source:
Bloomberg
Tags: display, hdpostcross, lg, lgdisplay, oled, smartphone, television, tv, wearable
This year’s IRS breach is way bigger than the agency initially thought
Back in May, the Internal Revenue Service said thieves nabbed info for 100,000 people through its transcript website. Today the agency increased that number by an additional 200,000 folks, bringing the total number of potential cases to 334,000. Using a “Get Transcript” tool to access tax returns from previous years — a vulnerability that the government knew about — hackers were able to use personal details on 610,000 taxpayers to retrieve tax-related info on the over 300,000 accounts. Most likely, the culprits were looking to eventually claim refunds with the stolen goods. The IRS says it’s “moving aggressively” to keep those who are affected or potentially at risk safe, and it’s sending out letters to inform individuals if their information was accessed. This isn’t the only tax-related incident facing the US government this year either, as 800,000 people received bad tax info through Healthcare.gov in February.
[Image credit: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images]
Source:
AP
Tags: breach, government, hack, internalrevenusservice, irs, tax, taxes, us
Here are 6 high resolution stock wallpapers from the Samsung Galaxy Note 5
Samsung just recently announced the new Galaxy Note 5, though it’s not quite available to the general public yet. That shouldn’t stop you from adding some Note 5 flair to your current mobile device, though.
Thanks to a certain XDA forum member who managed to get their hands on a Korean unit, you can now download six high resolution stock wallpapers from the Galaxy Note 5. These aren’t the only new wallpapers that will come pre-loaded on the device, but this is certainly a good start. Take a look below to see the wallpapers that are available:
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See also: Download the 26 wallpapers that are pre-loaded on the OnePlus 2
For even more cool wallpapers, head over to the dedicated section on our forums, which includes wallpaper packs from most major devices.
These wallpapers are in typical Samsung fashion, sporting curves, super bright colors and smooth textures that should help breathe some new life into your current mobile device. If you’d like to download all six new wallpapers, feel free to head to the MEGA link attached below to download a .rar file containing all of the wallpapers.
And for more information on the Galaxy Note 5, check out our hands-on and first impressions post, comparisons with the Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus, and a look at the new device vs the competition.
Google names Marshmallow as the official treat for Android 6.0
At Google I/O 2015, Android M was introduced to the world. The software has been available in the form of a developer preview so that the team behind Android can work out any issues before launch later this year, but among the only things unknown about Android M were its version number and name. Would it be Android 5.5 or 6.0? Would it be called Milkshake or Marshmallow? Today, Google debuted Android M’s official version number and name.
The latest version of Google’s mobile operating system will be known as Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Guess who’s excited for the arrival of Android M? (More excitement coming soon: http://t.co/KPn4OWvoom #natandlo) pic.twitter.com/7oQOR6WIDp
— Android (@Android) August 17, 2015
Coinciding with the reveal of Android 6.0 Marshmallow is the arrival of the developer preview’s final edition. Developers are now able to use the official Android 6.0 SDK to create apps that are designed specifically for the twenty-third API level in Marshmallow. This allows developers to take advantage of Android’s new permissions that include dedicated fingerprint support and the new Doze power saving mode.
A release date for Marshmallow was not specified by Google; however, the company does say that a “consumer launch” is coming this fall.
Source: Android Developers Blog
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