Recommended Reading: The Ashley Madison hack should scare you
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you’ll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.
The Ashley Madison Hack Should Scare You, Too
by Heather Havrilesky
New York Magazine
Reactions about cheaters getting what they deserve aside, the Ashley Madison hack and subsequent release of private info is reason for concern. The masses are flocking to the internet to sift through the details, digging for dirt on recognizable names. But what happens when another service housing sensitive, private info is hacked and the stolen goods are posted online for the world to view — not necessarily one focused on adultery? “At the exact moment when citizens worldwide should be noticing that we’re all living in glass houses, many of us are picking up stones instead,” says New York Magazine’s Heather Havrilesky.
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Unraveling the Enigma of Nintendo’s Virtual Boy 20 Years Later Nintendo released the Virtual Boy tabletop console in North America 20 years ago this week, so now’s a good time to look back on that odd piece of kit. |
The Guy Who Owns .xyz Will Only Get $8 from Google Every Year Here’s some backstory on the owner of .xyz and what it means for him now that Google, er Alphabet, nabbed abc.xyz. |
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‘Mortal Kombat’: Untold Story of the Movie That ‘Kicked the Hell’ Out of Everyone There have been some real stinkers when video games leap to the big screen. Released 20 years ago this week, Mortal Kombat was an exception. |
A Factual and Emotional History of the Burrito We’re pro-burrito here at Engadget, so while this piece isn’t tech-focused per se, it does offer some background on these tasty bundles of joy. |
[Image credit: Carl Court/Getty Images]
Filed under:
Misc
Tags: alphabet, ashleymadison, burrito, burritos, google, mortalkombat, recommendedreading, recreading, virtualboy, xyz
The Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition packs 256GB of internal storage
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The amount of internal storage available in a smartphone tends to be a relatively contentious issue for some, and the absence of a microSD slot can make this even more volatile. This tends to stem from the fact phone manufacturers are only offering flagship devices with 32GB or 64GB variants, with a select few offering 128GB version – well, Asus intends to one-up all of these devices and manufacturers by offering a special version of its Asus ZenFone 2 with 256GB internal storage – yes, you read that right.
The Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition was unveiled in Brazil earlier today and for the most part is the same as the stock ZenFone 2 with 5.5-inch 1080p display, Intel Atom processor, 4GB RAM and 3,000mAh battery. Amusingly enough, if 256GB internal storage isn’t enough for you, a microSD slot is still provided, supporting up to 128GB cards – that’s an unprecedented amount of storage possible in a smartphone, but hey, the option is there. It would appear that the Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition is only going to be available in Brazil for the time being, and no pricing has been confirmed, but we’re hoping that Asus brings this one to other markets in the near future.
What do you think about the Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition with 256GB internal storage? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: AsusFanatics via Phone Arena
The post The Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition packs 256GB of internal storage appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
The Samsung Ultimate Test Drive has already run out of qualifying devices
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Yesterday, we covered the story of the Samsung Ultimate Test Drive program which Samsung has started to try and get iPhone users to use Android devices instead. In essence, the program allowed iPhone users the opportunity to try one of Samsung’s latest flagship devices for 30 days with no strings attached and offered to give users who converted some bonuses. Well, it sounded like a pretty good deal, a deal good enough for Samsung to run out of qualifying devices for the program. Now when you visit the splash page for the Samsung Ultimate Test Drive, you’ll be greeted with the following message:
“Thank you for your interest. Due to the overwhelming demand, we are temporarily out of test drive phones. Please keep checking back for available phones.”
It’s impossible to tell exactly how many devices Samsung had set aside for the program, but it’s obvious that there are more iPhone users on the fence than Samsung may have originally expected. That’s definitely a good thing given the point of the whole exercise, but we’ll have to see if the Test Drive actually pulls in any new users once the 30 days are up.
What do you think about the Samsung Ultimate Test Drive? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Samsung Promotions via Phone Arena
The post The Samsung Ultimate Test Drive has already run out of qualifying devices appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
My LG G4 impressions so far
I’ve had my G4 for just over 2 weeks now. That excitement of opening the box is unparalleled by most things in the world. I have to admit that this is the first flagship phone I’ve had. Usually I have some budget phone, my last Android being the outdated LG G2 Mini. I’ll break it up into sections to make it easier to read.
Unboxing
The box is nothing complicated. Sleek with a cool design, I quite like it.
Open the box, and you’ll see an entire range of goodies. I got the Brown leather version and it came with an additional Gold plastic backing, which actually looks more like a shade of Silver. There’s also a pair of Quadbeats 3 headphones and a charger with a nice, thick USB cable. This no-nonsense, practical approach appeals greatly to me and means it’s easy to use and will last for a long time.
They were also nice enough to throw in a 32GB MicroSD card. Here’s a close up on that USB cable I was talking about:
Watch and learn, Apple
Hardware
Please stop moaning if phones aren’t made of metal. Plastic ones feel just a premium if done right, which is evident in the G4. The leather backing, although susceptible to damage, really tops it off and feels good in the hand. The plastic back is also surprisingly grippy in the hand.
The screen has a subtle curve which is obvious enough that my friends asked me if it was curved. It’s really evident when looking directly at it with the screen off: Your face becomes distorted. It compliments the phone well, taking design cues from the G Flex 2. This is where it differs from the S6. It offers and organic and nature-like fell, while the S6 is industrial with the metal and glass. It’s entirely up to you what you would enjoy.
When the G3 was announced , we all marveled at the resolution, namely 1440 X 2560, or 2K. The colors and brightness weren’t too great, and LG picked up on that and fixed it. Blacks are nice and deep to the point where it’s almost indistinguishable from the bezels. I can easily view what’s happening on it in direct sunlight, granted I’m looking at it directly and not from an angle. Colors and vibrant and pleasing, although it appears that the S6 still has the edge in this department (Get it? Edge?).
Coming from my G2 Mini, it felt natural with the back buttons being on the back. At first I was a bit bummed with the speaker being at the back of the phone, but it’s actually really ideal as the curved back means the speaker isn’t blocked and muffled if you place it on something, but rather the sound will bounce off the surface and improve the audio quality. I was also really surprised how loud it goes. The quality could be a bit better, especially if you use LG’s propriety headset.
Camera
Usually the camera would be under hardware, but this needs a thing all for itself. Here’s one shot I took:
LG went all out with this and managed to overthrow Sammy’s camera on the S6 with the manual mode. I’ve seen several comparisons and they are neck-to-neck, each with strengths and weaknesses. You can do much more with the G4 though, thanks to the manual mode. This allows you to change the shutter speed to intervals between 1/6000 of a second to a full 30 seconds, ISO to 50 to 2700 and manually zoom and set the warmth/coolness. Here is another one with an ISO of 100 and exposure of 30 seconds:
Click me to see the full resolution!
I’m not going to boast too much about it, but I can safely say it’s currently the best camera package on a a smartphone today.
What I really enjoyed was the small things that LG threw in. You can hold up your hand and make a fist to start a selfie countdown. I’d take more selfies simply to use this. Saying “LG” or “Smile also triggers the camera and takes a photo, if you don’t want to look like a self-obnoxious selfie lover.
Software
LG’s built on top of the G3 software with some material design an improvements. When I first used the phone, I was blown away at how much bloatware was included: None. In fact, you can actually delete some of the stock apps like Calculator and QuickMemo+. In all there are a whooping 8 of them you’re able to delete.
I personally love the UI – Colorful and materialistic. I only experienced lag a few seconds after booting up. We’ll look further into it with our review.
Specs
LG couldn’t of made a better choice using the Snapdragon 808. Age is a number, and this case 810 does not mean better than 808. Complimented with 3GB RAM, everything was dead smooth, although I wonder what 4GB would’ve felt like. The 3000mAh battery is sufficient to keep the lights on for an entire day, with mediocre use of course. Leaving home at 07:00, leaving the WiFi on for a few hours and coming back at 17:00 easily left 60% of battery left. If you think that’s bad, please use switch your WiFi teethering on and see how long it lasts.
The screen uses the majority of battery. This is really obvious when you charge the phone. Screen off, it will go to 0% – 100% in less then 80 minutes. With the screen on, however, it takes almost double the time. I drool at the battery life had it been a 1080p screen – like the G2.
There’s only one tier for storage: 32GB. Substantial for most people, the removable back cover allows you to extend this with a SD card. Still, I want to see at least a 64GB in the G5.
Laser autofocus, NFC, IR Blaster. All the bells and whistles for a flagship. What do you think?
The post My LG G4 impressions so far appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google to announce changes to its productivity apps on September 2nd
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Google has typically had a monopoly on productivity apps on the Android and Chromebook platforms, but with Microsoft strengthening its presence in Google’s territory, it’s clear some changes are needed to get Google’s apps back in the game. To that end, Google has called for an event on September 2nd at Google’s headquarters which aims to announce updates to its productivity apps including Docs, Sheets, Slides and Google Classroom – that last one allows teachers to manage their lessons and content better.
The focus of the improvements will be for students, teachers and professionals in general and invites to the event have been sent out expressing that these updates will be detailed at the event. We’re excited to see what Google is going to bring to the table as education (and productivity) is an area that could really benefit from more integration with Google’s core services.
What do you think about Google taking more interesting in productivity apps? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: PC World via TalkAndroid
The post Google to announce changes to its productivity apps on September 2nd appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Someone accidentally pushes the button on Play Daily button on the Play Store
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Sometimes new features go live before they are intended to which is exactly what happened to the Play Store earlier today. Astute Android users would have noticed today that a mysterious Play Daily button on the Play Store appeared out of the blue and didn’t appear to go anywhere – click on it only seemed to result in a server error. Also curious is that a “Dogfood Apps” button appeared in the Apps section of the Play Store, which predictably led to a number of Google apps that are already available to the public – no, not Google’s internal special version of apps.
While we’re not sure what purpose these new buttons would serve, it appears that it has all been an accident on Google’s side, with Googler Kirill Grouchnikov confirming that it was accidentally put into the production build:
https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js
We’d expect the buttons to disappear soon, if they haven’t already, but it’s almost nice to know that even Google can be human sometimes. What do you think about the Play Daily button on the Play Store? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Android Police
The post Someone accidentally pushes the button on Play Daily button on the Play Store appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
NASA technologies star in One Direction’s music video
Ah, pop stars. They can be anyone they want in their music videos: spies, goddesses and, in One Direction’s case, astronauts blasting off to space. The boy band’s latest music video for the single Drag Me Down features a number of NASA tech, which is why the agency’s been promoting it in its social media channels. In addition to donning NASA’s bright orange suits and shooting at the Johnson Space Center, the boys got a taste of the ISS crew’s training using the Partial Gravity Simulator and the ISS Mockup Bike.
They also got to bond with Robonaut, take the Space Exploration Vehicle (a rover in development for Mars and other deep-space missions) for a drive around the facility and dance in a hangar with T-38 jet trainers used for flight simulations. Finally, the boys got to climb aboard a mock-up Orion spacecraft, because clearly, magical things happen to them that don’t happen to the rest of us.
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: Roving in the Space Exploration Vehicle: http://t.co/N4wQNe9Iwo pic.twitter.com/98IHwFmg4R
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: Here’s how you can become @NASA_Astronauts: http://t.co/K0OIDlCMVS pic.twitter.com/Yl309z1aS7
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: @NASA_Orion takes flight. Learn more: http://t.co/V2alO9n0Zk pic.twitter.com/UOmmkY8zOm
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: @AstroRobonaut is ready to assist the crew. More: http://t.co/kjyw4qioMX pic.twitter.com/w2rcLwNjXi
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
Filed under:
Misc
Source:
NASA
Tags: astronaut, musicvideo, nasa, onedirection, space
OneDrive’s Groups feature shutting down October 16th
Microsoft officially announced it’s axing the Groups feature in OneDrive in the coming weeks, meaning stalwarts still using the online storage service for collaborating will need to start migrating their data to new locations. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though: The feature has been largely shuttered for months. As it is, users haven’t been able to create new groups; they can only work within existing ones.
However, that’s no longer the case: People who still use Groups received an email today informing them that the feature will not be available after October 16th, 2015, and that any data stored in a group file will be deleted. If you want to keep your data currently contained in Groups, follow these instructions to migrate it to a different folder in OneDrive. This means you’re essentially downloading files to a desktop, then uploading them into a different folder in OneDrive. (Oddly, these instructions claim that Groups will no longer be available after September 30th 2015 but our contacts at Microsoft have assured us that October 16th is the correct date.) The email also contains instructions on how to share files and folders after moving them out of Groups. It’s worth mentioning that individual OneDrive accounts already include free access to Office’s online version, which has real-time co-editing so it doesn’t matter if a file is owned by a group or a single person.
Source:
onedrive
Tags: CloudStorage, groups, Microsoft, microsoftonedrive, onedrive
Weird noises emerge from a Frankenstein cassette-tape keyboard
Of course everyone knows what a Mellotron is (no, everyone doesn’t), but allow us to briefly explain anyway. The Mellotron is a keyboard hooked up to analog tape — press a key and the instrument plays a corresponding section of sound on the tape. It’s the original sampler, popularized by the Beatles, the Moody Blues and a handful of other bands in the 1960s and ’70s. And now, it’s back with a modern twist. The Crudman, from Brooklyn’s Crudlabs, isn’t exactly a Mellotron, but it operates similarly by connecting a keyboard to a hacked Walkman. Users can even chain together a few Crudman units for polyphonic sounds. You could even call them polyphonic sprees, if you’re feeling saucy.
Despite the similarities to the Mellotron, Crudlabs wants to make it clear that the Crudman is not a Mellotron. “It is a monophonic, tape-based instrument designed around a single cassette Walkman,” the Crudlabs site says. “No, it is not designed to replace a Mellotron and it does not sound like a Mellotron. It’s its own thing which has its own unique sound and features. It is a new instrument and a tool to find new and interesting musical and atonal sounds using the unique lo-fi characteristics of cassette tapes.”
As for those unique sounds, hear for yourself below.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/136749073?color=c73e26&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Filed under:
Misc
Via:
Motherboard
Source:
Crudlabs
Tags: Cassette, crudlabs, crudman, mellotron, music, sampler, walkman
10 people will get to play a 24-screen game of Minesweeper
I’m not quite keen on playing a massive game of Minesweeper when a tiny one is enough to make me go nuclear. But hey, if you’ve aways dreamt of playing it on 24 high-definition displays, you can send in an application to participate in the Minesweeper Super Challenge by a company called Cinemassive. To celebrate Minesweeper’s 30th anniversary, Cinemassive is having 10 people compete on a gargantuan screen. Because, obviously, nothing quite celebrates pushing gamers everywhere to the edge for 30 years than having to clear 38,799 mines. The project page says you’ll be able to play “from the comfort of your home,” so we’re assuming you’d be able to control the company’s setup remotely if you’re chosen. Before you apply, note that you get three tries before you’re out, and you only have 12 hours to beat the game. I’d definitely understand, though, if you ragequit somewhere in the middle.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/135286899?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Filed under:
Gaming
Via:
Boingboing
Source:
Cinemassive
Tags: minesweeper
AIVAnet 