Stingray phone surveillance tools can also record your calls
It looks like the Stingray tools law enforcement agencies have been using to track cellphones are even worse than we thought. They also have the ability to record your calls and access your text communications, according to Justice Department documents obtained by the ACLU. As Wired points out, that’s something privacy advocates have long suspected, but these documents are the first to prove that. To refresh, Stringray devices are used by law enforcement to mimic cell towers and trick nearby phones into connecting to them, which gives up their locations. The documents note that you can also use the devices to wirelessly flash a phone’s firmware and use a cellphone as a big. Given that these documents are from 2008 though, it was most likely referring to flashing older cellphones, and not complex smartphones. Now the documents don’t mean Stingray devices were actually used to record calls, they just give us a clearer sense of their abilities.
Via: Wired
Source: ACLU
Congress pushes deadline to make trains safer to 2018
If you travel by train or live near tracks, Congress is not doing you any favors. Yesterday it passed a bill extending the deadline (see Section 1302) for the implementation of the potentially life-saving Positive Train Control (PTC) braking control system on all trains by three years to December 31, 2018. PTC slows trains that are traveling too fast based on their location and could stop deadly derailments. It acts as a backup for distracted engineers that have failed to slow their locomotives when approaching curves or have ignored signals. According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), up to 70 percent of rail operators would not meet the safety standard by the original December 31, 2015 deadline.
Via: The Verge
Source: Congress
Amazon to deliver ‘Call of Duty’ at midnight on release day in 20 cities
Going the physical route on day one videogame releases has always meant either braving an in-store midnight event or waiting for a package to be delivered. In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Amazon has an alternative: midnight delivery straight to your door, at no extra charge. In 20 metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Minneapolis, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle) it promises to drop the game off — along with any snacks you might order — within a two hour window on November 6th through its Prime Now one-hour option.
Source: Amazon
Access to Past Beats 1 Radio Shows Now Limited to Apple Music Subscribers
Access to Apple Music’s Beats 1: Replay feature, which allows users to listen to previously broadcast Beats 1 radio shows, is now limited only to Apple Music subscribers. MacRumors readers and users on reddit have both noticed a recent change that no longer allows those without an Apple Music subscription to access Beats 1 radio segments they’ve missed.
According to the reddit thread, past Beats 1 radio shows became inaccessible to non-subscribers approximately two weeks ago. The Apple Music Help Twitter account has confirmed that Beats 1 Replays now require an active Apple Music subscription.
@adrow You are correct. Beats 1 replays do require that you have an active subscription with Apple Music.
— Apple Music Help (@AppleMusicHelp) October 30, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Beats 1: Replay feature was first introduced in early August when all Apple Music users were still under the free three-month trial period. It offers full show replays with guests, commentary, and music. Without access to Beats 1: Replay, those who do not subscribe to Apple Music will only be able to listen to missed Beats 1 radio content by catching it on the second playthrough, 12 hours after the first airing.
Attempting to access a past Beats 1 radio show via an artist’s page now brings up an Apple Music login screen for non-subscribers, while subscribers are still able to access the content. Playlists are also inaccessible, but content uploaded to a Beats 1 radio DJ’s connect page, such as select interviews, can be listened to without a subscription.
Access to past Beats 1 shows is not the only feature limited to Apple Music subscribers. Asking Siri questions about music charts, such as “What was the top song in March of last year?” is off limits to non-subscribers. Siri tells non-subscribers that an Apple Music subscription is required, likely because these music chart questions cause the song in question to begin playing.
Apple’s decision to limit past Beats 1 shows to Apple Music subscribers has undoubtedly been done in an effort to encourage Beats 1 radio fans to purchase a subscription, which is priced at $9.99 per month for individuals and $14.99 for families. In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple Music had 6.5 million paying customers along with 8.5 million still on the free trial.
(Thanks, Adam!)
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Nexon and Respawn teaming up to put Titanfall on mobile
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Titanfall is a surprisingly good first-person shooter for the Xbox One and PC, so it makes sense that developer Respawn Entertainment would want to capitalize on their new IP and the burgeoning mobile gaming sector. To that end, Respawn has announced that in conjunction with mobile publisher Nexon, they will be making games that exist in the Titanfall universe for smartphone and tablet. The agreement also sees Respawn and Nexon investing in a mobile game developer called Particle City which will take point for these games. Whether that means we’ll see a first-person Titanfall game on mobile, we don’t know, but seeing as Nexon is on board, the games will probably be free-to-play.
“Our partnership with Nexon is momentous for many reasons. Nexon’s unrivaled publishing network and free-to-play expertise will allow Titanfall to reach new global audiences. And with Particle City, we are closely collaborating to create all-new standalone games with original gameplay experiences that expand the Titanfall universe to players everywhere,” says Respawn CEO Vince Zampella.
The first game out of this new partnership is expected on Android and iOS sometime in 2016, so we’ll have to wait and see what comes out of this – we’re really hoping it’s good. What do you think about putting Titanfall on mobile? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Business Wire
The post Nexon and Respawn teaming up to put Titanfall on mobile appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Foursquare tips are being tested to work with Google Now
Google Now is starting to give Foursquare place recommendations whether you have the Foursquare app installed or not. Foursquare cards will now show you tips about restaurants, public parks, coffee shops, and more.
Currently, Foursquare isn’t listed as a supported Google Now integrations card, but is, somehow, still working. Foursquare has not commented, but it’s looking like they will be working with Google in the future.
With the Foursquare cards you can do things like walk past a park and a Foursquare card will pop up suggesting things like “have a picnic”. At this time, not everyone will be able to see Foursquare cards, but we would imagine they will be rolling out to everyone shortly.
Source: VentureBeat
Come comment on this article: Foursquare tips are being tested to work with Google Now
Apple publishes new Android app for managing Beats Pill+ speakers
Apple has just released their second app for the Google Play Store, and this one allows users to manage their Beats Pill+ speaker. This app follows up their less-than-diplomatic premiere Move to iOS, a release that saw some pretty hilarious responses.
This Beats Pill+ app is far more functional and less passive aggressive than Move to iOS, and it sports features that allow users to synchronize multiple speakers to achieve greater depth of sound and stereo effects, as well as the ability to let more than one user control music playing from a single speaker.
This companion app promises to give you and your friends greater control over your music. It was developed exclusively for the Beats Pill+ speaker, and it uses Bluetooth pairing to manage and control the device from your phone or tablet.
The Beats Pill+ is a small speaker designed by Apple that aims to provide rich, powerful sound in a tiny, sleek package. Advertised as sounding “bigger than its size,” the Beats Pill+ uses a “stereo active 2-way crossover system” that creates an “optimized sound field for dynamic range and clarity across all genres of music.” The device can also function as a speakerphone when connected with a mobile device and has a 12-hour battery life.
Although it’s not the long-awaited Apple Music, Beats Pill+ actually provides Android users who are not interested in swapping operating systems some utility. You can find it in the Google Play Store.
Dead Effect 2 released to the Play Store
Dead Effect 2 is a game that aims to “push the boundaries of mobile gaming to another level,” promising console-levels of quality in terms of action, story, and RPG elements. The game placed second at the Very Big Indie Pitch contest in 2015, and it is now available for download in the Google Play Store.
Zombie combat games aren’t exactly novel in the Play Store. UNKILLED is one of the more prominent recent additions to an already sprawling library of shambling undead awaiting touchscreen massacre. Nevertheless, this Dead-Space-esque sequel might be worth checking out.
The game puts its weight on storytelling, which isn’t something you can often say about mobile zombie games. You find yourself where the previous game left off, adrift on an abomination-infested spaceshift adrift in the abyss, and of course you’re going to need to fight your way through. A wide variety of weapons makes sure you’ll never get bored, and the graphics are simply stunning. It even supports enhanced graphics if you’re playing on a device with NVIDIA’s SHIELD.
Dead Effect 2 is clearly part of an ongoing trend to establish Android as a serious gaming platform. The game sports professional voice actors and is tricked out with a soundtrack that begs for headphones. Furthermore, the character development system allows you to grow and evolve as a character across an arc with the option to play as three distinct personalities. In true RPG style, weapons, armor, and implants are swappable and upgradeable in a way reminiscent of Mass Effect, and the campaign claims to be more than twenty hours long. Thirty hours, if you’re a completionist who can leave no sidequest unturned.
Since it’s free to play with in-app purchases, you might as well give it a spin. Check out Dead Effect 2 in the Google Play Store and let us know your first impressions in the comments.
Google Play Games can now record your screen in 720p or 480p
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One of the holy grails for avid mobile gamers is being able to record your screen – there have always been ways to do this, most involving root, but there hasn’t really been a way for every Tom, Dick and Harry to do so, until now. Google announced earlier this week that Google Play Games can now record your screen in 720p and 480p resolution – all you need to do is start the game from within the Play Games app, and you’ll be able to choose to whether you want to also include footage from your front facing camera and audio for commentary.
It doesn’t appear like there are any restrictions on what games you’ll be able to play, but we’ll find out more when the app actually rolls out. Google says that the updated Play Games app will be rolling out in the US and UK first “over the coming days” and a global rollout will follow soon after. Make sure to keep an eye out for the update:
http://playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js
This update is a lot like the Game Recorder+ that Samsung released earlier this year, except that this will be available to all Android devices, which is pretty much the best thing ever. What do you think about recording games with Google Play Games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Android Official Blog
The post Google Play Games can now record your screen in 720p or 480p appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Amazon’s Prime Music stores tracks on an SD card
To help you conserve that limited storage space on your Android device, Amazon is letting you download Prime Music tracks to an SD card. If your go-to device has a slot for extra memory, you’ll be able to store music from Amazon’s streaming library for offline listening. As you might expect, you can download any purchased albums and songs there, too. In addition to the storage update, you can now control the audio and browse the app from your Android Wear device. The service also gained expanded artist pages and tabs for new and popular music to keep you up to date on what’s fresh. The latest version of Prime Music for Android is rolling out now, so if you’re not seeing the new features, they should arrive shortly.
Source: Amazon Music (Google Play)
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