Someone in China has hacked the Woods Hole Institute
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, one of America’s premiere scientific research centers, was reportedly hacked last June by unidentified forces operating in China. According to a staff letter sent by WHOI President and Director Mark Abbott this week, the institute has so far found that only emails and commercial data have been tampered with. While the WHOI does a lot of classified research for the US Navy, an institute spokesman points out that sensitive data is stored on a network separate from the one that was attacked.
“The attack was similar to those that have been experienced by many federal agencies, defense contractors and other businesses developing advanced technologies. The investigation of the attack is ongoing, however, the investigation indicates the intent was not to obtain financial or personal identity information,” Abbott’s letter read.
This hack comes after the US threatened sanctions against China over the Asian nation’s repeated intrusions and cyber attacks against American corporations, universities and government agencies. Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to curtail such activities during his recent state visit and the Chinese government has even begun assisting in US investigations against its hackers. However, China has been pushing hard in recent years to increase its status as a maritime power — going so far as to build its own islands in the South China Sea. Should this attack be shown to have originated from the Chinese government itself (or, at least, state-sponsored hackers), the diplomatic fallout could be enormous. But before the US government goes pointing fingers, we’ll first have to wait for the WHOI’s internal investigation, which is being conducted by cybersecurity firm Mandiant, to run its course.
[Image Credit: Photothek via Getty Images]
Source: NBC News
Google releases Marshmallow Quick Start Guide
Google has just released their Quick Start Guide to Android 6.0 Marshmallow on the Google Play Store. If you’re eager to get a view of what’s in store with this highly anticipated update, you’ve got 60+ pages to pore over, and it won’t even cost you a dime.
Those looking for world-changing interface innovations might come away a bit disappointed. Most Android users will already be familiar with most of the things outlined in this document (it is a Quick Start Guide for beginners, after all), but it does outline one of Marshmallow’s most interesting features: Now On Tap.
See also: How to enable Google Now on Tap and use it!
Now On Tap is a pretty natural extension of the Google Now app. The main idea behind Google Now is to provide users with content before they actively search for it. Google Now tracks patterns of use and anticipates your needs for, say, navigation back home, the location of your parked car, and whether or not you should bring an umbrella before leaving the house.
Now On Tap takes this concept slightly further by providing context-specific content while you’re in the middle of using an app. The example given in the quick start guide depicts a user receiving an email suggesting a meeting at the zoo at 11:00 AM the following day. A Now On Tap suggestion asks the user if they would like to make a calendar event for that time and place. Pretty cool.
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Aside from that, the Quick Start guide gives new users an overview of basic features like logging in with their Google account and modifying settings. It also talks up some of the other boons Marshmallow promises to bring including more efficient memory use and longer battery life.
If you’re curious, hop on over to the Google Play store, grab your copy of the Quick Start guide, and settle into a musky leather armchair with a pipe in front of a crackling fire.
5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly!
Welcome back to Android Apps Weekly!
Sponsored by: Muzigrid Music Organizer Player
[Price: Free]
This week’s Android Apps Weekly is sponsored by Muzigrid Music Organizer Player. This app’s claim to fame is it’s unique grid system that lays out all of your music folders and playlists in a grid format. From there, you can freely re-organize, add, edit, and otherwise engage with your music. You can combine playlists, create new ones, and rapidly move songs from place to place until they’re where you want them.
The app is all wrapped up in Material Design which is always a plus. Muzigrid also features some of the more standard music app stuff like a tag editor, album art, an equalizer, crossfade playback, and a lot more. There is even integration with Google Search for icons, album art, and lyrics to find those easily. It’s totally free to use so check it out and show your support for Android Apps Weekly!
Get it now on Google Play!
Let’s get into the Android apps and games headlines from this last week!
- Adobe Lightroom Mobile received a fun update late last week. Adobe has announced that the app will no longer require an Adobe Creative Cloud account in order to function. This really opens up the mobile app for serious photographers although you’ll likely still need the desktop apps to maximize use.
- The latest victim in the “in-app purchases in kids games” problem is Kanye West, who blew up on Twitter after his kid spent a bunch of money on an iPad game. It shall go down in history as one of the few times most people agreed with Kanye West.
- A new malware called Ghost Push has been discovered in a number of apps, including some in the Play Store. The malware forces root access and then proceeds to do bad things. If you think you may be affected, there is an app to help fix it called Ghost Push Trojan Killer in the Play Store.
- Google Play Music appears to still be running its “best of” promotion and now the list of free best of albums has rotated to include artists such as Europe, Alice Cooper, Miles Davis, and more. You can head over to Google Play Music to check out the new collection and pick yourself up some free music! Do keep in mind that this is likely region restricted so you may or may not be able to get them.
- Waze released a report this last week that rated how well the driving experiences were around the world. They voted the Netherlands, Latvia, and the United States (tied with Sweden) in the top 3 with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela being the three worst due to the frequency and severity of traffic jams.
For even more Android apps and games news, don’t forget to check out this week’s newsletter. There we have a complete roundup of all the happenings in the app world this week including stuff we didn’t have time for here. If you want, you can sign up for it with your email address and we’ll send it to you every Friday.
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While you’re at it, don’t forget to subscribe to our Twitch channel! We haven’t played in a bit but we do have plans to put some games up on there soon. Check out our profile and hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out!
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Contrast
[Price: $14.99]
Contrast is a new atmospheric adventure game released exclusively for NVIDIA Shield devices. It’s an action-platformer where you play as a girl who can seamlessly transition between being a real person and her own shadow. You play through the game transitioning between the two to overcome obstacles and progress in the story. It’s kind of like a 3D Limbo but with a better story line and slightly more complex puzzles. The price tag is a bit exorbitant but it seems like a legit game.
Get it now on Google Play!
Cloud Chasers
[Price: $4.00]
Cloud Chasers is a new game that falls into the category of survival adventure. You play as a girl and her father as you traverse a dangerous desert in search of a better life. You’ll have to manage their food and health much like you did in Oregon Trail. You’ll also have a glider that can be used for various purposes. The graphics are pretty nifty and the concept is definitely fun because the world is randomly generated and there are some fun elements. It also touches on the topic of immigration. There are also no in-app purchases.
Get it now on Google Play!
Wonderwall
[Price: Free]
Wonderwall is a new wallpaper application that brings something a little bit different. The app is awash in landscape and nature photography that you can use as wallpaper images for your device. Each day, they add a new, hand-selected wallpaper to add to the collection. All of this is wrapped in Material Design which makes it easy enough to wander around and search through. It also comes with auto-set that lets the app set the wallpapers for you and you can even submit your own photography. It’s also totally free with no in-app purchases.
Get it now on Google Play!
Pocket Programming
[Price: $3.00]
Pocket Programming is a newer application that aims to help absolute beginners get into the world of code. Unlike most, there’s no actual coding in this app, but rather a set of tutorials and lessons that explains what code does, how it works, and the various verbiage used in coding and what those words means. It’s intended as an intermediary step between knowing nothing at all about code and your first “Hello, World” app. It’s $3.00 with no in-app purchases and features a lesson a day for four weeks.
Get it now on Google Play!
Minion’s Paradise
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
We first saw Minion’s Paradise back at E3 and we were told it was going to be released over the summer. There was some delay but now the game is out in the Google Play Store. This is a resource-builder game where you must create a paradise for the minions and, of course, the villains. It’s surprisingly in depth as you’ll have almost complete control over everything that happens in your paradise and the game comes with plenty of goofy antics from the movie. There are in-app purchases but if you can get passed them, this is a fun little game.
Get it now on Google Play!
Wrap up
If we missed any big Android apps and games news, tell us about it in the comments!
Court rules that Apple infringed on a patent from University of Wisconsin
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In the Android world, we’re used to hearing about Apple winning patent infringement cases – the most famous of course is Apple’s win over Samsung over the Galaxy S line of devices. With that in mind, we thought a story about Apple losing a patent infringement case would be infinitely more interesting. A U.S. court ruled this week that Apple infringed on a patent and has to pay the University of Wisconsin $234 million USD in damages because they used the university’s microchip technology in iPhones and iPads without permission.
Now, obviously $234 million is pocket change to Apple, especially considering Samsung is having to pay Apple just over half a billion dollars for the now infamous court trial, but the Managing Director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), Carl Gulbrandsen, appeared to be happy with the result, saying “the decision is great news”. This may or may not be the last time we hear from WARF and Apple as the university has taken out another lawsuit against Apple’s more recent devices, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. At least somebody is sticking it to Apple.
What do you think about the resolution to this lawsuit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Court rules that Apple infringed on a patent from University of Wisconsin appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Flagship Apple Stores Outfitted With Interactive Tables to Highlight 3D Touch
Flagship Apple Stores in San Francisco and New York have been outfitted with new “Force Touch” tables, which are designed to show off the new 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. In these retail locations, there’s a special table that houses iPhone 6s models.
When a 3D Touch force press gesture is used on the screen of one of the iPhones, which all display a fish, the table reacts to the pressure with a neat rippling water visual. The touch-enabled table can be seen in the video below from Grate App. (via 9to5Mac).
These tables are only in San Francisco and New York at the current time, but it’s possible Apple could install them in additional stores around the world as part of an iPhone 6s promotional effort. The fish theme of the table and iPhone duo is also used on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus boxes and in their live wallpapers.
Apple calls 3D Touch, the flagship feature of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the “next generation” of Multi-Touch. 3D Touch enables new pressure based gestures, allowing users to “Peek” at content link links in Messages or Mail with a light press and “Pop” into that content with a longer press. 3D Touch also includes Quick Actions for accessing app content directly from a press on an app icon on the Home screen.
US will reportedly require consumers to register their drones
If you get a new drone this holiday season, you might have to register it with the US government. According to a report from NBC News, the US is ready to announce new requirements for consumers purchasing drones, the most notable of which is that you’ll need to register it with the department of transportation. It’s part of a plan to make sure that drones don’t end up colliding with aircraft flying in and out of airports, something that has the government rightly concerned.
The plan is expected to be announced as soon as Monday, and the DOT wants it in place by Christmas.
DOT announcement coming Monday w/indstry – plan to register drones – hoping plan is in place by xmas, follows drone/plane close calls.
— Tom Costello (@tomcostellonbc) October 16, 2015
It’s not clear yet what exactly will be required of consumers and how much information they’ll need to share with the government, but knowing that the government can track you down if your drone causes an accident would probably make it owners use them with a little more caution.
Source: NBC News
Tinder’s parent company files for IPO
Match Group, the owner of Tinder and OkCupid, is going public. According to the filing, the company hopes to raise $100 million dollars. The mega-dating company states in its paperwork filed with the Security and Exchanges Commission that its advantage over its competition includes strong brand recognition (It’s tough to think of a dating brand larger than Tinder right now) and the ability to scale. It currently has 59 million monthly active users and of those 4.7 million are paid. Most of its intended growth will probably be international. The increased funds from the offering will help it focus on product development, becoming more mobile, improve customer acquisitions and expand its portfolios with new products and buying up competitors. The company will be listed on the NASDAQ as MTCH. Of course all these numbers and talk of growth come down to love. Or at least the short-term “love” of hooking up. The Match Group’s stated mission is “to increase romantic connectivity worldwide.”
Via: TechCrunch
Source: SEC
Sprint is throttling data hogs who use more than 23GB in a month
Sprint’s unlimited data plan is about to get more expensive, and now the carrier is also saying that it’ll start throttling the heaviest users of that unlimited data. Sprint CTO John Saw says as much in a blog post entitled “Protecting the 97 percent” — a reference to the 97 percent of the carrier’s customers that will go unaffected by this change. The company’s new “quality of service” practice means that it’ll start throttling users who go over 23GB of data in a billing cycle. At that point, their data usage will be prioritized below the rest of the carrier’s customers, but only in “times and locations where the network is constrained.”
Those customers will still get unlimited data, they just might not get it as fast as they were expecting. The overwhelming majority of customers won’t ever run into this restriction, it seems — as other carriers have already done, it looks like Sprint will be constraining the few to save the experience of the many. “Our goal with [the quality of service practice] is to prevent some portion of that three percent going forward from negatively impacting the other 97 percent of customers,” Hall writes.
While that’s not an unreasonable viewpoint to have, it still isn’t exactly “unlimited” data if you’re going to have your speed constrained. To that end, it looks like Sprint will be writing this into its customer agreements going forward. These new restrictions will only apply to people who new customers who purchase an unlimited data plan starting today, or current customers who upgrade their handsets and remain on unlimited data going forward.
Via: CNET
Source: Sprint
Huawei announces which Huawei devices will be getting the Android Marshmallow update
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The wave of manufacturers announcing which of their devices will be updated to Android Marshmallow continues as it was announced today which Huawei devices will be getting the Android Marshmallow update. There aren’t many surprises here with Huawei’s latest flagship devices, the Huawei Ascend P8, Ascend Mate 7 and Ascend Mate S headlining the list, and naturally the list cuts off around the 2 year mark (though I could be wrong). All said, the list contains 15 devices, which is pretty commendable in this day and age where mid-range devices tend to draw the short straw as soon as they are conceived.
Unlike LG who announced a timeline for when its first updates would start rolling out, Huawei didn’t specify exactly when this would all start and we definitely wouldn’t be holding our breaths just yet. All the same, we’re impressed with just how many manufacturers are being upfront about which devices are going to be getting updates in the immediate future, but conversely, it does punctuate how strict companies are going to be on their 18-24 month support windows.
What do you think about the list of which Huawei devices will be getting the Android Marshmallow update? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: GizmoChina via Phandroid
The post Huawei announces which Huawei devices will be getting the Android Marshmallow update appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Adobe patches that horrible Flash vulnerability
Relax folks, the latest Flash vulnerability has been fixed, according to a security bulletin from Adobe. Yesterday we learned that Flash on Windows, Macs and Linux all had a critical vulnerability that “could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.” Yup, that’s pretty much as bad as things get when it comes to security issues. Thankfully Adobe rushed to fix the issue — previously we thought it might take until next week for a fix. So if you’re still relying on Flash for some reason, be sure you get the latest update ASAP.
Source: Adobe
AIVAnet 