Open Whisper Systems’ secure messaging app Signal is finally available for Android
Open Whisper Systems specializes in providing tightly secure methods of communication, and one of its more recent efforts is a secure messaging application called Signal. It’s only been available on iOS, but as of today, Android users will be able to download it and begin putting a tight lock over their phone calls and text messages.
The intriguing thing about Signal is that Open Whisper Systems has designed it in a way that they (the developer) won’t be able to look or listen into your conversations and neither will other prying eyes. With end-to-end encryption, Signal’s high level of security won’t be breached easily.
In addition to great security, the application is fairly easy to setup as well. Since it uses your phone and address book, you won’t have to create a separate account or number to take advantage of the secure messaging service. Once installed, it’s pretty much ready to go.
For those of you that have been using TextSecure, another secure messaging app from Open Whisper Systems, you will soon be getting an update that adds the name change along with a few missing features. As for Redphone users, you’ll have to uninstall and download Signal manually.
Still unsure about Signal’s level of security? Then you might like to know that whistleblower Edward Snowden uses Signal for his daily communications, and has suggested that anyone and everyone “use anything by Open Whisper Systems.” If that isn’t a testament to Signal’s level of encryption, I don’t know what is.
source: Open Whisper Systems
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Huawei’s Mate 8 is spotted on benchmarking site, confirms Kirin 950 CPU, 4GB RAM and 6-Inch display
It was only yesterday that Huawei issued the invites for the launch of its upcoming Mate 8 flagship smartphone on November 26, and now the handset has been spotted being put through its paces on the GFXBench benchmarking site, confirming some specifications along the way.
As you can see from the image above, the Mate 8 does indeed sport a 6-inch display with Full HD resolution, and not a 5.7-inch screen as previously thought. The Kirin 950 processor is present, although it is clocked at 2.2GHz and not 2.4GHz as previously speculated. The fact that there is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage implies that this is the higher specced variant of the Mate 8, because the lower specced version is believed to feature 3GB and 32GB of storage. Finally, where it was thought to use a 20MP rear snapper, the benchmark says it is instead a 16MP sensor.
There’s just over 3 weeks to go until the Mate 8 is officially revealed on November 26, what are your thoughts on the Mate 8 so far?
Source: GFXBench
Via: WinFuture.de
Come comment on this article: Huawei’s Mate 8 is spotted on benchmarking site, confirms Kirin 950 CPU, 4GB RAM and 6-Inch display
Apple Pay Gains 54 New Participating Issuers in United States
Apple updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list today with 54 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has over 650 participating issuers nationwide, and several more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future.
The newly added Apple Pay participating issuers are reflected below, although it’s worth noting that some banks, credit unions and financial institutions listed may have already had support for the contactless payments service and are only now being reflected on Apple’s website.
The full list of new Apple Pay participating issuers:
- Alternatives Federal Credit Union
- Army Aviation Center Federal Credit Union
- Artisans’ Bank
- Bank of Eastman
- Bank of Rantoul
- Bridgeview Bank Group
- Carson Bank
- Calumet Bank
- Catholic & Community Credit Union
- Central State Bank
- Charter Oak Federal Credit Union
- Citizens First Bank
- Cornerstone Bank
- Cornerstone National Bank
- Credit Union of America
- Drummond Community Bank
- Education Employees Credit Union
- First Community Credit Union (MO)
- First Federal Bank of the Midwest
- First Piedmont Federal Savings and Loan Association
- Genisys Credit Union
- German American
- Gorham Savings Bank
- Greenwood Credit Union
- Houston Texas Fire Fighters Federal Credit Union
- Hudson River Community Credit Union
- InTouch Credit Union
- KV Federal Credit Union
- Lexington Postal Credit Union
- Macatawa Bank
- Maine Family Federal Credit Union
- Marion State Bank
- Missouri Bank
- Missouri Credit Union
- Mocse Credit Union
- Municipal Employees Credit Union of Oklahoma City
- Mutual Bank
- Newaygo County Service Employees Credit Union
- Oak Trust Credit Union
- Peoples Bank (WA)
- Peoples Bank (AR)
- Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union
- PyraMax Bank
- Settlers Federal Credit Union
- The Bank
- The Provident Bank
- Tri City National Bank
- TwinStar Credit Union
- UMassFive College Federal Credit Union
- United Equity Credit Union
- United Savings Credit Union
- University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union
- Upper Peninsula State Bank
- Weokie Credit Union
Apple Pay remains limited to the United States and United Kingdom, although Apple is committed to an international rollout of the mobile payments service in additional countries such as Australia and Canada in the future.
WSJ reported that Apple is planning a November launch of Apple Pay in Canada. Apple Pay will also be available to eligible American Express customers in Canada and Australia later this year, in addition to Spain, Singapore and Hong Kong in 2016.
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Activision spends $5.9 billion acquiring Candy Crush Saga and its developer, King Digital
While many of us cringe when we hear the words “Candy Crush Saga” thanks to all the unsolicited invites we’ve received over the years, it seems that Activision Blizzard likes the game so much, it has decided to buy it and its developer, King Digital, spending $5.9 billion in the process. In an announcement earlier today Activision’s CEO, Bobby Kotick said that the move would make it “the most profitable standalone company in interactive entertainment.”
While Activision’s acquisition of King Digital has yet to be approved by the regulatory authorities in Ireland (where King Digital is based), it’s expected that the deal will be completed by spring 2016.
Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick, also had this to say about the acquisition of King Digital:
“We continue to benefit from our focus on creating the world’s best interactive entertainment. Our incredibly talented employees around the world once again delivered great content and strong financial results. Mobile gaming is the largest and fastest-growing opportunity for interactive entertainment and we will have one of the world’s most successful mobile game companies and its talented teams providing great content to new customers, in new geographies throughout the world. King has a truly fantastic management team and over 1,600 incredibly talented employees and we are excited to welcome them into the Activision Blizzard family.”
Source: Activision
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[Deal] Nexus 9 is 40% off on HTC’s Hot Deals promo for a limited time
If you’ve been looking to pick up a Nexus 9 on the cheap this holiday season, now might be your chance to snag one. HTC is offering a 40% discount as part of its Hot Deals program, but you’ll need to act quickly, as they’re running out of inventory fast.
The 16GB model is already sold out, but HTC still seems to have plenty of Nexus 9 stock in 32GB and 32GB LTE variants to go around, for now. The original retail price on both of those models are $479 and $599, respectively. At a 40% discount, you can get one for $287.40 and $359.40, respectively. With either one you choose, you’re getting just under a $200 discount.
As a quick refresher, the Nexus 9 sports a 8.9-inch 2048×1536 display, a Tegra K1 CPU, 2GB of RAM, HTC’s BoomSound speakers, and it’s running the latest version of Android–Marshmallow.
If stock isn’t sold out, the deal will end tomorrow at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time. Anyone picking one up?
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Nexus 9 is 40% off on HTC’s Hot Deals promo for a limited time
Apple now ranks the top Apple TV apps
One of the best ways to discover new Mac and iOS apps is to simply peruse the charts in their respective App Stores. When the fourth-gen Apple TV debuted last week, this particular feature was missing — which is perhaps no surprise, given hardly any transactions had been made yet in the tvOS App Store. That’s now been rectified, however, so you can swipe around with Apple’s upgraded remote and get a better sense of what’s hot. As 9to5Mac notes, video games seem to be making an early impression. Given the medium is entirely new to Apple TV, it’s logical that titles like Alto’s Adventure, Lumino City and Manticore Rising are creeping into the “Top Paid” rankings. That could change, of course, as the new Apple TV install base grows — once everyone’s usage settles down, we suspect the usual suspects like Netflix and HBO Now will dominate the “Top Free” spots.
Via: 9to5Mac
Jay-Z’s Tidal music service to offer original TV shows
Under the management of Jay Z, music streaming service Tidal has slowly grown to more than one million subscribers. The company has sought to differentiate itself from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music with a mixture of high-fidelity tracks and exclusive video content, but it now believes that original programming could give it an extra edge over its rivals. Variety reports that Tidal has ordered two new series: Season 2 of New York street drama Money & Violence, which will debut in January, and No Small Talk, a series profiling rising comedians, which hits the streaming service today.
Via: Variety
Source: Money & Violence, No Small Talk
Deal: HTC Nexus 9 on sale for 40% off while supplies last
When Google launched the HTC-made Nexus 9 last year, some were a bit surprised by the relatively high price of the tablet. Still, when considering all the tech packed inside, it was quite a fair offer. Shortly thereafter however, HTC offered up an unbeatable price for the device (50% off) though it was an extremely limited affair. Now that some time has passed – and the holidays approach – it’s time for some supplantive savings. The Nexus 9 is now being sold at 40% off at HTC’s website, while supplies last.
Pricing is as follows:
16GB WiFi: MSRP $399 on sale for $239.40.
32GB WiFi: MSRP $479 on sale for $287.40.
32GB LTE: MSRP $599 on sale for $359.40.
It should be noted that only Black and White color variants are available for the Wi-Fi model – no Sand unfortunately. For reference, the LTE variant is only produced in Black.
As of the time of publishing, the 16GB variants (both colors) are already sold out.
This offer is limited to residents of the USA, and there is a limit of three tablets per customer. Supplies are limited, thus it would be prudent to act quickly if you’re interested. The sale itself will end on November 4th at 11:59PM Pacific Time regardless.
Get the deal here: HTC Nexus 9
Nexus 9
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Are smartphones affecting your relationship? Researchers believe they could be
Picture this: you are having a nice romantic dinner, or it’s time to spend a free day with your loved one, and find yourself mostly talking to a person that has his/her face so sunk into their phones you feel like the Titanic song is about to start playing.
But this one is not a sweet feeling. Instead, you are left wanting to grab that phone, break it in half (like the same ship) and maybe make a close-by puddle its new wreckage site. Surely, it’s an annoying habit to many. And it doesn’t only happen between couples; I’ve seen plenty of friendships affected by this phenomena.
Before we can start trying to work on a solution for “Phubbing” (phone snubbing), it has to become an official thing, and we believe the latest research coming from the Hankamer School of Business of Baylor University has just done that.
After surveying 453 Americans, it was found that too many people are victims to Phubbing. Unlucky for those of us who may do it, it doesn’t end up in good news for phone snubbing fans. Almost half of the subjects accepted their partners are known to focus way too much on their smartphones. 22.6% say it has, indeed, caused conflicts, while about 37% claim to have felt depressed in the relationship, at least some of the time.
By the way, Phubbing doesn’t only include pulling out your smartphone and going through it during your candle-lit dinner. Respondents also address annoying moments in which a partner conveniently places his/her phone in a visible location during their bonding times. You know… just in case something important enough shows up. Or he/she may even pull it out during the slower moments of the date.
And the issue here may not exactly be that people have an unforgivable phone addiction. It’s more about the implications these acts have. Think about it – to a partner, this simply means that there are way too many things in your life that can be more important than that precious relationship you two hold.
“What we discovered was that when someone perceived that their partner phubbed them, this created conflict and led to lower levels of reported relationship satisfaction. These lower levels of relationship satisfaction, in turn, led to lower levels of life satisfaction and, ultimately, higher levels of depression.” -A. Roberts, researcher at Hankamer School of Business of Baylor University
Is there a good Phubbing balance?
Now, here’s the real question. Is there a level of phubbing that could become acceptable in modern society? After all, smartphones really are an important part of our lives, and maybe there are ways to adopt these handy gadgets in a healthy fashion!
I have always said that technology is like a weapon, or any dangerous tool. A smartphone can be the best investment you have ever made, but you must know how to operate it properly, efficiently and safely. As it goes with anything, it’s also easy to get addicted to our smartphones and forget about common courtesy.
I believe there is definitely a balance we can reach, and that is really what I strive for. There are definitely times when I disconnect and put all my attention on my friends and romantic partners. But then I also really want to post that Instagram picture showcasing the delicious steak we are having! Candle light makes for awesome shots, after all.
I believe the clue is to include her in the fun. You know, just don’t overdo it.
Are you a phone snubber?
So, here’s the moment of truth. Are you affected by phubbing? Maybe you are the phubber. What do you think about this new phenomenon? Does it annoy the hell out of you, or do you think a little phubbing is acceptable? Hit the comments and share your thoughts!
Deal: Buy a Nexus 6P and Huawei Watch, get $50 off the pair
Huawei has a fantastic offer currently running for those interested in purchasing both a Nexus 6P and a Huawei Watch from the Chinese OEM’s website. From now until supplies are exhausted, the OEM is giving customers a $50 discount:
To get the deal, customers must first log in or register to create a Huawei Store account, add both the Nexus 6P and Huawei Watch to your cart, and then watch as the discount is automatically applied to the total.
The deal is only open to customers in the USA, and is not valid for the Gold Huawei Watch.
This would seemingly be a great time to buy the watch in particular, given that the OEM has decided to include an extra year of warranty protection for those purchasing directly from its website.
Please note that while the Nexus 6P can be ordered, this does not mean that it is actually in-stock at the moment and thus you may ultimately have to wait several weeks for the darling device to be delivered.
Nexus 6P
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AIVAnet 