Nexus 4 receives its first Marshmallow CyanogenMod 13 nightly
Nexus 4 owners may have been feeling a little left out as the younger Nexus models all began receiving their Android 6.0 Marshmallow updates, but the custom ROM community has come to the rescue once again. A number of Marshmallow ROMs have already appeared for the trusty old smartphone and there’s now the first CyanogenMod 13 nightly available for the Nexus 4 (mako) as well.
The built went live in the early hours of the morning and contains all your regular Android Marshmallow features, along with CyanogenMod’s additional tweaks. It’s a pretty standard sized download at 277.01MB. But before you run out to grab it, just be aware that as the first nightly build you are probably going to run into a few bugs and issues until the ROM becomes more stable. It might be best to wait a little longer or try a ROM that has had a few updates applied if you are looking to use Marshmallow as your daily driver.
What to expect: A tour of Android 6.0 Marshmallow
If you are still interested enough to hop into this early build, you can grab the download files from the source link below. Don’t forget to seek out your own copy of GAPPS too.
GoPro’s streaming channel finally lands on PlayStation
GoPro’s been feeding the other gaming platform its curated video channel for over half a year. Now, it’s ready “for the players.” The console app will allow PS3 and PS4 owners to stream all the sane GoPro content, as well as shop for the company’s products, directly from their gaming systems. The channel will launch with at least one exclusive video, though, The 66th Parallel – Discovering Iceland with Ben Brown. Though, it will only be an exclusive until December 29th, at which time it will disseminate to GoPro’s other platforms including Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, and Roku.
[Image Credit: Getty]
ICYMI: The best robot news of the year
Today on In Case You Missed It: We hit just over 120 episodes since our launch in June and from the beginning, we have been obsessed with robot innovation. That’s why we put together a special year-end episode of ICYMI, rounding up our very favorite robot stories.
If you’re new to the obsession, you can get started with watching a montage of the DARPA Robotics Challenge.
Please share any interesting science or tech videos with us! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd. Tomorrow’s show will cover the innovations of the year in health news, so please check back in for that.
ICYMI: The best robot news of the year
Today on In Case You Missed It: We hit just over 120 episodes since our launch in June and from the beginning, we have been obsessed with robot innovation. That’s why we put together a special year-end episode of ICYMI, rounding up our very favorite robot stories.
If you’re new to the obsession, you can get started with watching a montage of the DARPA Robotics Challenge.
Please share any interesting science or tech videos with us! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd. Tomorrow’s show will cover the innovations of the year in health news, so please check back in for that.
Report: Samsung will start building chips for AMD
With falling smartphone sales, Samsung has been trying to boost its chip manufacturing business. AMD, meanwhile, builds CPUs and GPUs for PCs and both major consoles, but doesn’t have a fab business anymore. According to Korea’s Electronic Times, that kind of synergy was too good to ignore, so Samsung will manufacture CPU and GPU chips for AMD on its 14-nanometer chip foundry starting in 2016. All of AMD’s chips are currently manufactured by GlobalFoundries, an Abu Dhabi-owned firm that once belonged to AMD. Both Samsung and GlobalFoundries will reportedly manufacture AMD’s latest “Greenland” GPUs and “Zen” CPUs using a 14-nanometer process, which will make them faster and more energy-efficient than previous AMD chips .
AMD is, of course, behind Intel and NVIDIA in CPU and GPU sales, respectively, and is still struggling financially. The company is laying off 5 percent of its 9,700-strong workforce, and two key hardware gurus, Jim Keller and Phil Rogers, recently departed. Despite all that, the company has built itself a niche supplying all the chips used by Microsoft and Sony in the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.
Samsung has been struggling against Apple with smartphone sales. At the same time, it manufactures a good chunk of the chips for Apple devices, and also builds GPUs for NVIDIA and other manufacturers. AMD’s incoming CPUs should be more competitive with Intel thanks to the smaller 14-nanometer process, and could be as much as 40 percent faster and more efficient than its current generation. If AMD continues to work with Samsung (assuming the rumors are true), it might actually get a leg up on Intel in the PC market, because Samsung expects to ship even more efficient 10-nanometer chips by next year, while Intel recently confirmed that its own 10-nanometer chips won’t arrive until 2017.
[Image credit: GlobalFoundries]
Via: Reuters
Source: ET News
Genius for Android shows lyrics for whatever you’re playing
Genius is all about digging up lyrics for that song you’re listening to, so it would only make sense if it brought up those lyrics at the very moment the song comes on, wouldn’t it? Sure enough, you’re getting that feature now. A recent update to the Android app introduces lyric matching for whatever you’re playing, in any app — whether it’s Apple Music, Google Play Music or Spotify, you’ll get those verses as soon as they’re relevant. They’ll only be as good as the crowdsourced material allows, of course, but it beats scratching your head when an unintelligible line comes up mid-tune.
Via: Lisa Wray Zeitouni (Google+)
Source: Google Play, Genius
Apple Confirms 12-Inch MacBook Shown on ’60 Minutes’ as Fake ‘iPhone 7’ Video Surfaces
Apple has confirmed to Tech Insider that the notebook pictured behind Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell during the 60 Minutes special Inside Apple is the 12-inch MacBook released in April, debunking some users on Reddit and social media who speculated the notebook could be an ultra-thin MacBook Pro.
12-inch MacBook pictured behind Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell (Image: CBS)
The chances of Apple leaving an unreleased MacBook in plain sight for a national TV program were slim to begin with, especially in a room full of Apple’s top executives. In a later segment, Apple even covered desks in its secretive design studio so that cameras could not capture what the company is working on next.
The rumor mill is also abuzz after a fake “iPhone 7” leaked video circulated on Chinese social media overnight. The exact source of the sketchy video is unknown, but it falsely depicts an alleged Foxconn employee handling a purported next-generation iPhone prototype that seemingly lacks a home button.
The staged video shows a metallic device with an Apple logo, but it is noticeably thicker than the iPhone 6s and includes regulatory information that is questionable for such an early prototype. The prototype more closely resembles an HTC One M9 with thin bezels along the top and bottom of the screen.
Foxconn has been the source of iPhone leaks in the past, including the iPhone 6 rear shell and dimensions, but it is unlikely Apple has provided the supplier with an assembled “iPhone 7” prototype over nine months ahead of its expected release. No other physical components for the next-generation iPhone have leaked to date.
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Microsoft bans adware that use man-in-the-middle techniques
Starting next year, Microsoft will be a lot stricter when it comes to adware. In a post on the Technet blog, Redmond has announced that it will block advertising programs “that take choice and control away from users.” The company’s talking about adware that use “man-in-the-middle” (MiTM) techniques, in particular. Those include injecting ads and promotions by proxy, as well as changing DNS settings, without your express consent. They aren’t safe, because they could be used to introduce malware into your system, or even to spy on encrypted data and communication.
In order to keep those types of adware off your computer, Microsoft has made it a policy that programs that show ads on the browser can only install, disable or execute programs through the browser itself. That means any ad software that doesn’t notify you via your browser that it wants to download or install something will be blocked off and marked as malware. The company says it will enforce the new rule on May 31st, 2016 and asks developers to comply with the new policy.
If all these sound vaguely familiar, it’s because Lenovo’s controversial Superfish adware worked the same way. The PC-maker shipped out laptops with the pre-installed software, which not only injected sponsored links into users’ search results, but also installed man-in-the-middle certificates that would allow third parties to see users’ sensitive data, such as their bank details. After getting a lot of flak, Lenovo eventually agreed to stop preloading its computers with Superfish and provided a tool that can remove it completely from the units that already shipped out.
This change by Microsoft effectively bans the root method that Superfish used to hijack Lenovo customer traffic.
— SecuriTay (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 21, 2015
Breaking: Microsoft bans all adware use of proxies/Winsock/MitM to inject ads. Violators will be marked malware. https://t.co/kVYfKYJP15
— SecuriTay (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 21, 2015
This is a problem. #superfish pic.twitter.com/jKDfSo99ZR
— Kenn White (@kennwhite) February 19, 2015
[Image credit: Nils Geylen/Flickr]
Source: Microsoft Technet
Google’s interactive ‘Spotlight Stories’ come to YouTube
Google’s Spotlight Stories started life as a partnership with Motorola. The made-for-mobile 360-degree videos let viewers dive into animated worlds created by engineers and movie makers. The latest film, “Special Delivery,” arrives just in time for the holidays and was created by Aardman Animations (of Wallace and Gromit fame). Unlike most VR video, Spotlight Stories use the sensors in your phone for a more interactive experience. Look away from the main character and the main story pauses, while you unlock mini stories that only play when you focus on them. Previous shows required a special app to view them, but Special Delivery is launching on directly on YouTube — as the ubiquitous video site bolsters its VR library.
Special Delivery follows a caretaker, who is disturbed by a mysterious stranger on the roof (who could it be at this time of year?). Follow him to find out who the visitor is, or cut your own story as you look elsewhere. The only downside is that the video is only optimized for a handful of Android phones (though a good number of flagships and tablets are covered), on a plus note, you can enjoy in 3D with Cardboard whatever phone you have. Check the YouTube description for the full list. If your phone didn’t make the cut, you can still watch the story — just without any of the clever stuff. Expect more videos from the project to launch on YouTube, making them more accessible, even if you don’t have the right hardware.
Source: Google (Blog), YouTube
BlackBerry to consider a mid-tier Android phone if the Priv is a success
The BlackBerry Priv, the company’s first Android smartphone, marked a new page in BlackBerry’s history and the handset could just be the start of a longer chapter. In a recent interview, BlackBerry CEO John Chen stated that the company will consider moving into the mid-range Android market as well, providing that the Priv is seen as a success.
Chen stated that the Priv’s results over the next three to four months are going to be key when determining what the company does next. Chen mentioned that he’s looking at results for the Priv in terms of margin and not necessarily just in terms of sales volume.
If the Priv is well received, and Chen seems rather optimistic that the phone is on the right track, BlackBerry will consider developing a new mid to high end smartphone that could launch sometime in the 2016 calendar year. We are probably looking at a launch in the later half. A low cost smartphone from BlackBerry seems rather unlikely, but its next handset could take the form of the reasonably priced “super-mid” tier of products that have become increasingly popular in Asia and Europe.
See also: BlackBerry Priv review
When questioned about a further hardware partnership with Samsung, which manufactures the AMOLED display for the Priv, Chen insisted that the two companies continue to work together but don’t have any confirmed long running deals for physical product development. However, the two continue to run joint products in the security space and with Samsung’s Knox products for mobile.
BlackBerry looks to be taking its mobile strategy just one quarter at a time and isn’t making any long term commitments. Given the competitive nature of today’s mobile market, this strategy may pay off.
AIVAnet 