Pirates hacked a shipping firm to find boats to raid

Seaborne pirates just borrowed a page from their land-based counterparts. A Verizon security report has revealed that raiders hacked a shipping company’s content management system to determine which ships were worth boarding, and where the valuable cargo was located. They not only knew when to launch a raid, but the exact crates they had to pry open — they could get in, steal the cargo they want and leave without the risk of a days-long, Captain Philips-style hostage situation.

In this case, the pirates still had a lot to learn about hacking. They didn’t encrypt their commands or use proxies, making it easy to trace their activities. They also weren’t skilled enough to compromise systems as much as they wanted. However, those tidbits aren’t about to comfort other shipping companies. If there’s a pirate outfit that’s both well-armed and technically savvy, it could create havoc by plundering ships with relatively little fear of getting caught.

Via: Business Insider

Source: Verizon

Brazil detains Facebook VP after he failed to give up user data

Apple isn’t the only company in hot water over encryption. Facebook’s VP of Latin America, Diego Dzodan, was detained by police this morning in Brazil after the company failed to comply with a court order to hand over Whatsapp user data, CNN reports. The big problem: Whatsapp (which Facebook owns) fully encrypts messages between users, and it has no records of messages sent. Even if it were to get access to a specific device, the encryption is likely too difficult for the company to crack.

“WhatsApp cannot provide information we do not have,” the company said in a statement. “We cooperated to the full extent of our ability in this case and while we respect the important job of law enforcement, we strongly disagree with its decision.”

Facebook received a court order to hand over the data four months ago, which authorities said was related to a drug trafficking investigation. The Brazilian court ended up issuing the order three times, and it started to fine Facebook around $12,600 for not following through, CNN reports. That fine jumped to $253,000 a day last month, and on February 7 the court also issued a warrant for Dzodan.

His detention comes after Brazilian authorities shut down Whatsapp for two days back in December for reasons that still aren’t clear. The messaging app has has over 93 million users in Brazil, so it makes sense why Facebook would be hesitant to lose their trust.

“We’re disappointed with the extreme and disproportionate measure of having a Facebook executive escorted to a police station in connection with a case involving WhatsApp, which operates separately from Facebook,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “Facebook has always been and will be available to address any questions Brazilian authorities may have.”

Dual Camera Smartphones Expected to Inspire New ‘Killer Apps’

Spurred by industry leaders like Apple and Huawei, adoption of dual-camera or dual-lens smartphones is expected to grow significantly over the next few years. “We think the dual-cam rally is more about when than if,” Morgan Stanley analyst Jasmine Lu wrote in a recent research report.

Lu believes dual cameras will catch on due to their impressive image quality and for future capabilities like 3D object mapping and depth analysis, all of which have the potential to lead to “killer apps” from smartphone manufacturers and third-party developers.

Dual cameras in the Huawei P9, image via VentureBeat

“We believe dual-cam not only helps narrow the image quality gap with SLR cameras but also allows developers to design new killer apps by leveraging in-depth analysis/mapping for 3D objects,” Lu wrote. “We expect dual-cam to trigger a multiyear upgrade cycle for the optical industry.”

Rumors suggest Apple is working on a version of the iPhone 7 Plus that includes dual-lens camera technology acquired in its LinX purchase last year. LinX worked on smartphone cameras with the potential to cut down on noise, boost light sensitivity, enable refocusing, and improve the level of detail in captured images, narrowing the quality gap between DSLRs and mobile device cameras.

LinX camera modules were also capable of creating detailed depth maps to create 3D models. Such capabilities in the iPhone could lead to apps that are able to do impressive things, from mapping the layout of a room for envisioning new furniture layouts to 3D scanning a real-world object for printing or manipulation purposes. New augmented and mixed reality games that merge real-world objects with virtual objects are also a possibility with that kind of technology. Apps, says Lu, are a key factor that could heavily impact the appeal of dual camera devices.

Early dual camera smartphones may not focus on advanced features like 3D depth mapping, but as dual camera adoption expands and technology improves, it is a logical direction for dual camera evolution.

Apple, with the iPhone 7 Plus, and Huawei, with the upcoming P9, are expected to be the main drivers of dual camera adoption in 2016. The iPhone 7 Plus won’t be available until September, but the P9, images of which were shared this morning by VentureBeat, is expected in the first half of 2016. Rumors suggest the camera will enable features like post-capture refocus and simulated aperture adjustment.
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Folding@Home – A good deed at your fingertips. [Review]

Overview Folding@Home lets you remotely lend your phone’s resources to Stanford University scientists to aide in their research for disease cures. Developer: Sony Mobile Communications Cost: Free Highlights Contributes to

UE Boom 2 review [and giveaway]: Bluetooth speaker in a booming package

Ultimate Ears (UE) has proficiently managed to position itself along side popular names in audio (Bose, JBL, Beats), and for good reason. Backed by Logitech, the brand has been able to keep up

Google updates its Play Developer Policy Center making it easier to find policies and more

Google has updated its Play Developer Policy Center to make things a bit more transparent for developers. Along with a Material Design-inspired refresh, Google is making it easier for developers to find relevant policies and more. Based on feedback from the community, Google was able to identify pain points for developers, and make some changes that make things easier on them. The company outlines the key changes as:

• Thematic organization of policies, so it is easier for developers to find relevant policies and understand the broad principles behind them
• Visual examples and detailed guidelines for the most common violations based on developer feedback
• Expanded information on our policy enforcement to help resolve violations
• A visual refresh embracing Material Design to help developers more intuitively find the information they are looking for on mobile or desktop

If you are an Android developer, be sure to check out the updated Play Developer Policy Center, and see if it is any easier for you to navigate.

Choosing the best headphones

Everyone with a smartphone needs a good set of headphones. Our phones make noise, and usually it’s when we want them to make noise — watching a video, listening to music, playing a game or even talking on the phone are sounds we want to hear, but everyone around us probably doesn’t. Luckily, there are plenty of companies out there that have just what we need and are happy to sell headphones of one type or another to us.

For some of us, the headphones that came in the box or a pair we picked up from a big-box store are fine. And that’s OK. Nobody here thinks we all should spend time and stress over headphones unless you’re having fun while doing it. But if you want to try and find the best headphones for you, we have a few tips that can help.

This isn’t an article that’s going to tell you which set of headphones you should buy. Instead we’re going to talk about what you should look for when you wade through the thousands and thousands of different headphones you can buy so you can make the right choice the first time. Knowledge is power and all that jazz.

What type of headphones do you want?

There are several different styles of headphone to choose from, and they all have advantages and disadvantages. The first thing you need to consider is what you want to do with them. If you only want headphones for consuming media, you can skip looking for models with a mic. A mic is pretty handy to have if you think you’ll need to take a call while you’re listening to music on the bus, but good headphones with a mic are usually a little more expensive than good headphones without.

And we’re not going to talk about Bluetooth in this article. That’s another subject that deserves its own discussion, and we’ll have it. For now, we’re only talking about headphones that you plug into your phone or tablet or whatever else makes noises you want to hear.

• Earbuds: A lot of people love earbuds. They are small and easy to carry around, discreet, and can sound pretty good if you pick the right ones. As a bonus, most times they are a good bit cheaper than other types of headphones. Some of the drawbacks are issues staying in place if you’re moving around a lot, they can be uncomfortable and oftentimes they can’t deliver big loud bass.
• On-Ear headphones: These can be a good middle ground between earbuds and big over-ear DJ models. They can bring much bigger sound, there are plenty of affordable models, and they aren’t too big to fit into a bag or purse. They aren’t very discreet, so not the best choice if you don’t want anyone to know you’re on your phone.
• Over-Ear headphones: These are for people who want the most sound, and don’t even care how they look. They are big and bold, so hiding them is usually out of the question and you’ll need to lug them around. You can find over-ear headphones in open back models so you can have a little awareness of what’s going on around you, or closed back models that are almost noise-cancelling. In either case, over-ear headphones will deliver the biggest sound possible while on the go.

What to look for

Once you’ve decided what type of headphones you need, you need to know what to look for to pick the best set for you.

There are a lot of factors here, and if you ask 10 people to recommend a brand of headphones, you’ll should (hopefully) get 10 different answers. Don’t fall into the trap of buying the headphones that are popular right now and everyone is talking about. Chances are they bought them just because someone else told them to buy them. Take the time to find the pair that works best for you.

• Sound “profile”: This is the single most important thing to consider if you’re going to use your headphones mostly to listen to music. Headphone drivers can (and are) designed and built in different ways that can accentuate certain sound frequencies over others. “Audiophile” headphones will have what’s called a “flat” profile. All the sounds, from low-frequency bass to high-frequency trebles are delivered pretty much equally.

  Most headphones have been tuned so that the ends of the scale — the lows and the highs — are going to be more pronounced than the middle. You will notice a big difference between the two. Flat-profile headphones usually have words like “studio” or “monitor” in their description, and “sweetened” — that’s the term for adjustments to the sound profile — headphones will use words like “Extra Bass.” Premium headphones should be tuned so that the high and the low stand out, without the middle sounding bad.

• Price: Price is usually the most important option of all. Some people are willing spend $3,500 on a pair of headphones, and there are headphones out there for them (and they sound incredible). For the rest of us, you need to remember that you usually get what you pay for. You can buy a set of earbuds for $3.99 in the checkout line at the supermarket, but you’ll probably be immediately unhappy with them. You can also spend too much because of the name on the box. Generally, stick to names you recognize as having a good track record for electronics, pick a model in your price range and then search for user reviews.

• Impedance: This is an electrical term, but you’ll see it when you look for a good set of headphones. To explain how it matters for headphones is a little technical — you want to match the output impedance of the source to the input impedance of the electrical load to maximize power transfer and minimize signal loss. Don’t worry if that doesn’t make sense just yet, we’re going to figure it out.

  Your phone has a certain “level” of power output through the headphone jack. You need to make sure the headphones you buy are designed to work well with that “level” of power. This is easier than you think, thanks to modern packaging and advertisements. If your phone isn’t recognized as having any type of “Hi-Fi” audio, you want to find a set of headphones designed specifically for smartphones or music players. That means look for something that says it’s designed for an iPod if you don’t want to wade through all the specs. That’s cheating, but it will work.

  If your phone does have a premium DAC and headphone amp, your safe spot is around 60 Ohms, but you’ll really need to wade through those specs if you want to try and match the right cans to your phone. The Internet is your best friend in this situation.

• Frequency response: This is a measurement of what sounds a pair of headphones can produce. The wider the range, the more sounds can be played. Look for headphones that range from 10 Hz to 20 kHz at a minimum if you’re going the premium route.

There are more things that can be considered, like sensitivity or driver size if you really want to geek out over a set of headphones. I encourage you to geek out at will, but as long as you consider the basics above you’ll be able to pick out a set of headphones that work for you. And, if you have the option, try out the headphones you’re considering before buying. All of the reviews and tech specs in the world mean nothing if you don’t like the way the headphones sound.

My headphones

These aren’t recommendations — they’re more of a starting point if you want to find the perfect pair of cans for you. Here’s what I use (and why) as well as what I’m saving up to buy.

I rarely use earbuds. I find them uncomfortable, and none ever seem to want to stay put in my ears. But I do have a pair that I use sometimes and carry in my bag: Samsung Level In-Ear headphones.

I like them because they are tuned well, have a long tangle-free cord, offer inline controls and a mic (I do talk on the phone a good bit) and have plenty of choice when it comes to cushioned tips. They stay in my ears a lot better than any other earbuds I’ve tried, and they sound decent for earbuds.

See at Amazon

The best headphones in my price range, that fit my taste, are the Sony MDR7506 over-ear model.

The biggest reason is that they have a fairly flat response, and you can buy them for less than $100. They’re big and the heavy coiled-cord can be a struggle to wrangle. But they are comfortable and sound really nice to me. These cans and my V10 go with me anytime I think I’ll be listening to music. I really like them, and I really like knowing that if I lose or break them I’m only out $80.

See at Amazon

These are the ones on my wishlist

I have a friend who has a pair of Oppo PM-3 closed-back headphones. After borrowing them for a while, I’m saving up to get a pair of my own. They aren’t outrageously priced ($400), but they aren’t exactly an impulse buy — especially when I have a pair that I already like. I’ve spent plenty of time testing headphones at places like Crutchfield and Musician’s Friend (I apologize to everyone for being that guy who is just looking) and I think these Oppos sound perfect — for me.

See at Amazon

Remember — getting opinions from other folks is all well and good, but don’t rush out and buy anything without doing a little research. If you like lots of bass, you’ll hate the headphones I love. But if you consider these tips while you’re shopping, you can find the perfect pair of headphones for you.

Snag SanDisk’s 200GB microSD for $79 at Amazon

SanDisk is offering its 200GB microSD card for $79 at Amazon, a savings of around $20 from its regular price. This is a great value for those picking up a new phone like the Galaxy S7, and want to have plenty of space to store their favorite pictures, music and videos. We’ve seen the price drop quickly on the price of the 200GB card, and the $79 price point is around the lowest we have seen it dip.

You won’t need any coupons for this deal, just simply hit the link below and grab one for yourself. If you end up picking one up, be sure to let us know which phone you will be putting it inside in the comments below.

See at Amazon

Chevrolet dealers offering free Android Auto update for select vehicles

If you own a Chevrolet car with an 8-inch MyLink systems, you might be able to take it to your local U.S. Chevy dealer and get a free software upgrade so it supports Android Auto.

Chevrolet stated:

Owners of 2016 model year Chevrolet vehicles that qualify for the software update will receive a communication from the brand on how to receive the update at no cost. The update is expected to take approximately 30 minutes. “We are working with our dealers to make the software update as quick and easy as possible to minimize any inconvenience to our owners,” said Brian Sweeney, U.S. vice president of Chevrolet.

Chevy vehicles with the 7-inch MyLink system installed already support Android Auto. Currently, 14 different Chevy models support Google’s automotive software OS. If you are interested in having your system updated, be sure to give your local Chevy dealer a call to schedule an appointment.

Source: Chevrolet

Google I/O 2016 site goes live, registration begins March 8

The official site for Google I/O 2016 is now live, and Google will begin accepting registrations for the event on March 8. If you are interested in the event, be sure to check out the new site, and be ready to register on March 8. In the past few years, tickets for the event have gone extremely quick, so you will want to make sure that you have your credit card handy all day to get your spot.

As for the event itself, it takes place May 18 – 20 in Mountain View, California. Google I/O is the company’s annual developer conference in which it details some of the new features that are making their way to Android that year, and gives developers lots of hands-on time and seminars to learn.

More information at the Google I/O 2016 site