U.S. Cellular embraces secure messaging with TigerText partnership

U.S. Cellular has announced that it will offer its customers a new, easy method of secure messaging, provided by TigerText. Specializing in enterprise messaging, TigerText is offering its secure messaging solutions to both individual and corporate U.S. Cellular customers. Participating customers will be able to pay for the service directly through their bills.

This move comes at a time of heightened awareness surrounding digital security and encryption, and concern over who may have access to our data. Earlier this month, WhatsApp turned on end-to-end encryption across the entire service, following a public fight over encryption between the FBI and Apple.

You can grab the TigerText app from the Google Play Store now.

Press release:

TIGERTEXT TO OFFER SECURE MESSAGING SERVICES TO U.S. CELLULAR CUSTOMERS

Secure Messaging Solution Now Available to U.S. Cellular Customers Protects Confidential Conversations and Accelerates Workflows

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 18, 2016 – TigerText today announced they have begun offering its secure messaging enterprise technology, to the customers of U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM). This secure messaging solution enables customers to protect private and restricted conversations and accelerate workflows via text messaging with the security and confidentiality required by legal and regulatory standards, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

“We’re excited to be working with U.S. Cellular to bring secure messaging solutions to a growing number of businesses and individuals who need them to communicate and do their jobs more efficiently,” said Brad Brooks, TigerText co-founder and president. “As companies and individuals face the growing challenge of streamlining communication while keeping their information secure, we’ve seen an increased demand for TigerText’s messaging solutions.”

U.S. Cellular customers can access TigerText’s secure and private network directly from their smartphones. TigerText service fees will be conveniently added onto their monthly U.S. Cellular bill, allowing customers to view and pay their bill all in one place.

“With heightened concerns around privacy and related regulations, it’s critical that our customers can rely on U.S. Cellular to offer a text messaging option for businesses and governments to safeguard their secure conversations and communications,” said Scott Scheuber, Director of Product Management at U.S. Cellular. “TigerText services are an ideal solution for our customers who require secure messaging and communications for their enterprises and beyond.”

Secure messaging has become a widely used form of communication within healthcare organizations where patient care teams benefit from real-time communication, but must comply with HIPAA regulations. HIPAA encompasses a wide-range of security and privacy measures create to protect health information (PHI) whether in transit or storage. It applies to health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and any healthcare provider who handles PHI. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, any person who knowingly obtains or discloses individually identifiable health information in violation of HIPAA may face civil or criminal penalties.

TigerText is the only secure messaging provider that offers a $1 million HIPAA compliance guarantee to its customers, demonstrating its high level of protection and assurance that every message sent on its platform is safe and secure. In addition, the TigerText messaging platform is in compliance with regulations required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Data charges may apply.

Tesla now offers 1-month free Autopilot trial to Model S and X owners

Those of you who didn’t buy the Autopilot upgrade with your new Model S or Model X can now snag the option as a $3,000 in-car purchase after first testing a 1-month free trial that Tesla has quietly started offering.

When configuring your Model S or Model X, you can add Autopilot for $2,500. Tesla has sold all Model S and Model X cars since late 2014 with the hardware required to power its self-driving functions. A software update is also needed for the feature to be enabled, however, and that costs $2,500 at purchase.

If you decided against getting the software at purchase, you’ll be glad to know Tesla is now offering you a second chance. You can now join a one-month free Autopilot trial. Should you like Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving features after your trial is over, you can buy the option for $3,000 as an in-car purchase.

Reddit

Although Tesla hasn’t officially announced its free-trial offer, Electrek shared an image of what looks like a pop-up message on the Model S center console, which alerts drivers of the following free-trial offer:

“Experience Tesla Autopilot: Try Autopilot Convenience Features and experience a stress-free commute. This one-month free trial enables automatic steering, speed, lane changing, and parking with Summon. Once your trial begins, you’ll receive an email with instructions for permanently upgrading your Tesla.”

Tesla in October first started rolling out Autopilot to Model S and Model X vehicles with its 7.0 software update. It’s crazy to think we now live in a world where such a powerful feature can be enabled just a few months after launch in the same fashion as an in-app purchase (albeit a pricey in-app purchase).

YouTube now offers live streaming of 360-degree videos, spatial audio

YouTube doesn’t just want you to experience all angles of scene; it wants you to do so as the action unfolds.

Google-owned YouTube first launched support for 360-degree videos in early 2015, but now, just in time for the Coachella music festival in the US, it has announced support for 360-degree live stream videos, allowing wannabe concert-goers to experience the event not only from the comfort of their own homes but also in real time.

“After years of live streaming Coachella for fans around the world who can’t attend the festival, this year we’re bringing you the festival like never before by live streaming select artist performances in 360 degrees this weekend,” Google announced. “Starting today, we’re also launching spatial audio for on-demand YouTube videos.”

So, alongside this new live-streaming capability, YouTube is launching spatial audio, which will bring sound depth and more, making it seem like you’re immersed in the immersive video. This added-dimension is exclusive to Android devices for now. This playlist on YouTube has a bunch of 360-degree videos examples with spatial audio.

Speaking of devices, all you need is your phone or web browser to watch 360-degree videos. And with the right 360-degree camera and bandwidth, broadcasters can stream 1440p video at 60 frames per second.

Pocket-lint has a round-up of the best equipment out there right now for this – no matter your budget.

Track all your partner’s infidelities with this smart mattress

Having failed at marketing their internet-connected mattress for babies, Spanish company Durmet has flipped the pillow talk on their WiFi-enabled “Smarttress.” The device now comes in an adult-sized version with what Durmet sees as its newest killer feature: a “Lover Detection System” that will buzz your phone every time it detects suspicious activity.

With 24 ultrasonic sensors embedded in the springs, the mattress can detect… action across multiple contact zones and “sends an alert to your mobile phone whenever someone is using your bed in a questionable way.” But the questionably smart mattress offers more than just simple alarms. According to the dramatically soundtracked promotional video, the app also delivers creepily specific bedtime analytics like a “Speedometer” and “Intensity and impact per minute” metrics. That means you, the paranoid buyer of smart mattresses, won’t just be spying on your cheating partner, you’ll also be able to monitor their performance.

While the Smarttress is far from the first device designed to keep tabs on bedroom activity or quantify your sex life, this is certainly one of the first to do it without giving your partner a heads up first. Ignoring the privacy (and trust) issues that come along with push notifications for your partner’s horizontal habits, there’s still the possibility that your bed could run out of batteries at an inopportune time, leaving you with what appears to be a generic, $1,750 spring-based mattress.

And, let’s be honest, if you’ve secretly swapped out your mattress for one that periodically needs a little juice from a USB port, maybe your relationship could stand a little more open communication and a little less spying-via-app?

Congressman calls for probe of longstanding mobile security flaw

It’s no secret that Signaling System 7 — a set of crucial protocols that define how phone calls, messages and data are routed through networks — is flawed. Thanks to a recent report by 60 Minutes, though, at least one member of Congress was spooked enough to try and do something about it. According to The Daily Dot, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) is now calling for a full investigation into the flaw that let a well-known security researcher track his movement through Los Angeles and record his phone calls without his knowledge.

“The applications for this vulnerability are seemingly limitless, from criminals monitoring individual targets to foreign entities conducting economic espionage on American companies to nation states monitoring US government officials,” Lieu wrote in a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Curiously, Lieu didn’t raise the possibility of governments quietly eavesdropping on its own citizens — maybe that was already a given.

In case you missed it, Lieu was given an off-the-shelf iPhone by the 60 Minutes crew, and then proceeded to use it for work calls… with the express understanding that it might be hacked. Not long after, Security Research Labs’ Karsten Nohl — who brought the SS7 flaw to prominence about two years ago — was able to access the congressman’s privileged information. Lieu was right to have been concerned: because the SS7 protocols dictate how networks deal with routing text messages, roaming and more, the flaw can leave phones open to snooping regardless of what operating system they run. For now, the only real way to keep your dispatches safe is to use apps — like Signal and now WhatsApp — that encrypt your communications end-to-end.

Via: The Daily Dot

DARPA’s wild 24-fan aircraft flies for the first time

DARPA’s plan for a 24-fan VTOL aircraft (vertical takeoff and landing) sounds ridiculous on the surface, but it really does work — at least, in testing. Aurora Flight Sciences has flown a small-scale demonstrator version of the LightningStrike vehicle to show that its aerodynamics and flight control systems are working. It’s only a fifth the size of the full prototype arriving in 2018, but it proves that the concept is already viable. The bigger challenge may be translating this to the finished machine. The prototype is expected to haul at least 4,000lbs of cargo and travel at up to 400 knots (460MPH), which is no mean feat for brand new VTOL technology.

Via: The Verge

Source: Aurora Flight Sciences (PDF), (Vimeo)

Watch a robotic snake swim eerily like the real thing

Don’t be shocked if you see a mechanical snake swimming around undersea equipment in the near future… it (probably) isn’t there to kill you. Eelume, Kongsberg Maritime and Statoil are building a robotic snake worker that will inspect (and occasionally fix) underwater gear. Robot snakes are nothing new, but this serpent is both production-ready and almost uncanny in how it moves. By itself, it slithers as if it’s stalking prey. Throw in thrusters, however, and it’s something else — it can quickly twist around pipes as if they were only minor obstacles.

The snake isn’t yet in service, but it could do a lot to help underwater work when it arrives. The plan is to permanently install these robots on the seabed, where they’ll ideally cover the majority of tasks. If all goes well, companies with sea-based operations (such as oil rigs and wind farms) won’t need to roll out human-operated vehicles unless there’s a serious problem.

Source: Kongsberg

Apple Secretly Pursuing Deep Push Into Original Television Programming

In a longer piece covering the streaming television and video ambitions of Apple, Alibaba, Facebook, and Google, Fast Company suggests Apple is covertly pursuing original television programming deals that would establish it as a major player in the entertainment industry.

Apple is said to be seeking deals with “triple A-list” talent to create a full roster of shows to put it on par with Netflix and Amazon, both of which have successfully launched popular original television shows like House of Cards, Jessica Jones, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Sources that spoke to Fast Company say Apple is aiming to run several major shows at once, perhaps as part of a major launch.

At last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Apple created an iTunes Lounge where it hosted private invitation-only events for film makers, producers, and other talent. At the event, described as sleek and understated, attendees said Apple was “definitely talking to the talent.” As has been previously rumored, Apple execs also traveled to Los Angeles to hear ideas for original television shows, with Apple’s original programming efforts being led by Robert Kondrk, vice president of iTunes Content.

The iTunes Lounge was in fact part of a stealth effort by Apple to establish a new, more active role in delivering entertainment. In the weeks that followed, Apple execs were in Los Angeles hearing pitches for original TV series that it plans to launch on an “exclusives” app on Apple TV and within iTunes. Apple wants to work with “triple A-list” talent, according to a source, and build up a roster of must-see shows available only on its platform. Naturally, the talks have been veiled in the utmost secrecy. Producers who have met with Apple will refer to it only as the United Fruit Company.

Given Apple’s positive reputation among creators, Apple has the draw to attract quality talent and the cash reserves to fund high ticket shows. Content creators are said to be “so excited” about the possibility of working with Apple that people are “throwing [ideas] against the wall with them, to every extent possible.”

According to five sources who spoke to Fast Company, however, Apple is “disorganized” and “hasn’t presented a coherent strategy” for its television plans. The company is reportedly taking a “two-lane” approach to original television programming, producing a series of short films, documentaries, and music videos to promote Apple music while simultaneously developing full Netflix-style original programming.

Apple already has two known television projects in the works. The first, which has not yet been officially announced, is said to be an Apple Music-related project called Vital Signs, which is a dark semi-autobiographical drama starring Beats co-founder and Apple executive Dr. Dre. The second, which was announced in March, is a non-scripted television show that will “spotlight the app economy.” Apple is working with Will.i.am, Ben Silverman, and Howard T. Owens on the series.

Alongside the announcement of the the App Store television series, iTunes chief Eddy Cue cautioned the show is not a signal Apple is delving deeper into original television and streaming video, despite rumors to the contrary.

“This doesn’t mean that we are going into a huge amount of movie production or TV production or anything like that,” Cue said at the time, but he did say Apple would explore similar exclusive projects. Hollywood sources told Fast Company that Apple is approaching its television ambitions with caution and that Cue’s statement is “merely tamping down expectations.”

Related Roundup: Apple TV
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Apple’s Average iPhone Users Unlock Their Devices 80 Times Per Day

During a Friday call with reporters where Apple discussed the security of iOS devices, Apple shared some interesting statistic on iPhone unlocking that were highlighted this morning in a report from Ben Bajarin (via The Verge).

According to Apple, the average iPhone user unlocks his or her iPhone 80 times per day, and 89 percent of iPhone users who have access to Touch ID have set it up and use it to unlock their devices, saving valuable time over entering a PIN.

During a 12 hour day, that equates to checking one’s iPhone 6 to 7 times per hour or approximately every 10 minutes. Over the course of a full day, using Touch ID instead of a PIN code can save several minutes of time, and as it doesn’t disrupt the iPhone entry experience, it’s something most people don’t hesitate to enable.

As Bajarin points out, implementing security on a device that needs to be unlocked close to a hundred times a day is no small feat, with Touch ID serving as an example of Apple’s efforts to balance security with user experience.

Apple is attempting something that seems unprecedented at an industry level. To bring industry leading security but do so by actually enhancing the user experience. Prior to Touch ID for example, many organizations required eight, and sometimes longer, PIN numbers. Imagine entering that many numbers every time you pick up your smartphone. […]

Regardless, the simple act of logging into our phone via a secure form of login like passcodes or fingerprints is now taken for granted in much of Apple’s ecosystem when, just a few years ago, anyone could have stolen my phone and have access to my personal information.

Available since 2013, Touch ID now comes standard on all of Apple’s iOS devices from the iPhone 5s and later, the iPad Air 2 and later, and the iPad mini 3 and later. In addition to allowing Apple to replace the passcode with a faster iPhone entry method, Touch ID enables password replacement in third-party apps, is used to verify iTunes purchases, and is a key part of Apple Pay, Apple’s payment service where each purchase is verified with a user’s fingerprint.

Tag: Touch ID
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Apple Launches WWDC 2016 Ticket Lottery

Apple today confirmed its annual Worldwide Developers Conference for 2016 will take place on June 13 to 17 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, California, the same venue where WWDC has been held for the last 10 years. A keynote set to be held on Monday, June 13 will also take place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The dates of Apple’s conference were first leaked by Siri earlier today.

Apple’s 2016 conference will give developers the opportunity to meet with more than 1,000 Apple engineers and attend hands-on labs, over 100 technical sessions, and more. The event will also be used to unveil new versions of iOS and OS X, likely iOS 10 and OS X 10.12, with developers able to learn about the updated operating systems at the conference to get a head start on app development.

“With four innovative operating systems and a new, intuitive programming language powering over 1 billion devices worldwide, there has never been a more exciting time to bring our developer community together,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “WWDC 2016 is going to be a landmark event for developers who are coding in Swift, and building apps and products for iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS. We can’t wait for everyone to join us — in San Francisco or through the live stream.”

The Worldwide Developers Conference has become so popular that Apple provides tickets to developers through a lottery system, with attendees chosen randomly from a pool of registered applicants. Developers can apply for a ticket starting today, with registration through Friday, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. Those who win a ticket to attend WWDC will be notified by Monday, April 25 at 5:00 p.m. PDT.

WWDC tickets for 2016 are priced at $1,599. Developers wishing to purchase tickets must have been registered members of Apple’s Developer Program prior to today’s event announcement to prevent last minute signups. Up to 350 WWDC Scholarships will be provided to students and members of participating STEM organizations around the world. Apple will also be providing 125 scholarships to aspiring developers with financial limitations, a program that is new this year.

As has been the case in previous years, developers between the ages of 13 and 17 must have their tickets purchased by a parent or guardian who is also an eligible member. All tickets sold are limited to the applicant and cannot be sold, resold, or transferred.

Apple has provided a full rundown of what developers can expect at WWDC for the ticket price:

– over 1,000 Apple engineers supporting more than 150 hands-on labs and events to provide developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS technologies in their apps;

– access to the latest innovations, features and capabilities of iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS, and best practices for enhancing an app’s functionality, performance, quality and design;

– the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS developers from around the world — last year, 80 percent of developers attended for their first time, and in total, more than 70 countries were represented;

– a series of get-togethers for attendees focused on particular topics with special guest speakers and activities;

– engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with trailblazers and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment; and

– the Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone®, iPad®, Apple Watch®, Apple TV® and Mac® apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

For developers who are unable to attend, Apple plans to stream WWDC sessions live, both through its website and through the WWDC app. For non-developers, the highlight of the event will be the keynote kicking off the conference, which is often used to show off new products and services along with new versions of iOS, OS X, watchOS, and tvOS.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2016
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