LittleBits’ new modular electronics kit lets kids booby-trap their rooms

Okay, so this is cool. Do you have a young kid or two that’s just mindlessly sitting in front of the TV a bit too much? Well, give them the latest LittleBits kit, and they’ll turn into little inventors/hackers/booby-trap makers.

Hot off the success of last year’s Gizmos and Gadgets kit, LittleBits has introduced a new kit that’s designed to let kids rule their rooms. Inside the kit you’ll find a power source, sensors, controllers, lights, modules, and several other doodads they can use to make things such as an alarm to keep their siblings’ grubby fingers off their piggy banks, computers, and dresser drawers.

The Rule Your Room Kit isn’t as complex-seeming as Raspberry Pi or Arduino, but at the same time, it’s intricate enough to make you feel like you’ve produced a genius child who is capable of creating anything. There’s no coding or voltage or programming involved, and all the pieces snap together via magnets. It’s a perfect beginner setup for kids interested in tech and building stuff.

Watch the video below to see what else they can do with this kit. We especially like the finger-waving “keep out” sign. And if this at all interests you, LittleBits is releasing it this month, with the Makey Makey bit included, which allows kids to implement touch-activated elements to control stuff. There’s also eight step-by-step guides in the box, so your kids can get some inspiration.

And all this will only cost you $99, so it’s cheaper than other LittleBits kits.

Science, man.

This leaked GoPro video seems to show off the upcoming Hero 5

GoPro’s next flagship action camera has allegedly been spotted in a brief video posted to Reddit and Vimeo.

Although the camera-maker announced earlier this year that it would lay off 7 per cent of its workforce and cease sales of at least three action cameras due to a massive revenue drop it suffered year over year, GoPro said it still planned to launch a new flagship model, called the Hero 5, as well as a “Karma” drone, which records 4K video, in 2016. Well, this new leak gives us a look at what the Hero 5 might look like and feature.

The nine-second-long video only shows the rear of the camera, but it resembles other how-to videos available in GoPro’s mobile apps, providing users with step-by-step instructions on how to connect the camera to a smartphone. From what we can see, the upcoming camera has a touchscreen, meaning that bus connector slot on the back for attaching peripherals like batteries and other accessories has likely been axed.

The Hero 5, which is supposed to be released before this holiday season, won’t be the first touchscreen GoPro action camera available, however, as the Silver model of the Hero 4 features such functionality. Anyway, the leak also shows a raised record button at the top, rounded edges for the body of the camera, and slightly different menus than the ones found on GoPro’s current lineup.

Overall, it looks simpler, with quick settings for framerate and resolution and whatnot at the bottom, and standard Wi-Fi and microphone features. It looks like microphone can be disabled, which is new, and there’s a GoPro Sniper option in the Connections menu, which could be a codename for another, upcoming product. Oh, and because there’s possibly no bus connector, this might be a waterproof camera.

Konrad Iturbe posted the video – which might have been derived from the Android version of the GoPro app. It’s unclear if the quick video is indeed legit, but we should know for sure within the next few months.

Pioneer’s new turntable digitizes your vinyl collection for $350

Sony’s PS-HX500 turntable caught our eye at CES for its ability to catalog a vinyl collection as high-res digital files. It’s a steep investment at $600, but now Pioneer DJ has a more affordable alternative. Pioneer’s $350 PLX-500 also features a USB connection that converts your records, but the company touts the device’s ability to serve two purposes admirably. Sure, you can set it up in your living room for spinning records at home and archiving new vinyl purchases, but DJs can also expect to employ it in the booth.

Featuring a similar design to the PLX-1000 pro model, the high-torque PLX-500 can be used alongside compatible gear to mix and scratch both records and digital files. Like Sony’s turntable, the Pioneer direct-drive PLX-500 has a line out so you don’t need to have an amplifier to make it work. Just plug it into your powered speakers or sound system and you’ll be good to go. If direct-drive is a deal breaker for you, the pricier Sony PS-HX500 is belt driven.

In terms of digitizing your record collection, all you need to do is connect the new Pioneer turntable to your PC or Mac via USB and you can build a library of WAV files with the help of the Rekordbox app. That software keeps track of the silence between tracks and creates a separate file for each one. However, you will have to enter the song titles and artist info when the process is complete though. Pioneer’s PLX-500 will be available in both black and white versions when it ships in September. And at $350, it won’t eat into your savings nearly as much as the Technics SL-1200.

Via: Fact Magazine

Source: Pioneer

Exploit can attack secure websites through ads

Some web-based exploits are more dangerous than others… and unfortunately, this is one of the nasty ones. Security researchers at KU Leuven have discovered an attack technique, HEIST (HTTP Encrypted Information can be Stolen Through TCP-Windows), that helps compromise an encrypted website using only a JavaScript file hidden in a maliciously-crafted ad or page. Unlike many similar attacks, you don’t need a man-in-the-middle spot to make this work — it can gauge the size of an encrypted response (and thus enable an attack) all on its own. Combine it with another technique and it’s relatively easy to pluck sensitive info from encrypted data traffic, such as email addresses and banking details.

The team’s Tom Van Goethem tells Ars Technica that the only surefire way to prevent attacks in the short term is to disable third-party cookies. That’s not hard to do (multiple browsers have an option for it), but it’s rarely turned on by default. Thankfully, the researchers have already revealed their findings to Google and Microsoft. It’s not certain that they’ll have patches in place soon, but the advance disclosure at least raises hope that this latest exploit won’t be available forever.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Black Hat

1Password now offers an individual subscription service

If you need a little help organizing and keeping your passwords safe, you might consider using 1Password, which has introduced a new individual subscription service. What’s more, if you go ahead and sign up now, you get your first six months for free.

Earlier this year 1Password released both Families and Teams accounts. They were introduced to positive feedback, but customers requested a standalone version with the same features. The new individual hosted service comes packing automatic syncing across all your devices, item history storage, multi-factor security, secure document storage, web access to your data and data loss protection.

If you’re interested in trying the service out, you can head to the official 1Password site and create a new account. You get access to the services across every platform, including upgrades, updates and Pro Features with your account, and if you sign up before September 21st, 2016 you’ll get your first 6 months free.

There are a lot of breaches going on. If you have several accounts you need managed, this might be a product you want to look into.

Source: 1Password