‘Ok Google’ now works in Android Auto
With its large icons and stripped back interface, Android Auto is a simpler, safer way to access music and maps in your car. It’s also designed for voice, and finally Google has enabled “Okay Google” commands for everyone. That means you don’t have to touch the screen, or your phone, to start speaking with Google’s assistant. The feature might sound small, but for drivers this could be a revelatory addition. Whether you want to switch playlists, check the weather, or settle an argument (how old is Obama again?) you can do this without taking your hands off the steering wheel.
The feature was announced at Google I/O, and a few weeks back it started rolling out to select drivers. As a post on Google+ indicates, it should now be available to everyone who has Android Auto set up in their car. That could be through a compatible infotainment system, or directly through your smartphone with the Android Auto mode enabled. If you haven’t already, maybe give it a whirl while you’re driving home this Christmas.
Source: Android (Google+)
Hacker breaches the US agency that certifies voting machines
In the year of “rigged” election claims, security firm Recorded Future says it identified a Russian-speaking hacker attempting to sell accounts that have access to the US Election Assistance Commission. While may not be familiar with the EAC, it’s the agency in charge of certifying voting machines and providing best practices used in elections. In a statement, the EAC confirmed it’s aware of a “potential intrusion” and says it’s working with law enforcement.
Screenshot of EAC internal site, obtained by Recorded Future
According to Recorded Future, a hacker going by the name Rasputin was trying to sell an unpatched system vulnerability, and it identified more than one hundred logins that were compromised. The hacker apparently used an SQL injection to obtain the list of logins and passwords that were eventually cracked. With that kind of access, someone could access testing plans and results for various voting machines. The EAC does not store voter’s personal information or vote totals.
Source: Recorded Future, US EAC
Evernote will no longer change its privacy policy in January
Evernote’s explanation failed to assuage users’ fears that employees would be able to read their data come January 23rd. So, the company has decided not to implement its new Privacy Policy anymore. Evernote’s policy change, which would have taken effect in January 2017, states that employees will be able to access your data in an effort to improve its machine learning system. The backlash was instantaneous — the company tried to quell it by explaining that any note read by its employees will be anonymous and that nobody will ever read yours unless you opt in.
Since that didn’t work, Evernote has decided to back down. In its announcement post today, the company said:
“After receiving a lot of customer feedback expressing concerns about our upcoming Privacy Policy changes over the past few days, Evernote is reaffirming its commitment to keep privacy at the center of what we do. As a result, we will not implement the previously announced Privacy Policy changes that were scheduled to go into effect January 23, 2017.
Instead, in the coming months we will be revising our existing Privacy Policy to address our customers’ concerns, reinforce that their data remains private by default, and confirm the trust they have placed in Evernote is well founded. In addition, we will make machine learning technologies available to our users, but no employees will be reading note content as part of this process unless users opt in. We will invite Evernote customers to help us build a better product by joining the program.”
Evernote CEO Chris O’Neill admitted to Fast Company that his team screwed up. “The headlines that are being written just aren’t true,” he said. “Human beings don’t read notes without people’s permission. Full stop.”
Trust is at the heart of our service. That means we need to be transparent and admit our missteps. https://t.co/Fa61KPERNR
— Evernote (@evernote) December 16, 2016
Via: Fast Company
Source: Evernote
Nintendo sold 196,000 NES Classic Editions in November
The NES Classic Edition has become a tough gift to find during this holiday season. Cheers to those who’ve already located one (or two), but according to industry tracker NPD, Nintendo sold 196,000 pieces of nostalgia-bait to US customers between its launch and the end of November. Compare that to Media-Create’s numbers, which showed Japanese sales of the Classic Mini Famicom surpassed 261k units in just one week. Clearly, the demand is there, but the question is if Nintendo will be able to make enough of the systems available before the holiday rush is over. (If it follows this up with an SNES Classic Edition, we’ll probably be lining up all over again.)
In non-NES news, the NPD report showed that, as expected, Sony’s PlayStation 4 is back atop the sales heap. According to analyst Sam Naji, it was pushed there by the PS4 Slim / Uncharted 4 bundle that accounted for 30 percent of all hardware units sold. Overall, however, even with the Xbox One S, PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro all on shelves, customers spent 35 percent less on videogame hardware than they did in 2015. Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon managed to outsell the series previous best-selling combo (White and Black) by eight percent.
Source: VentureBeat
Evernote Will Not Implement Controversial New Privacy Policy
Evernote tonight announced that it no longer plans to implement a controversial new privacy policy that caused some Evernote users to threaten to stop using the service. The policy was scheduled to go into effect on January 23, 2017 and allowed Evernote employees to read users’ notes.
After receiving a lot of customer feedback expressing concerns about our upcoming Privacy Policy changes over the past few days, Evernote is reaffirming its commitment to keep privacy at the center of what we do. As a result, we will not implement the previously announced Privacy Policy changes that were scheduled to go into effect January 23, 2017.
Evernote explained that the new privacy policy was intended to let employees read notes to make sure machine learning algorithms were working as intended. The privacy policy itself only states that employees could look at notes “for troubleshooting purposes or to maintain and improve the Service,” wording that was criticized as too vague.
The company attempted to clarify its statements earlier today with a note from CEO Chris O’Neill, promising that the company is still committed to user privacy and the “Three Laws of Data Protection.”
Instead of instituting the new policy, Evernote says it will revise its existing privacy policy to address concerns and “reinforce that [users’] data remains private by default.” In regards to its machine learning algorithms, Evernote says employees will not read notes unless users opt-in to help the company “build a better product.”
Evernote CEO Chris O’Neill also issued a statement, saying the company must ask for permission from its users rather than assume it already has it.
“We announced a change to our privacy policy that made it seem like we didn’t care about the privacy of our customers or their notes. This was not our intent, and our customers let us know that we messed up, in no uncertain terms. We heard them, and we’re taking immediate action to fix it,” said O’Neill. “We are excited about what we can offer Evernote customers thanks to the use of machine learning, but we must ask for permission, not assume we have it. We’re sorry we disappointed our customers, and we are reviewing our entire privacy policy because of this.”
The full statement can be read at Evernote’s website.
Tags: Evernote, privacy
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Isaac Newton text is the most expensive science book sold
Science texts aren’t normally top earners at auctions, but Christie’s just proved that there are major exceptions to this rule. The auction house has sold a first edition of Isaac Newton’s 1687 masterpiece, Principia Mathematica, for just over $3.7 million — the most expensive science book sold to date. It was originally estimated to sell for no more than $1.5 million, but its rarity likely helped drive the price up. This is a rare continental Europe edition, with only 80 copies published versus the 400 for Britain.
It’s not the rarest. That honor goes to Newton’s original manuscript, which the Royal Society (Newton’s academic home for much of his life) is likely to keep for as long as possible. Another copy bound in similar material went for a relatively modest $2.5 million back in 2013.
To call Principia Mathematica important would be an understatement. It’s the book where Newton sets out his laws of motion, including gravity. Many of the concepts outlined in the title would be cornerstones of physics for centuries (including today), and wouldn’t be significantly questioned until the 20th century through relativity and quantum physics. They formed the basis of industrial breakthroughs, and helped explain or refine key astronomy concepts that we now take for granted: the elliptical orbits of planets, tidal effects and even the not-quite-spherical shape of the Earth. The very fact that you can read this article partly explains why Principia fetched a high price — the technology you’re using might not exist if it weren’t for Newton’s findings.
Via: The Guardian
Source: Christie’s
Service Outages Affecting App Store, Apple TV, Apple Music and Mac App Store
According to Apple’s System Status website, the App Store, the Apple TV, Apple Music, and the Mac App Store are currently experiencing service issues.
Many Apple customers have also been complaining of App Store issues on Twitter, Reddit, and other social networks. Affected customers are unable to download apps and in some cases, can’t load the App Store at all.
Service interruptions have been ongoing since approximately 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time and there’s no word on when service will be fully restored.
The issues could potentially be related to the release of Super Mario Run and the strain that it is causing on the App Store due to its popularity.
Tag: App Store
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Amazon Prime Air drone delivery: How does it work and where is it available?
Amazon has announced that its Prime Air drone delivery programme is now making delivering in the UK.
It’s already delivered to two customers and will expand to more customers soon. But the trial is restricted to rural farmlands and will only deliver small items within close proximity to Amazon’s UK facility equipped with drones. Here’s everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Air.
What is Amazon Prime Air?
Well, let’s start off with Amazon Prime, Amazon’s membership program that gives customers access to streaming video, music, ebooks, free shipping, including two-day shipping, for $99/£79 a year. In an effort to load Prime with more Amazon-specific services and deals, Amazon is developing Prime Air – a delivery system designed to get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles (aka drones).
Amazon first revealed plans for Amazon Prime Air in 2013. Check out some of Pocket-lint’s coverage here:
- Amazon Prime Air drones tested in Canada: Deliveries within 30 mins
- Amazon to begin Prime Air Drone delivery testing, in India
How does Amazon Prime Air work?
As to how the drone delivery process actually works, Amazon has been vague with releasing details. But, from what we can tell, customers who qualify for drone delivery can select the option during checkout (just like they would two-day shopping), then they print off a QR code supplied by Amazon, and stick it outside their house, on the lawn, like signage. The QR code acts like a beacon, allowing the drone to find the customer’s delivery location and safely land.
Amazon released the video above to show how Prime Air works in the UK.
What qualifies for Amazon Prime Air delivery?
To qualify for 30-minute drone delivery, the order must be less than five pounds (2.26kg) and small enough to fit in the cargo box that the drone will carry. The recipient must also be within a 10-mile radius of a participating Amazon fulfillment center. In the UK, Amazon is only permitted to operate its drones, which fly below 400 feet, during daylight when there’s low wind and good visibility.
On 7 December, Prime Air delivered its first order in the UK: an Amazon Fire TV and a bag of popcorn. Amazon said it took 13 minutes for the customer to get the package in Cambridge via Amazon’s own specialised drone.
What kind of drones does Amazon use?
When Amazon first unveiled its drone, dubbed the Prime Air Drone, it showed off an octocopter with eight rotors. It weighed 25kg and could carry up to 2.26kg at speeds of 80kph. However, Amazon recently published a bunch of videos of its drones. In those clips, the drones seemed to be smaller with no fixed wings. They actually appeared very different from the original drones, which were more massive with fixed wings.
Amazon
Where is Amazon testing Prime Air?
Amazon has Prime Air development centers in the US, as well as in the UK, Austria, and Israel. It plans to test drones in multiple international locations, but the company has started trials in the UK, rather than the US, because it’s received permission from regulators in the country.
UK
In July, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) provided Amazon with permissionto test drone operations in rural and suburban areas, as well as permission to test drone sensor performance essential to identifying and avoiding obstacles. It also received permission to test flights where one person operates multiple highly-automated drones. The company said it’s working with regulators and policymakers in other countries, too.
US
In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s initial drone regulations essentially prohibited commercial drone deliveries, as drones must stay within a pilot’s line of sight and cannot fly directly over people. But the FAA is working with private companies and developing broader rules. In September, for instance, UPS announced it started testing the use of drones for urgent deliveries in hard-to-reach areas in the US.
When will Amazon Prime Air be available?
Amazon Prime Air is in a beta in the UK right now. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon said it will expand its test from two customers in a roughly 5-square-mile area of farmland to “dozens” more in the coming months.
Want to know more?
Check out Amazon Prime Air’s website for more details.
AOL’s Alto email Dashboard adds Alexa and Slack integrations
Email, it’s the granddaddy of messaging apps. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t need a little nudge into the teens… the tens… whatever we’re calling this decade. AOL’s Alto is exactly that, a modern email client that extracts all the useful info tucked away within it, putting it front and center in a Google Now-like “Dashboard.” Today, it’s getting a little more up to date, with hooks into Amazon’s ubiquitous Alexa, and the work-chat du jour, Slack.
Using Alto with Alexa is pretty much what you’d imagine. Instead of thumbing through your email (or Dashboard) for vital info, you just ask Amazon’s virtual assistant to do it for you. The commands available seem pretty varied with general requests such as “Read me the most important emails in my Dashboard” (Alto determines what you think is important). You can also be more specific, such as asking when you’re next flight is. All without putting down your tea and toast.
As for Slack fans, you’ll be able to pull in documents, images and any other important files without leaving the app (using slash commands). In the demo video below, you can see our happy Alto user sending an important presentation to a colleague before heading off on vacation without taking his gaze off of his current chat window.
This sort of integration is clearly a way for Alto to stand out from the growing number of “intelligent” inboxes. Not least Google’s very own Inbox app. I’ve been using the latter for a few months now, and the amount of time and frustration it solves by the way it organizes my email is one thing, but deeper features like location-based reminders (telling me to get milk when I am at the store), or easy access to my travel agenda makes the email app a cure for, rather than source of anxiety. With more integrations for AOL’s solution due in “the coming months,” it looks like Alto’s on track to rival Google at its own game.
Via: The Verge
Source: Alto
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