Yuneec’s budget Breeze drone gains live-streaming capability in latest update

Why it matters to you

Want another reason to like the $499 Breeze drone from Yuneec — it’s now live-streaming compatible, unlike the company’s controller-based drones.

Yuneec’s budget-friendly Breeze drone can now live-stream to Facebook and YouTube. In an app update announced on Facebook on April 10, the company added live-streaming capability to the Breeze Cam app that’s available for both iOS and Android.

The app update allows Breeze users to stream in 720p HD resolution. The feature is compatible with Facebook and YouTube, as well as Real-Time Messaging Protocol — a protocol now owned by Adobe that allows for live-streaming to applications compatible with Adobe Flash.

More: Flying the Breeze drone just got, well, breezy with a new controller and goggles

Live footage is recorded from the drone, while the audio is actually recorded from the smartphone. Yuneec says the feature also allows users to name their live-streaming recording.

While the feature is a nice addition to the $499 portable drone, other Yuneec users are wondering why the feature didn’t come to the company’s flagship drones first. Yuneec says it will likely expand the live-streaming feature beyond its Breeze platform as more device control is added, according to a Facebook comment by the company. While the Breeze is controlled via a smartphone, options like the $1,299 Yuneec Typhoon H use a dedicated touchscreen controller.

More: Who needs flight school? Yuneec’s new drone can help amateurs pilot like a pro

The Breeze isn’t the first to add live-streaming capability as the feature continues to rise in popularity on social media and YouTube. DJI’s Phantom and Inspire drones can also live-stream with the DJI Go app. The Breeze, however, is one of the most affordable consumer drones on the market — while the smartphone control isn’t as fine-tuned as using a controller, it’s now behind the drone’s new live-streaming capabilities.

The new feature is available through an update to the Breeze Cam app, which can be found at the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Scientists just proved your phone’s PIN can be cracked using its gyroscope data

Why it matters to you

Turns out your phone’s PIN code is less secure than previously thought. Researchers demonstrated how to hack it with gyroscope data.

It’s no secret that smartphone PIN codes are not perfect, but new research suggests they might be next to worthless. A team of scientists at Newcastle University in the U.K. was able to guess a user’s phone PIN code with nothing more than data from the device’s sensors.

In a paper published in International Journal of Information security, researchers demonstrated how a phone’s gyroscope — the sensor that tracks the rotation and orientation of your wrist — could be used to guess a four-digit PIN code with a high degree of accuracy. In one test, the team cracked a passcode with 70 percent accuracy. By the fifth attempt, the accuracy had gone up to 100 percent.

More: Security researchers expose Gmail smartphone hack

It takes a lot of data, to be sure. The Guardian notes users had to type 50 known PINs five times before the researchers’ algorithm learned how they held a phone when typing each particular number. But it highlights the danger of malicious apps that gain access to a device’s sensors without requesting permission.

“Most smartphones, tablets, and other wearables are now equipped with a multitude of sensors,” Dr. Maryam Mehrnezhad, a research fellow in the Newcastle University School of Computing Science and lead author on the paper, said. “But because mobile apps and websites don’t need to ask permission to access most of them, malicious programs can covertly ‘listen in’ on your sensor data.”

The risk extends beyond PIN codes. In total, the team identified 25 different smartphone sensors which could expose compromising user information. Worse still, only a small number — such as the camera and GPS — ask the user’s permission before granting access to that data.

More: 60 minutes asked a security firm to hack an iPhone, and the result is disturbing

It’s precise enough to track behavior. Using an “orientation” and “motion trace” data, the researchers were able to determine what part of a web page a user was clicking on and what they were typing.

“It’s a bit like doing a jigsaw — the more pieces you put together, the easier it is to see the picture,” Dr. Siamak Shahandashti, a senior research associate in the School of Computing Science and co-author on the study, said.

Mehrenzhad said the team reached out to leading browser providers to alert them of the issue and that Mozilla and Safari have implemented fixes. But she said that researchers are still working with the industry to find a better fix.

More: Top secret designs could be stolen from 3D printers using an ordinary smartphone

“We all clamor for the latest phone with the latest features and better user experience but because there is no uniform way of managing sensors across the industry, they pose a real threat to our personal security,” Mehrenzhad said. “It’s a battle between usability and security.”

Scientists just proved your phone’s PIN can be cracked using its gyroscope data

Why it matters to you

Turns out your phone’s PIN code is less secure than previously thought. Researchers demonstrated how to hack it with gyroscope data.

It’s no secret that smartphone PIN codes are not perfect, but new research suggests they might be next to worthless. A team of scientists at Newcastle University in the U.K. was able to guess a user’s phone PIN code with nothing more than data from the device’s sensors.

In a paper published in International Journal of Information security, researchers demonstrated how a phone’s gyroscope — the sensor that tracks the rotation and orientation of your wrist — could be used to guess a four-digit PIN code with a high degree of accuracy. In one test, the team cracked a passcode with 70 percent accuracy. By the fifth attempt, the accuracy had gone up to 100 percent.

More: Security researchers expose Gmail smartphone hack

It takes a lot of data, to be sure. The Guardian notes users had to type 50 known PINs five times before the researchers’ algorithm learned how they held a phone when typing each particular number. But it highlights the danger of malicious apps that gain access to a device’s sensors without requesting permission.

“Most smartphones, tablets, and other wearables are now equipped with a multitude of sensors,” Dr. Maryam Mehrnezhad, a research fellow in the Newcastle University School of Computing Science and lead author on the paper, said. “But because mobile apps and websites don’t need to ask permission to access most of them, malicious programs can covertly ‘listen in’ on your sensor data.”

The risk extends beyond PIN codes. In total, the team identified 25 different smartphone sensors which could expose compromising user information. Worse still, only a small number — such as the camera and GPS — ask the user’s permission before granting access to that data.

More: 60 minutes asked a security firm to hack an iPhone, and the result is disturbing

It’s precise enough to track behavior. Using an “orientation” and “motion trace” data, the researchers were able to determine what part of a web page a user was clicking on and what they were typing.

“It’s a bit like doing a jigsaw — the more pieces you put together, the easier it is to see the picture,” Dr. Siamak Shahandashti, a senior research associate in the School of Computing Science and co-author on the study, said.

Mehrenzhad said the team reached out to leading browser providers to alert them of the issue and that Mozilla and Safari have implemented fixes. But she said that researchers are still working with the industry to find a better fix.

More: Top secret designs could be stolen from 3D printers using an ordinary smartphone

“We all clamor for the latest phone with the latest features and better user experience but because there is no uniform way of managing sensors across the industry, they pose a real threat to our personal security,” Mehrenzhad said. “It’s a battle between usability and security.”

Google’s AutoDraw can help turn a disastrous doodle into a masterpiece

It’s exceptionally fun to use and you can save your project when you’re finished.

Do you like to doodle? I find it particularly difficult to do so with just my mouse on the screen, but fortunately, Google has artificial intelligence that can help effectively translate what it is I’m attempting to draw.

Google’s automated drawing bot is called AutoDraw and it’s available to play with right now. The browser-based bot is based on the Quick, Draw! experiment launched some time ago and, per the introductory video, it’s meant as a “drawing tool for the rest of us.”

AutoDraw is exceptionally responsive and easy to use, though not always accurate. Select the Auto Draw tool to see suggestions as you’re drawing. Once the Google’s intelligence engine catches on to what you’re attempting to do, you can select the image that’s closest to what you’re going for to convert your scrawl into passable clip art. Here are a few examples of mine, both of which I drew without the aid of a stylus.

Behold, my attempt at drawing with AutoDraw.

You don’t have to hang with the artificial intelligence engine if you don’t want to either. There’s a “free draw” tool, which lets you create without Google looking over your shoulder. When you’re finished practicing your Picasso skills, you can save and share your creation as a PNG file. And the best part is that AutoDraw works inside the browser on both your computer and mobile device.

Motorola budget phones, Moto C and Moto C Plus, revealed in new leak

Lenovo has a couple new budget devices up its sleeve.

While at MWC 2017 in February, Lenovo-owned Motorola unveiled the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus for £169 and £259, respectively. If you thought Lenovo was done with affordable smartphones for the year, you’re wrong, according to VentureBeat’s Evan Blass. He has claimed Motorola is planning to release two more entry-level Android 7.0 Nougat smartphones (presumably this year).

• Motorola Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Everything you need to know
• Motorola Moto G5 vs G5 Plus: What’s the difference?

Called the Moto C and Moto C Plus, the phones will each feature a 5-inch display and MediaTek processors. Keep in mind the Moto G5 sports the Snapdragon 625 chip. Other specs include a non-HD resolution screen of 854 x 480, 2350mAh battery, and 4G or 3G configurations for the base model Moto C, while the Moto C Plus will have a 720p screen, 4000mAh battery, and LTE connectivity.

VentureBeat said the phones will come in many colour options, including black, gold, silver, and red. We’ll let you know when we learn more about pricing and a potential release date.

Misfit Flare is another basic fitness tracker, but it’s also dirt cheap

Misfit has launched yet another affordable activity tracker.

It’s called the Misfit Flare, and it sells for $59.99 (about £50). It can track the steps you’ve taken, how far you’ve gone and the calories you’ve burned, and it can track your sleeping. In order to keep the price down, Misfit didn’t include some of its fancier features, such as movement reminders and the ability to take calls or get text alerts. If you want those, consider Misfit’s other devices that start at $99.99.

However, the Flare does act like a big touch-sensitive button. You can program it to make your phone perform different actions, including taking a selfie, controlling music, advancing slides in a presentation, and more — all with a triple-tap. The device is also waterproof, and if you want to pay a $9.99 in-app upgrade, you can unlock the ability to track swimming laps, which Misfit said powered by Speedo.

• Which Fitbit is right for me?
• Best fitness trackers 2017: The best activity bands to buy today

By introducing a very basic tracker, Misfit is essentially going after Fitbit, which dominates the affordable activity tracker space. Fitbit sells a fitness tracker, called the Flex, for instance, and it works almost exactly like Flare but costs about $49.99. Keep in mind Fossil now owns Misfit. It actually owns many smartwatch and tracker bands, and now with the Flare, it’s officially diving into budget devices.

And finally, Misfit said the Flare features an aluminium case and does not require charging. Instead, it uses a replaceable battery that lasts up to four months. If any of that interests you, check out the Misfit store.

Misfit

Google fixes one of Chrome’s biggest issues with scroll anchoring

If you’ve ever viewed a page on a mobile device, you’ve probably suffered through the frustration of having your view suddenly jump to another point in the webpage halfway through reading something. These kind of page jumps happen when a site is progressively loading additional content in the background that tweaks the layout of the page. It could be a slideshow, a video or a high resolution image — but the result is always the same: a page jump. It’s an annoying glitch that muddles an otherwise smooth experience, and Google says it’s stamping it out.

The latest version of Chrome boasts a feature called scroll anchoring, and it does exactly what you’d expect: lock the user’s view to the same point on the page regardless of whatever else is loading in the background. Google says the feature is reducing page jumps by about three per pageview, and promises it will get even better in the future. It’s a small tweak, but a good one — exactly the kind of quality of life improvement that can make the difference between a good mobile browsing experience and a frustrating one.

Source: Google

The PC’s 5-year slump might be coming to an end

For the past several years, the PC market has largely told the same dismal story: shipments are down, mobile is taking over the world, and there’s no relief in sight. However, there’s a glimmer of hope… depending on who you ask, anyway. IDC estimates that PC shipments increased by 0.6 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2017, marking the first such growth in 5 years. Reportedly, that’s due to both better-than-expected shipments in multiple regions as well as strong commercial Chromebook sales in the US (think schools and businesses). It’s cheerful news for the industry if accurate — with that said, Gartner’s researchers might just temper your enthusiasm.

They’ve determined that computer shipments for the period actually dropped by 2.4 percent, continuing that long losing streak. Why the discrepancy? It all comes down to methodology. While IDC counts Chromebooks and excludes tablet PCs (including Surface-style detachables), the opposite is true at Gartner. Neither company is giving you a complete picture of the computing landscape, so you can’t say for sure that the PC market is out of the doldrums. Really, this is an extension of the not-quite-so-terrible results you saw last year. The decline may be tapering off, but it isn’t necessarily over.

If there’s something IDC and Gartner have in common, it’s their not-so-rosy outlook. Phones and tablets continue to put the squeeze on PC sales by giving you reasons to delay upgrades, while parts shortages (such as memory and solid-state drives) are making it hard to meet even that reduced demand. Assuming there’s any kind of recovery taking place, it’s going to be slow and uncertain.

Source: IDC, Gartner (BusinessWire)

With its 2018 TLX, Acura learns the value of good software design

Acura just pulled back the curtains on a pair of premium sedans — the 2018 TLX and its sportier A-Spec cousin — and they feature a more sporty, aggressive look than the milquetoast models they replace. Fortunately for you road warriors, Acura did more than just give those bodies a makeover — the company redesigned its in-car interface in response to complaints about its complexity. If that seems like a silly thing to get worked up over, just remember that you’re probably going to get stuck with your car’s software and interface for at least a few years. It’s about time car company’s started making these infotainment systems less terrible.

In fairness, Acura had a fair bit of work to do. In addition to the usual instrument cluster, the TLX has two other displays: a big, bright screen for glancing at information and a touchscreen below that. The problem is, Acura has had trouble figuring out what kind of information should go on each screen, and people didn’t really know where to look either. “It was kind of hard for them to tell what information was where,” an Acura spokesperson told me before a live band drowned everything out. “So it was really hard for them to use it.”

So, after lots of focus testing, Acura mixed things up. Audio controls and related info are now solely located on the touchscreen for easier access, freeing up the bigger screen for navigation (another important feature that was confusing to get to) and data provided by Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay. The company also redesigned the menu invoked by the car’s jog dial — it’s now an easy-to-parse grid, which should hopefully make for fewer mistakes and even fewer accidents. All told, Acura claims this revamped interface is 30 percent “faster” than the older iteration, but we (or our dear cousins at Autoblog) will be the judges of that.

Beyond a software redesign, both the TLX and its A-Spec variant pack active road safety bits (collectively known as AcuraWatch) as standard equipment to keep drivers, passengers and pedestrians safe. We’re talking about a collision detection system with automatic braking here, along with adaptive cruise control that works even at low speeds (appropriate for the sort of traffic that’s sure to happen here in New York.) Getting all these features as standard sounds like a pretty good deal, but we’ll have to wait to be sure — the 2018 models won’t hit lots for a little while yet.

Alabama tests filing taxes via selfie

As tax day looms, Alabama citizens will get to live the dream and file using an app on their mobile device. The state’s department of revenue is partnering with MorphoTrust to let taxpayers use the company’s electronic ID (eID) system to digitally send in their taxes. In return for using the face-scanning app to prove their identity online, folks willing to to test the new setup will get priority processing and an expedited return.

The eID is essentially an identity verification system in app form, though it’s only available for iOS at the moment. Every time a user wants to unlock the eID, they must scan their physical drivers’ licenses or state-issued IDs and then use their phone to scan their face. This information is compared to state databases, matching data and photo, to certify and authenticate the eID — and then it’s off to the tax-filing races.

Essentially, it’s using a panorama selfie to unlock digital identification, which Alabama officials believe to be just as secure as filing in person using a certified ID. With tax fraud a growing issue that costs the government over $400 billion every year, at least the eID could help folks ensure security on their end. According to the Alabama government’s website, the plan is to keep the system around for next year and potentially let folks use their eID for other identity-sensitive processes, like applying for benefits online.

Source: BusinessWire