Coder defeats Snapchat’s anti-bot system in less than an hour
Apparently, Snapchat’s spot-the-ghost human verification tool isn’t all that clever — Steven Hickson has already written software that circumvents the anti-bot feature. His technique simply finds the best matches between Snapchat’s sample pictures and a reference image. It’s not flawless, but it’s still accurate — no mean feat for something that took less than an hour to program. Whether or not there will be a fix isn’t clear. At this stage, the company will only tell us that it’s making “significant progress” in locking down its chat service. While the statement hints that more security measures are on the way, it doesn’t guarantee that Snapchat will defeat Hickson’s code.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Source: Steve’s Computer Vision Blog
Motorola brings Prip’s push-to-talk service to the iPhone
Sprint’s iDEN network shutdown may have quashed hopes for an iPhone with native push-to-talk support, but that won’t matter much now that Motorola has brought Prip’s service to iOS. The new app lets American iOS 7 users instantly speak to both fellow Prip members as well as Nextel subscribers in Latin America. Many of the features will be familiar to those who tried the Android version, although the cross-platform launch introduces universal sign-ins and web-based account control; you’re no longer tied to Google Play. Whether you’re chatting with a friend or a whole company, you can grab Prip from the App Store today.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google
Via: Prip Blog
Source: App Store
Beats Music to reach Windows Phone listeners on January 24th
Beats Music launched with a lot of fanfare today, but you may have noticed that its promised Windows Phone client is missing. What happened? As it turns out, the app is just fashionably late — Beats’ Ian Rogers says that the Windows Phone edition should be available on January 24th. That’s unfortunate for Lumia-toting listeners who wanted to try Beats Music on day one, but there’s no shortage of alternative services to use in the meantime.
@samsabri Hey Sam, Windows Mobile not launching til Friday. Sorry!
– ian c rogers (@iancr) January 21, 2014
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Via: WPCentral
Source: Ian Rogers (Twitter)
Firefighter developing Google Glass apps to help with response and rescue
For all the potential of Google’s face-based hardware, we haven’t seen many uses beyond the cool and novel that are any more than noble ideas. Not for firefighter Patrick Jackson, though, who’s combined his talents for programming and winning wearables to create apps that help him and others out on the job. At this point, his software can push emergency calls to Glass and direct responders to its location and nearby hydrants with Google Maps. Currently, he’s working on being able to pull up floor plans and other relevant information about buildings before entry, as well as vehicle diagrams and instructions for aiding in-car rescues. Jackson’s #ifihadglass application also outlines the many benefits of streaming live video from an incident, so all he appears to have overlooked thus far is a warning system for Kurt Russell’s worst enemy.
Filed under: Wearables, Software, Google
Source: Google Glass (Google+)
Better late than never, Path arrives on Windows Phone
Path for Windows Phone has had an unusually long development cycle for a mobile app — we first saw it at a Nokia event in July, and the rest of 2013 came and went without a release. Still, fans of the smaller-scale social network will be glad to know that a Path beta is at last available in the Windows Phone Store. The software mirrors much of the functionality seen in the Android and iOS versions, including private sharing, although it also takes advantage of Nokia’s imaging software and provides 50 unique photo filters. No, Path isn’t as exciting as Instagram or Vine, but we doubt that Windows Phone owners will mind getting another well-known app on their platform of choice.
Thanks to all the Windows Phone 8 users who have been waiting patiently for this day, you can find Path BETA here: http://t.co/xniseL7ifm
– Path (@path) January 17, 2014
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: WPCentral
Source: Windows Phone Store, Path Blog, Nokia Conversations
Google’s Chrome remote desktop app will come to iOS as well as Android
The desktop versions of Chrome make it easy to access remote PCs (and Chromebooks) linked together by your Google account, but this feature hasn’t yet made the trek across to Chrome’s mobile manifestations. We know that an official Android “Chromoting” app (an early build of which is shown in the screenshot above) has been in the works for a while, and now there’s evidence it’ll come to iOS too. Radio chatter between Chromium developers reveals that the iOS version is still at an “unpolished” design stage, but it also suggests that a good few devs have it on their to-do lists — and although we have very little detail about how the final Chromoting app will work, these folks must believe that it’ll do something different (or better, or easier) than the hoards of existing alternatives.
[Image courtesy of Chrome Story]
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
Via: 9to5mac
Source: Chromium
Starbucks iOS App Updated to Secure Personal Information [iOS Blog]
Starbucks has released an update to its iOS app that safeguards customer’s personal information stored on the phone. An earlier version of the app saved sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and location data, in a clear text format. Potential criminals who obtained physical access to a customer’s iPhone could download these details with minimal effort.
As announced by Starbucks chief information officer Curt Garner, an updated version of the Starbucks mobile app is available now in the iOS App Store. Though the safeguard measures were not detailed, Garner did confirm that the changes made to app provide “extra layers of protection” for consumers.
As promised, we have released an updated version of Starbucks Mobile App for iOS which adds extra layers of protection. We encourage customers to download the update as an additional safeguard measure.
A followup inquiry by The Verge clarified that the app no longer stores personal data in clear text format. Garner encouraged all Starbucks customers to download the latest version of the company’s app.
Version 2.6.2 of Starbucks for the iPhone is available for download from the iOS App Store. [Direct Link]
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Starbucks plans to secure user information with updated iOS app (update)
Following this week’s revelation that Starbucks’ mobile apps store data such as user names, passwords and even location coordinates in plain text, a company executive announced today that a refreshed application is in the works. Curt Garner, the beverage giant’s chief information officer, says that the new iOS app will “add extra layers of protection” to the “added measures” that he claims already “sufficiently address the concerns” referenced in yesterday’s post. Garner also emphasizes that no information has been compromised using the methods outlined this week. There’s no firm timeline for the updated iOS app, but the company reiterated that the current version offers sufficient protection — and we imagine they’ll be sticking to that story right up until a fix is available.
Update: According to the Starbucks Twitter account, an update is now available. We’re not seeing it via the web, but a check of our iOS device reveals v2.6.2 with “additional performance enhancements and safeguards.” The press release doesn’t go into detail about changes, saying only “As promised, we have released an updated version of Starbucks Mobile App for iOS which adds extra layers of protection. We encourage customers to download the update as an additional safeguard measure.”
Update for Starbucks iOS Mobile App is now available.
– Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) January 17, 2014
DoubleTwist’s new Android app records songs played on iTunes Radio (updated)
Those clever guys and gals at DoubleTwist have been freeing music from iTunes’ grasp for years, so we suppose it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to do the same with songs played on iTunes Radio. The app’s called, quite appropriately, iTunes Radio Recorder, and it circumvents Apple’s DRM by turns your Android phone into an AirPlay device — not literally, mind you, the app on your phone simply populates as an optional AirPlay streaming device in iTunes on your computer.
Once the app is selected for AirPlay streaming, music is played and recorded in real-time, so a five minute file will take five minutes to record. Not quite as quick as a download, but it is an elegant way to circumvent Apple’s digital audio shackles. As for piracy or legal concerns? DoubleTwist has none. According to company Co-founder and President Monique Farantzos: “Recording has been around for decades, from audio cassettes (remember mix tapes?) to TuneIn radio’s recording feature. Given that Apple built their iPod empire on letting millions of people rip CDs based on fair use, we don’t see how they could object to this app.” So, there you have it. Go forth, friends. Listen. Record. Enjoy the fruits of iTunes streaming and DoubleTwist’s coding labors… while it lasts.
Update: We mistakenly reported earlier that iTunes Radio streams are protected with DRM, when in fact, they are not.
Filed under: Software, HD, Mobile
Via: @jonlech (Twitter)
Source: Google Play
Code hints that Google may bake fitness sensor support into Android
KitKat brought pedometer functions to Android, but that’s not necessarily enough for smartphone owners who want to track their fitness routines. Google may be aware of that desire for more athletic info, though. Google Operating System has discovered code (shown below) for a future “Fitness API” that would supply apps with activity data from an Android device’s sensors. We don’t know much more than that, however. There aren’t any clues as to when (or if) the API would be ready, and it’s uncertain whether the software is tied to either a new OS revision or a Google Play Services update. Still, don’t be surprised if your favorite Android fitness app becomes much more sophisticated in the near future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Via: Droid-Life
Source: Google Operating System
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