OS X update could use iPhone’s Touch ID to unlock Macs
As we approach Apple’s annual WWDC event that starts June 13th, the rumors about upcoming iOS and OS X features are sure to ramp up. This week, MacRumors is reporting that the company is working on a way for you to unlock a Mac using your iPhone’s Touch ID feature. The security measure is said to bypass a typed log-in using Bluetooth when the phone is “in close proximity” to a computer running OS X. As MacRumors notes, there’s a similar feature on the Apple Watch that allows an unlocked iPhone to provide access to the wearable without the need to enter a second password.
If this Touch ID to unlock a Mac functionality sounds familiar, the third party Knock app for iOS and Apple Watch unlocks a nearby computer with those devices rather than having to key in a password. Back in March, Recode reported that Apple Pay was on its way to the browser for making purchases on the web. This new report suggests that the Touch ID interaction with Macs will be used to confirm those transactions as well. As is the case with any rumor, it pays to be a bit skeptical. However, we won’t have to wait long to see if this news is indeed true.
In terms of other rumors for OS X 10.12, reports indicate that Siri could finally make its debut on the desktop. This week, rumblings surfaced about the design of the dock icon, but we’ll have to wait a few more weeks to see if that virtual assistant or Touch ID unlocking will be a part of this fall’s software update.
Source: MacRumors
Point your phone at an equation and Mathpix will solve it
Math isn’t everyone’s strong suit, especially those who haven’t stretched that part of their brain since college. Thanks to the wonders of image recognition technology, we now have Mathpix, an iOS app that lets you point your phone camera at a problem and calculates solutions in seconds.
The interface looks like any standard camera app: simply drag the on-screen reticle over the equation and the app solves it and provides graph answers where appropriate. More useful is a step-by-step guide offering multiple methods to reach a solution, making this a bona fide educational tool. It uses image recognition to process problems and pings its servers to do the mathematical heavy lifting, so it likely requires an internet connection to work.
Mathpix was envisioned by Stanford PhD student Nico Jimenez, who was advised by Stanford grad Paul Ferrell. The app’s other developers are high schoolers Michael Lee and August Trollback, which is impressive for an app that claims to be the first to visually recognize and solve handwritten math problems.
Source: Motherboard
Android apps will know when you need them and open automatically
That slab of plastic and glass in your pocket might be called a smartphone, but Google is hoping to make the applications running on it smarter yet. The folks in Mountain View hope to achieve that by giving them access to contextual data like time of day, where you are, what you’re doing, the weather and if you have headphones plugged in. Oh, and if there are any Physical Web devices (beacons) near by. A post on the Google Developers blog says that combining the aforementioned data would allow an app to, say, suggest a playlist when you plug in headphones and go for a run.
That’s because the new framework takes that recipe, or “fence” in Google’s parlance, and can use it to ping an app even if it isn’t open. Thus, Spotify triggering some workout jams when you’re out for a jog. Maybe future implementations could trigger WebMD to open when you hit the local pizza buffet for the third time in a week. You know, to remind you that maybe you’re not making the most healthy decision for lunch.
On a more serious note, TechCrunch writes that this could also trigger your camera app to be open and waiting when you go outside, based on the amount of nature snapshots you’ve taken. What’s more, the weather info could be baked into a photo’s metadata so you’d be able to search Google Photos for pictures that were only taken on hot summer days, for instance. Developers can sign up for early API access right now, but when users will see apps supporting the feature isn’t clear.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google Developers
Google I/O schedule leaks info on Android apps for Chrome OS
It wasn’t mentioned during today’s keynote, but we’re pretty sure you will hear about Google getting Android apps and the Play Store running on Chrome OS tomorrow. Confirmation has come through a (since updated) I/O calendar entry pointed out by 9to5Google, which said “Today we announced that we’re adding the best mobile app experiences in the world, Android apps and the Google Play store, to the best browser in the world, Chrome!” Momentum for the change has been picking up since last year, and some users have been seeing an option to enable the Play Store for a while. While we wait for more details, any developers at I/O have an incentive to arrive early: the first 50 are promised a free Chromebook for their trouble.
Source: 9to5Google, Google I/O Schedule
The new Android N preview is more stable and updates itself
Google surprised us all with an Android N developer preview two months before we landed at I/O, and updated it with new performance-enhancing features just a few weeks back. Now, as revealed during this morning’s I/O keynote, there’s a new update for you bold souls who crave bleeding edge software.
While Google refers to Preview 3 as an “incremental update” on its developer site, there’s still enough here to get excited about. Unlike the last two versions of the preview, Google says this third build is the first “beta-quality” candidate — in other words, you’ll run into fewer headaches if you try to use it as your daily driver on a Nexus 5X, 6P or other compatible devices. We haven’t played with the new N preview ourselves so we can’t confirm how much more stable it feels, but we’ll follow up with impressions as soon as we can.
Beyond that, this new update also brings with it a new software-updating scheme inspired by (surprisingly enough) Chromebooks. When an update is available, Android N can download the system image in the background and can automatically install it the next time you reboot your phone.
“There’s no ‘Android is upgrading’ [pop-up], no delays,” VP of Android Engineering Dave Burke told us. “It’s just a really nice, seamless way to do it.”
It’s a smart move; especially with respect to security updates like the ones Nexus devices get every month. When it comes to those more timely, crucial security patches, Android N lets you know the update will happen ahead of time and will then just install it upon reboot. Meanwhile, you’ll be alerted to “dessert” updates — the big ones with the delicious new names — in the new suggestions section in settings, where you can choose to install it now or apply it later.
If you’re interested in giving Preview 3 a shot on your phone, it’ll be available today.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/0 2016 follow along here.
Google wants to take the pain out of app installs
If you use a smartphone, you’ve surely gone through this experience: Someone shares something with you, or you click a link somewhere, and before you know it you’re prompted to install an app. You’re in a generous mood, so you go through the whole process, log in to the app, and then you’re met with a welcome screen that isn’t even the content you originally wanted to access! Apps are great, but the install process is sometimes pretty painful.
Google’s taking its next step at solving this issue with Instant Apps, following up on the app streaming it launched late last year. As the name suggests, these are full-fledged Android apps that can be used on your phone without having to visit the Play Store. Just tapping on a URL will trigger a quick download that’s no bigger than a mobile web page, but gives you the full app experience. The install is temporary, but if you like what you see, there’s a link in the corner so you can download the full version.
“The experience of apps is great, but the challenge for developers and the frustration for users is getting into the app and using it for the first time is not as great as it could be,” says Michael Siliski, a project manager at Google. “The idea behind Instant Apps is instead of reducing the friction of getting into an app, how can we remove that friction entirely?”
The promise of Instant Apps was pretty clear in a quick demo I saw earlier this week. Tapping a URL linking to Buzzfeed’s “Tasty” video category prompted a quick download that brought me right into that section of the Buzzfeed Video app. After doing a search for a particular camera bag at B&H Photo, tapping the link downloaded the B&H app and delivered me right to that product’s page. From there, it was easy to add to my cart and buy it with Android Pay. In both cases, the app loaded just as fast as a mobile web page — a benchmark of importance and one of the biggest challenges for the team that built Instant Apps.
“It’s pretty important to us that this is an interactive-class experience,” says Ficus Kirkpatrick, Engineering Director for Instant Apps, “so apps are a few megabytes — something comparable to a mobile website. It really needs to be fast.” The other big technical challenge was around supporting multiple versions of Android (and the myriad of handsets out there running those different operating systems). Right now, Instant Apps work on phones running Android 4.4 Kit Kat or newer. Given that Kit Kat will be three years old this fall, that’s pretty solid support.
This feature won’t be implemented in existing apps automatically, though. “One of the key things we want is for developers to not have to write another [separate] app,” said Siliski. “For a developer, this is an update to your existing app.” And Kirkpatrick said you could enable Instant Apps with a day of work, but he acknowledged it could take a lot longer depending on the level of complexity in the app itself. Google says it has worked hard to make that process relatively painless for developers. “Making this evolved [app] model work with the same Android APIs that developers are used to using, supporting Android Studio, all that stuff is not trivial,” Kirkpatrick said.
Google envisions Instant Apps being used in a variety of ways that go beyond what we typically think of when installing apps. One good use of Instant Apps is to avoid installing apps for fleeting interactions, or for something you only need to do once. One of the demos I saw used a phone’s NFC to connect to a parking meter; a pay-to-park app launched, with the meter location already loaded. All you needed to do was put in how long you wanted to park for and pay.
It’s those types of apps — museum guides, parking meter apps, even the B&H photo app — that Google thinks Instant Apps can replace. They’re tools you download and use once a week, once a month, or maybe even once and never again. Kirkpatrick called those apps not “front page worthy” — Instant Apps seeks to remove the need to actually install them in the first place.
It’ll be a bit before users can give Instant Apps a shot for themselves, unfortunately. Google’s positioning this as an early developer preview. They’ve been working with “select partners” so far and will expand access to more developers as the year goes on. After that, consumers themselves will get to give them a shot — that should happen before 2016 is over. But if you’re tired of downloading, deleting and then re-downloading apps you don’t use frequently, Instant Apps is a feature worth waiting for.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
Android Auto will soon run on your phone just like any other app
If you’ve been itchin’ to take Android Auto for a spin, but don’t own a car that’s compatible with Google’s software, you’ll soon be in luck. The company announced at Google I/O that the in-car setup will soon run entirely on your phone while offering the same features as if it were connected to your dash. This means that you’ll still be able to use your voice to sort through calls, messages, music and navigation, keeping the distractions at a minimum.
Android Auto is getting some other new features, too. First, the ability to activate those handy voice controls by saying “OK Google” rather than having to push a button on the console first. Waze integration is also on the way for folks who would rather use that mapping application over Google’s flagship navigation software. The software will also beam the in-car interface to mobile devices in the same vehicle, so long as your ride is equipped with WiFi connectivity.
You’ll be seeing new apps from automakers as well. Google has opened up Android Auto to allow the manufacturers to make their own software for car-related tasks, with the first two coming from Honda and Hyundai. Those apps will allow you to access select features without leaving the Android Auto interface. We’re talking things like roadside assistance, monthly service reports and sending notifications to your phone if a valet takes your car outside a predefined area. If you’ll recall, Hyundai was the first first adopt Google’s automotive software last year, making it available in the 2015 Sonata sedan.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
‘Maize’ mates first-person puzzle gaming with sentient corn
Game developers are no strangers to using wild concepts to catch your attention, but this one might just work. Finish Line Games has revealed Maize, a first-person puzzler that revolves around scientists creating “sentient corn.” Yep. And reportedly, that’s just the start of the absurdity. On top of what learning what the corn wants (besides fewer crows), you’ll deal with a secret underground research facility and a Russian Teddy Ruxpin clone. It’s too soon to say whether the underlying gameplay will be as interesting as the premise, but you’ll get to find out first hand when the title reaches PCs in the fall.
Source: Maize
WatchESPN brings live and on-demand sports to Android TV
ESPN’s streaming app is already available on a number of streaming gadgets and mobile devices, and now you can watch it on Android TV. WatchESPN’s live and on-demand content is now available on Sony 4K HDR Ultra HD TVs, Sharp Aquos Android TV, Nexus Player, Nvidia Shield and Razer Forge TV. The company says that the app will makes its way to Philips and RCA devices “at a later date.” If you’ll recall, WatchESPN was already available on Google’s Chromecast streaming dongle.
Of course, you’ll need a cable subscription in order to stream the library of sports content, so you may need to temper your expectations. Despite rumors of a standalone NBA streaming service, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger said the company wouldn’t rush the offering early last year. Disney/ABC Television Group says that this ESPN app is the first of its Android TV offerings and that others are “coming soon.”
Source: ESPN
Symantec antivirus security flaw exposes Linux, Mac and Windows
Security holes in antivirus software are nothing new, but holes that exist across multiple platforms? That’s rare… but it just happened. Google’s Tavis Ormandy has discovered a vulnerability in Symantec’s antivirus engine (used in both Symantec- and Norton-branded suites) that compromises Linux, Mac and Windows computers. If you use an early version of a compression tool to squeeze executables, you can trigger a memory buffer overflow that gives you root-level control over a system.
The kickers are that it’s both easy to launch the exploit and particularly vicious in most cases. As Symantec is intercepting system input and output, you only need to email a file or send a web link to wreck someone’s day. And on Windows, an attack compromises the kernel — you know, the very deepest level of the operating system.
The good news? Symantec is taking care of this relatively quickly. Its antivirus suites with LiveUpdate should already have a patch in place. The biggest concern surrounds software that requires a more conventional patching process. There aren’t any known exploits in the wild, but it’s reasonable to presume that Symantec wants to have everything up to date before would-be hackers develop an intrusion technique.
Via: Tavis Ormandy (Twitter), The Register
Source: Chromium.org, Symantec
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