Chromecast update lets you mirror your Android screen on a TV
Google vowed that Android users would finally get official screen mirroring on Chromecast through an update, and it’s making good on that promise by rolling out the Chromecast 1.7 app today. Grab the new release and supporting devices (primarily from HTC, LG and Samsung) can send just about anything to a TV just by hitting a “cast screen” button. If you’re using a Nexus device, you don’t even have to launch any software — the feature will pop up in Android’s quick settings. You’re high and dry if your devices aren’t on Google’s compatibility list, but don’t worry too much. We hear there are third-party mirroring apps that can pick up the slack.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Mobile, Google
Source: Google Chrome Blog
Google, Microsoft and Instagram rush to fix Flash flaw that could steal your data
Yet another critical security flaw has been found for Adobe’s notoriously sieve-like Flash plug-in, this time by Google Engineer Michele Spagnuolo. His exploit tool, called “Rosetta Flash” is just a proof of concept, but could allow hackers to steal your cookies and other data using malicious Flash .SWF files. The exploit is well known in the security community, but had been left unfixed until now as nobody had found a way to harness it for evil. So how does this affect you? Many companies like Twitter, Microsoft, Google and Instagram have already patched their sites, but beware of others that may still be vulnerable. Adobe now has a fix, and if you use Chrome or Internet Explorer 10 or 11, your browser should automatically update soon with the latest versions of Flash, 14.0.0.145 (check your version here). However, if you have a browser like Firefox, you may want to grab the latest Flash version from Adobe directly (watch out for unwanted add-ons with pre-checked boxes). Finally, if you use apps like Tweetdeck or Pandora, you’ll need to update Adobe AIR — that should happen automatically, but the latest version is 14.0.0.137 for Windows, Mac and Android.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Krebson Security
Source: Michele Spagnuolo, Adobe
Google adds temporary workaround to enable paid apps on Android Wear
When some apps aren’t transferring to your newly-purchased Google toy, you’re probably going to get a little upset. That’s exactly what happened with paid apps from Android’s Google Play, which were happily installing to phones, just not Bluetooth-paired G Watch and Gear Live. The company’s come up with a workaround for now which requires paid app makers to manually package files differently. Android Developers said (via Google+, of course) that it’s working to make this easier in the future. Now, Android Wear’s early adopters will simply have to wait for the app developers to make those manual changes.
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Source: Android Developers (Google+)
Engadget Daily: YouTube flooded with 70s rock, the Hicon Social Bangle and more!
Today, we enjoy 2,000 hours of classic rock footage from the 70s, ponder the BlackBerry Passport’s oddly shaped display, learn about the importance of managing your business’ online presence and take a look at the Hicon Social Bangle. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Music Vault brings 12,000 classic concert clips to YouTube
Music lovers listen up: YouTube is now to home to nearly 2,000 hours of classic concert footage, all thanks to Music Vault. This incredible archive includes 12,000 clips of performances by The Who, Bob Dylan and more.
Hicon Social Bangle is a wearable fashion bungle
It’s gaudy. It’s awkward. It’s the Hicon Social Bangle. Paired with a selection of vibrating charms, this bracelet notifies its wearer of text messages, calls and social network activity — as long as its Kickstarter campaign is funded, of course.
Google lawsuit highlights the danger of not managing your online presence
Managing your business’ online presence is undoubtedly important, but is it vital to success? According to former restaurant owner Rene Bertagna, his eatery met an untimely fate, all thanks to an incorrect Google Maps Listing.
BlackBerry tries to justify the square shape of its next big smartphone
Take one look at the upcoming BlackBerry Passport and you’ll undoubtedly be thinking “why?” Well, according to the company, the handset’s ridiculously square display makes viewing and editing spreadsheets a breeze. Really?
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Google voice search learns new tricks, media controls and corrections in tow
Google is actively working on a Google Search app, This service keeps on growing in terms of functionality. Recently Google added a bunch of new languages to the service, so that you could call upon the service even if English (UK/US) isn’t set as you language of choice. This time around we get two new tricks, let’s see what they’re all about.
First feature that is added (for some) are media controls. So, Google Now is a great service, but when you call upon it you’re not able to do basic tasks with it, such as turning Wi-Fi or your data connections on/off for example. Controlling media on your smartphone also belongs in that “we should be able to do it” category. Luckily Google released such feature for some users, you’ll have to check if it’s available on your account by yourself. We guess they’re still testing it or are taking their time with the rollout. In any case, you’ll be able to activate the service by using that sweet “OK Google” phrase and then say something like “next song” for example in order to… you guessed it, switch to the next song in your app’s queue. We don’t see much use here though, unless you’re using Moto X and can activate this without having your screen on at the moment.
The other feature Google introduced has something to do with contextual awareness. Google is trying to make the service more contextually aware, and they’re doing just that, slowly though. What’s new you wonder? Well, let’s say for example you’re asking Google how tall is Jim Carrey and the app misinterprets what you meant and hears Mariah Carey instead (awesome example, I know, I know) you can simply tap on the microphone icon and say “No, I said Jim Carrey” and the app should get it thanks to contextual awareness.
These are some welcomed addition to the service, the more the merrier. Do you agree?
The post Google voice search learns new tricks, media controls and corrections in tow appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Facebook and many other tech players looking to high school for interns
Internships aren’t just for college students and bad movie premises anymore. Top tech companies like Facebook and LinkedIn are seeking interns at a younger age than ever, with the idea of converting high school-age talent into staff. Before you get all wound up — cool it! — know that these interns are being paid generously for their work: in the range of $5K to $8K each month. Some are courted during high school, with internships taking place the summer between high school’s end and freshman year of college. Some are courted even earlier: Bloomberg reports at least one instance where an Oregon startup had pre-high school student as an internet. “I felt like age shouldn’t hold me back, as long as I can code,” intern James Anderson said. He’s now 15.
The worry, of course, is that younger and younger interns making large amounts of money in an adult environment is a recipe for danger. History is littered with examples of this dangerous combination, and Justin Bieber is just the latest, loudest representative.
Thankfully, Bloomberg‘s report rounds up several examples of caution being shown by Silicon Valley’s top recruiters. Facebook head of global recruiting Miranda Kalinowski says that her employer doesn’t have black and white rules about age for interns, “though it typically tries to meet college freshmen and recruit from universities.” Google outright doesn’t have interns who aren’t at least college freshmen, and apparently encourages said interns to finish their degrees before jumping ship for Planet Goog.
All in all, it doesn’t exactly sound like child labor, though it does sound like a concept with the potential for real danger. Here’s hoping we’re wrong.
[AP Photo/Eric Risberg]
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Peripherals, Networking, Internet, Software, Google, Facebook
Source: Bloomberg
Google lawsuit highlights the danger of not managing your online presence
Hey small-business owner, you’re pretty savvy. I know you’re pretty savvy because you’re reading this website on the internet, like the savvy small-business owner above. But some of your colleagues aren’t quite as connected as you are. And sometimes that disconnected crowd faces serious real-world implications as a result: Take former restaurant owner Rene Bertagna for instance. His long-standing Virginia restaurant, Serbian Crown, closed last year “after nearly 40 years” due to, he believes, an error in Serbian Crown’s Google Maps listing. The error was grievous, he tells Wired, and he’s now suing Google in a Virginia court.
The restaurant’s listing on Google Maps, Bertagna says, indicated that it wasn’t open on weekends. Given the restaurant’s location (nowhere near foot traffic), Bertagna and his lawyer posit, “Unless you know that the place is going to be open, you’re probably not going to drag yourself out.” And given the way Google Maps listings work, anyone can submit information for any place, which Google moderates before publishing. Bertagna’s lawyer believes another restaurant in the area “sabotaged” Serbian Crown’s listing. For its part, Google says in a legal filing, “The Serbian Crown should not be permitted to vex Google or this court with such meritless claims.”
Of course, what’s unclear is how much accountability here rests on the false listing; Bertagna says that neither he nor his employees maintained the Serbian Crown’s online presence, which left it susceptible to tampering and misinformation.
Wired‘s piece highlights several other examples where small-business owners were, like you, savvy enough to maintain their online presence and cut off any issues before they affected the bottom line.
[Image: Shutterstock]
Source: Wired
Apple’s ‘Find My iPhone’ Web Maps for iCloud.com Beta Move from Google to Apple
Apple is beginning the transition to move its Maps application online starting with the Find My iPhone web app on its iCloud.com beta website, as noticed by iPhoneBlog.de [Google Translate]. Though the public version of iCloud.com is still pulling data from Google Maps, beta.icloud.com now uses an online version of Apple maps for its location information.
Apple has been slowly switching away from Google Maps after using the competing mapping service in the early versions of the iOS. The Cupertino company dropped support for the Google-based mapping solution and introduced Apple Maps as part of iOS 6 in 2012. While iCloud.com still remained tied to Google, iOS apps such as Find My iPhone and Find My Friends also were converted to Apple’s mapping data in the same year.
After a highly-criticized launch, Apple has been making efforts to bolster its mapping data, recently improving its points of interest database as well as notifying users when reported problems had been fixed. Apple was said to be adding indoor mapping and other new features to Apple Maps in iOS 8, but internal politics and the departure of key employees may have delayed those plans.
Music Vault brings 12,000 classic concert clips to YouTube
Even if you weren’t born yet on July 7th, 1970 you can now catch the Who’s classic Tanglewood concert thanks to Music Vault. It’s just unveiled an avalanche of classic concert videos, 12,000 in all, on its YouTube video channel. Those include concerts from the Who, Dylan and Springsteen (among others), newer shows like Deer Tick in Vermont during Hurricane Irene and archives from Woodstock, the now-defunct Capitol Theater in New Jersey and the Newport Jazz and Folk festivals. The Music Vault group said it has spent the last two years “restoring, transferring, mixing and mastering thousands of tapes from (its) enormous archive” for the new collection. All told, there’s now 13,000 videos totaling nearly 2,000 hours on the site, along with playlists, features and original content. If you’ve got a couple of hours to spare, check the source — if not, get a taste with the videos below.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Google
Source: Music Vault (YouTube)
Crowdfunded documentary chronicles the rise and rise of apps
In the spirit of Indie Game: The Movie, comes App: The Human Story — a documentary that looks at the people behind the digital goods we consume. The film chronicles the rise of developers following the iPhone’s release back in 2007 and runs all the way through Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference from this year. Who’s on camera? Tumblr founder and Instapaper creator Marco Arment and Macworld editorial director Jason Snell to name a few. The filmmakers know that the list skews Cupertino-heavy at the moment and have told TechCrunch that their wish is to get Google’s senior VP of Android and Chrome apps Sundar Pichai, and Android’s user-experience chief Matias Duarte in the film as well. The team is hitting Kickstarter to help finance the rest of production costs, and for a cool $50, you can get an unedited version of any one interview if you’re so inclined.
Should you be super obsessive, though, $300 will get you the raw conversations of every person the filmmakers spoke with. And that kind of insight could well be priceless.
[Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple, Google
Source: KickStarter
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