Dell discontinues its Android tablets in favor of Windows 2-in-1s
Another Android tablet maker bites the dust. Dell has decided to end distribution of its Android tabs and will instead focus on Windows 2-in-1 devices. This means several things: One, the company will no longer offer its Venue brand of Android tablets or the Android-based Wyse Cloud Connect, which can be used to turn displays into viable PCs. The reason isn’t so complicated, either. Dell simply believes that the slate-style tablet market has become oversaturated. Customers aren’t demanding these types of products as often, which lead to this decision. What is in demand, Dell notes, is the 2-in-1 computer line.
“We are seeing 2-in-1s rising in popularity since they provide a more optimal blend of PC capabilities with tablet mobility,” a Dell spokesperson explained in an email to PC World. It’s definitely a business decision that makes sense, but it may frustrate those who have already invested in Dell’s Android products, as the company will no longer be offering OS upgrades to its Venue tablets.
“For customers who own Android-based Venue products, Dell will continue to support currently active warranty and service contracts until they expire, but we will not be pushing out future OS upgrades,” Dell explained. While it’s easy to understand why Dell is moving away from its tablet line in the first place, this is an important point to keep in mind if you might be deciding on a new tablet in the future to sate that Android habit.
Via: PCWorld
US wiretap operations encountering encryption fell in 2015
The US government has been very vocal recently about how the increase in encryption on user devices is hampering their investigations. The reality is that according to a report from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, law enforcement with court-ordered wiretaps encountered fewer encrypted devices in 2015 than in 2014.
In regards to encrypted devices, the reports states: “The number of state wiretaps in which encryption was encountered decreased from 22 in 2014 to seven in 2015. In all of these wiretaps, officials were unable to decipher the plain text of the messages. Six federal wiretaps were reported as being encrypted in 2015, of which four could not be decrypted.”
This is out of 2,745 state and 1,403 federal for a grand total of 4,148 wiretaps, an increase of 17 percent over 2014. So while surveillance increased, the amount of times law enforcement encountered encryption decreased.
Earlier this year the Department of Justice and FBI were locked in a court battle with Apple over an encrypted iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. The government eventually dropped the case after finding a third party to help it bypass the phone’s security.
But it started a national debate about personal devices and encryption. Tech companies want their customers to be secure while law enforcement want backdoors or keys to encrypted devices for investigations. But it looks like when it comes to wiretaps, encryption isn’t as big a problem as many would suspect.
Via: The Intercept
Source: Administrative Office of US Courts
‘Serial’ podcast subject Adnan Syed is granted a retrial
Adnan Syed, the subject of Serial podcast’s first season, has gotten a retrial, and it was partly thanks to a “cell tower issue.” Syed is currently serving a life sentence after getting convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, but he has always maintained his innocence. Serial dissected his case back in 2014, which cast doubt on whether he even got a fair trial. When Syed was given the chance to present new evidence in court earlier this year, his new lawyer, C. Justin Brown, challenged the testimony of an AT&T engineer who served as one of the case’s original witnesses.
The engineer’s statement linked Syed to the location of the victim’s body. According to The New York Times, though, the engineer wasn’t shown “a crucial disclaimer about cell tower data that would have affected his testimony.” Brown didn’t detail what that disclaimer and cell tower issue were, but the judge’s retrial order said there was a “failure to cross-examine the State’s cell tower expert about the reliability of cell tower location evidence.” It was only one of the reasons why Syed is getting a second chance to defend himself, though.
The other reason is that the defense team secured the help of an alibi witness who wasn’t called in the first time. A woman named Asia McClain testified that she was chatting with Syed in a library while the crime was being committed. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because she was also a prominent character in the first season of Serial, as host Sarah Koenig talked about Syed’s alibi.
Adnan Syed has been granted a new trial. Judge Welch’s order: https://t.co/Io4HRRNWLt pic.twitter.com/CzT4LK2w79
— Serial (@serial) June 30, 2016
Source: Serial (Twitter), The New York Times
Facebook to Shut Down ‘Paper’ News Creation and Curation App
Facebook is shutting down news creation and curation app Paper, reports The Verge. Paper, which debuted in 2014, was the first product to come out of Facebook Creative Labs, which has since been dismantled.
Paper, a Flipboard competitor, consisted of a news reader that pulled content from a user’s Facebook News Feed and a variety of well-known online publications, organizing it all into a magazine-style layout with sections ranging from technology to animals. A team of editors curated the most popular online content for users and for a time, it was a popular replacement for the traditional Facebook News Feed.
Though it received positive reviews and was one of Facebook’s most downloaded apps, it was not able to attract and maintain a large audience, leading to Facebook’s decision to shut it down. Paper has been defunct for a while, going without an update since March of 2015.
According to Facebook, many of the concepts introduced in Paper, like Instant Articles, have since been added to its other apps and services. Instant Articles is a platform designed to speed up the loading times of articles and news stories and it adopted much of its design language from Paper.
Paper has been removed from the App Store as of today and existing app users will no longer be able to use the app after July 29.
Tag: Facebook
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Where to buy a U.S. unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 edge
Samsung is finally offering a SIM-unlocked Galaxy S7 (and GS7 edge) in the United States. That means a few things.
The unlocked Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are able to work on pretty much any operator here in the U.S. While most folks out there don’t hop from one to the next too often, it’s still a very nice ability to have. These versions also aren’t bloated up by carrier software. And as we noted when the GS7 was released, the operators can make a pretty big mess of things. These should also theoretically get software updates faster. (We’ll just have to see on that one.)
But the big question: Where will you be able to buy an unlocked Galaxy S7? Turns out there a number of choices. Samsung has committed to having the phones available from several different retailers, but not all have put them on sale right at the same time. Here’s the current list, and we’ll be updating it as more join in.
U.S. unlocked Galaxy S7
See at BestBuy
See at B&H Photo
U.S. unlocked Galaxy S7 edge
See at B&H Photo
See at Samsung
These direct links will take you to the proper pages for the U.S. unlocked phones … make sure when searching elsewhere for the phones that you aren’t confused by other “unlocked” models — those could possibly not have the correct network bands for the U.S.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
- Galaxy S7 review
- Galaxy S7 edge review
- U.S. unlocked Galaxy S7
- Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
- Should you upgrade to the Galaxy S7?
- Learn about the Galaxy S7’s SD card slot
- Join our Galaxy S7 forums
AT&T
Sprint
T-Mobile
Verizon
Google wants you to explore the web in VR with Chrome for Android
Soon, you’ll be able to jump into the web. Like, literally.
The latest beta and developer versions of Google’s Chrome browser app for Android includes support for the open-source WebVR standard, which allows developers to create websites you can use/watch/view in VR. But the developer version specifically mentions a “VR Shell” feature that enables mobile device headsets to browse any site – not just specific WebVR sites.
According to Road to VR, Google ultimately wants everyone to explore the internet in VR. Until that’s possible, you can only pop on a VR headset, then navigate to a WebVR-supported site to surf, and remove the VR headset when visiting a non-WebVR site. Because Google is working on immersive browsing though, you’ll soon do this – but also explore the entire web – with Chrome.
You’ll likely need a special version of Chrome’s browser, Google’s Cardboard headset (or Daydream viewer), and a supported device to jump into the web and start VR browsing. Keep in mind Samsung already offers a browser for Gear VR, though a Chrome version for Android would obviously be more widely available. Google has already confirmed it is working to bring the web to VR, too.
François Beaufort, Google’s Chromium evangelist, revealed in a Google+ post earlier this month that the Chromium team is working on several features to bring the web to VR: “They’ve recently added an experimental flag … to enable a browser shell for VR. This allows users to browse the web while using Cardboard or Daydream-ready viewers.”
“The team is just getting started on making the web work well for VR,” Beaufort added, “there’s more to come!”
François Beaufort
Apple wants to buy Jay Z’s Tidal music-streaming service
If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em.
Apple offers a music-streaming service, called Apple Music, naturally, but soon it might own another music-streaming service: Tidal. The Jay Z-owned service launched in 2014, with a focus on offering high-fidelity audio to subscribers and exclusives, such as Kanye’s recent Life of Pablo album (though that eventually became available on Apple Music). Tidal is a compelling alternative to Apple Music – but not for long, it seems.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is considering an acquisition of Tidal. Talks are “ongoing” and might never finalise. That said, Tidal executives are denying the rumour. Keep in mind this news has surfaced directly after Spotify claimed Apple recently rejected an update to its iOS app. Spotify removed the option for in-app subscriptions, and Apple apparently didn’t like that.
Spotify put Apple on blast, making it seem like Apple is “causing grave harm” by using the App Store approval process as a “weapon to harm competitors”, Recode reported. It therefore seems like Apple – which, again, does have its own music service – is either trying to buy up the competition or prevent them from operating altogether. It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out.
Meanwhile, WSJ said that Apple is also working to secure close relationships with more recording artists. It reportedly is working hard to convince artists to offer their music for a period of exclusivity on Apple Music.
HTC Marlin Nexus phone completely revealed in major spec leak
Google is getting ready to unveil two Nexus smartphones later this year – and now, thanks to a leak, we know what the larger device might feature.
The larger Nexus is currently going by the name Marlin, and according to Android Police, which just published a list of specifications for the phone, it will feature a 5.5-inch display. Keep in mind that panel’s size is .2-inches smaller than the one found on the current Nexus 6P, a phablet that Huawei and Google launched last year as a larger Nexus option for those of us who didn’t want the smaller Nexus 5X by LG.
It will still be an AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2560×1440, however. Other leaked specs include a Qualcomm processor (the series is unknown; it might be a Snapdragon 820, Snapdragon 823, or the oft-rumored Snapdragon 821), 4GB of RAM (just like “Sailfish”, the smaller Nexus that’s due this fall), 32GB or 128GB of storage (so long 64GB from the 6P), and a 12-megapixel rear camera.
It’ll also have a 8-megapixel front camera, support for USB C, and a 3,450 mAh battery. If this leaked spec list turns out to be legit, you’ll also see the speakers moved to the bottom of the device, and of course, it’ll offer a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Android Police noted that this HTC-made phone has a design very similar to Sailfish, too. There’s no word yet on pricing.
Check out Pocket-lint’s Next Nexus rumour round-up for more Marlin leaks.
Karma, the shareable hotspot, finally supports private networks
Only a few months after killing unlimited data and rolling out new subscription plans, Karma is now ready to offer its customers a long requested feature: private networks. The company made a name for itself with shareable hotspots, which always broadcast publicly and allow anyone with a Karma network to hop on. Now, it’s finally giving you more control over your hotspot network. The only catch? It’s a part of the company’s new premium features, which are an additional fee on top of its existing data plans.
Customers on Karma’s pay-as-you-go Refuel plan ($15 per gigabyte) will have to pay $15 a month for premium features, while it’ll cost people using its Pulse subscription plans (starting at $40 a month for 5GB) an additional $5 a month. Refuel users can try out the premium features for $10 for their first month, while Pulse members will get it free for one month. And if you’re just getting started, you’ll have to pick up the company’s $149 Karma Go hotspot as well.
Karma’s private network feature works just like any other hotspot: It’ll let you secure your network with a password, allowing only the people you want to join in. Naturally, you’ll be able to change the name of your hotspot, and you can even add emojis to the name (something not every hotspot and router supports). Another plus to having a private Karma network? You can actually connect other devices that don’t have web browsers (think set-top boxes, wearables and the like).
Of course, with a private network you won’t be able to take advantage of the free credit Karma offers when people connect to your open network. Currently, Refuel customers get an extra 100MB of data whenever someone else connects to their hotspot, and Pulse members get $1 off their next bill. It’s a shame to see Karma back away from its core concept, but it also makes sense. Sometimes you just need to have more control.
Source: Karma
Apple CEO Tim Cook takes a new role on Nike’s board
A leadership change at Nike is affecting Tim Cook’s role with the apparel maker slightly. Cook, a Nike board member since 2005, is now the lead independent director of the board. The reason why Nike needs one now is because founder Phil Knight is retiring from his position as chairman of the board.
It’s all according to a plan of succession put in place last year, so president/CEO Mark Parker will take over as chairman too. Cook’s new position is intended as a way to provide independent leadership on the board, when the chairman and the CEO of the company are the same person. Nike and Apple have had a cozy relationship over the years, and this probably won’t impact that significantly, although it comes as Nike is facing increased competition from the likes of Under Armour and Adidas.
Source: Nike
