Black Friday 2016 Deals
Are you ready to save big? Good! It’s time for the best Black Friday tech deals, and you’ll find them all right here!
Google, other tech giants outline ways to improve IoT security
Google, Intel, Microsoft, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and a handful of other tech industry giants joined former FCC Chief Technologist Dale Hatfield to form the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group in 2010, in an attempt to develop a set of best practices for broadband management and security. Today, BITAG laid out its recommendations for a rapidly growing industry within the world of online communication: the Internet of Things.
Connected home devices occupy the wild west in terms of security and privacy practices; there’s little to no regulation in terms of the software that powers smart homes. BITAG says some IoT devices have security vulnerabilities relating to outdated software, unauthenticated and unencrypted communications, data leaks, malware, and service interruptions.
This isn’t just speculation: IoT devices enabled two widely publicized DDoS attacks in October, one that took out the internet across the United States and another that disabled the website of security researcher Brian Krebs. The Krebs attack infiltrated an estimated 145,000 IoT devices, mainly security cameras and DVRs.
BITAG recommends a handful of security standards for IoT devices, including timely, automated and secure software updates, password protection, and increased testing of customization options. The group also suggests implementing encryption best practices, plus the ability for these devices, particularly home alarm systems, to function if internet connectivity or the cloud fails. BITAG even wants to establish an industry cybersecurity program that includes a seal for certified “secure” devices.
BITAG doesn’t have any actionable power to enforce these recommendations, but its report can influence regulatory discussions in the future.
Source: BITAG
‘Rocket League’ + Steam Workshop = more crazy stadiums
As cool as playing a game of soccer (football to the rest of the world) with cars in a rapturous undersea arena is, sometimes you want to go somewhere even the development team couldn’t dream up. Good news then, because Steam Workshop support is en route for Rocket League.
Uploading custom creations sounds simple enough for anyone familiar with Workshop, but developer Psyonix stresses that preview images should be “sharp, accurate” representations of what you’ve designed. A Workshop section is being added to the game’s Steam Community Hub, and any levels you “subscribe” to will automatically populate the Extras section of the main menu.
If you’ve had the perfect stadium in mind for awhile and wanted to show it off for the biggest audience possible, this forthcoming update could be your chance to shine.
Source: Psyonix
Twitter cracks down on developers making surveillance tools
If it wasn’t already clear that Twitter wants to keep police and spies out of your tweets, it is now. Twitter is warning developers that it won’t let them use public programming kits or Gnip data for surveillance reasons, whether the clients are law enforcement or anyone else. Just because many tweets are public doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to harvest them, Twitter says. To that end, it’s promising “expanded” efforts to crack down on developers who use the data for surveillance reasons. Get caught and you’ll either have limited access or lose it entirely.
To Twitter, the reasoning is simple: the company is devoted to “social justice,” and that’s not possible when officials are using these public data sets to track protesters, scoop up people’s names and otherwise curb freedom of expression.
The policy and resulting crackdown isn’t going to stop authorities from collecting information through other means, whether it’s old-fashioned searching or formal requests. However, it’ll at least make the process harder. Agencies will have to really want that information to get it, and can’t just gather it en masse with a simple program.
Via: Daily Dot
Source: Twitter Blog
iPhone Generated Record-Breaking Profits Last Quarter Despite Continued Sales Decline
iPhone sales may have declined for three consecutive quarters, but the latest data from research firm Strategy Analytics suggests Apple is unsurprisingly still doing exceptionally well in the smartphone market.
Apple captured a record 91% of profits in the worldwide smartphone market in the third quarter, or $8.5 billion of the overall $9 billion in profits recorded by all vendors combined, according to Strategy Analytics.
Apple’s biggest competitor Samsung was nowhere to be found on the list, as Chinese smartphone makers Huawei, Vivo, and OPPO took the second, third, and fourth spots respectively with between 2.2% and 2.4% of profits.
“Apple’s ability to maximize pricing and minimize production cost is hugely impressive and the iPhone continues to generate monster profits,” said Linda Sui, Director at Strategy Analytics. “Huawei, Vivo and OPPO are the next three most profitable smartphone vendors globally this quarter, but they are still a long way behind Apple.”
Apple’s profit margin is impressive given no other smartphone maker generated more than $200 million in profits during the quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. Apple’s share of profits was some 40× larger than its closest competitor.
iPhone sales declined on a year-over-year basis in the second, third, and fourth quarters of the 2016 fiscal year, after rising only marginally during the first quarter, which makes Apple’s record-breaking smartphone profits even more impressive.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long previously estimated Apple captured 103.6% of smartphone industry profits in the third quarter. The reason for the discrepancy between the datasets remains unclear.
Tag: Strategy Analytics
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Here They Lie review: Screaming forever
Muted colors, and atmospheric music will have your pulse racing in no time.
Here they Lie is a full length horror experience developed for PlayStation VR, and it is unsettling and terrifying in equal measure. It uses a combination of creepy music that will put you on edge, along with a mostly abandoned city that will have you peering around corners and over ledges.
When the game gets started, things look pretty normal. You board a train that it well lit and runs well. That really doesn’t last though. Soon you’ll be walking — or running — through claustrophobic alleys while…something chases you through the city. The big problem? You don’t seem to remember where you are, or what happened here. Only that you need to find the woman in yellow, Dana. This atmospheric thriller is a great game to try out if you’ve been looking for an awesome horror game to experience on PlayStation VR.
Read more at VR Heads!
Amazing Black Friday deal: Grab an Amazon Fire tablet for just £30, Fire TV Stick just £25
Amazon has been heavily discounting its own tech products each day in the build up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but we suspect today’s will be one of the most popular. It has slashed the price of its Fire tablet to just a penny shy of £30.
The Fire tablet, reviewed here, was already a bit of a bargain at £50, but with a further £20 off the price until 30 November it’s easily the best value tablet device on the market.
It has a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution screen, 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The £30 model comes with 8GB of storage, but it also has a microSD card slot that is capable of expanding that by up to a further 200GB.
It runs on Fire OS, which has many of Amazon’s own services hardbaked into the system – such as access to Amazon Prime Video for Prime members. And Amazon Underground provides thousands of apps, games and in-app items for free to all Fire users.
There is a 2-megapixel camera on the rear and a VGA camera on the front. It comes in black, blue, tangerine or magenta. You can buy it here.
Amazon has also dropped the price of its Fire TV Stick for the duration too. It now costs just £25.
The Fire TV Stick, which we reviewed here, is a dongle-like device that plugs directly into a HDMI port on your TV, connects to your wireless network and gives you access to hundreds of apps, games and other streaming services. If you have a Prime membership, you can playback Full HD versions of TV shows and films as part of your subscription. You can also access BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, Demand 5 and even Netflix.
It comes with a remote control and usually costs £35, so you’re getting a tenner off until the end of the month.
You can get the cheaper Amazon Fire TV Stick here.
What is Uber and how does it work?
Traditional cabs are a thing of the past.
Instead, your neighbor and his BMW, your hairdresser and her Mini, your best friend and his Tesla, or your co-worker and her Prius might be who you hail next to get a ride to the airport. That’s because ride-hailing companies such as Uber are quickly spreading across the globe, giving any Joe Schmo with a car the ability to become a taxi driver and earn cash on the side (or, sometimes, they make enough to make it a day job).
- Uber apparently wants to buy a fleet of autonomous cars in Germany
- Facebook Messenger now lets you hail an Uber: Here’s how it works
- Uber will deliver ice cream to you for free today: This is how to get it
Here’s everything you need to know about Uber, including how it works.
What is Uber?
Uber is a transportation company headquartered in San Francisco, CA. It offers the Uber mobile app, which you can use to submit a trip request, which is automatically sent to an Uber driver nearest to you, alerting the driver to your location. The driver, who will be driving his or her own personal car, will then come pick you up and bring you to your requested destination. The app automatically figures out the navigational route for the driver, calculates the distance and fare, and transfers the payment to the driver, without you having to say a word or even grab your wallet.
Uber, the company, is also developing and investing in self-driving cars, presumably with the purpose of launching its own fleet of autonomous taxis that can bring riders to their destination without the need of human drivers.
Where is Uber available?
Uber is available in 547 cities worldwide, as of November 2016. You can see if it’s available in your city using this Uber webpage.
How do you become an Uber rider?
Requirements
There are two ways you can become an Uber rider: through the Uber app, or through the Uber website. To sign up, you can connect through Facebook or Google+, but you’ll still have to provide a mobile number and grant access to your location. You’ll also have to provide a payment option, whether that’s a credit or debit card, PayPal account, or a campus card.
Rider app
Uber makes a free app specifically riders. You can download it from Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store. The app enables you to submit a trip request. It automatically finds your location and logs GPS data. It matches you blindly with the closest driver (you’ll see their name, license plate, photo, rating, and a temporary substitute number), and it lets you follow your trip in real-time via a built-in map and share your ETA with friends.
How do you become an Uber driver?
Requirements
If you’re interested in being a driver rather than a rider, go to this Uber webpage to sign up to be a driver (it’s free). You must be 21 years old, have at least one year of driving experience, a valid driver’s license with proof of vehicle registration and insurance, and access to an eligible 4- or 6-door vehicle. After signing up, your driving record and criminal history will be reviewed by Uber.
Driver app
Uber gives its drivers access to a specific app. That app helps you decide how, where, and when to earn. When you want to drive, open the app and tap Go Online. You can follow your earnings, decide when you want to get paid (end of a car trip, etc), track profitable hotspots, minimise downtime, get access to turn-by-turn navigation directions, and leverage the ratings system to help riders decide you’re the best driver for them.
Independent contractor
All Uber drivers can get paid weekly and drive wherever they want at any time of day. They don’t have to report to an office or a direct boss. But they do have to drive their own personal car, or at least lease/rent one from an Uber partner. Uber drivers are considered independent contractors, which means taxation, work hours, pay, overtime benefits, and so forth are treated differently by various political jurisdictions globally.
According to The Washington Post, nearly two-thirds of Uber drivers use the ride-hailing service to collect additional income to supplement full- and part-time jobs. In three large metropolitan US cities, drivers make on average between $8.77 per hour and $13.17 per hour.
Insurance
All UberBLACK, UberSUV, and UberTAXI rides are provided by commercially licensed and insured partners and drivers. Those transportation providers are covered by commercial insurance policies in accordance with local and state requirements. Uber also said it offers US drivers third-party liability policies that work with their existing, personal insurance coverage. You can learn more about that from this Uber webpage.
How does Uber work for riders?
First, download the Uber mobile app and sign up to be a rider, if you haven’t done so.
Submit a trip request
Open Uber on your mobile device.
Select a ride mode by tapping one of the following options on the main screen: UberX, UberXL, UberBLACK, UberTAXI, UberSUV, UberLUX, UberPOOL, or Assist. You may see some or all of these options, depending on your location, time, and sheer availability.
Tap the Schedule a Ride button on the bottom of the Ride Options screen to go to to the Enter Destination screen, where you’ll enter your pickup date and time, current address, and destination address. You should then see a fare estimate, but before going to the next screen, you may be warned about a price hike depending of time of day and traffic.
Tap Schedule in the Enter Destination screen to schedule your ride. Uber may take a few seconds or a few minutes to find a driver nearby.
Once Uber’s found a match, it will bring you to a screen where you can watch your driver navigate toward you on a map and see his or her’s ETA. From this screen, you can also see the driver’s name, license plate, photo, rating, and a temporary substitute number for contact.
Cancel your trip
Sometimes you may wish to cancel a ride. The Uber app will allow you do this two to five minutes after you submit a request, but a cancellation fee ranging from $5 to $10 may be charged depending on city.
Follow your trip
When the driver has arrived and noted in his own app that you’ve entered the vehicle, you will see a new Map screen. You can use this to follow your trip. You can also hip tap Send Status on the Map screen to share your ETA in real time, so your contacts know you’re safe.
When you’ve arrived at your destination, the driver will note in his app that the trip is complete, and then your app will automatically process the payment with the payment option stored to your account.
Rate your driver
At the end, Uber will ask you to rate your driver from 1 to 5 stars (5 being the highest). This rating will affect the driver’s current overall rating that all riders see, thus enabling you to either recommend or warn against the rider. The Uber app does not include a tip.
What do the different Uber cars mean?
Uber offers various ride options, including the ability to request a luxury car, split fare with another rider, or travel in a specific assistance vehicle. Here are definitions for the most commonly available ride options.
- UberX: an everyday car for up to four riders
- UberXL: an everyday car for up to six riders
- UberBLACK: a high-end sedan for up to four riders
- UberTAXI: a partner taxi cab for up to four riders
- UberSUV: an SUV for up to six riders
- UberLUX: a high-end luxury car for up to four riders
- UberPOOL: share your ride with other riders and be automatically charged a guaranteed split fare
- Assist: a specialised vehicle for assistance
Are there alternatives to Uber?
There are several ride-hailing services available in app stores, but the most popular one aside from Uber is probably Lyft. All these apps function nearly identically, though each one may offer a few unique features.
What is UberEATS?
Uber has partnered with restaurants in select cities to offer a food-delivery service, in which you can order anything from a roster of local food joints and get it delivered to you within 35 minutes. This paid service is called UberEATS, and it has its own Android and iOS mobile app. UberEATS, which also hires drivers, is available in over a dozen major US cities and is still expanding.
Want to know more?
Check out Pocket-lint’s Uber hub for related news and reviews.
A ‘Pokemon’ glitch could corrupt your ‘Sun’ and ‘Moon’ saves
Enjoying Pokemon Sun and/or Moon? You aren’t alone. But as a heads up, for now, it looks like you shouldn’t save in the post-game Battle Tree location or pretty much any Pokemon Center in the game, according to Polygon. Folks online are saying that doing so can corrupt your save file, and that means all the work you’ve done to evolve Litten into an Incineroar will be for naught. We’ve reached out to The Pokemon Company about a fix for this and will update this post should more information arrive. In the meantime, you’ll just have to break the habit of saving after you’ve healed your party members at a Pokemon Center.
Via: Polygon
Source: Reddit, Styxiedust (Twitter)
Control Neato’s robot vacuum with Amazon Alexa voice commands
Getting your robotic vacuum to clean the house is usually a matter of setting a timer or pressing a start button — but what if you could just ask it to get to work? If you happen to own an Amazon Echo and a Neato Botvac Connected robot vacuum, now you can. Today the company announced that its Wifi-connected vacuum cleaner will take commands from Amazon Alexa. The feature is extremely straightforward, and features just two commands: start and stop.
Users who set up their Botvac with the Amazon Echo will be able to start cleaning with the phrase “Alexa, ask Neato to start cleaning.” The vacuum can be similarly stopped by asking it to “pause cleaning.” It’s not exactly the “huge leap forward for the smartphone,” Neato claims it to be, but it’s still a nice feature for folks who already have Amazon’s digital assistant. The company says the feature is compatible with both the original Echo and the Echo Dot. We have to admit, it is kind of neat.
Source: Neato
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