‘Desert Bus’ video game charity kicks off its 10th year
It’s a big moment for video game charities: Desert Bus for Hope has launched its 10th annual campaign. As is their custom, the volunteer team will play the Desert Bus mini game from Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors for as long as they can in the name of the Child’s Play hospital charity. This year, they’re aiming for at least 111 hours — the more money you donate, the longer they drive on that incredibly boring virtual road between Tucson and Las Vegas. And this year, there are quite a few reasons to check in beyond the usual on-camera antics.
To start, there are numerous guests, including musicians like the Doubleclicks, Molly Lewis, Paul & Storm and Seth Boyer. Actress Ashly Burch, Penny Arcade’s Jerry Holkins and others will also make appearances. And of course, there’s the obligatory mix of auctions and giveaways, including the all-important 10th anniversary Jenga set.
The charity isn’t the biggest (Extra Life raises millions each year), but its unique non-stop, single-game hook has its allure. The charity managed to raise almost $684,000 in 2015, and each year has represented a big jump in donations. In short: the odds are good that kids in hospitals will have something to celebrate when Desert Bus 10 finally wraps up.
Source: Desert Bus for Hope
Facebook Messenger public chats arrive in two countries
Facebook’s plan to revive its public group chat feature just became official. The social network tells the Courier Mail that it’s rolling out a test version of Messenger Rooms on Android devices in Australia and Canada. As leaked code suggested, this is similar to but not quite like the Rooms app of old. All you have to do is create (or search for) a room around a given topic — after that, anyone can join. If you’re worried that you’ll get an influx of trolls, you can require approval for new participants.
It’s not certain if and when Rooms will make it to the US, UK and other countries. The Australian and Canadian launches are really about giving Facebook a way to test English-language features with a smaller audience, to make sure they work smoothly and gauge demand for a wider rollout. However, Facebook’s public announcement of Rooms suggests that you could see the feature in other regions relatively soon. As it stands, this is a safer investment than the Rooms stand-alone app. Facebook doesn’t have to pour as many resources into this as it would dedicated software, and you’re more likely to use the feature if it’s inside an app you already use.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: The Courier Mail
Android and chill: Everything has bugs and will be hacked
And by everything, I mean your phone. And your computer. And your television. And your WiFi router. And your car. And …
Google, Apple, Microsoft and Adobe got raked over the coals this past week because their latest products were all hacked at Pwnfest 2016 in Seoul. Windows 10, Android 7.1 and MacOS Sierra all fell in just a matter of moments from browser-based exploits, giving members of China’s Qihoo 360 team full access to all admin functions and a healthy bounty for being the folks who got in. And Flash, well it was just being Flash and got hacked faster than it can load itself on a web page.
Well of course they were. They almost always are. And they will almost always continue to be.
I was chatting with a friend about this. She is not a nerd and was surprised that this was able to happen. She was more surprised when she found out that these products get hacked every year. After all, these companies stand on a stage somewhere and tell you how much money and time they spend for this product to be the most secure version ever, so thinking that they are invulnerable makes sense. But no software is invulnerable because that’s just not possible.
How fast it gets fixed — and not how fast it gets hacked — is what really matters.
These exploits were all reported ethically. That means the team told Google (and everyone else with a product that got broken) how they did it and didn’t tell anyone else. But by seeing how they were initiated it appears that something like Javascript (or another common web platform) was exploited. This exploit didn’t exist when Android 7.1 or Windows 10 or MacOS Sierra (and I miss OS X already) were developed so it’s certain that code wasn’t put in place to handle what would happen. You simply can’t write in safe fallbacks for everything that could happen and if you could the software would be worth gazillions of dollars. Hackers know this and the people writing the code that gets attacked know it. The only people who should know it but don’t seem to are the media who report it as something unheard of and sensational when it’s really mundane and expected.
Your phone running Android 7.1 (or your computer running Windows 10 or MacOS Sierra) is likely the most secure version of the operating system ever built. But it’s only secure against things that the folks building it knew about, and against itself. People are already working on finding a bug or exploit in something else and seeing how they can use it to crash everything and burn it to the ground. Some of those people do it for the right reasons — a quarter million in cash for finding it and telling the companies involved is the best and most right reason of all time. Others are doing it in the hopes that they can get your credit card number. Both types of people will be successful, and everything you use will be hacked because it’s riddled with bugs and holes.
Even my BlackBerry Priv, which some people think of as unhackable, is probably already hacked by someone, somewhere, who knows that “wasting” an exploit against a phone that hardly anyone uses is not the way to get a bunch of card numbers. Better to sit on it and hope you can find a better target because once found out it will be fixed. The first thing you do when you find a Linux exploit is to see how you can use it against a Windows computer, because the goal is to get it on as many machines as you can.
Your phone runs software that will be hacked. The people who write it have prepared for it.
Look at the phone in your hands. It has software on it that will be hacked. Know this. But also know that there are probably other factors in place that mitigate any potential harm and the company who wrote that software has a method where they can fix it and try to get it to you as fast as possible. That is the thing to take away from all this hacking news. What matters is how fast the bugs are fixed, because bugs are in every piece of software ever written. This is how software gets better each time it’s updated.
It’s always been this way and the only thing that has changed is how much attention it receives.
Five great deals in the GearBest 11.11 sale
Electronic retailer, GearBest, is having an online sale offering huge deals on everything from phones to tablets to laptops and smartwatches.
Here are five of the best deals we’ve found:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
This full metal body phone from Xiaomi features a 5.5-inch display, 32GB of storage and comes with a fingerprint sensor and massive 4000mAh battery. The 13-megapixel rear camera lets you take gorgeous photos while the 5 megapixel front camera is great for selfies. It’s available in Silver, Dark grey and Gold.
25 per cent off – £118.33
Cube i9 Windows 10 Ultrabook Tablet PC
The Cube i9 tablet PC is equipped with an Intel Core M3-6Y30 Dual Core 1.51GHz (up to 2.2GHz) processor, has a large 12.2-inch screen with a form factor similar to the Surface Pro 3. There’s 128GB of on board storage, and runs Windows 10 making it for great for working on the go.
48 per cent off – £287.84
GearBest
ELE MGCOOL Band 2 Heart Rate Monitor Smart Wristband
This simple fitness tracker lets you track your movement, heart rate, and track your sleep. Featuring a small OLED screen, it only needs charging every 7 days and works with both iOS and Android. It’s IPX7 waterproof too.
£15.98
Asus ZenFone 3
This Android smartphone from Asus comes with 5.5-inch display, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 Octa Core 2GHz processor the phone has a 16 megapixel camera and 4G connectivity.
63 per cent off – £255.86
JISIWEI I3 Smart Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
The JISIWEI I3 is designed for house cleaning and maintaining, and security. The robot vacuum cleaner features a number of scheduling options for cleaning and auto cleaning and comes with multiple working modes, optimized cleaning routes, intelligent voice prompt and smart protective sensors. It even features a built-in web camera so the I3 can take videos and images that allow you to know what has happened at your house even when you’re out.
50 per cent off – £109.54
Nike’s new store in New York City is loaded with tech
SoHo is one of the trendiest neighborhoods in New York City. It’s home to hundreds of shops from some of the most popular brands, including Apple, Adidas and, as of last month, Google. Now you can add Nike to this list. The sportswear giant will soon open a five-story, 55,000-square-foot space loaded with technology, from 3D-printed decorations (pictured above) to a Kinect-powered basketball court. There are also other simple, yet useful, things such as Apple Pay support and large touchscreens on walls that help you call an associate or buy products on the spot.
Sean Madden, senior director of service and experiences for Nike’s direct-to-consumer division, says the tech inside the store isn’t meant to be the main attraction. Instead, he says these features are designed to make the shopping experience more personal. With the hoop, for example, the Kinect sensors are there to capture movements from your body and display those on a massive screen in front of you. That being said, the idea is obviously that you’ll use that area to try on shoes you may be interested in buying.
I went inside the store, which happens to be near Engadget’s NYC office. Here’s what else I came across during my tour.
Six green designs powered by algae
By Cat DiStasio
It’s easy to underestimate the awesome superpowers of the tiny plants we all know as algae. The photosynthetic organisms are minuscule powerhouses capable of generating light and energy while scrubbing greenhouse gas emissions from the air. Many types of algae are also edible, fueling the human body with hard-to-get vitamins and minerals. Over the years, designers and engineers have worked to incorporate algae into everything from energy-generating furniture to air-cleaning light fixtures and even pollution-busting highway overpasses, all in an attempt to put the tiny plants to work for people in very real ways. The trend of integrating algae into product design continues, growing more efficient and fantastic with each passing year. Here are some of the most exciting ways that algae is changing the future of design.
Algae-powered oxygen bar
While the oxygen bar trend has been around for some time, designer Adam Miklosi’s Chlorella Pavilion could be the first to lean on algae as a source of oxygen. The pavilion resembles a round hand-woven basket, and its walls contain living algae which are pumped through the core in a swirling “algae fountain” that consumes carbon dioxide while emitting pure oxygen as a byproduct. The funky, futuristic clean air pods hold several chairs where visitors can breathe in some of the cleanest air on Earth. The design, still in its conceptual phase, could inspire future businesses to tap into the air-cleaning power of algae to produce pure oxygen, which is touted as a treatment to flush toxins from the body and alleviate symptoms like headaches, weak immune systems and even sinus issues.
Living Things Furniture
This line of photosynthetic furniture and fixtures uses microalgae (effectively a “liquid plant”) to bring bright green accents to modern spaces, while simultaneously providing light and much-needed nutrients. Architectural designer Jacob Douenias and industrial designer Ethan Frier partnered to create Living Things, a spirulina-based line of lamps and algae-integrated tables that improve their environment and enable a healthier lifestyle for their human owners. The living algae housed within the luminous green liquid-filled lamps recycle light, heat and carbon dioxide, reducing energy needs and cleaning the surrounding air — like ultra-efficient houseplants for the next generation.
Urban Algae Folly
EcoLogicStudio’s Urban Algae Folly is an elevated, angular building that grows spirulina (a form of microalgae) in tubes. The sun-loving algae grows denser as it thrives, creating a shaded canopy for passersby. The tiny plants can be harvested and converted into biomass for fuel, or consumed by humans as nutritious food. Microalgae-based structures like Urban Algae Folly can reportedly clean ten times as much carbon dioxide from the surrounding air than large trees, making this concept a perfect fit for polluted urban centers around the world.
The freeway algae farm
Perhaps nowhere on Earth is the concentration of carbon dioxide emissions greater than on major roadways, where vehicle traffic coughs out tons of greenhouse gases each year. In Switzerland, the French and Dutch-based Cloud Collective created an urban algae farm on a busy highway in an effort to combat those very emissions and generate a little renewable energy at the same time. The system is comprised of a network of translucent pipes affixed to the side of a regular overpass, through which microalgae flow, feeding on the carbon dioxide emissions from the passing cars below. Because algae consumes carbon dioxide and emits pure oxygen, this sort of urban farm is highly effectively for cleaning the air in the most polluted of places.
Algae-powered streetlights
Many of the algae-based lamps we’ve seen are designed as art pieces, or for homeowners with futuristic taste and deep pockets. This large-scale algae lamp created by French biochemist Pierre Calleja in 2013 was intended for industrial applications. Calleja designed the lamp to illuminate low-light urban locales, such as parking garages and city streets. According to its inventor, a single algae lamp could consume roughly a ton of carbon from the air each year — the equivalent of 200 trees. By installing air-cleaning lamps in dark urban spaces, cities could fight climate change while creating safer places for residents who just need a little help to light their way.
Air-cleaning Algaevator
Perhaps one of the most outlandish algae-based designs in history, the Algaevator is a functional piece of artwork, if not of architecture. This spiral-shaped pavilion was created by designers Jie Zhang and Tyler Stevermer to harness the biofuel potential of tiny green microalgae. Housed within a cubic frame, the Algaevator features a central funnel-like structure which holds a spiraling garden of algae. A low-energy pump pushes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the bottom of the coil, where it is consumed by the microalgae. As the algae grows, it emits pure oxygen and creeps slowly toward the top of the structure. In total, the Algaevator is an air-cleaning machine that doubles as a living work of art, carefully crafted to highlight the brilliant green hue of hard-working microalgae.
Recommended Reading: Trump’s own polling models prove accurate
Trump’s Big Data
Mind Explains How
He Knew Trump
Could Win
Izzie Lapowsky,
Wired
While it could take some time to uncover the finer points of why the polls were so far off in the 2016 presidential election, the head of President-elect Donald Trump’s data team knew the candidate had a good chance of pulling out a stunning upset. Wired talked with Cambridge Analytica’s Matt Oczkowski to get some details on their internal polling models which correctly predicted how most of the states would vote.
|
The Lost Civilization of Dial-Up Bulletin Board Systems The social network that existed before social networks provides an interesting window into the history of the internet. |
President Trump This piece was published back in September, but it offers a look at what we can expect from President-elect Trump when he takes office in January. |
Touch Bar MacBook Pro Orders Begin Shipping to Customers
After entering the “Preparing for Shipment” stage on Thursday, the first wave of MacBook Pros with Touch Bars have begun shipping to customers for delivery next week. While Apple is quoting Wednesday, November 16 as the estimated delivery date, UPS is telling some customers that they can expect their new MacBooks on Monday, November 14.
When the Touch Bar MacBook Pros became available for pre-order on October 27 customers received shipping estimates ranging from November 17 to November 25, making UPS’ delivery estimates a couple days earlier than expected. Thus far, the majority of the MacBook Pros that have begun shipping have been 15-inch models and custom orders, according to MacRumors readers who have notified us of their shipping status.
Many 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar orders still still haven’t shipped, according to MacRumors readers. It’s unclear when these models will begin shipping, but it could happen shortly after the 15-inch and custom-ordered MacBook Pros begin their transit.
The new MacBook Pros sold out quickly, with shipping estimates moving from 2 to 3 weeks to 3 to 4 weeks hours after they went on sale. Current shipping estimates are 4 to 5 weeks. Apple’s Phil Schiller said that the company has received more online orders for the new MacBook Pro than any previous model. Slice Intelligence sales estimates suggest the new model has already outsold all competing laptops in 2016.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $1,799 while the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $2,399.
Those interested in tracking their orders and discussing their configurations and shipping status can join our dedicated MacBook Pro pre-order shipping thread.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums
Best Journaling Apps for Android
Journey is the best journal app available on Android today. It not only allows you to journal from you phone, but also gives you access to all of the bells and whistles on your tablet, or computer.
Best overall
Journey
See at Google Play
Journey manages to one up other journaling apps with a combination of great features and a beautiful presentation. You can make photo or written entries, geotag your entries, and even access the service from your computer. While you are making entries you can enable the app to log the weather, add a variety of media, and even whether you are participating in an activity when you ought to be journaling. It uses Material Design to make navigating through the app as easy as possible, and even writing from your phone is simple and easy to edit.
Bottom line: With accessibility without paying a dime, and easy intuitive use, Journey easily becomes the Journal app that all others ought to be measured against.
One more thing: Journey offers a premium mode which gets you access to even more features that make keeping a journal easy. These include access to Markdown, further aesthetic customization, the ability to see which device you last used the app on, and plenty more.
Why Journey is the best
The right features, and accessibility across devices is what makes Journey the best.
Being able to access your journal from any location is a huge benefit for anyone who wants to take control of their digital journal. After all, if you’re sitting at your computer, it’s far easier to type out a prolonged entry than it would be by using the keyboard on your phone. That’s one of the places that Journey really shines. It offers you access to your journal on tablet, phone, or computer.
While plenty of other journaling apps offer tons of great features, Journey is a complete package. As soon as you open the app you’ll see your last entry, and are immediately able to start a new one. When you’re writing up that new journal entry, there are a variety of ways to augment the text, using locations, tags, photos — anything, really. You can also let your device detect the local weather in your location, and import fitness data from your daily activities.
You get access to a calendar as well. It allows you to easily scroll through and see when you have updated your journal. This is just one of the ways that you can easily find old journal entries to go back over them. The second option for finding an entry you need to look back over is by searching with tags. Once you start to tag posts, they’ll pop up in your sidebar making it easy to track down anything that you need without a problem.
Journey also offers a Premium version. While the free version is excellent and gives you a great experience, Premium adds Markdown support for additional formatting, along with security features that let you see which device you used the app on last.
Best for media
Day Journal
See at Google Play
Day Journal: Personal Diary delivers a great journaling experience with an emphasis on media. When you are writing an entry, you’ll get a word count, and a number of features to help customize your entries. These include tagging, detecting local weather, location tags, and the ability to add how you are feeling. While there are more features like attaching photos, and looking at statistics, you’ll have to upgrade to the Pro version to access them.
Day Journal puts a serious emphasis on having media attached to your journal entries. That’s because the days of folding a snapshot into a paper journal are over for many people. By adding photos or audio to a specific entry you can remember that day more vividly. It’s a small feature that really does make a big difference for people who like to go back and relive their memories through a journal. Now that means more than just words, it means photos and audio clips as well.
Bottom line: Day Journal is a great app that places most of its best features behind a paywall. While it can get the job done, it doesn’t excel in any single area.
One more thing: If you do decide to pony up for those sweet Premium features you’ll be able to add media and audio to your entries, as well as checking out your writing statistics.
Best for Sync
Diaro
See at Google Play
Diaro aims to give you control as to how you organize everything in your digital journal. Each time you add an entry you’ll be able to select a folder and tags for it to live in. This is how they make it easy to go back and find a specific entry when you’re ready to look it over. There aren’t many options while you are writing entries you can add locations and photos. Diaro also gives you the option to enter a full screen mode which can make it easier to concentrate while you are writing.
Diaro also offers a Pro version of the app. The perks are pretty decent, too, with the added ability to export entries to PDF along with cloud sync using your Dropbox account. The Calendar will also help you look over recent entries by showing you the dates that you have journaled in the recent past. It uses Dropbox to store and sync your journal across devices, if you so choose.
That Dropbox sync option is no joke either. It stores your journal on Dropbox, and syncs quickly and effectively. This means that if you switch out phones, it’s a breeze to access your journal from a new device. It adds a layer of accessibility that just cannot be overstated. Nobody wants the hassle of trying to figure out how to transfer their journal when they upgrade devices, and with Dropbox support you won’t need to worry.
Bottom line: Diaro gives you a decent experience that will let you focus on your journaling without bogging you down in many features.
One more thing: The biggest perk of upgrading to Pro is the ability to link up with your Dropbox which allows you to backup and export your journal entries for better safe keeping.
Best for security
Penzu
See at Google Play
Penzu aims to offer you a stress free journaling experience. When you first get started you’ll create a new journal, and name it. This is where your entries will be stored. The free version is a very bare-bone approach to journaling: you’ll be able to write entries, add in photos, and make some tweaks to the format, but that’s about it. Penzu Pro gives you access to unlimited journals, custom journal covers, custom fonts, 256-bit encryption security, reminders to journal at specific times of the day and even more.
Penzu’s golden feature, and the one that might really grab your attention, is it’s security lock. A digital journal is harder to access than a normal one, and that lends itself to being more secure. Penzu takes the fact that your journal may well be where your most private thoughts are stored and aims to give you protection to make sure no one has eyes on it, unless you have given them access.
Bottom line: Penzu is all about simplicity, with a basic free version that pushes you to upgrade to a subscription.
One more thing: Penzu Pro is a monthly membership, but does give you access to fantastic features, not the least of which is the ability to securely lock your journal.
Conclusion
There are plenty of great journaling apps out there that make keeping a digital diary easy. Each one is a bit different and it offers different features to let it stand out in the crowd. However many journaling apps hide their best assets behind a paywall, and that’s where Journey truly stands out. It gives you tons of options and features for free, and if you decide to go Pro simply expands those options and features.
Best overall
Journey
See at Google Play
Journey manages to one up other journaling apps with a combination of great features and a beautiful presentation. You can make photo or written entries, geotag your entries, and even access the service from your computer. While you are making entries you can enable the app to log the weather, add a variety of media, and even whether you are participating in an activity when you ought to be journaling. It uses Material Design to make navigating through the app as easy as possible, and even writing from your phone is simple and easy to edit.
Bottom line: With accessibility without paying a dime, and easy intuitive use, Journey easily becomes the Journal app that all others ought to be measured against.
One more thing: Journey offers a premium mode which gets you access to even more features that make keeping a journal easy. These include access to Markdown, further aesthetic customization, the ability to see which device you last used the app on, and plenty more.
ICYMI: Snap Inc. knows people want its video sunglasses
Today on In Case You Missed It: Snap Inc. dropped a Spectacles vending machine in Southern California and the sunglasses were snapped up in no time. If you don’t have the thousands of dollars handy that you’d need to pay for them on eBay, you can virtually try them on inside Snapchat by taking a photo of the ghost logo on the Spectacles site (which is what I did in today’s photo. Ugh.). The video of the vending machine giggling to earth is here.
The story about Samsung filing a patent for a smartphone that folds in half is here. The Nature study about monkeys being able to walk again after paralysis is here. And while there are many things to catch up on this week, we recommend reading up on President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the Environmental Protection Agency’s transition team. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
AIVAnet 