Dell Stack would combine all Windows 10 computing experiences into one mobile device
A Venture Beat report from Evan Blass, the often reliable Twitter tipster, has laid out alleged plans for a Dell/Intel partnership to create a Windows 10 ecosystem of products.
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Blass says the two companies started working on the project, known internally as Dell Stack, in mid-2014 and it focuses on a 6.4-inch mini-tablet that would be used to power desktop, laptop and tablet computing experiences.
The aim of the alleged project would be to combine all your devices into one, to save you moving data from one device to the next, or having to upload it to the cloud to then download to another device. Everything would always be on the one Stack tablet which would be moved from screen to screen.
The Dell Stack would make full use of Windows 10’s Continuum feature, which lets a device running Windows 10 Mobile connect to a screen and deliver a simplified version of Windows 10. Windows 10 Mobile devices can’t support a full version of Windows 10 because of hardware limitations, but they can support Universal Windows Platform apps (UWP).
What makes the Stack different though is that it would be able to deliver a full Windows 10 desktop experience when docked because it would use an x86 CPU from Intel’s Kaby Lake Y-series of processors. It would come in different memory and storage configurations, having either 4GB or 8GB RAM and 128GB or 256GB solid state storage as well as a microSD slot for expansion. And everything would be housed in a body no thicker than 9mm.
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The Venture Beat report also mentions a second generation that would have a 6-inch screen and full phone and messaging functions, essentially a Windows 10 smartphone.
Nobody knows whether the project will come to fruition though. The first products were due to be launched in Spring 2017, but there’s still been no official announcement from Dell.
It could be that Stack is a concept vision of Dell’s, but the actual products released, if any will be a more diluted vision taking inspiration from these plans. Images leaked a couple of days ago alleging to be a Windows Surface phone. It could now be that it’s the Dell Stack.
We’re keen to follow for any updates because if Stack does happen, it could be a seriously powerful computing experience.
Amazon UK now offering one-hour deliveries from local London shops
In a bid to boost its Prime Now offering in London, Amazon has teamed up with a pharmacist and a wine dealer to deliver more than 7,000 additional products in under an hour. The company announced today that customers in selected London postcodes can grab “luxury health, wellbeing and beauty products” from John Bell & Croyden — pharmacists to Her Majesty The Queen — and fine wines and spirits from Spirited Wines.
Amazon already offers a small selection of beauty products and alcoholic drinks but its new alliances will expand its product offering by around 47 percent. Prime Now customers can browse as they would normally or visit Amazon’s dedicated John Bell & Croyden or Spirited Wines stores, adding purchases to a separate shopping basket (with a £20 minimum spend). One-hour deliveries will cost £6.99 but a two-hour delivery slot won’t cost a penny.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has partnered with specialist retailers; the company announced a partnership with a wine dealer, a luxury food group and organic food chain in Paris last month. It shows that the e-commerce giant is keen to improve the quality of its products, even if it ever-so-slightly overlaps with its grocery delivery service.
Source: Amazon UK
GoPro recalls Karma drone due to loss of power
GoPro has announced it is recalling all 2500 Karma drones sold since October 23rd because some units have lost power during operation. GoPro has said only a small number of drones have been affected, but is recalling all of them to be safe.
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If you’re the owner of a Karma drone, you can return it to GoPro directly or to wherever you bought it and claim a full refund. The company isn’t offering an exchange for a working model. You won’t be able to buy a new Karma drone “until the issue has been resolved” and shipments resume.
GoPro founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman said: “Safety is our top priority”,
“A very small number of Karma owners have reported incidents of power failure during operation. We have moved quickly to recall all units of Karma and provide a full refund while we investigate the issue.”
“We are working in close coordination with both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Aviation Administration. We are very sorry to have inconvenienced our customers and we are taking every step to make the return and refund process as easy as possible”.
We were big fans of the Karma drone when we went hands-on at an event in Lake Tahoe. It’s incredibly simple to use, has a great foldable design and has an easy to see built-in screen to the controller module. We’re hoping GoPro can fix the issue quickly so as not to disappoint customers.
Google slaps ‘repeat offender’ tag on unsafe sites
Google is closing a loophole in its Safe Browsing search policy. While it already flags sites that violate its malware, phishing and other policies, bad actors can temporary halt those activities. Then, once the warnings are removed, they resume, and unsuspecting searchers are none the wiser. Starting today, however, Google is flagging such sites as “repeat offenders,” and webmasters won’t be able to appeal the warnings for 30 days.
Hacked websites will not be classified as repeat offenders; “only sites that purposefully post harmful content will be subject to the policy,” Google notes. There’s nothing stopping you from clicking on a link anyway, of course, but a Google Search warning will no doubt dissuade a lot of users. In addition, Google Chrome will put up another warning page that will probably convince the majority of users to not enter a dangerous site.
Google’s Safe Search no doubt stops a lot of hacking, and the new policy will help. What’s really needed is a way to stop or limit the damage from email phishing attacks, however. Those have caused some of the largest breeches on the internet, reportedly including the hack of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta.
Source: Google
Disney can fly drones after unblocking its parks’ no-fly zones
For their high price of admission, Disneyland and Disney World offer park-wide immersion and entertainment capped off with nightly shows and seasonal fireworks. Back in 2014, they applied for patents to augment these spectaculars with drones to carry screens or light pyrotechnics themselves. Today, they’ve finally gotten permission from the FAA to light up their happiest skies with UAVs, and already have shows planned for this winter. But getting there meant getting a special exception for the no-fly zone over its Florida park Disney got in the books a decade ago.
That ban, acquired in the post-9/11 days when the Magic Kingdom lobbied for safety, hasn’t been extended to any of the other 400 amusement parks in the US. But as the Washington Post reported, Disney began lobbying the FAA to relax those rules, and allow it to fly drones during a fireworks show, with several employees monitoring dozens of autonomous drones. The agency’s exemption only applies until November 2020, and can be rescinded at any time. While it’s unclear what the parks plan to do with the drones, they released a teaser video for their first UAV spectacular to go up this holiday season:
Via: Disney’s official blog
Source: The Disney Blog
Facebook built a Snapchat-like app for developing countries
Facebook has launched a new Snapchat-like app less than a year after it killed its old Snapchat-like app Slingshot, according to Recode. What’s special about this one is that it was built specifically with emerging markets in mind. The new application called Flash was reportedly created by a team within the social network in charge of building apps for developing nations. They also could’ve been the ones behind Facebook and Messenger Lite. Flash is less than 25MB in size, which is much smaller than Snapchat for Android that’s roughly 70MB. It was also built to work even in areas with limited connectivity.
Facebook recently emulated many of Snapchat’s selfie filters and other features. It even tried to buy the famous “Asian Snapchat” Snow. Looks like the social network doesn’t just want a piece of Snapchat’s pie, it also wants to conquer markets where the ephemeral messaging app isn’t as big. It’s unclear which countries will actually get Flash, but people in one country can now download it whenever they want: Facebook has already launched the app for Android devices in Brazil on Tuesday.
Source: Recode
Australians researchers have built a better qubit
Qubits, the unit of information used by quantum computers, make use of a phenomenon known as “superposition” wherein they can exist in two separate quantum states simultaneously. Theoretically, they’d enable computers to perform a variety of tasks far faster than conventional desktops by performing simultaneous computations in parallel. The problem is that qubits tend to be very unstable which prevents the information the contain from being read. However, a team of researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia may have finally tamed the elusive qubit. They’ve coerced one into remaining stable for ten times as long as normal qubits.
“We have created a new quantum bit where the spin of a single electron is merged together with a strong electromagnetic field,” Arne Laucht, a Research Fellow at UNSW, said in a statement. “This quantum bit is more versatile and more long-lived than the electron alone, and will allow us to build more reliable quantum computers.”
These “dressed qubits” (in that they’re “dressed” by the electromagnetic field) are able to retain information far longer than the standard “spin” qubit. And the longer the qubit can hold onto that information, the more powerful the computation researchers can make. The UNSW researchers create these custom qubits by blasting an electron’s spin with a continuously-oscillating magnetic field at microwave frequencies. Changing the frequency of the field adjusts the electron’s spin, much the same way that sound travels over FM radio.
This advancement could finally make quantum computers actually useful and bring them mainstream. Though that’s not from a lack of interest. Intel and Google are both already working on quantum computer designs of their own.
Via: The Manufacturer
Source: UNSW
Snapchat update brings AR effects to your everyday life
Augmented reality is officially marketable.
Snapchat’s latest update introduces a new feature called World Lenses. They do exactly what it sounds like: Turn the world you see through the viewfinder into an entirely different scene.
You can activate World Lenses by flipping to the rear-facing camera and simply tapping on the view ahead. There are seven to choose from in addition to the standard set that’s typically accessible with the front-facing camera, so you can turn any family member into a heavily perspiring puppy.
These lenses offer a bit of a glimpse of what donning a pair of Spectacles could feel like. There’s not much more information on the glasses, but there are existing settings for managing the augmented-reality accessory.
The future of augmented reality looks fun. However, definitely expect that Snapchat will use this new feature-set as a way to entice brands to submit their own marketable filters.
Microsoft patches Google-outed Windows security hole
As promised, Microsoft has issued a fix for the Windows security flaw that Google disclosed before a patch was ready. The update tackles vulnerabilities in numerous versions of Windows (from Vista through Windows 10) that would let an attacker get control of your system through a malicious app. You’re already safe if you use Windows 10 Anniversary Update and an up-to-date browser, we’d add — this is for people who can’t or won’t move to a newer operating system.
You have a strong incentive to upgrade quickly if you’re affected. The attack is known to have been used by hacking group Strontium for a low-intensity but targeted phishing campaign. It’s not certain that other organizations used the hole, but you likely don’t want to find out about new attacks first-hand.
The patch ends a brief but tumultuous episode between Google and Microsoft. Google published details of the flaw after learning that it was already being used for real-world attacks, but Microsoft criticized the move as irresponsible. It put users at “potential risk” by making it easier for malware writers, the Windows creator said. Whether or not that’s true, the question is whether or not the two sides are taking steps to minimize these issues in the future — ideally, any security disclosure comes with a patch ready and waiting.
Via: ZDNet
Source: Microsoft
Trump website flaw allowed anyone to ‘hack’ it
There are only a few more hours until the polls close, but that doesn’t mean election fever has died just yet. A few clever folks on the internet have discovered that there’s a flaw on Donald Trump’s campaign website where you can just drop whatever words you like in the latter half of the URL, and, well, the page will just display it. Here are a few examples that we’ve seen on the internet.
Fun with URL hacking. https://t.co/UWU2r69DSL pic.twitter.com/KMdW0GQXQ6
— Andy Baio (@waxpancake) November 8, 2016
Holy shit. You can make it say anything! https://t.co/ajSeCiICC4 pic.twitter.com/OVBiAWVnAq
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) November 8, 2016
Trump should fire his web developers.https://t.co/Zs69CkTqNG pic.twitter.com/ZGyJIjTidu
— Michael Margolis (@yipe) November 8, 2016
It doesn’t seem to be a malicious hack, but well, just quirky code. Indeed, as of this writing, it looks like the code has been fixed and you can’t play with the URL anymore. Oh well. Back to your regular election day programming.
AIVAnet 