Firefox May Come to Internet of Things; First Ransomware on Macs

Posted: March 7, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mozilla bowed out with its Firefox OS for mobile the end of the year, but now, may be positioning the platform for the Internet of Things. Techcrunch.com says we could soon have a ‘personal user agent’ that understands your preferences for all the connected devices in your home. One TechCrunch staffer remarked that it was reminiscent of the personal assistant Samantha from the movie ‘Her,’ or even a light version of IBM’s Watson. Mozilla thinks that its Project Smart Home will fill the gap between do it yourselfers and tightly controlled IOT setups using Apple HomeKit. It would be cool to tell your IOT assistant ‘please turn the lights off upstairs,’ or turn the heat up a couple degrees!

Over the weekend, the first ransomeware showed up on Macs. It’s been around for a while on PCs, but Reuters.com says researchers at Palo Alto Networks first spotted the malware late Friday. Ransomware, one of the fastest-growing types of cyber threats, encrypts data on infected machines, then typically asks users to pay ransoms in hard-to-trace digital currencies to get an electronic key so they can get their data back. This ransomware has been dubbed KeRanger, and it first showed up on the Transmission website. Transmission offers open source software that some Mac users use to download videos, music, etc via BitTorrent peer-to-peer. Transmission has since released version 2.91 of their software, and advises to stay away from 2.90, which was infected.

Uber Launches Separate UberEats App; Drone Catcher Nets and Neutralizes Rogue Drones

Posted: March 4, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This week, Uber launched its free standing UberEats app, starting with service in Los Angeles. Availability will start to show up in other cities around the country through the month. Businessinsider.com says what had been just a lunch service will now be for lunch and dinner, and will allow for deliveries of select dishes or full-menu items from restaurants. After you order, a specially trained Uber driver equipped with lunch bags to keep food warm or cold will deliver the food while you track it with the app. Uber has designed to app to open with professionally shot pictures of food to entice you…they expect people to keep the app open even after the food is ordered…hence, the tracking feature.

A British company called OpenWorks Engineering has showed off the SkyWall100, a shoulder mounted cannon that can fire a projectile that catches potentially hazardous drones with a net instead of destroying them. According to gizmodo.com, the programmable projectile shot from the 22 pound compressed gas powered launcher can net the drone, then parachute it to the ground in one piece. The device is equipped with ECM jamming, too. It should be a big help in keeping places like airports clear, and allows for forensic analysis of the captured drone, to find out who was operating it.

Big 3rd iPhone 7 Model May Be Out This Fall; Google Killing Wallet With Recognition App

Posted: March 3, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This seems to be way out there as a rumor, but the source is KGI Securities, which has a pretty stellar track record on things Apple. Forbes.com reports that besides the 4 inch iPhone SE out in weeks, there will be 3 iPhone 7 models in September…a 4.7 inch 7, a 5.5 inch 7 Plus, and a new premium model based on the Plus currently dubbed the iPhone 7 Pro. The key feature? The dual lens camera from the Israeli company Apple bought we’ve already reported on. KGI says they may not be able to produce enough in volume to put the cam in the other iPhone 7 models, so a limited edition Pro model may carry the camera with a 2-3 power zoom, better speed and low light shots, and the ability to shoot video and still pictures simultaneously. We’ll have to wait until fall to see if KGI Securities is right or wrong!

Google has rolled out a replacement for Wallet for hands free pay, if you’re ready for it. Basically, it’s an app that calculates when you are close enough to a cash register or checkout kiosk. Bgr.com reports that the app then transmits your photo and initials to the receiving register. When you check out, the cashier just looks at you and the picture and asks your initials to verify, and you’re done. It remains to be seen if users will be comfortable with this.

Apple Leases Former Sunnyvale Pepsi Plant- Apple Car; Paying With Your Face…or Your Car Coming

Posted: March 2, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has leased a nearly 100,000 square foot building in Sunnyvale that used to be a Pepsi bottling plant. 9to5mac.com says the facility is more like a warehouse than office building, and sits on 5 acres…and is probably for Project Titan, the Apple Car. Apple already has an 80,000 square foot building and a 140,000 square foot facility in Sunnyvale thought to be for the project…both are a 10 minute walk from the old Pepsi plant.

Last year, MasterCard announced its pay with a ‘selfie’ option. Now, they’ve showed it off at Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. It uses the front camera of a smartphone and a single blink to identify a buyer. Cnet.com reports that rival Visa showed off a connected car that pays for your gas or for parking seamlessly. A chip in the car ‘talks’ to the gas pump or parking meter. It might be thrifty…pumping just enough gas to fill up, or paying for only the exact time you are parked.

New Voice Assistant Shames Siri and Google Now; PS4 Game Play Coming to PCs and Macs

Posted: March 1, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Soundhound has rolled out what they’re calling their original concept, which has been 9 years in the making. Businessinsider.com says their new assistant app…Hound…blows both Siri and Google Now into the weeds with both speed and accuracy. SoundHound has been around a while. It recognizes and identifies music that’s playing around you. Instead of converting your voice to text, then trying to decipher what you are inquiring about, Hound’s proprietary engine does it all at once…like a human brain. Hound can replace Google Now as default voice assistant on Android, but Apple doesn’t allow replacing Siri on iOS. Hound has 110 data partners, while Siri started with 12 5 years ago, and even now only have 25.

The next system software update for Sony’s PS4 will be out in beta this week. Bgr.com reports that Sony has announced Remote Play. Remote Play won’t work in the beta, but by late this year, the final version of update 3.50 will be released to the public, and with it, and everyone with a PS4 will be able to stream games directly to their PC or Mac. Best of all, the PS4 controller is basically plug-and-play on computers, so gamers won’t have to fiddle around with the controls to make everything work.

Apple Event Moved Back a Week; Microsoft HoloLens Developer Kit Out March 30th-for 3 Grand!

Posted: February 29, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple’s spring event will be the week of March 21st, instead of earlier, as previously reported. It’s expected that they’ll show off the 4 inch iPhone SE, with the beefed up A9 processor, Live Photos, and Apple Pay. According to 9to5mac.com, the smaller phone won’t have 3D touch like the 6 and 6 Plus. It’s supposed to have 16 gig and 64 gig models, and sell for between $400 and $500. Apple will probably drop the price of the aging 5S down to $250 or less upon rollout of the new SE model.

Preorders have started for Microsoft’s developer edition today. It will start shipping March 30th, for a princely $3000! Microsoft didn’t say when the consumer version would be available. Theverge.com says the HoloLens will be bundled with 7 apps and games for developers. The 30th is also the date for Microsoft’s Build developer conference in San Francisco…tickets sold out in less than a minute!

Updated iPad Air May be Another iPad Pro; Facebook Rolls Out Live Video to Android

Posted: February 26, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple may not be launching a freshened 9.7 inch iPad Air in March…it may be an iPad Pro. Appleinsider.com picked up a rumor that the smaller sized Pro will have Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support, complementing it’s larger 13 and 15 inch models. There may also be a 9.7 inch Air version, without Smart Connector and Apple Pencil support, and Apple may make the iPad Mini a version of the Air. The 9.7 inch Pro will reportedly have a rear camera flash and quad speakers…it should be rolled out March 15th.

Android phones should be seeing live video streaming via Facebook in the next week. Theverge.com says the rollout will start in the US, as it did with the iOS version, then expand to other countries within weeks. Facebook claims that people watch live video 3 times longer than video posted that was pre-recorded.

Apple Working on More Secure Future iPhones; Samsung Building 256 Gig Memory Smartphone Chips

Posted: February 25, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the middle of the dust up with the FBI over writing a software backdoor to hack it’s own iPhones, which Tim Cook has called ‘the software equivalent to cancer,’ Apple is working on making their phones even more impenetrable. Theverge.com reports that they are working to plug a troubleshooting feature that allows Apple to install new firmware on an iPhone to upgrade the operating system without inputting the user’s passcode. If they remove the feature, which security experts deem highly likely, they won’t be able to open up a backdoor no matter who wants one or tries to force them to.

Samsung has started mass producing 256 gig embedded chips, double what it had last year. According to engadget.com, they will run the Universal Flash Storage 2.0 standard, which will make them red twice as fast as current ones. These chips will not only give future phones the storage capacity of a lot of laptops, but will make it easy to store memory hogs like 4K movies…and transfer them faster using USB 3.0. It will also make it much more practical for phones to carry virtual reality content.

Macs Will Get Siri in Next OS X Update; Google’s Next Gen Atlas Robot

Posted: February 24, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple’s assistant Siri is coming to the Mac in OS X 10.12. 9to5mac.com reports that the feature will live in the Menu Bar like the Spotlight icon…click it, and a little translucent Siri window will pop up below, and voice control will switch on. A keyboard shortcut is also planned, and the ‘Hey, Siri’ feature too, if the Mac is plugged in to power.

Google’s Boston Dynamics company, has shared a peek at what it is calling the “next generation” of its Atlas robot. The new Atlas is designed to can work both indoors and outdoors, the company says, and weighs a solid 180 pounds, according to 9to5google.com. The ‘bot is 5 feet 9 inches tall and has sensors in its legs and body to help it balance, as well as LIDAR and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, survey surrounding terrain, and aide in seamless navigation.

Tesla Planning Name Change & Wireless Charging; Texting to Get Another Makeover?

Posted: February 23, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tesla Motors has acquired the tesla.com site from a fan of the scientist that’s owned it since the 90’s. Businessinsider.com says right now, it redirects to teslamotors.com. It looks like Tesla is about to drop motors and just become Tesla…as Apple Computer became Apple years ago. They will fold their Tesla energy brand under this umbrella…the division that makes the Powerwall and Powerpack batteries, as well as the auto operation. The storage division is expected to be a third of their battery factory production by 2020.

Meanwhile, the Tesla Model S is on the way to getting wireless charging. According to mashable.com, a supplier called Plugless is taking $244 deposits on a wireless charger they plan to introduce late this spring. It will cost $2440 if you order now…more later. The wireless rig can run off any 50 amp circuit, and only needs pro installation for outdoors. It will give a Model S 20 miles of range per hour charge. Right now, no system is available for the all wheel drive Model S, the Model X, Roadster, or upcoming Model 3.

Text…the most old-school thing besides voice available on mobile phones…may be getting a makeover. Theverge.com reports that Google has partnered with 19 phone carriers to update SMS and MMS messages. The new moniker? RCS, or Rich Communications Service. It would allow for sending higher quality photos, starting group chats, and video. T-Mobile has already used it for video calling. If it ends up being baked into Android, it would simplify contacting people…in fact, a simple text could seamlessly start a video chat without choosing Skype, FaceTime, Hangouts, etc.

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