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Yo App Now Does Much More Than Let You Say 'Yo'

2014-08-12T20:44:00.002+05:30

Yo is about to expand its functionality and its vocabulary.

The app, which gained a tremendous amount of attention in June when news broke that it had raised a seven-figure funding round just to let users say "yo" to one another, is attempting to offer a new set of features with its biggest update to date.

With the latest version of Yo, users can attach links to their messages and express support for topics by sending a quick hashtag message. In a hint of how it may work with marketers down the road, Yo also notes that brands, TV shows and websites can now see a running tally of how many times their hashtag has been shared in the app.

IMAGE: YO

The more promising feature is the Yo Index, which shows a running list of websites and services that are taking advantage of Yo's API to send notifications to users. You can opt to have FedEx send you a "yo" when a package is ready, or receive a "yo" from YouTube when a new video is uploaded by an artist you follow, or get a "yo" when there is an earthquake greater than a certain magnitude.

Yo received plenty of criticism early on for being little more than a silly app. "People don’t get it. They think that it's just an app that says 'Yo,'" Or Arbel, the app's creator, told Mashable in an interview at the time. "What we see is a whole new way to get notifications — life notifications — from friends, family..."

With the new updates, the startup hopes it can finally demonstrate its full potential without doing away with the simplicity that made it stand out to begin with.

"This version shows the real power of the Yo platform which is, at its most basic, a two-way communication platform between people, websites, brands, businesses and virtually anything that can connect to the internet," the company said in a blog post announcing the updates. "The app core functionality and simple interface hasn’t changed. We work hard to keep it simple."

Yo announced last month that it had raised $1.5 million from investors including Beta works.

Microsoft Launches $25 Nokia Handset With No Internet Service

2014-08-12T19:48:00.000+05:30

Microsoft may be dropping Android and doubling down on its Nokia Lumia phones running Windows — but that isn't the company's only mobile focus. Nokia is simultaneously looking at customers in emerging markets who don't need Internet service.

Microsoft-owned Nokia unveiled its cheapest handset yet Monday, the $25 Nokia 130, aimed primarily at Africa and the Middle East.

The 130 comes in single and dual-SIM card varieties (so it can work with two phone numbers), but does not have Internet capabilities. Instead, it's optimized for playing music and videos. The handset boasts up to 46 hours of music playback time and 16 hours of video playback. Music and videos can be stored locally on the device with an SD card (the phone itself can store up to 32 GB).

The Nokia 130 also comes equipped with an FM radio, flashlight and 1.8-inch LCD display.

Microsoft understands the importance of hooking customers in developing markets, particularly Africa, Microsoft's Jo Harlow told Recode. “Microsoft doesn’t have any other project that can reach these consumers,” Harlow said.

“These consumers will create a Microsoft account and become part of the Microsoft ecosystem.”

If this sounds familiar, it's because Microsoft used similar logic to push its short-lived Nokia X lineup of low-cost smartphones running a custom version of Android. But new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced earlier this summer the company would be abandoning its Android efforts, instead refocusing on its flagship Lumia line.

It's not clear when the $25 Nokia 130 will go on sale, but it will be available in Africa, the Middle East and a handful of European countries.

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The Evolution of Amazon's Kindle in One GIF

2014-08-12T07:37:00.002+05:30

In the seven years since its debut, Amazon's popular e-reader, Kindle, has changed quite a bit.

Tech review site Gadget Love put together a hypnotizing GIF showing Kindle's development since 2007. And the changes are pretty remarkable.

The GIF starts with the boxy first-edition Kindle in all of its rectangular glory. It then rapidly progresses through the subsequent generations all the way up to the Kindle Paper white. A notable change among the five different Kindles shown is the diminishing number of buttons and keys until they are done away with altogether. The logo also gets a makeover, dropping the Amazon brand from the front of its name by the fourth generation.

Amazon recently began its foray into smartphone technology with the Fire phone, which was introduced at a company event in June.

Here, Take My Business Card With Built-in USB Drive

2014-08-12T07:29:00.003+05:30

Young professionals who are fed up with LinkedIn, and who dislike the limitations imposed by traditional paper business cards, may find the best of both worlds in Swivelcards.

Although these smart business cards are partly paper, the bottom third folds into a USB stick, which can be used to store your resume, web portfolio and other job-hunting items.

Currently, the cards come in eight different designs varying from utilitarian gray to colorful and expressive. The company has created a prototype and launched a Kickstarter campaign to add analytics capabilities to the cards. That will allow card owners to update information remotely — and keep tabs on how recipients are using it.

Once on the market, the cards will be sold in packs of 200 for $319. A more expensive version of the card that allows you to transfer data to the card wirelessly using NFC (Near Field Communication) will cost $379 for 200.

The campaign's goal was to raise $10,000. As of this writing, it has reached over $40,000 with 29 days left to go. The cards will begin shipping out to supporters in October 2014 on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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Acer Chromebook 13 Can Run Up to 13 Hours on a Single Charge

2014-08-11T22:02:00.001+05:30

Acer's new Nvidia Tegra-K1-powered Chromebook 13 could be the first console-level, gaming-ready Chrome laptop.

The new 13-inch Chromebook, which was unveiled by Nvidia and Acer on Monday, features Nvidia’s new quadcore, Tegra K1 CPU, which, as we learned at CES this year, is a mobile chip more than ready to handle high quality, console gaming-level graphics. It's also a power miser and helps the Acer Chromebook 13 achieve a 13-hour performance on a single charge, at least according to Nvidia.

Even though that claim has yet to be road tested, the Chrome OS-based Chomebooks now have a five year history of above-average battery life. This is mostly because the operating system is more or less a more powerful Chrome OS browser..

At 18mm thick, the Acer Chromebook is just a millimeter thicker than Apple's svelte MacBook Air — and, at $279, considerably cheaper. This is Acer's second laptop power class Chromebook; in July, the company unveiled the C720, a Chromebook powered by Intel's new "Haswell" Core i3 CPU.

A more powerful, graphics-ready, lightweight (at 3.3 pounds) laptop could help Chromebooks build upon their already considerable lead in commercial sales. NPD recently reported that Apple's MacBooks were soundly thumped by Chromebooks in the educational sales market.

With the back to school season rapidly approaching, Acer and Nvidia clearly have their sights set on the classroom.

The new Chromebook is available for preorder in three models: 2GB of memory and a 16GB solid state drive for $299.99; 4GB of memory and a 32GB solid state drive for $379.99; and 2GB of memory and a 16GB solid state drive for $279.99.

The Acer Chromebook 13 is on sale now on and Best Buy.

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Facebook Messenger Is No. 1 in App Store, Has One-Star Rating

2014-08-11T21:06:00.001+05:30

The Facebook Messenger split has officially arrived, forcing users of the Facebook app to download it — but they're not happy about doing so.

This has put the app in the unique position of being the number one free app in the App Store, but with about the most dismal rating an app can have.

As of this writing, the current version of the app — released last week, when Facebook began ramping up to the split — has a one-star rating. It seems this can mostly be attributed to the forced nature of the switch; all the previous versions of the app, which is now more than three years old, were generally well received. Previous versions earned a four-star average in the App Store).

On Android, the app still has a four-star average — because unlike the App Store, where ratings are based on the most recent version, Google's Play's ratings are cumulative for all versions of the app. But even on Play, recent reviews are overwhelmingly negative.

This trend, by the way, is not limited to the U.S. App Store. The current version of Messenger has a 1 to 2-star average in nearly every country's App Store, according to analytics tracking firm App Annie.

While user reviews are complaining about everything from poor performance to privacy concerns, it seems most are simply taking issue with the fact the app is being forced onto them.

That disgruntled users would take to app stores to express their displeasure is not surprising, but it does mark a shift from how users previously responded to Facebook changes they didn't like.

Changes to Facebook — particularly Newsfeed and Timeline redesigns — have been met with resistance from users in the past. But with previous changes, enraged users made Facebook groups or online petitions to express their unhappiness.

Now the fact that Facebook's biggest changes are taking place on mobile gives outraged users a different platform.

The takeaway? For all the talk of an "unbundling" trend, users simply don't like being forced into downloading new apps that effectively remove functionality from other apps.

Foursquare and Swarm both still have overwhelmingly negative App Store reviews— with a majority of users citing their displeasure with the"forced" switch — despite the company's best efforts to transition users from Foursquare to Swarm and rebrand their flagship app.

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Microsoft Takes a Jab at Apple With New Surface Pro 3 Ads

2014-08-11T20:41:00.002+05:30

Microsoft has a trio of new Surface Pro 3 ads, and they all have the same goal: to prove Microsoft's ultra-thin tablet/laptop hybrid is better than Apple's MacBook Air.

In one of the ads, titled "Crowded," Microsoft highlights the Surface Pro 3's versatility — unlike the Air, it has a touchcreen, a pen and it converts to a tablet.

Another ad, titled "Head to Head," does a direct comparison between the two devices, while the third one emphasizes the Surface Pro 3's ports and power.

Unveiled in May 2014, the Surface Pro 3 has a 12-inch, 2160x1440 pixel display, a detachable keyboard, a pen, 4/8GB of memory, 64-512GB of storage and runs on a range of Intel Haswell dual-core processors.

It hit the U.S. June 20, and is slated to appear in 25 new countries on August 28.

Secure Sites Will Show Up Higher in Google Search Results

2014-08-11T07:23:00.001+05:30

Google will start prioritizing secure websites in its search results, giving higher placement to company URLs that take greater steps to protect themselves against hackers.

The tech company announced in an official blog post on Thursday that websites with encryption — a common security measure that protect user data so only authorized parties can read it — will show up higher in Google search results. Secure websites with “https” in the URL ("s" stands for secure) make up about 56% of websites.

By playing favorites with more secure sites, this could encourage more companies to move toward encryption. Because the layer of security takes time and resources, some organizations have put it off. The concept is to have all of its users accessing Google Search, Gmail and Drive to automatically have a secure connection.

"We’ve seen more and more webmasters adopting HTTPS (also known as HTTP over TLS, or Transport Layer Security), on their website, which is encouraging," Google wrote in the blog post. "Over the past few months we’ve been running tests taking into account whether sites use secure, encrypted connections as a signal in our search ranking algorithms. We’ve seen positive results, so we’re starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal."

Google said that right now it carries "less weight than other signals such as high-quality content" while it gives companies time to switch to HTTPS.

"But over time, we may decide to strengthen it, because we’d like to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to keep everyone safe on the web," Google said.

The move is a part of a greater effort by Google to make the Internet a safer place. In July, the company hired a team of hackers to sniff out some of the biggest bugs lurking on the web for a new project called Project Zero.

Google said it plans to publish best practices for websites in the near future to make adding encryption easier for companies. For companies already using HTTPS, you can check security level and performance via this Qualys Lab tool.

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Lyft Takes Aim at Public Transit With New Carpool Service

2014-08-11T06:43:00.000+05:30

While Lyft recently made headlines for its legal battles with New York City taxi regulators, the ride-sharing app's latest service is taking aim at a new transportation sector: public transit.

The company unveiled a new low-cost ride-sharing service for San Francisco users on Tuesday called Lyft Line.

Lyft Line, which is rolling out as an update to the company's existing iOS app, is something of a combination between Lyft's original service and carpooling. Users who opt in for Lyft Line are matched up with others headed to destinations nearby or along a similar route, so multiple passengers can share the same Lyft for a cheaper fare.

Once you request a ride on Lyft Line, the app will give you a price and an estimate for how long it will take to match you with another passenger. The price is fixed, and Lyft says the matching process will never take more than a couple of minutes. Since it's a shared ride, passengers are expected to be ready as soon as the ride arrives and the company says it expects the extra stops will only add a few minutes to each ride.

"This is great for passengers but it's also good for drivers because drivers earn more on longer trips," said Lyft cofounder John Zimmer. "This will not only help create longer trips but less downtime."

Prices for rides on Lyft Line are meant to be competitive with public transit. The company says fares on the service are typically 30 to 40% cheaper than the average single Lyft ride, though discounts can be as high as 60% in some cases.

The update was led by David Dryjanski and Lev Popov, cofounders of the Y Combinator-backed transit startup Rover, which Lyft quietly acquired in April. Lyft did not disclose the terms of the deal, but said the acquisition was what ultimately lead to the new service.

The company is launching Lyft Line to iOS users in San Francisco first, but says more cities and Android support are also in the works.

Uber, Lyft's biggest competitor in the ride-sharing space, recently announced it was launching a similar shared ride service, UberPool. The service will also be rolling out to San Francisco first, as a private beta beginning Aug. 15, and the company says it expects users will save 40% per ride.

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You Will Soon Be Able to Text 911 for Help

2014-08-10T22:38:00.002+05:30

In a move that brings emergency services into the 21st century, you'll soon be able to text 911 for urgent assistance.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a ruling that requires all cellular service providers to make texting 911 a possibility for its customers. The requirement will not only help save lives — especially in situations where a voice call might not be possible — it will also give those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities a better way to get immediate assistance.

The rules apply to wireless carries (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon) as well as "interconnected" text messaging providers that allow users to send texts to and from U.S. phone numbers. However, it doesn't apply to messaging apps that only support "communications among users of games or social media."

The FCC said text-to-911 should not replace calling 911, and serve only as a complement to the existing service.

"Today’s action will make text-to-911 more uniformly available and keeps pace with how Americans communicate," the FCC said in a statement. "More than one hundred 911 call centers serving portions of 16 states and two entire states (Vermont and Maine) are now accepting emergency texts, and there are already reports of lives saved."

The organization didn't say if location-based data will be used to trace text messages, and didn't address if the inability to ask immediate follow-up questions (which, depending on the situation, might be done more quickly on the phone) could complicate matters.

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Timex Smartwatch Goes Phone-Free

2014-08-10T22:07:00.001+05:30

Watch brand Timex introduced a phone-free smartwatch Wednesday, the company announced in a statement.

Called the Ironman One GPS+, the 3G-connected device's standout quality is its ability to connects to apps on its own, rather than syncing with a smartphone. The company is targeting users who use smartwatches for fitness-tracking, but don't carry a phone and a watch at the same time.

The smartwatch comes with 4GB of memory, MP3 capabilities and a year of free 3G data provided by AT&T. It also supports all fitness-tracking apps and is water resistant for those who prefer to exercise outdoors or in a pool.

As its name suggests, the watch is equipped with GPS to allow the user to track his or her location and make whereabouts visible to others. Meanwhile, the "Find Me Mode" feature lets users fire off customizable alert messages with exact location specifics should an emergency situation arise.

Ironman One GPS+ is available for pre-order on Timex's website for $399. A fancier model with a built-in heart rate monitor goes for $449, and both will hit AT&T and electronics stores by fall.

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5 Can't-Miss Apps: NFL Now and More

2014-08-10T21:46:00.003+05:30

Between reports that Russia-based hackers stole 1.2 billion passwords and all the uproar over the Facebook Messenger split, you may have overlooked some of this week's best new apps.

This week's list includes an app to help you find sheet music, the sequel to a popular racing game and the NFL's latest app for football fans.

Check out the gallery, above, to see all the apps that made our list of top picks. And if you're looking for more, check out last week's roundup of can't-miss apps.

Chromatik

Chromatik launched its redesigned iOS app for musicians this week. The app provides users with sheet music -- in various arrangements depending on instrument -- for pop songs and other well-known tunes. It also includes tools to help those learning how to play, including a metronome and video tutorials. Chromatik also makes learning new songs social; users can record videos of their practice sessions, and share them with friends and other users to get feedback. The free app is available for iOS.

'Cubicle'

Cubicle is a new puzzle game that tests users' reflexes and memory. It starts with a grid of colored blocks; users must choose a color, and then match as many like-colored tiles as possible, while racing the clock. Gameplay is easy: Simply tap or swipe along the blocks to clear them from the board. A user's score is based on how many blocks he or she is able to remove within the allotted time. Users will find Cubicle super simple, yet surprisingly addictive, as they try to strategize their way to a new high score. The free game is available for iOS.

NFL Now

The National Football League officially launched its new video-streaming app, called NFL Now, this week. The app doesn’t allow users to stream full games (that’s still limited to Sunday Ticket subscribers), but they can still view highlights, game recaps and other behind-the-scenes videos from their favorite teams. Users can even import their favorite players into NFL Now, so they can follow their team throughout the season. The app is free, but a premium subscription ($1.99 per month in the U.S.) gets rid of ads, and provides unlimited archival footage and real-time in-game highlights. NFL Now is available for iOS, Android and Windows.

Pillow

Pillow's smart alarm clock and sleep-tracking app is loaded with tools to help users figure out how to get the best night’s sleep. The app, which runs while users sleep, detects movement and other factors that impact the quality of sleep. Based on the information it records, Pillow can determine the stage of a user's sleep cycle, as well as the best time to provide a wake-up call. The app is free and available for iOS.

'Touch Racing 2'

Touch Racing 2, the sequel to Touch Racing Nitro, is a remote-controlled racing game. The controls are simple: Users hold down and drag their thumb around the track to race opponents. The game's latest version also includes new cars that can be customized with paint jobs and stickers, as well as upgraded tires, engines, spoilers and other car parts to help users win. Touch Racing 2 is free, but some upgrades require an in-app purchase. The app is available for iOS.

NVIDIA Unveils 7-Inch Tegra Note 7 Tablet With Advanced Stylus

2013-11-15T10:35:00.001+05:30

On the same day that Apple announced the availability of its much-anticipated Retina iPad mini, NVIDIA and its U.S. partner EVGA unveiled its own 7-inch Android tablet called the EVGA Tegra Note 7.

Equipped with a Tegra 4 quad-core processor, a 1280x800 display, micro HDMI to connect to HD televisions, 16GB of storage and a 5-megapixel camera (along with a front-facing webcam), the $199 device offers a strong Android tablet alternative to the pricier Nexus 7 and Galaxy Note 8.

EVGA claims that the device has the world’s first HDR camera in a tablet, a feature that could draw interest from those looking to use the Tegra Note 7 as their primary photo-taking device, rather than a smartphone or a standalone camera.

Aside from its speedy processor and budget-friendly price, NVIDIA is focused on showing off the power of its stylus device. In an elaborate demonstration video, NVIDIA compares the sensitivity and accuracy of its Direct Stylus device with the stylus options available for the Nexus 7 and theGalaxy Note 8.

As of Tuesday, e-retailer Newegg had the Tegra Note 7 available for pre-order. It will officially go on sale starting Nov. 19.

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Image: NVIDIA

Acer Announces TravelMate P645 Ultrabook for $949

2013-11-14T15:40:00.000+05:30

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Acer is rolling out its latest Ultrabook, the TravelMate P645. This 14-inch notebook, which goes on sale this month for $949, features an Intel Core i5 Haswell processor, a 1080p display and a solid-state drive. Acer is also throwing in a host of business-friendly features design to help keep your most important files safe.

Any business-grade Ultrabook worth its salt needs to be lightweight and, at 12.9 x 9.3 x 0.8 inches and 3.3 pounds, the P645 is just that. The Acer even manages to undercut Apple’s new MacBook Pro 13-inch, which, although smaller than the P645, is heavier by 0.16 ounces. Even Sony’s impressive VAIO Flip 14 looks chunky next to the Acer.

In terms of hardware, the Acer comes with either a 1366 x 768-pixel resolution display or 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution display. Both units offer Intel Haswell Core i5 or Core i7 processors.

The Acer’s RAM can be maxed out to 12GB, while its solid-state drive tops out at 256GB. Customers can purchase the P645 with either Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro.

On the software side, the P645 comes loaded with Acer’s ProShield Manager, a suite of security and manageability utilities designed to help ensure your data is inaccessible to unauthorized users. Acer ProShield, which boots as soon as you fire up the P645, protects the notebook from its BIOS level to the applications level.

The laptop also allows users to create a Personal Secure Drive where they can store encrypted files that can’t be accessed if your laptop is lost of stolen. Acer’s integrated Office Manager software allows IT managers to enable security policies, monitor IT assets and schedule maintenance tasks in one simple application on the laptop.

In addition to the TravelMate P645, Acer has also announced its 11-inch TravelMate X313 Windows 8 hybrid. A business-centric version of the Acer Aspire P3-171, the TravelMate X313 offers the same hardware components found in the current P3. Unlike its consumer-level cousin, the TravelMate X313 also comes with the same Acer ProShield Manager, as well as Persona Secure Drive capabilities.

Both the TravelMate P645 and TravelMate X313 will be available for purchase later this month starting at $949. Stay tuned for our reviews of both units.

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Execs Watching Porn a Leading Cause of Malware Problems

2013-11-14T04:58:00.000+05:30

While employees may get the brunt of the blame for security breaches, company leaders are doing their fair share of damage as well, a new study finds.

Research from ThreatTrack Security revealed that 40% of security professionals found that a device used by a member of their company's senior leadership team had been infected by malware because of a visit to a pornographic website, and nearly 60% of the security professionals surveyed have cleaned malware from a device after an executive clicked on a malicious link or was duped by a phishing email.

In addition, 45% of respondents said they have found malware on a senior leader's device because the executive allowed a family member to use it, with one-third of security professionals discovering it on an executive's mobile devices because they installed a malicious app.

Despite numerous reports of high-profile security breaches, the majority of businesses aren't disclosing when one occurs. The study shows that nearly six in 10 malware analysts reported they have investigated or addressed a data breach that was never revealed by their company.

ThreatTrack CEO Julian Waits Sr. said that while it is discouraging that so many malware analysts are aware of data breaches that enterprises have not disclosed, it is no surprise that the breaches are occurring.

"Every day, malware becomes more sophisticated, and U.S. enterprises are constantly targeted for cyberespionage campaigns from overseas competitors and foreign governments," Waits said. "This study reveals that malware analysts are acutely aware of the threats they face, and while many of them report progress in their ability to combat cyberattacks, they also point out deficiencies in resources and tools."

The research shows that most security professionals don't believe they have enough help dealing with the problems they face. In fact, 40% of those surveyed said one of the most difficult aspects of defending their organization's network was a dearth of highly skilled security personnel on staff. The complexity of malware, the volume of malware and the ineffectiveness of anti-malware solutions are other top problems these professionals have in protecting their organization from security breaches.

Cleaning up malware from a company device or network is no small task. The research found that more than half of all malware analysts said it typically takes them more than two hours to analyze a new malware sample, with only 4% saying they are capable of doing it in less than an hour.

The study was based on surveys of 200 security professionals at large U.S. businesses.

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The 10 Fastest-Growing Job Titles Are All in Tech

2013-11-14T04:56:00.003+05:30

Technology jobs have replaced those in middle management as the positions employers are trying to fill most, new research shows.

A study by job-matching service TheLadders revealed that the fastest-growing jobs shy away from management, and instead require deep educational qualifications and specific skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Of the fastest growing job titles over the last five years, seven of the top 10 are technologypositions that necessitate specific technical skills for developing software and mining data. Based on their data, the fastest-growing job titles between 2008 and 2013 were:

DevOps engineer

iOS developer

Data scientist

UX designer

Staff accountant

Paralegal

UI developer

Administrative assistant

Android developer

Business intelligence developer

Indicating a trend beyond employment, four of the seven fastest-growing technology jobs — DevOps engineer, iOS developer, data scientist and Android developer — did not even exist on TheLadders five years ago.

"In examining job growth over the past five years, there is an undeniable demand for developers and analysts who possess unique expertise within the burgeoning STEM industries," said Shankar Mishra, vice president of data science and analytics for TheLadders. "On the opposite end of the spectrum, once-coveted management jobs are rapidly declining, revealing a trend that high-earning professionals are not necessarily on a management track, nor do they desire to be."

The study found that the growth rate of job titles containing the word "manager" is 25% lower than average growth rate, and the rate of titles containing the word "director" is 50% lower. In addition, within the top 10% of growing jobs, less than 2% of titles contain the word "manager" or "director."

The research was based on the examination of key words and phrases that job seekers use to search for jobs, along with employers' word choices for job postings on TheLadders.

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Nokia's Stunning Refocus App Now Available for Download

2013-11-13T21:18:00.002+05:30

HELSINKI, Finland — Nokia announced on stage during Finnish startup conference Slush that its Refocus app for Windows Phones is now available for download. The app, first unveiled at Abu Dhabi in October, allows users to give photos an artsy twist by emphasizing certain focal points and colors, while letting friends on Facebook play with how they see the picture, too.

Similar to the Lytro camera, the Refocus app calls out depths and colors in your shots. Check out the image above, which displays all colors in full view, and the picture below, which instead highlights the male subject's yellow shirt.

Users who share the Refocus pictures on social media sites such as Facebook (via SkyDrive) will give friends access to the refocusing tools, even non-Lumia owners.

"It gives more context of the story you want to tell," Hänninen said. "It makes the images come alive, and you can combine it with different colors and make it as artistic as you want."

For those with the Amber software update on all Lumia devices with a PureView camera, clickhere to download the app.

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Vine Comes to Windows Phone

2013-11-13T19:21:00.000+05:30

It was promised months ago, and now it's finally happening: Vine is now available on Windows Phone.

The social video-capture app owned by Twitter was an instant hit upon its debut in late January, first arriving on iOS, then Android a few months later. Now Windows Phone users will get their chance to share GIF-like six-second videos with the Vine community.

The Vine app on Windows Phone is nearly identical to the versions on other platforms, with a couple of differences: The app takes advantage of Windows Phone's "lenses," which bring all the features within the phone's built-in camera to image capture within the app. Also, the app makes use of the platform's live tiles, alerting users to new content via the app's icon on the home

Vine's Windows Phone debut represents a milestone for the platform. Although Microsoft's mobile OS is a distant third place in smartphones, it commands significant chunks of some markets (notably Latin America), and it's still growing.

Vine is also just the first in a wave of major social apps migrating to Windows Phone. When Vine revealed its plans to develop a Windows Phone app, both Path and Flipboard joined the club, too. Later, Instagram said it would do an app as well. However, there have been no announcements for the other apps, so far.

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Report: Netflix and YouTube Account for Half of Internet's Traffic

2013-11-13T14:58:00.000+05:30

Netflix and YouTube dominate over half of downstream Internet traffic in North America, according to a new report released by Canadian Internet monitoring firm Sandvine.

Downstream traffic is data that goes from a source to a computer, and Netflix's share of that is 31.6%. YouTube comes in second at about 18.7%, up 9% from the first half of this year.

The increased dominance of streaming services has also lessened the impact of peer-to-peer traffic and video piracy. BitTorrent accounts for around 4% of North American downstream Internet traffic, compared with 31% five years ago.

Statista's chart, which uses data from Sandvine's Global Internet Phenomena Report, shows which shares of U.S. downstream web traffic can be attributed to different properties.

The mobile numbers from Sandvine's report tell a bit of a different story. YouTube controls the largest portion of data, at nearly 17.7%. Facebook follows in a close second, about 2% behind.

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Is the Nexus 8 Tablet on Google's KitKat Promo Site?

2013-11-05T07:21:00.000+05:30

Google updated its promotional Android site, and there's a tablet hiding on one of the pages that might actually be the company's unreleased Nexus 8.

Nestled in the Apps and Entertainment section of the site — which was recently updated with thelaunch of the Nexus 5 smartphone — there's an image of a woman tapping what could potentially be Google's next-generation device. The device is running the latest version of Android, KitKat.

The device is a bit different than the current Nexus tablet model, with a slimmer bezel and looking smaller in size (about 8 inches). The tablet was first spotted by Verge forum user Britoid.

This wouldn't be the first time Google has snuck an upcoming product into promotional materials. When the company posted a video in September that captured the unveiling of the Android 4.4 KitKat statue at its headquarters, a staffer held in his hands the Nexus 5 smartphone. The video was later pulled after viewers spotted the product.

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Image: Google

Steve Wozniak: Apple Should Work With Google and Samsung

2013-11-05T07:19:00.002+05:30

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said in a recent interview that if he was still at the Cupertino, Calif. company, it would be working with one of its biggest rivals, Google.

Wozniak told the BBC that Apple would be more powerful if it had a good professional relationship with Google. Apple would be able to improve services such as voice-assistant software Siri (thanks to Google's search-engine ties) and even develop better wearable tech, such as smartwatches and augmented-reality glasses, Wozniak said.

"I wish to God that Apple and Google were partners in the future," he added.

But when asked how likely it would be for the two competitors to team up, Wozniak said, "I don't know. If I were there, it would be pretty likely."

But the Apple co-founder later backtracked, saying, "I'm probably wrong — there's probably an awful lot I don't know about the business concerns, and one thing you've got to remember is a company has always got to make money."

In some areas, Apple's software isn't as strong as Android, particularly when it comes to voice-recognition assistant Siri, Wozniak claimed.

"Sometimes I say 'Go to Joe's Diner' and [Siri] doesn't know where Joe's Diner is. And very often usually I find out that Android does," he said. "That is actually the future of intelligence probably for computers getting smarter and getting artificial intelligence."

Wozniak also discussed how developing partnerships with rivals, including Samsung, would open up more opportunities for greater innovation.

"There are good things I see on Samsung phones that I wish were in my iPhone," he said. "I wish Apple would use them and could use them, and I don't know if Samsung would stop us."

By cross-licensing and sharing technology, he believes all products would improve.

"We'd go further," Wozniak said. "I do wish they were more compatible. I believe you should have a world where you've got to license something at a fair price."

Bitcoin Researchers: You Can Game the System

2013-11-05T07:13:00.002+05:30

Computer science researchers at Cornell University claim to have found a way to subvert the system driving production of the digital currency Bitcoin.

The researchers call their technique “selfish mining,” through which individuals or groups ofBitcoin miners can collect more than their fair share of the currency. This could cause a chain reaction collapsing the system.

Ittay Eyal and Emin Gun Sirer published their findings Monday on the open e-print archive arXiv in a paper titled "Majority is not Enough: Bitcoin Mining is Vulnerable."

"The Bitcoin ecosystem is open to manipulation, and potential takeover, by miners seeking to maximize their rewards," Eyal and Sirer wrote.

This vulnerability challenges the decentralized nature of Bitcoin, a key tenet of the currency. Bitcoin is supposedly free from manipulation since it's not controlled by a government or centralized group.

The stakes are particularly high right now, as Bitcoin prices are approaching the all-time high set in April.

The Bitcoin Production Process

The Bitcoin production process is called "mining." Miners aim to uncover new blocks, which are then published in a public ledger known as the "blockchain." Blocks carry a certain value of Bitcoin, which can then be used as money depending on exchange rates. Currently, one block is worth 25 BTC, and one Bitcoin is worth about $220.

Mashable's senior tech analyst Christina Warren described mining as a lottery. "Computers connected to the network (known as miners) aim to find the solution to a certain mathematical problem," she wrote. "If they successfully solve the problem, a new block is created."

The more computer power a miner lends to the system, the more likely he is to solve the problem and collect Bitcoin. Under this system, it is assumed that roughly, miners benefit proportionally to the amount of computer power invested.

It's important to note that the blockchain is just that — a chain. To discover a new block, miners dedicate computing power to solving a puzzle based on the most recently published block. The chain can fork, too, since there are multiple solutions to these puzzles.

"The formation of branches is undesirable since the miners have to maintain a globally-agreed totally ordered set of transactions," Eyal and Sirer wrote.

The 'Selfish-Mine' Strategy

When the blockchain forks, protocol calls for miners to follow "the longest chain they know of, or the first one they heard of if there are branches of equal length," according to the Cornell researchers.

Conventional wisdom and protocol calls for miners to publish blocks to the blockchain upon discovery. The sooner a miner publishes a block, the more likely he is to profit.

Strategically withholding blocks can result in a disproportionate profit, according to the research. While a solitary miner could theoretically benefit from this technique, it is more effective for a pool of selfish miners who combine resources.

How It Begins

While all miners work from the most recently discovered block (think of it as the "original" block), the selfish mining process begins when a pool of miners discovers a new block and doesn't publish it. The selfish pool then begins working on discovering yet another block, mining from this hidden one. Meanwhile, the rest of the "honest" miners are still wasting resources mining from the original block.

Under ideal circumstances, the selfish pool can discover a second block before the honest miners discover an alternate solution to the original block. The more of a lead the selfish miners can establish, the more they will benefit. When the honest miners eventually publish a solution to the original block, the selfish miners can quickly publish two blocks, making it the longer branch. Then, the rest of the miners will follow this longer branch.

If the honest miners discover and publish a solution to the original block before the selfish miners can discover subsequent blocks, the selfish miners can quickly publish their block anyway. With branches of equal length, all the miners will work on both new branches until one establishes itself as the longer branch. The selfish miners, along with an unknowing portion of the honest miners, will work on the selfish miners' branch. If it becomes the accepted part of the chain, the selfish miners can collect Bitcoin.

What Happens Next

Since using this technique supposedly allows miners to benefit disproportionally, other miners have an incentive to join the selfish pool. The selfish pool, in turn, is inclined to accept these new miners; the larger the selfish pool, the greater its ability to discover blocks ahead of the group of honest miners.

As the research paper states:

The selfish pool would therefore increase in size, unopposed by any mechanism, until it becomes a majority. Once a miner pool, selfish or otherwise, reaches a majority, it controls the blockchain. The Selfish-Mine strategy then becomes unnecessary, since the others are no longer faster than the pool. Instead, a majority pool can collect all the system's revenue by following the prescribed Bitcoin protocol, and ignore blocks generated outside the pool; it also has no motivation to accept new members. At this point, the currency is not a decentralized currency as originally envisioned.

Fixing the Problem

The Cornell researchers proposed a change to the mining protocol as a partial solution to their alleged exploit. They say in the case of forked branches of equal length, miners should choose which block to follow "at random." By their calculations, the researchers state this change in the protocol would make it harder, but still not impossible, to take advantage of the selfish mining technique.

A large enough group — one that controls at least 25% of the total mining resources — could still successfully game the system. Indeed, a group of that size exists. BTC Guild currently mines more than a quarter of the blocks on a given day, according to Blockchain.info.

According to the research, no group is currently employing the Selfish-Mine strategy, large mining pools are a threat to the system.

"Miners should therefore break off from large pools until no pool exceeds the threshold size, and so no pool can benefit from the Selfish-Mine strategy," Eyal and Sirer wrote.

The Cornell researchers plan to submit their work to a peer-reviewed journal for further scrutiny, but they have not yet named which one. For specific details, you can view the paper in its entirety below:

Bitcoin Mining Vulnerability Paper

iPad Activations on AT&T Jump 200%

2013-11-05T07:04:00.001+05:30

Just days after the official release of Apple’s iPad Air, wireless carrier AT&T has revealed that it has experienced a significant increase in activations compared to last year’s launch of the iPad 4 and iPad mini.

In a statement on the company’s website, the CEO of AT&T Mobility, Ralph de la Vega, said, “iPad activations on AT&T increased more than 200% over the past three days compared to last year’s launch weekend …”

According to de la Vega, the increase in activations is attributable in part to consumer interest in the new iPad Air, Apple’s thinner, lighter one-pound tablet that now boasts the speedy A7 chip.

Recent reports indicate that the iPad Air is so popular that some stores are in short supply of the higher-capacity versions of Apple’s new flagship tablet.

Of course, the real test of Apple’s staying power in the tablet space will come later this month, with the release of the long-awaited Retina iPad mini.

Amazon Slashes Kindle Price by 15% to Celebrate FAA Gadget Decision

2013-11-04T22:38:00.000+05:30

Now that air travelers can use portable electronics throughout the entire flight, Amazon is celebrating by shaving 15% off its Kindle products.

The online retail giant announced on Monday the Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX 7 and the $69 Kindle will be available for a 15% discount with the promo code “ThnksFAA” when used during checkout. The promotion is for one day only.

“We’ve been fighting for our customers on this issue for years, and we are thrilled by the FAA’s recent decision — this is a big win for customers," said Amazon VP Drew Herdener in a statement. "Delta and JetBlue have already started flights with the new rules — we’re excited to see which airlines are next."

With the discount, the $69 Kindle is available for $59, the Kindle Fire HD is $118 and the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX is $195.

Drive This Car With Your Mind — Like a Jedi

2013-11-02T08:27:00.002+05:30

Thanks to EEG sensors, controlling objects with the mind has leaped off the pages of science fiction and into reality. Recently, we’ve told you about people controlling drones, exoskeletons — even other people — simply by putting on their thinking caps.

Alejo Bernal, a recent graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven, has developed a similar project by designing a toy car that can be driven forward with thought, as long as users wear a NeuroSky EEG headset.

While it’s easy to imagine Bernal’s car being the slickest remote-controlled toy on the block, the car wasn’t designed so much for play as it was for improving concentration skills, especially for those diagnosed with attention deficit disorders. When users focus on moving the car, the vehicle lights up to indicate neuronal activity.

“As you try to focus, the increased light intensity of the vehicle indicates the level of attention you have reached,” Bernal told Dezeen. “Once the maximum level is achieved and retained for seven seconds, the vehicle starts moving forward. This project helps users to develop deeper, longer concentration by exercising the brain. It is possible for people to train or treat their minds through their own effort and not necessarily using strong medicines, such as ritalin.”

Bernal’s project currently exists only as a working prototype, so don’t expect the car to hit the market any time soon. Still, we’d love to take it for a test drive.

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