HTC’s L-shaped RE Camera, recently announced earlier this month, is offered in multiple colors: navy blue, teal, white and orange. Those who decided to take the plunge by pre-ordering the camera might be in for some bad news (if they opted in for the most popular color): orange is sold out and thus has been delayed. While, in a way, … Continue reading
There has been some debate as to whether law enforcement agencies can compel a company such as Apple or Google to unlock the phone belonging to either one of their customers, especially when it is locked by a PIN code. This is why both companies have released a new encryption method in which only the user is able to unlock the phone from their end.
That being said, it seems that this does not apply to devices locked using fingerprints. This was recently ruled by a Circuit Court judge in Virginia who stated that fingerprints are not protected by the Fifth Amendment, unlike PIN codes, which means that police can officially and legally compel a defendant to give up their fingerprint to unlock their device.
“Judge Steven C. Frucci ruled this week that giving police a fingerprint is akin to providing a DNA or handwriting sample or an actual key, which the law permits. A pass code, though, requires the defendant to divulge knowledge, which the law protects against, according to Frucci’s written opinion.”
The ruling in question comes from a murder case in which the suspect is believed to have recorded the video of the attack on his phone, which is why prosecutors are asking the judge to compel the suspect to unlock his phone. With this ruling, if the suspect had used a feature like Touch ID, then it looks like he could be compelled, otherwise it looks like his phone will remain locked. What do you guys make of this ruling?
Judge Rules That Police Can Force Users To Unlock Fingerprint-protected Devices
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You might recall that Motorola unveiled the Turbo Charger a while back. The charger, for those unfamiliar, basically allows users to charge their devices faster assuming that it has Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology on board. Well it looks like HTC has decided to hop on the bandwagon and has recently announced the HTC Rapid Charger 2.0.
It will work similar to the Motorola Turbo Charger and will take advantage of the Quick Charge 2.0 technology found in the latest Snapdragon handsets. According to HTC, the Rapid Charger 2.0 will be able to boost a smartphone’s battery by another 8 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes.
This is also apparently 40% faster than your regular charger, so if you need to charge your phone and you don’t have a lot of time to do so, then perhaps the Rapid Charger 2.0 might be an accessory worth considering. While the Rapid Charger 2.0 will play nice with devices using micro USB connectivity, as it stands devices such as the HTC One M8, HTC One E8, HTC One Remix, and the HTC Desire Eye will benefit from the rapid charging.
HTC has yet to officially announce the price of the Rapid Charger 2.0, but with Motorola’s Turbo Charger priced at $35, we expect that HTC’s Rapid Charger 2.0 should be priced around the same price point as well, hopefully.
HTC Rapid Charger 2.0 Announced
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So you’re thinking about upgrading your computer with a new SSD or monitor, and you also want to buy a video game in the process. Well there goes your budget, sort of. The good news for shoppers is that Samsung has recently announced a deal for customers who are planning on purchasing either the Samsung 850 Pro SSD or the U28D590D 4K monitor.
If you were to purchase either product, you would be given a download key that will entitle you to a free digital copy of Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Unity which has been pegged for a release on the 11th of November. Given that the game sports some demanding specs and beautiful graphics, perhaps a new SSD or monitor would be perfect to play the game on.
That being said, the Samsung U28D590D is a monitor from Samsung with a 4K resolution and a 28-inch display. It features a TN panel and sports viewing angles of 170-degree horizontally, and 160-degrees vertically. It also has a fast response time of 1ms thanks to its TN panel which also makes it good for gaming.
As for the Samsung 850 Pro SSD, this is the company’s highest-end SATA SSD at the moment. It will offer read speeds up to 550MB/s and write speeds of 520MB/s. They are also built with Samsung’s 32-layer V-NAND which makes them more durable. They will come in 256GB, 512MB, and 1TB models. To learn more, head on over to Samsung’s website for the details.
Samsung Announces Assassin’s Creed Unity Bundle With Their Products
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While the iPhone moniker is one known to many people as being a product from Apple, in some parts of the world that isn’t true. For example in Brazil, the iPhone is actually a competing product as the trademark to the name was filed way before Apple launched the device. Now it looks like Apple could face another trademark battle in India over the “iFon” name.
According to reports, an Indian firm called iVoice Enterprise is challenging the iPhone trademark, claiming that it sounds too similar to their “iFon” trademark and that the launch of Apple’s iPhone destroyed any chance of their product from getting off the ground. The company’s managing director V.P. Balaji claims that investors and partners pulled out their support upon the iPhone’s launch.
“The manufacturing and design of the phones were to be outsourced to companies in China and Taiwan. As we wanted to bring out an affordable phone for people across the country, we named it India Phone (iFon),” he claims. He also asserts that the iPhone only made its way into India in 2009, versus 2007 which was when the company was founded.
The company is now petitioning India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board in hopes of getting the iPhone name removed from the registry. Will they be successful in their attempts? Well the Brazilian company was, so perhaps iVoice might have a chance as well.
Apple Could Face Trademark Battle In India Over “iFon”
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When Apple announced that they had acquired Beats, they also acquired the talent behind the company which included Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre, and Nine Inch Nails’ frontman Trent Reznor. Reznor is currently working as the chief creative officer at Beats, but what will his role at Apple be?
Well as it turns out, Reznor is working on an unannounced music project for both Apple and Beats. Speaking to Billboard, Reznor appeared to be a bit reluctant to divulge any information regarding said project, but hinted that it would be music-related. “I can’t go into details, but I feel like I’m in a unique position where I could be of benefit to them. That does mean some compromises in terms of how much brain power goes toward music and creating. This is very creative work that’s not directly making music, but it’s around music.”
Reznor also adds that his role has to do with music delivery which is interesting as there have been rumors that Apple could be thinking of relaunching Beats Music in 2015. The rumors had suggested a rebranding of the service which could also see it integrated into iTunes. There have also been talks about Apple negotiating with music labels to drop the subscription fee down to a more affordable $5 a month.
However this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Apple working on a new music delivery system. There have been rumors that Apple and U2 could also be collaborating on a new secret format which could be related to how music albums are delivered to consumers. Either way for music aficionados, this should be worth keeping an eye out for.
Trent Reznor Working On Secret Music Project At Apple
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There are many different ways in which we can transfer files from one device to another. It can be sent via messaging apps, emails, cloud syncing, and so on. However it seems that Google could be working on a way to automate that process and make it more contextual. This is apparently called “copresence” and it has been spotted on the Chromium bug tracker.
From what little is known about it, it has been suggested that the feature will act similarly to Apple’s AirDrop which allows users to transfer files from iOS devices to each other, or to OS X computers wirelessly. However one of the images uncovered by GigaOm has revealed that this “copresence” feature could be across platforms, such as iOS to Android.
This feature could also be integrated by developers into their apps, thus allowing apps to notify users when they are in range of something. For example if you walk into a store, it could detect your location and will notify you of any possible deals in the area, which sounds a bit similar to how Apple’s iBeacon works as well.
It also sounds a bit similar to Google’s Nearby feature that was uncovered earlier this year. Chances are “copresence” could be in reference to Nearby, but given that neither feature has been officially announced or introduced, it’s still anyone’s guess as to what it could be about, but hopefully we will hear more about it in the future.
Google’s “Copresence” Feature Could Allow Seamless Cross-Platform Communication
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Back in September, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch which will be the first wearable from the company. With Apple having revolutionized the smartphone and tablet industry, it is safe to say that many have high expectations for the Apple Watch in hopes that it will do the same for the wearables market.
Apple’s lead designer Jony Ive recently accepted the 2014 Bay Area Treasure Award from San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, in which he was quoted as saying that the Apple Watch proved to be a tougher project than the iPhone. “Even though Apple Watch does so many things, there are cultural, historical implications and expectations. That’s why it’s been such a difficult and humbling program…. As soon as something is worn, we have expectations of choice.”
This might also explain why Apple has recently been on a hiring spree for executives who have had experience in the fashion and luxury market, presumably in hopes of creating a product and marketing it a way that would make it less of a tech gadget and more of a lifestyle product, which will hopefully set itself aside from the competition.
However marketing aside, there are some concerns regarding the device, namely its battery life which is currently expected to last about a day. Given that regular watches don’t need to have its battery charged or changed everyday, Ive’s statement about historical implications certainly seems spot on, but will Apple be able to revolutionize the wearables industry? We guess we’ll have to wait for the device’s launch in 2015 to find out.
Jony Ive: Apple Watch Tougher Project Than The iPhone
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Over the past week or so, we have been seeing leaked screenshots of the upcoming Microsoft Office update For OS X. Well it looks like it has been made official, sort of. Microsoft has recently announced via its Office blog that a new version of Outlook for Mac computers has been released for Office 365 users.
The latest update to Outlook will introduce a new look which seems to be very similar in design to the Windows version of Office. According to Microsoft, “This release offers a more familiar and consistent experience between Outlook on the PC, Outlook on the web and Outlook Web App (OWA) for iPad, iPhone and Android devices.”
On their blog, Microsoft also revealed their roadmap for the rest of their Office products for the Mac, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote, which will be seeing a release over the course of 2015. “In the first half of 2015 we will release a public beta for the next version of Office for Mac, and in the second half of 2015 we will make the final release available.”
Given that Office for Mac has not been updated visually for quite some time, at least not in line with Microsoft’s recent releases, safe to say that OS X users are probably a little disappointed that they’ll have to wait so long for a release, but better late than never, right? In the meantime those with Office 365 subscriptions can go ahead and grab the latest Outlook for their computers.
Updated Office For Mac Arriving In 2015, Outlook Updated In The Meantime
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SEATTLE (AP) — One of the teenagers wounded in a Washington state high school shooting died Friday, raising to four the number of fatalities from the moment when a student opened fire in a cafeteria a week ago.
Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, died late Friday afternoon, officials at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett said. Zoe Galasso, 14, was killed during the shooting Oct. 24 by a popular freshman at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Gia Soriano, also 14, died Sunday at the Everett hospital.
Two other students remain hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Andrew Fryberg, 15, was in critical condition Friday and Nate Hatch, 14, was in satisfactory condition.
The shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, 15, died of a self-inflicted wound.
The school 30 miles north of Seattle was closed this week and will reopen Monday. The school will have grief counselors available.
“Our hearts are broken at the passing of our beautiful daughter,” Shaylee Chuckulnaskit’s family said in a statement released by Providence officials. “Shay means everything to us. In Shay’s short life she has been a radiant light bringing us incredible joy and happiness. She has been a loving daughter, a caring sister, a devoted friend and a wonderful part of our community. We can’t imagine life without her.”
The family also thanked medics and hospital officials.
Newly released police radio traffic recordings from the shooting scene showed officers faced a daunting task as they responded to reports of a shooter. They learned they would have to secure a maze of buildings that make up the sprawling campus.
About a minute after 911 dispatchers reported at 10:39 a.m. Oct. 24 that they were receiving calls of a shooting in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria, one officer got on the radio from inside and said: “It’s confirmed. We have a shooter. We have five down.”
A few seconds later he added, “The shooter is DOA. We’ve got apparently four” and then “the shooter is down. Two causalities.” Two minutes later: “I have two that are still breathing and alive. Looks like I have three possibly deceased.”
Jaylen Fryberg, a freshman, was quickly identified as the person who opened fire at his classmates before killing himself.
The recordings, sent to The Associated Press in response to a public records request, reveal the breadth of the police response and the difficulty as officers spent the next two hours trying to get hundreds of students to safety. Authorities have not yet released 911 calls from inside the school.
After one hour, 51 minutes, an officer called in to report: “I need four buses. We have several hundred kids still sheltered in place.”
One hour, 20 minutes into the crisis, the dispatcher told the command post that a parent called to report his son received a text message “indicating that they were lucky (Fryberg) only had six rounds. I don’t know if that was from the subject or secondary.”
The commander responded: “That needs to be addressed immediately.”
As officers arrived at the area, the command post moved them around — closing off this road, securing that building, taping those doors and filling those buses.
They had to get medics to the injured, but they didn’t know if anyone else was part of the shooting. That made the officer inside anxious.
“Advising it’s head wounds,” he told the dispatcher at 5:43 minutes into the crisis.
“Scene’s secure for aid — get ’em in here,” he said at 6:44 minutes.
“Aid can come in, they need to expedite,” he said at 8:11 minutes. And at 9:47 minutes, he said “We need aid ASAP.”
Ten minutes into the crisis, officers reported they had four medical units moving into the school and they identified a landing zone for a helicopter.
But they still needed to secure Washington’s largest high school and reunite those 2,500 students with their parents.
Officers went building to building, knocking on the locked doors and yelling “police.”
“We’ve got a group of 25 coming out of the library,” one officer said 34 minutes into the crisis.
The students and teachers had followed protocol and locked themselves in secure places, but that created a needle-in-a-haystack situation on a campus made up of dozens of separate buildings.
They moved some students through the parking lot before being advised that the cars had not been cleared. A new set of officers rushed in to make sure no other shooters were hiding in the vehicles.
It went on like that for hours.
They finally loaded the students on buses and carried them several blocks away to the Shoultes Gospel Hall church, and to their frantic parents.
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