You remember the sodium demo from chemistry class: Just a small chunk of the pure metal dropped into water causes a great big flash and bang. You might even remember your chemistry teacher’s explanation for why. But there’s always been a missing piece of the puzzle, which scientists have finally figured out using high-speed video cameras.
There’s probably something you do right now you wouldn’t really want everyone to know about. Maybe you’re letting a Fitbit gather dust while you eat Doritos and watch The Good Wife (understandable). Maybe you’re in the habit of driving around at 3 AM when you can’t sleep. Whatever you do, if you’re doing it while using “internet of things” devices, those private vices may not be so private.
If you’re planning on buying some smart home gear this year, chances are, you’ll be able to use the Wink Hub to control them all from a single interface. If you’re not sure what this works with, check out this full list of compatible products. [Wink Connected Home Hub, $35]
Are you thinking of buying a Windows laptop? Don’t, until you’ve read this review. The new Dell XPS 13 isn’t perfect, but it’s freaking incredible for the $800 you’ll spend to bring one home.
The Federal Trade Commission just laid out its initial recommendations for the burgeoning Internet of Things industry — and they’re pretty much what you’d expect. In an extensive report (PDF) released this morning, the agency emphasized that connect…
With the backing of Sports Illustrated, MLB, NHL, the PGA tour and more, 120 Sports started streaming free live sports news and analysis on the web and mobile devices last June. Now, the digital network is making the leap to set-top boxes, starting w…
There’s no shortage of smart thermometers out there, but they tend to have one or more catches: many only work in certain conditions, aren’t very pocketable or require some kind of contact. JoyWing’s upcoming Wishbone may just tackle all of those pro…
The Meizu M1 Note Mini does look as though it is the response by Meizu concerning the Xiaomi Redmi 2, and needless to say, it is all set to be unveiled tomorrow. After all, it has already dropped by the GFXBench site, which would mean one can have a far better idea as to what the specifications are underneath the hood. Of course, while there has been rumors in the past concerning this handset sporting a 5” glass display, it does look as though it will be equipped with a 4.7” screen instead.
Apart from that, this 4.7” screen is said to boast of a 768 x 1280 resolution count, and it will run on a quad-core 1.5GHz MT6732 processor from MediaTek, accompanied by a Mali-T760 GPU, 1GB RAM, and 8GB of internal memory. As for the operating system of choice one would be looking at Android 4.4.4 KitKat arriving right out of the box. What kind of colors can one then expect to see with the Meizu M1 Note Mini? Well, surely the likes of red, orange, purple and violet would be appealing to many, and do expect to check out the rather thin bezels on the front of the device. It would have been nice to see what kind of battery it carries with the megapixel count of the two included cameras though.
Meizu M1 Note Mini Spotted At GFXBench , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
It seems as though the folks over at AOL are trying to cut down costs which are deemed to be unnecessary, or burdensome to the bottom line – which is what any business would do when the times get tough. In fact, one of the latest “victims” to fall to this particular policy would be the aged and well loved online video game publication known as Joystiq, under part of AOL’s plan to release what they deem as “underperforming content properties”.
In fact, a post over on Joystiq does seem to confirm such whispers, citing that “we may as well handle this the same way we’ve been covering the video game industry for ten years. Sources tell Joystiq that the staff is aware of the closure, but corporate hasn’t officially told them, so they are unable to acknowledge anything out of concern that it will cause immediate shutdown. We’ve reached out for more information. We will update, as we always have, when we know more.”
First founded all the way back in 2004 under the Weblogs network, it certainly has seen better days. AOL picked up the Weblogs network in 2005 alongside sister sites such as Engadget which focuses more on technology and consumer electronics.
Joystiq Looks Set To Bid Adieu , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Ever since Edward Snowden leaked a treasure trove of classified documents that revealed just how vast the scope of electronic surveillance is many of us have come to know that they myth of online security is just what it is: a myth. A new cache of documents leaked by this NSA whistleblower reveal that British and Canadian intelligence agencies used a program called “BADASS” to spy on smartphones.
The Intercept reports that data collected through BADASS included smartphone users’ location, unique device identifiers, app choices and more by piggybacking on popular software provided by advertising and analytics companies.
BADASS, or BEGAL Automated Deployment And Survey System, and leaked documents suggest that it began some four years ago.
BADASS software filters were applied to intercepted internet traffic from which unencrypted uploads from smartphones to services of advertising and analytics companies were obtained.
Many apps have code embedded within them from such companies that allow the developer to keep track of how their users are using the apps. This information is then used to best plan app upgrades and target advertisements, but they can potentially be used for other purposes as well, as evident from this program.
The exploitation of these privacy holes by programs like BADASS remains a risk, but Snowden’s leaks have gone a long way in educating users about the potential threats they face in this connected world.
Intelligence Agencies Used ‘BADASS’ To Spy On Smartphones , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
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