Nov 11
World Leaders Gather In Paris To Mark 100-Year Anniversary Of WWI Armistice
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe armistice that ended the slaughter of the Great War came into force on 11 November 1918.
Nov 11
Let me just say that I love the idea of a folding phone/tablet device. I was a Courier fanboy when Microsoft floated that intriguing but abortive concept device, and I’m all for unique form factors and things that bend. But Samsung’s first real shot at a folding device is inexplicable and probably dead on arrival. I’d like to congratulate the company for trying something new, but this one needed a little more time in the oven.
I haven’t used it, of course, so this is just my uninformed opinion (provided for your edification). But this device is really weird, and not in a good way. It’s a really thick phone with big bezels around a small screen that opens up into a small tablet. No one wants that!
Think about it. Why do you want a big screen?
If it’s for media, like most people, consider that nearly all that media is widescreen now, either horizontal (YouTube and Netflix) or vertical (Instagram and Facebook). You can switch between these views at will extremely easily. Now consider that because of basic geometry, the “big” screen inside this device will likely not be able to show that media much, if any, larger than the screen on the front!
(Well, in this device’s case, maybe a little, but only because that front display’s bezel really is huge. Why do you think they turned the lights off? Look where the notification bar is!)
It’s like putting two of the tall screens next to each other. You end up with one twice as wide, but that’s pretty much what you get if you put the phone on its side. All you gain with the big screen is a whole lot of letterboxing or windowboxing. Oh, and probably about three quarters of an inch of thickness and half a pound of weight. This thing is going to be a beast.
Power users may also want a big screen for productivity: email and document handling and such is great on a big device like a Galaxy Note. Here then is opportunity for a folding tablet to excel (so to speak). You can just plain fit more words and charts and controls on there. Great! But if the phone is geared toward power users, why even have the small screen on the front anyway if any time that user wants to engage with the phone they will “open” it up? For quick responses or dismissing notifications, maybe, but who would really want that? That experience will always be inferior to the one the entire device is designed around.
I would welcome a phone that was only a book-style big internal screen, and I don’t think it would be a bother to flip it open when you want to use it. Lots of people with giant phones keep book-like covers on their devices anyway! It would be great to be able to use those square inches for the display rather than credit card slots or something.
The Courier had tons of great ideas on how to use two screens.
There are also creative ways to use the screen: left and right halves are different apps; top half is compose and bottom is keyboard; left half is inbox and right half is content; top half is media and bottom is controls and comments. Those sprang to mind faster than I could type them.
On the other hand, I can’t think of any way that a “front” display could meaningfully interact with or enhance a secondary (or is it primary?) display that will never be simultaneously visible. Presumably you’ll use one or the other at any given time, meaning you literally can’t engage the entire capability of the device.
You know what would be cool? A device like this that also used the bezel display we’ve seen on existing Galaxy devices. How cool would it be to have your phone closed like a book, but with an always-on notification strip (or two!) on the lip, telling you battery, messages and so on? And maybe if you tapped once the device would automatically pop open physically! That would be amazing! And Samsung is absolutely the company that I’d say would make it.
Instead, they made this thing.
It’s disappointing to me not just because I don’t like the device as they’ve designed it, but because I think the inevitable failure of the phone will cool industry ambition regarding unique devices like it. That’s wrong, though! People want cool new things. But they also want them to make sense.
I’m looking forward to how this technology plays out, and I fully expect to own a folding phone some time in the next few years. But this first device seems to me like a major misstep, and one that will set back that flexible future rather than advance it.
Nov 11
Chevy has revealed two new special editions of its Colorado truck, focusing on both off-road and street drivers to mark the four year anniversary of the pickup nameplate’s return. The midsize truck was relaunched in late 2014, and since then almost 430,000 have been sold, Chevrolet said today. For the road, there’s the 2019 Chevrolet Colorado RST. That picks up … Continue reading
Nov 11
These Walmart-Exclusive Routers Are Always Affordable, But Especially So Today
Posted in: Today's Chili
Walmart has its own exclusive brand of Wi-Fi routers, and according to PC Mag, they’re actually really solid, especially for the price. Both the AC3000 and AC1900 models are on sale for $10 and $15 less than usual, respectively, and are priced far lower than similarly specced competition. These aren’t modern mesh…
Nov 11
Nov 11
When it comes to full-frame mirrorless cameras, for years Sony has more or less monopolized the market with its A7 and A9 cameras. However it looks like Sony is about to get some very serious competition from Canon, at least as far the Japanese market is concerned, according to a report from BCN Retail (via Peta Pixel).
The report claims that Canon now commands a whopping 22% of full-frame mirrorless sales in the country, which is very, very impressive when you consider that it was only back in September that Canon launched the EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera system. It also seems that despite only having one model, Canon has managed to beat out the likes of Nikon who reportedly accounts for about 10% of full-frame mirrorless sales.
However there is the question as to whether or not Canon will be able to maintain its momentum or if this initial surge is just due to the excitement and hype surrounding the camera. The company is also rumored to have at least two more EOS R bodies planned for 2019 and we imagine that should help with their market share.
That being said, we doubt that Sony will be allowing Canon to so easily steal its market share. The company had previously stated that they will have a “serious” answer to Canon and Nikon’s recent camera launches. In the meantime Fujifilm doesn’t seem to be too concerned as the company states that they have no plans to go full-frame.
Canon Reportedly Commands 22% Of Full-Frame Mirrorless Sales In Japan , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Nov 11
As much as we love or LEGO sets, these building blocks are made of plastics, which are byproducts of crude oil and natural gases. And while we’re not tossing LEGO bricks in the trash like drinking straws, making them still isn’t great for the environment. That said, LEGO wants to be more sustainable, and it is starting with this set called the LEGO 10268 Creator Expert Vestas Wind Turbine.
The set is based on Vestas’ wind turbine which is installed in over 80 countries. What makes this set unique is its use of plant-based plastic. The tiny trees in the set are made from all-new sustainably sourced plant-based plastic. The plastic used to make the spruce trees are made from sugarcane. The rest of the plastic elements of this set still uses plastics from conventional sources, but I guess LEGO needed to start small to see how this goes before ramping up.
The 826-piece set has a Vestas Wind Turbine that stands 3.3 feet tall, and comes with the ‘Plants from Plants’ spruce trees, along with a house with a working porch light. You also get three LEGO Vestas servicemen minifigures and a LEGO dog. This is one pretty cool and innovative LEGO set. I’d really like to own this one. You can order yours for $199.99 starting on November 23, 2018 in the LEGO Shop.
[via Mike Shouts]
Nov 11
Samsung’s dual-screen folding phone is very strange and probably doomed
Posted in: UncategorizedLet me just say that I love the idea of a folding phone/tablet device. I was a Courier fanboy when Microsoft floated that intriguing but abortive concept device, and I’m all for unique form factors and things that bend. But Samsung’s first real shot at a folding device is inexplicable and probably dead on arrival. I’d like to congratulate the company for trying something new, but this one needed a little more time in the oven.
I haven’t used it, of course, so this is just my uninformed opinion (provided for your edification). But this device is really weird, and not in a good way. It’s a really thick phone with big bezels around a small screen that opens up into a small tablet. No one wants that!
Think about it. Why do you want a big screen?
If it’s for media, like most people, consider that nearly all that media is widescreen now, either horizontal (YouTube and Netflix) or vertical (Instagram and Facebook). You can switch between these views at will extremely easily. Now consider that because of basic geometry, the “big” screen inside this device will likely not be able to show that media much, if any, larger than the screen on the front!
(Well, in this device’s case, maybe a little, but only because that front display’s bezel really is huge. Why do you think they turned the lights off? Look where the notification bar is!)
It’s like putting two of the tall screens next to each other. You end up with one twice as wide, but that’s pretty much what you get if you put the phone on its side. All you gain with the big screen is a whole lot of letterboxing or windowboxing. Oh, and probably about three quarters of an inch of thickness and half a pound of weight. This thing is going to be a beast.
Power users may also want a big screen for productivity: email and document handling and such is great on a big device like a Galaxy Note. Here then is opportunity for a folding tablet to excel (so to speak). You can just plain fit more words and charts and controls on there. Great! But if the phone is geared toward power users, why even have the small screen on the front anyway if any time that user wants to engage with the phone they will “open” it up? For quick responses or dismissing notifications, maybe, but who would really want that? That experience will always be inferior to the one the entire device is designed around.
I would welcome a phone that was only a book-style big internal screen, and I don’t think it would be a bother to flip it open when you want to use it. Lots of people with giant phones keep book-like covers on their devices anyway! It would be great to be able to use those square inches for the display rather than credit card slots or something.
The Courier had tons of great ideas on how to use two screens.
There are also creative ways to use the screen: left and right halves are different apps; top half is compose and bottom is keyboard; left half is inbox and right half is content; top half is media and bottom is controls and comments. Those sprang to mind faster than I could type them.
On the other hand, I can’t think of any way that a “front” display could meaningfully interact with or enhance a secondary (or is it primary?) display that will never be simultaneously visible. Presumably you’ll use one or the other at any given time, meaning you literally can’t engage the entire capability of the device.
You know what would be cool? A device like this that also used the bezel display we’ve seen on existing Galaxy devices. How cool would it be to have your phone closed like a book, but with an always-on notification strip (or two!) on the lip, telling you battery, messages and so on? And maybe if you tapped once the device would automatically pop open physically! That would be amazing! And Samsung is absolutely the company that I’d say would make it.
Instead, they made this thing.
It’s disappointing to me not just because I don’t like the device as they’ve designed it, but because I think the inevitable failure of the phone will cool industry ambition regarding unique devices like it. That’s wrong, though! People want cool new things. But they also want them to make sense.
I’m looking forward to how this technology plays out, and I fully expect to own a folding phone some time in the next few years. But this first device seems to me like a major misstep, and one that will set back that flexible future rather than advance it.
Nov 11
Security flaw in DJI’s website and apps exposed accounts to hackers and drone live feeds
Posted in: Today's ChiliIt took about six months for popular consumer drone maker DJI to fix a security vulnerability across its website and apps, which if exploited could have given an attacker unfettered access to a drone owner’s account.
The vulnerability, revealed Thursday by researchers at security firm Check Point, would have given an attacker complete access to a DJI user’s cloud stored data, including drone logs, maps, any still or video footage — and live feed footage through FlightHub, the company’s fleet management system — without the user’s knowledge.
Taking advantage of the flaw was surprisingly simple — requiring a victim to click on a specially crafted link. But in practice, Check Point spent considerable time figuring out the precise way to launch a potential attack — and none of them were particularly easy.
For that reason, DJI called the vulnerability “high risk” but “low probability,” given the numerous hoops to jump through first to exploit the flaw.
“Given the popularity of DJI drones, it is important that potentially critical vulnerabilities like this are addressed quickly and effectively,” said Oded Vanunu, Check Point’s head of products vulnerability research.
A victim would have had to click on a malicious link from the DJI Forum, where customers and hobbyists talk about their drones and activities. By stealing the user’s account access token, an attacker could have pivoted to access the user’s main account. Clicking the malicious link would exploit a cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw on the forum, essentially taking the user’s account cookie and using it on DJI’s account login page.
The researchers also found flaws in DJI’s apps and its web-based FlightHub site.
By exploiting the vulnerability, the attacker could take over the victim’s account and gain access to all of their synced recorded flights, drone photos, and more. (Image: Check Point)
Check Point reached out in March, at which time DJI fixed the XSS flaw in its site.
“Since then, we’ve gone product-by-product through all the elements in our hardware and software where the login process could have been compromised, to ensure this is no longer an easily replicable hack,” said DJI spokesperson Adam Lisberg.
But it took the company until September to roll out fixes across its apps and FlightHub.
The good news is that it’s unlikely anyone independently discovered and exploited any of the vulnerabilities, but both Check Point and DJI concede that it would be difficult to know for sure.
“While no one can ever prove a negative, we have seen no evidence that this vulnerability was ever exploited,” said Lisberg.
DJI heralded fixing the vulnerability as a victory for its bug bounty, which it set up a little over a year ago. Its bug bounty had a rocky start, after the company months later threatened a security researcher, who “walked away from $30,000” after revealing a string of emails from the company purportedly threatened him after finding sensitive access keys for the company’s Amazon Web Services instances.
This time around, there was nothing but praise for the bug finders.
“We applaud the expertise Check Point researchers demonstrated through the responsible disclosure of a potentially critical vulnerability,” DJI’s North America chief Mario Rebello said.
Good to see things have changed.
Nov 11
Chevy has revealed two new special editions of its Colorado truck, focusing on both off-road and street drivers to mark the four year anniversary of the pickup nameplate’s return. The midsize truck was relaunched in late 2014, and since then almost 430,000 have been sold, Chevrolet said today. For the road, there’s the 2019 Chevrolet Colorado RST. That picks up … Continue reading
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