Hasta La Gadget!

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean features a new security tool that quickly scans downloaded apps for malicious code. It’s essentially Google‘s way of addressing the long-time threat of malware on the company’s mobile platform. However, a computer scientist at North Carolina State University found that only about 15% of malicious apps were caught by the built-in scanner.

During his testing, Xuxian Jiang loaded 1,260 instances of Android malware onto the recently-released Nexus 10, and examined which of the 1,260 instances triggered a warning to users. Surprisingly, only 193 of them correctly triggered such a warning, resulting in a measly 15.32% detection rate.

Jiang also discovered that the performance of Google’s own offering lagged behind the performance of numerous third-party antivirus apps such as Avast, Symantec, and Kaspersky. Overall, the detection rates of the third-party antivirus apps were between 51% to 100%, compared with 15% for Google’s offering, which comes built-in with the Google Play app.

However, Jiang points out that VirusTotal, which was recently acquired by Google, had superior detection capabilities, so hopefully Google will integrate VirusTotal’s technology into the core Android OS to act as the malware scanner for downloaded apps that come through. The built-in scanner could quickly improve if Google makes this happens.

[via Ars Technica]

Android malware scanner only detects 15% of malicious code is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Even though there are apps for using smartphones as portable scanners, they don’t always get all of the details, and it’s tough to get a steady image. That’s one of the reasons why Doxie’s portable scanners are useful for people trying to rid themselves of paper in their offices.

The latest iteration of the Doxie Go is pretty small – about as large as two office staplers. It operates anywhere thanks to a built-in battery and can transmit them wirelessly (with an optional upgrade). You can scan in color or black and white, at 300 dpi or 600 dpi to the internal memory of the device, then transfer them over via USB or insert an EyeFi SD card to automatically transfer the scans over Wi-Fi. While you’ll need to recharge the battery every 100 pages or so, it only takes about 2 hours to juice up.

The flexible scanner mechanism can handle documents ranging in size from business card up to 8.5″x15″ too. Of course, the scanner also comes with software for image correction and OCR for converting scanned images to editable text or PDFs.

The Doxie Go sells for $199(USD). The Wi-Fi card will set you back another $30, which is actually cheaper than you can buy the Eye-Fi Connect X2 for elsewhere. You’ll definitely want to check it out if you’re trying to go paperless.

For those of you waiting for the real-deal collection of Star Trek gadgets and gizmos, you’ll find that today is a great day – the tricorder has arrived. The folks at Scanadu have been developing a handheld device that, while not exactly service the same function as the 60′s series tech, is certainly Star Trek-worthy in its abilities. This device has been in development for less than a year and will be prototype ready by the end of 2012 – so says the NASA-Ames Research Center-based startup team themselves.

This unit goes by the name SCOUT and is ready to connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth in a snap. Once you’re synced up, you’ve only to press the SCOUT device up to your temple and let it sit for 10 seconds. In those 10 seconds you’ll find that your vital signs will be scanned with great accuracy, this including your temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, ECG, and SPO2.

Photo via Scanadu’s official Facebook page showing Tan Le and Kim Vu “Scouting” themselves.

Development of this project happened rather rapidly if you count only the time since it was announced until now – that, again, being less than a year. If you’re counting the amount of time since Scanadu co-founder Walter De Brouwer prototyped his first tricorder effort, it’s a bit more extended. De Brouwer’s first tricorder was backpack-sized and didn’t quite have the consumer potential that this new SCOUT project does.

The SCOUT will retail for under $150 and is small enough to easily slip into your pocket – and it’s not just made for doctors. In fact, De Brouwer made it clear this week with FastCO that it’s made primarily for those everyday citizens that want to keep themselves monitored on a daily basis.

“We really want to show people their health stream. You go to a doctor and you get data points. You probably forget about them. But in this time of personalized readings we should have personalized parameters. What is a fever for me might not be a fever for you.” – De Brouwer

The SCOUT is just one entry in the massive rally for the Qualcomm Tricorder X prize – that being $10 million USD for the best tricorder that meets specifications set up by Qualcomm itself. In addition to the SCOUT, Scanadu is bringing forth a couple more medical-oriented tiny gadgets as well: ScanaFlo and ScanaFlu.

The ScanaFlo is a urine analysis system made specifically for pregnant women, scanning for signs of complications like preeclampsia and diabetes. The device works with a set of 20 cartridges that are dipped in urine with data sent back to the Scanadu app – again, on your smartphone. ScanaFlu is a saliva test that’s made primarily for the flu, but also checks for upper respiratory infections of many kinds. Each of these three products is set to be released by the end of 2013 in their final form.

Scanadu SCOUT Medical Tricorder recalls Star Trek – and it’s real is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s been less than a month since Doxie introduced us to its newest portable scanner, the Doxie One, and today the company announced its on-the-go apparatus is ready to hit the masses. Available worldwide as of now, the Doxie One’s an easily conveyable add-on that does scans mostly anywhere folks decide to take it, which is made easier by being compatible with both Mac and PCs as well as iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (must be running iOS 6). The Doxie One starts at a not-too-shabby $149, while Doxie also offers a slightly pricier unit in the WiFi-capable Doxie Go for $199. Interested in snagging one for yourself? Then be sure to hit the source link below, where you’ll be able to pick from an array of colors and move on with the checkout process.

Continue reading Doxie One scanner begins shipping, brings on-the-go scans for $149

Filed under: Misc

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Source: Doxie

Dai Nippon Printing probably isn’t a company you’re terribly familiar with, but you might feel inclined to keep closer tabs on the Japanese outfit. With help from the University of Tokyo, Dai Nippon has created a book scanner that can plow through texts at up to 250 pages each minute. A mechanism flips through pages at lightning speeds while a pair of cameras overhead snap detailed images of each sheet as it flies by. Special software then flattens out the photos and turns the picture into a machine readable, 400 pixel-per-inch scan that can easily be converted to PDF, EPUB or other format. Unlike many other high-speed scanners, this doesn’t require a book be damaged by removing the pages. In fact, it’s quite similar to Google’s creation that powers Books. Dai Nippon is actually planning to bring this beast to market sometime in 2013, but it has yet to announce a price.

Filed under: Peripherals

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Via: CNET

Source: Dai Nippon Printing