Mobile Calls Being Cut Off? Your Network May not be to Blame

Apple & Samsung Smartphones – Inspection of Handsets in Sending/Receiving Signals

Smartphones like Apple and Samsung have been facing official inspection on their technical expertise as part of an examination by Ofcom on how their handsets tend to manage calls. Ofcom is the communication regulator in the UK who regulates the TV and radio segments, fixed line telecoms, postal services and mobiles together with the airwaves through which wireless devices are said to operate.

Ofcom tends to operate under various Acts of Parliament which include the Communication Act of 2003 and functions within the powers and duties that have been set for it by the Parliament in legislation.

It has been stated in the Communication Acts that Ofcom’s chief duty is to promote the interests of citizens as well as consumers. Ofcom receives funds by way of fees from industry in regulating broadcasting and communication networks together with grant-in-aid from the Government.

The communication regulator has ordered a self-governing testing lab in order to calculate how the famous smartphone send and receive signals. It is also investigating if some models seem to be more likely than the others in suddenly cutting off conversations. The research is in progress with sharp political concern on mobile coverage as well as the quality of reception in urban as well as rural areas.

Handset Design Affecting Reception

Apple had earlier been forced to admit reception problems with its iPhone 4, because of its antenna design.But according to Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple who has received an email from a reader stating that his new iPhone 4 was facing reception issues while holding it in his hand was informed that those with reception issues need to hold their phone correctly.

Till now the stress has been put exclusively on network operators facing government pressure in improving the capacity and coverage.Westminster sources with information of the research effort of Ofcom indicated that it would shine the spotlight on how modern handset designs could affect reception, for example by utilising the metal cases which could be a hindrance to the signals.

According to Westminster, `some of the manufacturers would not like what is being published by Ofcom; however it is of great important that people have the information available.

Results of the Study Waited

Various sources of UK network operators have stated that the finding would be anticipated eagerly and their own testing has indicated significant differences in the quality of the receptions on popular handsets.

But due to their reliance on commercial relationship with the manufacturers they seem to be unable in sharing the details with consumers without the risk of accusations. One source from the industry has informed that the `handset design as well as the performance could often have a great impact on the quality of service people seem to receive than the network that they use.

Ofcom spokesman informed that the results of the study of the handset would be made available within a weeks’ time and the findings would be based on the recently published maps of network coverage. We need to wait and watch on the latest development with regards to reception issues.

Toyota's 'Aerocar' will have WINGS Hidden in the Roof

 

Toyota’s `Aerocar’ With Wings

Toyota is planning to bring the technology of flying cars which may seem like a science fiction, to the masses and the Kentucky based car manufacturer has been awarded a patent for a vehicle with wings that seems to be hidden in the roof and which can be arrayed at the touch of a button.

The patent had been filed in March 2014 and was awarded earlier this week. Illustrations indicate that the rotating wings stacked in a row of four, each of which can be organized separately so that the car looks like multi-planes of the early days of aviation.

Toyota mentioned in the patent that `flying has always been a dream central to the history of humanity. Aerocars or roadable aircraft are considered as vehicles which could be driven on roads and take off, fly as well as land as aircraft. Vehicles that tend to exhibit such capability provide operators with freedom, ability and the comfort to arrive speedily at a destination as mobility becomes three dimensional though remains private and personal.

Design Restricts the Side View

The biggest issue is in developing a craft which would fit on a road and in parking space and has the flight stability and control of the plane. It is mainly critical of flying car designs which have the foldable wings on the side of the vehicle and though effective, the more numerous the fold locations, greater would be the weight as well as complexity which would influence operability in individual mode.

Moreover, the designs would also restrict the side views of the people in the car. To overcome this issue, Toyota intends stacking wings in the roof of the car. When installed, one wing tends to rise from the roof and rotates in position while the second can then be organized followed by the third and fourth.

Toyota describes it as `the present disclosure pertains to a vehicle that can be flown as a fixed wing aircraft and driven as a land vehicle. The present disclosure is more specifically directed to stackable wing architectures. The other details are not too clear and Toyota does not elucidate how the car intends getting the propulsion essential for taking off.

Multi-Planes of Late 19th/20th Century

Illustrations however, indicating the fully arranged wings make the car appear like the multi-planes of the late 19th and the early 20th century, particularly the Maxim designed by Hiram Maxim in the 1890s and the range of Phillips Muliplanes from the early 1990s.

In the case of the Phillips Multiplane I, there were 20 stacked wings and a model built in1907 flew 500ft. However the design was not as successful as the conventional types of planes.Terrafugia, one of the firms leading the flying car movement unveiled in July, new designs for its revolutionary vehicle known as the TF-X.

 Its concept vehicle which tends to double as a plane as well as a land car has fold out wings with twin electric motors attached to each end. These motors enable the TF-X to move from a vertical to a horizontal position and will be powered by a 300hp engine.

As per the company, the thrust would be provided by a ducted fan and the vehicle would be having a voyaging speed of 200 mph together with a 500 mile flight range. The intended four people TF-X would be semi-autonomous, utilising computer controls in order that passengers could type in a destination before taking off.

AK TI8e: The Most Luxurious Headphones in the World

Expensive and luxurious aren’t new as we have already seen gold plated iPhones, iPads, other Smartphones and even Smartwatches. But time is taking a different turn as Astell & Kerns launches their ambitious pair of headphones AK Ti8e which aim to bring highest level of technology in a different manner.

Astell & Kern latest headphones AK Ti8e encompass a cutting edge technology which has never been seen before to deliver crystal clear sound to the ardent music lovers at a price tag of whooping £800. Furthermore, the cord of this unique earphone is made up of Kevlar, which is the same ultra durable material used in developing bulletproof vest.

AK TI8e headphones turn the head at IFA event

Astell & Kern has launched its one of kind headphones named AK Ti8e headphones at the ongoing IFA event in Berlin. This headphone doesn’t resemble much different from any other ordinary pair but it boasts of a remarkable technology which has never been seen before in headphones. It features the Beyer dynamic Tesla Technology, which is essentially named after Nikola Tesla who has pioneered the alternating current. 

Astell & Kerns has gone with an oval shaped mould designs and a highly elegant cable with superior durable material. The cables have to go over the ears in this case in order to avoid any kind of pull. The earphones are coupled with silicones and Comply foam buds, which ensure that it remains inside the ears perfectly.

Features of AK Ti8e headphones

AK Ti8e will come with a toughed Kevlar 3.5mm cable along with a balanced cable of 2.5 mm audio jack, which will allow users to use AK players. It will also possess a highly powerful ring magnet, which happens to be 16 times smaller than earlier Tesla technology.

This will allow the AK Ti8e headphones to render a crystal clear sound to the listeners. Developers had made a great effort to remove the crossover filters inside the headphones through the use of new Tesla technology which has resulted in producing clear sound devoid of any distort speech or music recording.

AK Ti8e is designed to offer a wholesome listening experience to the users by easily integrating any of sound choices from the highest trebles to the deeper bass.

Hand built headphones to offer incredible music

Astell & Kern had worked hard on the detachable cable to ensure it possesses the highest level of durability. This AK Ti8e headphones cord is made up of Kevlar, which allows it easily to endure as many as 40,000 bending cycles, which essentially help in increasing the durability of the product. User will never have to be concerned about putting this headphone in their pockets being curled up as many times as possible.

Astell & Kern has given a large emphasis on merchandising and packaging as this headphone command a great price tag of £800. It will be hand built at the Beyerdynamics’s factory in Germany and this headphone will come in a dashing leather case. In accessories section, users will get eight different choices of ear buds to pair with the earphones, which offer a secure and comfortable wear to the listeners.

Engineers Invent Way for Cars to Harvest Energy from Bumps in the Road

Solution in Harvesting Energy from Car’s Suspension

The 255 million cars on the road in the U.S. are accountable for 40% of the fuel consumption of the country, most of which tends to be wasted. An associate professor of mechanical engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, Lei Zuo, could have a partial solution – in harvesting energy from the car’s suspension.

He explains that around 10 to 16% of the fuel consumed by the car is in reality used to drive, which is to overcome road resistance as well as air drag and the rest seems to be lost to heat together with other disorganizations. On manipulating smartly, this deficit could be lessened.

He states that for the recovery or generating energy at the time of driving, three major opportunities tend to prevail, namely the waste heat given off by the engine, the kinetic energy that is absorbed at the time of braking and the vibrational energy reduced by shock absorbers. Zuo evaluates that a car’s shock absorbers could be capable of providing between 100 and 400 watts of energy on standard roads and more on rougher roads. By contrast, a normal cell phone call utilises about 1 watt which corresponds to an increase in fuel efficiency between 1 and 5% that could add up to a yearly fuel savings of $13 billion to $19 billion.

Translating–Vertical Vibrations of Suspension/Rotational Motion/Generator-Electricity

His energy harvesting shock absorber operates by translating the vertical vibrations of suspension into rotational motion that tends to turn a generator which in turn delivers electricity to the car’s battery or electrical devices directly, decreasing the demand on the alternator. The method adopted had solved major challenges in harvesting vibrational energy in converting bidirectional, up-and-down motion in the unidirectional motion essential in driving a generator.

A distinctive mixture of gears enables the motion in both directions for the conversion into electricity, needed to double the amount of energy which could be recovered. Zuo associated with the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, clarifies that this invention enables the generator to function at a stable speed thereby reducing the load on the gear teeth, thus making the method well organized, maximizing the quantity of energy recovered.

Zuo together with his students have tested the shock absorber on the roads of the campus. Their present model, that the students had developed utilising off-the shelf components, could harvest around 60% of the existing energy which is a considerable improvement over other designs. Zuo was confident that with accurate components as well as manufacturing the system, they could reach around 85% competence.

Device Retrofitable to Space/Functions

Besides, this, he also stated that the device would be completely retrofittable with regards to space and functions and `could be integrated in the car directly without the need of changing anything in the car’. He along with his team has designed other forms of energy harvesting shock absorbers which include linear electromagnetic as well as hydroelectric absorbers.

Zuo, who had recently received an award for his performance from the Governor’s Commonwealth of Virginia Research commercialization Fund, had stated that he intends to concentrate next on the commercial viability of the energy harvesting system.

He stated that he hopes to speak on the concerns of drivers as well as automakers, who tend to have differed priorities. He further added that `when the same is presented to the drivers, they are asked – how much can one improve the fuel efficiency?’

From the point of view of the car manufacturer’s side, they ask another question – Can one replace the commercial shock absorbers? Can a better suspension performance be given?’ Zuo has commented that he intends tackling both cost as well as performance in the next round of development. Presently the method would not be cost effective for car owners who tend to drive less than an hour or so, a day.

Energy Harvesting – Helpful in Global Energy Crisis

Hence Zuo would be focusing on applications for huge commercial vehicles while working on cost reduction. In order to enhance the performance, Zuo indicated that he wanted to adjust his design by utilising a strategy known as self-powered semi-active control.

A microprocessor tends to sense vehicle conditions and adjusts the suspension settings accordingly and delivers the smoothest ride while harvesting the greatest quantity of energy. Zuo has also been working on two other areas for the purpose of energy recovery in cars, namely waste heat and regenerative braking. Though regenerative braking has already been in use for hybrid vehicles, it only makes up for about 3 percent of the cars on the road.

Zuo desires to develop a method which will probably work for conventional vehicles. The focus of energy harvesting research is often on milliwatts and microwatts and Zuo aims on the methods which could yield hundreds or even thousands of watts. He has commented that `he is particularly excited about the opportunities in large scale energy harvesting which could be helpful in solving the global energy crisis’.

Seek Thermal:Thermal Imaging camera Gives Your Smartphone Night Vision

Seek Thermal: Thermal Image Enables to see in the Dark

Thermal imaging enables one to see in the dark and even through walls in a ways which would be impossible for the naked eye. The thermal imaging technology functions by observing and differentiating between the infrared radiations emitted from various object.

There could be various reasons for using a thermal imaging camera which could range from tasks around the home to instances of searches and rescues. In the daily functions, it could be utilised in tracing water damage within ceilings and wall, as well as identifying the source, in discovering energy efficiencies in sealing around windows and doors or even in locating clogs within pipes.

It could also prove to be helpful to hunters, sailors or campers. A new form of infrared cameras which can clip straight into the smartphone has brought about this change. The camera – the Seek Thermal had been out for a while in the US but is now available in the UK and several other European countries for $250 which is a bit high but its versatility makes up for it.

The Seeks tends to plug into the power socket of the phone and is unusually modest. Though the model tends to be small, it seems tough enough and is covered with a protective waterproof case.

A Small Camera Attached to Smartphone – Thermal Imaging

Seek Thermal provides the thermal technology which was earlier only available to the military and other professionals. It is a small camera attached to the smartphone to provide thermal image of things around, portraying a temperature snapshot of the surrounding setting.

There are various usages for Seek and for DIY and home repair individuals, the camera could be utilised in helping to resolve issues in the pipes or to identify where heat tends to escape around windows or doors and much more.

Besides these, Seek is also useful for home security, to check for unwanted animals or humans prowling around the place especially at night. Fire up the app and one will get a live thermal image on the smartphone screen where the detection range is -40 degrees C to 330 degrees C and has a 20 degree to 36 degree field of vision.

It has the potentials of identifying heat sources as far as 2,000 feet away or as close as 8 inches. The Seek does not seem to have its own battery but instead depends on the power from the phone.

The advantage of it is that there are no additional wires needed and the need to recharge between uses does not arise. The downside is that the phone battery probably will make a huge hit when it is in use.

Thermal Camera/Thermal Xtra Range

The Seek Thermal system comprises of a camera attachment for the Android of iOS device with an app which portrays whatever the camera tends to capture.Seek sells two smartphone cameras attachments, the Thermal camera and the Thermal Xtra Range – XR, both of which are available for iOS or Android devices.

Difference between the two is that the XR can view objects twice as far as the original camera with the same clarityand has a manual focus feature. In case of iPhone, one would require a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or 8 and for Android, the need to run Jelly Bean 4.3.1 or later.

 Once the Seek Thermal app has been installed, using the camera is very simple as plugging it into the phone. The app then will launch automatically and in case of Android, one may need to authorise it to connect with the camera. The setup seems easy and takes only a few seconds when one intends using the Seek

Intel Skylake Processors Launched at IFA Tech Show

Intel’s Processor - Skylake

The latest range of processors, Skylake has been launched recently, which would be targeting everything from high powered gaming gears to computers, the size of USB stick as well as smartphones. The Core family of the `sixth generations is keen on improved performance, graphics-power and battery life due to a new microarchitecture. The chips have been designed in handling 4K in a better manner.

However the US Company may not find it easy in convincing users to get new devices.Microsoft has been offering one of its latest operating system – Window10 as free upgrades to the consumers, recommending that its software should not be more demanding on processors than Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Several household in the past had bought new PCs when the need to upgrade the operating system came up, but this time they may not do so. Moreover, a slowdown in the economy of China as well as the continued weakness of several European markets could be the cause of the companies and the governments in delay of upgrading their kit.

 Besides, Intel has also noted that there are over 500 million computers that are being used which are four years old and above.

60% Active Power Reduction/60% Performance Increase

Tech industry analyst, Jack Gold has explained that a large number of people who tend to have an older PC and who will upgrade to Windows 10 will only do so on a new computer and the biggest thing that is attractive is that its power requirements have gone down quite considerably.

This would enable new form factors with thinner, lighter smaller devices which will not need a fan. Less consumption of power will probably enable around 10 to 12 hours of life without the addition of extra weight in batteries.

Intel had timed its launch to coincide with Berlin’s Ifa tech show. Gregory Bryant, Intel executive, had informed BBC prior to the event that `versus the fifth generation core, it’s about a 60% active power reduction and at the same time a 60% performance increase.

This is due to a technology known as Speed Shift which enables the processors to shift gears faster than before to reduce the amount of time they are kept running, at their most power hungry frequencies when not needed.

Chips Enhanced to Handle New H.265 Video Codec

He further adds that they have been on a multiyear march to vividly improve the graphics performance with an increase of 40% generation-on-generation.

He observed that the chips had been enhanced to handle the new H.265 video codec which is a new compression standard that enables 4K video files to be streamed with less data without losing the quality of the picture and 4K videos are four times the resolutions of 1080p high definition.

The adoption of H.265 has been kept pending till now since some processors tend to struggle to handle it. Intel has focused on one niche of consumers who tend to enjoy pushing their processors to the maximum and for the first time it is supporting the `overclocking’ of some of its mobile device chips.

It involves pushing the processor in performing calculations quickly than they were set to, resulting in giving off more heat. Earlier, Intel had locked its mobile chips to avoid this. Jack Gold has commented that `Intel claims around 10% of the PC market is extreme gamers and that’s who it is for, for those wanting to cool their laptops with liquid nitrogen and other substance and get the maximum out of them.

Plans for 50 Various Variants of Skylake Processors

Intel has informed that it plans to release around 50 various variants of Skylake processors in the coming months but has indicated that the manufacturers need to promote their new computers by talking about add-on facility instead of depending on the new specs of the chips.Some of the suggestions comprise of –

• Include an Intel RealSense depth camera that could be utilised to enable users to log in a Windows 10 computer by looking at the sensor and would be harder in fooling than the traditional 2D webcams 
• Provision for the firm’s Ready Mode technology that enables users to activate a computer with their voice 
• Adding a WiGig chip to enable laptops as well as tablets to get connected to external displays and other peripherals with the requirements of plug-in cables. 

These improvements could be added to the computers powered by older chips. However, since these are possible in becoming a commonplace along with the rollout of Skylake, one analyst had agreed that it could make sense in focusing on them. Founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, Patrick Moorhead has said that `consumers are on the lookout on what they can do differently on their systems when compared to what they could do presently.

The strategy of promoting what they could actually do with the computer as against the chip’s speeds and feed is smart’. The next challenge of Intel is to attempt in ensuring that the production of the chips tends to go effortlessly. The first of the new PC according to Intel should be on sale later this year.

Boeing’s New Laser Cannon Kills Drones Mid-Flight

Boeing’s New Laser Cannon – Silent & Invisible

Boeing’s new laser cannon, though silent and invisible can slay enemy drones by taking them within a minute. The Compact Laser Weapons System – CLWS has the potential of tracking down an unmanned aerial vehicle – UAC and eradicate a threat.

 Video of its Compact Laser Weapons Systems demonstrations had been released by Boeing and the laser had taken part in ultra-cool Exercise Black Dart in August which focuses on innovative tech to tackle hostile drones. The CLWS tends to focus on the trail of the target drone for around 10 to 15 seconds, setting it on fire and destroys it.

In the video , Isaac Neal, Boeing engineer describes it as ` a welding torch being put on target from several hundreds of meters away and if one were on the receiving end of laser energy, they would have no idea from where it was coming or what could be happening’.

The CLWS is said to be a two kilowatt laser which centres a directed energy beam on a target and is so accurate that it can target a specific location on a drone where the laser beam tends to be silent as well as invisible.

Identifying & Tracking Air and Ground Targets

The system has the capabilities of identifying and tracking air and ground targets as they move around by utilising a mid-wave infrared sensor, having a range of around 40 kilometres.

In the video it indicates that the laser takes about 15 seconds to destroy a drone. The laser is said to be controlled with an Xbox 360-like controller which is connected to a laptop equipped with the targeting software and takes only two war-fighters to move the laser across the battle space to deliver focused firepower. The laser can be moved in a few boxes and set up in few minutes.

Another two main advantages of laser weapons is that they have unlimited magazines provided, power and cost for each shot seems to be a quite lower. Boeing has been having many laser systems in progress from lasers like the CLWS which tends to specifically focus on drones through lasers which aim other threats like small fast attack boats, mortar and rockets.

Protecting & Defending Sensitive Areas in U.S.

The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator – HEL MD, Boeing’s laser mounted on a truck which can destroy mortars when they are mid-flight. This laser had been demonstrated by Boeing last year. The CLWS is much smaller and portable.

The Laser system is expected to be ready for sale in the next year or two according to Boeing. Beside the CLWS being utilised in defeating drone threats in war zones, it would also be protecting and defending sensitive areas in the U.S.

Areas such as the airports and government buildings tend to be targeted by drones. For instance, a man had been arrested for flying a drone at the White House, this year in May and the security experts are worried that a drone could probably carry threats like biological or chemical weapons. The CLWS could also be useful in protecting sensitive areas from the prying and spying views of drones.

Based on the speed and distance of the target, Boeing‘s weapon can fire its laser within an inch or more of what it intends to hit. Since the laser tends to move at the speed of light, it is easier to be accurate and there is no need to lead the target and the speed of the gimbal is the main limitation on targeting façade.

Quantum Dot Technology May Help Light the Future

Quantum Dots – New Generation LED Lighting

Developments at the Oregon State University, in the manufacturing technology for quantum dots could soon lead to new generation of LED lighting.Quantum dots are nanoparticles which could be utilised in emitting light and by accurately controlling the size of the particle and the colour of the light.

They have been utilised for some time and can be expensive, lacking optimal colour control. The manufacturing technique that have been developed at OSU would be able to increase to large volumes for low-cost commercial applications providing new ways of offering the accuracy essential for better colour control.

This could create a more user friendly white light while utilising less toxic material together with low cost manufacturing procedures which tend to take advantage of simple microwave heating. It would help the country in reducing its lighting bill in half.

Compared to the cost of incandescent as well as fluorescent lighting and the cost, performance and environmental improvements could eventually create solid state lighting systems which consumers prefer and help the nation in reducing its lighting bill by half, according to researchers.

Same technology could also be merged in improved lighting display, computer screens, televisions, smart phones and the other systems.

Applied to Various Products & Technologies

Significant to the advances that had been published in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research, is use of both a continuous flow chemical reactor and microwave heating technology that is theoretically identical to the ovens which are part of every modern kitchen.

The constant flow system tends to be fast, cheap, energy efficient and would cut manufacturing costs. Microwave heating technology could report a problem that had held back wider use of these systems, so far, which is the accurate control of heat needed during the procedure.

Microwave approach would translate into development of nanoparticles that are exactly the right size, shape and composition. According to an associate professor and chemical engineering in the OSU College of Engineering, Greg Herman, states that `there are various products and technologies that quantum dots can be applied to but for mass consumer use, possibly the most important is improved LED lighting.

Eventually they would be able to manage in producing low cost, energy efficient LED lighting with the soft quality of white light which people would want and at the same time the technology would use nontoxic materials and reduce the waste of materials which are used and translates to lower cost and environmental protection.

Research Supported by Oregon BEST/National Science Foundation

According to Herman, some of the top existing LED lighting being produced presently at industrial levels tend to use cadmium which is highly toxic and the system now being tested and developed at the OSU depends on copper indium diselenide which is a much more benign material with high energy conversion efficiency.

Some earlier systems creating these nanoparticles for use in optics, electronics and biomedicine tend to be slow, expensive and at times toxic as well as often a waste. There is also a possibility of other applications of these systems. Cell phones and portable electronic devices could use less power and could last longer on a single charge.

`Tuggants or compounds with certain infrared or visible light emissions could be utilised for accurate and prompt identification which include control of counterfeit bills or products. OSU has been working with private sector in the development of this technology. The research is being supported by Oregon BEST and the National Science Foundation Centre for Sustainable Materials Chemistry.

iPad Mini 4 review

iPad Mini 4 – Thinner/Less Powerful than iPad Air 2

The iPad Mini 4 is said to be a thinner and slightly less powerful iPad Air 2.There are options of various superior phones together with more proficient hybrid laptops and tablets. The iPad Mini seems to be less relevant since it had been reviewed last year, Apple seems to have done some alteration in pricing in its iPad line, opposing the iPad Air 2 as a similar priced substitute. In comparison to 2014 iPad Mini 2, the Mini 4 tends to have an improved screen, faster processor, better camera and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

As per the company, the Mini 4’s CPU is 1.3 times quicker and its graphics performances seem to be 1.6 times faster than the Mini 2. Moreover it can also manage split-screen apps that can come useful in checking email or Twitter while working. If one prefers something small, then this could be an appropriate choice. The iPad Mini 4 tends to have almost the same specs like the bigger Air 2 with the exception of its graphics processor which seems to be more than one third slower. This can be seen while playing some of the games and when apps are switched on. Though it has a 2GB of RAM, multitasking seems to feel irritable or responsive as a year old tablet.

Strong & Premium Feeling Tablets

The battery life is not relatively good as the other Mini. Apple has two iPad Minis but if one prefers longest battery life, than the Mini 2 would be the precise choice. The iPad Mini 2 is said to be one of the most strong and premium feeling tablets in the markets and its casing could handle rough treatment. It seems to be a good looking tablet and is made available in Gold, Silver and Space Grey, with a thinner chassis and some new Smart Cover choices which look fanciful.

You could use it with one of the new Silicone Cases of Apple for the iPad Mini 4 for all-inclusive protection. Apple has stated 10 hours across all its iPad though the real results on video-playback test in airplane mode indicate some difference. The Mini 4 seems to last for 9 hours 34 minutes while the Mini 2 last for 11 hours, 20 minutes. The Mini 4 is priced as much as the bigger, faster Air 2, at $399 for 16GB and is the exact cost as the iPad Air 2. The Air 2 being a year older has slightly improved specifications.

iPad Mini Better Value

The Mini 4 and Air 2 both seem to have the same pixel resolution though the Mini 4 is in a smaller size. The iPad Mini 2 is considered a better value and is a contracted down iPad Air and gets the job done for essentials. The Mini 2 which is priced at $269/£219/AU$369 for 16 GB and $319/£259/AU$429 is still considered to be expensive. However it is often comes in sales under $200 at Target and Walmart. It is to be seen whether the Mini iPad would survive alongside phablets like the iPhone 6S Plus and Galaxy Note. Though several Android tablets could accomplish the same core tasks for less money none can match the overall experience one tend to get with the iPad Mini 4.

Android Wear Smartwatches Now Work with the iPhone

Android Watches To Connect with iPhone 
 
Google has plans of introducing an application which could connect Android smartwatches with Apple’s iPhone, mounting the battle among rivals to strap their technology on people’s wrists. This move has shoved Google to Apple’s field in an effort to boost the sales of watches running on Android Wear software.

 The program combining the devices running on various operating systems would be released soon in Apple’s app store. Android watches, as of now, tend to work only with smartphones powered by Android software, similar to the Apple Watch which is designed to be fastened exclusively to the iPhone.

The Google’s new app would however, empower the latest Android watches to connect with the iPhone, in order that users could quickly glance at their wrists for required directions, fitness information as well as notification with regards to events, emails, and Facebook updates. The devices would not be capable of being tied together in a way which would permit the Android watches in communicating with the other apps, that a user would have installed on the iPhone.

This could probably discourage several iPhone users from changing over from Apple to purchase an Android watch unless Google tends to find a way of overcoming the obstacle according to Ramon Llamas, IDC analyst. Android watches for now are expected to appeal to iPhone owners unwilling to spend extra money on a device which would be more of a novelty rather than a needed gadget.

Google is expecting the prices of Android watches to be well-matched with the iPhone ranging from $100 to $400 and Apple having a long history of challenging premium prices on its products tends to charge a minimum of £299 for Apple Watch even though its luxury products tend to cost thousands of pounds. Llamas commented that the Android watches will not be bought by `the fan boys and fan girls which should have everything with an Apple logo on it. He is referring about going after people who tend to be open to other options with what they could do with their devices.

Apple who had been a late applicant in the smartwatch market has quickly come to the forefront of the pack after its release in April. Apple Watches of around 4 million had been sold during the three months ending in June to control three-fourth of the smartwatch market, worldwide on the estimates from the firm Strategy Analytics and the combination of sales of Android watches which have been made by various device developers during the same time amounted to 600,000 units for an 11pc market share.

 Samsung watches on the other hand, running on Tizen software told hold of most of the rest of the market with 7.5pc share. Google is speculating that the next wave of Android Wear watches would assist in shifting the tide in their favour.

The Android watches coming up which would be functioning with the iPhone comprise of Asus ZenWatch 2 and the Huawei Watch. LG Electronic already develops Android Watch, Urbane at £175 which is compatible with the iPhone.

Functioning with the new app, the Android smartwatch would be compatible with iPhone which dates back to the 5 if their operating systems tend to have been updated to the iOS 8.2.

This Wearable Drone Could Be Your Next Smart Device

Drones – Own Application Platform/Interface Projected

The team at Frog Agency in New York have taken it upon themselves to work out on whether drones could be something we could interact with each single day as Adam Pruden from Frog had told the audience at The Conference in Malmo. Drones have already evolved directly from smartphones which are built on the same technologies, the same microprocessors as well as sensors.

At a hearing earlier in the year, the US Senate had also informed that drones were basically flying smartphones. Pruden had mentioned that what he had found interesting with regards to the comparison was the behavioural similarities instead of the technologies.

Earlier they were used for capturing political conflict in Hong Kong, the same way as smartphones, though drones were capable of capturing the magnitude of events the ways smartphone could not. Pruden states that `drones are taking self-obsession to an entirely new high with growing popularity of dronies.

Besides this, they also have their own application platform together with interfaces projected from a drone on any surface.

Wearable Drones – 15 Concept Designs

In order to set up drones and make it part of daily life in the same way as smartphones, the team realised that they would need to have two unique features.At first they would have to be capable of performing physical task and to move through physical space as well as interact with the physical atmosphere which smartphone are unable to do.

Secondly they would have to be wearable which would be used only when needed and hence they would have to be able to worn on the bodies. The team had come up with 15 concept designs in wearable drones, such as wearable dog collars, a wearable drone which could fix the makeup and hair and chose four to develop further.

The first that came up was the Flare, which was a flying tour guide as well as a navigator wherein the Flare tends to jump off an acrylic band attached to the hand and operates like a flying compass. On the other hand, the Breathe, settles on the shoulder passively measuring air quality till dangerous pollutions levels are identified. At this stage, it tends to leap up in front of the face, providing a filter for the individual to breathe through.

Drones – Integrate Into Society

A gold drone, the Parasol, hangsoff the belt or is worn as a means of jewellery and detects bad weather. It jumps up to protect the person either from UV rays or rain utilising its propellers. The Scout as much as a playmate as it is drone tends to fly above you to project a path on a rock wall to challenge the individual as they climb and doubles as fitness tracker whenever it is docked.

The designs seem to be quite cool and exciting. However there were other issues which the team found as part of the process. Pruden explains that the `key component that were not accounted for was that drones need to integrate into society’.

To integrate into society, drones would have to comprehend distance, how to interact with other drones and with the built world and with its owner’s body as well as the body of others, though also important with the soul.

Could Diesel Made From Air Help Tackle Climate Change?

Small Companies Capturing CO2 for e-Diesel

Making diesel would seem to sound like something from science fiction but small companies in Canada and Germany have come with an amazing way of capturing carbon dioxide in the making of diesel. German company, Sunfire has developed its first batch of the so called e-diesel in April.

Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Education and Research had put a few litres in her car by way of a celebration. The Canadian company, Carbon Engineering has built up a pilot plant to suck one to two tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air on daily basis, turning it into 500 litres of diesel.

The requirement of electricity is usedfor the process, though if the start-ups tend to use renewable electricity, it could produce diesel that is carbon neutral which means that burning it in the car would return to the atmosphere the carbon dioxide removed in the first place.

On the other hand, the fossil fuels are carbon positive meaning that the burning of it could add to the total amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Halting growth of carbon dioxide together with the other greenhouse gases is of vital importance, considering the several threats faced by climate changes.

The Fischer-Tropsch Process

Awareness of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million in 2012-2013, which was the highest since the scientific measurements had started while the year July 2014-June 2015seemed to be the warmest on record according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Chemistry to develop the fuel from carbon dioxide is not particularly difficult.

Water needs to be split into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis and hydrogen added to carbon dioxide in order to make carbon monoxide and water and then plug in more hydrogen to build up hydrocarbon chains. The last process is known as the Fischer-Tropsch process which dates back to 1920s. However, the technologies are capturing the carbon dioxide directly from the air which is new and presently becoming cheap to be feasible.

The greatest challenges in technology have been focused on the high temperature furnaces according to chief executive of Carbon Engineering, Adrian Corless. He states that there is yet a month of hard work, to get these to function, as the company would want it.

Cars Running on Fuel Made From Thin Air

However, he commented that it has also been the company’s main innovation, precipitating captured carbon dioxide into solid calcium carbonate pellets which can be washed and dried with ease.Thereafter, the pellets are heated to 800-900 C, wherein they release a pure carbon dioxide stream. As a filtrate, they tend to leave calcium oxide which can be fed back to the first air capture stage.

There are also other alternatives for selling carbon dioxide, besides fuel. Climeworks, a Swiss company which rolled off from a local university is now gearing for its first commercial scale plant in selling captured carbon dioxide to a nearby greenhouse. The Swiss company foresees a long term market in the supply of fizzy drinks bottlers in Africa, Japan and difficult to reach island by putting up locally and overcoming the transport expenses.

Expenses of compressing, liquefying and shipping carbon CO2 seems to be ten times more in these places, stated the firm’s chief operating officer, Dominique Kroneberg. Climbeworks and Carbon Engineering state that their modular technology would make it easy to scale up to larger projects.

 In the meanwhile, the US Naval Research Laboratory has informed its interest in using e-diesel to fuel it ships and one could marvel on having their car running on fuel made from thin air very soon.

Google Docs Voice Typing Blocks Swear Words

Google is set to energize its Docs, which is a free Office software available to all the users across the globe completely free of cost. It has unveiled a whole set of new features and functions in the Docs which includes much needed and widely discussed voice dictation technology.

The power of dictation with wise censorship

Google had brought the voice-typing feature at the disposal of all the people by integrating this feature in its Google Docs. Before the advent of this free and very powerful voice typing user had to rely on the third party software and had to shell out thousands of dollars.

Google is revolutionizing the voice typing with its incredible and it is thankfully backed by an inbuilt censorship. This censorship simply states what can and can’t be dictated by using its Google latest software. Swearing words are completely barred from being picked up by the voice-typing feature, which will ensure the respect and essence of the messages and other written materials.

Swearing papers with first letter followed by asterisks

The voice typing technology carefully and intelligently understands the swearing words and simply replaces it with asterisks.

Therefore when a user uses the common swear words then it get replaced by asterisks in this manner, “s***’ and “f***”. Some swear words are spelled in full like “b**ch” and “w***ker” but in order to avoid any chances of offending someone then middle letters had been blanked out with asterisks.

The objection to the swearing words in the Google Docs by first noticed by a blogger who goes by the name of Grethen McCulloch.

Google aims at bringing a formality and ethics in the voice typing

Google had miffed the users and was heavily criticised by the same for censoring the swear words in its Google translate and Android based voce-to-text feature.

This time Google had brought a more refined and much better voice typing technology, which can assist in the wide range of function on its popular Google Docs. Goggles aims at bringing formality and high level of productivity to its users by bringing an advanced new set of tools in Google Docs.

Apart from the much talked voice typing feature Google brought some new research features in the Docs which can help in saving facts, images and quotes along with an explore functions in the Sheets. Google also brought some new interesting templates for the Forms, Sheets, Slides and Docs.

New set of features gets praised and increases productivity

Voice typing has the ability to support over more than 40 languages. A user is just required to click on a microphone button and press on go to activate the voice dictation feature. It will be an added advantage to the users while using the Google Docs, as the Microsoft’s popular Office software doesn’t have the speech recognition.

 Google’s Docs has been gained praise earlier for making it easier for the team members to collaborate and work simultaneously on the documents. The new set of tools and features are expected to make working on documents more fun filled and productive.

Google Unveils New Logo at Turning Point in Company's History

Google Introduced Redesign with Animation

Google is known to be a progressive company and many are aware that it has been tweaking its algorithms on improving its search engine or bring new services to the users. Google has unveiled its new logo and since 1999, has recently introduced the new sans-serif and slightly toned down four colour logo in the biggest redesign. The tech giant states that the new design would be seen all across its products a month after a major restricting of the company gave rise to the company, Alphabet.

Google’s homepage had introduced the redesign with an animation which had wiped the old logo and had drawn the new design. The company had mentioned in a blog post that it had changed a lot over the past 17 years from the range of products to the evolution of their look and fee and today are changing things up once again’.

The company has said that the redesign was meant to reflect the way people interacted with Google products on the various platforms, app as well as devices. Moreover, it not only tells you that one is using Google but also portrays how Google tends to work for you. For instance, latest elements such as a colourful Google mic enables in identifying as well as interacting with Google irrespective of whether one is talking, tapping or typing.

New Logo – A Colourful Typographic Six Letters

In the meanwhile, they are eliminating the little blue `g’ icon with a four colour `G’ which tends to match the logo. The logo is said to have gone through several small changes in its history and the colours have changed. The new logo is still a colourful typographic which tends to feature six simple letters on a plain white page and “Google” has been written in a brand new font.

The 3D letters seemed to have been flattened with an exclamation point that came and went in 1999. The move came up after a month of the major restricting of the company had been unveiled. Google is presently owned by Alphabet, a holding company that was developed by founders – Sergey Brin and Larry Page in order to separate their money making search engine company from the unprofitable `moon shot’ projects such as robot cars, medical research as well as the internet delivering balloons.

Reactions – Positive & Negative

The company had also mentioned in its blog post that this was not the first time that they had changed their look and would probably not be the last though they presume that the latest update would be a great reflection of all the ways Google works across Search, Maps, Gmail, Chrome and several others functions.

Earlier, the company had said that it would restructure its business as a collection of companies under its newly created parent company, Alphabet and the largest subsidiary under the new firm name would be the core Google search as well as advertising business that would continue to house, Android, Maps and YouTube.

The new logo of Google is said to be rather differentiating. Some consider it to be beautiful in its simplicity, is san-serif unlike the old one and is completely two dimensional instead of the drawn to look three dimensional. Others state that it too basic and off-putting.

The Verge states that the reactions to the logo tend to go from positive to negative quickly and so far, reactions have been all over varying from joy to disgust mostly from the same person within a short span of time.

Tipster Talks About Google's Project Soli Kit Invites

Google’s Future of Radar Based Technology For Hand Gestures - Wearable

Google has its focus on future of radar based technology for hand gestures with wearable and the future, where one could interact with wearable technology without the need of physical control like buttons and the fingers could act as buttons.

Project Soli had been announced as an interaction sensor in making use of radar technology, earlier this year. Regarding Soli, a Google Advanced Technology and Projects division – ATAP video had been posted in May giving information about the same. The technical program lead at ATAP started off by, introducing himself as Ivan Poupyrev, adding that capturing the possibilities of the human hand had been one of his passions and how could it be applied with the capabilities to the virtual world.

He informed that they use radars and there is nothing to break, no lenses, no moving parts. He said in the video that radar has been utilised for several things, like tracking cars, big objects, satellites as well as planes. It is being used to track micro motions, twitches of human hand and use it to interact with wearable and other computing devices.

Project Soli – Tiny Chips with Radar like Potentials

According to M Dee Dubroff, from InventorSpot.com `Project Soli focuses on the fact that the ability to function is not always the job of the device but the movements of the user especially hands and fingers. She informs that the project depends on tiny chip with radar like potentials and can pick up the smallest of movements.

Details of the ATAP presentation earlier this year had been provided by Alex Davies in Tom’s Hardware, when Poupyrev showed hand gestures and how they could be related for interactions. He informed about rubbing thumb and index finger together in order to simulate turning a dial, changing time on a simulated watch face and use distance in controlling if the hours or minutes were adjusted, based on how far a hand was from the sensor.

Radar tends to have some unique properties such as very high positional accuracy according to the video where the smallest movement can be traced.

Radar Hardware into Gesture Sensor

Lead research engineer, Project Soli, Jaime Lien said that the focus of the team was in taking radar hardware and turn it into a gesture sensor. Latest information is that Google has been notifying developers of a forthcoming Project Soli Alpha DevKit. Liam Spradlin had written in Android Police that Google had sent application for a small group of Project Soli dev kits.

He informed that according to an adviser Google had begun notifying interested groups of an upcoming `Soli Alpha DevKit’, asking those notified to fill out application for the chance to receive the same.Spradlin further added that the email stated that those selected to receive it would get a development board and SDK together with the opportunity of participating in a Soli Alpha developer workshop somewhere in the future.

Potential developers in return were asked to participate in the private user group, to accept software updates and make something really cool. Special note had been made by Poupyrev in the video which was done earlier this year and he is looking forward in releasing this enterprise to the development group

Bundle Up For A Whole New World Of Internet Savings

If you have been searching for a whole new way to receive your vital entertainment services from your local provider, there is an excellent new solution that may just be what the doctor ordered for you. There is a whole new breed of service providers currently operating on the international market place who have introduced an amazing new solution, known as service bundling. If you're in the mood to save major money on your monthly bills, this is an arrangement you need to know more about today.

What Is Bundling, And What Is It All About?

Bundling is an amazing new system that allows you to include all of your TV and Internet services on one convenient bill. This new arrangement of TV and Internet bundles allows you to pay for everything in a tidy and convenient fashion, free from the hassle of having to keep track of several bills from several different service providers. The formula is a simple but effective one: Several services, one service provider, one bill, one low price. It's an excellent recipe for success.

Best of all, you can receive all of your bundled services for one special low price. In many cases, you can pay for everything via a monthly automatic payment. It's easy to see why this excellent new arrangement is guaranteed to appeal to millions of people, and why it is quickly becoming the standard method of TV and Internet service delivery all across the world.

Who Needs Bundling, And Why Do They Need It Now?

You may well be asking yourself at this point, "Who needs bundling?" You may already have an arrangement with your present service provider that you're more than happy to continue on with. Fair enough, but you should be aware that the new system of bundling is presently spreading clear across the whole of the industry, leading to fantastic savings and a whole new level of customer loyalty.

As a result, more and more companies are adopting this arrangement. At the close of your present commitment, your own provider may well offer you an excellent bundling deal that you would be a fool to pass on. So, if you're ready to get up to speed with the 21st century's most convenient and effective method of saving money, bundling is the service solution that you should be requesting today.

Facebook Tests a Human-Powered Digital Assistant M

In the traditional times, we used to have a secretary for managing our everyday tasks efficiently. But the technological advancement is going through such a rapid pace that it is hard to keep things organized with an assistant. Some major tech firms like Apple, Microsoft and Amazon are eagerly working towards making life much easier with focus on developing advanced digital assistant.

These digital will possess the capability to make it extremely easier and smooth to complete everyday tasks without facing any undue stress or hassle.

Now the social media giant Facebook is looking at the prospect of bringing such digital assistant for its billions of users spread all across the world.

Facebook testing new digital assistant named M

Facebook had recently announced that it is testing a relatively new service for its Messenger app. This new service is named as M, which essentially happens to be a digital assistant which is aimed at helping users perform simple tasks such as making reservation or ordering products and other actives with ease and grace. Once the testing phase is completed then this new service will be incorporated within its Messenger chatting app. Face Messenger app is high popular messaging app, which is used by more than 700 million active users throughout the globe.

With the help of the digital assistant M users will be able to text as well dictate question to the M, which will respond according to the users input. It can be even to asked to purchase some items from the internet or to book reservations at popular dining places or it can even recommends places which can be explored by the users.

Facebook to get stiff competition from other Digital Assistants

Facebook is arriving in the digital assistant M service after warming the bench for a long time within which Apple, Microsoft and Google had brought their powerful digital assistant. Apple already offers embedded Siri a digital assistant which works by voice processing and assists users in performing various daily tasks. Similarly Microsoft offer Cortana digital assistants in a range of devices which makes life quite easier and simpler for the users.

Google rides on the Google Now and Amazon offer Echo which performs the similar kind of services with ease and simplicity. It will be hard for the users to switch to another digital assistant or even take use of it when they already have Digital Assistant running on their phone, tablet or laptop.

More start-ups riding on the wave of digital assistant

Some start-ups like Magic and Operator are also working developing digital assistants by taking a new human powered approach and integrating it within their apps. The human powered approach allows them to fulfill users request with the help of real customer service representatives. While Facebook approach in developing its digital assistant is hybrid of two major approaches i.e., use of algorithms and real customer representatives which helps M in delivering much better and intelligent results. As of now Facebook M is in beta phase and a small group of people is testing it.

Parallels Can Help You Put Windows on Your Apple Mac

Loved Windows and wish if someone can bring it in your Mac laptop? Now there is a company, which is listening to your wishes, and it has brought brand new software, which will offer such exquisite features. Parallels had recently announced its new version of software, which can effectively bring the most loved features of the Windows 10 Os on the Mac devices. This software has been named Parallels 11 and it comes loaded with the capability of running full version of Windows OS on the Mac computers without the need of any rebooting.

Features of Parallel 11

The earlier versions of the Parallels had supported the Windows 10 but this one brings a whole range of new features. Parallel 11 signature feature is the Coherence mode wherein Mac users can easily run the elements of the Windows OS alongside the Apple’s OSX. This wasn’t possible in the earlier versions and this feature is aimed at providing the best of features of both the OS on a single platform in a redefined manner.

Apple’s Siri is only limited to its range of iPhone and iPad devices and it has yet to make its appearance on the Mac series of laptops. But Microsoft had already brought its Cortana digital assistant onto the Windows laptop from along with the Windows Phone platform. Parrallel 11 best feature is the bringing of Cortana on the Mac laptops. This voice controlled assistant can be brought alive wither by going through the Windows taskbar or by just saying “Hey Cortana” on the Mac.

Cortana woks amazingly on Mac

On putting Cortana under limited test in the Mac laptop, this feature happened to work amazingly well without any glitches. Users can easily call up the Cortana and conduct searches, set reminders, check out the weather and traffic conditions as well as hearing some jokes , all of it on their Mac. As usual, the response wasn’t completely perfect as it gives on the Windows laptops but it was extremely good for most of the normal tasks.

Parallels brings huge improvement in software with new version

Parallels latest version of its software is well defined and subtle with the aim of making the task of switching between the two major computer OS i.e. Windows and OSX a breeze. Parallel 11 allows the users to see both the Windows Action Center as well as the Apple’s Notification Center at same time without any hindrance. Users will be surprise to find how well both the Os are working in coherence by just looking in the Apple dock, which will be listing out all the open Windows programs and the Windows taskbar.

Furthermore, Parallels also brought the Mac’s “Quick Look” feature, which allows users to preview by just hitting the spacebar in the Windows mode. One small feature, which is worth mentioning is that right-click on the file resulting in opening of file in Mac works well in the Windows also. Parallels 11 will be made available at a price of just $80 and it will also support the upcoming Apple’s OS called El Captain.

Web Address Explosion is Bonanza for Cyber-Criminals

Explosion in Internet Addresses

According to an industry study which had been published recently, an explosion in various new Internet addresses has developed opportunities for criminals misusing shady domains like zip. kim. or party. The attackers are on the prowl of new domains like urging users in downloading malware and divulge personal data or spam their friends and a liberalisation of the Web had increased the number of top level domains tenfold in the last two years.

An investigation of tens of millions of websites had been conducted by enterprise security company Blue Coat and found that the most dangerous top level domain – TLDs were .zip, .review and country, while the safest new ones were .london, .tel and .church.

Blue Coat mentioned in its study that TLDs ideally would all be run by security-conscious operators who diligently review new domain name applications and reject those which do not meet a severe set of criteria and the reality for several of these new neighbourhoods is that this does not occur. The body which tends to manage the Web identifiers, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - ICANN, had launched an initiative in order to expand the number of TLDs to encourage competition and choice online.

Generic Top-Level Domains

Initially there were only six not including country codes like .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, .net and .org. Enterprises interested in selling new TLDs had to pay $185,000 by way of fee to internet industry regulator – ICANN and demonstrate that they had the potential of running a registry.

They are presently in the process of introducing more than a thousand new web address endings which is known as generic top-level domains. The extent of the global Web domain name sales market seems to be hard to determine since several sales are private and sought-after domains tend to change hands for millions of dollars though more vague ones could be had for about 99 cents.

The world’s largest accredited registrar of domain names, - GoDaddy (GDDY.IN) had made sales of $1.4 billion last year and was worth at $3 billion in an earlier public offering this year. This year, Bain Capital had bought Blue Coat for $2.4 billion in an indication of strength of demand for cyber security technology.

Unscrupulous Operators on the Lookout of Hold Companies to Ransom

Law firm Hugh James clarifies that the cyber squatters tend to buy addresses alike those of well-known companies or which they expect that the companies may need in the future. The cyber criminals then expect to sell the web address for an overstated sum or profit from the extra web traffic resulting from well-known brand appearing high in online searches, boosting their own advertising revenue.

Around 198 cybersquatting disputes have been registered over the last eight months in comparison to the 48 in the first eight months after the new naming system had been introduced. This comprise of Red Bull which had challenged the use of `redbull.vodka’ and Laura Ashley had challenged the use of lauraashley.email. Tracey Singlehurst-Ward, Senior Associate at Hugh James had stated that, `businesses are being forced to spend time and money in these disputes. Tech-savvy, though often unscrupulous operators are on the lookout to hold established companies to ransom.

Samsung Smart Fridge Leaves Gmail Logins Open to Attack

Samsung Smart Fridge – MiTM attacks on Connections

Security researchers have identified a possible way of stealing user’s Gmail identifications from Samsung smart fridge. At the recent DEF CON hacking conference, Pen Test Partners have discovered the MiTM – man-in-the-middle, weakness which enabled the exploit at the time of the IoT hacking challenge. The hack was against the RF28HMELBSR smart fridge, a part of Samsung’s line-up of Smart Home appliances that is controlled through their Smart Home app.

Though the fridge gears SSL, it tends to fail in validating SSL certificates thus enabling man-in-the middle attacks on most of the connections. Internet connected devices are designed to download Gmail Calendar information to on-screen display. Security shortcomings would mean that hackers who tend to be on the same network could possibly steal Google login information from their neighbours.

According to a security researcher at Pen Test Partners, Ken Munro, `the internet-connected device is designed to download Gmail Calendar information on its display and it seems to work the same way like any device running a Gmail calendar. User or owner of the calendar, logged in, can make updates and those changes are then seen on any devices which a user could view the calendar on

Fridge Fails to Validate Certificate

The fridge fails to validate the certificate while the SSL is in place and hence the hacker who tend to access the network where the fridge is on, probably through a de-authentication and fake Wi-Fi access point attack, can man-in-the-middle, the fridge calendar client and steal Google login information from the neighbours.

Since the fridge has not yet been in Europe, the UK based security consultancy fell short of time at DEF CON in trying to interrupt communications between the fridge terminal and the software update server. Efforts were made to mount a firmware-based attack through a customer updates was not successful but they had more safety when it pulled apart the mobile app and discovered the possible security problem in the process, though was not confirmed.

Name of a file that was found in a keystore of the mobile app’s code indicated that it comprises of the certificate which was used to encrypt traffic between the mobile app and the fridge.

Working on IoT Security/Hacking Research

The certificate had the correct password though the information to the certificate seemed to be stored in the mobile app in an obscured manner.

Then the next step would be to find out the password and use the certificate data in order to confirm to the fridge and send commands over the air to it. Pedro Venda of Pen Test Partners adds that `they wanted to pull the terminal unit out of the fridge in order to get physical access to things such as the USB port and serial or JTAG interfaces, but were unable to do so since they had run out of time. The MiTM is sufficient enough to expose a user’s Gmail information’.

 The team at Pen Test Partners are working on more IoT security and hacking research. It had published research that revealed Samsung’s smart TV’s failure to encrypt voice recordings sent through internet, in February. Samsung had informed that they were looking into the issue and stated that `at Samsung they understand that the success depends on consumer’s trust and the products and services provided. Protecting consumers’ privacy is the top priority and will work hard each day to safeguard valued Samsung users’.

Certifi-gate Vulnerability

Certifi-gate Vulnerability – Disclosed at Black Hat Conference

Mobile application manipulating the Certifi-gate vulnerability which was disclosed at Black Hat conference in Las Vegas earlier this month has been removed from the Google Play store. Although the number of Recordable Activator downloads, which is a screen recorder app for Android devices soars between 100,000 and a half million, researchers at Check Point Software Technologies discovering the vulnerability stated that it would be successfully manipulated on only three devices.

The company had mentioned in a blog post, that the data seems to come from Check Point’s home-based Certifi-gate scanner application. Data from scans utilising the scanning app portray that LG devices the most are at a risk, together with Samsung and HTC, and 16% of the devices responding to scans indicate that they host vulnerable plugins. Certifi-gate which was revealed at Black Hat, three weeks ago and when misused, enables an attacker to take complete control of the device by using malicious mobile app or SMS message. The weakness is due to the third party remote support tools which are either pre-installed on Android devices by the developers and/or carriers, or are available to be downloaded.

Mobile Remote Support Tools – mRST

Mobile remote support tools – mRST tend to be generally signed with OEM certificates proving them system level privileges for the purpose of handling remote support tasks. It was revealed by Check Point at Black Hat that there are authentication problems which could be bypassed by malicious app utilising one of these mRST tools.

The issue with Recordable Activator is that it tends to download vulnerable form of TeamViewer as well as abused insecure communication between the app and system-level plugins. App that are signed with OEM certificates are treated as trusted and evade native Android restriction avoiding app like Recordable Activator in obtaining excessive permissions.

It could then be utilised in exploiting the prevailing authentication vulnerability as well as connect with the plugin in order to record whatever is happening on the screen, according to Check Point. Ohad Bobrov, researcher of Check Point, had explained at Black Hat that a malicious app tends to impersonate the original mRST to obtain access to everything on the device.

Tools Pre-installed with No UI

Bobrov stated during a press conference at Black Hat that the reason of this problem was that on several devices, these tools are preinstalled and in many cases since these tools do not have a UI, one is not aware of its existence on the device since one does not see an icon and it is not visible on the device to show that it exists.

Thus it tends to get easier for an attacker to take control of it. Check Point states that to patch up this problem is not easy since the tools which are generally preinstalled, may need manufacturers to push updated ROMs to vulnerable devices. Though new versions of remote support tools like TeamViewer tend to be released, the older versions could still be likely to be in circulation for a while.

He further adds that it would take a long time till a new version comes up though but the more problematic issue is not the bug but its architecture. The vendors and OEMS have signed this vulnerable mRST with their certificate and one cannot withdraw or else the plugin will not function.

HTC Vive Launches This Year, but the Bulk will be Released in 2016

HTC has announced its plans to provide a limited release of its much-waited virtual reality headset named Vive this year. HTC will be launching its devices in limited quantity later this year followed by a large-scale massive launch in the first half of 2016. It has kept both the dates of launches under wrap for the time being but the virtual reality segment is already buzzing with this promising announcement. HTC Vive headset provides much freedom of movement to the users by allowing them to walk freely which helps in adding extra depth to the wholesome gaming experience. On the other hand, the available virtual reality sets just let the users move them within a restricted space.

How virtual reality headsets work? 

Virtual reality headsets are basically worn by the users on their eyes and headsets happens to provide one a kind full 3D virtual environment to the gamers to explore. In order to enhance the gaming experience an additional connected controller is provided. Virtual reality sphere is mainly used for gaming sector and virtual devices are gradually increasing their support for several popular titles.

Market analysts are predicting that the virtual reality can even make foray in the film industry with time and popularity. In the recent times, few filmmakers had utilized this technology to understand its potential in the entertainment industry.

HTC gives a major preference to Vibe 

HTC is a trusted name in the field of Smartphones but over the years, it has received serious competition from the Smartphone majors- Apple and Samsung. HTC had made its foray in the virtual reality sector in order to give a boot to its business operations. Earlier HTC had developed a remarkable Steam online gaming platform in collaboration with Valve. Now it is relying on its partner to launch the virtual reality device called Vive on full scale in first quarter of 2016.

HTC to get stiff competition in 2016 

HTC’s Vive will get some stiff competition from other upcoming virtual devices namely Facebook’s Occult Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus, which are expected to be launched in 2016. Therefore it is quite unclear why HTC decided to go for only a limited in 2015 rather than going with wider launch in 2015 and getting a huge share of virtual reality market. HTC must be trying to get few people used to its Vive then build a demand for this remarkable when it opens up for wider scale launch in first half of 2016. With all these marvelous projections, expectations and launches 2016 certainly will be a decisive year for the virtual reality devices.

Future prospects of HTC Vive 

HTC understands the importance of 2016 when a large number of virtual reality devices will be rolling out to appease the customers and it is hoping to grab a bigger pie of the market by building a demand with limited launch this year. The head of marketing executive for HTC Jeff Gattis had predicted selling of virtual devices anywhere between 2-3 million next year.

A Little Light Interaction Leaves Quantum Physicists Beaming

A remarkable research conducted by a group of physicists had brought insightful revelations where it is possible to make building block of the quantum computer with the use of pure light. This team of physicists comes from University of Toronto and they had successfully published their paper in the Nature Physics on ‘logic gateway’ an essential segment of computer circuitry.

What are logic gate? 

Logic gates segments are designed to execute operations on the input data in order to create outputs. In the earlier times during the phase of classical computers, the diodes or transistors formed the logic gates but with the advancement of quantum computer component it is now comprised of both the individual atoms as well as subatomic particles. Processing of information as per the laws of the quantum physics usually takes place when these particles interact with each other.

In the quantum computing the light particles are known as ‘photos’ and offers various advantages but it is extremely difficult to invoke interaction among them in a profitable manner. The research conducted by the physicist from University of Toronto is centered on finding successful ways of creating such interactions.

Researchers are upbeat with their experiment results

One of the paper’s authors Aephraim Steinberg had shed some amazing insight on the experiment results. Physicists at the University Of Toronto had studied the effect of photon on an optical beam but they had advanced their experiment in a wholesome fashion. In usual conditions, light beam passes through each other without causing change on effect on the other. In order to effectively develop technologies such as optical quantum computers it is necessary to make beams interact with one another. But no one had achieved feat with using just single photon.

How this experiment was conducted? 

The researchers had conducted this experiment of creating light beams interaction in a delicate process of two steps. A shot of single photon was forced at the rubidium atoms so that it iced to a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. Later on the photons become intertwined with the atoms and this resulted in rubidium interaction to another optical beam. The photon started changing the atom’s refractive index which brought a minute but calculable “phase shift” in the beam. This method used in the experiment can be actively brought into use in the optical quantum logic gate, which will facilitate input-output and information-processing.

Where this experiment can be applied? 

The best place to use this experiment in wholesome application is in the quantum logic gates. This advanced process will help in seeing the interactions in a new manner and in the study of optics a new filed will be revealed. Currently the researchers are working further to answer two important questions i.e. what happens when dealing with one particle of light at time and how differently the light beams will interact with other. Researchers are hopeful of finding these essential questions answers soon with continuous research and experimentations.