Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

NVIDIA's LTE Shield tablet is finally available for pre-order

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/16/nvidia-lte-shield/

If we were to cherry-pick one major fault from our NVIDIA Shield tablet review, it would definitely be the slate's storage space -- 16GB just isn't enough for a device built for gaming and media consumption. If you were holding off until the company put out a larger capacity version, your day has come: NVIDIA just announced that the 32GB LTE variant of the Shield is now available for pre-order. $399 buys the unlocked LTE tablet in its own right, but NVIDIA tells us that AT&T will be offering it for $299 on contract.

We dropped by NVIDIA's Santa Clara offices for a quick demo earlier this week and found exactly what we expected: last month's gaming tablet with lighting fast wireless connectivity. Naturally, like most LTE devices under ideal conditions, it performed admirably -- successfully streaming games from NVIDIA's GRID and a remote PC over the cellular network. The company is also announcing the availability of three new Tegra K1 optimized games: Beach Buggy Racing, BombSquad and Broadsword: Age of Chivalry. Sounds good, but you'll have to wait until next month to play if you're ordering today -- new tablets don't start shipping out until the September 30th.

Filed under: Gaming, Tablets

Source: NVIDIA

Fix Vertical Videos on YouTube With This Bookmarklet

Source: http://lifehacker.com/fix-vertical-videos-on-youtube-with-this-bookmarklet-1634904901

Fix Vertical Videos on YouTube With This Bookmarklet

You probably know that you shouldn't shoot vertical videos on your smartphone—but everyone else does it anyway. This simple bookmarklet rotates the video window for you so you don't get a tiny letterboxed version.

Once you add the bookmarklet to your bookmarks toolbar, you'll be able to just click it whenever you come across a vertical video on YouTube. It will instantly take away the black space as well as enlarge the video to make it easier to view.

It's pretty cool, and a quick fix for the ever-annoying vertical issue. Hit the link below to grab the bookmarklet—bust drag and drop the button to your bookmarks toolbar..

Vertical Video YouTube Bookmarklet

Chrome for Android starts answering your questions in search suggestions

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/15/chrome-for-android-autocomplete-answers/

Chrome for Android shows the weather in auto-complete suggestions

Google's as-you-type search suggestions have only offered the tiniest bit of help so far. They can handle basic math, but they won't answer questions that require more than a few numbers. However, that might soon change. Chrome for Android now has an experimental feature that answers some of your queries before you've even finished asking. Switch it on and you can get the weather, historic dates and other valuable info without ever seeing Google's usual results page. While the feature isn't all that vital when you have access to Google Now, it may save you the trouble of switching apps (or leaving the page you're on) when you just want to get a small factoid. There's also no hint as to when Google might make the feature standard on Android or bring it to the desktop, but let's hope that an upgrade comes soon -- it could save a lot of unnecessary keystrokes.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google

Via: Phandroid

Source: OMGChrome

Kindle security flaw can be exploited by hidden codes in e-books

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/16/kindle-security-flaw-e-books/

Next time you come across a Kindle e-book link somewhere other than Amazon itself, you may want to make sure it's not some dubious website before you hit download or "Send to Kindle." A security researcher by the name of Benjamin Daniel Musser has discovered that the "Manage Your Kindle" page contains a security hole -- one that hackers can take advantage of with the help of e-books hiding malicious lines of code. Once you load the Kindle Library with a corrupted e-book (typically with a subject that includes <script src="https://www.example.org/script.js"></script>), a hacker gets access to your cookies, and, hence, your Amazon account credentials.

Based on the updates Musser wrote at the bottom of the report's web page, he first discovered the flaw in October last year. Amazon patched it up shortly after he reported it, but it made its way back after a "Manage Your Kindle" overhaul. Still, he believes the issue should be easy to avoid, so long as you don't download e-books (pirated or otherwise) from websites you don't know. Aside from Kindle, another Amazon-owned service was also thrust into the spotlight earlier for exhibiting a security flaw. Audible, the company's audiobooks service, apparently allowed users to use fake emails and credit card numbers in order to download as many files as they want. An Audible spokesperson stressed, however, that transactions made using fake credit cards were "closed quickly" and that the service takes credit card fraud seriously.

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

Via: The Digital Reader

Source: B.FL7.DE

Monday, September 15, 2014

MIT Made a Smartphone Control a Computer With a Simple Touch

Source: http://gizmodo.com/controlling-your-computer-with-a-smartphone-looks-aweso-1635000970

MIT Made a Smartphone Control a Computer With a Simple Touch

Have you ever held your smartphone up to your laptop screen and thought about how cool it would be if the two devices could work together, physically? Well now, thanks to a team from the MIT Media Lab, they can. New software lets you use your smartphone as an extra interface for a computer, and it looks awesome.

Macy's will give you location-based discounts through your iPhone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/15/macys-stores-get-ibeacons/

Macy's iBeacon shopping during its trial phase

Macy's experiments with location-sensitive shopping have apparently paid off -- in the wake of a successful trial, the retail behemoth has unveiled plans to put iBeacons in all of its stores. Once they're activated this fall, you can get discounts and other promos on your iPhone as you wander through the store; you only need to install the Macy's app and keep Bluetooth turned on. There will only be regular deals at first, but an upgrade in the spring will offer department-specific discounts. You may get a special deal on a coat right as you're swinging by the men's or women's clothing sections, for instance. You're probably not going to go out of your way to shop at Macy's just to see bargains appear on your mobile screen, but this could be a useful perk if you're already a frequent customer.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Via: ZDNet

Source: Macy's

Here's How Apple Came Up With The Apple Watch (AAPL)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-inspiration-apple-watch-ipod-nano-2014-9

apple watch

Less than a week after Apple unveiled the Apple Watch, we're learning about how the tech goliath came up with its newest product category.

The Apple Watch was inspired by the 2010 iPod Nano, according to the New York Times' Brian X. Chen.

"The watch, according to a former Apple designer, had its origin with a tiny iPod Nano Touch, introduced in 2010," writes Chen. "People attached a strap to the minuscule media player, and wore it on their wrist, listening to music while jogging."

Chen is talking about the 6th-generation iPod Nano, which had a tiny square face resembling the Apple Watch sans a strap. It looked like this:

iPod Nano

People soon realized that one could make a DIY-smartwatch by slapping a band on the Nano. The result is something very closely resembling the Apple Watch:

iPod_Nano_Apple_Watch

Apple has clearly made an effort to burnish the Apple Watch with a luxurious face, but the genesis of their smartwatch is completely evident.

SEE ALSO: How Steve Jobs Surprised Tim Cook In 2011 By Asking Him To Be CEO

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Panasonic LX100: A Whole Lot of Juice In a Not-Quite-Compact Design

Source: http://reframe.gizmodo.com/panasonic-lx100-a-whole-lot-of-juice-in-a-not-quite-co-1633121101/+kcampbelldollaghan

Panasonic LX100: A Whole Lot of Juice In a Not-Quite-Compact Design

The race to make the most capable camera in the smallest possible package is a death-match of features versus size. Panasonic has a notable new gladiator in the LX100, which combines a large(ish) micro-four-thirds sensor with 4K video and a lens to be reckoned with.

âCanon G7 X: Canon Catches Up With a Tiny 1-Inch Sensor Point-and-Shoot

Source: http://gizmodo.com/canon-g7-x-canon-catches-up-with-a-tiny-1-inch-sensor-1634777775

Canon G7 X: Canon Catches Up With a Tiny 1-Inch Sensor Point-and-Shoot

From about 2009-2012, Canon's S-series point-and-shoots were the best tiny little cameras you could buy. Then, Sony's RX100 line conquered it with similar functionality, but a much larger 1-inch image sensor that blew Canon's dinky 1/1.7-inch chips away. With the PowerShot G7 X, Canon strikes back.

Panasonic GM5: The Smallest System Camera Around

Source: http://reframe.gizmodo.com/panasonic-gm5-the-smallest-system-camera-around-1633146184/+kcampbelldollaghan

Panasonic GM5: The Smallest System Camera Around

Last year's Panasonic GM1 was an absolutely tiny camera with interchangeable lenses. It seemed like a curious design, because once you changed lens from the kit pancake to a normal-sized lens, it turned out to be not-so-tiny anymore. That hasn't stopped Panasonic from pushing out a similarly small follow-up, the souped-up GM5.

Panasonic CM1: A 1-Inch Image Sensor Crammed Into an Android Phone

Source: http://gizmodo.com/panasonic-cm1-a-huge-1-inch-image-sensor-crammed-into-1634798769

Panasonic CM1: A 1-Inch Image Sensor Crammed Into an Android Phone

Amongst Panasonic's big announcements the Photokina show in Germany came a whopper of a surprise. The Panasonic CM1 is a 4.7-inch Android smartphone with a 20-megapixel 1-inch image sensor. This could be the best smartphone camera of all time.

Sony a7 Owners Get a New Super-Wide Lens, With New Primes Coming Soon

Source: http://reframe.gizmodo.com/sony-a7-owners-get-a-new-super-wide-lens-with-new-prim-1633008639/+ericlimer

Sony a7 Owners Get a New Super-Wide Lens, With New Primes Coming Soon

Sony's trio of full-frame mirrorless cameras, the a7, a7r, and a7s, are wonderfully capable machines . Unfortunately there just aren't that many native lenses to choose from. Today, a new super-wide zoom enters the fold that will hopefully make these slick bodies more appealing, with some primes on the way.

Canon's bringing back the square selfie cam with PowerShot N2

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/15/canon-powershot-n2/

Early last year, a Canon rep pulled out a point-and-shoot with a very peculiar design. Instead of the rectangular form factor we'd grown used to, this camera was square. The PowerShot N was designed to be held any which way, making it a good fit for both righties and lefties, but without any pronounced grip, it didn't feel quite as natural to hold. We were a bit relieved, then, when Canon debuted the N100 with a more familiar look and feel, but at Photokina, the company's returning to the original shape and size with the PowerShot N2. The N2 replaces the original N -- the N100 will remain on the market -- bringing a slew of new features for social sharers and video bloggers alike.

There's a new 16.1-megapixel sensor, a faster DIGIC 6 processor, a 28-224mm f/3.0-5.9 8x optical zoom lens (with improved IS) and a 461k-dot, 2.8-inch touchscreen that now flips 180 degrees for self-portraits (and videos). You still get WiFi (after all, this camera's all about creating sharable content), but the N2 now includes NFC, making it easier to get up and running with a new device. The camera can capture 1080/30p video and thanks to a few added touchscreen controls, you can tweak exposure compensation, turn on the flash and adjust the smoothness of your skin (to decrease sharpness with certain facial features), all from the selfie mode. Canon's expecting to ship the PowerShot N2 to customers this December; the camera is priced at $300.

Filed under: Cameras, Canon

Panasonic's 'connected camera' pairs an Android smartphone with a one-inch sensor and f/2.8 lens

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/15/panasonic-lumix-cm1/

Compact, point-and-shoot cameras are dying, simply because people would rather use smartphones and tablets to snap their dinner and instantly share them to Instagram. Unfortunately, that's a segment of the market that Panasonic abandoned (at least in Europe) back in 2013. That left the company without a convincing rival to the Lumia 1020 and Samsung's various phone / camera hybrids. That's why the company has now launched the DMC-CM1, a "connected camera" (i.e. a smartphone with a proper lens) that's capable of taking 20-megapixel stills and record 4K video thanks to a one-inch MOS sensor.

For its part, Panasonic knows that the device won't beat equivalent smartphones on a spec-for-spec basis. Instead, it wants people to concentrate upon the photographic equipment that's been crammed into this slender device. Perched atop the aforementioned one-inch sensor is an f/2.8 Leica DC Elmarit lens. The lens is fixed, but works equivalent to a 28mm zoom lens, packing an aperture that'll run all the way up to f/11. A manual control dial runs around the lens, which you can assign to a function of your choice, lending this an old-school feel. In fact, the CM1 looks like the Lumia 1020 by way of Dieter Rams, all austere chrome with cracked-leather style back, and has a weird retro-futuristic look that's tremendously attractive.

On the surface of it, it's no slouch in the phone department either, packing a 4.7-inch full HD touchscreen that'll offer full manual control of your images. Sandwiched between the frame is a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 with 2GB RAM and Android 4.4. The 16GB of internal storage can also, thankfully, be improved with microSD cards up to 128GB in capacity. Battery-wise, there's 2,600mAh unit lurking inside the hardware, although we'd be concerned that it won't hold enough juice to get you through a full day of snappin' and callin'. If there is one downside, it's that the CM1 is only earmarked for release in France and Germany of Christmas of this year. Still, we imagine that plenty of camera enthusiasts will be racing to get back in contact with some long-lost Gallic grandmother in the hope of scoring one of these as a present.

Steve Dent contributed to this report.

Filed under: Cameras

Article: The State of Antivirus for Android

Over 80% of smartphones today run Android. With such a large amount of phones using Google's operating system, Android has become an ever more viable target for malware developers. The question is, are currently used antiviruses effective? The answer is more complex than yes or no, but is leaning...

http://www.androidauthority.com/state-antivirus-android-523684/

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