Monday, November 23, 2015

Apple and Microsoft's advocacy group is against encryption backdoors

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/23/itic-encryption-backdoor/

keyboard unlock   security...

Following Tim Cook's lead, the advocacy group behind Apple, Google, Microsoft and plenty of other big tech firms has come out against calls to weaken encryption, which authorities argue would make it easier to track criminals. "Weakening encryption or creating backdoors to encrypted devices and data for use by the good guys would actually create vulnerabilities to be exploited by the bad guys," said Dean Garfield, the CEO of the Information Technology Industry Counsel (ITIC), who also represents Facebook, Twitter and AOL. It "would almost certainly cause serious physical and financial harm across our society and our economy," he added. The backlash against strong encryption is particularly heated today, following the recent Paris attacks. While secure communications are generally a good thing for consumers, governments (including the US and UK) have argued for backdoors that would allow them to intercept encrypted data. Naturally, that would make life easier for intelligence agencies, but it defeats the point of having encryption at all.

Via: The Guardian

Source: ITIC

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Thursday, November 19, 2015

Google now lets you join Hangouts as a guest, no account needed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/19/google-now-lets-you-join-hangouts-as-a-guest-no-account-needed/

The worst thing about organizing an online meeting is squabbling over platform. Should you choose WebEx? Skype? Google? Your decision just got a little easier. As of today, you no longer need to have a Google account to join a meeting Hosted on Hangouts -- just a link.

Source: Google

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Saturday, November 07, 2015

Google buys Fly Labs, Photos to get in-app video editing

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/06/google-gets-fly-labs-photos-gets-in-app-video-editing/

The team at Fly Labs announced on Friday that Google had acquired their company and will be rolling their image-editing technology into Google Photos. "We'll be pouring the same passion into Google Photos that we poured into Clips, Fly, Tempo and Crop on the Fly," the company wrote in a blog post. Existing users should note that while Fly Lab's existing suite of tools will remain free and available in the App Store for the next three months or so, there will be no more updates. Furthermore, if you've already downloaded the apps, they'll continue to work even after this three-month grace period. You won't, however, be able to re-download them once they've been removed from the App Store so make sure you don't go accidentally uninstalling them.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Fly Labs

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Thursday, November 05, 2015

Explore New Zealand's 'Great Walks' with Google Street View

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/05/google-street-view-new-zealand-great-walks/

Heaphy Track between  Perry Saddle Hut and Gouland Downs Hut

If you want to take a trip to Middle Earth tonight but don't have a passport, Google's got you covered with a new addition to Street View. The internet juggernaut's partnered with New Zealand's Department of Conservation to use Google Trekker to create some pretty rad 360 degree panoramas of the country's most stunning vistas, the "Great Walks." It isn't the first time Mountain View's gone someplace that inspired a movie before, and hopefully it won't be the last. The real question here is if that's an ent moot off in the distance or just your eyes playing tricks on you.

Source: Google Lat-Long, Google Maps

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Sony's A7 II camera gets a faster and more accurate autofocus

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/04/sony-a7-ii-firmware-update/

The Sony A7 II is one of the best mirrorless cameras available right now, although it isn't perfect. After trying it out earlier this year, one of our main issues with the full-frame shooter was its autofocus performance, which was at times slow and unreliable. But Sony has an update coming soon that, along with bringing a new feature, promises to fix some of these woes. In addition to activating the phase detection AF on the A7 II, the company's also turning on support for uncompressed 14-bit RAW image capture -- something that already exists in models such as the A7S II, A7R II and RX1R II. You can grab the refreshed firmware, version 2.0, on November 18th from Sony's support website.

Source: Sony

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