Banks brace for cyberwarfare drill Quantum Dawn 2
Come June 28th, Wall Street outfits including the likes of Citigroup and Bank of America will be under siege -- from fake hackers, that is. Representatives from a total of 40 companies along with the Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, US departments of Treasury and Homeland Security will take part in Quantum Dawn 2: a simulated cyberattack on faux trading and information systems. Led by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the drill will test the ability of participants to cooperate via email and phone to suss out what's going on and hatch a plan. The exercise will momentarily pause so that those involved can decide on a course of action, and then it'll speed up and model the effects of the decision over a longer period of time. With the recent flurry of hacking incidents and international finger pointing, something tells us this won't be the last we hear of drills like Quantum Dawn.
[Image credit: MoneyBlogNewz, Flickr]
Filed under: Alt
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Via: AllThingsD
Source: Reuters
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Shazam for iOS updated with Pulse discovery feature, redesigned tab bar on iPhone
It's been a mere few weeks since Shazam introduced those new location-based and tagging features for the tablet version of its iOS app, but the music-driven service isn't stopping there. Reaching version 6.1 on Apple's platform, today Shazam's universal application is bringing a few more tidbits to both the iPhone and iPad. Handset users, for one, will notice speedier load times within the app and a rather fresh look that focuses on displaying more info on the tab bar -- such as friend tags and chart updates. On the bigger screen, Shazam says it's improved things by allowing users to more easily delete tags from Favorites and by adding under-the-hood tweaks which should make for a smoother experience while browsing the Friends feed.
The bigger news, perhaps, is Shazam Pulse, a music discovery tool that's making its way to the iOS app, one which allows folks to quickly see and sample the music currently being tagged by people. It's worth nothing all these new features are available for Shazam and Shazam Encore, so fret not if you have one or the other.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Software
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Via: Cult of Mac
Source: App Store (1), (2)
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Dragon Mobile Assistant 4 for Android adds driving mode, voice notifications
For Nuance, it's not enough that Dragon Mobile Assistant spares Android users from pecking at the keyboard -- with the app's new 4.0 upgrade, those users can sometimes avoid contact altogether. Dragon Mobile Assistant can now detect when you're in a moving car and automatically invoke a Driver Mode that relies solely on voice recognition and feedback, keeping your focus on the road. Accordingly, the upgrade builds in spoken notifications for inbound calls, messages, upcoming meetings and Facebook updates. There's also voice-aware email and customizable wake up commands. All told, 4.0 is a big boost for Android fans who see touchscreens as old hat; if you do, you can grab the update shortly (if not already) through Google Play.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
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Source: Google Play
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Yahoo discloses US government data request stats: over 12,000 in six months
Yahoo has just revealed just how many government requests for data it's received in the past six months, and it's beaten out Apple, Microsoft and Facebook. Marissa Mayer and General Counsel Ron Bell noted in a Tumblr post that the search giant received between 12,000 and 13,000 requests, "inclusive of criminal, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and other requests," between December 1st, 2012 and May 31st, 2013. According to Mayer and Bell, the majority of requests relate to "fraud, homicides, kidnappings, and other criminal investigations." Naturally, Yahoo notes that it can't specify how many FISA requests are in that figure due to their classified nature, but it "strongly urge(s) the federal government to reconsider its stance on this issue."
Mayer and Co. also announced that their first "global law enforcement transparency report" will debut later in the summer, and will include data on the first half of 2013. It's not a one-time occurrence either -- the firm plans to update the dossier twice each year.
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Source: Yahoo (Tumblr)
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GEAK unveils Eye and Mars smartphones with 13MP cameras, budget prices
GEAK may be focusing its attention on wearable tech like the Ring and Watch, but it still has a pair of new offerings for those who like old-fashioned smartphones: meet the 5-inch Eye and 5.8-inch Mars. Both are tailored to photo junkies with 13MP, backside-illuminated rear cameras as well as strong front cameras that shoot at 8MP (Eye) and 2MP (Mars). Differences between the handsets revolve mostly around performance and screen size. The Eye keeps things modest with a 720p IPS display, a quad-core MediaTek MT6589, HSPA+ data, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Spring for the extra-large Mars and you'll upgrade to a 1080p IPS LCD, a Snapdragon 600 and 2GB of RAM. Either way, you won't be paying a lot for the imaging prowess -- when pre-orders start on June 25th, GEAK will ask ¥1,999 ($326) off-contract for the Eye and ¥2,999 ($490) for the Mars. Just don't expect either to leave China when there's no word of international plans.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
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Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)
Source: GEAK (1), (2)
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Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 9:30PM ET
It's Monday, and you know what that means; another Engadget HD Podcast. We hope you will join us live when the Engadget HD podcast starts recording at 9:30PM. If you'll be joining us, be sure to go ahead and get ready by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then you'll be ready to participate in the live chat.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
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Pelican Imaging shows its array camera serving as a 3D printing tool (video)
While Pelican Imaging's 16-lens array camera will only reach mobile devices in 2014, the company doesn't want to wait to show what its technology can do in practice. It just posted a clip suggesting that the camera's whole-scene focusing and depth mapping could come in handy at a wedding. A guest could not only capture pristine snapshots of the occasion, but create 3D-printed figurines of the bride and groom while they're still at the reception. Is this a niche case? You bet -- but it reminds us that Pelican's array could make an impact well beyond our photo albums. Catch the full video after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Nokia
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Source: Pelican Imaging
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Sprint sues Dish and Clearwire, claims buyout offer is illegal
Sprint warned Clearwire in early June that it viewed Dish's latest attempt to buy it as illegal, and now the carrier is following up with legal action. Big Yellow has just announced that its filed a lawsuit against Dish and its acquisition target in Delaware, as it believes the buyout would violate state law and the rights of shareholders and investors in both itself and Clearwire. The Now Network is asking the court to prevent the completion of the deal, rescind certain parts of the agreement and seek "declaratory, injunctive, compensatory and other relief." In the outfit's own words, the suit "details how DISH has repeatedly attempted to fool Clearwire's shareholders into believing its proposal was actionable in an effort to acquire Clearwire's spectrum and to obstruct Sprint's transaction with Clearwire." Stand back folks, the legal fireworks are just starting.
Filed under: Sprint
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Source: Sprint
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Must See HDTV (June 17th - 23rd)
Yes, Game of Thrones is over, but there are still a few other interesting shows on TV. While Futurama begins its farewell tour, Wilfred and Copper return for the summer and Discovery kicks off a new reality show that drops contestants off in the jungle with nothing -- and by nothing we mean no clothes. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.
Futurama
Yes, sadly, Futurama has been canceled again. The 13-episode final final season starts Wednesday on Comedy Central and will feature the show's entire original voice cast. Special guests this season include Larry Bird, Emilia Clark, George Takei and more, check out a clip from the new season embedded after the break.
(June 19th, Comedy Central, 10PM)
Whodunnit?
It's a reality show -- wait, wait, this one might be different! This time ABC is taking on the murder mystery genre, as 13 players compete to solve a different mystery each week. Solve it and survive to proceed to the next episode or else face elimination.
(June 23rd, ABC, 9PM)
NBA / NHL Finals
And then there were two. The NBA finals are almost over as the Spurs have pushed the Heat to the brink of elimination, while on the NHL side the Blackhawks and Bruins are tied 1-1 after two overtime contests, with Game 3 tonight. Enjoy your sport of choice while you still can, before the long offseason begins.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
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The Daily Roundup for 06.17.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Filed under: Misc, Apple, Microsoft
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Microsoft offering Surface RT tablets for $199 to educational institutions
If you thought Microsoft's effort to push Surface RT tablets into classrooms would stop with a 10,000-unit giveaway, you'd be mistaken. Ryan Lowdermilk, a technology evangelist for the company, revealed that it's offering 32GB Surface RT slates to K-12 and higher education institutions in 25 countries for $199, more than 50 percent off the $499 retail sticker price. Dropping $249 for each unit will snag organizations keyboard-infused Touch Covers, while bumping the cost to $289 will add Type Covers to the package. Education outfits can take advantage of the deal until August 31st (or while supplies last), but individual students won't be able to snag a Surface at such a deep discount on their own. The post announcing the program has gone offline since its unveiling, but we've reached out to Lowdermilk to confirm that the offer is still valid. In the meantime, you can hit the second source link to snatch an order form for school administrators.
Update: It appears the order form has been pulled, so we've replaced the second source link with a mirror of the document.
[Thanks, Suraj-Sun]
Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft
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Source: Ryan Lowdermilk (Google Cache), Surface for Education Order Form (PDF)
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Spanish researchers use AR glasses and smartphones to aid student-teacher classroom communications
Gunners. They are a unique subset of students found in most any university lecture hall who steer classroom conversations with constant comments and questions directed at the professor. But what if you want a more inclusive environment that lets even timid students ask questions? One where they can communicate with their professor privately, during class, without interrupting. Well, researchers from la Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) have built a system that lets professors receive feedback from students and know which ones have questions by using augmented reality technology.
It works by leveraging the smartphones in students' pockets and giving the professor a set of AR smart glasses. Using an app connected to the system's server, students can indicate when they do or don't understand a concept, that the professor should go more slowly, or that they know the answer to the question. Then, an icon indicating which action the student has taken will be displayed over that student's head on the smart glasses' displays. Using the system, the professor can also push predefined questions to students' phones and control presentation slides using hand gestures and a Kinect. Intrigued? Speak Spanish? A demo video of the system in español awaits you after the break.
Filed under: Wearables, Software
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Source: British Journal of Educational Technology
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Sprint launches LTE in 22 new cities, unveils plans for 13 more
Sprint's LTE cells have been popping up a lot lately, and today they're spreading like the blazes -- the carrier just flicked the (official) switch on its faster network in 22 new cities. The focus is primarily on southern locales like Baton Rouge, Miami, New Orleans and Tampa, although the expansion includes cooler climates like Lansing, Napa and Raleigh. The company is also teasing future rollouts for 13 more cities in Michigan, Texas and Washington state. If you want to know whether or not you'll see the coveted 4G symbol this summer, Sprint has the full details after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
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Source: Sprint
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Outlook.com drops linked email accounts in favor of aliases
Hotmail and Outlook.com have long supported linked email accounts for organizing messages. However, Microsoft now sees connected accounts as tempting targets for hackers -- so tempting, in fact, that the company is severing those links as a safety measure. Within the next two months, Outlook.com will move to using its alias system as the only way to handle multiple accounts. Users will have options to forward email and send messages from other addresses, but they won't get to control multiple accounts through one sign-in. Microsoft will start unlinking accounts in late July, so those who'd like a more orderly transition to the safer (if less convenient) approach will want to act quickly.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
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Source: Outlook Blog
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Oculus snags $16 million from investors to bring virtual reality to the masses
Oculus announced its first round of funding today, wherein the company secured $16 million from investors specifically aimed at putting the Oculus Rift in consumer hands. The nascent virtual reality hardware company has repeatedly said its end goal with the Rift is to make it a consumer product; currently, only folks who backed the Rift on Kickstarter and those willing to spend $300 on a developer kit have access. A handful of games support the Rift, though more and more developers are promising not just support in their games, but entire games built from the ground up with VR in mind. An HD version of the headset was also introduced at last week's E3 gaming show.
Oculus' new business partners apparently see enough financial potential in the Rift to not only invest heavily, but to also take on board positions -- both Santo Politi of Spark Capital and Antonio Rodriguez of Matrix Partners are now on the Oculus board of directors. "What Palmer, Brendan and the team are building at Oculus so closely matches the Metaverse that we had to be part of it. Working with them to get this platform to market at scale will be enormously exciting," Rodriguez said of today's news.
The company launched last year with a Kickstarter campaign targeting $250,000 -- the project eventually raised just shy of $2.5 million, and now sells its Rift dev kit outside of the Kickstarter campaign.
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Season 3 of Downton Abbey arrives as an Amazon streaming exclusive: members get their Dowager Countess fix for free
We knew season three of Downton Abbey was coming to Amazon Prime Instant Video as an exclusive, but it looks like those episodes have arrived on the subscription streaming service one day ahead of schedule. Starting today, Prime members can watch all three seasons of the Masterpiece Classic drama at no additional charge. Not signed up? Hold your binge-viewing parties now, because Prime Instant Video will soon be the only subscription streaming site to offer the show, period.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon
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Source: Amazon Prime Instant Video
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Google announces Chromebooks are coming to more retailers around the world
Sure, you can already snag one of those Chromebooks from places such as Amazon, Best Buy and Google's own Play shop. But, starting today, the Mountain View-based company is making various Chrome OS-sporting laptops available at more retailers around the globe -- over 6,600, to be specific. Google says the likes of Walmart and Staples will now have a selection of Chromebooks up for grabs, while Office Depot, Office Max and Fry's are expected to do the same "in the coming months." For those across the pond, you can expect to find some of Google's laptops at Dixon retailers in the UK, as well as Mediamarket, FNAC and Elgiganten stores in the Netherlands, France and Sweden, respectively. All in all, this is definitely a good thing for Google's plan to get its Chromebook machines in as many locations as possible.
Filed under: Laptops, Google
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Source: Google
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GEAK Ring puts NFC on your finger, unlocks phones and shares your contact card
Some say NFC is dead, but GEAK from Shanghai wants to prove them wrong. Announced alongside the GEAK Watch earlier today was this GEAK Ring, a tiny NFC-enabled wearable device that stores your identity. The ring's pitched as an intuitive way to unlock your phone -- just hold it with the hand that's wearing the ring, and it'll unlock without having to type in the password; plus it'll stay awake as long as it's held in the same hand. Another feature is that since the ring has your contact details stored (presumably rewritable), you can also use it to share your contact card with other NFC-enabled devices. But of course, given the risk of NFC cloning, you should treat GEAK's solution as a convenience rather than a more secure method.
At launch, this ring will only be compatible with the GEAK Eye and GEAK Mars quad-core phones that were also announced today, but it'll support other devices from the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo starting in November. GEAK will be taking pre-orders from August 8th, and it'll cost Chinese buyers ¥199 or about $30 each. It'll sure go nicely alongside that Google ring.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
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Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: GEAK (Chinese)
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Raytheon's updated JTACs situational awareness system eyes-on (video)
Though you may think drones do all the fighting these days, actual soldiers on the ground are still used to call in airstrikes. Sometimes it's still necessary to visually confirm targets before the flyboys create a smoking crater. Though the army has toyed with smartphones and other means to connect soldiers, Raytheon has created a new JTACs (Joint Tactical Air Controller system) prototype for ground forces to let them separate friendlies from enemies and relay the information to strike forces. The system consists of a chest-worn computer, heads-up monocle viewer and wrist-worn display, which together let the solider select a target merely by looking at it and pressing a button. They can also tag friendly forces the same way or send update situational data to the rest of the team, whether they're on the ground or flying a fighter overhead. That assistance from the ground will make it easier for those at the yoke to differentiate between friendlies and targets.
We tried the prototype ourselves in a limited, 2D environment here at the 2013 Paris Air Show and, without any help getting set up, were able to tag targets as red diamonds and friendly forces as amber squares. Everything we did was also displayed on second screen, simulating the ability to send live updates to other soldiers or the base. Impressive as it was, the whole thing is merely a prototype for now, though, that could eventually change. The military AR system is part of a larger platform called AWARE, which Raytheon hopes to eventually deploy. For a detailed explanation about how it works, check out the video after the break.
Filed under: Wearables
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HTC confirms Android 4.2 is still coming to the One, despite rumors to the contrary
HTC has been relatively quiet with its plans to push Android 4.2 to the One (aside from a few unofficial leaks), but Three UK is hoping to start the conversation. In a recent tweet, the mobile operator answered a customer's query regarding the update, stating that HTC pulled the firmware, with no specific details on when (or if) the new version of Android will arrive. We reached out to HTC and received confirmation that Android 4.2 is in fact still coming, although users may need to wait a little longer before it becomes available. We'll continue to update as soon as we hear more official news from the manufacturer, but at least we know it's still in the plans.
[Thanks, Josh]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC
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Source: Twitter
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We're live from the 2013 Paris Air Show!
While
you were sleeping earlier today, we were getting trampled by crazed
commuters at a train station, overheated in a steamy bus that inched
through traffic at one mile per hour, and soaked by heavy rains and an
overflowing airport sewage system. But all in all, it was a pretty
fantastic day. That's due in no small part to the dozens of incredible
aircraft we had a chance to get up close and personal with, the fighter
jets demonstrating slow flight and vertical climbs a few hundred feet
above the ground, and the A350 cockpit we stumbled upon in the Airbus booth.
Yes,
we're here at the 2013 Paris Air Show -- France's gigantic biennial
aviation fest. It's more or less like any other trade show we've visited
in the past few weeks, just instead of tablet accessories, we're
digging through aircraft components, and the Airbus A350 is this expo's Zenbook Infinity.
There's been no shortage of press on TV and all over the web today, so
you're probably familiar with the show's theme: Airbus versus Boeing.
Sure, that's more or less been the case every time Le Bourget Airport
has opened its doors to the aviation community, but with the Dreamliner's recent dilemma and the A350's budding ascendance,
the competition this year is furious. But we'll leave the industry
analysis to aviation publications -- we're here for the gear. And some
pretty ambitious flight demos. You can catch more of today's action in
our video after the break.
Filed under: Transportation
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Verizon reportedly considers purchasing Canada's Wind Mobile
Competition in the Canadian cellphone space is on shaky ground when Wind Mobile faces an uncertain future. If The Globe and Mail's sources are accurate, however, Wind may get a lifeline from an unexpected source: Verizon. The US carrier has reportedly held "exploratory" talks for a possible takeover of Wind that would help the Canadian firm bid in the upcoming 700MHz auction, improving its chances against local giants Bell, Rogers and Telus. Mobilicity is also a potential acquisition target following Telus' failed buyout, according to the tipsters. None of the involved parties are commenting at this stage, although Verizon couldn't just walk into the Canadian market. The provider would have to deal with foreign ownership rules as well as the investment limits of its Vodafone partnership -- and neither obstacle is likely to disappear overnight.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon
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Via: MobileSyrup
Source: The Globe and Mail
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GEAK Watch packs Android, WiFi and a plethora of sensors, likely 'world's first true smartwatch'
Nowadays, we can't help but be skeptical of products that claim to be a smartwatch. In fact, what is a smartwatch, anyway? Perhaps GEAK, a Shanghai-based subsidiary of content giant Shanda, has a somewhat convincing answer. Simply dubbed the GEAK Watch, this wearable device packs a surprising number of components, with the most notable one being the 802.11b/g/n WiFi module. This lets the Android 4.1 system download apps directly or even receive OTA updates, but you can also create a wireless ad hoc network to do instant messaging with fellow users nearby -- the watch can apparently do voice-to-text input. There's also Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC for device pairing, along with GPS and FM radio -- yes, there's a headphone jack, too.
In terms of sensory features, the GEAK Watch offers to monitor the user's sleeping pattern, pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, mood and number of steps walked. The components that take care of all these are somehow tucked into the 8mm-thick body of the watch, with the brain being the rare 1GHz Ingenic JZ4774 that's based on MIPS architecture. The chip's accompanied by 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage and a suspiciously minuscule 500mAh lithium polymer cell -- no word on the battery life just yet, though. There's a 1.55-inch, 240 x 240 multi-touch OGS display to seal the device, and overall the watch is certified for a reasonable IPX3 water resistance.
Honestly, this smartwatch sounds too good to be true, and it's only priced at just ¥1,999 or about $330. It'll be up for pre-ordering in China from July 3rd, so it shouldn't be long before we find out if the GEAK Watch is worthy of the "world's first true smartwatch" title.
Filed under: Wearables
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Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: GEAK (Chinese)
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Nokia RM-877 approved by FCC with AT&T LTE, likely is the EOS
Oh, the tales FCC employees could tell -- if they were allowed to discuss them. A Nokia device, known only as the RM-877, has passed the agency's approval process. This mystery unit contains AT&T-compatible LTE bands (2, 4, 5 and 17, to be specific), pentaband HSPA+ / WCDMA (though AWS appears to be disabled in this particular variant) and quad-band GSM / EDGE. Additionally, it also sports NFC, Bluetooth and dual-band WiFi. According to the above diagram, the handset measures 130.35mm tall and 71.4mm wide, which makes it a millimeter taller and wider than the Lumia 925. We're still combing the documents for any more clues, but we've already seen reports that appear to match this model number with the EOS that we're expecting to see on July 11th.
Update: As we continue to look through the documents, we've noticed mention of the device being tested with a "camera grip" (model PD-95G). It definitely gives us more reason to believe this is the EOS. Additionally, we've also noticed that a wireless charging cover was involved in testing, which means it's likely optional, much like the Lumia 925.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia, AT&T
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Source: FCC
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Parrot announces availability for AR.Drone 2.0 add-ons, offers software upgrades
A little good / bad news for those dads who scored an AR.Drone 2.0 for Father's Day over the weekend. It's already time to upgrade. Starting next week, Parrot will be offering up those new add-ons it announced way back at CES. The "black box" Flight Recorder has been priced at $130, adding the ability to save flight data and GPS information from runs, which can be viewed in 3D through AR.Drone Academy maps. The device plugs into the quadcopter's USB port, bringing 4GB of storage that can also be used to save up to two hours of HD video. The Recorder also lets users perform simple piloting maneuvers via smartphone and tablet. The high density battery, meanwhile, has been priced at $70, bringing 18 minutes of flight time to the 'copter. Both are available now through Parrot's store.
On the software side, the $3.99 2.0 piloting app brings Director Mode to the flier, giving users more control over the video they shoot with their drone, including editing and picture settings like white balance and saturation. Parrot's offering the Rescue Mode update for free, meanwhile, with random shake and over balance settings to help rescue your drone from quadcopter-eating trees.
Filed under: Robots
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