Everything Tech: November 2013

Saturday 30 November 2013

Nokia's Verizon-bound Lumia 929 shows up again in leaked photo

Nov 30th 2013, 21:24, by Edgar Alvarez

We're quickly losing count on how many times we have seen leaks of the Nokia Lumia 929. Still, something tells us Verizon subscribers won't mind getting as many looks as possible at what's rumored to be a pretty high-end smartphone. Now, courtesy of a forum member on Windows Phone Central, we're seeing the Lumia 929 from a slightly different angle than in previous occasions. As a refresher, Nokia's unannounced handset is rumored to come with a 5-inch, 1080p display, 32GB of built-in storage and a 20-megapixel PureView shooter. Previous reports suggested it could hit Verizon around Thanksgiving, but according to the person behind the most recent leak, this Windows Phone device won't be official until sometime in mid-to-late December.

Roku 2 (Not The One You're Thinking Of), For $58

Amazon has the new Roku 2, not to be confused with the old Roku 2, for $58. This great little streaming box has all the best features of the Roku 3, including the headphone out port on the remote, at a nice discount compared to its ethernet port-sporting big brother. [Amazon]

U.S. Army Saved $130 Million by Stealing Software

Nov 30th 2013, 21:00, by Robert Sorokanich

The U.S. Army just paid a $50 million settlement over accusations that it illegally installed software on thousands of devices without a license. Even after the settlement, the Army ended up saving a bunch of cash. Maybe crime really does pay?
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IndieVoic.es Hopes To Become Kickstarter For Independent Media

Nov 30th 2013, 20:58, by Marko Mudrinic

The Internet wasn't kind to media. Huge media corporations have managed to transform their businesses, for the most part, but independent media, often playing a vital role in emerging countries, are seriously threatened by the lack of available funds.
IndieVoic.es hopes to change that. Founded by Sasa Vucinic, V Media Ventures CEO and a former Editor-in-Chief of B92 (Serbian media corporation which played important role in the overthrow of Milosevic), the project is essentially a crowdsourcing platform focused on providing necessary funding to independent media in developing countries.
Just like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, IndieVoic.es uses a familiar concept. Media owners can create campaigns and specify the amount of money they need to run their venture. Contributors from all over the world can fund their campaigns in return for valuable prizes (ranging from a postcard to a dinner with former Prime Minister of Thailand).
However, crowdfunding isn't the only way IndieVoic.es aims to help independent media raise money. By announcing no-interest loans and mini-loans for 2014, the platform will enable its users to choose the best funding option for their media. Think of it as a mix between Kickstarter and Kiva.
"Our goal is not just to fund independent media. We want to engage the audience and democratize the ownership of media. It is the only thing that hasn't changed about this industry in the past 20 years" stated Vucinic in an interview for Netokracija.
And he should know a thing or two about financing media. Vucinic co-founded Media Development Investment Fundwhich he ran for over fifteen years. During that time, MDIF has raised 123 million dollars and funded more than 220 independent media projects all over the world.
Much like MDIF, IndieVoic.es supports different media outlets ranging from investigative journalism reports and local radio stations, up to specialized blogs covering various topics of interest. Although anybody can submit a project, only those which are curated and checked will actually be eligible for a campaign. We are ensured that this is necessary to maintain a certain standard of funded media.
Despite all this, IndieVoic.es is not your ordinary crowdfunding platform. Unlike Kickstarter or Indiegogo, this service is not looking to cash-in on their revenue any time soon as it is specifically trying to operate as a non-profit.
"Our goal is to break-even beginning 2016. If our revenue is higher than expected, we will definitely lower our initial cost per campaign", Vucinic added.
Although media isn't every investor's cup of tea, “there are those who might find interesting opportunities in specialized media covering a range of interesting subjects”, stated Vucinic. Is IndieVoic.es leading the revolution independent media owners have been waiting for? It sure seems like it.

Xbox One's 500GB HDD swapped for bigger, faster drives, and tested for performance

Nov 30th 2013, 20:19, by Richard Lawler

The Xbox One arrives with a 500GB HDD built-in, and in contrast to the PlayStation 4's easily-accessed storage, it's not meant to be accessed or replaced by the user, ever. While we'll probably leave ours in place to keep from voiding the warranty or risk a ban from Xbox Live, a few folks have already cracked open the console to see what else will fit. iFixitnoted during its teardown that there's an off-the-shelf 2.5-inch Samsung HDD inside connected via SATA II inside, and swapping that out isn't much of an issue. Brian Williams has already tried out the system with two alternate drives: a 500GB Samsung EVO SSD, and a Seagate 1TB hybrid SSHD. As you can see in his video (embedded after the break) boot time from off to the dashboard only improved slightly, with the SSD loading in 46.1 seconds compared to 50.5 stock. A test with Call of Duty: Ghosts revealed similar results, with the SSD loading up in 27 seconds and the hybrid drive close behind in 27.7, compared to 33.5 seconds stock. We'll need tests with more games to be sure, but so far it's not showing the improvements seen after swapping the PS4's hard drive out for speedier options. The folks at Tested report doing so improved level load times in Killzone: Shadow Fall from 60 seconds to 39 seconds.

So, if it's not a ton faster, why would you want to take the chance of prying Microsoft's box open? To get more space. Brian's drives were simply copies of the original transferred by Clonezilla, but an individual named Juvenal1 has already worked out how to get the system to actually recognize and make use of drives bigger than 500GB. By copying files from your original drive and using their Linux-compatible tool to repartition the new HDD, you can be up and running with more capacity after just a reboot or two. Of course, this carries significant risks and we don't recommend it for most, as Microsoft's Albert Penello has already revealed support for external drives is coming in a future update, along with the ability to do crazy things like see how much storage you actually have left. Still, if you just need to live on the edge (orstore every game released so far and record hours of clean Upload Studio clips) the instructions can be found here.

Vaccinations have prevented at least 103 million cases of contagious disease since 1924

Nov 30th 2013, 20:15, by Carl Franzen

Vaccinations have been credited with some of humanity's greatest health technological triumphs over disease, including drastically reducing polio around the globe and almost eliminating smallpox entirely. But how many people have been spared life-threatening infections thanks to the introduction of vaccines? At least 103.1 million children in the US alone since 1924, according to a new analysis of historical infection rate data going back to 1888.

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How Are You Doing Your Holiday Shopping This Year?

Nov 30th 2013, 20:00, by Robert Sorokanich

Black Friday, and its stinky alter-ego Brown Friday, are behind us, meaning our national bloodsport of post-Thanksgiving dealhunting has shifted into the gradually-mounting panic of the holiday shopping countdown. With online deals and brick-and-mortar stores vying for buyers' bucks, where do you plan on picking up your holiday needs?
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A guide to street photography: Matt Stuart, manners and human autofocus

Nov 30th 2013, 19:00, by Sharif Sakr

Matt Stuart looks for lightness and humor on the street

Street photography is the purest, most spontaneous way to create art with a camera. No studios, no props, no poses; all you need is the right equipment and a street with people on it. In this original series for Engadget, we'll follow three seasoned street fighters and try to glean some practical wisdom about what engages their eyes, brains and fingers in the moments before they shoot.

We learned about manual exposure in the last installment. Now we're going all in with a look at manual focusing. Our guide is Matt Stuart, a London-based photographer who's made his name with funny and quirky shots of humanity going about its business; shots that often materialize and then disappear so quickly that even the fastest autofocus system would fail to keep up. Since Stuart's style often involves stepping right up to people, almost to the point of invading their personal space, we'll also try to figure out how he manages to avoid confrontation.

Pioneering New York Observer editor Peter Kaplan dies of cancer

Nov 30th 2013, 18:34, by Carl Franzen

Peter Kaplan (left) and Jared Kushner in a 2008 photo. (Credit: Stuart Ramson, New York Observer/Wikimedia Commons.)
Peter Kaplan, a longtime editor of the brash and influential local newspaper the New York Observer, died Friday evening from cancer, according to the The New York Times. He was 59 years old. In his fifteen years as editor-in-chief of The Observer, Kaplan had an enormous influence on not just the current New York City journalism landscape, but on online publishing overall. The snarky, sarcastic voice he cultivated in writers at the Observer when he started in 1994 went on to permeate many online publications of the early 2000s, including Gawker and The Awl, where top Observer alumni ended up working. Kaplan also...
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On the eve of Healthcare.gov's repair deadline, officials promise smooth operations

Nov 30th 2013, 17:56, by Carl Franzen

Nearly two months ago, Healthcare.gov, the US government's online marketplace designed to allow Americans to purchase health insurance plans under President Obama's hard-fought reform law, launched to great expectations — only to promptly and spectacularly disappoint. Initial users reported extremely slow load times, cryptic errors that blocked them from even creating accounts whatsoever, and a host of other glitches that rendered the website useless to many. In fact, government officials later revealed that only six Americans actually managed to sign up for health insurance on the website's torrid first day.

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Beer Brewing Byproduct Makes Bricks Insulate Better

Nov 30th 2013, 18:00, by Robert Sorokanich

Beer and brick have both been essential to humanity for thousands of years, dual pillars that helped us build the societies we know today. Now, scientists have combined them, fortifying bricks with grains left over from breweries to create bricks that keep a building better insulated. Turns out beer really can keep you warm on a cold day.
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iPad Air For $450 + $40 Gift Card, And More

Nov 30th 2013, 17:23, by Shane Roberts, Commerce Team

We already let you know that Best Buy had discounted the iPad Air to $450, and now you can get an additional $40 Best Buy gift card out of the deal by doing in-store pick up. Basically, Best Buy is giving you $10 credit back on every $100 spent on in-store pick up items in an effort to get you into their stores. This promotion applies to any item eligible for in-store pickup and is available through the weekend. [Best Buy via 9to5Toys]
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How to Grow a Garden in a Garment Box

Nov 30th 2013, 17:00, by Andrew Tarantola

Cultivating an indoor garden is surprisingly easy these days, even if your studio apartment is only slightly bigger than a shoe box. And with a bit of resourcefulness and some minor MacGyvering, you can grow fresh produce year-round without sacrificing precious closet-space.
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Wacky Waving Inflatable Tubes Save Vineyards From Grape-Stealing Birds

Nov 30th 2013, 16:26, by Robert Sorokanich

The tension between grape growers and hungry birds is at an all-time high. Standard-issue scarecrows have proven ineffective. Air cannons no longer startle. It's time to call in the secret weapon. Summon the Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men.
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Researchers develop 3D-printed, urine-powered robot heart

Nov 30th 2013, 16:00, by Carl Franzen

The fictional human-powered machines that appear in the The Matrix trilogy are still far from reality — but maybe not that far. Last month, scientists at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the UK announced they had successful create a prototype robotic "heart" that runs on human urine, fabricated with a 3D printer. A full working robot is still under development. For now, researchers built only the heart itself out of a rubber-like 3D printed material known as TangoPlus, and demonstrated its ability to charge up to 3.5 volts and perform 33 pumps using just 2 milliliters of "fresh" human urine. But they have ambitious ideas for a future fleet of ecologically-friendly robots, or EcoBots, "powered by energy from waste collected from...
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This week in tech reads, some bright minds took on the bigger questions that go beyond which apps to

Nov 30th 2013, 16:00, by Robert Sorokanich

This week in tech reads, some bright minds took on the bigger questions that go beyond which apps to downloand and which devices to buy. Here's a reading list of smart takes for your weekend.
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Friday 29 November 2013

Nexus smartphones can reportedly be forced to reboot through SMS attack

Nov 29th 2013, 17:19, by Jacob Kastrenakes

The latest Nexus smartphones can be forced to restart, freeze, or lose network connection because of an issue with the way they handle a certain type of SMS message, reports PC World. Security researcher Bogdan Alecu reportedly discovered that the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus 4, and the Nexus 5 all contain a vulnerability that can allow attackers to interrupt use of the phone. By sending a Nexus phone around 30 flash SMS messages — a message type that's immediately displayed on the screen and requires action — an attacker can cause the phone to malfunction, frequently restarting or losing its data connection when the messages aren't promptly dismissed.

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The First In-Flight Movies Had a Live Orchestra

Nov 29th 2013, 17:30, by Andrew Liszewski

As crude as they may seem when compared to the home theater setups we enjoy in our living rooms, the in-flight entertainment options available on most flights have come a long way. Although, it's hard not to feel a tinge of sadness that movies accompanied by live orchestras never caught on. Now that was flying in style.
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This Rolls-Royce Tanker is a School Bus for Salmon

Nov 29th 2013, 17:00, by Andrew Tarantola

Fresh fish tends to spoil fast, even when kept on ice. So to keep schools of farm-raised fish at the peak of freshness (read: still swimming) during their trip to shore for processing, Rolls-Royce is building the world's largest mobile aquarium.
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Apple complains court-appointed ebooks antitrust monitor wants too much money

Nov 29th 2013, 16:09, by Chris Welch

After Apple was found guilty of ebook price fixing earlier this year, US District Judge Denise Cote appointed Michael Bromwich as the company's antitrust compliance monitor. Bromwich has been tasked with keeping an eye on Apple for two years to help ensure the company doesn't repeat the business tactics that landed it in the DOJ's crosshairs. Apple is required to pay Bromwich for his work, but after receiving his first invoice, it's already filed a complaint with the federal court overseeing the case.
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Where is Banksy's New York art now?

Nov 29th 2013, 16:19, by Adi Robertson

At the beginning of October, Banksy began a monthlong "residency" in New York, putting tags and ephemeral paintings around the city. A month after the end of the project, some of his pieces are painted over, others have been tagged by other graffiti artists, and several have ended up in the hands of private building owners, who plan to exhibit or sell them. The New York Post has rounded upthe fates of Banksy's works — including the one that's being held in a police evidence room in Queens.
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The Best Black Friday App Deals

Nov 29th 2013, 16:45, by Shep McAllister, Commerce Team

Black Friday's not just for real-world goods; it's also arguably the biggest day of the year for sales on great apps. We've listed a ton of the best deals below, and we'll add more as we see them. If you know of any we missed, let us know in the comments!
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Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2013

Nov 29th 2013, 15:12, by Andrew Webster

On December 1st at midnight, Cyber Monday begins — and Amazon is of course offering plenty of reasons to go shopping online. According to the company, new deals will kick off as often as every ten minutes, and the promotion will last all week, so you'll want to check the site regularly over the coming days. Luckily, Amazon has provided at least a few examples of some of the deals you can get in on come Monday, and they cover a pretty wide range of products.

Samsung 46-inch 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV for $477.99
Samsung 46-inch 1080p 240Hz 3D Ultra Slim Smart LED HDTV for $1,297.99
Roku HD streaming media player for $39.99
Canon EOS Rebel T3 DSLR (18-55 kit) for $399
Dyson multi floor compact canister vacuum cleaner for $179
Buy a Sonos...

Graphic content: do Xbox One and PS4 games really look better?

Nov 29th 2013, 16:00, by Dante D'Orazio

The words "next generation" have always held a lot of promise — and a lot of hype — in the world of video games. Consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 that herald the arrival of a new generation are said to offer stunning graphics that unlock gaming experiences like never before. That’s an exciting promise, and there’s good reason for the fascination with these black boxes: for the next several years, video gaming itself will likely be defined by these two consoles.
But now that delirium over the launches of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is beginning to subside we must ask what, exactly, this next generation delivers to living rooms. When it comes to graphics — that jumble of polygons, sophisticated algorithms, and...
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Sex 'n Spas: The Future (And Not So Future) of In-Flight Entertainment

Nov 29th 2013, 15:00, by Mario Aguilar

Careening through the air 30,000 feet above the ground can be a brutal experience. To help us cope, airlines have evolved some pretty sophisticated on-demand entertainment in the form of games, movies, internet, and the occasional backrub. Here's a look at some of the ambitious ideas that got us there, the failures along the way, and concepts we might see in the future.
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Turn a regular paper plane into a smartphone controlled drone

Nov 29th 2013, 14:23, by Andrew Webster

Do you ever worry that your paper planes just aren't high tech enough? PowerUp is here to help. The device — known in full as the PowerUp 3.0 Smart Module — is an insert that slips into a regular paper airplane, letting you control it remotely using your phone. The carbon fiber device gives you ten minutes of flight on a single charge, with a range of 180 feet, and it features a tiny motor to help propel your creation forward. The creators also claim that it has a "crash-proof" design, which should come in handy while you're learning the ins and outs of being a paper pilot.
The smartphone app, meanwhile, lets you control movement simply by tilting your device left and right. It was developed initially for iOS, but an Android version...
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Samsung's ads are working, but not as well as it wants

Nov 29th 2013, 14:36, by Jacob Kastrenakes

Relentless advertising has helped Samsung take top spot in the global smartphone market, but it's also given the company another title: it's one of the biggest ad spenders around. According to Reuters, Samsung spends a far larger percentage of its annual revenue on promotion than any of the world's other top-20 companies by sales. Last year, it reportedly spent $4.3 billion on ads — thoroughly dwarfing Apple's spending of just $1 billion — and this year, Samsung is expected to vastly exceed that with spending of around $14 billion on promotion.
But Reuters reports that the huge marketing push hasn't necessarily been effective. A number of Samsung's campaigns and promotions have been panned, and they still haven't perfectly sold...
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PingTune Raises $1.6M And Unleashes Messaging App Based Around Music

Nov 29th 2013, 13:49, by Mike Butcher

With the success of SnapChat, Line and others, many have been wondering who will own the next big messaging service. Now, we're not saying it's necessarily the next big thing, but it is interesting to us that PingTune (formerly named Tuneit) has appeared with a service which slices off a fascinating niche of the messaging space with an app for music fans that want to send slices of music to each other in an easy and simple way. The startup, based in London's ‘Tech City' in the East, has also just raised £1m ($1.6m) worth of investment to do it. The seed investment comes from Rupert Hambro (former Chairman of Hambros Bank, currently Chairman of JO Hambro) and Dominic Perks (serial entrepreneur and active investor).
PingTune is an iPhone app which lets users search for music from sources like YouTube and SoundCloud, then simply message friends with that track. You can also choose a specific section of the tune or video to send, which, if you think about it, works quite well when you want to tell a friend something which just the chorus in a song is talking about. Clearly the flirting possibilities are endless.
CEO Henry Firth says “We saw that people were sharing music on social networks, but it can be clunky. Copying links between windows is hard work on a mobile phone. We wanted to make that process easier… so we built PingTune.” PingTune's 12-strong teams consists of staff formally with Yahoo, Spotify, Skype and Sony.
He says the business model will eventually be selling mp3s and other music-related purchases.
Note Spotify's partnership with Tango and Sony's campaign with Kik, speaks to this trend for music and messaging getting together. Messaging could well be the next wave we'll see in this space.

Apple Not Impressed That Court-Appointed E-Book Compliance Monitor Made $138,432 In First Two Weeks

Nov 29th 2013, 13:10, by Darrell Etherington

Apple has issued a formal objection to the court-appointed lawyer assigned to monitor its compliance with the decision handed down in its e-book pricing fixing case back in July. The monitor was assigned by the DOJ back in October, and has apparently been charging Apple a very high price for his services – he made $138,432 in his first two weeks on the job, according to Apple's official filing on the matter.
Apple says that's the highest rate it's paid a lawyer in its history, which is saying a lot given the company's decidedly litigious streak. Apple's lawyers explained in the filing that they believe Bromwich is charging so much simply because he can, as Apple has no say in who is chosen for the position, and must pay for the court-appointed monitor as per the decision handed down by the DOJ in the antitrust price-fixing case. Apple also objected to a provision in the DOJ's ruling that would allow Bromwich to interview company personnel and report back to the court without Apple's own lawyers around to represent the company's interests.
The anti-trust case saw Apple charged with colluding with ebook publishers to artificially raise prices, and the DOJ handed down a decision that means Apple must have the court-appointed monitor, and is forbidden from having special arrangement with publishers around price restrictions, as well as so-called “favored nation” clauses (which essentially ties the pricing deals it works out with one publisher to the arrangements it holds with others) for four years.
Bromwich has served as an independent monitor before, in the oil and gas industry and with the Metropolitan Police Department for the District of Columbia, but if lawyer loving Apple is taking exception, there might be something to the claim that this rate is excessive by any standards.

Amid Some Fistfights, Walmart Sells 1.4M Tablets On Thanksgiving, iPad Mini A Top Seller

Nov 29th 2013, 14:17, by Darrell Etherington

Walmart is already crowing about Black Friday and we're only a couple of hours into the actual day itself. That's because depressingly, Black Friday has somehow subsumed Thanksgiving Thursday and become the Day That Spans Many Days. Oh well; at least they sold a huge boatload of tablets. Walmart puts its one day sales of those mobile computing devices at 1.4 million, and while it doesn't break down by brand or model, the company also cites the iPad mini as one of a short list of top-selling items.
Also included in that list are the generic categories of big screen TVs and laptops, so you can imagine that the iPad mini likely accounted for a significant portion of those 1.4 million slates to be called out by name. Other top-selling items included Microsoft's new Xbox One, and Sony's PlayStation 4, indicating that the home console market is still alive and kicking despite the rise of mobile game and sluggish sales for Nintendo's Wii U console, which made its debut last year.
It's worth noting that Walmart sold twice as many towels as it did tablets, at 2.8 million moved on the day when Americans get together to give thanks, stuff themselves with turkeys and buy towels. And of course, Walmart's press release sort of glosses over the fact that its stores have become sites for riots, fights, bad manners and all sorts of various reminders that humans are essentially the worst. At least some of those 1.4 million tablets sold went to the victors of squabbles, according to Twitter.

NEVER will I go to Walmart black Friday again I got stuck in the middle of a fight over a stupid tablet 🙈🙈😭 if you wanna see crazy go there—
courtneylexis (@CourtneyCrigler) November 29, 2013

This Stealth Camera Captures Images in Almost Complete Darkness

Nov 29th 2013, 14:30, by Jamie Condliffe

If you thought low-light photography was coming on in leaps and bounds, you ain't seen nothin' yet. This new camera, developed by researchers at MIT, can capture ultra-sharp images of objects even when they're illuminated by just a handful of photons.
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These Colorful Floor Tiles Were Made From Snail Poop

Nov 29th 2013, 14:00, by jordan kushins

Stepping on snails is nasty—feeling the distinctive crack-and-squelch beneath your foot is all sorts of ugh-ack-yuck-ew. Dutch artist, designer, and scientific researcher Lieske Schreuder found a way to make the experience less visceral but arguably more disgusting, by creating tiles composed of terrestrial mollusc turds.
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How the PlayStation 4's 'Playroom' brought out the worst in gamers

Nov 29th 2013, 13:27, by Rich McCormick

The stars of Sony's The Playroom are meant to be its robots. Small, white, and cute, they jump and wiggle around at the feet of their owner. The Playroom — an alternate reality game that comes pre-loaded on PlayStation 4 — projects the miniature machines into players' living rooms. Using the PlayStation Camera, players can interact with them, kicking, flicking, and cradling them as they frolic and cower.

But on the world's biggest video-game streaming site, Twitch, the stars of The Playroom haven't been its robots — they've been its players. The PlayStation 4 can stream any of its games live. Streaming a video game is like having someone watch over your shoulder as you play: both streamer and viewer are absorbed by the same...
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Top Bitcoin exchange explains virtual currency in simple web tutorial

Nov 29th 2013, 13:14, by Amar Toor

Leading Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has released a new website that provides a simple explanation of what Bitcoin actually is. The site, Bitcoins.com, is essentially a tutorial on the virtual currency, which last week reached the $1,000 price point for the first time ever. Mt. Gox's site walks users through the basics — what Bitcoin is, why people use it, and how it works — before leading into a step-by-step guide on how to get started. It's certainly not a comprehensive rundown, but the site could prove useful for the uninitiated or those who struggle to understand the Bitcoin concept.
Mt. Gox also released a new one-time password (OTP) card this week, as part of an effort to strengthen the security of user accounts. The OTP card, a...
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Hands-on with Jolla, the Nokia that could have been

Nov 29th 2013, 13:38, by Vlad Savov

The Nokia N9 deserved better. Introduced in the middle of 2011, Nokia's one and only MeeGo phone offered a refreshing mix of original software and striking new hardware. It was, however, quickly swept aside by the Finnish company's grander Windows Phone plans, which took precedence over the promising but unsupported MeeGo platform.
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A New and Aggressive Strain of HIV Is Spreading Across West Africa

Nov 29th 2013, 13:00, by Jamie Condliffe

A newly discovered strain of HIV is spreading across West Africa. What's worse is that it's particularly aggressive—and causes significantly faster progression to AIDS than other strains.
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US government pays $50 million to settle piracy lawsuit

Nov 29th 2013, 12:20, by Amar Toor

The US government this week agreed to pay $50 million to a Texas-based company that accused the military of pirating its software. The company, Apptricity, struck a software licensing deal with the Department of Defense in 2004, but filed a copyright infringement claim against the government last year, after it discovered that the military had distributed thousands of unauthorized copies among its ranks. The Dallas Morning News first reported the settlement on Monday, before Apptricity announced it one day later.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the licensing agreement authorized the US Army to use its software on five servers and "several thousand" workstations. The government paid $1.35 million for each server, and used the...
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VW app conducts electro symphonies to the tune of your driving

Nov 29th 2013, 09:40, by Rich McCormick

Volkswagen has developed a way to turn its cars into giant metal DJs. When plugged into a Volkswagen GTI, the German vehicle manufacturer's Play The Road iOS app uses a swathe of data from the car — including its velocity, engine revs, and location — to create a soundtrack that changes as it's driven.
The app's responsive sounds were created by electronic music pioneers Underworld. At low speeds, the app produces calming synth sounds. As the driver turns, it plays scales that sound like an electronic waterfall, cascading as the driver turns left to take the scales higher, and right to take them lower. At higher speeds, the synth is joined by pounding drumbeats. Go even faster, as Volkswagen's test driver does in its 17 minute test...
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Dutch regulator says Google's privacy policy breaks the law

Nov 29th 2013, 09:25, by Matt Brian

Almost two years after it updated its privacy policy, Google is still facing the wrath of European watchdogs. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has just ended a seven-month investigation into the search giant's practices and, similar to rulings in the UK and France, has deduced that Google isn't doing enough to inform users about the data it "collects and combines." The DPA accuses Google of spinning an "invisible web of our personal data without our consent" with its Search, Gmail and YouTube services, which it states in no uncertain terms "is forbidden by law." It's another knock for Google, which has found itself under investigation by a total of six European privacy authorities after French privacy regulator CNIL initiated action on their behalf last year. Google has said that it "respects European law," but its commitment will be tested at the Dutch DPA's upcoming hearing, after which the authority will decide it wants to take "enforcement measures" against the company.

Hard drive worth $7.5 million is buried in a UK dump

Nov 29th 2013, 08:42, by Rich McCormick

A British man who threw away a hard drive containing bitcoins worth $7.5 million has started searching his local landfill in an attempt to find it again. James Howells amassed 7,500 bitcoins in 2009, but disposed of the hard drive they were stored on earlier in 2013 after it sat unused in a drawer for three years.
A bitcoin is now worth $1,000, but Howells' 7,500 were obtained at a time when they were nearly worthless. Howells — who says he'd "never thrown a hard drive out before" — had dismantled the computer he'd used to collect them after spilling a drink on it, eventually disposing of the drive in a "clearout of old IT equipment." Shortly afterwards, Howells says his curiosity was piqued after reading stories about the...
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Comet Ison May Still Be Alive

Nov 29th 2013, 09:00, by Jamie Condliffe

Yesterday, comet Ison flew close to the Sun, and many sources reported its death. Now, though, some scientists are claiming that it, or at least some part of it, may have survived its journey.
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Apple Black Friday 2013 deals

Nov 29th 2013, 08:21, by Sam Byford

Apple has just updated its online store with a host of Black Friday deals and, unlike those in Europe, US customers will have to make do with gift cards included alongside various full-price purchases. We've included a list below — but remember, other retailers will be dropping real prices on Apple products today, so follow our StoryStream to find the best deal.
iPads

iPad Air: from $499 with $75 gift card
iPad mini (non-Retina display model): from $299 with $50 gift card
iPad 2: from $399 with $50 gift card

Macs

MacBook Air: from $999 with $150 gift card
MacBook Pro with Retina display: from $1299 with $150 gift card
MacBook Pro: from $1199 with $150 gift card
iMac: from $1299 with $150 gift card

Others

Apple TV: $99...

Chrome may let you try Web Store apps without installing them

Nov 29th 2013, 08:20, by Jon Fingas

Launching Chrome web apps without installing

Ever want to test a Chrome Web Store app without installing it? You may get your chance if a pair of Chromium changes reach finished software. Google is experimenting with support for "ephemeral" apps that launch like regular Web Store titles, but don't leave a footprint in Chrome or Chrome OS. Users wouldn't even have to visit the Web Store in the first place -- a recent Chromium build lets surfers launch an app directly from a Google search result page. There's no certainty that the feature will surface in a browser near you, but don't be surprised if it soon becomes easy to try a Chrome app without any commitment.

Journaling App LifeCrumbs Turns Your Favorite Photos Into A Visual Calendar Of Happy Memories

Nov 29th 2013, 07:59, by Catherine Shu

The holidays are often less than merry if you have to deal with things like balancing work with travel, financial stress or seasonal affective disorder. I usually cope by listening to Merle Haggard's “If We Make It Through December” over and over and over again. This year, however, I also plan to make visual journaling app LifeCrumbs part of my daily routine. Made by a startup called Tomofun, LifeCrumbs was created around the idea that even on the gloomiest of days, there is always at least one good moment to salvage. The free iOS app, which will launch its Android version soon, lets you turn those moments into a visual calendar filled with photos of good memories.
Founded by Victor Chang and based in Taipei, Tomofun's mission is to build products that “find joy in the ordinary.” LifeCrumbs is actually the startup's second product; the first app they built never left the prototype stage because it did not receive enough positive feedback to justify a launch.
After that disappointment, Tomofun's team decided to regroup by going to the Philippines and spending summer 2012 volunteering with a homebuilding program.
“I met a five-year-old girl who had just lost her dad in a typhoon. When I gave her a cookie, she took that cookie, ran back to her family and split it six ways with them. Then she ran back to me, split it in half again, smiled and said thank you,” said Chang. “That changed my life because it made me realize you don't need a lot in life to be happy. That notion was so inspiring that I wanted to share it with other people.”
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Inspired by that moment, Tomofun began working on a journaling app to let people record meaningful moments from each day after returning to Taiwan. LifeCrumbs launched in closed beta in October 2012 before opening to the public last August. Since then, the team has continued to incorporate feedback from users and redesigned the app to make it even more visually oriented. LifeCrumbs is integrated with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so you can select updates from each network to import. Tomofun is currently self-funded and exploring several revenue models for LifeCrumbs, including selling sticker sets and letting users order their photo calendars as prints and other products.
There are a lot of other great apps that are designed to make journaling easy and pleasurable for busy smartphone users. Some standouts include Step Journal (which I profiled in May), Day One,Momento and Gratitude365.
LifeCrumbs seeks to differentiate by creating a positive and upbeat community within the app. The official LifeCrumbs account uploads inspirational quotes and photos each day and users gain points for uploading status updates and photos (though they can also choose to make their journals private). The team plans to launch more engagement features and activities like hashtag prompts to encourage people to upload and comment on photos around the same theme.
The idea of keeping a gratitude journal or participating in a community filled with people intent on finding a memorable moment during even the cruddiest of days might seem cloying or (for the more curmudgeonly among us) even downright horrifying. But it can pay off. Researchers have found that keeping gratitude journals encourages healthier habits, better sleep and can even improve emotional and physical resilience.
I also like the idea of having a safe place to indulge my inner Pollyanna without being accused of being an “Instasham” or irritating my wider group of Facebook friends. LifeCrumb users have dedicated their visual calendars to daily updates about their children, pets, weight loss progress or best meals. Some have even turned the calendar into a budgeting tool by taking photos of what they bought (or didn't buy). If you update your LifeCrumbs journal regularly (or at least go back and fill in the days that you missed), then by the end of a few weeks you'll have a collection of about 30 good moments to enjoy at a glance (even if the month was otherwise lackluster).
“People kept coming back and letting us know that it is great to be able to see your memories laid out in a calendar format,” says Maggie Cheung, LifeCrumbs' community manager and Tomofun's director of social marketing. “Each visual acts like a mnemonic to bring back the memory.”

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Saturday 30 November 2013

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