If you are a proud HTC 8X owner, you would be happy to hear that the Windows Phone 8 GDR2 Update has started rolling out for the unlocked version of the device, as expected. Few days back, Samsung Ativ S units also received the update. We have even seen this information lately in a software update sheet released by the Australian carrier Telstra.
Let's face the fact. Apple introduced Maps application which has been a total disaster. The application is still not as good as Google Maps and you may end up somewhere else rather than your desired destination. It has been revealed that Apple is planning to buy the navigation tool HopStop in order to improve their maps application. Apple also purchased Locationary, a company said to be the Wikipedia for companies. The news emerges from sources who wish to be anonymous as the deal is not yet final.
Android 4.3 Jelly build JWR66V has been spotted running on the Galaxy S4 Google Edition, despite the fact that it is not officially announced by Google yet. The latest update brings many improvements including wireless charging capabilities even when the device is turned off, battery improvement, higher fps, Dash clock widgets working properly, and more. Furthermore, Google Wallet also appears to be working for non-rooted devices.
Using counterfeit products is not always recommended. Few days back, a Chinese girl was killed when she tried to answer a call on her iPhone 5 while charging and got electrocuted. Another report has emerged - again in China - that reports a man getting shocked when plugging in an iPhone 4 using a third party adapter.
Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to come in different colors including Blue Arctic, Purple Mirage, Red Aurora, Brown Autumn, and Pink Twilight. After countless number of leaks about the much awaited Moto X, it is time for the notorious Twitter leaker - Evleaks - to switch his focus and share with us some information about other upcoming devices.
Today, the infamous leaker posted an image of Galaxy S4 in Brown Autumn color, with a Verizon logo on it. This might suggest that the Galaxy S4 Brown may hit the Big Red very soon. Few days back, the red color version of Galaxy S4 was made exclusively available on AT&T. Looks like this one might be exclusive for Verizon.
More details about Samsung Exynos 5 Octa have emerged through DDaily -a Korean publication. The report also claims that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will powered by the Exynos 5 Octa rather than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chipset.
Joss Whedon, one of the premier - if not THE premier - comic and scriptwriter's of our time, announced the title and, indirectly, the main villain of the next Avengers movie yesterday at San Diego's Comic-Con 2013. The title, showcased at the end of a teaser trailer that previewed a long list of Marvel's upcoming movies, is Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Ultron, for those who don't follow Marvel comics, is an artificial intelligent robotic being that's been around since the 1960s. For DC fans, think of him as Marvel's Brainiac. He was the feature villain during this year's Avengers comic series whose storyline was similarly titled Age of Ultron, but the movie and comic storyline aren't likely to have very many plot-based similarities.
Legitmix, a Brooklyn-based company, thinks it's found a legal way for remix artists to sell their wares. The company spent a million dollars building and developing an algorithm that has allowed it to create an online store where remix artists can sell their remixes and retain 70% of the total sale.
The algorithm works by not allowing people to download remixes of songs they don't already own. If you try to download a remix for a song that isn't on your hard drive, it'll redirect you to iTunes to buy the song in question. Most songs cost $2.29 and another dollar for the remix.
Comic-Con happened in San Diego this weekend. Unlike during E3, I don't have a ton of news for you from the Con, but there is one tidbit that's sure to make geeks everywhere rejoice! Warner Bros has announced that Batman will in the second Superman movie that's set to be released in 2015.
The movie will be directed by Zach Snyder and Henry Cavill will reprise his role as Superman. If you don't already know, Christian Bale is out of the Batman business and no one knows who's going to play Batman next. However, Christopher Nolan, the man who directed the most recent Batman trilogy, will have some input as an executive producer for the movie.
Did you know there was a Chrome OS? I didn't, but apparently some anti-establishment people out there are choosing to forgo Windows, Mac and Linux-based operating systems in favor of Chrome OS. The operating system is currently in beta and has recently received a major update.
All you Chrome OS users out there - yes, both of you - will now get to enjoy new features like the new "immersive" full screen mode, UI scaling, and wallpaper sync. There's also a smarter app launcher in the new update. All you Google lovers looking for the full update list will need to follow the source link to find it.
People in the San Francisco area started freaking out when official-looking signs depicting a drone firing a missile stating "speed enforced by drones" started cropping up all over Bay Area highways. However, a local news station, and many more since, has reported that these signs are indeed fake and being removed by the California Highway Patrol, also known as the CHP.
The CHP confirmed that the signs were professionally made with the same materials official road signs are made out of. One even went so far as to use tamper-resistant bolts! Authorities still don't know who's behind the prank.
The alleged second generation Nexus 7 tablet is just a few days away. A number of leaks suggest that the device will hit the shelves at the end of this month, 31st July to be specific. Today, a new Best Buy ad has been leaked that is scheduled to run on 28th July, and it clearly mentions that the upcoming Nexus 7 tablet will be available "Next Tuesday", that is 30th July. It would just a week ahead of the 24 July event where the search engine giant is expected to launch the much awaited tablet.
It's not really much of a surprise. Every gamer knows that summer is when gaming usually falls off for a bit, but a 15% drop in retail sales in one month is still huge when hundreds of millions are involved. Total spending on video games in the U.S. last month was $1.2 billion, only about 50% of which was made up of physical sales.
Where'd gamers take their business? Mobile games have seen sharp increases in revenue over the last few months, causing many gaming journalists to wonder if mobile gaming is slowly taking over the market. Although the main reason they're so speculative is because the real answer is much less interesting.
By now, every one of you should know that Motorola will unveil the much-hyped, highly customizable Moto X on 1st August. In the last few days, we have seen a number of images of this much-talked handset including the press render that was leaked yesterday. Today, another leak from @evleaks shows us the device, shining in the bright white color, as well as the side profile photo.
Many people have found that the iphone has revolutionized their daily living in a lot of different and totally unexpected ways. To get the most from this device, you need to be fully informed about it. The article below will help you learn the ins and outs of your device, making you an expert in no time.
A lot of iphone users are unaware that the alert tone feature on their phone is really easy to change. It’s easy to customize alert tones if you just follow these steps. Go to the Settings, then to Sounds. There, you can choose the alert which you want to sound different. Then pick the “Buy more tones” option.
The iphone OS should be upgraded to the most recent version. Apple iPhones are almost as complex as computers now, so there are occasional patches to fix bugs, security holes and functionality issues. Updating your iphone crucial if you’re using it to access information online.
Want to use an accented letter or an umlaut, but are not sure what to do? We can help you with that! Use your finger to select the letter, then hold it down for one or two seconds. You should get a box to pop up that will include a number of additional keys. This will allow you to type with fancy lettering as much as you want.
If you lose track of your phone, try the Find My iphone application to help you locate it. You do need to sign up early to use it. You can set it to display a message or make a noise to help you find the phone. The best part is that you can remotely erase your phone’s data if you find that it is lost or stolen.
If you are typing out a sentence on the iphone, double tap on the space bar when the sentence is finished. This automatically places a period and can be quicker than having to enter one yourself. This avoids having to switch to the number keypad which saves you a lot of time.
Buy a screen to protect your phone. This will help to prevent scratches, which can damage the look of your device. It is easy for small particles on your fingers to create scratches. Always keep your phone protected with a screen protector.
Consider getting insurance for your iphone. Insurance and your warranty/guarantee should take care of everything. Minimize the chance of damage to your iphone by purchasing and using a protective cover.
You should be sure to update your iphone each time a new update is available. You’ll always be certain that you’re dealing with the latest and most stable versions of your software if you keep it up-to-date. This ensures that you do not lose all of your important information, by saving it to your computer.
There are many features available on an iphone including the ability to make up shortcuts and add dictionary entries. When you use this, your phone knows exactly what you are trying to change. You can program your phone with your own short cut phrases. Typos will also be automatically corrected.
Thanks to their continued track record of innovation, there always seems to be something new and useful that iPhones can do. Those new to the iphone many not be aware of what it can truly do. Your iphone can increase your productivity and help you in your everyday life, especially if you know how to use it properly.
It is important that you know the many uses of your iphone; you will benefit more from owning it if you understand how it works. Particularly if you want to make the most of your iphone, check out the information in this article.
You are able to take a photo with just one hand on the iphone. All you have to do is get the image into focus as you would like and then tap the button to increase the volume. This gives you the same high-quality pictures that you come to expect from the iphone.
If you know that you will not watch videos a second time, don’t save them to your iphone. When you are done viewing the video, a prompt is going to ask you if you want to delete the video from the phone. Do this so that you can free up some space on your phone.
When your iphone isn’t in use, you want to keep its screen at the darkest possible setting. Your battery will drain much more quickly when your phone’s screen in bright. A darker screen means a longer period of time before your phone needs a charge.
If you are going to email someone or send them a note, there are suggested words that make this process easy. If you do not want to use this feature, it is simple to close it. Instead, tap your screen anywhere, and instantly, the box will vanish.
If you experience a screen freeze on your iphone, do not be overly alarmed. You should first attempt to use the sleep/wake button to jog it into working again. However, if that fails, try a combination of the home and sleep/wake buttons. Your phone will get a hard reset and, be working again in no time.
Use your iphone to take pictures. If you take a lot of pictures, there is a way to sort and organize them. The album feature can help you create more organization on your phone with your photographs. It will be easy to locate that needed shot when you do this.
Do you want to reduce the amount of programs on the background of your device? The first step in shutting off some of the programs you have running in the background of your iphone is to tap the Home key. Locate the specific app that needs to be closed and simply press it and hold. When the icon wiggles, tap the red minus icon to close the app.
Keep the firmware updated on your iphone. Not only will this keep your phone useable, but it will also increase it’s battery life. Update firmware by putting iTunes on your computer, then synchronizing the iphone to the computer. You can also connect to an Apple computer with iCloud.
For personal communication on your iphone, take advantage of FaceTime. FaceTime allows you to look at the person you are talking to. You can use FaceTime by scrolling through your contacts and looking for the FaceTime icon. Press it and you will see and hear the other person.
Keep in mind you don’t have to always need to press X each time AutoCorrect pops up to suggest a correction. The screen can be tapped at any location as an alternative. The suggestion box will close, allowing you to continue typing your message.
The iphone, as well as other smartphones, can notify you when calls or messages are received. You can set your iphone to show a silent blink from the camera flash as each call or message comes into your phone. In the settings menu, go to “general” and then to “accessibility”. From here, it’s easy to program your LED Flash option.
When you are using the Safari browser on your iphone, there is no need for you to type in the .com extension in order to reach a site. You don’t need to type in the .com part when using your iPhone’s browser.
You must know how to use your iphone to get the most out of it. By applying the tips discussed here, you are well on your way to getting the most from your iphone.
Not too long ago we reported that Robocop was receiving a film reboot that's slated to come out in 2014. This year's Comic-Con has given us a few more details along with a deeper look into the movie's overall message. Robocop will seek to raise the question of whether or not drones should be used by local police departments.
Back when the original Robocop came out, drones and automated machinery were little more than ideas within the realm of science fiction. Today's society sees that drone-based police enforcement is on the horizon. They're already putting up signs on the side of Bay Area highways after all!
No, they're not, but electronics are starting to become quite stretchy. Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that nanoparticles and elastic components can be combined to make conductors that stretch.
This means bendable displays, batteries, medical implants that move with the body instead of pressing up against it, and much more. This could actually lead to the creation of paper thin displays and multimedia magazines and newspapers you can hold in your hands!
Of course, we're still a long ways from that.
Melanoma, for those who may not know, is a form of skin cancer that is often discovered via cancers moles and skin legions that look like nothing out of the ordinary to the untrained eye. More than nine thousand Americans die each year to skin cancer; many because they didn't know they had skin cancer until it was too late.
MelaFind is a device created by Mela Sciences to help dermatologists decide whether a mole is cancerous or not. Cancerous moles, if caught in time, can be biopsied before the patient ever actually develops skin cancer.
Sounds like a life saving device right? Well there's a bit more to it.
Have you ever left the lights on in your house for days at a time and then gotten a ridiculously crazy electric bill the next month? Can you imagine how much cities have to pay to keep all the street lights on and maintained every day? The cost is astronomical, but it could be diminished quite a bit due to Dutch designer Christian Shuh's new streetlight design called Tvilight.
Christian Shuh's new streetlights are designed to light up only it senses people around through its wireless sensors. When people aren't around, the streetlight dims, using the least amount of power possible while still lighting the street enough for oncoming vehicles and pedestrians to see where they're going. The system is designed to recognize the difference between people and animals, so it won't cut on unnecessarily.
It has been a few days since the Taiwanese manufacturer launched the miniature version of their flagship smartphone, HTC One Mini. If you are based in UK and want to get your hands on the device, it has been revealed that HTC One Mini will be available from August 9th from Vodafone, O2 and EE. The device will be available with a 2-year contract on the selected carrier. A number of retailers including Carphone Warehouse and Phone4u will also offer the device with a contract on any supported carrier as well as an unlocked device.
We still have a few days until the new Nexus 7 is officially unveiled, but we are all impatient and excited about the tablet, so here we go. Feast your eyes on this. @evleaks has come across the alleged device's official press render.
Phablets are in demand since many users want something larger than a phone, but smaller than a 7 inch tablet. Samsung basically owns this market with its Galaxy Note devices, but they do have their competition.
We just saw a leaked photo of the new Nexus 7 tablet and now we have another one, this time showing the side profile of Google's next Nexus 7 tablet.
The new Nexus 7 tablet is expected to be made official by Google this week, and it will apparently go on sale on the US before the end of July, with a possible release date of the 30th of July.
The Nokia Lumia 521 may be low-end, but it is arguably one of the hottest selling phones in the U.S. And now we have a leaked photo from evleaks that reveals that the model is heading to MetroPCS.
According to a recent report by the WSJ, Apple is testing an iPad with a larger display, the device is rumored to feature a 13 inch display, and the company is also rumored to be working on larger display iPhone's as well.
Apple is rumored to be trying out iPhone's with display of between 4.7 inches and 5.7 inches, of course this does not mean that these devices will ever be released as they are apparently only being tested at the moment.
Nest's next product, which it is set to unveil soon, will be a smoke detector called Protect, according to sources. The new product from the innovative device company follows its successful launch of a new generation thermostat called Nest.
The smoke detector will be connected to the thermostat, part of an effort by Nest to create a series of home products that are aware in the home and adapt to the environment and its users and controlled by smartphones or tablets.
A Web site run by former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin first wrote about the new product from the well-funded startup, although sources said it will not be attached to a subscription service as was reported on the site today.
A new worker's revolution is rising in China and it doesn't involve humans.
With soaring wages and an aging population, electronics factory managers say the day is approaching when robotic workers will replace people on the Chinese factory floor.
A new wave of industrial robots is in development, ranging from high-end humanoid machines with vision, touch and even learning capabilities, to low-cost robots vying to undercut China's minimum wage.
Over the next five years these technologies will transform China's factories, executives say, and also fill a growing labor shortage as the country's youth become increasingly unwilling to perform manual labor. How the transformation plays out will also go a long way in deciding how much of the electronics supply chain remains in China.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
If the prevailing wisdom of years past were any indication, we should have been up to our necks in sassy, autonomous robot servants a decade ago. While I wait for someone to develop a Rosie to cater to my every whim, the folks behind the Monsieur robotic bartender that took the stage at Disrupt SF 2013, have just recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring its drink-slinging machine to market.
The Monsieur itself is easy enough to use - an Android tablet is nestled within that front facade to give users the ability to choose from a variety of drinks from the catalog (which can also be expanded through additional themes or user recipes). In the event you run low of potables, the Monsieur can also fire off an email or text message to keep the owner abreast of drink levels so they can pop off for a refill. And, because I know you were wondering, you can crank up the strength of your drink using a strength meter - dial it up all the way and there's a distinct possibility you won't be able to see straight for much longer.
Now, all that is just peachy, but there's a much bigger question to tackle here: How do these drinks actually taste? Your mileage is naturally going to vary, but I fixed myself a Screwdriver backstage at Disrupt with the Boss level set smack in the middle and came away rather pleased with the outcome. Over time the Monsieur will also grow accustomed to the nuances of your drinking habits - it can detect when you get home from work and offer you a double, for instance, and it'll eventually learn how strong you like certain drinks.
While the version that the Monsieur team demoed onstage was a larger model meant for bars, restaurants, and other sizable venues, the big addition today is a Mini version with no built-in tablet and four peristaltic pumps rather than the customary eight. That means you're going to have to be a bit more judicious with the liquor bottles you load into the thing, though the Monsieur itself will offer recommendations based on what sort of drink theme you've chosen. It's ostensibly meant for home use, and while I'm sure there's some satisfaction to be had in pouring your own drink at the end of a long day, the ability to remotely order a drink from the Monsieur partner app may ultimately win over some of the lazies among you.
Then again, the price tag may prove to be a bit too steep: early backers can lay claim to a Mini model for $1,499, while the big one can set up in your saloon for $2,299.
According to Reuters, three of Microsoft's top 20 investors are making noise that Microsoft remove its founder and former CEO Bill Gates as chairman of its board, his current role.
The information is almost odd, and points to a potential blank slate for Microsoft. In the midst of a massive reorganization, current CEO Steve Ballmer is stepping down. If Gates were to transition away from the company as well, it would leave Microsoft with new top leadership and serve as a pivotal moment in its history.
Microsoft is more than working to better align its internal teams and revamp its larger business model by moving away from selling software and towards vending both "devices" and "services." Its early services efforts, such as Office 365 and Azure, have performed well, while its Surface project (the devices side of things) has flagged.
Why shift Gates? According to Reuters, the grumpy few feel that he might hold the company back from finding new direction.
Don't think for a minute that Gates is about to let go of the reins gently. He's been a fixture at Microsoft since its soul was first formed, and even though he has no intention of returning to the CEO position, there is little to indicate that he be willing to relinquish the role.
Also, if you are a Gates fan - and so very, very many of you are, as I've learned from your polite tweets - it doesn't make sense to change Gates' board role precisely when his guidance could be key to helping the company pick its next leader. People that won't be: Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, Steven Sinofsky, You, Me. Everyone else is pretty much up for speculation.
I'll just say that with the calming of ValueAct, I don't see who could cause enough ruckus to manage a Gates role change, especially at this time of intentional turmoil. A final point: ValueAct controls around 0.8 percent of Microsoft. Gates: 4.5 percent. Ballmer has around 4 percent. That combined is a hefty chunk of the equity. Gates won't have to step down if he doesn't want to.
Update: I misread the initial Reuters report as indicating that the investors wanted Gates to step down from his chairmanship, not exit its board entirely. My overall analysis holds, that Gates doesn't have to do a damn thing given his position and popularity, but I have updated the headline and post to reflect the correct source report. I apologize for the error in interpretation.
Top Image Credit: Robert Scoble
LinkedIn has updated its iPhone app with the ability to create endorsements for your connections right from your smartphone or tablet. The move demonstrates how important LinkedIn feels that this endorsement data is to its growing trove of signals.
The app has also been updated to look more 'iOS 7-ready' and has a new on-boarding guide for users that haven't used the mobile app before. The LinkedIn newsreader app Pulse for iPhone also gets a refresh which adds background downloading and a new look on iOs 7.
But the biggest change is the emphasis on endorsements in the main LinkedIn app, and the additional connective tissue that this adds to its products on all platforms. In a blog post announcing the new ability today, LinkedIn positions endorsements as something that can and should be done on the fly. Previously, these kinds of personal recommendations have only been accessible from the web and were a fairly involved affair. You could draw a fairly clear connection between endorsements and the references you see on a resume. Thorough, in-depth explanations of why someone is good at what they do.
Adding them to mobile, along with the language in the release, indicates that LinkedIn wants to ramp up the gathering of these endorsements. Faster, lighter notes about why someone should be considered an expert sounds like a good supplemental source of data that LinkedIn can use to index and recommend workers.
Though endorsements have been around since late last year - and LinkedIn says that over 2B of them have been given to day - adding them to mobile introduces a new dynamic.
In some ways this sounds like what Geeklist has been doing with developers and tech folks for a while. Geeklist allows users to create 'brag cards' of achievements and accomplishments that can be summed up in just a couple of sentences. If LinkedIn is able to turn endorsements into this kind of quick-fire card stack that can be flipped through by users and indexed by LinkedIn itself, it might have something interesting on its hands.
Specifically, a source of endorsements that's more human and parseable. LinkedIn has gained a reputation for being overly complex and dry. A layer of humanity and shareable 'brag points' could do something to offset that.
These moves fit in with LinkedIn's efforts to make online resumes feel more at home on mobile. Messaging services for networking and content are two clear facets of LinkedIn's current product push, but this seems to dovetail nicely with the shifting perception of LinkedIn as a job search site, rather than a 'connection' resource.
For two and a half years, Silk Road was the Deep Web's worst-kept secret. The underground site was infamous for drug trafficking, gun running and murder for hire - a veritable rogues gallery for underground dealers. Since launching in 2011, the site generated over $1.2 billion in revenue and $79.8 million in commissions. It was one of the not-so-secret successes of the underground web.
The site was taken offline today and the founder, Ross William Ulbricht, a/k/a "Dread Pirate Roberts," was charged with one count each of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, soliciting murder, computer hacking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, according to a court filing. It is the end of a strange era in computer security when one man and a team of salesmen, programmers, and cryptographers kept the government at bay for two solid years. The court filing reveals in explicit terms the lengths Ulbricht's site went to ensure its users' anonymity and details the violent means he allegedly used to protect himself and the site.
The image of Ulbricht comes from his LinkedIn profile.
What follows are excerpts from the court document compiling the notes of Special Agent Christopher Tarbell of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Incidentally, Silk Road users, take note: Ulbricht instituted a multi-layer system that protected your identity, but it wasn't perfect as it seems Silk Road vendors were the weak link in the system. Read on for more details.
Tarbell explains in detail Silk Road's transaction process.
Silk Road uses a so-called "tumbler" to process Bitcoin transactions in a manner designed to frustrate the tracking of individual transactions through the Blockchain. According to the Silk Road wiki, Silk Road's tumbler "sends all payments through a complex, semi-random series of dummy transactions, . . . making it nearly impossible to link your payment with any coins leaving the site." In other words, if a
buyer makes a payment on Silk Road, the tumbler obscures any link between the buyer's Bitcoin address and the vendor's Bitcoin address where the Bitcoins end up - making it fruitless to use the Blockchain to follow the money trail involved in the transaction, even if the buyer's and vendor's Bitcoin addresses are both known. Based on my training and experience, the only function served by such "tumblers" is to assist with the laundering of criminal proceeds.
Special Agent Tarbell acknowledges that Bitcoins are an anonymous, decentralized form of electronic currency, existing entirely on the Internet and not in any physical form. He also notes,
Every communication sent through Tor is bounced through numerous relays within the network, and wrapped in numerous layers of encryption, such that it is practically impossible to trace the communication back to its true originating IP address.
All Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a public ledger know as the "Blockchain," stored on the peer-to-peer network on which the Bitcoin system operates. The Blockchain serves to prevent a user from spending the same Bitcoins more than once. However, the Blockchain only reflects the movement of funds between anonymous Bitcoin addresses and therefore cannot by itself be used to determine the identities of the persons involved in the transactions. Only if one knows the identities associated with each Bitcoin address involved in a set of transactions is it possible to meaningfully trace funds through the system.
Tarbell alleges that Silk Road used a system that held Bitcoin payments in escrow until the transaction was complete. This was done through user accounts and an Silk Road bank. He explains that every user must have a Silk Road account, Silk Road Bitcoin address, and these address are stored on wallets maintained on servers controlled by Silk Road.
After thus funding his account, the user can then make purchases from Silk Road vendors. When the user purchases an item on Silk Road, the Bitcoins needed for the purchase are held in escrow (in a wallet maintained by Silk Road) pending completion of the transaction.
Once the transaction is complete, the user's Bitcoins are transferred to the Silk Road Bitcoin address of the vendor involved in the transaction. The vendor can then withdraw Bitcoins from the vendor's Silk Road Bitcoin address, by sending them to a different Bitcoin address, outside Silk Road, such as the address of a Bitcoin exchanger who can cash out the Bitcoins for real currency.
However, the aforementioned tumbler used by the Silk Road makes it "nearly impossible to link your payment with any coins leaving the site."
Tarbell explains Ulbricht's continuing efforts to protect the identity of vendors. They were, after all, netting him hefty commissions from the sale of illegal substances.
On February 27, 2012, DPR posted a message announcing "a new feature called Stealth Mode," targeted at the
site's "superstar vendor[s]" who consider themselves at particular "risk of becoming a target for law enforcement." The posting explained that the listings of a vendor operating in "stealth mode" would not be visible to users searching or browsing the site. Instead, only users who already knew the specific address of the vendor's page on Silk Road would be able to access the vendor's listings, by traveling to the vendor's page directly. This posting again evidences not only that DPR has been aware that the vendors on Silk Road are engaged in illicit trade, but also that he has specifically designed the site to facilitate such trade.
Perhaps most chilling was the evidence of murder for hire. Ulbricht himself requested murders and allegedly paid for them using Bitcoin - one murder cost a little under 2,000 BTC. Special Agent Tarbell alleges that Ulbricht himself used the service at least once to protect his interest in Silk Road. The internal communication also reveals that vendors apparently kept a list of users, showing that while Silk Road was secure, the vendors themselves could be compromised.
For example, DPR's private-message communications from March and April 2013 reveal at least one occasion when solicited a murder-for-hire of a certain Silk Road user, who was attempting to extort money from DPR at the time, based on a threat to release the identities of thousands of Silk Road users. Specifically, the messages reveal the following:
Beginning on March 13, 2013, a Silk Road vendor known as began sending threats to DPR through
Silk Road's private message system. In these messages, stated that he had a long list of real names and
addresses of Silk Road vendors and customers that he had obtained from hacking into the computer of another, larger Silk Road vendor. Threatened to publish the information on the Internet unless DPR gave him $500,000, which indicated he needed to pay off his narcotics suppliers.
On March 15, 2013, provided DPR a sample of the usernames, addresses, and order information he
intended to leak. Also, as proof that he had obtained the data from the vendor whose computer he claimed to have hacked, supplied the vendor's username and password on Silk Road so that DPR could verify it.
At Ulbricht's request, the vendor contacted him to "work out something with them." Over the course of several communications, the court documents reveal that DPR indicated that he did not owe the accuser any money and viewed him as a "liability", saying "I wouldn't mind if he was executed....I'm not sure how much you already know about the guy, but I have the following info and am waiting on getting his address." Ulbricht provided a name for the intended victim, saying that he lived in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada, with "Wife 3 kids." DER added: "Let me know if it would be helpful to have his full address."
After being threatened again, Ulbricht apparently requested a bounty be put on the accuser's head and inquiring about the appropriate amount. After a bit of negotiation and Ulbricht stating "Not long ago, I had a clean hit done for $80k", the two parties settled on 1,670 Bitcoins, or about $150,000.
Several hours later on March 31, 2013, redandwhite wrote back: received the payment. . . . We know where he is. He'll be grabbed tonight. I'll update you."
Approximately 24 hours later, redandwhite updated DPR, stating: "Your problem has been taken care of. . . . Rest easy though, because he won't be blackmailing anyone again. Ever."
Ulbricht has been indicted in a New York court on charges including narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy, soliciting murder and money laundering conspiracy. Silk Road was seized by the FBI today, and replaced with an FBI notice. However, the Silk Road forums are still operating.
Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Gear smartwatch last month, which connects to its Galaxy smartphone via Bluetooth and provides much of the functionality of an Android device without needing to actually touch your phone.
Instead of hyping up the practical functions of the smartwatch though, Samsung has chosen to market its smartwatch as a gadget imagined by fiction writers years ago that it has brought to life. The first Samsung Galaxy Gear ads are up on YouTube - and they're pretty cool.
One of the ads, 'Evolution' shows a series of prototypes of smartwatches from various sci-fi shows including Dick Tracy, The Jetsons, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Inspector Gadget, before morphing into the Samsung Galaxy Gear with the tagline: "After all these years, it's finally real."
The other ad, 'A Long Time Coming' shows scenes from various old-school sci-fi shows that feature characters speaking to their watches, before the Samsung Galaxy Gear finally makes its appearance to the tagline "The Next Big Thing is Here."
Both ads let you reminisce about a time when the idea of a smartwatch belonged only to fiction and touts the Galaxy Gear as bringing all these dreams alive. There's a bit of clever marketing that Samsung has done - and the Korean company probably needs all the creativity it can muster to sell the watch at its $299 price tag, considering that expectations for the device have been rather high, but reviews haven't been overwhelmingly positive.
Read: Samsung Galaxy Gear review: A $299 smartwatch that can't deliver an email... but I hated taking it off
Headline image via Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Twitter has been criticized over the weekend for a revelation from its IPO filing that the New York Times reported on - the company only has one woman sitting among its top officials.
That would be the general counsel, Vijaya Gadde, who took over five weeks ago when the previous guy unexpectedly resigned.
The company also has a lack of senior women represented across its senior positions.
The social networking site has already drawn a lot of flak for this fact from all over the tech world and then CEO Dick Costolo decided to chip in his two cents' worth. He took to (where else) Twitter to make a comment about Vivek Wadhwa, the academic who spoke to the New York Times and commented that Twitter possessed the "elite arrogance of the Silicon Valley mafia" and "male chauvinistic thinking."
@rich1 Vivek Wadhwa is the Carrot Top of academic sources.
- dick costolo (@dickc) October 5, 2013
For those who don't catch the Carrot Top reference, it apparently points to the American comedian of the same name - and it seems like Costolo was making fun of Wadhwa for being too over-the-top (as seen in another tweet he made).
@anildash huh??? I was making fun of his propensity for silly hyperbole. I didn't say anything about the topic or even reference it!
- dick costolo (@dickc) October 5, 2013
By now, all of you must surely be thinking: what a dickhead Costolo is.
The gender gap in tech companies is a hot-button issue that people have been harping on for years. Why is it that tech companies tend to hire more men than women? There must be some chauvinistic attitude at play here.
However, the gender imbalance in a tech company is really way more than just finding (capable) women and putting them on board among top officials. Of course Twitter should set an example as a progressive tech company, but honestly the problem goes way deeper than that - it goes back into the depths of history where women have been traditionally molded into certain roles that affect their study choices, which eventually influence their career choices.
First up, I want to say that I obviously would appreciate having more women in the tech scene.
However, in the midst of all the anger about Twitter propagating the gender imbalance by not wanting to hire more women, there is a propensity to forget about what is more important when it comes to selecting someone to be in the top ranks: talent.
The New York Times article states that according to research firm Catalyst, only about 2 percent of women have a degree in a high-tech field, and only 5.7 percent of employed women in the US hold a job in the computer industry.
As a tech company, a large part of Twitter's employees would obviously be hired for the technical side - and therefore in turn executives.
What is interesting here is that there simply is a supply-side problem, as already pointed out by Twitter's CTO Adam Messinger back in March when he did an interview with the Times. Only 2 percent of women chose to get a degree that teaches high-tech skills, that is the technical know-how needed in bigger numbers by a tech company. Is it any wonder there aren't that many software engineers who are women - when so many women did not choose to major in such a specialization at college?
It is natural that women who work in tech companies tend to veer toward the non-technical side of things, considering what they studied. Case in point: Twitter hires several vice presidents on the business side who are women - but not on the technical side.
I do believe that despite the small number of women who studied the technical know-hows of technology, there are still many women out there who are talented software engineers, for example. However, with so many tech companies trying to address the gender issue and hiring them away, it is not easy to find someone who is the exact right fit for your company, and happens to be a woman at the same time.
The rule of thumb for companies is simply to hire the most talented person available. Of course, many think men will hire like for like, therefore perpetuating the dominance of men sitting among the top positions at tech companies. However, I am assuming Twitter was not dumb enough to give up on a woman with equal qualifications and suitability as a man who was running for the same position.
Costolo tries to explain it (though he might need to practise having more tact) in a tweet to Wadhwa.
@wadhwa you're not seeing my point. you give people an easy out by just checking a box. The issues are much bigger than checking any 1 box.
- dick costolo (@dickc) October 5, 2013
Of course, there is much to change about the status quo. However, what needs to change requires a lot of effort not only on these tech companies' part, but also on society's part. Basically, if you have more women heading into college and specializing in high-tech skills that will eventually benefit these companies, you will have no excuse not to hire a woman. And this issue of education is what needs to be addressed and changed ultimately, not the tech companies' hiring policy.
After all, any company in its right mind should definitely include these two very important criteria when hiring: talent and suitability.
To overturn the trend now of a lack of women representatives in the tech scene requires a whole generation to be educated in a different approach from the previous generations - parents need to be more open about letting their daughters explore their geeky side, the curriculum needs to be geared toward equality for all subjects in school, and teachers need to be more proactive about developing talents in their students regardless of gender.
In fact, change has started to emerge. Many women in the tech world have started to be thrust into the limelight - and for good reasons. Marissa Mayer, who heads Yahoo, is one. She has taken over a major tech company and is steering it through difficult waters. Another one would be Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook. As a woman myself, I am immensely proud of them.
Many say that Twitter should be a role model and take the step forward in increasing its number of female hires, especially in senior positions. I believe that if and when they find women who are suitable for certain roles, they will do so.
We should have more faith in the fact that women aren't getting hired just because we are women, and there is really no need to focus on gender. It all boils down to talent and suitable skill sets, and if a woman has enough of these versus a male competitor, she could thrash him for sure.
Leave gender in the background. Focus on skills instead. I don't want to be hired because I'm a woman. I want to be hired because I'm the best at what I do - compared with other women, and men. And if there is so much attention being given to efforts that try to balance the gender equation, it may lead women to wonder: am I being placed in this role as a token female, or is it really because of my capabilities?
Headline image via Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images, other images via Getty Images, Getty Images and Getty Images
We've seen a few leaks so far that put the release date of the new Nexus 7 on the last day of July. However, a new leaked ad from Best Buy is pegging the release date on July 30th. Yeah, it is just one day, but with the excitement around this device, a day early is great news.
On the weekend we saw some leaked press shots of the new Motorola Moto X, and now we have some more details on the handset, including some more specifications, photos, and benchmarks of the device.
It looks like the Motorola Moto X will be powered by a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with a clock speed of 1.7GHz, it will also feature 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 320 GPU.
Last month NVIDIA decided to delay the launch of their new handheld gaming console, the NVIDIA Shield, and now the have announced that the device will start shipping on the 31st of July.
The NVIDIA Shield is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor and comes with Android Jelly Bean, the device also features 2GB of RAM and a console grade controller with dual analog joysticks, a full-sized D-Pad, left and right analog triggers, full-sized bumpers and A/B/X/Y buttons.
We have heard many rumors about BlackBerry working on a new flagship smartphone called the BlackBerry A10. The device has even shown up in a short video and in some leaked pictures. The rumored specs are that the BlackBerry A10 will have a 5 inch display, a dual core processor 2GB of RAM.
Geeksphone have released the Firefox OS 1.1 update for their two handsets, the Keon and Peak, and the update apparently brings a number of improvements to both devices.
The improvement include tweaks to the HD displays, improvements to the email app and calendar app, plus a number of other enhancements.
If you have been watching Twitter you may have noticed Apple developers complaining about the company's developer portal, which has been out of service for several days. Yesterday, Apple acknowledged the outage and the reason?
The unlocked red blackberry Q5 is now available in the UK from mobile retailer Clove, the handset retails for 330 including taxes, and it comes with BlackBerry 10.
The BlackBerry Q5 features a 3.1 inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 720 x 720 pixels, plus a full QWERTY keyboard, it also features front and rear facing cameras.
Sony are rumored to be working on the Sony Xperia Honami, which is a smartphone with a 20 megapixel camera, now according to a recent report Sony are also working on a new camera accessory for their Xperia smartphones.
The rumored device will apparently mount on to Sony's Xperia smartphones, and will come with a lens and a built in image sensor, the photo below gives us an idea of how it may work.
There are many things that we take for granted in this world. For instance, when we want to know the time, it takes little more than a casual glance as your phone, wrist, or a nearby clock. But what about those people who have lost the ability to see? Sure, there are watches that will announce the time, but what if they don't want to disturb others around them while they find out the time? Well, now there is a watch that's been designed with these things in mind.
The Bradley is a new watch that takes traditional elements, and utilizes them in a way that can be read simply by touch. First, you have a regular watch face with raised bars at each hour. Inside of those is a single ball moving around a circular track. By feeling it, and the nearby bars, you can tell the minute. Another ball moves around the edge of the watch, and can be used to find the hour.
Each of the two balls is held in place by a magnet, which means that even if you manage to bump or move the bearings, they will snap back into their proper place. The face is constructed from titanium, while the straps are a combination of cotton fabric and leather. If you've been looking for a watch that can be used without looking at it, or are just in the market for something unique, then you can pre-order one by backing the Kickstarter fund (which has already surpassed its goal several times over) with $128.
[ The Bradley Watch lets you feel the time copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Have you been feeling a bit lonely and down lately? Perhaps you need an adorable, fuzzy creature in your life. Sure, a cat or dog might be the first thing that comes to mind, but those aren't for you. No, you need something a little smaller, and a little cuter.
Don't worry, unlike the Tribbles seen on the original Star Trek series, these cute balls of fur won't be multiplying faster than rabbits. Instead, these particular creatures do little more than sit there and look adorable.
Each of these 4-inch plushies comes in a container, which contains several useful facts about your new pet. The most important, of course is "Use extreme caution when feeding. Tribbles eat constantly, resulting in reproduction at a dangerous rate." If you're in the market for your own creature from Iota Geminorium IV, then you'll be able to pre-order yours for just $10 starting very soon.
Source: MightyMega
[ You won't have any trouble with these Tribbles copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
This is made possible thanks to a clip-on sensor that comes equipped with a vibration motor which is capable of detecting motion from 5 feet away. Turning it on is simple - press and hold it for four seconds, and you are good to go. Anything that is 5 feet away will result in a very slow pulse, while as the object gets closer, the pulse's frequency would increase, naturally. Powered by a couple of AAA batteries, we are not too sure whether it can detect an incoming punch fast enough. Still got to work on those reflexes though.
[ Tingling Electronic Spidey Sense Shirt copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Basically, the New Trent Airbender Mini has been touted to be the ideal portable case solution for those who want maximum protection for their iPad mini, regardless of where they are, whether they are at home, in the office or in the great outdoors. The outdoors? Yup, that is correct, this bad boy will come with a shock and splash resistant case, thanks to a rubberized exterior which will ensure that all openings are properly plugged, all the while offering full-body protection to the iPad mini without hindering usability.
Not only that, it comes with the convenience of a removable iPad mini case that has an integrated screen protector, ensuring that scratches and smudges will never get to your beloved iPad mini, all without sacrificing on touch screen sensitivity. Sporting an ultra low-profile, built-in keyboard, it will hook up to the iPad mini via Bluetooth, ensuring you can type out all those documents in a jiffy, with great ease and comfort. If you are interested, the New Trent Airbender Mini can be yours for $39.95 a pop.
Press Release
[ New Trent Airbender Mini now available copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
