Month: November 2013

Hacking

Strange malware thought to communicate over computer speakers

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As reported on The Verge. By Aaron Souppouris An in-depth report from Ars Technica highlights a rootkit (a piece of software that typically hides itself deep in an operating system’s Kernel or a computer’s BIOS) that is capable of communicating with nearby computers using a system’s speaker and microphone. Dubbed “badBIOS,” the malware has been plaguing renowned security researcher Dragos Ruiu’s computers for three years. Similar in nature to many other rootkits, badBIOS does its best to prevent users from erasing…

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Google

Dear Google, What’s Wrong With You?

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As reported on TechCrunch.  by Jon Evans Dear Google: What’s wrong? I ask because last weekend, while in San Francisco, I asked Google Maps for “hot chocolate mission” — and was promptly directed to an ARCO station in Fremont, 40 miles away. Similarly, last month I searched for “coffee” while in the Embarcadero Center, one of the denser coffee hotspots in America, and was sent to a Starbucks more than two miles away. And it hasn’t…

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Google

Eric Schmidt praises Myanmar’s mobile efforts, but says North Korea hasn’t called back

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As reported on Engadget. By Richard Lai Google’s Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, was at the Chinese University of Hong Kong earlier today to launch a local entrepreneurship program with the institute. As a man who believes in free and open internet to aid startups and innovation, the exec was happy to give an update on North Korea and Myanmar since he last visited there to promote better web access. For the former, Schmidt joked that no one called him back since…

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Google

Google expands Glass sales but still wants a one-to-one chat with every buyer

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As reported on Engadget. By Sharif Sakr Gone are the days when you needed to visit a Google office in person to pick up a pair of Explorer Edition spectacles. Following the recent expansion of the wearable project, which allowed existing owners to invite up to three friends or relatives to take that $1,500 step into the future, it’s been possible for new customers to have their glasses shipped to them, just like any commercial product. What hasn’tchanged, however, is…

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Entertainment

Track the scariest movie locations of all time with The Geography of Horror

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As reported on The Verge. By Bryan Bishop When trying to figure out what movie to watch for Halloween, you can pick from your favorite franchise, director, or even type of scare — but what about using location? That’s what location analytics company Esri makes possible with The Geography of Horror. It’s an interactive map that takes the top 200 horror films, as listed by the IMDB, and maps out where they were set across the globe. Films are broken…

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Environmental

Dead meat: how to raise livestock in a post-antibiotic era

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As reported on The Verge. By Katie Drummond When will American farmers put antibiotic drugs out to pasture? We’ve been warned for years that our reckless use of antibiotics threatens to render the drugs useless — ushering in a public health crisis that could see once-benign germs become deadly. But overzealous prescriptions for human patients are only one part of the problem: experts increasingly agree that antibiotics in animal agriculture contribute to resistant infections in people.…

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Tech Travel

New FAA Guidelines Permit More Device Use, All The Way From Take-Off To Landing

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As reported on TechCrunch.  by Darrell Etherington For years now, most of us have been quietly not turning off our phones and devices at landing and take off, and merely putting the screens to sleep and stuffing them in seat pockets instead. Now, we’ll be able to do that officially and more, according to the FAA. The American government organization overseeing air travel today announced that travelers won’t face regulations that are quite as strict when it comes…

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Android Apple

Nexus 5 launcher and apps ripped from factory image, available for download

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As reported on Engadget. By Sean Buckley Can’t wait for your freshly ordered Nexus 5 to show up? This might grab your attention: the Android community has already ripped a handful of the phone’s apps from Google’s official factory image. Droid-Life has collected the essential applications (calendar, clock, email, camera hangouts, and others), but the full Nexus 5 experience requires Google Play Services, Google Home (the new launcher) and the revamped Google Search, specifically. As always, side-load with caution — these…

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Tablet

Barnes & Noble’s Nook GlowLight is lighter, brighter, whiter, with less Simple Touch for $119

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As reported on Engadget. By Brian Heater As a ketchup bottle once famously said: Good things take time (we’re paraphrasing here, of course). Roughly a year and a half ago, Barnes & Noble made its top-notchNook Simple Touch even better with the addition of GlowLight. Before the end of the year, however, the company had been outdone by both Kobo and Amazon in that department; the two e-reader competitors launched devices with more uniform and brighter front-lighting technologies. Since then, those companies…

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