Matt Brian | The Verge

Smart trash can knows how fast you walk and which smartphone you use

2013-08-09T08:09:13-04:00

Renew Orb

UK startup Renew is taking smartphone tracking to London’s streets with the help of its Wi-Fi-enabled trash cans. Already outfitted with advertising screens, a handful of the city’s 100 Renew Pods are now equipped with new “Renew Orbs,” which use Wi-Fi to track the proximity and speed of people walking past and identify the maker of their smartphone. As GigaOm points out, Londoners might be shocked to find they are being tracked, but many will be unaware that it’s happening without their permission.

Renew installed Orbs in the square-mile City of London, home to the highest concentration of professionals in Europe. The marketing company allows clients to use its smart trash cans to conduct their own statistical analysis on “trending demographics” in high profile locations. For example, if there are lots of iPhone or Galaxy S4 owners walking past a Pod, a retailer can work out how many consumers are likely to be in the area and range smartphone accessories to cater for them.

It can track your speed, proximity, and even your smartphone model

Renew’s approach is likely to attract attention — both UK and EU privacy laws require companies to notify consumers they are being tracked and allow them to opt out. Even if the company fixes notices around its trash cans or uses digital signage to warn people walking past it, Renew isn’t able to provide an easy way for them to immediately tell the company that they don’t wish to participate. However, because the system utilizes Wi-Fi to gather information, personal data cannot be obtained and is purely for research purposes only. Retailers across the world are using similar tracking techniques to learn more about their customers. Armed with anonymous data, store owners can tune layouts, offer discount coupons, or reward frequent buyers, much like their online counterparts.

Sony sends Drake into ‘Uncharted’ territory in pursuit of a Coke Zero

2013-08-09T05:45:34-04:00

Drake Coke Zero

While Nintendo has no intention to make games for smartphones, Sony is testing the waters again with the launch of a series of free-to-play games for iOS and Android. In PlayStation All-Stars Island, Sony has brought together some its most recognizable characters from titles including Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet Karting, inFamous, and Gravity Rush, creating a number of mini-games that have all been tweaked to maximize its sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola.

Sony will only launch All-Stars Island in Europe

As you progress through each title, you’ll be able to collect special promotional objects to to unlock special characters, featuring cameos from Jak, Ratchet and Clank. If you’ve ever wanted to play a Temple Run clone featuring Nathan Drake or race with Sackboy, all the while making sure to collect special Coke Zero ‘Drops’ and logos, All-Stars Island will ensure you come away refreshed.

With All-Stars Island, Sony risks diluting a recognizable brand. While it includes some of PlayStation’s most distinctive characters, All-Stars Island is a far cry from PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale on the PS3 and PS Vita, which was Sony’s version of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros series. Sony says PlayStation All-Stars Island is part of its “European marketing promotional program with Coke Zero,” so you won’t be able to enjoy the low-calorie goodness if you live in the US.

Google’s new Nexus 7 to launch in the UK on August 28th

2013-08-09T03:56:15-04:00

Google Hugo Barra Nexus 7 stock 1020 2-3

Already on sale forÂ more than a week in the US, Google’s new Nexus 7 will soon start to roll out in Europe. ASUS, the manufacturer of Google’s latest budget Android tablet, has confirmed that the device will go on sale in the UK on August 28th, ahead of the mid-September launch date earlierÂ touted by some of the UK’s biggest electrical retailers. Mirroring the US, the new Nexus 7 will be available on Google’s Play Store and in various high-street retail stores, which include PC World and Currys. The 16GB Wi-Fi-only model will cost Â£199.99 ($310), with the 32GB variant priced at Â£239.99 ($373).

Amazon and Sony lobby FCC to recognize difference between e-readers and tablets

2013-08-08T07:58:03-04:00

Kobo Arc, Glo, Mini hero

Three of the world’s biggest e-reader manufacturers are petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to exempt their devices from disability laws that could change the way they operate if they were enforced. While e-readers include limited apps, Amazon, Sony, and Kobo all assert their devices are built for the purpose of letting users read books and should not have to include accessibility features implemented in tablets.

The three companies have formed a single legal entity and given it an alluring name: the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers. It argues that e-readers do not feature LCD screens, a camera, or ship with built-in email and instant messaging apps like iOS or Android tablets, so they shouldn’t be grouped in the same class as them. Under the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, equipment used for “advanced communications services (ACS)” should be “accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.”

“The functional differences between tablets and e-readers have been clear and steady for a number of years.”

Amazon, Sony, and Kobo believe they should not have to comply with disability laws in the same way as other ACSs — which also include IP-enabled TVs, set-top boxes, and gaming consoles, services and software — as it would detract from the core experience and push up the price. To further enhance its argument, the coalition says many Americans are now choosing to own both a tablet and an e-reader and that the differences between them are widely understood. The FCC says it needs help forming a decision and invites people to comment before its September 3rd deadline.

CBS blackout sparks rise in TV show piracy

2013-08-08T05:41:57-04:00

Time Warner Cable logo (1020)

CBS’s block on Time Warner Cable (TWC) customers is less than a week old and already the blackout is fuelling a rise in TV show piracy. TorrentFreak reports that the percentage of illegal downloads rose substantially in the week since it went dark, as piracy rates for popular CBS show Under The Dome increased by 34 percent over the course of one weekend. As downloads went up, the show unsurprisingly saw its lowest viewing figures this season.

10.9 percent of downloads came from blackout regions

Piracy continues to be a major thorn in the side of rights-holders as internet users take to Bittorrent and other file-sharing services to download TV shows immediately after they have aired. The study comes after CBS and TWC failed to reach an agreement on retransmission fees that allow the cable operator to carry CBS programming. Both cable and online broadcasts were blocked, leading viewers to seek alternative means to watch their favorite TV shows.

TorrentFreak sampled Bittorrent downloads in affected TWC regions, including Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, and Pittsburgh. The publication was unable to differentiate between TWC subscribers and people using different services but did note that 10.9 percent of downloads for Under The Dome came from blackout regions, while piracy rates in one of the biggest affected markets — New York City — more than doubled. For now, negotiations are ongoing and CBS continues to block transmissions. CBS has labelled TWC’s a la carte proposal “a sham,” while Senator Ed Markey has written to acting FCC chair Mignon Clyburn to call for an investigation into the blackout.

The fury of our sun captured in never-before-seen detail

2013-08-08T04:22:27-04:00

Sunspot

Normally it’s harmful to stare at the sun, but for researchers at the NJIT’s Big Bear Solar Observatory, that’s their job. Stripping away the danger with its New Solar Telescope (NST), the team used its newly-equipped spectrometer to help capture the clearest images of the sun’s atmosphere to date, discovering never-before-seen features within the star at the center of our solar system.

The first image (featured above) displays the most detailed sunspot ever captured in visible light. The NST’s photo shows how the darker central core (the umbra) interacts with the brighter petal-like tendrils of energy (the penumbra), helping researchers gain new insights into that type of solar activity. The second (displayed below), focuses on the sun’s H-alpha line center and shows swirling, almost demonic, “ultrafine magnetic loops” in the sun’s photosphere. The NST will soon receive an upgrade to eliminate atmospheric distortion and allow physicists to monitor the sun in near-infrared light, advancing existing research and helping them to understand how the sun’s magnetic forces affect the Earth and the rest of our solar system.

Google leaves your Chrome passwords unprotected to promote security

2013-08-07T08:51:22-04:00

chrome crash icon

How would you feel if someone sat in front of your computer and was immediately able to access all of your Chrome passwords? That’s a scenario that is dividing opinion after web designer Elliott Kember called Google’s security practices into question by demonstrating how entering a simple URL allows a person with physical access to your machine to view your stored credentials.

Chrome is designed to ask users if they want to store the passwords they enter online, making it easier to access their favorite websites. If that option is chosen, Chrome saves a list of credentials in its settings, which can be toggled to display in clear text directly on the screen — a tool it has provided for many years. In his blog post, Kember points out that if a user visits chrome://settings/passwords in the browser, those passwords are just one click away, instead of three clicks using the settings UI.

“We don’t want to provide users with a false sense of security.”

Justin Schuh, Google’s head of Chrome Security, took to Y Combinator to clarify why Google doesn’t secure stored passwords, stating that it does not want “to provide users with a false sense of security and encourage risky behavior.” Schuh’s argument is that if a would-be attacker had access to a user’s machine then “the game was lost,” as there would be “too many vectors for [the attacker] to get what he wants.”

This doesn’t take into account a world where users don’t use master passwords (not just in browsers), share computers, and aren’t aware it is so easy for someone to access their login details. Schuh argues that if a person already has access to a computer, they are free to access much more than browser data, but when Chrome provides an easy way to search passwords, an attacker could find, copy, and use a Facebook or Twitter password in a matter of seconds. It also calls into question why Google hasn’t shared its security decisions more publicly in the past. If Google believes OS locks are a more secure way to protect a computer, why doesn’t it provide a suitable warning for Chrome users?

Rival browsers are more careful with your passwords

Rival browsers Firefox and Safari let users view their passwords but incorporate additional security to better protect them. Mozilla recommends that Firefox users who share a public computer should set a master password (although this is not toggled by default) and both Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browsers request that the user authenticate themselves using a system password. Chrome, on the other hand, has none of these measures in place.

Schuh explains that Google has “literally spent years” evaluating its security measures, giving it “quite a bit of data to inform our position.” Schuh’s response to the post was blasted by its author and inventor of the World Wide Web Sir Tim Berner’s Lee labelled it “a disappointing reply from [the] Chrome team.”

How to get all you big sister’s passwords http://t.co/CpytKWH9aT and a disappointing reply from Chrome team.
— Tim Berners-Lee (@timberners_lee) August 6, 2013

Right now, Google sits at a crossroads. The Chrome browser is no longer a tool used by ethusiasts and developers, it’s a piece of software that has huge global appeal and is a tool capable of delivering web content to HD televisions. Many internet users aren’t aware that their passwords are freely accessible or may not have been shown how to secure their PC or Mac to stop someone from gaining entry to their computer. Google needs to decide whether it wants to implement options similar to its rivals, or face the prospect that users may look elsewhere for their browsing needs.

Vodafone matches O2 with August 29th 4G launch in UK

2013-08-07T07:34:16-04:00

Vodafone 4G

Hot on the heels of O2’s announcement, Vodafone has confirmed it will switch on its 4G network on August 29th — the same day as its rival. Initially, the company will only offer its LTE service in London but it hopes to extend its network to 12 more cities by the end of the year. Today’s announcement sees three of the big UK carriers fully commit to 4G — EE led the charge when it launched exclusively at the end of last year — with Three and BT yet to announce their launch dates.

Vodafone’s price plans will start at £26 per month for a 12-month SIM-only deal with 2GB of data. For customers wishing to order a subsidized 4G-ready smartphone, plans will start from £34 per month on a 24-month plan and from £52 per month on a 12-month plan. All tariffs will come with a choice of either a Spotify Premium or a Sky Sports Mobile TV subscription. To incentivize existing customers to make the switch to 4G, Vodafone will give Red tariff subscribers the option to upgrade their plan for an additional £5 per month, making all plans available from August 12th.

Just Three and possibly BT left

Last year, Vodafone and O2 struck a deal to collaborate on network of 18,500 mobile sites to expand coverage across the UK. Like its rival, Vodafone will not offer the iPhone 5 on its LTE networks as it won’t be compatible with the Apple flagship’s LTE bands. Consumers may also be keeping a close eye on Three after it said it will not charge customers any extra for its 4G service. Following London, Vodafone will switch on its 4G service in Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield.

Amazon now offering game and software downloads for PC and Mac in the UK

2013-08-07T06:06:52-04:00

Amazon Press Event

Amazon has expanded its digital marketplace to allow UK customers to download games and software via its website. Already an option on its US store, Amazon has made available a selection of popular paid titles for PC and Mac — including Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, and Mass Effect 3 — as well as free-to-play games like Second Life. Customers can still buy boxed copies but Amazon is attempting to take on popular online game stores like Steam and Origin with its expansion outside of North America. Like its rivals, Amazon will give immediate access to titles the minute they become available, so gamers will only have to wait for the download to finish before they can start playing.

Electric avenue: Korean buses now wirelessly charge as they drive

2013-08-07T04:24:57-04:00

KAIST OLEV Wireless Bus

Wireless charging hasn’t quite yet made an impact in the smartphone market but that hasn’t stopped scientists in South Korea from using a similar technology to develop the world’s first road-powered electric vehicle network. Located in Gumi city, the 15-mile network uses specially adapted roads with electrical cables lying just underneath the surface to magnetically transfer power to Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) coaches, charging them whether they are stopped in traffic or swiftly navigating their route.

The city plans to add 10 more OLEVs in the next two years

The technology behind the project was developed by the KAIST Graduate School for Green Transportation as a way to power electric vehicles without using traditional battery storage. While the buses do feature small batteries — around a third of the size of a traditional electric vehicle engine — they are able to rely on a constant source of power that lies 17 centimeters below them. Currently, the city has two OLEVs in operation but plans to add another 10 within the next two years. With only up to 15 percent of the road needing to be replaced to fit the power cables, KAIST’s technology isn’t too invasive but overhead cables are still much easier for city authorities to install. Perhaps the network’s intelligent power system, which uses segment technology to control the supply to OLEV buses and switches it off for other vehicles, will encourage other cities to follow suit.