Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » septembre 3, 2015

BetaNews.Com (19 non lus)

Google provides help with more health conditions than ever before

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 10:44pm CEST par Mark Wilson

blue_doctor_icon

Turning to the internet for medical advice is something of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides access to a wealth of information previously only available to medical students, making it easy to look up symptoms and see what they might mean. On the other, hypochondriacs can very easy self-diagnose every condition under the sun.

But there's no denying that it can certainly be helpful to be able to find out a little more about different conditions from the comfort of your phone or computer. Today Google announces a swathe of updates that it hopes will help people to be better informed in terms of understanding symptoms and treatments, and conveying what they are experiencing to a doctor.

Google's heath conditions feature has only been around since February, and today's announcement sees the number of conditions it covers more than doubling to over 900. Anyone with concerns can simply fire up Google and search for conditions or symptoms to find out a possible diagnosis and advice about what to do. As well as being available via desktop search, the information can also be accessed through the Google app on mobile devices.

Just how data is displayed depends very much on the type of search that is performed. For each condition Google covers, a simple three panel box provides all of the information you need, with tabs for general information, a list of symptoms, and a list of treatments. Details such as the prevalence and cause of particular conditions helps users to determine how likely a given diagnosis is, and a helpful printable PDF that can be taken along to a doctor is also provided.

Google says that it has been working with a team of doctors to curate and validate the information it provides:

We’re making sure to include neglected tropical diseases, a set of infections that affect over 1.5 billion people including 500 million children in poorer regions. We think it's important for people to have facts on these diseases, such as Dengue Fever (already included), Chikungunya, and Leishmaniases (to be added soon). Today the feature is still only in U.S. English, but we plan to expand it to more languages and regions.

Photo credit: samarttiw / Shutterstock

Snowden: Hilary Clinton's personal email server likely exposed sensitive national intelligence

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 9:26pm CEST par Mark Wilson

hilary_clinton

If anyone else at the State Department made use of a personal email server to discuss sensitive information, they would have been fired and prosecuted, says Edward Snowden in a scathing attack on Hilary Clinton.

The former NSA worker hit out at the Democratic presidential candidate in an interview with Al Jazeera. He said that Clinton was probably aware that using a personal email address had exposed sensitive national intelligence, describing it as 'a problem'.

Hilary Clinton has faced heavy criticism after it was discovered that she had used a personal email server in the State Department. Batches of email have been published, but large swathes have disappeared making it impossible to know exactly what sort of correspondence the server was used for. In an interview that is due to air tomorrow, Snowden said:

If an ordinary worker at the State Department or the Central Intelligence Agency [...] were sending details about the security of the embassies, which is alleged to be in her email, meetings with private government officials, foreign government officials and the statements that were made to them in confidence over unclassified email systems, they would not only lose their jobs and lose their clearance, they would very likely face prosecution for it.

He says that Clinton really should have known better, suggesting that "anyone who has the clearances that the Secretary of State has, or the director of any top level agency has, knows how classified information should be handled". Controversy sprung up around the revelation that Clinton had been using a personal email server for a number of years, and this was further stoked when thousands of emails described as 'personal' were deleted. She is currently under investigation to determine whether classified information ended up in her email account, and her poll ratings have been gradually sliding as her campaign progresses.

Photo credit: JStone / Shutterstock

Motorola defends its decision not to make the Moto 360 screen entirely round

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 8:33pm CEST par Mark Wilson

moto_360_flat_tire

The traditional shape of a watch face is round. There are variations, of course -- square, rectangular, and so on -- but for the most part, round is a safe bet. With the Moto 360, however, Motorola raised a few eyebrows when its screen was launched with a design that has become known as the 'flat tire' look.

Yesterday, the company unveiled the new version of the Moto 360 and the same flat tire, non-round screen is present. What gives? Despite disappointment, and even ridicule from users, Motorola remains adamant that it made the right choice, standing by its decision to keep the flat tire in the second generation of the smartwatch. So, is it ugly, or does it make sense?

Take a look at the Motorola website, and you'll notice that a very large proportion of the photos of the Moto 360 show black watch faces. This goes some way to disguise the unsightly slither of the visage that is not made up of pixels -- but not far enough. Why would a company make the conscious decision to implement a design that is unattractive, and viewed by many as inferior to the competition?

Speaking to AndroidPIT, Motorola's product management lead Kouji Kodera said:

It is possible to do round ones, like the competition is doing, but things will stick out [...] The design and the form factor are very important. This shape and design also allow us to provide possibilities for giving choice on different colors, different materials and different bezel designs. We thought that was more important than this tiny black slit at the bottom.

The 'tiny black slit' is home to, among other things, the ambient light sensor. Motorola insists that customer feedback showed that people placed great value on having more customization options to choose from -- different sizes, different colors, and so on -- and the company therefore chose to focus on delivering in these areas.

Kodera admitted that some work had been done to develop a version of the Moto 360 with a completely round screen but said that "the value added by going this direction outweighed the alternative". With other manufacturers having been able to overcome the problem fairly easily, it can only be assumed that Motorola either couldn't come up with a way of producing a round screen, couldn't do it cheaply enough, or did not want to invest the time and money to conduct the research.

Was it a mistake?

Logitech unveils new Bluetooth mouse and keyboard for multiple operating systems

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 8:09pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

slogitech-m535 The wireless mouse and keyboard is not a new concept, it's been around for quite a while. Bluetooth connectivity came along a bit later, though it still isn't cutting-edge anymore. Now we work from multiple devices from PCs to laptops to tablets, even phones and these thing have become necessary.

Now Logitech is unveiling its latest Bluetooth keyboard, the Logitech K380, and mouse, the M535. Neither is dependent on the other, it isn't a set. Both have a compact design that's easy to pack up and travel with.

Logitech describes the keyboard as "Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard gives you the comfort and convenience of a desktop keyboard for your smartphone, tablet and more". Meanwhile. The M535 is described as a device that "when you’re creating on-the-go between multiple devices, can help bring harmony to your navigation".

The keyboard sells for $39.99 and is available right now. The mouse will retail for the same $39.99. You can grab them from the Logitech website.

Barnes and Noble announces Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 7:06pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

04_SamGalS2NOOK_ShopHome

Paper books are archaic -- e-readers and tablets are the proper way to read nowadays. They are more convenient for traveling, helpful for nighttime reading, and most importantly, don't take up room. Both public and in-home libraries are a waste of space.

Today, Barnes and Noble announces its newest tablet-based reader, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK. Unlike Amazon's Kindle Fire Android tablets which are designed in-house and don't have access to Google Play, B&N partners with Samsung for the hardware while giving access to Google's app store. In other words, it is a proper Android tablet with a B&N experience baked in. I like it.

"All NOOK devices come with free lifetime in-store support. NOOK customers can visit any of Barnes & Noble’s nearly 650 stores across the country for complimentary, personal support, including help setting up their NOOK device and organizing their library. While in-store, customers can speak with any of the company’s expert booksellers, access free Wi-Fi and enjoy the popular Read In Store program, which allows guests to read any book free for up to one hour per day. Customers can also take advantage of a full calendar of popular NOOK events, including NOOK Night workshops, family Storytimes, book discussion groups and author signings", says Barnes and Noble.

The company further explains that it will offer "all customers who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK to choose complimentary NOOK content including: three books from a selection of 20 great titles featuring favorites such as The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates, Think Big, Act Bigger by Jeffrey Hayzlett and On A Night Like This by Barbara Freethy, and three magazines from a selection of more than 25 popular publications such as Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Food Network Magazine. Customers will also receive a $5 credit to help them get started as they explore the expansive NOOK Store through this promotion that runs through the end of the year".

So yes, this is basically a normal 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 with added Barnes and Noble apps, and offers. You know what? That is OK. The company is trying to sell its experience -- not hardware. In other words, the hardware is secondary to the reading and media.

07_SamGalS2NOOK_Angled

Lifetime in-store support is much appreciated for people that are not technically savvy. I would be comfortable giving this as a gift to a family member, as I wouldn't have to be their personal help desk. I would tell them to go to the local Barnes and Noble instead.

When Barnes and Noble customers tire of reading, they can use this NOOK as a normal tablet to play games, surf the web or listen to music. For all of these things, the hardware is quite up to the task, with an octa-core processor and Super AMOLED screen. You can even expand memory with micro SD and that is awesome.

If you are interested, you can buy it here now for a reasonable $399 with free shipping. If you are a registered B&N member, you get 10 percent off. Very cool.

Will you buy it? Tell me in the comments.

Using freelance talent to plug the developer skills gap

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 6:02pm CEST par Ian Barker

Cloud developer tablet

There is a growing skills gap in the apps economy. As businesses become increasingly software-driven, this gap becomes more obvious than ever, and hiring managers are faced with a constant struggle to find the skilled developers they need.

Yet a new survey by freelance work marketplace Upwork suggests that there are developers around the world who have time available and are actively seeking work to fill it.

The company surveyed more than 1,000 of the most successful coders on its platform. The results suggest that developers choose to offer their services on a freelance basis in order to have a more flexible work pattern, earn better pay and get to work on more interesting projects. Freelance developers work an avearge of 32 hours per week and 55 percent expect to be working longer hours in the next year.

What does this mean for managers looking to hire developers? They need to properly set out the details of their projects and over time build up trust with their developers by collecting feedback on how projects have gone. They also need to be realistic about rates of pay and about the timescale of the project.

You can see a summary of the survey results in infographic form below.

Freelance developer infographic

Image Credit: Stokkete / Shutterstock

The importance of education in combating phishing attacks [Q&A]

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 6:00pm CEST par Ian Barker

Phishing magnified

It's usually the case that the weakest link in any security system is the human element. That's particularly true when it comes to phishing attacks. Hackers have become more creative in the social engineering methods they use to gain access to sensitive information.

A new service called LUCY, aims to educate people and identify vulnerable endpoints by allowing businesses or individuals to simulate phishing attacks. We spoke to LUCY founder Oliver Muenchow to find out more about this approach.

BN: How big a problem is phishing?

OM: There have always been phishing attacks, but the amount of attacks we see right now is at an all-time high. Hackers know that people make the easiest and most valuable targets. Criminals have learned the most efficient way to get information is sometimes simply just to ask. Many companies who felt their data was 'safe' are now feeling the financial impact of a security breach.

BN: What kind of attacks can LUCY simulate?

OM: Other than a typical phishing attack which would generate a mail that redirects the user to a webpage, we can simulate more sophisticated customized attacks including also malware simulations. Some recent examples like the Sony hack or a group of modern day bank robbers called the Carbanak gang used essentially the same type of combination attack.

BN: Can the product also check for vulnerabilities that may already be on a network?

OM: Yes, LUCY can check for vulnerabilities on the network, system & application layer. This feature allows users to perform security checks without involving employees outside their own IT department. The portable security scanner we also include in LUCY basically acts as an advanced persistent threat (APT), replicating typical malware attack patterns -- reverse tunneling techniques, privilege escalation techniques etc -- but without harming your infrastructure. You will get the inside view of your security defence layers -- but from the point of a piece of potential malware.

BN: Is education a better approach than prevention where phishing is concerned?

OM: I think both are important. A company should aim to prevent malicious mails from getting delivered to the end-users inbox, but as this is not always possible, we turn to our people as they are the last line of defence. The awareness is only one part. Keeping your employees up to date about phishing threats while presenting the information in an educational manner is the key.

BN: Why did you choose to make LUCY free for smaller businesses?

OM: The idea behind a community version is that larger companies are able to perform some sample testing with LUCY. But that 100 user test model can of course fit the needs of smaller businesses as it stands.

Image Credit: Maksim Kabakou / Shutterstock

Apply Magic Sauce uses Facebook likes to determine your personality

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 4:00pm CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

applymagicsauce

We all know that Facebook has a lot of information about us, but what exactly can it learn from all that data?

Aside from the most obvious -- the things you give it, such as gender, date of birth, place of living, education, work, your favorite sports clubs, music and movies -- it can also conclude a lot of things on its own.

Those include your Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism), intelligence, life satisfaction, sexual preference, political orientation, relationship status and education -- all based solely and exclusively by what you liked on the site.

How do I know all that? Because researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Psychometrics Centre have built a tool that uses your likes, and no other data, to build up a picture of your personality.

The tool, called Apply Magic Sauce, uses your Facebook likes to estimate the things I have listed above.

You can also follow links to take further personality tests on the University of Cambridge website.

This is not Facebook’s tool, but rather a tool of the researchers, but it shows the picture of you that the social network can build just based on your activity. In reality, likes are only a fraction of the information Facebook has on you.

Visit the Apply Special Sauce website here and select "Try it Out".

You’ll be asked to log in via Facebook. The website says it only collects your profile’s LikeIDs, but will not store any of your information once the test is complete.

I have tried it out myself and it’s pretty accurate.

ASUS VivoStick is a $129 miniature Windows 10 PC rivaling Intel's Compute Stick

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 1:59pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

ASUS VivoStick color options

ASUS is following in Intel's footsteps by unveiling a miniature Windows 10 PC, that is not much larger than a USB flash drive. Unveiled at IFA 2015, VivoStick is designed to be connected to an HDMI-enabled monitor, quickly turning it into a fully-fledged PC.

VivoStick is not all that different to Compute Stick in this regard, but the former is a better option in terms of hardware specifications and price, being advertised to cost just $129 when it goes on sale.

Since the size is the most-interesting aspect about VivoStick, let's kick off with the dimensions. It measures 137.9 x 34.0 x 14.9 mm, which makes it easily pocketable. The weight is just 68 grams, which, to put things into perspective, is half of that of a typical smartphone.

Inside, ASUS has fitted an Intel Cherry Trail-generation Atom processor, coupled with 2 GB of RAM and Intel HD Graphics. It features 32 GB of internal storage, which is more than enough for Windows 10 and a couple of multimedia programs and apps.

VivoStick supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, and has two USB ports and an audio jack. It is powered through a microUSB port. It should maintain a relatively low profile once connected to a compatible monitor.

There is no word on availability, but you can expect ASUS to ship it later this year.

Boost your trivia knowledge with Google's 'fun fact' Easter egg

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 1:25pm CEST par Mark Wilson

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Google has lots of tricks up its sleeve -- it's much more than just a search engine -- and now there's something new to try out. Hot on the heels of the unveiling of its new logo, the company has quietly launched a new "fun fact" feature for its search tool.

The next time you have a few minutes to kill, or you just like the idea of learning something new, type "fun fact" into the search box. Google will furnish you with a random fact -- from the price of a lifetime airline pass, to where golf was first played in the US. The only danger is that it could quickly turn into a real productivity vacuum!

You can also type "I'm feeling curious" or "fun facts", but the shorter eight character "fun fact" does the job and will probably be the most used. Feel the need for more facts? No need to perform another search, just hit the Ask Another Question button and Google will come up with the goods.

In some ways this is an extension of the I'm Feeling Lucky feature, but with a twist of randomness thrown in for good measure. You can limit your trivia intake to the little snippets Google delivers, but if you find that your interested is piqued, you can click through to find out more.

What have I learned this morning? Dracula's real name, the name of the guy who invented the tea bag, and the fact that horses have 18 pairs of ribs. I'm off down to the pub now to take part in the quiz!

Toshiba announces trio of convertible Windows 10 PCs including a Surface Pro wannabe

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 12:52pm CEST par Mark Wilson

toshiba_satellite_radius_14

Today Toshiba unveiled three new devices designed to take advantage of Windows 10: the Satellite Radius 12, the Toshiba Satellite Radius 14, and the Toshiba Satellite Click 10. The largest of the devices -- the Satellite Radius 14 -- is a 14-inch laptop with a 360-degree rotating screen which offers a total of five operating modes.

The mid-sized Satellite Radius 12 features a smaller 12.5-inch screen, and the rotating screen allows for multi-position use. Rounding off the trio is the Satellite Click 10, arguably the most interesting of the bunch, which boasts 14 hours of battery life. The detachable keyboard makes this a Surface competitor and gives the choice of working in laptop or tablet mode.

The Satellite Radius 14 is an ultra-slim device that can be used in laptop, tablet, tabletop, presentation, and audience modes. A brushed aluminum finished gives a quality look, and the Harman Kardon speakers with DTS Sound enhancement are ideal for all manner of tasks. There's a choice of AMD Quad-Core processors and up to sixth generation Intel Core processors, and an optional SSD helps to take the battery life up to 10 hours.

Next in line is the Satellite Radius 12 complete with an Ultra HD 4K screen. The display is crafted from Corning Gorilla Glass NBT reinforcement for extra durability. Finally, there is the Satellite Click 10, the smallest and most portable of the bunch. The device features an Intel Atom processor, backed up with up to 4GB of RAM and up to 64GB of eMMC storage.

All three devices will be available in Q4 of this year, but Toshiba is yet to provide pricing details. The Satellite Radius 14 and Satellite Radius 12 are destined for Europe and the US, while the Satellite Click 10 is due for release in Europe only.

Google will relegate mobile sites that serve large ads

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 11:07am CEST par Barclay Ballard

Thumbs down

Google has announced that it will downgrade websites that use interstitial advertisements in its mobile search results.

Although desktop searches will not be affected, Google’s new initiative is a response to claims that mobile users are often being subjected to an unsatisfying search experience.

Interstitial ads are those that cover the entire user interface and, despite the fact that they are often easily closed, Google has explained that sites that use them will now no longer be classified as mobile-friendly.

"Sometimes a user may tap on a search result on a mobile device and see an app install interstitial that hides a significant amount of content and prompts the user to install an app", explained Daniel Bathgate, software engineer at Google Search. "Our analysis shows that it is not a good search experience and can be frustrating for users because they are expecting to see the content of the web page".

Google first announced major changes to its mobile algorithm back in April, but has only now made its position on interstitial advertising clear. The policy will come into effect on November 1, but websites that use banner ads will not be adversely affected.

Often websites use interstitial ads across mobile sites in order to encourage users to download their mobile app. High-traffic sites like Etsy and Yelp both use this tactic and now risk finding themselves lower down Google’s search results unless they change their website design.

Google recommends that any website designers now use app install banners instead as these are less intrusive for the user. The search engine giant also offers an easy-to-use Mobile-Friendly Test where web developers can enter their URL to check if their site complies with the new regulations.

Photo Credit: Mr.Exen/Shutterstock

Which image editor can open huge PNG files?

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 10:35am CEST par Mike Williams

CorelPaintShopProX8

You probably already know that PNG is a great lossless compression format, but have you ever wondered just how efficient it can be?

Developer David Fifield decided to find out, and the results are impressive: a 420-byte bzip2 file, which decompresses to a 5.8MB PNG, and holds a 225,000 x 225,000 pixel image.

This doesn’t have much to do with real-world image compression, of course, as the image is mostly zeroes, though "with a secret message in the center".

Still, this kind of "unusual" file can be useful for testing. Fifield’s suggestions include "uploading as your profile picture to some online service, try to crash their image processing scripts", or setting "as your web site’s favicon; try to crash browsers that don’t check the size".

We just wondered, what would happen if we tried to open the file? Double-clicking it in Windows resulted in a locked-up system as Explorer tied up our hard drive, and became completely unresponsive. That’s perhaps no surprise for an image which requires 141GB RAM at 24-bit, but eventually we turned off the power and started again.

GIMP was a little more polite, also making heavy use of our hard drive, but leaving just about enough resources to do other things. It might have eventually opened the file, too, but after several hours of waiting we gave up and closed the process.

Paint.NET couldn’t display the file, either, but at least it didn’t waste our time, displaying a (non-fatal) error message almost immediately.

Corel PaintShop Pro X8 was our winner, recognizing the image size, politely asking if we really wanted to open something that would use this much RAM, and loading it in a few minutes. We still couldn’t see the "hidden message" -- probably because the maximum 5,000 percent zoom factor just wasn’t high enough -- but it was still a good performance.

How will your favorite image editor perform? The test image is here, and you’ll need something like 7-Zip to decompress it, but be careful -- previewing or even just right-clicking the image could lock up or crash your system. Don’t download it anywhere that isn’t fully backed up.

Hulu gets a commercial-free option

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 6:40am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Hulu Logo Hulu has previously come in two varieties, both free and "premium". The premium contains limited ads, but also provides access to all content available from the service. The trade-off is, of course, paying per month for this. The $7.99 fee isn't bad, but most services remove ads in exchange for premium service.

So how do you rid yourself of those ads? Well, previously you didn't, but that changes today as Hulu rolls out an ad-free plan. That's the good news, the bad is that you'll be paying a bit more per month. To be precise, you'll be upping your monthly expenditure from $7.99 to $11.99.

"At Hulu, we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and giving them the best possible experience", says Mike Hopkins, CEO, Hulu. "Many of our customers have asked us for a commercial free option, and so today we are excited to introduce just that. Providing more choice for consumers is fundamental to the Hulu experience, in addition to an array of choices in content and devices, our customers can now choose to watch with or without commercials".

Hulu has been expanding content and most recently added films from Epix that were lost by Netflix. These flicks will become available on October 1st. There's also the original content -- "In addition, Hulu has made a strong investment in its original programming and has greenlit an exciting slate of originals, including the event series 11/22/63 from Stephen King and J.J. Abrams starring James Franco; comedy series Difficult People produced by Amy Poehler with stars Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner", Hulu states.

Users on the current $7.99 plan will keep it, your price isn't changing. You can upgrade to the $11.99 plan and go commercial-free, but you don't have to. You can keep the limited commercial plan if you would like to.

GRIP platform lets you sue Google more easily

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 5:59am CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

sans_serif_google_logo_2015

You know things are getting out of hand when people start making platforms to sue you more easily. That’s what’s currently going on with Google in Europe, as a new platform called GRIP is launched.

GRIP, standing for Google Redress & Integrity Platform is created for those who believe to be affected by Google’s alleged anti-competitive behavior in Europe. According to a Reuters report, it was created by U.S. law firm and class action specialist Hausfeld.

It said the platform would build on the European Commission’s April charge sheet, which accuses Google of unfairly promoting its own shopping service to the disadvantage of rivals.

"GRIP offers corporations, consumers and other entities harmed by Google’s anti-competitive business practices in Europe a mechanism to evaluate their potential claims", Michael Hausfeld, chairman of Hausfeld, said in a statement.

Google declined to comment.

Public affairs consultancy Avisa Partners, which is helping French Internet search firm 1plusV in its EU complaint against Google, will jointly manage the platform.

Google is currently fighting the same battle on multiple fronts, where various companies and state institutions claim the search engine giant is abusing its dominant position in the search engine market to promote its own services, at the expense of the competition.

European Commission is currently looking into the matter on the Old Continent, while Google claims the accusations are incorrect and unfounded. The same issue is currently unfolding in India.

Antitrust regulators in the US wrapped up a probe into Google’s practices in 2013 without requiring that the company make any major changes to how it ranks websites.

Google Maps for Android is serving up yummy restaurant discovery

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 2:26am CEST par Brian Fagioli

GoogleMapsFood2

I'm going to let you in on a little secret -- I am overweight, and love to eat. It's true. While I have been known to chow down on fast food like McDonalds and Taco Bell, my true enjoyment is higher-end dining. Dinner at a fancy restaurant is a great way to relax after a hard week of work.

When you live in a place like New York, however, deciding on a place to eat can be difficult. The number of high-quality restaurants are endless. With that said, you never want to try a new place on a whim and end up having an expensive and disappointing meal. If you are an Android user, you can now explore and discover new restaurants without fear. Google Maps will now assist you in dining discovery, and depending on where you live, will offer curated listings as well. Hopefully this will come to iOS too. Bon appétit!

"Whether you're a tourist looking for a casual dinner or a local trying to find a new neighborhood watering hole, Google Maps for mobile provides the most detailed and useful information so you can make the best decision on where to go. Starting today in Google Maps for Android in the US and UK, you'll be able to uncover the best your city has to offer with our updated explore feature. And in NYC, San Francisco and London, you'll enjoy curated recommendations from Google Maps. Now you can discover what is unique (and delicious!) about the neighborhood you’re in -- whether it’s pre-theater dining in the Theater District in NYC, Dolores Park picnic fare in the Mission in San Francisco or centuries-old pubs in The City in London", says Murali Viswanathan, Senior Product Manager, Google Maps.

GoogleMapsFood1

Viswanathan further explains, "while Google Maps may offer a suggested list, such as lunch or dinner based on your location and time of day, sometimes a change of scenery is in order! Never fear, all options for nearby neighborhoods, categories and cuisines are all just one tap away. And if you don’t find the perfect place at first glance, you can choose to load more places from the area, expand the area or switch to a different category".

Yes, there can be some fun in blindly walking into a restaurant based on its outward appearance and charm. With that said, no one enjoys food poisoning and diarrhea; the unfortunate possibility by not doing your due diligence. Me? I'll stick to reading online reviews before eating anywhere. When I am in Manhattan, I will be sure to fire up Google Maps for Android first, to get a curated list.

Would you use a Google-supplied curated restaurant list to pick where to eat? Tell me in the comments.

Women largely prefer Pinterest, while men are most likely to use Twitter

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 2:16am CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks are not important at work

There is no connection between levels of education and whether or not someone uses social media because, as it turns out, everyone uses social media.

However, there is a correlation between a person’s education, income and gender and which social media it uses. According to a fairly extensive research paper by the Business Insider, women are more likely to use Pinterest, while men are more likely to use Twitter.

In terms of age, the younger audience is more inclined to Tumblr and Snapchat, and when it comes to income, higher-paying adults seem to visit LinkedIn the most.

Here are a few of the key takeaways from the BI Intelligence report.

Among US female internet users, 42 percent reported being on Pinterest in Pew’s late-2014 survey, compared to only 13 percent of men.

Thirty-two per cent of US teenagers cited it as their most important social network in Piper Jaffray’s twice-annual teen survey, compared to only 14 percent saying that of Facebook.

Forty-five per cent of Snapchat’s adult users are between 18 and 24, followed by Vine (28 percent) and Tumblr (28 percent), according to comScore.

LinkedIn is used by 44 percent of Americans with income of $75,000 (£48,000) or more, according to Pew.

Seven percent of all people in the US aged 12 and older use WhatsApp, according to the Edison Research and Triton Digital survey.

Less than two-fifths of Facebook’s adult user base in the US is aged 18 to 34, according to comScore.

Photo credit: Rawpixel / Shutterstock

Android apps gain massive web performance boost from Chrome custom tabs

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 1:09am CEST par Mark Wilson

multiple_chrome_logos

Android developers looking to include web content in their apps have a new option available to them that will help to greatly improve performance. The new (for the stable branch, at least) 'custom tabs' feature makes it possible to pre-load pages in the background resulting in load times that are a fraction of using WebView or firing up Chrome separately.

The feature can be used by developers to use their own app to change the way Chrome looks and feels, effectively blurring the move from app to the web. In addition to the speed advantages, custom tabs also bring improved security to apps, and provide users with a more familiar browsing experience.

Google is pushing custom tabs as being faster than relying on the browser on its own, and less complex to implement than WebView. Custom tabs within apps can take advantage of features of Chrome such as autofill, cookies, syncing, and saved passwords. It's not exactly a brand new feature as it has been available in the Beta and Dev versions of Chrome for a little while now, but the arrival of custom tabs in the stable build of Chrome means that more people will be able to benefit from it.

In a post on the Chromium blog, Google says:

Custom tabs are optimized to load faster than WebView and traditional methods of launching Chrome. Apps can pre-load pages in the background so they appear to load nearly instantly when the user navigates to them. Apps can also customize the look and feel of Chrome to match their app by changing the toolbar color, adjusting the transition animations, and even adding custom actions to the toolbar so users can perform app-specific actions directly from the custom tab.

Custom tabs are due to arrive in a number of popular apps including Feedly, The Guardian, and Twitter, but the ease with which they can be implemented means that they are likely to spread to even more very quickly.

Want to know more? Google has a video that explains how it all works:

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'Extremely critical' OS X keychain vulnerability stealthily steals passwords via SMS

Publié: septembre 3, 2015, 12:10am CEST par Mark Wilson

keychain

Two security researchers have discovered a serious vulnerability in OS X that could allow an attacker to steal passwords and other credentials in an almost invisible way. Antoine Vincent Jebara and Raja Rahbani -- two of the team behind the myki identity management security software -- found that a series of terminal commands can be used to extract a range of stored credentials.

What is particularly worrying about the vulnerability is that it requires virtually no interaction from the victim; simulated mouse clicks can be used to click on hidden buttons to grant permission to access the keychain. Apple has been informed of the issue, but a fix is yet to be issued. The attack, known as brokenchain, is disturbingly easy to execute.

Special-crafted commands can be triggered by malware -- or even an image or video -- which causes OS X to display a prompt to click an Allow button. But rather than relying on users clicking on a button that appears unexpectedly, the button is displayed very briefly off the edge of the screen or behind the dock, and is automatically pressed using a further command. It is then possible to intercept a user's password and send it to the attacker via SMS or any other means.

The entire process takes less than a second to complete, and is stealthy enough to bypass many, if not all, security products. In an email to CSO, Jebara said:

We disclosed, because we feel that it is the right thing to do, knowing that a vulnerability of this magnitude would have disastrous consequences (you wouldn’t be able to open any third-party file on your computer without the risk of losing all of your sensitive information until Apple issues a patch). But this doesn’t prevent us from going public either.

The vulnerability is extremely critical. It allows anyone to steal all of your passwords remotely by simply downloading a file that doesn’t look malicious, and can’t be detected by malware detectors - as it doesn’t behave the way malware usually does.

There are a number of possible attack vectors that could be exploited, including sending a malicious file via email, displaying a malicious file in a web browser, or a P2P attack. Jebara has posted a video that shows brokenchain in action as a proof-of-concept:

Apple has been told about the vulnerability. The company has not only failed to issue a fix yet, but has not even responded to Jebara and Rahbani.

Photo credit: April909 / Shutterstock