For the past couple of years, we’ve been alternately amused and horrified whenever cable company bigwigs have told us that we don’t really “need” fast speeds like those offered by Google Fiber, so why bother significantly investing in infrastructure upgrade? It turns out, however, that both Comcast and Time Warner Cable have quickly changed their tunes now that they’re feeling the actual heat of free market competition for the first time in years.
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Not too long ago, Kickstarter suspended a crowdfunding campaign for the iFind, a device that would have raised well over $550,000 despite not being able to share any details about the product with backers or show a functional prototype. It’s still not clear whether that was an elaborate scam or an actual product, but it looks like there’s one more similar product that’s raising scam flags during funding. With 17 days left in the campaign, the Ritot smartwatch has already passed $750,000 in funds on Indiegogo well over its initial $50,000 goal, but The Next Web revealed there are some issues with the campaign.
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Everyone loves in-flight Wi-Fi… until it allows a hacker to infiltrate the plane’s satellite communications equipment. CBCNews brings us word that security researcher Ruben Santamarta of IOActive is going to present new findings at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas this week showing how to use a plane’s Wi-Fi and even its in-flight entertainment system to hack into its satellite equipment.
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Several iPhone 6 clones running Android have already been spotted online, and some reviewers have said that they’re so convincing that they could easily fool an unsuspecting buyers into thinking they’re getting an incredible deal on an iPhone 6. This is because, even though they have Android under the hood, they also have a complex skin on top that mimics almost every aspect of Apple’s mobile OS. One buyer who purposely obtained such a clone from China to give it a try while waiting for the real thing to launch shared his experience with it on Reddit.
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Not long after Google unveiled its gorgeous Android L update at I/O 2014, a fake Motorola Facebook account claimed that the Moto X and Moto G would be updated to Android L in the future. A few days later, Motorola revealed the account was not genuine, and the information posted on it should be disregarded. However, the company did not say what handsets will make the jump to Android L until a few days ago, when a short “Yup” from Motorola’s Punit Soni cleared the waters, at least when it comes to the Moto X.
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Over the past few years, the smartphone has become the most popular gaming platform in the world. Anyone with an iPhone has at least dabbled in free-to-play games, from Clash of Clans to the ubiquitous Candy Crush Saga, but there’s a growing premium market on the App Store as well, featuring ports of some of the biggest console games of the past generation. XCOM: Enemy Unknown made a successful transition to iOS last year and now 2K Games will be attempting to recreate the magic with BioShock later this summer.
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Being able to extract audio from a soundless visual recording is something that intelligence agencies will likely one day use – if they don’t already do it – for their operations. Researchers from MIT, Microsoft and Adobe have managed to create an algorithm that can reconstruct audio “by analyzing minute vibrations of objects depicted in video,” like bags of chips found in the same room with a target, as well as other objects including aluminum foil, the surface of a glass of water, and the leaves of a plant.
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Facebook has joined forces with other tech companies to create Internet.org, an organization that wants to bring the Internet to developing markets. The social network believes that it’s doing the world a great service by trying to bring more people online, but the move will also help out with its quarterly bottom line, as the company would force more people to create Facebook accounts to enjoy Internet services in these markets. Author and New York Times journalist Evgeny Morozov doesn’t think that Internet.org is necessarily the best solution, as it ultimately comes with certain terms and conditions that may not be as obvious as first.
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Both BlackBerry and its diehard fans are very excited about the upcoming BlackBerry Passport, which BlackBerry promises will feature a “revolutionary” new keyboard that the company says consumers are “clamoring” for. CrackBerry notices that the Passport has just passed through the Federal Communications Commission and will apparently at least be supported by both AT&T and Rogers in North America. CrackBerry also says that T-Mobile could theoretically support the Passport as well, but given the recent fighting between those two companies we doubt that we’ll see CEO John Legere promoting it through his Twitter account anytime soon.
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If you’re a sports fan who has been holding out on buying an Xbox One, this new offer might be too good to pass up. Microsoft announced on Monday that it will be releasing an Xbox One Madden NFL 15 bundle on August 26th for $399. The bundle includes both the Xbox One console, a download code for Madden NFL 15 and three Pro Packs for Madden Ultimate Team. If you preorder the bundle before 2pm PT on August 22nd, you’re guaranteed to receive it the day it’s released.
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