AfterDawn: Tech news

Latest news

AfterDawn: News

John McAfee: Cyberwar is inevitable and we are not prepared

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Sep 2015 1:21

John McAfee: Cyberwar is inevitable and we are not prepared John McAfee, the developer of the first commercial anti-virus program (McAfee), and current U.S Presidential hopeful, had some grim words about the future of the U.S. and its lack of preparedness for the inevitable 'cyberwar' that will hit all nations.

As the nominee for the newly created 'Cyber Party,' McAfee is building a run around a platform of helping bring cyber security to the U.S. and especially the government.

Here is is speech in full:

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Instagram reaches 400 million active monthly users

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Sep 2015 12:11

Instagram reaches 400 million active monthly users Instagram has announced that the service now has 400 million users, with a good majority coming from outside the U.S.

The company says 75 percent of users live outside the U.S. and over 50 percent of the last 100 million to join the service are from Europe and Asia. Additionally, Brazil, Japan and Indonesia were among the largest new users of the app.

"Instagrammers continue to capture incredible photos and videos from all corners of the earth (and even the solar system). We've seen inspiring moments like the first surface image of Pluto and Champions League celebrations, as well as striking locales like the white pools of Turkey and a Namibian desert ghost town. These are just a few of the more than 80 million photos per day shared on Instagram," says the company.

Instagram has been actively updating its service in the past year, adding new filters, different photo viewing modes, and better video support.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Snowden: Alien communications are too well encrypted to distinguish from random noise

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Sep 2015 10:45

Snowden: Alien communications are too well encrypted to distinguish from random noise Edward Snowden believes he has answered the Fermi paradox: Encryption.

Why, with such a vast universe that has been around for billions of years, has no alien entity been able to send any signal to us? Snowden suggests, in an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, that alien signals are too well encrypted to be distinguished from random noise.

"When you look at encrypted communications, if they are properly encrypted, there is no real way to tell that they are encrypted. You can't distinguish a properly encrypted communication, at least in the theoretical sense, from random noise," added Snowden. "So if you have an alien civilization trying to listen for other civilizations, or our civilization trying to listen for aliens, there's only one small period in the development of their society where all of their communications will be sent via the most primitive and most unprotected means."

"When we think about everything we're hearing from our satellites, or everything they're hearing from our civilization, if there are indeed aliens out there, all of their communications are encrypted by default. So what we're hearing -- which is actually an alien television show or a phone call or a message between their planet and their own GPS constellation, whatever it happens to be -- is indistinguishable to us from cosmic microwave background radiation."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple iOS 9 reaches 50 percent adoption

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Sep 2015 7:15

Apple iOS 9 reaches 50 percent adoption Apple has announced this week that iOS 9 is the fastest adoption of the operating system yet, with 50 percent of devices already having installed it.

"Customer response to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been incredibly positive, we can't wait to get our most advanced iPhones ever into customers' hands starting this Friday," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "iOS 9 is also off to an amazing start, on pace to be downloaded by more users than any other software release in Apple's history."

iOS 9 improved Siri, added better encryption for user privacy, transit information in Apple Maps, updated News and Notes apps and more intelligent search.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

4chan has been sold

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Sep 2015 11:32

4chan has been sold Christopher Poole, the founder of anonymous message board 4chan, has sold the company to another pioneer in the anonymous destination community.

Poole, who started the site in 2003, has sold 4chan to Hiroyuki Nishimura, the founder of 2Channel - an early anonymous board based on anime and the Japanese culture.

"Hiroyuki is literally the only person in the world with as much if not more experience than myself in running an anonymous, large destination community that serves tens of millions of people,"
Poole noted. "He's the great-grandfather of all of this."

While 4chan is popular, it has never reached the popularity of sites like reddit, which are worth millions and have been gravitating towards becoming real businesses while 4chan has admittedly remained more of a hobby site.

Nishimura, for his part, was very happy to own the site. "I'm proud to be taking Mr. Poole's place as the owner of 4chan. I've long admired 4chan's place on the web as a producer of anonymous and Internet culture, and look forward to continuing to grow and develop the site and support the community."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

21 Inc. reveals a 'Bitcoin Computer'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Sep 2015 10:24

21 Inc. reveals a 'Bitcoin Computer' The venture-capital backed 21 Inc. startup has released their first product, 'The 21 Bitcoin Computer,' a Linux-based hardware that incorporates the bitcoin protocol directly into the operating system.

21 Inc. wants to make bitcoin into a standard feature of all web services, and the company says the new computer is aimed at developers rather than consumers.

The 21 Inc Bitcoin Computer's OS will "full copy of bitcoin's code and related software that will allow developers to make bitcoin a core feature of the products they build." Additionally, it has a built in chip that is linked to 21's own mining pool, allowing for bitcoin to come to the user.

21's CEO Balaji Srinivasan expects developers to create services that can be monetized in bitcoin. "The utility of bitcoin up until this point has been the speculation value," Mr. Srinivasan added. "We have a new, pretty strong use case for bitcoin."

The computer goes on sale in November for $399.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Security software company AVG can now sell your search and browser history to advertisers

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Sep 2015 8:33

Security software company AVG can now sell your search and browser history to advertisers Security software company AVG has updated their privacy policy giving the company the rights to sell search and browser history data to advertisers.

The company does not charge for their free antivirus software, but will now be able to make some revenue from your "non-personal data."

Some privacy experts believe that move makes the software spyware now, although other software companies have been doing the same for some time. "Antivirus software runs on our devices with elevated privileges so it can detect and block malware, adware, spyware and other threats," said Alexander Hanff security expert and chief executive of Think Privacy. "It is utterly unethical to [the] highest degree and a complete and total abuse of the trust we give our security software."

When probed about the update to the policy, AVG says it will need to make revenue in order to keep the product free and in the future may "employ a variety of means, including subscription, ads and data models."

In addition, the AVG spokesperson said you will be able to opt-out, with no 'decrease in functionality' to the software. "Those users who do not want us to use non-personal data in this way will be able to turn it off, without any decrease in the functionality our apps will provide," the spokesperson noted. "While AVG has not utilised data models to date, we may, in the future, provided that it is anonymous, non-personal data, and we are confident that our users have sufficient information and control to make an informed choice."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Rumor: New Google phones to be called Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Sep 2015 11:13

Rumor: New Google phones to be called Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P According to a new report, Google's upcoming flagship phones will be called the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P.

There had been quite a few questions as to what the new phones would be called since last year's Nexus 6 is the highest number the company could use before hitting Nexus 7, the name of their original tablet.

The two devices will officially launch at the end of the month during Google's September 29th event, but details of both have been leaking for months.

From what we know, partner LG is building the 5X, while Huawei is releasing the 6P, which will be the larger and more powerful of the two.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Report: Konami is basically done with console gaming except for PES

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Sep 2015 11:47

Report: Konami is basically done with console gaming except for PES Konami is having a really rough year.

Popular game publisher Konami may be completely out of the console industry, if new reports are to be believed. Following a high-profile fall out with top developer Hideo Kojima and a scathing report on the company's work conditions, the company was already on fragile ground but this could be the final straw.

According to new reports, the publisher has ceased all development on triple-A console games (with the exception of Pro Evolution Soccer) and will be focusing on mobile gaming moving forward. The mobile gaming rumor is not new, and allegedly led to Konami's Fox Engine head Julien Merceron leaving the company unhappily earlier this year. The console news is new, however, and pretty shocking.

Furthermore, gamers should not expect any "ambitious console games" until the 2017 fiscal year, adds the report. Fans of Silent Hill, Metal Gear, Castlevania and Contra - well, this could be a rough couple of years.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Report: Spotify to support Chromecast soon

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Sep 2015 11:23

Report: Spotify to support Chromecast soon According to a new report, Google is expected to soon announce that Spotify will be supported on the streaming dongle.

Other companies have long made their services available via Chromecast, but Spotify has been notably absent. In 2014, Spotify even noted that it did not have any plans to work on Chromecast support, instead deciding to focus on their own "Connect" platform.

While Google has not confirmed the news, there is a major press event scheduled for September 29th in which the company will announce new Nexus devices and make plenty of announcements about other products including the Chromecast.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Sprint and T-Mobile to get Apple Watch next week

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Sep 2015 4:09

Sprint and T-Mobile to get Apple Watch next week It appears that both Sprint and T-Mobile will soon begin offering the Apple Watch.

The two carriers have announced they will begin selling the popular smartwatch on September 25th, the same day the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus start shipping.

Reportedly, the wireless providers wanted to be able to sell the Apple Watch as an accessory to the new phones, which are expected to sell in the millions on launch weekend. AT&T and Verizon have not confirmed they will be offering the watch, but it is unlikely they would let rivals do so without getting in on the action.

Until now, the Watch had only been available in select retailers and the Apple Store.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple meets with DMV to talk self-driving cars

Written by Matti Robinson @ 19 Sep 2015 3:25

Apple meets with DMV to talk self-driving cars There's one company that has been associated with the self-driving car over everyone else, Google, but a lot of other companies are looking into the possible – and some would argue probable, even inevitable – revolution of automobiles.

Apple's car plans might seem far fetched, but a new report from The Guardian suggests that they might be closer to a prototype than we might have thought.

According to documents Guardian has acquired Apple boss Mike Maletic has visited the California Department of Motor Vehicles and discussed about the company's plans for an "autonomous vehicle" or as self-driving cars. The meetings have been with at least three DMV officials including some that are specialists in the field of autonomous vehicles.

Apple likes to keep their plans secret but it will be impossible as they go forward with the development of the car, unofficially named Project Titan (not the concept in the picture). The auto industry requirements for testing demand a certain degree of transparency and certainly autonomous cars will have to be tested rigorously.

In addition to Google, Apple, Tesla and Uber many of the traditional car companies are looking into self-driving cars. Currently 10 companies have been granted permits to test driverless cars on California roads.




AfterDawn: News

Amazon Prime subscribers to get free Washington Post access for 6 months, discounts after

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Sep 2015 11:28

Amazon Prime subscribers to get free Washington Post access for 6 months, discounts after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos purchased popular newspaper The Washington Post two years ago and the exec is now bundling the paper with Amazon's Prime subscriptions.

Starting today, Prime subscribers will get the Post's 'National Digital Edition' for free for 6 months, followed by a discounted price of $3.99 per month afterwards if they want to keep it. Prime costs $99 per year and offers free 2-day shipping on millions of items as well as a free music streaming service and thousands of TV episodes and movies with Amazon Prime Video.

The National Digital Edition offers nearly all of the Post's content via desktop and mobile and normally costs $129.99 per year.

"Offering free access to new subscribers through Prime allows us to connect with millions of members nationwide who may not have tried The Post in the past," said Steve Hills, President and General Manager, The Washington Post. "With this special offer, Prime members can see firsthand why more than 50 million people monthly choose The Washington Post as their source for news."

Synergies of bundling the paper make sense for both of Bezos' companies. Amazon gets to offer yet another option to boost its Prime service and the Post gets an easy way to boost subscriptions and get more ad clicks.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple's first app for Android is now one of the worst reviewed in the Play Store

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Sep 2015 10:34

Apple's first app for Android is now one of the worst reviewed in the Play Store Apple should have seen this coming.

Yesterday, Apple released their first app for Android devices: Move to iOS. The app helps Android users that may be looking to migrate to the iPhone to easily move their photos, messages, Google accounts and more.

While the app itself is probably pretty decent (I have not tested it), it is one of the most poorly reviewed apps in the Google Play Store as of writing, with an incredible 11,000 1-star reviews out of 14,000 total reviews.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Microsoft Windows 10 is using your bandwidth to help strangers update their systems - here's how to turn it off

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Sep 2015 9:34

Microsoft Windows 10 is using your bandwidth to help strangers update their systems - here's how to turn it off Over the past few weeks we have been going over Windows 10's "dark side," which includes some hidden features like a keylogger and Wi-Fi detail sharing with your Facebook buddies.

The free update has been installed nearly 100 million times, so it is important if you are a user to see what you are getting into.

One of Windows 10's new features is that the update system has been converted to peer-to-peer (P2P), so if you download an update, you can share it to all the computers on your local network without having to download it again and again. Also, it helps to ensure that Microsoft's servers do not overload from millions of users getting updates at the same time. Now, that sounds perfectly reasonable - until you look a little bit deeper.

With the default option that Windows 10 ships with you are not only just sharing with your local network, you are also sharing your bandwidth with completely random strangers on the Internet, which of course has the ability to slow down your connection or if you are on a capped connection: the possibility of costing you money.

Read more...



  Newer entries Older entries  

News archive