Google I/O brings a boatload of updates for mobile, payments, Internet of ThingsGoogle’s annual I/O conference was chock-full of developments, starting with the next update to its mobile operating system, code-named Android M. Improvements to the core user experience include an overhauled permissions system. The bottom line is that it should be easier for developers to get users to install and update their apps, because they will no longer ask users to agree to a long list of permissions up front. Instead, apps will query users when they try to use a feature that requires a permission, and let them allow or deny those at will.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google I/O brings a boatload of updates for mobile, payments, Internet of ThingsGoogle’s annual I/O conference was chock-full of developments, starting with the next update to its mobile operating system, code-named Android M. Improvements to the core user experience include an overhauled permissions system. The bottom line is that it should be easier for developers to get users to install and update their apps, because they will no longer ask users to agree to a long list of permissions up front. Instead, apps will query users when they try to use a feature that requires a permission, and let them allow or deny those at will.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Lenovo’s concept smartphone lets you interact with projected imagesA Lenovo concept smartphone that’s fitted with a laser projector module can display content on a hard surface, like a table or wall, where users will be able to interact with the projected images. On Thursday, Lenovo showed off “Smart Cast,” which can also read the gestures of users interacting with the projected images: in one demo, a user was able to play a song on the image of a piano keyboard projected onto a table.Google said to be planning a do-over on mobile paymentsTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Lenovo’s concept smartphone lets you interact with projected imagesA Lenovo concept smartphone that’s fitted with a laser projector module can display content on a hard surface, like a table or wall, where users will be able to interact with the projected images. On Thursday, Lenovo showed off “Smart Cast,” which can also read the gestures of users interacting with the projected images: in one demo, a user was able to play a song on the image of a piano keyboard projected onto a table.Google said to be planning a do-over on mobile paymentsTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hyundai is first to roll with Android AutoHyundai is the first carmaker to put Android Auto into vehicles, starting with navigation features on the 2015 Sonata, where the vehicle’s dashboard infotainment system mirrors a connected Android smartphone. Google’s automotive software competes with Apple’s CarPlay, which Hyundai has previously said would be offered as an option on the 2015 Sonata.EMC scoops up Virtustream for cloud management for $1.2 billionEMC will expand its portfolio of cloud management tools in a $1.2 billion deal to buy Virtustream. Virtustream’s xStream software is used to manage complex enterprise applications, such as SAP’s S/4HANA, so they can be run effectively on hosted infrastructure services.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hyundai is first to roll with Android AutoHyundai is the first carmaker to put Android Auto into vehicles, starting with navigation features on the 2015 Sonata, where the vehicle’s dashboard infotainment system mirrors a connected Android smartphone. Google’s automotive software competes with Apple’s CarPlay, which Hyundai has previously said would be offered as an option on the 2015 Sonata.EMC scoops up Virtustream for cloud management for $1.2 billionEMC will expand its portfolio of cloud management tools in a $1.2 billion deal to buy Virtustream. Virtustream’s xStream software is used to manage complex enterprise applications, such as SAP’s S/4HANA, so they can be run effectively on hosted infrastructure services.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hyundai is first to roll with Android AutoHyundai is the first carmaker to put Android Auto into vehicles, starting with navigation features on the 2015 Sonata, where the vehicle’s dashboard infotainment system mirrors a connected Android smartphone. Google’s automotive software competes with Apple’s CarPlay, which Hyundai has previously said would be offered as an option on the 2015 Sonata.EMC scoops up Virtustream for cloud management for $1.2 billionEMC will expand its portfolio of cloud management tools in a $1.2 billion deal to buy Virtustream. Virtustream’s xStream software is used to manage complex enterprise applications, such as SAP’s S/4HANA, so they can be run effectively on hosted infrastructure services.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Charter strikes $55 billion deal for Time Warner CableCharter Communications will spend US$55 billion to buy Time Warner Cable in a deal that would create a broadband powerhouse in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reports. Comcast’s bid to buy Time Warner fell apart last month when it became clear that key regulators in the U.S. were opposed. Expect Charter’s plans to be closely scrutinized for their impact on competition, as well.Legendary Apple designer Jony Ive moves up into less hands-on roleThe British design genius who partnered with the late Steve Jobs to create some of the most iconic products in tech is moving up into a newly created executive role at Apple—and one that will likely have him in a less hands-on role, re/code reports. Jony Ive was named chief design officer, a role where he’ll focus on new ideas and future initiatives, while day-to-day oversight will fall to Richard Howarth on industrial design and Alan Dye on user interfaces.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Charter strikes $55 billion deal for Time Warner CableCharter Communications will spend US$55 billion to buy Time Warner Cable in a deal that would create a broadband powerhouse in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reports. Comcast’s bid to buy Time Warner fell apart last month when it became clear that key regulators in the U.S. were opposed. Expect Charter’s plans to be closely scrutinized for their impact on competition, as well.Legendary Apple designer Jony Ive moves up into less hands-on roleThe British design genius who partnered with the late Steve Jobs to create some of the most iconic products in tech is moving up into a newly created executive role at Apple—and one that will likely have him in a less hands-on role, re/code reports. Jony Ive was named chief design officer, a role where he’ll focus on new ideas and future initiatives, while day-to-day oversight will fall to Richard Howarth on industrial design and Alan Dye on user interfaces.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Connected cars will add to mobile traffic jamsExpect mobile networks to struggle as they are called on to handle a rapidly increasing number of connected cars. Traffic growth from M2M (machine to machine) connections, particularly from cars, will cause headaches for mobile operators, says Machina Research. Car connections are expected to surpass 500 million in 2019 and then 1 billion in 2023, when they will account for more than half of all M2M connections over cellular networks. And they’ll use lots of data, thanks to connected entertainment and navigation systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Connected cars will add to mobile traffic jamsExpect mobile networks to struggle as they are called on to handle a rapidly increasing number of connected cars. Traffic growth from M2M (machine to machine) connections, particularly from cars, will cause headaches for mobile operators, says Machina Research. Car connections are expected to surpass 500 million in 2019 and then 1 billion in 2023, when they will account for more than half of all M2M connections over cellular networks. And they’ll use lots of data, thanks to connected entertainment and navigation systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Connected cars will add to mobile traffic jamsExpect mobile networks to struggle as they are called on to handle a rapidly increasing number of connected cars. Traffic growth from M2M (machine to machine) connections, particularly from cars, will cause headaches for mobile operators, says Machina Research. Car connections are expected to surpass 500 million in 2019 and then 1 billion in 2023, when they will account for more than half of all M2M connections over cellular networks. And they’ll use lots of data, thanks to connected entertainment and navigation systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Senators block vote extending NSA dragnet powersFour U.S. senators ground the chamber’s business to a halt Wednesday in an effort to prevent voting on a bill that would extend a law that’s legitimized the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of telephone and business records. The relevant section of the Patriot Act expires at the end of the month, and to stop it from being renewed, a bipartisan group took control of the Senate floor in a filibuster mid-Wednesday.Hack hits health care target, reaps data on 1.1 millionTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Senators block vote extending NSA dragnet powersFour U.S. senators ground the chamber’s business to a halt Wednesday in an effort to prevent voting on a bill that would extend a law that’s legitimized the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of telephone and business records. The relevant section of the Patriot Act expires at the end of the month, and to stop it from being renewed, a bipartisan group took control of the Senate floor in a filibuster mid-Wednesday.Hack hits health care target, reaps data on 1.1 millionTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
U.S. charges six from China with stealing wireless technologyThree men who studied at the University of California and then went on to work at U.S. tech companies are among six Chinese citizens charged with economic espionage by the Department of Justice on Tuesday. The technology that the men allegedly stole from companies that employed two of them, Avago Technologies and Skyworks Solutions, is used in wireless devices to filter out unwanted signals and has both commercial and military applications.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Obama finally claims his Twitter accountU.S. President Barack Obama is on Twitter for real. The @POTUS account is verified, and unlike @BarackObama which is mostly run by staffers, it will feature tweets by the man himself. The first tweet on the account, sent Monday morning, reads “Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.” Now, what’s the protocol for turning over control of the Twitter account to your successor on Inauguration Day? Bill Clinton wanted to know, and Obama tweeted back reassuringly, “The handle comes with the house.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Obama finally claims his Twitter accountU.S. President Barack Obama is on Twitter for real. The @POTUS account is verified, and unlike @BarackObama which is mostly run by staffers, it will feature tweets by the man himself. The first tweet on the account, sent Monday morning, reads “Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.” Now, what’s the protocol for turning over control of the Twitter account to your successor on Inauguration Day? Bill Clinton wanted to know, and Obama tweeted back reassuringly, “The handle comes with the house.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Security researcher took over airplane systems via inflight techSecurity researcher Chris Roberts apparently told the FBI that he had successfully hacked into an airplane’s inflight systems numerous times over the last four years and took control of engine functions, according to a search warrant filed in court last month. Agents said that Roberts told them he hacked into in-flight entertainment systems by connecting an ethernet cable to an electronics box under the airplane seat in front of him, and issued a command that caused the aircraft to climb.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Security researcher took over airplane systems via inflight techSecurity researcher Chris Roberts apparently told the FBI that he had successfully hacked into an airplane’s inflight systems numerous times over the last four years and took control of engine functions, according to a search warrant filed in court last month. Agents said that Roberts told them he hacked into in-flight entertainment systems by connecting an ethernet cable to an electronics box under the airplane seat in front of him, and issued a command that caused the aircraft to climb.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google is ready to put its prototype self-driving cars on the roadGoogle said Friday that its prototype self-driving car will leave the test track and hit the local roads around Mountain View, California, this summer. Speed is capped at 25 miles per hour, and safety drivers will be onboard, a blog post stressed, with a removable steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal so they can take over driving if necessary.Upstarts Xiaomi, Micromax pressure established smartphone playersSmartphone manufacturers Micromax in India and Xiaomi in China are shaking up the high-growth low end of the market with their latest launches, and even if the devices don’t go on sale around the world, their impact will be felt globally. The impressive specs and aggressive pricing of the Micromax Yu Yuphoria and the Xiaomi Mi 4i are putting pressure on phone makers Samsung Electronics and Motorola Mobility to step up their efforts in the segment for sub-$200 smartphones, as they reset customer expectations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
IDG News Service staff