A bug in iOS 8 turns a string of Unicode characters into a phone-crashing catastrophe.If you receive a message with the characters, either as an iMessage or an SMS text from contacts on other platforms, your iPhone will crash—but only if you open it. If you receive a notification with the message on your lock screen, your phone will either reboot or lock you out of Messages altogether.MORE: iPhone 7 Rumor RollupThe bug doesn’t actually generate the message—some prankster with your phone number has to actually send the code to you. Let’s hope your friends aren’t jerks. If one of your contacts does send you a malicious message, its effects can be reversed with a follow-up message—or you can send yourself the fix from your Mac by replying to the original string in Messages on OS X, according to The Verge. (The bug only affects iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A March collision between a Mitsubishi Outlander and a scooter in the Miami area could have huge repercussions in Silicon Valley.
According to reports in Buzzfeed and elsewhere, the minor accident caused only a few thousand dollars in damages. But it could have a nationwide impact on the business models of ridesharing and other app-driven services.
Because the SUV was dropping off Uber passengers at the time, the driver asked the company's insurance to cover the costs. But Uber and the driver couldn't come to an agreement, so—unable to keep driving until the vehicle was fixed or replaced—Darrin McGillis ended up filing an unemployment insurance claim against Uber and a subsidiary. That forced the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to determine whether the driver was actually an employee of Uber, not an independent contractor, as the company claims. Last week, the Florida DEO's initial determination held that McGillis was indeed an employee, not a contractor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
AOL, back on the marketImage by REUTERS/Brendan McDermidAn unexpected merger between AOL and a storied incumbent? You'd be forgiven for thinking you'd gone back to the turn of the century, but no, that happened earlier this month. Whatever the reasons behind the AOL-Verizon merger -- for all the talk of AOL's content offerings, its advertising platform may be the big prize -- at a mere $4.4 billion dollars the deal is a pale shadow of the $164 billion blockbuster AOL-Time Warner merger that marked the height of dot-com hubris.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
Android, already the most widely used operating system in smartphones, could soon find its way into refrigerators, door locks and all manner of other “smart” appliances around the home.The OS will be in the spotlight at Google’s massive I/O conference in San Francisco later this week. As well as pushing into home appliances, it could also be extended to play a deeper role in virtual reality, allowing Android developers to build apps for smartphones or VR headsets.Google hasn’t confirmed any of those plans yet, but as usual, the rumor mill has been in motion. Extending Android to even more devices could help Google draw more people to its online services, and by putting the software in home appliances, Google could gather further valuable insights into people’s behavior.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft apps will soon come pre-installed on more Android devices thanks to 20 new partnerships the company has forged with tablet makers around the world. The group of global and regional partners, which includes LG, Sony, Haier and Wortmann, will pre-install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype on devices in the near future.Beyond that, it’s mostly unclear when the manufacturers will be launching tablets with Microsoft’s apps pre-installed. Sony is slated to start with its Xperia Z4 in the next 90 days, but Microsoft hasn’t provided a timetable for the other manufacturers. LG, for its part, will include the apps on a new tablet sometime later this year. Going forward, manufacturers will have the freedom to pick which apps (if any) show up on a given tablet.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cell phones are constantly transmitting radio signals, whose energy can also be used to boost the battery life of mobile devices.Researchers at Ohio State University have developed circuitry that converts radio signals from a handset into energy, which is then fed back to the device’s battery. The researchers say the technology can increase the battery life of mobile devices by up to 30 percent.The OSU researchers are working with startup Nikola Labs to commercialize the technology, which they say can be easily implemented in cell-phone cases, and in June will launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund its continued development.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Researchers in Denmark say that it’s child’s play to track your Android phone via Wi-Fi even if the Wi-Fi is nominally turned off – and even if you didn’t let an app track your location.Apps distributed via Google Play have to enumerate the precise permissions they require in order to function – something simple like a flashlight doesn’t (or shouldn’t, anyway) require anything more than access to the camera, so that it can use the flash. More complicated apps with deeper features might need more extensive permissions, including access to the phone’s location data, whether that’s obtained via GPS or Wi-Fi.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Seven best practices for cloud security | Richard Stallman: Windows OS is malware +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A judge in Milan banned UberPop in Italy on Tuesday, ruling that the car-hailing service constitutes unfair competition for taxi drivers.Judge Claudio Marangoni said a complaint lodged by taxi drivers’ associations and trade unions was well-founded and the UberPop smartphone app linking private drivers with passengers is provoking a rapid growth in illegal taxi services.Marangoni gave San Francisco-based Uber, which controls a global business estimated to be worth around US$40 billion, 15 weeks to comply with his order or face a fine of €20,000 (US$22,000) per day.Uber had indicated it would appeal a negative ruling and seek to change Italian and European regulations that affect its operations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The number of people using the Internet is growing at a steady rate, but 4.2 billion out of 7.4 billion will still be offline by the end of the year.Overall, 35.3 percent of people in developing countries will use the Internet, compared to 82.2 percent in developed countries, according to data from the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). People who live in the so-called least developed countries will the worst off by far: In those nations only 9.5 percent will be connected by the end of December.This digital divide has resulted in projects such as the Facebook-led Internet.org. Earlier this month, Facebook sought to address some of the criticism directed at the project, including charges that it is a so-called walled garden, putting a limit on the types of services that are available.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google I/O 2015 kicks off Wednesday, May 28, from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, at 9 a.m. PST (Noon EST.) So it’s just about smack-dab in the center of the working week, if you’re on the East Coast.
That might well mean that you’re just sitting down to lunch, so you could do a lot worse than tune in right here for a live stream of the opening keynote. What, exactly, is going to be said, we don’t know, but the kickoff is generally where Google makes the biggest, splashiest announcements of the event. These may be big surprises, so make sure you’re not facing your monitor if you have to do a spit-take.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Android Auto, a product that up until now was only talked about by industry insiders and journalists, just shipped this week.Well, it didn't really ship, because it is being released as a software update to the 2015 Hyundai Sonata that existing owners can download. It will also be factory-installed on new models. Android Auto is an attempt to incorporate the convenience and safety of pairing a smartphone to a car without the distraction. It also points out that the car has become a software-driven mobile device, not unlike computers and smartphones.See also: Volvo charges extra for self-driving car feature that brakes for pedestrians
Android Auto reduces driver distraction from smartphone use by integrating the smartphone with the console stereo system that the industry calls a head-unit. It focuses the driver's attention in short, safe interactions with the console display when using Android apps. According to Hyundai, "at any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010." Distracted driving endangers drivers and their passengers, as well as those who share the road with them. According to the National Safety Board, Continue reading
Microsoft is bringing Cortana to iOS and Android smartphones, extending the voice-controlled personal assistant to platforms beyond Windows 10 and Windows Phone.Using the Cortana iOS and Android apps people will be able to dictate emails, set appointments and conduct Web searches by speaking commands, among other features. The app will also let people arrange to receive notifications like sports scores and flight information.Windows 10 will include a program called Phone Companion to help people set up on Cortana and sync their PCs with their smartphone, whether it runs iOS, Android or Windows Phone. The Phone Companion program will also let users sync OneNote, Music, Office and OneDrive between their Windows 10 PC and their Android, iOS or Windows Phone smartphone.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
According to reports last week in the Financial Times, Google really is working on a new version of Glass, the now-cancelled wearable device that became the poster child for clueless tech products creeping out normal people.Google has claimed that it would continue working on the device since it stopped selling it in January, but until now there's been no word on what the company had in mind. Was it hoping to make a few tweaks and come up with a new marketing campaign and hope that would be enough for a successful re-launch? Or was the plan to completely scrap Google Glass as is and develop a new product based on what it learned from the first attempt?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
French start-up Infinit has customized its iOS client for Apple’s iPads and partnered with HTC to put its free software for speeding up file sharing on the company’s smartphones.Infinit has developed a peer-to-peer technology that the company says lets users share files faster than when using services such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Apple’s AirDrop,. The Tuesday’s announcements build on the launch of its applications for Android and iOS at the end of March.The iOS app has been upgraded to work better on Apple’s tablets. A lot of people share files between their MacBooks and iPads, so customizing the layout of the user interface for the bigger tablet screens made sense, according to chief operating officer and co-founder Baptiste Fradin.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Sony’s new flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z4, will be called the Xperia Z3+ when it goes on sale outside Japan in June. The phone has a sleeker design, faster processor and better front camera than the Z3 it replaces.Like the Z4, the Xperia Z3+ was announced with little fanfare compared to events organized by competitors Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The low-key launch on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily reflect badly on the product, but raises the question of how committed Sony is to its struggling smartphone unit.The Z3+ and Z4 are both available with 32GB of integrated storage. The only difference between them is that the Z4 is also available in a 64GB version. Both models have the option to add another 128GB using their microSD card slots.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Stumbling and surveyingHere are 7 tools that provide important details on known and unknown aspects of your WiFi network. Each of these tools gives you the basic wireless details: SSIDs, signal strength, channels, MAC addresses, and security status. Some can even reveal “hidden” or non-broadcasted SSIDs, display the noise levels, or display statistics on successful and failed packets of your wireless connection. Two of the tools include Wi-Fi password cracking tools as well, useful for educational or penetration testing purposes. (Read the full review.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Following up on our previous article highlighting 8 free Wi-Fi stumbling and surveying tools, here are 7 more tools that provide important details on known and unknown aspects of your WiFi network.
Though enterprise-level solutions like AirMagnet Wi-Fi Analyzer and Ekahau Spectrum Analyzer have much more functionality, the free tools discussed here can be useful in a number of scenarios. For smaller networks, you might be able to get away with just using simple freeware tools for all of your Wi-Fi surveying needs. For larger wireless LANs (WLAN), these tools come in handy for a quick peek at the airwaves during design, deployment, or troubleshooting. (See screenshots from each of these products here.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A variety of technologies, LTE in particular, is making CDMA obsolete in many parts of Africa, bringing faster mobile communication to people throughout the region.This month, Orange, which operates LTE networks in Mauritius and Botswana, said it is moving its Kenyan subscribers off CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and that it will launch five LTE networks in Africa this year. CDMA can no longer favorably compete with 3G and LTE, CEO Vincent Lobry said in February.On its part, Telecom Namibia shut down all its CDMA sites on March 31 after moving its customers to faster HSPA+ and LTE networks. It said it wanted to repurpose spectrum and offer mobile voice, data, and video services over a more modern platform.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple in 2007 introduced the world to the iPhone and the smartphone industry would be the same. In an instant, Apple's take on what a phone should look like and how it should operate became the de-facto standard amongst all manufacturers hoping to compete in the burgeoning smartphone market.And while some companies, like Samsung, ably adjusted their products accordingly, others, like BlackBerry, were completely blindsided by the new consumer-oriented smartphone market that had been created.It almost seems like ages ago, but BlackBerry devices in the early to mid-2000's were incredibly popular and represented the gold standard amongst smartphones. Yet once the iPhone was introduced, BlackBerry's fall from grace wasn't too far behind.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here