In a report that may not surprise anyone, a new study from Microsoft reveals that our attention spans are at an all-time low, and the culprit, not surprisingly, is the ubiquity of technology which now touches every corner of our lives 24/7.Indeed, you can thank the iPhone for ushering in the smartphone era and creating a world where most of us remain tethered to our devices, lest we miss a text message or the latest sports scores.According to Microsoft's study, which was conducted via EEG scans, the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2013. To put that data into context, the average attention span of a goldfish is about 9 seconds, according to the study.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
New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Atlantis HyperScale CX12Key features: Atlantis HyperScale hyper-converged appliances are turnkey solutions that offer the freedom to choose server hardware and hypervisor, and deliver 12TB all-flash performance at 50%-90% lower cost than traditional storage or competitive hyper-converged appliances. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Do you think of your iPhone more as a phone or a camera? The latter might wind up being more true for many if the latest rumors about what Apple will bring to iPhone 6S or iPhone 7 come to fruition.
Two well-respected Apple watchers this past week indicated that the next iPhones will likely boast 12 megapixel cameras with smaller pixels designed for higher quality photos. The past few models of the iPhone, going back to the 4S introduced in 2011, have had 8 megapixel cameras.
Pixel Party
IHS China’s Kevin Wong, referring to the next Apple smartphone as the iPhone 6S, “confirmed” via his sources that a 12MP camera is on the way, according to the G for Games site.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google will include a “buy” button in its search results on mobile devices in the coming weeks, said a report on Friday in the Wall Street Journal, a move that could give online shoppers an easier way to buy products on small screens.The change might also give consumers an alternative to mobile apps from companies like Amazon and eBay, though it might jeopardize retailers’ ability to directly market to their customers.The buy button will appear on Google’s search results pages when people search for certain products on mobile devices, said the report, which cited unnamed sources. If users click on the buttons, they’ll be taken to another Google page where they can choose among sizes and colors, select shipping options and complete the purchase, the report said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Samsung is getting serious about Internet of Things (IoT). Following up on its 2014 purchase of startup SmartThings, Samsung has just unveiled a set of modules called ARTIK, which it hopes companies will adopt in order to build IoT into their products.SmartThings is an app-controlled remote control for a smart home.ARTIK
Three tiny circuit boards make up the ARTIK collection. They're about the "size of a ladybug," says Don Clark, writing about the technology in the Wall Street Journal. The smallest is 12 millimeters on each side.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Unless you live in Japan, get ready to feel jealous: HTC on Thursday announced a new and impressive J Butterfly that is only available there. Here is how it compares to the One M9, currently the most advanced smartphone from HTC available globally.Both smartphones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 processor and have 32GB of integrated storage, but a review of the specs shows a number of opportunities HTC missed with the One M9, which started shipping in March.ScreenThe One M9 has a 5-inch screen and the Butterfly’s screen measures 5.2 inches. But the newcomer has a 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution compared to 1080 x 1920 pixels on the One M9. That puts the Butterfly on par with competitors like Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and LG’s G4. To go along with all those pixels, the Butterfly also has a bigger battery. You can say what you like about whether the higher resolution is necessary, but One M9 is at a distinct disadvantage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There are more John Chens on Twitter than a patient person can count, yet when Blackberry CEO John Chen started tweeting just a week ago he had somehow managed to secure the coveted and unique-among-Chens Twitter handle of @JohnChen.How?As anyone who has ever signed up for an email or social media account knows, you can never get your own name plain and simple unless you’re an earliest of early adopters or you have a highly uncommon name. You Browns, Smiths, Johnsons -- and Chens -- know this better than most.Twitter has been around for nine years now and if you enter the name John Chen into its people search you can scroll page after page of John Chens for as long as you’re willing to scroll. Their Twitter handles, however, are all @JohnChenPlusANumber or @JohnMiddleInitialChen or some other variation involving underscores or a nickname.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Worth the waitTechnology marches ever onward, becoming smaller, more powerful, and more revolutionary by the day. It’s all too easy to succumb to the madness drowning in the flood of daily tech news. Octa-deca-mega core processors! Cutting-edge displays you have to see to believe! Tech that makes everything from your coffee pot to your doorbell smart!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Struggling display manufacturer Sharp, reeling from fierce competition in smartphones, will push automakers to incorporate vehicle dashboards that have gestural commands, thin bezels and other next-generation features.It’s hoping cars will be controlled, in part, through high-resolution displays that can fit any two-dimensional surface area, such as dashboard panels with rounded contours.The company has shown off the wavy screens for cars and consoles in recent months, and has tried to woo automakers to use them. Under the firm’s new medium-term strategy, the push has taken on greater urgency.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
Microsoft is adjusting how it ranks Bing search results for mobile users, prioritizing sites that display better on smaller screens to accommodate the increased use of mobile search.The changes, announced Thursday, come less than a month after Google started prioritizing mobile-optimized sites in its search results. Both companies are looking to attract more users by providing a better search experience on smartphones and tablets.Microsoft said it expects to roll out the changes in the coming months. Sites that display well on smaller screens will also be flagged with a new “mobile friendly” tag.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With WWDC now less than a month away, it's only a matter of time before Apple takes the wraps off of iOS 9, the mobile software that will power Apple's next iteration of iPhones.While typical iOS updates involve the rollout of hundreds of new features, iOS 9 will reportedly be a bit different. Indeed, with a growing chorus of users complaining that iOS has become too unwieldy and a bit buggy, iOS 9 will purportedly focus more on under the hood enhancements rather than a bombardment of cool new features.In that vein, it's fair to look at iOS 9 as the mobile version of Snow Leopard, Apple's 2009 OS X release that was designed primarily to increase machine stability and improve overall system performance.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Indian smartphone manufacturer Micromax and Xiaomi from China have given the low-end segment a shake up with their latest products, and even if the devices don’t go on sale around the world, their launches will likely be felt globally.The Micromax Yu Yuphoria the Xiaomi Mi 4i’s combination of impressive specs and aggressive pricing will put pressure on the likes of Samsung Electronics and Motorola Mobility to step up their efforts in the segment for sub-US$200 smartphones.“It’s more pain for the established vendors. These devices have the potential to reset customer expectations,” said Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight.The Yu Yuphoria was launched on Tuesday in India. It’s an LTE smartphone that will cost about $110 without a contract in that country. It has a 5-inch, 720 x 1280 pixel screen and a Snapdragon 410 processor. The specification also includes an 8-megapixel main camera and a 5-megapixel front camera, as well as 2GB of RAM and 16GB of integrated storage. While smartphones in this price category used to look as cheap as they were, the Yuphoria has a metal frame to help it look more premium.To read this article in full or to leave a Continue reading
Traveling these days is a hassle, no matter why you're going, or where -- and the necessity to track your expenses along the way just adds to the irritation. A good app, though, can make things a lot easier -- not only during the trip but afterwards, when you have to report it all to your (or your company's) accountant.The following seven Android apps have been created to help users track and report on their expenses. Some are strictly for business purposes; others can be used for both personal and work finance tracking. All of these have been updated within the last six months and have earned a rating of at least 4 out of 5 stars on Google Play by at least 100 users.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Chinese mobile market has long been described as the ultimate prize for smartphone handset makers and app developers. China has the most people, income is rising, and the population has an insatiable appetite for mobile technology.That's all true, except when the facts don't quite support the narrative.For example, the conventional wisdom holds that most Chinese mobile consumers are interested in inexpensive phones from upstart manufacturers like Xiaomi, Huawei, and ZTE. And that's true, up to a point. According to IDC's latest Mobile Phone Tracker, many of those brands are trying to move up into the mid- and high-end segments.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Facebook aims to speed up the delivery of news on the companys mobile apps with Instant Articles. The New York Times, National Geographic and others will use it to publish interactive articles directly on Facebooks iPhone app.People already share a lot of articles on Facebook, particularly on its mobile apps. To date, however, they take an average of eight seconds to load, by far the slowest content type on Facebook, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday. Instant Articles promises to change that with much better responsiveness.Users will be able to watch auto-play videos as they scroll through a story. They will also be able to view interactive maps, zoom in on high-resolution images, listen to audio captions, and comment on individual parts of an article in-line, as long as publishers have to added the necessary content.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
First smartphone with iris unlocking bows in JapanForget fingerprints: Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has just unveiled the first smartphone that looks deep into your eyes to recognize you and let you access your device. The Arrows NX F-04G is made by Fujitsu. Its iris authentication technology can also be used to authorize mobile payments via specifications set by the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, which is backed by Microsoft, Google, PayPal and others.Russian cybergroup is said to be planning bank attacksTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo has released a smartphone that can be unlocked with a mere glance.The Arrows NX F-04G, unveiled Wednesday in Tokyo, is billed as the first commercialized smartphone with iris authentication technology, which can also be used to authorize mobile payments.Iris scanners make it easier to unlock phones than keying in a PIN, which can be forgotten or stolen. Authentication takes a second or two, a bit slower than fingerprint authentication, and is based on patterns in the iris that are unique to each individual.The device works with authentication specifications set by the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, which is supported by Microsoft, Google, PayPal and others.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple’s efforts to allow people to control household appliances from their iPhones through the company’s HomeKit framework are gaining momentum.Chip maker Broadcom announced Tuesday that the SDK for its WICED hardware platform, which allows manufacturers to build so-called smart devices that can connect to the Internet, is fully compliant with HomeKit. The HomeKit protocols from Apple allow manufacturers to create products that can be controlled from an iOS device.For example, if a smart lock was integrated with HomeKit, people could use an app on their iPhones or speak a command to Siri, Apple’s voice-controlled virtual assistant, to unlock a door. Using Siri to handle voice commands when a person isn’t in his house requires an Apple TV, which works as a gateway to a home network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here