3.5GB of PlayStation 4 RAM Reserved for OS?

Hong Kong Resident Says Exploding Galaxy S4 Burned His House Down Posted: 01 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT Recently we reported on the tragic death of a woman in China who, her family claim, was electrocuted by an iPhone charger. It seems the questions over whether mobile phones present a possible danger will continue to be asked, especially after new claims from a Mr. Du of Hong Kong. He claims that his Samsung Galaxy S4 exploded and caught fire in his hands. Mr Du had apparently been playing the game Love Machine when the handset caught fire. He then tossed the phone onto his flammable sofa. He said that the split-second decision cost him his house, as well as damaging his mercedes. Of course a few factors surrounding this story do make it a little dubious. For example, it was originally reported on by Xianguo. Then there is a question mark over why Mr. Du and his wife were unable to douse the flames that engulfed the sofa before the whole apartment set alight. Yet there are enough similar stories to maybe give the story some credibility. Samsung Hong Kong have said it will analyze chemicals from the scene of the fire to check if any of them could have come from their factory. Last year, an iPhone began smoking on a plane in Australia and an investigation showed the incident was caused by a misplaced screw in the battery cavity. The phone had been repaired by an unauthorized service provider. It could be in this case too, that a rogue part or repair are to blame for the Galaxy S4 exploding, but Mr Du insists that his phone and charger were both original Samsung products. Although his apartment and Mercedes were damaged, thankfully Mr. Du and his wife suffered no injuries from the fire.

Autographer: The Wearable Camera Posted: 01 Aug 2013 07:00 AM PDT There is a new kid on the block and he’s only small, very small, but really interesting and the makers of the Autographer had this in mind when they created this tiny piece of kit. OMG Life, the company behind it, have realised, in a world where you wish you were always carrying a decent camera in your pocket, but may not have the skills and pockets large enough to photograph things 24/7  -You need a solution and the Autographer camera is designed to solve that problem by making photography a process of look back and see, rather than, hold still and look at the camera.  On its website OMG Life highlight a number of use cases and genuinely superb images have been captured with the device. The camera itself, which looks very basic, but attractive, uses a set of on-board sensors (colour,motion and acceleration temperature and magnetometer,) to decide when to take a photo.  As long as you’ve turned it on and rotated the lens cap open, it will carry on doing so all day, as long as the battery holds out, which is quite considerable.  Alongside the images the Autographer captures time and GPS data and once plugged in via micro USB or connected via Bluetooth, it presents all the pictures into easy-to-manage groups, with a dedicated app for either Windows, MAC or  iOS.  You can then export these images either as individual shots, videos or GIFs and of course share these at your leisure. The images themselves aren’t always spectacular as the the five-megapixel camera uses a fish-eye lens which captures 8GB worth of 136-degree pictures but often results in blurry and or washed-out or overly-white images. It is not every picture you take with it that makes this device worth it value, it is however, the one in a hundred image that you didn’t know you wanted and had forgotten happened, that comes to light afterwards and that makes Autographer a really nifty piece of kit. Privacy Issues? The question on our lips is what about peoples privacy?  OMG Life say that they have attempted to address these privacy concerns in the hardware and the nature of the device, such as, giving the device a  yellow lens ring and a notification blink light.  But the fact is this: the Autographer is an unassuming, black, small camera with which people aren’t familiar, and won’t notice it.  OMG Life say that individual responsibility is key aside from the fact that  individuals lacking in responsibility can use the Autographer just as easily as anyone else, this does open up genuine privacy concerns.  OMG Life’s website does a good job of suggesting places you might want to use the Autographer.   As it stands, the Autographer is a useable, attractive device which has a high price tag and is let down by patchy picture quality and relative lack of custom options for where and when it takes images. At £399, it is slightly expensive, but, it does have good potential to be used in very creative ways.  Let’s just hope it is used in that way and not in manner worthy of a jail term… Autographer is available in the following European countries:  UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

A Quick Comparison Of Chromecast & AirPlay Posted: 01 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT The television has been around since anyone can remember, and it certainly is one of those things that manufacturers, marketers, and content producers want to exploit. After all, everyone watches TV, right? Google has not left this niche alone and has, in fact, tested the waters in the past. Its new foray into the scene, however, might just be its secret sauce. Enter Chromecast, the thing that everyone has been talking about in very recent times. So what’s all the fuss about the Chromecast anyway? If you look at it, the Chromecast is a diminutive thing. It’s just like a USB stick which you can find practically anywhere. The brilliant thing about it is that when you connect it to your TV, you can stream practically anything from practically any device – tablets, smartphones, and computers. Better yet, it can stream from Apple devices, too! Oh, and did I mention that it’s only $35? But AirPlay can do the same! That is true, and more so, it is built into every iPhone and iPad – and the new Macs, too. Another thing going for AirPlay is that it has been around for quite some time, and users are already comfortable with it. That is, if you’re a Mac user. If you haven’t bought into the awesomeness that is Mac, then you might not be too concerned about comparing Chromecast and AirPlay, else, there is something about Chromecast that might get you interested. Chromecast versus AirPlay There is the price, of course, which Chromecast wins by miles. How about UI? AirPlay taps into the power of iOS design, and in this, it gets the better of Google’s new product. Content? With AirPlay being available for a while now, it is compatible (and integrated) in many other apps and platforms. This is an area where Google has to catch up with, but the idea of being able to stream from Chrome just might give it a boost. The bottom line If you’re open to new technology, then Chromecast presents a very viable option. In the meantime, AirPlay still holds the upper hand, but there is no guarantee it will stay that way.

WaterBean Filter Purifies Tap Water Posted: 01 Aug 2013 05:00 AM PDT We at Techbeat like our water filtering products and we believe the world can never have enough of them. This new system, called the WaterBean, is an interesting concept in that its goal is to purify tap water AND to reduce plastic bottle waste. Most water filters, such as the NDūR Survival Straw, are designed to filter out bacteria, dirt, micro-organisms and other potentially dangerous substances out of water. And it is this feature that makes them ideal for use in areas that don't have access to clean water, including in developing countries. The WaterBean, however, is designed more for urban consumers that have access to running water all the time, but the water is not pure or clean enough to be drinkable. These consumers will buy and drink bottled water, which generates tons of plastic bottle waste every year.  It is believed U.S. consumers spend up to $15 billion on bottled water every year. According to the manufacturer of the filter, Graeme Glen, an average person goes through 167 bottles per year. This generates 1.5 million tons of waste per year, since three quarters of plastic bottles do not actually get recycled. But the WaterBean can be a solution to this problem, as it is designed to encourage users to keep and reuse one plastic bottle for a long time. The system may not have the same purification power as other filters on the market, but it is effective against chlorine, odors and bad taste and also adds magnesium to the water. The filter is very easy to use: after being inserted in the bottle, users are advised to shake the bottle for five seconds and then swirl the water gently around for a while, the idea being that the longer you swirl, the better the water will taste. The WaterBean filters are made of coconut carbon fibers which are safe to be ingested. Each filter lasts about three months and can clean about 140 liters of water, thus having the potential to prevent up to 280 bottles from ending up in the landfill ever year. Glen is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for the product, aiming to raise $35,000. Backers can get one WaterBean plus two extra filters if they pledge as little as $12. Check out the video below to find out more about how the WaterBean filter works.

3.5GB of PlayStation 4 RAM Reserved for OS? Posted: 01 Aug 2013 04:00 AM PDT Almost half of Sony's PlayStation 4 RAM memory will be reserved for the operating system, according to press reports. The gaming system will reserve 3.5GB of its 8GB RAM for the OS, which will leave 4.5GB available for games. A report on Digital Foundry also said initially that an extra 1GB of flexible memory will be available for PlayStation 4 games next to the 4.5GB, but only if the console's operating system would be able to function without that 1GB. Other sources later told the publication that the flexible memory would actually be 512MB. Sony has neither confirmed nor denied the figure yet, but only commented on the reports to clarify the situation of direct and flexible memory systems. The company said the reports erroneously suggested that the flexible memory would be borrowed from the operating system and returned when requested. In fact, Sony said, the flexible memory would just be managed by the OS on behalf of the game, it would belong to the game 100% and would never be used by the operating system. Direct memory is the memory allocated to a game according to the traditional gaming model, the company added. "We have no comment to make on the amount of memory reserved by the system or what it is used for,” Sony also said. Digital Foundry also reported that the 3.5GB of memory for OS could actually be reduced once work on the system is complete. Much of the allocated space is designed to support new PS4 system features such as switching between applications, live swapping of games, being able to pause and resume games and others. PS4's rival, Microsoft's Xbox One will reserve 3GB of RAM for its OS. PS Vita role as controller clarified Meanwhile, it was confirmed that the PlayStation Vita will work as a controller for PS4 only on selected games. The confirmation came from Shuhei Yoshida, Sony Computer Entertainment president of Worldwide Studios, on Twitter. Asked about the PlayStation Vita, Yoshida explained that the Vita will work as a controller only for games specifically programmed to allow the use of the handheld device. Nevertheless, the PS Vita handheld console will still be able to run all the games specifically developed for the PS4. The PS4 will launch this holiday season and will retail for $399. What do you think of the PlayStation 4 RAM allocation? Is 3.5GB too much for the OS? Is 4.5GB too little for games?

Hackers Fail in Plot to Frame Security Expert Posted: 01 Aug 2013 03:00 AM PDT A cyber security expert has been the target of cyber criminals after suffering a number of attacks over the past year. Brian Krebs, who formerly worked for The Washington Post outing online scammers, now blogs about security on Krebs on Security. Back in March he described how his website suffered a denail-of-service attack, whilst armed police officers surrounded his home in Annandale, Virginia in response to false and anonymous emergency call claiming Kreb’s wife had been shot. But the latest attack from the criminals was “the most elaborate” so far. “Earlier this month, the administrator of an exclusive cybercrime forum hatched and executed a plan to purchase heroin, have it mailed to my home, and then spoof a phone call from one of my neighbors alerting the local police,” Krebs explained on his blog. 13 baggies of heroin were sent to Brian Krebs home On July 14 the alleged administrator of a Russian-language forum on ID theft and fraud, who goes by the username “fly” or “Flycracker”, published a post requesting bitcoin donations so that they could purchase heroin from the online marketplace Silk Road. The heroin would then be mailed to Krebs address. However Krebs had already infiltrated the forum and was able to watch the plan unfold. Flycracker, who was unaware that Krebs was observing the situation, raised $200-worth of bitcoins and bought 1 gram or 12 baggies of heroin on Silk Road, using the name “briankrebs7″. Krebs alerted the local police and the FBI of his knowledge and when 13 baggies of heroin arrived on his doorstep, the police arrived to seize it. “Without actually having the substance tested at a lab, I can't say for certain whether this is talcum powder or the real thing,” Krebs concludes, “Nevertheless, if I receive any testing results from the local police, I'll update this blog post.” Krebs has also said that he will reveal more about the identity of Flycracker in a later post.

Biometric Finger Sensor for New iPhone Posted: 01 Aug 2013 02:00 AM PDT As you may have heard, there is the slim possibility of a new iPhone being released by those really nice people over at Apple.  Well, it appears as though some new evidence has emerged suggesting that Apple's forthcoming iPhone will include a biometric fingerprint sensor (and we all hope it will!). The information has come via a London programmer named as Hamza Sood, who has found some relevant support folders and documentation whilst investigating the beta release of iOS 7. As you no doubt know, developers are given early access to unreleased operating systems in order to assess it and adapt their software to new features and rules.  Sood found a folder named 'BiometricKitUI' which was an embedded line of text in code that referenced "Photo of a person holding an iPhone in their right hand while touching the Home Button" and then "A fingerprint that changes colour during the setup process."  These snippets are most likely captions accompanying illustrations to help users to setup their new iPhone device. The colour-changing fingerprint suggests that the iPhone has a new home button that will incorporate a biometric sensor.  This new sensor could be used for unlocking the phone but also for authorizing payments and even passwords online, if we are to believe the hype.  If an API was made available for the sensor then third-party apps must be keen to build on this hardware. Banking, financial and purchasing apps could make their systems more secure and log-ins credentials could be replaced by a biometric finger sensor.  Rumours of a built-in fingerprint sensor for iPhones have been around ever since Apple bought the security company AuthenTec last July for $356 million. The deal included many of the company's patents and security technologies, as well as its developments in fingerprint sensors. The new model iPhone is expected to be released around this coming september and will be followed by a cheaper, plastic iPhone, possibly called the iPhone 5C. This model is also expected to come in a range of colours and could, we think, retail for as little as $99. Fingerprint recognition for a telephone..Apple really do ‘Think Different’.