More than skin covers | Skinthemoon

Second Lock Screen Bypass in iOS 6.1 Documented [iOS Blog]

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:02:00 +0000

A second iOS 6.1 bug has been discovered that gives access to contacts, photos and more. The vulnerability uses a similar method as the one disclosed previously, though it apparently gives access to more user data when the phone is plugged into a computer.

It was originally posted on the Full Disclosure mailing list. Kaspersky's Threatpost:

Similar to the iPhone's passcode vulnerability, the exploit involves manipulating the phone's screenshot function, its emergency call function and its power button. Users can make an emergency call (911 for example) on the phone and then cancel it while toggling the power on and off to get temporary access to the phone. A video posted by the group shows a user flipping through the phone's voicemail list and contacts list while holding down the power button. From there an attacker could get the phone's screen to turn black before it can be connected to a computer via a USB cord. The device's photos, contacts and more "will be available directly from the device hard drive without the pin to access," according to the advisory.

Apple was expected to fix the lock screen bug in iOS 6.1.2, but that small release fixed a different bug. Instead, it appears a fix for at least one of the lock screen vulnerabilities will be coming in iOS 6.1.3, currently in the hands of developers.

Google Glass Coming This Year, Will Be iPhone Compatible

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:02:00 +0000

Excitement is mounting for the release of Google Glass: "augmented reality" eyewear, which superimposes information in your field of vision. The Google Glass headset connects with your smartphone to receive data, displays a screen just above your field of view, and responds to voice commands.

Let's say you're walking down the street wearing this gadget, and you get a text message or an alert. The message will appear, hovering in your field of vision. You control the functions of Google Glass just by speaking. A built-in camera lets you use Google Glass to take a photo or shoot a video of whatever it is you're looking at. You can search the Internet or get the weather forecast just by asking Google Glass a question. An augmented reality map of the road ahead shows you what direction to go.

The buzz circulating the Internet during the weekend is that Google Glass is ahead of schedule, and will be available in 2013. It is said to be compatible with both the iPhone and Android phones and will communicate via Bluetooth.

The demo video below gives an idea of the scope of what Google Glass can do:

The editor of The Verge tried Google Glass, and says the experience is very much like that shown in the video, though the voice control is a work in progress, and you need a fast data connection for best results.

So how much will Google Glass cost? According to a report Friday on CNET: $1,500. Yikes. But what's important here is that wearable computing is finally happening, with the release of Pebble watch earlier this year and now the coming of Google Glass. This makes the rumors of an iWatch more believable, and the appearance of a wearable device from Apple more likely.

Manchester City v Chelsea – as it happened! | Ian McCourt

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

Second-half goals from Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez earned Manchester City the win but put pressure on Chelsea

Full time: Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea.

That's that. Nothing more to report from here folks. That's their fourth home win over Chelsea in a row. Thanks for all the emails and tweets folks, sorry if I didn't get around to using yours. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

92 mins: Bye, bye Silva, hello Lescott.

90 mins: Toure Yaya has been awarded the man of the match award. Here, here say all of us. Aguero has come off and Nasri has come on. There is four more minutes of this to be added on.

87 mins: Go put the kettle on. That's game over, folks.

85 mins: Goal! Man City 2-0 Chelsea (Tevez) Oh wow! What a goal! Aguero powers forward but loses the ball on the edge of the box in a tangle with some Chelsea defenders. It breaks to Silva who slides it across to the waiting Tevez. The striker puts boot to leather from about 20-odd yards out, Ivanovic turns his back on it and Cech is left with no chance whatsoever. Lucky strike? Lovely strike.

83 mins: The build-up to the Milk Cup final has started elsewhere on this website. Join my colleague Daniel Harris for that by clicking the word here.

81 mins: He hasn't scored since before Xmas 1984 but Rafa reckons that Fernando Torres is the man to save this game for Chelsea. He takes the place of Mikel.

78 mins: Chelsea, finally, play some good football around the City box with Juan Mata sending Oscar through. However, Oscar's though is heavier than a Sunday roast with extra gravy and extra pudding and the ball goes out and back into City's possession. The home side are doing their best to slow down the game now.

75 mins: Just saw a replay of Hart's save. It's great, really great. Go see it. NOW!

73 mins: City are still the better team here, attacking with verve. Chelsea, on the other hand, are struggling to make any real chances, or even a chance of a chance, or even a chance of a chance of a chance, or even ... well you get the point. They're doing nothing up front.

70 mins: "Too sweet? Too much icing? Are you kidding me it's cake!" froths at the mouth Reid Finlayson. "And it's free! First rule of fight club is never to say no to cake."

67 mins: Lampard has been hooked and Moses has come on. He was very, very quiet today was Lampard. Oh wait, there is another sub coming on. Off goes Hazard, on goes Oscar. He was very, very quiet today was Hazard.

63 mins: Goal! Man City 1-0 Chelsea (Yaya Toure) Silva holds the ball up, close to the end line, turns well and lays the ball back to Toure on the left edge of the box, as you face the goal. The midfielder's first touch is a delight as it sees him sweep the ball by a few Chelsea defenders. He then places a lovely little finish into the far bottom corner of the net. That's nice, yo. By the way, just before that goal, Ramires missed a great chance for Chelsea after one of the best counterattacks of the game.

60 mins: The camera pans to Sinclair, sitting on the bench. Remember him? Wonder how he feels today. Chris Ross has some thoughts on Nasri too. Here's what he has typed out. "Nasri is just another player who Wenger has made look better than he truly is. Arsenal are full of them. Abou Diaby, for instance. Arsenal fans are always convinced that, were he to stay fit and get a run of games, he'd be ace. I'd agree. If he was playing for QPR, say. Were he at United, he'd barely get a match, Anderson-style."

56 mins: Ageuro is getting into some good positions of late and the newest one has seen him just clip a shot over Cech and over the bar after a wonderful ball through from Milner, I think. Eddie Robson is with me on the cake thing: "I don't like sweet icing either. I usually use marzipan. Coffee is a good shout - a bit of strong coffee adds a real depth of flavour to a chocolate brownie."

53 mins: Rodwell is hooked, Tevez is the man who replaces him. Aguero has gone left, Silva has gone right and Tevez has gone up front. This game has exploded into life.

51 mins: MISSED PENALTY! A ball down the field sees Ba bearing down on the City goal. Joe Hart doesn't need to come out - Toure might have had Ba covered and Ba was going wide anyway - but come out he does. Ba, doing the oldest trick in the striker's book, leaves his foot in, Hart takes him down and a penalty is correctly awarded. Lampard steps up, this should be goal number 200, but Hart dives low and right and he keeps it out. A fantastic save that.

47 mins: The first attack of the second half goes to City. Silva gets some space down the right and puts in a cross that is just a tad too far behind Aguero for the striker to do anything dangerous with it. Silva hasn't been that good this season, has he? Which should explain why City haven't been that good, eh?

46 mins No subs to report of just yet, in case you were wondering.

45 mins: Right. We're back. The cake was a bit too sweet for my liking. Too much icing. I prefer something with coffee in it.

Half-time complaints department: Does anyone else want to smash their screen when those lame Ladbrokes ads come on? No? Really? Just me? Ah well. I wish they still made ads like this.

Half-time stat department: If Man City (14%) had matched Manchester United's chance conversion, they would have scored an extra 22 goals this season.

Half-time email department: It's a long one and it's from Basil Ibrahima in defence of Samir Nasri: "This Nasri talk is revisionist rubbish. He was by miles the league's best player at the start of that season. We'd have to believe that not just the French set up, but Ferguson, Mancini and Wenger don't know their stuff to believe that he's not as great as Mancini's making out. There was lots of matches where he was THE difference, in the absence of Fabregas, even as we must concede that the understanding they had between them was often magical. Players get demotivated, sometimes set up changes don't work for them, and everyone who watches football can see that something's not quite right at City. Even players we know are very good, like Tevez, Silva and Yaya, aren't playing as well as we know they can/should."

Half-time: Man City 0-0 Chelsea. Nothing more to report from those two minutes. The best chance of the match so far fell to a defender, Nastasic, from a set-piece, which probably tells you all you need to know about this game so far. Back in five after I investigate this cake business.

45 mins: A MASSIVE cake has just arrived in the office; no idea why. There are two minutes of added on time to go.

42 mins: Now, this could be interesting. Zabaleta takes down Cole at the corner of the City box - getting a yellow for his troubles and persistent fouling. Chelsea's delivery has been poor from set-pieces so far but this one could be different, this one could a contender. It doesn't even beat the first defender.

39 mins: Some very nice one-two ballin' around the box by the Blues sees Zabaleta wind his leg up, ready to do his best impression of Rafael against QPR yesterday. However, instead of his strike going into the top corner and Zabaleta winning the goal of the season with a sheepish smile as he collects the award, the ball hits a defender and nothing comes of it.

36 mins: There's a whole lot of hoofing going on (but not much football). Ramires follows Rodwell into the yellow book after catching Yaya in the knee with a meaty effort of a tackle. Yaya's limping but he plays on.

33 mins: More action down the Chelsea left-hand side. Yaya gets the ball and powers his way past Cole, he really is a monster when he gets going. Chelsea recover, however, and put the ball out for a corner. Rodwell gets on the end of said corner but does nothing with it. Ryan Dunne has been in touch, by thew way, to explain to all of us what shooglie peg means. "A shooglie peg is one that not firm and solid and is therefore liable to fall off. Sir Alex Ferguson's jacket (synedoche for managerial authority) is on the most secure, 25-year old of pegs. A manager facing the sack (like, say, Chelsea's latest incumbent) has in contrast a shooglie peg."

30 mins: Back to subject of Nasri. Here's Felix Wood's thoughts. "David Acaster may sound like a giant, but his calling Arsenal a small pond is pure naughtiness. The simple fact is that he was never very good. Arsenal fans - and I am not one - seemed more angry at the manner of his leaving than being sad to see him leave." Rodwell, meanwhile, has picked up the game's first yellow for persistent fouling and just headed over from close to Cech's goals after a cross by Zabaleta. Busy boy is Jack.

27 mins: "Just how can a team who have spent so many millions, and could in theory spend many more, start with Kolo Toure, Nastasic, Rodwell and Milner?" wonders Matt Dony . "None of them are bad players, and they can all add something, but does that really constitute almost half of a championship winning outfield?" Emmmmmm, probably not, no. Back to the game, Chelsea have continued their pressure on City and won a free-kicks around the City box. Lampard takes the latest one and blasts it at least 1,000,000 miles wide. At least.

24 mins: Chelsea have started to play with a bit more verve now and they have even managed to get within sight of the City goal. Still no shots to get Hart's gloves dirty though. Eventually, City clear the Chelsea pressure but that is much better from the London lads.

21 mins: "Having been to a Kaiser Chief gig last night, I have decided to apply their songs to this match," says Sam Cooper. "Starting with Everyday I Love You Less and Less, which can be perfectly applied to Chelsea fans' feeling towards Torres," he then adds with a honk or two. City need to convert this pressure they are having into some goals.

18 mins: This has been all City so far - Chelsea have yet to have a shot on goal. They are pouring through the Chelsea midfield like a powerful river through a badly-built barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Aguero is the latest to miss a decent effort to put City in the lead

15 mins: Once again, City are having some joy down the Chelsea left-hand side. Some nice play with Zabaleta and Toure sees them win a corner. From that corner, Silva whips one in and Nastasic has all the time and space in the world to put his side one up. However, he closes his eyes, fails to get a good connection, and heads it down. Nonetheless, Cech pulls off a decent save, though it wouldn't have counted as someone was pulled up for a foul.

13 mins: The City fans are singing that Champiole song. Might as well belt it out while they can. Simon McMahon, meanwhile, has been in touch. "Who'd have thunk that a February match up between last season's English and European champions would end up being a battle for the minor places? Lose today and, as we say up here, the jaicket of Mancini or Benitez will be on a very shoogly peg." No, I have no idea what a "shoogly peg" is either.

9 mins: Milner, of all players, shows some silky skills down the bottom right of the pitch near the Chelsea line getting past a few Chelsea defenders. He puts in a decent cross but Aguero can't make anything of it.

7 mins: David Acaster has his own theory on why Nasri has not been up to his best this season. "Nasri looks like he has a "Big fish in a little pond" attitude. He liked being half of the Nasri-Fabregas axis that Arsenal turned around. He seems to have huge confidence issues now he's surrounded by better players. His response to being criticised before Euro 2012 suggested lack of self confidence too." Added to this, I would say, is that Mancini didn't seem to trust him last season, and ended up over-playing Silva as a result, which won't have helped his confidence. Nasri's, not Silva's.

4 mins: Southampton are already a goal to the good at Newcastle, if you are interested in that sort of thing. Here in Manchester, City have been on top so far but nothing of any great note to report of just yet.

2 mins: And there is the first effort of the game. A throw-in from the right leads to Milner setting up Yaya Toure, who aims for the bottom left corner of Cech's goal from the edge of the box. The shot is devoid of power, however, and the Chelsea keeper cradles it as softly as he would a new-born lamb.

1 min: Hands have been shook (like half-way crooks), shoulders have been bumped and mascots have been led out and then sent back in. All of that means we are ready to go. City are dressed in blue and playing left to right; Chelsea are dressed in black with flashes of yellow and doing the opposite to City.

13:26 Andy Mills has been chewing his nails over the Manchester City midfield but he has stopped that long enough to type out the first email of the day: "Never mind the defence the central midfield looks pedestrian with Garcia and Rodwell. The one saving grace is the Frenchman isn't starting! Come on City." Andy has a point there.

13:23 Maybe this jazzy little number, will get you going.

13:19 Sooooooooooooo, anyone out there?

13:15 Did you read Daniel Taylor's interview with Mancini? You should have, the City manager had some very interesting things to say, not least on Samir Nasri:

"I think Samir has fantastic qualities. With his quality, he should always play well. Every game he could be the difference. A player of this quality could be one of the best players in Europe. But it's not happening. Sometimes a player thinks it's enough what they did the year before and doesn't understand that every day they should improve. If you are a top player you know you can improve until the last day of your career but sometimes you get players who think it is not important to work and this is their worst mistake. Samir can do better than this year. He is a top player but he has not been playing at his level."

Any City fans out there with an opinion on this?

13:05 The teams are in. Terry does not make the starting line-up and he will be joined on the bench by Fernando Torres after Ben tez, rightly, decided that Ba would have a better chance of scoring against the Manchester City defence. And what a defence that is. City fans look away now: without Kompany, your central defensive pairing is Kolo Toure and Nastasic; doesn't really inspire confidence, does it? Jack Rodwell makes his first start since September. Those teams in full are:

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kolo Toure, Nastasic, Clichy, Garcia, Milner, Rodwell, Silva, Yaya Toure, Aguero

Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Kolarov, Nasri, Sinclair, Tevez, Dzeko

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, D Luiz, Cole; Mikel, Lampard (c); Ramires, Mata, Hazard; Ba

Subs: Turnbull, Azpilicueta, Terry, Bertrand, Oscar, Moses, Torres

12:47 You may, or may not, have noticed that those pesky tech problems that plagued us here in GU Central yesterday have yet to be fixed, despite the computer nerds staying up all night and writing big, complicated numbers on a blackboard in an effort to solve it. Ho hum. So this means, once more, we are unable to use our fancy-pants minute-by-minute tool and that we have to go back, way back, to the old-fashioned way of doing things. Still, let's not let that get in the way of our fun, eh?

Good afternoon one and all

Remember those ambrosial days of 2009? Lower energy bills, AAA credit ratings, Susan Boyle belting out I Dreamed a Dream, Mark Hughes in charge of Manchester City? Wait, wait, wait, hold on just a minute. Mark Hughes was in charge of Manchester City? That Mark Hughes? No, no no. You must be joking. Oh, wait hold on a second, there's a call coming through. Hello? Oh, it's your cranium; it's got some space to rent. There is not a snowballs he was in charge. Well he was. And it was in 2009 that he lost his job. What did it for him? Well coming towards the end of the year, he drew seven games in succession and the lads in charge said that's enough and got Bobby Mancini instead.

Since then City have been doing pretty sweet. They've played some beauty ball, conquered the Cup and won the Premier League in an ending as unpredictable as The Usual Suspects. That's all in the past though and the present is proving to be rather painful indeed. This season, they couldn't make it past the group stages in the Champions League, said hello and waved goodbye to the League Cup in the third round and following the recent draws with QPR and Liverpool and the loss to Southampton, it seems they are out of the race for the Premier League too. Ooopsy. If they were to lose or draw today, it will be the first time they have gone four Premier League games without a win since Hughes was the given that bulky boot to the bottom.

Is Mancini close to that same boot? He doesn't think so and he had a bullish response when our very own Daniel Taylor asked him about his future come the season's end. "Since we started to win, in May 2011, Manchester City are the best team in England, are they not? We won three trophies, Manchester United two, Chelsea two, Liverpool one. No other team has won more than us ... I don't understand it [speculation about his future]. I could if we had won nothing for three years. It would be difficult for me to stay then. I couldn't stay in a team where I wasn't doing a good job. But I have done a good job here."

We'll have to wait and see if his respective employers agree with the Italian's assessment but for now the stark reality is that City are staring a 15-point gap between them and the top of the table and, unless they win the FA Cup, a trophyless season full-square in the face. Maybe they should have held onto Nigel de Jong.

It may not be all rosy smiles and unicorn kisses for Mancini right now but it could be a whole lot worse, he could be Rafa Ben tez. It was 91 days ago that Rafa's reign began against the same opposition he faces today. Back then the fans greeted him with undiluted vitriol and not much has changed since. How he carries on in the face of such opposition, man will never know. But while the boos have rung out and Chelsea have exited two cup competitions under Ben tez - we won't count the Big Cup - not everything is rotten in the state of Stamford Bridge (though Fernando Torres' one-goal-in14-games form certainly is).

Their form over the last six games - 11 points from a possible 18 - is only bettered by Manchester United and Tottenham; the same goes for their away form since Ben tez took over. They also have the ever-sublime Juan Mata (who really is a joy to behold), Branislav Ivanovic (largely) been rock-like, has been while Frank Lampard in the form of his life. The midfielder has scored 11 goals in his 13 Premier League starts for Chelsea this season and is aiming to score in five consecutive league appearances for only the third time in his entire career. Plus if they win today, they will be just one teensy, teeny, toy, trifling, trivial point off second place.

All of this when you mix it together should make for a cracking encounter. As soon as the teams are in, you'll be the first to know, pinky promise.

Loss of triple-A credit rating 'largely symbolic', says Vince Cable

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

Business secretary attempts to shrug off Moody's decision to downgrade UK, while former chancellors back George Osborne

The business secretary, Vince Cable, has dismissed the loss of Britain's triple-A credit rating as "largely symbolic", while two former Conservative chancellors have offered support to the beleaguered George Osborne.

With financial markets braced for sterling to fall when the City returns to work on Monday, Cable attempted to shrug off Moody's decision to downgrade the UK to AA1 from AAA on Friday night.

"In terms of the real economy, there is no reason why the downgrade should have any impact," Cable told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show. "These things do not necessarily affect the real economy, but they do reflect the fact that we are going through a very difficult time."

Cable pointed out that rating agencies - whom he dismissed as "tipsters" at one point - had also downgraded the US and France recently without causing panic, and he dismissed suggestions that the government should change its economic course. "There are some positive things happening," he insisted, pointing to recent employment data.

But Osborne's predecessor, Alistair Darling, argued that Moody's move should be a wakeup call for the UK.

"We're absolutely stuck. There's been no growth for the last two years," Darling told Sky News. He argued that the government's inexperience and "perhaps a touch of recklessness" had led Osborne to repeatedly cite the UK's credit rating as such an important yardstick.

"I'm sure he [Osborne] will reflect on whether it was wise to go on about the triple-A rating so much," Darling said.

Darling's argument that Osborne should rethink his strategy was dismissed by two other previous inhabitants of No 11.

Lord Lawson said it was vital that Osborne reassured the financial markets that he was committed to his deficit reduction strategy. "Standing firm is a pretty good policy at the present time," Lawson said.

Ken Clarke predicted it would take "several more years" before Britain recovered its triple-A rating with Moody's and returned to solid economic growth.

"People have far more confidence in Britain than in many other western countries who have got into trouble through profligate economic policies," he said.

Some City experts fear the pound could tumble on Monday, when investors get their first chance to respond to Moody's downgrade. Gilts, or UK sovereign debt, could also be hit, pushing up Britain's cost of borrowing.

However, a full-blown panic is not expected.

"It will be interesting to see how investors react," said Paul Griffiths, co-global head of fixed income at Aberdeen Asset Management.

"The immediate concern is likely to be a further weakening of the pound, which has already had a move lower in the first few weeks of this year.

"This will be immediately beneficial for our experts, but the medium-term risk is this sees inflation imported with the rising cost of goods and services from abroad," Griffiths explained.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, agreed that the pound was "particularly vulnerable", having already fallen almost 7% against the US dollar since the start of the year.

Qualcomm Settles Disclosure Suit With New York

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Qualcomm Inc. has agreed to provide investors with additional information about how it spends money on political causes as part of an agreement reached with New York’s public pension fund.

The agreement brings an end to an unusual lawsuit brought last month by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on behalf of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. The lawsuit sought to force the wireless-technology company to disclose what it spends on political causes.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Here's Judge Sullivan's Ruling In Greenlight Capital's Lawsuit Against Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Below is the opinion of Judge Richard Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan in the matter of Greenlight Capital vs. Apple.

The meat of the opinion is on page 10:

“Having carefully reviewed the record before it, the Court finds that Greenlight and Gralnick face irreparable harm if they are compelled to vote on Proposal No. 2 in violation of SEC rules. By voting either against the slate of amendments and thus against two amendments they support, or for the amendments - including the offending "blank check" provision that they oppose - Greenlight and Gralnick will have been forced to vote on a package of items for which they did not have a single position, and denied the right to inform management of their views on specific items.”

Sullivan goes on:

Apple's arguments in opposition fundamentally misunderstand the harm alleged. For instance, Apple insists that there is no irreparable harm because the "blank check" amendment will not eliminate the company's power to issue preferred stock. (Opp'n to Green. 17-18.) But the harm is that Greenlight and Gralnick will be forced to cast an unrepresentative and illegal vote, not that they might be denied their desired substantive outcome. Apple's contention that any harm is mooted because shareholders could reinstate the "blank check" provision through a later proxy vote is likewise beside the point.

Here’s the full decision:

Greenlight Ruling by Arik Hesseldahl

New “RocketFish” iPad Stand Review HD – AlansTechReport

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

SUBSCRIBE – RATE – COMMENT! Want to FaceTime? here at: alansfacetime@gmail.com FACEBOOK: alanstechreport TWITTER: alanstechreport

Watch as Carol Girt from INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads shows you some iPad stands and mounts.

14″ Grey Laptop Travel Bag attache semi hard case. Compatible with: AppleMacbook Air, Macbook Pro 13, Macbook 13, iBook G4 SuperDrive, MacBook Core 2 Duo 13.3″. Bonus Ekatomi screen cleaner sticker. Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

14″ Grey Laptop Travel Bag attache semi hard case. Compatible with: AppleMacbook Air, Macbook Pro 13, Macbook 13, iBook G4 SuperDrive, MacBook Core 2 Duo 13.3″. Bonus Ekatomi screen cleaner sticker.

Laptop bag that will fit most 14″ computer
Approximate Dimensions: W14 x H9.6 x D1.5 inches
Includes a mesh pocket inside for extra storage
Belcrow inside to hold your device in place
Thin and lightweight yet will keep your laptop protected

Bonus reusable, Ekatomi screen cleaner sticker to help remove dust / dirt from your device.

This is a travel laptop bag that fits up to 14″ computer. The interior comes with straps to hold your devoce in place and a mesh pocket for all other small daily necessities. Dual, high quality zippers slide along the top and both sides of the case, allowing full access into the laptop compartment. Protect and carry your laptop in this Kroo Semi-Hard Case for durable portability.

*NOTE

Rock Health Launches Its Fourth Batch Of Startups, As Total Funding For Grads Hits $43M, $900K Each

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

After five months of testing, iterating, spit balling and pavement pounding, today Rock Health’s fourth class of HealthTech startups took the stage at Demo Day to pitch their fledgling businesses to investors. More than anything, these fourteen startups confirmed that digital health is not just alive and well, but beginning to gain some real traction. (More on that here.)

Like education, the healthcare industry is in the early stages of a massive sea change, and Rock Health’s startups collectively addressed some major pain points for the industry — from leveraging better coordination and patient engagement to lower the costs and simplify the tangled mess of health insurance, to incentivizing healthy behavior and improving secondary care.

Four Standouts

There were trendy, pure consumer plays like Wello, which is looking to make exercise and fitness more affordable and accessible by providing live, two-way video sessions with personal trainers. The platform allows trainers to fill up their downtime and make some extra cash by connecting with individuals or groups of aspiring exercisers, who, in turn, are able to exercise from the comfort of their home or hotel room — really any place that has Internet access. Users pay a fee for each session, and Wello then doles out 80 percent of the fee to trainers, pocketing the rest.

Then there were those playing on the “Internet of Things” trend. Startups like Kit Check are attempting to reduce the operational costs and simplify the business processes for hospitals by placing RFID tags on the various devices and elements in medical kits, allowing them to quickly analyze and update the contents of those kits. This kind of inventory management represents a huge cost and time drain for hospitals.

There were also the requisite healthcare IT niche plays like Eligible (also a Y Combinator grad), which is looking to be “the Stripe for healthcare transactions” by creating a set of standardized APIs that enable healthcare providers to automatically determine whether or not patients have health insurance (and whether they’re eligible for treatment), saving both sides from a lot of pain and time on the phone. Eligible has been growing fast and is already generating revenue. [Check out our coverage here.]

One of the more ambitious plays comes from Zipongo, which is tackling obesity in the U.S. and the massive consumer spend on healthy living products by incentivizing healthy choices — specifically around the most important health-related purchasing decisions: Those involving food.

Zipongo has developed relationships with several major grocery chains to provide users with deals on healthy food items and is attempting to make buying “green” or “organic” more affordable for the average consumer. But the startup wants to be more than just a “healthy coupons” company, and, after paying a monthly subscription fee, Zipongo users can access personalized, healthy meal plans, recipes, visibility into dietary habits and suggestions for healthier consumption. [Check out our coverage here.]

These were four of the stand out companies from Rock Health’s fourth batch and, rather than rehash the full list again, if you want to check out the full roster of companies, see our previous coverage of the batch here.

Rock Health Progress

The other stand-out part of Rock Health’s fourth Demo Day was just how far the digital health accelerator has come over the last two years. In August, Rock Health landed Kleiner Perkins as a partner, which means that the startups presenting today have been able to take advantage of a considerably larger amount of seed funding than prior batches. Each member of the fourth class received $100K in seed funding, a five-fold increase from the $20K doled out to its first three classes.

The accelerator’s partner roster has also grown considerably in the past year and now includes Aberdare Ventures, Accel Partners, Fenwick & West, GE, Genentech, Harvard Medical School, Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, NEA, Qualcomm Life, Silicon Valley Bank and UnitedHealth Group — to name a few.

But, really, what defines success for an accelerator is its ability to not only help its startups secure partnerships and find business development opportunities, but assist in fundraising. Follow-on funding tends to be a good sign that the incubator itself isn’t the only one who sees value in the nascent business. To date, Rock Health has 49 companies in its portfolio and, as of today, those portfolio companies have raised over $43 million in funding, averaging almost $900K/startup.

It still has a long way to go, granted, but Rock Health is already closing the gap with what is probably the most well-known accelerator in the country, Y Combinator. Paul Graham recently said that YC startups average about $3.18 million in funding, although it’s launched 380 companies in comparison, and the median, Graham says is between $800K and $1 million.

Clearly, Rock Health is gaining. All it needs is one Airbnb or Dropbox. Especially if AngelList can be believed, as it puts Rock Health as third behind Y Combinator and StartX in terms of the average valuations of the companies in its portfolio.

Fourth Class Highlights

Thanks to the increased seed capital and Rock Health’s expanding partner network, the fourth class is showing the benefits of the accelerator’s incremental growth and seems to be off to a faster start than previous classes. To date, the fourteen startups have a raised a total of $13.9 million (about a third of its total portfolio) — not including Rock Health’s investment.

Kit Check is now doing “six-digit revenue from each of multiple paying hospital customers,” while Benefitter has raised $2.7 million from angels. As previously mentioned, Eligible has raised $1.5 million from investors like Esther Dyson and is now processing over 12,000 transactions each day (and its revenue growth reflects that). Wello has secured $1 million in seed funding and just launched group workouts, while Mango Health has raised $3.1 million from an impressive list of investors, including Floodgate, First Round, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, Keith Rabois and others.

For more on the class, check out our prior coverage here.

Video Discovery Startup Fanhattan Launches A Web Interface With More Than 1 Million Movies And TV Titles

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:02:00 +0000

It’s not hard to find video on the web. But with dozens of premium content providers out there and millions of videos to choose from, figuring out what’s worth watching can be a challenge. That’s why Fanhattan is bringing its video discovery platform to the web.

Fanhattan originally launched as an iOS app for the iPad, allowing its users to search and discover content across a wide range of apps that content producers and distributors had launched on the device. Rather than checking out Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon, iTunes, and other premium content providers individually, users can search for the content they want across all those platforms through the Fanhattan app.

While mobile and tablet viewing is still a relatively new phenomenon, more than 100 million people watch online video every day. As a result, Fanhattan is now extending its technology to the web, providing a platform for navigating the millions of TV and movie titles available online.

With the new Fanhattan web interface, launching in private beta today, will also drastically expand the number of content choices and providers that people can search. Due to the larger quantity of free online video options, the website will have shows and films from 29 different video providers, compared to 16 available on the iOS apps. That will mean more than a million different titles at launch. Altogether, the Fanhattan web interface has nearly three times more shows and videos available than are on the current iOS app.

The Fanhattan web experience will also add a new way of saving content for later. According to Fanhattan CEO Gilles BianRosa, iOS users typically use Fanhattan to find content that they want to watch instantly. But web browsers (pun intended) sometimes are looking for stuff to watch later. As a result, Fanhattan provides users with the ability to WatchNow or — wait for it — WatchLater.

The WatchNow function shows users where they can instantly tune in to a piece of content. And you can probably figure out what WatchLater is for. If a title isn’t on any streaming services yet, or if it’s still in theaters, Fanhattan will let users add it to a WatchList and be notified when it becomes available. Users can even create, curate, and multiple lists for different genres of content, and share them with others.

In addition to providing users with title, cast, and crew information, Fanhattan will also have entertainment news, celebrity interviews, behind-the-scenes commentary, and reviews — giving users a more complete look into the content they’re interested in viewing. Users who are logged in through Facebook will also be able to share what they’re watching and see what their friends are viewing as well.

With its iOS apps and its web presence, Fanhattan is one step closer to being the discovery engine for streaming video on all your devices. Next stop? Getting on connected TVs and other streaming boxes.

PayPal Here Is Coming To The UK, Its First Mobile Payment Market In Europe, Armed With A New Way To Read Your Card

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:09:00 +0000

Make way for one more player in the European mobile payments space, and a big one at that. Today, the online payments giant PayPal announced that from this summer it will be rolling out PayPal Here in the UK, its first foray into the European market, equipped with a new piece of hardware to accomodate the chip-based cards prevalent in this part of the world.

PayPal has not set a definite launch date or revealed pricing for the service, but the company tells me it will be “competitive” with existing offers from rivals. The standard fee among them right now for transactions is 2.75%, and two who have recently launched chip readers are pricing them at 49 ($65).

PayPal says that it picked the UK for its first stab at mobile payments in Europe because, with 18 million
customers (out of 123 million worldwide), the UK is the company’s second-largest market outside of the U.S. And it also has one of the highest smartphone penetrations in Europe — currently at around 61%, according to Kantar Worldpanel Comtech.

Establishing PayPal Here in the UK will be used as a lever for further expansion into the rest of Europe. “We are launching Here this summer but will expand to other markets as we go forward,” noted Cameron McLean, MD of PayPal in the UK, in an interview with TechCrunch.

It also means that David Marcus, the president of PayPal, has a chance to come full circle and finally bring PayPal’s mobile payment service to his own home market. (Coming from France, Marcus founded and then sold his mobile carrier billing startup Zong to PayPal, first becoming head of mobile and then eventually president of the whole operation.)

“PayPal Here has been a big hit since its launch last year, and I'm thrilled that we're bringing a brand new version that's designed for Europe and beyond,” Marcus said in a statement. PayPal would not say how much revenue it has generated from PayPal Here in the U.S. but it is one of many different services that it offers to increase touchpoints with businesses and their customers. The company says that in 2012 it processed some $145 million in payments overall, across both mobile and web.

All of eBay-owned PayPal’s efforts up to now have been centered around a triangular dongle that plugs into an iPhone or Android device to read the magnetic strip on the back of a card — similar to the square-shaped dongle produced by its big U.S. rival Square (which has yet to enter Europe). Europe will see a different approach from PayPal.

To accomodate the chip-based cards used in Europe, as well as the requirements of companies like Visa in Europe, PayPal will be producing a separate chip-and-pin device that will let customers insert a card and enter a PIN number to verify their identity.

This is also the direction that all of the other Square-like European mobile payments companies have had to go as well. One of these, iZettle, introduced its chip-and-PIN reader only yesterday, no doubt to get a little PR jump on PayPal Here (and to get around some of the problems that it ran into with Visa over the use of its dongle).

It may also be the case that while the U.S. still has mag stripes for now, companies like Visa are working to bring the technology to the U.S., so PayPal Here’s European card reader may end up having more currency beyond the Old World.

PayPal joins a number of European-based startups, such as the American Express-backed iZettle; Samwer/Rocket Internet’s Payleven; SumUp and mPowa; as well as U.S. rival Intuit, to tackle the large base of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK (and beyond) that have yet to accept card payments because bank fees on traditional card services have been too high in the past.

The UK becomes PayPal’s fifth market out side of the U.S., where it first launched in March 2012. PayPal here is also available in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan — the last of which it operates in a JV with Softbank.

The chip-and-pin card reader will work using Bluetooth connectivity to pair with a merchant’s smartphone to read and then process the card number and PIN code. Merchants will then use apps on their smartphones to both complete the transaction as well as generate receipts. McLean tells me the reader will also be used for more than just card transactions. It will also let merchants log cash and check payments, as well as make PayPal payments.

Release below.

PAYPAL MAKES IT SIMPLER FOR CASH-BASED BUSINESSES TO RECEIVE DIGITAL PAYMENTS WITH NEW CHIP & PIN DEVICE

- NEW VERSION OF SUCCESSFUL GLOBAL PAYMENT SOLUTION PAYPAL HERE
– AVAILABLE IN THE UK, SUMMER 2013

PayPal's pocket-sized Chip & PIN solution will make it easier for businesses to take secure card payments face to face, anytime, anywhere

Businesses need never again turn away sales because the customer has no cash, and no more lines to deposit funds at the banks

London, 22 February 2013 - PayPal, the company that has been leading innovation in payments for 15 years, has unveiled a breakthrough Chip & PIN version of its award winning global payment solution for businesses, PayPal Here.

The pocket-size handheld device is a game-changer for small businesses. It will enable them to accept credit and debit cards and PayPal payments easily and efficiently wherever they do business - increasing potential sales.

Aimed especially for businesses that have traditionally relied on cash or cheques, the Chip & PIN version of PayPal Here has been designed for use in countries where credit cards rely on Chip and PIN technology, rather than swiping a card, for transactions.

It will be available to select UK businesses over the coming months before it fully launches in the UK this summer. The Chip & PIN version will be available in other relevant markets after the UK launch.

PayPal Here is unique: a complete payment solution that allows any business to simply and securely accept PayPal, credit & debit card payments, log cash and cheques, even send invoices & receipts so they never miss a sale. There's no contract or ongoing fees, just the initial competitive purchase price and a small fee for each transaction.

Businessmen and women can pair the device with their smartphone to accept secure payments anytime, anywhere they're trading, whether at a market stall, shop, restaurants, taxi or even in a customer's home.

David Marcus, President of PayPal, said: "PayPal Here has been a big hit since its launch last year, and I'm thrilled that we're bringing a brand new version that's designed for Europe and beyond. We aimed to create game-changing device for businesses in the UK and other nations where Chip & PIN payments are standard. The result is a beautiful device that offers a strong and secure solution for businesses and, as importantly, their customers. Small businesses are the heart of economies worldwide and we are thrilled to launch this product to help them succeed.

"At PayPal, we spend a huge amount of time talking and listening to small businesses. They are the core of PayPal's business and they've told us that they want a simple, secure way to take card payments anytime and anywhere they trade. We've used that feedback to create what we think is the best payment device ever created. It's a great example of our vision for PayPal: a wonderful customer experience from the moment the PayPal Here app is downloaded to taking the device out of the box and accepting a first payment. We've even included a 'click to call us' button in the app so our customer service team can be reached in one click just in case help is needed."

Cameron McLean, managing director of PayPal UK, said, "Cash and cheques have served us all well over the years, but businesses that rely on them risk missing valuable sales. PayPal Here will let them offer their customers extra ways to pay, while saving them the hassle of taking cash and cheques to the bank. The arrival of PayPal Here in Britain is the latest example of how we're helping UK businesses make the most of connected commerce: the new opportunities created by the merger of the online world and the high street."

Emma Jones, Founder of Enterprise Nation, said, "One of the challenges small businesses in the UK face is getting paid. Cash and cheques seem easy, but soon people start to realise the lack of security, the inconvenience for customers and the Friday afternoon wait at the bank to deposit your money. Equally, many people are put off from signing up with a traditional card processing company because of the high fees, long-term contract commitments and bulky handsets. PayPal Here promises to change all that, by offering start-ups and established businesses a smarter way to get paid, and helping British business to grow in the way that PayPal has already done for many small businesses here and around the world."

Mark Thomas from Greedy Goat ice cream, a PayPal Here UK launch partner that trades at London's Borough Market, commented, "Cash is king in the market, but people run out of cash very quickly, and we often lose sales because customers can't face the long weekend wait at the ATM. PayPal Here is the perfect solution for us, as it gives our customers the chance to pay by card, backed by the reassurance of the PayPal name on the machine. It means more people will enjoy our goats' milk ice cream this year, which is great for our business."

PayPal handled $145 billion in payments in 2012 and has more than 123 million active accounts, 18 million in the UK alone.

UK businesses who wish to register interest in PayPal Here can do so at http://www.paypal.co.uk/here.

Orange Ramps Up Own-Brand Range With 3 More Android Handsets, And Its First LTE Device, Has Sights On Windows Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:08:00 +0000

Perhaps aware of the tsunami of news that will hit during Mobile World Congress, we are seeing an increasing amount of news releases coming out before the actual event. France Telecom/Orange has already told us about one device — an Android smartphone with Fujitsu aimed at the senior market — and now it is following that up with three more, own-branded, Android handsets aimed squarely at the middle market of smartphone users.

The Lumo (pictured) is the carrier’s first own-branded LTE device; the Nivo is a device aimed at the budget segment; and the San Remo is a large-screened 4.7″ device with a brushed-metal casing. All will be out in selected markets in the first half of this year.

And while each of these devices will come loaded with Android 4.1, Patrick Remy, the VP of devices for France Telecom, also notes that we may soon start seeing own-brand handsets from the carrier not built on Android. “There is no willingness to only have Android devices in this range,” he said. “We believe the best opportunity is with Android right now, but we are looking at other operating systems, specifically Windows Phone, but potentially others.”

On the subject of Firefox OS — the mobile platform being built by Mozilla with other partners — “we are monitoring what is being done there,” says Remy. “We are not announcing any launch of such devices at this point in time, but we are definitely interested in that area and depending on the opportunities, there is a chance for an Orange-branded device among those.”

Remy also admits that Orange’s own-brand smartphone devices do not move the needle when compared to the volumes sold by carriers from smartphone leaders Samsung and Apple. But they are proving to be small hits for the carrier, specifically when targeting users in the mid-market — or “higher-end pay-as-you-go or lower end contract customers,” in Remy’s description.

This naturally means these devices do best in markets where these segments are biggest. “Not Luxembourg,” Remy joked of the very affluent little principality where the carrier offers services. But other markets do quite well. In Spain last year, Orange’s best-selling device was the Monte Carlo, another handset in its own-brand range. Overall sales of this line of devices has grown by 62% over the last year. But it’s telling that there are currently “no plans” for any of these three to be offered in the UK this year.

France Telecom/Orange does not release sales numbers on how well these smartphones do but did note that last year its entire range of own-branded devices — including both feature phones and smartphones — were about 10% of all handset volumes, “and that’s increased a bit to about 12%,” says Remy. He notes that within that proportion smartphones are a “significant part of that.”

Orange has struck deals with Alcatel/TCL, Gigabyte, Huawei and ZTE to make its own-brand devices. The Lumo and Nivo come from Gigabyte, whereas the San Remo is made by Alcatel/TCL, with Huawei and ZTE sitting out in this particular round.

Perhaps more than other European telcos, Orange has over the years dedicated a lot of time and energy to creating devices that are filled with Orange-customized services and the Orange brand. These devices play into that theme, but for now will not be packing as much Orange-punch as they can.

Baidu, for example, which has inked a deal with Orange to provide a customized browser for its devices, will not be making an appearance on the devices for now, although this may be something we will see going forward, says Remy. “They’ll come with our standard suite of services and customization,” he noted. These include customized lock-screens, the ability to port your services when roaming, and links to Orange services specific to your home country.

“Airbnb For Hostels” App WeHostels Launches Hot Trips, Including Ultra-Cheap Housing For SXSW Guests

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:06:00 +0000

Don’t have a place to stay yet at SXSW this year? No problem. As long as you don’t mind sharing a room with six (or 12) people, social travel startup WeHostels has you covered.

The company, which has a mobile app that allows users to find affordable housing in hostels around the world, is launching a new way to search for places to stay during major events. Its new “Hot Trips” feature will allow users to hunt down housing during next month’s SXSW Interactive conference in Austin, as well as other future events like St Partick’s Fest in Dublin, or Oktoberfest in Munich.

For SXSW in particular, WeHostels has partnered with Firehouse Hostel, which is right around the corner from all the action on 6th in Austin. From March 8-12, the hostel will be making beds in its 6-person shared dorms available for as little as $68, or $63 for those who wish to stay in a 12-person shared room. The hostel will also have various amenities ready for SXSW Interactive guests, including free WiFi, a coworking area in the lobby, and complimentary breakfast. It also plans a party there Friday night.

The WeHostel app launched about six months ago, to offer users the ability to find low-priced housing in hostels or cheap hotels. It’s been building its inventory of places to stay ever since, and now has recommendations for about 60,000 around the world. Much of that inventory is in Europe, where backpacking and staying in hostels is still an integral part of the experience for many young adults, but it also has places in North and South America, as well as Southeast Asia.

The app has more than 100,000 registered users, the majority of which are between 19 and 25. Its biggest markets for users are the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and Germany, but it hopes to get more people signed up throughout Europe, according to CEO Diego Saez-Gil.

WeHostels users tend to be spontaneous, with about a quarter of all its bookings happen on the same day, and another quarter of stays are booked the day before. The rest of all its bookings usually take place within a week of a user’s stay. That shows a lot of users are entering a city and trying to find a place to stay on the fly.

While its SXSW partnership is for shared rooms, the app caters to both private and dorm-style overnight stays. But prices are a significant discount to hotel stays or Airbnb listings in most cities. Average price in a city like San Francisco or New York City can run about $90 per night, but in less-expensive areas, like Southeast Asia, rooms could go for as low as $5 dollars a night.

WeHostels had raised $1.2 million in seed funding from of investors such as Ventech, Quotidian Ventures, CAP Ventures, Fabrice Grinda, and Dave Lerner, among others. For SXSW, users will want to book a little ahead of time. Already, its option for female-only shared rooms at the conference are booked out.

Quipio, Where Instagram Meets Text Messaging

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:06:00 +0000

There’s a new formula in place, as forged by Instagram.

Step A: Choose a popular, yet simple, media (like a photo, a video, a blog post, or a text message).
Step B: Frill up said media, but with the simplest set of tools possible (filters, Vine-style recording).
Step C: Make sharing to any and every social network as easy as one click.

This formula has been replicated in various shapes and forms for more than a year, but Quipio is bringing the Instagram formula to its basest level. Quipio, in essence, is an Instagram for your words.

You start by typing a message. This could be a meme, a private joke, a text-message style note, or a status update. You then highlight important words in the statement. You have the option to choose from dozens of pre-set filters/themes for the text, or you can add a photo (from camera roll or on the spot) as the background.

Whether you choose to add a photo background or not, Quipio always emphasizes the highlighted words and adds a cool, fun look to the text.

You can then, as expected, blast the Quip out on your various social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Quipio, Weibo, as well as SMS and email. Of course, users can comment and like Quips right within the app. Unfortunately, the push notifications you get from likes have the worst possible audio alert, and instead of calling it a like, Quipio tells you that “so-and-so saw your quip and went ‘mmm!’” Weird.

The Quipio team seems to think of themselves as more of an evolved Twitter, but it’s hard not to recognize the Instagram formula when you see it. All in all, it should be an interesting addition to our media sharing addictions, if there’s still room in your heart and your home screen for yet another social network?

Quipio is available now in the App Store.

Archos 80 Titanium Android Tablet Headed To The UK

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:13:00 +0000

Archose announced a number of new Android tablets at CES in January, and now they have announced that the Archos 80 Titanium is headed to the UK, and the device will be sold through UK retailer the Carphone warehouse.

The Archos 80 Titanium will be available in 8GB and 16GB models, and the 16GB model will be exclusive to the Carphone Warehouse, the 8GB model will retail for 129 and the 16GB model for 199.

Mass Effect 3 Getting Two New DLC Packs

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:13:00 +0000

There has never been an ending to a game more controversial than Mass Effect 3 s so BioWare had to go back and deliver an extended cut DLC to calm many whiny fans. Some new DLCs have been published over the past couple of months after the release of Mass Effect 3, and now EA is announcing two more for the game.

Gaming spending on iOS and Android surpassed dedicated gaming handhelds in Q4 2012: Report

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

Nintendo and Sony once held a lock on the mobile gaming industry, but Google and Apple have cracked that wide open with their respective mobile operating systems. A new joint report from IDC and App Annie claims that combined spending on games in the App Store and Google Play in the fourth quarter 2012 was higher than the amount spent on dedicated handheld devices.

Handheld game sales gained a bigger boost from the holiday season, with roughly 60% of all spending coming in December alone. As such, the difference between smartphone and tablet gaming and standalone handhelds will likely be more pronounced in future quarters.

It’s also worth noting that ad revenue wasn’t included. iOS and Android publishers tend to rely more on advertising than those on traditional handheld gaming devices, so smartphones would likely have the advantage there as well.

Breaking the figures down by region, almost 60% of consumer spending on Google Play in Q4 came from Asia-Pacific, led by Japan and Korea. Korean messaging service Kakao did particularly well, with several of the top 5 grossing games on Google Play.

North America accounted for about 40% of spending on iOS, with Asia Pacific in a close second. European gamers represented about 25% of revenue for handheld systems, a larger percentage than for iOS and Google Play.

Nintendo has stubbornly held out from bringing its franchises to smartphone platforms. Doing so has been costly, though, as gamers now spend roughly as much on Apple’s iOS as they do on Nintendo’s handhelds. Nintendo lowered its revenue forecasts for the fiscal year last month after lowering sales projections for its Wii U and 3DS devices.

Meanwhile, Sony reduced the price of its PlayStation Vita handheld this week in an effort to revitalize sales. Sony is at least acknowledging the usefulness of smartphones and tablets for gaming, as it plans to release a PlayStation app for iOS and Android devices that will turn them into second screens for its just-announced PlayStation 4 console when it arrives later this year.

The collaboration between IDC and App Annie is a fruitful one, since it allows them to play to their respective strengths. IDC excels at industry-wide hardware and physical sales estimates, while App Annie has deep access to mobile app store-related download numbers. The two plan to make this a quarterly affair.

Image credit: Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images

Jumio debuts real-time ID verification solution Netverify for Android apps

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

Jumio, a digital payments and ID certification solutions provider backed by the likes of Citi Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, is today releasing Netverify Mobile for Android.

That basically means that the company is making its mobile, real-time ID scanning and verification technology available to registered Android app developers, after first introducing the solution for iOS.

The news comes a couple of weeks after Jumio debuted its other product, Netswipe Mobile, which turns a customer's smartphone camera into a secure, real-time credit card reader, for Android phones and tablets.

It also comes right in time for Mobile World Congress.

In May 2012, Jumio released a Netswipe Mobile SDK, which allows third-party developers to add credit card scanning capabilities to their iOS apps.

As for Netverify Mobile: it basically allows businesses to authenticate their customers' identities - via passport, driver license or ID card - using iOS and Android smartphone cameras, reducing the risk of fraudulent activity and making the on-boarding process a bit speedier.

Jumio emphasizes that Netverify uses 256-bit encryption to transmit data. The solution is also available for website implementations, utilizing a built-in or external webcam.

Daniel Mattes, CEO and founder of Jumio, says:

"With fraud becoming rampant on mobile, businesses need the tools to both know and help protect their customers, while also providing them a more convenient way to verify their identities.

Now businesses can move from taking days to verify a customer's identity to immediately authenticating a users' ID, transforming what has traditionally been a complex and costly process - ID verification - into an almost instantaneous transaction on both mobile and the Web."

The company is specifically targeting financial institutions, online retailers, consumer marketplaces and other Internet and/or mobile communities with its real-time ID verification solution.

Image credit: Thinkstock

Twitter Adds DMARC Email Authentication To Curb Login-Jacking Attempts Via Impostor Messages

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sun, 12 May 2013 15:08:00 +0000

Twitter announced via its blog today that it has begun using DMARC, a security protocol designed to cut down the number of fake emails that users receive from companies pretending to be Twitter itself. The move should help cut down on phishing scams, where third parties try to get users to give up their login details via false requests for password verification or other personal info.

Twitter says it started using the DMARC tech earlier this month, which means it should be up and running already. But the timing of this announcement likely has more to do with publicizing Twitter’s attempts to increase security around the service in the wake of a couple notable hacks in recent days. Twitter saw high-profile official accounts from Jeep and Burger King get taken over by malicious attacks, which was followed by a fake hacking used as a marketing ploy by BET and MTV. Fake or real, all the so-called “attacks” affect the security reputation of the site in the eyes of its users, hence the need for some kind of response.

DMARC works by determining whether or not the email messages it supposedly receives from a known sender actually lines up with the information it has on file about that sender, and then routing mail accordingly. Those interested in the technical details can check it out here, but it’s already in use by AOL, Gmail, Microsoft and Yahoo! Mail, which means it probably covers the fast majority of email users out there. Some have called for more advanced features, like two-step authentication, to help make Twitter even more secure against malicious attacks on user accounts.

TL;DR: Twitter had some very public security issues, and now has made a public announcement about steps it’s taking to improve security, and the two are unlikely to be only coincidentally related.

Euclid, The Google Analytics-Like Tracking Solution For Brick-And-Mortars, Raises $17.3 Million Series B

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sun, 12 May 2013 15:07:00 +0000

Euclid, the analytics solution for brick-and-mortar retailers that first emerged from stealth back in late 2011, is today announcing $17.3 million in Series B funding in a round led by Benchmark Capital. Also participating were previous investors NEA and Harrison Metal, as well as Novel TMT Ventures. In addition, the funding sees Benchmark’s Bruce Dunlevie, joining the company’s board.

Euclid had previously raised a $5.8 million Series A from NEA, Harrison Metal, Triple Point Capital and other angels.

Initially, the startup was going by the name “Euclid Elements,” but it has since changed that to Euclid Analytics, or just Euclid. The company likes to describe itself as something of a Google Analytics solution for the real world. That’s an especially apt description, given that COO Scott Crosby also co-founded Urchin, the software that Google acquired to eventually form the basis of what later became known as Google Analytics. Scott’s brother Brett, also an Urchin co-founder, sits on Euclid’s board. And the company more recently brought on Sandra Dolan, a founding team member at competitor ShopperTrack.

The company sells to retailers looking to upgrade, replace or implement their systems for tracking shopper traffic, loyalty, and other metrics surrounding customers’ visits. It competes with everything from old-school door “clickers” to beams mounted above the doors or even video-enabled solutions.

Euclid’s original product introduced more broadly in 2011 involves pre-configured sensors that connect with the switch in the network closet. These sensors can detect customers’ phones with Wi-Fi enabled. The system can then hash devices’ MAC addresses (the unique identifiers devices use on the network) in order to learn how many people visit a store, when they enter, how long they stay, when and if they return, and more.

It’s more data than a traditional door counter can accumulate, because it can actually track individual shoppers on a recurring basis, though not with personally identifiable information. (Allowing for customer opt-out is also a contractual requirement for retailers who sign up with Euclid, in case of any customer concerns with tracking.)

Because of the way the system is designed, it allows retailers to track customer traffic across locations and outside the main entrances, providing insight into other behaviors like whether outlets are eating into store sales, for example, or even how well window displays convert.

“It’s just been in the last three or four months that we’ve gotten down to some of the most fundamental questions about retail – questions that have been around since the dawn of retail, but haven’t been answered,” explains Euclid CEO Will Smith. For example, Euclid can help answer the question “why do lines exist?” Smith says. “With enough information about demand, they don’t need to exist. It’s making the shopping experience a lot more human. It’s real service through data.”

Last month, the company debuted a second solution called Euclid Zero, which involves partnerships with wireless access point providers such as Aerohive Networks, Aruba Networks, Fortinet, Xirrus and, coming soon, others. With this product, retailers no longer have to install hardware sensors, but can instead simply switch on a setting in their Wi-Fi management console. These partnerships not only make it easier for retailers to sign up, it also opens up Euclid to new markets – venues and conference centers – a vertical that Xirrus, in particular, targets.

“At this point, we’re the only analytics product for physical retail that doesn’t have an installation or hardware cost, which is pretty game-changing,” says Smith. He adds that more retailers are now inquiring about Euclid Zero than the sensor-based solution these days, and he expects it will become the more popular product in the future.

Based in Palo Alto, Euclid got off the ground by working with nearby chains like Philz Coffee, but soon expanded to larger, national chains. The startup has traction in places like San Francisco, L.A. and New York, and is now growing in secondary markets like Atlanta and Charlotte, among others.

Though Euclid doesn’t disclose its customer line-up, the company now says it’s installed in over 30 apparel chains, quick-serve restaurants and shopping malls, as well as auto parts, home improvement and department stores. It has over 50 million mobile devices tracked across its customer base.

With so many big retailers buying the company’s software-as-a-service solution, the plan is to now use the additional funding to offer these customers better and faster support, as well as increase the number of people on Euclid’s “insights team” – a group that helps the customers make better sense of their data. Smith says the company now has 27 people, and will increase headcount to 42.

In terms of product development, that’s been advancing quickly too, and will continue to do so, with more features arriving over the next couple of months.

LG 420G Phone Charging USB 2.0 Data Cable! This professional grade custom cable outperforms the original!

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:02:00 +0000

LG 420G Phone Charging USB 2.0 Data Cable! This professional grade custom cable outperforms the original!

The A Days Tech Professional Charging USB Data Cable outperforms the originally manufactured (OEM) cable and all other aftermarkets commonly seen elsewhere!
This USB Charging Data Cable provides the ability to connect your phone to your computer with your software (sold seperately).
Cable also allows access to features such as Phonebook, Internet, Music, Ringtones, MP3, Calendar, etc as long as your phone and software support that feature.
Use your phone as a high speed modem and access Internet to check email, etc. (consult your carrier for this service)
Advanced charging regulation of this cable is controlled equally by the phone and computer. This means an accurate digitial charge without overcharging.

LG 420G Phone Charging USB 2.0 Data Cable! This professional grade custom cable outperforms the original!

STK’s Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:02:00 +0000

STK’s Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger

STK’s Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger (POWWER Brand Name)
Upon a full charge it shifts into trickle charge mode. For Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger.
This charger is so light weight that is could easily fit in your front shirt pocket.
100% OEM Compatible with Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger.
No overcharging – Gauranteed to work with Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger.

STK’s Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger (POWWER Tradmark) is specifically designed for the Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger. Complies with or Exceeds OEM Nikon Coolpix S70 Charger. Serving You Since 1999! 1 Year Warranty: We will replace this or any other item that you purchase from us for 1 year from the date your order is processed if it fails under normal wear or is defective. We always sell new high quality items and we are willing to back them up @ SterlingTek! The POWWER /STK/ SterlingTek name images and

Camera-Equipped Elephants Filmed Wild Baby Tigers For the First Time Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:13:00 +0000

It turns out there's an uneasy jungle truce between tigers and elephants. Tigers don't try to attack and eat full-grown pachyderms, and the elephants make sure not to trample the big cats. And it's this unofficial agreement that the BBC used to its advantage to capture the first footage of newborn tiger cubs in the wild.

Since they're not a source of food and pose no threat, the tigers simply ignore the elephants hanging around. So the BBC crew strapped a bunch of camera gear to their backs and wandered deep into the jungles to try and catch the cats behaving naturally. But they never imagined they'd be lucky enough to capture extremely rare footage of a tiger with a litter of cubs just ten days old. They're definitely cute, but even more amusing is the irony of using the largest animal on the planet as a clever way to sneak up on another creature. [YouTube via Geekosystem]

Meridian Explorer USB DAC Review: Make Your Digital Music Sing

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:12:00 +0000

The Meridian Explorer takes the digital audio from your computer's USB port, puts the code through some very fancy electronics, and spits out an analog signal to to your headphones or stereo. Yes, your computer's sound card already has a built-in digital-to-audio converter that does this, but the Explorer is made by one of the most sophisticated manufacturers in the world. So in theory, it'll make your music sound so good you'll maybe almost forget the price tag.

What Is It?

A $300 digital-to-analog converter that pulls audio from your computer via its USB port. Meridian claims the DAC's guts are made from the same high quality components as it's $$$$$$$ reference grade gear.

Who's it For?

A music nerd with a prodigious collection of lossless audio files. Or someone who already bought expensive headphones and wants to squeeze the most goodness out of them no matter the cost.

Design

The Explorer is a portable stick a little larger than a Bic lighter with a silver finish that exactly matches the color of a MacBook Pro. It's got a Mini USB input at one end, and two outputs on the other. Unlike other comparable products, there are no knobs or dials on the Explorer.

Using It

Most people will probably use this as a desktop accessory for their headphones. The DAC is capable of processing up to 196kHz/24-bit audio files. That's a way higher resolution than CD-quality (44.1kHz/16-bit) files, to say nothing of the compressed 192 kbps MP3 files most people have on their computers.

In other words, this little guy's bandwidth is going to far exceed the potential of most of the files you've got. But even so, the Explorer makes everything from your huge lossless files to your Spotify streams sound richer and cleaner. The difference is is almost instantaneously noticeable.

The DAC's headphone output is powered by a 130mW amplifier. In this case, you control the volume with your computer's volume controls. The Explorer's other output is a combination analog line-out/digital output that's not powered because you're going to use an external amp for power instead.

The DAC is plug-and-play with Apple computers, but you'll need to install drivers on Windows machines.

The Best Part

Besides noticeably improving the sound of even compressed audio, the simple, portable design is beautiful and satisfying in a way that sometimes high-fidelity audio products aren't.

Tragic Flaw

It's going to be near impossible to convince people to spend this kind of money for this product no matter how good it is.

This Is Weird...

We're used to DAC/headphone amp combos that have their own level control knobs on board. Traditionally, audio geeks love nobs and switches and dials, but but we honestly didn't miss it at all.

Test Notes

Tested for a few weeks with my MacBook Pro with everything from 320 kbps compressed audio files to 176kHz/24bit lossless audio. We tested its impact on a few different sets of headphones and also tested the DAC with Joey Roth's super awesome Ceramic speaker system.
It's important to remember that the DAC is just one piece of the sound reproduction puzzle. If you start with crap audio, the improvement isn't as stark as it is with lossless files. Similarly, the DAC made a huge improvement when I used it with Roth's speakers and $1000 Sennheiser headphones. With a middle-of-the-road $200 cans the effect was often hard to perceive.

Should You Buy It?

This product is obviously targeted at people who've got space in their budgets for extravagance. If that's you, I highly recommend you buy this. The portable design and sound quality are both excellent. The rest of us can buy much cheaper products that aren't as pretty but will do the job just fine.

Meridian Explorer

• Price: $300
• Resolution: 192kHz/24-bit
• Power/Input: USB <500mAh
• Headphone output: 3.5mm, variable level
• Headphone amplifier: 130mW into 16
• Line output: 3.5mm, fixed level at 2V RMS
• Digital output: Mini-TOSLINK
• Weight: 1.7 ounces
• Gizrank: 3.5

10 marvelous iPhone apps to master your family schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Skinthemoon) — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

Smartphones have become crucial aspect in everyone's life as they manage lots of our work. Tech oriented society has make our dependency on smartphone apps aligning from professional duties for boosting up productivity or providing nonstop entertainment. Smartphone can simply do anything.

The popular device of Apple, iPhone has been utilised by developers to extend the strength of phone and has offered scheduler managing device. There are 10 marvelous apps for iPhone encountering ability to keep track of busy schedules of families.

Kidganizer: Kidganizer is an amazing app for scheduling the two household schedules for the separated or divorced parents. This app is only available for $1.99 on iTunes and is crucial for managing the alerts about events and important appointments.
Easy Calendar: With busy schedules, you want such apps that can provide you easy handling capabilities and easy calendar is one such app that enables you to operate as simple as possible. This app can be attained for only $1.99.
Glympse: For knowing the location of your family members at any given time, it is extremely important to maintain schedules. Glympse is an amazing free app that let you inform your family members about your location or send them messages about your late arrivals.
Fantastical: For adding quick and easy events, Fantastical app is being introduced. This powerful app also speaks up the entered details and dictations can be done for making schedules.
Family Organizer- Shared To-Do + Calendar + Grocery Lists: As the name suggests, this app is designed to make schedules, to do list and also helps in maintaining the grocery list. This app is available for free, however premium version can be bought for enjoying data synchronisation among iPhone and computers.
CalenGoo: CalenGoo is devoted with the Google Calendar system and it provides you sigh of relief by letting you know where are your family members, about your to do list and about your upcoming events. This app is only for $6.99 at iTunes.
OurFamilyWizard: This amazing app is featuring schedule management about events, messaging to the co-parents and journal entries for separated or divorced parents, without exploiting the peace. The app is providing its services for free.
Cozi Family Organizer- Shared Calendar, To Do Lists, Shopping Lists: The app is amazing for editing and accessing the reminders about events. This app is quite famous among the mom's circle and has won Appy Award for best family and parenting app.
Skedi- Family Calendar for Busy Parents: Skedi is marvelous app available for $9.99 on iTunes. This app synchronise your family schedule details on cloud for quick access from any place.

10. Schedule Planner: For scheduling every aspect of daily life, Schedule planner app is being developed. This app enables you to keep record from health demands to work related work. You can also keep record about your meal timings and count every minute of your day.

See how your smartphone can manage your day and let you remind everything by keeping schedules on your phone.

10 marvelous iPhone apps to master your family schedule
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