drag2share: Google to focus on portrait shots and effects with improved camera app

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/google-new-android-camera-app/

We know that Google has been looking to bring more advanced photo features to Android for a while, but it may soon be ready to show off what it's been working on. Sources aware of Google's plans have confirmed to us that the search giant is currently testing a new version of its camera app that will sport a refreshed UI, a background-blurring effect for portrait shots, and improved panorama and Photo Sphere modes. As part of its overhaul, we're told that Google has finally fixed issues with the default camera's photo framing, allowing users to snap images with a new 100-percent no-crop viewfinder. That means you'll see exactly what your Android device will capture before you hit the shutter button, with no unwanted objects creeping in at the edges.

The company is also said to be making the camera app more extensible, by opening support for third-party filters. This will allow developers (and Android enthusiasts) to create and import custom effects inside the stock camera app. The camera app's portrait skills may see some improvements too, with the addition a new lens blur mode that will take photos with a shallower depth of field, mimicking the effects you'd typically see in Nokia's Refocus app and HTC's new One.! New hig h-resolution panorama and Photo Sphere modes have also been added, improving the quality of your sweeping shots.

While many are awaiting the release of Android 4.4.3, the latest version of KitKat, Google is set to make these camera improvements available to users by way of a standalone update. Our sources indicate that the app will exist separately so that non-Nexus owners running Android 4.4 and above will be able to take advantage of the improvements, without having to wait for an OTA update from their device maker or carrier.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google

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drag2share: Amazon Prime signs '24' away from Netflix just before the new season airs on Fox

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/amazon-prime-24-fox/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

After four years away CTU agent Jack Bauer is coming back to TV on May 5th in 24: Live Another Day, and he's already being used as a pawn in a new battle: Amazon vs. Netflix. Until today, US fans of the show could catch up with all 192 episodes (plus 24: Redemption) on Netflix's streaming service, but now Amazon Prime is the exclusive subscription streaming home of 24. Amazon's deal with 20th Century Fox is timed to take advantage of the show's upcoming return, similar to exclusive agreements it's made for other shows like Orphan Black, Suits, Falling Skies, Downton Abbey, Justified, Workaholics, Veronica Mars,Under the Dome, and Extant.

Amazon's "pilot season" to crowdsource opinions on potential shows hasn't produced hits on par with Netflix Originals like House of Cards or Orange is the New Black, but we suppose this is another way of filling the library. For Netflix's part, it sent out a PR blast yesterday focusing on what it's adding to streaming this month, including an exclusive deal for the complete series of House M.D. plus Rocky I - V, Coneheads, Amistad and Braveheart. Of course, today only (check your calendar), there is also a very special Netflix Original for you to check out.

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drag2share: Verizon FiOS Media Server arrives as Quantum TV DVR that records up to 12 channels at once

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/verizon-fios-media-server-quantum-tv/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

We double checked the calendar too, but no, it's not an April Fools joke -- Verizon's FIOS Media Server is finally available in a few areas as a part of the new Quantum TV package. The VMS1100 upgrades the standard cable boxes used by Verizon and other providers by shoving six tuners and a 1TB hard drive into a box that then feeds TV to other smaller set-top boxes in the rest of the house over existing cable wiring (MoCA). Better still, you can add more DVRs for the ability to record up to 12 channels at once, 2TB of storage and feeds for as many as ten TVs. Unlike some other multiroom systems, users can pause and rewind live TV on the extender boxes as well, or pause a program in one room, then resume it in another room.

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drag2share: Tesla Model S is 'low hanging fruit' for hackers to remotely track or unlock cars

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/tesla-hacking/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Tesla has toughened the Model S' underbody to help prevent any more fires, but apparently it needs to add some reinforcement to its network features too. An enterprising hacker can't quite drive one of the electric vehicles away (they'd need a key fob to start the car), but holes in the auto's security apparently allow a ne'er-do-well to locate the vehicle, unlock its doors and steal your belongings. As Tesla owner and corporate security consultant Nitesh Dhanjani tells it, this "low-hanging fruit" can be picked by brute-force attacking Tesla's relatively weak one-factor password system, exploiting loopholes in the iOS app's API and by accessing the ride's network-interface jack under the dashboard. Thankfully, he found that the Model S' major systems were safe from attack.

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drag2share: Extraordinary picture: Three dragon storms sweeping the US

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-three-dragon-storms-sweeping-the-united-states-as-s-1555787976/@jesusdiaz

This is a really unusual weather situation, according to the National Weather Service: Three low pressure systems in line over the entirety of North America. NASA Goddard describes them as "three atmospheric dragons." They do look like dragons! It must be a Game of Thrones' marketing ploy.

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