This is why Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 billion: because its throughput of shared photographs i
Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-is-why-facebook-bought-whatsapp-for-16-billion-b-1616224487
This is why Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 billion
Tuesday, August 05, 2014
13 European Dream Homes You Can Actually Rent
Source: http://gizmodo.com/13-european-dream-homes-you-can-actually-rent-1615953050
It's no secret that Europe is full of magical places. However, you're probably never going to stay in Windsor Castle or sleep in Rapunzel's tower. You might, however, enjoy a similar brush with a fairy tale thanks to this architecture-loving travel agency in Germany.
Visual microphone can pick up speech from a bag of potato chips
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/04/visual-microphone/
You may want to be careful about the conversations you hold in the future; if you're near a window, someone might be listening in. A team of researchers from Adobe, Microsoft and MIT have developed a visual microphone algorithm that picks up audio by looking for microscopic vibrations in video footage. The technique exploits the rolling shutter effect in digital cameras (where the sensor reads pixels one row at a time) to detect sound-related movements that might otherwise be invisible; the only gear you need is a camera that can record at high frame rates. It's good enough to capture singing from a bag of potato chips, and musical tones from a potted plant.
Don't worry about optical eavesdropping just yet. The experiment only got accurate reproduction with specialized cameras that shoot at up to 6,000 frames per second; an off-the-shelf device with 60fps recording can identify people's voices, but it's hard to make out words. Provided the technology reaches fruition, it would most likely be used by investigators that want to hear what suspects say when they're not on the phone. It would be useful for more than surveillance, too, as team member Abe Davis believes the visual mic could identify a material's properties without making contact. It's definitely clever tech -- let's just hope that it's used more for science than snooping.
Filed under: Cameras, Science, Microsoft
Xiaomi, not Samsung, makes China's smartphone of choice
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/04/xiaomi-outships-samsung-in-china/
Xiaomi has been a significant contender in the phone world for a while, but it's now safe to say that the Chinese device maker has joined the big leagues. Canalys estimates that Xiaomi shipped more smartphones than Samsung in China during the second quarter of the year, making it the top vendor in its home country. Simply put, Xiaomi is a champ at making cheap yet desirable handsets -- its budget Redmi series has done a lot to boost sales, and even range-topping devices like the Mi3 (and now Mi4) are much more affordable than alternatives from the likes of Apple and Samsung.
The surge might have even been enough to make Xiaomi one of the biggest phone builders on the global stage. While IDC's data still doesn't include Xiaomi in the top five, Strategy Analytics believes that the company jumped into fourth place ahead of LG. Whichever study is on the mark, the data makes it easier to understand why Samsung's profit took such a big hit in the spring -- the Korean firm is up against at least one Chinese rival that's firing on all cylinders.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Via: Wall Street Journal
Source: Canalys
Monday, August 04, 2014
Researcher Can Hack Airplanes Through In-Flight Entertainment Systems
Source: http://gizmodo.com/researcher-hacks-airplanes-through-in-flight-entertainm-1615780083
If you're about to get on an airplane, you might want to wait until you land before you read this post. Because cyber security whiz Ruben Santamarta says he has devised a method that can give hackers access to a passenger jet's satellite communications equipment through the passenger Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment systems*.
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