Source: http://gizmodo.com/forget-encryption-you-can-encode-secret-messages-in-fa-1668660264
Send an encrypted email, and whoever sees it whistle past their eyes knows you're trying to hide something. So why not hide your most secret messages in plain sight, hidden in otherwise innocuous looking spam?
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-ipad-app-of-the-year-pixelmator-2014-12
Apple recently announced its best apps of the year, and the winner for best iPad app is Pixelmator, a powerful new image editor.
Pixelmator got a lot of buzz after its team was invited to demo the app onstage at Apple's big iPad event in October, and after watching a photo get touched up and transformed in real-time, it's easy to see why.
Pixelmator is both incredibly powerful and user friendly, a rare combination that will appeal to veteran photo editors, digital artists, and even the casual person who takes some pictures on their iPhone and wants to make them look special.
While Pixelmator also exists for Mac, the app feels truly at home on the iPad's interface. The touch controls feel intuitive rather than tacked on, which is nice for those looking to sink some serious time into image editing.
If you're looking to work with photos, Pixelmator offers a full suite of photo editing tools that will let you choose a template, adjust colors, add effects, retouch, resize and crop, and insert text and shapes.
You can even remove undesirable objects from a photo quickly with Pixelmator's Repair tool.
For those looking to give their photos an artistic look, Pixelmator offers some gorgeous filters such as Light Leak, Vintage, Black and White, and even a fun Miniaturize effect that makes your photo look like a toy model.
And that's just what Pixelmator can do for photo editing.
Pixelmator is also a fully featured painting app for digital artists or those simply looking to add some paint to their photos.
You can start a painting from scratch, choosing one of Pixelmator's 70 realistic or stylized brushes, or paint over an existing image. There's tools for adjusting the style and size of the brush stroke, and there's even full stylus support, allowing you to paint with a Wacom stylus if you prefer.
For those that work closely with Adobe Photoshop, you'll be pleased to know that Pixelmator calls itself "Photoshop friendly," meaning you can save your work as a Photoshop file, and many of the most popular Photoshop features are supported as well.
Pixelmator is exactly what you want from an iPad image editor. It's easy to use for the novice, contains enough tools to keep the expert interested, and is bot! h flexib le and powerful enough to make a compelling case as a primary editing application for photographers in the field.
You can download Pixelmator for $9.99 over at the App Store, or you can see a video of the app in action below.
SEE ALSO: Meet Elevate, Apple's Pick For Best iPhone App Of The Year
Join the conversation about this story »
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/09/blackphone-privacy-focused-app-store/
Earlier this year, with the Snowden leaks still fresh in the public consciousness, a privacy-focused smartphone called the Blackphone wanted to put people back in control of their data. Running PrivatOS, a custom fork of Android 4.4.2 KitKat, the device aims to strip away bloat and make calls, messaging, contact storage, calendars and internet browsing as secure as they could possibly be. However, its secure core also came with one big disadvantage; if users want to keep their communications private, they could only use default apps supplied on the device. That's about to change, though, after the company announced it's going to launch the "world's first privacy-focused app store".
The marketplace is set to come as part of the "biggest update" to PrivatOS to date. Launching at the start of next year, "Silent Space" will be featured by default and come with the suite of Silent-branded apps, the Blackphone store and a selection of third-party safety-conscious apps. The update will also introduce "Spaces," a new feature that will help users divide their personal and work apps, data and accounts into two separate sandboxes on one phone. If you know of Samsung's secure Knox platform, then you'll have a pretty good idea of what Blackphone is trying to achieve.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/09/amazon-prime-instant-video-4k/
Amazon just announced another benefit for folks with a Prime subscription: 4K video streaming. That's right, Ultra HD content is now available via monthly membership through the Instant Video app or on compatible smart TVs. For now, the selection is a bit limited, but you can expect to enjoy Amazon Originals, BBC's Orphan Black and a smattering of titles from Sony Pictures Entertainment in all of their 4K glory. Higher video quality doesn't come with an extra fee either, as the content will be lumped in with the rest of those Prime perks. Amazon's a little tardy with the rollout, but hey, we can't complain too much as it's here in time to break in that shiny new TV Santa will deliver in a few weeks.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Amazon
Source: Amazon
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/25-hottest-ny-startups-2014-12
Over the past several years, New York has transformed into startup hotbed.
It's home to exciting early-stage companies like Airhelp, Abacus, Glamsquad, and Classpass.
We compiled our list of 25 Hottest NY Startups by talking to investors, employees, fellow journalists, and active members of the tech scene in New York.
Though there are some big names out there already, this list includes young startups, some of which you may not have heard of yet. All have only raised Series A funding or below and are based in New York city.
What it is:
Programmers waste countless hours setting up redundant coding environments. In order to begin coding a new program, developers need to manually install complicated sets of paramaters. This allows developers to test their products and make sure they work on different types of devices and screens.
Bowery's cloud-based system removes the pain from the process and lets developers share their environment with co-workers in real time. The three young founders have attracted attention from big name investors such as Google Ventures and First Round Capital.
Founders:
Zachary Hamed, David Byrd, Steve Kaliski
Funding:
Betaworks, Bloomberg Beta, BOLDstart Ventures, Deep Fork Capital, Google Ventures, Homebrew, Magnet Agency, RRE and SV Angel. General Catalyst’s Rough Draft Ventures and First Round Capital’s Dorm Room Fund
Website:
What it is:
Oscar brings simplicity and good design to the archaic world of health insurance. The company launched in October 2013 right as the Affordable Care Act began to allow consumers to pick and choose their own plans, and since then Oscar has enrolled thousands while raking in tens of millions of dollars in annualized revenue. They received a fresh $30 million round of funding in January, and are working toward their long-term goal of expanding out of the state of New York.
Founders:
Josh Kushner, Kevin Nazemi, Mario Schlosser
Funding:
Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, Founders Fund, Stanley Druckenmiller, Jim Breyer
Website:
http://hioscar.com
What it is:
Niche works with prominent creators on social media platforms like Vine, Instagram and Tumblr and connects them with brands and marketers looking to beef up their social presence. Though barely more than a year old, Niche has already raked in over $1 million revenue and shows no sign of slowing down.
Founders:
Rob Fishman, Darren Lachtman
Funding:
David Tisch, Slow Ventures, BoxGroup, Gary Vaynerchuk, Kevin Colleran, WME Advancit Capital, SV Angel, Lerer Hippeau Ventures
Website:
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