Software Pride

Casino destination Macau is requiring facial recognition and identification card checks for withdrawals made by Chinese UnionPay cardholders at all ATMs, as reported by Bloomberg. Customers who make a withdrawal from the updated cash machines will be asked to stare into a camera for six seconds so the facial-recognition software can verify them against their identity card. The move is a three-fold effort to reinforce Macau’s existing anti-money laundering rules, increase banking security, and enable China to try and dampen the outflows pushing down the value of its currency (which, last year, topped $816 billion). Casinos are a classic way to launder money, as individuals can withdraw significant amounts for chips, gamble very little, and then cash out to move the remainder. Source: The Verge #software #casino #facerecognition #facialrecognition #hitech #tech #technews #mobile #ios #android #iphone (at San Francisco, California)

Later this year, Apple is probably going to follow tradition and release an iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus, with the usual incremental upgrades we’ve come to expect. But there’s also a rumour that there’ll be a third special edition model – dubbed the iPhone 8 – that will be launched in celebration of the iPhone’s 10th anniversary. The latest in a long series of leaks suggesting that will be the case comes from tipster blog Slashleaks, which has published a new report containing an image posted to Chinese social media site Weibo. The image shows a side-by-side comparison of what appear to be iPhone moulds. They’re the cut-outs that suppliers use to build handset chassis. Importantly, the image depicts three different models in descending size order, each captioned with ‘7S Plus’, ‘8’, and ‘7S’ respectively. That follows the rumours that the iPhone 8 will fall somewhere between the two other phones in terms of size. Source: trustedreviews.com/news/iphone-8-and-iphone-7s-moulds-leak-alongside-each-other#kpuZ012wMdRvwRii.99 #software #iphone #iphone8 #apple #applenews #mobile #news #tech #ios #iosdev #technews

Google I/O begins on May 17th, 2017 at 10AM PT / 1PM ET with CEO Sundar Pichai taking the stage for the keynote. Held at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA, there will be one main keynote, a developer keynote that same day, then events running throughout the rest of the week. What should we expect from the developer's conference? 👨‍💻GOOGLE ASSISTANT, HOME, AND AI Google is still making a push to improve its capabilities in the Google Home speaker while also making sure it works on a ton of other devices. It is also tied into one of Google's core strengths: powerful machine learning algorithms. 👨‍💻ANDROID O 👨‍💻ANDROID APPS ON CHROME OS Android apps work on Chrome OS right now, but they're in beta and they don't run super well. 👨‍💻VR AND AR we should expect an update on what's going on and what's coming next for Daydream. It might be too much to hope for a standalone headset or true inside-out VR tracking with Project Tango, but nobody would really complain if Google managed to get it done. 👨‍💻INSTANT APPS, CHROME, AND THE WEB The idea is that instead of installing an app before you run it, an Instant App can start right away and stream itself to you over the internet. Then it goes away when you're done, just like a web site. As for the web, Google still cares about it a lot even though things like Instant Apps, Chrome-only web apps, and even AMP tend to undercut it. Google will surely show off more features available for Progressive Web Apps and AMP pages. 👨‍💻ALLO, DUO, AND HANGOUTS UPDATES 👨‍💻ANDROID WEAR, ANDROID TV, CHROMECAST, AND MORE Source: The Verge #google #googleconference #mobile #androidO #ai #artificialintelligence #vr #daydream #googlehome #android #tech #news #technews (at Mountain View, California)

UK hospitals, Telefonica, FedEx, and other businesses were hit by a massive ransomware attack on Friday. Around 75,000 computers in 99 countries were affected by malware known as WannaCry, which encrypts a computer and demands a $300 ransom before unlocking it, reminds the Verge. The malware was able to spread thanks to flaws in old versions of Windows that were originally used by the NSA to hack into PCs before being made public by the Shadow Brokers group last month. Many of the computers running by Windows XP left unprotected. Many of the machines attacked today have been breached simply because the latest Windows updates have not been applied quickly enough, but there are still organizations that continue to run Windows XP despite the risks. Microsoft is now taking what it describes as a “highly unusual” step to provide public patches for Windows operating systems that are in custom support only. This includes specific fixes for Windows XP, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2003. Source: The Verge #microsoft #mobile #windows #windowsxp #computersecurity #systemsecurity #technews #news #tech #ios #android (at San Francisco, California)

Mobile phone leaker @OnLeaks and tech blog @GearIndia posted a series of high-quality renders on Tuesday that claim to be based on leaked factory CAD images of Apple's upcoming OLED iPhone. The phone has an almost zero-bezel display design, with glass covering both its front and rear. In the middle, there’s a metal frame supposedly made of stainless steel, curved in an Apple Watch-like fashion. There’s no home button on the front side, and there are minimal top and bottom bezels, with the top section housing the camera, speaker, front sensors, and the rumored 3D facial recognition camera. On the back, the vertical dual lens rear camera module is clearly visible, and there’s no fingerprint sensor present. Source: BGR #iphone #iphone8 #ios #mobile #lifestyle #business #gamer #iosdev #news #technews #mobileappdev (at Palo Alto, California)

Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm on Tuesday launched its new Snapdragon 630 and 660 platforms. The new platforms are successors to last year’s Snapdragon 626 and 653 chipsets. Devices with Snapdragon 660 are expected this quarter, while devices using the 630 chipset are expected in the market by next quarter. The two new chipsets come with a number of improvements over the original 600-series processors. These include: ⚡️A performance boost, with an emphasis on enhanced gaming prowess ⚡️Longer battery life thanks to better overall energy efficiency ⚡️Faster battery charging times thanks to Quick Charge 4 support, as well as Type-C USB compatibility ⚡️Faster LTE speeds, for smoother web browsing and quick downloads over a mobile network ⚡️Improved camera performance from the Spectra 160 ISP. Offers better-looking photos, including superior low light photography and more realistic skin tones. ⚡️Support for more camera features and effects, such as bokeh-style background blurring, Dual Pixel autofocus (found in the Galaxy S8 and Moto G5 Plus) and improved video stabilisation with EIS 3.0, Recombo said. #qualcomm #snapdragon #chipset #news #technology #computer #science #technews #developer #mobile #android #ios #business #lifestyle #gamer (at San Francisco Bay Bridge)

Alipay, one of China’s most popular mobile payment solutions, is now available to use across the United States. A deal between Alipay and payments processor First Data will allow customers to use the service at 4 million merchants, reports Bloomberg. The move is aimed mostly at Chinese customers visiting the US who will no longer need to exchange cash for local currency or pay credit card fees for using it internationally. It also brings Alipay into the same competitive market as US-based giants like Apple Play, Android Pay, and PayPal. Source: The Verge #mobile #mobilepayment #android #alipay #ios #iphone #samsung #tech #technews #science #computer #news #technology (at San Francisco, California)

Analysts predictions about IPhone 8. JPMorgan's report suggests the iPhone 8 will mesh stainless steel and glass but the 7s chassis will be composed of aluminium and glass; they will retain aluminium sides. It also includes a diagram of the iPhone 8 design with the 5.85 inch display stretching edge-to-edge on the left and right with top and bottom bezels. This contradicts what we have seen recently from another chain of rumors that suggested the display will cover the entire face. It isn’t clear how much faith to put in the drawings, whether they are just rough approximations or accurate dimensions. Obviously, the drawing of the interior component layout is very rough — it shows the 30% larger capacity L-shaped battery we have seen KGI also comment on. JPMorgan also suggests the possibility of Apple including AirPods in the same box as the iPhone 8. Given the high cost base of AirPods relative to EarPods, this seems unlikely honestly. Source: 9to5Mac #technews #mobile #iphone #apple #iphone7 #iphone8 #ios #news #technology #developer #computer #science #iphone8 #iphoneart (at San Francisco, California)

Analysts predictions about IPhone 8. JPMorgan's report suggests the iPhone 8 will mesh stainless steel and glass but the 7s chassis will be composed of aluminium and glass; they will retain aluminium sides. It also includes a diagram of the iPhone 8 design with the 5.85 inch display stretching edge-to-edge on the left and right with top and bottom bezels. This contradicts what we have seen recently from another chain of rumors that suggested the display will cover the entire face. It isn’t clear how much faith to put in the drawings, whether they are just rough approximations or accurate dimensions. Obviously, the drawing of the interior component layout is very rough — it shows the 30% larger capacity L-shaped battery we have seen KGI also comment on. JPMorgan also suggests the possibility of Apple including AirPods in the same box as the iPhone 8. Given the high cost base of AirPods relative to EarPods, this seems unlikely honestly. Source: 9to5Mac #apple #iphone #iphone8 #ios #ipod #ipad #iphone7 #technology #technews #iosdev #news #developer (at San Francisco, California)

Facebook is reportedly closer than expected to making a big push into television. The company is developing around 24 shows and plans to premiere them in mid-June, according to a big new report from Business Insider. There will apparently be two tiers of show: a small number of longer, prestige shows on the order of House of Cards, and more digestible 5- to 10-minute shows that can be added to the Facebook app’s video tab daily. Source: The Verge #fb #facebook #mobile #houseofcards #tv #tvshow #news #tech #technews #technology #android #ios #technolovers (at Los Angeles, California)

The OnePlus 5 will arrive this summer, said The Verge. Called the OnePlus 5, the new phone is a successor to the OnePlus 3 and 3T from last year. Little is known about the new phone itself, but rumors have pegged it to have a dual camera setup and high-end specs. It is expected that the OnePlus 5 will launch in the next two months and it will hit key markets like India and China at the same time. #oneplus #oneplus5 #smartphone #mobile #hitech #tech #android #technology #developer #androiddev #news #texhnews #mobilenews (at Palo Alto, California)

Microsoft is holding an event this month, the company announced tonight, at which it says it will “show the world what’s next.” The event will take place in Shanghai on May 23rd, but Microsoft didn’t specify either the precise location of the event, nor exactly what it will be showing. The journalists expect new hardware. Panos Panay — Microsoft’s vice president of devices and the creator of the Surface — tweeted the announcement alongside the hashtag “#Surface.” The tag, and Panay’s planned attendance in Shanghai, could mean that Microsoft is ready to show off the Surface Pro 5. #software #hardware #microsoft #windows #surface #lifestyle #business #shanghai #mobile #news #tech #android #ios #developer #hitech (at Shanghai, China)

WhatsApp is back up after suffering an outage that affected users around the world for hours. The Facebook-owned messaging service confirmed in a media statement that it had been inaccessible, but did not say why. “Earlier today, WhatsApp users in all parts of the world were unable to access WhatsApp for a few hours. We have now fixed the issue and apologize for the inconvenience,” said a WhatsApp spokesperson in an email. It should be also noted that none of social WhatsApp’s main social media accounts appear to be very active. WhatsApp was down in parts of India, Canada, the United States and Brazil, according to Reuters journalists. It affected people who use the service on Apple Inc's iOS operating system, Alphabet Inc's Android and Microsoft Corp's Windows mobile OS. Source: TechCrunch #mobile #whatsapp #android #ios #news #tech #technews #developer #androiddev #business #lifestyle (at San Francisco, California)

Little baby phone with 2.45-inch screen and powered by Android Nougat. It is Unihertz’s Jelly phone. The phone comes in three colors: white, a sky blue, and black. Here are the full specs: 📝 4G LTE 📝950mAh battery 📝2.45-inch display with 240 x 432 resolution 📝2-megapixel front-facing camera; 8-megapixel rear-facing camera 📝1.1 GHz quad core processor 📝Dual SIM card 📝Choice of 1GB or 2GB RAM (Pro version) 📝Choice of 8GB of storage or 16GB of storage (Pro version) Jelly is meant to be an alternative to your usual phone that you can use while working out or maybe going out for the night. Jelly will starts from $59 and comes this summer. Source: The Verge #jellyphone #jelly #smallestphone #mobile #mobilenews #tech #android #androidnougat #business #developer #androiddev #news #technews (at Los Angeles, California)

This morning in New York Microsoft unveils Surface Laptop and Windows 10 S. The new Surface Laptop shares features with its Surface Pro and Surface Book siblings, including a 13.5in touchscreen and coloured, fabric-covered deck. The 14.5mm thick and 2.76lbs (1.25kg) laptop will also have a standard USB-A port, mini DisplayPort, a headphones socket and Microsoft’s proprietary power connector which allows it to dock with existing Surface accessories.But it does not come with the newer USB-C, which has become common for both smartphones and computers, said the Guardian. The laptop ships in June 15 and starts at $999. Source: Microsoft #computer #microsoft #surface #windows #microsoftlaptop #laptopsurface #developer #news #tech #technology #windows10s #android #ios #education #business (at Empire State Building 102 floor)

First photos of LG G6 mini. LG's flagship smartphone, the G6 has been recently launched in the United States, but the South Korean company plans to launch a smaller version of it. While the information hasn't been officially confirmed yet, pictures of the unannounced LG G6 mini have just emerged online. Unlike the standard model that comes with a larger 5.7-inch display, the mini variant sports a 5.4-inch panel and a screen-to-body ratio of under 80%, said Phone Arena. #lg #lgg6mini #mobile #mobilenews #mobilephone #technology #business #news #developer #android #ios #androiddev #computer (at New York - New York Hotel & Casino Las Vegas)

This morning, SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket on solid ground again, after launching the vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The vehicle’s first stage — the 14-story core of the rocket that contains the main engines — touched down at the company’s landing pad called Landing Zone 1, located just off the coast of the Cape. It’s the fourth time SpaceX has landed one of its rockets on land, and the 10th time the company has successfully recovered a rocket post-launch. Source: The Verge #spacex #space #rocket #engine #hitech #tech #technews #earth #spacetravel #news #mobile #elonmusk #business #technology (at Miami, Florida)