Judge says drone was invading the privacy of the man who shot it

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/28/man-who-shot-drone-gets-off-scot-free/

Video shot by the drone was claimed to be relevant to the claim & counter claim about whether the drone came below tree height. Surprising that the judge chose not to look at the video, when presented in evidence.

Perhaps this video sheds some light:

/ William Merideth Kentucky shot down drone WDRB vindicated district judge dismissed charges against him accuser take case before grand jury charged firing gun within city limits judge drone invaded privacy right to shoot it invasion privacy private judge conclusion two witnesses testified unmanned aerial vehicle UAV flew below tree line Merideth's property Phantom 3 drone owner operator pilot David Boggs video showing machine was flying 200 feet above the ground Boggs judge didn't bother looking video provided decision claimed shocked police officers involved case happened court unbelievable hearing dismissed wanton endangerment charge anybody's life danger dismiss ruling didn't look video didn't look telemetry data no witnesses called behalf state video said neighbor said drone was below tree line judge didn't look at the video paid no consideration video shocked police officers shocked news helicopter flies over your house you can shoot it down no regard none file civil lawsuit shooter lies Merideth neighbors saw drone making previous flights over his land right protect family property video doesn't show which flight footage WDRB doesn't encourage people start blasting stuff for no reason similar cases future refer this lawsuit authorities legal groundwork for drone use /

Apple tells judge it can’t unlock new iPhones

Apple CEO, Tim Cook
Credit: Seattle Times

‘Apple Inc. told a federal judge that it “would be impossible” to access user data on a locked iPhone running one of the newer operating systems, but that it could likely help the government unlock an older phone.’ – Wall Street Journal

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/10/20/apple-tells-court-it-cant-unlock-new-phones/?mod=ST1

Tim Cook (Apple CEO) told NPR: ‘But the reality is that if you have an open door in your software for the good guys, the bad guys get in there too.’

And who do you think is he talking about below, later in the same interview?   ;)

‘But what they [the customer] don't want to do, they don't want your email to be read, & then to pick up on keywords in your email & then to use that information to then market you things on a different application that you're using ... If you're in our News app, & you're reading something, we don't think that in the News app that we should know what you did with us on the Music app — not to trade information from app to app to app to app.’ – Apple CEO Tim Cook, interviewed by NPR

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/10/01/445026470/apple-ceo-tim-cook-privacy-is-a-fundamental-human-right / Apple Inc. federal judge would be impossible access user data locked iPhone running newer operating systems government unlock older phone brief filed most cases unable assist government unlocking password-protected iPhone brief filed U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein request Justice Department order Apple help government investigators access seized iPhone most cases government’s requested order substantially burdensome impossible perform running iOS 8 higher Apple not have technical ability government requests possession password protected device extract unencrypted user data device government security features iOS 8 feature prevents without device’s passcode accessing device’s encrypted data includes Apple brief mirrors Apple’s public comments debate law enforcement phone encryption 16 prosecutors sent letters Senate Judiciary Committee back doors backdoor devices law enforcement iPhone older operating system iOS 7 Apple technical ability extract certain categories unencrypted data Apple access user-generated files Apple’s native apps phones running iOS 7 older operating systems can’t extract email calendar entries third-party app data Justice Department seeking access iPhone details case remain under seal Apple could help government iPhone working order substantial costs burden prefer not to forcing Apple extract data legal authority threaten trust Apple customers tarnish Apple brand brief Apple’s outside counsel Ken Dreifach, Marc Zwillinger Jeffrey Landis reputational harm longer term economic impact cost performing single extraction at issue Judge Orenstein earlier ruling case authority force Apple help government Justice Department case federal judges power All Writs Act 18th-century law power design devices world's most valuable company feature privacy users store important private data devices account numbers personal messages photos Apple CEO Tim Cook NPR's Robert Siegel protects customers' data, information government requests customer text messages government correct through courts information design products privacy designed into product security designed in most personal data phone financial data health information conversations friends family co-workers data Apple data on phone encrypted you control national security encryption back door backdoor national security matters open door software good guys bad guys Washington, D.C. employees government data stolen customers help keep their data safe National Security Agency NSA back door backdoor FBI everyone's coming around to some core tenets encryption is a must in today's world any back door means back door for bad guys good guys backdoor back door government Apple's recent emphasis customer privacy help keep lives private privacy fundamental human right maintain trust values point of view commercial interest people right to privacy customers collect your data understand every detail your life customer purchasing history buy App Store bought from App Store customers trade information app to app /

Sixteen lens compact camera with performance of an SLR

Light L16 camera – 40+ megapixels, 35-150 mm zoom¹
Credit: Light/Wired

5 x 35mm smartphone cameras¹
+  5 x 70mm cameras with smartphone sensors¹
+  6 x 150mm cameras with smartphone sensors¹
+  clever software

=  40+ megapixel, 35-150mm optical zoom¹ camera about the size of a smartphone, about twice as thick, with no protruding lens.

Full-frame-equivalent images are synthesised by stitching together, & overlapping, the images from the individual cameras. E.g., a 70mm photo uses all 5 of the 70mm cameras, one each for the upper left, upper right, lower left & lower right quadrants. Overlapping the fifth camera on the centre improves detail there. This mimics the behaviour of a conventional single lens, which is typically sharpest at the centre.

Two times digital zoom, either in-camera, or by cropping after-the-fact, would yield the same effect as a 300mm lens in a 10 megapixel image. This is enough for an A3 print.²

A wide angle variant, with around 18-80mm zoom,¹ could fit into a smartphone with little size penalty.

http://www.wired.com/2015/10/light-l16-camera/
––––––––––
¹ full frame 35mm equivalent

² "How many megapixels do I need for a specific print size?", http://www.disturbancesinthewash.net/journal/how-many-megapixels-do-i-need / multiple lenses unique Light L16 four spiders 16 cameras arranged haphazard fashion tiny mirrors thin sheet glass shoot pictures bizarre multi-camera Light executives fully operational version camera develop developing development software editing tools custom circuitry put camera in the hands of the masses performs as advertised sample gallery images taken L16 impressive revolutionary new type professional-level camera high-resolution images adjust depth of field your pictures after take shot excels low light nothing bigger smartphone sensor expensive plastic lens embedded phone-like face no moving parts optical zoom range 35mm 150mm front L16 flat multiple lenses embedded behind transparent glass pane panel optical porthole feeds light separate 13-megapixel sensor camera capture images three discrete focal lengths five sensors five 35mm lenses point straight out 11 cameras lens arrangement Light team folded optics like periscopes sensors tucked behind five 70mm lenses six 150mm lenses perpendicular front camera little robotic mirrors visible through front L16 deflect photons right angles toward sensors long-zoom lens barrels positioned sideways ample room pack more lens elements in each barrel Light co-founder CEO Dave Grannan extra room makes huge difference camera’s optical oomph big heavy lenses conventional camera 15 glass elements flourite element some exotic material spherical elements slight asphere aspherical very expensive process glass lens molded-plastic technology cellphones been perfected lenses so good diffraction limited aspherical on each surface five both sides 10 aspherical surfaces incremental cost aspherical zero plastic mold punch them out glass very expensive five barrel Android iPhone at volume costs dollar camera need 16 sensors 16 multi-element lenses 11 mirrors take photograph holy grail Light L16 slim compact camera performs like bulky DSLR without expensive interchangeable lenses large sensor success camera’s internal infrastructure change the way smartphones take pictures today’s smartphone cameras already excellent small sensors poor performance low light pleasantly shallow depth of field bokeh DSLR larger-sensor camera optical-zoom lens zoom digital zoom image negatively impact detail image quality definition smartphone cameras creative solutions Nokia Lumia 1020 crammed 41 megapixels sensor crop and digitally zoom without destroying image detail. Panasonic’s Lumix CM1 larger sensor smartphone body image capabilities dedicated compact camera more megapixels small sensor better image quality large sensor optically zoom multi-camera multi-lens approach complex computational imaging Light big-sensor image quality very high resolution big-lens zoom flat-fronted futuristic brick power 16 smartphone sensors Light co-founder CEO Dr. Rajiv Laroia sensors Light camera tandem mimic benefits very large sensor sensors Light relatively cheap amount computational magic unites them all small sensors very unpredictable pixel level cramming tiny sensor full pixels size of those pixels smaller number of photons pixel level accuracy image bucket collects photons pixels sensors modern cellphone sensors 5,000 photons Laroia explains pixel sensing on/off signal sensing shades construct image sense shades photons light energy quantum mechanics level light energy statistical probabilistic small sensors record grain noise low-light settings DSLRs more detailed pictures dark larger sensors Light L16 distributed array smaller sensors spread out the work mimic much bigger pixel using multiple sensors Laroia says effective sensor area becomes lot larger noise goes down significantly dynamic range increases significantly dynamic range increases tenfold how many sensors take a photo L16 photo depending focal length cameras capturing shots stitching together create single high-resolution image 35mm widest-angle field of view five 35mm cameras fire images captured sensors slightly overlap camera stitch together seamless image lining up shots additional five-camera capture 70mm 35mm shot 150mm one quarter 70mm slightly overlapping geometry parallax mirrors deflecting photons 70mm 150mm aren’t static actuators slightly tilt adjust each photo mirrors seated front 70mm lenses quickly adjust capture image more detail 52 megapixels detail file size between 30 and 50MB 70mm pointed center image upper left quadrant 13-megapixel picture quarter scene upper right quadrant one stays middle image quality best there 13 megapixel sensors one 52-megapixel image 70mm 150mm modules camera takes 70mm photo 150mm 52 megapixels image resolution room crop digitally retain detail dynamic range crop light energy edges tradeoff 70mm 52 megapixels 40 megapixels DSLRs cameras capturing so much data different aperture values focal lengths post-shot retouching options groundbreaking time exposure set at the time take picture depth of field ISO dynamic range adjusted after the fact 11 PhDs computational optics depth map great 3D information developer write indoor mapping app leverages that information facial recognition precise information 3D-printing app non-removable battery 128GB fixed internal storage touchscreen manual controls While Light ship L16 earliest pre-orders response camera slimmer versions camera in the works smartphones smartphone Light’s imaging technology internal components can get slimmer design modified eliminate 150mm lenses 18mm focal length DSLR quality low-light performance shallow depth of field zoom /

Formula E, round 1, Beijing, China, Saturday 24 October 2015 (video)

Complete video of the race (in 5 parts):











Complete results, including race & qualifying:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/all-results/season-2/beijing-eprix.aspx / Formula E all electric racing series fourth 1st race Beijing, China ePrix stadium races F1 FIA electricity sport electric vehicles EV terrific acceleration pass passing possible tracks with tight corners technology range race organizers Spark-Renault SRT_01E built French company Spark Racing Technology carbon fiber aluminum chassis Dallara electric powertrain electronics McLaren Electronics Systems Williams Advanced Engineering building 200 kiloWatt battery pack batteries powertrain generate 270 horsepower five-speed paddle shift gearbox fixed gear ratios Michelin 18 inch tires wet dry conditions sound 80 decibel whine full grid 20 cars FIA Formula E strategy street courses dedicated circuits tire wear grip management battery life charge prematurely testing drivers learn knowledge teams construction constructors constructing FanBoost pit stop second fully charged car advances in battery technology battery swaps charging battery Renault Michelin DHL Qualcomm Richard Branson Virgin Racing team Leonardo DiCaprio Venturi team lithium ion LiIon battery charge recharge range battery management system BMS /

Formula E, season 2, round 1, today — Beijing

Beijing, China
Round 1 - Saturday 24 October 2015
Practice 1 - 08:15-09:00 Beijing local time
Practice 2 - 10:30-11:00
Qualifying - 12:00-13:00
Race - 16:00

Circuit guide:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/calendar/2015-beijing/beijing-circuit.aspx

Season 2 technical developments:
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/formula-e-season-two-technical.html

FIA, Formula E web site:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en.aspx / Formula E all electric racing series fourth 1st race Beijing, China ePrix stadium races F1 FIA electricity sport electric vehicles EV terrific acceleration pass passing possible tracks with tight corners technology range race organizers Spark-Renault SRT_01E built French company Spark Racing Technology carbon fiber aluminum chassis Dallara electric powertrain electronics McLaren Electronics Systems Williams Advanced Engineering building 200 kiloWatt battery pack batteries powertrain generate 270 horsepower five-speed paddle shift gearbox fixed gear ratios Michelin 18 inch tires wet dry conditions sound 80 decibel whine full grid 20 cars FIA Formula E strategy street courses dedicated circuits tire wear grip management battery life charge prematurely testing drivers learn knowledge teams construction constructors constructing FanBoost pit stop second fully charged car advances in battery technology battery swaps charging battery Renault Michelin DHL Qualcomm Richard Branson Virgin Racing team Leonardo DiCaprio Venturi team lithium ion LiIon battery charge recharge range battery management system BMS /

How to backup SMS messages on your Android phone

Credit: Jan Berkel/App Brain

Why backup your SMS messages? For the same reason you should backup everything: computer data, including SMS, can & does become lost by any number of means, including: finger trouble, new phone, hardware failure.

SMS Backup+ backs up every SMS sent or received on your Android phone to the Gmail account you specify. All SMS messages are saved in a folder named, appropriately enough, “SMS”.

Other benefits:
1. phone calls logged
2. attached images backed up
3. backed up SMSs become searchable, using all of the tools available in Gmail

SMS Backup+ has been backing up my SMSs since 26 May 2013, judging from the dates on the backups in Gmail.

Contrary to information in the How-To Geek article linked below, SMS Backup+ developed by Jan Berkel, is available as I write this. Options to separately manage MMS messages are not available in the current version.

SMS Backup by Christoph Studer can also be found on Google Play.

Keep in mind that emails (including backups created by SMS Backup+) count toward your 15GB of free storage in your Google account.

SMS Backup+ by Jan Berkel – video tutorial at the top of the page
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zegoggles.smssync

SMS Backup by Christoph Studer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.studer.smssync

How-To Geek tutorial
http://www.howtogeek.com/112852/how-to-backup-your-text-messages-to-your-gmail-account/ / back up backup backing your text messages SMS Android phone Gmail account no reason not to back them up search-friendly process your Gmail account SMS vault lose your text messages switching phones fumble fingers drop your messages digital reaper accidently delete massive SMS thread delete a single message send backing up your SMS Gmail account simple tutorial three things Android phone free copy SMS Backup SMS Backup+ changed link Gmail account advanced settings SMS Backup+ reconfigure work any IMAP-enabled email server designed Gmail Gmail’s search threading starring functionality SMS Backup+ IMAP access Gmail account Gmail account application check the status login log in your Gmail account navigate Settings Forwarding and POP/IMAP Check Enable IMAP click Save Changes configuration your Gmail account Gmail account IMAP toggled on install SMS Backup+ Google Play Store download app application installed configuring config configuration configure launch application first screen connection your Gmail account tap Connect default browser your Android phone launch prompted prompt login log in Gmail account backing up your messages authorize SMS Backup+ your Google account click Grant Access begin a backup immediately skip initial backup click Backup Skip messages on your phone flagged already backed up ignored backup process will start minute half hour to complete a message per second process is finished Gmail account check progress login log in Gmail account web browser new label sidebar SMS SMS Backup+ automatically backs up SMS messages MMS messages pictures backup up to Gmail advanced options advanced SMS Backup+ configuration tutorial turn on automatic backup manual backup forget main screen tap Auto backup Auto backup settings configure frequency default configuration frequency of backups only backup one Wi-Fi mobile data quota set up automatic backup main screen Advanced settings settings backing restoring notifications backup settings toggle MMS backup save on data consumption creating whitelist contacts backed up every single message backed up Restore settings Gmail-centric trick SMS Backup+ stores messages Gmail creates a thread each contact SMS Backup+ restore contacts starred threads quickly select conversations important enough restore star system in Gmail all your text messages including multimedia attachments backed up within Gmail easily search restore handset /

Apple's Magic Mouse 2 – design abomination?

Charging Apple’s Magic Mouse 2
Credit: Macworld

So, when the built in battery goes flat, you – wait until it’s charged. Other rechargeable mouses have the charging socket at the front so they can continue to be used while charging.

Not the problem it may appear to be – the Magic Mouse 2 is a fast charge device & can accept enough charge for 9 hours use in around 2 minutes. Charge overnight for around 2-3 months of use. Plus it gives a warning approximately 1 week before it goes flat.

betanews – “Apple's Magic Mouse 2 is a design abomination”
http://betanews.com/2015/10/18/apples-magic-mouse-2-is-a-design-abomination/

Macworld – “Apple Magic Mouse 2 review: Mouse unable to conjure up any innovation”
http://www.macworld.com/article/2994798/input-devices/apple-magic-mouse-2-review-mouse-unable-to-conjure-up-any-innovation.html / Apple company synonymous good design thoughtful design Magic Mouse 2 unbelievably wrong defies belief absurdity name Magic Mouse 2 wireless mouse wireless mice power rechargeable battery plug Lightning cable juice up peripheral Apple gets it wrong charging port underside mouse bottom Magic Mouse 2 charges up connect a charging cable base mouse rendered completely useless runs out of power rechargeable mice get around problem charging port front mouse mouse corded mouse charges Apple Magic Mouse 2 dies middle something wait charge again connect another mouse absurdly stupid mouse base-mounted charging port new Magic Mouse 2 original Magic Mouse new built-in battery Magic Mouse 2 ditch current mouse original Magic Mouse exterior design Magic Mouse 2 white plastic sliver aluminum case no visible buttons scroll wheel Magic Mouse 2 built-in rechargeable lithium-ion LiIon battery removable battery cover Lightning port recharge battery charging port bottom of the mouse Magic Mouse 2 plugged in design decision Magic Trackpad 2 Magic Keyboard fast-charging devices mouse nine hours battery life about two minutes charge last a typical working day charging port bottom mouse problem fully charged battery last month more Apple changed plastic rails bottom mouse lighter weight smoother faster feel move Magic Mouse 2 vast improvement predecessor rough grinding feel extremely low profile palm Magic Mouse 2 two buttons power users right left buttons click button top mouse presses down audible click sound Multi-Touch Magic Mouse 2 Multi-Touch scrolling forward or back iPhoto or Safari zooming gestures Multi-Touch mouse OS X El Capitan Bluetooth Yosemite Mac Force Touch El Capitan MacBook Pro models MacBook Force Touch trackpad MacBook Air Force Touch trackpad upgrade force touch sensors new device input devices personal computer personal ergonomics Logitech Performance MX /