Samsung Galaxy Note 7 launch on 02 August – update

Credit: BGR

Yes, you read that right.

Yes, the current Galaxy Note is the 5.

Rumour has it that Samsung plans to skip the name Note 6 & go straight to 7, based on this teaser:


Credit: The Next Web

Update 15 July: Samsung refers directly to the “Galaxy Note7” on its own web site:
https://news.samsung.com/global/invitation-samsungs-latest-galaxy-note-unpacked-2016

Why? Most likely to bring the Samsung S & Note model lines into numeric synchronisation.

Other widely reported specs:
● 6GB RAM

● base model with 64GB flash storage – estimates range as high as 512GB for the top model – this may be including microSD card(s) – cards up to 256GB will be supported & the dual SIM model will support a second microSD card in the 2nd SIM slot

● curved edges on both sides of the screen, as in the S6 Edge
● USB-C connector for power & data

GSMArena
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note7-8082.php

TechnoBuffalo
http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/07/12/galaxy-note-7-august-2-event/

Gizmag
http://www.gizmag.com/galaxy-note-7-event-launch-details/44313/ / Android OS phone smartphone smart phone mobile cell phone cellphone Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung Galaxy S6 Samsung Galaxy S7 device announced earlier than normal official confirmation Samsung Tuesday media invites event scheduled Aug. 2 a few weeks from now announce follow-up Galaxy Note 5 pictures Samsung’s next device Unpacked announcement handset looks a lot like Galaxy S6 Edge Plus S Pen upgraded specs pictures four possible color colour options black silver blue pink official confirmation Samsung’s event next month pretty good idea of what to expect rumor rumour rumoured rumored specs specifications 5.7-inch QHD display quad high density display 12-megapixel dual-pixel camera OIS PDAF 3,700mAh battery 64GB 128GB storage options microSD slot support IP68 waterproof water proof water resistant rating standout features iris scanner allowing users unlock device just by looking at it launch launches USB-C charge sync /

All-electric Ferrari – obscene?

Credit: ElectricGT

Ferrari’s Marchionne is reported to have said of an all-electric Ferrari, “With Ferrari, it's almost an obscene concept.”^1,2

Good to keep an open mind.

On the other hand, when Eric Hutchinson discovered a Ferrari 308 with an engine that had been destroyed in a fire, electric drive seemed like a good idea.

Conversion process
http://www.electricgt.com/about/

Completed vehicle
http://www.electricgt.com/



Boy Genius Report
http://bgr.com/2016/05/10/electric-ferrari-electric-gt/
__________

¹ Road & Track: “Marchionne: all-electric Ferrari ‘an obscene concept’”, http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a28377/electric-ferrari-youll-have-to-shoot-me-first-says-marchionne/

² AutoBlog: “Marchionne: all-electric Ferrari ‘an obscene concept’”
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/03/04/marchionne-all-electric-ferrari-an-obscene-concept/ / ev EV electric vehicle battery LiIon lithium ion charge recharge electric vehicles challenge pick a car to convert to electric convert conversion red 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS fuel leak and subsequent fire had toasted the car send it to the graveyard carbureted engine beyond repair perfect rolling chassis electric conversion project toasted Classic Magnum PI Style Ferrari perfect blend retro electric super cool high-performance low-maintenance electric vehicle suitable for daily driving 308 GTS tube frame racing inspired core design construction handle seriously increased power and torque electric drive conversion electric vehicle delivers huge torque quick speed dynamic driving all the smiles and fun you want without maintenance first scheduled oil change NEVER driven an electric 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS first and only 100% electric zero-emissions converted Ferrari on the road conversion project recycled engine 308 Ferrari owner’s GT-series cars OEM parts converted Ferrari 308 passionate dedicated skilled professionals in California EV electric vehicle racing record holders winners brilliant engineers radical custom fabricators sourced teamed top-notch EV engineers designers fabrication masters automotive professionals enhance car total driving experience performance Electric GT projects horse power horsepower torque are doubled custom design unrivaled driving experience performance Classic EV /

Hackers find new ways to attack computing systems

Security risk?
Credit: PC Advisor

You probably have a good idea of how to avoid having your various computing systems attacked. It may be time to think again. Proof-of-concept has just been demonstrated for two new ways to overcome security precautions.

1. An attack on Siri or Google Now with voice commands (which are barely audible to humans) embedded in videos http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/11/siri_hacking_phones/

2. Manipulating the speed of a computer’s internal fans to steal data from air-gapped machines https://www.wired.com/2016/06/clever-attack-uses-sound-computers-fan-steal-data/ / group researchers Israel highly adept stealing data from air-gapped computers machines prized by hackers security reasons never connected to the Internet connected to other machines connected to the Internet making it difficult to extract data from them Mordechai Guri manager research and development Cyber Security Research Center Ben-Gurion University colleagues lab designed attacks various methods extracting data from air-gapped machines methods radio waves electromagnetic waves GSM network heat emitted by computers lab’s team found yet another way undermine air-gapped systems sound emitted by cooling fans inside computers technique steal limited amount of data siphon encryption keys lists usernames passwords keylogging histories documents more than two dozen feet away researchers technical details attack paper siphon encryption keys passwords rate of 15 to 20 bits per minute 1,200 bits per hou working on methods accelerate data extraction use two fans concurrently same machine CPU chassis fans double transmission rates research colleagues Yosef Solewicz Andrey Daidakulov Yuval Elovici director Telekom Innovation Laboratories Ben-Gurion University working on more techniques accelerate make it much faster air-gap myth air-gapped systems classified military networks financial institutions industrial control system environments factories critical infrastructure protect sensitive data networks machines aren’t impenetrable steal data attacker needs physical access to the system removable media USB flash drive firewire cable connecting air-gapped system another computer attackers use near-physical access covert methods Ben-Gurion researchers devised challenge assumption air-gapped systems are secure using sound waves steal data high-security environments not require sensitive systems air-gapped external internal speakers systems removed disabled create audio gap using computer’s cooling fans also produce sound researchers bypass protection steal data computers fans CPU fan chassis fan power supply fan graphics card fan operating fans generate acoustic tone blade pass frequency louder with speed attack increasing speed frequency fans transmit digits encryption key password nearby smartphone computer different speeds representing binary ones zeroes data attackers extract test researchers 1,000 RPM represent 1 1,600 RPM represent 0 one zero air-gap hacks stealing data computers using heat researchers hack air-gapped computer cell phone attackers radio signals mobile phones steal protected data attack researchers air-gapped machines targeted machine infected with malware researchers proof-of-concept malware Fansmitter manipulates speed computer’s fans malware air-gapped machines insurmountable problem real-world attacks Stuxnet Agent.btz sensitive air-gapped machines infected via USB drives receive sound signals emitted target machine attacker infect smartphone someone working near machine malware detect decode sound signals transmitted send attacker via SMS Wi-Fi mobile data transfers receiver within eight meters 26 feet targeted machine secure environments smartphones attacker infect internet-connected machine in the vicinity targeted machine fans operate few hundred RPMs few thousand RPMs noticing fluctuations fan noise attacker lower frequencies transmit data close frequencies differ only by 100 Hz signify binary 1’s and 0’s fluctuating speed natural background noise of a room human ear much more sensitive attack systems no acoustic hardware speakers design servers printers internet of things devices industrial control systems attack multiple infected machines transmitting receiver distinguish signals fans multiple infected computers transmit signals different frequencies methods mitigate fan attacks software detect changes in fan speed hardware devices monitor sound waves drowning dalek commands Siri voice-rec hack attack boffins embed barely-audible-to-humans commands inside vids videos vid video fool virtual assistants university boffins brewed one of the most complex mechanisms loading malware onto phones surreptitious Google Now Siri voice commands hidden in YouTube videos attack phones state receive voice commands feature often left unlocked close enough audio source instructions to be understood masking phone's beep acknowledgment voice commands have been received could alert users to an attack researcher researchers research boffins Tavish Vaidya Yuankai Zhang Micah Sherr Clay Shields Wenchao Zhou Georgetown University Nicholas Carlini Pratyush Mishra David Wagner University of California Berkeley paper Hidden Voice Commands give away beeps can precise conditions countered noise cancelling from the same attacking audio source users ignore beep LED flashes vibrations Apple Google operating systems alert systems sounds paper builds on existing work hidden voice commands constructed very little knowledge speech recognition system significantly improved attacks adversaries significant knowledge speech recognition system construct hidden voice commands humans cannot understand detection mitigation strategies limit effects attacks speech recognition audio CAPTCHAs proof-of-concept video boffins phone empty conference room three metres 10 feet from a speaker commands issued sound like a drowning dalek garbling garbled commands difficult for humans to understand passable for Siri attackers activate airplane mode denial of service attack open website paper substituted phishing malware download site successful effort malware writers malware fake Pokemon Go apps viral app tricked into dodgy substitutes commands easy to understand proof-of-concept video priming effects words spoken researchers /

Growing population = protein supply problem

Credit: Ética Animal

Humanity has a population problem – expected to reach 10 billion by the middle of the century. Feeding that many people is a problem. Biggest part of that problem is protein. In western societies, the preferred source of protein is red meat. Unfortunately, producing one calorie in the form of meat takes many more plant calories.

One way around this problem is cutting out the plant-to-animal stage by growing a plant based source of protein, such as soya beans.

An alternative is an animal which is more efficient at turning plants into protein. One such animal is the cricket – ten times more efficient in fact. Water use, 100 times more efficient than cattle.



http://www.wired.com/2016/07/ive-future-tastes-like-crickets/ / the future tastes like crickets humanity population problem solution six-legged six legged insect insects crickets soundtrack everyday foods snack bars pastas chips cricket protein industry venture capitalists cricket startup Exo $4 million in funding earlier this year Silicon Valley cash-slingers alternative foods crickets sales of edible insects worldwide top $500 million by 2023 venture capitalists humanitarian organizations our species won’t be able to feed itself population growth 10 billion people on Earth middle of this century humans better way produce protein using fewer resources insects seem to be the answer crickets 10 times more efficient than cattle feeding them 100 times more efficient water use efficiency improve cricket farmers perfect their methods cricket production in action visited Entomo Farms Ontario Canada farmers care for 100 million crickets churn out 1,500 pounds flour week from egg to grinder make the food that’ll soon power humanity /

Climate change is really very simple – Elon Musk explains

In around 12 minutes



And why it’s important, in just over a minute.



What will you tell your children, or grandchildren in 20 years time?

Didn’t anyone tell you?

Yes they did …

11 record hot months in a row
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/04/11-record-hot-months-in-row.html

At last – a representative debate on climate change (video)
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/10/at-last-representative-debate-on.html

Fossil fuel subsidies — $US10 million per minute
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/05/fossil-fuel-subsidies.html

Rockefeller Family Fund divesting from fossil fuels
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/03/rockefeller-family-fund-divesting-from.html

2014 was the hottest year on record
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/01/2015-was-hottest-year-on-record.html

More record weather events in 2015
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/01/more-record-weather-events-in-2015.html

What if climate change is just a hoax?
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-if-climate-change-is-just-hoax.html

I don't believe in global warming
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-dont-believe-in-global-warming.html / Elon Musk Tesla Solar City SpaceEx SpaceX sustainable transport global warming climate change weather hottest year on record anthropically caused climate change anthropic climate change global warming carbon dioxide CO2 carbon oxide atmosphere green house green-house greenhouse effect scientist scientific consensus political debate climate skeptic climate denier drought el nino el nina heat stress health future generations dehydration drought flood cyclone hurricane burning fossil fuel hydrocarbon energy renewable sustainable green photovoltaic PV solar cell solar energy hydro electricity wind turbine climatologist greenhouse gas /

How to keep hackers from listening to your computer’s microphone

Note tape over Webcam & microphone
Credit: wn.com

You may have read on these pages why disabling your webcam, when it’s not in use, is a good idea. And there’s evidence that FBI Director James Comey thinks so too.

Edward Snowden as well – https://www.wired.com/2014/03/webcams-mics/

As indicated in the image above, Mark Zuckerberg seems to agree, although the evidence doesn’t support the Gizmodo assertion that this makes him, “Paranoid As Fuck”.

Gizmodo
http://gizmodo.com/wow-mark-zuckerberg-is-paranoid-as-fuck-1782370124

Disabling a webcam is simple – if unplugging isn’t an option, the Zuckerberg method is 100% effective.

Preventing audio hacking on a built-in microphone isn’t so easy. Tape over the microphone may muffle the sound, but that’s all. There are other, more effective, options however:

Mac OS
http://www.macworld.com.au/help/how-to-keep-snoops-from-listening-to-your-laptops-microphone-143088/

Windows
http://windows.wonderhowto.com/how-to/everything-you-need-disable-windows-10-0163552/ / how to keep snoops from listening to your laptop’s microphone security infosec information security shot seen round the world Mark Zuckerberg posted Instagram photo Mac laptop visible in the background Zuckerberg had put tape over his laptop’s camera microphone input mic jack virus viral Edward Snowden exposed NSA US National Security Agency data-gathering behaviour Vice program programme HBO how disable audio video inputs smartphone removing them extreme scrutinised tracked hacked Mark Zuckerberg Edward Snowden sanguine OS X vulnerabilities Mac OS Macintosh OS widespread exploitation attackers government agencies insinuate themselves into Macs target prevent potential general principle camera easy to block effectively black it out microphone harder covering may muffle volume Apple Apple’s laptops some sound would bleed through Zuckerberg’s savvy tape may be a reminder made deeper change software hardware most people fear mics being tapped conversation would be listened particular secret random subject of probing realistic potential NSA-scale audio-to-text extraction inevitable decrease in cost computational power criminal syndicates mass snarfed audio scanned for context reading a credit card number aloud discussing confidential business matter technically plausible today scale will eventually become practical microphone active piece of tape isn’t enough what steps can you take security hardware experts graduated path set microphone input to zero graphical user interface open sound system preference pane each device listed in the Input tab Input Volume zero drag all the way to the left prevents gross misuse software otherwise be able use an audio source without you realising input volume could be controlled through this approach security malicious software malware reset input volume bypassing settings pull audio directly from device stage before setting applied simplest and most direct change no other repercussions turn input volume up device whenever you need to unplug USB input devices while you’re not using them extra protection Macs Mac Macintosh support audio input through 3.5mm headphone jack using ear buds headset combo combination comes with an iPhone insert stubby adapter nothing plugged into it doesn’t apply built-in mics nearly all Macs Macintoshs Mac Macintosh prevent malware capable accessing audio drivers switching on audio input monitor microphone use Micro Snitch maker network-activity detector Little Snitch watches audio video input activity system level detects mic becoming active posts OS X notification floats window non-intrusive animation indicating it’s in use lower level than Sound preference pane separately installed software not found on every Mac more likely malware would trigger it Micro Snitch can’t monitor all input couldn’t alert some USB-attached microphones attaching on demand remove the drivers Windows Linux Apple provide easy access hardware drivers install remove modify settings intentional OS X’s friendly face contrasted Windows’ obscurity manage drivers system-provided interface troubleshoot problems Kenn White cryptography expert National Institute of Standands and Technology’s report securing OS X IT professionals disabling microphone input how to do it background detail disable audio system-wide removing a few driver files Terminal app command unsupported low-level changes unusable system make backup first sudo srm -rf System Library Extensions Apple USB Audio System Library Extensions IO Audio Family System Library Extensions disallow all audio input disable audio output system update restore missing drivers disable audio input hardware /

Researchers create glow-in-the-dark cement to light up cities without using electricity

Credit: Studio Roosegaarde/Science Alert

Provides illumination at night without using energy. Able to absorb enough light, even on an overcast day, for up to 12 hours of illumination.

http://bgr.com/2016/06/20/glow-in-the-dark-cement-phosphorescent/ / Starry Night Starry Night sustainable energy renewable energy green energy environmental progress decreasing dependency fossil fuels shift toward electric cars projected several studies dramatic impact gasoline world consumes next few decades wind farms growing more efficient recent breakthroughs double amount power generated solar panels developments technologies utilize utilise phosphorescent materials decrease dependency fossil fuels utilizes glow-in-the-dark materials mixed cement illuminate walkways night researchers Mexico Michoacan University San Nicolás de Hidalgo created new cement mixture walkways roads buildings illuminate themselves manmade energy sources research standard cement mixture phosphorescent materials phosphorescent element absorbs sunlight during the day glows at night illuminating paths pedestrians cyclists automobiles cars researchers special cement absorb sunlight sunny day cloudy day remain lit for up to 12 hours additives scientists prevent formation crystals occur normally production of cement creating material noncrystalline structure similar to glass allows passage of light inside varying proportion additives added during manufacturing cement regulates luminescent intensity color dazzle drivers used on roads special phosphorescent cement manufactured regular cement researchers addition of phosphorescent materials change structure finished product glowing cement used coating material other surfaces standard cement phosphorescent cement ready for commercial applications researchers research studying best way repair cement when it gets damaged /