Google has expanded its bug-bounty program to cover vulnerabilities uncovered in Android. The program began with Chrome and expanded to Google Web sites and other open-source software projects. Under the program, people who find security holes get paid bounties. That often equates to a few hundred dollars, but particularly skilled attacks can mean big money …
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November, 2013
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19 November
Filip keeps tabs on your tykes
The Filip Smartwatch promises to give parents more piece of mind by locating kids quickly. Priced at $199.99, the Filip functions as a location tracker as well as a communication device that’s able to conduct phone calls and receive text messages in an emergency. Built with internal GPS circuitry plus cellular GSM radio, the Filip connects to AT&T’s wireless network …
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19 November
GiffGaff starts flogging phones, with flexible P2P financing
GiffGaff, the super-cheap do-it-yourself phone network run by its members, is offering a new way of buying new blowers. The mobile network is now selling a range of 20 phones — and you can borrow from other GiffGaffers to pay for them. Its mobiles go from the old-fashioned £71 Nokia 301 to the super-powered £599 Samsung Galaxy Note 3, with …
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19 November
Samsung halts shambolic Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 update
Samsung has stopped sending out the Android 4.3 update to its Galaxy S3, after two weeks of complaints from aggravated users. Since the update first appeared on 4 November, the Korean company has been deluged with complaints, ranging from battery drain to the phone freezing. “As we are currently investigating the reported issues with Galaxy S3 4.3 Jelly Bean update, …
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19 November
FCC chairman: US phone system needs Internet makeover
The Federal Communications Commission is getting ready to dial up an Internet update to the nation’s telephone system. New FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced Tuesday that the commission will begin a “diverse set of experiments” next year aimed at replacing the telephone system’s traditional phone lines with networks that are based on Internet Protocol. While many consumers already make phone …
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19 November
Chipmakers helping to give computers a visual cortex
Samsung, Qualcomm, ARM, Broadcom, and a bunch of other technology companies want your computer to see. To that end, they banded together at the Khronos Group to try to standardize some elements of machine vision technology. It’s the kind of thing that could make it easier to write an augmented reality app for a mobile phone or sign-recognition software for …
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19 November
Nokia approves Microsoft sell
Nokia shareholders have approved the sale of the Finnish company’s mobile phone division to Microsoft. Meeting today at an extraordinary general meeting in Helsinki, 99.7 per cent of shareholders gave the green light to the €5.44bn (£4.5bn) sale, according to the Financial Times. After flogging the mobile phone part of the business and licensing its related patents to Microsoft, Nokia …
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19 November
Verizon makes retail push with enhanced ‘destination store’
Verizon Wireless is hoping to shake up the retail experience. Verizon Chief Operating Officer Marni Walden on Tuesday unveiled its first “destination” store in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. The enhanced store is designed to provide education, support, and hands-on demonstrations of wireless products and services. She also said the company would be converting its chain of 1,700 …
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19 November
Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.3 update begins, not in UK yet
The Android 4.3 update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has begun, finally bringing new features from the Note 3 and Galaxy S4 — but UK phone fans will have to be patient as Samsung tries to avoid a repeat of the S3 update fiasco. Samsung UK is playing it coy over the prospect of British phableteers updating their Note, telling …
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19 November
No, Galaxy Gear could still be massive flop
The Galaxy Gear recorded 800,000 unit sales over its first two months — so it’s a hit, right? Not exactly. The figure Samsung disclosed is actually the number of smartwatches the Korean tech giant shipped to retailers and partners; it isn’t actually a true reflection of consumer demand. Korean publication Yonhap reported that the numbers represented shipments, and not sales …
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