Tech Roundup: Android Silver, Right to Forget & More
[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]
Google ordered to forget in EU:
New technologies like Facebook and other platforms have been disruptive in terms of drastically altering the way we share, talk and relate to people and things around us. Not stopping at being mere tools of self-expression (like this blog itself for instance), they have also gone onto becoming massive digital repositories, hoarding up all the information we feed into them for eternity. But whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations about rampant NSA surveillance changed all that. It gave us an opportunity to rethink our idea of online privacy and reshape the very virtual identity of ours on the Web.
In this context, a recent top European court ruling, which gives an individual the right to control his data, becomes incredibly important. By backing the right to be forgotten, the court has ruled that Google and other search engines must delete "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant" data from its results when a member of the public requests it. To make things clear, that irrelevant piece of data would still be there on the website in question, it's just that it now becomes a little more harder to find it. The Internet's permanence is an issue of grave concern, and hence it's no wonder that communications are increasingly moving towards an era of Snapchat-like ephemerality. The law is ripe for abuse no doubt, and it remains to be seen how Google, which is already facing a deluge of requests, including from a convicted paedophile, will respond to this.
Moto E is here to rule entry-level handsets:
Thought Motorola could not better Moto X and Moto G? The once Google-owned subsidiary has done the unthinkable by releasing an all new smartphone that's outright impressive for a handset priced at Rs. 6,999. Boasting of a scratch-resistant 4.3 inch display and a splash-resistant coating, Moto E offers 1GB RAM, runs on the latest version of near-stock Android 4.4 KitKat and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor. Also unlike Moto X and G, this phone supports microSD cards for storage expansion as well. So I guess it's time to say goodbye to entry level handsets from Samsung, Sony, and most importantly Nokia's Android offering, the Nokia X. In India, the phone is available exclusively online through Flipkart (currently out of stock).
Android Silver, the premium smartphone from Google:
Google Nexus smartphones, while loved for their unadulterated Android experience, aren't exactly what one would call a premium high-end smartphone despite its topline features. But all of that could change, thanks to a new wave of rumours. Called "Silver" program, the new premium lineup of Android smartphones from Google will reportedly replace the existing Nexus and Google Play Editions, and would be manufactured by OEMs with a promise of less pre-installed bloatware and speedy updates. Motorola and LG are expected to have signed on the dotted line with the search giant for this program, and launch countries could include the USA, Germany, Japan and emerging markets like India and Brazil.
Google Play Edition (GPE) phones are currently available only in the States and sold unlocked - a crucial factor that could have made much more sense in a market like India, but impossible from the perspective of a company like Samsung or HTC. After all why on earth would HTC, for example, promote the HTC One M8 GPE over its own Sense'fied phone? That would be a massacre! If Android Silver is indeed true (it seems to be, especially considering this tweet from the reliable tipster @evleaks), it would definitely be a sign of better things to come.
That's not all. According to a new report by Android Police, Google is also looking at overhauling the homescreen experience with added emphasis on gestures and a revamped multitasking and notification shade. Going by the recent Gmail makeover leaks, things should get hopefully clear at Google I/O developer conference scheduled for next month. In all probabilities, the new overhaul is just a custom front-end interface running atop vanilla Android a la TouchWiz or Sense UI, but time will tell.
Snapchat settles with FTC over ephemerality:
Popular instant messaging service Snapchat has agreed to a settlement with the USA's Federal Trade Commission over charges that it made misrepresentations to consumers about its product that stood in stark contrast to how the app actually worked. Snapchat attracted huge success with its ephemeral sharing features by which photos, videos and messages sent via the app would disappear in a couple of seconds upon its receipt. Turns out, it was not that ephemeral after all. The report finds that third-party apps could be used to view and save photos indefinitely, and that the Snapchat app's video snaps were stored in an unencrypted format on the device. It also faults the company for deceiving users by transmitting their geolocation information, despite stating otherwise in its privacy policy.
The report further goes on to blame the company for failing to secure its Find Friends feature that resulted in a massive security breach of 4.6 million user accounts last year. As part of the settlement, Snapchat will have to implement a new privacy program that will be monitored by an independent watchdog for the next 20 years. "If a company markets privacy and security as key selling points in pitching its service to consumers, it is critical that it keep those promises," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. "Any company that makes misrepresentations to consumers about its privacy and security practices risks FTC action."
Apple sued over disappearing text messages due to iMessage bug:
Apple iMessage has a weird bug and the engineering team is apparently clueless as to how to fix it! It has not been long since iOS suffered from a critical SSL security flaw that was caused by a - okay, this is getting a little bit technical - duplicate "goto fail" statement, prompting Apple to release iOS 7.0.6 to thwart possible Man in the Middle attacks. But this one is different, and it happens when you switch to Android (or any other rival operating system) from an iPhone. Apple defaults to iMessage (assuming the other contact too is using an iPhone and has iMessage turned on) to save you from paying for text messages, but if you switch to another platform, even temporarily, the bug fails to acknowledge to revert to the usual text messages, causing them to disappear. Apple does have a support page for this (note that the page was last updated recently on April 29), but the bug has caused enough anguish for a former iPhone owner to sue the company!
Patent tussle and truce, the game goes on:
The month-long legal battle between Apple and Samsung fizzled out after the jury gave a mixed verdict in the round two of high-stakes battle between the two tech giants over smartphone patents. Apple, which was baying for US$2.2 billion in infringement damages from Samsung, will now receive a paltry sum of US$ 119.6 million instead. For its part, Samsung will receive US$158,400 in damages over Apple's infringement of its photo and video organisation patent. Now that's done and dusted (at least for now), Cupertino and Motorola have called off their fight, with the two companies agreeing to dismiss all patent-infringement claims against each other. Apple and Google said in a joint statement that "Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform."
In other news:
Google ordered to forget in EU:
New technologies like Facebook and other platforms have been disruptive in terms of drastically altering the way we share, talk and relate to people and things around us. Not stopping at being mere tools of self-expression (like this blog itself for instance), they have also gone onto becoming massive digital repositories, hoarding up all the information we feed into them for eternity. But whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations about rampant NSA surveillance changed all that. It gave us an opportunity to rethink our idea of online privacy and reshape the very virtual identity of ours on the Web.
In this context, a recent top European court ruling, which gives an individual the right to control his data, becomes incredibly important. By backing the right to be forgotten, the court has ruled that Google and other search engines must delete "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant" data from its results when a member of the public requests it. To make things clear, that irrelevant piece of data would still be there on the website in question, it's just that it now becomes a little more harder to find it. The Internet's permanence is an issue of grave concern, and hence it's no wonder that communications are increasingly moving towards an era of Snapchat-like ephemerality. The law is ripe for abuse no doubt, and it remains to be seen how Google, which is already facing a deluge of requests, including from a convicted paedophile, will respond to this.
Moto E is here to rule entry-level handsets:
Thought Motorola could not better Moto X and Moto G? The once Google-owned subsidiary has done the unthinkable by releasing an all new smartphone that's outright impressive for a handset priced at Rs. 6,999. Boasting of a scratch-resistant 4.3 inch display and a splash-resistant coating, Moto E offers 1GB RAM, runs on the latest version of near-stock Android 4.4 KitKat and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor. Also unlike Moto X and G, this phone supports microSD cards for storage expansion as well. So I guess it's time to say goodbye to entry level handsets from Samsung, Sony, and most importantly Nokia's Android offering, the Nokia X. In India, the phone is available exclusively online through Flipkart (currently out of stock).
Android Silver, the premium smartphone from Google:
Google Nexus smartphones, while loved for their unadulterated Android experience, aren't exactly what one would call a premium high-end smartphone despite its topline features. But all of that could change, thanks to a new wave of rumours. Called "Silver" program, the new premium lineup of Android smartphones from Google will reportedly replace the existing Nexus and Google Play Editions, and would be manufactured by OEMs with a promise of less pre-installed bloatware and speedy updates. Motorola and LG are expected to have signed on the dotted line with the search giant for this program, and launch countries could include the USA, Germany, Japan and emerging markets like India and Brazil.
Google Play Edition (GPE) phones are currently available only in the States and sold unlocked - a crucial factor that could have made much more sense in a market like India, but impossible from the perspective of a company like Samsung or HTC. After all why on earth would HTC, for example, promote the HTC One M8 GPE over its own Sense'fied phone? That would be a massacre! If Android Silver is indeed true (it seems to be, especially considering this tweet from the reliable tipster @evleaks), it would definitely be a sign of better things to come.
That's not all. According to a new report by Android Police, Google is also looking at overhauling the homescreen experience with added emphasis on gestures and a revamped multitasking and notification shade. Going by the recent Gmail makeover leaks, things should get hopefully clear at Google I/O developer conference scheduled for next month. In all probabilities, the new overhaul is just a custom front-end interface running atop vanilla Android a la TouchWiz or Sense UI, but time will tell.
Snapchat settles with FTC over ephemerality:
Popular instant messaging service Snapchat has agreed to a settlement with the USA's Federal Trade Commission over charges that it made misrepresentations to consumers about its product that stood in stark contrast to how the app actually worked. Snapchat attracted huge success with its ephemeral sharing features by which photos, videos and messages sent via the app would disappear in a couple of seconds upon its receipt. Turns out, it was not that ephemeral after all. The report finds that third-party apps could be used to view and save photos indefinitely, and that the Snapchat app's video snaps were stored in an unencrypted format on the device. It also faults the company for deceiving users by transmitting their geolocation information, despite stating otherwise in its privacy policy.
The report further goes on to blame the company for failing to secure its Find Friends feature that resulted in a massive security breach of 4.6 million user accounts last year. As part of the settlement, Snapchat will have to implement a new privacy program that will be monitored by an independent watchdog for the next 20 years. "If a company markets privacy and security as key selling points in pitching its service to consumers, it is critical that it keep those promises," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. "Any company that makes misrepresentations to consumers about its privacy and security practices risks FTC action."
Apple sued over disappearing text messages due to iMessage bug:
Apple iMessage has a weird bug and the engineering team is apparently clueless as to how to fix it! It has not been long since iOS suffered from a critical SSL security flaw that was caused by a - okay, this is getting a little bit technical - duplicate "goto fail" statement, prompting Apple to release iOS 7.0.6 to thwart possible Man in the Middle attacks. But this one is different, and it happens when you switch to Android (or any other rival operating system) from an iPhone. Apple defaults to iMessage (assuming the other contact too is using an iPhone and has iMessage turned on) to save you from paying for text messages, but if you switch to another platform, even temporarily, the bug fails to acknowledge to revert to the usual text messages, causing them to disappear. Apple does have a support page for this (note that the page was last updated recently on April 29), but the bug has caused enough anguish for a former iPhone owner to sue the company!
Patent tussle and truce, the game goes on:
The month-long legal battle between Apple and Samsung fizzled out after the jury gave a mixed verdict in the round two of high-stakes battle between the two tech giants over smartphone patents. Apple, which was baying for US$2.2 billion in infringement damages from Samsung, will now receive a paltry sum of US$ 119.6 million instead. For its part, Samsung will receive US$158,400 in damages over Apple's infringement of its photo and video organisation patent. Now that's done and dusted (at least for now), Cupertino and Motorola have called off their fight, with the two companies agreeing to dismiss all patent-infringement claims against each other. Apple and Google said in a joint statement that "Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform."
In other news:
- First case of MERS infection transmitted within the USA reported; CoronaMap becomes the first website to track the zoonosis in realtime.
- Unstoppable meltdown of Thwaites glacier is already underway in Antarctica, reports Science.
- Archaeologists discover the largest species of dinosaur on a farm in Argentina; said to be 65 feet tall and over 130 feet long.
- Brain tumour growth slowed in mice by restoring levels of protein (called CFIm25) responsible for longer (and healthier) messenger RNA, the molecules that take the information inside genes and use it to make body tissues.
- Microsoft extends compulsory Windows 8.1 update till June 10 (i.e. next Patch Tuesday).
- Samsung confirms Galaxy S3 smartphone will not receive Android 4.4 KitKat update.
- Mozilla experimenting with ads on Firefox browser new tab page in a way it's useful.
- Apple planning Microsoft Surface like split-screen multitasking for the iPad, reports 9TO5Mac.
- Gmail for Android becomes the first app to cross 1 billion downloads.
- Fitness app Moves will share user data with Facebook for monetization purposes; clarifies the company is not adding Moves user data to a Facebook user's Facebook account.
- HTC announces the HTC One Mini 2 (what a name!) with 4.5 inch display; swaps One M8 4 Ultrapixel DuoCamera for a traditional 13MP rear camera.
- Apple iPhone 5c 8GB version set to launch in India for a sub Rs. 35,000 price tag.
- Google acquires Quest Visual, maker of augmented reality app that translates languages with your phone's camera, to boost its own Translate service.
- Facebook retires its standalone Poke and Camera apps from Apple and Android app stores (Isn't time for Facebook Home to be shuttered as well?)
- Twitter gets a mute feature to block annoying tweets.
- Apple and Facebook beat Wall Street expectations in latest quarterly results bolstered by impressive iPhone sales and mobile ads respectively; Samsung's profits decline, its market share dipping for the first time since 2010; Microsoft reports a surge in revenues from Surface tablets and cloud services.
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