Google is not particularly great at keeping secrets. Its Nexus devices always leak and peeks at code are constantly revealing features before they’re announced. So, it’s no surprise that, exactly one month after we reported references to a Google Play Newsstand popping up, Mountain View is taking the wraps off the new content hub. Like its Apple counterpart , it will play home (get it?) to both newspaper and magazine subscriptions, and it’ll even pull in articles from sites and blogs you choose to follow (like this one, we hope). And, even though you’ll be able to have your New York Times subscription delivered through Newsstand, you’re not forced to use it. The stand alone Times app will continue to be available directly from your home screen. Articles viewed through the new Newsstand app will be specifically formatted for your tablet or phone, complete with images, audio or video inline. And they’ll be available offline so you can can catch up on your news, even if you happen to be on one of the few flights left in the US without WiFi. And, if you come across something particularly interesting, but don’t have the time right now for a 4, 000 word expose on how Facebook uses your personal data , you can mark it to read later. The new app will lead to several changes in Google’s ecosystem as it rolls out over the next several days. In the US, Canada, UK and Australia users of the Play Magazines app will be asked to upgrade to Newsstand and the periodicals section of the store will be renamed to match. Where magazines aren’t available, it will be Currents that prompts users to upgrade, as much of its functionality will be folded into the Newsstand app. The dedicated Flipboard competitor will continue to be available, at least for a period of time, but its clear that Google wants everyone to hop on the Newsstand train, which has much deeper hooks into the Play platform. It even borrows a bit of magic from All Access with a home page of recommended articles based on your tastes and what other people are reading. So, even if you don’t follow to The Atlantic , if a particular piece on drone warfare happens to be popular, Google will bring it to your attention. Especially if you have a history of reading articles about technology and warfare. With today’s launch, Google is putting the focus on Android, but iOS users will be able to enjoy the fruits of Mountain View’s labor as well… eventually. A spokesperson told us that Newsstand will be coming to Apple’s mobile OS early next year, primarily as a replacement to Currents. And, while you probably won’t be able to purchase subscriptions directly through the app, you will be able to pick up periodicals through the web storefront and have them delivered to your handset or tablet. If you’re feeling particularly impatient and don’t want to wait for Magazines or Currents to prompt you to update, you can download Newsstand from the Play store today. Filed under: Internet , Software , Mobile , Google Comments Source: Google Play Newsstand
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Google Play Newsstand merges Currents, magazines and newspapers on Android today, iOS in 2014
Nerval’s Lobster writes “The Vatican, while notoriously secretive about things buried in its vaults and archives, is being as public as the digital age allows it to be about the nearly completed restoration of catacombs early Christians used as secret churches as well as burial sites. Contractors, archaeologists and art experts spent the past five years restoring the Priscilla catacombs under the Vatican using lasers, among other techniques, to restore frescoes painted on the walls of the burial chambers. The Vatican unveiled the work Nov. 19 with a press conference in the Basilica of San Silvestro outside the burial tunnels, accompanied by a virtual tour of the Priscilla catacombs provided by Google Maps. The basilica is divided into an area for religious services and another that acts as a deposit for sculptures and artifacts dug up during excavations of the catacombs and other areas underneath the Vatican.” Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
GitHub is experiencing an increase in user account hijackings that’s being fueled by a rash of automated login attempts from as many as 40,000 unique Internet addresses. The site for software development projects has already reset passwords for compromised accounts and banned frequently used weak passcodes, officials said in an advisory published Tuesday night . Out of an abundance of caution, site officials have also reset some accounts that were protected with stronger passwords. Accounts that were reset despite having stronger passwords showed login attempts from the same IP addresses involved in successful breaches of other GitHub accounts. “While we aggressively rate-limit login attempts and passwords are stored properly, this incident has involved the use of nearly 40K unique IP addresses,” Tuesday night’s advisory stated. “These addresses were used to slowly brute force weak passwords or passwords used on multiple sites. We are working on additional rate-limiting measures to address this. In addition, you will no longer be able to login to GitHub.com with commonly used weak passwords.” Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments 
