Co-directors Andy and Lana Wachowski only had six minutes every day to shoot a single giant chase scene for their space opera Jupiter Ascending . Why could they only film the chase at one time of day? They explain in our exclusive interview. Plus they tell io9 why they’re so obsessed with telling stories about “The One.” Read more…
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How The Wachowskis Tried To Shoot "The Most Beautiful Chase Ever Filmed"
Security researchers have once again found Google Play offering malicious apps that have been downloaded by millions of Android users. According to a blog post published Tuesday by antivirus provider Avast, the apps include the Durak card game app and at least two other titles. Combined, those apps have been installed as many as 15 million times. Researcher Filip Chytry wrote: When you install Durak, it seems to be a completely normal and well working gaming app. This was the same for the other apps, which included an IQ test and a history app . This impression remains until you reboot your device and wait for a couple of days. After a week, you might start to feel there is something wrong with your device. Some of the apps wait up to 30 days until they show their true colors. After 30 days, I guess not many people would know which app is causing abnormal behavior on their phone, right? Each time you unlock your device an ad is presented to you, warning you about a problem, e.g. that your device is infected, out of date or full of porn. This, of course, is a complete lie. You are then asked to take action, however, if you approve you get re-directed to harmful threats on fake pages, like dubious app stores and apps that attempt to send premium SMS behind your back or to apps that simply collect too much of your data for comfort while offering you no additional value. It’s not the first time Google’s official Android app bazaar has been found to host malicious apps. In the past, it has offered titles laced with surreptitious remote access trojans , Bitcoin miners , and rogue advertising networks . Three years ago, Google introduced a cloud-based scanner that scours Play for malicious apps , but attackers have been known to bypass it . Google officials regularly remove apps from Play when they are found to be malicious. At the time this post was being prepared, all three flagged by Avast remained available for download. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Malicious Google Play apps (may have) hosed millions of Android handsets
Since the isolation of graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon, researchers have developed a number of other two-dimensional materials. (Yes, they are really three-dimensional; it’s just one of the dimensions is only an atom thick, and therefore negligible.) Knowledge of the periodic table would suggest that elements from the same column as carbon would have similar chemical properties, and therefore be excellent candidates for forming two-dimensional sheets. So, why hasn’t more been done with silicon, the next element down the column from carbon? People have actually made silicene, the silicon version of graphene. But they’ve only managed to make tiny patches of it on silver surfaces; under just about any other conditions, it rapidly reacts with the oxygen in air and disintegrates. On Monday, however, researchers announced that they’d managed to create the first device—a field effect transistor—using silicene. Since interactions with silver protected the silicon sheet, the authors fabricated a large sheet on a thin silver surface. They then capped this with aluminum oxide, which also protected the silicene. At this point, they could etch off some of the aluminum, and use the remaining metal as source and drain contacts. By depositing the alumina on a silicon dioxide surface, the resulting device acted as a field effect transistor. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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First transistor built using two-dimensional silicon
Since 2011, AdBlock Plus, a popular browser plug-in that blocks online ads, has kept a “whitelist” of websites that are allowed to serve ads despite the presence of the AdBlock Plus plugin. In an e-mail to Ars, AdBlock Plus Communications Manager Ben Williams wrote that currently, the browser extension has granted a pass to “over 300 sites/entities” out of “over 1,500 applicants” to the company’s whitelist. That’s up from October 2013 , when AdBlock Plus allowed the ads of 78 sites or entities out of 777 applicants. To be placed on AdBlock Plus’ whitelist, advertisements must be transparent about being ads, must be appropriate to the site they’re being served on, and must not distort or disrupt the page content, among other criteria. AdBlock Plus goes into more detail about the whitelisting process here . But one important facet of the business plan is that if a company is big enough, AdBlock Plus’ parent company, German start-up Eyeo, asks for a fee in addition to adhering to the “Acceptable Ads” criteria before it allows a company to be whitelisted. Read 13 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Over 300 businesses now whitelisted on AdBlock Plus, 10% pay to play
A pilot’s selfies “likely” caused a single-engine plane crash outside Denver that killed the pilot and sole passenger last year, the National Transportation Safety Board has concluded. The NTSB probe said investigators discovered a GoPro camera near the wreckage that captured footage aboard the two-seater Cessna 150 taken on May 30 and on the day of the May 31 crash. “Based on the evidence of cell phone use during low-altitude maneuvering, including the flight immediately before the accident flight, it is likely that cell phone use during the accident flight distracted the pilot and contributed to the development of spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of control,” the NTSB said . Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Pilot’s selfies “likely” caused fatal crash, flight investigators say
This is María José Cristerna also known as The Vampire Woman, in a photo just taken at the Venezuela Tattoo International Expo in Caracas, Venezuela. She was considered the woman with the most tattooing and body modifications in the world, but that hasn’t stopped her from getting even more. Read more…
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Woman with most extreme body modifications just got even more extreme
It’s no secret that Mountain View and Uber are friends , what with Google Ventures investing $258 million into the ride-sharing service in 2013. But if both companies really are developing their own ride-sharing services that use driverless cars, as some publications are saying, then these friends will turn into rivals in the future. Now, Uber might be years behind Google when it comes to autonomous cars , but TechCrunch says the company’s teaming up with Carnegie Mellon scientists to develop its own technology. While the ride-sharing service didn’t go into detail when it announced the partnership earlier, TC reports Uber is building a robotics research lab in Pittsburgh, PA for the newly hired lead engineers, scientists and commercialization experts. Carnegie Mellon’s scientists are known for creating advanced , autonomous robots and even Mars rovers , so they definitely have the skills to get it done, especially if they were truly hired en masse. TC even says Uber has begun putting together engineering workstations worth several hundred thousand dollars for its new employees, so they can begin developing the core technology necessary to build a fleet of driverless taxis. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick mentioned in the past that he’d replace human drivers with autonomous cars if possible and that fares would be cheaper if that happens. Add that to the fact that the company’s now valued at around $40 billion, and this report’s not that hard to believe. Google, on the other hand, has been working on a ride-hailing app “most likely in conjunction with its long-in-development driverless car project” for a quite a while now, according to Bloomberg . Its employees have reportedly been test driving it for the company, so David Drummond (Google’s chief legal office who also joined Uber’s board of directors after Mountain View’s investment) was able to show Uber some screenshots of the app, perhaps in the essence of transparency. While Mountain View hasn’t confirmed this piece of info yet, it has talked about using its driverless cars as a taxi service before. At this year’s Detroit Auto Show, for instance, Chris Urmson (who leads Google’s self-driving car project) said there’s a possibility for its autonomous cars to be used as a shared vehicle. Just like current ride-sharing services, you’d be able to call one through an app and ask it to take you to your destination. Bloomberg says the Uber board is now debating whether to ask Drummond to resign, and its executives are “deeply concerned” that Google is about to become its staunchest rival. Aside from Google having a lot more money, Uber relies heavily on the former’s map data (its app was even integrated into Google Maps, if you recall), and losing access to it would be devastating. The publication also notes that a recent Google Now update adds data from Lyft, but not from Uber. Whether that means the companies’ relationship has already soured remains to be seen, but thus far, Google still seems to consider both Lyft and Uber as friends. @business We think you’ll find Uber and Lyft work quite well. We use them all the time. – Google (@google) February 2, 2015 Filed under: Transportation , Google Comments Source: TechCrunch , Bloomberg , Uber
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Uber and Google to duke it out over self-driving taxis
Earlier today, RadioShack stumbled one step closer to death with the news that the NYSE is trying to delist its stock — basically, the company is fucked. And according to Bloomberg , Amazon — which is, let’s be honest, the number one RadioShack murder suspect — might buy up some of their retail stores. Read more…
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Report: Amazon Might Buy Up Radioshack Stores
It’s long been rumored that Google, among other companies, has been paying Adblock Plus in order to get through its filters. Now, Financial Times says that it’s not only Google that’s been paying the ad-blocking service to be part of its whitelisted websites, but also Microsoft, Amazon and ad platform Taboola. Adblock Plus, as you might know, is a popular Chrome and Firefox extension that blocks ads: as such, some websites that rely on advertisements for revenue haven’t been too happy with it, with a handful of German publishers taking the service to court. While what these companies are doing might not sit well with some Adblock Plus users, it’s not bribery and is entirely legal. While Adblock Plus’ developer, German company Eyeo, doesn’t list its fees anywhere, a digital media company that talked to FT said Eyeo asks for 30 percent of the ad revenues that would otherwise not exist. Eyeo claims Adblock Plus has been downloaded 300 million times, and these tech giants’ actions just prove that they’re at least a bit worried that it will affect their business. Adblock Plus does whitelist other smaller websites for free, though, so long as they meet its criteria. These include being transparent and not passing off ads as content, as well as not using overly large and obnoxious advertisements that distort web pages. Filed under: Misc , Microsoft , Google , Amazon Comments Via: The Verge Source: Financial Times
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Amazon, Google and Microsoft whitelisted by Adblock Plus, for a price
We spend a lot of time in front of our computers, which could be why we’re so keen to track all the times we actually step away from our screens and get a little walking or running done. To that end, every manufacturer seems to be coming out with a fitness band to brandish on your wrist. But when one wearable looks like the others, and they each operate in different ecosystems, it’s hard to know which will best suit your needs. We’ve taken a look at a few recent releases and their reviews, narrowing the field to six of the better models out there — plus one you should avoid. Frank Spinillo contributed to this report. Filed under: Wearables , Sony , LG Comments
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Which fitness bands are worth buying?