apple – Page 7 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

LiquidSky 2.0 beta puts any video game on any Android device

The LiquidSky 2.0 beta is live today in the Google Play Store , promising to let you play any game on any Android device via the magic of cloud streaming. Want to cruise around Grand Theft Auto 5 on your Pixel XL? Or maybe you’d rather wreck some fools in Overwatch on your Galaxy Tab S2? That’s what this update is all about. LiquidSky gives each user a unique, virtual PC where they’re able to download new games and access their existing libraries via any storefront, including Steam, Humble Bundle, GOG, Origin, Blizzard and the ‘net. This unique PC shows up on any supported device (no Apple love for now), allowing folks to play everything from 8-bit adventures to AAA blockbusters on otherwise underpowered platforms. Today’s LiquidSky 2.0 update brings the Android version on par with the ongoing Windows beta . LiquidSky takes advantage of IBM’s public cloud infrastructure, tapping into data centers around the globe and scaling in real-time alongside demand. This approach addresses the scalability problem that crippled cloud-gaming companies like OnLive in the early 2010s: Without global cloud systems, OnLive had to purchase and install servers around the world as each new user logged on. It was an unsustainable approach and OnLive shut down in 2015. “You have a million users flood in, you buy all these servers with massive capital up front, and those users are in different locations. There’s too much latency, and the only games you can play are Lego Batman and Lego Star Wars , ” LiquidSky CEO Ian McLoughlin told Engadget in January. “So you’re left with this massive data center that you can’t do anything with, so they started essentially giving things away for free. Even then, they couldn’t get the users to enjoy the catalog. It was too soon before its time.” LiquidSky has another advantage over game-streaming companies of yore: It’s free to access. Users have the option to watch ads (that’s the “free” version), purchase credits as they go (bundles start at $10), or pay monthly (at least $20 a month). LiquidSky is, essentially, a streaming service, and the company recommends users stick to ethernet when possible. But, that completely misses the point of an Android version. So, if you’re going mobile, LiquidSky suggests 5Ghz WiFi or 4G — assuming your data plan can handle it.

Continued here:
LiquidSky 2.0 beta puts any video game on any Android device

Hulu Joins Netflix and Amazon In Promoting Royalty-free Video Codec AV1

theweatherelectric writes: Hulu has joined the Alliance for Open Media, which is developing an open, royalty-free video format called AV1. AV1 is targeting better performance than H.265 and, unlike H.265, will be licensed under royalty-free terms for all use cases. The top three over-the-top SVOD services (Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu) are now all members of the alliance. In joining the alliance, Hulu hopes “to accelerate development and facilitate friction-free adoption of new media technologies that benefit the streaming media industry and [its] viewers.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

See the article here:
Hulu Joins Netflix and Amazon In Promoting Royalty-free Video Codec AV1

Tor Browser 7.0 works harder to protect your anonymity on its own

The latest update for privacy-minded folks’ favorite way to surf the web should make others’ attempts at tracking what they do even more difficult. The Tor browser’s 7. 0 version introduces a sandbox feature that, according to an interview on the Tor blog , should “make life a lot harder” for people using a Firefox exploit to discern the identities of a user. “It’s like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, ” Tor developer Yawning Angel said. “The only reality Tor Browser knows is inside of the sandbox (cave). We prevent it from interacting with the rest of your computer (the outside world), except via the Tor Network (shadows on the wall).” The college philosophy class you barely remember aside, what the sandbox does is hides your files, your real IP address and your MAC address from the browser. Therefore, “the amount of information Tor Browser will learn about your computer, and thereby you, will be limited, ” Angel said. At the time of that interview last October, the sandbox was still unstable and very much in testing, but the recent update has brought the digital safe-zone online for Linux and macOS, and by default. Next up? Sandbox protection for Windows users. The update also imposes a few new requirements for users on Windows and macOS: Tor apparently won’t work on non-SSE2-capable Windows hardware and you need to be running OSX 10.9 or higher on Apple machines. Considering that last year a federal judge said that the FBI no longer needs warrants to hack a computer connected to the internet, this is an important update. “Even an internet user who employs the Tor network in an attempt to mask his or her IP address lacks a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her IP address, ” judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr commented at the time. For the full rundown of what’s changed with the browser, hit the source links below. Source: Tor (1) , (2)

Apple deems Pepe ‘objectionable’ and bans the frog from its App Store

Pepe the Frog is an amphibia non grata at the Apple App Store, according to a rejection letter sent to a developer. The letter, which the developer posted to r/The_Donald subreddit (because of course he did), argues that Pepe is “considered objectionable content” and is therefore banned from appearing in any app in the Apple ecosystem. “My friend and I came up with the idea of combining shitposting with autistic screeching, so we made this just for fun, ” wrote the developer, who seems nice and not at all like the sort of person who would make fun of the disabled for entertainment. The game itself appears to be a run of the mill Flappy Bird ripoff but with more intentional yelling. And while it has been banished from the App Store, the game is still available on Google Play. Via: Mashable Source: Motherboard

Read the original post:
Apple deems Pepe ‘objectionable’ and bans the frog from its App Store

iOS 11 users will never have to memorize a WiFi password again

Modern life with all of its technological conveniences can be an absolute wonder. Yet when you go to a friend’s house and they spend 30 minutes trying to dig out a WiFi password from under their rug, all of that wide-eyed wonder quickly turns to rage. Luckily then, it looks like Apple has found a way to counter this devastating first world problem with iOS 11 . According to 9to5 Mac , a new WiFi sharing feature will notify iOS 11 users when a visitor wants to join their network, automatically sharing their WiFi password with them if the host approves their request. This isn’t the first new feature that has been outed for Apple’s latest operating system. Other leaks and rumors have stated that the upcoming OS will bring with it expanded NFC capabilities as well as the handy-sounding offloading feature . While no exact release date has been set for the new software, iOS 11 is will be coming to iPods and iPads this fall . Via: The Verge Source: 9to5Mac

More here:
iOS 11 users will never have to memorize a WiFi password again

Remove unused apps in iOS 11 without losing your data

Of the many apps you likely have on your iPhone or iPad right now, how many do you actually use regularly? Chances are that you have at least a few that you’re keeping merely because they have data you don’t want to lose. Well, all that is about to change: iOS 11 will allow you to delete apps, but retain their settings and data. Cydia Geeks first spotted the feature that Apple calls “offloading, ” and it’s great news for people who are constantly struggling with storage space on their phones . The current “Storage & iCloud Usage” option within the iPhone’s settings will be renamed “iPhone Storage” in iOS 11. (Presumably, if you’re working on an iPad, it will be called “iPad Storage.) Within that menu is an innocuous-looking option called “Offload Unused Apps, ” with an Enable option. Apple’s menu description says, “Automatically offload unused apps when you’re low on storage. Your documents & data will be saved.” What’s more, it appears you can choose individual apps to offload if you don’t want to depend on Apple to automatically manage the process for you. Choosing the “Offload App” option for an individual app does the following, according to Apple: “This will free up storage used by the app, but keep its documents and data. Reinstalling the app will place back your data if the app is still available in the App Store.” It’s worth noting that many apps, such as Google Drive, Facebook and Twitter, already store data in the cloud, so it’s easy to delete and reinstall them as needed. But for any apps that you must keep to avoid losing data (such as games), offloading could be just what people with storage issues are looking for. Indeed, this feature could entirely break us of the habit of keeping apps around just in case we need them one day. Via: 9to5Mac Source: Cydia Geeks

See the original post:
Remove unused apps in iOS 11 without losing your data

Apple To Phase Out 32-Bit Mac Apps Starting In January 2018

Apple will be phasing out 32-bit apps with iOS 11, and soon the company will make the same changes on its macOS operating system. During its Platform State of the Union keynote at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple told developers that macOS High Sierra will be the “last macOS release to support 32-bit apps without compromises.” MacRumors reports: Starting in January of 2018, all new apps submitted to the Mac App Store must be 64-bit, and all apps and app updates submitted must be 64-bit by June 2018. With the next version of macOS after High Sierra, Apple will begin “aggressively” warning users about 32-bit apps before eventually phasing them out all together. In iOS 11, 32-bit apps cannot be installed or launched. Attempting to open a non-supported 32-bit app gives a message notifying users that the app needs to be updated before it can run on iOS 11. Prior to phasing out 32-bit apps on iOS 11, Apple gave both end users and developers several warnings, and the company says it will follow the same path for the macOS operating system. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read the original post:
Apple To Phase Out 32-Bit Mac Apps Starting In January 2018

Apple Announces New 10.5-Inch iPad Pro With Narrower Side Bezels, 120Hz Refresh Rate Display

At WWDC 2017 today, Apple unveiled a brand new iPad Pro with a 10.5-inch display and 40% narrower bezels. The new iPad features a 50% brighter True Tone display and “ProMotion” technology which increase refresh rates up to 120hz. 9to5Mac reports: The new iPad Pro includes dynamic refresh rate adjustments, screens move from 24hz to 48hz to 120hz. This maximizes battery life and performance, when you need it. The A10x Fusion chip improves CPU and GPU by at least 40%. Cameras have also been upgraded with the same sensor as the iPhone 7 on the back and the front. Apple demoed a photo app called “Affinity Photo, ” to demonstrate the 120hz refresh rates. Apple says new iPad Pro performance compares favorably with a desktop computer. This includes incredibly fast selections and fluid Apple Pencil interactions. Both iPad models start with 64GB of memory and maxes out to 500GB at the high-end. There are also several new software features for iPad, coming this fall with iOS 11: A new customizable Dock that provides quick access to frequently used apps and documents from any screen; Improved multitasking, including a redesigned app switcher that brings Spaces to iOS, making it easier to move between apps or pairs of active apps, used in Split View and now Slide Over; Multi-Touch Drag and Drop, which is available across the system to move text, photos and files from one app to another, anywhere on the screen; A new document scanner in Notes, which lets users easily scan single or multi-page documents, removes shadows and uses powerful image filters to enhance readability; and Deeper integration with Apple Pencil, with support for inline drawing to write along text in Notes and Mail, Instant Markup to easily sign documents, annotate PDFs or draw on screenshots, and a new Instant Notes feature, which opens Notes from the Lock Screen by simply tapping Apple Pencil on the display. New searchable handwriting makes it easy to search for handwritten text or characters. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View post:
Apple Announces New 10.5-Inch iPad Pro With Narrower Side Bezels, 120Hz Refresh Rate Display

Evidence of an official iOS file manager hits the App Store ahead of WWDC

Enlarge / This mostly-empty App Store stub suggests Apple will add a file explorer to iOS 11. Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference gets underway in just a few hours, but it’s never too late for leaks! iOS developer Steve Troughton-Smith has discovered an App Store entry for an Apple-published app called “Files.” The listing appears to be a stub used to re-enable preinstalled first-party applications that you choose to delete, something Apple added support for last year in iOS 10 . There’s not a whole lot of information up right now, but the name of the app and its icon strongly suggest that Apple plans to add some kind of local file manager to iOS 11. There are dummy screenshots listed for both iPhone and iPad versions of the app, so it shouldn’t be an iPad-only feature. The Files app will presumably be more-or-less similar to the iCloud Drive app Apple added to iOS 9—it would just offer access to local apps and files instead of those stored in Apple’s cloud. The app will also presumably stop short of exposing iOS’ filesystem to the extent that the macOS filesystem is exposed; even so, an iOS file manager is a longstanding request of many power users, and any app that provides this kind of functionality is a welcome development. Read on Ars Technica | Comments

See the article here:
Evidence of an official iOS file manager hits the App Store ahead of WWDC

Malicious Apps Brought Ad-Clicking ‘Judy’ Malware To Millions Of Android Phones

An anonymous reader quotes Fortune: The security firm Checkpoint on Thursday uncovered dozens of Android applications that infected users’ devices with malicious ad-click software. In at least one case, an app bearing the malware was available through the Google Play app store for more than a year. While the actual extent of the malicious code’s spread is unknown, Checkpoint says it may have reached as many as 36.5 million users, making it potentially the most widely-spread malware yet found on Google Play… The nefarious nature of the programs went unnoticed in large part, according to Checkpoint, because its malware payload was downloaded from a non-Google server after the programs were installed. The code would then use the infected phone to click on Google ads, generating fraudulent revenue for the attacker. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

See original article:
Malicious Apps Brought Ad-Clicking ‘Judy’ Malware To Millions Of Android Phones