Android updates don’t matter anymore — or at least that’s what many people think. Back-to-back-to-back Jelly Bean releases and a KitKat release seemed to only polish what already existed. When Google took the wraps off of “Android L” at Google I/O, though, it was clear that this release was different. Android 5.0 Lollipop is at least the biggest update since Android 4.0, and it’s probably the biggest Android release ever. Read more…
Microsoft open-sources .Net, saying it will run on Linux and Mac
Satya Nadella’s rapid reinvention of Microsoft continues. In yet another bid to make up lost ground in the long march to the future of computing, Microsoft is now open-sourcing the very foundation of .Net — the software that millions of developers use to build and operate websites and other large online applications — and it says this free code will eventually run not only on computer servers that use its own Windows operating system, but also atop machines equipped with Linux or Apple’s Mac OS, Microsoft’s two main operating system rivals. Read more…
iOS 8 vs Android 5.0 Lollipop: material difference
Last week, Google announced the launch of Android 5.0 Lollipop, the most radical design overhaul of Android since it launched in late 2008. Six weeks ago, Apple announced iOS 8, one of the most exciting and expansive releases of iOS since it debuted in 2007 (under the name ‘Mobile OS X’). It is now time to put them head-to-head. Read more…
The random events that sparked eight of the world’s biggest start-ups
Lightbulb moments don’t happen on command, and brainstorming sessions rarely produce extraordinary results. More often it’s a random remark, event or memory that sends an entrepreneur down the rabbit hole of innovation. From Airbnb to Yelp, here are the surprising origin stories to eight of today’s hottest companies. Read more…
How I reverse engineered Google Docs
If you’ve ever typed anything into a Google Doc, you can now play it back as if it were a movie — like traveling through time to look over your own shoulder as you write. This is possible because every document written in Google Docs since about May 2010 has a revision history that tracks every change, by every user, with timestamps accurate to the microsecond. These histories are available to anyone with edit permissions, and I have written a piece of software that can find, decode and rebuild the history for any given document. Read more…
YouTube announces plans for a subscription music service
After spending months on revisions, YouTube confirmed on Wednesday that it will launch a paid subscription service that lets users stream high-quality, ad-free music and music videos. The service, which launches next week in invite-only beta, is to be called YouTube Music Key. “Artists and fans have made YouTube the biggest music service in the world,” says Christophe Muller, YouTube’s director of global music partnerships. “We want to continue to make YouTube the best place for artists and fans to connect.” Read more…
Hacking into an isolated computer using FM radio signals
In order to secure sensitive information, many companies and government agencies generally use totally secure computer systems by making sure it it’s not connected to any network at all. But the most secure systems aren’t safe anymore. Security researchers at the Cyber Security Labs at Ben Gurion University in Israel have found a way to snoop on a PC, even with no network connection. Read more…
HP’s 3D printer is essentially a replicator
When the computing and printing giant Hewlett-Packard announced its plans to enter the nascent market for 3D printing earlier this week, it set the stakes by saying its technology could trigger a “new era of manufacturing”. HP is instead aiming at bringing 3D printing to big industry. The concept device it showed off at an event in New York last week, called Multi Jet Fusion, fits not on a desk, but is about the size of a pair of household laundry machines. Read more…
Hacking Up history: the history of hacking
“History repeats itself” is a phrase you’d never think of in the tech world, but it holds quite a bit of truth in the industry. With the recent rise in data breaches, you might think that hacking is a relatively new phenomenon that inevitably came with the price of hi-tech goodies. Duo Security, however, proves that cyber masterminds were active long before anyone thought possible with its history of hacking infographic. Read more…
Internet Archive now lets you play 900 classic arcade games
Cancel whatever plans you had for the rest of today. The Internet Archive, a nonprofit best known for backing up Web pages, has added a collection of 900 videogames from the 1970s to 1990s that can be played in your Web browser — no coins required. Read more…