Category Archives: firmware

Google Glass exploration demonstrates a hidden browser and more (video)

Posted on May 24, 2013 by admin

While it’s known that Google Glass has in-testing features just waiting to be exposed , we haven’t seen many attempts to reveal them all. Zhuowei Zhang has stepped in with a complete list of what’s under the hood, and it turns out that some of those features work… more or less. After modding the latest Glass firmware, Android Police can confirm that there is a functional Chrome browser lurking inside; Google just hasn’t woven it into the user experience. Other Labs features produce similarly mixed results. OK Glass Everywhere lets users easily start a voice command chain from anywhere in the interface, but a video stabilization mode clearly isn’t ready for prime time. Although you’ll want to visit the source links for the full rundown, it’s evident from just a cursory glimpse that Glass has plenty of room to grow. Filed under: Wearables , Google Comments Via: Android Police Source: GitHub Continue reading →

Posted in att, Developer, droid, EV, firmware, google, hack, ICS, LED, lg, Mac News, OS, review, video | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LoJack for Android to be embedded in Samsung Galaxy S4′s firmware

Posted on May 22, 2013 by admin

Since the Galaxy S4′s launch, Samsung’s been eager to make security one of the device’s stronger selling points. Through its partnership with Absolute Software, makers of LoJack for Laptops , Samsung will soon embed a theft recovery system right into the the phone’s firmware. LoJack for Android smartphones, launching exclusively on the Galaxy S4, joins SAFE for Knox in Samsung’s quest to develop “the most comprehensive mobile security solution” on the market. While there are plenty of apps that can locate misplaced phones via GPS and wipe their contents, the hope of retrieving a stolen phone is slim to none. In addition to content-clearing software, LoJack will offer a service in which “recovery specialists” attempt to return lost phones to their owners. There’s no guarantee that said recovery specialists will be able to successfully track down thieves and reclaim stolen devices, but it’s nice to dream. Subscriptions for LoJack for Android will start at $29.99 a year, though there’s no official word yet on a release date. Filed under: Cellphones , Software , Mobile , Samsung Comments Via: CNET Source: Absolute Software Continue reading →

Posted in App, Apps, att, content, droid, EV, firmware, google, ICS, jack, laptop, LED, lg, Mac News, Mobile, mobilepostcross, OS, release, review, samsung, security, smartphone, smartphones, software | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Galaxy S III Android 4.2.2 firmware leaked, adds several S 4 features (video)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by admin

Samsung didn’t stray far from its comfort zone when designing the Galaxy S 4 , and now a leaked build of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean for the S III makes it even harder to distinguish the older flagship from the newer one. The folks at SamMobile got their mitts on a test firmware build and, better yet, have combed through it to see what’s new. As you may know, the S 4 ships with 4.2.2 under a TouchWiz layer, so it’s not surprising to hear most of the features new to this S III build are on the S 4 already : an updated version of S Voice, more lock screen options / unlock effects, new display modes, a redesigned settings interface, voice control, and more. SamMobile has put together a video walkthrough of the build (embedded below), and you’ll find an expanded changelog and software screenshots at the source link. Apparently, the firmware “works perfectly,” so if you’d rather not wait through the (often lengthy) carrier approval process, you can download it for your S III right now (flashing required, of course). Filed under: Cellphones , Software , Mobile , Samsung , Google Comments Via: Sammy Hub Source: SamMobile Continue reading →

Posted in App, design, download, droid, EV, firmware, google, hot, ICS, LED, lg, Mac News, Mobile, mobilepostcross, OS, review, rr, samsung, software, update, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Your Mac’s connection to Harry Potter

Posted on May 17, 2013 by admin

The next time you wish to hack into a Mac, it may help to grab your wand and book of spells. At the NoSuchCon security conference this week, security architect Alex Ionescu presented a talk where he revealed that special undocumented code on a Mac’s SMC (system management controller) can be invoked by entering a secret spell used in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series . That spell is “SpecialisRevelio,” the words used by a wizard to “reveal charms and hexes that have been cast onto a target” or “reveal the ingredients of a potion.” In an Ars Technica post about the secret spell, blogger Dan Goodin notes that “While most details are far too technical for this article, the gist of the research is that the SMC is a chip that very few people can read but just about anyone with rudimentary technical skills can ‘flash’ update.” One of the possible attacks that Ionescu pointed out is infecting the SMC with code to pull out the FileVault key used to encrypt a Mac drive, although to implement this an attacker would have to know details of the Mac like the model, year and screen size in advance. Much more likely attacks provided by the spell backdoor include marking targets. The SMC could be programmed to emit audible or visual alerts through the fans or LED displays, which could point out a specific Mac to an attacker. A Mac could even be programmed to turn off at a certain time and refuse to boot again. There’s good news in all of this scary talk: to reflash the firmware an attacker has to have physical access to the Mac. Ionescu also reported that many of the SMC security holes were plugged in OS X Mountain Lion. A full copy of the presentation can be downloaded here (PDF file). Your Mac’s connection to Harry Potter originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Source  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments Continue reading →

Posted in App, apple, att, content, download, EV, f1, firmware, google, hack, LED, lg, Mac, Mac News, mount, OS, RAM, rr, search, security, update | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tim Cook discusses taxes before Tuesday’s visit to Congress: ‘Apple does not funnel domestic profits overseas’

Posted on May 16, 2013 by admin

Yesterday Politico reported that Tim Cook will appear before Congress next week to testify in a hearing regarding how the company is handling its overseas finances and domestic taxes, and today Politico has published a brand new interview with the Apple CEO . Tim Cook and Apple tend to avoid any public discussion aside from comments during quarterly earnings calls, but it seems the company is on a PR offense leading up to next week’s public hearings. “We don’t have a large presence in Washington, as you probably know, but we care deeply about public policy and believe creative policy can be a huge catalyst for a better society and a stronger economy.” Cook went on to defend Apple against any accusations that may come its way next week. “I can tell you unequivocally Apple does not funnel its domestic profits overseas. We don’t do that. We pay taxes on all the products we sell in the U.S., and we pay every dollar that we owe. And so I’d like to be really clear on that.” The Apple CEO also noted the company’s $100 million project to produce a Mac line in the United States this year, which the company says will add jobs to the economy. Cook says that Apple is one of the largest tax payers in the US, citing the company’s current tax bill of $6 billion in 2012 and an expect $7 billion this year. Cook will address Congress and its concerns on Tuesday, possibly suggesting solutions for what many believe to be fundamental problems with the current corporate tax model designed by Washington. “We don’t have a large presence in Washington, as you probably know, but we care deeply about public policy and believe creative policy can be a huge catalyst for a better society and a stronger economy. I hope to make some clear recommendations, and I trust there will be receptive parties there.” Continue reading →

Posted in App, apple, Apps, beta, bf, books, camera, case, cm, content, design, doe, droid, ebook, EV, f1, facebook, firmware, fix, google, HD, hot, ICS, ios, iOS Devices, iPad, iphone, ipod touch, LED, lg, lte, Mac, Mac News, macbook, MacBook Air, Microsoft, Mobile, OS, PC, RAM, release, review, rr, search, stand, sync, TC, update, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 running stock Android 4.2

Posted on May 16, 2013 by admin

Despite being officially unveiled at Google I/O, the stock Android version of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 has remained the unicorn of the show, seldom seen by anyone not closely associated with the company’s top brass. We ran into Android VP Hugo Barra at the show, who was happy to give us a few brief moments with the upcoming device. There is still a lot of mystery around the $649 phone ahead of its June 26th launch, but we’ve been able to glean a few additional details nonetheless. While the model in Hugo’s hand was a pre-release model and therefore subject to change between now and the official release, the hardware and overall design are identical to what we’d find on AT&T or T-Mobile’s model: it sports a Snapdragon 600 chipset, 13MP camera, 16GB of internal storage, a 1080p display and LTE support (a perk for stock fans who were disappointed that the Nexus 4 came without it). Google isn’t officially declaring this a Nexus device (not yet, at least), but the GS4 at least exhibits many of the same qualities, including an unlocked bootloader and the promise of prompt system updates. The firmware is pristine as well: it’s Android 4.2.2 in exactly the same form it would take on a run-of-the-mill Nexus. Samsung’s onslaught of smart features — the S-branding, Air Gestures, special camera modes and the like — are all absent here, leaving the user with an experience completely untouched by the manufacturer. The phone appears to respond a tad faster without the TouchWiz experience, but we’ll need to spend more time with it before coming to any solid conclusions. Sound like the perfect phone for you? Make sure you’re in the Google Play Store on June 26th so you can grab one for yourself. In the meantime, enjoy our gallery of images below! Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S 4 running stock Android at Google I/O Filed under: Cellphones , Wireless , Mobile , Samsung , Google Comments Continue reading →

Posted in App, camera, design, droid, EV, f1, firmware, google, Hardware, hot, ICS, LED, lg, lte, Mac News, Mobile, mobilepostcross, OS, PC, release, review, rr, samsung, sport, update | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple releases Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 for mid 2012 MacBook Air

Posted on May 16, 2013 by admin

Apple has released a new firmware update for the mid 2012 MacBook Air today that helps to address problems with the device recovering from a crash. Apple release notes said the update addresses “a storage firmware issue that, in rare cases, may cause a system to fail to recover from crash.” The MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 is available to download on Apple’s website here and should be hitting Software Update soon. The 1.69 MB update is available for mid 2012 MacBook Airs running OS X 10.7.5 or OS X 10.8.3. Continue reading →

Posted in App, apple, Apps, beta, bf, camera, case, cm, content, doe, download, droid, ebook, EV, f1, facebook, firmware, fix, google, HD, hot, ICS, ios, iOS Devices, iPad, iphone, ipod touch, LED, lg, lte, Mac, Mac News, macbook, MacBook Air, Microsoft, Mobile, OS, PC, RAM, release, review, rr, search, software, sync, TC, update, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple releases iTunes 11.0.3 with new MiniPlayer, an improved Songs View, and multi-disc albums

Posted on May 16, 2013 by admin

Apple just released iTunes 11.0.3 with several new features including enhancements to the MiniPlayer, an improved Songs View, and multi-disc albums. Apple’s new MiniPlayer, which it first introduced in iTunes 11, today gets a new “beautiful view that showcases your album artwork” as well as a progress bar viewable right from the MiniPlayer. The new view for MiniPlayer can also be expanded to show an entire playlist (as pictured above). Other improvements to iTunes in version 11.0.3 include the ability to view multi-disc albums as a single album and “performance improvements when searching and sorting large iTunes libraries.” The update also includes an updated interface for updating iOS apps (below). Thanks Graham ! The update is available through Software Update now. The new update also addresses several security-related issues: iTunes 11.0.3 is now available and addresses the following: iTunes Available for:  Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later, Windows 7, Vista, XP SP2 or later Impact:  An attacker in a privileged network position may manipulate HTTPS server certificates, leading to the disclosure of sensitive information Description:  A certificate validation issue existed in iTunes. In certain contexts, an active network attacker could present untrusted certificates to iTunes and they would be accepted without warning. This issue was resolved by improved certificate validation. CVE-ID CVE-2013-1014 : Christopher of ThinkSECURE Pte Ltd, Christopher Hickstein of University of Minnesota iTunes Available for:  Windows 7, Vista, XP SP2 or later Impact:  A man-in-the-middle attack while browsing the iTunes Store via iTunes may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code executionn Description:  Multiple memory corruption issues existed in WebKit. These issues were addressed through improved memory handling. CVE-ID CVE-2012-2824 : miaubiz CVE-2012-2857 : Arthur Gerkis CVE-2012-3748 : Joost Pol and Daan Keuper of Certified Secure working with HP TippingPoint’s Zero Day Initiative CVE-2012-5112 : Pinkie Pie working with Google’s Pwnium 2 contest CVE-2013-0879 : Atte Kettunen of OUSPG CVE-2013-0912 : Nils and Jon from MWR Labs working with HP TippingPoint’s Zero Day Initiative CVE-2013-0948 : Abhishek Arya (Inferno) of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0949 : Abhishek Arya (Inferno) of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0950 : Abhishek Arya (Inferno) of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0951 : Apple CVE-2013-0952 : Abhishek Arya (Inferno) of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0953 : Abhishek Arya (Inferno) of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0954 : Dominic Cooney of Google and Martin Barbella of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0955 : Apple CVE-2013-0956 : Apple Product Security CVE-2013-0958 : Abhishek Arya (Inferno) of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0959 : Abhishek Arya (Inferno) of the Google Chrome Security Team CVE-2013-0960 : Apple CVE-2013-0961 : wushi of team509 working with iDefense VCP CVE-2013-0991 : Jay Civelli of the Chromium development community CVE-2013-0992 : Google Chrome Security Team (Martin Barbella) CVE-2013-0993 : Google Chrome Security Team (Inferno) CVE-2013-0994 : David German of Google CVE-2013-0995 : Google Chrome Security Team (Inferno) CVE-2013-0996 : Google Chrome Security Team (Inferno) CVE-2013-0997 : Vitaliy Toropov working with HP TippingPoint’s Zero Day Initiative CVE-2013-0998 : pa_kt working with HP TippingPoint’s Zero Day Initiative CVE-2013-0999 : pa_kt working with HP TippingPoint’s Zero Day Initiative CVE-2013-1000 : Fermin J. Serna of the Google Security Team CVE-2013-1001 : Ryan Humenick CVE-2013-1002 : Sergey Glazunov CVE-2013-1003 : Google Chrome Security Team (Inferno) CVE-2013-1004 : Google Chrome Security Team (Martin Barbella) CVE-2013-1005 : Google Chrome Security Team (Martin Barbella) CVE-2013-1006 : Google Chrome Security Team (Martin Barbella) CVE-2013-1007 : Google Chrome Security Team (Inferno) CVE-2013-1008 : Sergey Glazunov CVE-2013-1010 : miaubiz CVE-2013-1011 : Google Chrome Security Team (Inferno) Continue reading →

Posted in App, apple, Apps, att, beta, bf, books, camera, case, cm, content, doe, download, droid, ebook, EV, f1, facebook, firmware, fix, google, HD, hot, ICS, ios, iOS Devices, iPad, ipad app, iphone, ipod touch, LED, lg, live, lte, Mac, Mac News, Mac OS, macbook, MacBook Air, Microsoft, Mobile, OS, PC, RAM, release, review, rr, search, security, software, stand, sync, TC, update, video | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nokia announces Smart Camera app for the Lumia 925 (updated with hands-on video!)

Posted on May 14, 2013 by admin

Here at the Nokia event in London, we’ve seen the Lumia 925 go from rumor to reality, and now we’re hearing more about the camera software debuting on the handset. For starters, the app has improved low-light performance and noise reduction, and will burst capture at 5-megapixels, with the full 8.7-megapixels available in single-shooting mode. Sports shooters will get Action Shot, which combines several images for a slow-mo effect, and Best Shot will let you (or the camera) choose one of 10 frames that gives the best overall image. Motion focus will add a blur effect to the background while keeping moving objects in focus, with the option to adjust the level of blur later. Burst shooting also gives the ability to selectively choose the most (or least) hammy expressions on your subjects and finally, there’s an option that lets you delete moving objects that might be in the way of your subject, as shown above. Nokia announced that Smart Camera won’t just be limited to the Lumia 925 either, as all of the Finnish company’s Windows 8 Phone devices will get it through Nokia’s Lumia Amber firmware update, arriving sometime this summer. If none of that works for you, there’s always Hipstamatic , which was also just trumpeted for Windows Phone 8 at today’s event. Update: You can now see the Smart Cam in action in our hands-on video after the break. With skateboarding! Gallery: Nokia Lumia’s Smart Camera app hands-on Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , Nokia Comments Continue reading →

Posted in App, camera, EV, f1, firmware, google, handset, hot, ICS, LED, lg, live, Mac News, Mobile, mobilepostcross, Nokia, OS, RAM, rr, rumor, software, sport, TC, update, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Canon 5D Mark III now captures 24 fps RAW video thanks to Magic Lantern firmware add-on (update: Mark II also)

Posted on May 13, 2013 by admin

It’s no secret that Canon’s 5D Mark III is the go-to DSLR for videographers the world over, but things are about to become a whole lot more interesting. The people behind Magic Lantern have successfully coaxed the 5D Mark III into shooting 24 fps RAW video at resolutions up to 1,920 x 820 pixels using 1000x speed cards. If you’re not familiar with Magic Lantern, it’s an open source firmware add-on that brings additional functionality to Canon EOS cameras. The ability to capture RAW video at 24 fps improves dynamic range and resolution — it also provides extra flexibility during post-production. According to the team at Magic Lantern, more work is required before the feature is ready to be deployed. So until then, you’re invited to follow the link below and watch the RAW vs. H.264 videos after the break. Update: We just received news from Magic Lantern that Canon’s Mark II is now also a go for 24 fps with the new firmware. Nic from the development team said “After some further testing it is clear the older, cheaper Mark II should be able to record at least resolutions of 1880×840 in full-frame mode (with line skipping).” Filed under: Cameras , Canon Comments Source: Nofilmschool Continue reading →

Posted in camera, EV, f1, firmware, google, ICS, LED, lg, Mac News, OS, RAM, TC, update, video | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment