Amazon seeks UK drone experts for delivery service

 

Amazon is developing its drone service in both Seattle (US) and Cambridge (UK)

 

UK drone experts are being sought by Amazon to help with its fledgling drone-based delivery service.

Amazon's Prime Air will use small drones to deliver packages up to 2.3kg (5lb) in weight to customers within 30 minutes of an order being placed.
Drone testing will take place in Cambridge at a site Amazon acquired when it bought Evi Technologies.
Prime Air-related ads for engineers, software developers and scientists have now appeared on Amazon's jobs site.
The ads come as Imperial College unveils plans to create the UK's most advanced drone research lab.
Video capture Amazon announced its plans to create Prime Air in December 2013 and said it might take five years for the service to actually start. Early work suggests it will use small octocopters to deliver packages.
Research on Prime Air was known to be under way in Seattle and the ads suggest this has now been expanded to include Cambridge, UK. The job adverts seek people with expertise in flying drones, a strong aeronautical engineering background or project management.
In a statement issued when it was quizzed about the ads, Amazon said: "We have multiple Prime Air development centres, including R&D labs in Seattle and Cambridge.
"We're always looking to add great talent to the team; the Cambridge-based Prime Air positions we have open are a reflection of that."
Other companies known to be developing drone-based delivery services include Google and DHL. During the summer, Google demonstrated its service using a fixed-wing craft and in September DHL started a regular drone-delivery service to an island in the North Sea.
Also this week Imperial College announced it was spending £1.25m to create a research lab and test arena to boost UK expertise in unmanned aerial vehicles.

 

 Construction work on Imperial's drone lab will be finished in 2016

 

Funded by cash from an Imperial alumnus, the two-storey lab will house a workshop fitted with 3D printers and micromachining equipment so researchers can quickly make and modify drones.
In addition, the lab will have a large enclosed arena where the devices can be tested by being flown or piloted through a pool.
High-speed cameras will film drones as they fly or swim to help engineers and scientists refine their creations.
"Ultimately, we are aiming to develop flying robots that could improve the way companies do business, save lives and help to protect our environment," said Dr Mirko Kovac, director of the new lab.
Air safety watchdogs in the UK and US limit where drones and other unmanned craft can be used.
In the UK, drone pilots must have a permit to operate one and the devices are prohibited from flying over crowds of 1,000 or more people or within 50m of a building.
Similarly, in the US commercial drone operators must get permission to fly their craft. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently relaxed its rules to allow six TV and film companies to use them after they filed detailed flight plans covering how and where they would be flown.
Despite the FAA rules, many photography, surveying and video firms are known to flout them and use the craft widely in their work.

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Hackers attacked the U.S. weather system in October, causing a disruption in satellite feeds and several pivotal websites.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, said that four of its websites were hacked in recent weeks. To block the attackers, government officials were forced to shut down some of its services.

This explains why satellite data was mysteriously cut off in October, as well as why the National Ice Center website and others were down for more than a week. During that time, federal officials merely stated a need for "unscheduled maintenance."
Still, NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen insisted that the aftermath of the attack "did not prevent us from delivering forecasts to the public."
Little more is publicly known about the attack, which was first revealed by The Washington Post. It's unclear what damage, if any, was caused by the hack.
But hackers managed to penetrate what's considered one of the most vital aspects of the U.S. government. The nation's military, businesses and local governments all rely on nonstop reports from the U.S. weather service.
The impact of the hack was real: Scientists at Atmospheric and Environmental Research in Lexington, Massachusetts were unable to send a preliminary report about weather patterns to traders and investors earlier this year.
"We were shut out entirely. That's our one source of data," said Rutgers climatologist David Robinson, whose global snow lab also relies on the satellite data.
The cyberattack on the U.S. weather system is only the latest one on the United States. The White House was hacked last month. Shortly before that, hackers breached USIS, a federal contractor that knows who has top security clearances for the U.S. government -- because it provides background checks.
Typically, cybersecurity experts blame Russia for hacks on the nation's infrastructure -- or sometimes China.

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Microsoft has patched a critical bug in its software that had existed for 19 years.

IBM researchers discovered the flaw, which affects Windows and Office products, in May this year - but worked with Microsoft to fix the problem before going public.
The bug had been present in every version of Windows since 95, IBM said.
Attackers could exploit the bug to remotely control a PC, and so users are being urged to download updates.
Microsoft has addressed the problem in its monthly security update, along with more than a dozen patches to fix other security issues, with a further two to be rolled out soon.
In a blog post explaining the vulnerability in depth, IBM researcher Robert Freeman wrote: "The bug can be used by an attacker for drive-by attacks to reliably run code remotely and take over the user's machine."
In computer security, a drive-by attack typically means making users download malicious software.
The bug had been "sitting in plain sight", IBM said.
The vulnerability - dubbed WinShock by some - has been graded as 9.3 out of a possible 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), a measure of severity in computer security.
Six figures One of the other bugs affects Microsoft's Windows Server platforms - putting the security of websites that handle encrypted data at risk.
Specifically, it relates to Microsoft Secure Channel, known as Schannel, Microsoft's software for implementing secure transfer of data.
Schannel now joins the other major secure standards - Apple SecureTransport , GNUTLS, OpenSSL and NSS - in having a major flaw discovered this year.

 

The bug has been likened to Heartbleed, a major security issue also affecting secure data transfer

 

Security experts had compared this latest flaw to other significant problems that had come to light this year such as the Heartbleed bug.
However, they added that while its impact could be just as significant, it might be more difficult for attackers to exploit.
As with Heartbleed, the exploit relates to vulnerabilities in the technology used to transfer data securely - known as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).
Potentially 'disastrous' There is no evidence the bug identified by IBM has been exploited "in the wild", but now that a patch has been issued and the problem made public, experts have predicted attacks on out-of-date machines would be "likely".
The bug would have probably been worth more than six figures had it been sold to criminal hackers, the researchers added.
Gavin Millard, from Tenable Network Security, said the fact there had been no known attacks yet should not dampen concerns.
"Whilst no proof-of-concept code has surfaced yet, due to Microsoft thankfully being tight-lipped on the exact details of the vulnerability, it won't be long until one does, which could be disastrous for any admin that hasn't updated."

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Facebook gets down to Privacy Basics for simplicity's sake

Facebook is trying to share more about itself.
The world's largest social network, which has been knocked for failing to be transparent on how it gathers data on its users, said Thursday it is updating its data policy to make it shorter and clearer to understand. It's also rolling out "Privacy Basics," a Web page with interactive tips and guides on how to control your information on the site.
"Privacy Basics is the latest step we've taken to help you make sure you're sharing with exactly who you want," the company said Thursday.
Facebook is taking comments and suggestions about the changes until Nov. 20. The company plans to provide final updates after that.
Now with 1.35 billion active users, Facebook has routinely faced criticism for not properly disclosing how it tracks its users on its site and around the Web so it can package that information for advertisers. Users have complained about Facebook's confusing privacy policies and continuously changing privacy controls. The company is also subject to the terms of a 2011 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission under which it must receive explicit approval before sharing more users' privacy information than it already does.
The changes introduced Thursday don't alter how Facebook collects its data, nor do they affect user settings, but are a way for the company to tell people a little more clearly what it does with user information. Some of the changes are only available in certain regions.
The data policy was color-coded and put on one page, instead of broken up into several pages, and can be searched by basic questions, such as "How is this information shared?" or "How can I manage or delete information about me?" Additionally, Privacy Basics provides users with general information about Facebook features like untagging, unfriending and blocking.
The company also said people can make changes to which ads they want to see on one device and those changes will now apply on every device used to access a Facebook account.

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Apple malware affects mostly Chinese users

Malware has bypassed Apple's safety controls by taking advantage of a process used by employers to add apps to workers' iPhones and iPads.

US-based Palo Alto Networks said WireLurker appeared to have originated in China and was mostly infecting devices there.
The malware first targets Mac computers via a third-party store before copying itself to iOS devices.
Researchers warn it steals information and can install other damaging apps.
"WireLurker is unlike anything we've ever seen in terms of Apple iOS and OS X malware," said Ryan Olson, Palo Alto Network's intelligence director.
"The techniques in use suggest that bad actors are getting more sophisticated when it comes to exploiting some of the world's best-known desktop and mobile platforms."
WireLurker has the ability to transfer from Apple's Mac computer to mobile devices through a USB cable.

 

 The malware initially gets onto an iOS device via a USB link to an infected Mac computer 

 

The security firm said the malware was capable of stealing "a variety of information" from mobile devices it infects and regularly requested updates from the attackers' control server.
"This malware is under active development and its creator's ultimate goal is not yet clear," the company added.
Apple has issued a brief statement.
"We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we've blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching," it said.
"As always, we recommend that users download and install software from trusted sources."
Work apps According to Palo Alto Networks, WireLurker was first noticed in June when a developer at the Chinese firm Tencent realised there were suspicious files and processes happening on his Mac and iPhone.
Further inquiries revealed a total of 467 Mac programs listed on the Maiyadi App Store had been compromised to include the malware, which in turn had been downloaded 356,104 times as of 16 Oct.
Infected software included popular games including Angry Birds, The Sims 3, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
Once the malware was on the Mac, it communicated with a command-and-control server to check if it needed to update its code, and then waited until an iPhone, iPad or iPod was connected.
When an iOS device was connected the malware would check if it was jailbroken - a process used by some to remove some of Apple's restrictions.
If it was jailbroken, WireLurker backed up the device's apps to the Mac, where it repackaged them with malware, and then installed the infected versions back on to the iOS machine.
If it was not jailbroken - which is the case for most iOS devices - WireLurker took advantage of a technique created by Apple to allow businesses to install special software on their staff's handsets and tablets.

 

Wirelurker hides its code inside software that is initially downloaded to a Mac computer

 

This involved placing infected apps on the device that had been signed with a bogus "enterprise certificate" - code added to a product that is supposed to prove it comes from a trustworthy source.
To ensure the devices accepted this certificate, a permissions request was made to pop up on the targeted iOS device on the user's first attempt to run an infected app.
It simply asked for permission to run the app, but if the user clicked "continue" it installed code called a "provisioning profile", which told the iOS device it could trust any other app that had the same enterprise certificate.
Palo Alto Networks remarked that while this technique was not a new concept, it was the only known example of it being used to target non-jailbroken iOS devices in the wild.
Once active, the malware is used to upload information about the machine to the hackers, including phone numbers from its Contacts app, and the user's Apple ID.
Different versions of WireLurker also automatically installed new apps on the devices - including a video game and a comic book reader.

 

The hackers fooled users into approving a bogus enterprise certificate

 

While these were innocuous, experts warn they could represent a test run for other more damaging software.
"People have got very used to iOS being secure and there is a danger they may be complacent about the risk this presents," said Prof Alan Woodward, from the University of Surrey.
"Now Apple knows what it's looking for, it should be able to shut it down relatively easily. But it shows that people are trying to attack Apple's operating system and the firm can't take security for granted."
Under attack News of the attack comes after tech giant Apple's iCloud storage service in China was attacked by hackers trying to steal user information just last month.
Chinese web monitoring group Greatfire.org said that hackers intercepted data and potentially gained access to passwords, messages, photos and contacts. They believed the Beijing government was behind the move.
But, the Chinese government denied the claims and was backed by state-owned internet provider China Telecom, which said the accusation was "untrue and unfounded".
China is home to the world's biggest smartphone market and Apple saw its iPhone sales there jump 50% in the April to June quarter from a year earlier.
To minimise the risk of attack, Palo Alto Networks has recommended that users:

• Do not download Mac apps from third-party stores
• Do not jailbreak iOS devices
• Do not connect their iOS devices to untrusted computers and accessories, either to copy information or charge the machines
• Do not accept requests for a new "enterprise provisioning profile" unless it comes from an authorised party, for example the employer's IT department

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Tech giant Intel backs schoolboy inventor

 

Mr Banerjee's original Braille printer was made out of Lego robotics parts

 

A 13-year-old boy from California has secured funding from Intel to bring a low-cost Braille printer to market.

Intel has not disclosed the exact sum it is giving to Shubham Banerjee, but the Reuters news agency reported it was "a few hundred thousand dollars".
The teenager rose to prominence after showing off a prototype version made with Lego kit, at the White House, when he was aged just 12.
Only a minority of blind people use Braille.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) estimates that about 4% of visually impaired children and young people in England currently use it.
Even so, the charity greeted the news.
"We welcome investment in technology that aims to improve everyday life for blind and partially sighted people, and especially applaud this brilliant initiative from such a young entrepreneur," said Clive Gardiner, RNIB's head of reading and digital services.

 

 Mr Banerjee showed off an early version of Braigo v2.0 in September

 

"Electronic Braille has great potential, but has been hindered to date by high device costs for users.
"New innovations for low-cost Braille printers such as this one... can transform reading choices for people with sight loss who read Braille.
"We look forward to hearing more about its progress."
Braille 2.0 Until now, Mr Banerjee's company - Braigo Labs - had relied on $35,000 (£21,920) worth of cash from his parents to turn what was originally a science fair project into a proper Silicon Valley start-up.
The original Braigo v1.0 printer used Lego's Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit as well as parts from a local home renovations store.
Users wrote text via an attached keypad, which the machine then converted into Braille, bashing out the raised bumps on a scroll of paper.
The invention won Mr Banerjee several awards and a place at the White House's inaugural Maker Faire in June, attended by President Barack Obama.
He has since begun work on a follow-up version, which is powered by Intel's budget-priced Edison chip and uses 3D-printed parts.

 

Intel announced the investment in Braigo Labs at an event in California

 

"It is less power-hungry and has the future possibilities of using batteries... in remote places of the world," Mr Banerjee said when he showed off the work-in-progress at an event hosted by Intel in September.
"The capabilities of Edison enabled me to do a whole set of use cases I hadn't previously thought about.
"For example, when we wake up in the morning we look at our smartphone or tablet to see the headline news.
"With Edison, we've set it up so the CNN headlines are printed off automatically every morning."
The teenager hopes in time to sell a commercial model that will cost around $350 - about a fifth of the price of the lowest-cost alternatives.
But while he is one of the youngest tech entrepreneurs to find success, he is not dedicating his life to the project at this stage.
"It's an after-school thing," he told Reuters.
Such investments can make good business sense for large tech firms.
Yahoo gained both a project chief and a lot of positive publicity when it employed British app developer Nick D'Aloisio in 2013, when he was 17-years-old.

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Inflatable baby incubator wins James Dyson Award

 

The incubator's inventor says it can match the performance of systems 100 times the price

 

A prototype inflatable incubator for prematurely-born babies has been picked as the international winner of this year's James Dyson Award.

Mom costs a fraction of the price to make than commonly-used alternatives.
The project's inventor - Loughborough University graduate James Roberts - said he hoped the final product would be used in the developing world.
One expert said it should be a good stand-in so long as the babies using it were not too premature.
Mr Roberts said that he had begun work on Mom as part of a final year project inspired by a TV documentary.
"I was watching a Panorama programme on BBC about Syrian refugees, and they had a segment about how there are loads of premature kids dying because of the stresses of war and specifically the lack of incubators out there and the infrastructure to support them," he recalled.
"I thought there has to be a way to solve that."
He added that the £30,000 award meant that he could continue work on the machine, which he now hopes to bring to market by 2017.
Jaundice lamp The device is designed to be delivered as flat-packed parts that are assembled at their destination.

 

The electronic components of the prototype Mom are controlled by an Arduino computer

 

At its heart is a sheet of plastic containing inflatable transparent panels that are blown up manually and then heated by a ceramic element. This wraps around the interior of the unit to keep a newborn warm.
"When it's opened it won't collapse in on the child and will maintain its shape," Mr Roberts stressed.
An Arduino computer is used to keep the temperature stable, control humidification, and manage a phototherapy lamp that can be used to treat jaundice, as well as sound an alarm.
The electronic components are designed to use as little power as possible and can be run off a car battery for more than 24 hours when mains electricity is not available.
The modular design of the kit allows damaged parts to be replaced without compromising the whole unit. And after the child is taken out of the incubator, it can be collapsed and the plastic sheet sterilised so that Mom can be easily transported for re-use elsewhere.
"Normally with incubators it costs loads to get them anywhere because you need huge boxes to put them in, and that can cost a lot to put on a flight," Mr Roberts said.
"This one can go in a care packages already used for refugee camps."

 

The incubator can be powered by a car battery for more than a day at a time

 

He estimated that the current prototype would cost about £250 to manufacture, and suggested it would offer a similar level of performance to modern systems that cost £30,000.
'Fantastically elegant' Mom's design was praised by one of the UK's leading neonatal experts.
"In resource-poor settings, the cold is one of the biggest killers of babies that are born slightly premature," said Dr Martin Ward Platt, a consultant paediatrician at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.
"Just being able to maintain a good and stable environment is of enormous importance.
"We mustn't lose sight of the fact you can achieve a huge amount of that simply by keeping a baby in contact with a mother's body. But for a variety of reasons, that isn't always going to be possible, particularly if the mother becomes ill herself.

 

Mr Roberts received £30,000 as a result of winning the James Dyson Award

 

"And in a refugee camp, where it may be necessary to separate a baby from her mother, this provides a fantastically elegant and cheap solution."
Dr Platt added that normal hospital incubators cost so much because they were designed to cope with babies born with as little as a seventh of the normal birth weight, who would need intensive care for weeks or even months - which Mom is not designed for.
But, the doctor said, doing away with some of the "bells and whistles" in order to "do the basics very well" made sense in situations where expensive kit was not available.
However, he was sceptical of Mr Roberts' suggestion that a version of Mom might end up being stored in ambulances and used in remote parts of the UK to transport prematurely born babies to hospital.
Even so, the inventor suggested that the modular nature of the incubator could make it easy to adapt its parts for different needs.
"I've been approached by a few companies who want to work with me on it, but I have to decide what I want to do," Mr Roberts added.
The runners-up in the competition were:

• Qolo - an electric chair that can be controlled by the user tilting and twisting their upper body
• Suncayr - a pen with colour changing ink that can be applied to the skin to let the user know when they should reapply sun cream
• Bruise - an injury detection suit for disabled athletes

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Warning on effects of 3D on vision

Children up to the age of 13 should have only moderate exposure to 3D, the report finds

A French health watchdog has recommended that children under the age of six should not be allowed access to 3D content.

The Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Anses) added that access for those up to the age of 13 should be "moderate".
It follows research into the possible impact of 3D imaging on still-developing eyes.
Few countries currently have guidelines about 3D usage.
According to Anses, the process of assimilating a three-dimensional effect requires the eyes to look at images in two different places at the same time before the brain translates it as one image.
"In children, and particularly before the age of six, the health effects of this vergence-accommodation conflict could be much more severe given the active development of the visual system at this time," it said in a statement.
Nintendo warning It is not the first time questions have been raised about the safety of 3D, which is used in many feature films as well as on some video games, TVs and computer screens.
Italy has sought to restrict the use of 3D glasses by young children, following a similar warning from its national health agency last year.
When Nintendo released its 3D video console in 2010 it warned that playing games on it could damage the eyesight of children under six.
More and more firms are creating 3D-enabled products and Apple is rumoured to be developing a 3D display that can be viewed without the need to wear special glasses.
The American Optometric Association has said that it has had no reports of eye damage as a a result of viewing 3D content.

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Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Warg gets lengthy jail term

Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Warg has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for hacking into computers and illegally downloading files.

He and a co-defendant were convicted of breaking into computers owned by technology services giant CSC by a Danish court.
They downloaded police and social security files from the computers.
Prosecutors said it was the "largest hacking case to date".
Soon after the sentence was announced, lawyers representing Mr Warg said they would launch an appeal.
Warg's accomplice was given a six-month jail sentence but walked free from the court, having served 17 months in pre-trial detention.
The initial hack attack took place in February 2012 and gave the pair access to the sensitive information, including social security numbers and police records, for about six months.
Defence lawyers said that, although the hack attacks were carried out using a computer owned by Warg, he was not the person that used it to steal the files.
Instead, they said, an unnamed hacker took over this machine and used it to carry out the attacks. Warg has declined to name this other hacker.
After considering evidence, the judge and jury in the case said it was "unlikely" that other people were responsible.
The court's decision is the third to go against Warg in the last five years.
He was deported from Cambodia in September 2013 to Sweden where he served a jail term for copyright theft because of his involvement with the Pirate Bay file-sharing site.
In a separate trial in 2013, Warg was sentenced to two years in a Swedish jail for hacking into a bank's computers. This sentence was reduced to one year on appeal.
In that trial, Warg and accomplice were found guilty of breaking into the computer systems of computer services firm Logica, which was doing work for Sweden's tax office and a bank. On that occasion his accomplice was put on probation.
In late November 2013 he was deported to Denmark to face charges in the CSC hacking cases.

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Samsung Galaxy A5, A3 Release Date Annouced

The Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 release date has just been announced with Samsung unveiling two new ultra-thin, fully metal devices targeting young consumers with a 5-megapixel selfie camera and social networking optimization. According to Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 are its thinnest devices yet with the 5-inch Galaxy A5 just 6.7mm thick and the 4.5-inch Galaxy A3 just 6.9mm thick, beating or matching the iPhone 6, which is 6.9mm thick. The two new smartphones are also the first from Samsung to feature a metal unibody design.

“The Galaxy A5 and A3 offer a beautifully crafted full metal unibody, slim design, superior hardware and the best possible social media experience,” JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communication at Samsung Electronics, said in a release. “These devices make our advanced Galaxy experience even more accessible to young and trend conscious consumers.” To facilitate selfie taking, the Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 feature a 5-megapixel front camera with a slew of selfie modes including wide selfie, palm selfie, beauty face features, rear-cam selfies and even an animated gif maker.

Samsung Galaxy A5

The Samsung Galaxy A5 and A3 release date announcement is seen by analysts as Samsung’s first counterstrike after a dismal third quarter earnings report, Reuters reported. While the new shiny devices are being marketed to young consumers, it’s clear that Samsung is aiming to reclaim its title of biggest smartphone maker in China from local upstart Xiaomi. The two new smartphones will go on sale in China in November and other select markets that have yet to be announced. Pricing details for the Samsung Galaxy A5 and A3 have not been revealed but they are considered mid-tier devices without the top-of-the line specs of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy devices.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 is a more premium device than the Galaxy A3, which the A5 boosting a higher resolution screen, more memory, better rear camera and bigger battery. The Samsung Galaxy A5 has a 5-inch 720x1280 pixels or 294 ppi display compared to the Galaxy A3’s 4.5-inch 540x960 pixels or 245 ppi display. While both new devices have a 5-megapixel camera front camera with selfie functions, the Galaxy A5 has a 13-megapixel rear camera while the Galaxy A3 has an 8-megapixel one.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 both sport a quad-core 1.2GHz processor but the A5 has 2GB of RAM, while the A3 has 1GB of RAM. Both devices have 16GB of  built-in storage with support for up to 64GB microSD card. But the Galaxy A5 has a 2,300 mAh battery compared to the Galaxy A3’s 1,900 mAh battery. Both devices will ship with Android 4.4 KitKat and come in a variety of colors including white, black, soft pink, light blue, silver and gold.

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Auxo 2 now available for iPad [Updated]

Auxo 2, one of the best jailbreak tweaks for iOS 7 has just been updated to add support for iPad.
Auxo 2 is an awesome replacement for the app switcher that has been completely re-imagined for iOS 7, and comes with a number of new features such as Quick Switcher, Multi-Center, Hot Corners and more.
A3tweaks had released Auxo 2 for the iPhone earlier in the month, and it brings the same features to the iPad. Here’s a recap in case you missed it:
Quick Switcher:

It offers a cool new way to switch between apps with touch gestures. Here’s how it works. When you swipe up on the bottom left corner of the screen, it displays six app icons at the bottom of the screen instead of just one. You can then drag your finger across the app icons, and release it when you come to the app you want to switch to it, in one single motion.
The only difference in Auxo 2 for iPad is that, Quick Switcher is not limited to just 6 recently used apps like on the iPhone. You will be able to quickly switch to any app running in the background on the iPad.
Quick Switcher is one of the best features of Auxo 2, but it may take sometime to get used to the new workflow.
Multi-Center:
It integrates the Control Center with the app switcher. So you can access media controls, quick launch shortcuts, system toggles and brightness controls in the app switcher.
Unlike Auxo 2 for iPhone, the system toggles, the AirDrop/AirPlay options, brightness controls and media controls can all be accessed from the bottom, below the app switcher.

The developer has also paid attention to the smallest details by adding a Home icon to the Home screen page in the app switcher.
It also includes some nifty features for iTunes Radio users such as the ability to favorite a song to influence upcoming songs, and also to scrub songs which is not possible with the default Music app. Tapping on the name of the currently playing song will display the album art in the center of the screen. Tap and hold on the song information will launch the Music app.

Thanks to iPad’s larger screen real estate, Multi-Center doesn’t feel as cluttered on the iPad.
Close All app:
You can also swipe up on the Home screen card in the app switcher to close all apps running in the background, and is smart enough to know that it should not kill the music app if you’re listening to music. The animation when you swipe up on the Home screen card to close all apps is pretty cool.
Hot Corners:
The feature allows you to do a few things depending on how you’ve configured the other features. For example: A swipe up from the bottom right corner of the tweak lets you close the app you’re currently using. The animation when you close the app using the Hot Corner feature is also quite neat.
If you’ve Multi-Center disabled then swipe up from the bottom left corner of the screen will give you access to the Quick Switcher, and a further swipe up gesture will launch the multitasking tray.
Settings Options:
Auxo 2 allows you to customise how it works by offering various options in the Settings app such as:

• You can enable or disable each of the major features such as Quick Switcher, Multi-Center and Hot Corners using On/Off toggle in the Settings app.

• You can also quickly switch between two apps when invoking the Multi-Center by enabling the “Open to Last app” toggle.

• If you’re left-handed, then you can enable the Invert the Hot Corners toggle to access the app switcher from the bottom right corner.

• Auxo 2 may not play nice with all the apps such as games and full screen apps, so you have the option to disable it in specific apps.

Auxo 2 for iPad also comes with fewer configuration options than the iPhone version as you don’t need the Minimal Display option etc to reduce the clutter in Multi-Center
Auxo 2 is available for $3.99. If you have purchased Auxo previously, then you can purchase it for $1.99. If you had purchased Auxo 2 on the iPhone then you can install it for free on your iPad.
Auxo 2 is one of the best jailbreak tweaks for iOS 7, and it feels even better on the iPad.

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Driveclub PS+ Edition Release Date Delayed "Until Further Notice"

Sony's President of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, just recently posted on the Driveclub Facebook page, and things aren't looking good for those who want to play the PS+ Edition of Sony's latest racing game. It seems that the PS+ Edition of Driveclub won't be coming to your PS4 any time soon. Yoshida's statement is as follows:

"Message from Shuhei Yoshida - President of World Wide Studios
Hi everyone,
I wanted to provide you with the latest update on DRIVECLUB. Unfortunately, the road to launch has been a little rocky, and we are truly sorry that so many of you have not been able to enjoy everything that we had hoped DRIVECLUB would deliver.
We have been listening to your feedback and realize that patience understandably is running out. Evo is working around the clock to close the gap, and we have deployed additional engineering resources to help resolve the remaining issues as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the time frames required to roll out the fully connected experience will be longer than anticipated and we do not have an exact time frame for when they will be resolved. We will continue to update you on progress and you can find the latest info on the DRIVECLUB Facebook page.
We are also very conscious that we have disappointed so many of you who were looking forward to playing the promised PS Plus Edition. Our first priority is to provide you with the best possible experience while playing DRIVECLUB. With the high volume of new players and additional server load the PS Plus Edition is anticipated to bring, we are currently not confident that we can guarantee the best online experience. Until we can ensure that everyone can enjoy the full social connected online experience, we will be postponing the release of the PS Plus Edition until further notice.
On behalf of WWS we are enormously grateful for your patience and we thank you for the continued support and encouragement. Again, we sincerely apologize for the delay. We are committed to giving you the best racing experience on PS4 – it’s taking a little longer than we hoped.
Thanks,  Shu"

Driveclub has been experiencing a great deal of technical problems since before it was even released on Oct. 7 with those who purchased the full game still being locked out of the servers that are required to play the online racing game. Driveclub had been delayed two times before releasing, and it seems like more delays were needed. In an interview with GameInformer, game director Paul Rustchynsky said that the delays were primarily related to the feature called the "dynamic menu." Perhaps this is still the problems plaguing development.
Unfortunately for both those who bought Driveclub and those who were hoping to play the free PS+ Edition will just have to wait for Sony and Evolution Studios to figure out what is wrong and get it working again. There has been no estimated timeframe established for a fix, so please don't hold your breath.

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Guide to using Google+ Auto Backup

The holidays are fast approaching, so it's time to make sure that your captured moments will be safe if your mobile device gets lost or damaged. Google+ Auto Backup is a free and easy way to save all of your photos and videos to the cloud. The backup feature works by uploading media to the Photos area of your Google+ account. This guide will offer some tips for getting the most benefit from the service.
Note: You will need Google+ installed on your device to use the Auto Backup service. For Android users, installing Google+ will also include a shortcut app icon to the Photos area of your account.

Enable Auto Backup

It's important to note that this feature is not on by default, since it can use a large amount of data on your mobile device. If you dismissed the option to turn it on when you first installed the app, here's how to enable it:

Android

Open the photos app, head to Settings (the three dots in the top right-hand corner), then to Auto Backup. Toggle the feature to "on" at the top of the screen.

iOS

Open the Google+ app, then open the menu (hamburger icon). Tap the settings cog in the upper right-hand corner and choose Camera and Photos. Choose Auto Backup and toggle the feature on. If you receive an error message, you may need to grant Google+ access to your photos. This can be done by heading to your device Settings > Privacy > Photos, where you will need to enable Google+ access.

Select a photo size

Google has been kind enough to offer unlimited uploads for pictures at a standard size of 2,048 px. However, if you want your pictures in their original glory, you'll need to adjust the Photo size setting to Full size and keep within the limits of space on your account.

Android

In the Photos app, head to Settings, then Photo size and pick your preferred size.

iOS

In the Google+ app, open the menu, then tap the settings cog. Next, choose Camera and Photos and then "Auto backup." Change the Photo size setting to your preferred resolution.
If you're not sure how much space you have left -- since it is shared between Drive, Gmail and Photos -- you can find out by visiting this link.

Choose which folders to sync

Android only

Android users of Google+'s Auto Backup service can choose to sync media that is downloaded, like images from other apps. If you don't want a copy of these files, you'll want to specify which folders Auto Backup will sync. Here's how:
Open the Photos app, slide out the left-hand menu and choose "On device." You'll see all of the folders that are being synced with your Google+ account, with a small cloud icon above each. If the cloud is blue, that folder is being synced. If you tap the cloud, it will turn gray with a line through it and no longer be synced with your account.

Select a data connection for backups

When you're looking to conserve mobile bandwidth, backing up photos and videos isn't going to help. As a solution, you can set Google+ Auto Backup to only work when connected to Wi-Fi. Here's how:

Android

Tap the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the Photos app and choose Settings, then tap Auto Backup. Under Backup Settings, tap the "Back up photos/videos" option and you'll see that there are two connection choices: Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi or mobile network.

iOS

Open the menu in the Google+ app, and press the settings cog. Choose Camera and Photos from the menu, then press Auto backup. Select your preferred Auto Backup connection under "When to back up photos/videos."
Keep in mind that if you're not near Wi-Fi and plan to take a lot of photos or videos, you can still enable the mobile network option as needed.

View your Auto Backup media

Now that you have media backed up to your account, how can you view just those files?
The easiest way is to head to your Photos area of Google+ on the Web. In the search box, type #AutoBackup and only the photos that came from your device will be shown. You can also check out your #AutoAwesome photos (a special feature of Google+ that animates, applies filters to and combines photos) by searching for it from the same page.
Lost or damaged devices can be replaced, but the memories you captured on them cannot. Don't wait to set up a backup service.

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Siri Vs Google Now Vs Cortana

In the ongoing Siri vs. Google Now vs. Cortana battle, a new AI benchmark tests compares the voice assistants of Apple, Google and Microsoft. But which virtual personal assistant is the best? The new benchmark sees Google Now coming out on top, followed by Apple then Cortana.

The Siri vs. Google Now vs. Cortana benchmark tests asks each voice assistant the same 60 randomly generated questions and scores them on how well they answer. The virtual personal assistants receive no points for answering a question incorrectly, not answering at all or not understanding the question. They receive 75 percent of a mark for returning a list of links or long paragraph that contains the right answer but doesn’t highlight the relevant information and full marks for answering correctly.

The questions posed to Siri, Google Now and Cortana were a mix of questions that are hard and questions that a smartphone user would likely ask. Examples of hard questions include “What is the principle quantum number of selenium?” and “Is radon an actinide?” While questions a user might ask include “What will be the weather in two days?” and “Where, near here, can I get a pineapple?”

With the set of questions asked, Google Now answered 33.3 percent correctly, Apple’s Siri answered 25.8 percent correctly and Cortana answered 11.7 percent correctly. While none of the voice assistants would seem to pass this test, some of the questions like “Show me animated images related to Middle of the Earth in Ecuador, if available” are so oddly specific that an asker probably wouldn’t even expect an answer. When I tried asking Siri this question, the first link she provided was of a photo set of middle of the earth in Ecuador but alas, not animated.

This AI benchmark test would seem to be geared towards Google Now winning, since Google’s voice assistant excels at information searches. Google’s voice search is also available for iPhone and Window Phone user via an iOS app and an Windows Phone app. This benchmark doesn’t test how well the virtual personal assistants perform with phone functions like setting reminders, launching apps and taking notes. And while Google Now might objectively be the best voice assistant, it’s completely devoid of personality that might allow it to become an autistic boy’s BFF like Siri. Microsoft’s Cortana, which is the newest mobile voice assistant on the block, is supposedly a combination of Google Now and Siri.

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iOS 8.1 Jailbreak Update: Pangu And Cydia Both See Changes But More Fixes Are Still Needed

It’s been exactly one week since the iOS 8 Pangu jailbreak unexpectedly released, and while issues with Cydia substrate, tweak compatibility and other needed updates have kept many non-developers from using the jailbreak tool, progress is being made. Late Monday night, Saurik, creator of Cydia and a cornerstone of the jailbreak community, released an update to Cydia, which seems to have fixed several issues users were having with apps not installing, iTunes not syncing and icons disappearing. The latest Cydia Substrate version 0.9.5015, combined with the Pangu team’s iOS 8 0.2 Untether update seem to be making the jailbreak more stable. For non-developers, however, we still advise waiting a bit longer to jailbreak your device as issues with Touch ID, passcode and freezing devices are still lingering. Saurik, the Pangu team and other members of the jailbreak community are working extremely hard to get this latest iOS 8 jailbreak into a form that everyone can use. I’m sure it won’t be too much longer now.
Below are Saurik’s release notes, which accompanied the new Cydia updated package:
“Cydia Substrate 0.9.5014 fixes a few bugs reported on iOS 8 with 0.9.5013, including ‘apps do not install’, ‘iTunes does not sync’, and ‘icons are gone’. (And 0.9.5015 fixes a bug in 0.9.5014 where some processes, including OpenSSH, would no longer start.)
If you've updated the Pangu 8.0-8.1 untether to version 0.2, you no longer need to respring after rebooting; this untether update fixes an issue that caused Substrate to not fully load into many processes immediately after rebooting. This untether update also means that disabling Substrate while booting (by holding the volume up button) should work consistently now.”
To this Saurik also adds limitations of the latest Cydia update:
“In short, on iOS 8: after every reboot, you need to respring before Substrate will load extensions in SpringBoard.
Substrate version 0.9.5013 supports iOS 8, but because of limitations in Pangu (versions 1.0 through 1.0.1 so far tested), Substrate won't work immediately after the device boots - it will only work after the first respring. You can respring by SSHing to your device and typing killall backboardd
This happens because Pangu loads Substrate after other processes have already loaded, causing Substrate to not work until the next time backboardd and SpringBoard restart.
We are coordinating closely with the Pangu team to make certain the best possible fix for this is deployed.
In addition, Saurik’s assistant, Britta, was good enough to add some additional limitations to an update on Reddit. In the post, she wrote,
“Just to be clear, these updates don't fix the problem causing devices to freeze upon booting if you set a passcode.”
And according to Pangu’s untether page,
“Updating this package requires a reboot; please note that rebooting can surface problems unrelated to the untether or Cydia Substrate. If you've set a passcode/TouchID, rebooting may cause your device to freeze: please disable passcodes/TouchID until further notice (sorry :/). Having incompatible tweaks installed can also cause problems upon rebooting.”

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