Apple releases iOS 7.0.2 to fix lock screen security bug

Apple's released yet another supplemental update for iOS 7, a little more than a week after the software was first released.
The 7.0.2 update, which went out Thursday morning, fixes a bug that would let users bypass the passcode security on the lock screen. That security issue was discovered just hours after the public update was released, and would give anyone direct access to applications and user data.
Apple last week said it was working on a fix, though did not offer an estimate on when it would arrive.

Along with the security fix, Apple says the update brings back the capability to use a Greek keyboard when typing in passcodes, something that was apparently missing in the early release.
Lock screens offer the primary means of defense against unwanted use of mobile devices. When introducing the iPhone 5S earlier this month, Apple claimed that only about half of smartphone users actually had passcode security enabled. That was just before debuting Touch ID, a new fingerprint scanning technology that's baked into the iPhone 5S and can unlock a phone without users having to enter in their passcode. The feature is expected to be included in all future iOS devices.
Source:Cnet

World’s Thinnest Glass Makes It To The Guinness Book Of World Records

Most popular inventions were never done intentionally, the reason being no one at that time was actually gunning for those. X-rays, Ink-Jet printers, Microwave ovens and many more were results of accidents. Now when scientists at Cornell University and Germany’s University of Ulm were busy in finding ways to produce pure graphene, they stumbled in what they initially termed as “muck”. On further investigation they found it to be a layer of glass which was made up of silicon and oxygen. The million-dollar question then was how this ultra-thin glass was formed? The researchers blame it on an air leak that fuelled the reaction between the copper foils being used for the graphene research project and a quartz furnace.

 

​

David A. Muller who leads the team of researchers, states that this invention has enabled them to find out the exact arrangement of atoms in the glass for the first time. With time they hope that this ultra-thin glass will find its way into transistors and help in increasing processing speed in computers and smartphones. For the meanwhile though, the glass which is just two atoms thick has found its way to the Guinness Book of World Records to be published in 2014.

To obtain more information, on this news we recommend to visit the Cornell University website and its coverage on The Verge and let us know how you think this ultra-thin glass be useful?

Sandisk CFast 2.0 Extreme Fast Reads @ 450 MBps & Writes @ 350 MBps

Sandisk CFast 2.0 Extreme Fast memory card is world's fastest and it's can write the bits at hair blowing 350 MB/s and retrieve them at 450 MB/s. These memory cards are indeed very special. First, these are pin-less cards and are tougher than its rivals. Second, each card comes with a unique serial number which the customer support executives can use to uniquely identify your card. Unfortunately, the card is very limited in compatibility. At this time, the only Arri Amira camera is ready to handle this card. Arri XT and Classic (with the XR module) cameras will be able to use this card with a special adapter.

Stephan Schenk, general manager of ARRI's camera and DI systems business unit said, "SanDisk's new SanDisk Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 cards deliver tremendous performance, allowing professionals to record ProRes 4444 up to 200Fps with AMIRA, and up to 120Fps with ALEXA XT/XR cameras, on cost-effective recording media." "With the SanDisk Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 card, we are enabling a next generation card format to meet the needs of high-end professional cinematographers," said Dinesh Bahal, vice president, product marketing, SanDisk. "These cards will enable new digital solutions for professional filmmakers looking to embrace technologies such as high-quality 4K video, and are another example of SanDisk's innovation and leadership in flash memory storage."

With the arrival of 4K cameras, the storage devices need to be very fast to absorb all the incoming data and the Sandisk CFast 2.0 seems to be the first step in the right direction. Sandisk has launched 120 GB and 256 GB versions of CFast 2.0. There's no official word on the pricing of these cards, but be assured that they won't be easy on pockets.

Nikon 1 AW1 Is The World's First Waterproof and Shockproof Interchangeable Lens Camera

The camera on your smartphone has got some features that make it sturdy. For example, Sony Xperia flagships like Xperia Z, Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra have all got waterproof and dustproof casings, but what will the pros do? Yes, they might have access to waterproof casings for their even expensive DSLRs but shooting with a casing is troublesome. So Nikon has decided to remove the need for any casing with the Nikon 1 AW1. This interchangeable lens camera is waterproof up to depths of 49 feet, shockproof from falls from up to 6.6 feet and can withstand freezing temperatures of up to 14° F. Adventurers will also be glad to know that the AW1 has a built-in GPS that can be activated to add the metadata of the exact longitude and latitude information with every photo and video. Nikon has equipped the camera with an altimeter, a depth gauge, an electronic compass and a virtual horizon indicator as well.

​

Now while you have gone through the images above you might have noticed the popup flash, not to fret this one too is waterproof so that you can go to the depths and try to blind a shark with it (pun intended). Coming to the tech specs we can inform you that the Nikon 1 AW1 has a 14.2-megapixel CX-format CMOS sensor and Nikon’s EXPEED 3A image processing engine. Even though the regular 1-Series lenses fit on the AW1, Nikon has also decided to bring two lenses which are as rugged as the camera itself. The 1 NIKKOR AW 11-27.5mm f/3.5-5.6 and AW 10mm f/2.8 lens options are available for the user depending on his/her choice of photos. Finally it is the time to deliver the bombshell, the prices of the camera with a single lens start from 799.95 USD (49,493 INR) and if you want both the lenses mentioned above along with the camera you will have to shell out 999.95 USD (61,864 INR). The camera and lens come in black and white variants but if you wish to spice up the gear you can buy black, khaki and orange skins for 36.96 USD (2,286 INR) along with the camera and lenses from next month.

Source: Nikon USA

Samsung Curved Screen Smartphone To Launch In October - That's The Next Hardware Innovation

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is all set to launch a new smartphone featuring a curved display screen in the next month. In October 2013, South Korea is going to witness the unveiling of the next set of hardware innovation coming from the hands of the world's top handset maker. At CE, for the past one year, we have been frequently covering research news about bendable screens and foldable displays. So, this hasn't been a surprise for the tech town. Since the fall of 2012, we have been seeing protptypes of the foldable and stretchy screens from the Samsung Display Co. that are made of plastic instead of glass. Famous for its AMOLED screens, Samsung had made a choice of OLEDs here again instead of Plasma or LCD because they can be made flexible and transparent.

So, the news of a smartphone featuring these foldable screens came to light when Samsung's mobile business head of strategic marketing D.J. Lee said, "We plan to introduce a smartphone with a curved display in South Korea in October," at an event launching the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone in Seoul. The last time we heard about Samsung's handheld flexible displays was back in CES in January, where a 5.5-inch prototype device named Youm was revealed.

 

​

In fact, we all know that curved display is already commercially available in large-screen televisions. Samsung and LG Electronics Inc have started selling curved OLED TV sets this year priced at about $9,000. There is not much informatiob about the features or specs of this new Samsung handset so far.

But if the curved screens aren't very impressive, you should be reading about something called the 'Morphees'. Developed by Scientists from Bristol University, the morphees are the devices that can change their shape as required. Yeah, so, not just bend, we may now have devices that can alter their form altogether to say make a game easier to control or make the screen easily hidden when entering passwords or secure keys. Bristol's scientists have successfully developed 6 different prototypes using dielectric electro-active polymers (DEAPs), shape memory alloys (SMAs) and other wood-like materials. These 6 prototypes are being tested to see which one is safest to use and consumes least electricity.

What do you think about Samsung's move to bring a curved display smartphone? Would there be a solution that lets these tech giants mass produce the parts cheaply and come up with display panels that can be as thin as a sheet and highly heat resistant? Time will tell.
Source:CE

Seagate announces 500 GB HDD for mobile devices.

Seagate has officially taken the wraps off its new Ultra Mobile HDD that is designed exclusively for mobile devices. The hard drive is integrated with Seagate’s Mobile Enablement Kit, which also includes Seagate’s Dynamic Data Drive software technology.

The newest storage solution will deliver up to 7x the storage capacity of the conventional 64GB drives, while matching the power consumption, performance and reliability of a flash device.

Seagate’s new Mobile Enablement Kit is said to bring PC-like storage capacity and help manufacturers to make thinner and lighter tablets. The popular HDD maker has also worked on couple of key areas like shock management, heat, vibration and gyroscopic motion in order to deliver the best experience.

The Ultra Mobile HDD uses Dynamic Data Driver software address and its intelligent caching design reduces power consumption and improves its overall performance. With up to 500GB of memory, one can potentially store up to 100,000 photos, 125,000 songs or 62 hours of high-definition video and movies on their mobile devices.

ATake's Dancing Water Speaker (AWD-12) Is Officially Awesome

Traditionally, speakers were meant to output audio waves and so does ATake's 2.1 speaker system. But it goes a step or two more by offering a super-cool audio-visual musical experience. What it does is makes water dance all within its glass body, perfectly in sync with the beats of the music you're playing. Watching water streams jetting out of the tiny water cannons, accompanied with colors emitted by LEDs is more amazing to watch than you'd image. That's why we've a video of the system. Check it out yourself -

​

Note that ATake's not the first one in the industry to offer such system, but we'd bet their rivals don't come even closer to what it offers. AWD-12 is one of the two systems Taiwan's ATake has developed and both the systems are expected to be made available by the end of this year. The system has subwoofer to handle the lower frequencies and two satellite speakers rated at 25W. The overall frequency range offered by the system is 40 Hz - 18 KHz. The subwoofer boasts of about 8 water cannons while the satellites have 6 rotating jets each. 

​

The speaker system connects to your audio device, desktop computer or laptop using a standard 3.5mm stereo output port and derives its power through USB. There's a click-wheel on the front of the sub-woofer that lets you adjust the bas and the height of the water jets. The speakers were available for demo at IFA in Berlin, Germany.

The price of the system will be $200 - $250. But if that's beyond your tiny pockets, the company's readying a single speaker system that will retail for about $60. It will use Bluetooth to pair with the audio players. The company is also deciding on a stereo 2.0 system. 
Source:Gizmag

Castrol Rocket - The World's Fastest Motorcycle At Record Speed Of 606 Kmph

The motorcycle aficionados around the world should have taken note of the Castrol Rocket - soon to be the world's fastest motorcycle with a record breaking speed of about 606 Kmph. The machine that doesn't look like a motorcycle at all, for obvious reasons, is first perfectly in the family of previous record holders. The Castrol Rocket is currently undergoing tests at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah so get ready to break the land speed record for two-wheeled machine. The machine is a creation of three talented engineers - Matt markstaller, Bob Carpenter and Jason DiSalvo who've been working tirelessly on the design, build and ride the world's fastest and the most advanced streamliner. 

​

The specs of this motorcycle are very impressive. The bike is equipped with two Triumph Rocket III engines that consume methanol to produce 1000 HP at 9000 RPM and a total torque of 678 Nm. The engine's covered with a Carbon Kevlar Monocoque body that elongates to about 25ft, making it tad difficult to turn and park. But that's not the real problem here. Take a look at the specs sheet below -



Note that the brakes have been accompanied with parachutes - which come handy when you've to slow down the motorcycle speeding at about 600 kmph. Take a look at the following video that shows the bike -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=qt7GQx1Uibo
​

While the Castrol Rocket is trying to aim for about 400 mph, an engineering team in London that goes by the name 'Bloodhound' is already readying their 1000 mph vehicle [1600 kmph!] to break the record in the next few months. We'll of course bring you the updates from the ground.
Source:Gizmag
Website:http://castrolrocket.com

iPhone 5C Price In India Doesn't Look Cheap At All

When rumours and leaks of the iPhone 5C began to surface, people in countries like India and China were quite excited. Everyone was hoping that Apple has finally paid attention to the two most populated countries in the world with a cheap iPhone. People had hoped that Apple would somehow manage to keep the price between 20,000 to 25,000 rupees, but it was not supposed to happen. Sure, if you live in the US the phone comes in 16GB and 32 GB variants on a two year contract from a service provider for $99 (6,309 INR) and $199 (12,683 INR) respectively. But the unlocked retail versions in US have been priced at $549 (Rs 36,500) and $649 (Rs 43,000). Now keep in mind, the Indian prices will be slightly higher than these prices. So as it may look brands like Samsung, Micromaxx and Karbonn are here to stay as they offer Android smartphones at much cheaper rates.

Now even though the prices might have put you off by now, it’s no harm of going through what the iPhone 5C has to offer. Like most ‘cheap’ yet premium phones this one has been made out of polycarbonate resin and is available in 5 colours. The screen is a 4-inch retina display with 1136x640 pixel resolution. Underneath the hood, you find Apple’s A6 chipset and 1GB of RAM. Your photographic needs will be taken care of with an 8MP rear autofocus camera with flash and 1.2 MP front camera. In terms of connectivity, you have Wi-Fi with AirPlay, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS and GLONASS. The only solace, the phone will run the latest iOS 7 out-of-the-box. Apple has also made sure that you do not rely on aftermarket covers and has decided to give you seven “separately sold” colourful silicon rubber cases which cost you $29 (1,847 INR) each.

Now after having a look at the features, will you still go for it? Let us know in the comment section below.