Software : Week in Tech: Glass half full of Christmas cheer

Week in Tech: Glass half full of Christmas cheer
BBM for Android and iPhone to get free voice calls in 2014
New Tizen devices singled out for MWC 2014 debut, are we in for phones?
Apple patent peels back the layers of a new Maps evolution
Nokia is draping the Lumia 1020 in Black update for RAW shooting, other fixes
Android botnet sending millions of copied texts to Korea and China

Week in Tech: Glass half full of Christmas cheer

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George Orwell was wrong. The future isn't a boot stamping on a human face forever; it's the human race so engrossed in Facebook that it walks off the end of a pier. Such - ahem - pier pressure will only get worse as computing becomes more pervasive and stuck-to-our-facey, and there's no tech more pervasive and stuck-to-your-facey than Google Glass.

Google's eyewear isn't on sale yet, but its early "Explorer" adopters have been given some new goodies just in time for Christmas. There's a new Upload To YouTube feature, a Weather app, news updates from the Wall Street Journal and Winkfeed, and Google Hangouts. Sadly there's no sign of a pier detector. Maybe next year.

Glass is also becoming more gregarious. This week the MyGlass app came to iOS, enabling iOS users to walk off the end of… OK, OK, we'll stop now. It's not all good, though. The latest Glass updates remove Guest Mode, which will make sharing and showing off the device more difficult.

A different view

Glass isn't the only intelligent eyewear that wants to get in your face. As Matt Swider discovers, there are several Glass rivals around - and some of them are an awful lot cheaper than Google's effort. One of the most interesting is GlassUp, which has an expected price tag of just $299.

Another interesting Glass alternative is Epson's Moverio, which we first saw back in 2011. It's been given a major revamp and rethink since, and it's now aimed at business users. Unlike Glass, it's binocular, enabling users to see in 3D space without interfering with their normal vision.

Maybe that's what Santa wears for a sat-nav system. As you might have noticed, it's nearly Christmas - and that means it's time for our super soaraway Christmas Gift Guide, which covers gifts for every conceivable interest.

Does the guide include tablets? Of course it does, and we reckon tablets of all shapes and sizes will be on many people's wishlists this Christmas. But will you want to kiss a MyTablet under the mistletoe? We think not - and our guide to the very best tablets to put under the tree offers 10 much better alternatives.

Appy Christmas

If you're giving or hoping to get a tablet or a smartphone as a gift, don't forget that the installed apps tend to leave a lot to be desired. Why not bookmark our guides to the best apps so that you can be excited and delighted on Christmas day? We have the 80 best free iPhone games on the planet, the 80 best free iPad games, the 90 best free Android apps, the 90 best free Android games, the best Android camera apps and the best camera apps for iPhone.

Once you've installed all your apps, there's more good news: you can take them travelling. This week BA became the first European airline to approve tech use during take-off and landing. There are conditions - the devices need to be in Airplane Mode or equivalent, so you won't be able to make calls (hurrah!) or use mobile data (boo!) - but it's nice to see air travel finally catching up with the rest of the world.

And that's all for this week. We hope Santa's good to you. Merry Christmas when it comes!

Look back on 2013 with the Week in Tech archive

BBM for Android and iPhone to get free voice calls in 2014

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We already knew that free voice calls on BBM for Android and iPhone was coming when BlackBerry's VP Andrew Bocking confirmed it in October, but it looks like we won't be seeing it until early 2014.

Along with BBM Voice calls, BBM Channels will also be migrating to iPhone and Android, as well as adding more emoticons and what the company said in a blog post will be "easier file sharing" for pictures, you location and voice messages.

The new features are in beta right now, with BlackBerry repeating Bocking's earlier words, saying that a bigger roll out should happen within "the next couple months."

Where's the video?

No word yet on BBM Video, however, which Bocking said back in October was also coming to the messaging service in "coming months".

Once it does however, it will be able to better compete with Apple's iMessage and FaceTime, which started offering free voice calls over an internet connection with the rollout of iOS 7.

BBM's chatroom-type feature Channels migrating over to iPhone will also put it in a more profitable position than Apple's native offerings for its own devices, as it will be able to also sell ads and sponsored posts on the platforms.

Here's our review of BlackBerry 10, on which BBM is a native

New Tizen devices singled out for MWC 2014 debut, are we in for phones?

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Tizen has already found a chilly home in fridges (smart ones, to be sure), but now it looks like the OS is finally ready to ride inside pants pockets.

According to press invites for a pre-Mobile World Congress 2014 gathering, Team Tizen wants the world to check out the next wave of devices running the open-source operating system.

Smartphones were't mentioned specifically in the invitations, instead promising the February 23, 2014 event offering "an exclusive sneak preview of the newest Tizen devices as well as an opportunity to learn about the major milestones that the Tizen project has hit since last year's event."

Phones running Tizen were supposed to arrive in 2013 - and a spec device running the OS was shown at MWC 2013 - but with the year almost up and Tizen no where in sight, we'll put our money on an MWC '14 appearance.

Year of the Tizen

Tizen is backed by Samsung and Intel, among others, and we've seen it on a number of gadgets already, including cameras and leaked smartphones.

However, the first commercially ready Tizen smartphones were given a rescheduled release date of sometime in 2014, and MWC 2014 seems an appropriate enough venue for the unveiling.

We'll be covering the Barcelona show from the ground, so stay tuned for Tizen news and hands on reviews of any hardware Tizen deigns ready.

But first! CES 2014 is right around the corner - here's what you can expect!

Apple patent peels back the layers of a new Maps evolution

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A newly published Apple patent suggests that the Apple Maps app could someday feature new types of interactive layers that make the navigation experience easier.

Users of Apple Maps are used to the experience being more difficult, so this would be a nice change.

The functions described in the patent, which is titled simply "Interactive Map," go far beyond the layers available in existing mapping apps (satellite view, traffic overlay, weather, etc.).

The map layers Apple has proposed adding include data relevant to the road you're traveling, specific types of businesses and more.

Travelin' app

In one example, this hypothetical new Apple Maps would allow users to tap a road and thus display a layer of information only pertaining to that road: junctions, off-ramps, accessible businesses, etc.

Or, if you're on the road and feeling hungry, it could display a map layer that only shows nearby restaurants, rather than all nearby businesses.

apple map patent The same goes for if you run out of gas or tear a hole in your pants on a night out; Tap that business-specific layer, and you'll see all nearby gas stations or pants stores, and nothing else.

You could also select layers that show only highways, when you're driving long distances, or only side streets, when you want to avoid highways.

'Siri, show me ads'

There are more location-specific applications as well. Touching an airport on the map might bring up a flight schedule, or touching a restaurant might bring up a menu.

Still other types of map layers might tailor the map to your specific needs as a tourist, commuter, or other type of traveler. Relevant information, like the history of a monument or other tourist destination, could appear automatically on the map.

On the flip side, this feature could also be used to display ads from nearby shops.

And the patent hints at custom layers that users would be able to program to show whatever businesses, roads and other points of interest they choose.

Even navigation itself would be easier; The patent outlines how tapping two points simultaneously could produce a route between them instantly.

None of this functionality is possible in existing map apps, but it's not difficult to imagine Apple adding it to Apple Maps in the next iOS update.

And this hypothetical layers-centric version of Apple Maps could interact quite nicely with a virtual personal assistant like Siri.

Speaking of Siri: TechRadar asks, "Siri, why do I hate you so much?"

Nokia is draping the Lumia 1020 in Black update for RAW shooting, other fixes

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After some gallivanting about the Nokia Camera app update, Nokia has finally dropped the Lumia Black booster for the Lumia 1020.

The Black update is available for download right now directly from the Nokia Lumia 1020 support page, and it comes charging with improvements.

First and foremost Black upgrades the Nokia Camera app to shoot in RAW Digital Negative Format (DNG).

Lumia 1520 Purview shooter have already been enjoying the ability to shoot relatively compression- and processing-free photos for a few weeks now, and Lumia 1020 owners will finally be able to join in the fun now.

More recently, Nokia updated its official Camera app to work on a much larger range of other Lumia devices. The official Windows phone partner also stated DNG support is coming to more handsets as the Lumia Black update becomes available.

The small but crucial fixes

Aside from increasing the Lumia 1020's picture shooting abilities, the Black update also tweaks a few functionality quirks. These include adding screen lock rotation, the ability add custom ringtones for specific notifications, and closing running apps is easier to do in the app switcher.

Lumia 1020 users might also notice the new and improved Glance background app that adds tiny temperature check and pedometer tools to the lock screen. Along with these added features there's also Bluetooth 4.0 LE support along with better battery monitoring.

Of course, there's the standard firmware enhancements and other miscellaneous stability fixes. The downloadable update is hitting devices now, but if for those who just want to kick it to their devices manually, it's available for download here.

The Steam Machine teardown reveals no secrets but an easy to fix PC.

Android botnet sending millions of copied texts to Korea and China

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A malicious botnet has been uncovered by security researchers. The software sends copies of users' SMS' to email addresses believed to be registered in Korea and China.

Named MicroSMS, it infects Android devices by pretending to be a settings app called 'Google Vx'. Once in place it then asks for administrative rights and, if granted them, steals the contents of SMS messages and sends them to a third party.

In a blog post, security firm FireEye wrote: "Some SMS-stealing malware sends the contents of users SMS messages by forwarding the messages over SMS to phone number under the attacker's control. Others send the stolen messages to a CnC server over TCP connections. The malicious app, by contrast, sends the stolen SMS messages to the attacker's email address of an SMTP connection."

All apps compromised

The post went on to say that MicroSMS is one the largest mobile botnets that leverages modern technology and infrastructure. The discovery, it claims, highlights the importance of mobile protection and the quickly changing landscape of security threats.

The company claims that many of the email addresses which receive the SMS messages are being accessed from mainland China and Korea. FireEye is working with law enforcement agencies to get the email; accounts shut down and says there is no evidence yet of new accounts springing up in their place.

It was revealed earlier this year that all of the top 100 paid Android apps and 56 per cent of top 100 paid iOS apps available as 'cracked' versions had been compromised.

The widespread use of cracked apps represents a real danger for both individuals and companies, given the explosion of smartphone and tablet use in the workplace and home, says mobile security firm Arxan.

Malware looking to drain bank accounts of 'tens of millions' of PC owners

Yahuui Blog

Friday, December 20, 2013