Two tech geeks.

  • Eric Schmidt guides you to convert from iPhone to Android

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    Jenxi

    This is pretty novel. Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, has used his Google+ page to pen a step-by-step guide on how to move from iPhone to Android. It might sound gimmicky, as there are already plenty of guides on how to make the switch out there, but more importantly it will be interesting to see if that guide actually discourages people from making the switch, since it seems slightly complicated for an end-user to me.

    Eric’s Guide: Converting to Android from iPhone

    Here are the steps I recommend to make this switch. Like the people who moved from PCs to Macs and never switched back, you will switch from iPhone to Android and never switch back as everything will be in the cloud, backed up, and there are so many choices for you. 80% of the world, in the latest surveys, agrees on Android.

  • Blunderbusiness Class DIY gun from parts purchased at airport

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    Jenxi

    Most of us have had stuff confiscated by TSA agents before in the name of security. While it’s understandable that we don’t want a plane to blow up in the middle of the skies, the fact that folks are also able to build DIY guns based on stuff purchased after passing through security also shows the futility of such practices.

    The TSA Is No Match For This Mad Scientist And His Gun Made With Junk From Airport Stores

    He realized that airport stores sell lithium metal batteries, which, when combined with water, create a chemical reaction with enough heat to explode a bottle of Axe. This is what powers his “Blunderbussiness Class” shotgun, which he demonstrates shooting $1.33 in pocket change through a piece of drywall, as well as his “Fraguccino” thermos grenade. “Right now if I wanted to build something very potent, I would probably go toward lithium,” says Booth.

  • Dayre offers a new take on blogging

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    Jenxi

    A new take on blogging is always intriguing. With established blogging software such as Blogger, WordPress already in the market, not to mention journals such as Day One, it’ll be interesting if Dayre manages to merge the key features of those platforms together with the microblogging aspects of Twitter and Instagram.

    Dayre could be the hassle-free solution to long-form blogging you’re looking for

    Let’s say you’re already used to posting on Instagram and Twitter every couple of hours in your day. You can replicate the exact same steps in Dayre — except you get 500 characters for each component — much more than what 140 characters or a filtered photo will allow. What the app then does is accumulate these separate moments into a ‘day’ of your life.

  • Kano computer kit can be assembled in seconds

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    Jenxi

    A simple computer that can be easily assembled and function as a introduction to computers. An ambitious project that I like. If the OLPC offers any insight, it’s that this won’t be easy to pull off. Still, it’s a good concept that I hope succeeds. The good news is that it has already reached its funding goal many times over, so step one is done.

    Crowdfund this: the Kano computer you can build in 107 seconds

    At its heart, Kano is essentially a Raspberry Pi kit but it goes further by providing a plug-and-play learning environment that anyone, including children as young as eight, can get up and running within minutes.

    Asking for $100,000 in funding on Kickstarter, Kano is available as a kit for a $99 pledge, or for a $199 “get one, give one” pledge funders will get one for themselves and one will be donated to a sponsored child.

  • LINE passes the 300 million user mark, aims for 500 million in 2014

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    Jenxi

    Line is a major player in the mobile messaging space in Asia and is one of the leading companies to popularize the sales of messaging stickers. While stickers, or emoticons as we used to call them, might sound insignificant, the fact that Line is pulling in over $10 million a month just from sticker sales is something worth taking note of. If the user base continues to grow at this pace, 2014 is going to be a great year for LINE.

    Fast-growing chat app Line leaves the US until last, as it passes 300 million registered users

    The company has been aiming to hit the milestone before the end of the year, and it’s made it with over a month still to go, as an official announcement confirms. There has been plenty of talk about a multi-billion dollar IPO — with some rumors suggesting it would follow the 300 million user announcement — but Han says the company has no comment on the speculation.

  • Apple acquires PrimeSense for $360 million

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    Jenxi

    Apple Insider reports that Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet has confirmed that Apple acquired PrimeSense in deal rumoured to be worth $360 million

    PrimeSense makes 3D motion sensors and scanners. It created the technology used by Microsoft’s Kinect. It is anyone’s guess whether this will end up in a future version existing product or if it will be part of a completely new product from Apple.

  • Only 25% of Yahoo staff are willing to dogfood Yahoo Mail

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    Jenxi

    When you’re a technology company, using your own product (a.k.a. eating your own dogfood) is more or less essential. Perhaps it’s because Yahoo is still transitioning to the Marissa Mayer era, but if Yahoo Mail is going to be a competitive product again, the Yahoo employees had better start picking it up.

    Clinging to Outlook, Only 25 Percent of Yahoo Employees Willing to Eat Mail “Dogfood” (Best Memo Ever!)

    As has been widely reported, a relentless and vocal group of Yahoo Mail users have been complaining vociferously after the Silicon Valley Internet giant drastically revamped its popular Mail service in October. The ire includes a lot of distress over the removal of its tabs function and the addition of a multi-tasking feature in its place.

  • NSA infected over 50,000 networks worldwide

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    Jenxi

    The NSA isn’t exactly at the top of everybody’s Christmas list at the moment, and it doesn’t look like the situation is getting any better. Considering the recent leaks, it’s honestly not surprising that the the agency has infected as many as 50,000 networks, but it’s still a very disturbing thought.

    NSA Has 50,000 ‘Digital Sleeper Agents’ Via Computer Malware, Says Latest Snowden Leak

    Sleeper agents are among the most sinister spy assets: they lie in wait, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and then deliver a critical blow when activated. The NSA has 50,000 of those waiting for the literal push of a button, according to the latest batch of leaked Snowden documents, as seen by Dutch daily evening newspaper NRC. But these aren’t people, like Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys in The Americans – these are computers, infected with malware and untroubled by conscience or the risk of going native.

    The NSA reportedly infected 50,000 computer networks worldwide with malicious software with the sole aim of harvesting sensitive information it wasn’t privy to, which is basically what you’d call textbook spy work in the digital age, from an agency tasked with spying. That’s not to excuse or dismiss the significance of this revelation, but we’ve heard from the Washington Post previously that the NSA was working on this sort of thing and that at least 20,000 computers had been infected by the program as of 2008. So to hear from Snowden documents via the NRC that it’s now climbed to 50,000 is hardly surprising.

  • 64-bit Android on Intel coming next year

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    Jenxi

    CNET reports on Android and Intel partnering to bring 64-bit to the platform.

    People who were saying 64-bit iOS being a useless gimmick are now gushing over 64-bit Android that might be out next year. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying my 64-bit iPhone 5s.

  • Message encryption coming to Office 365 in early 2014

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    Jenxi

    While there is still a lot of concern over the NSA having access to data from large technology companies, one of the best tools for end users to protect their privacy would be proper encryption. Offering message encryption on Office 365 is a good step in that direction.

    Microsoft Bringing Message Encryption To Office 365 In Early 2014

    In the age of pervasive data abduction by government agency, keeping your private stuff private is an increasingly important issue. The addition of message encryption to Office 365 is therefore on point, and potentially very useful.

    The system is neat: Once administrators turn it on, emails that are sent are encrypted before they are fired out, meaning that they only leave the house after they put a jacket on. The recipient receives an email that has an encrypted attachment. That’s the message.