Google fixes 7 Chrome security holes just before CanSecWest

The day before two annual Google-sponsored hacking contests kick off at a security conference in Vancouver, Google tidies up some of Chrome's loose ends.

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Talk About Timing: Google’s Reliability Team Sat Down For An AMA Right Before Gmail Exploded

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Tesla's toy boat: A drone before its time

BYJon Turi19 hours ago 0

Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills.

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Bluetooth Headset Vigo Knows When You Are Tired Before You Do

Next StoryTim Cook Celebrates China Mobile’s iPhone Launch

When I was a student, sometimes I’d stab myself in the leg with the tip of my mechanical pencil to keep from dozing off during lectures. That usually didn’t work. Now sleepy students–and other people who need to stay alert for long periods of time–can benefit from Vigo, a Bluetooth headset that measures blinks and body movements to warn users if they are getting too drowsy.

Vigo can be potentially life-saving for drivers and people in other situations where losing alertness can be dangerous, especially since your brain can get fatigued before your body starts to feel tired. The device is currently on Kickstarter and has already reached more than $38,000 of its $50,000 goal, and with 15 days left to go, it has a decent chance of getting funded. The device’s early bird price is a very reasonable $59.

TechCrunch first wrote about Vigo in November while it participating in HAXLR8R, a hardware accelerator program based in Shenzhen, China. Vigo uses an infrared sensor, accelerometer, and its own algorithm to track patterns in your blinks and body movements to gauge your alertness in real-time, and sends you a warning if your energy levels start to drop.

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Xbox One hit 3 million sales before close of year

bySinan Kubbaon Jan 6th 2014 3:00PM

0Microsoft sold 3 million Xbox One consoles by the end of 2013, the company announced today. As per previous Xbox One data, that figure is sell-through, with Microsoft stipulating the units were "sold to consumers."

"It's been incredible to see Xbox One selling at a record-setting pace for Xbox," trumpeted Xbox Corporate VP of Marketing, Strategy and Business Yusuf Mehdi. "And we were honored to see Xbox One become the fastest-selling console in the U.S. during our launch month in November. Since our launch, demand for Xbox One has been strong, selling out throughout the holidays at most retailers worldwide. We are continuing to work hard to deliver additional consoles to retailers as fast as possible."

The Xbox One passed the 1 million mark on its first day at retail across 13 markets, and then took another 18 days to breach 2 million on December 11, 2013. Going by today's news, that figure rose another million or so across the last 20 days of the year.MicrosoftShareTags: microsoft, sales, xbox-one.fyre .fyre-comment-media-expanded{display:none!important}.fyre-notifier-container{display:none}.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>span.fyre-comment-reply-wrapper{top:18px}.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>a,.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>a:hover{top:20px} InfoDescription

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Posted on Jan 6th 2014 7:15PM

Hands-on with Valve's Steam Machine beta hardware

Posted on Jan 6th 2014 5:05PM

Super abridged Joystiq news review of 2013

Posted on Jan 5th 2014 10:30AM

EngadgetKindle for iOS updated with flashcards, notebook ...Equil JOT nabs Evernote integration for easy ...meMini's wearable camera gives you the gift of ...TUAWEvening news roundup for January 6, 2013 ...Cut the Rope 2 perfects the art of having in-app ...8 Time Machine excuses that don't make sense ...MassivelyNot So Massively: LoL downed by DDoS attack, Star ...The Stream Team: Heroics continue in World of ...DayZ destroys Hall's early sales expectations ...WoWThe WoW Insider Show LIVE! ...How to PvP ...WoW Moviewatch: Brief History of WoW ...AOL TechJoystiq

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10 tech non-profits worth donating to before 2014

Granted, the holidays didn't exactly leave us flush with cash, but as every charity we've ever contributed to has reminded us via e-mail over the past couple of days, the year is drawing to an end, which means we're running out of time to rack up those tax deductions. And what better way to do that than by donating to a cause you really believe in? In the seasonal spirit of not entirely altruistic giving, we've asked our editors to suggest some of their favorite non-profit tech organizations. Sure there's an endless list of non-tech orgas we could have included like, say, The Red Cross, the Humane Society or even the first amended defending Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, but for the sake of brevity -- and staying comfortably within our own wheelhouse -- here's a list of tech non-profits to get you started. If we skipped one of your favorites, feel free to add it in the comments below.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: When you leave your job as the longstanding CEO of one of the world's biggest tech companies, the choices for your future are pretty clear: do-gooder, billionaire playboy or super villain. Bill Gates chose door number one, thankfully, forming an organization focused on global development, health, education and advocacy.

Center for Democracy and Technology: The CDT has been fighting to keep the internet "open, innovative and free" since 1994. The organization's goals include democratizing online participation, enhancing user privacy and limiting government surveillance.

Child's Play: Video games and toys for sick kids? Now that's a cause we can get behind. Child's Play uses your donations to buy consoles, games, peripherals, toys and books for children in hospitals.

Code.org: Code.org wants to make programming a key part of K-12 education, bringing it to the STEM system, alongside math and science. The organization also looks to increase computer science participation among women and students of color.

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Government snooping! Patent trolls! Frivolous lawsuits! Who has your back in this fast moving digital age? Why, the EFF, of course!

Khan Academy: Devoted to free education for everyone, Khan Academy covers a wide range of subjects, including a slew of computer programming courses like game design and 3D modeling.

Mozilla Foundation: The team behind the one of the world's top browsers is a non-profit 501c dedicated to the creation of "world-class open source software." The list includes the Firefox browser, the learning tool Webmaker and the new Firefox mobile operating system.

One Laptop Per Child: OLPC is dedicated to the democratization of technology by innovating and distributing laptops and tablets to developing nations and other underrepresented areas.

Watsi: An innovative site that combines social networking with crowdfunding to donate healthcare to individuals in need.

Wikimedia Foundation: We all visit Wikipedia pretty much every day, so we've all seen Jimmy Wales' face pleading for donations. The money you contribute to Wikimedia helps support the technology and staff that run the foundation's wildly popular open information sites.

Oh, and there are also plenty of ways to donate your old technology. You can find the place nearest you at DonateTechnology.com.

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Tags: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, olpc, wikimedia foundation Next: Snapdragon 805's desktop-class mobile graphics chops in action (video) .fyre .fyre-comment-divider

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NSA can reportedly bug computer equipment before it reaches buyers

Don't think that the NSA always has to wait until people are using technology to start snooping on it. Spiegel has obtained documents which claim that the agency's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group can intercept computer equipment orders and install tracking hardware or software before the shipments even reach their buyers. The division can target a wide array of hardware, too. Another NSA section, ANT, reportedly has a catalog of tools that can install back doors in everything from Cisco and Huawei network systems through to hard drives from most major manufacturers, including Seagate and Western Digital. Some of these bugs can give the NSA "permanent" access, since they're designed to persist if the owner wipes a device's storage or upgrades its firmware.

The leak suggests that the targeted manufacturers aren't aware of what's happening; Cisco and other firms tell Spiegel they don't coordinate with the NSA. These hardware interceptions are also limited in scope next to remote surveillance programs. The agency isn't confirming any specifics, but it maintains that TAO is focused on exploiting foreign networks. Whether or not that's true, the discoveries show that the NSA's surveillance can reach the deepest levels of many networks.

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Via: Gizmodo

Source: Spiegel (1), (2)

Tags: cisco, dell, edwardsnowden, huawei, internet, networking, nsa, seagate, surveillance, tailoredaccessoperations, tao, WesternDigital Next: Time Machines: Casio gets smart at CES 2000 .fyre .fyre-comment-divider

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Uber, LeCab And Others Now Have To Wait 15 Minutes Before Picking You Up In France

At first, it was just an idea, but this bill is now very real — urban transportation services like Uber and LeCab will now have to wait 15 minutes in France before letting a customer in the car. Back in October, the French government mentioned this piece of legislation as these new services would hurt traditional cab drivers. But nothing was set in stone until the AFP spotted the new bill today — and this news comes as a surprise.

In France, you have to pay a hefty price to get your taxi license. As a payback, the taxi industry is very regulated in this country, and drivers can expect to get a healthy influx of clients.

Yet, when the young and fearless startups appeared, many taxi drivers protested against LeCab, Chauffeur-privé, SnapCar, Allocab, Voitures Jaunes and Uber. While the French law calls these companies “VTC” services (car services), taxi drivers think that they are direct competitors — and smartphones certainly make Uber and others act like taxi services. That’s why the government sided with taxi drivers and talked about creating the 15-minute rule.

Shortly after that, Allocab, Chauffeur-privé, LeCab and SnapCar put together an online petition against the project. Then, nothing happened. It was like the government had forgotten about this idea.

In November, French heavyweight LeCab raised $6.8 million (

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Analysts Expect 3D Printer Shipments To Grow Ten Times Before 2017

Hardware analysts at IDC are estimating that 3D printer shipments will grow 10 times in the period between now and 2017. Printers, once the provenance of hackers and engineers, will soon be household commodities.

“Print is extending beyond output on media to the creation of an actual object, and that presents incredible opportunity,” quoth Keith Kmetz, VP at IDC. “While traditional print technologies are facing maturity, 3D printers will see worldwide unit shipments grow by 10 times over the forecast period, and worldwide hardware value will more than double in the short term.”

IDC cites the move by HP to enter the 3D printing market in 2014 as well as Konica Minolta’s agreement to distribute higher-end 3D printers. Add in the mid-level players like Makerbot and upstarts like Afinia and Lulzbot and you have a robust market. Furthermore, patents controlling the process of laser sintering are set to expire in 2014, thereby opening up new possibilities for the new home 3D printer. Because patents often discourage the small manufacturer from exploring a particular technology, this patent expiration should improve things considerably in the metal and plastic printing front. O brave new world, That has such printers in’t!

via 3Ders

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