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NSA leak suggests Australia had wide-scale access to Indonesia’s telecoms network

Feb16
by on February 16, 2014 at 8:02 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia, Australia, Snowden

A new leak from NSA documents obtained by whisteblower Edward Snowden have cast light on Australia’s national security agency — the Australian Signals Directorate — and its access to Indonesia’s telecoms network.

The New York Times reports that the agency obtained nearly 1.8 million encrypted master keys from Indonesian operator Telkomsel. The agency was apparently able to decrypt almost all of the keys, giving it access to the private communications data that they protect.

Access was apparently used to monitor government communication, and, in particular, contact with an American legal firm that represented Indonesia in trade disputes with the US. Australia’s Prime Minister previously stated that the country did not collect information “to the detriment of other countries” — an NSA leak last year suggested Australia tapped phones belonging to Indonesia’s Prime Minister and other top politicians.

➤ Spying by N.S.A. Ally Entangled U.S. Law Firm [New York Times] | Via Sydney Morning Herald

Image via BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images

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LG announces the L Series III, mid-range smartphones with Android KitKat and smart covers

Feb16
by on February 16, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, kitkat, lg, Mobile, mobile world congresss, mwc2014

lg1 520x245 LG announces the L Series III, mid range smartphones with Android KitKat and smart covers

LG is again the first smartphone-maker to get out of the blocks ahead of Mobile World Congress, the mobile industry’s biggest annual event, in Spain later this month. Fresh from announcing the G Pro 2 last week, the Korean firm has unveiled the third generation of its affordable L Series range.

The L40, L70 and L90 are three smartphones based on Android 4.4 KitKat. Sized between 4.5 and 4.7 inches, each is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, coming with up to 1GB RAM and 4GB/8GB memory. The trio will ship with LG’s smart covers — Quick Window — which, aside from offering protect from bumps and bashes, sports a translucent window to enable users to glimpse information on screen without having to open the cover.

Price and retail launch information are yet to be revealed, but the phones are of interest because they are the first mid- / low-end devices to ship with KitKat. Motorola aside, the latest flavor of Android is still to really roll out to the global Android user base.

lg2 730x452 LG announces the L Series III, mid range smartphones with Android KitKat and smart covers

Here’s the spec sheet for each device — they are primarily designed for emerging markets, hence the lack of support for LTE:

L90

  • Processor: 1.2 GHz Quad-Core
  • Display: 4.7-inch IPS (960 x 540) qHD
  • Memory: 8GB / 1GB RAM
  • Camera: 8.0MP / 1.3MP
  • Battery: 2,540mAh (removable)
  • Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat
  • Size: 131.6 x 66.0 x 9.7mm
  • Network: 3G (HSPA+21Mbps)

L70

  • Processor: 1.2 GHz Dual-Core
  • Display: 4.5-inch IPS (800 x 400)
  • Memory: 4GB / 1GB RAM
  • Camera: 8.0MP or 5.0MP / VGA (depending on market)
  • Battery: 2,100mAh (removable)
  • Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat
  • Size: 127.2 x 66.8 x 9.5mm
  • Network: 3G (HSPA+21Mbps)

L40

  • Processor: 1.2 GHz Dual-Core
  • Display: 3.5-inch (480 x 320)
  • Memory: 4GB / 512MB RAM
  • Camera: 3.0MP
  • Battery: 1,700mAh or 1,540mAh (removable / depending on market)
  • Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat
  • Size: 109.4 x 59.0 x 11.9mm
  • Network: 3G (HSDPA+14.4Mbps)

If you still want more, LG has further images of the devices in this video of the design story:

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‘@DrawnYourTweet’ just became one of our favorite accounts on Twitter

Feb16
by on February 16, 2014 at 6:22 pm
Posted In: @drawnyourtweet, Around the Web

Twitter isn’t just about breaking news and serious stuff, there’s plenty of fun and other light-hearted activities to be found (see: 10 brilliant and barmy Twitter accounts you should know about), and also — on some occasions — examples of real creativity.

@DrawnYourTweet is one that falls into the latter basket. It does exactly what the handle suggests, tweeting drawings that characterize thoughts from a few (lucky) people whose tweets have been selected.

Despite just sending just 19 tweets, it has picked up nearly 4,000 followers at the time of writing, here are a few reasons why:

How we all feel sometimes:

And probably my favorite so far:

Thumbnail image via Nicholas Kamm / Getty Images

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Facebook at 10: How it grew from a social network to a social phenomenon

Feb16
by on February 16, 2014 at 5:49 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Insider
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

187364720 1 520x245 Facebook at 10: How it grew from a social network to a social phenomenon

A decade ago, four friends launched a service in their Harvard dorm room. TheFacebook.com was originally supposed to be just a social network, but what wound up happening over the the course of its history surprised even the man who would be the face of the company.

Sure, the Aaron Sorkin version of “The Social Network” provides a compelling, albeit controversial,  tale about one main part of Facebook’s history but in the past 10 years, there’s no denying that Mark Zuckerberg’s creation has had a significant impact upon how work is done, the way we communicate, and our society.

For most people Facebook has simply been a social network, a place where we can post photos, share the trials and tribulations of our lives, and play games with one another, but there’s a deeper meaning behind it all.

hackerway 730x354 Facebook at 10: How it grew from a social network to a social phenomenon

Zuckerberg remarked on the historic milestone, saying in a statement earlier this month:

“It’s been an incredible journey so far, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. It’s been amazing to see how people have used Facebook to build a real community and help each other in so many ways. In the next decade, we have the opportunity and responsibility to connect everyone and to keep serving the community as best we can.”

In this piece, we take a look at Facebook’s evolution from a simple social network to a platform that has become extensively integrated not only with the world, but our lives.

If you’d like to view this post on a single page, you can do so here.

Next: Privacy readjusted, but not forgotten 

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Mirroring is coming to Google Chromecast (so you can play Flappy Bird on your TV)

Feb16
by on February 16, 2014 at 4:54 pm
Posted In: allcast, Apps, Around the Web

Update: Sorry folks, we spoke a bit too soon on this. The feature is a work in progress for Chromecast, so it will (hopefully) begin arriving in apps like AllCast soon. 

There’s good news for Android device owners who also have a decent TV. AllCast — an app that streams content from devices — just added mirroring, a feature that beams content shown on screen to a TV that is using Google Chromecast.

That conjures up a whole range of possibilities, including Flappy Bird on your tele, as demonstrated by Koushik Dutta, the developer behind AllCast. (Koush, as he’s known, could probably use a little practice going on this video — but it’s good to know some people have stayed productive despite widespread Flappy Bird fever.)

AllCast is one of the first apps to take advantage of the new Chromecast SDK, which was opened up to developers at the beginning of this month. That means we can expect mirroring, and other goodies, to land in other apps in due course. That will also mean more reasons to buy a Chromecast, which is headed to the UK soon.

➤ AllCast Free | AllCast Premium

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