Consumers Fed Up With Data Breaches

Consumers are beginning to lose their patience with the custodians of their personal information. Survey results from 2,000 consumers released last week by HyTrust, suggest that 51 percent of those polled would bolt from any business involved in a data breach that compromised personal information such as address, Social Security number or credit card details. Suspicions have been growing among consumers that businesses aren't doing enough to protect the data they eagerly collect from their customers, said HyTrust President Eric Chiu.

Can Ello Convince Facebook Fans to Say Farewell?

Facebook may have garnered 1.3 billion users since its inception a decade or so ago, but today there's an upstart contender that has set its sights on much of that same social networking world. "Simple, beautiful and ad-free" is Ello's tagline, and the new social network is gaining considerable attention. Though it's still in invitation-only beta, it was reportedly gaining more than 30,000 new users per hour as of late last week.

Scribbleton Has a Ton of Potential

Scribbleton is a very infant -- as in alpha -- release of an innovative note-taking app for Linux that provides cross-platform access with Windows and Apple computers. It creates a personal wiki for storing everything from quick notes to detailed checklists to outlines. It creates links between pages in Scribbleton. Think of this as an easy-to-use database to create links between words, phrases and pages. You can just as easily use Scribbleton to store snippets or volumes of text and quickly locate cross-referenced information.

How to Turbocharge Your iOS 8 Web-Surfing Experience

Think iOS 8 is just an expanded version of iOS 7? Take a closer look, and you might think again. For owners of iPhone models from the 4s to the 6 Plus, Apple has introduced not only improvements to familiar features but some altogether new -- and cool -- functionality. Best of all, it's all free. There's something for everyone in this version. Even if you're not quite ready to trade up, iOS 8 will make it seem like you have a new phone again. Here's your guide to the most useful and welcome iOS 8 changes for accessing the mobile Web.

Consumers Fed Up With Data Breaches

Consumers are beginning to lose their patience with the custodians of their personal information. Survey results from 2,000 consumers released last week by HyTrust, suggest that 51 percent of those polled would bolt from any business involved in a data breach that compromised personal information such as address, Social Security number or credit card details. Suspicions have been growing among consumers that businesses aren't doing enough to protect the data they eagerly collect from their customers, said HyTrust President Eric Chiu.

Basis Unveils The Peak, A Smarter Fitness Tracker

Today Basis is taking the lid off of the Peak, its followup to its Basis B1 fitness tracker. Like its predecessor, it’s a device focused on tracking your health, fitness, and sleep, but with this time the company has spent some time on their watch’s looks, packing its motion and heart rate sensors into a thinner body made of aluminum and glass. Read More

Fly Or Die: Apple iPhone 6

We’re back with a new episode of Fly or Die and armed with the latest iPhone. Will John and I, longtime Apple users, give the iPhone 6 the green light? Read More

How to Tap Into iOS 8's Best New Communication Features

Apple's iOS 8 is a free upgrade for iPhone owners who have an iPhone 4s up to the new behemoth iPhone 6 Plus. On the surface, iOS 8 looks a lot like iOS 7, but when you begin tapping down into it, there are dozens of new features and tweaks. Most everyone can find a few new features they can put to work to make their iPhones better than ever. Some are handy, some have "finally" arrived, and some are just plain cool. Here's your guide to the most useful and welcome iOS 8 changes to messages, keyboard, contacts and email functionality.

Apple and Oracle - Are We Suckers or What?

"There's a sucker born every minute." What's kind of funny about that famous quote is that there is no record of P.T. Barnum ever saying it, and there's a lot of evidence he was too smart to have done so. Whether Barnum made the observation or whether those words were uttered by any number of con men instead, the fact remains we are often excessively gullible. After watching members of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology debate climate change last week, I'm not finding this at all endearing.

Gadget Ogling: Smart Wine, Wooly Sound and a Clever Light Bulb

I give LG a little flak for constantly releasing new smartphones, but here's one with a twist. LG is pegging the Wine Smart as its first flip-style smartphone. Yes, the compact style is back, only this time its fuel is Android, instead of whatever arcane OS manufacturers might dream up. I suspect this is more about style than function, outside of a dedicated button for opening an instant messaging app. Still, it looks like a fun toy to take for a spin for a day or two.

The Power of Linux (Almost) Everywhere

Linux -- the free open source operating system for enterprise, small business and home computing use -- is not used everywhere yet. However, its user base crosses nearly every industry. Linux is in many places today. It's in consumer products like TVs and computer networking gear. Linux drives services that users do not even know run Linux. Think in terms of servers, Big Data farms and cloud storage facilities. The analytics and Big Data marketplaces host and run platforms and applications on top of Linux in data centers and in the cloud.

FBI Director Comey Gives Apple and Google a Tongue-Lashing

FBI Director James Comey on Thursday strongly criticized Apple and Google for hardening information stored in smartphones by encrypting data, making it inaccessible to law enforcement even with a court order. The FBI has had conversations with both Apple and Google over the encryption features, Comey told reporters at a media session in Washington, D.C., although he personally was not involved in those talks. The talks are ongoing, with the FBI aiming to get a better understanding of the companies' points of view.

The Sky Is Droning

The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday gave the green light for six aerial photo and video production companies to begin using unmanned aircraft systems, also known as "drones." To incorporate the devices in film and TV production, the companies will be required to hold private pilot certificates, keep their drones within line of sight at all times, and restrict flights to a so-called sterile area. An inspection of the aircraft will be required before each flight, and nighttime operations will be prohibited.

Pale Moon Shines for Classic Firefox Fans

The Pale Moon Web browser project gets rid of a problem that many Mozilla Firefox users would like to solve. The Pale Moon browser is a fork of Mozilla's official browser developed by Moonchild Productions. It provides users with access to all of their favorite Firefox extensions but eliminates the Australis interface, which some dislike. Firefox debuted the new user interface in late April in the Firefox 29 release. That interface redesign was the first major UI overhaul since Firefox 4 was released in March 2011.

Apple Redoubles Efforts to Fix iOS 8 Glitches

Apple on Thursday announced it's preparing iOS 8.0.2 -- which will include a fix for problems triggered by iOS 8.0.1 -- and plans to release it in the next few days. In a rare move, Apple on Wednesday suspended downloads of iOS 8.0.1, which aimed to fix problems uncovered after the launch of iOS 8. What's more, it recommended a downgrade for owners of Apple's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus who lost their cellular service and use of their phone's Touch ID fingerprint reader due to the flawed iOS 8.0.1 update.

Bash Shellshock Bug Patched but Not Pummeled

Researchers on Thursday discovered proof-of-concept code that could take advantage of unpatched computer systems, and found evidence of attacks exploiting the BASH Shellshock bug in the wild. Shellshock, revealed Wednesday, could become a major threat to Linux/Unix and Apple operating systems if published patches to BASH are not applied before an attacker cashes in. However, there's some concern that the current patches may not be complete. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team on Thursday issued a warning about the vulnerability.

Andreessen Goes on Tweet Storm About Burn Rates And Says Worry

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The Dark Side of Apple Design: From Antennagate to Bendgate

When Apple -- which is clearly one of the world's best companies at design -- makes a misstep, it's amplified by a wild combination of user dismay and hater glee. Because there are millions of users and many haters, a design flaw can turn into an instant public relations tornado. Enter Bendgate, featuring the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Reports have hit the Internet that some iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users had managed to bend their thin, shiny new iPhones while wearing something as rare as a pair of jeans and putting the iPhone inside a front pocket.

Dan Allen and Sarah White: Documentation Dearth Dooms Open Source Projects

One of the essential draws to open source software should be superior product documentation. Well-written user guidelines are a key strategy that software developers should use to increase an open source project's growth and user adoption. All too often, programmers finish their last line of code and shove the open source software out the door -- or, more realistically, post it on their website waiting for users to flock to its greatness. Documentation is often an afterthought -- or the software developer does not think about it at all.

iPhone 6 Bendgate: The End of Tight Jeans?

Another new Apple product, another "-gate" debacle. This time, it's bendgate. On the heels of the release of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets earlier this month has come an uproar over an unexpected weakness: In short, when stashed in a pocket of a tight pair of pants, the iPhone 6 Plus bends -- and it doesn't return to its original shape when removed. The subject is fervently being discussed in social media, according to Brandwatch, which found more than 57,000 mentions of it online, primarily by male authors.

BlackBerry Flashes Passport to the Future

BlackBerry on Wednesday officially launched its new square form factor smartphone, the Passport. This new handset has the size and shape of most national passports, which the company dubbed the "international symbol of mobility." The Passport is now available for $599 in an unlocked version, or about $250 with a new contract. AT&T is the first U.S. carrier to offer the handset, which also is now available in the Canadian, French, German and British markets. It should be in more than 30 countries by the end of the year.

Researcher Foils iPhone 6 Touch ID

Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanner is a step up from passcodes for protecting iPhones, but it's far from totally secure, as a researcher showed on Monday. Lookout Mobile Security's Marc Rogers fooled Touch ID on Apple's new iPhone 6 by crafting a false fingerprint from a do-it-yourself forgery kit that cost about $200 to assemble. Rogers and the Chaos Computer Club performed similar experiments when Touch ID was introduced in the iPhone 5s last year. To create his bogus fingerprint, Rogers first lifted a print off a shiny surface.

Banking Trojan Targets Petrochemical Outfits

The pernicious program Citadel has been around for awhile, but it's using some new tricks on new targets. From its humble origins as a "man in the browser" thief of banking credentials, Citadel has become a knave of all trades. Once it lands on a computer, it can be configured in a number of ways with a file from a server operated by Web predators. Citadel now can achieve "full remote control over an infected machine," said Dana Tamir, director of enterprise security for Trusteer, an IBM company.

TC Makers: TechShop, The SF Workshop Where Hardware Is Born

I get to meet some amazing people during our TC Makers shoots and TechShop CEO Mark Hatch is no exception. A former Green Beret, Hatch is the kind of guy who can build a PCB in the morning and run a million-dollar network of amazing technology workshops in the afternoon. TechShop, which began in Menlo Park and expanded across the country, is a membership-based workshop where anyone can learn to… Read More

DIY Pi-Top Computer Lets Users Get Under the Hood

Pi-Top, a Raspberry Pi Model B+ powered build-your-own-laptop kit, soon could enable users to learn computer programming, designing and 3D-printing skills. The Pi-Top team recently released details on its construction of a prototype computer. The developers plan to use the model in a Kickstarter campaign to generate funding for the project. They printed the prototype in four parts with a Rostock Max V2 printer. That process took about 160 hours to complete, but a new design has shortened the total print time to roughly 60 hours.

Pants on Fire, Schmidt Tells Climate Change Denier ALEC

Google on Monday publicly denounced the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council for lying about climate change. "We funded them as part of a political campaign for something unrelated," Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told a caller to NPR's Diane Rehm Show. "I think the consensus within the company is that was sort of a mistake. We're trying to not do that in the future." Google has "a very strong view that we should make decisions in politics based on facts -- what a shock," Schmidt explained.

Sony's PlayStation TV Could Be a Busy Little Gadget

Sony Computer Entertainment on Monday confirmed that nearly 700 games will be available for its PlayStation TV system when it launches in the United States and Canada on Oct. 14. They will include popular and classic franchises such as Killzone: Mercenary, Final Fantasy, Twisted Metal and Metal Gear Solid. The PS TV is a non-portable variant of the PlayStation Vita. It arrived last November in Japan and will debut next month in North America, making its way to Europe a month later.

Hacker Gives Google a Hand With Chrome-Android Compatibility

An unplanned convergence of Android apps and the Chrome OS may be setting the stage for a wide-open cross-platform architecture that combines Android and Chrome. Freelance programmer Vlad Filippov, aka "Vladikoff," discovered a way around Google's limitations on its ARC, or App Runtime for Chrome, which is essentially a Chrome extension application programming interface. Filippov hacked his way into the Google process to allow it to run on the Chrome OS and other platforms that run the Chrome Web browser. He dubbed that modification "ARChon."

Banking Trojan Targets Petrochemical Outfits

The pernicious program Citadel has been around for awhile, but it's using some new tricks on new targets. From its humble origins as a "man in the browser" thief of banking credentials, Citadel has become a knave of all trades. Once it lands on a computer, it can be configured in a number of ways with a file from a server operated by Web predators. Citadel now can achieve "full remote control over an infected machine," said Dana Tamir, director of enterprise security for Trusteer, an IBM company.

Farewell, Bonny Bodhi?

Well autumn is nigh upon us here in the Northern reaches of the Linux blogosphere, and any day now the a/c will downshift to "medium" over at the Broken Windows Lounge. Oktoberfest ales are selling like hotcakes, and more than a few bloggers are rejoicing at the end of the Dog Days at last. The world might feel once again like a happy and wondrous place but for the recent arrival of a sad bit of news. "I would like to announce today that I will no longer be actively developing Bodhi Linux," wrote developer Jeff Hoogland.

Sony's PlayStation TV Could Be a Busy Little Gadget

Sony Computer Entertainment on Monday confirmed that nearly 700 games will be available for its PlayStation TV system when it launches in the United States and Canada on Oct. 14. They will include popular and classic franchises such as Killzone: Mercenary, Final Fantasy, Twisted Metal and Metal Gear Solid. The PS TV is a non-portable variant of the PlayStation Vita. It arrived last November in Japan and will debut next month in North America, making its way to Europe a month later.

Gadget Ogling: Amazon on Fire, Virtual Reality, True Nature and Energy Relief

Apple might be the flavor of the minute as new iPhones hit the market, but Amazon isn't ready to let its rival hog all the limelight. Without a flashy presentation, it unveiled a half-dozen new Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers. There's a 6-inch Fire HD tablet priced at $99 and a 7-inch version that comes in at $139. The Fire tablets are reliably solid machines, and those are fantastically enticing prices for entry-level tablets that still have access to all the apps a customer might expect and, of course, the Amazon digital goods ecosystem.

Marriott Plays With Sensory-Rich Virtual Reality Getaways

Marriott Hotels last week introduced a new vacation opportunity: instant teleportation from New York City to the beaches of Hawaii or downtown London -- no uncomfortable airplane trip required. The journeys are virtual, using 4D sensory technology based on Oculus Rift. Travel enthusiasts are able to see, hear and even feel what it's like to be present in locales halfway across the globe by stepping into a Teleporter -- a phone booth-style structure equipped with the Oculus Rift DK2 virtual reality headset, wireless headphones and a suite of on-board 4D sensory elements.

Android L Will Keep Your Secrets Safer

Hard on the heels of increased security measures in Apple's newly released iOS 8, Google this week confirmed that encryption will be turned on by default in the next release of Android. Android has offered encryption for more than three years, and keys are not stored off the device, so they can't be shared with law enforcement, Google said. In the next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default. Like Apple's new measures, the heightened security planned for Android L is in part a reaction to the widespread privacy concerns.

The Coming Virtual Lifestyle Revolution

Uplinq, Qualcomm's big -- and it was big -- developers' conference, took place last week. There were two parts that were particularly interesting. One was its new robotics effort, and the other was the announcement that it's pushing Vuforia, its augmented reality platform, into wearable head-mounted displays -- think Google Glass on steroids. Qualcomm is imagining a time when we'll wear these things from the moment we get up until we go to bed. It will have a rather massive impact on many of the technologies we currently use.

Apple Fills iOS 8 Security Basket to Brim

With data thefts and cybersnooping making headlines daily, security has started to capture the attention of the disciples of the digital lifestyle -- and if the latest version of iOS is any indication, it's catching the attention of Apple, too. Along with nifty features like Hand Off and Family Sharing, iOS 8 contains a number of significant security and privacy enhancements. Among the most prominent is Apple's decision to keep its hands off the passcode created by the owner of an iOS device.

London’s Tech Boom Is More Than Just Hype, The Hard Numbers Say So

While London Technology Week may not yet rival last week’s London Fashion Week for glamour, there is real substance to the capital’s tech boom. This is why, for the first time, TechCrunch is bringing its Silicon Valley conference, Disrupt, to London this October. A number of things are driving it. London has long acted as a “bridge” both to US tech companies entering… Read More

Gadget Ogling: Amazon on Fire, Virtual Reality, True Nature and Energy Relief

Apple might be the flavor of the minute as new iPhones hit the market, but Amazon isn't ready to let its rival hog all the limelight. Without a flashy presentation, it unveiled a half-dozen new Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers. There's a 6-inch Fire HD tablet priced at $99 and a 7-inch version that comes in at $139. The Fire tablets are reliably solid machines, and those are fantastically enticing prices for entry-level tablets that still have access to all the apps a customer might expect and, of course, the Amazon digital goods ecosystem.

CrunchWeek: Alibaba’s IPO, Minecraft, And Sarah Gets A ManServant

Happy Friday, everyone, and welcome to another episode of CrunchWeek. This time around the table, TechCrunch’s Sarah Burh, Ryan Lawler and myself discussed Alibaba’s massive IPO, Microsoft picking up Minecraft for a few dollars, and why Sarah had someone hold an umbrella for her. Read More

Android L Will Keep Your Secrets Safer

Hard on the heels of increased security measures in Apple's newly released iOS 8, Google this week confirmed that encryption will be turned on by default in the next release of Android. Android has offered encryption for more than three years, and keys are not stored off the device, so they can't be shared with law enforcement, Google said. In the next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default. Like Apple's new measures, the heightened security planned for Android L is in part a reaction to the widespread privacy concerns.

Apple Fills iOS 8 Security Basket to Brim

With data thefts and cybersnooping making headlines daily, security has started to capture the attention of the disciples of the digital lifestyle -- and if the latest version of iOS is any indication, it's catching the attention of Apple, too. Along with nifty features like Hand Off and Family Sharing, iOS 8 contains a number of significant security and privacy enhancements. Among the most prominent is Apple's decision to keep its hands off the passcode created by the owner of an iOS device.

PredictionIO's Simon Chan on Machine Learning by Devs for Devs

PredictionIO is building the MySQL of prediction. The young company recently released version 0.7.3 of its open source machine-learning server. Unlike typical prediction algorithms and open source libraries, PredictionIO is based on making machine learning available to software developers. Cofounder Simon Chan sees a gaping hole in open source tools to connect database programmers and software developers. The new project's goal is to make it easier and more reliable for devs to use their database content to create predictive features.

Web-Surfing Adults More Infection-Prone Than Teens

American teens spend a lot more time online than older Web surfers, yet it doesn't seem to increase their vulnerability to malicious activity. Teens last year spent a little more than four hours a day on the Net, while adults in the 50-to-64 age bracket burned two hours, 41 minutes online daily, MarketingCharts found. Those numbers piqued the interest of Enigma Software. Since teens were spending more time online, they should have been exposing themselves to threats more often and been more likely to come into contact with Internet nasties.

XSS Flaw Burns a Hole in Kindle Security

Security consultant Benjamin Mussler last week warned that the Kindle e-book library had a cross-site scripting vulnerability. It appears Amazon previously had fixed the XSS flaw but two months ago reintroduced it in a new version of the "Manage Your Kindle" Web application, according to Mussler. Mussler first reported the XSS vulnerability to Amazon last November, and it was fixed. However, Amazon's IT staff continued to use his proof of concept on internal preproduction systems for months afterward, he claimed.

Opera Sings for Linux Users, With Just a Few Sour Notes

Opera offers an interesting alternative to the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox Web browsers, but its recent Linux release leaves some room for improvement. Opera previously enjoyed a reputation as the go-to browser of choice for mobile environments. However, Opera Software, the developer, ignored Linux users for quite a long while until now. Opera's Version 12.16 is a very usable release -- but it is not without drawbacks. Perhaps its biggest accomplishment is creating a library of Firefox-like extensions.

Amazon Gets All Fired Up

Amazon on Wednesday introduced a slew of new Kindle Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers. It also unveiled a new OS based on Android KitKat. The top-of-the-line product is the company's Fire HDX 8.9, which sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor, with each core running at up to 2.5 GHz, and a GPU that's 75 percent faster than that of the previous Fire HDX. It starts at $379. The 8.9's display has 30 percent more pixels than the iPad's Retina display, Amazon said.

Nintendo Blows Some Minds With Hyrule Warriors

Nintendo's Hyrule Warriors, which was released in Japan last month and will arrive in North America on Sept. 26, is a very different kind of game. Nintendo called in help from two outside studios: Team Ninja; and Omega Force, the creators of Dynasty Warriors. The result is a game that looks a lot like The Legend of Zelda, but the game play goes in a very different direction. Hero Link once again is called to save the realm, but things immediately take an unexpected turn.

Home Depot Hack Exposed Up To 56 Million Credit Cards

Almost immediately after word broke that Home Depot had been hacked, security experts were noting that the breach was likely even worse than the massive Target hack that had preceded it. Sure enough: Home Depot has just confirmed the scale of the breach. All in all, as many as 56 million payment cards were potentially exposed. For comparison (though comparison seems a bit ludicrous when… Read More

Harmony Takes Control of Home Sweet Automated Home

Logitech has announced four new products for the smart home in its Harmony family that let users control TVs, set-top boxes, speakers, lighting, thermostats, door locks, window shades and more. Users can trigger activities such as dimming the house lights in several ways: by pressing a button on their remote; passing a sensor; using the Harmony mobile app; or by setting up an automatic schedule. The idea "is to integrate all your home's devices into a single experience and centralized system," said Logitech spokesperson Kelsey Sherman.

iOS 8 Rolls Out With Oodles of Goodies

Apple made the latest version of its iOS mobile operating system available for download on Wednesday, and while it looks familiar, it contains lots of new delights not only for fans, but also for its legions of developers. "If you already have iOS 7, you're going to immediately know how to use this, but there's a lot of new features," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. One of those new features is Handoff. It allows you to work on a document, email or project across Apple devices, including those running OS X Yosemite.

Early iPhone 6 Reviewers Might as Well Be Rating Vacuum Cleaners

With every new iPhone release, Apple delivers a handful of new iPhones to a select few industry journalists to review. How are those journalists and publications selected? First, they are known to appreciate the Apple aesthetic -- they have written dozens of positive reviews. No Apple haters allowed, which makes sense. It's important to set the stage for positive vibes when launching a new product -- a professional marketing launch with billions of dollars on the line is never organic.

Ping Identity Picks Up $35M Led By KKR

Ping Identity, a company that works in the enterprise identity space as you might imagine, has raised $35 million, led by KKR, with participation by new investor Ten Eleven, along with a number of prior investors. The funding, as the company was somewhat excited to point out, brings its total fundraising to date to $110 million. Ping hasn’t had much trouble raising, in other words. Read More

Seedcamp Invests In 11 New Startups After Its Annual Event

European ‘venture accelerator’ Seedcamp has announced it has made 11 new investments, out of the 21 drawn from around Europe that pitched at their annual event in London last week. It made 11 investments, 7 directly from Seedcamp Week applicants, and 4 from the new Seedcamp Fund. The companies are: ● Carbon Voyage, London, UK – “Creating technology that makes… Read More

Nintendo Blows Some Minds With Hyrule Warriors

Nintendo's Hyrule Warriors, which was released in Japan last month and will arrive in North America on Sept. 26, is a very different kind of game. Nintendo called in help from two outside studios: Team Ninja; and Omega Force, the creators of Dynasty Warriors. The result is a game that looks a lot like The Legend of Zelda, but the game play goes in a very different direction. Hero Link once again is called to save the realm, but things immediately take an unexpected turn.

Web-Surfing Adults More Infection-Prone Than Teens

American teens spend a lot more time online than older Web surfers, yet it doesn't seem to increase their vulnerability to malicious activity. Teens last year spent a little more than four hours a day on the Net, while adults in the 50-to-64 age bracket burned two hours, 41 minutes online daily, MarketingCharts found. Those numbers piqued the interest of Enigma Software. Since teens were spending more time online, they should have been exposing themselves to threats more often and been more likely to come into contact with Internet nasties.

iOS 8 Rolls Out With Oodles of Goodies

Apple made the latest version of its iOS mobile operating system available for download on Wednesday, and while it looks familiar, it contains lots of new delights not only for fans, but also for its legions of developers. "If you already have iOS 7, you're going to immediately know how to use this, but there's a lot of new features," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. One of those new features is Handoff. It allows you to work on a document, email or project across Apple devices, including those running OS X Yosemite.

Panasonic's New Point-and-Shoot Snapper Supports 4K Video

Panasonic on Monday introduced the Lumix DMC-LX100, a point-and-shoot camera that supports the latest in high-quality video -- 3840 x 2160 4K video at 30 frames per second -- as well as 1920 x 1080 HD video, which can be stored in AVCHD progressive or MP4 format. The LX100 takes advantage of its 4K support to create 8-megapixel photos from single frames in video shot in the super high-definition format, a feature especially useful for capturing the most telling moment in a scene.

PredictionIO's Simon Chan on Machine Learning by Devs for Devs

PredictionIO is building the MySQL of prediction. The young company recently released version 0.7.3 of its open source machine-learning server. Unlike typical prediction algorithms and open source libraries, PredictionIO is based on making machine learning available to software developers. Cofounder Simon Chan sees a gaping hole in open source tools to connect database programmers and software developers. The new project's goal is to make it easier and more reliable for devs to use their database content to create predictive features.

Web-Surfing Adults More Infection-Prone Than Teens

American teens spend a lot more time online than older Web surfers, yet it doesn't seem to increase their vulnerability to malicious activity. Teens last year spent a little more than four hours a day on the Net, while adults in the 50-to-64 age bracket burned two hours, 41 minutes online daily, MarketingCharts found. Those numbers piqued the interest of Enigma Software. Since teens were spending more time online, they should have been exposing themselves to threats more often and been more likely to come into contact with Internet nasties.