cosmoGeek - The Technology News Blog

Google’s self driving cars vision is becoming reality now. Nevada has become the first state in the US to approve self-driving cars. Las Vegas is the largest city in this state. This could be the real future in the automobile industry.

 

 

Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles along with its Legislative Commission gave the stamp of approval provided that these autonomous test vehicles are distinguished from regular vehicles by a red license plate. Once the technology in the test vehicles have developed enough for public use, they will then carry a green license plate.

Here here is a video of the Google self-driving car in action shot back in 2010 in its initial testing phase -

 

 

Other major car makers such as Audi and Volkswagen also have autonomous cars in the works.

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Microsoft changed its Windows Logo, an inspired design from its new Metro interface. A day after Apple unveiled its next operating system Mountain Lion, Microsoft announced in an official blog confirmation that it has redesigned the Windows Logo.

This new logo is truly inspired from its well known mobile operating system Windows Phone.

 

 

 

 

The new design is the biggest change from its classic 90s logo. In an official post, Microsoft’s Principal Director of User Experience for Windows confirmed that the new logo carries Metro principle of being ‘Authentically Digital’.

“It’s a window… not a flag

…., “your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?”

In some ways you can trace the evolution of the Windows logo in parallel with the advancements of the technology used to create logos. From the simple two color version in Windows 1.0 to the intricate and detailed renderings in Windows Vista and Windows 7, each change makes sense in the context in which it was created. “

So, do you like the single colored new Windows logo? Do you really feel it is clean and evoking Metro style? Or do you miss all those four-multi colors which are there till Windows 7? Well, Microsoft can’t go back on it, but let us know your thoughts on the new logo in the comments section below.

Meanwhile, enjoy the logo transition from Windows 1.0 to Windows 7 -

 

 

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Meet the latest Mac OS from Apple – Mountain Lion OS X 10.8, inspired by iOS. This next generation OS will be released this summer. The main features include deep integration of Twitter, iCloud, iMessage, Notification Center, Game Center.

 

 

While Apple claims this release contains more than 100 new features, many inspired by iOS. Highlights include -

iCloud
Messages
Reminders
Notes
Notifications Center
Share Sheets
Twitter
Game Center
AirPlay Mirroring (to Apple TV)
Gatekeeper security

We can predict that Apple is about to kill Mac and call all its future releases with just naming it as OS X. The ‘Mac’ is gone! Also, Apple also gives clear indication to kill native wireless SMS replacing with iMessage in all its devices.

Sneak Peek more features in the official website here. If you are a member of Mac Developer Program, you can download and preview this pre-release OS from here.

Well, this is huge! Microsoft’s India online store website has been hacked and all user information which was stored in plain text format without any encryption has also been exposed. It looks like the hacker team got remote access to the whole web server.

The main reasons behind this hack are still unknown but from the homepage replaced information, its been predicted that a non well known hacker organization EvilShadow is behind all this invasion.

 

 

Microsoft pulled out the store page right now and might be working on this to get back the site. The unacceptable thing in all this story is that the software giant stored all the user information including passwords in the database in plain text without any encryption for such online shopping site.

Update (as of 11:45 PM Central Time, 2/12/12) – The Microsoft Store India is still currently unavailable to users. To patch up things, Microsoft is asking customers to change their passwords immediately. Full email message is copied down below from one of our blog readers:

 

From: Microsoft Store <USemail@microsoftstoreemail.com> Date: Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 8:04 PM Subject: Alert: Microsoft Store India Compromise - Please Update User Name & Password Information Dear XXXX,  Microsoft Store Customer Update We are writing to inform you that there may have been unauthorized access to some of your customer account information on Microsoft Store India (http://www.microsoftstore.co.in/). We have confirmed that databases storing credit card details and payment information were not affected during this compromise. However, exposed account details may include non-financial related information including e-mail address, password, order details and shipping address.  Microsoft Store takes this situation very seriously, and the company is diligently working to remedy the issue and keep our customers protected. We need your help in this regard and we ask that you please take the following steps to prohibit any further unauthorized access to your information.  Precautions You Should Take In order to secure your account information, Microsoft Store will take the action to re-set your password. Please follow these steps to ensure your privacy is protected:  1. If you use the same e-mail and password combination on any other sites, including non-Microsoft websites or services, you should proactively change the password immediately to ensure your personal information is protected.  2. You will receive an e-mail with a temporary password and a prompt to create a new password. Please note, the password reset relates only to Microsoft Store India.  3. Once you receive the e-mail you should immediately create a new password, one that is both secure and familiar to you.  Microsoft Store is Here to Help We understand that you may have additional questions and Microsoft Store is here to help. If you have specific questions about your Microsoft Store account or want more information about computing and personal security please contact us at 1800-102-1100.  We apologize for any inconvenience this incident might cause.  Thank you, Microsoft Store India Microsoft Store, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA, 98052, USA

 

More pictures (the last one is huge) from the HackTeach website below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Engadget, HackTeach

Just like Gevey SIM which requires the user to actually place the SIM interposer between the network’s SIM card, a new Chinese development ChinaSnow claims that they have successfully unlocked iPhone 4S (1.0.11, 1.0.13, 1.014) and also iPhone 4 (1.59.00, 2.10.04, 3.10.01, 4.10.01) on the latest iOS 5.0, iOS 5.0.1 versions.

This is really great news for all those who are waiting for several months, especially iPhone 4 owners who are using them as music devices.

 

 

Currently displaying as out of stock, for $84.95, this seems to be heavily priced from the Beijing store. Here is the list of features as displayed on the website:

No jailbreak required, insert and go!
No need to dial 112 (after the first time initialization)
Supports 3G, EDGE, MMS, Facetime
Supports iPhone 4S baseband 1.0.11, 1.0.13 and 1.0.14.
Supports iPhone 4 baseband 1.59.00, 2.10.04, 3.10.01, 4.10.01 but NOT 4.11.08
No hardware alteration or modification required – will not affect your warranty
Robust and sturdy steel custom SIM tray
Unlocks ALL worldwide networks
Uses high performance original F981 chip for ultra-low voltage operation

I would encourage users to place order under extreme caution, as nobody tested this new interposer as demonstrated in the video below. But, as there are no signs on UltraSn0w updates for left over firmware from Dev team, this could be a real bet.

 

 

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The magic has been paused – Google Wallet which is an innovative way of payment technology from Google has been hacked today. Not with one vulnerability, but two.

The first hack is able to use brute-force attacks to reveal the Google Wallet PIN which keeps the application secure. The second hack allow access to Wallet app in your Android device and will add the ability to add the prepaid balance that is tied to the device.

 

 

To those who are hearing Google Wallet for the first time, it lets you digitize your credit cards and the ability to pay things using near-field communication (NFC) technology. It means, you can just touch your phone to an NFC device and the item you are buying is automatically charged to your account. Currently, only Google has implemented this technology with Google Wallet in its Android powered Nexus S 4G available on Sprint.

The first vulnerability which was discovered by Zvelo, reveals Google Wallet PIN in Android devices which are rooted. Wallet Cracker is a simple app developed by this team.

 

“The lynch-pin, however, was that within the PIN information section was a long integer “salt” and a SHA256 hex encoded string “hash”. Knowing that the PIN can only be a 4-digit numeric value, it dawned on us that a brute-force attack would only require calculating, at most, 10,000 SHA256 hashes. This is trivial even on a platform as limited as a smartphone. Proving this hypothesis took little time.”

 

Watch the video below for more details -

 

 

The second vulnerability which was discovered later today works on non-rooted devices as well and requires no special hacking skills. TheSmartPhoneChamp uploaded a video demo that shows this hack. This is quite simple than earlier one. Someone who found your stolen device can easily access your digital money (funds) by just clearing the Google Wallet app data. Once the new PIN has been entered, the intruder can add your Google Prepaid Card that is tied to the device and access available money.

Second hack demo -

 

 

Google has reportedly working on these two security flaws.

If you have a geeky boyfriend or girlfriend and you really find it tough to impress him/her with the conventional roses, chocolates and teddies, then try something wacky that will get them noticing you and the gift in no time!

Here are some weird gadgets that your beau is sure to adore this Valentines:

1. The 'Control Your Spouse' talking remote
This talking remote will surely have your man or woman cracking up with the verbal one-off sounds and effects that will put your spouse back on track! Now the famous one-liners can be belted out with the help of a button mimicking the popular "What were you thinking?", "What about my needs?" or the "All right, hand over the credit cards!" and many more! You could buy this talking remote in either male or female varieties - which will make your love, think of you all the time!

 

2. The Human Key Kinky Holder
These cute and geeky key holders shaped like a ‘male’ or a ‘female’ will ensure that your spouse never leaves without his or her keys. This wall mountable kinky key holder is probably the perfect gift if your partner is the forgetting types! This one is a very handy Valentines present, that will ensure that your better half never ends up with missing keys with this geeky gadget!

 

 

3. "My Beating Heart" Pillow
This cute geeky pillow reproduces heartbeat whenever you hug it and it actually tries to create a unique heartbeat each time! It actually records your heartbeat and can modify it in many different ways. This is a cute and geeky way to make your lover feel that your heart beats for him or her!

 

 

4. The You and Me Personalized Wall Clock
This cute clock has multiple hands and you can just write each other’s names on each of the hands and share the hours together with this cute wall clock! This is the perfect gift if you want to make him or her understand that time will never come in between love!

 

5. The Ring Cup
This Ring Cup will serve as a reminder to your geeky companion about what you have in mind this valentines, as the handle of the cup is shaped like a diamond ring! This is an excellent reminder of what plans you have ahead with the Ring Cup!

 

6. The 8-Bit Dynamic Life Shirt
The concept of this shirt is to buy it in a pair as you have to wear one along with your partner, as these shirts measure the proximity of two lovers. Whenever the two of you fall within the range, then the pixilated hearts start to glow completely and when you are not in range, then only 2 1/2 hearts glow!

 

 

 

 

7. The cute USB Tulip Hub
Roses are conventional and passé, but if your beau likes all things geeky, then go right ahead and gift him those amazing USB tulips that are the coolest flowers ever! Your lover is sure to adore this valentine gift which is compatible with both Mac and Windows systems.

 

 

Try to go a little geeky and unconventional this valentines and gift your beloved a gadget that is whacky and cool! Happy Valentine’s day.

 

About the author: Alyssa Clarke is a blogger who is all into gadgets and expensive stuff. She recently bought a cool glass TV stand and wireless headphones. She is big fan of Gucci Watches and is soon planning to buy a new one.

For the past four months, I've used a stock iPhone 4S. That was not my choice as there wasn't a jailbreak for iPhone 4S. Today, I've jailbroken my iPhone 4S to experience the magic of Cydia!

You are probably thinking – why should you consider jailbreaking your device? Some simple reasons are mentioned here despite many.

First day screenshots from my new device -

 

The Notification Center - Notice the ‘Superman’ logo replacing the official carrier logo. Data, Time, free memory in the status bar. Instant call, One touch twitter, search google, spy cam, and more – all from the notification center

 

 

Home Screen – Look at the dancing Cydia icon on the dock screen. And count the number of icons on the dock!

 

Siri – This one is a baby out of many available tweaks from the big repository. You can tweet, open programs and more right from Siri.

 

Lock Screen – One more color tweak

 

Custom cosmoGeek Carrier Logo! (This is really awesome) [Updated: Feb 21, 2012]

 

Some other popular tweaks you can consider installing from Cydia are Zephyr (multitasking gestures), BiteSMS, SBSettings, Safari UniBar, MxTube, ProTube, etc.

Come back to this page for more screenshots and tweaks. I am always on the top of the new jailbreak apps and tweaks. Meantime, let us know which of these you would recommend and any other interesting in the comment section below.

The very first iPhone was launched on the 29th July 2007 and on that day, the world of mobile phones changed for ever. Other cell phone manufacturers cowered, whispering amongst themselves. No single phone blew its horn in challenge. And then came Android.

 

 

And today we are actually talking about 20 things that Android can do better than iPhones!

1. Android Supports Multiple Hardware Options
About 10 brands of smartphones use Android OS at the moment, and the list is growing. iOS, on the other hand, is used only by iPhones and other Apple devices.

2. Android Runs Multiple Apps Simultaneously
IPhone’s application multi-tasking is limited to email, iPod and Phone apps in the background. Android phones can run both system and Android marketplace apps at the same time. GPS data recording and app notifications continue to run even when the apps are closed.

3. Android Makes Us Life Easier Through Widgets
On Android phones, you can launch applications, to call specific numbers, to update your Twitter status, and also enable actions for different contacts with a single click using widgets.

4. Android Batteries Can Be Charged
You’ll have to take your one-piece iPhone batteries for charging to an Apple service center, but with Android, you can easily remove and charge the batteries on your own.

5. Android Allows Wireless App Installation
Users can view their existing phone apps through the web, and install apps they want wireless from the web market. The Apple store only allows users to browse and buy apps, not install them.

6. Android Users Can Flash New ROMs
Custom versions of Android’s internal memory firmware are available, such as Cyanogen 6, which allow users to add, quicken and customize functions they need.

7. Android Allows Task Automation
The Tasker app sets Android to activate Wi-Fi, adjust screen brightness, and turn off data connection or GPS as required, while JuiceDefender saves battery. There are many such apps which automate tasks.

8. Android Provides Flash Support
Android supports Flash, which means you can view content from Flash-based sites. iPhone users draw a blank when it comes to Flash.

9. Android Phones Offer Better Navigation
The Back button and the Menu button right next to the Home button make page navigation simple. In an iPhone, you have to get into Settings to access even the Back button.

10. Android Users Have Multiple Keyboard Options
Android provides multiple keyboard options such as the innovative Swype keyboard, the adventurous 8pen, keyboard and the text predictor Swiftkey. Keyboards are separate applications on the iPhone, and users have to import text to a different program.

11. Android Allows Home Screen Customization
You can add extra features to your home screen such as gestures and shortcuts using third-party custom home launchers. Only experienced iPhone users manage to achieve home screen customization.

12. Android Phones Can Be PC-Controlled
You can access your phone’s functions through a browser or send text messages from Chrome.  You can connect to your iPhone through Virtual Network Connection, but it’s not the same.

13. Google Application Integration
Android is from Google and therefore all Google apps such as Google Voice, Google Maps will be easily integrated. Google Voice is available on the iPhone as well, but the experience is not smoothly integrated, as is the case with Android phones.

14. Android Phones Support Multiple Browsers
iPhone uses only the Safari browser, which is fast and reliable but not noted for flexibility or Flash support. Even if you wanted to, you cannot install a different browser on your iPhone, which limits your experience. On Android phones you can use the Android browser, Opera Mini, Dolphin and several others.

15. Easy Connectivity Options
You can turn on and turn off your Wi-Fi, BlueTooth, GPS or Mobile Network right from your desktop in Android phones. You don’t have the same flexibility in an iPhone, where you have to dig through the Settings menu for everything.

16. Single Notification Bar For Multiple Notifications
On Android phones, all applications send their notifications to the notification bar. You can view your email, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter and other notifications in one place, instead of looking through individual apps, as is the case with iPhones.

17. Limitless Personalization Options
You can configure your Android phone with individual screens for social networks, communications, photos, contacts, email, RSS and much more. iPhones are limited in this area.

 

18. Android Is An Open Source Technology
Android’s open technology allows developers worldwide to add their skills to the Android developer community. This means thousands of innovative free apps, frequent testing for weaknesses, frequent updates to OS and firmware to better Android.

19. Android Supports Multiple Carriers
iPhone works only with AT&T in the US while Android supports multiple carriers; you won’t be locked down to any one carrier.

20. Android Allows For External Storage
iPhones have fabulous storage capacity, but storage gets used up soon. Android provides both internal storage and slots for microSD cards.

 

About the author: Dean writes for conversion optimization services Company Invesp that offers large range of services like landing page optimization, conversion rate audit, landing page templates designing and lot more.

Above mentioned points are author’s own views. This blog owner is one of those special Apple fan boyz and personally prefer Apple’s iOS over Android for its unique security, App Store, easy of use, access, innovative features.

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As most of you know about Google’s latest changes in terms of privacy policies that will change effective from March 1, 2012, the giant covers multiple products and features into one single intuitive experience. Take some time and read those new changes that are mentioned in the page as well in FAQ page. As stated in those pages, Google will never collect/sell your personal information.

Taking the advantage of this new step, Microsoft released a cheap advertising campaign where it asks users to consider some of its popular alternatives like Bing, Hotmail, Office 365.

 

 

This ad campaign which was originally posted on TechNet blog comes after a fair amount of discussion here. From the page -

“So, if the news about Google has you feeling frustrated, or concerned, or both, we have some great, award-winning alternatives:…”

Click the image below for full campaign.

 

 

Later, Google replied about all these false points in its official public policy blog post busting about its approach.

This is the not first time Microsoft doing these kind of negative attacks against Google instead of focusing on its users. Watch Microsoft’s Office 365 ad against Gmail. Google responded to this point that no one reads your email, like most major email providers do, Google scan messages to get rid of spam and malware as well as show ads that are relevant to users.