Tech Industry

4,155 'Tech Industry' stories June 2007 - January 2015

Here are the worst passwords of 2014 (and ‘password’ still isn’t the worst)

Ben Lovejoy Jan 20 2015 - 5:24 am PT

SplashData, the company behind corporate password manager SplashID, has just compiled the latest top-25 ‘most hacked passwords’ rankings. As last year, the most-hacked password is 123456, with ‘password’ only managing second place.

But perhaps naive Internet users have been paying attention. It seems some of those using 123456 have come up with a cunning plan to defeat the hackers: dropping the final digit. 12345 has raced 17 places up the charts into third place. Old favorite ‘letmein’ has climbed one place to #13.

New additions this year include baseball, football, batman and access (cunning). You can see the full top-25 below. If you’re not already using a password manager to enable strong, unique passwords for each website, check-out our how-to guide.

1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345
4. 12345678
5. qwerty
6. 123456789
7. 1234
8. baseball
9. dragon
10. football
11. 1234567
12. monkey
13. letmein
14. abc123
15. 111111
16. mustang
17. access
18. shadow
19. master
20. michael
21. superman
22. 696969
23. 123123
24. batman
25. trustno1

Apple commemorates Martin Luther King on its homepage, encouraging employees to volunteer through gift matching

Benjamin Mayo Jan 19 2015 - 3:27 am PT

4 Comments

Apple has updated its homepage today in commemoration of Martin Luther King, which Apple CEO Tim Cook has often noted as an inspiration for his work. Cook says he has pictures of Martin Luther King on his desk. However, this is the first time Apple has recognised Martin Luther King day (which happens on the third Monday of every January) so openly on its website.
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KGI: Apple likely to sell stylus accessory alongside 12-inch ‘iPad Pro’

Benjamin Mayo Jan 18 2015 - 7:04 am PT

57 Comments

According to a new report by KGI, Apple will soon introduce a stylus accessory for its iPad products, targeted at the expected (but still officially unconfirmed) larger-screened ~12 inch iPad Pro. Both products are quoted for release sometime this year, with KGI most recently quoting a Q2 launch window. The stylus would apparently charge using a Lightning cable.

Although KGI reports tend to be based off of supply-chain sources, which have proven very reliable in the past, Ming-Chi Kuo does not allude to any such indicators for the stylus prediction report. Instead, he highlights a number of patent filings in recent years by Apple on tablet styli and a need to differentiate the upcoming more premium iPad aside from screen size.

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Intel CEO says relationship with Apple strong amid rumors of Apple-designed Mac processors

Zac Hall Jan 16 2015 - 8:08 am PT

8 Comments

As we reported earlier this week, often reliable KGI is predicting that Apple will bring its in-house designed A-series processor to an entry-level Mac sometime in 2016 with TSMC and Samsung expected to fab the potential A9X and A10X chips, respectively. As the move to put non-Intel chips in the Mac lineup would be a departure for the company, CNBC asked Intel CEO Brian Krzanich about the chip-maker’s business plans with Apple…
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Next-generation drones will go where you point your iPhone and never crash, says startup

Ben Lovejoy Jan 16 2015 - 4:40 am PT

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM3BPixFVq0]

Drones are a lot of fun, but making them to exactly what you want them to isn’t always easy, and a fair number of them are damaged or destroyed in crashes. Skydio, a startup formed by ex-MIT and Google X engineers, is hoping to change that by turning your iPhone into a ‘magic wand’ controller, reports TechCrunch.

To demo its auto-pilot system, it’s built a drone “magic wand” that lets you direct a drone by simply pointing your phone where you want it go. That means you don’t need the traditional, clunky dual joystick drone controller.

Today’s drones use cameras to allow you to shoot photos and video, and feed the video back to your phone or controller. What Skydio does is use that same video feed to construct a 3D map of the surroundings and feed it to the drone’s flight controller, so it can automatically avoid obstacles.

The team demonstrated the technology by flying a radio-controlled aircraft at speed through an underground parking garage, and a drone through a cluttered office–seen in the above video.

Some of today’s drones have ‘follow me’ functions aimed at those into action sports like mountain biking and skiing, but Skydio believes that using 3D mapping will allow a drone to perform this kind of function far more intelligently, using its awareness of the terrain to ensure the best possible coverage of your heroic endeavors.

The team plans to partner with drone manufacturers, and recently raised $3M in seed capital to create the custom hardware to pitch it to drone makers.

One series of drone flights of particular interest to us, of course, are those made by Myithz, showing construction progress at the Apple Campus 2. The most recent video, earlier this month, was filmed in 4K.

Samsung brings in new design chief from Apple designer Jony Ive’s former firm

Chance Miller Jan 15 2015 - 6:59 pm PT

13 Comments

Samsung announced last year that, after negative reviews of the design of its Galaxy S5, its head of mobile design Change Dong-hoon was being replaced by then VP of mobile design Lee Min-hyouck. Today, however, it was revealed that the company is bringing in an outside designer to help refresh its product lineup. A report from the Korea Herald states that Samsung has hired Lee Don-tae to be its new head of design. Don-tae would lead design of all Samsung gadgets, including smartphones.

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Bank of America announces 1.1 million cards using Apple Pay, new grocery stores add support

Zac Hall Jan 15 2015 - 7:06 am PT

7 Comments

Bank of America, which partnered with Apple to rollout Apple Pay at launch last October, has announced new customer data on adoption of the iPhone-based mobile payment service. The bank’s most recent quarterly earnings reveal that nearly 800,000 of its customers have begun using Apple Pay with a total of about 1.1 million debit and credit cards activated.

In addition to the latest customer data from Bank of America, support for paying with Apple Pay is popping up in another grocery store chain…
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T-Mobile introduces new Simply Prepaid plans starting at $40/month

9to5 Staff Jan 15 2015 - 7:03 am PT

4 Comments

T-Mobile continues to shake up the wireless industry by introducing a number of affordable plans and options as part of its ongoing Un-carrier initiative. Today, the carrier announced that it is expanding choices for prepaid customers with new Simply Prepaid plans for as little as $40 per month. The new plans will be available for new and existing customers on January 25th.
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Xiaomi aims to take on the iPhone 6 Plus with new 5.7″ Note phablet

Mike Beasley Jan 14 2015 - 11:39 pm PT

37 Comments

Image via <a href="https://twitter.com/DarthMowl/status/555617448138137600" target="_blank">Darth Mowl</a>

After teasing a super-thin new smartphone earlier this week, smartphone maker (or, maybe more accurately, “smartclone maker”) Xiaomi revealed its 2015 flagship model, the Note. Just to be clear, this is an entirely new device, and doesn’t seem to be related to the company’s existing “Redmi Note” smartphone.

It’s also not related to Samsung’s similarly named devices, though it hardly seems unreasonable to think that Samsung’s execs aren’t exactly pleased with the name. iPhone users may detect quite a bit of irony (karma, perhaps?) watching the Korean company squirm as it gets ripped off by a competitor, though.

The 5.7-inch phone is positioned as an iPhone 6 Plus competitor. It features a 1080p display, a 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization—a far cry from Apple’s 8 MP shooter—and a 4 MP front-facing camera.

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Ericsson countersues Apple over wireless technology licensing royalties

9to5 Staff Jan 14 2015 - 11:22 am PT

7 Comments

In response to Apple taking Ericsson to court over wireless patent licensing, the Swedish telecommunications company has filed a lawsuit in Texas that seeks the court to determine whether its licensing offer to Apple is fair. Ericsson told the court that it has been attempting to reach a new licensing agreement with Apple for over two years, but negotiations have failed to result in a deal. The patents in question are related to wireless LTE technologies that Apple uses in products like the iPhone and iPad.
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Mockup Apple Watch apps and compare screen sizes with these official bezel templates

Benjamin Mayo Jan 14 2015 - 10:43 am PT

17 Comments

As an update to its Apple Watch Design resources, the company has now provided official bezel mock-ups of the 38 mm and 42 mm watches. Although the files are meant for developers, readers interested in Apple Watch can also use the images to compare the overall physical size of the two sizes.

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Bluetooth SIG Board appoints new officers including Apple’s Joakim Linde

Jordan Kahn Jan 13 2015 - 9:40 am PT

2 Comments

The Bluetooth SIG Board of Directors today announced the appointment of new officers including current board member Joakim Linde, a Sr. Wireless Architect at Apple, appointed as Secretary of the board. Linde joins other new officers appointed today including Toby Nixon of Microsoft as Chairman and Magnus Olsson of Ericsson AB as Vice-chairman.

Linde takes over Toby Nixon’s role as secretary as Nixon becomes Chairman of the board, while the previous Vice Chairman, James Rutledge of Lenovo, is no longer listed as a board member. The previous Chairman, Svein-Egil Nielsen of Nordic Semiconductor, is still listed as a board member following the new appointments.

“The Bluetooth SIG encourages its members to work together for the betterment of Bluetooth® wireless technology—a wireless solution uniquely poised to serve as the backbone of the Internet of Things (IoT),” said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. “Our Board of Directors and Associate members are volunteers who dedicate their time, thought leadership, and expertise to ensure Bluetooth remains the benchmark standard for wireless technology. We appreciate their guidance and look forward to working with Toby, Magnus, and Joakim in their new roles.”

While Linde has long been a member of the Bluetooth SIG board of directors, the new role gives Apple a higher strategic position among the team tasked with “guiding and promoting the Bluetooth wireless standard.” Linde has been a Senior Wireless Architect at Apple since 2010 and before that was the Director of Software at Nvidia.

Contract drivers for Apple and other tech companies vote to unionize in quest for better conditions

Ben Lovejoy Jan 13 2015 - 5:06 am PT

2 Comments

Contract workers driving shuttle buses for Apple, eBay, Yahoo and other Silicon Valley companies have voted to unionize, reports USA Today.

A majority of the 120 full-time and part-time drivers who transport those companies’ employees have signed authorization cards with the union, said Rome Aloise, International vice president and secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 853.

The drivers are employed by South San Francisco-based Compass Transportation, which has contracts with Apple and the other firms to transport its workers to and from work.

The vote follows a call by Jesse Jackson for Tim Cook to create “world-class working conditions” for low-paid contractors. Cook subsequently met with Jackson to discuss income and diversity issues ahead of a small protest which briefly entered the lobby of the Apple campus.

Although the hourly rates for the drivers range from $18-20, they argue that high living costs make it difficult to live close to work, and working further out does not allow them to return home between split shifts in the morning and evening–meaning they are effectively at work for far longer than their paid hours.

William Gould, a professor at Stanford Law School said: “These workers, as a practical matter, have to wait in certain areas to do their work (and) they are not compensated for that wait.”

Facebook shuttle bus drivers joined the Teamsters union in November.

Photo: wired.com

Roundup: Find all of 9to5Mac’s CES 2015 coverage in one place

Dom Esposito Jan 12 2015 - 10:44 am PT

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If you’ve somehow missed the overflow of coverage from CES 2015 last week, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. During the show we took a look at the latest devices and accessories that are expected to be released throughout 2015. The show was packed with new smartphones, home automation tools, cases, and some unexpected surprises. If you didn’t catch all of the coverage from the show, check out the roundup below with links to everything that we found interesting…

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Spotify now reports 15 million paid subscribers

Zac Hall Jan 12 2015 - 6:56 am PT

15 Comments

Streaming music subscription service Spotify shared its latest user numbers today, announcing that it now has 15 million paid subscribers to its premium service and 60 million active users. Spotify’s paid user count of 15 million accounts is up from the 10 million paid subscribers it previously reported just over six months ago.

Since then, Apple has officially closed on its $3 billion deal to acquire Beats Electronics and Beats Music, which gave it access to its own on-demand music streaming subscription service. Before Apple’s Beats acquisition last year, the Spotify competitor was believed to have just over 110,000 paid subscribers of its own.
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Hands-on with Qardio’s lineup of connected health devices (Video)

Dom Esposito Jan 11 2015 - 1:59 pm PT

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Technology is constantly improving the health management while providing ease and reliability. It’s no surprise that there are a lot of major players in this space, but Qardio has assembled a very unique lineup of connected devices that are sure to make an impact on technology-driven health sensors. Qardio was awesome enough to sponsor our CES 2015 coverage, which means we got the behind the scenes, insider look at the award-winning smartphone-connected accessory QardioArm and a couple of new products that will be launching this spring…

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Scanadu turns your iPhone into an electrocardiogram, urinalysis reader and future drug testing device

Seth Weintraub Jan 9 2015 - 1:26 pm PT

14 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cE9Xc5kqmY&HD=1]
Scanadu cofounder Sam De Brouwer demonstrates the Scout and Scanaflo

At CES this week I met with a very interesting company called Scanadu which makes two interesting healthcare products that connect with the iPhone…

The Scanadu Scout (pictured, right) is a little electronic device designed by Yves Béhar that you touch to your forehead for a few seconds. Almost instantly, physiological parameters, including temperature, heart rate, blood oxygenation, respiratory rate, ECG, and diastolic/systolic blood pressure are sent to an app on your iPhone which logs these measurements and alerts users to anomalies and deviations which may be cause for heath concerns.

The Scout closed a $1.6M Indigogo funding round in 2013 and is still trying to push the product through the FDA as it tries to get deliveries to customers.

Perhaps more interesting however, Scnadu introduced its new “Scanaflo” device at CES 2015 which is a home urinalysis apparatus that uses your iPhone’s camera to image a set of colors strips.
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Hands-on with The House of Marley’s Legend ANC headphones and Chant Mini speaker (Video)

Dom Esposito Jan 9 2015 - 11:07 am PT

1 Comment

Along our CES 2015 journey we stopped over at The House of Marley to take a look at some of the new gear they have launching this year. If you’re not familiar with the company, they create a wide range of audio accessories which are crafted from natural and recycled materials. In the video below, we took a closer look at the Legend ANC headphones and Chant Mini Bluetooth speaker…

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The fundamental flaw with EU 14-day refunds: you keep the app forever

Benjamin Mayo Jan 9 2015 - 7:42 am PT

62 Comments

A week ago, Apple introduced 14-day no-questions-asked refunds in the EU for iTunes Store and App Store content. This means that, without the need for a reason, any Apple customer in Europe can get their money back for (primarily) app purchases in 5-7 days time. That’s how it is described, at least.

This opens up some possibilities for abuse. For instance, if you complete a game within two weeks, then you can get your money back and end up paying nothing. As a developer, I tested this out myself. It turns out there is an even bigger problem. At least, right now, when the refund is processed, the app continues to work. You get the app for free, forever.

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Top smart home and HomeKit tech of CES 2015 (Video)

Dom Esposito Jan 8 2015 - 10:58 pm PT

9 Comments

There’s a very clear message delivered on the CES 2015 show floor: Smart home tech is definitely a thing. There is a ton of tech/accessories being showcased at CES that are designed to make your home life easier through connectivity. We’ve roamed the show floor searching high and low to bring you a roundup of some of the best smart home tech that was announced…

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Roost smart 9V battery turns your dumb smoke alarms into connected ones

Ben Lovejoy Jan 8 2015 - 5:03 am PT

13 Comments

The plethora of smart home devices at CES makes it clear that home automation is an idea whose time has finally come. It seems there’s almost no household device now that can’t be controlled by, or at least communicate with, an iPhone.

The only downside is the expense of having to replace your perfectly good dumb devices with smart versions. This is the problem the Roost Smart Battery set out to solve, a WiFi-enabled 9v battery allowing your existing smoke alarm to send alerts to your iPhone when it’s triggered, so you get alerted even if the alarm is at the other end of the house or you’re away from home …
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Harman and Philips announce noise-cancelling headphones, drawing power from Lightning without batteries

Ben Lovejoy Jan 8 2015 - 4:23 am PT

19 Comments

Harman JBL Reflect Aware left, Philips Fidelio NC1L right

Noise-cancelling headphones are great, but they do have one big drawback: noise-cancellation requires power, giving you yet another device to charge. Harman and Philips have each removed that pain-point, announcing noise-cancelling devices with a Lightning connector instead of a 3.5mm headphone jack, drawing their power from the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

The Harman JBL Reflect Aware are earphones aimed at sports use, allowing you to choose the level of noise-cancellation – handy for times when you are on the street and want to retain some awareness of things like traffic noise. They come in at a reasonably wallet-friendly $149. Harman has them at CES, but no word yet on availability …
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The best iPad, iPhone + Mac accessories at the 2015 CES

Jeremy Horwitz Jan 7 2015 - 11:40 am PT

3 Comments

There are thousands of new Apple accessories at the 2015 CES – so many that it’s hard sometimes to separate what’s truly cool from everything else. Starting with HomeKit-integrated accessories, here’s our running list of the best new iPad, iPhone, and Mac products 9to5Mac has seen at the show. We updated this article on January 9, 2015 – the final day of CES – to include our last batch of top picks.

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The latest gadgets from CES 2015 to bring HomeKit automation and Siri integration to your setup

Zac Hall Jan 7 2015 - 11:20 am PT

1 Comment

At WWDC 2014, Apple first announced HomeKit which it describes as a “framework in iOS 8 for communicating with and controlling connected accessories” around your home, and we’re starting to see the first HomeKit-enabled accessories announced. HomeKit is especially interesting as smart devices that use it can be controlled by Siri commands like “turn off the lights” or “lock the front door” and actions can even be grouped together. Below you’ll find our running list of the latest gadgets from CES 2015 to bring HomeKit automation and Siri integration to your home:
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