Friday
Jul122019

Apple temporarily disables the Apple Watch's Walkie-Talkie feature due to a vulnerability that lets it listen in on other iPhones

Apple temporarily won’t allow conversations through the Apple Watch’s Walkie-Talkie feature. A vulnerability was found that lets people listen in on other iPhones without their knowledge. Apple says it isn’t aware of the feature being used and it didn’t detail how it works. But the company said there are “specific conditions and sequences of events are required to exploit it.” The app hasn’t been taken out of Apple Watch devices, but users will not have their calls go through.

This push-to-talk feature was introduced last year with the release of watchOS 5. And this isn’t the first time Apple has had to disable a feature. Back in January, the company had to disable the group calling function because it lets users listen in on devices before a call was picked up. The company was seen to respond slowly to that issue, so it looks like they’re trying to remedy that here. The timing for this is notable as well. Apple just took out Zoom’s web server software from Macs after the video conferencing app was discovered to have a major vulnerability bug.

Source: The Verge

Thursday
Jul112019

New leaked images of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 show the lack of a headphone jack

It seems the time has come, or at least that’s what the leaked images from the Federal Communications Commission suggest. Samsung is reportedly getting rid of the headphone jack for the Note line. The leaked photos show the top and bottom of the phone and the only circular slot seen is the one belonging to the S Pen. The Galaxy Note 10 is set to launch on August 7th at Samsung’s Unpacked event. It will be held at the Barclays Center in New York, which is the same venue where the company launched the Note 9 last year.

Other rumoured specs of the phone include having the front-facing camera positioned in the middle of the handset and three cameras are vertically aligned on the rear of the device. The volume and power buttons are on the left side but there’s no Bixby button in sight this time. It is rumored to have a bigger aspect ratio, a 6.66-inch display, a 4,300mAh battery, and another a camera on the S Pen. It’s been said that there will be more than one Note 10 model, including a 5G version.

Source: CNET

Thursday
Jul112019

Report claims Facebook signed an exclusive deal to bring ‘Splinter Cell’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed’ to Oculus VR

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Gaming is an arena Facebook hasn’t fully explored yet. It could probably be seen as a less problematic area for the company to focus on. And according to a new report from The Information, we might be seeing them make moves now. Facebook has reportedly signed an exclusive deal with Ubisoft to bring Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed to its Oculus virtual reality headsets. If true, this won’t be the first time Ubisoft has made VR games. The company has even released Oculus Rift launch exclusive titles like Eagle Flight and Star Trek: Bridge Crew. The developer has also released Assassin’s Creed-based VR escape rooms, but it hasn’t done it for home VR headsets yet. Oculus is known for having exclusive games on its platform, so this isn’t a particularly surprising move if it’s true.

One way Facebook is reportedly making its move in the gaming space is by naming former Oculus Content Vice President Jason Rubin as head of “special gaming initiatives.” And the company has its sights on acquiring studios and backing more exclusive games. But the report didn’t specify if Facebook had any studios or games in mind.

Source: The Verge

Wednesday
Jul102019

Nintendo isn’t giving up on the 3DS just yet

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At least this is what Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser assures the customers. "We'll continue to support our 3DS family of systems as long as there is demand," he says. The company just launched the handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite, which makes us think that they might be retiring its “aging” handheld console. But Nintendo isn’t throwing in the towel yet for the 3DS line of systems. As The Verge notes though, there hasn’t been a fresh release for the 3DS recently, and it wasn’t spotted at E3 this year. Nintendo’s big franchise Pokémon has started releasing games for the Switch instead. And while the Switch Lite is less expensive than the Switch, it still isn’t as affordable as the 2DS/3DS line. So, it might take some time before we see the last of this system.