‘Human error’ gives Amazon Alexa user access to another user’s voice recordings

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One Amazon Alexa user in Germany requested access to his activities on the service but he got more than he bargained for. The customer got access to thousands of recordings from another Amazon Alexa user. Amazon claims this happened because of “a human error” made by the company and is an isolated case. The customer was able to access and download 1,700 audio files from a stranger when Amazon sent him a link for his information. What can you glean from these recordings? A lot, apparently. The German trade publication c’t was able to contact the user who had his files shared by just listening to the recordings.

According to c’t, the first customer didn’t get a reply to Amazon initially when he raised the issue but then the files were deleted from the link provided. However, as we mentioned, he already downloaded the files. An Amazon spokesman said they’ve resolved the issue with the two customers involved and “took measures to further optimize our processes.” The company also contacted “relevant authorities” about the matter.

Source: Reuters

Sony PlayStation’s holiday Twitter promo might be teasing the PS5

The Twitterverse is abuzz following Sony’s release of its free 2018 winter holiday theme for the PlayStation 4. One eagle-eyed Twitter user suggests that Sony might have just teased the PS5 in the theme. Mike Peterson points out the the “S” in “Holidays” is different from the “S” in “PlayStation.” From the looks of it, these are different and the S in PlayStation does look like a number 5. Sony’s own Shawn Layden responded cryptically to comments about Sony having “good things on the horizon” by saying “See you in the new year.” But as other Twitter users point out, this could also just allude to the fact that this Christmas is the fifth holiday season the PS4 is on sale. For now, we won’t know. And it looks like we’ll have to wait until 2019 to find out more. You can see the holiday theme in action and the contested letters (or letter and number) in the video above.

Source: T3

Samsung is reportedly working on its own take to Google’s Night Sight photography feature

Is Samsung going to take on Google's Night Sight mode, which we see in action in this photo?

Samsung wants you to have a Bright Night, and by that we mean, the company looks to be working on its own take to Google’s Night Sight mode. XDA-Developers reports it has found code in the latest Android Pie Build for the Galaxy Note9 that shows a new night photography mode called Bright Night. According to the code, it will let you “take bright pictures even in very dark conditions.” Text in the code suggests it will work similarly to Night Sight by taking multiple shots and using software to combine these photos together. Samsung is known to release new photography features with its flagships, so XDA speculates we might see Bright Night in the upcoming Galaxy S10, which is scheduled for a release by the end of February 2019.

Source: The Verge

Nike plans to release a more affordable version of its self-lacing sneakers in 2019

Nike first debuted its take on the Back to the Future self-lacing sneaker with a rather steep US$720 price tag. Now, the company is gearing up to release a second generation version of the high-tech HyperAdapt sneaker and one that costs significantly less. This time, gen two will come in at around US$350. Nike confirmed the news at its most recent earnings call. The company confirmed it’s coming in the spring of 2019 and will be designed for use on the basketball court. Nike also said it’s “just one better fit solution amongst many” that the company will release throughout the year.

Source: The Verge