Security Brief: Law Enforcement and Vulnerabilities

Our weekly security briefing continues with the main events that left their print on the days between June 25 and July 1.

In the past week, we reported a lot of vulnerabilities and a lot of news that involved law enforcement agencies from all over the world.

As far as security holes are concerned, the week started with the hacker C0mrade highlighting vulnerabilities he allegedly identified in New York City’s radio systems and ones discovered in Kuwait’s online banking.

A few days later, after seeing that no one is taking him seriously, the hacker demonstrated that he identified security holes in telecoms networks from Spain and Mexico by leaking 84,000 email addresses and associated clear text passwords, most of them belonging to Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail and AOL users.

A vulnerability-related incident was presented by researchers from Security Explorations. They accused Apple of downplaying the importance of a flaw they found in QuickTime.

The Cupertino company is famous for collaborating fairly well with researchers, but according to the firm from Poland, this is an undesirable situation in which Apple appoints a serious vulnerability as a “security hardening” issue.

Another group of researchers performed a study on a number of cryptographic devices, including the RSA’s SecurID 800 token, which they managed to crack in just 13 minutes. In response, RSA representatives came forward to deny that the attacks presented by the scientists can be used to obtain secret keys or other crucial data.

We’ve also learned a very important lesson: never say that your website is highly secure. That’s what Menshn’s co-founder did and soon enough a number of security enthusiasts were tweeting about finding dangerous weaknesses, including one that could expose user passwords.

Vulnerability Lab presented a flaw in the popular password management application KeePass Password Safe. Fortunately, they collaborated well with the software’s developer, who promised to release an update that should address the problem in the upcoming period.

VLC 2.0.2 and WordPress 3.4.1 were released, both of them bringing a number of security fixes that could have been exploited to cause a fair amount of damage.

This week we’ve also seen a number of hacktivist operations. The Colombian Justice Ministry’s website was hacked by Anonymous as a protest against the country’s politicians.

Operation Japan made a lot of headlines after hackers threatened government organizations in response to the new copyright law that could send users behind bars if they’re caught downloading copyrighted content or copying DVDs.

Operation Save the Arctic made a comeback when CyberZeist claimed to have obtained around 300 user accounts from the servers of the oil giant Exxon Mobil.

Law enforcement agencies from around the world have proved that they’re highly capable when it comes to apprehending cybercriminals.

The FBI announced that 24 cybercriminals from 13 countries were arrested on suspicion of being involved in carding activities. Among those apprehended, two are noteworthy: famous Pakistani hacker Badoo and UGNazi’s leader JoshTheGod.

Some of our sources tell us that even UGNazi’s Cosmo may have been arrested.

After the results of the operation were made public, a couple of individuals came forward to take credit for their involvement. One of them was The Jester and the other one was Dana White, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) who revealed that he worked with the FBI after hackers breached ufc.com.

On the other hand, Badoo’s arrest was protested by a number of Pakistanis and Muslims who see him as a hero, not a criminal.

In the United Kingdom, a man was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison after police caught him making free phone calls worth around $15,000 (12,000 EUR) from a number of public booths.

The Australian Federal Police is sick and tired of teenagers who’ve made a passion for hacking into websites, so they’ve paid six of them a visit and told them to knock it off.

In Russia, authorities arrested a 22-year-old suspected of being the owner of the world’s largest botnet based on banking Trojans. It’s believed that a total of 6 million devices have been infected.

In the LulzSec case, hackers Ryan Cleary and Jake Davis pleaded guilty for launching DDOS attacks, but they denied leaking sensitive information online.

Finally, the cybercriminal known as “Evil” was sentenced to 2.5 years for breaching Platform Networks.

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Via: Security Brief: Law Enforcement and Vulnerabilities

The Dark Knight Rises TV Spot Ouch!: This Is Catwoman's Show

A new TV spot for “The Dark Knight Rises,” Chris Nolan's third and last Batman installment, has just been released and, unlike all the other ones, this isn't about The Bat or Bane, but about Catwoman.

Anne Hathaway is just one of the many new faces we'll be seeing in this Batman when it comes out on July 20 but, without a doubt, she's also be the most disputed by fans of the franchise.

While some still believe that she won't be a believable Catwoman (with or without having to compare her to Michelle Pfeiffer's), we'd say she stands great chances at making a lasting impression.

Just check her out in this brand new clip: she means business and she doesn't mind who gets hurt because of it.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is less than a month away from theatrical release, with early trackings indicating it's poised to top “The Avengers” on its opening weekend.

Via: The Dark Knight Rises TV Spot Ouch!: This Is Catwoman's Show

How Fatty Acids Improve Memory

After several years of researchers, scientists finally managed to discover the mechanisms through which omega-3 fatty acids improve memory in humans. The chemical is usually administered as fish oil capsules, which are marketed as being good for the brain. Now, experts demonstrate that to be true.

The research team behind the work, based at the University of Alberta, in Canada, published details of the research in the latest issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, PsychCentral reports.

“What we discovered is that memory cells in the hippocampus could communicate better with each other and better relay messages when [omega-3] levels in that region of the brain were higher. This could explain why memory improves on a high-[omega-3] diet,” says expert Yves Sauve, PhD.

The study suggests that consuming a fish-rich diet, or taking supplements, could be an easy way to keep the brain functioning as close to normal as possible, during the aging process.

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Via: How Fatty Acids Improve Memory

Scientology at the Core of Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise Divorce

After 5 years as husband and wife, and one beautiful daughter together, Suri, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are taking the first steps to go their separate ways. A new report suggests that Katie filed for divorce because of Scientology.

Given Cruise's involvement in the church (check out the video below to see just how involved he was – it's an older clip that leaked online some years ago), it's no wonder it's considered the breaking point in their marriage.

In fact, TMZ says, it was the only thing that convinced Katie the relationship was beyond saving. She did not like Tom's plans about Suri, their 6-year-old daughter, so she decided she wanted out.

“Our sources say Katie has never been fully committed to Scientology, even though she has had ties with the church. We're told the couple had been arguing over Suri – that she's now of the age where Scientology becomes a significant part of her life,” TMZ reports.

She wanted Suri to have a normal childhood, as normal as it's possible for an offspring of superstars, who has even been named the most fashionable celebrity tot when she was just 3.

Oppositely, Tom wanted Suri to start with Scientology right away and to be raised according to the stipulations of the church.

This is also the reason why Katie is asking for sole custody: she wants Tom to be part of Suri's life, but not to the point where he can call the shots on everything.

“Sources familiar with the split tell us Katie is filing for sole legal custody specifically because she does not want Tom to control decisions relating to religion,” TMZ says.

In a separate report, the same media outlet notes that this is also the reason Katie chose to file for divorce all the way in New York, because the laws here don't allow two warring parents to make important decisions about their child's future, which means she stands better chances at getting sole custody.

“Sources have told us that the divorce is NOT about money – we're told Katie doesn't need Tom's money because she has plenty of it... and will be well taken care of under the terms of the prenup,” TMZ further notes.

Katie and Tom were married in an Italian castle in a fairytale ceremony 5 years ago. Over the past half a year, they have been spending increasingly more time apart, but it was assumed it was mostly because Tom was working more again, after having made his “comeback” in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.”




Via: Scientology at the Core of Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise Divorce

Sony Rolls Out Android 4.0.4 ICS Update for Xperia Mini

After months of waiting, Sony has finally delivered the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich update for Xperia mini devices. The update is now available for download via Sony's support site.

However, Xperia mini owners should check their phone's SI (sales item) number in order to download the correct version of the upgrade.

There are more than a dozen Android 4.0.4 ICS versions for Xperia mini, so make sure you get the version suitable for you device otherwise you might not be able to upgrade your smartphone.

According to Sony, there are only minor differences in the software depending on product, country and operator, which is why the Japanese company decided to tag each Xperia mini model with a unique identifier called Sales Item (SI).

The SI is an 8-digit number that can be found on the back of the phone. Make sure you take off the back hood and the battery to find your SI number.

Sony also mentioned that Xperia mini owners who don't find their SI numbers in the list recently published on its support site should wait until the company adds new items to the list.

Unfortunately, there are no deadlines for the release of specific SI numbers, so don't bother asking Sony about it as they have already mentioned they won't answer these kind of questions.

Sony Ericsson Xperia mini is one of the last 2011 Xperia family smartphones that receives the Android 4.0.4 ICS update.

The same updates was previously available for other models such as: Xperia mini pro, Xperia active, Live with Walkman, Xperia neo, Xperia arc and Xperia arc S.

The bad news is that most owners complained about lots of bugs and low performance after upgrading to the latest version of Android. There's no telling if Sony will continue to offer software updates to correct this issues, so stay tuned for more info on the subject.

Via: Sony Rolls Out Android 4.0.4 ICS Update for Xperia Mini

Softpedia Exclusive Interview: Steven Seeley on the Ghost in Windows Allocator

As we mentioned previously, this year we had a lot of great interviews at Hack in the Box Amsterdam. One of them was with Steven Seeley, a senior security consultant at Stratsec, who identified a few interesting vulnerabilities.

Much of his research has focused on the Windows 7 and Windows 8 heap managers, their security holes, and mitigation strategies that could ensure that the flaws are not easily exploitable.

Softpedia: First of all, please introduce yourself for our readers.

Steven Seeley: My name is Steven Seeley. I’m a senior security consultant at Stratsec. My job involves penetration testing of client systems and performing security research. Today’s topic will cover the application specific heap meta data attacks that I have been researching.

Softpedia: Can you tell us a few words about the Windows 7 allocator?

Steven Seeley: I think it’s very hard to sum up in a few words because it’s such a complex set of data structures and algorithms, but in terms of security, we’ve seen a serious evolution in strengthened security from the birth of Windows 7 and specially evolving now to Windows 8.

We’ve seen a lot of new changes and variations that really, really prevent a lot of corner case attacks against the Windows heap manager.

Softpedia: So what have you found? What is this “ghost” in the Windows allocator?

Steven Seeley: Basically, when looking at the way that the Windows 7 allocator actually works, I noticed (along with other researchers) that the frontend allocator is using a predictable location to determine where the next chunk will be allocated from and as such, utilizes a first in first out (FIFO) algorithm when also freeing.

This is essentially exploited via other techniques currently available, such as the FreeEntryOffset overwrite technique.

What I’ve actually came up with is the idea that if you can match this FreeEntryOffset value with the NextOffset of the current chunk, then you can force the allocator to actually keep returning the same chunk address back because there is no sanity check during an allocation against the chunk header.

This leads to the ability of an attacker to allocate a heap chunk as an object type and overwrite that chunk, thus, damaging a vftable with controlled, malicious data.

At that point, as an attacker, you can essentially control any function that is called from that object to which, they can then take control of the processes execution path.

In terms of the Windows 8 frontend allocator changes, we’ve seen some new mitigations put in place. The most prevalent being randomized allocation patterns.

Recently, different researchers looked at the ways in which the allocation process can be exploited. One idea that stood out, was the possibility of having an overwrite target the “UserBlocks” header.

So instead of targeting chunks, we’ll now be shifting focus to more predictable data locations, keeping in mind that as long as an attacker can influence an allocation from a buffer overflow reliably, they will defeat modern heap mitigations.

Softpedia: Windows 8 has only been recently launched. How come you managed to discover so much in such a short amount of time?

Steven Seeley: Well, on the face of it, it appears like a lot of discoveries, but I have simply adopted a new method of exploitation under the windows 7 heap manager by extending an already existing attack.

Additionally, I have simply refined Chris Valasek's UserBlocks overwrite attack and detailed how the attack would work from a practical sense. I guess I don’t get too much sleep. I just found it an interesting challenge and I certainly see the motivation for such changes in the latest heap manager from when I started with Windows XP SP1.

Both exploitation attacks are somewhat hypothetical and require a special corner case in which the exploitation primitive can be (ab)used.

Softpedia: Does Microsoft know about it? Did you contact them?

Steven Seeley: I did not contact Microsoft regarding the attacks, as Windows 8 prevents the offset match attack already. Additionally, the observational idea of the UserBlocks overwrite attack that was released by Chris Valasek in his presentation at Syscan was already public knowledge at the time.

Having said that, I simply provided some context to how the technique should probably work. But as time progresses and the technique is applied to real applications, the technique will no doubt be refined further, thus, inadvertently pushing Microsoft to introduce further mitigations in the heap manager.

Softpedia: Do you think they will do anything about this? What can they do about it?

Steven Seeley: I would imagine a prototype mitigation would already be in design against this vector. There are a couple of mitigation strategies they could take.

Probably one of the most important mitigations they could do is to enforce the guard on the UserBlock header for every UserBlocks and have it validated during every allocation. I’m not sure if that would reduce performance for the heap manager itself, but I think it would be the right approach.

Another option maybe, if somehow they could work out a way to also randomize the position of where the UserBlocks are in the LFH Block zone, would also significantly disadvantage these kinds of attacks.

Softpedia: How can this be exploited?

Steven Seeley: I don't think the suggested mitigations could be exploited with a degree of reliability in any context. Having said that, with sufficient research and time, a clever attacker may still defeat the said mitigations.

Softpedia: So users aren’t exposed to any risks, but you want to show the potential dangers that hide behind this?

Steven Seeley: Risk is measured based on the context of a vulnerability by applying it to its environment (in this case, platform). However, with the introduction of Windows 8, the level of risk exposure to users regarding heap exploitation has certainly been reduced. Any exploitation attempts now will most likely not be reliable enough for vast exploitation.

Softpedia: So the main solution would be for Microsoft to handle the issue.

Steven Seeley: Yes, the main solution is for Microsoft to introduce additional mitigation(s) that would prevent the ability for an attacker to overwrite the Userblocks header.

Softpedia: Have you seen anything in that direction?

Steven Seeley: No.

Softpedia: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Steven Seeley: The continuous introduction of randomized memory, whether that be ASLR or heap randomization certainly places heavy strain on advanced exploit writers.

Where possible, other memory allocators created by third-party platform developers need to take a similar approach to security.

Steven Seeley's presentation from HITB 2012 Amsterdam is available here.

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Via: Softpedia Exclusive Interview: Steven Seeley on the Ghost in Windows Allocator

StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and WoW: Mists of Pandaria Will Be at Gamescom 2012

Blizzard has officially confirmed that it will once again be present this August at Gamesom 2012 and that it's going to bring an array of titles with it, from the already-launched Diablo 3 to upcoming games like StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm or World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

Quite a lot of Blizzard fans were upset to hear that this year's BlizzCon event won't be held. Fortunately for its European community, Blizzard has confirmed that it will be present at Gamescom 2012 in August.

The studio is set to bring a variety of upcoming games to the large convention, from World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria expansion, which will see its opening cinematic debut at the event, to StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and even Diablo 3.

Besides letting visitors try out the games, Blizzard is also bringing back the live band that plays music from its titles and will organize professional tournaments.

Gamescom 2012 starts on August 16 and lasts until August 19.

Via: StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and WoW: Mists of Pandaria Will Be at Gamescom 2012

SoaSE Rebellion Diary: Close to Real-Time Strategy Perfection

I have been trying to find something truly bad to say about Sins of a Solar Empire – Rebellion, which I have been playing almost non-stop during my free time last week, and I think I am scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

There are just issues that negatively influence my time spent with the real-time space-based strategy title: some inadequacies in the Artificial Intelligence of the enemy factions and the lack of a true single-player story campaign.

The first problem is, as far as I can see, hard to spot for the player who only dabbles in Sins of a Solar Empire and I was not entirely sure whether it actually existed before I looked on the official forums and saw that others reported something similar.

The A.I. is able to do pretty much anything that a human player can but only as long as you kick its ability to resists towards Hard or even higher.

On Normal the computer tends to be a walkover, losing to pirates even if it seems have the money for bribes, refusing to defend important planets in order to retreat to its home sector when it already has adequate defenses.

But as long as you only select Hard or even tougher enemies everything should be fine on the Artificial Intelligence front.

The lack of a true single-player campaign is an even trickier issue and might actually make Sins of a Solar Empire unpalatable for some gamers.

I still have fond memories of Homeworld because of its story and the way it used limited means to deliver an oddly affecting narrative.

And I see Sins as the perfect vehicle for Ironclad Games to deliver something similar in scope and impact, proving that real-time strategy games can have solid, interesting stories that exist outside of the scope of the game mechanics.

But the Ironclad Games team is small and I can understand their decision to drop it if the time devoted to story creation would have made the core game somewhat weaker.

Via: SoaSE Rebellion Diary: Close to Real-Time Strategy Perfection

Worlds First Dual Mode Touchpad Mouse

Well-known mainboard manufacturer Gigabyte has just announced the world’s first dual mode touchpad mouse, on its official website.

The company’s novel pointing device is called Xenon and can act both as a touchpad and as a mouse. It comes with Aivia’s Painter software bundles and it uses Gigabyte’s Free-Scrolling Technology.

Gigabyte’s Xenon is a wireless mouse with a large touch surface on the upper side.

Pushing one of the side buttons will activate Xenon’s touchpad function.

The radio signal is specified to work up to a distance of 10 meters and the mouse uses two AAA batteries to power it.

The resolution is a very decent 1000 dpi and report rate is 125 reports per second.

Gigabyte’s Xenon dual mode touchpad mouse is covered by a two year warranty and it is compatible with all Microsoft operating systems beginning with Windows 98 and ending with Windows 7.


Via: Worlds First Dual Mode Touchpad Mouse

Blake Lively Doesn't Work Out, Eats Cupcakes All Day

Blake Lively isn't topping just Best Dressed lists these days, but also those for the hottest women in Hollywood and the fittest bodies in showbiz. Her secret for such an incredible figure is cupcakes, it would seem.

The “Gossip Girl” alum can now be seen on the big screen in Oliver Stone's “Savages,” where she plays girlfriend to Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch's small time drug lords.

John Travolta, Salma Hayek and Benicio del Toro also star in the film, which is hailed as Stone's return to form.

Asked on the red carpet what she did to keep her toned, trim figure, Blake shocked by answering that it was nothing special. In fact, her “diet” might be the exact opposite of whatever you may have in mind right now.

“I eat cupcakes and I don't work out!” Blake told Us Weekly laughing.

Not only that, but she didn't even abide by the strict rule that says she must eat her veggies and fruits, and drink plenty of water every day.

“But if you ask me in ten years, I'm going to regret answering that way now... I don't even drink water. It's terrible!” the actress added.

However, if a particular role demands that she be fitter and in better shape, Blake isn't against hitting the gym and even going on a diet.

For the critically panned “Green Lantern,” which is considered the biggest cinematographic disappointment of last year, Blake went through months of intensive training and dieting to be able to do some of her own stunts, as we also reported some time ago.

She worked out with celebrity trainer Bobby Strom, who also oversaw her strict diet.

Strom got her doing exercises focused on core and strength training, so Blake was at the gym 4 days a week for 90-minute sessions of circuit training.

Her diet included “oatmeal with a handful of blueberries, salads with chicken and balsamic vinaigrette for lunch, and fish and veggies for dinner,” and the occasional treat: Greek crepes for dessert.

Via: Blake Lively Doesn't Work Out, Eats Cupcakes All Day

NetworkManager 0.9.6 Will Have Better IPv6 Support

A new development release for the upcoming NetworkManager 0.9.6 has been announced yesterday, June 29th.

NetworkManager 0.9.5.95 brings enhanced IPv6 compatibility and stability, as well as support for IPv6-enabled VPN connections.

Among other features we can mention that the ability to connect to new Wi-Fi networks from nmcli was added, native support for ADSL modems using PPPoATM or PPPoE, on-demand Wi-Fi scan support, and Vala language bindings.

Moreover, the IPv6 default gateway handling for DHCPv6 was fixed in this release, and the number of changes made to DNS information during connection setup were reduced.

Download NetworkManager 0.9.5.95 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a development release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.

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Via: NetworkManager 0.9.6 Will Have Better IPv6 Support

Download the Supercharged GoodReader 3.15.1 for iPhone

You’d think an update to an iOS reading app is no hot topic, but you’d be wrong when it comes to GoodReader, the robust PDF reader with advanced reading and annotating capabilities.

Version 3.15.1 is out with a bunch of PDF improvements (to get started), including an eraser tool for freehand drawings (PDF Annotations), PDF links with custom URL schemes for launching other iOS apps, and the ability to email a PDF Annotations Summary from the annotation selector ("Locations") menu.

The second part of the update deals with remote server connections. Good.iWare has made tons of improvements in this department, adding a new option for Download-only Auto Sync which allows users to delete local files even if they were edited on a local device.

A new "Upload" button placed under the "Actions" menu now acts as a shortcut for uploading files and folders to remote servers, quickly, and more conveniently.

Users get a new "Share" button for creating public downloading links for Dropbox files and folders.

And the new “Default mode” switch for AFP servers should address any issues with uploading and downloading files for certain AFP servers.

Good.iWare Ltd. also squashed a bug in write-only folders on AFP servers. According to the developer, “this allows to send files to the write-only ‘Drop Box’ folder on a remote Mac computer.”

Listed under “other improvements,” HTML5 video can now be saved from Safari to GoodReader with a special bookmark. Users can generate this bookmark in the app’s Settings menu, according to the changelog.

Last, but not least, the update also aims to fix the issue with video files loosing their playback position on iOS 5.1.

The developer has been informing customers for a while now that GoodReaderUSB has been updated to support the "Downloads" folder. This release makes no exception.

Download GoodReader for iPhone ($4.99 / 3.99 €)

Via: Download the Supercharged GoodReader 3.15.1 for iPhone

Enterprise MLC SSD Launched with SLC Endurance

Newark based Californian company Smart Storage Systems has just announced a new SSD product line targeted for enterprise use. The new additions use the well-known MLC NAND flash memory, but the company claims impressive endurance rivaling SLC flash.

The smaller the NAND manufacturing process, the lower the endurance of the SSD drives when being rewritten.

Back when NAND was built in 35 nm manufacturing technology, the usual P/E cycle endurance was around 35K. That means that every flash memory cell on the SSD was certified to be written, erased and rewritten again successfully 35,000 times.

Now that most drives are using NAND built in 25 nm technology, most SSDs are only certified for a 5K P/E cycle or even 3K.

Once 1x nm technologies will become available, the endurance is likely to be even harder to ensure.

For enterprise use, such low endurance is not acceptable and usually SLC NAND flash is recommended.

The problem is that SLC flash memory is much more expensive than MLC flash and the costs usually are considerable even for enterprise users.

Many companies are developing special technologies that will make MLC last longer and endure more P/E cycles than the usual 3K or 5K level that’s characteristic for current 25 nm flash.

Most of the technologies used are based on special firmware that improves on the usual wear leveling measures and have special error recovery techniques.

Smart Storage Systems doesn’t give any technical details on the company’s Guardian Technology Platform, but claims that it has now been able to achieve a 50 daily P/E cycle certification for its new Optimus Ultra+ product line.

Taking into account a normal 3-year warranty for an enterprise SSD, a certified endurance of 50 daily P/E cycles amounts to an amazing 54650 P/E cycle certification for the entire warranty period.

The new drives are using Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface and are available in capacities ranging from 200 GB to 800 GB.

Performance is rated quite high at 500 MB/s in dual port and 1GB/s in wide port operation with random read/write performance of 100K/60K IOPS.    

Pricing information was not been made available.


Via: Enterprise MLC SSD Launched with SLC Endurance

US Cellular to Carry Windows Phone 8 Devices

U.S. Cellular is the fourth North American carrier to confirm it offer customers Windows Phone 8 devices this fall.

Although the operator did not mention any phone models and/or release dates, U.S. Cellular stated for PC Magazine the following:

“We believe in giving our customers the latest technology and device options and we are excited about the Windows 8 phone. It will be an important part of our device lineup going forward.”

AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless already announced their support for Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8 platform by releasing several smartphones by the end of the year.

It is also worth mentioning that Windows Phone 8 will be fully compatible with both CDMA and LTE technology, which will cope well with U.S. Cellular's recently launched 4G network. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Via: US Cellular to Carry Windows Phone 8 Devices

Weekend Reading: The Joy and Disappointment of Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut

After a lengthy wait and a lot of speculation, BioWare launched the Extended Cut downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 3, which brought new cinematics for the game’s original three endings as well as a whole new fourth ending.

While many fans still don’t necessarily approve of the DLC, I think it delivers a mix of joy and disappointment, depending on your own stance in regards to the actual endings.

As always, major spoilers are discussed about Mass Effect 3 and the Extended Cut, so stop reading if you want to avoid them.

First up, let’s talk about the three endings offered by Mass Effect 3 originally and enhanced by the Extended Cut.

This is where the DLC shines, as it offers players way more details about the decisions they can take. Every different conclusion, whether it’s Control, Synthesize or Destroy, is explained in a more thoughtful way and they can now decide exactly what they want to do in regards to the Reapers.

After choosing your course of action and witnessing the regular cinematics, the Extended Cut delivers a series of slides that detail what happens to the world and to the different characters the player has interacted with. This concludes the series in a much better way, as no matter your choice you witness the legacy that you left behind.

Sadly, while the Extended Cut greatly enhances existing endings, it also adds a new conclusion in which players defy the Reapers and choose not to use the Catalyst weapon. This can be triggered either through a dialog option or by shooting the StarKid.

While such a conclusion was demanded by many players, BioWare pretty much insults them by jumping into the future and portraying a world where humanity and the rest of its allies were obliterated. While I do realize that it was the most likely outcome, a cinematic of the battle or at least a few more slides showing the War Assets in action would’ve been welcomed.

What did you think about Mass Effect 3’s Extended Cut DLC? Share your thoughts below.

Via: Weekend Reading: The Joy and Disappointment of Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut

Weekend Reading: One Year, Just One Game

I’ve already written about how I have to create just the right environment in order to be able to enjoy most video games away from work, and how I suspect many other dedicated players sometimes have problems getting the necessary energy to actually enjoy their playing time.

Much of this is the result of gaming monoculture, becoming fixated on just one title, be it Call of Duty or Planescape Torment, for a long period of time, getting to know all its details but missing the wider evolutions of the gaming world.

Yet, I sometimes find myself thinking about how it would be to just play one game for an entire year (something I clearly cannot do) and about the possible candidates for the position of early obsession.

My most obvious candidate would be, as some might have guessed by reading previous Weekend Reading articles, the most recent entry in the Football Manager series from Sports Interactive and SEGA, a game I have sunk more than 200 hours into and still actively enjoy.

Another would be Civilization IV, as long as I am able to bring in mods, because the core structure of the Firaxis-made turn strategy supports a number of very different experiences, from the fantasy-based Fall from Heaven to the science fiction Dune universe.

I could also imagine someone being fine with just playing a solid multiplayer shooter like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or a MMO that delivers constant content and is best enjoyed with a group.

I wonder how such an experience would change one’s vision on gaming, in general, and on the chosen one year game in particular.

I also wonder how coming back to a full buffet of titles after 365 days of enjoying just one kind of dish would be for most of us, who tend to get at least one new title during one given month.

Via: Weekend Reading: One Year, Just One Game

Check Out Google Earth's New Gorgeous "Tour Guide" Mode on Android

One of the cool things Google showcased at its Google I/O conference was a significantly improved Google Earth experience on mobile devices. Google has been working on a new technology to create vastly improved 3D buildings for its map products.

It's hardly the first to do it, in fact, Apple showcased a very similar feature, coming to iOS 6, a short while ago. All those great new models are for nothing if you can't find them though, which is why Google is showcasing the new "tour guides" in the Android app. An iOS version is coming soon.

Tour guides have been created for some 11,000 locations in 110 countries or regions so you'll be able to discover a lot of new places to visit, either on your tablet or in real life.

Via: Check Out Google Earth's New Gorgeous "Tour Guide" Mode on Android

Phoronix Test Suite 4.0 Milestone 4 Available for Download

The third milestone release of the Phoronix Test Suite 4.0 (Suldal) has been announced today by Michael Larabel.

Phoronix Test Suite is the most comprehensive benchmarking and testing platform available for Linux, and designed to carry out qualitative and quantitative benchmarks in a clean, reproducible, and easy-to-use manner.

Highlights of Phoronix Test Suite 4.0 Milestone 4:

• Support download caches at /run/media/*/*/download-cache/ has been added;
• Set SKIP_TEST_SUPPORT_CHECKS=1 environment variable for debugging purposes to run tests on unsupported platforms;
• The software only renders as much room for pts_OverViewGraph as there are for what will be rendered (bar graph values);
• DVD drives don't get reported on BSD operating systems when requesting disk drives;
• Various alterations have been implemented;
• Graphics processor detection on Solaris 11 11/11 for non-NVIDIA GPUs has been improved;
• Support for handling i915_energy monitor reading in microJoules for each test run has been added;
• A timer support for individual test runs within the module has been implemented.

Download Phoronix Test Suite 4.0 Milestone 4 right now from Softpedia. The final version of the app is expected to arrive sometime this summer.

Via: Phoronix Test Suite 4.0 Milestone 4 Available for Download

Tom Cruise Divorced All 3 Wives When They Were 33

As this guy used to say, “Yeah, but what does it mean?!” Tom Cruise is divorcing third wife Katie Holmes and, as it turns out, he divorced his previous 2 at the same age as Katie: when they were 33, about to turn 34.

Confirmation has come from Holmes' attorney that she's filed divorce papers in New York. She's citing irreconcilable differences and is asking for sole custody of their 6-year-old daughter Suri.

Amidst reports that Cruise was blindsided by the news since he really believed things were OK in the marriage comes a report that might suggest differently.

Fans must know that Katie was Tom's third wife: he was also married to Mimi Rogers in the '80s and to Nicole Kidman in the '90s.

As it turns out, these 3 women might have more in common than just sharing their bed and lives with Tom at one point, voices online are saying, as reported by MSNBC.

All three divorced the actor when they were 33, with the divorce becoming final as they turned 34.

“All of Cruise's three marriages broke up when his wife at the time was 33, and ended when she was 34. Cruise's first wife was Mimi Rogers, who was 31 when she wed 25-year-old Cruise in May 1987 and 33 when they broke up in 1990,” the report says.

“Cruise then married Nicole Kidman, 23, in December of 1990, and then separated in 2001, when Kidman was 33. Holmes, 28, and Cruise wed in 2006, seven months after daughter Suri was born. And when word came Friday that Holmes had filed for divorce, those with a sense of Cruise history noted that Holmes was also 33,” MSNBC adds.

This could either be a very strange coincidence or a sign of something else.

The report notes that speculation is wild on social networking websites (Twitter in particular) as to the meaning of this, with some saying it could be somehow linked to Cruise's involvement in Scientology – which, as a side note, is also considered the reason for his most recent divorce.

Skeptics claim that this could mean that none of Tom's marriages was meant to be “long-term contracts,” because he's secretly gay and only taking up wives to keep up appearances.

Of course, such rumors were never substantiated in any way.

So, to return to the question: what could it mean? Is it just a strange coincidence or does Tom, for one reason or another, not want a wife older than 34? Sound off in the comments section below.

Via: Tom Cruise Divorced All 3 Wives When They Were 33

Script of the Day: Wiki Web Help

Wiki Web Help is a beautifully crafted wiki system built with PHP, MySQL and lots of AJAX. The entire system is so good and fast, that since we first tested it with version 0.1.x, our editors decided to grant it the Softpedia Pick award.

Wiki Web Help is just a wonderful wiki system for any collaborative website effort. It can be successfully used in documentation sites, FAQ systems, intranets, or even for simply structured normal websites.

Of course, being a wiki, it benefits from all the classic wiki features like wiki syntax, page history, user login system, diff views, live preview of edits, etc..

Beside these, other great options are also packed with Wiki Web Help: dual panel editing, admin and moderation tools, highlighted search system, plugins, themes, multilingual support and many more.

For a better feel, a demo of Wiki Web Help is available online for your pleasure. For programmers, development is handled via its SourceForge page.

Download Wiki Web Help from our Scripts section here.
Check out more Wiki Web Help screenshots here.

Via: Script of the Day: Wiki Web Help

Weight Watchers Isn't Pressuring Jessica Simpson to Lose Weight

For the past couple of years or so, Jessica Simpson and Jessica Simpson's weight have been tabloid fodder. Apparently, that isn't going to change now that she's given birth to her first child, daughter Maxwell.

Even before she gave birth, there was a lot of speculation about how she was gaining too much weight because she was basically indulging her every whim.

Then, word got out that she'd been approached by Weight Watchers to sign a partnership that would see her drop the pounds on the program for an estimated $4 million (€3.1 million).

Jessica confirmed the deal on her Twitter and Facebook pages and, only a couple of weeks later, was seen hitting the gym regularly.

This, in return, led to talk that she might be under some sort of pressure from Weight Watchers, a report she's taking the time out to rubbish herself.

“Just so everyone knows...Weight Watchers hasn't put ANY pressure on me. I'm trying to be as healthy as I can be for myself and I feel great!” Jessica writes on her Twitter feed.

As we also noted on a previous occasion, word on the street was that the weight loss company had given Jessica only 5 months to drop an impressive 50 pounds (22.6 kg).

Admittedly, Jessica was already feeling as if she was about to crack, especially since she wasn't that keen on hitting the gym several times a week because that meant being apart from her baby girl.

Maxwell is Jessica's first child with fiancé Eric Johnson, whom she plans to wed as soon as she bounces back to shape, as she said in one of her older interviews.

The two first announced their engagement and, shortly afterwards, confirmed they were expecting, which inevitably led to talk about postponing the wedding until Jessica gave birth.

This was confirmed by the star weeks before Maxwell was born.

Speaking of Maxwell, Jessica also tweeted a first picture of her the other day, with the caption “Howdy friends.”

Via: Weight Watchers Isn't Pressuring Jessica Simpson to Lose Weight

Calibre 0.8.58 Has Better Generated Covers

Version 0.8.58 of the e-book reader and management software Calibre was announced on June 29th, with some important new features and fixes.

Calibre 0.8.58 brings some improvements for generated covers and introduces quite a few new drivers for various devices.

Highlights of Calibre 0.8.58:

• Texture for calibre generated covers has been added;
• Drivers for Sogo SS-4370, HTC G2 and Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet have been added;
• Search to the Manage tags/series/etc. dialogs has been added;
• Support for images embedded in the HTML has been added;
• A more robust handling of EINTR during IPC has been implemented;
• A bug that could cause corrupted output when doing an EPUB/OEB to EPUB conversion has been fixed.
• News sources have been improved.

A complete changelog can be found in the official announcement.

Download Calibre 0.8.58 right now from Softpedia.

Via: Calibre 0.8.58 Has Better Generated Covers

Android 4.0.4 ICS for DROID RAZR and RAZR MAXX Now Available for Download

Verizon customers who own the DROID RAZR or DROID RAZR MAXX rejoice, as Verizon and Motorola has just started to push the long-awaited Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich update.

DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX can now be upgraded to Android 4.0.4 ICS, but the wait for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which has just been made official, has just started.

However, Motorola did not mention if either of its current Android smartphone will receive an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean upgrade in the future.

Initially slated for a Q2 release, Motorola barely manage to keep its promise and delivered the hotly anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich update on June 29.

The update is currently pushed OTA (over the air) and has around 354MB, so users are recommended to download it via a reliable Wi-Fi network in order to avoid data mobile charges.

According to Verizon, it will take approximately 20 to 70 minutes to download the update, depending on the connection the owner of the phone uses. In addition, it will take another 10-20 minutes to install the Android 4.0.4 ICS update once it's downloaded.

To manually check for the update simply go to Menu / Settings / About phone / System updates / Download and software upgrade 6.16.211.XT912.Verizon.en.US should pop up on the screen immediately.

The following key features have been added into the mix, once the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX are upgraded to Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich:

- Device is enabled for Global Roaming;
- New versions of the following apps: Backup Assistant Plus, SMARTACTIONS, newer versions of Google Mobile Services Applications with Enhanced Features, Video Calling Portal, Verizon Apps Store;
- Faster Browser, Enhanced experience with Visual Tabs and ability to view desktop version of web sites.

Several stability and performance improvements have been added as well, including:

- Improved Bluetooth Audio Quality while listening to Music;
- Improvements to the Mobile Hotspot performance;
- Enhanced Email Experience with quick response options, improved auto correction and search options;
- Reorganized and easier to navigate settings menu, including toggles for airplane mode, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

For the full changelog of the major software update check out Verizon Wireless' support site.

Via: Android 4.0.4 ICS for DROID RAZR and RAZR MAXX Now Available for Download

You'll Be Able to "Mute" Google Ads Soon, Removing the Annoying Ones

Bad ads are no good to anyone. If you see an ad that is not relevant to you in any way you're not going to click on it. In fact, if it's annoying enough you may start avoiding the site you saw it on or whatever is being advertised. The advertisers get hurt and Google doesn't get paid.

So quality ads are important to everyone involved. Google has been doing some things to enable users to either indicate what ads they're interested in and what ads they don't like.

But is now finally doing it in a way that may actually work, by enabling users to "mute" ads. Display ads served via the Google network will get a small 'x' button enabling users to "remove" the ad when they stumble upon it.

That's no guarantee that you won't see the ad again, but Google is promising that it's going to use your preferences to learn and do better next time.

Via: You'll Be Able to "Mute" Google Ads Soon, Removing the Annoying Ones

OnLive Running Massive Summer Sale Until July 8

Popular cloud streaming service OnLive has just kicked off its own series of Summer Sales in the form of the OnLive Summer Gaming Academy initiative and has just slashed up to 75% off the prices of a variety of games.

Quite a few PC gamers eagerly awaited this week the start of Steam's traditional summer sale but, as we all saw, Valve has decided to postpone it.

This hasn't stopped OnLive from running its type of promotion, in the form of the OnLive Summer Gaming Academy.

To kick things off, between now and July 8, a variety of great games have seen their prices slashed by up to 75%. These include impressive titles like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Just Cause 2, Warhammer: Space Marine, and much more, so check them out below.

- AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!!
- Amnesia
- The Ball
- Brain Challenge
- Darksiders
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Deus Ex: Human REvolution Augmented Edition
- Doc Clock: The Toasted Sandwich of Time
- Duke Nukem Forever
- Fishdom 2
- Homefront
- Homefront: Ultimate Edition
- Icebreakers
- Just Cause 2
- Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
- A Kingdom for Keflings
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
- LIMBO
- Mafia II
- Metro 2033
- MX vs ATV Reflex
- NBA 2K10
- NBA 2K11
- NBA 2K12
- Orcs Must Die!
- Red Faction: Armageddon
- Remington Super Slam Hunting: Africa
- Royal Envoy
- Shatter
- Space Pirates and Zombies
- Trine
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Retribution
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Chaos Rising
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
- World of Goo

All these games will be discounted until July 8. From July 2 until August 24, new deals and discounts will be introduced every week by OnLive.

Don't forget that you're essentially buying the rights to play the game's via a connection to OnLive's servers, so you always need an online connection to access them.


Via: OnLive Running Massive Summer Sale Until July 8

Your Google+ Profile Is Replacing Your YouTube One

One year later, Google is continuing to push Google+ into its other products. YouTube has historically enjoyed quite a lot of independence. But it too can't escape the clutches of Google+. If you're an avid or just cursory user of any of the two products, rejoice, you can now use your Google+ name for your YouTube profile.

Essentially, like it happened to Blogger already, users will be able switch their native YouTube profiles with their Google+ ones.

"Starting today we’re giving you the ability to change how you appear on YouTube, with the option to use your Google+ profile on your YouTube channel," YouTube said.

"One Google-wide identity was something that proved popular with new YouTube users when we began offering it in March, so we are now extending it to existing users," it explained.

"This is your identity, so you’re in the driver’s seat. First off, your name. If you are currently YouTube user joeysam87, you can now appear as Joey Samson, the full name from your Google+ profile (with an actual space in the middle!), along with any photo you uploaded," it said.

In practice, your two profiles will be merged, though your Google+ profile is the one that's getting all the attention, your name and profile will replace the YouTube ones.

One of the big hurdles in getting people to link up their profiles is that people don't want to link up their profiles, they don't want their YouTube identity to be associated with their new Google+ one. In particular, they may not want specific things from YouTube showing up in Google+.

Luckily, Google delivers on this front, before you can merge the profiles, you have the chance to review any video you published, and make them private, as well as your comments and playlists and anything else you may have done on the site.

Via: Your Google+ Profile Is Replacing Your YouTube One

Kinect Potential Hasnt Been Realized, Gears of War Dev Says

Cliff Bleszinski, the creative director of Epic Games and the man behind the Gears of War franchise, has talked about the Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360, saying that developers have yet to take advantage of the peripheral in a meaningful way.

Epic Games has had a close relationship with Microsoft and its Xbox 360 platform but, ever since the Kinect sensor was launched, the studio expressed its reluctance in using the device.

While there was a special Gears of War: Exile project in development some time ago that might have used the Kinect, it was quickly canceled by the studio and never mentioned again.

Speaking with GamesTM, Epic’s Cliff Bleszinski revealed that very few ideas from Exile had migrated to Gears of War: Judgment, the next full-fledged installment in the franchise.

“There are not a lot of things that wound up in there. There’s one thing actually that you just reminded me of though, is that we are not supporting Kinect in Gears Judgment,” the Epic designer said.

According to Bleszinski, while the Kinect is a pretty great device, developers of core games have yet to extract the potential of the sensor.

“I like Kinect, I’ve been a fan of it, but I don’t think it has been fully realised as far as the potential of the device. Dance Central 3 looks great and all, but I’m curious how the ‘core’ games will work out…”

Microsoft has been trying hard to make sure its core customers have reasons to buy the Kinect but, besides support in several big games, like Mass Effect 3 or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which both used voice commands, there haven’t been any proper experiences that fully used the Kinect and attracted core gamers.

Even so, the company is confident that more core gamers will realize the important role of the Kinect.

Via: Kinect Potential Hasnt Been Realized, Gears of War Dev Says

The Awakening Trailer: Be Careful What You Wish For

They say you should be careful what you wish for because it might just come true. Ghost buster Florence Cathcart gets her first brush with a real ghost in “The Awakening” trailer – and it's not pretty!

Starring Rebecca Hall and Dominic West (who is looking as fine as ever, might we add) as the unlikely pair assigned to get to the bottom of a haunting case in a boys' school, this gothic thriller has been around for over 2 years.

However, it's just now getting ready for a US release, hence the brand new trailer.

Spooky, atmospheric and quite scary at points, the video does its job: it gets the conversation started on whether this is yet another typical Hollywood-made “horror” film or perhaps something more, a film more along the lines of “The Others.”

Watch the trailer and decide for yourself.

Via: The Awakening Trailer: Be Careful What You Wish For

Twitter's No Longer Playing Nice with Others, Starting with LinkedIn

Twitter is continuing to get more closed, even as most of its success can be attributed to its open nature. The company is taking more and more control over its product and data, arguing that it's focusing on quality, though the move will eventually backlash.

The company announced that it's starting to better enforce its existing API rules. What's more, stricter rules are on their way. The first casualty of this new determination is LinkedIn, which has had to stop displaying tweets on the site.

"Back in March of 2011, my colleague Ryan Sarver said that developers should not 'build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience.' That guidance continues to apply as much as ever today," Twitter's Michael Sippey wrote.

"Related to that, we’ve already begun to more thoroughly enforce our Developer Rules of the Road with partners, for example with branding, and in the coming weeks, we will be introducing stricter guidelines around how the Twitter API is used," he added.

The way Twitter explains it, it wants the experience to be the same wherever people interact with the service. But as Twitter continues to add functionality, things like retweets, favorites and so on, on top of the basic tweet, it worries third-parties will not convey the same features in the same way.

Rather than present users with a subpar experience, Twitter would cut off anyone that displayed tweets. Initially, it went after apps, desktop and mobile clients were targeted and mostly exterminated. But now it's going after websites that do the same, starting with LinkedIn with which it trumped a big partnership not so long ago.

"Consistent with Twitter’s evolving platform efforts, Tweets will no longer be displayed on LinkedIn starting later today. We know many of you value Twitter as an additional way to broadcast professional content beyond your LinkedIn connections," LinkedIn wrote in a blog post.

In the same post LinkedIn offers a simple way of bypassing the new limitation, just write on LinkedIn first, whatever you share will be pushed to Twitter too if you want. It's clear that people who value the ability to cross-post will do just that.

Obviously, this is the exact opposite of what Twitter was trying to achieve, but that's what you get when you start imposing artificial limitations. As a side note, tweets can still be published on Facebook so perhaps the new rules don't apply to everyone.

Via: Twitter's No Longer Playing Nice with Others, Starting with LinkedIn

3D Inner Structure of E. coli Resolved via Advanced Microscopy

For the first time, biologists managed to gain access to the sub-cellular world, via the use of an advanced algorithm and add-on technique, designed specifically for commercial microscope by researchers at the University of Illinois.

A paper detailing the study, entitled “Visualizing Escherichia coli sub-cellular structure using sparse deconvolution spatial light interference tomography,” is available in the June 29 online issue of the open-access journal PLoS ONE, which is edited by the Public Library of Science.

The microscopy method the team created can stealthily investigate the inner workings of the E. coli bacteria, and produces three-dimensional, high-quality images. Scientists believe that the approach may be used to analyze other types of living cells as well.

The non-invasive study method can be used for visualizing, quantifying, and studying cells, all without introducing contrast agents (like MRI machines require) or fluorescent dyes into the living system.

According to the PLoS ONE paper, the proof-of-concept study was carried out at great speed, scale and resolution, in a manner that cannot be replicated by any other label-free microscopy method currently available on the market.

While using contrast agents and fluorescent dyes continues to produce more in-depth results, the new approach may come in handy when scientists want to study a biological system without interference.

Gabriel Popescu, a researcher at the UIUC Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, says that the new microscopy method is based on a broadband interferometric technique known as Spatial Light Interference Microscopy (SLIM), which the expert himself designed.

SLIM works as an add-on module to a commercial phase contrast microscope, he reveals, and is capable of taking fast, accurate readings at several scales simultaneously, e! Science News reports.

“I believe this is a project that illustrates best the cross-pollination between different areas of expertise, which is so well nurtured at the Beckman Institute. We used a novel optical method in combination with advanced computer algorithms to tackle a problem of significance in biology,” Popescu says.

“This new method […] provides a way to take advantage of the intrinsic properties of these very small, transparent cells non-invasively and without the use of fluorescence techniques and contrast agents,” concludes UIUC researcher and first paper author, Mustafa Mir, a member of Popescu's research group.

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Via: 3D Inner Structure of E. coli Resolved via Advanced Microscopy

Download & Set official Stock Android Jelly Bean 4.1 Wallpaper APK

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From the recent event from Google I/O, Android V4.1 Jelly Bean rolled out for new android related tablets, smartphone also for available for earlier version of android device to Jelly Bean via firmware updates. Nowadays, Googles hot search trend Android 4.1 Jelly bean on the top of the page with Official jelly bean firmware updates on major branded android mobiles Sony xperia, Samsung Galaxy, HTC, LG Optimus and others.

Most of the Android smartphonedoesntmeet requirements to updates android Jelly Bean firmware updates due to lowest version of processor (below 1GHz) and RAM speed and other hardware requirements.

Download and Set official Stock Android Jelly Bean 4.1 wallpaper

The below listed Wallpapers are Jelly Bean stock images for any kind of android smartphone as well as tablets found on Xda Developers forum. The list of 10 Jelly bean stock Wallpaper looks amazed at the home screen that will run on any resolution pixels.

Download 10 Android Jelly Bean 4.1 wallpaper ZIP package to your computer and unzip via WInRAR or 7Zip software.

Once your folder unzipped then connect mobile or Tablet to computer via USB cable/ Wi-Fi and transfer folder or files to your android device gallery folder and set as phone wallpaper to get Jelly Bean stock photos as home screen.

Via: Download & Set official Stock Android Jelly Bean 4.1 Wallpaper APK

Google Maps for Android Updated with Offline Maps

Google has quietly updated its Maps application for Android devices with an important new feature, the possibility to save maps for later use.

The latest version of Google Maps will allow users to save any maps they need for use offline, thus avoiding mobile data charges and most importantly, roaming charges.

Unfortunately, the update does not come free of bugs. Several users who updated to the latest version reported that they cannot see their friends in latitude, and that the compass has stopped working.

Most negative reports are received from those who use ICS-based smartphones, but the general idea is that the update is broken and Google needs to iron out some bugs that are now plaguing its Maps app.

Google Maps is now available as free download via Play Store and it should be fully compatible with all devices running Android 2.0 and up.

Via: Google Maps for Android Updated with Offline Maps

Twitter 1.5 for Windows Phone Gets Updated with Notifications

One of the most popular social networking apps, Twitter has just been updated for Windows Phone devices. The new version brings Notifications and other changes the improve the overall experience.

With the latest update, the applications becomes a real Twitter client for Windows Phone smartphones, even though some of the more traditional features are still missing.

Software version 1.2.4555.39631 adds Notification feature with the following options:

- Mentions - Off, From people you follow, From anyone;
- Favorited - Off, From people you follow, From anyone;
- Retweets - Off, From people you follow, From anyone;
- Direct messages;
- New followers.

It is also worth mentioning that these notifications are received instantly, and users will be able to check it via Live Tiles. Twitter 1.5 for Windows Phone is now available as a free download via Marketplace.

Via


Via: Twitter 1.5 for Windows Phone Gets Updated with Notifications

One June 30, Clocks Will Get an Extra Second

At the end of this day, June 30, clocks will show something they rarely do, the hour 23:59:60. The extra second is inserted into our standard definition of time to account for the fact that the length of the solar day is increasing.

This means that the Earth is beginning to take longer and longer to spin around its axis. The difference is minute, and will continue to grow imperceptibly for the foreseeable future. Current technological means at our disposal enable us to measure the length of a day with extreme precision.

Measurements are conducted using a high-precision technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), which is put to use daily by an international consortium of scientists, operating a network of ground stations spread out around the globe.

Each day, the results of all these studies are correlated and compared, so scientists have access to extreme-fidelity data on precisely how long it takes for our planet to spin around its own axis.

“The solar day is gradually getting longer because Earth's rotation is slowing down ever so slightly,” explains scientist Daniel MacMillan, who holds an appointment at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The GSFC is responsible for coordinating the international VLBI efforts. Experts here also process and archive all data that result from these measurements, for future reference. This enables us to discover any potential variations in Earth's speed.

The American space agency is currently running a so-called Space Geodesy Project that, under the supervision of the GSFC, is trying to improve the accuracy of VLBI measurements even further, primarily by creating next-generation radio antennas.

According to planetary scientists, tidal forces between Earth and the Moon are the primary reason why the planet is slowing down. Currently, solar days are increasing in length at a rate of 1.4 milliseconds per century.

“At the time of the dinosaurs, Earth completed one rotation in about 23 hours. In the year 1820, a rotation took exactly 24 hours, or 86,400 standard seconds. Since 1820, the mean solar day has increased by about 2.5 milliseconds,” says MacMillan, also a member of the GSFC VLBI team.

“Normally, the clock would move from 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 the next day. Instead, at 23:59:59 on June 30, UTC will move to 23:59:60, and then to 00:00:00 on July 1. In practice, this means that clocks in many systems will be turned off for one second,” a NASA press release concludes.

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Via: One June 30, Clocks Will Get an Extra Second