Daily News Courier

Investors Bet Quantum Technology Will Make the Internet Faster and More Secure

Quantum computing is a distant prospect but techniques to improve broadband and encryption are closer to market

Security and speed

New faster 12W power adapter added in the Apple online store

As reported by 9to5mac, Apple released a new MegSafe 2 power adapter and a 12W power adapter. Even if these accessories weren?t the focus of the launch show, they have already been added to the Apple online store, with shipping times fluctuating between 1 and 3 business days.

So what?s the deal with this 12W power adapter, some of you might be wondering. Apple has confirmed on its official page that the new adapter will enable users to charge their iPads, iPhones or iPods faster and more reliable than with the 10W adapter. However, the adapter is included only with the new iPad mini and the latest version of the iPad. Apple stated that the accessory will charge via a Lightning connector the iPhone 4S/5, the fifth generation iPod touch and seventh-gen iPod nano. Only the original iPad model is taken out of the equation. However, when asked how much the 12W adapters will improve the charging process, Apple replied:

?We don?t have an exact percentage of how much faster it would charge but you should see an increase in speed.?

The new faster adapter will surely be a useful addition especially to the Retina Display iPad, which is known to take a considerable amount of time to load due to its massive battery life of 42.5 watt hours.

By Radu

Source – Apple confirms that 12W adapter will charge iPads quicker than older 10W adapters | 9to5Mac

Draper Family Heir Faces a Faster Investment Environment

Adam Draper is part of venture capital’s greatest family. Can he find a niche inside Silicon Valley’s changing funding scene?

If there is blue blood in Silicon Valley, it runs through the veins of Adam Draper. As a fourth-generation member of venture capital’s greatest dynasty, he has a curriculum vitae that includes getting bounced on the knee of investing legends like William Henry Draper III, his grandfather.

Making “Dumb” Phones Smarter and Faster

Australian startup biNu uses cloud computing to help basic-phone users access the Web on slower networks.

Not having a smartphone or access to a high-speed mobile network doesn’t mean you don’t still want your phone to act brainy and speedy. That’s the premise behind Australian startup biNu, whose free Java app can be downloaded onto most basic phones and used over 2G wireless networks—which remain common in many developing countries—to update Facebook and Twitter, read news, search the Web, and more.

Splashtop 2 HD now available – Free for a limited time and updated to be faster, more secure

Looking to expand their app further, the folks from Splashtop have now introduced Splashtop 2 HD to the masses. With over 7 million users accessing their desktops remotely, Splashtop 2 HD brings along a newly refined UI and promises to be faster and more secure than ever before.

Splashtop 2 HD for Android tablets features:

• Pinch and zoom (which is a new feature first introduced into HD version)
• Optimized performance leveraging hardware specific platform acceleration
• New, easy user interface
• Wake-on-LAN (WoL)
• 3G/4G and Internet support with the Anywhere Access Pack

For a limited time, Splashtop 2 HD is available as a free download. I'm forced to use the term free lightly because it's not really a full-featured version. The access the basic version allows for is up-to two systems over your local Wi-Fi. In order to make use the truly remote desktop options you'll need to add the Anywhere Access Pack that is available for $0.99 USD per month or $9.99 USD per year.

If you're running Windows 7, Vista, and XP or Mac OS X 10.6+ and in need of a remote desktop solution, it's worth looking into as a viable solution. Need some more info? Full press release can be found below.

read more

Facebook update requires Froyo, promises a faster app

We'll believe it when we see it, but Facebook's latest Android app update promises to actually speed up login and navigation within the app. We know, we know. It's Facebook, whose mobile app has been pretty crappy considering that, well, it's friggin' Facebook. Also of note in version 1.9.7 is that if you're not running Android 2.2 Froyo or higher, you're SOL on running this bad boy. (Though we imagine the previous version of the app should work fine, and only a mere 6.1 percent of active devices are running an OS older than Froyo.)

Other bullet points in the changelog include front-facing camera support (that wasn't there before?), a new messaging feature that lets you hop between conversations and share photos, plus other bug fixes and a security improvement.

Of course, this is Facebook we're talking about, so we'll have to wait and see what just got broken, too. Download link is below.

Download: Facebook for Android

Android Jelly Bean Face Unlock has new Blink requirement, works faster [VIDEO]

Face Unlock launched with a bit of controversy and skepticism because it was easy to game the system. A person could hold up a picture of the device owner and unlock the phone because the unlock screen required only that a facial match be detected. In Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Face Unlock ups the ante with a “Liveness check” feature.

Jelly Bean has an optional security feature that adds an extra layer of security for face unlock. When someone sets the phone to enable “Liveness check,” the phone will only unlock when the front-facing camera detects that someone blinks when prompted. If someone fails to blink fast enough or tries to use a static image, the phone will not unlock unless the correct backup gesture/pin lock is entered.

Requiring blinking makes Face Unlock smarter, but it’s not foolproof. I managed to trick the phone into letting me in by holding up a video of me blinking. However, considering the extreme unlikeliness that someone has video of you blinking enough times and can quickly line up both screens, I seriously doubt that should be too much of a concern.

Like I said when Face Unlock was first available, this is more about novelty than it is security. That’s still the case because a pin or gesture lock will still be more secure than Face Unlock, but an improvement is always welcome. This is great for people who worried about Face Unlock being duped by someone holding up a Facebook photo of the owner, and the facial recognition seems to be much faster than it was on Ice Cream Sandwich.

Jelly Bean owners can enable blink detection by taking the following steps:

• Settings > Security
• Tap “Screen Lock” and follow steps for Face Unlock
• Return to Settings screen and tap “Liveness check”

Hat tip to Droid-Life

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Facebook to Launch Faster App

The New York Times? Bits section writes today that according to two anonymous Facebook engineers, Facebook has rebuilt its iOS app in order to make it much, much faster. Bits notes that the current iOS app is painfully slow, with more than 21,000 customers in the App Store only giving it a one-star review; Bits even says that it is slower than most of the other apps on the App Store! The two engineers told Bits that the newly designed app has been built mainly using Objective-C, which is the programming language that normally builds iOS applications, in contrast to the present Facebook iOS app, much of which was built using HTML5. Getting even more technical, Bits explains that the current Facebook app is an Objective-C shell containing a Web browser. They equate it to putting a Smart Car engine inside a Ferrari. The Bits writer has even had a go on the new app, and confirms that it is ?blazing fast.? The sources say that it is currently being tested, and will be released this summer. Don?t expect a new look though, apparently it looks exactly the same as the current version, only faster!

Source: Facebook Plans to Speed Up its iPhone App – NYTimes.com

Spotify adds faster Android 4.0 design, widget, Last.fm scrobbling, and higher quality in new update

Spotify has made its completely redesigned Android app available in Google Play. The new app, which has been rebuilt with the Android 4.0 design guidelines in mind, offers a new slide-out navigation that makes it easier than ever to access controls and song playlists. Users can also slide right to access What’s New, Inbox, Friends, and Search to find the right song to play.

The latest version of Spotify looks absolutely nothing like the last version. The app has an ICS look and hi-res album art to go with it. It has also added a great looking “Related Artist” screen to discover similar artists to the one currently being played. The controls on the player page have also been simplified to look more like the default Play Music app, and the controls are always accessible at the bottom of the screen. Users can also change the song through a new home screen widget.

Aside from its pretty new exterior, Spotify has updated to include a few important behind the scenes features. The sound quality has been bumped up to 320 kbps, which is a huge improvement for people who crave richer audio even when streaming music. It also can now crossfade between songs, enable Last.fm scrobbling, and browse a friend’s profile or playlist page from the app.

Spotify is available now in Google Play. The app requires a Spotify Premium subscription and a Facebook account (unless you signed up without one before). Android 2.1 or higher is necessary to use the app.

[Download from Google Play]

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Spotify adds faster Android 4.0 design, widget, Last.fm scribbling, and higher quality in new update

Spotify has made its completely redesigned Android app available in Google Play. The new app, which has been rebuilt with the Android 4.0 design guidelines in mind, offers a new slide-out navigation that makes it easier than ever to access controls and song playlists. Users can also slide right to access What’s New, Inbox, Friends, and Search to find the right song to play.

The latest version of Spotify looks absolutely nothing like the last version. The app has an ICS look and hi-res album art to go with it. It has also added a great looking “Related Artist” screen to discover similar artists to the one currently being played. The controls on the player page have also been simplified to look more like the default Play Music app, and the controls are always accessible at the bottom of the screen. Users can also change the song through a new home screen widget.

Aside from its pretty new exterior, Spotify has updated to include a few important behind the scenes features. The sound quality has been bumped up to 320 kbps, which is a huge improvement for people who crave richer audio even when streaming music. It also can now crossfade between songs, enable Last.fm scribbling, and browse a friend’s profile or playlist page from the app.

Spotify is available now in Google Play. The app requires a Spotify Premium subscription and a Facebook account (unless you signed up without one before). Android 2.1 or higher is necessary to use the app.

[Download from Google Play]

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