The Wall Street Journal and New York Times both report that recent cyber attacks against US oil, gas, and power companies have come from Iran. The hackers were targeting control systems and probing for the kind of access that would give them the ability to disrupt oil pipelines and other...
Iran probes US cyber defenses
Developers in Argentina have begun receiving letters from Google informing them that "Google Play will no longer be able to accept payments on behalf of developers registered in Argentina starting June 27, 2013." The change applies to both paid...
In what may be a first for the Federal Drug Administration, the agency has sent a letter to the makers of an iPhone medical app asking why its approval wasn't sought before release. The uChek app analyzes photos of urine samples to give users quick health information. On Tuesday, the FDA told developer Biosense that it had 30 days to either show the agency that it has already received its...
Craigslist and eBay are great services when you're looking to sell unwanted items, but what about things strangers aren't likely to buy? On Bondsy, a new mobile app aimed at helping users barter and trade, several pounds of unwanted bacon were recently swapped for a bag of coffee beans, a collection of unused T-shirts traded hands for some plumbing services, and a smartphone found a new owner in exchange for a dinner. "There are a lot of things you own that aren't easy to put a price tag on," said founder Diego Zambrano. "But they often have a lot of value to someone in your social network."
For the stuff you can't sell or bear to throw away
Yarn. Yoda. Youth. Yolk. Yuks. Yawn. Yowl. Yak. Yeah. Yells. Yacht. Yellow. Yogurt. Yoga. Yammer.
The singular constant keeps on keeping on
Once upon a time, two wandering adventures found a third traveler and henceforth would meet to high five and spend sixpence for a lager about seven days a week. This isn't their story — but do join us for today's Vergecast as we toast an incredibly long a news-filled week. And stay tuned tomorrow for Top Shelf... it may or may not be about video games this week.
Update: for technical...
Does the Xbox One actually require an internet connection? Will used game buyers or sellers have to pay an extra fee? Microsoft hasn't made it clear, but a report at Polygon now claims that the answers are "yes" and "no" respectively. According to the publication's sources, Xbox One games will phone home to Microsoft servers on a regular basis to verify that their users own the games. If you buy a used title, however, Polygon claims that you won't have to pay Microsoft for a fresh license to the game.
Simply popping in the game disc and installing it will reportedly establish lawful...
Chet Kanojia, CEO and founder of Aereo
The nation's largest television broadcasters filed a copyright lawsuit against FilmOn.TV and its Aereokiller service yesterday, alleging that the service retransmits TV programming without authorization or compensating them, according to a story in Variety. Aereokiller is the flippantly-named competitor to Aereo, the company that uses dime-sized antennas to capture over-the-air TV transmissions and then streams them to subscribers by way of the internet.
This is part of an escalating fight for control of the country's TV airwaves. The broadcasters say that if Aereo, or any other company is...
A satellite image of this week's tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, captured by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. (Credit: NASA.)
It's been nearly 150 years since scientists first made efforts to forecast the arrival of tornadoes. But as indicated by this week's storm in Moore, Oklahoma — which killed 24 people and ravaged thousands of homes — they still can't anticipate these potentially deadly weather events with much time...
The science of predicting the unpredictable
A few hours after we got a look at a potential Gmail for Android redesign, a new screenshot for Gmail on the web has apparently leaked to The Next Web. The new interface shows four tabs at the top of the inbox: Primary, Social, Promotions, and Updates — with a reported fifth tab for offers....
As the Xbox 360 aged, rumors swirled around Microsoft’s next-generation console. Would we see an Xbox 720? An Xbox Infinity? A Nextbox? All those rumors turned out to be wrong: in Redmond today, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, set for release by the end of 2013. While the name was kept...
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a reputation for taking on big, entrenched industries (see his prohibition on indoor smoking and attempted ban on large sodas, for two notable examples). But if Bloomberg said anything like what he is...
A number of experimental features in Google Glass have been uncovered by the Android hacking community, including one that puts the headset in a constant listening mode awaiting an owner's command. Another lets you quickly snap a photo with an eye wink. These and other...
The latest video from chiptune rock stars Anamanaguchi doesn't have as many meows as the first, but it does have a space-bound slice of pizza. The video is for the title track off of the band's new album, Endless Fantasy, and the funding for the slice's voyage came from Anamanaguchi's ongoing...
Google is announcing today that it's working together with Microsoft on a new YouTube application for Windows Phone. Following a fight with Microsoft over its unauthorized YouTube app, the pair appear to have resolved some of their differences. Google demanded that Microsoft should remove its app by May 22nd, but Microsoft issued an update to address some of Google's concerns earlier this week. Google says...
As of today, AT&T's prepaid GoPhone customers now have access to the company's burgeoning LTE network. Previously, prepaid users could only connect to the carrier's older 3G and Edge networks — not a major stumbling block for most, since the...
Google is working on building up wireless networks in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and other developing regions, reports The Wall Street Journal. Google is said to be "deep" in the process of funding and building such networks, and is looking to partner with local companies and seeking to...
HTC may follow Samsung's lead and produce a "Google Edition" of its latest flagship smartphone running stock Android. According to sources that...
The Hangover Part III hits theaters this weekend, but if you're in the mood for something else there's plenty of new movies on the way. To get a sense of what's yet to come, here are some of the...
In the first level of Element4l, I died 28 times before making it to the end. It's not because the enemies are particularly tough (there aren't any), or the action is too fast paced (it's pretty...
The game console of the future will be a tiny box and a large connection to the cloud. Projections will illuminate across your living room, turning your furniture Pleasantville black-and-white to...
With the first phase of Microsoft's Xbox One reveal complete, the company now looks ahead to E3 where it plans to give gamers a more thorough look at the upcoming console. Polygon is today...
When Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed released the first 3D-printed gun files online, he saw it as a logical combination of the First and Second...
Dutch scientists are facing criticism from international health officials for filing a patent on one strain of a deadly Middle Eastern virus, and now the World Health Organization has said it will investigate the matter. "No intellectual property should stand in the way of protecting your people," said WHO Director General Margaret Chen at a health conference in Switzerland earlier this week,...
It looks like Google has a redesigned version of Gmail coming up, if a slide shown off during a developer event at Google I/O last week is any indication. As spotted by Android Police, a slide during the "Structure in Android App Development" talk showed off Gmail for Android featuring the new...
