Samsung explains why some Galaxy S4 benchmarks appear 'optimized'
On Tuesday AnandTech published a report that suggested some sort of "trickery" was being used by Samsung to boost device performance when benchmarks are run. The Korean electronics manufacturer responded to the claims today, and while it does not deny that performance is adjusted when benchmarking tools are running, it refutes the suggestion that changes to the frequency of the Galaxy S4's GPU during benchmarking are "intended to improve [these] results".
Investigations started after a post on the Beyond3D forum claimed that the GPU speed was usually limited to 480MHz but increased to 532MHz when certain whitelisted apps were running. Benchmarks using older testing apps gave worse performance results than newer ones for user frogblast.
Newspapers in a digital age: moving with the times and charging for it
For most of us the digital revolution started some time ago. Working in journalism for nearly 15 years means that I have seen things change enormously, but even back in the late 1990s it was clear that the web was where it was at -- or where it was going to be. Newspapers and magazines have had to adapt to fight for ever-decreasing audiences in a changing market. But not everyone has been moving at the same pace, or has quite the same idea about how things should work.
The ease of self-publishing and the low overheads associated with running a website, in conjunction with the always-on, instant updateability of the internet has seen the sales of newspapers and magazines dropping off. Most titles have gone with the flow and have developed an online presence, but the need for publishers to make money is at odds with the widely held belief that everything online should be free.
Google puts us in a spin with 360-degree Views
Google is touting its new Views community as the latest way to add Photo Spheres to Google Maps. These 360-degree photos can be captured with Android 4.2 devices and help to give an immersive online experience of a location -- think Street View but with a personal twist.
Views gives users a new way to share their photos so they are not just left forgotten on an SD card. The site can be used to work with any panoramic shots you've taken, or you can import them from your Google+ account.
Is Twitter's introduction of an abuse reporting button really workable?
It is said that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but the PR department at Twitter might well be feeling otherwise at the moment. After coming under fire for using fabricated tweets in promotional material Twitter has been in the headlines after the company faced calls to do more to combat abusive tweets.
Threats of death and rape do not make for pleasant reading, but it is something that has happened to a number of Twitter users. The most recent victims to speak out -- Caroline Criado-Perez, who successfully campaigned for Jane Austin to appear on British bank notes, and UK MP Stella Creasy -- led to a grassroots campaign for Twitter to do more to police its micro-blogging service.
Thailand bans Bitcoin -- company suspends trading in the country
Thailand has ruled that use of the online currency Bitcoin is illegal. Bitcoin Co Ltd was going through the process of registering with the necessary government agencies in order to operate legally. Having initially ruled that Bitcoin is not a currency, Bank of Thailand now says that due to a lack of existing applicable laws, numerous Bitcoin activities are now illegal.
A statement on the Thai Bitcoin website explains that it now illegal to buy and sell Bitcoins within the country. In addition to this, the buying and selling of goods and services for Bitcoins is outlawed, as is sending and receiving Bitcoins from anyone outside of Thailand.
On the futility of blocking porn and torrent websites, Immunicity style
Pornography has been in the news a great deal, and David Cameron's bid to make online porn "opt-in" has sparked a fierce debate in many quarters. The apparent aim of the proposed measure is to protect children and the responsibility has been moved squarely to the door of ISPs, just as with access to torrent sites. But is this fair?
The Internet is an important element of democracy. It should be a tool for free speech, free access to information and the ability to communicate worldwide free of charge. Freedom is at the heart of it. Creating a two-tier Internet in which some people are able to access all content, and others can only access a portion of it flies in the face of what the world wide web is all about. It is also dangerous.
Now TV box is cheap alternative to Apple TV for UK viewers, but with a catch
Like the idea of Apple TV but feel the hardware is a little expensive? Today Sky releases its Now TV Box to UK fans for the ultra-low price of £9.99. This is significantly cheaper than Apple's flagship streaming device, and even manages to undercut Google's Chromecast. With the price tag including not just the device itself, but also delivery, there's got to be a catch, right?
The WiFi streaming box provides access to on-demand content from the broadcasters such as Sky, BBC and Channel 5, including sports and movies. There's also the option of using apps such as Spotify and Facebook to transform a regular TV into a smart TV. So far, so couch potato.
Suck it up -- you're still going to get spied on after House votes for continued NSA surveillance
A move to close down NSA surveillance of US phone records bites the dust after a vote at the House of Representatives. The closely fought battle ended with a nail-bitingly tight vote that saw 217 votes against limiting the Agency's data collection abilities and 205 for.
Republican Justin Amash looked to end the indiscriminate collecting of phone records that was brought to light by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Rather than looking to simply stop the NSA's actions, the proposed amendment took a slightly different approach and aimed to block funding instead.
Twitter says sorry for faking tweets from real user accounts
Advertising rarely proves popular, but Twitter has made something of a boo-boo with its latest venture -- one that has led to the microblogging site having to apologise to three of its users.
The company mocked up a series of tweets from three genuine Twitter accounts, and used them in a promotional blog post. All without the account owners' knowledge or consent.
Google Translate adds handwriting support and tries to make sense of your scrawl
Why type it when you can write it? Google Translate users can now scribble symbols using a new handwriting input tool. While this is unlikely to be a faster option for translating a lot of languages, it does prove useful for inputting certain foreign characters. Want to find out what that Russian or Chinese phrase means? Don’t bother trying to work out how to input these characters via your keyboard, just draw them.
This is an option that has been available to users of the Google Translate Android app for a little while, but it's now also available to desktop users. Things are a great deal easier if you have access to a graphics tablet, but the onscreen handwriting input panel can also be used in conjunction with a mouse.
SwiftKey Cloud brings trending phrases, sync and backup to your swipe-friendly keyboard
Typing is just so passé; swiping is very much where it's at these days. SwiftKey's latest Android beta adds interesting new cloud features that can be tested for free during the beta phase. What’s new? Backup and sync options mean that dictionaries can be synchronized between multiple devices, and upgrading your phone need not result in having to start from scratch.
But perhaps the most interesting feature is the introduction of trending phrases. Whether you're writing in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese, SwiftKey analyzes trending topics on the likes of Twitter to help bolster its dictionary and provide better suggestions.
YouTube announces Geek Week -- Dr Who and cosplay fans rejoice!
Geeks looking for their fix of programming have something of a treat in store thanks to YouTube’s upcoming Geek Week. The video site has teamed up with the UK's Channel Flip and the US channel Nerdist to showcase over 100 of the geekiest, most sci-fi packed channels known to man. It will also be "unveiling new videos, series premieres and creative collaborations".
YouTube Geek Week runs from August 4-10, starting with Blockbuster Sunday which will kick things off with a look at the icons and heroes of geek culture.
Microsoft explains how SkyDrive keeps bandwidth usage to a minimum
The release of Windows 8.1, complete with the more tightly interwoven SkyDrive, brings Microsoft's cloud storage service to the fore. In a new blog post, Mona Akmal from the SkyDrive team explains how the service is able to make files available on all of your devices without eating up too much bandwidth. How is this done? It's largely down to "placeholder" files.
The obvious solution to making all SkyDrive files available on all of your devices would be to simply sync everything. But when it comes to tablets and phones, it is entirely possible that the amount of available local storage is far lower than the amount of cloud storage space that has been used. Placeholders are essentially "ghost" files that take up a fraction of the space of the original.
Apple Developer site STILL down four days after 'intruder' prompts database rebuild
The Apple Developer site remains inaccessible after a security breach on Thursday. The company is quick to point out that personal information accessed in a database was encrypted, but goes on to say the possibility that personal data had been accessed could not be ruled out. Apple is taking the intrusion very seriously it seems.
The fact that the site is inaccessible is down to Apple rather than being the direct result of an attack. Apple states that as soon as it was aware of the breach, the site was purposely taken down. This initially saw the site replaced with a message informing visitors that the site was down for maintenance, but was later replaced with a message from Apple that goes into more detail.
We want to wipe out child porn online, but can it actually be policed?
Filtering web content is always something of a sticky topic, and there are two very vocal sides to the argument. In the blue corner (red and blue are not being used in a political sense here -- if only because the blue represents right-wing parties in the UK and the more left-leaning in the US) we have those who advocate freedom of speech online, the right for anyone to say whatever he or she wants. In the red corner are those who feel that there is a need for policing, control and regulation.
It is certainly a difficult balance to strike. It would be all but impossible to draw a baseline level of sensibilities that should be catered to -- whatever form of control may be put in place will be seen as draconian in its severity by some, and pathetically lenient by others.
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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