Uber knows where you go, even after ride is over


Enlarge / Uber's iOS popup asking for new surveillance permissions.

As promised, Uber is now tracking you even when your ride is over. The ride-hailing service said the surveillance—even when riders close the app—will improve its service.

The company now tracks customers from when they request a ride until five minutes after the ride has ended. According to Uber, the move will help drivers locate riders without having to call them, and it will also allow Uber to analyze whether people are being dropped off and picked up properly—like on the correct side of the street.

"We do this to improve pickups, drop-offs, customer service, and to enhance safety," Uber said. In a statement, the company said:

We're always thinking about ways we can improve the rider experience from sharpening our ETA estimates to identifying the best pick up location on any given street. Location is at the heart of the Uber experience, and we're asking riders to provide us with more information to achieve these goals.

Uber announced that it would make the change last year to allow surveillance in the app's background, prompting a Federal Trade Commission complaint. (PDF) The Electronic Privacy Information Center said at the time that "this collection of user's information far exceeds what customers expect from the transportation service. Users would not expect the company to collect location information when customers are not actively using the app." The complaint went nowhere.

However, users must consent to the new surveillance. A popup—like the one shown at the top of this story—asks users to approve the tracking. Uber says on its site that riders "can disable location services through your device settings" and manually enter a pickup address.

Uber and the New York Attorney General's office in January entered into an agreement to help protect users' location data. The deal requires Uber to encrypt location data and to protect it with multi-factor authentication.

The first iPhone hacker, George Hotz, has open sourced Code And Hardware Of His Self-driving Car

self-driving-car-ubuntu-comma
If you keep a close eye on the security world and the latest developments happening around us, you might be knowing about George Hotz. He is regarded as the first iPhone hacker, better known as Geohot. His desire to make calls from his own network on the newly released iPhone, probably, inspired him to jailbreak it.
In December 2015, we told you about his new hobby that involved taking on Google, Tesla, and automotive companies that are working on autonomous vehicles. Back then, he took a 2015 Acura ILX and converted it into a self-driving car.
Apparently, last month his comma.ai startup came to an end when he revealed that he got threats of massive lumps of fines from the US Department of Transport.

Would much rather spend my life building amazing tech than dealing with regulators and lawyers. It isn't worth it. -GH 2/3

Now, instead of trying to fight the regulators, he has decided to give it away. comma.ai has open sourced its software and hardware on GitHub. The open source hardware platform is called Comma Neo.

Open sourced openpilot, an open source alternative to autopilot. And the plans for the NEO, a robotics platform. https://github.com/commaai 

At the moment, the open source software of comma.ai enables adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist. This software applies to certain Acura and Honda models. comma.ai claims that its systems are “on par with Tesla Autopilot at launch.”neo-comma-ai-open-source
Hotz also plans to actively work and encourage the people to build their own self-driving kits. He also calls it an alpha software that’s for research purposes.
You can take a look at comm.ai’s open source project on GitHub.

News=Intex Aqua Classic 2 4g इंटेक्स ने 4,600 रुपये मे लॉन्च किया नया एंड्रॉयड स्मार्टफोन

इंटेक्स ने एक्वा सीरीज़ में नया एंट्री-लेवल स्मार्टफोन एक्वा क्लासिक 2 लॉन्च कर दिया है। इंटेक्स एक्वा क्लासिक 2 की कीमत 4,600 रुपये है। यह फोन सभी रिटेल स्टोर पर खरीदने के लिए उपलब्ध है।फोन को कंपनी की साइट पर लिस्ट कर दिया गया है।

यह फोन इंटेक्स एक्वा क्लासिक काअपग्रेडेड वेरिएंट है। यह फोन शैंपेन कलर वेरिएंट में मिलेगा।   इंटेक्स एक्वा क्लासिक 2 में 5 इंच (480x854 पिक्सल) एफडब्ल्यूवीजीए डिस्प्ले है। स्क्रीन की डेनसिटी 196 पीपीआई है। इस स्मार्टफोन में 1.2 गीगाहर्ट्ज़ क्वाड-कोर प्रोसेसर और ग्राफिक्स के लिए माली-400 एमपीटू दिया गया है। रैम 1 जीबी है। इनबिल्ट स्टोरेज 8 जीबी है जिसे मेमोरी कार्ड के जरिए 32 जीबी तक बढ़ाया जा सकता है।

बात करें कैमरे की तो इंटेक्स एक्वा क्लासिक 2 में एलईडी फ्लैश के साथ एक 8 मेगापिक्सल का ऑटो फोकस रियर कैमरा है। सेल्फी के शौकीनों के लिए 5 मेगापिक्सल कैमरा है। यह फोन एंड्रॉयड 6.0 मार्शमैलो पर चलता है। यह एक डुअल सिम स्मार्टफोन है।

एक्वा क्लासिक 2 में 2200 एमएएच की बैटरी है। कंपनी का दावा है कि बैटरी से 6 घंटे तक का टॉक टाइम और 200 घंटे तक का स्टैंडबाय टाइम मिलेगा। कनेक्टिविटी के लिए फोन में 4जी के अलावा 3जी, वाई-फाई, ब्लूटूथ, जीपीएस, ए-जीपीएस, 3.5 एमएम ऑडियो जैक और यूएसबी जैसे फ़ीचर हैं। इसके अलावा फोन में जी-सेंसर, प्रॉक्सिमिटी और लाइट सेंसर भी दिए गए हैं।

News =Moto G4 gets flat Rs 2,000 off on Amazon India, Rs 1,000 cashback on Moto G4 Play


Amazon India is offering some neat discounts and cashback offers on Moto G4 and Moto G4 Play smartphones. Under the offer, Moto G4 price has been slashed by Rs 2,000, whereas the Moto G4 Play users get cashback of Rs 1,000. Buyers can also avail of EMI offers when using ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HSBC Bank, SBI Bank, Axis Bank and Standard Chartered Bank credit cards.

The Moto G4 (16GB) variant was launched for Rs 12,499, but with Rs 2,000 discount, you can buy it from Amazon India for Rs 10,499. Similarly, the Moto G4 (32GB) variant was launched for Rs 13,999, but after discount, you can buy it from Amazon India for Rs 11,999. The Moto G4 Play, on the other hand, can be purchased from Amazon India for Rs 8,999. Buyers will get Rs 1,000 as cashback in the form of Amazon.in Gift Card, which can be used when buying any product on the site. However, the cashback is only being offered on electronic payments (credit and debit cards, and net banking), and not for Cash on Delivery orders.

Motorola Moto G4 specifications and features

The smartphone flaunts a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080p) display with pixel density of 401ppi, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core SoC paired with 2GB of RAM. With 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for further expansion is also present.

The Moto G4 is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera of aperture f/2.0 aperture, and a 5-megapixel selfie camera of aperture f/2.2, wide-angle lens and display flash. Armed with a 3,000mAh battery, Motorola has also included TurboPower quick charging feature that can offer up to six hours of usage in just 15 minutes of charging, the company says.

Connectivity options on the smartphone include dual-SIM card slots, 4G with VoLTE support, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS and 3.5mm audio jack. On the software front, the smartphone boots Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS out of the box. The smartphone also comes with a water repellent nano-coating to protect it from accidental splash of water.

Motorola Moto G4 Play specification and features

The smartphone sports a 5-inch HD (720p) display with pixel density of 294ppi and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor paired with Adreno 306 GPU. The smartphone also comes with 2GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage and a microSD card slot for further expansion.

In the photography department, The Moto G4 Play is equipped with an 8-megapixel rear camera of aperture f/2.2 and an LED flash. For selfies and video calling, there is a 5-megapixel front-facing camera of aperture f/2.2 and a display flash. The smartphone also comes equipped with a 2,800mAh battery which Motorola says is good enough to offer up to two days of usage.  Connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots, 4G LTE support, 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.1LE and A-GPS. On the software front, the smartphone runs on vanilla Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. Just like the Moto G4, the Play version also comes with water repellent nano-coating.

News=Now Verizon's LG G5 is receiving the update to Android 7.0 Nougat


The update to Android 7.0 Nougat for the LG G5keeps on spreading, with every day that goes by. It's been launched in South Korea first, and recently we've seen it hitting G5 units sold by Sprint, T-Mobile, as well as US Cellular. And now it's finally time for this new software to make it to Verizon's LG G5.

The rollout has seemingly commenced today, according to multiple people who have received the update. It's a 1.6GB download, so make sure you get it via Wi-Fi. As you can see from the screenshot to the left, the mini changelog LG has outed for this build contains information about such features as new themes, a replacement of LG's Downloads app by Google's, and the newfound ability to restore deleted images from the Trash folder for seven days.

Of course these aren't all the new things you'll see once you update. The release also packs the features that Google built into Android 7.0 and which have survived LG's modifications intact. Hopefully at least the new notification design (complete with direct reply functionality) has been kept by the Korean company unaltered. As usual with such rollouts, it may take a few days before you get an update notification, so don't despair if you don't see it yet.

News=Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge on T-Mobile getting November security update

T-Mobile has started pushing out a new update to Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge units on its network. Arriving as firmware version G920TUVU5EPK5 for the Galaxy S6 and G925TUVU5EPK5 for the edge variant, the update brings along Android security fixes for the month of November.


Aside from the latest security patch, the update also includes some performance and stability-related improvements.

Given that the roll-out has just begun, it may take some time for the update to hit your device. Meanwhile, if you feel impatient, you can manually check for the update by heading to your handset's Settings menu.

News=Samsung Galaxy On8 gets a price cut, now available at Rs 15,490


Samsung Galaxy On8 which was launched in India in September this year, has got a price cut of Rs 500. The Galaxy On8 which was initially priced at Rs 15,900, is now available at a special price of Rs 15,400. The smartphone is exclusively available from Flipkart. You can also avail Flipkart's exchange offer on the smartphone. By trading your old device, buyers can avail exchange benefits of up-to Rs 17,600 on Samsung Galaxy On8. Flipkart is also offering extra 5 percent off on Axis Bank Buzz Credit Cards. The smartphone comes in black, white and gold colours.


The Samsung Galaxy On8 has a metal unibody with diamond cut metal frames. The smartphone has a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display and comes equipped with 1.6GHz Octa-Core Exynos 7580 processor. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system and gets its strength from a 3300 mAh battery.



The Galaxy On8 has 3GB of RAM, and 16GB internal memory, which can be further expandable up to 128GB with a microSD card. The smartphone flaunts a 13-megapixel shooter on its rear and 5-megapxel snapper on its front panel for selfies and video chats. Both the camera comes with LED flashlight. Besides, the smartphone offers Dual SIM, 4G with VoLTE, NGC (UICC), WiFi (802.11n), Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, a micro USB port. Moreover, the smartphone also come with UDS (Ultra Data Saving) mode and S bike mode. The handset measures 151.7x76x7.8 mm and weighs around 169 grams. The sensors include Accelerometer, Proximity, and Hall.

News=Reliance Jio extends free 4G data till March 2017


Indian carrier Reliance Jio has announced that it will be extending its free 4G data and Jio services offer till March 2017. Reliance is calling this the Jio Happy New Year Offer, under which all existing as well as new customers will be eligible for free data until this period.

The important thing to note here is that while until now the free data limit per day was 4GB, it will be reduced to 1GB under the new offer. Post 1GB, the download speed will be capped to 128kbps. Reliance claims that 80% of its customers use less than 1GB per day and by reducing the limit all users get fair share of network capacity.

Reliance announced the free data and Jio services offer for customers back in September, where the offer was valid until December 31, after which the tariff plans would come into effect but the Jio Happy New Year Offer, which comes into effect on December 4, will extend the free data offer by another three months. Voice calls, as before, will always be free.

Reliance Jio currently has over 52 million users, with 50 million being added in 83 days. Reliance also plans on deploying JioMoney Merchant Solutions in the coming months to increase adoption of cashless payment system among customers and merchants.

News=Huawei announces Nougat update plans


Huawei has announced Nougat update plans for its smartphones. The Android 7 update for Huawei devices will arrive in the form of version 5.0 of the Chinese company's EMUI skin. The roll-out will begin sometime in Q1, 2017, with the Huawei Mate 8 and P9 getting the update first, followed by the P9 PlusP9 litenova, and nova Plus.



The new EMUI 5.0, Huawei claims, is more efficient, secure, and user friendly. It "significantly cuts down on the number of steps needed to achieve the desired function," the company says in a press release, adding that "furthermore, the user can reach 90% of the core functions in just two to three clicks."
The new UI also lets users choose between the standard layout and an app drawer. "Additionally, users can jump between their professional and personal lives effortlessly with profiles now being able to run in parallel – no switching of phones necessary."
Coming back to the update, those rocking a Huawei P9, P9 Plus, P9 Lite or Mate 8 will be able to participate in the beta testing as well.

News=GoPro Hero55 Black and Hero5 Session is now available in India


Starting today, GoPro has announced that its Hero5 Black and Hero5 Session cameras are now available for purchase in India, along with Hero Session, via e-commerce website Flipkart as well as offline stores such as Reliance Digital. Creative Peripherals is distributing the units for Flipkart whereas Stereovision is distributing the units to offline stores.

The HERO5 Black is available for Rs 38,000 whereas the Hero5 Session is available for Rs 29,500.



Starting with the Hero5 Black, the waterproof (up to 33 ft) camera comes with 2-inch Touch Display and is also compatible with existing GoPro mounts. To dig in more, GoPro currently sells over 50 different mounts and accessories that allow users to wear or mount their GoPro camera nearly anywhere, enabling hands-free content capturing from creative, new perspectives. It can record up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second and can also click photos at 12 megapixels. Complementing this, the camera also features professional-grade electronic video stabilization. There is also a RAW and WDR Photo mode. For the audio, it comes with stereo audio recording and advanced wind noise reduction. Further, it comes with Voice Control with support for 7 languages with additional languages to be added soon. It also comes with GPS functionality.

On the other hand, Hero5 Session resembles a lot in the design as well as video recording capabilities except that it can click images at 10-megapixel resolution. It is also waterproof up to 33 feet (10 m) and shares all other functionalities and features with the Hero5 Black.


Apart from auto-uploading the content to Cloud while the camera is charging, one can also easily edit the content with GoPro's editing app – Quik, available for both mobile and desktop. GoPro claims that Quik enables users to quickly produce high-quality videos that are fun to create and easy to share.