Month: February 2014

Lenovo smartphones designed by Ashton Kutcher

That 70’s shows star and Steve Jobs look alike Ashton Kutcher is now designing a special edition line of phones for Lenovo. The Hollywood star was brought on board as a product engineer back in October.  According to Lenovo executive David Roman, Kutcher’s role in shaping the company’s hardware is very real. “I know on one level, it sounds corny,” Roman said in an interview with Recode. But he insisted that Lenovo’s partnership with Kutcher isn’t a publicity stunt of any sort. “He not only sees himself as an engineer, but he is an engineer. If he sees a problem, he wants to solve it.”

As of right now it has been stated by Roman that Kutchers main focus is the user experience on the upcoming phones. It should be very interesting to see what he will bring to the table once the phones are released.

Chrome’s hands-free voice search is coming to everyone

So you know that neat little feature on the Nexus devices that let you say “OK Google” and the personal assistant pops up and you can search the web?! Well guess what, its coming to your desktops soon. The company has released  Chrome beta that builds the feature into the browser. Now any time you visit the Google homepage or open a new tab, you can say “OK Google” to ask a question or perform a command. Being that Google usually releases finished versions of their software after beta testing, we could soon see this incredible feature in our browsers in the coming months.

Boeing announces secure, tamper-proof Android ‘Boeing Black’

Boeing today officially announced a new Android smartphone with a number of innovative security features. The phone is called “Boeing Black,” a device that will mostly be marketed towards government officials and other organizations that prefer to keep their data secure. The Tamper-Proof devices comes with a lot of key features like encrypting phone calls and wiping itself clean if someone were get a hold of the phone. Here’s a more detailed description from Boeing’s website:

Boeing Black’s security is powered by the Boeing PureSecure architecture, which was designed from the outset for the mobile environment. Our architectural foundation is built upon layers of trust from embedded hardware, operating system policy controls, and compatibility with leading mobile device management systems. The device’s hardware roots of trust and trusted boot ensure the device starts in a trusted state, enabling maximum security of data. Hardware media encryption and configurable inhibit controls are embedded to protect the device, its data, and the transmission of information, significantly reducing the risk of mission compromise due to data lossBoeing Black’s security is powered by the Boeing PureSecure architecture, which was designed from the outset for the mobile environment.

Our architectural foundation is built upon layers of trust from embedded hardware, operating system policy controls, and compatibility with leading mobile device management systems. The device’s hardware roots of trust and trusted boot ensure the device starts in a trusted state, enabling maximum security of data. Hardware media encryption and configurable inhibit controls are embedded to protect the device, its data, and the transmission of information, significantly reducing the risk of mission compromise due to data loss

Some of the key security features, according to Boeing’s website, include:

Key Features:

  • Android™ Operating System: Convenient smartphone for Android usage
  • Disk Encryption: Encrypted storage for sensitive data
  • Hardware Root of Trust: Ensures software authenticity
  • Hardware Crypto Engine: Protects stored and transmitted data
  • Embedded Secure Components: Enables trusted operations
  • Trusted Platform Modules: Provides secure key storage
  • Secure Boot: Maintains device image integrity
  • Hardware Modularity: Endless modularity capabilities

Boeing as not released any pricing but they are currently in talks with potential customers.

Mojang In Talks With Warner Bros. To Make A Minecraft Movie

As seen on Tech Crunch, Mojang studio founder  Markus Persson is in talks with Warner Bros to make a Mine Craft Movie. He revealed the leak on his twitter today that his company has been is discussions with Warner Bros. Studios in creating a movie based on the popular world building game.

Apparently Persson leaked the info to beat another leaker who planned on leaking the information. After his leak the other leak appeared on Deadline.  Their report says that Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the game, and that it’ll be a live action version.

We’ll have more information in the coming months when more information is released.