Pokémon GO: Are you letting a thief in?

Pokémon GO: Are you letting a thief in?

by | Jul 13, 2016 | Gaming, Tech

Pokémon GO: Are you letting a thief in?

You might want to know this before you go and catch ’em all.

In a blog post by security analyst, Adam Reeve, Reeve reported that users had inadvertently given Pokémon Go developers, Niantic, access to their google accounts in a rush to join the Pokémon Go bandwagon.

Checking permission settings, he noticed that “Pokémon Go has full access to your Google account.” Cautious, he checked the Google help page for indications on what “full access” meant and came across this: “When you grant full account access, the application can see and modify nearly all information in your Google Account” and “This “Full account access” privilege should only be granted to applications you fully trust, and which are installed on your personal computer, phone, or tablet.”

As many would induce, Reeve suggested that Pokémon Go and Niantic could now:

  • Read all your emails
  • Send email as you
  • Access all your google drive documents (including deleting them)
  • Look at your search history and your Maps navigation history
  • Access any private photos you may store in Google Photos
  • And a whole lot more

Niantic have since come out with a statement:

“We recently discovered that the Pokémon GO account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user’s Google account. However, Pokémon GO only accesses basic Google profile information (specifically, your User ID and email address) and no other Google account information is or has been accessed or collected. Once we became aware of this error, we began working on a client-side fix to request permission for only basic Google profile information, in line with the data that we actually access. Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon GO or Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokémon GO‘s permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon GO needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves.”

Read more here

Bringing life back to Corporate Presentations

Bringing life back to Corporate Presentations

by | May 18, 2016 | Branded Content, Tech

Bringing life back to Corporate Presentations

20 minutes, that’s the maximum attention span of the average adult

Does your presentation have what it takes to keep your audience firmly engaged?

It is a refutable fact that our modern digital lifestyles have reduced our ability to remain focused on a single task, particularly in non-digital environments. A Microsoft study released last year puts the average human transient attention span at a mere eight second, lower than that of the goldfish at nine! Thankfully, our sustained attention, also known as focused attention, lasts much longer – up to 20 minutes on average – and by repeatedly refocusing on the same thing, we get stuff done.

Nonetheless, surrounded by constant bombardment of information, we no longer respond well to a passive delivery system. If you have a meeting, briefing or presentation in a traditional classroom-like setting where a presenter stands in front and talks while the rest mostly listen, people will inevitably zone out and do their own things, like doodling or frequently checking and playing with their phone, anything except focus on the presentation. You will be hard pressed to command even the first 20 minutes of attention. Interactivity is now more crucial than ever to keep everyone’s attention and involvement. And Epson has just the perfect tool for that – interactive projectors

Interactivity is Key

 

Admittedly, there is no substitution for effective presentation skills in engaging the audience. That aside, the right tools can breathe life into an otherwise another run-of-the-mill corporate presentation.

The projector has become indispensible in corporate presentations as a tool to share key ideas, charts, pictures and even movie clips. But not all projectors are created equal. Some projectors are little more than noisy heat-generating contraption that requires the dimming of the room lights to view the less-than-sharp projection. On the other end of the evolution are projectors that allow the users to actively participate with the projected image and disseminate the content immediately via a printout or email.

EB-1430Wi/1420Wi

EB-595Wi/585Wi/575Wi

EB-536Wi

Developed by the leader in interactive projectors and the world’s top projector maker for 15 years in a row, Epson interactive projectors create a participatory environment, making presentations more engaging and productive. The key feature is the transformation of the projected image into a huge drawing board on which participants can freely annotate with the interactive pen.

This pen works like a stylus pen, and does everything a regular marker pen could on a whiteboard – write and draw in multiple colours – and then some.

 

The projector can also be operated simply by touching the screen with a fingertip – including opening and closing files, scrolling through pages, pinching in/out and rotating images, and adding notes.

Think future-generation iPad with advanced Samsung Note stylus features on a humongous screen. Nifty!

Learn more about Epson’s interactive projectors

Epson Interactive Projectors

Keep the ideas flowing!

In the PC-free interactive mode, two people can write simultaneously on the projection, with two pens operating at the same time for greater interactivity. The projector can support the simultaneous input of up to six fingers and two pens, bringing brainstorming sessions to another level.

Just imagine the flurry of ideas being quickly shared and animatedly discussed, on screen!

The benefit of this revolutionary approach is that it helps to break down the wall between presenter and audience. When multiple participants are given free rein to write simultaneously, the presentation becomes a stimulating, collaborative and productive experience, increasing engagement and delivering improved business outcomes.

One projector to connect them all

As a further nod to the value of group collaboration, Epson’s latest interactive projectors can wirelessly connect up to 50 devices like laptops, smartphones and tablets over a network, with a terminal serving as a moderator host PC. The group moderator can display content from up to four devices simultaneously onto the big screen to link participants together for side by side evaluation of presentations, making group discussions even more broad-based and insightful.

And sharing is a breeze. Participants can access the content through a URL link from their PC or smart devices. The whiteboard mode allows output of the meeting results to a maximum of 50 pages in your preferred format, eliminating worries about lack of space. Participants also no longer need to waste time comparing notes. Missing or misinformation is a thing of the past.

Small room or no room? No problem

Thanks to their short-throw projection, these projectors are able to share bright and large images even in small meeting rooms. Essentially, they can transform any flat surface such as walls, whiteboards and even tables into digital whiteboards and interactive spaces, without additional software – you no longer need to hunt down a sufficiently-sized meeting room for an impromptu session.

Projector set-up is simply plug-and-play, with a one-time auto calibration and auto resolution adjustment. And no messy wires connections.

What more, with the short-throw projection, light from these interactive projectors is less distracting as it barely touches the presenter, ensuring a more comfortable experience compared to conventional models. Shadow interference is also greatly reduced, making presentations a more pleasant experience for all participants.

Epson is committed to sustainability, and eco-friendly features are built in to its interactive projector range. The choice of materials – lead-free lenses, unpainted plastic housings, and chlorine/bromine-free flame retardants – is designed to minimise environmental impact.

The projectors use just up to 0.44W of power in standby mode. Its eco-friendly Light Optimiser function features a luminance sensor that detects the brightness level of the environment and adjusts the projector’s brightness automatically, resulting in power and cost savings. This function can be turned on/off according to your preference. With a long lamp life of 10,000 hours in eco-mode, the frequency of costly lamp replacements is also reduced.

Learn more about Epson’s interactive projectors

Epson Interactive Projectors

To play or not to play?

To play or not to play?

by | Oct 12, 2015 | Gaming, Tech

It's not me, claw machine.

It’s you, you and unequivocally, you.

Ubiquitous, mysterious and tempting.

Claw machines can be found in most medium sized malls in Malaysia.

That unmistakeable see-through glass, shiny lights and fun-sounding jingle that randomly plays invites all and sundry to stop by for just a short moment.

The adorable stuffed toys, action figures and multi-coloured candies beckon temptingly to the shopper.

“Only RM 1 to play!”, its hastily placed sticker shouts. There is a nigh unmistakable simplicity to the machine.

One button.

One attempt.

One prize.

All you need to do is catch the timing… or, is it?

Beneath the veneer of fun and hope at winning a cute plush toy or that expensive PSP, lies a far deeper secret you probably did not know. Or you probably already did.

The machines are RIGGED!

How are they rigged, you ask?

Watch the video below to find out how companies cleverly prey on peoples’ naivete, hope and indiscretion to make easy money.

PS: Vox.com is completely unaffiliated with VOX.MK.

Remember, the house always wins!

Jamilah Lim

Jamilah Lim

Writer

Jamilah cares deeply about the human condition. A humanist, skeptic and feminist, she is a proponent of both human and animal rights. An avid gamer, she lives somewhere in PJ with her two cats and plays Dota 2 in her free time.

Malaysia’s first international drone race takes off with a buzz

Malaysia’s first international drone race takes off with a buzz

by | Oct 6, 2015 | Gaming, Tech

Last September, the field in University Malaya was abuzz with a flurry of air activity as Malaysia’s first international drone race took off to a roaring start.

31 competitors from three countries raced to compete in three categories for RM32,000 worth of attractive prizes.

Competitors had to race through a 160-metre tight, twisting circuit, negotiating four air-gates and four air-flags in groups of three for every class heat.

No child’s play

According to Hamdi, drones at events like these are typically custom, hand-assembled drones put together by enthusiasts.

Various parts of the drones, such as the airframes, motors, propellers, flight controllers, ‘first person view’ cameras and monitors, video transmitters and receivers, are individually procured and painstakingly put together to build a specialised racing drone.

 

How to build a FPV racing drone for US$240

“Little support” from local businesses

However Hamdi Hamdan (pic) wasn’t quite happy with the turnout of competitors.

“Considering the number of enthusiasts for these type of drones around the country, the number of competitors for this first race was quite disappointing,” he lamented.

“We also didn’t get much support from local businesses such as distributors and retailers of drone components and systems.

“Maybe they adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude,” he added.

Hamdi however expressed gratitude to component distributors from Singapore who sponsored free parts such as propellers and other items for the competitors.

Race on!

The racers were given one day to practice on September 26th while the race proper was held on a haze-enveloped sky on September 27th , but that didn’t cloud the enthusiasm of the competitors.

This inaugural race was held at a Universiti Malaya field but Hamdi is intending to have next year’s race in a covered location in the event of inclement weather similar to this year.

“We have a longer time-frame to organize next year’s event and we hope for more local and regional participants,” Hamdi said.

In the meantime, he and his team hope to organize races around the country and aim to put together a national drone-racing league.

Present at the event was drone NGO, Malaysia Unmanned Drones Activist Society, or, MUDAS.

MUDAS is in the forefront to promote safe drone flying ever since aerial footage of airliners landing at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport shocked the nation.

Haidar Abu Bakar of MUDAS

We’re working with the authorities to put together a framework to promote the responsible and safe operation of drones, particularly for those who operate them as a hobby for photography and videography.

The racing hobbyists here are OK; they don’t fly high, they practice and compete away from the public, but it’s the guys who buy drones fitted with cameras like the popular Phantom series of quadcopters that we are worried about.

They have to be made aware of the existing regulations, such as flying below 400 feet, not to fly above crowds, heavy traffic and away from tall buildings and no-fly zones.

All too often, these commonsense guidelines are ignored, and it’s important to have some measure of regulation to prevent untoward incidents and accidents.

Thailand comes up Tops

Taking top prize for the inaugural race was Worassorn Subsri (pic) from Thailand who competed in the main 250 class.

“This is my first ever drone race; I’ve never even competed in any local race in Thailand, so I am surprised and happy,” said the 35-year-old who took up the hobby just six months ago, although he was flying RC helicopters before then.

 

He came away with the coveted DJI Phantom S900, a six-rotor drone capable of carrying a payload of 8.2kg. What this means is that it can carry high-end cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix GH4.

Just the frame itself costs RM6,000.00.

“Drone racing is getting to be a popular sport around the world and our ambition is to organise an Asian championship one day,” Hamdi said.