Page 860 – GadgetByte Nepal

Hackers can replicate fingerprints from photos with peace sign

Featured

GadgetByte

-

January 22, 2017

Hackers can replicate fingerprints from photos with peace sign

With the advancement of technology, security features in everything have got more reliable and secure. At least, that is what we believe. After the use of fingerprints, we believe ID theft will be something we’ll be hearing the least. Since everyone’s fingerprint is a unique one. That’s why people prefer fingerprints to pin codes and passwords. Even in movies, people clone fingerprints from a physical surface. Abstracting fingerprint data from a digital source wasn’t considered as an option. But, one recent Japanese research claims replicating one’s fingerprint needs nothing but a digital Photograph.

Photographs have become a new cool these days. Every day, there’s a flood of photographs in social medias. But the next time you click a photo, it is rather wiser to not flash your fingers in it. Posing for a picture while holding your hands up in a peace sign could pose a security threat, with hackers able to recreate prints that are the key to phones, computers, and tablets.

Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) have successfully regenerated one’s fingerprint with the help of a photograph taken from up to 3 meters away. Well, not all the photographs will give the best results. The conditions for successful cloning of fingerprint were, the photograph needs to be a high res one and it has to be taken in a well-lit environment.

It’s not the first time that one’s fingerprint data has been abstracted from a photo. More than 2 years ago, a group of hackers did the same thing. They claimed to have recreated German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen’s fingerprint by using a picture of her thumb taken at a press conference.

Remedy to not let others replicate your fingerprint from a photo:

Coming to the remedies, they might sound funny but they are the fact. Many high profile people, at a risk of biometric ID being stolen, wear gloves. It is wiser to not pose the two-finger peace sign while taking photos today onwards. Plus, these Japanese researchers told about a remedy as well. That is a biometric jammer. It is a transparent film containing titanium oxide that can be attached to fingers to hide their prints. However, such attachment of film won’t stop your fingerprint from working. Unfortunately, this biometric jammer won’t be available commercially for at least two more years.

Otaku Jatra 2017 crowded than any other events held

GadgetByte

-

January 22, 2017

0

Otaku Jatra 2017 crowded than any other events held

Otaku is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, including anime, manga, or video games. During the recent years, the number of Otakus is increasing in Nepal as the increase of people’s interest for anime, manga and video games. Various conventions and events have been successfully organized for the purpose of promoting the anime, manga and gaming sectors. So for the same purpose, the year 2017 kick started with one of the biggest Otaku events held in Nepal- Otaku Jatra. Otaku Jatra was held with the slogan “By the fans, for the fans” on 14^th January at Celebration Heights, Sukedhara, Kathmandu in which cosplay competition, gaming contest, and anime merchandises were the main attraction.

The event was organized by Otaku Club Nepal with the management of Lil Bit Entertainments that gathered a huge crowd of more than 2000 people. The event had 14 stalls which included anime stores selling anime merchandises, welfare organizations (Sneha’s Care, Helpibri), event partners and sponsors. One of the stalls also had quiz anime hosted by Nepanime. The event had 6 food stalls with various mouthwatering Japanese Dishes and the chefs were very busy due to the random orders of the customers. The Maid Café also attracted many visitors where cute girls dressed up as Japanese maids were serving foods. The face Painting stalls were also one of the attractions for visitors.

Now moving on to the cosplay section, almost 160 cosplayers were registered for the events competition as well as many unregistered cosplayers were also seen. Cosplayers who weren’t able to register for the event was also given chance to perform on the stage. People witnessed cosplay’s from various famous animes and movies such as Naruto, Goku, Wolverine, Joker, kakashi etc. and also the couple from Makoto Shinkai’s famous movie Kimi no Na Wa(Your Name). The competition winner were cosplays of Ryuk and Misa(Death Note), Mystogan(Fairy Tail) and Rem & Ram(Re: Zero) being 1^st, 2^nd, nd 3^rd respectively. Devil Jin (Tekken) and Mayuri Kurotsuchi (Bleach) were honorable cosplayers and Arju Takayamaji being youngest cosplayers cosplaying Goku from Dragon Ball.

Rohit Shrestha, Winner of Cosplay Competition said, “Being passionate about cosplay comes first to me rather than winning- Winning just proved that you are on right track. My cosplay wouldn’t have been successful without the prop designer Wataru Ram Shrestha and Sakun who helped me a lot and it wouldn’t have been successful without my other half Puza Tamang who is other half of my cosplay Misa. The feeling of winning something is great. When my name was announced I couldn’t believe but all the hard work paid off”.

As Rohit was also one of the organizers he was busy preparing for the event for the event the day before and was working for the cosplay during the night, his hard works really paid him off. Most of them loved his cosplay especially Ryuk’s mask.

1 of 5

The event also had performances from The Bang Up crew, Mongolian Namja, Otaku Bboys, K-Hoppers, H2B, Crimson Yeoja, Rapper DMJ, and action packed Wushu performance. Dhiraj Magar, Youtuber (thatdudevlogs), also came to the event and spoke a few words appreciating the participants and the event itself. The event also had a head banging performance. And the AMV’s by Silent Pages were awesome.

Wataru Shrestha, Founder of Otaku Club Nepal said, “Overall the event was a huge success although there were difficulties here and there. All of our team worked super hard but most of them couldn’t see the performances because they were busy managing here and there but we are very happy, we didn’t expect much of a crowd, though. Well, we would like to continue spreading Otaku culture in Nepal”.

Even though the venue was large, it was crowded. The organizers hadn’t even expected such huge crowd. Maybe there was huge crowd because of their hard works from designs to photos shoot to video promos all of their hard works paid off. The event was a huge success because it was very interactive in each and every aspect as well as promoted the Nepali otaku culture in the best way possible. People who didn’t attend the event really missed something great. In case you missed it don’t worry there is another two-day event “NEPAL COMIC AND COSPLAY CONVENTION” hosted by Otaku Next during the month of March 2017.

Thanks, Sandeep Thapa for the article.

Lineage OS: CyanogenMod OS is Dead, New OS Born

GadgetByte

-

January 22, 2017

0

Lineage OS: CyanogenMod OS is Dead, New OS Born

Have you heard that “when one door closes another door opens.” After the death of CyanogenMod, Lineage OS was born. A faster, stronger, better version of the once mighty CyanogenMod.

What is Lineage OS?

Lineage OS is a custom ROM for android devices. If you don’t know what custom ROM is you can read about it here. They have a team of people making these custom ROMs (most of them are from the CyanogenMod team). They also have volunteers who are going to help them with it.

Is my device getting Lineage OS?

Currently, they are going to release Lineage OS for about 80 devices and this is list is going to keep increasing. If you want to know if your android phone is supported then you can check this page. Lineage OS is based on Android Marshmallow and Nougat. So good news for people stuck in Android lollipop or lower (provided your device is in their supported list).

Why do I want Lineage OS?

It completely depends on the personal preference of every individual. Except those using CyanogenMod OS. CyanogenMod will not be officially supported from now on. For the rest of us, Lineage OS will provide a very stock android experience with a variety of customization options. It will also have unique features of its own.

Is this safe?

Everything is official but you need to be careful before jumping in. As is the case with any custom ROMs you need to know about all the risks. The people from Lineage OS are very clear that they aren’t responsible for any harm you do to your device or to yourself. And neither are we from Gadgetbyte responsible for it. FLASH AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Verdict

If your device is supported then you should definitely give this a try. Lineage will be releasing ROMs for different devices as they are ready. You can check Lineage’s own website for more details. They have lots of different unofficial portals too, you can give them a read too.

Links to everything

Researchers reveal smartphone batteries with built-in fire extinguisher

Featured

GadgetByte

-

January 21, 2017

0

Researchers reveal smartphone batteries with built-in fire extinguisher

Last year, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The device’s battery was on fire – literally. While Samsung hasn’t released its investigation report on why the battery exploded, it is believed to have happened due to the battery’s size and manufacturing issues.

Samsung used lithium-Ion battery for the Galaxy Note 7. And one of the major problems with li-ion battery is that it tends to explode if heated. We have seen many devices catch fire due to this problem.

A Li-Ion battery consists of two types of electrodes, a positive one, and a negative one. The charged particles from one electrode are sent to another electrode via an electrolyte. And issues like short-circuiting or overcharging can create heat that can go up to 150°C. This results in electrolyte catching fire that in turn creates an explosion.

So, to solve this issue, researchers from Stanford University, USA, have designed lithium-ion batteries that feature a built-in fire extinguisher to prevent the battery from catching fire. They simply added a compound called triphenyl phosphate (TPP), a component used as a flame retardant in different electronic devices.

So what exactly can TPP do in a lithium-ion battery? When the electrolyte’s temperature reaches 150°C, a plastic fiber separating the electrolyte and TPP melts, releasing the chemical that in turn puts out the flame that has generated.

Since the chemical has a capacity to affect any device’s performance when it comes in contact with the electrolyte, the researcher used the plastic fiber separator.

Yi Cui, the project’s lead scientist, said, “Using our ‘smart’ separators, battery electrochemical performance will not be affected by the flame retardant under normal conditions. However, once there is a potential thermal runaway, the flame retardant will be activated and nip the fire or explosion in the bud.”

The researchers have claimed that the fire retardant can stop the electrolyte from burning up in just 0.4 seconds.

List of Samsung Devices Getting Android 7.0 Nougat Update

GadgetByte

-

January 20, 2017

1

List of Samsung Devices Getting Android 7.0 Nougat Update

With the release of a newer version of android, we search for changes it has brought as compared to older ones. After that, the second search will be whether one’s current device supports newer android or not. If your device isn’t the one from Google, the wait for OS update becomes annoyingly long. The impatient android users don’t wait for official updates and rather flash different Custom ROMS build on the latest version of Android. Such flashing doesn’t ensure the performance improvements, so it is rather wise to wait for the official update to enroll.

Samsung has started enrolling Android 7.0 Nougat Update to its unlocked devices. The first Samsung devices to get this update are undoubtedly from the S7 series. Now, the Samsung has released a list of Samsung devices that’ll get the Nougat Update within the first half of this year. Here’s that list:

Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
Samsung Galaxy Tab A with S Pen
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (LTE unlocked)
Samsung Galaxy A3
Samsung Galaxy A8

Are these the only devices that’ll get the Android 7 update? Well, they are not the only ones. If your Samsung device is under 2 years old, it is likely to get such update. What is not sure is the specific date on which the updates will roll-out.

What’s new in Android 7.0 Update for Samsung Devices?

Nougat comes with a number of new changes and Samsung has adopted them for their devices as well. Now, the Samsung users can take the advantage of Quick Reply right from the notification. It’s one handy of a feature for those who like messaging and chatting on the go. No matter which app you’re in, you can reply right away by pulling the notification. The Quick Panel now looks cleaner. More buttons can be placed in the quick settings as there is button grids can be set to be of 3*3 or 4*3 or even 5*3 mode. There is an option to show or hide brightness level controller on the quick panel.

The latest Android 7.0 Nougat update comes with a cool new feature called “performance mode“. The users can choose between Optimized, Game, Entertainment and High-performance mode depending on their needs. The Optimized mode will give better battery life. Similarly, Entertainment mode gives better sound and image quality. The High-performance mode will make your device be snappy fast at the cost of battery drain.

Along with few UI changes and improvements, there’s improved multi-window feature supporting more apps. Additionally, this update also comprises of a new pop-up window feature to allow side-by-side running of up to 7 apps simultaneously. Another worth mentioning feature is the Samsung Pass. It allows phone owners to log into certain apps and websites with their fingerprint. There will certainly be more apps supporting the Samsung Pass in days to come.

What are your views regarding slower enrolling of Android Updates even in the high-end phones?

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Snapdragon version launched

GadgetByte

-

January 20, 2017

0

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Snapdragon version launched

If you are not aware, Xiaomi already launched the Redmi Note 4 powered by a MediaTek CPU couple of months back, but now the company has unveiled the snapdragon variant of the new Redmi Note 4 in India. There are going to be 3 versions of this phone:

2GB RAM & 32GB storage ($149)
3GB RAM & 32GB storage ($161)
4GB RAM & 64GB storage ($190)

If you want a budget phone with heavy duty specs, this phone should be on your radar. The new note 4 features a uni-body aluminum design with 2.5D curved glass. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD screen and a fingerprint sensor at the back. But the main attraction is the new snapdragon 625. This might seem odd as the older note 3 had a faster snapdragon 650 but the newer 625 is built on a smaller 14nm architecture compared to the previous 28nm architecture. This means there won’t be a significant downgrade in performance but will have a huge improvement in battery life. Xiaomi claims a 25% increase in battery life over the note 3, and with a slightly larger 4100mAH battery it’s bound to provide better battery life. The disappointing part is there is still no fast charging.

It has a 13 megapixel back camera with auto-focus, phase detection and 1080p video recording and 5-megapixel front camera. It also has dual SIM support and currently runs on MIUI 8 with Android Marshmallow and will soon be upgraded to Nougat.

This phone isn’t much of an improvement over the old note 3 in terms of performance. The newer note 4, however, offers more RAM & storage options with improved battery life. But the improved battery life comes at the sacrifice of performance. It also has a weaker WiFi version and has a lower megapixel count (which doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing) and it still doesn’t have a proper screen protection. if you already own a note 3 then you are better off with that but if you are not then the new note 4 will not disappoint you for the money you will be paying.

The bigger question is if you should go for the snapdragon version or the MediaTek version. The MediaTek version was launched in Nepal for Rs 33,000 which is a lot to ask for. But if that isn’t a problem for you then I personally suggest getting the snapdragon version because of the smaller architecture which provides better battery life and because it’s a smaller processor will also run comparatively cooler. I still think even with the huge price tag in Nepal, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is still a good buy for the performance it provides.

KU IT MEET Starts from Today!

GadgetByte

-

January 20, 2017

0

The IT MEET, a yearly event organized by Kathmandu University Computer Club (KUCC) officially starts from today. KUCC is a student wing of Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The club has been successfully organizing IT MEET every year since 2006. The event this year will be as exciting and entertaining as previous ones, if not more. This tech event is going to be 3 days long. There’s a lot one can expect to achieve in those 3 days. In numbers, there will be 35+ different events in total.

First Day’s Schedule (20th Jan. 2017)

“Ideate. Startup. Innovate” is the slogan for the IT MEET 2017. If you’re wondering what could be the first day’s schedule be like then we’ve got you covered. Obviously, the day will start with an opening ceremony at 9:30 sharp. Arduino Training will kick off at 10 am. Python-Nepal Group will be undertaking Python-Django Workshop starting from 10.30 am. For those who’re into entertainment, the screening of Movie “Bijuli Machine” will be carried in two shifts. The first show will start at 12 pm. If you happen to miss it, you can enjoy the second show at 2 pm. There’s Python Developer’s MeetUp at 1.30pm. There’ll be different gaming competitions of games like FIFA, DOTA 2, CS, Clash Royale, and Mini Militia. Along with that, the first day’s schedule also comprises of Googling Competition and Software Competition. The first day of the event will end with a Hackathon that will start from 6 pm.

About Events in IT MEET 2017

Well, it’s hard to go into detail about all the events that’ll be carried out in these 3 days. But few of the events look promising. The idea Hunt is one of the key events this year. Final pitching from the participants is certainly going to be observed by many. 21st Jan is the date for the final pitching. The top 3 ideas will get incubation space for a year at the IT park, Kavre. Another highlight is the screening of Award winning movie “Kalo Pothi” on Jan 23rd. As usual, this year’s event will be accompanied by musical events, IT Quiz, Blood Donation, Robotics Competition, and the like. Moreover, Slow Scooter Racing will certainly be one fun of a show to watch. Plus, Designing and Photography Contest will surely get much of attention from the students and the visitors. Like previous years, there will be software demonstrations, code-camps, treasure hunt, localization event, career counseling and different seminars.

If you haven’t taken the tour of KU yet, IT MEET is the right time to take one. It’s all worth it.

New Nokia 6 sold out in just 60 seconds in China

GadgetByte

-

January 20, 2017

0

New Nokia 6 sold out in just 60 seconds in China

Just a few days of the comeback in the smartphone arena with Android OS on its devices and Nokia has already started bossing in the market. The former smartphone giant has now become a threat to other manufacturers as the Nokia’s Android-powered device Nokia 6 sold out within a minute on its launched date.

A few days back, Nokia 6 was unveiled in the smartphone market ushered by HMD Global. However, the manufacturers had mentioned the sales of Nokia 6 to be confined only to China. Though the sale confined only in China, Nokia 6 sold out within a minute adding its name to the list of rapid-sold-out devices.

Nokia or HMD Global has not yet flashed the actual numerical figure of the sold out devices. However, the device was said to receive over a million of registrations for the first flash sale. The sale was out of the expectation, which showed that the popularity of Nokia is still intact. So, in the second flash sale, a higher number is expected to be brought. The date for the second flash sale has not been disclosed yet. However, it can be expected to happen very soon.

In the specs, Nokia 6 features 5.5 FHD IPS LCD display with the 403 PPI pixel density and Corning Glass 3 protection. It works with the Android OS on the system, favored by the Nougat (7.0) version. The device is powered by Qualcomm MSM8937 Snapdragon 430 processor, which consists of eight cores (Octa-core) each working on 1.4 GHz speed. On the GPU side, the device is flowered with Adreno 505. On the memory section, the device is nurtured with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM with the capability to expand the internal memory up to 256GB by the use of SD card.

Owing to the photography, the device sports 16MP, f/2.0 primary and 8MP, f/2.0 secondary cameras. To get things done, Nokia 6 is fueled by non-removable 3,000 mAh battery. Further specifications include Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Accelerometer, Gyro, proximity and compass sensors and Fast charging technology. Nokia 6 is priced 1,699 Yuan in China, which equals approximately $247.

The device’s sale is now confined to China. With this glimpse of love for the Nokia, it can be expected that the device’s availability to turn global in the coming days. If that does not come true, we should not worry about Nokia devices as a new Nokia device is coming next month in the MWC, which will be available globally.

Colors Pride P32 with 1GB RAM Launched for Rs. 6,410

Colors

Yural Maskey

-

January 19, 2017

0

Colors Pride P32 with 1GB RAM Launched for Rs. 6,410

Nepali smartphone brand Colors Mobile has launched a budget-oriented smartphone, the Pride P32, for Rs. 6,410. It’s one of the most affordable smartphones you can buy in the Nepali market.

The Colors Pride P32 sports a 4.5-inch (854×480 pixels) FWVGA TFT LCD display. It is powered by a fairly decent quad-core processor (MT6580M, 4 cores, Cortex A7, 1.3Ghz) and 1GB of RAM. With this configuration, you can expect decent multitasking and even light to mid end gaming. In terms of storage, the phone comes with 8GB of onboard memory, but you can expand it via microSD card upto 32GB. What’s even great is it runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow which means you can make your microSD card work as your internal storage. Fueling the Pride P32 is 1800mAh removable battery which we expect to provide a backup for a full 24 hours on medium usage. Camera-wise, there’s a 5MP primary back shooter with LED flash and a VGA selfie cam.

1 of 2

The Pride P32 is targetted for the first time smartphone buyers or for someone on a tight budget. It punches well in specs compared to its competition. The 1GB of RAM is a nice addition in a sub 7K price tag. Another good area is the phone comes with a stock version of Android Marshmallow 6.0 which enhances the vanilla android experience to the first time smartphone buyers. So, what are your thoughts regarding the Pride P32? Let us know in the poll down below:

[socialpoll id=”2414343″]

Budget-friendly Google’s Android One 2017 Edition Launching Soon

GadgetByte

-

January 19, 2017

0

Budget-friendly Google’s Android One 2017 Edition Launching Soon

We love to buy the smartphones with greater specs. However, our wallet does not always support our interests. Buying a budget-friendly smartphone could be the alternative but they soon get obsolete as the OS version is always upgrading. Owing to those difficulties, Google’s Android One is coming as a messiah to the low-budgeted consumers.

Back in 2014, Google launched android One platform with a view to providing wallet-friendly smartphones to the developing markets. Back then, Google shook hands with the minor companies like Micromax, Spice, and Karbonn. The journey seemed fruitful as Spice Android One Dream UNO MI-498, Micromax Canvas A1, and Karbonn Sparkle V emerged in the market. Each of the devices featured 4.5” 854×480 pixel displays packed with 1GB RAM and 4GB ROM. Cemented with 1.3 GHz MediaTek quad-core processors, the devices had 5MP+2MP cameras and 1700 mAh battery.

Google’s Android One pioneer devices were available under $100 back then. However, the second lot of Google’s Android One will supposedly cost price in the range of $200-$300. So, the new devices are certainly carrying superior specs than the previous ones. However, one thing about the devices has been confirmed. The smartphones will come with a guarantee of being updated with the latest Android updates and security for two years after the phone is purchased.

Though Google is funding the campaign, Google is not going to make them by itself. According to the clue from our news sources, the manufacturing works would be handled by LG. Since the inclusion of Amazon’s Alexa assistant instead of Google’s to the Huawei Mate 9 created tension between the two.

The new Google’s Android One devices are likely to make its way in the US in the mid of this year. Since the consumers in the US are inclined on having flagship built phones and they are already many budget-friendly devices packed with greater specs, we can expect that the device could emerge in the Nepali markets too. Another reason that could support this statement could be the new Google strategies. The new Google strategy hints that in spite of struggling in the established markets, Google wants to own the emerging markets of the developing countries. The device has not yet been launched and no further information have come from the Google. Time will reveal everything so all we have to do now is wait.