Secret Software on Millions of Phones Logging Everything

The Android developer who raised the ire of a mobile-phone monitoring company last week is on the attack again, producing a video of how the Carrier IQ software secretly installed on millions of mobile phones reports most everything a user does on a phone.

Though the software is installed on most modern Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones, Carrier IQ was virtually unknown until 25-year-old Trevor Eckhart of Connecticut analyzed its workings, revealing that the software secretly chronicles a user’s phone experience — ostensibly so carriers and phone manufacturers can do quality control.

But now he’s released a video actually showing the logging of text messages, encrypted web searches and, well, you name it.

Eckhart labeled the software a “rootkit,” and the Mountain View, California-based software makerthreatened him with legal action and huge money damages. The Electronic Frontier Foundation came to his side last week, and the company backed off on its threats. The company said last week that Carrier IQ’s softwares are for “gathering information off the handset to understand the mobile-user experience, where phone calls are dropped, where signal quality is poor, why applications crash and battery life.”

The company denies its software logs keystrokes. Eckhart’s 17-minute video clearly undercuts that claim.

The video shows the software logging Eckhart’s online search of “hello world.” That’s despite Eckhart using the HTTPS version of Google which is supposed to hide searches from those who would want to spy by intercepting the traffic between a user and Google.

Cringe as the video shows the software logging each number as Eckhart fingers the dialer.

“Every button you press in the dialer before you call,” he says on the video, “it already gets sent off to the IQ application.”

From there, the data — including the content of  text messages — is sent to Carrier IQ’s servers, in secret.

By the way, it cannot be turned off without rooting the phone and replacing the operating system. And even if you stop paying for wireless service from your carrier and decide to just use Wi-Fi, your device still reports to Carrier IQ.

It’s not even clear what privacy policy covers this. Is it Carrier IQ’s, your carrier’s or your phone manufacturer’s? And, perhaps, most important, is sending your communications to Carrier IQ a violation of the federal government’s ban on wiretapping?

And even more obvious, Eckhart wonders why aren’t mobile-phone customers informed of this rootkit and given a way to opt out?

Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Debuts in Japan

The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 made its formal debut in Japan yesterday, at a spectacular VIP event held at Japan’s National Stadium, well known as the venue for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, and Maurizio Reggiani, Director of Research and Development, attended the debut in Japan.

More than 100 journalists and 500 vip customers and guests watched an Aventador slalom race through fire on the stadium atletics track. In the build-up to the car’s unveiling, an Aventador film was projected on a stadium maxiscreen and concluded with the lighting of the Olympic flame. 120 Lamborghini flags on the tribunes celebrated the Aventador debut in Japan. This event completes Lamborghini’s worldwide launch operations for the Aventador, which began with its global debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor show. The show was followed by a dynamic international launch in Rome and local presentations in various markets, with events in cities such as Shanghai, Sepang, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Monterey, Miami, and Sao Paolo.

The Japanese market and the entire Asian Pacific rim in general is a strategic business area for the Sant’Agata Bolognese-based company, accounting for more than a third of worldwide sales. In Japan, Lamborghini has five showrooms in Tokyo (in Azabu and Edogawa), Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. The company also boasts a total of 34 dealers in the Asian Pacific rim, with prospects for additional growth in 2012.

Flash Mob at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station

Like any other normal day at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, commuters were busy tracking trains to their destination, until they saw something unique. A day after India observed the third anniversary of 26/11 terrorist attack, 200 dancers were seen grooving to the 'Rang De Basanti' song on the station.

23-year-old Shonan Kothari employed with a CSR consultancy in Mumbai came up with the idea of a flash mob. She shared the idea with many others. The group practiced together for a few weeks. They wanted to pay a tribute to the people who lost their lives in 26/11 terror attacks.

The train services were also stopped for ten minutes at CST during the performance. This shows the real spirit of Mumbaikars.

22 year old is first in his country with a Lamborghini Aventador

For most normal 22 year old's purchasing a $390,000 Lamborghini Aventador is little more than a nice dream. For Saudi Arabian student Dhiaa Al-Essa Lamborghini Aventador ownership recently became a reality.

Al-Essa was the first person in Saudi Arabia to have an Aventador delivered—skipping the 18 month waiting list cost him an extra $71,000. Small World News Service spoke with Dhiaa Al-Essa after the car was delivered and he had this to say:

"It's amazing the Lamborghini has arrived. I wanted to be the first in Saudi Arabia to get the Aventador. Of course there is competition but for me personally it is not a competition, I just love cars – and if you want to be first you have to work hard and pay more."

The Aventador will be in good company with the rest of Dhiaa Al-Essa's impressive super car collection. According to GTspirit, Al-Essa's collection is valued at 12 million dollars and includes:

a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, Koenigsegg Agera, Rolls-Royce Coupe, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Range Rover (2x), Mercedes McLaren SLR, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Lamborghini Murcielago P640, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 599 GTO, Ferrari 599, Ferrari 458 Italia, Ferrari California, Ferrari F430 Novitec Rosso, Porsche 997 Turbo, Porsche 997 GT3 RS, Porsche 997 Turbo Spyder, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Porsche Panamera Turbo, Bentley Continental GT, Mercedes S65 AMG, Mercedes G55 AMG, Mercedes E63 AMG, Mercedes CL65 AMG, BMW M5, BMW X6M, BMW X5M, BMW 760LI, Audi R8, Audi A8, Lexus LS460, and Maybach 62.

Not a bad collection for a 22 year old if you ask us. The fact your Grandfather is estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth more than £1.5 billion sure can't hurt in the pursuit of amassing such an impressive collection in your 20s.

Wales manager Gary Speed commits suicide

The 42- year-old, Gary Speed, one of the most respected young managers in the game, was found hanged at his North Wales home.

Speed enjoyed a glittering career as a player at Leeds, Everton, Newcastle and Bolton before moving into coaching with his national team.

He has been leading a renaissance of the Welsh national side, but his life has been tragically cut short by what police are treating as suicide.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police confirmed: "At 7.08am this morning, Sunday 27 November, police were informed of an incident at Aldford Road, Huntington. Officers went to the scene where a 42-year-old man was found dead. There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and next of kin have been informed."

Vazquez Sounds: Teen siblings from Mexico sing "Rolling In The Deep" to fame

One of the most appealing things about YouTube is that it offers a chance for young artists and musicians to be discovered. One of the latest internet sensations to make a wave is Vazquez Sound.

Angie Vazquez

This talented trio consists of three siblings Angie (10, vocals), Abelardo (15, guitar/bass/piano), and Gustavo Vazquez (13, drums) from Mexico.

In the YouTube video(which you can watch below) features the teens performing a cover of “Rolling In The Deep”, a song originally done by Adele.

Maybach To Be Discontinued by 2013

A recent report says Mercedes-Benz has decided to discontinue its ultra-luxury Maybach brand beyond 2013.

Autoweek quotes a “high-ranking Mercedes-Benz” source as saying the decision to end production of the Maybach 57 and 62 has already been made. The insider says the replacement for both vehicles will be the next-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is already scheduled to be released when the Maybach production is reported to end.

The Maybach brand has seen low sales since its revival by Mercedes-Benz in 2002, and has been unable to keep up with its main rivals, the Volkswagen-owned Bentley brand and BMW-owned Rolls-Royce.

As such, Autoweek says Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche has decided not to pursue development of a future generation of Maybach models, instead aiming to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand specifically.

Daimler is pushing its new Mercedes-Benz S-class, which will be available in three new versions, including the S600 Pullman with an extended wheelbase. The S-class models will serve as substitutes for the Maybach 57 and 62 luxury sedans. Both Maybach models were originally based on the stretch underpinnings of the third-generation Mercedes S-class, which was introduced in 1991.

Why This Kolaveri Di: Most searched for video on YouTube

If you find everyone around you singing bizarre lines like "Hand la glass, eyes-u full aa teaar-u" or "White skin-u girl-u girl-u, girl-u heart-u black-u" and are wondering what's going on, then I'd say that you've been living under a rock!

The video of south star Danush singing "Why this Kolaveri Di", from his upcoming flick has gone viral. The quirky song already has over, a jaw-dropping, 1 Million views within five days of its online release and 3 million by the 8th day! It also became the most searched and played Youtube Video in India on Saturday. With everyone from across the country playing this catchy song on loop and with over 42,000 likes on the video site and uncountable shares on various networking sites... this song is the next big thing!

The video shows nothing but footage from the recording of the 'making of the song' . But it's the bizarre lyrics of the song that does the magic. The song with the Tamil word, "Kolaveri", which almost translates into "murderous rage", makes for a howlarious listen, complete with its typical kuthu flavor, drum beats, Tamil accent and funny analogies. It starts off with Danush's rap - "Yo boyz, I am singing song... Soup song... Flop song... Why this Kolaveri kolaveri aaa di". Ludicrous lyrics like "cow-u cow-u, holy cow-u..." are even fast finding their way into everyone's status messages on networking sites.

Trust me on this, you wont regret watching this video. I'm literally addicted to it now.

Lamborghini Aventador LP760-2 : Oakley Design.!

The new Lamborghini Aventador is so perfect in every aspect that you wouldn’t want to change a single thing. But five of those who think it can be better can get themselves the LP760-2, a heavily modified version by Oakley Design.

Mind you three of those five units have already been sold, but don’t you worry because later on individual parts will become available. As shown in these preview pictures, the looks of the car is subtly changed and that’s good because the Aventador already has the right amount of insanity in its design and you wouldn’t want more. But underneath that body is where things go off the hook crazy.

They use HRE P40 wheels for this car which are 4.0 kg lighter each compared to the stock wheels with factory 255/35ZR19 front and 355/30ZR20 Pirelli PZero tyres. They are also developing several suspension upgrade alternatives in partnership with Intrax.

Then they get busy with the power and drivetrain where with the help of some new sportier exhausts and ECU remap, a larger airbox, intake feed pipe diameter and a titanium exhaust system that will also save over 30kg, they think they can extract 760bhp with 745Nm (550 lb/ft) of torque out of that V12 engine.

The coolest thing about this package however is the Rear-Wheel-Drive option. As you know the Aventador comes with a standard 4WD system. But upon request Oakley will ditch that out for a 2WD setup at the rear. The removal of the front differential and its bits and pieces saves a remarkable 85 kg off the car’s weight, but one might rightfully think that it will also upsets the car’s spot on handling, something that Lamborghini has been working on for years. And to be honest it doesn’t really make sense why would you do that.

For more of Oakley Design's cars, visit their website:http://www.oakleydesign.eu/

Dubai Airport Flash Mob: A flash mob of 55 dancers take the Dubai Airport by storm to promote their new service

Dubai Airport recently launched the DXB Connect package product for travelers coming to Dubai or in transit, the package which consist of a prepaid travel card, a SIM card and discount coupons.

The event which saw 55 dancers break into a well choreographed dance routine organized by the airport, at the Sheikh Rashid Terminal has become an internet sensation and also seemed to have caught the passengers during its filming quite startled. In fact, the video clocked nearly half a million views since its release 6 days back (Nov 5)

Check out the video yourself,

Motorbike Crashes: Nothing Funny About Them, Except There Is Sometimes

A few funny ones from youtube..

Oh dear. Hard to know whether to laugh or .. roll around on the floor laughing.

How not to do a burnout. (And why I never try)

could be my favourite .. mr kawasaki on Mullholland Drive, Los Angeles. Oh look there's a cop! Oh look, i'm on the floor! Oh look .. now I'm getting nicked!

That's called object fixation that is. Or in plain english, a tree.

Bad idea 1: Doing a burnout in a small car park. Bad idea 2: Getting off the bike. Bad idea 3: Not letting go when things turned bad.

Belly dancing at its best.!

Ever heard of belly dancing before? If not get ready to get your mind blown away.! If you do know the dance form, you'l still be amazed at this girl doing it so gracefully and still she makes it look so easy.

For those who haven't heard of Belly Dancing before, its a traditional Arabic dance form (Arabic: Raqs Sharqi). Belly dancing is natural to a woman's bone and muscle structure with movements emanating from the torso rather than in the legs and feet. The dance often focuses upon isolating different parts of the body, moving them independently in sensuous patterns, weaving together the entire feminine form. Belly dancing is generally performed barefoot, thought by many to emphasize the intimate physical connection between the dancer, her expression, and Mother Earth.

Belly dancing costumes are often colorful, flowing garments, accented with flowing scarves and veils. Finger cymbals (made of brass and known as zills) are common, dating back to 200 B. C. as well as exotic jewelry, including intricate belts made of coins that, in earlier days, comprised the family's wealth so that it might be portable in the event the woman needed to move quickly or flee. Other interesting accessories used during the dance are swords, snakes, large vessels, and even huge candelabras, complete with flaming candles.


I happened to see this video on YouTube with the title "Beat The Tune". I couldn't figure out what it'd be, but after i watched it, i was left with only one word in my mind "WOW".


Do watch the video and feel free to share your comments about it below.

Facebook Spam

There is this new spam message floating around Facebook, i guess which started today (Nov 8, 2011).
It says "The Rihanna UN-fan club! Join if you h8 Rihanna after seeing her new video" along with this catchy image:

Eventhough i found the play-icon on the picture a bit suspicious, i still clicked on the link and was taken to a page which looked like it would show you the video only if you Like it. But i dint take the bait, I waited for a while and i got the same message from many friends, without them knowing about it. So its safe to click the link i guess, but if curiosity makes you "Like" the page, then the app kicks in and forwards the same link to your friends as a chat message.


So be careful, and DO NOT click such links, in future too.


Just an interesting fact, that group is getting Like's at the rate of almost a hundred members every 2 seconds or so. And this number is getting multiplied at a fast rate too.

Report the page under the "Spam or scam" and do your fellow Facebook users a favor.




Happy Facebooking.
Adrot

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento: Stephan Winkelmann Announces Its Production

President and CEO of AutomobiliLamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann, announced that the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento will go into production.

A technological demonstrator, presented a year ago at the Paris Motor
Show, the Sesto Elemento represents the future of super sports cars in line
with the Lamborghini Manifesto: according to this, development focuses on
handling and acceleration, with lightweight design an increasing priority –
now and even more so in years to come.
Not since the revolutionary carbon fiber prototype, the Lamborghini
Countach Evoluzione in 1986, has a super sports car brand produced a car
weighing less than 1000 kg.


With the Sesto Elemento, Lamborghini’s Research & Development engineers
have fine-tuned a cutting-edge package. Beginning with its pure, radical
design, Sesto Elemento is the perfect blend between an extremely light
weight 999 kg body; a drive train taken directly from motorsport; a power
output of 570 hp; a highly responsive V10 engine and superior handling
stability guaranteed by Lamborghini’s four wheel drive system. An
exceptional power-to-weight ratio of just 1.75 kg per hp guarantees
unrivalled performance levels; the Sesto Elemento goes from 0 to 100 km/h
in just 2.5 seconds. 

These values are possible due to the use of a carbon fiber monocoque made of Forged Composite and extensive use of carbon fiber throughout the car, illustrating Lamborghini’s international leadership in composite materials technologies Stephan Winkelmann stated: “The excellent feedback and the numerous requests we’ve had from our customers have really convinced us to embark on the challenge of producing a vehicle with unique characteristics. We are proud that what a year ago was just a ‘technology demonstrator’ of future super sports cars, even though in working order, will become a small series reality. Only 20 units of the new Sesto Elemento super sports car will be produced, and will be destined only for track use. We’re planning to deliver the first cars at the beginning of 2013.”




Unconfirmed sources say a stratospheric price tag of EUR1.9 million (approx. US$2.6 million) is expected to come along with the Sesto Elemento.

Some Really Interesting Web Easter Eggs

Now most of you must be wondering what an Web Easter Egg is, here's what it is in brief:
Occasionally software developers will hide things in their applications that can only be discovered by doing something out of the ordinary, such as clicking on a certain spot or entering a specific series of keystrokes. These hidden codes that give interesting outputs to the user are called Web Easter Eggs.
Now on with some of the interesting ones:

Google Barrel-Roll

This is a recently uncovered Easter Egg, which proves Google still has a sense of humor.


To see this hidden feature, just head to Google.com and search for the phrase "do a barrel roll". Provided your browser is up to date - the latest versions of Chrome, Safari and Firefox should all work - the search results page will literally do a barrel roll.! Searching for "tilt" and "askew" gives similar results. Go ahead and try it out.


Google has been well know for its Easter Eggs and has gone so far as to embed an entire flight simulator in Google Earth.


YouTube Snake Game

Seen here is YouTube's coolest Easter Egg. Every YouTube video published after April 2010 contains a hidden snake game that plays out atop the video at hand. Here's how to activate it.


While playing a video (it also works when paused), hit the up and left arrow keys on your keyboard simultaneously. If you do it just right, a dotted, moving "snake" will appear, along with a "target", a lone dot off to the side. You control the snake's motion with your keyboard's arrow keys. Every time you "eat" (run into) a dot, your snake will grow longer. The object of the game is to eat as many dots as possible without running into your  ever-lengthening snake body. This is very similar to the game Snakes that come pre-installed in most Nokia handsets.

Google Calculator Fun

On google.com, search for "answer to life, the universe, and everything." The first result will be a special Google Calculator answer, 42, which references Douglas Adams' classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.

Also try searching for "number of horns on a unicorn" and "one in a blue moon" for more entertaining Calculator results. Google is riffe with Easter Eggs and hidden pages; you'll see a few more ahead.

Google ASCII Art

ASCII (American Standard Codefor Information Interchange) is the industry-standard method tthat computers use to encode letters and characters. So it follows that ascii art seeks to create graphical art using only combinations of ASCII text characters. It's an ancient and respected art in the realm of wizardly computer nerds.

To celebrate text-based art, Google buried an amusing Easte Egg in their site. If you search for "ASCII art," the Google logo on the left side of the screen will be replaced with a graphical ASCII representation. This new Google logo really is ASCII too - highlight it to see that it's made of text characters.

Facebook Pirate Language

Facebook is well known for hiding fun tidbits throughout its site. In keeping with that playful spirit, Facebook supports two alternate English sets that are sure to confuse your friends.

To use these alternate languages, scroll down to the bottom of your Facebook page where it reads "English (US)" (or whichever language you're using). Click on that language link and a menu will pop up with a list of international languages. Click the arrow next to English (US) and select "English (Pirate)" or "(Upside Down)".

The Pirate option changes all of Facebook's label's to Pirate-themed text (as seen above). The upside Down option mirrors all the text from left to right. Note that ' unless they set their default language to "Pirate" as well.

GameSpot Konami Code

Back in the heyday of the 8-bit Nitendo Entertainment System, every kid worth his salt knew the secret "konami code" that gave you 30 extra lives in Contra, a popular NES game made by Konami. Various sites today pay homage to the memorable cheat code (up,up,down,down,left,right,left,right,b,a,start) with hedden Easter Eggs.

GameSpot is one such site, and if you perform the Konami code on its main page using the arrow keys on you kyboard while substituting the enter key for "Start", you will be taken to the Contra Hints & Cheats section. Very appropriate.

Secret Google Languages

Similar to the Facebook pirate language trick, Google supports a number of humorous alternative languages like "hacker" (seen here), "Elmer Fudd", "Pirate", "Kiingon" and much more. To access them, visit these URLs:

www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker
www.google.com/intl/xx-elmer
www.google.com/intl/xx-piglatin
www.google.com/intl/xx-pirate
www.google.com/intl/xx-bork
www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon
www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker

There may be more out there that havn't been yet discovered. Knowing Google, I'm almost sure there are many more in stock.




Mini Cooper in Reverse

On the Mini USA website (maker of the Mini Cooper car line), type "reverse" into the search bar in the upper right corner. A gear shift will appear in the lower left, and if you click on it while holding the shift key, the entire site will be "thrown in reverse", as seen in the above picture. To return to normal, hit the gear shift again.






These are just few of the MANY Easter Eggs on the web, i just picked out the interesting ones and posted them here. Should i see more of these interesting Easter Eggs lying around, i'l make sure it'l find its way to this blog.
If you know of any Easter Eggs yourself, feel free to post them in the comments section.