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Older Fire TV devices get improved protection against Android malware
It came to light earlier this year that a virus was attacking Fire TV devices because of an Android-based vulnerability relating to ADB (Android Debug Bridge) connections. But part of the newest software update, 5.2.6.6, should make things a lot more secure, no matter how you've been playing around with your device's developer options.
Google makes its essential Android modding tools easier to get
Android users have a long history of unlocking their phones, sideloading apps and installing custom OS builds -- but getting the tools to do all that has always been kind of a pain in the ass. Users who wanted to play around with their phone's backend had to download the entire Android SDK just to get access to two specific tools. Not anymore. Google has quietly released its ADB and Fastboot tools as lightweight, independent packages.
Mirror your Android device on your Mac or PC with Vysor
There are plenty of ways to mirror your smartphone onto your desktop, but none are as apparently easy (or snappy) as this one. Vysor has been cooked-up by AllCast creator Koush as a seamless way to mirror your Android device's display onto a Windows, Linux or Mac computer. All you'll need to do is connect one to the other over USB and install the Chrome plugin and in a few seconds, you should be able to control your phone with a keyboard and mouse. It may have been intended as a developer tool, but one keen-eyed Reddit user spotted the app while it was in private beta and shared it with the world.
Turning an old Apple mouse into a modern Bluetooth mouse
This Instructable is a pretty sweet project that some of you might want to take on this weekend: It'll teach you how to combine an 80s-era Apple mouse body with the innards of a modern Bluetooth wireless mouse, thus turning Apple's user interface innovation into a device usable with almost any modern day computer. You will probably need to use a Dremel tool and a little glue to make the new mouse's board fit into Apple's old case, but it all seems pretty simple, and in the end, you'll have a sharp-looking retro mouse that uses Bluetooth. The old Apple mouse only has one button, so you'll have to control-click (or download a separate app on Windows) to simulate the right click if you need it -- a small price to pay for clicking around in retro style, though.
LG Revolution root method promises to silence Bing's chime
If you're looking to banish Bing from your LG Revolution, then roll up those sleeves because root access is now possible on Verizon's latest LTE-equipped wunderphone. The process is relatively straightforward (provided you know what you're doing), and uses the rageagainstthecage method to unlock your handset's full potential. This crack comes one day following the phone's release, which suggests LG didn't expend much effort locking this one down. There's just two caveats here. First, you must install and configure the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which puts the rage into your Revolution. Second, there's currently no option for recovery images -- which must be addressed for custom ROMs to be of any value. Still, if you're undeterred (or really want to eliminate bloatware), just follow the source for this superuser solution. [Thanks, Andy]
ADB set-back box squeezes a DVR on SDHC card behind your HDTV
The space and weight requirements to fit a tru2way cable box behind an LCD or plasma HDTV would seem to rule out DVR functions, but ADB showed off a second generation set-back box that does just that. Dubbed Phantom, it can hold an SDHC card with programs either recorded elsewhere, or it can record directly to the card itself. Light Reading mentions there's also MoCA support to stream from standard DVRs, so while it's unlikely you'd have a memory card big enough to hold all the HDTV programs we watch, whether you're old school sneakernetting or going multiroom it can be your hidden HD DVR. The ADB-4820C it designed for Sony HDTVs that we saw at CES 2009 never appeared, but the company said at The Cable Show the Phantom could be available by late this year or early 2011, with potential targets in the hotel industry or direct retail sales.
First MoCA 1.1 cable set-top-box gets certified
If you loved using the existing coax in your home to network your devices together at 110Mbps, then you'll love MoCA 1.1 even more -- testing has shown it can reach speeds of 175Mbps and up the number of participate devices to 16. The real challenge with MoCA right now though is that there aren't many devices out there that support it and those that do cost a pretty penny -- well worth it if you can't run CAT5 cables though. Advanced Digital Broadcast, and Entropic made a little progress today however by getting the first MoCA 1.1 set-top-box certified, which we're hoping is just the first of many devices to jump on the MoCA bandwagon. Because as cool as it sounds to have an Ethernet jack on the back of your HDTV or game console, it doesn't do most any good because there's only a coax cable running to their equipment.
Happy birthday, mouse!
It was 40 years ago this week that Douglas Engelbart gave the first public demonstration of what would become the modern computer mouse, affectionately called "The mother of all demos." With that in mind, we've decided to take a look at the evolution of the Apple Mouse.The current version is the Mighty Mouse, of course. With its scroll wheel and touch sensitive clicking surfaces, it's loved by some and despised by others. I'll admit that a wired Mighty Mouse is my main mouse, which will undoubtedly make some of you gasp. Still, we can't fully appreciate the Mighty Mouse without acknowledging its predecessors.When you think of old Apple mice, you probably think of the ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) variety. But even those were preceded by the DB-9 connector mice that shipped with the Apple Lisa. In fact, those were the first commercially available mice. They were clunky, square-ish affairs that featured a single button -- a design decision that Apple has refused to abandon all these years (yes, the Mighty Mouse isn't a single-button mouse, but certainly looks it from an overhead perspective).The boxy shape was kept largely intact until 1993, when Apple released the Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II. I can remember using one of these with a Performa and being amazed by it. "it's not square! It fits in my hand! This is incredible!"Also "incredible" was the amount of time I spent removing the ball and scraping the gunk off of the rollers. The design stayed pretty much the same until the "hockey puck" was released with the iMac in 1998. Apple's first USB mouse, the hockey puck divided the Mac community. Some declared it the best thing since copy and paste. Others, like me, considered it an abomination.Just two years later, Apple got the message, retired the hockey puck and introduced the Pro Mouse. The lozenge-shaped device was the immediate predecessor to the Mighty Mouse we all know and love (or despise) today.There are Apple mouse fanboys, and those who'd never touch one. In fact, even your favorite TUAW bloggers are divided. Below is a gallery of our favorite and current mice, plus a few vintage examples. Finally, we threw in a few alternate input devices as well.%Gallery-39027%
ADB shows off tru2way STB to MSOs
Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) showed off the first fully certified tru2way STB at The Cable Show. While we're eager to get tru2way capabilities wrapped into our TVs, this is the next best thing. With a name like ADB-4820C, though, you know this device is aimed at multiple system operators (MSOs) only. The unit certainly looks friendly enough, though -- it's slim and designed to be mounted on the back of a TV and has a good-sized selection of outputs: RF, S-Video, composite and HDMI (with CEC) should make it suitable for deployment on just about every TV. Likewise, all the cable format bases are covered: MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and VC-1. Pricing and availability will depend, of course, on your cable provider; but it's available to them now.[Via Asia Business News]Read - ADB-4820C Press release [PDF]Read - ADB-4820C Spec sheet [PDF]
Hello HD platform announced in Hungary
As interest in HD continues to build globally, Hungary is being introduced to the Hello HD service. Middleware developer Osmosys has teamed up with Advanced Digital Broadcast in order to deliver the Hungarian satellite and cable operator Hello HD Platform with an "end-to-end solution" for the nation's "first commercial high-definition offering." Unfortunately, we're not told what kind of HD programming viewers in the area can expect, but considering that the go-live date is set for May 1st, you won't be waiting long to find out.
