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Weekly Recap: turning an iPhone into a laptop, VR+cats, SoC Qualcomm 205, switch vulnerability and Mac to Surface

March 24, 2017.

Accessory that turns iPhone into a laptop

Apple patent application.

Apple patent application.

Apple patent application details an “Electronic accessory device.” U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple Insider has discovered a patent filing that covers laptops that include docks for an iPhone or iPad. In one example an iPhone can be docked into the trackpad section of the laptop, providing the processor, graphics card, memory, and storage for the entire device. The iPhone would then be used as the trackpad. Apple’s patent for the iPad would see the tablet docking into the display portion, with a trackpad supplied on the laptop instead. Apple’s patent was first filed in September, but like many patents it doesn’t mean Apple will ever bring this type of product to the market.

Apple Insider, “Apple investigating accessory that turns iPhone, iPad into full-fledged touchscreen laptop.”

The Verge, “Apple imagines turning an iPhone or iPad into a touchscreen MacBook.”

 

VR+cats: not a good mix

VR Tracked Cat.

VRPT tracker prototype. © Triangular Pixels.

Here you are, wearing your HTC headset and lost in your immersive irreality game, frolicking with pink unicorns in a verdant valley. Suddenly, Whiskers decides he needs human contact, or rather, that you need to be brought back to reality, since it’s time for his Fussy Cat Ultra Premium Wet Food with Chunks, Island Shrimp flavour. Whiskers comes to rub up against your ankles, but you don’t see him approach, since you’re busy dodging unicorns. You artfully sidestep to the left, trip over Whiskers, crash to the ground and all but crush him.

To avoid such cat-astrophes, games developer Katie came up with the VRPT (VR Pet Tracking), a device that lets you bring Whiskers into your VR game. A tracker mounted on his back connects to your headset, allowing you to actually see him in the game. Of course, the tracker can also be mounted on other mammals, such as your dog or your kids. A technological breakthrough that will save lives!

Triangular Pixels, “Tracker VR.”

The Verge, “Someone strapped a VR tracker to a cat to play video games with it.”


Curiosity kills…

A ten year-old tomcat is sideswiped by a human wearing a HTC Vive headset. (Screen grab from a YouTube video.)

VR Tracked Cat.

VR Tracked Cat.

VRPT tracker prototype. © Triangular Pixels.

 

Major security breach at Cisco

Cisco’s headquarters, San Jose.

Cisco headquarters, San Jose, California. Photo © iStock.

Cisco Systems revealed that over 300 Ethernet switches have a critical vulnerability that permits the CIA to use a simple instruction to remotely execute malware and take over targeted devices. On Friday, Cisco said in a release that the loophole allowed attackers to remotely execute code with elevated privileges. While there is currently no fix available, Cisco provided instructions for turning off Telnet as an allowed protocol for incoming connections to eliminate the threat. Users of Cisco switches who do not wish to turn off Telnet can reduce their risk by using an access control list and limiting the number of peripherals enabled to send and receive Telnet instructions. Cisco is the first major manufacturer to admit that its products are indeed vulnerable to the type of attack described in Vault 7, the name given by WikiLeaks to thousands of pages of documents obtained from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In these documents, that appear to be part of an internal Wiki, employees discuss exploitable security loopholes of Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Cisco and other products.

Ars Technica, “WikiLeaks publishes docs from what it says is trove of CIA hacking tools.”

Ars Technica, “A simple command allows the CIA to commandeer 318 models of Cisco switches.”

 

SoC Qualcomm 205

Téléphone mobile en Inde.

Mobile phone in India. © iStock.

With its new SoC Qualcomm 205, presented at an event in New Delhi, the leader in chips for mobile phones has updated its entry-level processor for the first time in three years. The new, inexpensive chip brings LTE connectivity and 4G service to basic phones designed for sale in markets like India, Latin America and South-East Asia. It provides download speeds of up to 150 Mbps on 4G, 3G and 2G networks, a dual-core 1.1 GHz CPU, an Adreno 304 GPU, and dual-SIM support. The Adreno processor supports front and rear 3-megapixel cameras, a 480p VGA display running at 60 frames per second, and lets users stream videos. The 205 SoC is pin-compatible with Qualcomm Snapdragon 210/212, making life easier for builders. The phones that use this system will also have better autonomy, a bonus in areas where electricity supply is spotty. The first sets should be available during Q2. Also in the news, Qualcomm issued a press release saying that it no longer wants its processors to be called “processors”, but rather “platform”. We’ll try to keep that in mind.

The Verge, “Qualcomm’s new mobile platform brings 4G to feature phones.”

Techcrunch, “Qualcomm doesn’t want you to call its Snapdragon processors ‘processors’ anymore.”

 

Mac to Surface Assistant

Surface Microsoft.

“I like typing on my Surface while looking around.” Photo © Microsoft.

Ever so discreetly, Microsoft has released a new migration tool to help users transfer documents, photos and multimedia files from Macintosh to Surface. Data is copied to a Zip file, which is saved on the desktop to ease transfer to another device. This is nothing you couldn’t do yourself, of course, but the tool makes the process easier and less intimidating for the proverbial “Idiots”. Microsoft already has a “Making the switch” site, and the new tool seems to be an extension of it. In any case, no ground is being broken: Apple has been providing its own migration tools for moving data from Windows to Mac since at least 2011, with the OS X Lion (10,7), if memory serves. Last year, Microsoft claimed that more users were switching from Macs to Surface than ever before, but provided no evidence to that effect.

AppleInsider, “Microsoft creates tool to help Apple users migrate data from Mac to Surface.”

Mac to Surface Assistant.

Update, 22 March: Microsoft has removed the tool from its servers. Perhaps it was not quite ready?