The Smart Toilet That You Can Flush From Your Phone

The Japanese who are renowned for their technological developments especially in hi-tech toilet developments, having pioneered heated seats, musical playback and built in washing and drying systems, have added another major milestone to that repertoire of technologies – a toilet that can be controlled from a smartphone.

The toilet, designed and developed by Lixil, can be completely controlled by a smartphone app, which can also track user’s bowel movements. The app, which will be available for selected Android handsets, will go on sale in January or February 2013 and works with three of the firm’s new range of lavatories.

Using the My Satis Android app, toilet users will be able to control the Bluetooth-equipped bathroom fitting with their smartphone.

Every features including flushing, lifting the toilet seat and sprays can be controlled from the phone. Users can as well record their own preferred settings, and even play back music through the toilet’s speakers.

HOW IT WORKS

The toilet uses Bluetooth to communicate with the mobile phone app.

It can then control all of the toilet’s functions, and even play music through speakers built in to the toilet’s base.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Woman photographs herself unlocking stolen iPhone

A woman unwittingly took a photograph of herself as she tried to unlock an iPhone that had been stolen from a nightclub.

The iPhone was stolen from the Coalition nightclub in Brighton, East Sussex, earlier this month.

But the owner had installed an app that takes a picture of anyone trying to unlock it and then sends the information back to them via email.

When the woman tried to unlock the iPhone her picture was taken and sent to the owner. It was then passed on to Sussex Police. It is thought the app used is iGotYa, which is activated when an incorrect passcode is entered into the keypad.

Pc Gavin Crute from Sussex Police said the app photographs anyone trying to unlock it, maps their location and sends the information back to the owner. “We know where and when the photo was taken and it appears to be in a vehicle with quite a large sunroof.”

“We don’t know that the woman is the person who stole the camera, but she obviously has had some connection with it in the meantime and I’d like to speak to her about it.”

Friday, December 14, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Google Apps Setup Gets Easier with New Domain Registrar API

In an effort to make it easier for users to configure domains to work with Google Apps email, Google has launched an API for domain registrars.

According to a post on Google Apps Developer Blog on Tuesday, there are nearly 20 domain registrars around the world that will simplify the Google Apps setup through the API over the next few months.

The RESTful API allows users to verify and transfer their email in three steps – down from 10 – and users no longer have to leave the Google Apps signup flow to complete domain registration.

Eliminating steps in any sign-up process is a good thing, and automating the DNS setup process may increase the likelihood that a customer won’t abandon the transaction.

This announcement comes a few weeks after Google added additional storage and compute capabilities and cut its Google Cloud prices by 20 percent.

While individuals that use Google Apps do so through a free account, the Google Apps for Business tier is increasingly used by government, educational and enterprise organizations.

A recent study by CloudLock analyzed a year’s worth of its mid-market and enterprise Google Apps clients, to get a better idea on how its customers were using their Google Apps domain. The research showed that the average enterprise has over 250,000 Docs/Sites on their domain, and that number will grow to 750,000 in 2013.

According to Gandi, a web host and registrar that has partnered with Google to offer the automated DNS change service, if users wanted to use Google Apps with their domain in the past, some specific MX records needed to be added to their DNS zone file. Now, users can configure the domain for Google Apps with the “touch of an authenticated button.”

“The fact that you can economically use Google for company email and collaboration, including Google Docs, as a paid SaaS (Software as a Service) offering has made it a vital competitor to in-house offerings from Microsoft like MS Exchange and MS Sharepoint,” Gandi chief operating officer Thomas Stocking said in a blog post last week.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Facebook helps the FBI bust cyber-criminal ring that stole £525million and...

Facebook has helped the FBI to bust an international criminal ring said to have infected 11million computers with spyware and stole more than £525million from unsuspecting users.

Agents working in concert with the social network arrested 10 people who allegedly infected computers with software that stole credit card numbers and bank details.

Facebook's security team helped the FBI after the so-called 'Yahos' malware targeted its users between 2010 and October 2012, the agency said in a statement.The social network helped identify the criminals and spot affected accounts, it said.

Its 'security systems were able to detect affected accounts and provide tools to remove these threats,' the FBI said.According to the agency, which worked also with the U.S. Department of Justice, the accused hackers employed the 'Butterfly Botnet'.

Botnets are networks of infected computers that can be used in a variety of cyberattacks on personal computers and legitimate online networks and websites.Hard data is tough to come by, but experts say cybercrime is on the rise around the world as PC and mobile computing become more prevalent and as more and more financial transactions shift online.

Because of the global networks of criminals involved and the remote nature of the crimes, police, cybersecurity professionals and targeted corporations increasingly hard-pressed to spot and ward off attacks.

The FBI's release recommended users to update their operating systems and applications regularly, use anti-virus software and disconnect computers from the Internet when not in use to ward off future cyber attacks.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 | 1 comments | Read More