It’s official: Google invests $1 billion into SpaceX

It's a perfect partnership between two companies who love their "moonshots." SpaceX on Tuesday announced that it's received $1 billion in funding from new investors Google and Fidelity that will go toward "to support continued innovation in the areas of space transport, reusability, and satellite manufacturing."

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Posted in 2015 at 09:55PM, January 20

This is the incredible new way you might interact with your iPhone in the future

One of the more entertaining pastimes for the technology-obsessives among us is trying to guess which outlandish innovations will actually catch on. We're still waiting patiently for the smartwatch phenomenon to kick off, but in the meantime, there are plenty of other fascinating ideas to keep an eye on.

One of those ideas is the ability to control a device with eye-tracking, but there are still a few hurdles to overcome before anyone can make this a reality.

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Posted in 2015 at 09:02PM, January 20

NBC to Stream Super Bowl XLIX on iPad and Mac for Free, No Cable Subscription Required

NBCUniversal today announced that it's debuting a new "Super Stream Sunday" promotion, which will allow all U.S.-based users to watch 11 continuous hours of NBC content through the NBCSports.com website and through the NBC Sports Live Extra app on the iPad/iPod touch without the need for a cable subscription.



Super Stream Sunday, which starts on February 1 at noon Eastern Time, will include Super Bowl XLIX, the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show with Katy Perry, and the Super Bowl XLIX pre- and post-game shows. It will also feature an episode of The Blacklist.





Accessing NBC content through NBC.com or within the NBC Sports Live Extra app typically requires a cable subscription and authentication through logging into the service, but for the Super Stream Sunday period, no logins will be required, allowing everyone to watch the Super Bowl for free. NBC is running the promotion in an effort to make people aware of its TV Everywhere offerings, which offer television content on a range of devices with a cable subscription.



While iPad and iPod touch users can watch the Super Bowl using the NBC Sports Live Extra app, NBC is not able to stream content to the iPhone as it does not have NFL live-streaming rights for smartphones due to an exclusive deal the NFL has with Verizon Wireless.



Verizon Wireless and the NFL plan to introduce a Super Bowl Stadium app that will offer "exclusive in-stadium video content" that includes commercials and replays shown from four camera angles. Users not in the United States or Mexico can access the Super Bowl through the NFL's Game Rewind service.



NBC Sports Live Extra can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

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Posted in 2015 at 08:55PM, January 20

'123456' Named 2014's Worst Password of the Year

Despite the multitude of password management apps that are available, like 1Password and LastPass, many people continue to use easily guessable words and number strings to protect their sensitive information.



One of the most popular passwords in 2014, for example, was "123456," according to a list of leaked 2014 passwords gathered by SplashData (via Re/code ). The second most used password was "password," followed by "12345," "12345678," and "qwerty." Both "123456" and "password" have also been popular in past years, ranking as the top two most commonly used passwords in 2013.



Similar number strings were the sixth and seventh most popular 2014 passwords, followed by the words "baseball," "football," and "dragon."

"Passwords based on simple patterns on your keyboard remain popular despite how weak they are," said Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData. "Any password using numbers alone should be avoided, especially sequences. As more websites require stronger passwords or combinations of letters and numbers, longer keyboard patterns are becoming common passwords, and they are still not secure."

To get its list of the worst passwords in 2014, its fourth annual year of collecting password data, SplashData looked at more than 3.3 million passwords that were leaked across 2014. Passwords came primarily from users in North America and Western Europe.



Based on the data that it gathered, SplashData recommends against using keyboard sequences like "1qaz2wsx" or "qwertyuiop," and it advises users not to use a favorite sport. Baseball and football made the top 10 list of most common passwords, while hockey, soccer, and golfer were in the top 100. Team-based passwords like Yankees, Eagles, Steelers, Rangers, and Lakers also made the top 100 list.



Birthdays and birth years are also not recommended, nor are names, with common monikers like Michael, Jennifer, Thomas, and Jordan listed within the top 50 most commonly used passwords. Swear words, phrases, hobbies, athletes, car brands, and film names were also heavily featured in SplashData's top 100 list.



Using a password management app like SplashID , 1Password , or LastPass is highly recommended, to generate random passwords that are used for a single site and that are more secure than self-generated words, numbers, and phrases.



Widely publicized data leaks across 2013 and 2014 seem to have spurred more people to choose stronger passwords, as the top 25 passwords represented just 2.2 percent of passwords exposed. Along with the well-known iCloud breach, many companies including Home Depot, Target, and Staples saw major data leaks.

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Posted in 2015 at 08:00PM, January 20

Capture Any Audio on a Mac With Audio Hijack 3 [Mac Blog]

Rogue Amoeba today announced the launch of Audio Hijack 3 for Mac, which allows users to record audio from any source, including Skype, Safari, or hardware inputs like microphones. As described by the company, "if it can be heard on Mac OS X, Audio Hijack can record it."



Audio Hijack 3 follows in the footsteps of Rogue Amoeba's Audio Hijack, which was first released in 2002, and Audio Hijack Pro, a second version that added additional features and support for various audio plugins. Version 3 of the software introduces a new look and dozens of new functions to make this the most full-featured version of Audio Hijack yet.





Audio Hijack 3 includes a new audio capture interface, which lets users see the sound as it's being captured using a pipeline-style view that organizes different types of audio into Blocks for full customization.

The most visible change is Audio Hijack's new audio capture interface. The terrific pipeline-style view of exactly how audio flows makes Audio Hijack 3 a snap to learn for veteran and rookie users alike. Different types of Blocks bring in audio from application and hardware sources (Source Blocks), adjust it with audio effects (Effects Blocks), then record it and send it out to speakers (Output Blocks). The fully customizable layout means users can configure the exact pipeline they need, to get the audio results they want.

The app is organized into three sections, including Sessions, Recordings, and Schedule, and Session Templates let users complete common tasks quickly. It's possible to record multiple formats at once, or different sources in sync, and there are simple tools for accessing various audio effects.





Dirty audio can be fixed with Denoise, Declick, and Dehum tools, and there are new preset options for saving configurations. For the first time, Audio Hijack can record in lossless FLAC format and in high-efficiency AAC.



Jason Snell of SixColors and Chris Breen of Macworld have both written detailed reviews of Audio Hijack 3 that are well worth reading to get a solid sense of what's new and how the software works.





Audio Hijack 3 is available for Macs running OS X 10.9 and up. It can be downloaded from the Rogue Amoeba website for $49. New users will need to pay the standard $49 price, but people who purchased an Audio Hijack product in the past can upgrade to Audio Hijack 3 for $25. Customers who purchased Audio Hijack Pro since February of 2014 can download the new software for free.

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Posted in 2015 at 06:55PM, January 20

Chrome for iOS Updated With Handoff Support, Material Design, iPhone 6 Optimization [iOS Blog]

Google today announced an update for its Chrome iOS app with several new features, perhaps most notably the ability to transfer from Chrome on your mobile device to a browser on OS X thanks to integration with Handoff.



The Handoff support works seamlessly, allowing users to continue browsing a mobile webpage on their desktop of choice, but the update also brings a couple of other updates to Chrome on iOS, namely a graphical overhaul in line with Google's Material Design aesthetic and general optimization for "bigger phones."

The Chrome team is excited to announce Chrome 40 for iPhone and iPad. Chrome 40.0.2214.61 contains a number of improvements including:



-New look with Material Design bringing bold graphics, fluid motion, and tactile surfaces

-iOS 8 optimizations and support for bigger phones

-Support handoff from Chrome to your default browser on OS X

-Stability improvements and bug fixes

The update is available now and Chrome can be downloaded for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

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Posted in 2015 at 06:29PM, January 20

Predicting failure: 5 highly anticipated video games that could flop in 2015

I think it's fair to assume that most gamers are glad to see 2014 in the rear-view mirror. There were a few incredible successes in the video game industry, but 2014 will be remembered for its disappointments. We certainly hope that 2015 can pick up the slack, but, inevitably, there will be a few stinkers deposited on to store shelves.

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Posted in 2015 at 06:07PM, January 20

Longtime Mac user tries to buy a PC for the first time, walks away totally confused

We've written a lot about what happens when an iPhone user switches to Android (and vice-versa) but it's been a while since we've written about a longtime Mac user who has switched to using a Windows-based PC. Macworld's John Moltz recently tried to buy a PC for his gamer son and he came away completely confused by all of the different options offered by Lenovo and other PC OEMs.

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Posted in 2015 at 05:13PM, January 20