Seems the broadcast feature will work very similarly to Telegram’s broadcast channels in that an unlimited number of users can subscribe, but communication is broadcast one-way without any replies or comments from subscribers.

This is very useful for especially government, disaster management, news services, etc where millions of users can potentially tune-in, unlike with groups. Broadcast channels are also easier to manage as there is no moderation required.

But the differences come in with WhatsApp wanting to monetise these channels, and also limit them so that individuals are not able to use them. On Telegram’s side, they have always been free, and even individuals could just create one and get going with them.

So WhatsApp continues to try keeping up with Telegram, but they always seem to be two steps or more behind with so many features. Yet we do know that the best features, the best security (I’m speaking broader than Telegram), most interoperable protocols, have never featured in the mass users’ choice of what they use (just think VHS vs Betamax).

If corporates want to ever escape the ongoing squeeze of money out of them, they need to think open networks, interoperability, etc.

See https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/08/whatsapp-launches-channels-feature-for-broadcast-messages/
#Blog, #broadcasting, #technology, #whatsapp

The team of researchers consists of professor Guenevere Chen of the University of Texas in San Antonio (UTSA), her doctoral student Qi Xia, and professor Shouhuai Xu of the University of Colorado (UCCS).

The team demonstrated NUIT attacks against modern voice assistants found inside millions of devices, including Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Amazon’s Alexa, showing the ability to send malicious commands to those devices.

The main principle that makes NUIT effective and dangerous is that microphones in smart devices can respond to near-ultrasound waves that the human ear cannot, thus performing the attack with minimal risk of exposure while still using conventional speaker technology.

We’ve actually heard about these near ultrasound attacks before, but further work has been done on demonstrating how it can work. It does not require someone to be near-by to the listening device at all, as it can be transmitted inaudibly to the human ear during a Zoom call, or even via a YouTube video.

So yes, absolutely nothing special required for this to work. The bigger challenge to the attacker is finding someone who actually has smart speakers to respond with, and them having some or other automation that can be weaponised. But that said, almost everyone has a smartphone or two, and many have default Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant standing by to tell them what the weather forecast is for today. Many of those assistants can also perform phone actions like enable WiFi, open a specific website, disable screen lock, and much more…

If you can authenticate on your smart device using your own vocal fingerprint, it is recommended that you activate this additional security method. Chen also advised that users monitor their devices closely for microphone activations, which have dedicated on-screen indicators on iOS and Android smartphones. And just using earphones also cuts out that sound being able to travel to smart speakers.

See https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/inaudible-ultrasound-attack-can-stealthily-control-your-phone-smart-speaker/
#Blog, #security, #smartassistant, #smartspeaker, #technology, #vulnerability

With an 8-core Rockchip RK3588S SoC, the Orange Pi 5 is leaps and bounds faster than the ageing Raspberry Pi 4. With up to 32GB of RAM, the Orange Pi 5 is also capable of serving for a more diverse user-base and even has enough potential for assembling a budget Arm Linux developer desktop. Phoronix have been testing out the Orange Pi 5 the past few weeks, and have found it’s quite fast and nice for its low price point.

The Orange Pi 5 comes in four different versions with 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of RAM using LPDDR4 or LPDDR4X. There is a 26-pin header on this SBC for those considering adapting this SBC for other purposes, but what is unclear is what sort of compatibility there is (if any) with any existing Raspberry Pi modules.

Well not only is the Raspberry Pi 4 ageing a bit, it has also been pretty difficult to get hold of, and not been too cheap either.

See https://www.phoronix.com/review/orange-pi-5
#Blog, #OrangePi, #raspberrypi, #technology

The plugin has existed for a while, but has now been acquired by WordPress’ parent company Automattic.

Normally blog posting pushes the post out to various social networks, meaning you must have account profiles setup on each network, which your followers/customers/fans then follow on each network to see and respond to the posts.

Because the Fediverse (and ActivityPub) is decentralised, it does not have to work like Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr and other centralised networks. There is is actually no need to create a profile anywhere on the Fediverse to get your WordPerfect blog posts followed by any Fediverse user, as this plugin creates a node of its own on your WordPress blog. This will be of interest especially to corporate marketing and branding teams.

This has two distinct advantages for any organisation:
1. Your WordPress domain name is the visible Fediverse “profile” that is subscribed to and followed. Your organisation can use this means to have a brand presence on the Fediverse without having to create their own Mastodon or other Fediverse server node. This makes it really easy and existing WordPress skills are all that is required.
2. Your organisation retains control, and continuity, of your presence in the Fediverse. No admin can remove your account from existing on their server (although individual node admins may block your posts from appearing on their nodes) and you are immune from an instance closing down, and then having to change your Fediverse address.

The advantages above are just as relevant for individuals, but organisations especially will value it, retaining their brand identity and reaching all across the Fediverse.

Organisational literature and PR will then just promote following the address created with this plugin, and any replies, reactions or comments from the Fediverse to these posts, will appear as WordPress comments linked to the post. Existing users on Mastodon, Pleroma, Friendica, Hubzilla, PixelFed, SocialHome, Misskey, and many more social networks will be able to interact with this Fediverse profile.

See https://wordpress.com/blog/2023/03/17/making-the-social-web-a-better-place-activitypub-for-wordpress-joins-the-automattic-family/
#Blog, #branding, #mastodon, #socialnetworks, #technology, #wordpress

LocalSend is a free and open source, cross-platform alternative to AirDrop for sending files securely over the local network. The Flutter app runs on Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android / Android TV, iOS, and Fire TV / OS.

The application doesn’t use any third-party servers and doesn’t require an Internet connection to work. For communication in the local network, it makes use of its custom LocalSend Protocol and HTTPS encryption. The data is sent securely over HTTPS, and the TLS/SSL certificate is generated on the fly on each device.

From Android, I see I can send files, media, text, and even app APKs to my Linux machine. It works pretty quickly and easily and does away with 3rd party cloud based transfers. It does not mirror screens or notifications, though.

See https://www.linuxuprising.com/2023/03/send-files-securely-over-local-network.html
#Blog, #filetransfer, #localsend, #opensource, #security, #technology

This browser extension shows a beautiful daily nature photograph with an inspirational quote, along with a weather icon, and some quick links you can set. But its key focus is a todo list on the bottom right, and a larger central main focus for that day.

What I really like is the simplicity of it. No clutter or complexity, and it syncs between your various open desktop browsers. The free version does everything I need, but there is a paid Plus version that has a few non-essential extras.

It is not intended to replace more complex todo tools, but rather to bring simplicity and immediacy to your daily planning.

See https://momentumdash.com/category/uncategorized/feed
#Blog, #momentumdash, #planning, #technology, #todo

No, megapixel count is not the sole factor you should consider when shopping for a phone. Although megapixel counts are important, other variables affect image quality. The hardware, software, and your personal preference determine picture quality. To understand why megapixel count isn’t the ultimate arbiter of camera quality, it helps to know how smartphone cameras work, what each part does, and how their performance is quantified.

Light is the most critical thing all cameras need to work. Professional cameras can control how much light they receive by adjusting the aperture (the opening between the internal workings of the camera and the outside world). Still, smartphones mostly don’t have that luxury.

Samsung released some flagship phones a few years ago with variable aperture, and Huawei currently has the Mate 50 available with the feature. However, phone manufacturers don’t want to use the space or spend the money to put them in their phones.

Both the Google Pixel and the iPhone phones have far fewer pixel count numbers than many other brands, yet their photos are noticeably better than most other phones. In the Pixel’s case Google uses very smart software to compensate, but both do have larger apertures, allowing more light in especially for low light conditions.

But this is also why I look more at the DXOMark camera tests rather than just the technical specs of any phone’s camera. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, not what it looks like.

See https://www.androidpolice.com/smartphone-camera-megapixel-explainer/

#technology #photography #smartphone #cameras #photos
#Blog, ##cameras, ##photography, ##photos, ##smartphone, ##technology

Snowflake is a system that allows people from all over the world to access censored websites and applications. Similar to how VPNs assist users in getting around Internet censorship, Snowflake helps you avoid being noticed by Internet censors by making your Internet activity appear as though you’re using the Internet for a regular video or voice call.

There are numerous tools available, such as Snowflake, that “transform” Internet activity, each using a different technique. Some redirect Internet traffic to appear to be coming from popular cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Others scramble Internet traffic in order to make it appear completely random.

It therefore becomes costly for censors to consider blocking such circumvention tools since it would require blocking large parts of the Internet in order to achieve the initial targeted goal.

Unlike VPNs, you do not need to install a separate application to connect to a Snowflake proxy and bypass censorship. It is usually a circumvention feature embedded within existing apps. Currently Snowflake is available inside Tor Browser on Desktop and Android, Onion Browser on iOS, and Orbot on Android and iOS. If you have downloaded and installed any of these apps, and they are censored in your country, you can bypass the censorship by activating Snowflake through the apps’ settings page.

So, if you want to help people bypass censorship, consider installing and running a Snowflake proxy. The only prerequisite is that the Internet in your country is not heavily censored already.

You can join thousands of volunteers from around the world who have a Snowflake proxy installed and running. There is no need to worry about which websites people are accessing through your Snowflake proxy. Their visible browsing IP address will match their Tor exit node, not yours.

Alternatively, you can embed a Snowflake proxy yourself inside a page in your own website (e.g., relay.love). Visitors to your site can enter the page, enable the proxy, and leave it open to allow people to proxy through it (it behaves and looks exactly like the web extension). Or run a command-line version of the Snowflake proxy on your desktop or server.

See https://snowflake.torproject.org/

#technology #censorship #snowflake #privacy
#Blog, ##censorship, ##privacy, ##snowflake, ##technology