Technology

Heads up, Android fans. If you took the plunge and backed the rather sleek Shine wearable activity tracker from Misfit Wearables, you may want to get your money back. According to a recent update posted to the project’s Indiegogo listing, the Founders Fund-backed company has decided to drop Android support from the final version in a bid to better focus on polishing the experience for iOS users. Seriously, that’s the only reason they gave, which is likely little consolation to the backers who were originally told that the Shine would support certain devices running Android 4.1 and up when the thing officially launched. But let’s back up a moment first — in case you haven’t been following the Misfit Wearables odyssey, the Redwood City/Vietnam startup aimed to inject some style into the world of personal activity tracking with the $99, quarter-sized Shine doodad that could seamlessly sync your motion information to a slew of supported smartphones. It’s not entirely unlike what you would do with a Jawbone Up or a Fitbit, except that the hardware involved was designed to be as unobtrusive as possible — a welcome quality for a device you’re meant to wear all day long. There’s no firm count on how many Android users wound up backing the project, but I’d wager there’s a decent chunk of them considering that the project raised more than eight times the $100,000 funding goal the team was originally shooting for. For what it’s worth, the decision seems to have been made fairly recently — a response on the Misfit Wearables Facebook page posted on May 8 confirmed to one fan that the team intended to have Android support ready for the masses when the Shine officially launches in July. That said, the team has been working on the Shine Android app for at least a few months now, and they provided a first glimpse at the app in the form a of a render (see above) before ultimately putting it on the back burner. I’ve reached out to Misfit to see if they would clarify the issues they’ve been having on the Android front, and I’ll update if/when they respond. Sad to say it’s hardly the first time a purveyor of fitness gadgets has decided to drop support for Google’s mobile operating system. Despite claiming that an Android version of its FuelBand syncing app was in the works for the better part of summer 2012, Nike unceremoniously pulled the plug on the project earlier this year noting that it would instead focus on building out the Fuel experience for iOS and the web.

This wouldn’t be the first Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone 5 article we have covered, in fact far from it, but we do have some insight today that hasn’t been given for the cameras from experts in this field. The DxOMark testing lab has established a trusted name when it comes to testing camera technology and how they perform. Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone 5 by camera experts – the video and photo tests by DxOMark deliver some of the best insight you will ever find, especially when it comes to finding out how good a smartphone camera performs. You can take a tour of the DxOMark testing lab on this page, which also reveals some of the detailed mobile reports for top smartphones. The latest test involved the Samsung Galaxy S4, which their review of the image sensor and camera optics delivered an overall score of 75. This compares to the iPhone 5’s camera rating of 72, although both smartphones sit below the 77 score for Nokia’s 808 Pureview. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 did include some negative points during the test results, which include some color shading issues when under “low tungsten light levels”. They also point to the Galaxy S4 camera experiencing a lot of loss in detail when in low light and this is due to “excessive noise reduction”. You can see the main scores for different areas in the image above, but take a look at the full report here. The iPhone 5 DxO Mark score matched that of Apple’s previous generation, iPhone 4S, which both scored 72 in the in-depth test. The image above reveals some of the main scores for both iPhone 5 photo and video, although the full iPhone 5 report explained white balance was yellowish in low tungsten light. In some circumstances you’ll find a bad purple flare when taking photos and image stabilization was poor in low light. Take a look at all the pros and cons in the above link. Take a look at the detailed camera analysis by DxOMark, and then let us know your favorite between Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5? How important is the smartphone camera for video and photo to you? You might also want to see an earlier article showcasing the Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. S3 and iPhone 5 in a toughness test.

Shortly after hints of an Android app redesign hit the Internet, new screenshots appear to show that a similar redesign is in the works for Gmail's web version. The redesign, discovered by The Next Web, show a significantly redesigned interface, one that is tailored to help users better organize their emails. The major feature in the redesign appears to be the addition of a tabbed interface that categorizes emails....

It was a bank heist for the digital era: No masks, no weapons, no standoffs with police — just a few keyboards and an elaborate hacking plan. In two sprightly operations, on December 12, 2012, and February 19, 2013, an international team of hackers and thieves stole a collective $45 million from more than 5,000 ATMs across the world. Eight suspects were charged in connection with the crimes on May 9 — still, the complex operation is one that should be understood, if only to better prevent future attacks. This infographic, from fraud detection and prevention firm 41st Parameter, highlights the team's process — from raising the limits on prepaid debit accounts in banks in Oman to siphoning cash from machines in 27 countries — in colorful detail. Read more...More about Crime, Pictures, Hackers, Cyber Crime, and Infographic

Functional Apple 1 auctioned off for $671.4k, sets new Sotheby's record -

If there's one thing worse than spending valuable time looking for a parking spot in a bustling city, it is receiving a ticket after you park – not that some people don't deserve it when they take handicapped places or block roads, sidewalks etc. Still, regardless of the reason, no one ever likes to receive a ticket, something that makes parking maids and parking authority officials in general, especially those with an attitude (you know what we mean…), some of the least liked workers. Read more »

An anonymous reader sends news of a study which found that "two out of five medical students have an unconscious bias against obese people." The study, published in the Journal of Academic Medicine (abstract) examined med students from many different cultural and geographical backgrounds. "The researchers used a computer program called the Weight Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measures students’ unconscious preferences for 'fat' or 'thin' individuals. Students also answered a survey assessing their conscious weight-related preferences. The authors determined if the students were aware of their bias by seeing if their IAT results matched their stated preferences. Overall, 39 percent of medical students had a moderate to strong unconscious anti-fat bias as compared to 17 percent who had a moderate to strong anti-thin bias. Less than 25 percent of students were aware of their biases. 'Because anti-fat stigma is so prevalent and a significant barrier to the treatment of obesity, teaching medical students to recognize and mitigate this bias is crucial to improving the care for the two-thirds of American adults who are now overweight or obese,' Miller said. 'Medical schools should address weight bias as part of a comprehensive obesity curriculum.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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To say the Facebook Developer Platform changed the web as we know it would be a dramatic understatement. Originally launching in 2007 as a tool for developers to build apps for the social network, six years later it has evolved into a whole lot more. Facebook has grown outside of the confines of Facebook.com and is not only a presence on many of the websites we visit — either through a Facebook log-in, or Share or Like capability. It's also a growing mainstay in the mobile world, allowing us stay connected and play games with our friends while we're on the go. Friday, the Facebook Developer Platform turned six years old. We took the milestone as an opportunity to sit down with the Director of Platform Product at Facebook, Doug Purdy, to talk about the evolution of the Facebook platform over the past six years, what it all means, and where it’s going in the future. Read more...More about Facebook, Facebook Developer Platform, Open Graph, and Social Media

There's intense interest blooming around reports that Apple plans to revamp the look of iOS 7 with a flatter appearance. But there's more reason to believe that Apple is - or should be - focusing on features, not a radical new appearance.