Hacking Game 'Touchtone' Turned Me into an NSA Spy

Thinking about becoming a NSA spy itself sends out a chill down by spine but after playing TouchTone, I have been eagerly awaiting a chance to get my hands on being a responsible spy. This iOS puzzle game got me hooked up like never before.

I was experiencing thrills of searching of enemies across the state by just scouring across emails and text messages. This is completely different and I experience it in my daily life. As per the statement of co-creator Mike Boxleiter, people might start feeling this entire game very creepy as well as voyeuristic. All they need is to stop for a while and rethink about the game again.

What the game is all about? 

The game starts with a simple training exercise wherein the player has to identify if the chain of email between the potential customer and a bookstore employee should be monitored. At the bottom the game will highlight a transcript indicating if the email has any content indicating potential threats. The player has to identify any kind of threat to national security.

A simple example is the interaction dealing about The Anarchist Cookbook, clearly indicates that there is not much to worry about however any interaction dealing with crafting homemade bombs certainly requires the attention of the player.

Soon after completing the level, I got scolded by my one of the handler who is none other than a Patriot, and he point-out that some students have been emailing about going out to smoke weeds. I had indicated that this mail is not at all threatening.

He stated that from his perspective, and all this was about drug trafficking which required monitoring. According to Boxleiter, most of the people on the Wall Street are more or less criminals. He was not satisfied with my effort and work as I was thinking about all these as a rational human, which is not all like a spy. He stated that our system is so messed up as they are not concerned about people who carry our fraud of millions but focused on people with beards.

This game is about exposing the loopholes in the system which is in use. In simple words we can say that in the world of TouchTone, racial profiling does not exist, which ensures that the spies are searching out for the maximum information possible for anyone known suspects.

The more he added that NSA is about creating connection between different people. In simple words we can say that this game is all about tailing the suspects till he can be put behind the jail. After this the game starts over with another connected suspect.

At the end, TouchTone is a hacking mini-game similar to that off BioShock and Deus Ex. The game is simple consists of 6 x 7 grid with different which are of different colours laser beams meant for directing it to the same-colored targets by means of reflector panels.

Even though the game might look deceptive but can turn out to be slightly exhausting. People might not find this game funny but reflects the normal life of the people. The game requires people to look the concept from a humorous point of view. It is meant for inspiring conversations.

Livescribe Echo Smartpen

Livescribe Echo Smartpen = Record Audio/Take Notes/Play Back

The Livescribe Echo Smartpen enables the user to record audio at the time of taking notes and then plays back later. One can save as well as share interactive notes to the computer, iPhone or iPad through a micro-USB connection which also recharges the pen.

The memory storage capacity has 400 or 800 hours of recorded audio based on the model which includes an OLED display that makes the navigation of the smartpen app an easy one. We come across several mobile apps and desktop program offering amazing note taking capabilities though nothing can replace handwritten notes.

Typing could be more efficient but the truth is that writing by hand enables a person to learn better, retaining most of the information in the process which can stimulate the brain. Hence most of the students as well as professionals opt for analog notes instead of keyboards and searchable typed words.

 This has given way for the Echo Smartpen by Livescribe which helps in taking traditional ink notes while at the same time makes a digital copy of everything that is written. Moreover it also records everything heard or said as one writes. If one taps a word, the Smartpen can also play back whatever has been recorded while taking those notes.

Installation of Several Applications

A Livescribe smartpen is the size and weight of a big pen i.e. 5/8” x 6 1/8” and has a removable ball point ink cartridge, a microphone for recording audio, a speaker for playback, a small OLED display, internal flash memory that can capture handwritten notes, audio and drawings and an infra-red camera. The person has the option of recording audio besides the handwritten text.

 The recorded audio is kept indexed together with the handwritten text and on tapping on a written work could playback the recorded audio from that part of the recording done. Besides this, it also enables installation of several applications depending on the memory and ships with several applications.

If the user tends to tap on the correct images, it can perform as a calculator, or can also translate words wherein the translator software shipped comprises of 21 words in a small collection of languages. As of September 2010, there does not seem to be any public plans in making a full version of this translator accessible.

Livescribe Desktop Software – Element of Digitized Notes 

The amazing fact of the Echo Smartpen is that it has a capacity that goes well beyond paper and the Livescribe Desktop software has an element of digitized notes. This software can be downloaded at no cost. When the Echo Smartpen is connected to the computer with the provided micro-USB cord, the Livescribe software tends to sync the notes quickly with the associated audio wherein the notes can be viewed, exported, played back as well as organized into new folders.

Notes that are associated with audio tend to appear in green and on clicking on a word could prompt the audio and a real-time playback of note-taking. The interactive notes have been dubbed as `Pencasts’. When the user intends to share the notes with a colleague, it can be uploaded to the cloud account or saved on the computer and Livescribe enables you to export audio recordings, Pencasts, or the written notes with the help of its desktop software. In order to export notes, one could use the Ctrl-click for selection of the notes intending to export and then right click the selection choosing `Send X Page to …’.

To Memorize Terms – Develop Audible Study Sheet

Then the destination needs to be chosen such as Evernote, Google Docs, and Computer etc. Lastly one needs to choose to export the notes as a PDF, Pencast with a special .PDF format, m4a – audio or.PNG.

For quick access to the idependant audio recording one needs to go to the `Audio’ tab at the top and follow the same process for exporting audio files and one can share long lectures with their colleagues. Should the user need to memorize terms, they can develop an audible study sheet with the Echo Smartpen wherein they could start by writing out the terms needed to study on a single sheet and when completed, could record definitions for the respective term, by tapping `Record’ tap the word, say the definition and tap `Stop’.

The same process could be repeated for all the terms. This is a faster option than making flashcards though one might also benefit more from hearing the definitions. Should the user be without a notebook and would like to use the Smartpen as an audio recorder, they can then do that by long pressing the power button and a few seconds thereafter, the pen will beep indicating that recording has started.

In order to stop the recording, one could tap the power button once and the file gets saved. The file can be played back later on tapping the menu button on any given notebook page.

One can go to Main Menu > Paper Replay > Play Session and locate the recording. At the time of playing it back, any notes that are taken will be synced with the recorded audio.

Pencil Sketches Turn Paper into A Sensor

With the growing development in technology, sensors are now becoming very popular and useful and some researchers have invented a simple way to create high sensitive and strong sensors whereinthe requirement is in the form of a simple pencil. Pencil drawing can now be easily turned into sensors which can measure how much something can or is distorted.

A team of researcher from the University of Science and Technology Beijing have studied how plain pencil shapes drawn on paper could be used as an accurate sensor to measure the distortion of objects. The graphite that is deposited by the pencil conducts electricity and its high electrical resistance changes subtly when the object on which it is laid tends to change shape.

New Scientist reports that on drawing a pencil rectangle on paper it conducts electricity though it has quite a high resistance and as it bends, the resistance increase or decreases based on which way it could get distorted, On measuring the resistance, the exact angle of bend is then identified and precisely measuring the changes, the researchers have indicated that they can accurately measure the angle at which a piece of paper is distorted. It was also glued to a human finger in order to detect the articulation of digit in a book to measure how far it was opened and a ruler to measure the bending of the beam.

Sensors Intended for Wearable Technology

The measurement obtained by the paper sensors were almost accurate as the commercially available sensors, the results of which were published in Advanced Functional Materials. This could be used as a hobby at home or in school to introduce the concept of sensing to students and researchers are speculating that graphite could be used to create ad-hoc sensors for robotics as well as wearable technologies which could be used for a short time, removed and easily restored at a minimum cost.

As per Yue Zhang from the University of Science and Technology, Beijing he states that the sensors are intended for use in wearable technology which relies on other components that have not yet been developed and thinks that there are other uses too.

He further comments that they can foresee that alarm systems could be cheaper than the existing ones and that they are making active efforts to find a related company to cooperate. Zhang’s work is built on his earlier work by Jiaxing Huang and colleagues from North-westernUniversity in Evanston, Illinois on same sensors.

Cheap/Handy/Quick- Useful with Limited Resources

According to him, pencil drawn devices are cheap, handy and quick to make and could be useful in conditions where resources could be limited while Huang states that pencil drawing is a very convenient way to deposit materials on paper.

Since it does not use any solvent it sidesteps several issues like toxicity of solvent, stability of ink, evaporation and spreading of ink which could be considered in `wet printing techniques’.Moreover, it could also help in cutting down cost and turn the pencil drawing into a capacitive sensor for Arduino on production of wearable techs.

Huang and Zhang are of the opinion that the technique could be scrambled up to produce these kinds of sensor in factories, though in the meantime they could be utilised for DIY projects or education.

Google Unveils Asus Chromebit 'Computer on a Stick' With Chrome OS

A new “computer on a stick” is being launched by Taiwan's Asus and Google, which has the feature of being plugged into a display and turning it out a personal computer. According to the blog posted by Google, the Asus Chromebit can be expected to available in the market around mid of the year with the lowest price tag possible.

Google further added that this device is like a candy bar in size, however, works as a full computer and they have currently priced it at $100. The device can be easily plugged into any display and then convert the same into a full computer. For an existing desktop this device is the perfect upgrade and can very handy for businesses and schools. Even though the blog didn’t emphasize on any other details, but it also focused on the lowest-cost Chromebook laptop computers.

These computers have been currently priced at $149 and have been started in collaboration with Chinese electronic groups Hisense and Haier. The Haier computer has an 11.6 inch display and is currently being sold via Amazon and Walmart has been offering the Hisense personal computer. Google has also produced other Chrome devices by working along with other manufacturers like Dell, Acer, LG, and Lenovo.

Haier Chromebook Vs Hisense Chromebook

The Haier Chromebook comes with an 11.6 inch display and is powered by a 1.8 gigahertz Rockchip RK3288 processor. This is a 3.3-pound package in which the buyers will get 16 gigabytes of eMMC flash storage, 2 gigabytes of RAM and a strong and durable battery. According to the company this battery has the potential of powering the Chromebook 11 for nearly 10 hours.

On the other hand, its competitor, Hisense’s Chromebook can be considered as the image of the Chromebook by Haier. It has similar specifications; however, has a slightly higher Rockchip processor. Its 2.5 gigahertz clock speed reduced the battery life and has been clocked around at 8.5 hours. Both these devices are available at the same price of $149 and available in the market at the same time.

Looking at the competition, Taiwanese manufacturer Asus unveiled their Chromebook Flip, which is convertible laptop and tablet (all metal). Even though technical specifications of the Flip are still not out, rumor mills suggest that the device will be launched later this spring and expected to priced at $249.

Google Chromebit

This device is a part of the newest wave of machines which are using Chrome operating system. Its clear that Chrome operating system has been designed to use internet-based applications like Google Docs word processor, email services apart from minimising our reliance on bulky local software which conventionally run on personal computers.

Now the entire task has been moved to a cheaper hardware and it will improve the security as well. Reports also suggest Intel is planning to start working on a similar kind of device which has been temporarily named as Intel compute stick. With passing time, difference between tablets, phones and television and PCs will no longer be visible.

Getting Started With the Live-Streaming App Periscope

Periscope – Display Broadcast from People

Twitters’ latest live-streaming iOS app Periscope has been upgraded to display broadcast from individuals, who would want to follow it more conspicuously. The latest app tends to display broadcast from people you follow at the top of the feed making it easier to locate from the various streams of other Periscope users. Besides this, follower notifications by default are also turned off.

 The company has informed that they are working on adding more granular control to enable only alerts which could be of importance. Moreover, one also has the option of sharing location before broadcasting and if one discloses the whereabouts, the map display gives a less accurate indication of your location on a zoomed out view on the map.

A confirmation from Periscope has been received that it is working on Android version of its app. Periscope, the newly released live streaming app periscope which was released offers a straight forward means of streaming live video to any user who tends to tune in or only to those who may be invited.

While using Periscope for the first time, should there arise a mishap, it would be mean inviting the others to view a live stream of personal video of home or the bathroom trip and users need to learn a few more details before using the app.

First Visit – Permission to Access Camera/Microphone/Location 

On signing in and following other users, one is taken to the apps feed where you will find current live streams from friends and other users all across the globe. On scrolling to the bottom of the feed, the user will come across older feeds which are hosted by Periscope and when a feed ends, the person streaming could make the choice of leaving the feed for a maximum of 24 hours or it could immediately be removed.

On tapping on a stream in the feed you have the liberty to watch it. When the stream selected is loading, basic information from where the stream originates, list of fellow viewers and buttons to follow the user is provided.

If one intends to leave a stream, they could either tap on the X in the upper right hand area or swipe down just like the pull to refresh gesture. You could start a stream on tapping on the camera button placed at the bottom of the screen.

On the first visit to this section of the app, users are asked to permit Periscope access to the camera, microphone as well as the location and on granting permission, user could start streaming.

End Stream Button 

The first step is to give the stream a title and then decide if one would want to include the location of the stream and permit everyone to see your stream or else you would only want to invite a selected few to view it. Finally the user can have Periscope send a tweet on behalf of the user publicising your stream.

One can view comments as they come along, while on air together with the viewer count and with a double tap on the screen it will toggle the active camera. If the back camera is being utilised, a double tapping on the screen could change to the front facing camera and you have the liberty of switching back to the rear camera with another double tap.

To end a stream you could do with the same downward gesture used to leave a stream and tap on the End Stream button.