Reading the news about the University of Washington professor of experimental electronic contact lenses, I wondered if my dream of personal Ultimate Technology has finally moved from the horizon in mind. That’s what I want: to be able to walk into a crowded cocktail party, and know exactly who I am looking at - the name of each person, the last time we met, and other relevant information for lots of fun. I want information beamed into my field of view, the text floating above their heads, as health indicators for the bad guys from a computer game.

It will be some time, however. Contact lens only one Blinky light in it so far. But now you can get Augmented Reality applications for most modern mobile phones. New smart phones are not only the position of cameras and sensors (global positioning satellite receivers), but compasses and inclinometers, so they know what direction they indicate and how the device is in custody. With these sensors, they can run Cool Sci-Fi applications that show the data projected on top of his video cameras are increasing.

In other words, advanced services a reality show, as their basic image, video camera, it indicates that an excessive display of what you can already see with their eyes. Then, on top of that they Overlay - text or image - is telling you that the camera sees. While smartphones are smart enough to recognize people by their faces, I want to use a cocktail, this is not possible. Although it should be noted that Google and other companies have the function of face recognition in some of its services photo album, and the Swedish company “Surprisingly strong tribe has a product demo. There’s video here.

But what you can do right now with the AR-phone: 

Get on the Yelp iPhone 3GS (download). The mystery of the function (Shake the phone three times to activate it when Yelp is running) marks restaurant names and ratings of videos you watch. Thus, you can see, in theory, a review score hovering over the image of the restaurant are right outside.

Get Layar for Android Phone. R. Layar is a building block platform that can use data from many other vendors. There’s Yelp, for example (although purely iPhone App Yelp slightly better). Layar can also show you Twitter messages from users, nearby, an article in Wikipedia, based on the fact that your camera is pointing at, homes for sale on Trulia, and other information. This is incredibly cool.

Lost in a strange city? If New York or London, try AcrossAir’s underground locators that will say where the station you’re looking for there.

Unfortunately, for municipal services, I have already said, sometimes the orientation sensors are not as precise as you want, and the data that you see placed incorrectly. I think that it is difficult to obtain reliable compass readings in contemporary urban environments. In addition, RV Service can not say, but if what the camera sees is related to what they want to show. Yelp App often pop up on the review of the building which is between you and building IT-based tools to display the information it Over.

The most interesting and useful App Augmented Reality, I tried so far (but keep in mind, I Geek) is a Google Sky card for the phone Android. When you are in a field at night, away from light and magnetic interference - and if you still do the data connection - Android your phone can tell you what star or planet you are considering. Better yet, ask him where a body such as Mars, and tell you how to specify the phone while you are not looking at her. App I would like to have more data to find things like the International Space Station, but still amazing product. It makes me look like a genius to my son, and that is worth the price of entrance ticket. (This is a free application, so it is an easy calculation.)

If you want to phone capable of running AR Apps, today the choice will 3GS iPhone (but not adults 3G, this is not a compass) or Android phone as MyTouch 3G.

And here is an opinion: While we are all created with implants cocktail, if you meet me at a party, do yourself a favor and submit the old way.

Original Yelp for iPhone was a skeleton of its online self-government, when it first debuted. Since then, Yelp has been a bundle of muscles. Improving Yelp for iPhone 3.0 App fat even more, resulting in two important features of the Web version and some mobile accessories for printing.

Transaction seekers will see the new category in the next screen, search for sales and other offers, listing happy hour deals, coupons, events, even just for Yelpers. (Ooh, free drinks at the 4.5-star Creperie Saint-Germain!) It makes great sense in mobile applications, and can help increase revenues Yelp selling of mobile advertising, if this form is based on the location of catches with the community of Yelp’s. Registration offers a Yelp is now free for business.

Frequent Yelpers will also appreciate the ability to mark entries as useful, funny, and cool as possible on the Internet. Compliments also profit from the online version that allows you to further glory to his opponent. If the proposed text is too cheesy for your tastes, you can remove or add your own.

Moving the cards are another addition. Instead of a static image when you click on the map business, Yelp presents you with a map you can scroll with your finger. If you are looking for, then scroll around and click ‘Search Again Here “will be used search terms (eg special offers) to the new location.

There are more positive changes for these community features. Yelp finally (finally!) Integrated browser in its App - will no longer Tapping business’ URL Kick you out of the App years and older in the browser Safari. If you are typing the word (and completely ignore the search for proposals) Yelp 3.0 will be notified in the App ask if you meant “Restaurant” instead of “Restarant”. Yelp also listened to user (ours included), to be able to e-mail business “Details and Yelp.com page address with a friend. This will help facilitate lunch and dinner invites.

Taken together, these changes add up to a familiar, useful and professional tool for On-The-Go business seekers. Durable main complaints we have is that still offers a Yelp-only hacks for compiling surveys, is not a simple decision to write freely, just as the Internet.

Yelp raised difficult to make their presence known at the smartphones. Over the past seven days, it released a major update to its iPhone applications, and debuted own version of Yelp for BlackBerry and Palm Pre (Palm WebOS.)

Yelp 1.0 for Palm Preliminary and bark 1.0 for BlackBerry is much more than their basic iPhone is relative. According to bark, it is a conscious decision to get the basic features there and usable. And, although not much to look at (on the BlackBerry Bold, in any case) Service to maintain its usefulness. We have set the BlackBerry version of the test to find and send us back to our humble place of dinner, without even reading the reviews in the queue to see which menu items were the most recommended. Yelp on the BlackBerry is location-aware and uses the card (Microsoft’s Bing cards, and not Google Maps) and then click to call “to help mobile moaner Out.

Palm WebOS version has the same basic functions, but this experience is leagues ahead versions of BlackBerry. Interface preamps also much more stylish and gives you access to special offers. BlackBerry users can skip these transactions at this stage of shame. Yelp in advance can save the contacts in your address book, and can share listings by email or text. The biggest mistake convenience, we have noticed in advance was required to provide the very end of the record for access to reference site. It would be better to see it in the address block above.

Both versions 1.0 applications no interactive features to upload photos, write reviews, reviews, and rate others. According to barking, more advanced features, such as this will come later.

Yelp for Blackberry is available for free on BlackBerry devices in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland (or anywhere else you are using a BlackBerry), indicating a mobile browser http://m.yelp.com. Yelp for Palm Pre can be used in the U.S. or Canada (or anywhere else you have PRE). You can download the preliminary App from App directory on the phone.

If you use your phone GSM (AT & T and T-Mobile in the U.S.), you likely have a few months before it will be easy for almost any spy on your message.

Security researcher Karsten Nohl begins with an open source distributed computing project to crack the encryption used on GSM phones and compile it into a code book, which can be used to decode the conversations and any data that will be sent to and from your phone.

Karsten Nohl told about their distributed computing open source AE / 1 cracking project at hacking conference Random.

(Credit: Hacking at random)
He hopes that by doing this will stimulate the cellular providers to improve the security of its services and fix the shortcoming that has existed for 15 years and about 3 billion mobile users.

“We do not create a vulnerability, but lack of transparency, which has operated very well,” he said in a telephone interview on Monday.

“Obviously, what we’re doing the attack is more practical and much cheaper, and, of course, there is a moral question of whether we do it,” he said. “But more importantly, we will inform (people) on the long-standing vulnerability and, hopefully, better warning systems to accept this.”

This weakness in the encryption used on the phones, A5 / 1, has been known for years. There are at least four commercial tools that will allow to decrypt messages, GSM range in price from $ 100000 to $ 250000 depending on how quickly you want the software to work, “said Nohl, who had previously disseminated information, weaknesses in wireless smart card chip used in transit systems.

It takes 80 high-performance computers for about three months to make a brute force attack A5 / 1 and create a big look-up tables, which will serve as a code book, said Nohl, which announced the project at random Hacking Conference in the Netherlands 10 days ago.

Using code book, everyone could get the encryption key to any challenge GSM, SMS messages, or other message encrypted A5 / 1 and listen to the call or read the data in clear text. If 160 people donate their computing resources to the project, it should only take a half months to complete, he said.

Participants download software and after three months they shared with files created by others, by uploading, for example, Nohl said. “We have no connection with them,” he added.

After the look-up table is created it will be available for any use.

Distributed computing, which has long been used for research and academic purposes, such as SETI @ Home, and some companies have established businesses all over, not only solves the technical obstacles to cracking A5 / 1 code, but it may solve a legal nature, too.

Several years ago a similar project was started cracking GSM, but was stopped before it was completed after being harassed, the researchers may be the provider of cellular communication, Nohl said. Extending efforts among the participants and do not have it centralized, new efforts will be less vulnerable to outside interference, “he said.

Nohl had no definite legal implications of the project, but said that it was likely that the use of such look-up table is illegal, but legal ownership, as the company that openly advertise their tables for sale.

T-Mobile spokesman said the company had no comment on the matter.

AT & T, Mark Siegel, the representative said: “We take extraordinary precautions to protect the privacy of our customers and use various tools, many technical and some human rights approaches. I can not go into details for security reasons.” He declined to elaborate or comment further.

Precautions
Carriers must update the encryption or move voice services to 3G, which is much stronger encryption, Nohl said.

At the same time, people can use certain products encrypt the phone as Cellcrypt or mobile phones with their own encryption, Nohl said. Amnesty International and Greenpeace used phones with strong encryption, for example, but it only works if both parties in a conversation using the same technology, “he said.

For data encryption is Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) for e-mail and virtual private network (VPN) software to connect to the corporate network, he said.

Encryption problem is especially serious for people engaged in online banking, where banks are using text messages as authentication tokens. Banks should instead offer RSA SecurID tokens or send a one-time pass phrases via regular mail, Nohl said.

“I think that potentially it could have big impact, as the breaking of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was a few years ago,” said Stan Shatt, security practice director of ABI Research. “It shook up the industry quite a bit.”

As a result of violations that encryption, the company did not want to rely on wireless local area network such Wi-Fi Alliance pushed the interim standard, which strengthened the encryption scheme, “he said.

“Vendors will jump in interim solutions, as Cellcrypt”, said the Shatt. “Mobile operators themselves have to jump and to offer additional levels of encryption within the managed services offers to people who want a higher level of encryption.”

Nevertheless, consumers are unlikely to pay for additional growth of encryption, he said.

Snoop on the phone to someone who would be the spy must be within view of the purpose, the Shatt al-Said. Or, spies could point to a recording device in the direction of the building and capture all the conversations were close, “he said.

“If you stand outside the building a competitor can get the product of conversations between managers and confidential information about corporations, as well as acquisitions,” he said. “Corporation put more sensitive information through their phones, in general, than they are on their e-mail.”