Through a security flaw in the iOS software, hackers in the past week have reportedly been able to gain full access to everything on users’ iPhones. Apple has since released an update, and is encouraging all users to upgrade to iOS version 9.3.5 which can be done on iPhones (and iPads) via: Settings > General > Software Update, then selecting ‘Download and Install’ In a statement to The New York Times, Apple spokesman Fred Sainz said: “We advise all of our customers to always download the latest version of iOS to protect themselves against potential security exploits.” It’s reported that the iOS security flaws enabled hackers of compromised iPhones to gain access to users’ contacts, texts, emails, call history, passwords, and they could use spyware to hijack an iPhone to record sounds from it and track the user’s location. Hackers were also said to have been impersonating trusted companies such ...

Labelled the Great Flood of 2016 which washed its way through the southern parts of Louisiana, USA, in August, now carries something else strange with it in the aftermath. As the historic rains displaced people, threatening lives and livelihoods, a group of good Samaritans banded together to rescue those caught in the floodwaters. Known as the Cajun Navy, these people took it upon themselves to help their fellow men and women in their time of need. Using their own boats, and without thought of reward, they ferried often complete strangers to safety simply because it was the right thing to do and there was little time to waste. Cajun Navy member Dustin Clouatre of St. Amant, Louisiana, recounts: “At one time in my boat, I had a guy I dropped off at a Buddhist temple. I had a black guy, and I had a Mexican guy. And when we dropped ...

The city of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania USA, will soon have driverless cars available via Uber. Making the ridesharing company Uber the first to test out the driverless vehicles in such a public market setting. However, the self-driving cars will still have human supervisors (and drivers if need be) with them as a precaution initially. Bloomberg reports that the driverless cars are modified Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicles. Uber’s plan is to rollout 100 of these driverless vehicles by the end of 2016. With Uber CEO Travis Kalanick outlining plans to partner with other automotive manufacturers in the future to produce more driverless vehicles to be used with the transportation service. However, Uber does not plan on manufacturing its own self-driving vehicles. As for those Uber users in Pittsburgh, they won’t be able to request a driverless car directly. Instead they’ll use the ridesharing app as normal, and may be randomly ...

As part of the Nautilus Live project, scientists exploring the ocean floor off the Californian coast have spotted the stubby squid at a depth of 900 meters (2,953 feet). Found in the Northern Pacific, ranging between Japan and Southern California, USA, the stubby squid typically lives at depths up to 300 meters (984 feet). However, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have encountered the stubby squid at depths of 1,300 meters (4,265 feet). Looking somewhat like a mixture of an octopus and a squid, the stubby squid is not a true squid and is actually more closely related to the cuttlefish, but lacks the cuttlebone of the latter while having two tentacles like a squid. Sporting eight suckered stubby arms and two particularly large googly eyes, the stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) lives on the seafloor. Where it utilises mucus and the sediment for camouflage, but leaves its large eyes ...

Drivers in Moscow were subjected to more than a proverbial crap-storm when a sewage tanker burst. Traffic in Russia can be more than a little crazy. In fact Moscow often can be constipated with traffic, but this took things more to the level of a very bad case of diarrhoea. Fortunately, maybe, thanks to power of a dashboard cam, it was all caught on film. Not only did things really hit the fan, the explosion managed to spray the vehicles on either side of the tanker. And in what could be the worst of all kinds of toilet splash-back, while the white 4WD in the city may never really get off-road, that’s not spray-on mud to boost the owner’s ego.

The Legendary Pokémon, Articuno, reportedly surfaced in Pokémon GO, only to subsequently be removed from players’ accounts by the game’s developer Niantic. One such claim of owning Articuno, came from gamer Kaitlyn Covey in Ohio, USA. Purporting that Niantic gave her the Legendary Pokémon, Articuno. Videos of Articuno have been posted to both Facebook and Twitch to offer up proof of the rare Pokémon’s existence. Discussion on Reddit, along with screenshots, has also sort to corroborate (or falsify) the legitimacy of Articuno’s appearance. However, the claims have been questioned, including that it’s a standard hoax, in addition to suggesting that the Pokémon GO code may have either been hacked or the appearance of Articuno was a glitch. Niantic subsequently released the following statement to IGN about the matter: “We recently noticed that a few Legendary Pokémon got into a few accounts when they shouldn’t have. To preserve the game’s integrity ...

As the tussle over NSW Premier Mike Baird banning greyhound racing in the state continues, something more proactive is occurring than the rhetoric of political posturing and legal challenges. This something, is to help the dogs find new homes. These greyhounds are unlikely to keep racing, and they may never had a hope of winning any greyhound races to begin with. But they can be given new hope, and can make great pet dogs for the right people. Greyhound Adoption Day will be held 10am-2pm this Saturday, 16 July 2016, at the Wentworth Park greyhound racing track in Sydney, NSW. At least 20 greyhounds will be there and available for adoption as pets. Giving people the opportunity to meet the dogs, other owners, and speak with greyhound experts to learn more about the breed. Admittedly it’s short notice for this first Greyhound Adoption Day. However, the event is being run ...

There’s secret sauce and secrets in the source code of Pokémon GO. Hinting that the app, developed by Niantic, may have Pokémon GO partnering with McDonald’s in the near future. For those who’d like fries with that, evidence of the order is evolving. Spotted by industrious Redditors using Reddit (obviously) and reported by Gizmodo, the Pokémon GO game code makes reference to “Sponsor.MCDONALDS.POKEMON_STORE” as shown below: Image Credit: Bryan Menegus / Gizmodo The Pokémon GO app is free to download (available from the App Store and Google Play), and is what Niantic describes as a “real world game” requiring players to walk around physical locations for the full Pokémon catching experience. Niantic’s CEO John Hanke has previously mentioned the use of sponsored locations as part of the monetisation strategy used on the business side of things for Pokémon GO, in addition to the more traditional in-app purchases. While Hanke was ...

Pokémon GO has unwittingly caused some woes for players who have signed in with their Google Accounts. Amongst the early adopters, some unknowingly gave the game’s developer Niantic full access to their Google Accounts. While it is false that Niantic can send emails from players’ Gmail accounts, giving Pokémon GO full account access does allow Niantic to do almost all other things across someone’s Google Account with the exception of the ability to change their passwords. Niantic has since released patches for both Android and iOS users to fix this. However, some players may be unaware of the need to manually revoke Pokémon GO’s “Full account access” status and reset the app’s permissions to “Basic access” status. The latter means Niantic can only access the player’s name and email address. To revoke the Pokémon GO app’s full access status to your Google Account do the following: First, log in to ...

Censorship works a little bit different in China. Make that a lot different at times. To the point that new Ghostbusters (2016) movie is unlikely to be released in China at all because of Chinese censorship laws. For a potential Chinese cinema release, Sony Pictures have reportedly already renamed the rebooted Ghostbusters to 超能敢死队 which is rather literally, wait for it: Super Power Dare Die Team Surely the ghost escaped from that title because the body didn’t want it, and something got lost in that slimed translation. Or someone really did cross the streams. Regardless of the double good fun awesome winning name change, it’s still unlikely to be enough to appease Chinese censorship standards. Sources speaking to Variety have indicated: “Though Ghostbusters hasn’t officially been screened for Chinese officials, its subject matter will likely run afoul of the country’s censors. The state-controlled film board does not approve of films ...