The latest national security related revelation to come from the documents leaked by Edward Snowden is an account of how offensive computer operations work, and how many there are. The Washington Post reports that in 2011, 231 took place with about three quarters of them against "top-priority" targets, which its sources indicate include Iran, Russia, China and North Korea. Also interesting are details of software and hardware implants designed to infiltrate network hardware, persist through upgrades and access other connected devices or networks. The effort to break into networks is codenamed Genie, while the "Tailored Access Operations" group custom-builds tools to execute the attacks. One document references a new system "Turbine" that automates control of "potentially millions of implants" to gather data or execute an attack. All of this access isn't possible for free however, with a total cyber operations budget of $1.02 billion which includes $25.1 million spent this year to purchase software vulnerabilities from malware vendors. Get your fill of codenames and cloak-and-dagger from the article posted tonight, or check out the "Black Budget" breakdown of overall intelligence spending.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Washington Post (1), (2)
DirecTV recently switched the name of its Nomad transcoding device to GenieGo to match its new DVRs, a change we first noticed on its Android app. On Windows PC and iOS the apps are about to get a new update that changes the name and lets users stream video from their DVRs over WiFi even when they're away from home (Mac and Android support is due later in the year.) Previously, it allowed users to stream live and recorded TV, or download recorded TV to a mobile device for viewing offline, but Slingbox-style streaming of live or recorded TV anywhere is new, and brings it closer to the device we thought it could be when it launched. Solid Signal and DBSTalk report the incoming update (not live yet, but it should pop up tomorrow) is easy to use, letting users stream recordings, start a recording so it can stream or remotely setting up the transcoder to make a mobile copy users can download once they get home. Satellite TV competitor Dish has brought deeper integration of Sling into its new Hopper DVRs, and now DirecTV has its own in-house solution, anyone thinking of switching sides?
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile
Source: Solid Signal, DBSTalk, DirecTV
DirecTV subscribers with a penchant for travel have long had access to the Nomad (now GenieGO), a box that packages their DVR recordings for viewing on PCs and iOS devices. They haven't had an Android app, however, until now. Like its iOS peer, the new GenieGO client (which is new, despite the version number) can either directly stream recorded shows or download them for offline catch-up sessions. Don't expect just any old Android hardware to work, though -- DirecTV can only vouch for compatibility with a small roster of devices that focuses mostly on Motorola, the Nexus line and Samsung. Nonetheless, any customer who has both a GenieGO and a Google inclination can give the app a shot at the source links.
[Thanks, Alex]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Google Play, DirecTV
We're very happy that 2012 ended up being the year of whole-home DVRs. We reviewed Dish Network's Hopper earlier this year and now we've spent some quality time with DirecTV's Genie -- can't say we expected the cute names. Capable of serving up to eight rooms in your house (but only four at once), the Genie system works with a variety of setups, including being built into some newer Samsung TVs. Only available as part of DirecTV service, the Genie can be had for free by some new DirecTV customers who are willing to sign a term agreement and select the right package, and available to existing customers as an upgrade for $300 depending on the circumstances. If DirecTV didn't already have you at five tuners, 1TB and up to eight rooms, then click through for a full rundown on the latest the original direct satellite broadcast TV provider has to offer.
Continue reading DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR review
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
We got a peek at DirecTV's Genie system just a few weeks ago with promises of a system that would both suggest related shows and optionally record them unbidden. It's here, and it's being joined by some rebranding. The company's flagship HR34 DVR has been relabeled as the Genie and makes the new software its centerpiece, with those five tuners letting even the chronically uncommitted take new recommendations as seriously as they like. As before, simultaneous viewing is otherwise the biggest angle: there's support for up to eight RVU-capable TVs hooked up at once, two shows playing on one TV and up to four TVs watching the same show. You'll have to be a new subscriber to get the video recorder under the Genie moniker, although we don't see too many existing customers dropping everything to get that symbolic distinction.
Continue reading DirecTV Genie DVR and interface launch with advice for the indecisive
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
DirecTV Genie DVR and interface launch with advice for the indecisive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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DirecTV | Email this | Comments For starters, I’ll go on record to say that I’m a big DirecTV fan. Having tried Comcast’s abysmal cable box UI and DVR, and knowing the fact that Dish doesn’t have AMC anymore is enough to keep me a loyal subscriber for many years. That said, I was pretty excited to hear about today’s reveal of DirecTV’s newly upgraded HD DVR, the Genie.
The new DVR continues to best others on the market, this time adding a massive 1TB hard drive, capable of storing up to 200 hours of HD programming – or 800 hours of SD (but who watches SD anymore?) The Genie HD DVR also has 5 tuners built in, allowing you to record up to 6 shows at once, including a simultaneous VOD download.
A single Genie receiver will provide whole-home DVR service to up to 8 televisions around your house. You can even watch the same program on up to 4 sets at the same time, and each location gets its own full DVR controls, including record and delete abilities. And if you have a TV that supports RVU (currently Samsung’s 2011 6000, 6400 and 6420 series sets), you won’t even need a separate box to control the Genie.
It also supports picture-in-picture – a feature I’ve sorely missed from older television sets, so you can watch two programs simultaneously on one set. DirecTV is also touting “Genie recommendations” which are supposed to suggest shows that match your preferences, but I’m not sure how different this is from the recommendation feature already available on current DTV receivers.
I’m definitely interested in upgrading my 5-year-old HD receiver, so I’m happy to hear about today’s announcement – though there’s no official word yet on upgrades for existing subscribers. Though the idea of losing the 50 or so hours of programs I’ve still got to watch on my current DVR is a little hard to stomach. Perhaps, someday they’ll offer an upgrade path that lets you transfer your existing programs to a new DVR.
You can find out more about the DirecTV Genie here.
DirecTV paired its HD interface with the five tuner, RVU ready HR34 Home Media Center DVR back in March, so what will it do next to take advantage of the multiroom boxes with five tuners and massive hard drives? The answer is Genie, a new feature / rebranding that should be very familiar to TiVo users, since its aim is to find other shows you might be interested in and store them on the DVR without being prompted. The folks at Solid Signal and DBSTalk have had an early preview of the fall software update that will enable it, and have both posted hands-on impressions.
Once the user enables the feature, after a few hours it begins episodes of shows similar to the ones they already watch and recording them automatically. The feature uses hard drive space that's already reserved for DirecTV's video on-demand (so user accessible recording space is not impacted) and works in selections available from VOD. Watching a program at your leisure VOD-style, setting up a series recording for a new favorite or blasting it from your drive is just a click of the remote away on the DVR or one of its multiroom extenders. Helping viewers discover new content is a field suddenly filled with competition, from the social networking based to Dish Network's Hopper that records everything on primetime network TV and even filters out commercials. That Genie can let you watch already recorded episodes right away and pull from any broadcasts its finds may give it a leg up, but so far we haven't seen recommendation systems good enough to promote switching from one service to another. Hit the source links for more details on how it all works, along with a video preview, also embedded after the break.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
DirecTV HR34 DVR 'Genie' recommendations and autorecording get previewed ahead of fall launch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Solid Signal, DBSTalk | Email this | Comments In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.
New Zealand-based designer Chris Thomson and filmmaker Ben Ryan found that motion-control time lapse gear too expensive, too complicated and too bulky. So they set about building the Genie, a box that moves your camera around under its own power. Designed to be cheap(er than the competition) and user-friendly, the device will let you choose from a variety of presets or build your own to turn and position the camera. It will also draw itself along a guide rope, either on a dolly track or cable-cam for stunning landscape photography. It's reached $42,542 of its $150,000 goal and if successful, each unit will cost $1,000.
Continue reading Insert Coin: Genie turns any camera into a world-class time lapse rig
Insert Coin: Genie turns any camera into a world-class time lapse rig originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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