"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." - George Orwell, Animal Farm

"Leck bei Wikileaks". The headline in German-language news weekly, Der Freitag, described the irony with Teutonic efficiency: "Leak at Wikileaks". In the story, published on Friday, editor Steffen Kraft claims to have found online a "password protected csv file" containing a 1.73GB cache of entirely unredacted diplomatic cables, originating from Wikileaks. According to Kraft, the password for the file is also easy to locate. The same day, Wikileaks dumped a large number of cables online and asked its followers to help sift through them. Copies of the files have been in the possession of news organizations like the Guardian, the New York Times and Reuters for months, but this is the first time the documents had been made available to the public. The release came, says chief leaker Julian Assange, because the media has lost interest in the diplomatic revelations as yet unreported. (A cynic might infer that Assange -- who remains under house arrest in the UK pending extradition on sexual assault charges -- is worried that the media has lost interest in him too.) But the document found by Der Freitag are not the official Wikileaks files, which have been partly redacted to remove the names of vulnerable sources. Rather it contained thousands of unredacted pages, with 'named or otherwise identifiable "informers" and "suspected intelligence agents," from Israel, Jordan, Iran and Afghanistan.'

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TBC-anrv7EI/

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

It's been an epic week for environmental news as Inhabitat reported that the East Coast battened its hatches against the force of Hurricane Irene, which has arrived in the wake of a 5.6 earthquake that shook the Eastern Seaboard from Virgina to New York. We compiled a series of tips to help our readers weather the storm, and we took a closer look at the six nuclear power plants that were shaken by the East Coast's unusual quake. We also showcased several incredible examples of high-tech architecture -- the recently crowned world's tallest LEED platinum building and the world's longest tunnel, which Russia recently announced would span the Bering Straight.

Speaking of remarkable advancements in sustainable transportation, this week we took at look at what could be most powerful electric car on earth, and we brought you footage of the 200 mph Lighting superbike breaking a world land speed record. We also saw eco vehicles take off for greener horizons as Oliver VTOL unveiled an ultra-efficient airplane with 6 engines, a team of engineers in Africa constructed a DIY space shuttle in a local garden, and the flying ParaMoto Trike soared through the skies. On the topic of air travel, you may also want to check out our six tips for flying with small children (without Benadryl).

It was a big week for wearable technology as well as researchers unveiled a powerful kinetic energy generator that can fit in your sneakers. We also saw a vibrating glove that improves motor performance, a haptic glove that allows the blind to see with sonar, and a range of antenna-embedded clothing that offers a discreet form of hands-free communication. Finally, we heard Ashton Kutcher's predict that wearable technology will be the next big wave, and we shared a glow-in-the-dark sequin gown that would make a choice piece of evening wear this weekend's storm knock the lights out.

Inhabitat's Week in Green: Lighting superbike, kinetic energy generator and vibrating gloves originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/28/inhabitats-week-in-green-lighting-superbike-kinetic-energy-ge/

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Following news of the Nokia-Microsoft strategic partnership, Nokia has sent a letter to its beleaguered developers to say that Qt will continue to be the development framework for its Symbian phones -- but as far as Nokia Windows Phone 7 devices go, Qt will not be supported. Silverlight and the XNA framework will be the only options for Nokia WP7 developers.

In the letter, Nokia says that it plans to sell 150 million more Symbian phones -- but presumably, after that, the transition to Windows Phone will be complete and Symbian will die a quiet and ignoble death. MeeGo, the open-source smartphone OS, will still make an appearance later this year -- and yes, it will run Qt apps.

While this doesn't come as a surprise -- porting Qt to WP7 would be a massive and time consuming undertaking -- we have to wonder what this will do to the already-runty Windows Phone 7 app ecosystem. Will Symbian Qt app developers embrace the new platform and learn an entirely new set of programming skills? Or will they jump ship to a stable platform that's proven to work, like iOS or Android?

With Windows Phone 7's complete dearth of features, will Nokia developers even want to write apps for the new Nokia-Microsoft platform?

Nokia Windows Phone will not support Qt, Symbian developers left high and dry originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 06:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/11/nokia-windows-phone-will-not-support-qt-symbian-developers-left/

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Google has come out and officially acknowledged that Android has two SMS messaging problems, but that a fix is in the works. The bug, which can take two forms, essentially revolves around the miss co-ordination of contact-to-message linking. While the first issue -- opening a text message from one contact and getting an entirely different message being displayed -- is annoying, the second one -- sending a message to a contact and having it delivered to a totally separate one -- is much more critical. Imagine sending intimate text messages to your spouse only to have them routed to your boss -- how are you going to explain that one?

While Google works on a fix, we're advising caution when messaging for all Android users -- because you never know who's actually going to receive that saucy sext.

Android text messaging bugs acknowledged, fixes in the works originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/06/android-text-messaging-bugs-acknowledged-fixes-in-the-works/

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We've known that mobile ad network Millennial Media more than tripled revenue in 2010 from 2009 and achieved profitability. But we didn't know how much the mobile ad network brought in, until now. In the recent 2011 Inc 500 list, Millennial revealed that it saw $47.8 million in 2010 revenue, up over 3,000 percent from 2007 revenue of $1.5 million. And while we don't know what Millennial's net income is, we know the company is profitable. Millennial is one of the largest remaining independent ad networks after AdMob was bought by Google and Apple acquired Quattro. There's no doubt that many technology companies have eyed Millennial as an acquisition target, but the company has managed to remain independent despite the increased consolidation taking place in the mobile ad space.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/lBTnjvOYWXY/

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Continue reading BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 screenshots leak

BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 screenshots leak originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/blackberry-messenger-6-0-screenshots-leak/

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Facebook updated its official app for Android devices last night, bringing significant image-posting improvements, bug fixes, and a promise of "improved security using SSL."

Changes for the app's handling of images include users now being able to upload photos to their friends' walls and also to groups. Photos are now supposed to always maintain their correct orientation when uploaded, but that won't help the people who are notorious for knocked-over portraits (we all know one).

As for the bolstered usage of SSL, it wouldn't normally be a big deal. You may, nowever, remember recent rumblings about the app sending huge amounts of data in the clear. That news caused plenty of users to be more than slightly perturbed -- and rightly so, given the importance of a secure connection in the world of social networking. It's good to see the devs at Facebook working to correct this problem, but nothing's really final until the updated app has been run over a packet-sniffed network.

Now the bad news. Within an hour of the update's release, over 10 pages of shriekingly bad reviews were posted, reporting that images (which were supposed to be a plus) weren't showing up at all, and that the app was crashing almost immediately upon opening it. Several reviewers noted that they were using older versions of Android, so it could simply be an issue of OS fragmentation since it works for me on Gingerbread (2.3.3).

So, as usual, buyer beware, and if you're not scared off by the reviews then you can grab the update at the Android Market.

Facebook for Android update improves images, security (in theory) originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/16/facebook-app-android-update-improves-images-security-in-theory/

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Facebook updated its official app for Android devices last night, bringing significant image-posting improvements, bug fixes, and a promise of "improved security using SSL."

Changes for the app's handling of images include users now being able to upload photos to their friends' walls and also to groups. Photos are now supposed to always maintain their correct orientation when uploaded, but that won't help the people who are notorious for knocked-over portraits (we all know one).

As for the bolstered usage of SSL, it wouldn't normally be a big deal. You may, nowever, remember recent rumblings about the app sending huge amounts of data in the clear. That news caused plenty of users to be more than slightly perturbed -- and rightly so, given the importance of a secure connection in the world of social networking. It's good to see the devs at Facebook working to correct this problem, but nothing's really final until the updated app has been run over a packet-sniffed network.

Now the bad news. Within an hour of the update's release, over 10 pages of shriekingly bad reviews were posted, reporting that images (which were supposed to be a plus) weren't showing up at all, and that the app was crashing almost immediately upon opening it. Several reviewers noted that they were using older versions of Android, so it could simply be an issue of OS fragmentation since it works for me on Gingerbread (2.3.3).

So, as usual, buyer beware, and if you're not scared off by the reviews then you can grab the update at the Android Market.

Facebook for Android update improves images, security (in theory) originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/16/facebook-app-android-update-improves-images-security-in-theory/

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Reports are coming in that the latest Android update for the Nexus One is breaking Google Voice for some users. The over-the-air update brings the Nexus One in line with the Nexus S with Android 2.3.3, and is currently rolling out to users across the globe.

If you happen to be affected by Google Voice disruption after the update, there's a hacky, but swift way to get things working again. You have to download and install an old version of the Google Voice application onto your Nexus One, and then update to the latest version via the Android Market. That should solve your problem.

Head on over to the Google Support for the files and more information.

Fix Google Voice broken after Nexus One Android 2.3.3 update originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 04:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/01/fix-google-voice-broken-after-nexus-one-android-2-3-3-update/

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Shush! for Android is an extremely tiny app that's making a lot of waves for doing one thing, and doing it well.

Just as its name implies, it quickly silences your phone -- but it's the fact that it turns the ringer back on for you that makes this app so special. That, along with a sleek and simple interface and a price tag of "free" have caused over 100,000 people to download it in the short time that it's been available.

Along with silencing the ringer, Shush! can also set the volume upon its return, which I honestly didn't expect since that's the sort of thing that developers tend to leave out, especially in a free app. System-wise, the app itself is so small and light at 28 KB that it won't have to hog valuable space in either your phone's storage or active memory, which is definitely more than can be said for the dozens of other ringer-toggling widgets floating around out there.

As for its effectiveness, well let's just say that it's actually somewhat entertaining to read through user reviews. Several people were thrilled that it allowed them to go see a movie or go to class without forgetting to turn their ringer back on for a day and a half afterwards, while one guy went as far as to say that it "saved his marriage." So if you're the type who constantly forgets to switch the ringer back on, this app may be what you're looking for.

You can download Shush! now at the Android Market.

Shush! for Android quiets your phone for as long as you need silence originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/18/shush-for-android-quiets-your-phone-for-as-long-as-you-need-sil/

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