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Big Android BBQ announces two big Googlers as opening keynote speakers
Whoa there! The Big Android BBQ is serious business now, folks. If the mass of OEMs, developers and other ecosystem players attending on a yearly basis wasn’t enough to convince you, perhaps this will: Google will have a couple of their biggest developer advocates on hand, and they will be delivering the opening keynote address!
First up is well-known Googler Reto Meier who serves as the manager for the Scalable Developer Advocacy team. We’ll also be treated to words by Timothy Jordan, a senior developer advocate at Google who dons the most awesome fedora in his Google+ profile photo.
Those two will look to speak on the evolution of Android and how it’s been made flexible enough to make its way into emerging new product categories such as smart watches and smart glasses.
The Big Android BBQ is an annual event full of fun, food and guilty geek pleasure. Android enthusiasts, developers and bloggers from all over the country come together to discuss many different aspects of the platform and the ecosystem surrounding it. It’s usually an amazing time and folks who attend are always eager to get back every year.
Be sure to buy your tickets early as space is scarce. The cheapest cost of admission is $75 which will get you access to a multitude of sessions, access to the main exhibition hall and the pool party + barbecue. You can pay more for premium tickets which afford you perks like preferred keynote seating, private lunch with event staff and notable attendees and a private BBQ dinner cooked by Ray Walters.
For the biggest of ballers? You’ll be treated to all that and a flight and hotel package that includes cheeky escort service by our friend and event coordinator Aaron Kasten, as well as golf cart service to and from the convention center. You can check all of those packages out here and decide which one is best suited for your needs, wants and desires. Be sure to stay tuned to Phandroid for some discount opportunities to make the trip a bit more affordable.
Can’t attend? You can bet Phandroid will be representing you in full force and that we’ll be bringing you all the most exciting happenings once it gets underway Friday, October 16th at the Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, TX. Hope to see you there!
Google provides more details on potential Gmail account leak
Yesterday, we reported on an unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on which way you look at it) episode of an account leak. A database of Gmail accounts was posted to a Russian bitcoin site. This wasn’t a breach (that is, someone sneaking into Google’s servers and getting credentials), but instead a product of many years of phishing and social engineering — that is, tricking people into putting their Gmail username and password into an untrustworthy site.
It could also be the result of a different site getting breached and them putting the email address associated to that account into their nasty database. The latter scenario would only affect your Gmail account if you happen to use the same password across multiple sites, and if you’re doing that then you should stop immediately.
Today, more details have been brought to light. Google confirmed that only a small subset of the accounts in that database were actually affected — less than 2%, according to them — and that they have already taken necessary steps to protect those users. The other accounts are either already purged or they simply don’t exist, so as of now no one should be in danger of having their accounts breached.
At the end this all served as a good reminder to take the time and effort to make sure you’re never being manipulated into giving your username and password to people you don’t know. Check the security certificate of a site before you login to make sure you are actually at that site.
Most web browsers will show a green button with a lock icon which you can click to find out if the website is genuine. This episode also reminds us that it’s never a good idea to use the same password on multiple sites, and that you should be changing your password fairly often (at least once every few months, if not more frequently). And, as always, we recommend setting up 2-step verification on your Gmail account just to have that added peace of mind.
Samsung makes fun of Apple in 6 hilarious new ads [VIDEO]
We thought Samsung’s initial quip about Apple’s Tuesday announcements (of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6+ and Apple Watch) was kind of light, but it seems they were just using BB guns until the nukes were finished. Samsung’s YouTube account has exploded with 6 new advertisements to slam Apple and all the products they announced earlier in the week.
The theme for all of them is “it doesn’t take a genius,” and it basically splits between highlights about how Samsung was the first to do many of the things Apple is touting, and how Apple still hasn’t been able to match Samsung (or many other OEMs) in a couple of other areas.
The cherry on top of all that is a nice jab about the failure of a live stream Apple put on that had everyone following along at home going absolutely crazy. Take a look:
There’s no word if these ads are going to maintain their home on the internet or make their way over to television, but it’s a pretty big swath of awesomeness either way. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on them in the comments below!
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