Erase.bg is an incredibly simple background remover tool that was first created for companies to use for e-commerce projects. But it’s also available for free to use for anyone. You can use the iPhone or Android app, or you can use it directly on their website.

I tested it on iOS with two images, and it did an excellent job. It's worth noting too that the developer has state don on the Apple app store that no data is being collected from users.

See https://lifehacker.com/this-free-app-removes-any-photo-background-1848930015

#technology #images #backgrounderase #erasebg

Google, Microsoft, and Apple are important in this regard because they represent the greatest volume of single-sign capabilities for sites other than their own. So if you want a change away from passwords, without their support, it drags out for years, never reaching any tipping point to be effective. Note though that what is being adopted are open alliance standards, and not proprietary to Google, Apple, or Microsoft.

We do have 2FA (2-Factor Authentication) already, but it often falls back onto insecure e-mail or text messages. We're going to also have to finalise, or have options between biometrics vs device specific. Many don't want biometrics (or their hash) saved, not because it's invasive (it does not store your actual fingerprint), but because it cannot be changed (or does using a different finger count, although most of us still have a limit of 10?). Biometrics are the most convenient and usually not lost, but that also counts against them for the same reason. A device such as YubiKey, fob, phone, etc can easily be lost or left at home, and you lose access.

But yes, passwords do need to go, along with that useless advice of updating a password every 30 days.

See https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/05/microsoft-apple-google-fido/

#technology #security #passwords #authentication

The company shares a stunning announcement regarding the speed of this station: “The charging stations can simultaneously charge up to two vehicles with dynamic power distribution. With a maximum output of 360 kW, the Terra 360 is a future-proof solution capable of fully charging an electric car in 15 minutes or less.”

There will soon be a more widespread roll out across Norway and Sweden, and further proof that the ABB charging technology can perform well in extreme weather conditions.

See https://cleantechnica.com/2022/05/04/worlds-fastest-electric-car-charger-installed-in-norway/

#technology #environment #norway #EV

Yes, two of the drivers immediately caught attention by their very unfortunate (but surprisingly honest) names: SecureBackDoor and SecureBackDoorPeim. I also seem to recall Lenovo had a similar issue about 5 or 6 years ago, so not a first time.

Altogether, the list of affected devices contains more than one hundred different consumer laptop models with millions of users worldwide, from affordable models like Ideapad-3 to more advanced ones like Legion 5 Pro-16ACH6 H or Yoga Slim 9-14ITL05. The full list of affected models with active development support is published in the Lenovo Advisory.

Bottom line though is, if you have a consumer Lenovo device, you really want to check if there is a firmware update.

See https://www.welivesecurity.com/2022/04/19/when-secure-isnt-secure-uefi-vulnerabilities-lenovo-consumer-laptops/

#technology #security #vulnerability #lenovo #backdoor

The code is all open source, and you can self-host the controller or use the ZeroTierOne service with either free or paid plans. Their free plan (cloud based) is robust, solid, and very consistent.

After you have two nodes connected, connecting to each other — no matter where you are or what side of any firewalls you may be on — is exactly what you would expect if you were in the same building on the same network. A primary use case is for remote access to a Home Assistant setup without needing to open up firewall ports or expose it to the internet.

The linked article explains how to get going with it.

See https://opensource.com/article/22/5/zerotier-network

#technology #security #VPN #ZeroTier #networks

I should state up front that this app really only gives a free 3-day test version, and that you do need to subscribe for monthly, yearly or once-off 2-year period to get the real advantages it offers. The reason is the free version does basically what other photo scanning apps already do for free.

The paid version though really does some unique things. I was specifically looking for an app that would scan the back of photos (not as a separate loose image) as I have thousands of old family photos going back a good 80 years or so, many of which have handwritten notes on the back, identifying people, places, dates, etc. So in this regard, it is a quick tap of the top right of the image, and the app prompts to scan the other side of the photo. So that's a tick.

It also does pretty good colourising of black and white photos. Once or twice some parts were a bit off (and it won't know for sure the difference of eye colours), but the photos really do pop out in colour.

Other features are the sharpening specifically of recognisable faces, easy correction of auto cropping, autorotation, as well as some filters for the enhancement process of the whole image.

The most eye-popping feature probably is the live portrait view, where an animated 5-second video clip is created. Doing this on a colourised portrait style photo, is just plain scary.

The Apple App Store has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5, for 1,367 ratings. Note though that exporting of photos from the desktop browser access loses some details. You really want to save your photos from the mobile app, to include saving the extra text details. They have a free Photomyne Share app for family and friends to be able to view the online album in read only mode with all the details.

Interestingly, they also have apps to scan slides as well as film negatives, but as everything is essentially pro costing, you'd want to think about what you possibly want to combine, rather than just paying monthly per app. But if you work smart, you may also only need one or two months to complete scanning your shoeboxes of old photos.

See https://photomyne.com/

#technology #vintage #photos #scanning #photomyne

Zapper has announced that their merchants will now be able to accept tap-on-phone payments. This includes Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and Garmin Pay. Customers no longer have to download the Zapper app for merchants to accept payments through the Zapper platform.

“The software responsible for capturing, submitting and processing payments has been lab-tested and approved by both MasterCard and Visa,” the company said.

See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/banking/442958-zapper-turns-smartphones-into-card-machines.html

#southafrica #zapper #banking #technology

Telegram is one of the most feature-packed instant messaging apps out there. Since its inception, Telegram’s funding has largely come out of the pocket of Pavel Durov, the founder of the service. But as the service continues to amass new users and climbs new heights of success, the start-up is now looking for ways to monetise the platform. Last year, Telegram started testing Sponsored Messages (read advertisements) in public channels with more than 1000 subscribers. Now the company appears to be readying another monetisation tool that may soon ask users to pay to unlock additional features.

At the time being, Telegram Premium is exclusive to the iOS app, but it will likely expand to Android too once the wider rollout ensues. Android Police notes that premium stickers won’t be visible to free users in conversations. Instead, they will see a banner telling them to “unlock additional reactions by subscribing to Telegram Premium.”

I just think that making the features actually visible to free users would firstly be better for the Premium users actually using them (they get to show it off), and also it helps spread the message about what the features would be like to use to help encourage free users to go Premium. I don't see the point of paying for Premium if all my family just see blank stickers. But let's first see how it actually works in practice I suppose.

See https://www.xda-developers.com/telegram-premium-beta-ios/

#technology #telegram #instantmessaging

A pair of high-end in-ear wireless headphones called PineBuds are on the horizon. These include features most would expect in 2022, like ambient and environment noise cancellation, and a lengthy battery life. The earbuds will also be end-user flashable, opening up a world of possible uses.

“There will be a wide variety of things developers and (eventually) end-users will be able to do with the earbuds – flash custom sound signatures, determine touch controls, adjust resonance to fit the user’s ear canal resonance,” Pine64 say.

If I can change the batteries, that would be a major winner for me!

See https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/04/pine64-open-source-pinebuds-wireless-ear-buds

#technology #audio #earbuds #pine64 #pinebuds #opensource