Your Smartphone Is Spying on You

An Android developer recently discovered a clandestine application called Carrier IQ built into most smartphones that doesn't just track your location; it secretly records your keystrokes, and there's nothing you can do about it. Is it time to put on a tinfoil hat? That depends on how you feel about privacy. The reason for this invasive Android app seems reasonable enough at face value. Even though it's on most Android, BlackBerry and Nokia devices, most users would never know that Carrier IQ is running in the background, and that's sort of the point. Described on the company's website as software to gain "unprecedented insight into their customers' mobile experience," Carrier IQ is ostensibly supposed to help mobile carriers and device manufacturers gather data in order to improve their products. 

Security-conscious Android developer Trevor Eckhart realized, however, Carrier IQ does not give you this option, and unless you were code-savvy and looking for it, you'd never know it was there. And based on how aggressive the company has been in trying to keep Eckhart quiet about his discovery, it seems like Carrier IQ doesn't want you to know it's there either. This week, Eckhart fired back with a 17-minute long video showing in painstaking detail how much data CarrierIQ collects, effectively undercutting the company's denial. It was even logging contents of text messages! Wired posted the video on Tuesday night and cemented its status "as one of nine reasons to wear a tinfoil hat." The magazine explains how CarrierIQ even undercuts other companies' security measures. CarrierIQ and the carriers have yet to respond to the latest claims -- we're doing our best to chase them down -- but if past smartphone tracking scandals are any precedent, they could end up answering to Congress. Atlantic Wire

SCARFACE Remake Coming?

Two months after it was announced that a remake of Scarface was being prepped within Hollywood, Deadline is reporting we have our first writer tapped for the script writing duties. The online trade reveals that Training Day scribe David Ayer has been hired by producers Martin Bregma and Marc Shmuger to bring the tale to the modern era of moviegoers. Bregma was a producer on Brian De Palma's 1983 version, which was a remake of Howard Hawks' 1932 film.

With Ayer just being brought on board for drafting duties, it's still too early to describe how this latest version of Scarface will differ from the previous two versions of the character. The online trade did reveal that Ayer has studed the 1932 and 1983 films but that this new version will likely steer away from any specific remake elements outside of the basic storyline. Mania.com

MADNESS PREMIERE: Ludacris - Bada Boom

Air Jordan 10 Auto Clave

Jordan Brand will release a new silhouette inspired by MJ’s 10th signature sneaker dubbed the Air Jordan 10 Auto Clave. The upper is constructed of pebbled leather much like the Air Jordan 10 silhouette but contains an auto clave sole. The Air Jordan 10 Auto Clave will release in January 2012 to the tune of two colorways: Varsity Red/White and Black/Varsity Red. MadOne

Air Jordan 10 Auto Clave
Varsity Red/White
487225-601
January 2012
$110

Air Jordan 10 Auto Clave
Black/Varsity Red
487225-001
January 2012
$110

 

Jordan Melo M8 Anthracite/White-Varsity Maize

Carmelo Anthony’s eighth signature model, the Jordan Melo M8, is scheduled to release in yet another colorway this December. This particular pair contains a black Flywire laced midsole and Varsity Maize patent leather throughout the rest of the upper. To coincide with the latter element of the shoe, Jordan Brand incorporated Varsity Maize laces as well. NiceKicks / MadOne

KICKS ON CELEBS: NOV 20TH, PT 2 - Kristen Stewart, Rev Run, Meek Mill....

Ludacris in the Jordan Dub Zero Black/Red

Lil Wayne in the Nike Zoom Rookie "Binary Blue"

Kristen Stewart in the Nike Tenkay Low

Dwyane Wade in the Jordan CMFT Viz Air 11 Black/Red

Carmelo Anthony in the Jordan Melo M8 Black/Black and Chris Paul in the Jordan 6-17-23 Black/Grey-Red

Chris Brown in the Jordan Spizike "Knicks" Orange Flash

Meek Mill in the Air Jordan 5 "Fire Red"

Bun B in the Air Jordan 14 "Light Graphite"

Red Cafe checking out the Nike Dunk High VT "Haystack" in the Air Jordan 4 "Doernbecher"

Kanye West in the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Black/Pink

Rev Run in the adidas Superstar White/White

Pusha T in Louboutin Swarovski Crystal Sneakers

Teyana Taylor in the adidas Superstar White/Red

TI in the Nike Air Foamposite Pro "Pearl"

Joe Budden in the Nike LeBron 9 "Cannon"

Nick Cannon in the Jordan Spizike Winterized Grey/Black

New Finding Ups the Chances of Life on Jupiter's Moon Europa

Europa, as viewed from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. Visible are plains of bright ice, cracks that run to the horizon, and dark patches that likely contain both ice and dirt.

 
Europa, Jupiter's icy moon, meets not one but two of the critical requirements for life, scientists say. For decades, experts have known about the moon's vast underground ocean — a possible home for living organisms — and now a study shows that the ocean regularly receives influxes of the energy required for life via chaotic processes near the moon's surface. Lead author Britney Schmidt, a geophysicist at the University of Texas at Austin, explained that her team studied ice shelves and underground volcanoes on Earth in order to model the formation of odd features called "chaos terrains" that appear all over Europa. The researchers determined that it was heat rising from the moon's deep subterranean ocean and melting ice near the surface, creating briny lakes inside the moon's thick ice shell, that may have caused the collapse of these roughly circular structures above them. These dynamic lakes, which melt and refreeze over the course of hundreds of thousands or millions of years, lie beneath as much as 50 percent of Europa's surface, the scientists said. 

Europa's liquid water ocean "meets one of the critical requirements for life," Hoehler said, noting that its ocean chemistry is believed to be suitable for sustaining living things. "And what you're hearing about today from Britney bears on a second crucial requirement, and that is the requirement for energy." Cut off from the sun, Europa's subterranean ocean would need some other energy source to sustain life. Hoehler said spacecraft observations show that there is a huge amount of stored energy in Europa's mineral-rich crust, but it is separated from the liquid ocean below by at least 6 miles (10 km) of ice. Like the two terminals of a battery, energy can flow from the surface material to the ocean only if the two are somehow connected, he said. Europan life isn't a done deal just yet, though. Water and energy aren't the only ingredients on the checklist for life, and scientists aren't sure whether Europa has the others, such as the necessary organic chemicals. SPACE.COM

KICKS ON CELEBS: NOV 20TH, PT 1 - Mya, Spike Lee, Dr. Dre....

Fabolous in the Air Jordan 4 "Doernbecher"

Dr. Dre in the Nike Air Force 1 Low White/White & will.i.am in the adidas JS Wings "Camo"

Jay-Z in the Air Jordan 3 Black/Cement

Mike Posner in the Air Jordan 4 "Mars"

Kanye West in the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Black/Pink

Spike Lee in the Jordan Spizike "Knicks" Orange Flash

Mya in the Nike LunarGlide 3 Black/Blue

Lil Wayne in the Vans Era Grey/White

Tinie Tempah in the Nike MAG 2011

Big Sean in the Air Jordan 4 "Cool Grey"

Flo Rida in the Nike LeBron 9 "Miami Night"

Nike LeBron 9 “Watch The Throne”

Ain’t that like LeBron James? It sure is. King James continues to ball during the lockout with this Nike LeBron 9 “Watch The Throne” makeup. Inspired by Ye and Big Bro’s joint album and tour, this colorway sports a black upper and gold branding over an icy blue sole. No word as to whether the laces are Givenchy, Balmain, or perhaps Margiela. MadOne 

Nike Lebron 9 Watch the Throne

 

Jordan Winterized 6 Rings “Deep Burgundy”

Jordan Brand unveils their latest addition to the Winterized 6 Rings collection with today’s “Deep Burgundy” themed colorway. Stylistically, the 6 Rings incorporates many of Air Jordan’s longstanding favorites that have seen time on the court during Jordan’s trophy-hoisting moments. A cohesive colorway, this pair incorporates an all deep burgundy suede upper as well as a grey midsole, black outsole, and yellow laces. This pair is scheduled to hit most Jordan Brand retailers this Holiday 2011 season. MadOne

adidas adiZero Rose 2.0 “Wolverine”

Inspired by Derrick Rose’s high school career at Simeon Career Academy, the adidas adiZero Rose 2.0 “Wolverine” is the latest colorway to be introduced by adidas basketball. This eye-catching colorway amplifies Derrick’s varsity colors with fluorescent blue and yellow tones throughout the majority of the upper and sole. The toe box on this pair also features a distinct digitized embossed pattern to reflect the contours of Chicago, Derrick’s hometown. Sure to be an attention grabber on and off the court, the adidas adiZero Rose 2.0 “Wolverine” is skyrocketing up the ranks of adiZero Rose 2.0 colorways. NiceKicks / MadOne

Air Jordan 10 “Old Royal”

Air Jordan 10 “Old Royal”. Jordan Brand has plans to release a number of Air Jordan 10 colorways next year, and this is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated. White premium leather dominates the majority of the base, while Old Royal hints appear on the sole, midfoot, collar and tongue. Where does this Air Jordan 10 rank amongst the best? The Air Jordan 10 “Old Royal” is scheduled to release on February 11, 2012.  NiceKicks

Air Jordan 10
White/Old Royal-Stealth
487214-107
February 11, 2012
$160