Ice Cream Sandwich's Face Unlock duped using a photograph

Ever since Google announced the new Face Unlock feature in Ice Cream Sandwich, people have been concerned about whether it can be fooled using just a photograph of the user instead of the actual face. One of Google's employees himself commented on this saying "Nope" and to give them some credit. Well, it seems he was wrong.

As you can see in the video above, the Face Unlock feature was easily fooled using a photograph of the user. Not just any photograph but a photograph on a Galaxy Note's glossy display taken using its camera. While this points out to the extreme sensitivity of the Face Unlock feature it's also what's causing the problem here. This tells us that unless Google fixes this feature in the final build of Ice Cream Sandwich, unlocking the phone with this feature by an unauthorized user will be only slightly more difficult than swiping on the default lock screen.
If you remember, this is not the first issue faced by Face Unlock (excuse the pun). The feature famously refused to work on stage during the unveiling of Ice Cream Sandwich at Google's event. Perhaps Google should slap this feature with one of their famous 'Beta' logos at the time of launch, just to be on the safe side.

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Battlefield 3 vs. Modern Warfare 3

Two of the year's biggest games are going head to head this holiday season, both seeking the crown as best military first-person shooter. Unless you've cut yourself off from all forms of media consumption, I'm of course talking about Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.

In our Battlefield 3 review post, we outlined how the game's campaign has a certain sense of realism, as opposed to the over-the-top action found in typical Call of Duty campaigns. While overall it's more slow-paced than Modern Warfare 3's single-player experience, there's arguably more strategy required to make it through the entire affair. I've always found Call of Duty games to be overly generous in the amount of damage a player can take, and with both settings on normal, Modern Warfare 3 is the easier game.

In regard to multiplayer modes, BF3 will give players a chance to pilot and drive various vehicles that they can't in MW3. I also really like how the idea of teamwork feels much more important in BF3 multiplayer than it necessarily does in MW3.

While the online game modes found in BF3 certainly take a page from the MW3 playbook, they do stand up fine on their own. There's enough disparity here to justify a separate purchase, especially for those hardened Modern Warfare veterans who want somewhat of a change in scenery.

Battlefield 3 (photos)

As for MW3's online multiplayer modes, there really isn't much in the way of groundbreaking innovation. In all of my preview sessions leading up to the game's release, not once did Activision offer a chance for me to get some solid hands on with the new maps. This of course led me to believe that there would be some sort of significant tweaking in the design, but alas, in my 10-plus hours of action, things feel very much the same as they did this time last year. Also, some of the maps in MW3 are reminiscent of the ones in MW2.

Modern Warfare 3 (photos)

I chose not to give MW3 its own review post for a couple of reasons. First, Activision didn't get us review samples until launch day, and second, I wanted to avoid forgoing enough time with the online multiplayer to pass judgment. Of course this decision was heavily influenced by the BF3 online hiccups that occurred during the game's infancy--something I didn't experience playing online before it was released to the public.

While I've only heard sporadic chatter about MW3 stumbling during the first days of online play, I have had firsthand disappointment with Call of Duty Elite, MW3's Web-based stat-tracking and social community. As of this writing the service is for all intents and purposes still broken. It's understandable that a complex network of servers trying to handle millions of users is having difficulty stabilizing, but Activision needs to make good with those who plunked down $50 for special features. I can't even log in to my main profile page:

It is my belief that it isn't fair to declare one game "the winner" when comparing BF3 and MW3. Modern Warfare may have the more recognizable brand, but Battlefield has a longer history. BF3 may have vehicles in multiplayer, but MW3 offers more online modes.

Whichever side of the fence you find yourself on, there's no denying that both titles are an absolute blast to play and are true technical achievements in interactive entertainment. If money isn't an issue, I definitely recommend checking both titles out. If you can't justify $120 on two great military shooters, hopefully I've laid each game's pros and cons out to help you make an educated choice on which game is right for you.

While I may think it isn't fair to award either game first place, that doesn't mean you can't. Please vote in the poll above for which game you prefer!

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How to assign unique vibration patterns in Android

Most of us are so accustomed to identifying incoming calls based on unique ringtones that we don't quite know what to do when we have to mute our phones in meetings or theaters.

Fortunately, the freemium app Vibe steps in to help us find our way, letting us assign one of five unique vibration patterns (or 10 for those who pay $4 for the upgrade) to our contacts. Here's how to use it:

1. Install the Vibe app from the Android market.
2. Once you're started, Vibe shows you your contact list. Tap any contact to select it, or long-press to select multiples to be assigned the same vibration pattern.
   

   Step 2: Choose vibration pattern.
3. You should see a list of available patterns; tap any vibration pattern to preview it, or long-press to select it for that contact (or list of contacts).

That's it. Though it may take some time to get used to IDing callers this way, it does become intuitive--and after a while, upgrading to 10 patterns looks a lot more attractive!

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How to take time-lapse photos on Android

Time-lapse photos are a fun way to document a series of moments happening around you with a camera.

And now there's an awesome app available for Android that lets you bring this same method to your smartphone or tablet. All you need is a quick download and a bit of setup to get started.

 

Step 1: Download Lapse It from the Android Market. There is a free version that will only allow lower-resolution photos and a Pro version, which allows images up to 720p.

 

Step 2: Open the app and press the Start new capture button.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

 

Step 3: Set the time interval of your photos by pressing the timer button on the left, and then enter the interval in seconds. This example will work with 2 seconds as the interval.

Step 4: Press the Capture button (big red dot in the top left-hand corner) to start taking pictures!

Hint: The menu will be hidden when you start taking pictures. To get it back so you can stop the camera, slide your finger along the left side of the screen (when holding horizontally). A pause button is located at the top, with Stop just a few choices down.

 

Step 5: Press play to preview your set of pictures. To edit these pictures, turn the device back into portrait mode and you will see options for trimming, adding effects, or rendering. Rendering will create an MP4, MOV or FLV (your choice in settings) from the photos, so you can share it with friends or family.

If you forgot to render one of your photo sets when you created it, here's how to get back to it:

Step 6: Head to the main menu of the app and press the List captured button.

 

Step 7: Tap the series you want to edit or share, and select View Details from the pop-up menu.

 

Step 8: Click the Render button on the right and type in a name at the bottom and click the smaller Render button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Step 9: Play or publish (share) the video through your social network of choosing.

If you created a time-lapse movie you want to share, add it in the comments.

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How to measure noise with your Android phone

Have you ever wondered if you were listening to your music too loud or just curious how loud your partner's snoring was? With a free app and your Android phone, you can turn your phone into a noise meter and find out.
Download Sound Meter from the Android Market and launch the app. It starts right up to the sound meter and measures the minimum, mean, and maximum ambient sound levels in decibels (dB). It also highlights the typical noise levels of everyday sounds so you can get an idea of what those noise levels represent. Additionally, you can change the chart to a time-based graph.

 

The app uses your Android phone's mic for measurements, so depending on your phone's hardware, you may not be able to reach the top end of the scale.
If you're interested in learning more about noise and hearing loss prevention, check out the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It even has a noise meter on its Web site that lets you listen to a range of different noises and indicates what their noise levels are.

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Add appointments to your Android's lock screen

Now you can add calendar appointments to the screen you see most often on your Android.
The calendar widget is fairly useful, but it takes up a considerable amount of screen real estate. For this reason, it often lands on the screens to the left or right of the main home screen. And then comes the out of sight, out of mind practice. The only way to keep tabs on the events if you don't remember to look at them is to set reminders. But how good is a reminder if it reminds you at an inconvenient time? Here's how to avoid a mess like this:
Note: This app may not work on some Samsung Galaxy SII handsets and HTC Sense user interfaces. This is because they work with an altered lock screen, which does not allow editing of the content displayed through a third-party app like this one. If the support is added in the future, the developer states that he/she will add support for those devices.
Step 1: Download Lockscreen Calendar from the Android Market.

 

Step 2: Open the app and choose which calendars you'd like to display events for.

 

Step 3: Set the app's update intervals and how far ahead into the future you want to check for new calendar events, then press Update.

 

Step 4: Pick how many events to show and then adjust the date formatting to your liking.

 

Step 5: Lock your device's screen and then turn it back on to see your upcoming events.
No more excuses for forgetting events on your calendar, especially since they'll be staring you in the face every time you use your device.

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