The Smallest 30x Zoom Camera in the World and Other Tech Updates

You’ve probably noticed that we’ve changed our headline from ‘other tech news’ to ‘other tech updates’. This is because our latest news item today is a tech gadget.

The Smallest 30x Zoom Camera in the World

Sony has released the world’s smallest 30x zoom camera in the world, called HX80. Named after its predecessor (HX90V), the company claims that the device is the world’s smallest compact handheld camera.

Having a built-in optical viewfinder, the 18.2MP camera having an Exmor R CMOS sensor with Zeiss lens features a 30x Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* optical zoom. Along with this, it features 1080p Full HD video recording, 5-axis image stabilization, Bionz X image processor, popup flash and a LCD screen that can flip around for selfies.

Although there is no GPS support, the camera does come equipped with WiFi and NFC. It is expected to go on sale in April for around $350.

Google Hires 4Chan Founder

In a bid to revamp its slowly-declining social network (Google+), Google has hired Chris Poole, founder of popular online forum 4Chan. 4Chan was founded in 2003 as an anime fan forum when Poole was just 15. It soon became a household name and was the inspiration behind LolCatz, (the popular hacking group) Anonymous and internet memes. Poole later sold 4Chan to Hiroyuki Nishimura, owner of 2Channel, a Japanese textboard.

"Today I'm excited to announce that I've joined Google. When meeting with current and former Googlers, I continually find myself drawn to their intelligence, passion, and enthusiasm - as well as a universal desire to share it with others. I'm also impressed by Google's commitment to enabling these same talented people to tackle some of the world's most interesting and important problems. I can't wait to contribute my own experience from a dozen years of building online communities, and to begin the next chapter of my career at such an incredible company," Poole said.

First-Ever Mac OSX Ransomware Stopped Before Major Damage

Mac OSX was witness to a ransomware attack throughout the entire community. A popular torrent client, Transmission, was infected with the ‘KeRanger’ ransomware, a type of malicious computer software that encrypts a user’s data and asks for ransom in the form of BitCoin or other special privileges. Hackers gained access by hacking the main server where Transmission was hosted for download.

Apple removed the infected 2.90 version from the App Store after only about 6,500 downloads. Furthermore, Apple took away the company’s digital signing certificate to prevent any further attacks.

Recently, a type of ransomware infected the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. The hospital ended up paying $17,000 to retrieve the data.