WRLWNDradio: Recent Episodes
WRLWND Media
New episodes each week with your host Marcello Sukhdeo covering the hotest tech news, trends, and informative interviews with todays leading experts!
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, J. Richard Jones talks with Zoe Chilton, Head of Technical Partnerships, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.
Zoe leads a team managing key relationships with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s technical and innovation partners, based at the team’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, UK. The diverse portfolio of 14 Partnerships spans a wide range of technical capabilities and products – from some of the World’s biggest names in telecoms and IT, to leading experts in manufacturing and product development. Zoe joined Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in 2015, coming from 5 years industry experience in motorsport and high-performance engineering in the UK’s Motorsport Valley. Initially joining the Team as a Senior Partnership Manager, Zoe’s role is to liaise directly with the team’s key technical partners, and also engineering stakeholders within the business, to ensure innovation partnerships deliver the maximum value to both parties.
Hear about the role between racing and technology, the challenges in travelling with a racing team and sharing data with all parties and how Red Bull is using technologies from CITRIX to race in 21 countries around the world for Formula 1.
The demand for security services is growing around the world. The industry itself is projected to increase by 6 per cent annually over the next few years. With such a growth, Montreal’s tech startup TrackTik Software Inc. is on a mission to provide organizations managing security guards around the world with the tools to run leaner and more responsive automated operations.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks with Julie Lacasse, VP of Operations at TrackTik about the future of managing security services.
Recently, TrackTik received a Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ award, ranking it as Canada’s 11th fastest growing technology, media and telecommunications company in recognition of over 1,700 per cent revenue growth over the past four years. The company is also on LinkedIn’s list of the Top 25 Startups in Canada and placing 36th on the Canadian Business 2018 Startup 50 ranking of Canada’s Top New Growth Companies. Hear about their secret to success.
Also, Julie talks about the challenges in the industry and what TrackTick is working on to improve their all-in-one software for the industry in data analysis and reporting.
For more information, go to: https://www.tracktik.com.
In October of this year, Bloomberg Businessweek published a story about an alleged attack by Chinese spies of almost 30 US companies, including Amazon and Apple. The story reveals that the attack was done through microchips from Super Micro that were apparently planted during the manufacturing stage of motherboards that were used in servers. These servers were then sold to many US customers including the US Department of Defense.
In the show today, Marcello Sukhdeo and Johnathan Mansour talk about the ramifications of such an attack and how Super Micro, Apple and Amazon have all denied it. To see the full story from Bloomberg, go to: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies.
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo and Johnathan Mansour talk about the worrying signs coming out Apple. The cutback on production of the iPhone, the unaffordability of Apple products, the lack of innovation and the desperate means that Apple is employing to meet its revenue targets. Is Apple going to end up like BlackBerry?
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By now you may have heard about the announcement from Apple about their new products - the new Macbook Air, the Mac Mini and iPad Pro. This announcement reveals a trend that Apple is on that should be concerning to us. With the price hike, Apple is pushing their products out of reach for many, and soon it will become unaffordable.
Other than the price increase, should you upgrade? That's the burning question that we tackle on today's show.
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On October 17, Fujitsu Canada, Inc. announced the ScanSnap iX1500, a new flagship colour duplex model, joining the Fujitsu ScanSnap Series of document scanners.
The core appeal of the ScanSnap Series is in its ability to effortlessly convert most office documents into PDF’s, searchable PDF’s, Word and Excel documents, and more. ScanSnap is an essential productivity tool for knowledge workers whether they are scanning to their desktop, a network folder or to a Cloud service.
On today’s episode of WRLWND Radio, Steve Oblin, Senior Marketing Manager at Fujitsu Canada, Inc., is on the line to discuss the new iX1500 scanner, it’s new features and how it fulfills your business’s needs.
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Is it worth it to upgrade your iPhone or Apple Watch?
The big news this week is that Apple announced three new iPhones including its biggest and most expensive model yet and the new Apple Watch Series 4. Is it worth it to upgrade your iPhone or Apple Watch? That’s the question that Marcello Sukhdeo tackles in this episode of WRLWND Radio.
Show Notes:
At its special event, Apple announced three new iPhones. These phones are already being criticized by people around the world for lacking innovation and it is being seen as part of Apple's strategy to increase revenue by increasing the prices.
These iPhones are bigger, faster and more expensive. That is the strategy that Apple is using to continue growing revenue.
By making the phones larger and faster, and then charging more for them, the company is milking a product line that has already saturated the market. The new iPhones would start at $750, $1,000 and $1,100. The starting prices last year were $700, $800 and $1,000.
The Apple Watch Series 4 has been redesigned to have a more health focus.
This is the first time Apple as redesigned its watch since it was launched in 2015. The new watch is slightly thinner and has a larger display area.
Apple said the new watch had a faster processor and better health and motion sensors. For instance, the watch can detect when a wearer has fallen down and would prompt the person to alert emergency services. If it detects no motion by the wearer after a minute, it calls automatically.
Another feature, is the watch can perform an electrocardiogram, alerting you to worrisome heart rhythms.
What will the future of work look like? That’s a question that many companies are pondering. With the evolution of the workplace and how we interact with technology, our work is changing in so many different ways. In the show today, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about some exciting changes based on his visit to BoxWorks 2018 – like having a system that will feed you documents that need your attention, easy automation of tasks and working in any file format right within your only platform.
BoxWorks is an event hosted by Box. Box is a company that provides a cloud content management platform where you can work, share and collaborate securely. Box has over 87,000 customers with many coming from 69 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies.
For more information, go to Box.com.
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Apple announced yesterday its annual fall iPhone event will be held on September 12 in Cupertino, California. We can expect to hear about Apple's new lineup of iPhones to soon hit the market. On today’s episode, we give you a rundown of the latest rumours and specs concerning these new iPhones and what you need to know. Amazon hit another all-time record of $2000 per share in the early trading hours of August 30, putting them just $30 per share short of joining Apple in the $1 trillion market value club. To put that into perspective: a $100 investment in Amazon in 1997 would today we worth $125,000! For these stories and more, tune in to today’s episode of WRLWND Radio, with guest-host Johnathan Mansour. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Tags: Amazon, Apple, iPhone, AMZN Links: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-27/apple-to-embrace-iphone-x-design-with-new-colors-bigger-screens https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/27/17785594/apple-iphone-xs-september-launch-three-new-devices-rumors https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/30/amazon-set-to-open-above-2000-a-share-for-the-first-time.html
Helping large companies to migrate and secure cloud infrastructure is a challenge. It’s also a big opportunity to improve business efficiencies.
Join WRLWND radio guest host J. Richard Jones as he chats with Jonathan Spinks, CEO from Sourced Group. Learn about the challenges of cloud adaptation, how Canada measures up to other countries and the future of cloud, in this episode of WRLWND radio.
To learn more: https://www.sourcedgroup.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonspinks/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrichardjones/
Today on the show, Windows 95 is back and this time you can run it on Mac and Linux. Take a trip down memory lane with Wordpad, phone dialer, MS Paint, and Minesweeper. And we are headed to information apocalypse? Don’t panic, some say the solution is more technology.
SEGMENT 1
The New York Public Library is using Instagram Stories to bring classic novels to your smartphone
The New York Public Library—an essential provider of free books, information, ideas, and education for all New Yorkers for more than 100 years is doing something unprecedented! It is now using Instagram's Stories feature to make classic novels more accessible and enticing to read, especially to the younger generation. It has teamed up with ad agency Mother in New York to create "Insta Novels," which turns classic pieces of literature into animated digital novels illustrated by various visual artists. These digitized versions take inspiration from the layouts of the original classics, featuring elements that reflect the novels' designs. The full digital books will be posted as Stories: simply hold the screen to read a page and lift your finger to turn it. If you're a fast reader, just let it play on its own to watch the animated elements move on screen.
Here is the link to the promo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmvKKlhFv0w/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control
#InstaNovels
SEGMENT 2
Windows 95 is now an app you can download and install on macOS, Windows, and Linux
Windows 95 is the operating system that’s now used as a yardstick for what’s possible on modern devices and platforms. We’ve seen Microsoft’s popular OS appear on the Apple Watch, an Android Wear smartwatch, and even the Xbox One. Today, someone has gone a step further and made Windows 95 into an app that you can run on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
A Slack developer created Windows 95 app where you can use Wordpad, phone dialer, MS Paint, and Minesweeper. They all run pretty well. Except for Internet Explorer which is not fully functional.
The app its only 129MB in size and you can download it over at Github for both macOS and Windows. Once it’s running it surprisingly only takes up around 200MB of RAM, even when running all of the old Windows 95 system utilities, apps, and games. If you run into any issues with the app you can always reset the Windows 95 instance inside the app and start over again.
SEGMENT 3
Browser plug-ins that spot fake news show the difficulty of tackling the ‘information apocalypse’
According to some, the world is headed toward an information apocalypse. A combination of AI-generated fakes, fake news gone wild, and faltering confidence in the media means soon, no one will be able to trust what they see or hear online. But don’t panic yet, says a subset of these same prophets, for a solution, is already at hand: more technology.
This week, two projects were unveiled that are intended to act as buffers between the world and fake news. The first, SurfSafe, was created by a pair of UC Berkley undergrads. The second, Reality Defender, is the work of the AI Foundation, a startup founded in 2017 that has yet to release a commercial product. Both projects are browser plug-ins that will alert users to misinformation by scanning images and videos on the webpages they’re looking at and flagging any doctored content.
Of the two plug-ins, SurfSafe’s approach is simpler. Once installed, users can click on pictures, and the software will perform something like a reverse-image search. It will look for the same content that appears on trusted “source” sites and flag well-known doctored images. Reality Defender promises to do the same (the plug-in has yet to launch fully), but in a more advanced manner, using machine learning to verify whether or not an image has been tinkered with. Both
plug-ins also encourage users to help out with this process, identifying pictures that have been manipulated or so-called “propaganda.”
On today’s episode, we take a look at how SpaceX is training NASA astronauts to fly on the company’s Dragon capsule, breathing new life into space exploration and into space and tech industries respectively. A simple parody website prompted us to examine social media transparency and what to be aware of. Also, be sure to hear our coverage of MVMT’s big announcement. For these stories and more, tune in to today’s episode of WRLWND Radio, guest-hosted by Johnathan Mansour.
The opinions expressed on this show may
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of IT in Canada or WRLWND media.
Links:
http://www.itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/insights/eric-jacksch/2385-maybe-it-is-time https://www.cnet.com/news/mike-pence-parody-site-tops-google-search-results-for-his-name/ https://www.cnet.com/news/the-answer-to-facebook-twitter-and-youtubes-problems-with-infowars-transparency/ https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/15/17688388/spacex-commercial-crew-astronauts-training-dragon-iss-launch https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertanaas/2018/08/16/movado-group-to-acquire-mvmt-lifestyle-watch-and-accessories-brand/#6bb77d506a8c Tags:
#SpaceX, #MVMT, #SociaMedia, #AlexJones, #Twitter, #Facebook, #Tech, #IPO
In this episode, AI could be doing the hiring in the future. A massive blow to Uber and Lyft as New York votes to limit rideshares and Zume to receive millions of dollars to perfect their pizza robot.
Show Notes:
Employee referrals, still make up the bulk of companies’ hires. This of course tends to leave out the majority of applicants, where their resumes are dumped into the trash, literally and electronically.
Added to that, recruiters and hiring managers also bring their own biases to the process, often choosing people with the “right-sounding” names and educational background.
We see these biases in almost every business. If you are looking for a job you can identify with these issues. But that could change.
Enter AI.
People who support AI, argue that this technology can eliminate some of these biases. Instead of relying on people’s feelings to make hiring decisions, companies such as Entelo and Stella.ai use machine learning to detect the skills needed for certain jobs.
Now there is something to be cautious about. Using AI in hiring can also lead to discrimination. The system will only look for what it was programmed to do. It will look for certain qualities and skills only.
NYC Takes Aim at Rideshares
With the increase number of rideshares services around the world it might come as a surprise that New York, one of the busiest cities in the world, has voted to cap the number of ride-hailing cars by imposing a year-long freeze on new licenses.
For Uber and Lyft, this year-long freeze on new licenses in their largest market is the big setback to them.
If this ruling goes into effect, all it needs is the mayor’s signature, then this will affect Uber and Lyft significantly. But not only that, what about other cities who might want to follow what NYC is doing and put a cap on licenses for ridesharing.
Companies like Uber and Lyft will lose revenue and people will suffer by waiting longer and even paying more for a ridesharing service.
Pizza robots
Robots may be going after our jobs, but they’ll make us delicious pizza while they’re at it. Some exciting news for pizza lovers.
Zume, a startup that makes and delivers pizza with robots is in talks with Softbank is in talks to invest $500m to $750m in its robot pizza business.
Softbank has also invested in other food deliver business, in 2016, with Pizza Hut Asia to help distribute their humanoid robots into stores, and more recently they led a $535m funding into meal-delivery app DoorDash.
Zume currently operates 3 trucks from their Mountain View, CA, HQ, but plans to partner with companies like UberEats in the future.
Check out my article on the Galaxy Watch. http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/mobility/2430-samsung-launches-galaxy-watch
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about banning the use of smartphones in the classroom. Is it going to help or detract from kids’ education? The screens on smartphones are increasing in size getting close to the 7-inch range. And Google wants to help people with their digital well-being. Sounds ironic, but it has some good features to get us off our phones.
Show Notes:
A Study done in 2015: "Teens are spending more than one-third of their days using media such as online video or music — nearly nine hours on average, those between the ages of 8 and 12, the average is nearly six hours per day."
One country is taking a serious step to get rid of this problem in schools - France.
French lawmakers voted to ban smartphone use in schools.
Lawmakers decided that students under the age of 15 must leave their cellphones at home, or at least have them turned off during the school day.
The ban also includes the use of tablets, computers, and other internet-connected devices as well. There are exceptions in place for students with disabilities and for the educational use of devices in the classroom. High schools have the option to go with this or not.
Huawei7-inch device
Huawei is introducing a new phone in its Honor Note series, and this model is coming with the line’s biggest screen yet: just a little under seven inches.
It comes with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and storage of 64GB or 128GB. Its huge AMOLED screen has a 1080 x 2220 resolution, putting it a bit over 1080p. The phone has a massive 5,000mAh battery to match its extra-large screen.
Huawei is launching the Honor Note 10 in China for about $410 USD.
Google and our digital well-being
Google is planning to release some new features to help us to see and manage the time we spend on our devices. By doing this, the company hopes that we can better understand our habits, so that we can control the demands that technology places on us in using up our attention all with the aim to help us focus on what matters the most.
Amazon’s facial recognition system failed to recognize over 5% of US Congress members. Exactly what dirt your digital assistant has on you? And you have been looking at your cards in your wallet the wrong way.
Show Notes
Digital assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant learn more about you by listening and recording conversations you have with them to learn your tone of voice, prompts, and requests.
It is common for smart speakers to pick up a random part of your conversation if you use the wake word - like Alexa or Hey Google when talking. If you changed the trigger to a more common everyday word, then you are in a bad position, because whenever you use that word, your speaker will listen and record.
Check your recordings on Amazon Alexa device:
Go to you Alexa app, Tap the dropdown icon on the top left side of the screen to open the menu options. Click on the Settings menu, then find History.
If you would like to delete a recording in your Alexa history, you can do so individually or in bulk by going to the Amazon’s Manage Your Content and Devices page to remove all. By doing this, Amazon warns that it may reduce your Alexa experience.
For Google Assistant:
On web browser: Log in to your Google account via a web browser. Click your profile picture in the top right, click on “Google Account,” and afterward you’ll be taken to an overview page. Look for the “Personal info & privacy” column centered in the overview page, then click on “Manage your Google activity.” Once you’re there, scroll down until you reach the “Review activity” section — this is what you’re looking for — and click on the “Go to my activity” link.
On your phone: Log in to your Google account in the browser and tap the following: your profile picture > Manage Accounts > Google Activity Controls > Manage Activity. You’ll be greeted by a full list of all queries that can be sorted and deleted.
Amazon’s Facial Recognition System
Here is the link to Episode 134 that we did on Facial scans at airports - http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/security/2416-facial-scans-are-coming-to-airports-are-we-ready-for-it
Recently, The American Civil Liberties Union tested Amazon’s facial recognition system — and the results were not good. During the test the faces of all 535 members of Congress were scanned against 25,000 public mugshots, using Amazon’s open Rekognition API. None of the members of Congress were in the mugshot lineup, but Amazon’s system generated 28 false matches, a finding that has raised some serious concerns about Rekognition’s use by police.
Cards
When handling your card - like handing it over to a cashier, swiping it to make contactless payments, tapping at a machine or inserting it into an ATM - we all do this vertically.
The vast majority of credit and debit cards today are designed in landscape, which is an outdated usage model.
It's time that we have cards in portrait mode. This the UK’s Starling Bank is coming out with - portrait card design.
There are others as well, like Virgin America that does a full-on portrait credit card, and CapitalOne has a range of vertical credit cards. A few other banks and payment services have been experimenting with the portrait design over the years.
Facebook and Instagram are changing their policy to crack down on underage children on their network. And Nike has opened another experimental store to provide a better and more personalized service to customers.
Show Notes
Nike has rolled out another of its retail-of-the-future experiments in opening a concept store with the aim to lure the digital shopper with personal services and experiences.
Though its interaction with customers, Nike will know what people are buying and not buying. This will help the company to know what to keep in stock.
Google Maps
Google Maps recently added a neat new feature to the web version, one that most of us likely missed because it’s the kind of smart feature you expect your mobile device to deliver.
Google Maps on the web can now notify you when it’s time to leave, in order to make sure you arrive at your destination on time. Of course, this is already on the mobile version.
A second option was added to the Notifications toggles in Google Maps’ settings called “Time to leave.” Just make sure you activate the feature by going to the Notifications toggles inside the side menu.
A crackdown on those below the age of 13
Facebook and Instagram are now looking to be more proactive and lock the accounts of users that they suspect are below the age of 13.
Before, their policy was to only investigate accounts if they were reported specifically for being potentially underage. But Facebook now confirmed that an “operational” change to its policy to lock the accounts of any underage user they come across. Once locked and if they are above 13, then Facebook will require the users to provide proof that they’re over 13, such as a government-issued photo ID, to get back access.
Do you have a cracked smartphone screen and would like to replace it with a third-party one? Not such a good idea because criminals can see what you are touching on your phone. And a cool feature in Google Pay that makes it easier for you to get back money from your friends when you're out for a bite.
Show Notes
A university in Israel has shown that it's possible to impersonate a user by tracking touch movements on smartphones with compromised third-party touchscreens. Some of these third-party screens have malicious code embedded in them.
Whether you're sending emails, doing a financial transaction or even playing games, the codes are capturing your touches that can be used against you.
The research pointed out that "if an attacker can understand the context of certain events, he can use the information to create a more effective customized attack."
Samsung Family Hub
Samsung has launched its latest Family Hub refrigerator that integrates with its voice assistant - Bixby.
The Family Hub uses the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which is big for Samsung.
This new Family Hub refrigerator which is available in Singapore, comes with a food management service feature that helps manage the expiry date of groceries through voice and provides optimum recipes. It also provides personal weather and schedule-related information to family members using consumer recognition service.
It also functions as a family communication platform where family members can share event information, photos, and memos.
Google Pay
Earlier this year, Google has brought its two existing online payment and transaction services, Google Pay Send and Google Wallet, under a single platform called Google Pay, and to make it even stronger, Google has been adding dynamic features with a series of new updates.
By sending or requesting money through Google Pay Send, users can now do so directly from the Google Pay app, which is a fairly simple process.
Google Pay can also store mobile tickets and boarding passes purchased on a new tab called Passes, which will also store gift cards.
In this episode, as Netflix, the world’s leading video streaming continues to dominate, the company is looking to add a new plan for subscribers and it is going to be more expensive. Also, crypto-jacking, you could be mining cryptocurrency for criminals.
Show Notes:
Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with over 120 million subscribers in over 190 countries, enjoying more than 140 million hours of TV shows and movies per day.
Today, Netflix offers three packages - Basic, Standard, and Premium. Now the company is looking at adding a fourth option - Ultra.
Netflix is testing out a new “Ultra” subscription that would up the monthly price even higher than the current premium option $13.99.
It looks like the Ultra plan would cost $16.99 where you can have four simultaneous 4K streams at once. For those with a premium plan, you know that four streams are already offered on the Premium plan.
Crypto-jacking
Criminals can infect devices like smart fridges with untraceable cryptocurrency mining malware. The software uses the smart device’s computing power to mine digital currency, for the third party.
Cryptocurrency mining makes money. How much money a user can make mining is the amount of computing power they have, so computing power has value. Criminals are using computing power from wherever they can sneak in the malware that does so. This is the new kind of hijacking.
Robots without the need for cameras
Most of the robots that were built need cameras to help them function. MIT is trying remove cameras and it seems like they are succeeding. Their Cheetah 3 robot doesn’t need cameras to it see to run up a set of stairs.
This is a huge development in robotics that can help in many areas to make life a little easier, especially in cases where it is very dangerous for human to go.
Hypersonic jet to fly from New York to London in two hours
In this episode, a new hypersonic passenger jet that could fly across the Atlantic in two hours. And if you use Samsung Messages app, you may want to start deleting your embarrassing photos.
Show Notes:
Boeing has revealed a new concept, a hypersonic jet that could fly passengers from New York to London in just two hours.
The chief scientist of hypersonics at Boeing, said a hypersonic passenger vehicle could be airborne in 20 to 30 years and eventually enter use as a jet for global travel. Boeing is considering both commercial and military applications.
Samsung Messages app
If you have a Samsung phone and use the default Samsung Messages app for all your texting needs, you may want to check your gallery to make sure you don't have any embarrassing photos in it.
The reason why I am telling you this is - there is a bug is causing Samsung Messages to randomly send pictures to contacts without leaving any sort of evidence.
Beauty Products Shopping
In shopping online today, most of our decisions are based on technology and how tech is being used to push the products and services to us.
A recent study by Automat, a leader in AI-driven Conversational Marketing, shows consumer shopping experiences and attitudes regarding beauty purchases, while exploring the extent to which technology influences those purchases, and identifies areas of unmet needs that messaging experiences can help address.
This study was set up as part of the focus on the beauty industry.
Some of the finding with you.
• 70 per cent of beauty consumers are overwhelmed by too many beauty product choices and 63 per cent of consumers are confused by beauty product claims.
• As a result, over two-thirds of beauty consumers perform extensive online research before making purchases. The most common purchase behavior is researching online and purchasing in a store.
• Approximately two-thirds of consumers prefer to be left alone while shopping. Surprisingly, 71 per cent of consumers use their mobile phones to do additional online research while standing at the shelf. As such, online and offline purchase behavior becomes deeply intertwined.
• Nearly half (49 per cent) of all respondents said that they would definitely use or likely use a virtual beauty advisor when shopping for beauty products whether online or offline.
• Virtual beauty advisors especially appeal to the young, digitally-engaged, frequent beauty purchasers that beauty brands want to reach the most as part of their digital strategies
In this study over 1,500 surveys were completed by U.S. female beauty consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 with a household income over $40,000, who are mobile phone users and have Facebook Messenger installed on their phones, and who made a beauty product purchase in the last three months.
Facial scan is coming to airports. Are we ready for it?
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about the subject of facial scan at airports. If you are flying to Florida in the next little while you might be subjected to a facial scan. Is this technology ripe and ready for this type of large scale use?
Show Notes
Orlando International Airport, the busiest airport in Florida where about 6 million people pass through every year is looking to become the first airport in the US to use facial scan of passengers on all arriving and departing international flights, including U.S. citizens.
This is the first airport that will try to scan all passengers. There are some airports like in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, New York and Washington which are already using face scans for some departing international flights, but they don't involve all international travelers at the airports. In the case with Orlando, this program will be expanded to include all passengers.
The question of privacy comes into play here.
Prime Wardrobe
Amazon is looking to expand in clothing. This is an interesting model that Amazon is trying out where they are looking to mimic the experience you get when you go to a physical store.
YouTube Music service
YouTube launched its YouTube Music and YouTube Premium services.
It comes with free and paid options, mobile app and a new desktop interface.
Apple is looking to close the backdoor to your iPhone
In this episode, Marcell Sukhdeo talks about how Apple is working on closing the loophole that law enforcement agencies use to access iPhones. And Microsoft is joining the action to bring us no checkout shopping experience.
Show Notes
When Amazon Go was first announced back in 2016, some people were saying that this could be the future of retail shopping. A time when physical check out through a line up at a store will be replaced with a walk in, pick up and walk out experience.
Now it seems like another major company wants to get into this direction.
Sources have confirmed that Microsoft is in talks with Walmart about a potential collaboration of coming out with its own brand of checkout-free technology.
Apple and the backdoor
Over the years Apple has positioned the iPhone as a secure device that only its owner can open. That of course has led to battles with law enforcement officials who want to access the phones of individuals who are deemed a threat.
Apple is closing the technological loophole that let authorities hack into iPhones. This has angered police and other officials and have started a debate over whether the government has a right to get into the personal devices.
Uber and drunk passengers
Uber has filed an application for a patent to use AI that will tell whether a passenger is drunk.
AI will be used to separate sober passengers from drunk ones. According to the application, the technology would be used to spot "uncharacteristic user activity," including passenger location, number of typos entered into the mobile app and even the angle the smartphone is being held.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about a new app that allows Alexa on Apple Watch, also, Encyclopedia Britannica has released a new free Chrome extension that will give you factual, relevant information in the search engine sidebar. And a new display technology from Intel that will result in over 24 hours battery life for laptops.
Show Notes
Intel has found a way to extend battery life by hours using a new type of display. The result is a laptop that can run for up to 28 hours between charges.
Intel is working with a Low Power Display Technology (LPDT), which allows for the creation of a one-watt panel manufactured by Sharp and Innolux.
The laptop that Intel used in these tests had an LPDT display running on a 15-watt Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, an Intel 600p SSD, UHD Graphics 620.
Britannica Insights
The Encyclopedia Britannica is looking to regain its relevance by attaching itself to Google search results. This is to correct the inaccurate information that the Encyclopedia Britannica believes exists on the Internet.
The new search product, “Britannica Insights,” is a Chrome extension that will take information from the encyclopedia and populate it on the sidebar “snippet” of a Google search results page.
Britannica Insights works with major search engines – Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others – on the Chrome browser.
Alexa Assistant on Apple Watch
Voice in a Can is an app that lets you interact with Alexa on an Apple Watch. It’s a standalone Apple Watch app, which means you don’t need to tether to an iPhone to use Alexa, and all you need is a Wi-Fi signal or LTE if you have that version of the Apple Watch.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about how a Tesla car hits a parked police vehicle and the driver claimed it was in autopilot mode. And it looks like we may be replacing our cracked, peeled, rusting license plates with digital license plates, on our cars, in the near future.
Show Notes
There is yet another case where a car driving in "autopilot" mode crashed recently. This time it's Tesla's Model S. The car crashed into an unoccupied, parked police vehicle in Laguna Beach, California. The driver told investigators the Tesla was in “Autopilot” mode at the time.
Photos of the crash scene show extensive damage to the front end of the Tesla and the rear side of the police vehicle.
Autopilot is a semi-autonomous technology that Tesla says is a form of advanced cruise control. So, the car was in advanced cruise control mode when it hit the parked police car.
Digital license plates
With everything going digital these days, it would be so cool to have a digital license plate. That is what California governor Jerry Brown wanted to get going five years ago when he signed a legislation authorizing digital license plates to be sold in California. Now finally, these new digital display boards are hitting the streets.
Those who are opting to buy the digital plates can register their vehicles electronically and get rid of the need to physically place stickers on their license plates each year. This of course would save money for the state.
The digital plates come with their own computer chips, batteries, and wireless communication systems. They also may be able to display personal messages — if the DMV decides to allow that.
Dealerships are expected to sell the plates for $699, not including installation costs. Users also must pay a monthly fee of about $7.
YouTube and Teens
With the fall out with Facebook, teens are more interested than ever in YouTube.
A recent study conducted by Pew Research Center, reveals that 85 per cent of teenagers (ages 13–17) say they use the platform. Closely behind are Instagram (72 per cent) and Snapchat (69 per cent).
These findings indicate an ongoing trend among teenagers of moving away from platforms like Facebook in recent years. A 2015 report pointed to 71 per cent of teens who reported themselves as Facebook users; today, that number is around 51 per cent.
GrandPad
This is a neat device that can be used to keep in touch with your parents. Through a monthly subscription they can get unlimited 4G LTE data, ad-free unlimited music. It comes with customizable security options, mobile access for caregivers and family and more.
Stay safe in the technology WRLWND.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about how Apple now provides a way for you to download a copy of all the data the company has on you. Also, you can now whistle your way into a song through a new Facebook AI, and Alexa has recorded a woman’s private conversation and sent it to a random contact.
Show Notes:
Companies, governments, businesses are all collecting data from us. It would be nice to know what these organizations have on us. What sort of data does Microsoft or Google have about me, about you?
Well, Apple has made it very easy for you to know exactly that.
The company is giving users the opportunity to download a copy of all the data it has collected from them. This includes information gathered by the App Store and iTunes, information based on your Apple ID account, device information, online and retail store activity, AppleCare support history, and more.
The tool is part of Apple’s new Data and Privacy website, which also allows users to correct any information Apple holds about them, and deactivate their account entirely.
The new Data and Privacy website, which can be found at privacy.apple.com, is a one-stop shop for users who want to find out what Apple knows about them and you have the option of downloading that data.
Whistling your way to the next Hit with Facebook AI
Facebook AI Research has developed an AI that can convert music in one style or genre into virtually any other. Instead of merely trying to repeat notes or style-specific traits, the approach uses unsupervised training to teach a neural network how to create similar noises all on its own. Facebook's system even prevents the AI from merely memorizing the audio signal by purposefully distorting the input.
Bad Alexa!
As a smart home speaker owner, your worst nightmare is having your private message recorded AND sent to someone without your knowledge. Well, that turned out to be a real-life nightmare for a woman in Portland. Her Amazon Echo recorded an audio clip of her conversation and sent it to a person on her contact list.
The woman said she was alerted to the bug when the person who received the audio clip called to let her know that she has been hacked. The person who received the message was one of her husband’s employees.
By looking at the log, Amazon was able to confirm that what the woman said was entirely accurate. It happened the way she related. The company is looking to fix this.
In this episode, Google is getting closer to making its assistant sound more human, but can they get to the point where AI can react to us on an emotional level? Also, what if every company is like Amazon where they can fulfill customer orders within two days? That would be cool. And if you are learning to play the guitar, you can Riffstation Pro app for free. I will tell you how.
Google Duplex
If you have not heard by now, Google’s updated virtual assistant can now make phone calls on your behalf to schedule appointments and make reservations.
We’re entering an age when conversations with computers are reaching a whole new level – better quality and reliability. But there is still lots of room for improvement, as we’ve heard in the two clips I played, the technology is getting better, Yet, I still believe that AI’s capability to interact with humans on a deeper level has a long way to go. For example, in having a normal conversation with an AI and to have that AI recognize the mood of the other person is not here yet.
Two-day shipping
What would it be like, if every company is like Amazon where they can fulfill customer orders within two days? Wouldn’t that be awesome? You can order anything online and within 48 hours the item is waiting for you at home.
Business around the world with the exception of Amazon are facing pressure to deliver on time and in full, but don’t have the necessary tools to execute contracts, take payments efficiently, and track deliveries, ensuring that goods arrive when they should.
There is a platform that is called ‘Movement Ecosystem’ (“MOVA), where people can go and utilize performance tools, and pull monthly management reports, where they can see everything that moves and what the real performance was. They can pinpoint and track where the faults were, whether it’s the result of an employee’s doing, or something back at the warehouse.
Riffstation
If you are an accomplished guitarist or just trying to learn playing the guitar like me, then you will be excited to know that Riffstation is offering its desktop app, for Mac and Windows for free. This app normally cost $35.00.
Riffstation will no longer be available on the web or mobile devices. But they are hoping to bring a similar service back in the future.
If you would like to get the Pro copy of this app, you can do so by going to Riffstattion.com.
128 | Hackers can get into your hotel room with you knowing
Did you know that hackers can break into your hotel room without your knowledge? I will let you know how. Google has released an update to Gmail and from what it looks like, it’s going after Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft is sending an e-waste recycler to jail for ‘pirating’ Windows.
Show Notes
Did you know that hackers have been able to sneak in-and-out of hotel rooms for years now? It is very possible that a hacker may have entered the room you have stayed at during your last trip without you knowing.
Using “off-the-shelf” hardware items, hackers can convert ordinary room cards into master keys.
Researchers from F-Secure, that's a cybersecurity firm in Finland, stumbled upon the flaw about a year ago and have been working with the largest lock manufacturer in the world to help fix it.
They’ve already managed to create a software update that would effectively resolve the issue, but it will be several weeks before it’s fully up and running.
Google is going after Outlook
Google unveiled a new Gmail design this week, giving its free email service some new features and a fresh look. Regular Gmail users can now enjoy the new design, smart replies, and email snooze features.
Also, Google is adding some smart business-focused features designed to improve productivity, security, and manage the sharing of emails. These are the types of features that you'd usually find in Microsoft’s Outlook app. Of course, Microsoft dominates the workplace space, but Google through its G Suite is working to change that.
Microsoft is sending an e-waste recycler to jail for ‘pirating’ Windows
Eric Lundgren, the founder of the first electronic hybrid recycling facility in the United States and an innovator in the field of recycling e-waste, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison over restore disks for Windows computer.
His company uses old mobile phones, computers and other electronics to build new devices. Eric has long been an advocate of recycling electronics, and now he's going to jail for it.
127 | AI that can create Flintstones and a robot to assemble your furniture
Remember the Flintstones, there is an AI that can create the 'Flintstones' cartoons from text descriptions. The days of putting together a new piece of furniture from IKEA could be gone soon, a robot can do that for us instead. And what exactly is blockchain? I will share some information on this technology that is growing rapidly across industries.
Show Notes
Looking through pages of instructions and sorting through a bag of screws and bolts to assemble a furniture may soon be a thing of the past. Scientists have spent three years programming a robot - made of arms, grippers, sensors and 3D cameras - which assembled the frame of an IKEA dining chair in around 20 minutes.
They say it may not be long before such robots can fully assemble a piece of furniture from a manual, verbal instruction or by just looking at an image of the finished item.
What exactly is blockchain?
We've been hearing a lot about blockchain and bitcoins and it is a little to grasp what it is exactly. So, I will try to share some information with you, hopefully at the end of this show you will have a better understanding of blockchain.
AI and Flintstones
It can take such a long time to animate cartoons. But what if you could ask computers to do some of the heavy lifting? They just might.
Researchers have produced an AI system, called Craft, that automatically produces The Flintstones scenes based on text descriptions.
The team trained Craft to recognize elements from the classic cartoon by feeding it more than 25,000 three-second clips, each of which included descriptions of who was in the scene and what was happening. From there, the AI only needed a line or two referencing a scene to stitch together characters, backgrounds and props.
Phone addiction is causing loneliness, anxiety and depression in many, and has been considered in a new study as substance abuse. Some phone vendors are telling Android users that they have the latest security updates while it’s not so. And in search of the perfect voice for virtual personal assistants. All of this on WRLWND Radio for this week.
Show Notes
In a new study published in NeuroRegulation, argues that overuse of smart phones is just like any other type of substance abuse. The study pointed out that, “behavioral addiction of smartphone use begins forming neurological connections in the brain in ways similar to how opioid addiction is experienced by people taking Oxycontin for pain relief.”
Android updates
A German security firm found that many Android phone vendors fail to make patches available to their users, or delay their release for months; they sometimes also tell users their phone's firmware is fully up to date, even while they've secretly skipped patches.
The company tested the firmware of 1,200 phones, from more than a dozen phone manufacturers, for every Android patch released in 2017. The devices were made by Google itself as well as major Android phone makers like Samsung, Motorola, and HTC, and lesser-known Chinese-owned companies like ZTE and TCL. Their testing found that other than Google's own flagship phones like the Pixel and Pixel 2, even top-tier phone vendors sometimes claimed to have patches installed that they actually lacked.
Virtual Assistant Voice
IT research firm Gartner predicts that many touch-required tasks on mobile apps will become voice activated within the next several years. So, the voice feature on our devices are becoming more common these days.
In the book Wired for Speech: How Voice Activates and Advances the Human-Computer Relationship, the authors Clifford Nass and Scott Brave explored the relationships among technology, gender and authority.
According to their research, men like a male computer voice more than a female computer voice. Women, like a female voice more than a male one.
Google workers are calling on the company to stop developing AI for warfare, Microsoft is adding ransomware protection and file restore to its OneDrive cloud storage and is video games addiction a disease? The WHO says, yes!
Show Notes:
Microsoft is marketing the Files Restore feature as a good way to protect against ransomware attacks that lock files on a local PC, and often try to delete copies that are stored in synced folders – replicating those changes in the cloud. We’ve seen a number of these attacks recently, and victims have been forced to pay money to try and get their files back.
If OneDrive detects mass deletion of cloud files, Microsoft will alert users through an email or mobile / desktop notification and a recovery process will let you quickly restore to a time before the ransomware attack.
Thousands of Google employees have signed a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai protesting the company's work assisting the US Department of Defense to develop computer vision AI.
The employees in the letter wrote that Google is "already struggling to keep the public's trust" due to fears about biased and weaponized AI.
The employees are trying to make the point that Google will now be joining defence companies like Raytheon, and General Dynamics. Other tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon, are also participating in defence related technologies so why can’t Google be involved?
Video games
In the June update of its International Classification of Diseases, the WHO will include "gaming disorder". This is a pattern of behavior according to the WHO that is "characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences."
A study that was done in Ontario in 2016 estimated that 13 per cent of Ontario students — or almost 123,000 children — have experienced symptoms of a "video gaming problem," which was up from nine per cent in 2007. About one in five boys reported having "problematic symptoms" linked to their video gaming.
We want to hear from you!
Thanks for taking the time to join us on today’s show. I would love to hear from you, please send me an email at marcello@promotivemedia.ca. We may even read your email on the show, you never know.
From the rest of the team at WRLWND Radio, this is Marcello Sukhdeo, in light of the news we’ve covered today, saying, stay safe in the technology WRLWND.
MyFitnessPaland Saks data breaches and the Facebook fiasco
We have been hit by a wave of data breaches of recent. Should we keep trusting companies with our personal data? And the Facebook fiasco, it’s not about security, it’s a privacy breach that could spell the doom of social media giant.
Show Notes
Saks data breach
A few days ago, three Canadian locations of department store Saks, were exposed to the data breach. This was revealed by Saks parent company, Hudson's Bay.
Three Canadian Saks locations, all in Ontario, were exposed to the breach:
- Sherway Gardens in Toronto.
- Bramalea City Centre in Brampton.
- Pickering Town Centre.
Hudson Bay itself, at the time of recording this podcast, hasn't said whether any of its Canadian locations were affected. It says the investigation is ongoing, but there's no indication the breach affected the company's digital platforms or Hudson's Bay and Home Outfitters stores.
The company is asking clients to review their account statements to see if there have been activity or transactions they don't recognize and that they will notify customers affected by the breach as quickly as possible and will offer free identity protection services once they learn more about the breach.
MyFitnessPal breach
There has been another massive data breach, over 150 million My Fitness Pal accounts were compromised.
Under Armour, the company that owns MyFitnessPal, quickly sent out notifications to its users and once the breach was discovered, so they deserve some credit for how they responded unlike the other examples we have seen over the last few year and recently.
In addition to notifying all MyFitnessPal users, the company has provided information about how users can protect their data, and asking that all users to change their passwords. They are also working with law enforcement to investigate and monitor for suspicious activity, and exploring enhancements to help detect and prevent similar unauthorized access in the future.
**Facebook**
Mark Zuckerberg has responded to the current backlash that Facebook is getting regarding the way data collected by Facebook was used. The shortened version of what he said, was, “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't, then, we don't deserve to serve you.”
That is not right. That’s not the issue here.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal is not about a failure to protect users’ data; it is a failure to protect the privacy of users’ data. There is a difference there. So, let me repeat, is not about a failure to protect users’ data; it is a failure to protect the privacy of users’ data.
In this episode, Uber self-driving car killed a woman in Arizona recently, was that accident avoidable? There are many calls coming from different quarters to quite Facebook and streaming is taking over the music industry, so what's next?
Show Notes
Last Sunday, in the city of Tempe, Arizona, Elaine Herzberg who was 49 years old, attempted to cross a busy road. She was pushing a bicycle across the road about 100 meters from the closest pedestrian crosswalk when she was hit by a vehicle, which was travelling at 38 miles per hour in a 35 mile-per-hour zone.
The Police Chief of Tempe said the crash may have been unavoidable.
One analyst who follows autonomous vehicles, said laser and radar systems can see in the dark much better than humans or cameras and that the victim was well within the range.
He said, “It absolutely should have been able to pick her up. From what I see in the video it sure looks like the car is at fault, not the pedestrian.”
Delete Facebook
How often do you post on Facebook? A lot of people are calling for others to quit Facebook. Even the hashtag #DeleteFacebook is trending.
Many are wondering if it is time to say goodbye to Facebook.
At its best, Facebook is a nice way to stay in touch with friends around the world, in business to learn what’s important to the people we serve and to share the work we’re doing. But there’s a concern to all of this. The very data that make it work so well, have power, power that can be used for good or evil.
And because of this, many are now waking up to the concerns over privacy and how our personal information is being shared.
Streaming Music
Over the years we have seen the evolution of the way music is consumed. From cassettes to cds, then onto digital downloads. For a little while now streaming is the main way of getting our music.
Streaming music is taking over the music industry, and that can be seen with digital download sales which have fallen so much in the past few years that they’re now smaller than sales of CDs, vinyl, and other physical media.
A recent report shows that digital downloads fell to $1.3 billion last year, whereas physical media, while also falling, only declined to $1.5 billion.
In this episode, Elon Musk says AI threat greater than nuclear warheads. Social media companies may have to disclose how they target us with ads. And are you passionate about your Apple Watch, the CFO of Fitbit has never met anyone who is?
Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, SpaceX and PayPal, is sounding the alarm of AI. He has once again warned, quite recently, against the dangers of developing artificial intelligence and the need for its regulation
“Experts think they know more than they do,” he said, when asked why he disagreed with how many are viewing AI technology in a positive light. “They are much less smart than they think they are and this tends to plague smart people – they don’t like the idea that a machine can be smarter than them.
"It’s the wishful thinking of the situation. It scares the hell out of me. It is capable of vastly more than anyone know and the rate of improvement is exponential.”
"AI is much greater danger than nuclear warheads, so why do we have no regulatory insight? It’s insane."
We need to have regulations to govern AI technology.
Disclosure of how and why we are targeted by ads on social media
Facebook and Twitter may be forced to reveal detailed information about how and why users were targeted for political ads, according to Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner in the UK
What she is trying to do is bring transparency in political campaigning.
Some are even concerned that the tools being used by social media companies are being used to determine how to microtarget someone.
Apple Watch
Apple has been constantly getting the praises and recommendations as a brand consumers feel passionate about, but Fitbit Chief Financial Officer Bill Zerella doesn’t think that applies to the Apple Watch.
Speaking at a conference recently, he said that, “I have yet to meet anyone who owns an Apple Watch who’s passionate about the product.”
The latest IDC data suggests that Apple sold more wearables than any rival last quarter, thanks to strong demand for the Apple Watch 3.
Fitbit, meanwhile, is ramping up its efforts to compete with Apple by introducing the new Versa smartwatch. The new Fitbit wearable looks similar to the Apple Watch, and offers music playback and other capabilities at a price under $200 US.
Last year, the company also introduced its $300 Fitbit Ionic, its first stab at an Apple Watch-style device, complete with GPS.
For comments, please send me an email: marcello@promotivemedia.ca.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
In this episode, have you ever stopped to think who is the author of the news you're reading, is it a human or an AI? And with the race to driverless cars heating up, there are some ethical and moral questions that need to be answered, like unemployment and who should be held responsible for an accident.
In the not so distant future, we will receive the news in a version that is more suitable to our liking, written entirely by artificial intelligence.
One may argue that journalists will still be around. And that's true, but journalists might still report on events, but it will be AI that will take these inputs, inject data from its vast historical data and formulate a multitude of different themes, each making different arguments and coming to different conclusions.
Then, using data about readers' interests learned from their social media, online shopping and browsing history, AI will present them with the version of the news they would like to read.
Driverless cars
At Mobile World Congress, where the top companies in mobile normally meet to showcase their latest line of phones, it is worthwhile to note that it is now becoming a place where executives from the car industry are showing up in large numbers.
Given the growth of technology and how that is being integrated into cars, carmakers have no choice but to stay with the pack or risk being left behind. That is why more and more executives from the car industry are making their way to events like Mobile World Congress and other tech conferences.
Regarding moral concerns: The first issue is unemployment caused by a disruptive technology that could put millions of truck and taxi drivers out of work; the second, who will be held responsible when things go wrong.
False News
According to a new study examining the flow of stories on Twitter, people, prefer false news.
As a result, false news travels faster, farther and deeper through the social network than true news.
The researchers, from the MIT, found that those patterns applied to every subject they studied, not only politics and urban legends but also business, science and technology.
False claims were 70 percent more likely than the truth to be shared on Twitter. True stories were rarely retweeted by more than 1,000 people, but the top 1 percent of false stories were
routinely shared by 1,000 to 100,000 people. And it took true stories about six times as long as false ones to reach 1,500 people.
Researchers identified more than 80,000 posts on Twitter that contained false claims and stories. Combined, those posts were retweeted millions of times.
A software to identifying gang related crimes faster, and Equifax is back in the news
In this episode, a new software that can help police identify gang crimes faster. Are you the master or slave of your phone? Marcello Sukhdeo shares some tips on how to become the master, and Equifax confirmed another 2.4 million records were breached and not previously reported.
Show Notes:
A new algorithm is being tried which automates the process of identifying gang crimes. But this has come under some criticism where scientists have warned that far from reducing gang violence, this program could do the opposite by eroding trust in communities, or it could brand innocent people as gang members.
For years, scientists have been using computer algorithms to map criminal networks, or to guess where and when future crimes might take place, a practice known as predictive policing. But little work has been done on labeling past crimes as gang-related.
In this new work, researchers developed a system that can identify a crime as gang-related based on only four pieces of information: the primary weapon, the number of suspects, and the neighborhood and location where the crime took place.
Slave or Master?
Samsung’s head of mobile in the UK said: “We need to return to being the masters of our technology and stop being slaves to our phones.”
Many studies have shown that both the young and old alike are becoming increasingly addicted to smartphones, social media and the constant need for messaging.
“Let’s not spend our life looking at these devices. You look around and everyone is doing it, leaning over [their] phones. Let’s make the device be the slave and we’ll be the master - let’s turn the roles completely on their head.”
Now the way that he says this can be done is leverage their vast portfolio of devices, from fridges to cookers, vacuums and TVs, as well as its SmartThings, Internet of Things platform, to shift the game towards a more intelligent, connected future that frees us from phone obsession.
Equifax is back in the news
Last month, reports surfaced that more information than previously thought may have been exposed in Equifax's massive data breach and this week, the has company confirmed it. Along with the 145.5 million individuals already reported to have been affected by the breach, Equifax says another 2.4 million were as well.
Now to play this down, the interim CEO of Equifax said that:
"This is not about newly discovered stolen data. It's about sifting through the previously identified stolen data, analyzing other information in our databases that was not taken by the attackers and making connections that enabled us to identify additional individuals."
A new algorithm that can predict heart disease by looking at your eyes
In this episode, a new AI algorithm from Google that can predict heart disease by looking at your eyes. How to avoid getting your phone number ported without your permission and a smart jacket named Mercury that can keep you warm during the winter.
Show Notes:
T-Mobile has recently warned its customers about "port-out scams," This is a type of scam by hackers to get your phone number, then transfer it to another carrier, and finally use it to access your bank account.
These scams aren't necessarily limited to T-Mobile and can affect other carriers as well.
How can you protect yourself? For a T-Mobile customer, you can enable port validation, which requires the creation of a 6- to 15-digit passcode.
In Canada, providers also give the ability to set up a PIN on your account. To port out, you need your phone number, account number and PIN. If you forget your PIN, the carriers can reset it for you.
Google's new AI algorithm
Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally. An estimated 17.7 million people died from cardiovascular diseases in 2015, representing 31 per cent of all global deaths.
In the US, about 630,000 Americans die from heart disease each year, that's one in every four deaths.
In Canada, about one in 12 (or 2.4 million) Canadian adults age 20 and over live with diagnosed heart disease; Every hour, about 12 Canadian adults age 20 and over with diagnosed heart disease die.
Scientists from Google have discovered a new way to assess a person's risk of heart disease using machine learning. By analyzing scans of the back of a patient's eye, the company's software is able to accurately deduce data, including an individual's age, blood pressure, and whether or not they smoke. This can then be used to predict their risk of suffering a major cardiac event - such as a heart attack - with roughly the same accuracy as current leading methods.
Mercury Smart Jacket
A new smart jacket from the company Ministry of Supply provides a personalized climate control heated jacket that adjusts its temperature to match the user preference.
The jacket that is made from polyester and polyurethane that is waterproof, windproof and odour resistant.
At first thought, one might get the idea that this jacket is going to be heavy because of the heating elements, but that is not the case. The heating elements weight just 3.4 oz which is fairly light making it a jacket that can be used as a regular jacket.
It also uses machine learning to understand the user's preferences. The more feedback given to the jacket, the better it will get at making automatic adjustments to keep the temperature inside at the optimal level, right up to 57° C.
Check out the video: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1850124313/ministry-of-supply-the-first-intelligent-heated-ja/widget
**TechBytes****:**
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took to Twitter to announce that the construction of the 10,000-year clock has begun on his property in Texas. Conceived back in 1986 by American computer scientist Daniel Hills, the clock's mechanism is designed to advance far more slowly than your average timekeeping device. It will tick once a year, its century hand will move once every 100 years, and its cuckoo will emerge every millennium.
Google's latest consumer version of Chrome, version number 64, just started cleaning up messy referral links. Now, when you go to share an item, you'll no longer see a long tracking string after a link, just the primary link itself.
This feature now happens automatically when sharing links in Chrome, either by the Share menu or by copying the link and pasting it elsewhere. Even though it slices off the extra bit of the URL, this doesn't affect referral information.
HomePoddestroying furniture& FBI warnsagainst Huawei
In this episode, Apple HomePod, if you are thinking of getting one and you have beautiful wooden floors, you may want to think twice. Facebook is reportedly using the phone numbers given for its two-factor authentication to send users unsolicited marketing messages. Also, the heads of the FBI, CIA, and NSA are calling on people not to use Huawei phones.
Show Notes
It appears that the HomePod is leaving white ring marks on wooden surfaces that are difficult to remove.
Someone tweeted that the HomePod left "etched circles" on their wooden furniture within 20 minutes of use, while others found the speaker left deeper and more obvious marks in several places and on several different types of wooden surface.
Even reviewers also noted that marks have appeared on some surfaces to varying degrees, which faded but not disappear over time.
Apple said in a support page: "It is not unusual for any speaker with a vibration-damping silicone base to leave mild marks when placed on some wooden surfaces.
"The marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface, and will often go away after several days when the speaker is removed from the wooden surface."
The company suggests the marks can be remedied by wiping the wood down with a soft damp or dry cloth, but failing that, the surface will need to be cleaned or resurfaced.
- For more on the HomePod, check out my article: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/mobility/2357-apple-announces-the-release-of-homepod
Facebook is reportedly using two-factor authentication phone numbers to spam its users with unsolicited marketing.
Someone noticed that Facebook was sending text notifications to a phone number that he registered only for receiving two-factor authentication codes. But what is more important is that he never opted to enable text message notifications.
Huawei
Huawei has been pushing their phones into North America for the past few years. In what started out as telecoms firm, Huawei is a fairly successful company creating hardware for communications infrastructure.
But the heads of six major US intelligence agencies have warned that American citizens shouldn't use products and services made by Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE.
The intelligence chiefs made the recommendation during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing recently. The group included the heads of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the director of national intelligence.
TechBytes
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The age of annoying pop-up ads online may be at an end. Google has begun blocking intrusive ads by default in its Chrome browser. The move leaves the tech giant, which makes most of its revenue from advertising, in control of the kind of ads users can see. Starting on 15 February, Google will use a default ad blocker in its Chrome browser aimed at stopping ads and pop-ups which make for slow user experience. Flashing animated banner ads and auto-playing video ads with sound are set to be targeted, while Google will contact websites that breach the advertising guidelines and, ultimately, block their advertising if they fail to make changes after 30 days.
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The first big smartphone launch of 2018 is edging closer, with Samsung expected to announce its hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S9 in just a few weeks. The S9 is the latest phone in the company's series of flagship smartphones, with high-end specs, an edge-to-edge display and a dual camera. Samsung has sent out invites to an event on February 25 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to unveil the S9; it's latest high-end smartphone that will look to take on Apple's iPhone X.
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Amazon has made the surprise decision to cut hundreds of positions, despite recent hiring sprees. Most of the layoffs said to be in the "hundreds" affect the company's Seattle headquarters, but there are expected to be more around the world as well.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about how your phone is spying on you even after you have turned off the tracking feature, what you can do to break the unhealthy habit of sitting in front of your TV after a long work day and how to avoid being skimmed at a payment terminal.
Show Notes:
Some of the things you can do to break the habit of sitting in front of your TV after a long day at work:
Read a book, Exercise, Listen to a Podcast, Spend time with a friend, Play with your kids or pets, Meet a friend for dinner or a drink, Cook or bake, Clean your living space, Go for a walk or run.
Skimming your financial information
Police in Pennsylvania have spotted a group of thieves who are placing completely camouflaged skimmers on top of credit card terminals in Aldi stores. The skimmers, look exactly like the original credit card terminals but instead, it would store debit card numbers and PINs of shoppers.
Your phone is spying on you
U.S. military officials were recently caught off guard by revelations that service members' digital fitness trackers were storing the locations of their workouts-including at or near military bases and clandestine sites around the world. But this threat is not limited to Fitbits and similar devices.
Most people expect that turning their phone's location services off disables this sort of mobile surveillance - a phone can listen in on a user's finger-typing to discover a secret password-and how simply carrying a phone in your pocket can tell data companies where you are and where you're going.
Mobile phones have so many sensors. Apps can access most of these sensors without asking for permission from the user.
Check out Security Shelf for tips and suggestions. Go to: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/insights/eric-jacksch
Thanks for listening.
The call to remove Messenger Kids app and Uber Bike is coming
In this episode, the new Messenger Kids app from Facebook and why child development advocates are calling for it to be discontinued, Robots could soon be issuing speeding tickets and Uber is set to launch a new bike sharing service – the Uber Bike.
Show Notes:
We’ve heard about concern about AI taking over jobs in many different sectors, but one that we don’t often hear about is policing. It looks like police officers may be next in line to see certain tasks replaced by AI.
In January, Ford filed a US patent application for self-driving police cars that could someday replace traffic officers.
For some this may sound strange but technologies such as cameras for surveillance are already being used around the world to collect and report on certain activities.
To take this a step further, Dubai comes to mind, they have recently unveiled their first robot police officer, and plan for these AI officers to make up a quarter of their police force by 2030.
The reason being cited for this move of automating police tasks such as issuing tickets for speeding or failing to stop at a stop sign is that it can free up time for human police officers so that they can perform other duties.
Uber Bike
Uber is planning to launch a bike-sharing service soon in partnership with JUMP. JUMP is a startup that recently received the first and only permit to operate dockless bike-sharing in San Francisco.
This new service is called Uber Bike. Uber customers will be able to book JUMP bikes within the Uber app. Just to be clear, the bikes will not be brought to people. Instead, riders are responsible for going to the location of the bike.
Messenger Kids app
More than a dozen organizations and about 100 health experts sent a letter to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the new chat app Messenger Kids will likely damage a child's healthy development.
The letter states: "Raising children in our new digital age is difficult enough. We ask that you do not use Facebook's enormous reach and influence to make it even harder."
The experts argue that younger children are not ready to have social media accounts.
**TechBytes****:**
Facebook’s daily active user base in the U.S. and Canada fell for the first time ever in the fourth quarter, dropping to 184 million from 185 million in the previous quarter.
Overall, Facebook’s daily active user audience was up 32 million people in Q4. But it was the smallest quarter-over-quarter increase in two years.
It looks like Microsoft will be coming out with its Edge browser for the iPad soon. The company announced that it will be coming out with its beta form this month.
It looks like the browser will be available for the iPad ahead of a version for Android tablets. Based on the iPhone test period, an official release can probably be expected in March.
Apple is working on three new iPhones for this year, one will be a big-screen model that will be cheaper than the iPhone X. The tech giant is said to have plans to develop an iPhone that comes with a 6.1-inch TFT LCD display. That device will reportedly be the cheapest of the new Apple smartphones this year and will have the design of the iPhone X, featuring an edge-to-edge display and "notch" at the top of the screen.
Computers that work like brains In this episode, Spectre and Meltdown, what to do, computers that work like brains and you can now watch Plex in virtual reality with Google Daydream Show Notes: Meltdown and Spectre have dominated security discussions since early this year. These attacks are within the hardware and can expose confidential data. This is a different kind of vulnerability, one that is tied to hardware instead of an application or operating system. The Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities were discovered by a team of independent researchers including Google's Project Zero and are said to likely to be the worst processor bugs ever discovered. Computers that work like our brains Advances in machine learning have moved at a gallop in recent years, but the computer processors these programs run on have barely changed. To remedy this, companies have been retuning existing chip architecture to fit the demands of AI, while, an entirely new approach is taking shape: remaking processors so they work more like our brains. This is called "neuromorphic computing," and scientists from MIT said they've made significant progress in getting this new breed of chips up and running. Their research, published in the journal Nature Materials, could eventually lead to processors that run machine learning tasks with lower energy demands - up to 1,000 times less. This would enable us to give more devices AI abilities like voice and image recognition. Plex in virtual reality with Google Daydream Plex, the hugely popular media streaming app, is adding support for Google's Daydream VR. With a Daydream-compatible Android smartphone and the requisite headset, you'll be able to watch movies or TV shows from any media server linked to your Plex account in virtual reality. Plex has several interactive viewing environments you can choose from, ranging from a luxurious loft apartment to a drive-in movie theater. Once you start playing something, that content will take up "a large percentage of your visual field." TechBytes: Last June, Apple announced the HomePod. Scheduled to be released last December, the HomePod was delayed to early 2018, so that Apple can get some more time to get it ready. Now, the HomePod is finally here. The device will be available in stores on February 9 with pre-orders starting this Friday, January 26 in the US, UK and Australia. Microsoft today announced that it's dropping the price of Azure Standard Support from $300 per month to $100 per month and that it's shortening its promised response time for critical cases from two to one hour. Google Play has ever seen the highest number of app downloads in a quarter. Google Play app downloads topped 19 billion in Q4 2017, a new record. That also makes Google Play's download lead over iOS its largest ever, at 145 percent. Specifically, the downloads were driven by markets including India, Indonesia, and Brazil, which all contributed to Google Play's 10 percent yearover-year growth in total downloads as well.
The importance of paint in self-driving cars and voice-activated tech, is it worth it?
In this episode, hear about how your voice is now an important part of technology, but is it really worth it? Another challenge for self-driving cars - the colour of the paint and Amazon has narrowed its search for its second headquarters down to 20 locations.
Show Notes:
CES 2018 has come and gone and one of the things that the media is doing is sifting through the many new tech that were on displayed at the event.
With the avalanche of so many cool tech ideas and products, one of the biggest things that really stands out about technology is our VOICE.
Our voice is playing a big part in technology. We can see that with the two biggest players on the market - Amazon and Google, but there are many other companies entering the race as well.
Apple has Siri, Samsung has Bixby, Facebook just announced connected home products. This trend is expected to continue on with many more digital assistants in the next few months and years.
If you think about smart speakers, that category of tech products is heating up as well. Google, Amazon and even Apple is trying to get into the race. Once again, it is about our voice interacting with tech.
Paint and self-driving cars
We have heard about many challenges and concerns about self-driving cars. But another one that popped up recently - is about the colour of the vehicle.
As you know dark colours absorb light, and therein is a problem. This means the lasers of autonomous vehicles don’t quite bounce off—or are unable to detect cars painted in black.
So, paint makers now have to work on a new type of paint that will reflect lasers to tell that a car is infront or behind.
The world’s largest producer of vehicle coatings, PPG Industries Inc., is engineering a paint that allows the near-infrared light emitted by lasers to pass through a dark car’s exterior layer and rebound off a reflective undercoat—making it visible to sensors. They got the idea from the purple eggplant, which uses a similar trick on farms to keep cool on hot days.
Natural Cycles and unwanted pregnancies
A little while ago, we talked about the much-hyped birth control app – Natural Cycles. It’s a contraceptive app that provides women with the best time to have sexual intercourse without the need for protection.
But this app has been reported to Swedish authorities after a hospital found 37 cases of unwanted pregnancies among women relying on the app for contraception.
**TechBytes****:**
WhatsApp today officially launched its new WhatsApp Business app in select markets, including Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S., ahead of its planned worldwide rollout. The addition of business profiles and new messaging tools aimed at business customers is part of the company’s broader plan to generate revenue by charging larger enterprises for advanced tools to communicate with customers on the platform now used by over a billion people worldwide.
Instagram is continuing to build out its messaging section with a new feature that’s already found in popular apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. From the direct messages screen, people you follow or have previously chatted with can now see when you were last using Instagram. The new “Show Activity Status” option is enabled by default inside of Instagram’s settings. You can choose to toggle it off.
Amazon has narrowed the search for its second headquarters down to 20 locations from 238 proposals across North America. The company intends to work through this list and make a final pick by the end of 2018.
The only Canadian city that made this list is Toronto. Amazon says that it plans to “dive deeper into their proposals” and evaluate whether these locations can actually support the company’s plan to add up to 50,000 jobs.
CES 2018: Laundry folding robot, bigger and rollable TVs, and Nokia sleep
In this episode, we take a look at CES 2018, the biggest tech show in the world. Hear about autonomous cars, taxis, Samsung’s Wall TV, Razar’s laptop dock and FoldiMate’s laundry folding robot and more.
Show Notes:
- Fisker’s new luxury EMotion electric sedan is coming in 2020 with futuristic butterfly doors that open upwards at an angle.
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Bell Helicopter is looking to bring us autonomous air taxis. Uber is partnering with Bell to help develop the project for launch sometime in the 2020s.
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Samsung’s "The Wall" 4K TV is one of the largest (if not the biggest) TVs unveiled at CES 2018.
- LG is showing off its eye-popping 65-inch rollable 4K OLED TV.
- 50-qubit quantum computer that is capable of processing more calculations and could be a game-changer for AI and machine-learning.
- FoldiMate laundry folding robot
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Nokia has announced the Nokia Sleep, a bed sensor that sits under your mattress to provide you with data while you sleep
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Fingerprint sensor under the display.
Tech Bytes:
Scientists at Harvard University recently unveiled a metalens that has the potential to shrink the size of any device that uses a camera while at the same time improving performance.
While traditional lenses are made from glass, metalenses use a flat surface peppered with nanostructures to focus light. One problem with metalenses has been their inability to focus the full spectrum of light.
That's not the case anymore, however, as a team at Harvard's Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a metalens that can focus the entire visible spectrum of light -- including white light -- at a focal point, with high resolution.
This means that lens will be thinner making future phones and other devices much thinner.
One of America's largest retirement villages will have a fleet of self-driving taxis introduced next year.
US firm Voyage said it will start rolling out the service at The Villages, Florida which is home to 125,000 senior residents.
It said the scheme, spanning 750 miles of road, would be the "largest by area size" in the world.
Facebook is testing a new feature in its app where it will have city-specific local news, events and announcements available on its platform.
The test is currently live for a new section called 'Today In' in six US cities.
In this first episode of 2018, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about the world’s first ever tech nail which works as a phone, self-repairing screens can become a reality soon and a new technology from Nissan that uses signals from the driver's brain to aid in driving.
Show Notes:
According to report published in the journal Science, a research team has created a glass from a low-weight polymer that is able to re-bind cracks when pushed together by hand. This can also work at room temperature.
Nail wearable
In collaboration with inventor Sean Miles and beauty brand Nails Inc., the Mobile Nail is a new wearable that contains embedded technology that allows it to operate as a mobile "handset". The idea is that users can talk to their friends by simply raising their finger to their face.
Brain-to-Vehicle
Nissan announced some new automobile technology that goes beyond autonomous driving to make the car more responsive to the human hosts, and make driving more enjoyable. The new technology has been dubbed Brain-to-Vehicle, or B2V, technology and is said to enable vehicles to interpret signals from the driver's brain, "redefining how people interact with their cars". It's interesting to hear of Nissan's new B2V technology research as most other vehicle companies stride forward to remove the human from the driving equation.
Tech Bytes:
Spotify just announced that it has 70 million subscribers compared to Apple Music’s 30 million. Last July, Spotify had more than 60 million paid listeners and over 140 million active users.
The App Store just blew through another record, Together, iPhone and iPad users spent $300 million in the App Store on the first day of 2018 alone.
The company claims it set a new holiday record. "During the week starting on Christmas Eve, a record number of customers made purchases or downloaded apps from the App Store, spending over $890 million in that seven-day period," Apple said in a statement.
Garmin announced Thursday an Intel-based infotainment platform for automotive manufacturers to embed in their products. For customers, Garmin's infotainment offering will bring Amazon Alexa, wireless rear-seat navigation, and other conveniences while driving or riding.
Garmin is trying to take a shot at BlackBerry QNX, who has a large footprint in the infotainment space thanks to its partnerships with all the largest automotive industry chip suppliers. BlackBerry's software is in about 60 percent of the vehicles on the road.
Trying to utilize its GPS expertise, Garmin's partnership with Amazon brings Alexa integration into Garmin's infotainment offering to enable drivers to control on-board navigation, media player software, and utilize Alexa skills –without the need for a smartphone.
2017: Top searches, breakthrough technologies and biggest breaches
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks the top searches on Google for 2017, also a look at 10 breakthrough technologies that emerged during the year and the biggest breaches of 2017 thus far.
Show Notes
It’s no secret that Google has been tracking us. Everything that we searched for on Google is being complied to see what the trends are and what we are interested in.
https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2017/CA/
Technologies in 2017
Looking back at 2017, there were some really innovative and breakthrough technologies that made the news. These technologies all have staying power. They will affect the economy and our politics, improve medicine, or influence our culture. Some are unfolding right now; and others will take a decade or more to develop.
https://www.technologyreview.com/lists/technologies/2017/
Biggest data breaches in 2017
We’ve heard about so many data breaches during the year. As businesses continue in the path of digital transformation, some are making mistakes that others can learn from.
The year 2017 was a record one for data breaches.
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/biggest-data-breaches-2017
Tech Bytes:
Google has announced that it is bringing Google Assistant to older phones running Android 5.0 Lollipop and up. With this update, Google will be covering up to 80 percent of its active Android base with Google Assistant. This update has been rolled out to users with the language set to English in the US, UK, India, Australia, Canada and Singapore, as well as in Spanish in the US, Mexico and Spain. It’s also rolling out to users in Italy, Japan, Germany, Brazil and Korea."
A few months after being spotted in tests, Twitter’s tool for creating tweestorms is now an official part of the app. Threads, as the company is calling them, let you string together tweets by tapping a new plus button in the tweet composer. “A few weeks ago, we expanded our character count to make it easier for people to fit what they’re thinking into a Tweet,” the company said in a blog post. “But we know people also may want to serialize a longer story or thought, or provide ongoing commentary on an event or topic. That’s where this update to threads comes in!”
Snapchat is finally opening up so outside developers can help it offer infinite augmented reality experiences beyond those it designs in-house. Today, Snap launches the Lens Studio AR developer tool for desktops so anyone can create World Lenses that place interactive, imaginary 3D objects in your photos and videos.
Lock
In this episode, hear about ‘open banking’ and its concerns, smart apartments could change the future of health in Canada and how AI and Machine Learning are changing our customer service experience.
Show Notes:
Open banking is the concept of granting third-parties to access bank data to develop innovative apps. This according to Jeff Henderson, Toronto Dominion Bank's chief information officer could be a "game changer."
All but one of 100 payment executives at major banks globally said they were planning major investments in open banking by 2020, according to an online survey by consulting firm Accenture released last month.
But even as Canadian financial institutions toy with the idea, they're concerned about the looming risk to consumers' personal information amid the growing threat of cyberattacks.
The Accenture survey also showed that 50 per cent of respondents said that implementing the emerging concept increases risk.
The issue is because of this interconnectedness, this means if one bank is attacked then that could spread throughout the entire system affecting all other banks that are connected.
The smart apartment and aging in Canada
An apartment located inside Ottawa’s Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital, is a living laboratory that comes equipped with technology that gathers information to help identify memory and mobility issues.
This apartment looks like a typical one-bedroom senior’s apartment, but hidden inside are a series of sensors that could change the future of aging in Canada.
The Sensors and Analytics for Monitoring Mobility and Memory hub which was unveiled recently is the first of its kind in Canada that will work on the development and testing of new technologies to help seniors remain in their homes longer and more safely.
One of the technologies is a sensor pad on a bed that measures how a person gets out of bed — and can spot worrisome signs that could, for example, point to a stroke or other problem. There were also sensors on appliances to track how often and when the refrigerator was opened and whether the stove was left on, as well as a motion sensor that could help track movements throughout the apartment and sensors to check balance and the way a person walks.
AI to change the customer experience
In the world of customer service, we're experiencing the rise of chatbots, virtual digital assistants, and artificial intelligence (AI) agents, answering basic queries which allow humans to tackle more complex problems and improve the speed and efficiency of decisions.
These technologies will play a much more significant role in customer interactions in the next five years. According to Juniper Research, chatbots will create a cost savings of more than $8 Billion annually by 2022, up from $20 Million in 2017. In the enterprise, 31 per cent of business executives believe virtual personal assistants will have a substantial impact on their business, more than any other AI-powered solution according to a PwC report in 2017.
And 34 per cent of business executives say that the time saved that was generated from using digital assistants allows them to focus on deep thinking and creating.
Tech Bytes:
Apple may be getting into semiconductors in an even bigger way. The company may make its own iPhone power management chips as soon as 2018. Currently, Apple relies on supplier Dialog Semiconductor for those processors, which are important for making sure an iPhone charges correctly and doesn't consume too much energy.
Amazon.com Inc announced its adoption of Kubernetes, a popular open-source technology, in a sign of increased competition in the cloud computing business, which Amazon Web Services has long dominated.
Kubernetes has emerged as a standard among companies as they build more applications on public clouds, the big computer data centers that are displacing traditional customer-owned computer systems.
Earlier this year companies including Microsoft Corp, Oracle Corp and IBM Corp announced their support for Kubernetes, which was originally developed by a team at Google.
Samsung is looking into using palm scanning to remember forgotten passwords.
Users would take a photo of their palm using the rear camera, in order to verify their identity. If the palm lines match with previous records, then Samsung would display a password hint scattered across the lines, so that you might be able to remember what your password is.
In this show, Uber is looking to get rid of motion sickness in self driving cars, Google has been tracking Android users even with location services turned off and Budweiser is about to start space experiments aimed at brewing beer on Mars.
Show Notes
Uber is working on a system to prevent travel sickness in cars. This is seen as an obstacle in the adoption of self-driving vehicles.
Uber describes this as a “sensory stimulation system for autonomous vehicles”. To get to the point of getting rid of motion sickness, Uber plans to use vibrating and moving seats, along with air blowing over your face and body, and also light bars and screens to prevent passengers from feeling travel sick.
The aim is to focus the rider’s attention on other activities like work, socialising, reading, writing and other activities which will change the rider’s perception of motion.
Google tracking
Google has confirmed it has been able to track the location of Android users via the addresses of local mobile phone masts, even when location services were turned off and the sim cards removed to protect privacy.
This story was reported by the Guardian.
In a report by Quartz, Google’s Android system, which handles messaging services to ensure delivery of push notifications, began requesting the unique addresses of mobile phone masts (called Cell ID) at the beginning of 2017.
The information was captured by the phone and routinely sent to Google by any modern Android device, even when location services were turned off and the sim card was removed. As a result Google could in theory track the location of the Android device and therefore the user, despite a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Budweiser
When Budweiser announced earlier this year that it wanted to be the first company to brew beer on Mars, most commentators and almost everyone else laughed at the idea.
But for Budweiser, it is no laughing matter. It just announced that it is “upholding its commitment” and moving forward with the first stage of the plan. It involves sending barley
seeds to the International Space Station (ISS) this December to learn about how beer ingredients react in a microgravity environment.
Budweiser is hoping that when we finally build a city on Mars, then the Martians may want a beer or two from time to time. And Budweiser wants to be there to brew it.
To get the ball rolling, the famous beer brand is partnering with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the ISS U.S. National Laboratories, and Space Tango, a payload development company that operates two commercial research facilities within the National Laboratory.
Working with Budweiser’s innovation team, the group will send two barley-based experiments to the ISS as part of the next SpaceX cargo supply mission, scheduled for December 4.
Tech Bytes
Following the success of its Galaxy S8 lineup this year, Samsung is now reportedly gearing up to show off the next generation of its flagship phones as soon as January 2018.
The upcoming devices, codenamed Star 1 and Star 2, will feature identical designs to the S8 and S8+, along with the same 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch curved Super AMOLED displays, respectively. Samsung is slated to reveal certain details about them at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Researchers from British energy price comparison platform Power Compare have discovered that the total volume of electricity required for mining Bitcoin – the computational process that keeps transactions on the blockchain moving – now amounts to more consumption than 159 individual countries.
In case you were wondering what all this electricity bills round up to, the researchers estimate the annual Bitcoin mining electricity costs currently stand at $1.5 billion. And if Bitcoin was a country, then it would rank 61st globally in terms of total electricity consumption.
And finally, Toronto is the best bet for technology companies looking to set up shop in a Canadian city, according CBRE annual ranking.
Ottawa took second prize on the list released Thursday, followed by Vancouver, Montreal, Waterloo Region, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg and London rounding off the Top 10.
Paramount Pictures is set to launch the first VR movie theater experience, Bose newest earphones to help you sleep better, and Facebook has removed the delete option for the web version of its platform.
Show Notes
Paramount Pictures in partnership with Bigscreen, is collaborating with several tech companies leading efforts in the virtual reality space — Oculus, Samsung, HTC and Microsoft, among others — to launch the very first VR movie theater.
To kick off the VR movie theater, Paramount plans to host a showing of "Top Gun" in 3D on Dec. 3. If you have a VR headset, you can sign on to bigscreenvr.com and experience Top Gun 3D in what looks like a movie theater.
Bose's newest headphones
Bose is hoping with its newest headphones that it can be able to “put an end to sleepless nights” by cancelling out barks, snores and other irritating noises while you sleep — and it’s the smallest product they’ve ever made.
The earbuds connect to the “Bose Sleep” app on your phone, where you can choose which soothing sounds you prefer, out of 10 pre-loaded options.
They are estimated to cost $249 retail price.
Google Maps
Google Maps is adding a bit more colour to the interface and making things a little easier to pick out.
There are more categories than before, and the shades used are rather more pastel-like.
These changes will roll out to Maps and other Google products that use it over the next few weeks.
Tech Bytes
- Back in 2013, WhatsApp rolled push-to-talk voice messages. Now, the popular messenger is experimenting with a feature to record voice messages without having to hold that what many will consider that irritating button. WhatsApp will display a new sliding interface for the microphone button. Users will see an option to swipe up to lock into recording mode, allowing them to speak to their phones without holding the button.
- Vimeo has added HDR support to its video service. Users will be able to upload HDR videos in up to 8K, and the service also supports 10-bit video. Vimeo says all of its HDR videos will be available on the newest mobile devices with an HDR display, including the iPhone X and iPad Pro, and the Apple TV 4K as well.
- It appears that Facebook has removed the delete option on its web-based version. However, the option to delete posts is still available on the mobile website and in the iOS and Android apps. Some believe that Facebook is testing to see what kind of feedback it would get from this move or simply trying to get more users to use the mobile app version.
Blocking annoying popups in Google Chrome; keep your coffee warm for eight hours; Netflix email scam
In the show today, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about a Google Chrome update that will prevent websites from taking advantage of us by opening new tabs, a smart mug that can keep your coffee warm for up to eight hours, and if you are a Netflix subscriber there is an email scam that you need to be aware of.
Show Notes:
Google Chrome will now do more to prevent those annoying ways that websites try to take advantage of us.
Google is planning a new update which will prevent these websites from automatically launching new tabs and windows you never intended on opening in the first place.
According to a blog post from Google, it says: "One piece of feedback we regularly hear from users is that a page will unexpectedly navigate to a new page, for seemingly no reason.” The source of these redirects, according to Google, is often content embedded within the site itself.
Now, with the latest update, Chrome will block third-party content from launching new pages unless you're actively interacting with that content. With this update, you will get a notification to let you know the redirect has been blocked.
A smart mug
The Ember Ceramic mug is a smart mug that connects to your phone through Bluetooth and allows you to set an ideal temperature for whatever you’re drinking (up to 62 degrees Celsius for Canadians). Once the beverage reaches that temperature, the mug will maintain it for up to eight hours.
The ceramic mug will retail for $79 US and is available exclusively at Starbucks and on Ember’s website.
Netflix email scam
A well designed scanned email has been landing in the inboxes of millions of Netflix subscribers asking them to update their billing information. This of course is part of a large-scale phishing operation.
The email, which has the subject line: ‘Your suspension notification’, includes a link that takes readers what looks like a genuine Netflix home page. From there, readers are prompted to enter private information, regarding their billing details.
Tech Bytes
Some 800 schools across the US have been targeted by hackers and their websites redirected to an Islamic State-sponsored YouTube video.
The attack, which lasted a few hours, affected schools in Arizona, Connecticut, Virginia and New Jersey.
The hack, which also affected private companies and government websites, is being investigated by the FBI.
Apple has offered to help the FBI with an encrypted phone belonging to Texas church shooter Devin Patrick Kelley after learning the bureau was having trouble getting into the device.
A statement from Apple reads: “Our team immediately reached out to the FBI after learning from their press conference on Tuesday that investigators were trying to access a mobile phone. We offered assistance and said we would expedite any legal process they send us."
Facebook has announced version 2.2 of Messenger. This new version introduces a series of new business-friendly features to the messaging platform. It includes a customer chat plugin that lets businesses integrate Messenger into their own website.
In this show, hear about how to turn your regular glasses into smart glasses, Samsung Pay in Canada gains new partners and now has the option to use debit cards, and Apple has made an update that now lets you change your third-party email address on your Apple ID to an Apple domain email.
Show Notes:
PogoCam
There’s a way to turn the glasses you already own into a pair of the smart glasses. Thanks to PogoCam from PogoTec.
This is a tiny camera, that you can attach to your existing pair of glasses or even sun glasses. It is fairly light and is not in your way to block your view. This camera which is removable has the function to record memories with the touch of a button on top.
It can hold up to 100 photos or six 30-second videos. The photos have a 5MP resolution, while videos are in 720p.
You can soon pre-order a PogoCam now for $149 US, with shipment expected for this fall.
Samsung Pay
Samsung Pay is getting its first big expansion in Canada. This includes the addition of new partners and the ability to finally use debit cards.
The new partners for Samsung Pay in Canada include Interac Debit, Scotiabank, American Express Canada, ATB Financial, Visa Canada, and Mastercard. Cards through these partners can be used on Samsung Pay now, and in addition to them, support for Tangerine and Peoples Card Services will also be rolling out soon.
Apple ID
Apple has made an update to the process of changing the email address associated with your Apple ID. You can now change your Apple ID from a third-party email service such as Gmail or Yahoo to an Apple domain.
Now, with the update you can change your Apple ID from a third-party email to @iCloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.com account.
To make the switch:
Go to Settings > at the top where you see your name (tap) > Name, Phone Numbers, Email.
Next to Contactable At, tap Edit, then delete your current Apple ID.
Tap Continue. Enter the Apple ID that you want to use.
Tap Next.
Use your Apple ID account page
Go to appleid.apple.com and sign in.
In the Account section, click Edit.
Under your Apple ID, click Change Apple ID.
Enter the Apple ID that you want to use.
Click Continue.
Note: Once you changed your Apple ID from a third-party email address to an Apple domain, you cannot change back.
Tech Bytes
Amazon announced its entry into the smart security camera business last week with the new $119 Cloud Cam.
The Cloud Cam works with a Cloud Cam app which is available on the Play Store. This is like a control center of your cameras on your phone. You can add cams, rename them, view the live stream if you want to drop in and check something, and activate two-way audio to talk to your kids or anyone at home, calm your pets, or scare an intruder. You also get notifications for motion alerts with the option to replay, download, share, or delete the automatically recorded videos.
The app lets you manage person alerts plus viewfinder zones to exclude areas you don't want to be monitored. Plus, you can use your phone as a presence detector and automatically turn off recording when you're home for privacy.
Social media giants Facebook and Instagram have told a parliamentary inquiry they are strongly opposed to any tightening of the laws on cyber bullying, saying prevention is better than cure.
The two platforms were invited to respond to the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee, which is looking at whether existing laws go far enough to punish perpetrators of cyber bullying.
Concerns about cyber bullying and poor mental health resulting from sleep deprivation have prompted the principal of a private girls’ school to urge parents to ban all digital devices from bedrooms after lights out.
A recent study by the Australian Research Council indicated 75 per cent of Year 8s and 78 per cent of Year 11s were using their phones well into the night, up from 15 per cent in 2011.
The research also found most cyber bullying took place on social media late at night.
In this episode, hear more about how businesses are now targeting Generation Z, Using your watch or shoes as a form of two-factor authentication and a new ransomware attack, Bad Rabbit.
Show Notes:
For the longest while we have been hearing about Millennials and how they are being targeted by businesses as the main group to go after to increase sales but that is changing. Today, more and more efforts are being placed on targeting Generation Z.
Businesses have been preoccupied with how to cater to and exploit to their advantage the peculiar characteristics associated with consumers born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. But a new report released by Accenture indicates that the so-called Gen Z – the generation immediately following millennials – is the payment industry’s future customer base.
Gen Zs are projected to make up 40 per cent of all North American consumers by 2020, according to Accenture’s report Driving the future of payments – 10 mega trends. Accenture conducted an online survey of 1,000 adults in the United States and 500 in Canada between September 1, 2017, and September 10, 2017.
Gen Zers move fast but still demand personalized and highly-relevant experiences as consumers. As the payments market expands, customer experience will become a prime differentiator. The danger for many traditional non-digital players is that they are losing control of customers due to their difficulties of getting a handle on customer experience. For instance, businesses need to tie-in other desirable services to the payment solutions they offer customers.
Items and 2FA
One day, your household items and accessories like that old watch, or picture frame sitting on your fireplace, could become a new way to authenticate yourself online, according to researchers.
Many websites and online services are now enforcing or at least offering two-factor authentication (2FA) as a way to enhance the security of your accounts. We all know passwords are not ideal these days, with all the news about cyberattacks. And often times we set simple, repetitive passwords -- so we can see why other methods are now needed.
So, researchers from Florida International University and Bloomberg have come up with another idea of using your phone’s camera.
This project is called Pixie, which explores how 2FA can be implemented through cameras without the need for additional hardware.
Bad Rabbit
The U.S. government has issued a warning about a new ransomware attack that spread through Russia and Ukraine and into other countries around the world.
Cybersecurity experts said the ransomware -- which posed as an Adobe update before locking down computers and demanding money for people to get their files back -- targeted Russian media companies and Ukrainian transportation systems. It has also been detected in other countries including the U.S., Germany and Japan.
The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team said late Tuesday it "has received multiple reports of ransomware infections ... in many countries around the world."
Dubbed "Bad Rabbit," the virus is the latest example of cybercriminals using ransomware to try to extort money from victims across the globe.
Tech Bytes
- Twitter reported its earnings this week for Q3, and watchers of the company, used to seeing declines across the board, got an unexpected piece of news: the social media platform reported revenues of $590 million on adjusted earnings per share of $0.10. The revenues were still a decline over a year ago of about four percent compared to a year ago. The two areas where Twitter continues to get hit publicly are in the fact that its service continues to present itself as a hotbed for harassment and spreading false information, alongside its important role in providing a communications platform, which remains the problematic paradox of the service.
- Facebook has teamed up with auto car dealers to introduce a new Marketplace section for vehicles on its flagship social media app. The new section features search filters to find a vehicle of a specific type, maker, transmission, color, and more, offered by members of the public as well as car dealerships including Edmunds, Auction123, Cars.com, CDK Global, and SocialDealer. The automobile Marketplace includes a price checking function that uses the industry standard Kelly's Blue Book, and integrates with Messenger bots to allow users to communicate with dealers in real-time. More than 30,000 organisations have signed up to the Facebook's Workplace collaboration tool since its launch last year, the company has revealed, more than double the number announced just six months ago. Coinciding with the news, and to celebrate the app's one year anniversary, Facebook has also announced the release of a Workplace desktop app for group chats, which will eventually support video calls in an update due to land in the coming weeks.
In this episode, Facebook tests self-destructing status updates, New technologies to make the lives of diabetes patients easier, and Samsung is working on a Linux desktop for Android phones.
Show Notes:
Facebook is process of testing a new functionality – it is - self-destructing messages. Facebook is hoping that this is a way to encourage users to post more status updates.
This lets users share 101 character updates that are made from text only.
If Facebook decides to roll this out to all users, then news feeds will be filled with text updates, making it look more like Twitter or like the early days of Facebook.
New technologies for diabetes
There are a few out there like a new product from Novo Nordisk. This is a fast-acting insulin that is designed to help to minimize the high blood sugar spikes that occur when people with diabetes eat a meal containing carbohydrates.
This adds (vitamin B3), which doubles the speed of initial insulin absorption compared to current fast-acting insulins taken at mealtime. This new insulin hits the bloodstream in under three minutes.
Another advance is Abbott's new monitoring device called the FreeStyle Libre Flash. It's a round patch with a tube that is inserted on the arm for up to 10 days. It has a scanning device that the user places over the patch to read their blood sugar level.
What is different about this product is that it lets users monitor blood glucose levels without having to frequently prick their fingers for blood testing.
Samsung working on Linux desktop
Samsung is working on an app that lets users run a variety of Linux-based desktops on its Galaxy phones.
The Linux on Galaxy app works with the DeX, a dock that converts a Galaxy phone into a desktop PC when connected to a keyboard and mouse.
Samsung hasn't offered any details about how the app works or what the install process is like.
Samsung hasn't set a release date for Linux on Galaxy and says it is still a work in progress.
Dex works with a variety of apps, including Microsoft Office and Samsung mobile apps that have been resized for a larger display. However, many apps, like Netflix, Facebook, Spotify and Twitter either don't work or aren't optimized for DeX.
Tech Bytes
Apple’s shares fell 1.5 percent in premarket trading this week on growing concerns about muted demand for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
The company has cut orders for both models by about 50 per cent for November and December, Taiwan-based Economic Daily News reported, citing a supply chain official.
Representatives for Facebook, Google, and Twitter will appear in front of congress on November 1st to provide testimony on Russian election interference.
The congressional hearing is one of many government probes into Russian election interference, this one turns its focus on social media’s involvement.
All three tech companies found evidence of ad tampering over the course of internal investigations this year, and subsequently reported those findings to congress.
Samsung is combining its various Internet of Things services under a single banner called SmartThings Cloud, the company announced.
While in the past various Samsung IoT devices have used SmartThings, Samsung Connect, and ARTIK platforms, going forward the company will be uniting them into SmartThings Cloud. Samsung says that SmartThings Cloud will provide “a single, powerful cloud-based hub,” and that SmartThings Cloud will be a new open ecosystem, that will work with both Samsung devices and other third-party products.
In this show, Marcello and Nestor teams up to discuss the hack of a top IT Security consultancy firm, also, if you are running a business or company what's your disaster recovery plan like and the breaking news about Facebook Russian ads.
Hear more about:
Facebook announced that Russian-linked accounts had purchased $100,000 worth of advertising.
What can $100,000 of ad purchase really do?
Have all the ads been discovered?
Attackers according to Deloitte accessed data from the company's email platform.
Deloitte's corporate VPN passwords, user names, and operational details were found online.
A Deloitte employee uploaded company proxy login credentials to his public Google+ page.
Gartner in June named Deloitte the world’s best IT security consultancy for the fifth year in a row.
Disaster comes in many forms - natural as well as in tech.
What's your recovery plan like in the event of a disaster?
All businesses need to have a disaster recovery plan in place to get their business back up and running within a specified span of time after the disruption.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo and Nestor Arellano talk about the Equifax fiasco and how it seems that our financial information is not that important, also, Apple traditional updates, not that innovative after all and the news that Blockchain can be used to identify contaminated foods faster.
Hear about:
· Equifax cyberattack
· Cybersecurity best practices
· Why is Equifax only offering a year of protection for customers whose data was stolen?
· Some 100,000 Canadians to get free credit monitoring and identity theft protection from credit rating firm Equifax.
· Apple shares are down
· Apple’s new Series 3 smartwatch and connectivity issues.
· iOS 11 is now available
· Battery draining faster · The Government of Canada estimates that 4 million Canadians are affected by a food-borne illness, leading to 11,600 hospitalizations and 238 deaths.
· How can we tackle this problem? One possible answer is Blockchain.
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, a pen that can identify cancer in 10 seconds, Huawei is now the second largest smartphone maker in the world and the cost for smartphone will continue to rise.
Show Notes:
A new handheld device that is called MasSpec Pen can identify cancerous tissue in 10 seconds, according to scientists at the University of Texas.
They say it could make surgery to remove a tumour quicker, safer and more precise which they hope would avoid leaving any of the cancer behind.
Tests revealed that the technology is accurate 96 per cent of the time.
The way this works is by using the pen to touch on to a suspected cancer, it then releases a tiny droplet of water. Chemicals inside the living cells move into the droplet, which is then sucked back up the pen for analysis.
The pen is then plugged into a mass spectrometer - a piece of equipment that can measure the mass of thousands of chemicals every second. This equipment produces a chemical fingerprint that tells doctors whether they are looking at healthy tissue or cancer.
Huawei is second largest smartphone brand in the world
A report that came out in August indicated that Huawei was on its way to take Apple’s title as the second largest smartphone brand in the world. In the second quarter of 2017, Huawei shipped 38 million phones and Apple on the other hand shipped 41 million. Now Huawei a month after that report came out is at number two - beating Apple to take the number two spot.
A few years ago, the Huawei brand didn’t mean much at all outside of China. However, with devices like the Mate 8, Mate 9, and the Honor 5X, 6X, and 8 from Huawei’s Honor sub-brand, the company has developed a considerably stronger presence throughout the United States, Europe, and various other markets.
Huawei’s next major flagship smartphone is expected to be the Mate 10 which will be out on October 16.
Smartphone cost
This is the season of smartphones, Apple, Google, Huawei and others are releasing their new smartphones. But coming with these new releases is new pricing as well. It's no secret that smartphones are getting more expensive.
It wasn't that long ago when you can walk into a store, a brand-new iPhone or Galaxy for about $200 — but those days are all gone.
The iPhone 8, which is expected to launch at a special media event on Sept. 12, is widely forecast to have a starting cost somewhere between $1,000 and $1,200 — almost doubling the starting price of the current iPhone 7.
TECH BYTES
Epson announced recently a new short throw laser projector capable of producing a 10-foot display when placed just inches from the wall. The Home Cinema LS100 is limited to a 1080p resolution unlike Sony’s 4K short throw. But the Epson buys you that close-to-the-wall convenience for $3,000 vs. Sony’s $25k price tag. It comes equipped with HDMI ports and is bright enough to be used with the “lights on and the shades open,” according to Epson.
Epson claims its laser projection tech will last through at least 10 years’ worth of viewing, or about 20,000 hours.
The Home Cinema LS100 projector will be available to buy this Fall.
WhatsApp is gearing up to finally monetize its messaging app by charging large enterprise businesses for tools to better communicate with customers. WhatsApp will also offer a free app to small-to-medium sized businesses, though it hasn’t outlined the specific functionality of the app. The enterprise solution will allow global companies “to provide customers with useful notifications like flight times, delivery confirmations, and other updates”.
BMW says that it’ll have a total of 25 electrified vehicles in its lineup by 2025, with a full dozen of those being full-electric cars. These should have a usable range of up to 435 miles.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about the top smartwatch for last quarter and about Fitbit’s new smartwatch. Also, some good news for Blackberry, the KeyOne is selling faster than expected.
Show Notes:
The smartwatch craze is growing with Apple Watch leading the way as the top smartwatch last quarter. According to IDC, Apple Watch was the world's most popular smartwatch by a significant margin last quarter, with an estimated 49.6 per cent market share.
IDC estimates Apple Watch shipments totaled 3.4 million units in the quarter, well ahead of runner-up Samsung's estimated 800,000 smartwatches shipped. Garmin trailed in third place with an estimated 600,000 shipments.
"The transition towards more intelligent and feature-filled wearables is in full swing," a senior research analyst for IDC said. "For years, rudimentary fitness trackers have acted as a gateway to smartwatches and now we're at a point where brands and consumers are graduating to a more sophisticated device."
That's true, we are seeing an uptrend for smartwatches which have fitness capabilities and other apps functionalities together in one device, like the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear.
Fitbit Ionic
Fitbit announced recently their new smartwatch. It's the Fitbit Ionic and its available for preorder at $300 US.
The Ionic looks like a cross between the Apple Watch and the Fitbit Blaze, with a rectangular LCD touch screen which makes it stand out from the many circular smartwatches on the market. The screen measures 1.2 by 0.85 inches, with a resolution of 348 by 250 pixels. It's surrounded by a bezel, thicker at the bottom than at the sides or top, which gives a look of a square face.
The Ionic is compatible across mobile platforms so you can use it on Android and iOS.
The Ionic isn't meant to be a standalone smartwatch. While you can get all your customary call, text, and app notifications, there's no LTE connectivity for making calls or replying to texts without your phone nearby. You also need your phone for the initial setup, syncing data, customizing clock faces, and tweaking your preferences.
A single charge is estimated to last four days, or up to 10 hours while using GPS. That's outstanding for a smartwatch—most only last for two days max.
The Ionic is an exercise companion and wellness monitor.
KeyOne
Blackberry's latest smartphone, the KeyOne is selling faster than expected. This has prompted TCL Communications, that's the company that manufactures Blackberry handsets to introduce the Blackberry KeyOne Black Edition. The KeyOne is an Android-powered smartphone that comes with an excellent keyboard and some unique BlackBerry customization.
It is reported that as soon as the KeyOne hits new markets, like for example in China, it often sold out in a matter of hours after launch.
The new KeyOne Black Edition comes with beefed-up specs, featuring 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, up from 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage. Other specs remain the same: a Snapdragon 625 processor, 4.5-inch 1080p screen, 12MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, and 3,505mAh battery. Battery life is great. It will be available in Canada $799.
TECH BYTES
SanDisk has announced a new 400GB MicroSD card that now claims the title of the world's largest storage capacity for a MicroSD card. This beats Samsung's 256GB card from last year. The SanDisk 400GB card can transfer files at up to 100MB/s, is classified as a SDXC UHS-I card, and is rated as an App Performance Class A1 device (i.e., it'll run apps well).
As is always the case with these ultra-high storage products, there is a catch — you can get one at the hefty price tag of $250.00.
A bug in Instagram that allowed criminals to steal the private information of celebrities has come to light just days after hackers took over the account of Selena Gomez to post nude pictures of Justin Bieber.
Instagram admitted that the bug within its application programming interface (API) allowed at least one person to gain access to the private email addresses and phone numbers of high-profile users.
Instagram said that it was contacting all its “verified” account holders, which are mainly celebrities and sportspeople.
The exposure of the private details of celebrities comes just days after the most popular person on the service, Gomez, who has 125 million followers, had her account compromised on Monday. Hackers posted several nude photos of her ex-boyfriend Bieber, leading to the account being suspended by Instagram.
Gomez regained control of her account and scrubbed the feed of the nude images.
And finally, it now official, Apple has set Sept. 12 for its most significant new product announcement in years. The event will be the first at its new Apple Park campus and will take place in a theatre named for company co-founder Steve Jobs. So mark your calendar for Sept 12 at 1 PM Eastern Standard Time to hear the latest from Apple.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about the Samsung Galaxy Note8, also, Siri has been given an update and will sound more natural in iOS 11, and Apple TV is losing ground to Roku and Amazon streaming devices.
Show Notes:
Samsung has announced the release of the Galaxy Note8. The Note8 is the successor of the Galaxy Note7, which was recalled because of defective batteries that caused fire.
The new phone comes with a dual-lens camera, animated messages, and expanded note-taking.
The Note8 offers significant improvements over the last Note and has “infinity display”. This display is already in the S8 which makes the screen size bigger by reducing the bezel, surrounding the display. So, the Note 8’s screen will be bigger than the Note7 without feeling bigger due to the reduced bezel.
With the Galaxy Note8, the new App Pair feature lets you create a custom button on the Edge panel that will let you launch two apps in multi window mode. So you can watch a video while messaging your friends, or dial into a conference call with the number and agenda right in front of you.
This new device is among the most expensive smartphones, starting at about $1,299. The iPhone 7 for example, starts at about $899 and the S8 at $1,034.99.
Siri
With iOS 11 coming in the next few weeks, Apple has released a research paper giving details of the methods that they are using to make Siri sound more natural, with the help of machine learning.
For iOS 11, the engineers at Apple worked with a new female voice actor to record 20 hours of speech in US English and generate between 1 and 2 million audio segments, which were then used to train a deep learning system.
The team noted in its paper that test subjects greatly preferred the new version over the old one found in iOS 9 from dating back from 2015.
Apple TV losing ground
Parks Associates sampled 10,000 homes in the US which had at least one streaming player. In their findings, they noted that Roku jumped year-over-year from 32 per cent to 37 per cent,
which is a foothold that none of its competitors can quite match. But Amazon is also gaining ground and moved up from 16 per cent to 24 per cent.
In the case of Apple, it fell year-over-year from 19 per cent to 15 per cent marketshare. Consumers seem to be favouring the aggressively priced streaming sticks and boxes from Roku and Amazon over the comparatively more expensive Apple TV.
TECH BYTES
- It looks like the next iPhone will be announced on September 12th. A recent report from Mac4Ever states that it confirmed with telecom companies that Apple should hold a press event on September 12.
- Every September since 2012, Apple has been holding press conferences to announce its iPhones. So, if you’re thinking about buying a new iPhone right now, you should wait a few weeks. It is expected that Apple will be releasing the final version of iOS 11, three different iPhones, the new version of the Apple Watch and an updated Apple TV.
- Facebook has rolled out a new feature to its mobile app on both iOS and Android that now allows you to set up a 360 degree photo as your Facebook cover. The new feature lets you capture a 360-degree photo with your Facebook Camera that you can share on your timeline or even use it as your cover photo.
- And finally, Google might be unveiling both the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 on October 5. This date lines up with last year’s announcement of the original Pixel handsets which took place on October 4.
In this WRLWND Radio podcast, Free calls with Google Home, Motorola may be working on a phone that features a self-repairing display and researchers believe they’ve figured out a solution for video buffering.
Show Notes:
"Hey Google, call Mom"
Google is rolling out an update to its Google Home smart speaker that lets you make calls to any phone number in the US and Canada for free.
So, if you are looking to ditch your landline, then this might be a replacement to look at.
One thing to note though is that you can't call 911 with Google Home.
If you have a Google Home, what are you waiting for, say “Hey Google, Call ...," and you’ll be on your way.
Motorola meets Deadpool
A new patent recently published by the US Patent and Trademark Office shows that Motorola may be working on a phone that features a self-repairing display.
The technology would allow the device to analyze the display's structure, spot issues, and slowly use heat to modify the scraped area by remoulding it in a way as close as possible to the original.
Motorola already offers shatterproof displays with its Moto Z Force lineup of phones, which offer a much increased durability over regular front panels.
No more video buffering
A group of MIT researchers believe they’ve figured out a solution to video buffering annoyances plaguing millions of people a day.
The researchers have developed “Pensieve,” an artificial intelligence (AI) system that uses machine learning to pick different algorithms depending on network conditions. In doing so, it has been shown to deliver a higher-quality streaming experience with less rebuffering than existing systems.
YouTube and Netflix already strive to do, but their systems currently have to make a trade-off between the quality of the video versus how often it has to rebuffer in order to prepare the next segment of the clip for viewing.
The technology could also prove useful in applications like streaming high-resolution VR content which is their next project.
Tech Bytes for the week:
- Netflix announced that in 2018 it will spend $7 billion on content. The vast majority of the $7 billion will be spent on licensed content.
- The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall on batteries used in the Galaxy Note 4. The power supplies are being recalled due to the potential to “overheat, posing burn and fire hazards.” The CPSC urges anyone with an affected device to immediately stop using it and power it down. Last September, Samsung issued a recall of all Galaxy Note 7s due to a similar problem.
- Jawbone is making the move from consumer wearables to medical devices. Jawbone is looking to build a heart health bracelet that would use white light to warn you when your tissue isn't getting enough blood, warning you of a potential heart attack or similar failure. And that's not all, Jawbone is hoping to land a partnership with Microsoft.
In the show, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about his recent trip to Mastercard’s Tech Hub in New York City and the innovation that is being driven by the company. Also, hear from Debbie Barta, SVP, Innovation Channel Management and Startup Engagement, Global for Mastercard on how the company is integrating digital payment at vending machines, paying at the pump, shopping for grocery items from your fridge, and using Pepper (AI) to make purchases at restaurants.
Show Notes
Last week I was at Mastercard’s Tech Hub in New York City where I had a firsthand look at some innovative things that Mastercard is working on that is going to change the entire payment or financial industry.
A few things that stood out to me are the innovative IoT products, VR, AR and conversational commerce.
An example where this can be applied to is in store. Think about a clothing store, the key decision moment happens in the fitting room. So, what Mastercard is working on is to bring digital into the fitting room where the mirror will become the interface to interact with. It will show the amount of stock in store or online, it will give recommendations, have an embedded cart, so you can just pay right there and even have your items shipped to your home. All of this done from the fitting room.
Another feature that they are working on is called the “always on store.” This is about bringing the checkout experience at the window when a store is closed. Payment will be done by NFC or app based.
One other example to whet your appetite further of what to expect in the future from Mastercard is AR enabled shopping. It is about walking around in a physical store and interacting with items in the store.
Mastercard is working to make payments much easier. Bringing us the convenience and ease of shopping as well as saving time.
Thanks to Debbie Barta from Mastercard for sharing the exciting news with us.
In the show, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about four things to practice to stay protected from ransomware, also, some new features coming in iOS11 that will free up storage space and a new cool AI app from Microsoft to tell visually impaired users who they are snapping a picture of.
Show Notes
Ransomware
We have been hearing a lot about ransomware in the last few months. The ransomware WannaCry alone, affected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries and then more recently there was Petya.
According to a survey done by Guidance Software of IT and security professionals, ransomware attacks in 2017 have not lessened since 2016. In fact, ransomware isn't going anywhere, it is here to stay, so the best thing to do is protect yourself.
- Social media security
Make sure your profiles are private and only share them with people you actually know and try not to share too much personal information online.
- Be careful with your emails
Don't open emails from people you don't know without scanning them first for malware. Even if an email looks legitimate, be careful. The best thing to do is not click on anything that is inside of an email from someone you don't personally know.
- Be serious about passwords
Make sure your passwords are complex to protect your data.
- Keep Windows updated
Both Petya and WannaCry used vulnerabilities in computers that hadn't updated their Windows operating system. Turn on automatic update on your computer so as to get the latest patches from Microsoft.
New features in iOS11 to free up space
Running out of storage space on our devices, especially the iPhone and iPad is a bummer.
But with iOS 11, which is coming later this fall, Apple is moving to free up space on iOS devices. This new iOS will come with the new feature of Offload unused apps.
If you like to download lots of apps but don’t really use them often, then with iOS 11, these apps will automatically be removed without deleting the documents and data of the apps.
Another way to free up space is to use the storage management section. Here, you will see a breakdown of your storage by apps, photos, mail, etc. By scrolling down, you will see the space occupied by each app and it will also display the last used time, so you can easily uninstall an app if you have not used it in a while.
Also, there will be recommendations on how to free up space:
iCloud Photo Library: iOS 11 offers to automatically upload your entire photo library to iCloud, saving you space on your iOS device.
“Recently Deleted” Album: Pictures removed from the iOS Photos app remain in the “Recently Deleted” album. iOS 11 gives you the option of deleting this album permanently with one tap.
Auto Delete Old Conversations: This option can remove all iMessage messages and attachments sent or received more than a year ago.
Review Personal Videos: This option lists all the videos taking up valuable space on your device, then gives you the option to delete them.
Messages on iCloud: All your iMessages and attachments can be uploaded to iCloud to save space on your device. (This option also displays the amount of space you’ll save by uploading them to iCloud.)
For more than 20 years, JPEG served as the popular image format. With iOS 11, Apple replaces JPEG with High Efficiency Image Format, or HEIF. This new format looks better and is roughly half the size of JPEG. This means you can store twice as many photos in the same space.
Seeing AI
Microsoft has released Seeing AI, an app that describes the world for the visually impaired. With this app, users can point their phone’s camera at a person and it’ll say who they are and how they’re feeling. They can also point it at a product and it’ll tell them what it is.
Starting this week, the app is available to download for free in the US on iOS. At this time, there is no word yet on when it’ll come to Android or other countries.
Seeing AI doesn’t just perform the basic task of optical character recognition technology, but also directs the user — it tells them to move the camera left or right to get the target in shot.
Tech Bytes
Apple recently announced that it is adding PayPal as a new payment method to the App Store, iTunes Store, iBookstore and Apple Music services. This means Apple users will be able to add PayPal to their Apple ID in order to buy apps, music, movies and TV shows.
This payment method has been launched in Mexico, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. The company says it will be launching in other regions in the coming weeks, including the United States.
Microsoft is officially ending support for its mobile OS, Windows Phone 8.1. This means that users will no longer receive updates. With the end of Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft is closing the chapter on the Windows Phone brand after running with it over three generations starting in 2010. While the company initially drew praise for its novel approach to the mobile OS, a lack of compelling devices across price points, crucial features and popular third-party apps led to its slow demise.
And finally, Gangnam Style, the video that was released in 2012, has been unseated as the most viewed video on YouTube where it sat on the top for the last five years with 2.894 billion views. The most viewed video on YouTube is Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's music video for "See You Again," which has 2.895 billion views currently.
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about the rapid growth of voice-powered apps on Amazon’s Alexa voice platform, also, a study that reveals that extreme internet usage can lead to mental illness and he touches on the growth of video-gamers worldwide.
Show Notes:
Amazon’s Alexa
Amazon’s Alexa voice platform has now passed 15,000 skills, these are the voice-powered apps. This is up from last September when it was around 10,000.
Today, Amazon is currently the leader in voice-powered devices and it is expected to control 70 percent of the market this year — well ahead of Google Home, Lenovo, LG and others.
Due to the increased interest in voice-powered devices, Apple has joined the party with the with its own Siri-powered device, the HomePod which will be released this December.
In terms of competition, Google Home has just 378 voice apps available as of June 30, and Microsoft’s Cortana has only 65. So, they are way behind.
Internet usage can lead to mental illness
More than one-third of 15-year-old children in the UK could be classified as ‘extreme internet users’, or those who are online for more than six hours daily, outside of school.
A report from UK think-tank Education Policy Institute (EPI) states that children in the UK have a higher rate of extreme usage.
EPI examined the relation between social media use including online time and mental illness.
While 12 per cent of children who spend no time on social networking websites on a normal school day have symptoms of mental ill health, that figure rises to 27 per cent for those who are on the sites for three or more hours a day.
The study went on to say that they would caution against simply restricting a child’s access, claiming that this could actually hurt kids in the long run by preventing them from learning the skills they needed to cope with stressful events online.
Video-gamers growing worldwide
Nearly a third of the earth’s population is an active video-gamer, and that number will only grow, according to a study commissioned by Razer, the maker of high-end mice and other gaming accessories.
According to the study, in 2016, 2.1 billion people were “active gamers”. An active gamer is defined as someone who plays a game once a month or spends at least an hour a week playing.
Of the 2.1 billion people, over 71 per cent are millennials. This group according to the study is not only huge, but also young, which is a dream demographic for a company looking for growth in this area.
Tech Bytes
Students from the Eindhoven University of Technology have designed the first ever system that allows a bus to drive on formic acid.
Formic acid naturally occurs in stinging nettles and certain species of ants, but it's also manufactured cheaply and safely on an industrial level, and is typically used for preserving livestock feed. The students use a blend of 99 per cent formic acid with a performance enhancing agent to create Hydrozine -- which has four times as much energy density as a battery -- to power the bus.
This is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.
Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University put a mobile eye tracker and motion analysis sensors on participants who walked and crossed a kerb-like obstacle on the ground while writing, reading a text or talking on a phone.
According to results, phone users spend up to 61 percent less time watching out for the obstacle, and bring their foot up "higher and slower" over the obstacle as they walked, adopting a "cautious and exaggerated stepping strategy" to minimise the risk of tripping.
This tendency was observed most in users writing a text on their phones.
Smartphone zombies are becoming a road hazard in cities around the world and efforts have been put in place to keep them and others safe.
And finally, A battery-powered plane that can fly for 30 minutes has taken to the skies at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The "eFusion" has been developed by German engineering firm Siemens, and can reach a top speed of 140mph (225km/h).
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about some key things to look for in a messenger app, a bendable laptop from Lenovo, Spotify toying with sponsored songs and Dropbox planning to move away from the Internet.
Show Notes
Messenger app
With so many messenger apps out there, like WhatsApp, Messenger, Facetime, iMessage, Telegram, Hangouts and Skype. How can you know which is the best one? So many choices and yes, all of these popular messaging apps have hundreds of thousands and even millions of users.
Many today are selecting messaging apps based on the features that would best serve their individual needs. But there is something else to consider when choosing a messenger app. Because, not all of these messaging apps are equally reliable in ensuring your privacy and security.
To do so, here are four things to look for in a messenger app, you can even use these to see whether your favourite messenger app offers these protective measures:
- Encryption
- Open-source
- Message deletion
- Minimum metadata storage
A bendable laptop
We’ve been hearing quite a bit about bendable phones and tablets but Lenovo wants to take us a step higher with a bendable laptop.
At Lenovo Transform event recently in New York recently, Lenovo shows off what it thinks may be the future of mobile computing: a bendable laptop. Bendable in the sense of a paper.
Lenovo's senior vice president of commercial business unveiled the concept.
The company did not disclose how the screen will be made to bend but said that the laptop will be made of "advanced materials" and "new screen technologies."
WiFi Speakers
WiFi speaker sales have taken off during the last few years and even recently we’ve heard about Apple joining the party as well with the HomePod which is expected later this December.
As we await the HomePod, a new report from Strategy Analytics gives us a look at the current state of Wi-Fi speaker sales. The report shows that Amazon with its push of Echo and other Alexa-enabled WiFi speakers was able to surpass shipments from Sonos that has mostly ruled the majority of the market since 2014.
The report notes that Apple’s HomePod, priced at $349, is expected to compete more directly with Sonos products due to Apple’s focus on sound quality and music versus Amazon and Google’s approach that tend to focus on smart assistant features.
Tech Bytes
- Spotify is experimenting with a new form of sponsored content that’s already rubbing some users the wrong way.
Sponsored Songs, as it’s called, is a new ad unit currently in testing that allows labels to promote singles on Spotify’s free tier. Sponsored Songs appear on playlists you follow as instantly playable and savable tracks. They are not like traditional ads and can be targeted to “fit in” with other tracks on a given playlist.
- Last week, a working 1976 Apple-1 Personal Computer sold for $355,000 in an auction hosted by Christie's New York.
The Apple-1 PC was the company's first personal computer, hand built by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in the confines of Jobs' garage. Though the computer comes without a casing and power supply, it's the first to have its own motherboard, which set it apart from competitors.
- Many internet-based companies rely on major cloud service providers to stay online, but Dropbox is going in the opposite direction. Last year it moved most of its users' data off AWS and on to its own cloud storage network. Now Dropbox wants to ditch the internet in favor of its own private network.
Thanks for listening.
A malware that can disrupt power grids, a warning that Canada’s next federal election could be influenced by hackers, and the use of VR to ease patients pain and anxiety. All this on WRLWND Radio for today.
Shownotes:
Crash Override
Last year a new strain of malware was responsible for a computer malfunction that triggered a power outage in Ukraine. According to some security firms, they believe that it could be used to disrupt power grids in the US and other countries.
The malicious software, codenamed Crash Override, is the second malware program that can disable industrial systems like power plants, according to a report from the software security firm Dragos.
Crash Override works by hijacking a power plant's computers in order to create a software loop that forces its circuit breakers to stay open, thereby taking the plant offline. The only way to stop it is for a repair crew to manually assume control of the breakers to close them. Crash Override's methods could likely work for any power station with computer-controlled breakers, and could even be expanded to affect other industrial plants.
Next federal election can be influenced by hackers
Last week, Canada's electronic spy agency said it was "very likely" that hackers will try to influence Canada's 2019 elections and it planned to advise political parties next week on how to guard against cyber threats.
The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) agency said it had not detected any nation-state attempts to interfere in prior Canadian elections but saw risk from hacktivists.
CSE said it expects some hacktivist efforts in 2019 will be well-planned, with targets ranging from voter suppression and stealing party information to trying to discredit candidates.
VR and pain management
Researchers in the UK are looking to see if virtual reality can ease a patient’s pain and anxiety, so what they have done is to enlist 79 people who needed a tooth pulled or cavity filled.
The patients were divided into three groups: One that viewed a VR coastal scene, one a VR city, and the other, no virtual reality at all.
The result? Folks that viewed the ocean VR experienced "significantly less pain" than the other two groups, showing its therapeutic potential for stressful events.
The next step, they will be looking to test would be to vary the content of natural environments to see if the can determine exactly how it reduces pain.
Tech bytes:
Spotify
Spotify last week announced a partnership with Eventbrite and AXS that will let you find concert tickets at nearby venues. You can find information on ticket prices and dates right in your Spotify app, although you'll have to leave the app to actually purchase them.
Previously, Spotify only allowed you to find concerts happening near you, not search for tickets to them.
Are you looking to delete your existence from the Internet?
Two Swedish developers created a web app called Deseat.me, which offers a way to wipe your entire existence off the internet in a few clicks.
After logging into the website with a Google or Outlook account it scans for apps and services you’ve created an account for and creates a list of them with easy delete links.
By clicking the links you will be removed from those services.
Twitter Redesign
Over the next few days and weeks, Twitter will be rolling out a redesign of its app that's faster and easier to use, while also fixing things that users didn't like about the current design.
The first new change is a new side navigation menu with profile, additional accounts, settings, and privacy, which Twitter said results in fewer tabs at the bottom of the app and reduces clutter.
Tesla Model X Gets 5 Stars
And finally, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration just awarded the Tesla Model X a 5-star safety rating in every category and subcategory after conducting the first independent crash test of the electric vehicle since its launch in 2015.
The Model X is the first SUV to receive the federal government’s highest safety rating across the board.
Thanks for listening.
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about Apple’s struggle in AI, also five new features in iOS 11 that is coming this fall and a report that shows how cybercriminals are using attacks that depend on clicks by humans.
Apple and AI
Apple became the first company to place artificial intelligence on a phone with the of Siri on the iPhone in 2011. Now 6 years later, Apple is struggling to keep up with AI.
The reason why Apple is struggling though is not because it does not have the technology to support AI but it is more of a concern to Apple because it pushes the company far out of its comfort zone when it comes to AI and its software and hardware.
The concern that is hampering Apple from growing in AI is privacy.
At its annual developers conference last Monday, Apple tried to position itself as a AI player with the launch of HomePod, which is basically a stand-alone smart speaker in which Siri will now use machine learning to predict the times of a morning commute, or scan the travel news as you are reading it on the company’s Safari browser and then suggest related activities, such as booking a reservation.
But this announcement is not anything new. Other tech companies have released similar innovations and have already spent billions on AI race.
New features in iOS 11
- Pay friends with apple pay
- Siri translations
- Automatic app deletion
- New control center
- iPad multitasking and redesigned dock
Cybercriminals and attacks
Some of the key findings from the report:
- More than 90 per cent of malicious email messages led users to phishing pages.
- And a full 99 per cent of email-based financial fraud attacks relied on human clicks rather than automated exploits to install malware.
- Phishing messages designed to steal Apple IDs were the most sent, but Google Drive phishing links were the most clicked.
- Forty-two percent of clicks on malicious URLs were made from mobile devices.
- Social media fraudulent support account phishing increased 150 per cent in 2016. During these attacks cybercriminals create a lookalike social media account posing as the customer service account of a trusted brand. When someone tweets to a company looking for help, the attacker swoops in.
Techbites:
Yahoo's shareholders have officially approved the company's sale to Verizon for $4.48 billion. The deal is expected to close Tuesday.
Once the deal closes, Yahoo and AOL will merge into a combined entity called "Oath." AOL has indicated that it is planning more than 2,000 layoffs following the deal's close.
A Chinese company has found a way to significantly reduce the cost of “railway” infrastructure using sensors and paint. Called the “smart bus” the public transporation vehicle looks like a small train that follows white-dotted lines on the road.
The smart bus can transport up to 307 passengers in three carriages at a top speed of around 43 miles per hour. It can travel 25 kilometers after just 10 minutes of charging.
This smart bus will come into operation in 2018.
And finally, WhatsApp released a handful of new features this week, including photo filters, quick replies, and automatic albums in chat threads. Users can now add one of five filters to photos, videos, and GIFs before sending, enabling them to enhance the look or correct poor lighting.
In addition, WhatsApp now automatically generates album views when multiple images or videos are sent consecutively in the same chat window.
Using servers to heat homes
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about Google ad blocker, Samsung discontinuing My Knox and a startup company that wants to take the excess heat from servers to heat homes.
Google Ad Blocker
Google says that good ad experiences help the web thrive by funding the sites and services. But, people often encounter bad and disruptive ads on the web — ads that blare music unexpectedly, or force the user to wait 10 seconds before moving onto the next page. These types of frustrating experiences, Google says can lead someone to block all ads indiscriminately, and once they do, every publisher on the web pays the price.
From the data collected, there is some good news - people don’t hate all ads, just annoying ones — so websites have to move from a more annoying experience to a more acceptable experience and that can make a huge difference.
For example, 85 per cent of mobile users said they found anchor ads only just a little annoying or not annoying at all.
The ads that annoy people the most are:
-
Ads that Interrupt
-
Ads that Distract
-
Ads that Clutter
One survey shows that 50 per cent of users said they would not revisit or recommend a page that had a pop up ad.
Google acknowledges that this kind of ad blocker will hurt publishers and even Google itself who makes the vast majority of its revenue from ads. Yet, this is not stopping Google from implementing the Chrome ad blocker.
My Knox
Samsung is discontinuing My Knox in favor of the newer Secure Folder app.
The company is now urging My Knox users to switch to Secure Folder, which can be download from Galaxy Apps. The app is compatible with all Samsung smartphones with Android 7.0 Nougat or higher.
Servers to heat homes
By just using a laptop you know that computers give off a lot of excess heat. For data centers, this is a big problem, wasting energy and money. To mitigate this, companies have experimented with moving facilities to near the Arctic Circle and even submerging servers underwater. But Dutch startup Nerdalize has a different approach - it wants to harness it and then use it to heat people’s homes instead.
The setup is simple enough: you pay Nerdalize to install a server in your home; it heats your house for free; and Nerdalize makes money by selling the server space to other companies.
But with this there are some questions: Will companies be happy about having their data sitting in people’s houses? How will customers feel when they need to let an engineer in to fix their malfunctioning servers? But for Nerdalize I think they have a big task ahead to convince companies to store their data in residential homes.
Techbites
Google Home is finally available for pre-order in Canada at $179.99 at the Google Store and Best Buy Canada, and if you'd rather wait for it to hit store shelves, you'll be able to walk into Google Store, Bell, Best Buy, Indigo, London Drugs, Rogers, Staples, The Source, Telus, Visions, and Walmart on June 26th to buy one.
Google is promising that when the Google Home launches in Canada, Google Assistant will work in both French and English. If you're keen on dropping $179.99 to pre-order a Google Home, check out Best Buy Canada, which is offering a free Chromecast with your purchase.
Apple announced recently that app developers have earned over $70 billion through the App Store since its launch in 2008. The revenue split between Apple and its app developers is 70/30 for most purchases, meaning users have spent over $100 billion in the App Store since 2008.
The company also announced that app downloads have increased over 70 percent just in the past year, with photo and video apps nearing a 90 percent growth rate.
Talking about the App Store, Google Play, the app service for Android users, is not the same moneymaker for app makers as its Apple App Store. Android users are downloading more apps from Google Play, but less inclined to spend.
Market researcher Sensor Tower released a report Thursday that shows on average Android users in the US are spending 33 percent less on Google Play than iPhone users are on the App Store. On the other hand, Android users download more apps per device, an average of 42 from Google Play last year, while last year iPhone users downloaded an average of 33 per device from the App Store.
And finally, Adobe's new mobile scanning app called Scan, is a free app for iOS and Android that converts printed text into a PDF simply by snapping a picture of it. That's not unusual for scanning apps, but Adobe's including optical character recognition (OCR) for free.
That means once your image is converted to digital text, you'll have a document you can search, edit, highlight, comment on, sign and share. Adobe says it can do multipage documents too, and there are no limitations or watermarks to get in your way.
The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA Alliance) is Canada’s One Voice for Innovation Lobby Group. Recently they issued an open letter for federal MPs in Canada to support the Next Version of the Innovative Solutions Canada Program that was announced by the federal government to enhance innovative solutions in Canada. In this episode, Dan Wasserman, Founder & CEO, Mammoth Health Innovation Inc. & a member of theCATA Innovation Leadership Council talks about this program, how it should be patterned after the US Small Business Innovation Research program, the benefits it would bring to SMBs in Canada, and the next steps to get there. Being patterned after the US Small Business Innovation Research program, the Innovative Solutions Canada program looks to get best from the US program to incorporate into the Canadian program in making it a better program that will help companies innovate in the right areas and in the right fields. To learn more about the CATA Alliance, please go to CATA.ca.
WannaCry has made the headlines around the world. In this episode of WRLWND Radio, MarcelloSukhdeo talks with security expert Eric Jacksch about this ransomware, should we pay, what can we do to stay safe and are we prepared for a major cyberattack?
Show Notes
Hear more about:
• Are we are going to see another wave of this type of ransomware?
• What can a user do if his or her data is held ransom? Should they pay the ransom?
• If someone decides not to pay the ransom and their data is not backed up, are they going to lose that data with no possible means of getting it back?
• Is there anything that governments or law enforcement authorities can do to help protect their citizens in this type of cyberattack?
• What should we do to ensure that our systems remain safe?
• If government agencies find vulnerabilities, should they keep it to themselves?
• What can we expect next, are we going to see a rise in ransomware attacks?
• Do we have the capabilities and tools to deal with a major cyberattack?
See Eric’s latest article: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/insights/eric-jacksch/2156-i-wannacry
You can follow Eric on Twitter: @EricJacksch
Thanks for listening.
This week on WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about a predictive artificial intelligence that can tell the police whether a suspect should be kept in custody, also, he looks at what the Top 5 paid CEOs earned last year and a 3D body scanner that can measure your body parts in 30 seconds.
Show Notes:
AI and crime
Police in the city of Durham, England are preparing to go live in the next few months with a predictive artificial intelligence system that will determine whether a suspect should be kept in custody, according to the BBC.
This system is named Harm Assessment Risk Tool or HART which has been designed to grade individuals on a low, medium, or high risk level of committing a future offense.
Tests conducted in 2013, in which suspects’ behavior were tracked for two years after an offense, generally the forecasts were 98 per cent accurate. For the high-risk level the forecasts were accurate 88 per cent of the time.
The Durham police assured the BBC that Hart’s decisions will only be “advisory” during its preliminary and experimental use. Because the system will take into account factors like gender and postal code.
Highest paid CEOs of 2016
Bloomberg came up with the list of the top paid CEOs of 2016, the top four highest paid CEOs received compensation valued in the nine figures.
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Marc Lore, Walmart U.S. E-commerce CEO. He earned $236.8 million dollars in 2016.
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Tim Cook, Apple CEO with $150 million.
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John Weinberg, Evercore Executive Chairman. He earned a total of $123.9 million.
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Sundar Pichai, Google CEO at $106.5 million.
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Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, with $99.7 million.
3D scanning scale
ShapeScale is a 3D body scanner that was recently launched at $499. This 3D scale uses body scanning to create a 360-degree, 3D digital avatar with measurements and body composition stats.
The scale is round and looks like a normal scale, but it has an arm with a camera. Standing on the scale the arm circles around you about four times, taking photos of your body.
Then by using the images and your weight, ShapeScale creates the avatar. The entire process takes about 30 seconds.
The data can be useful, especially athletes but what about the normal people like you and me. If you are not exercising then of course it will not make sense to get this scale. But if you are so incline to measure your body shape quite frequently, then the ShapeScale may be just what you are looking for.
Techbites
Microsoft has officially released Visual Studio for Mac following an extended preview period for developers. The release corresponds with the kick off of Microsoft’s Build 2017 developer conference this week.
Opera browser is trying to compete with the likes of Google Chrome by integrating messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram into its sidebar so now you can chat while your browse.
Talking about Google Chrome, the desktop version of Google Chrome will not be coming to Windows 10 S. Windows 10 S was announced last week which allows users to install only apps that are distributed through the Windows Store.
And finally, The Oukitel K10000 Pro can confidently say that it has the longest battery life of any smartphone currently on the market. Its enormous 10000mAh is said to be able to go 10-15 days on a single charge.
While a price has not been announced for the Pro yet, the previous version went for $211. The company says the K10,000 Pro will ship sometime in June and will be available in China. To get one you will have to purchase it online.
In this show, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about Snapchat’s TV-like shows coming later in 2017, also cell phones have taken over landlines in the US and FBI director James Comey is calling for smartphone manufacturers to provide a way so they can our access data.
Snapchat
Snapchat is partnering with TV companies like NBC, ESPN, ABC, Turner, NFL, and others to create special shows for its millennial audience.
Snapchat is getting a boost of original content through the deals it has made with these TV companies to bring three- to five-minute minisodes in Snapchat’s Stories section.
The company is working with the TV producers to create interactive content to encourage audience engagement. This comes right after Twitter’s announcement that it would have 24/7 live video content —with the focus on news, sports, fashion, and celebrity events. But for Snapchat, it looks like it is going for more scripted or planned shows rather than live recorded events.
We know that video is the main means of consuming content today, actually it is estimated that this year video content will represent 74 per cent of all internet traffic. By 2019, according to Cisco, the global internet traffic from videos will make up 80 per cent of the entire traffic on the internet.
With these revealing statistics, it’s quite easy to see why this big push by companies to get more into video and Snapchat is one them that is sure to benefit from this.
Cell phones have taken over landlines in the US
According to a U.S. government study released on Thursday, 50.8 per cent of homes and apartments had only cellphone service in the latter half of 2016. This is the first time that cell phones are used in homes more than landlines.
Today, 45.9 per cent of households still have landline phones. The rest 3 per cent or so of homes have no phone service at all. About 39 per cent of U.S. households have both landline and cellphone service.
Renters and younger adults are more likely to have just a cellphone according to the study because it is easier to relocate without the hassle of calling up the landline company and because the younger generation is more into the newer technologies.
But there is something else to this group: "Wireless-only adults are more likely to drink heavily, more likely to smoke and be uninsured," "There certainly is something about giving up a landline that appeals to the same people who may engage in risky behavior."
The survey didn’t give the answers why this is so, but it obvious that this is a younger group that hasn’t encountered severe health issues yet so drinking and having fun are the things on the mind.
Comey wants smartphone manufacturers to create a backdoor
FBI director James Comey told a Senate oversight committee this week that the FBI has been unable to access almost half of the mobile devices it tried to examine in the first half of the fiscal year.
Comey said the FBI had been unable to access the contents of more than 3,000 mobile devices in the first half of the fiscal year, using what he described as “appropriate and available technical tools, even though there was the legal authority to do so.” He said that represented “nearly half” of all the mobile devices it had attempted to access in that time frame.
Comey made the statement in apparent support of the latest attempt at forcing phone manufacturers to provide backdoor access to the authorities.
“I could imagine a world that ends up with legislation saying that if you’re going to make devices in the U.S. you figure out how to comply with court orders. Or maybe we don’t go there. But we are having productive conversations right now I think.”
He appeared to be suggesting that manufacturers could somehow create a way in for law enforcement agencies without creating a backdoor.
Techbites
Bitcoin cleared the $1,600 level for the first time on Thursday. The cryptocurrency has pulled back a bit and now trades at $1,585.71 a coin but It's higher for the 14th time in 15 days, gaining more than 35% over that time.
Google said it shut down an email spam campaign that impersonated its online file service, Google Docs. Earlier reports suggested the attack was a phishing scam potentially aimed at harvesting personal information and maybe even Google login credentials. But in a statement late Wednesday, Google said that while the campaign accessed and used contact information, no other data was apparently exposed.
And finally, Facebook is closing in on 2 billion users. In its first quarterly earnings report for 2017, the company reported that it has 1.94 billion monthly active users as of March 31st, which is a nearly 300 million increase from this time last year.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about how data collected by a Fitbit could be used in a murder case, also a new website to combat fake news is being launched by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and a new feature on Google Maps to mark your parking spot.
Data from Fitbit to solve case?
A man who is a suspect in his wife’s murder, may be found guilty due to data collected by his wife’s Fitbit.
Richard Dabate of Connecticut is accused of killing his wife at their home in December 2015. His statement to the police is totally different than the data collected by his wife’s Fitbit. Dabate told police that a masked assailant came into their home at around 9 AM on December 23rd 2015 and subdued him with “pressure points” before shooting his wife, with a gun he owned.
He said that the man killed his wife as she was returning through their garage from a workout. But according to Fitbit’s data, his wife was moving around for more than an hour after her husband said the murder took place.
This man’s statement is contrary to data collected. This goes to show that we have become so entangled in data that our digital finger print is all over. I think we will see more and more cases where data will be used to help solve criminal cases in the future.
Wikitribune
With all the fake news around, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is launching a new site to fight fake news – it’s called Wikitribune.
"This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will work side-by-side as equals writing stories as they happen, editing them live as they develop and at all times backed by a community checking and re-checking all facts."
Facebook's tips for spotting fake news
Be skeptical of headlines
Look closely at the URL
Check the source
Watch for unusual formatting
Check the photos
Check the dates
Check the evidence
Look at other reports
Is the story a joke?
Some stories are intentionally false
Google Maps
Google has officially rolled out a new feature to Google Maps on iOS and Android that will help you find your parked car. Google already offers automatic parking location detection in some cases but now it’s easier to control it manually with notes and images about exactly where you left your car.
Other news
Spotify appears to be working on its first wearable device, developing a "category defining product akin to Pebble Watch, Amazon Echo, and Snap Spectacles," based on a job listing discovered on their website.
It's possible the company is working on a set of headphones or something Apple’s AirPods. Other hints include internet connectivity and something developed by Spotify itself, rather than an integration with existing hardware.
Microsoft officials said the company will be ready to integrate Dynamics 365 for Sales with LinkedIn's Sales Navigator as of July 2017. This integration will help users who have both Dynamics 365 Sales and LinkedIn to get contextual recommendations and provide tailored content, as well as provide account and lead updates.
Microsoft is making a promotional bundle available that includes Dynamics 365 for Sales, Enterprise Edition, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team for $135 per user per month.
Twitter has added nine million new users in Q1, which brings the company’s total to 328 million. That’s the biggest quarter-over-quarter jump for Twitter since early 2015.
After the announcement, Twitter’s stock went up more than 11 percent in early pre-market trading. Twitter also says that daily active users are up 14 percent over the same quarter last year.
Facebook wants to turn thoughts into text
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about a lawsuit against Bose for alleging spying on its users, also, Microsoft is replacing passwords with phone sign in and Facebook wants to turn our thoughts into text. All this and more on WRLWND Radio.
Show Notes:
Bose lawsuit
There is a new lawsuit against Bose, alleging that the company spies on users of its wireless headphones by keeping track of music, podcasts, and other audio and then using the data for financial gain.
This week a complaint was filed in a federal court in Chicago, seeking millions of dollars in damages to the users of Bose products. The lawsuit claims that Bose uses its Bose Connect app to spy on users. This app is used by customers to pair headphones to devices while managing software updates.
Microsoft phone sign in
Our passwords getting into the wrong hands have caused severe damages and financial loses. For years, experts have looked at ways to replace passwords by using fingerprint and iris scan. Both are good alternatives but expensive to implement and not widely used.
Microsoft has a new way to sign in to your accounts with just your phone—no password necessary. "With phone sign-in, we're shifting the security burden from your memory to your device," Alex Simons, director of program management for Microsoft's Identity Division.
Simons said the process is "easier than standard two-step verification and significantly more secure than only a password, which can be forgotten, phished, or compromised."
If you don't have your phone with you, you can choose to enter your password instead.
Facebook turning thoughts into text
During its F8 Developers Conference in California this week, Facebook revealed an ongoing project in which it aims to launch a product that will allow users to send emails, texts, and post status updates using only their thoughts.
The launch is a few years away but aims to allow users to type at 100 words per minute by monitoring their brain waves. Current technology allows researchers to type at eight words per minute.
Also, Facebook is working on hearing through your skin. It is an easier way to access Facebook and other content on smartphones. This is going to be beneficial to users who are deaf and disabled, or act as a way to break down the language barrier.
Former Google executive and DARPA director Regina Dugan said, "One day, not so far away, it may be possible for me to think in Mandarin and for you to feel it instantly in Spanish."
Another product - AR glasses that don’t obscure eyes which will be out faster than the first two projects that we’ve talked about.
In the News
Skype is very popular among cybercriminals. In a new study, researchers discovered that Skype is the number one communication channel for cybercriminals worldwide, edging out competitors like WhatsApp, Telegram and ICQ.
Microsoft is looking to retire Wunderlist and replace it with TO-DO later this year.
TO-DO has a feature called "My Day" which offers a clean slate every day. Unfinished items in your list can be added to the current day by tapping on a lightbulb in the corner. To-Do also pulls tasks from your old, existing and future lists and automatically prioritize those it deems most important.
Microsoft To-Do is free and will sync across iPhone, Android, Windows 10. If you would like to take a look at it, check out the web version which is now available.
Samsung has announced pricing for the Galaxy Book. This 2-in1 tablet is powered by Windows 10 and is a direct competitor to Microsoft’s Surface. The 10.6-inch Galaxy Book with Wi-Fi only starts at $630 US, while the 12-inch, Wi-Fi only Galaxy Book starts at $1,130 US. Both versions are available for pre-order from April 21.
Also, both models come with a stylus and a keyboard case. By comparison, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 starts at $800 US with no stylus or keyboard cover; rising to $1000 for a model with specs to match the Wi-Fi only Galaxy Book 12, again without keyboard and stylus.
Thanks for listening.
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about a study which points to the positive effects of playing Pokémon GO and three myths about millennials when it comes to tech and work. He also touches on Tim Cook’s call for more women to get into tech.
Show Notes:
Pokémon GO
According to a new study, people who play Pokémon GO have a more exciting life and the game enhanced their overall well-being.
The survey was done on 400 people, three weeks after the game was released, 40 percent of whom were playing Pokémon GO. Those players were more likely to be exercising, as well as experiencing positive emotions, making new friends and strengthening existing friendships.
“For the most part, the Pokémon GO players said more about positive things that were making them feel their life was more worthwhile, more satisfactory, and making them more resilient,"
"The more people were playing, the more they were engaging in behaviors that reflected making new connections -- making Facebook friends, introducing themselves to someone new, exchanging phone numbers with someone, or spending more time with old friends and learning new things about them."
I think this is just another way to get us hooked to our gadgets and destroy good, old fashion fun, excitement and friendship of doing things with people in person.
Three myths about millennials and tech
When we talk about millennials, normally, there are some myths that goes with it.
A study was taken by 1,446 respondents within the millennial demographic and over 90 percent of them were between 18-24. This study also spans over 40 college campuses.
Myth #1: Millennials Are Done With Facebook
Not true.
Facebook is still king; 89.35 percent of millennials use it daily, the highest of all the apps we tested. Next on the list was Snapchat at 76.36 percent, followed by Instagram at 73.79 percent.
Myth #2: The PC Is Dead to Millennials
Not true.
What this group did was to ask, if you are going on a trip and had to work on a project while traveling and were only allowed to take one device—notebook, smartphone, or tablet. What would you take? Over 42 per cent said notebook, with the smartphone in a close second.
Myth #3: Millennials Hate Face-to-Face Meetings
Not true.
The preferred collaboration methods at different stages of a project for millennials and found face-to-face meetings were viewed as the most useful and preferred for both the planning and brainstorming part of the project and the checkup/review stages.
More women needed in tech
Tim Cook recently said:
"I think the U.S. will lose its leadership in technology if this doesn't change," Cook said "Women are such an important part of the workforce. If STEM-related fields continue to have this low representation of women, then there just will not be enough innovation in the United States. That's just the simple fact of it."
Actually, the US has already lost its place as the highest tech exporter. In 2013, China, surpassed the US as number one by nearly 6.5 per cent.
Other countries that are heading the list are: Germany, Singapore, South Korea, France, Japan, Netherlands, Malaysia, and Switzerland to round off the top 10 leading tech exporting countries in the world.
Thanks for listening.
In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo takes a look at John Chen’s recent announcement that we may see a BlackBerry tablet in the near future. Also, he shares his review of the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and wraps up with a new tech show that is coming this November.
Show Notes:
BlackBerry tablet
If you haven’t heard by now, BlackBerry is about to bring us another tablet.
In the words of John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, "One of our partners is very excited to build a tablet based on Android. I'm interested to do that because I'm going to get royalties for every tablet they ship.”
So, this is another effort by BlackBerry to get back into the tablet market. The PlayBook was released in April 2011 and is the only tablet built by BlackBerry. When it first came out it had that premium feel to it and carried a hefty price.
It was considered a good, mini tablet that was supposed to work well with BlackBerry phones. But it didn’t, in a push to get the tablet out early, BlackBerry shipped it without a calendar app, an email app and the BlackBerry Bridge. These were glaring omissions especially for a company that was once so popular for its email client on its smartphones.
Even though these updates were made later, the damage was already done. In total, some 2.5 million units were sold with most of it at very large discount.
Can a BlackBerry Android tablet make a dent in the tablet market today? Given the extra layer of security that they’ve added to their Android based smartphones, this could be a big selling point for them. But in the end, it will come down to the design and price.
Learn more: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/mobility/2095-are-we-going-to-see-another-blackberry-tablet-soon
My take on the Samsung Gear S3
The S3 is the latest version of smartwatch from Samsung. Samsung began manufacturing smartwatches back in 2013 and has since joined a long list of smartwatch makers like Apple, and Google.
What I really like about this watch is the functionality. It has lot of features like working as a fitness tracker and a smartwatch. You can check emails, messages, sleep record, weather, create reminders, view upcoming activities, get the latest news, play music and more.
It has a long battery life, well-crafted stainless steel design with a turning bezel interface and a 1.3 inch LED screen that is very bright and clear.
To see my full video review and write up, please go to:http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/mobility/2101-samsung-gear-s3-one-of-the-better-smartwatches
New tech event
Later this year, our media affiliate Canadian Government Executive will be hosting a new event on tech. This event will focus on AI, machine leaning, cloud, IoT and cybersecurity. Group Publisher and President of Canadian Government Executive and IT in Canada J. Richard Jones joined me to give us an overview. Listen to the show to understand how this can be a great opportunity for your company to showcase your offering to government.
Thanks for listening.
In the show this week, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about the apparent breach of over 250 million iCloud accounts, what you need to know and what you should do to stay safe. Also, he shares the news about Samsung’s 34-foot 4K screen and the new calling feature added to Google’s Duo.
iCloud breach
The Turkish Crime Family, a group of hackers has claimed that they have the credentials of 250 million iCloud accounts and have threatened to reset the passwords on those iCloud accounts and remotely wipe iPhones if Apple doesn't pay a ransom by April 7.
Apple denied that its system was breached and in a statement said, "The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtained from previously compromised third-party services."
It appears that Apple is right. Learn more by listening to the show.
Recommendations:
- Change your password – use password generator like CorrectHorseBatteryStaple.net
- Enable 2-factor authentication
34-foot Screen
Samsung is known for bright, vibrant TV screens that are getting bigger and bigger. It recently announced its 34-foot Cinema Screen – HDR LED theater display.
Samsung is positioning this as the new movie theater screen, banking on the fact that since we’ve become so accustomed to the high-quality displays at home – so there is a market on the big screen. This screen is 10 times brighter than what we have today.
Voice calls on Duo
Google’s Duo, an app for making video calls was released last year to compete directly with Face Time. Google has since been replacing its Hangouts app with Duo on Android OS making it the mandatory video calling app.
Now they have added a new feature - voice calls – which is available worldwide. You can get Google Duo from the Google Play Store and on your iPhone.
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about a cardless withdrawal feature at ATMs and how you can use an app to create your own streaming digital library from your DVDs. Also, a new app to test for infertility in men. All this on WRLWND Radio.
Convert DVDs to digital
Just a few years ago, DVD was the big thing in watching movies. I remember the days of going shopping for DVDs and even rushing over to Blockbuster to rent movies for the weekend. Today, we don’t have to go through that hassle anymore. We can stream our movies and access videos digitally which makes that set of DVDs that we’ve bought years ago that are sitting in a box somewhere at home to be useless.
Wouldn’t it be great to have your entire DVD collection available digitally, like creating your own version of a Netflix app? There is such a service and it's called VUDU.
The cost for this "conversion" process is $2 per movie, the first movie comes at no cost to you. VUDU also allows you the option to upgrade a movie to a higher quality like 1080p for the cost of $5 per movie.
Some of the titles available are Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, the Bourne series, Top Gun, The Godfather., The Hangover, Kung Fu Panda, The Lorax, and The Notebook.
Learn more: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/c-level-insight/mobility/2083-you-can-now-convert-your-dvds-to-digital-with-vudu
Cardless withdrawal
Starting in a few days customers of Wells Fargo can withdraw their money by using a smartphone at any ATM in the US.
Wells Fargo began earlier this year to pilot this program and due to its success, it is now making this available to its 13,000 cash machines across the country.
The way this works is, customers on Wells Fargo's mobile banking app will be able to request an eight-digit code that they need to enter at the ATM along with their PIN to withdraw their cash, no card needed.
One thing to note though is that the eight-digit code can only be used once, so you need to request a new code every time you want to make a cardless withdrawal.
Learn more: https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/flip.it%2F5jv_kR-wells-fargo-introduces-cardless-atms-ac/f-ca1e83898b%2Freuters.com
New infertility testing app
In 2010, more that 45 million couples globally were estimated to be infertile. That is about 15 per cent of all couples worldwide. A staggering figure. Of these cases, men are estimated to be the cause of about half of the cases.
Sperm samples are inserted into the attachment and then the app analyzes them. This new way of testing can be as easy as a home pregnancy test according to some scientists.
Still though in the development stage, scientists are hoping to make this a reality within the next few years so as to make testing both easier and cheaper and also avoiding the need for men to go to a clinic.
The team now plans to conduct further tests and file for FDA approval, which they believe will be granted shortly because of the simplicity of the device or the attachment.
The hardware cost is under $5 and the final product should be able to go on the market at less than $50.
Learn more: https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/flip.it%2F8armK4-phone-device-tests-male-fertility-with-/f-972e9faa12%2Fcnn.com
In the show, we will look at how safe it is to travel with your gadgets on a business trip or for pleasure? Also, BlackBerry has a solution to visual hacking and we will talk about a technology that is being developed to charge your phone by using your friend’s phone. All this today, on WRLWND Radio.
Tips for travelling with gadgets
Our gadgets have become so integrated into our lives that we take them with us everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Even when we are travelling for work or even taking that vacation.
There is an inherent risk in taking our corporate and personal information with us when we travel. In this part of the show, I would like to offer you a few tips to reduce this risk and what we need to take into consideration when we travel with our devices.
First, consider whether you actually need to take a device with you, of course, if your boss is expecting you to take your work phone with you abroad, then there is no way out, but if not, then you should leave your employer's devices at home.
Why? Think about the impact if that device is - lost or stolen – the data that will be exposed can have some serious ramifications to your company.
Next consider if your laptop, phone, tablet, and even USB drives are encrypted? Are you using strong passwords? Is all your data backed up?
Travellers should also minimise the potential risk of data exposure and loss of information. The way to do this don’t take too much information with you - it’s better to delete unnecessary the files or save to your home computer or external drive before going on that trip.
For International travel there are a few additional considerations:
The Border agencies in many countries, including Canada and the United States, have the right to examine and even make copies of electronic information.
If you refuse to hand over passwords you can be in a lot of hot water, like having your devices seized, and being denied entry into foreign countries.
Also, border officials can open an app on a phone or tablet when connected to a network which will not only grant them access to the data on your device but also remote data like on your cloud storage accounts – for example - Dropbox or One drive. So this is not limited to data stored on your device, but data on a remote server could be accessed as well.
If you have sensitive data – like from work then it would be advisable to leave your device at home or consider purchasing another for travel.
If that is not an option you can go with, then you can log out of all accounts on your device and then delete the applications that use them. Say for example you've logged out Facebook, Dropbox, or Google Mail app and leave it on your phone without deleting them, then this may lead to additional questions or even requests for your login credentials. So if you are going this route, remember to delete the apps.
A more extreme option is to back-up the mobile device, reset it to factory defaults prior to travel, and restore it at the destination. If you want to go this far out to stay safe this is a good option as well.
Also, don’t leave electronics unattended in hotel rooms. Most hotels offer in-room safes; some are reasonably secure, while others are not. So it is up to you if you want to take you laptop with you to the gym or the restaurant.
The last thing to consider is locking bags that can help you protect your electronic devices. If you are interested in this please go to: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/columnists/eric-jacksch/2064-traveling-with-tech
In the end, when travelling with gadgets it all comes back down to good sound judgement, and always being vigilant. That I would say are the best suggestions for keeping personal data safe when travelling.
Privacy Shade app
Have you ever been in public and wondered if the person looking over your shoulder when you were entering your password was able to see it? This is considered visual hacking.
Last year, I was at HP Discover in Boston and one of the speakers talked about visual hacking.
Visual hacking is when other can view your device’s screen without your permission. So, say you are at your favourite coffee shop, you pull your smartphone or laptop and started to check your emails or social media accounts, now if someone is sitting behind you or to your left or right at an angle where they can see your screen, they are conducting a visual hack, they are acquiring information from your device.
To avoid exposing your private information BlackBerry has recently released an app called Privacy Shade. Privacy shade allows you to view your phone messages in private, even in public places such as trains, bus stops, and restaurants.
This app is only available to BlackBerry’s lineup of Android smartphones. So, if you have a BlackBerry Android phone like the Priv or DTEC then you can get this app from Google Play Store.
What the app does is to block parts of your phone screen – or obscuring the parts you are not viewing or using while still allowing you to interact with the obscured parts. By allowing users to adjust the transparency of the filter to suit the surroundings like outside or even indoors.
If you have a BlackBerry Android device then you can use Privacy Shade in four ways:
If you are using Android OS 7.0 Nougat or higher, you can add BlackBerry Privacy Shade to your Quick Settings.
If you are using a BlackBerry device with a Convenience Key, you can assign BlackBerry Privacy Shade to the Convenience Key.
If you are using a BlackBerry device that supports Swipe Shortcuts, you make BlackBerry Privacy Shade one of your shortcuts.
You can also toggle BlackBerry Privacy Shade on or off via an optional dedicated notification in the notification tray.
That’s the update on Privacy shade, if you are a BlackBerry fan there are few other upgrades that BlackBerry is working on that might excite you:
Hub
Additional Hub Integrations: Support for Kik and Telegram
Email Auto CC / BCC Setting: Users can now enable auto cc: or bcc: when sending a message. This setting can be applied to individual accounts.
Android Wear Notifications (beta): Hub+ notifications and the ability to read and delete Hub items via Android Wear devices (i.e. smartwatches)
Dual SIM support: Hub will support phones with dual SIMs. You can switch between them just like you would with multiple emails.
Contacts
Contact Linking and Cleanup: Improved support for finding and linking of duplicate contacts.
DTEK
OS Integrity Check: Users will now receive a notification if an OS Integrity issue has been detected.
If you are concerned about someone looking at your smartphone screen when you are in the public, then Privacy Shade is a good app to use. Hopefully, BlackBerry will make this available to all Android phones and even their own BlackBerry operating system.
Phone to Phone charging
Wireless charging is the new buzz words for phones. Samsung and Apple are working on bringing wireless charging to their upcoming smartphones but as they are doing this Sony is working on a really super new technology that will bring us a phone to phone charging. What this means is your friend can change his phone off of yours.
Sony recently filed a recently patent application, for power charging and data exchange between various consumer electronics like smartphones, computers and other smart devices.
The technology that will be used for this will rely on “antenna systems” configured for both wireless data and power transfers, accompanied by a handy user interface that simplifies the process of connecting devices.
In addition to selecting between power and data transfers, the interface will also make it easier to choose between various wireless exchange-enabled devices in your vicinity.
As with patents, we don’t know how soon the technology will become available but it is a good sign to see that more and more the tech companies are looking at ways of bringing us the technology to make our tech engrained lives easier.
In the show today, we will talk about two chatbots that can help you challenge your parking ticket and organise your work life. Also, are you looking for a secondary phone to take with you on that hike? We will talk about an option that is light, thin and small as a credit card.
Show Notes:
DONOTPAY
Chatbots are increasingly providing services today that humans did only a few short years ago.
DoNotPay is a chatbot which was developed by Joshua Browder and he calls it "the world's first robot lawyer". When Joshua was about 18 years old he began driving and started to receive a large number of parking tickets. He decided to create a service – a computer program that can help him challenge these tickets.
It worked so great that a year later it successfully appealed over 250,000 tickets. He then expanded this service to cover emergency housing and now it helps asylum seekers.
Refugees can complete immigration applications in the US, Canada and the UK by using this service. This service uses Facebook Messenger to gather information about a case before providing advice and legal documents.
"It works by asking a series of questions to determine if a refugee is eligible for asylum protection under international law," he tells BBC Trending, "for example: 'are you afraid of being subjected to torture in your home country?'
"Once it knows a user can claim asylum, it takes down hundreds of details and automatically fills in a completed immigration application.”
The bot suggests ways the asylum seeker can answer questions to increase their chances of having applications accepted as well. It also provides locations to send their applications in along with other documentation and resources.
Currently, the lawyer bot is available via the Facebook Messenger app for Android and Apple users. Browder is looking to bring this service in other languages and apps including WhatsApp.
Astro
Astro is a native email app on iOS and Mac that separates your email into two groups - Priority and Other - and allows you to snooze emails until later. In addition to this the company is working on adding a chatbot to this service.
This service will help to create filters and mark VIP contacts. Also, it will monitor your usage and then offer to automatically do it for you like if you normally snooze emails from the family until the evening then Astro will offer to do it for you instead.
You can tell it to clear out old emails, or remind you to email your boss in the morning.
It will observe the emails you delete and ask if you just want to unsubscribe.
So what Astro is looking to do is to become an assistant that can eventually handle most of your daily tasks by working through different systems.
The Light Phone
The Light Phone is made to simplify your life and make it distraction free.
I know some people carry a second phone around, if you are considering such a move, the Light Phone is a good option to look at.
The size of the Light Phone is the exact size of a credit card with a thickness of about stacking about 5 credit cards together which is still thinner than the iPhone 7 plus.
Specifications
Color – Matte White
Weight – 38.5 grams (iPhone weights about 100 grams more)
Display – OLED
Battery – 3 Days Standby
SIM – Nano SIM
Connector – Micro USB
Language – English
Connection – GSM 850/900 1800/1900 MHz
OS – Android
In the U.S. you can set up this phone as a call forwarding from your primary smartphone, which will forward all incoming calls to The Light Phone. This comes with a $5 service fee. For international users, this phone can be used as a standalone with no service fee.
The Light phone is on pre-order for $150 US and you can place your order at theLightPhone.com.
Get ready for your moon adventure. Companies are actively working to further technology and vehicles that can take us to the moon. In the show today we will hear about Jeff Bezos’s proposal to NASA and the White House about a craft that can take supplies to the moon in about 10 years. Also, we will talk about what’s new at Facebook and BlackBerry.
Show Notes
Return to the Moon
It looks like we have to wait a little longer to send humans to Mars. But, plans are in motion to create a permanent settlement on the moon instead.
Due to NASA's plans to return to the moon and the anticipated support of the Trump administration a few companies are excited to support travel to the moon with new technology and spacecraft.
One of the companies that made a proposal is Blue Origin, a space company owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. In a seven-page white paper to NASA and President Trump's transition team the company highlighted its interest in developing a lunar spacecraft.
This service would deliver gear for experiments and cargo by mid-2020 but doesn’t involve flying humans. It’s focus is on just cargo missions to help establish a human colony on the moon.
“It is time for America to return to the Moon — this time to stay,” Bezos said
Bezos announcement came on the heels of SpaceX’s founder Elon Musk who made an announcement earlier in the week that his company planned to fly two private citizens on a tourist trip around the moon by next year.
NASA also announced it is considering adding astronauts to the first flight of its Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule.
Robert Bigelow, the founder of Bigelow Aerospace, said his company could create a depot that could orbit the moon by 2020, housing supplies and medical facilities, as well as humans. He is glad that the administration seems to be refocusing on the moon. “Mars is premature at this time. The moon is not,”
City Guides
Facebook recently began rolling out feature called "City Guides" to its iOS app. City Guides gives users a list of cities visited by their friends and along with recommendations on places to eat, where to visit, and where you can stay on a future trip.
So now, your friends can know all about that secret get away trip you took last month when you said you were sick.
This feature can be found in the Explore tab of the app. After tapping on a city, the app provides a list of friends who have been to the location along with the places they checked into while they were there.
So, if you're looking for restaurant or hotel suggestions, it's easy to bookmark the spot right in the app and then send a message to that friend to see what he or she thinks about it.
Other parts of this upgrade include a “Places The Locals Go" section that lists popular spots based on each location's Facebook page rating, an upcoming events list in each city and a list of popular attractions.
The next time you’re planning a trip, check out this feature as it should make your trip a whole lot more enjoyable, visiting, eating and doing things that have recommended by people you know.
BlackBerry’s new approach
Nestor Arellano shared some information about chat with BlackBerry’s chief operating officer Marty Beard about the new direction that the company is headed in.
BlackBerry’s grand plan is a comprehensive native approach to provide government and enterprise customers with security products and services.
It covers five key areas:
- • Unified endpoint management (you know mobile device management and BES and the like
- • Embedded software: Think BlackBerry software inside any IoT device from medical instruments to BlackBerry radar for trucks and QNX software for driverless cars
- • Network: Think messages being served up securely through the BlackBerry NOC
- • Communications: That will be facilitating more secure messaging and alerts for enterprise and government users
- • Applications: All about developing app services, software development kits
In this episode, Marcello talks about what we can expect to come out of Mobile World Congress 2017 which will take place in a few days and are you looking for an alternative solution to your cloud storage needs? He shares one that can save you some money in the long term.
MWC 2017
We are a few days from Mobile World Congress 2017, which will run from Feb 27 to Mar 2 in Barcelona. As you know this is one of the biggest mobile device events that is held every year. What can we expect?
The focus will be on trends within mobility - IoT, Chatbots, Digital Payment and Retail banking technology. Also, we can expect TCL BlackBerry to announcement the BlackBerry Mercury, LG to showcase its G6, HMD Global to promote the Nokia lines of phones, Moto, Lenovo, Samsung and Sony will also feature their new phones.
Personal Cloud Storage
It is estimated that by the year 2020 there will be over 2.3 billion personal cloud storage consumers or users. Most today are using the mainstream - cloud services from companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Dropbox. But, security is a concern for many. How private and secure are my docs, files, pics, videos on a cloud server somewhere I don’t even know?
Hear about a product that can be housed in your own home that can provide the service as cloud storage.
I like this service because in the long term it is a cheaper means of buying cloud storage service, also it is faster than the other cloud services. And best reason is you can literally store all your data at home, and not in a server in some unknown location - so your security and privacy are intact.
Google Sheets Update
In our office, we use Google Sheets to collaborate with remote staff, if you use Google Sheets then you will be happy to know like us that Google has made some updates to this service.
One of the most important new features is the ability to rotate text, which allows users to fit long header names into thin columns or fit more text on a single screen. The new option is available in Sheets by heading to Format / Text rotation. Also, accounting number formats, which enables Sheets users to read budgets, expense reports, as well as other spreadsheets featuring monetary amounts much easier. You can access this feature from within the app at Format / Number / Accounting.
Google also confirmed support for using a mouse with the Sheets for Android has been implemented too, as well as the ability to view and select existing custom colours in the app. iOS users got some love too, as Google added the ability to drag and drop rows and columns in the Sheets for the iOS app.
The new update allows Sheets users to choose from more border styles, including various thickness and double borders.
From the WRLWND team, thanks for joining us.
If you like our show, please consider giving us a rating on iTunes, and be sure to share these episodes with your friends!
With a record number of security breaches in 2016, what can companies do to stay secure and what security trends should we keep an eye on? In this episode of WRLWND Radio we are joined by Dave Mahon, Chief Security Officer of CenturyLink and a former employee of the FBI who will delve into these issues.
Show Notes
In this show, Dave talks about the security trends and issues that he sees dominating in 2017, what are some of the biggest blind spots companies have with security, BYOD, lessons from working with the FBI that he has brought over to the public sector, and how cyber security has evolved since his time with the bureau.
Dave also shared what he will be talking about at the CIO Canada Summit on February 27 where he will participate on a panel about Overcoming Cyber Security Concerns.
Today's Guest: Dave Mahon
Dave has been Chief Security Officer for CenturyLink, Inc. since 2011. He is responsible for enterprise wide security strategy, information security, cyber defense, critical infrastructure protection, physical security, network fraud and abuse, industrial security, international travel security, threat intelligence, work place violence prevention, executive protection, investigations, and liaison with the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Council (NSTAC), National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), as well as federal and state law enforcement and homeland security agencies.
Prior to the merger with CenturyLink, Inc., Mr. Mahon was the vice president of corporate security for Qwest Communications International, Inc.. In addition to his corporate security positions, Mr. Mahon was a Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI and responsible for investigating violations of federal statutes in which the Internet, computer systems and networks were exploited as the targets of terrorist organizations, foreign government sponsored intelligence operations or criminal activities. During his career with the FBI, he also managed programs related to white collar crime, crisis management, critical infrastructure protection and violent crime.
Despite being around for decades, bots are now taking the spotlight in tech. In this show, we will look at bots and see how they are increasingly becoming a part of our lives even without we knowing it.
Bots
Gartner predicted that by the year 2020, the average person will have more conversations with bots than with their spouse. This is scary. We will be speaking more to computers and tech inventions, instead of our spouses - a live person.
We are becoming so reliant on technology. So is technology or bots going to replace the other party in our conversations?
Sad to say, yes, It sure looks that way.
So, what is a bot exactly? There is a very good article on CNET which gives an excellent overview of bots - https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-is-a-bot/
Some developers and companies believe that people are tired of apps and would rather use bots. Instead of having many different apps on your phone, you could have one with multiple bots that can help you perform a number of different tasks, like ordering food or checking sports scores.
As of now It looks like bots are going to continue to evolve into a conversation companion. Scary as that may sound, it looks like that is what our future is going to be like.
PayPal's Bot
Built on the Slack platform PayPal launched it’s very first bot. Slack is a messaging platform with 5 million daily active users, it is used by teams to keep their conversations in one place so they can assess it wherever they go.
With this new bot, PayPal is making it very easy to send money between PayPal accounts without leaving your Slack conversation.
To get started on this you can install the PayPal bot available on the Slack App Directory. After it was installed, you need to link your PayPal account and set your preferred transaction settings, including when you want to review and approve transactions.
The PayPal bot is currently available to Slack users in Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.
Automation
Automation is way for organizations to streamline processes, enhance performance, and boost their bottom line.
But as machines or software take over tasks that human used to do, it usually results in someone losing their job.
The question is: How many jobs will an automation revolution kill?
A recent report from a UK based think tank, Reform estimated that almost 250,000 public sector workers will lose their jobs over the next fifteen years due to automation.
The report went on to add that Web sites and “chat bots” will replace as much as 90 per cent of public administrators and thousands of employees, general practitioners, police, and others in the U.K. by 2030.
Of course, such a massive job cut will result in savings of as much as $6.5 billion a year but what about people?
Some may argue that automation will result in a leaner, smarter workforce so as to deliver better value for our money whether it is in the private sector or the public sector.
Another argument for automation is that it can be more effective in dealing with the growing number of cybercrimes.
But what about traditional crimes, with less in the workforce and the growing number of unemployment, people are left with only one way to get what they need, steal! It’s just human nature.
With bots, automation, AI, we are on the verge of getting into a time when things will be good on one hand, like making it easier to get things done, but on the other hand, with people being displaced and out of jobs, that will create chaos and tension that wreak havoc on society. Something to contemplate as bots and automation take the spotlight.
Thanks for joining me on WRLWND radio. As always, stay safe in the technology WRLWND.
Self-driving cars is creating a lot of frenzy within many industries to prepare us for this new trend in travel, but what about flying cars? When can we see that? George Jetson will be very happy to hear that we are on the verge of making flying cars a reality. This story and more in this episode of WRLWND Radio
Flying Cars There are a few companies, including aircraft maker Airbus who are competing to be the first to develop vehicles with wings that take off and land vertically – which is in reality a smaller version of helicopters.
Think about the enormous impact of these vehicles, once they of course become a reality, they could change the way we travel dramatically due to their small size and flying capability. It probably would be easy to operate and control. But, since we are accustomed to driving on a flat solid surface, handling a vehicle in the air would pose a great challenge to many of us. Just think about some of the driving we see around us today, are we going to feel safe driving in a flying car, how should I put it, with distracted and risky drivers around and even above us?
But before we get flying cars, there are many obstacles that must be overcome. Is it safe? Regulators will have to be convinced that these cars are safe. Then there is the obstacle of how to handle thousands of new low-flying aircraft over cities without colliding with each other or crashing into buildings and then batteries, how long will it last and what will happen if it’s out of power in the air.
So how close are we to this? Zach Lovering, who heads the Airbus project to develop a flying taxi called the Vahana believes that this will become a reality in 10 years.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the flying cars already in design and testing phase:
Vahana Made by Airbus, Vahana is a vertical takeoff-landing, all-electric aircraft that is mounted on a sled with propellers in front and back. Airbus plans to test a prototype before the end of 2017, and to have the first Vahanas ready for production by 2020.
Comorant This is from Israeli tech firm Urban Aeronautics which takes off vertically and has a standard helicopter engine, but no large main rotor. It can fly between buildings and below power lines, attain speeds up to 115 mph, stay in the air for an hour and carry up to 1,100 pounds.
Lilium Jet German technology company Lil-ium Aviation is working on a two-seater aircraft that will take off vertically using 36 electric fan engines along its wings. The company has been flight-testing small scale models. The aircraft will have an estimated cruising speed of up to 190 mph and a range of 190 miles.
AeroMobil 3.0 The Slovakian company AeroMobil has developed a car with wings that unfold for flight. It uses regular gasoline and fits into standard parking spaces. It can also take off from airports or any grass strip or paved surface just a few hundred meters long.
EHang 184 Chinese drone maker EHang has been flight-testing a person-carrying drone in Nevada. The vehicle is a cockpit with four arms equipped with rotors. Takeoff and landing targets are pre-programmed. A command station in China will be able to monitor and control the aircraft anywhere in the world.
S2 Joby Aviation of Santa Cruz, California is developing a two-seat, all-electric plane with 12 tilt rotors arrayed along its wings and tail. The aircraft takes off and lands vertically and can achieve speeds up to 200 mph.
Transition/TF-X Terrafugia, based in Massachusetts, began working a decade ago on a car folding wings that can fly or be driven on roads that's called the Transition. They plan to begin production in 2019.
Volocopter This two-seater, electric multicopter from the German company e-volo, it has 18-rotors and looks like a cross between a helicopter and a drone. It is controlled from the ground, eliminating the need for a pilot license.
Passenger Drones I came across a story from TechCrunch, “Forget flying cars — passenger drones are the future”
The writer of this piece makes the point that since Tesla, Google, Uber and other autonomous car makers are within three to five years of commercializing self-driving cars, cars that require no human oversight. Then, all the machine learning algorithms, sensors and safety systems from self driving cars will help to push passenger drones to become a reality.
He argues that compared to cars, drones will face fewer obstacles in the sky and have far more options for evading accidents.
The way these taxis or ride sharing services will work is, just like the Uber app, the passenger will book a drone, which will then fly to the pickup location to get the rider, it will land and take off vertically and then fly to the destination.
This passenger-drone development is further along than we realize. The Chinese company EHang as I highlighted in the first story received clearance from Nevada in June 2016 to test the world’s first passenger drone. The drone can fly at up to 11,500 feet at 63 mph, but only for 23 minutes. A rather short time, but still a good start which will only continue to progress with time.
Now, Uber believes that Uber Elevate, which is an on-demand air transportation service, will be here within a decade to request electric Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft (VTOLs). This prediction from Uber will definitely push other drone makers like Amazon to get into the race of passenger drones.
Now, even if we don’t get the flying cars, it looks like we will get the passenger drone, hey Uber send me my drone.
Tap and go with sunglasses Soon it appears you can tap and go with your sunglasses, well, not the sunglasses you have right now but ones with WaveShades. WaveShades is a new contactless payment system built into sunglasses. This new venture was started with Australian startup company Inamo, the sunglasses-maker Local Supply and Visa.
The prototype tap-and-go sunglasses are being rolled out ahead of Australia's Laneway music festivals. So Australians don’t have to worry about taking cards, cash or their wallets with them to the festival.
Local Supply has provided the sunglasses and Inamo has provided the secure NFC payment chip, built into the arm of the glasses.
But before you poke fun at the tap-and-go sunglasses, every time you pay for something, you can be like Horatio Caine "CSI: Miami"-style. Or you may have an excuse to wear sunglasses at night.
This new payment system makes sense for those attending the music festival or hitting the beach and can be very handy for those travelling or vacationing.
Hacking has the potential of providing grave and broad impacts threatening finances, power grids and privacy. Today in the show, we will talk about an attack on Gmail that you need to be concerned about, also we will share commonly used passwords that you need to change, and the technological advancements that scientists are worried about that can lead to man’s doom.
Gmail
Google’s Gmail service, is a service that is used by over 1 billion users around the world. If you have a Google account here is something that you need to be aware of.
A few days ago, Hackers made the news again with a phishing attack that is stealing login information of users of Gmail. What I find disturbing about this attack is that even seasoned tech users, experts in the tech field are being fooled into providing their emails and passwords to hackers.
In this latest attack, hackers created a login page for Gmail that looks like the authentic Gmail login page that you normally see when you try to sign in to your Gmail.
The way they pulled this off, is that a hacker sends an email from a name of one of your contacts, on seeing this you automatically think that this is a valid email from someone you know, now, on opening that email there is an attachment that looks normal. It has a name that you can relate to.
By trying to open the attachment a new tab opens to the fake Gmail login page. Here you’re ask to sign in to view the attachment. By entering your email and password you are giving your login credentials over to the hacker and thus compromising your account.
In response to this attack, Google said: “We’re aware of this issue and continue to strengthen our defenses against it. We help protect users from phishing attacks in a variety of ways, including: machine learning-based detection of phishing messages, Safe Browsing warnings that notify users of dangerous links in emails and browsers, preventing suspicious account sign-ins, and more. Users can also activate two-step verification for additional account protection.”
If you are a Gmail user and have not set up the 2-step verification, I would highly recommend that you do so. The link is: https://www.google.com/landing/2step/
For the full story, go here: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/c-level-insight/security/2007-tech-experts-fooled-by-latest-phishing-attack
Commonly used passwords
Despite being warned many times by security experts to set strong passwords, people are still using easy and guessable password for their online lives.
In 2016, a year that we’ve seen a huge amount of cyber-attacks, it is still baffling to experts to see people us passwords like "123456", "qwerty" and "111111" during the course of last year.
According to Keeper, a password manager software, in 2016 they sifted through 10 million passwords from data breaches that happened in year and they found that 50 per cent, that is 1 out of every two people use the top 25 most common passwords, and almost one in five - of all users having "123456" as their protective code.
If you are guilty of this, I am pleading with you, please change your password by using a variety of numbers, letters, symbols and upper and lower cases in your passwords and don’t use a string of numbers or letters on your keyboard or use this site: http://correcthorsebatterystaple.net
Cyber and Doomsday
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the Doomsday Clock ahead by 30 seconds, taking the world to 2½ minutes to midnight. This is the first time that it was moved by 30 seconds since it was first used in 1947 as a means to measure how close we are to destroying ourselves.
There are a few factors that weighed heavily in making the decision to push the clock closer to midnight, mainly climate change and the talk about more nuclear weapons. But there is another concern as well, it’s technological – in the cyber and artificial intelligence fields.
Thanks for listening.
Data analytics is being used in many industries today to enhance growth and productivity. But can data analytics help athletes? We will hear from two Canadian Olympians, Heather Moyse and Adam van Koeverden who are excited about a new partnership between SAS and Canadian Olympic Committee to provide data that can improve athletes’ performance. All this and more in today’s show.
Cortana new update on Android
Microsoft will be releasing an update to Cortana on Android, which will give you access to Cortana on your phone’s lock screen. If you are a fan of Cortana, then with the new update you will have a much cleaner and better looking Cortana app design on your Android phone.
This updated version will give you access to Cortana by a single swipe. Microsoft is already testing this new feature as part of a beta program which will be coming out in a few weeks.
Data analytics and athletes
Data analytics is widely used by businesses to boost their bottom line, by law enforcement agencies to track down crime rings, and by scientists to better understand weather patterns and climates changes. But could it be used by athletes?
The Canadian Olympic Committee believes analytics can help Canadian athletes improve their performance. On Tuesday, the COC announced a partnership with data analytics software giant SAS.
WRLWND Radio was on hand to witness the announcement of this new partnership and according to Chris Overholt CEO and secretary general of the Canadian Olympic Committee, this partnership is most likely the very first such relationship between a national Olympic organization and a software vendor.
Hear from two Canadian Olympians, bobsleigh athlete Heather Moyse, a two-time Olympic champion and Adam van Koeverden, canoer and kayaker, a four-time Olympic medalist on how data analytics can help athletes.
Analytics will help athletes be better prepared and this partnership is very exciting for athletes and more so to help Canada win more medals in future games.
Malware on Google Chrome
If you are using Google Chrome, you could be lured into downloading malware that looks like a fix for corrupted fonts.
Hackers are finding their way into poorly-protected websites, according to security firmProofpoint, to insert JavaScript. Once Chrome users visit these sites the script causes unrecognizable characters that make all text unreadable on the webpage.
Once this happened, a fake Chrome box pops up, informing users that they need to download a file that looks like a font installer package which is a click-fraud adware. That sort of adware isn't very dangerous, but cybercriminals have used this sort of attack to unleash far worse things in the past, such as ransomware.
If you are using a Mac, then you are safe from this for now as it appears that the Chrome browser on Windows in Canada, the UK, the US and Australia are currently being targeted. But that doesn’t mean that this sort of hack cannot be implemented in other countries and operating systems.
Thanks to Olympians Heather Moyse and Adam van Koeverden for sharing their take on the use of data analytics to improve performance of athletes.
The future of mobile, TV, self-driving cars and the iPhone
What will the future look like for mobile, TV, self-driving cars and the iPhone? In the show, we will hear from two experts on tech scene in Canada and also a clip from Steve Jobs on the introduction of the iPhone a decade ago.
Mobile, machine-learning and self-driving cars
For the past 16 years, management services firm Deloitte Canada has released its Technology, Media and Telecommunications predictions that Deloitte believes will impact various industries and people’s daily lives.
Duncan Stewart, director of TMT research for Deloitte Canada, presented his company’s take on several emerging technologies and trends during a recent conference in Toronto. In an interview with WRLWND Radio, Duncan elaborates on three key tech trends; 5G mobile technology, machine-learning, and automatic emergency brake systems.
Listen, as Duncan explains what impact these three will have in our daily lives and why it’s important for businesses to keep a close watch on them.
The iPhone, a look at the past and future
This week, 10 years ago, Steve Jobs announced to the world, the iPhone. It’s hard to believe that it has been a decade since the iPhone was introduced. The iPhone has changed the way we live, dramatically over the last 10 year.
A quote that really inspired Steve Jobs to be the driving force behind the iPhone, is by Alan Kay, an American computer scientist, who said, “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”
And that, is what Steve Jobs did. He worked really hard to bring us perfection. An example of this was just before the first iPhone was announced, there were two prototypes of the Acorn operating system that were being considered. One was like the iPod interface that was controlled with a click wheel, the other was an icon interface.
It would have made sense to go with the click wheel-based UI at that time due to the success of the iPod, but Steve Jobs decided he wanted the iPhone to have an entirely touchscreen-based interface and threatened to kick everyone else off the iPhone project if they disagreed.
What would the iPhone look like in 2027?
· It seems like the shape will remain the same, its been like that for the past decade.
· It looks like the home button will still be there.
· There will be increase in performance as technology advances.
· 3D photos, a possibility
· We can see thinner and more flexible OLED screens, maybe a foldable iPhone?
· Uncrackable screens
· Wireless charging with solar panels
The future of TV
Lindsay Takashima, Vice President of Sales and Marketing from Hisense Canada joined WRLWND Radio to talk about what we can expect to see in the near future regarding TV sets. What Hisense Canada plans to unfold during the year and a laser type projector with a great life span and a better picture quality?
Thanks to our guests, Duncan Stewart from Deloitte Canada and Lindsay Takashima from Hisense Canada.
In this episode, you'll hear more LG's super crazy thin TV that hangs on your wall like a wallpaper, and Ford is building WiFi hotspots for some of its cars to be released later this year. And we'll close off the show with a clip from a live radio interview on BlackBerry’s new self driving centre that was launched a few weeks ago.
Super Thin TV
LG officially introduced its W-Series OLED TV on Wednesday of this week at CES 2017. At just over 2 millimeters thin, the W Series OLED TV from LG looks like a wall paper. The W-Series is available in 65 and 77 inch options and can be mounted to a wall with a remarkably simple system setting the TV flush against the wall with no gaps. The 65-inch model weights just 17 pounds, while the 77-inch model is 27-pounds. So not only thin but also light.
Ford's WiFi Hotspot
Another announcement coming out of CES 2017 in Las Vegas is that Ford is planning to add a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot to some of its models starting later this year. The in-car Wi-Fi hotspot will use AT&T's 4G LTE network for connectivity and can support up to 10 devices at a time. When the vehicle is parked, the Wi-Fi is accessible from up to 50 feet away because of an external antenna, which improves the signal strength.
A key feature of this is for those times when you find it so hard to find your vehicle in a crowded parking lot. So after parking, drivers will receive a prompt on their smartwatch asking them if they want to log their parking spot like the level, column and other location details. Now on their return to the vehicle, drivers can receive directions to get back to the parking spot using their smartwatch.
BlackBerry's Innovation Centre
Get the full show here: http://www.1310news.com/audio/the-carol-anne-meehan-show/
Thanks for listening.
Another Yahoo hack, Top Google searches and AWS in Canada
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, we will hear from Eric Gales, Director of Amazon Web Services Canada about the launch of AWS in Canada and the benefits it offers to AWS customers and partners. Also, Yahoo is back in the news and once again it is not good, there was another hack where data was stolen for more than one billion accounts, we will talk more about what you can do to stay safe and if you are to make a guess on what name, topic or term Canadians googled the most in 2016, what would it be? We will run through the list with you.
Another hack at Yahoo
Some of the suggestions from Yahoo to stay safe:
- Change your passwords and security questions and answers
- Review your accounts for suspicious activity
- Be cautious of any unsolicited communications that ask for your personal information
- Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails
- Consider using Yahoo Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password on Yahoo altogether.
Top Google Searches 2016
Global
Searches
1) Pokémon Go
2) iPhone 7
3) Donald Trump
4) Prince
5) Powerball
Consumer Tech
1) iPhone 7
2) Freedom 251
3) iPhone SE
4) iPhone 6S
5) Google Pixel
Canada
Searches
1) Donald Trump
2) Pokémon Go
3) Toronto Raptors
4) Fort McMurray Fire
5) Prince
Consumer Technology
1) iPhone 7
2) Samsung Galaxy S7
3) Samsung Galaxy Note 7
4) Google Pixel
5) Nintendo Switch
AWS Canada
For more information go to: https://aws.amazon.com/canada/
In this episode, we will her from Simo Vujovic, Director of Cloud Managed Services at IBM Canada on the three models that companies can use to get to the cloud and how cloud first mentality should be from the top down in migrating to the cloud.
Nestor Arellano from IT in Canada recently caught up with Simo Vujovic to talk about the migration to the cloud. Hear more about cost, speed and innovation and how companies can incur lower cost and at the same time be faster on the cloud.
Follow Simo on Twitter:@simolj
In the show today, we will hear from Daren Hanson, Vice President of Sales and Business Development at TeraGo who will talk about disaster recovery and how a business can develop an effective disaster recovery plan.
In this episode, Daren talks some the risks of a disaster, what would be considered an effective disaster recovery plan, control measures a business can put in place to reduce the risk of a disaster and the steps a company can take to set up a DR plan.
All this and more on this critical topic on WRLWND Radio.
For more information, go to: http://www.terago.ca/business-internet-data-cloud-services/cloud-services-for-business/disaster-recovery-services/
Amazon is inching closer to bring us the 1-click car buying feature to make buying a new car online easier, also we will talk about the tech jobs that are projected to have salary increases in 2017 and a simple thing you can do to increase the battery life of your Android phone by nearly 20 per cent. All this and more in this episode of WRLWND Radio.
To view the white papers that we talked about in the show, go to: http://ibmdataandcloud.pagedemo.co. Brought to you by IBM.
In the show today we will hear from Chris Barry, Vice President of Enterprise & Partner Group at Microsoft Canada on cloud adoption in Canadian businesses and how companies can move to the next level.
A few days ago at the Microsoft Tech Summit that was held in Toronto, Nestor Arellano from IT in Canada caught up with Chris Barry to talk about a survey which reveals that many Canadian businesses intend to implement a digital strategy in 2017, but they still have some doubt about migrating workloads to the cloud.
This is an insightful interview especially for SMBs who are in the process of migrating to the cloud or are looking at doing so in the near future.
We are excited to share this interview with you in this episode of WRLWND Radio.
Futurists are looking to move away from keyboards and tap commands to voice commands, and that call has been answered by Google with its latest product, Google Home. Today in the show we will take a look at this exciting new product and will also touch on the new MacBook Pro, should you get one now or wait.
Hear more about Google Home, the new digital assistant that is a speaker that looks like an air freshener that can understand and act on most of your voice commands. Also, should you get the MacBook Pro now or wait a little? We present the views of one analyst and we close with the privacy concerns from using Google services.
Please let us know how we are doing, give us a rating or make a comment on iTunes.
Thanks for listening.
Is PC making a comeback? In this episode of WRLWND Radio we will take a look at Microsoft's exciting new innovations that were announced this week featuring an all in one PC that is directly competing with Macs.
A recent survey of senior technology and industry representatives uncovers the need for companies to divest themselves of day-to-day IT maintenance tasks and to focus on strategic IT initiatives instead. In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks with Ash Mathur, Regional Vice President & Managing Director at CenturyLink Canada about the results from this survey and the managed services market in Canada.
Hear more about what a managed services provider is, the pros and cons of moving to managed services, the loss of productivity due to a technology failure, ways to deal with an outage, and how to overcome the barrier to move to managed services.
If you are experiencing issues with your IT infrastructure, managed services would not be a bad idea to pursue. For more details on how to get the ball rolling on this or to gather more information visit http://www.centurylink.ca.
Thanks again to our guest on today’s show, Ash Mathur, Regional Vice President & Managing Director at CenturyLink Canada.
Have a great thanksgiving!
In this episode of WRLWND Radio, Marcello Sukhdeo talks with Allen Lalonde, Senior Executive for IBM Research and Development on the opening of the IBM Innovation Space, a new startup hub in Toronto which is designed to accelerate innovation.
On September 21, IBM in partnership with the Ontario Centres of Excellence and the Government of Ontario launched the IBM Innovation Space. The objective of this hub is to provide the means to help entrepreneurs, startups, and developers so that they can work on innovate ideas and move rapidly their business plans from research to commercialization.
In this interview, Allen Lalonde talks about why Toronto was chosen for this space, the benefits to entrepreneurs and startups by being a part of this community, the two biggest challenges that the province has been facing with startups and how to become a part of this community.
Thanks to Allen Lalonde and team at IBM Canada for sharing the vision of this initiative and how startups can move rapidly to commercialization.
Thanks for listening.