Microsoft Plans Cheaper iPad Rival; Apple Vein Face Scan; New Whole Foods Discount for Prime Members
Posted: May 16, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Biometrics, Deep discounts, Face ID, Infrared, iPad, Microsoft, Prime, Surface, Surface Pro, Vein scan, Whole Foods Leave a commentMicrosoft is gearing up to release a line of lower cost Surface tablets by later this year that would compete with the hot selling cheaper iPad. Bloomberg.com reports that the last (somewhat) cheaper Surface kind of bombed at $499 back in 2012, but the pricey Pro has sold well. Of course the cheaper iPad is just over $300, so that may be a sweet spot. The cheaper Surface would have a 10 inch screen…just above the 9.7 inch size of the iPad. It is expected to sell for $400, will have USB-C, and be lighter than present Surface tablets. That comes at the cost of battery life…only 4 hours! The Surface Pro can make 13.5 hours on a charge. Again look for these the 2nd half of the year.
As if Apple’s Face ID and the fact that Ticketmaster is testing out facial recognition for concert admission wasn’t enough, now Apple may be going deeper…literally. According to appleinsider.com, Apple is are looking at taking biometrics to the next level…scanning the veins in a user’s face! In a patent just published called ‘Vein imaging using detection of pulsed radiation,’ Apple can scan the blood vessel patterns below the skin in your face. They claim it can even tell identical twins apart. By the way, ‘radiation’ is relative…you won’t glow in the dark…it’s from infrared light, not radioactive material! As with all Apple patents, this may or may not make it into a phone.
In an effort to build business, Amazon has dangled two new discounts for Prime members at Whole Foods. Arstechnica.com says one is an additional 10% off sale items, and another is ‘deep discounts’ on select best-selling items (or what grocers have called ‘loss leaders’ for decades.’) The deep discounts at Whole Foods will include meat and fish, however. The first deep discount items include organic strawberries, wild-caught halibut, cold brew coffee, and granola.
Google Revamps Storage Plans; Apple has 2nd Biggest Self-Driving Fleet in CA; Ticketmaster Plans Facial Recognition
Posted: May 15, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Blink Identity, Cruise, Facial recognition, Google, Google Drive, Google One, Head tax, Seattle, self-driving car, Storage plans, Tesla, Tickmaster, Uber, Waymo Leave a commentGoogle has unveiled its consumer storage plans. The new plans are dubbed “Google One,” although the Google Drive is still Google Drive. TechCrunch.com says Goggle has added a new 200 gig tier for $2.99 a month, and dropped the price for its 2 terabyte plan from $19.99 to $9.99 a month. The old 1 terabyte plan at $9.99 goes away. You can still get in on 100 gigs or $1.99 per month, but keep in mind that now, you’ll be able to share your storage with up to five family members! An outstanding new feature is expert support 24.7 over chat, email, or phone. Previously, this was only open to business users.
Apple has been bulking up its fleet of self-driving cars, and now is up to 55, making it the 2nd biggest fleet in California, according to the DMV. As recently as January, Cupertino only had 27 cars. The biggest fleet of self-drivers is that of Cruise, a company owned by GM, which has 104. Google’s Waymo has 51 cars, and Tesla 39. It’s worth noting that both Waymo and Uber previously had more cars in California…Waymo had 100, but has moved some to Arizona and Michigan.
Your face will literally be your ticket to concerts, as the Ticketmaster division of Live Nation has announced a pilot program to drop tickets and use facial recognition tech. Thenextweb.com says Ticketmaster is partnering with Blink Identity, which claims they can make a positive ID in half a second. Some worry that this is a little too much Big Brother, since China recently put in place a similar system…but theirs is for law enforcement. If the pilot program is successful, you may see it before long for air travel, building access and more.
Amazon has resumed construction in Seattle after a squabble with the city over a controversial tax per employee on employers that make more than $20 million a year. Engadget.com reports that the ‘head tax’ had been set at $500 per employee, but ended up compromising after considerable protestation from Amazon, and set the tax at $275 per employee on businesses that make over $11 million a year. The funds are supposed to go towards helping the homeless problem there. Amazon is still grumbling, and considering not adding 7,000 expected jobs…they may hire that staff at their new ‘2nd headquarters’ when it is finalized.
Offline Gmail Support Rolls Out; Warrantless Cellphone Tracking; Apple v Samsung, Round 3; Amazon Go to San Francisco
Posted: May 14, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Amazon Go, Apple, apps, Cambridge Analytica, Cellphone tracking, Facebook, Gmail, Intellectual property, Offline editing, Police, Samsung, San Francisco, Serurus, Smartphones, Union Square Leave a commentThe offline Gmail support for search, archive, and compose is rolling out on the web. the feature was promised at Google I/O. Up to now, Gmail over the web had offline capability via the Gmail Offline Chrome app. Google recommends you uninstall the app, as the functionality is not built right into the web app. When you reconnect with the web, your changes will synch up automatically. You’ll need chrome 61 or better to use the feature. Just go to settings and hit the Offline tab, then ‘enable offline mail.’ The default stores 30 days of messages, but you can select 7 or 90 days.
As if there wasn’t enough to worry about over lack of privacy…now, it turns out that a company which mainly works with prison phone systems has leveraged a data-sharing service offered by phone carriers that allows police to track any cellphone number, with no legal checks…like a warrant…to keep the practice from being abused. The New York Times says the company is called Serurus, and they an another company are making available data the phone carriers already offer to marketers to police agencies…basically uncontrolled access to nationwide location tracking. Senator Ron Wyden has already written to the FCC and the carriers, asking them to tighten these disclosures up.
Facebook is apparently working behind the scenes, to try to make up for the Cambridge Analytica debacle. They have now suspended over 200 suspicious apps, and have reviewed ‘thousands so far,’ in the audit promised by Mark Zuckerberg, according to techcrunch.com. The social network has not released the names or info on those apps so far, and says in some cases, apps will be reinstated after reviews, interviews, and even some on-site inspections of the makers. Apparently, apps that don’t agree to the through audit are banned outright. Apps that have grabbed data will be listed on https://www.facebook.com/help/yourinfo, if you want to check whether or not one has gotten your data.
It’s the third trial in 8 years in Silicon Valley for Apple and Samsung over smartphone intellectual property. This one is centered around the $500 million judgment Apple got in the last one.
The judge is the same one who heard both the previous trials. The jury will have to interpret a completely new (and extremely vague) test that came out of the US Supreme Court appeal of this case. The outcome could well re-write US patent law, in a way that could greatly affect makers of complex products such as electronics or electric cars.
Amazon Go appears to be coming to San Francisco. The Chronicle reports that they have their eyes on a site around Post and Kearny near Union Square. Amazon Go is the ‘frictionless’ shopping experience, where you simply log in with an app, pick what you want from the shelves, then just walk out and your account is automatically billed…no waiting in lines at the checkout. Amazon hasn’t commented, but there may be an announcement in a few weeks.
UPS Adds Wild Looking Electric Trucks; iPhone X Lite Getting Brighter LCD Screen; US Announces Drone Lotto Winners
Posted: May 10, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Arrival, Department of Transportation, Drones, Electric trucks, iPhone X Lite, LCD, London, Paris, UPS Leave a comment
UPS has rolled out electric delivery trucks that seem to be right out of the cartoon ‘Cars.’ Engadget.com says the pilot fleet of lightweight electric vehicles…made by Arrival…can get 150 miles per charge. UPS plans to test them out in London and Paris. UPS is already running 300 electrics and 700 hybrids in the US and Europe. They also have 125 of Tesla’s electric big rigs coming.
Apple’s cheaper 6.1 inch iPhone ‘X Lite’ may sport the same ultra bright, low power LCD screen as LG’s G7 smartphone. This according to macrumors.com, who picked up word from Patently Apple. The difference between this panel and regular LCDs is it has 4 sub-pixels instead of 3…the traditional red, blue, green, and an additional white one. Besides being cheaper than OLED, the phone will also cut corners with an aluminum frame, single-lens rear cam, and may not have 3D Touch. Still…if it’s priced at $700-$800, it will sell like hotcakes.
The US government is testing out how to regulate and integrate drones safely into US air space. According to reuters.com, they have tapped 10 projects out of the 149 bids they received. Among the winners: Apple, Intel, Airbus, Uber, FedEx, Microsoft. Snubbed: Amazon, and China’s DJI. Don’t shed any tears for them, though. The Department of Transportation said others would be added over the next few months, either through granting waivers, or under existing rules.
Google’s Waymo Pedestrian Detection Breakthrough; Facebook Reorganizes into 3 Divisions; iPhone Strikes Back at GreyKey
Posted: May 9, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Facebook, Google, GreyKey, iOS, Pedestrians, Self Driving Cars, Waymo Leave a commentAt Google I/O, Waymo took the stage with the claim that they have “unlocked truly autonomous vehicles.” Thenextweb.com reports that they have really made a breakthrough in making driverless cars safer for pedestrians…claiming to reduce the error-rate for detecting pedestrians by 100X (not 100%). The tech was even able to detect a man’s head sticking up out of a manhole and a person wearing a goofy costume like a sports mascot.
Facebook has reorganized into 3 new divisions, or product areas. The first consists of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. According to businessinsider.com, the 2nd category is for the more experimental parts of the company….AR, VR, and a new blockchain unit. The third area is for what they call ‘central product services. That consists of ads, analytics, integrity, growth, and product management. Facebook has moved around executive management to oversee the 3 new areas.
Apple is striking back at the GreyKey box, that allows law enforcement (or crooks that get hold of one) to get into iPhones. In iOS 11.4, which is in beta, there’s a USB restricted mode. Macrumors.com says that if the phone isn’t unlocked with a passcode or connected to the paired computer within a week, the Lightening port becomes useless for everything but charging.
Google I/O Expectations; Apple Beats the Street; Russian ‘Fancy Bear’ Hibernating in Lojack; Automakers Start Blockchain Research Group
Posted: May 2, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android P, Android TV, Apple, Blockchain, BMW, Fancy Bear, Ford, General Motors, Google, Google I/O, Hacking, Lojack, MOBI, Pixel, Renault, Revenue, Wearables Leave a commentGoogle’s I/O is coming up May 8th at Shoreline in Mountain View. According to 9to5google.com, expect Android P to bow…as well as some gesture navigation. What’s been rumored sounds a lot like iPhone X navigation…it’s unknown though if this will be system wide or just Pixel exclusive. We may see an Android TV dongle…there have been pictures of a new dongle from a Chinese company with the Google logo on them spotted. No details have leaked out, but expect something pretty significant about Google Photos…Photos is getting a session on day two…a first for Photos.
Apple beat both revenue and profit projections yesterday, selling 52.2 million iPhones, just a tad below the Street’s targets. Revenue was $61.1 billion…Wall Street had expected $60.8. Reuters.com reports that Apple will bring about 100 billion back to the US in its capital return program. An interesting tidbit: Apple’s wearables…Apple Watch, Air Pods, and Beats headphones…if broken out as a separate entity, would be a Fortune 300 company, without any of the rest of Apple!
With all the personal data leaks and sales, just one more thing to be unnerved about…Fancy Bear…the Russian group that US intelligence thinks did the hacking of the Democratic National Committee in 2016…appears to be using Lojack laptop tracking software to propel new hacking campaigns. Axios.com says that the technique of using Lojack to hide malware was first discovered in 2014, but this is apparently a new exploit of it by the Russians.
A number of automakers have started MOBI, the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative, to use blockchain tech to make cars safer and more affordable. According to techcrunch.com, BMW, General Motors, Ford, and Renault are spearheading the initiative. Previously, Toyota had started doing blockchain research, and Daimler is involved in the Hyperledger project at the Linux foundation. the MOBI group is focusing solely on the automotive space. They claim it may be able to redefine how consumers purchase, insure, and use vehicles.
Facebook F8 Keynote; UK Tells Zuck Show Up or Subpoena; 2 Bigger Samsung Galaxy Phones; Another Hint Apple May Roll Without Qualcomm or Intel
Posted: May 1, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, F8, Facebook, Galaxy S9, Instagram, Oculus Go, Qualcomm, Samsung, UK Leave a commentMark Zuckerberg dropped a big bombshell in his F8 keynote this morning….a Facebook dating app! Businessinsider.com reports that the social network will also launch a possible rival to Apple’s FaceTime…video chat via Instagram. WhatsApp will be getting video calling, and Messenger will get simplified, and some AR camera tools are coming. As for VR, the Oculus Go, Facebook’s new standalone VR headset ships today. It’s $199, a big drop from the present $399 Oculus headset (which you need a high end PC to use!) A crowd pleaser—Facebook is handing out a free Oculus Go headset to everyone at F8! FB will also be adding upvotes and downvotes to comments, like Reddit. Also, Stories will be opened up to third party developers. They are also adding ‘live commenting’ to videos…they will appear in a video alongside the video and narrate it in real time.
The UK Parliament really wants to hear from Mark Zuckerberg in person. According to techcrunch.com, they have let Facebook know that since Zuck is giving evidence to the European Parliament in May, if he lands in Britain, he will be hit with a summons.
Up to now, you have only been able to get Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones with 64 gigs of storage in the US, but starting May 18th, you can go crazy with more space. Bgr.com reports that both phons will add 128 and 256 gig capacities by then. Preorders are open now. The 128 gig S9 runs $769.99, with the S9+ gobbling up $889.99 of your bucks. For the maxed out 256 gig S9, expect to drop $819.99, or pony up $939.99 for the S9+ .
A job posting was dropped from Apple’s site that some say points to the company rolling their own modem chips and dropping Qualcomm. Businessinsider.com says the gig was for a ‘mmWave IC design engineer.’ That would appear to indicate that Apple was wanting to design in house its own chip for next gen 5G networks. Although Apple is locked in a courtroom battle with Qualcomm, this shouldn’t be a stunner…they have been running iOS mobile devices on processors of their own design for a decade.
T-Mobile & Sprint to Merge; Twitter Also Sold Data to Cambridge Analytica; Siri Mother-Effing Glitch; Fitbit To Use Google Cloud Healthcare API; Dating Apps Employ Paid Impersonators
Posted: April 30, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 5G, Apple, Cambridge Analytica, Closer, Cloud Healthcare API, Dating app, Fitbit, Google, Siri, Sprint, T-Mobile, Twitter Leave a commentIt’s been a while in the making, but over the weekend, T-Mobile & Sprint announced their $146 billion merger. The companies are crowing about how the combination will bring the only company with the network capacity to launch a nationwide 5G network, according to bgr.com. The merged company will keep the T-Mobile name, and John Legere insists they will stay ‘magenta.’ Legare will be the CEO, and they will remain in Bellevue, WA but keep a second headquarters in Overland Park, KS, the present home of Sprint.
Twitter confirmed Saturday that Dr. Kogan, who supplied data from Facebook to Cambridge Analytica, also bought a one-time API that gained access to a random sample of public Tweets over a 5 month period. In a Bloomberg report picked up by techcrunch.com, Twitter claims that the company didn’t find any access to private data about people who use Twitter. The net is, Cambridge would have been unable to get the treasure trove of personal data from Twitter it got from Facebook, but after an investigation, Twitter has decided to off-board advertising from all accounts owned and operated by Cambridge Analytica.
Another embarrassing glitch has popped up involving Apple’s Siri. Arstechnica.com reports that if you ask it to ‘define the word mother,’ then wait for the assistant to offer an additional definition and say yes, Siri will offer ‘As a noun, it means short for “motherf**ker.” ‘ Be careful trying this out in public…
Fitbit has announced that it is partnering with Google to use their new Cloud Healthcare API to help you and your doctors to manage your healthcare better. Cnet.com says the deal will eventually let users connect results from Fitbit wearables to your electronic medical records. The deal will help Fitbit stay in the game with the likes of Apple Watch, which has the CareKit and ResearchKit platforms to manage medical conditions.
If you use a dating app, you could have flirted with a paid impersonator called a ‘closer.’ According to quartz, there are people who do this for prospective daters that find it to much work or too tedious to do the actual online flirting! One paid impersonator said the makes a screaming $1.75 for every phone number he gets, and the service…which spans a number of dating sites…has quite an extensive training program. If you are too lazy or too clueless to do the online flirting youself, check out ViDA….and good luck when you meet someone in person, and can’t flirt in real life, either!
New Snap Specs; No 3D Touch on Upcoming 6.1 Inch iPhone, Ford Dropping Most Cars for Trucks & SUVs
Posted: April 26, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 3d Touch, 6.1 inch LCD screen, Apple, Automobiles, Cars, Cover Glass Sensor, Focus, Ford, iPhone, Mustang, Snap, Spectacles, SUVs, Trucks Leave a commentAs rumored, Snap has revealed its new version of Spectacles…and updated the camera glasses with a new feature…and, of course, bumped up the price. According to businessinsider.com, the new Spectacles are a little slimmer, can take photos as well as video, and they are water resistant. Snap also says they have new and improved audio. The latest version are priced at $149.99, a $20 bump from the originals. You can buy them now at spectacles.com.
Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, probably the most accurate Apple prognosticator on the planet, has reaffirmed that the 6.1 inch LCD screen iPhone coming this fall…which will be priced noticeably lower than the successor to the iPhone X with its OLED screen…will not have 3D Touch. Apparently, it’s due to a tech Apple plans to use called Cover Glass Sensor tech that makes the display lighter and more shock resistant. Macrumors.com says the updates to the iPhone X and X Plus will continue to have 3D Touch, which is pretty well integrated through iOS. Apple is known to be moving towards a touchless gesture controls, but that is thought to be a couple years away. It’s possible the CGS tech can integrate some substitute for 3D touch, but what and how is unknown right now.
Talk about the end of an era. Ford has announced that it will kill off all its cars except for the Mustang and Focus Active. Arstechnica.com reports that the company would focus almost entirely on SUVs, crossovers, and trucks in the US. The very thing Henry Ford pioneered with mass production….the automobile…will become a virtual sideline. What would the old man think?
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