Home

Author: Cameron

  • Ways to Tech-ify Your Space: Our Favorite Home Technology

    Ways to Tech-ify Your Space: Our Favorite Home Technology

    Whether you’ve had your place for a while now or just got your first apartment, you’re definitely looking for cool tech. Everyone wants a high-tech, sci-fi setup, right? Well, not quite: everyone loves the convenience of having cool tech around the house. With that in mind, we’ve got a list of some of our favorite pieces of home technology for your pad! 

    Smart Air Conditioning 

    This one might sound weird but hear us out. The Frigidaire Smart Window Air Conditioner (boy that’s a mouthful) is a very handy device for any apartment. The Smart AC connects to Wi-Fi, so you can control it from an app, which is great. If you’re out of town and want to make sure the electric bill isn’t sky-high, you can adjust the temperature from far away. Additionally, it supports Alexa voice commands, which is even more handy.  

    Smart Lock 

    If you’re like me, you absolutely hate getting locked out. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just unlock your door from your phone? Well, good news: you can! Companies like August and ADT offer various smart locks, but August is a great choice for those who don’t want ADT service. August’s Smart Lock Pro + Connect is $279 and comes with Apple HomeKit functionality. If you have friends coming over but you’re not home yet, you can unlock the door remotely. If you’re lying in bed worried about whether you locked the door, you can double check. 

    Robot Vacuum 

    A robotic vacuum is a fantastic companion for any home owner. I personally can’t stand having to sweep and vacuum all the time, so having a robot to do it for me is a must. Roomba is the most well-known brand of robotic vacuum, but they’re not the only player in town! Brands like iLife and Ecovacs also offer a great selection at various price ranges. The iLife V8s is a great budget pick at $260. 

    Our Favorite Piece of Home Technology: Amazon Echo 

    This one had to top the list. It’s just so handy! Between reading you the news, making calls for you and helping you with recipes, Alexa is the ultimate assistant. You can even connect your Echo to other smart home devices, like the aforementioned Smart AC and Smart Lock, allowing you to control all the aspects of your house with your voice. You’ll be feeling like a sci-fi tech master in no time with all this home technology! 

  • Karim Baratov, Canadian Charged with Yahoo Hack, Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

    Karim Baratov, Canadian Charged with Yahoo Hack, Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

    Canadian Karim Baratov, the criminal hired by the Russian Federal Security Service, pled guilty to cyber-crime charges in 2017. He is sentenced to served 5 years in prison and must pay a $250,000 fine. However, according to Alex Tse, the acting US Attorney, the severity of Baratov’s sentence is meant to send a message. That message is that hacking is a serious offense, and hackers-for-hire will be punished accordingly. 

    The US Attorney’s Take 

    Tse made a statement regarding the sentence: “Hackers such as Baratov ply their trade without regard for the criminal objectives of the people who hire and pay them. These hackers are not minor players; they are a critical tool used by criminals to obtain and exploit personal information illegally. In sentencing Baratov to five years in prison, the Court sent a clear message to hackers that participating in cyber attacks sponsored by nation states will result in significant consequences.” 

    Russian hacking attempts like this are a sore subject for the US at the moment. The United States Senate and House of Representatives have drawn contradictory conclusions regarding Russian hacking influence in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Where the House sees no involvement, a Senate committee found “irrevocable” evidence that Russian nationals were involved in the campaign in various capacities. 

    Baratov’s Yahoo Hack 

    Baratov, for his part, had a large impact with his hacking mission. Baratov, as well as three Russian nationals, illegally access Yahoo’s user database. According to the FBI, Baratov also accessed an online tool called the Account Management Tool. Between the user database and the aforementioned account tool, Baratov and his co-conspirators were able to “locate and target accounts of interest.” According to the FBI, this breach affected more than 500 million accounts.  

    This Yahoo hack follows a disturbing trend of recent data breaches and hacks. Between Target’s database leak, the PlayStation Network hack, and Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, internet privacy is under scrutiny now. In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is now in effect. The GDPR regulates what companies with EU customers can do with data. The United States will surely be implementing steps like this soon. 

  • Amazon Dash Receives Interesting New Support: Smart Containers

    Amazon Dash Receives Interesting New Support: Smart Containers

    Smart Containers are coming. Target has a few entries in the burgeoning field: a paper towel dispenser and a soap dispenser, both of which reorder their respective dispensed item when they get low. GE has a dish washer that will reorder detergent from Amazon when it gets low. And now a Florida-based startup called WePlenish is entering the fray. 

    WePenish: Smart Containers for Coffee 

    The first device WePlenish is offering is the WePlenish Java. You can find it on Kickstarter now. This container houses your single-use coffee pods, like K-Cups, and keeps track of your inventory for you. When you get low, the device orders more coffee from Amazon. This is great for coffee addicts, as it ensures you never get low on your morning caffeine.  

    Don’t Forget the Snacks! 

    WePlenish is also offering smart containers for individually wrapped snacks. Things like gummies, cookies, peanuts and the like are available for reorder through the WePlenish containers. Both types of container work by connecting to your Wi-Fi, after which you assing them a snack to order when they detect low volume. They run on triple A batteries that promise to last for a year or so.  

    Increased Convenience 

    Amazon has already been pursuing similar functionality with their Amazon Dash Buttons. The Dash Buttons are similarly keyed to specific items, like garbage bags or air conditioning filters, that need to be reordered regularly. The Dash service is a natural companion to the new Amazon Key service, which allows Amazon deliveries to be delivered directly into your home. Amazon seems to be pushing to eliminate the need to even enter their app to grocery shop, let alone physically enter a grocery store. 

    Is This Weird? 

    Then again, how hard is it to order groceries? I mean, it’s not that hard, right? You just open your app and click on what you want. For that matter, how hard is it to go to the grocery store? It’s just down the street, right? Okay, maybe I’m the weird one. The convenience factor is certainly there: you can’t forget to stock up if your smart devices keep up for you!  

    But I still have some reservations. It seems like a lot of people are throwing themselves wholly into the smart device revolution without much thought for the consequences. What about the data Amazon is gathering on you? If you give them a direct eye into your pantry, they’re going to know what you eat and when. That just seems a little odd. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, though. If you’re the type of person who prefers to not worry about keeping up with logistics, smart containers are likely to be your best friend. 

  • Top Ten Xbox 360 Games with Backwards Compatibility you Have to Play Again

    Top Ten Xbox 360 Games with Backwards Compatibility you Have to Play Again

    When regarding your backlog of old games, you usually think: “man, I wish I didn’t have to dig out my old console to play that awesome old game.” Thankfully, Microsoft has been implementing backwards compatibility with select Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One. If you’re wondering which of your favorite 360 games are playable on your modern-day system, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our ten favorite 360 games with backwards compatibility! 

    10. Braid 

    Photo Credit: Top Best Alternatives 

    This trippy, time-bending puzzling platformer is a great adventure to relive. If you missed it the first time, its new lease on life on the Xbox One is a great chance to replay it. Braid features a crazy story told in reverse and quaint, charming graphics. If you always wanted a more mature, thought-provoking take on Mario, Braid is for you. 

    9. Mirror’s Edge 

    Photo Credit: Cro Hasit 

    Mirror’s Edge is a slick, polished action game with a sweet “fight-the-power” narrative. If you’ve ever been interested in parkour or free running, check this one out. Mirror’s Edge features a unique first-person perspective, making the action feel very immediate and pressing. What’s more, the game’s protagonist is an empowering and believable bad-ass lady! Those are in short supply in the gaming world, so it’s worth mentioning! 

    8. Gears of War 3 

    Photo Credit: Gamers Heroes 

    Where the first entry in the series defined action games for a few years, Gears of War 3 set a new benchmark for horde modes in action shooting games. The series’ signature chainsaw guns and muscular protagonists are here, front and center. While the series has stumbled in recent years, GoW 3 is a great reminder of just how awesome the series once was. The action is pulse-pounding and white-knuckle, rewarding smart use of cover and good aim. If you’re looking for a blast from the past of shooting games, Gears of War is for you.  

    7. Super Meat Boy 

    Photo Credit: Threadless Blog 

    Super Meat Boy defined the indie formula for blistering difficulty balanced with rewarding gameplay. Allowing the player to respawn instantly saves this game from being mind-numbingly frustrating. The influence of SMB can’t be overstated: indie platformers have been taking inspiration from this masterpiece for a little under a decade. Notably, 2018’s breakout hit Celeste follows in the footsteps of SMB’s balanced, thumb-breaking gameplay. If you want to relive the meat grinder, give this one another shot. You won’t regret it… but the Meat Boy will.  

    6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution 

    Photo Credit: Square Enix 

    The sleek, sexy and thought-provoking reboot of the legendary Deus Ex series is as fresh today as it was seven years ago. With a surprisingly deep story and rewarding, branching gameplay, Human Revolution never fails to engage the player in the action. If you’ve ever wanted to be a super-powered assassin with robot arms, this is your game.  After you’ve enjoyed Human Revolution’s backwards compatibility, check out the sequel, Mankind Divided, which released in 2016. 

    5. Fable II 

    Photo Credit: YouTube 

    Remember when Fable was awesome? Before some seriously awful spin-offs, the name Fable signaled excellence in western-style RPGs. If you want to experience the magic again, Fable II, arguably the best of the series, has backwards compatibility. Fable features a beautiful, storybook world made with loving attention to detail. The gameplay and combat are both tight and satisfying, and progression is always rewarding. It almost hurts to wonder what might have been in store for this series in they hadn’t made that awful Kinect spin off… 

    4. Portal: Still Alive 

    Photo Credit: Know Your Meme 

    What can I say about this seminal first-person puzzler that hasn’t been said? It’s amazing. The writing is consistently hilarious, the puzzles are mind-bending, and the portal gun is awesome. You play as a test subject being tormented by an all-powerful, rampant AI. Your captor forces your through a series of increasingly deadly puzzles, outfitting you only with a portal gun. The portal gun can open a two-way portal on certain surfaces, testing your spatial knowledge and challenging you to think outside the box. 

    3. Dark Souls 

    Photo Credit: Bandai-Namco 

    Haunting, oblique and unapproachable, Dark Souls is a game that refuses to be easily engaged with. You’ve doubtless heard all the talk about “hardest game ever,” but that’s only part of the story. Dark Souls is difficult in the way watching Begotten is difficult. It’s so grand, so epic, so utterly alien, that you have to change the way you approach it to appreciate it. The game is art in the true sense of the word: it makes you feel. Feel alone, outnumbered, isolated, up against positively absurd odds. 

    When you first cross swords with a screen-filling demon, your heart fills with dread. How could you possibly fell such an imposing monster, an engine of raw destruction? But you persevere, you learn, and dodge and you kill the beast. And then you face another monster, this one even tougher and meaner. Then you face a dragon. Then you face gods. It’s hard to really describe the feeling of growing power, the satisfaction of winning in a world so bleak. But do yourself a favor: play this ugly, mean, triumphant game. And prepare to die. 

    2. Red Dead Redemption 

    Photo Credit: The Verge 

    Red Dead Redemption tasks you with bringing in the members of your old gang to save your family from a corrupt FBI agent. In the Old West. Yeah, it’s as awesome as it sounds. Rockstar’s magnum opus, Red Dead Redemption climbs into your heart and lives there. The voice acting, and world building, are absolutely top-class, unmatched before or since, and give the game a sense of place unseen in the medium. If you missed this one the first time around, it sports backwards compatibility now, so you owe it to yourself to experience it again. If you missed it (shame on you) try it out now: it hasn’t aged a day since it was released. 

    The Best Xbox 360 Game with Backwards Compatibility: Halo Reach 

    Photo Credit: Halo Waypoint 

    Legendary developer Bungie’s swan song to their incredible Halo series, Reach is a triumpant achievement. While both Bungie and the Halo series would stumble along into the 2010’s with middling-to-awful entries, Reach stands head and shoulders above all first-person shooters that have come after. With the possible exception of Overwatch, no competitive first-person shooter has matched the raw fun and intensity of Reach.  

    Sporting a storyline that ties into the original and adds great depth to the universe, Reach delights on all fronts. It also features the return of the excellent Firefight mode from ODST. If you never caught this one and have always wondered what Bungie did before they made a disastrous deal with Activision, it’s available now with backwards compatibility. Go forth, and enjoy a reminder of how awesome the series once was. 

  • What Does HomePod Need to Compete with Other Smart Speakers?

    What Does HomePod Need to Compete with Other Smart Speakers?

    Apple’s attempts to break into the smart speaker market have been unimpressive so far. While Amazon and Google rule the roost, Apple lags behind the competition with the HomePod. What are some ways they could pull the nose up on this crashing plane? Well, here’s hoping someone at Apple is reading this, because we’ve got the answers. 

    Third Parties 

    Apple’s home platform, HomeKit, isn’t third-party friendly. Third party hardware manufacturers interested in pairing with HomeKit had use the MFi Chip, a proprietary Apple piece of hardware. While Apple has since reversed the MFi Chip requirement, it put a black spot on their relationship with third parties. Google and Amazon, by contrast, had no such restrictions, and thus they have a wider base of support from third parties. Apple needs to prioritize winning back those third-party functionalities. 

    Further, Apple doesn’t let anyone outside of their main R&D department make functionality for Siri. While Amazon has allowed tons of third-party developers to introduce new skills to Alexa, Apple has done no such thing for Siri. And it shows: Alexa is amazing! She has so many skills, answers to so many things! Siri, uh, doesn’t. Apple could introduce a platform for developers to submit new Siri skills that they could carefully regulate. This would allow their platform to be more desirable to end users without flooding the software with tons of useless commands. 

    Music Streaming Functionality 

    This one is a sore spot for many. The HomePod is largely marketed as a speaker first and smart device second. So why in the world is it so hard to use anything other than Apple Music on the device? You can only use voice commands from the device to play Apple-approved music sources. Apple Music, Beats 1 Radio and the like are white-listed. Every other streaming service has to be activated from the phone via AirPlay 2.  

    Again, this is disappointing when compared to the competition. Both Google and Amazon smart speakers allow voice commands to bring up Spotify, YouTube and the like. If Apple wants their speaker to be taken seriously as a music-first device, their design needs to be music-first. This one’s a no-brainer. 

    HomePod: About That Price… 

    Both Amazon and Google offer $50 entry-level speakers. The HomePod is three hundred and fifty freaking dollars. $350. That is a positively bananas price point, and likely the main reason the speaker is struggling. Seriously, where is Apple’s budget speaker? HomePod Mini, or HomePod Nano, whatever. They’d think of some cute name.  

    That’s really not even to say that the HomePod, as it stands, itsn’t worth $350. It may well be worth that. But Google and Amazon offering comparable technology for three hundred less dollars makes the premium HomePod a really, really tough sell. 

    Well, there you have it. I hope Apple took note, because I’d love to see them be competitive in this field. Competition, after all, is great for the end consumers (hey, that’s us)! 

  • Self-Driving Technology Will Change the Face of Transportation in Unexpected Ways

    Self-Driving Technology Will Change the Face of Transportation in Unexpected Ways

    When you think of self-driving cars, you’re likely thinking of hopping in a normal car and telling it where you want to go. The car would then take off, using lidar to navigate to where you want to be. And this is certainly an eventuality that will come to pass. However, it is not the only thing self-driving tech will enable. In fact, it’s not even the most exciting change that the technology will bring about. The technology will be redefining taxis, busses and even deliveries in the very near future. 

    Self-Driving Cars Making Deliveries 

    Many companies, like Nuro, have been looking into automated delivery vehicles. Nuro’s particular automated car is a comparatively small when looking at it next to a car. It has room only for cargo, not intended to transport humans. This type of delivery vehicles could revolutionize delivery. Without need for paying a human driver, or paying for the insurance on a human, delivery fees could plummet.  

    Nuro themselves speculate that their technology could make delivery fees for things like groceries as low as a dollar. This could lead to a dramatic reduction of the number of cars on the road, as people wouldn’t have to drive around town to shop. Shopping could be handled predominately from smart phone interfaces. This would work to make roads safer, and deliveries more convenient. 

    Is it a Taxi? A Bus? Is it Both? 

    Companies like Uber and Lyft have been operating a quasi-taxi-bus hybrid by way of their Pool and Line services, respectively. Waymo is developing a taxi-like service that will be driverless, looking like a conventional ride-hailing app but with no human operator. Drive.ai is developing a driverless service that would look like Uber Pool. Users would be able to hail a driverless shuttle and share it with other users with the same destination.  

    These advances could lead to much-reduced fare prices, making taxi and bus services much more affordable for the average person. This could also lead to even safer, and less congested, roads. Driverless cars could coordinate their maneuvers to reduce traffic slowdown, and pooled services would lead to an overall reduction of cars on the road. Scenes of clogged intersates, like those found in Los Angeles, could well become a thing of the past. 

    Ramifactions 

    A transportation revolution of this scale is certainly some time off. For the time being, taxi drivers, pizza delivery drivers and truckers are all safe to keep their jobs. However, in the next few years, there will likely be less demand for human drivers in those fields. Instead, the job market for software developers who update and maintain the driverless scrips would boom. Technicians skilled in repairing and maintaining such vehicles would be in more demand, as well.  

    While the loss of jobs from automation is certainly a cause for concern, it won’t stop progress. Horseshoe makers and carriage drivers didn’t stop the advent of the automobile. Will driverless technology be as big a revolution as the automobile itself? We’ll find out very soon. 

  • It’s Happening! Pokemon coming to Nintendo Switch!

    It’s Happening! Pokemon coming to Nintendo Switch!

    Nintendo and the Pokemon Company have finally unveiled some details for their new Pokemon games. Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Pokemon Let’s Go! Eevee are slated for release on Nintendo Switch on November 16th, 2018. What are the details? What can we expect to see? And does it live up to the hype? 

    A New Look for an Old Adventure 

    For a certain generation, the first few Pokemon games mean a lot. If you’re like me, you have fond memories of Pikachu and the gang running around on your GameBoy screen. Gamers in that camp will be delighted to hear that this new game is a reimagining of Yellow Version, the enhanced GameBoy Color port of the original Red and Blue. 

    Yellow version is fondly remembered for introducing elements from the anime, such as the starter being Pikachu. The new games are set to feature the original 151 Pokemon and the original setting, the Kanto region.  

    Let’s Go! 

    The new games take a cue from the mega-popular Pokemon Go app. Let’s Go! seems to adapt the capture mechanic from the smartphone entry. It seems the new Switch games are set to appeal to the more casual crowd pulled in by the surprise success of Go.  

    Additionally, it seems random encounters in the wild will not be featured in this game. Instead, encounters will be visible in the overworld. Battling wild monsters also seems to be skipping this entry, much like the smartphone-friendly Go. However, the game does feature trainer battles! Though at this time it’s unclear how big a role training and battling will play. 

    Pokeball Plus 

    Nintendo also announced a new controller for the Switch called the Pokeball Plus. The ball-shaped controller is adorable, and also offers new functionality for Let’s Go! The Pokeball Plus allows you to store a Pokemon from the console game and take it for a stroll with you. This functionality echoes the Pokewalker from HeartGold and SoulSilver.  

    What’s more, Let’s Go! promises connectivity with Pokemon Go, allowing you to transfer monsters from your phone to your Switch. Nintendo seems to be viewing these games as onboarding for smartphone-only players. Those who were introduced to the series via Go will have the chance to transfer their faovrite Pokes to their consoles. This could entice them to check out next year’s core entry. What’s that? Oh yeah, there’s more. 

    More Pokemon to Come 

    The best news of all? This isn’t the only Pokemon coming to Switch. While Let’s Go! is aiming to appeal to the more casual crowd, Nintendo promises a new “core” entry in the series in 2019. In the meantime, those craving a fun adventure with their favorite Pocket Monsters have a treat in store for them! 

  • Smart Speaker Security Concerns

    Smart Speaker Security Concerns

    Your smart speaker is an incredibly handy piece of technology. It helps organize your life, streamline your household activities and even helps you shop online. But what are the security risks posed by having an always-on mic in your living room? Who’s listening to your recorded audio? According to a recent report from Seattle news station KIRO 7, these concerns are not mere conjecture. 

    Danielle’s Story 

    Photo Credit: SFGate 

    A Portland woman identified as ‘Danielle’ told the Seattle news station that her Amazon Echo sent a recording of a private conversation to a contact. The conversation was utterly harmless, apparently a discussion between Danielle and her husband regarding hardwood floors. However, the contact who was sent the audio files immediately contacted Danielle and told her to disable her Alexa-enabled device immediately. The contact feared that Danielle had been hacked and was in danger of having her information stolen. 

    Amazon’s Confirmation 

    Photo Credit: Amazon.com 

    Danielle immediately contacted Amazon to ask for answers. How did this happen? Were they aware the Echo was doing this? The representative that Danielle reached found the relevant logs, confirming what had happened. He apologized profusely, according to Danielle, as the situation was unbelievably unlikely. Apparently, the Echo device overheard the conversation happening in the other room. Some words in the conversation made the device think it was being asked to send a message. After mistaking background noise for a confirmation, it sent the overheard conversation to the contact.  

    An “Echo Butt-Dial” 

    Photo Credit: The Seattle Times 

    Wired Magazine described the ordeal as an “Echo butt-dial,” a complete fluke. Amazon claimed that they will use the data from this incident to tighten Alexa’s recognition protocols and make this scenario more unlikely. However, this individual scenario isn’t the only smart speaker security concern: if they’re always listening, how can they be secure? What are some of the other concerns with these devices?  

    Background Sounds Being Recorded 

    Photo Credit: The Verge 

    The first issue, and most pressing in regard to Danielle’s case, is that of background sounds. Smart Speakers have to be listening for their trigger phrases all the time. If they don’t, they literally don’t work. This represents a serious security concern, though, as Danielle found out. What if the speaker mishears you and sends private conversations to people who aren’t supposed to hear them? What if a malicious hacker accesses your device and listens in to find out when you’re home? Would Amazon bear responsibility for such a breach? 

    The answers are currently unclear. While such situations are mostly hypothetical, Danielle’s case shows that they are potentially possible.  

    Who Can Hear Your Conversations? 

    Photo Credit: CNET 

    If your smart device is always listening, who can hear what it records? Google is well-known for creating complicated advertising profiles for users. Smart speakers are surely a part of this. Listening for conversations about buying new hardwood floors, for instance, could lead to targeted ads on your favorite websites for floor installation. This alone seems predatory; who would invite a large ad agency into their life to gather valuable data about their spending habits?  

    This is even before mentioning the hacker issue again. If a malicious hacker were to access Google or Amazon’s user profiles obtained via Smart Speaker, they would have unprecedented data about potential identity theft targets.  

    Can Law Enforcement Access it? 

    Photo Credit: Linkedin 

    If Google or Amazon are listening in, what kind of risk are users at for law enforcement listening in? The NSA’s wiretapping is well-known and, surprisingly, well-documented. Suspected criminals with smart speakers may have their homes bugged voluntarily. Would law enforcement need a warrant to collect audio from these devices? Would they need a court order to obtain user profile information from Google?  

    If law enforcement begins pursuing smart speaker information as a common means of information-gathering, the private lives of users could be at risk. Everyone had to read 1984 in school right? Yeah, this would be the first step to something like that. No thanks. 

    How Long is Your Data Stored? 

    Photo Credit: Management Events 

    Speaking of access to your personal info, there’s also the issue of just how long Google and Amazon store this information. Thankfully, you can delete your audio request history from your user profile. However, you can’t do anything about the data stored on Google and Amazon’s servers about you. 

    In fact, even Apple’s Siri stores data you obtain through it and give it. Apple has confirmed that raw audio collected through Siri is stored for 18 months! That’s kind of ridiculous! The issues of law enforcement accessing this info, lawfully or otherwise, are further exacerbated by this data’s inaccessibility to the user who created it. 

    Who Else Is Using Your Smart Speaker? 

    Young hacker in data security concept

    Photo Credit: MyTechLogy 

    Finally, there’s the issue of someone else using your speaker. The main use for Alexa, as far as Amazon is concerned, is as a storefront. Ordering through Alexa is purposefully easy and painless. You just tell her to order you things and she does it, no questions asked. So, imagine, if you will, that your home is broken into and your Echo is stolen. The criminal then orders a ton of stuff with your credit card. Are you on the hook for that money? 

    While that scenario is a bit extreme, there are more conventional ways that Alexa’s shopping functions can be used against you. For one, if you have children, they could access your Alexa and order themselves a new tablet or gaming console, spending a ton of your money without telling you. Your friends could try to play a prank on you by ordering embarrassing items with your money. Not that that’s happened to this writer… 

    How to Protect Yourself 

    Photo Credit: Network World 

    All this doom and gloom begs the question, then: How do you protect yourself from these potential data breaches? Well, one easy way, of course, is to simply not have a smart speaker. Or, if you do have one, sell it to someone else and use the money to buy a VPN subscription. No? Alright, alright, real advice, then. 

    Keep your smart speaker in a room where it’ll overhear as little as possible. If you can, keep it in a room with a closed door. The less it overhears, the better. Aside from that, just be careful what you say around it. Try to keep conversations around the device light, don’t talk about sensitive information. Another good security measure would be to not pair any of your debit or credit cards to the speaker. While it may be less convenient, it’s much more secure. 

    The Future of Smart Speaker Security 

    Photo Credit: CNET 

    Hopefully these concerns will be addressed with future updates to the technology. Smart speakers are very handy, convenient devices. Many users have come to depend on the features they offer. It seems as though the companies that make them are at least nominally dedicated to making them secure. While only time will tell what the future hold for the contentious smart speaker technology, stories like Danielle’s serve as reminders: trust no soulless machine with your personal information. Even better: trust no soulless corporation. 

  • GDPR: What to Expect

    GDPR: What to Expect

    The European Union provision known as General Data Protection Regulation went into effect on May 25th, 2018. While it may seem as though this would only impact Europe, it actually will have some ramifications for American companies, too. Any companies with European customers will have to be compliant with the GDPR from May 25th on. This means even companies like Facebook will have to comply with the plan. 

    What Does GDPR Ask of Businesses? 

    The GDPR asks a few things. The first is that European customers can ask to see what data a business has collected from them at any time, and that information must be provided. The second is that said data can be expunged at a customer’s request at any time. These protections are completely reasonable on the behalf of a customer, but many businesses may be resistant to such wide-reaching protections. 

    What Penalties Do Businesses Face by Not Complying? 

    This is the kicker: a business that fails to comply with GDPR is subject to forfeiting four percent of their annual revenue to the EU. While that might not sound like a lot, a company like Facebook or Amazon rakes in millions and millions of dollars every year. Even four percent of that is a small fortune. What’s more, it seems unlike the US Government would do anything to protect businesses found in violation of these rules. It seems only fair, of course, that a business with European customers follow European guidelines.  

    What This Means for Americans 

    Since these companies will have to implement this functionality if they wish to remain compliant, this will likely result in increased data protections for American customers, too. Americans currently have no such protections on the books, which is unfortunate, given the state of cyber security. Breaches like Cambridge Analytica and the Target hack have soured many Americans on large companies’ security protocols.  

    Hopefully legislation like this is on its way in America, too. Increased protections for the data of users is hardly a bad thing for anyone. Companies would be wise to self-regulate in this regard in the meantime. However, since no guarantees of such altruism are forthcoming, legislation is the next logical step. With luck, we’ll see such legislation follow suit in the US. 

  • Samsung vs. Apple Ruling: What this Means for the Future of Smartphone Design

    Samsung vs. Apple Ruling: What this Means for the Future of Smartphone Design

    The long-running and high-profile court case between Samsung and Apple has finally wound down. The verdict? Samsung is to pay $539 million to Apple for infringed patents. That’s a lot of money, but not quite the billion dollars Apple claimed it was owed. The final number is, however, markedly higher than Samsung’s conservative estimate of $28 million in damages owed to Apple. What will this decision mean in the long run with regards to smartphone design?

    Apple: Design First 

    Apple fought tooth and nail in this suit. The company has always maintained that they are a design-first firm. To that end, they were adamant in their assertion that Samsung’s infringement of their design patents constituted significant damages. The nitty-gritty of the case got pretty obscure, but here’s the broad strokes. Apple had patents for a rectangular-face, round-cornered smart phone (with and without bezels.) They also had a patent of a colorful grid of apps. 

    Samsung’s phones sold between 2010 and 2011, Apple argued, infringed on these patents. The courts found in Apple’s favor, but things didn’t end there. The issue came down to the difference between the individual phone components versus the phone as a whole. Apple claimed that Samsung owed damaged based on the sales of each entire phone they sold. Samsung, however, claimed that they only owed damages on the components Apple had patents for. 

    Samsung’s Point of View 

    Samsung argued that Apple only had patents on certain aspects of the phone designs they had sold in the timeframe of 2010-2011. They felt as though the damages they would need to pay should reflect this, as well as deducting the cost of business for marketing and designing said phones. While their points were well-made in some respects the jury found them unconvincing.  

    The jury found that the display screen couldn’t be considered a separate entity from the phone. How could it? The bulk of the smart phone is its screen, and the screen hardly works without the phone components. If one were to disassemble a smart phone, they would have nothing of real practical use. Samsung’s argument would work better in a case with bigger, more distinct components. The screen, however, was found to be an integral part of the phone. 

    What This Means for Smartphone Design 

    The huge fine slapped on Samsung will certainly give manufacturers pause with regards to smartphone design. Apple’s patents are somewhat broad, though in some ways they can be seen as fair. Apple did kick off the modern smartphone, after all, so isn’t it only fair they hold these patents? The other side of that coin, of course, is a concern for monopolization. If Apple can defend a patent this broad in court, smaller competitors may well be swallowed whole by them.  

    Samsung will feel the sting of this ruling, but they won’t be going away anytime soon. The Korean tech giant is worth billions, and they can afford to go toe-to-toe with Apple in court. Smaller underdogs wouldn’t stand a chance, though. This case has left an odd taste in the mouths of onlookers. Many are happy to see creative design defended by a federal court. Many of those same people are also wary of a giant like Apple tightening its chokehold on the smartphone market.