Peace was Apple’s top-paid app until its developer took it down on Friday, just three days after its launch. Developer Marco Arment said he removed the ad-blocking app because he had a change of heart about how it worked. Users loved it, but Arment felt that his app hurts people who make a living from ad-supported… Read more »
Monthly Archives: September 2015
Microsoft battles US over warrant for drugs case emails
Microsoft is returning to court to continue its fight against the US government’s demand that it hand over emails stored at an Irish data centre. The messages involved are alleged to contain details of narcotics sales. In 2014, a court ruled in favour of the government’s claim that because it had jurisdiction over the US-based… Read more »
How to pick the perfect password
Hackers have managed to decode more than 11 million encrypted passwords stolen from the Ashley Madison website, shining fresh light on the importance of password security. Source: BBC News Date: September 22nd, 2015 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34221843 Discussion 1) The article says “Some security experts have recommended the adoption of “passphrases”, such as “Iown50%ofSClub7albums”.” (SClub7 is a British pop music band)… Read more »
Microsoft boss Nadella on Windows 10
Satya Nadella has been at the helm at Microsoft since February 2014. Windows 10, which was released globally on Wednesday, is his most important milestone yet. Source: BBC News Date: September 22nd, 2015 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33698738 Discussion 1) The article claims “this is the most important milestone for the new CEO of Microsoft”. Why is Windows 10 so… Read more »
What Your Facebook Updates Say About Your Age
Researchers have come up with a new way of looking at the relationship between language and social characteristics where the differences between groups are suggested by the data itself. Warning: there is some profanity in this article. Source: Mental Floss Magazine Date: September 21st, 2015 Link: http://mentalfloss.com/article/53031/what-your-facebook-updates-say-about-your-age Discussion 1) The article says that “among the insights uncovered were… Read more »
3D Xpoint memory: Faster-than-flash storage unveiled
A new kind of memory technology is going into production, which is up to 1,000 times faster than the Nand flash storage used in memory cards and computers’ solid state drives (SSDs). The innovation is called 3D XPoint, and is the invention of Intel and Micron. The two US companies predict a wide range of… Read more »
Will our emotions change the way adverts work?
A bus stop poster which evolved over time depending on how people responded to it has recently been tested in London. It is part of a wider area of research into how our emotional responses and biometric data could teach advertisers how to target people according to their mood. Source: BBC Technology Date: September 16th, 2015 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33652985… Read more »
Eter9 social network learns your personality so it can post as you when you’re dead
New site Eter9 (www.eter9.com) promises digital immortality using a kind of artificial intelligence to scan your posts. It will then continue posting online for you after death. If your social activity consists of posts about Taylor Swift and complaints to train companies, it means you can post for eternity on these topics. Source: BBC News Date: September… Read more »
High-speed anonymising network proposed
A high-speed anonymous way to browse the web has been developed by security researchers. The team, based in Zurich and London, say they have found a way to mask data that does little to slow it down. Many anonymising systems are slow because data is encrypted many times as it travels. But the new high-speed… Read more »
Google’s new “lego block” phone
Google’s new prototype of its modular smartphone with swappable components, will allow users to “be the designer of their own phone” Source: The Verge Date: September 9th, 2015 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqudiUdGuo Discussion 1) The ability to hot-swap (change a component without switching the device off) parts of a phone seems like it might be more gimmicky than useful – after… Read more »
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