YOU might expect to hear an angry buzzing when honeybees have been disturbed. But some apiarists reckon they can also deduce the condition of their bees from the sounds they make. A steady hum could be the sign of a contented hive; a change in tone might indicate that the bees are about to swarm…. Read more »
Posts Categorized: App Economy
Meet the data guardians taking on the tech giants
Ever since the world wide web went public in 1993, we have traded our personal data in return for free services from the tech giants. Now a growing number of start-ups think it’s about time we took control of our own data and even started making money from it. But do we care enough to… Read more »
Singapore’s Grab ends its game-changing year flush with cash
Grab, the most popular ride-hailing app in Southeast Asia, will end 2018 with $3 billion in new funds as it seeks to fend off rivals in a region of more than 600 million people. The Singapore-based startup has raised more than $2.7 billion so far this year and will get to $3 billion “before New Year’s… Read more »
The taxi wars
Who is going to decide how we travel around our cities – Californian tech giants or local transport businesses? On Tech Tent we hear from the UK firm helping local taxi operators take the fight to Uber and from an American scooter firm trying to change the law in Britain. I took a trip to… Read more »
The low-code revolution: Lightning App Cookbook
Companies like Mendix (https://www.mendix.com/) and Salesforce are saying that this is the start of a “low-code revolution”, where business people can build applications without knowing much, if any, code at all. Source: Salesforce Date: November 9th, 2018 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvG171ltKjw Discussion 1) Why are we now at a point where low-code programming is an option? 2) How does a… Read more »
Honour of Kings uses facial recognition to check ages
One of China’s most popular video games is testing the use of facial recognition to check users’ ages. Honour of Kings’ publisher Tencent announced the move at the weekend. It said the trial would initially be limited to “thousands” of new players based in Beijing and Shenzhen. The title has been criticised in local media over claims… Read more »
Who has your data? Researchers scrutinize apps for undisclosed ties to advertisers, analytics companies
A study looked at hundreds of apps’ privacy policies — then compared them to the data actually collected. Of the 757 apps analyzed, the researchers found nearly 60 per cent of apps collected more information than stated in their privacy policies. Source: CBC News Date: September 7th, 2018 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/app-privacy-policy-apptrans-uoft-third-parties-ads-code-1.4791834 Discussion 1) Why does it matter that apps collect… Read more »
How to make sure your Amazon Echo doesn’t send secret recordings
It was Alexa’s equivalent of a pocket dial. A woman in Portland, Oregon, claimed her Amazon Echo smart-speaker secretly recorded a private conversation, then sent the audio file to an acquaintance. She told her story to a local news outlet and it spread, stoking fears about always listening devices invading privacy. Amazon confirmed the incident and claimed it was… Read more »
I tried to get a date using augmented reality
“I open the app on my phone and scan the camera across the busy London street. Like in Pokémon Go, I’m looking at the scene in front of me through my phone, and bubbles are popping up in real-time. But these aren’t Pikachu or Poké Balls – they’re single, attractive strangers who are using the… Read more »
How cheap dockless hire bikes are flooding the world
Cycling around cities may have been pioneered by the Dutch, but a new high-tech way of hiring bicycles is bidding to bring a pedal power revolution to cities around the world. The key innovation is the dockless hire bike. Found and unlocked with a few taps on a smartphone, they can be hired for an… Read more »
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