EU rules to force USB-C chargers for all phones

Posted by & filed under Apple, IT and Politics, Politics.

USB-C connector next to Apple Lightning connector

Manufacturers will be forced to create a universal charging solution for phones and small electronic devices, under a new rule proposed by the European Commission (EC).

The aim is to reduce waste by encouraging consumers to re-use existing chargers when buying a new device.

All smartphones sold in the EU must have USB-C chargers, the proposal said.

Apple has warned such a move would harm innovation.

The tech giant is the main manufacturer of smartphones using a custom charging port, as its iPhone series uses an Apple-made “Lightning” connector.

“We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world

Source; BBC Technology News

Date: October 5th, 2021

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58665809

Discussion

  1. How likely is it that a move to have just a USB-C charger will” stifle innovation rather than encouraging it”, as Apple claims?
  2. What is a more likely reason for Apple wanting to not use the USB-C charger in some of its devices?

A teenager on TikTok disrupted thousands of scientific studies with just one video

Posted by & filed under Consumer Technology.

The video is here: https://www.tiktok.com/foryou?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=6988270489290411269#/@sarahndom/video/6988270489290411269

Thousands of scientific studies had to toss out weeks of data because of a 56-second TikTok video by a teenager.

The July 23rd video is short and simple. It opens with recent Florida high school graduate and self-described “teen author” Sarah Frank sitting in her bedroom and smiling at the camera.

“Welcome to side hustles I recommend trying — part one,” she says in the video, pointing users to the website Prolific.co. “Basically, it’s a bunch of surveys for different amounts of money and different amounts of time.”

Source: TikTok and The Verge

Date: October 5th, 2021

Link to article:https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/24/22688278/tiktok-science-study-survey-prolific

Discussion

  1. How might this issue have been detected earlier by the platform, and not instead by a researcher: “We have noticed a huge leap in the number of participants on the platform in the US Pool, from 40k to 80k. Which is great, however, now a lot of our studies have a gender skew where maybe 85% of participants are women. Plus the age has been averaging around 21.” ?
  2. In what others ways could you use a platform like the Prolific Platform?

Whitney Houston hologram takes centre stage in UK tour

Posted by & filed under Virtual Reality.

ABBA is about to create an entire location in London which will feature a state-of-the-art version of the technology shown here from 2 years ago.

Source: Channel 4

Date: September 29th, 2021

Link to 3 min 18 second video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PObUosg5ZUg

Discussion

  1. What are some of the Management Information Systems issues surrounding putting on a “performance” like the one you see here?
  2. This is a clear push into the virtual world. What issues, such as ethical issues, might a Management Information Systems professional have to consider?

3D printing could help build homes with unique designs more cheaply, advocates say

Posted by & filed under 3D Printing.

The Fibonacci House in Procter, B.C., boasts spectacular views of the nearby mountains — but that’s not what makes the tiny home a one-of-a-kind vacation rental.

It is Canada’s first 3D printed house — a spiral structure with a standout feature: Curved walls. (It was inspired by — and named after — the mathematical Fibonacci sequence.)

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is a process where an object is built using layers of materials as directed by a digital design.

While 3D-printed construction is still considered to be in its infancy, advocates say that in the future, the technology could be used to build houses with unique designs quickly and more cheaply, with less of a need for scarce skilled labour.  

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Date: September 29th, 2021

Discussion

  1. Why is it important to have “unique designs”?
  2. What sort of labor might be needed for this “additive manufacturing” house?

Amazon announces Astro the home robot

Posted by & filed under Amazon, Consumer Technology.

Astro the home robot

Amazon is launching Astro, its first household robot, powered by its Alexa smart home technology.

The company said it can be remote-controlled when not at home, to check on pets, people, or home security.

It can also patrol a home automatically and send owners a notification if it detects something unusual.

Amazon said it was more than “Alexa with wheels” and had been programmed with a range of movements and expressions to give it personality.

It demonstrated asking Astro to “beatbox” – and the robot bopped its head and made expressions while playing hip-hop beats.

Amazon was also keen to pre-empt privacy concerns.

Source: BBC Technology News

Date: September 28th, 2021

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58727057

Discussion

  1. What might be some of the privacy concerns of an Amazon robot?
  2. Why is Amazon pushing into this type of technology?

Canadian investment watchdog hopes advertising guidelines will rein in cryptocurrency’s wild west ‘bad actors’

Posted by & filed under Bitcoin, crypto-currency, IT and Politics, Politics.

The amount of money invested worldwide in cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, reached $2 trillion in April, more than the total value of Canadian mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

Getting sick of those cryptocurrency ads that have all the grace and subtlety of carnival barkers or neon signs on the Vegas strip? So are securities regulators.

The Canadian Securities Administrators and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) announced new advertising, marketing and social media guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges Thursday.

Ontario Securities Commission chair Grant Vingoe said the goal of the guidelines is simple: Keeping investors safe in a rapidly-growing sector where there’s something of a wild-west atmosphere.

“The biggest focus is investor protection,” said Vingoe.

Those “quickest one to 500 trades gets a bonus” ads or “click here and invest before the price goes up” tweets? Big no-nos. Ditto for the ones saying an exchange is the safest one around, without any proof. And above all, any advertising will have to mention the volatility and risk inherent in the entire cryptocurrency sector.

Source: Toronto Daily News

Date: September 24th, 2021

Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/09/23/canadian-investment-watchdog-hopes-advertising-guidelines-will-rein-in-cryptocurrencys-wild-west-bad-actors.html

Discussion

  1. What are some of the fundamentals underlying the price of bitcoin and many other crypto-currencies (answer: nothing!)
  2. Why is important for regulators to protect investors in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin?

Where is the new Silicon Valley?

Posted by & filed under AI/Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Virtual Reality Training.

Tel Aviv? Nairobi? How about Atlanta, Kochi or Dundee? These cities are featured in a series of mini-documentaries where local filmmakers take you behind the scenes of our Places of the Future. Hear first-hand from entrepreneurs, artists, corporate innovators, educators and others as we unpack the secrets to their success. And as you’ll see, some Places of the Future can’t be found on a map.

Source: Cognizant Center for the Future of Work

Date: September 23rd, 2021

Link to 7 minute 26 second video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnih-cElebE&list=PL-OkbzovwrrwwyMZmOSy_YTs_f0R6cUFg&t=46s

Discussion
1) Why does it matter that some of the places of the future will be fully online?

2) How might you prepare yourself to work in a fully online world?

Digital technologies slip silently, stealthily into our lives, dragging the problems of privacy, voyeurism behind them

Posted by & filed under Consumer Technology.

Facebook has launched a pair of smart glasses with popular brand Ray-Ban. The glasses, which look like a normal pair of shades but contain a couple of cameras to take photographs and videos, have a clear appeal. But the image of a world in which millions of people walk around with cameras on their faces is a profoundly dystopian one, Navneet Alang writes.

I couldn’t tell you when it happened exactly. But some time in the past decade or so, I went from being the sort of child of the 1990s who’d watch TV to unwind to someone who’d choose YouTube instead. Cooking shows, interviews, sports highlights — whatever pops up is now how I veg out.

Every day, more than one billion users watch more than one billion hours of content on YouTube. This is how huge digital platforms work: because they are so enormous in scale, they end up becoming the thing to which many of us default.

That’s not to say they are immune to challenge, however. This week, it was revealed that the short-form video app TikTok is gaining on YouTube. In the U.S. and U.K., users are spending more time on TikTok watching lip syncing, skits and rants there than on Google’s video site, which is a remarkable shift for an app so comparatively new.

Source: Toronto Daily Star

Date: September 17th, 2021

Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/2021/09/18/digital-technologies-slip-silently-stealthily-into-our-lives-dragging-the-problems-of-privacy-voyeurism-behind-them.html

Discussion

  1. ” Size is a problem because of what are called network effects. As more and more users pile on to a platform, the popularity itself becomes an entrenching factor ” How did TikTok itself become large if a key factor is being large?
  2. ” Like all technology, it lends itself to particular things. As but one example, the small frame of the smartphone camera has appeared to encourage a particular focus on the body and commodification. ” Have a discussion about what this statement means, and what impact, if any, it has on how apps are designed.

COVID-19 forces one of the biggest surges in technology investment in history, finds Harvey Nash/KPMG survey

Posted by & filed under AI/Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, Internet of Things.

 Companies spent the equivalent of around US$15bn extra a week on technology to enable safe and secure home working during COVID-19, reveals the global 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey. This was one of the biggest surges in technology investment in history – with the world’s IT leaders spending more than their annual budget rise in just three months, as the global crisis hit, and lockdowns began to be enforced.

KPMG survey here: https://home.kpmg/cn/en/home/insights/2020/10/harvey-nash-kpmg-cio-survey-2020-everything-changed-or-did-it.html

Source: KPMG

Date: September 14th, 2021

Link: https://home.kpmg/cn/en/home/news-media/press-releases/2020/09/covid-19-forces-one-of-the-biggest-surges-in-technology-investment-in-history.html

Discussion

  1. “…the top three business aims that their management board is looking for IT/technology to address as: Improving operational efficiency, improving agility and speed to market, and developing new products and services. ” Hasn’t this always been the case? What has the last year accelerated this?
  2. “…the COVID-19 pandemic has increased collaboration between the business and technology teams, and also accelerated digital transformation and adoption of emerging tech such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT and intelligent automation”. Which major in your business school is going to help you most compete in a world where these are the things businesses are focusing on, and the skills they are looking for?