Archive for September 2013

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Phonebloks: The smartphone for the rest of your life

What does 20 million tonnes of electronic waste look like? Well, it looks something like a large container train full of decaying technology stretched all the way around the world. Every year we dispose of at least that quantity of 'e-waste' and our phones are one of the biggest causes. The solution? Phonebloks -- the mobile phone you'll never need to throw away.

When electronics decide to give up it's usually just one component that's causing the problem. Enter Phonebloks: a fully customizable phone built from, you guessed it, blocks. Phone getting slow? Change the memory block. Like taking pictures? Update your camera. The blocks then attach easily to a base which connects them all together.

The designers at Phonebloks are not the only ones seeking a solution to the planet's growing e-waste problem. One of the zanier concepts by Daizi Zheng is a phone powered by a 'bio battery' that feeds on the sugars and enzymes in Coca Cola and it's supposed to last 3-4 times longer than a lithium battery.

What if you could buy a smartphone that would last you for the rest of your life?

This is the dream of Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, whose 'Phonebloks' concept has captured the public imagination and received celebrity endorsement from the most unexpected quarters.

Phonebloks is a radical cell phone idea that aims to dramatically reduce global electronic waste ('e-waste') by offering users the opportunity to upgrade parts -- or bloks -- of their cell phone rather than having to replace the entire device.

Hakkens says that he came up with Phonebloks as a response to the accelerating pace of technological waste: "I don't like the direction electronics are heading. They get more disposable and get a shorter life with every model. This gives a lot of e-waste."

The environmental campaign organisation Greenpeace estimates that global e-waste now amounts to between 20 and 50 million tons a year. Put into perspective, they say that quantity of waste, loaded onto container trains, would stretch all the way around the world.

Speaking at the CleanUp 2013 conference in Melbourne Australia, Professor Ming Wong, director of the Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences at Hong Kong Baptist University, described the growing problem of e-waste as a "timebomb."

"[It] is the world's fastest growing waste stream, rising by 3 to 5% every year," said Wong.

The Phonebloks concept aims to decrease e-waste by offering consumers the opportunity to replace individual components of their phone, while retaining the device's basic frame.

Once constructed, Hakkens hopes that the Phonebloks handset will be built from components that can be 'clicked' together like Legos. Each component will have its own function e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, battery, or camera. When a component stops working or needs to be upgraded, it can be quickly replaced with a new 'blok'.

In theory, Hakkens believes that choosing separate components could enable users to personalize their cell phone to their own specifications, adding an improved camera, increased storage or a larger battery.

"The idea is to set up a platform which, if used correctly, can reduce the amount of waste significantly," Hakkens says.

At present, Phonebloks is still a long way from reaching the market -- indeed its inventor hasn't even asked for any money to begin developing it. For now, Hakkers has simply been gathering support for the concept through the "crowd-speaking" platform Thunderclap.

At the time of writing, the Phonebloks concept video has received more than 12 million views on YouTube and been shared on social networks more than 650,000 times. The project has also received support from the actor Elijah Wood and television correspondent Jessica Northey.

The Phonebloks concept is not without its critics. Some argue that making a device that can more easily be upgraded will increase e-waste rather than reducing it. Others suggest that it would be

impossible to build a functional smartphone in a modular way.

Hakkens says that at the very least his campaign has shown that there is an appetite for an environmentally friendly cell phone and that even though the concept was only officially launched a week ago "we are already having conversations with some serious players."

Tom Dowdall, a Climate and Energy spokesperson for Greenpeace, says that the interest in Phonebloks may be useful in underlining the growing prooblem of e-waste: "Hopefully the popularity of the Phonebloks concept will spark more action from the major manufacturers. It should not be beyond the innovative phone companies to make products that are upgradable and designed to last."

Much like cars, Windows PCs need an occasional servicing to keep running at their best. That can mean replacing the battery, freeing up disk space, defragmenting and more. For example, older, nickel cadmium laptop batteries were never designed to be left endlessly plugged in -- as we all do with our laptops -- and often die before the laptop does.

If you're noticing that your Windows laptop runs slower and crankier the older it gets -- I'm talking about your laptop here, not you or me -- it's probably because it needs a bit of maintenance.

Some tender loving care will take care of most old-laptop lethargy in much the same way a routine service visit can extend the life of your car and let it operate with more vroom.

Here's how to fix your laptop.

Step 1:

Buy a new battery if your laptop is no longer portable and needs to be tethered to the wall.

Older, nickel cadmium laptop batteries were never designed to be left endlessly plugged in -- as we all do with our laptops -- and often die before the laptop does.

Tip: Remove the battery pack from the under side of the laptop and perform a search for the model number on the Internet.

Choose newer Lithium Ion, or Li-ion, battery chemistry, if you can find that option, for the least weight and limited memory effect.

Step 2:

Run Windows Maintenance Tasks by opening the Control Panel in Windows 7 (older Microsoft operating systems are similar), and browsing to System & Security and then Find and Fix Problems.

Select Run Maintenance Tasks and allow the troubleshooter to run.

Tip: Run Maintenance Tasks will correct maintenance issues like excessive unused files and shortcuts.

Step 3:

Free up disk space by returning to the Control Panel home page and browsing to System & Security again. Choose Free Up Disk Space from the Administrative Tools area. The cleanup will run and prompt you to delete redundant files.

Tip: Freeing up disk space provides more elbow room within the hard drive.

Step 4:

Remove programs that you don't use by selecting Free Up Disk Space again. This time, choose Clean Up System Files and then the More Options tab.

Allow the list to populate and uninstall programs you don't use by double-clicking on the program label.

Tip: Programs take up space on the hard drive. As with the previous step, making space helps the laptop. Plus, fewer programs loading on laptop startup frees RAM.

Step 5:

Defragment the hard drive by choosing the Defragment your Hard Drive option label adjacent to the Free Up Disk Space label.

Click on Analyze and the tool will analyze the disk and advise you if defragmentation is necessary. Follow the prompt to perform the defragmentation.

Tip: Defragmenting physically organizes file clusters on the hard drive, making the day-to-day file reading faster.

Step 6:

Turn on Windows Update by clicking on Automatic Updating On or Off within the same System & Security section of the Control Panel, and choosing Install Updates Automatically.

Tip: Windows Update is a Microsoft service that pushes bug fixes and enhancements to the laptop.

Ensure the computer is running and online at the scheduled check time. Follow any prompts.

Step 7:

Install antivirus software. Browse to the Microsoft Windows Consumer Security Software Providers Web page and choose an antivirus application. I've had success with the free AVG product, but others are available too.

Follow the prompts to install the product and allow a scan to take place. Follow any prompts to repair virus damage.

Tip: You may have to delve deep into some of the antivirus websites to find the free version of the product.

Step 8:

Install maintenance software. I've used IObit's free Advanced SystemCare, which has corrected issues for me.

Browse to the IObit website for the download. Install the application and allow it to perform a Smart Scan. Smart Scan will identify and remove malware, fix registry issues and scan the disk for errors, among other optimizations.

Tip: The paid version of Advanced SystemCare provides more in-depth fixes.

Museum celebrates women in computing

Many of the first computers were developed during wartime and women were intimately involved in their creation and operation. Here Dorothy Du Boisson and Elsie Booker operate Colossus as it cracks codes.

The National Museum of Computing has opened a gallery celebrating the role of women in computer history.

Sponsored by Google, it documents the important role women have played in building and programming pioneering computers.

The idea for the gallery arose when the Museum found that only 10% of students on its educational courses were women.

It is hoped that the gallery will help to inspire more young women and girls to take up a job in the computer world.

"Girls must take advantage of the revival of computing in schools and recognise and grab the opportunities that our wonderful sector offers," said Dame Stephanie Shirley at the opening ceremony for the gallery.

The Museum is sited in the grounds of Bletchley Park, the wartime code-cracking centre.

On show at the gallery are contributions from Joyce Wheeler, one of the first academics to use the Edsac computer; Mary Coombs, the first female programmer for the Lyons Electronic Office and Kathleen Booth, an academic who wrote the first book about programming in Assembly language.

Margaret Bullen, who helped wire up the original Colossus at Bletchley Park during World War II, attended the opening of the Heroines of Computing gallery.

Also attending on the opening day was Joyce Wheeler, a scientist who was one of the earliest users of the Edsac computer at Cambridge

Built in 1949, Edsac (the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) was developed to be the mathematical workhorse for Cambridge scientists.


The gallery also celebrates Mary Coombs, one of the first programmers of the Leo (Lyons Electronic Office) a machine that was based largely on the Edsac design.

The Women in Computing gallery was created as part of a larger project to inspire girls to take up programming. The Museum is running workshops and other events to get younger women interested and involved.

Robo-mate exoskeleton under development in Europe

Efforts to develop an exoskeleton for the workplace are under way, backed by EU funds.

Twelve research institutions from seven European countries are involved in the Robo-mate project, which hopes to test a robotic suit that can be worn by factory employees within three years.
They say the machine could reduce the number of work-related injuries.

One expert warned employers would need to be convinced the equipment would not pose safety issues of its own.

Manufacturers including Italian carmaker Fiat and the French vehicle recycler Indra are working with the teams.

The companies will suggest situations in which the tech could prove useful and have also said they would help test it.

The EU has committed 4.5m euros (£6m; £3.8m) to the scheme.

Heavy weights

The project aims to address the fact that many manufacturing tasks are difficult to automate.

For example Indra has to deconstruct many different types of car, and at present humans, rather than robots, are the only ones capable of handling the complexity of the choices involved.

Because of the weights involved, this can put staff at risk of developing medical problems.

"People have to manipulate parts or components that weigh more than 10kg [22lb]," said Dr Carmen Constantinescu, from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute, one of the organisations involved.

"These activities are not carried out just once per day, but are repetitive.

"An exoskeleton with a human inside represents a new type of research for the manufacturing industry.

"It offers a hybrid approach in which the robotic parts support the human who can provide the decisions and cognition needed."

The partners have highlighted a study by the UK's Work Foundation think tank that suggested as many as 44 million people in the EU have suffered work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Not all would be preventable by such an exoskeleton, and one of the other researchers involved said part of the challenge would be indentifying where the tech could prove useful.

"One area would be, is it useful to lift heavy loads?" Prof Darwin Caldwell, from King's College London, told the BBC.

"The other is situations when people are working above their head.

"If you hold a paint brush or a screwdriver above your head for more than two to three minutes your arms become very fatigued and it can be very bad for your heart."

However, he said the engineering teams were mindful of the risks involved.

"At the minute the motors or hydraulic systems required tend to be rather large and clumsy," Prof Caldwell said. "What we have to do is find ways to miniaturise those.

"What we also have to remember is that an exoskeleton is essentially a robot in physical contact with a human.

"That raises safety issues so we will be looking at making the interaction between the two softer and more organic - it won't be like having a large industrial robot which is dangerous."

The researchers have already suggested some of the technologies they plan to include

One roboticist who is not involved in the project said he expected such technology to become commonplace within the next two to three decades.

"A number of exoskeletons have been developed for military use in the US, and for helping the disabled and frail older people to walk again in Japan - industrial use is an obvious next step," said Prof Noel Sharkey, from the University of Sheffield.

"But one hard problem is how the human user interfaces with the device. It is vital that the operator can perform dextrously with natural movements without having to think about it.

"Another problem is how to work in environments with other humans without hurting them. This will require new natural collision avoidance methods."

Steve Jobs' last gift

One of Steve Jobs' last gifts was left in a brown box and handed out at his memorial service.

Inside the brown box was a copy of "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Hindu guru Paramahansa Yogananda. The book was about self realization, Salesforce (CRM) CEO Mark Benioff told an audience at annual tech conference TechCrunch Disrupt. Benioff, who wrote some of the first code for the Macintosh, was one of Jobs' closest friends and colleagues.

"That was his message," Benioff said. "Actualize yourself.... He had this incredible realization that his intuition was his greatest gift, and he needed to look at the world from inside out."

Benioff emphasized the spiritual side of Jobs' personality, a trait he says is often lost in the books and movies recounting Jobs' legacy.

Before Jobs passed away in October 2011 , the Apple founder knew the people who would attend his memorial. Known for his vision and precision, Jobs organized the speakers, the attendees, and the performers, Bono and Yo-Yo Ma would play at a memorial service as planned, Benioff recounted. On the way out, each guest received the gift.

"I knew that this was a decision that he made that everyone was going to get this," Benioff, said. "Whatever this was, was the last thing he wanted us to all think about."

Benioff suggested the tech giant do some of its own soul searching at a time when the company is no longer positioned as the clear front-runner in a market it once dominated.

Samsung and Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android devices are outselling Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) landmark products like the iPhone and iPad, and shares of the tech company have tumbled 30% over the last year. Benioff said Apple should understand the importance of the gift left to Jobs' friends and colleagues.

"For [Apple], they need to find themselves and be who they are," Benioff, said. "In many ways they're still trying to be him. They just need to be who they are truly. Respect the past, and, as Steve would say, 'Project the future.'"

How iPhone 5S makes your finger into a password

The most impressive feature of the new iPhone 5S may be its ability to turn your finger into a password.

Touch ID is Apple's name for a new fingerprint scanner that would act as a security tool for log-ins and for making purchases from iTunes and other Apple stores.

"Your fingerprint is one of the best passwords in the world," said Dan Riccio, a senior vice president for hardware design at Apple, in a promotional video. "It's always with you and no two are exactly alike."

Apple unveiled the iPhone 5S, along with a cheaper, simpler iPhone 5C, at an event Tuesday at the company's California headquarters.

On the new 5S, the Home button will be made of sapphire crystal and act as a reader. According to Apple a fingerprint -- up to five prints from different users, depending on who else shares your phone -- can be read by the sensor from any angle to give access the same way a password does currently.

The fingerprint data is encrypted, Riccio said, and stored internally on the phone.

"It's never available to other software and it's never stored on Apple's servers or backed up to iCloud," he said.

The iPhone isn't the first phone to have a fingerprint sensor. In 2011, the Motorola ATRIX 4G included one, though adoption among users wasn't particularly high and the company eventually discontinued the feature. And at least one Android phone to be released this year also will have the technology, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Some laptops and PCs have had fingerprint readers for several years now. But the technology has never really caught on, with users often complaining about them being balky and unreliable.

Maybe Apple can change that.

"Fingerprint sensors have come a long way," said Michael Barrett, president of the Fast Identity Online Alliance, an industry group advocating for universal security authentication tools. "They are by and large much better quality now and very readily able to detect 'Is this just an image of a finger or a real-life finger?'"

But while he called Touch ID "an exciting announcement," Barrett still sees some problems.

First, he said, fingerprint scanning still isn't perfect. He mentioned his wife, an artist, who has trouble accessing her PC with a fingerprint scanner when she's been working with plaster, which dries out her hands.

"Like many biometrics, it falls slightly into 'your mileage may vary,'" he said. "If it works for you, great. But it may not work for you all the time."

The former chief information security officer at PayPal, Barrett also sees limitations to using the system for online purchases. While it may work fine on iTunes or in the App Store, it's not likely other Web retailers are going to spend millions of dollars to make their systems accommodate an Apple feature used on fewer than 17 percent of the world's smartphones.

That means iPhone 5S owners who used Touch ID for purchases inside Apple's "walled garden" would still need to use other security tools to shop elsewhere with the same phone.

David Rogers, director of the Columbia Business School's Digital Marketing program and executive director of its Center for Global Brand Leadership, called Touch ID one of several "nice," but ultimately underwhelming, features on the iPhone 5S.

"Touch ID ... could have been that killer app. But so far, it's just a feature that saves you a couple seconds logging in," he said.

"If they can manage to link it to multiple profiles on a device, like the new Google Nexus tablets, or make it a password to controlling smart devices in the home -- your stereo, thermostat, etc. -- that could make for a truly killer feature. But they just didn't get there today."

Paco Hope, principal consultant at software security firm Cigital, said that, if nothing else, Apple will widely expand the public's understanding of the use of biometrics in the digital world.

"People's ideas about biometrics were as informed by Hollywood as they were by real products and experiences," he said. "Now, when someone asks the value of a fingerprint scanner, we can point to the iPhone and use it as a reference, for better or worse.

"Esoteric and academic theories of usability, reliability, false positives, false negatives, and so on will suddenly be tested by millions of real users in real situations."

Developers force Microsoft to release Windows 8.1 early

An outcry by programmers has forced Microsoft to give them early access to Windows 8.1.

The furore came after Microsoft announced that developers would get the new release at the same time as everyone else.

That marked a change from established practice which saw certified developers get early access to new versions.

Microsoft has now given coders access to 8.1 so they can start testing and developing before the public release.

Programmers who subscribed to Microsoft's TechNet and MSDN developer services historically got early access so they could ensure code for their own applications was not broken by the new versions of Windows.

Microsoft's strong developer community were unhappy with the change Microsoft made with 8.1, particularly as the new version made changes to its appearance and the way programs can work with it.

Windows 8.1 is due to be released to the public on 18 October. The version that will ship to customers has been ready since late August.

One of the more visible changes in Windows 8.1 will be to make the start button more obvious.

As Windows 8 was largely created to serve touchscreen devices such as tablets, the start button was far less prominent in the original release of the software.

Windows 8.1 will see the button partially restored and allow users to choose whether to stick with a touchscreen display or revert to the more familiar control system seen in desktop and laptop computers. A mouse click on the lower left corner of the screen will let them switch between the two interface styles.

In addition, the start button will always be visible when working with the desktop version of Windows 8.1.

US NSA and UK GCHQ 'can spy on smartphones'

German privacy campaigners have welcomed Edward Snowden's disclosures about NSA surveillance

The US National Security Agency (NSA) is reported have cracked the security codes which protect data on iPhones, Blackberries and Android devices.

German news weekly Der Spiegel says documents suggest the NSA and the British GCHQ made joint efforts to gather intelligence.

Teams looked at each phone to crack its privacy codes, Der Spiegel said.

Saturday saw thousands of demonstrators in Berlin demand that the NSA stop monitoring internet users.

Codes unlocked

The documents Spiegel has seen do not show whether or not there has been mass surveillance of phone use.

Once the intelligence teams had unlocked the codes, agencies could read a user's contacts and lists of who had been called.

The BBC's Steve Evans in Berlin says the reports do seem to indicate that the British and American security agencies have the ability to read private communications beyond what might have previously been thought possible - or desirable by those who fear the intrusion of the state.

The magazine did not explain how it had obtained the documents.

Protesters in Berlin demanded the NSA "stop watching us"

But one of the authors of the article, Laura Poitras, is an American filmmaker with close contacts to the NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

'Champagne'

According to the documents seen by Der Spiegel, the Canadian manufacturer of Blackberry phones began using a new method to compress the data in May 2009.

Intelligence agents were unable to access some information on BlackBerry phones for about a year afterwards, the Associated Press news agency said.

Der Spiegel's article said that GCHQ then cracked the problem, too - and analysts celebrated their achievement with the word "Champagne".

A stream of recent revelations about international data surveillance has ignited a heated debate in Germany about the country's co-operation with the United States in intelligence matters.

Yahoo demands US government allow disclosure of data requests

Yahoo has begun legal action demanding it be allowed to disclose details of US national security agencies' requests to access the personal data of its users.

The move comes a few days after Yahoo published its first transparency report, detailing the overall number of global government requests for data.

US law prohibits organisations from providing a breakdown of these figures.

Yahoo said withholding such information from the public "breeds mistrust and suspicion" about the

US government.

The web company followed Google and Microsoft in releasing its first transparency report last week, detailing requests for users' data by 17 countries in which it has a legal entity.

The publication followed increased pressure by privacy groups for technology companies to disclose details of their collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

Yahoo had previously taken legal action to require the US government to publish documents over the next few months, which it said would show the company had objected to the establishment of Prism, a surveillance programme uncovered by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Under the US government's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), companies are not allowed to publicly disclose details of requests via programs like Prism, unless the data is released in an aggregated fashion, mixed together with less sensitive information.

"The United States should lead the world when it comes to transparency, accountability, and respect of civil liberties and human rights," wrote Yahoo lawyer Ron Bell in a blog about the latest case.

"We filed the [law]suit today because we are not authorised at present to break out the number of requests, if any, that we receive for user data under specific national security statutes."

He added: "We believe that the US government's important responsibility to protect public safety can be carried out without precluding internet companies from sharing the number of national security requests they may receive."

US requests

Yahoo's transparency report revealed that 12,444 disclosure requests were made by the US between January and June of this year - by far the highest of all the countries detailed.

Only 2% of requests in the US were rejected. Although in a further 801 requests with which Yahoo complied, the company had found no data on the users in question.

The report, which Yahoo said would now be updated every six months, also said 1,709 disclosure requests had been made in the UK, although 27% of those had been rejected.

Google last published a transparency report in December 2012, which showed 8,438 applications from government officers and courts in the US over the last six months of 2012. It had 1,458 requests from UK officials in the same period.

Ron Bell blogged about the release of the report and emphasised the measures the company's legal department took to reject data requests whenever possible.

The highest number of rejected disclosure requests was in Germany, where Yahoo refused to disclose the details of 816 users. Singapore had the greatest percentage of refusals, with 41% of all requests denied.

The report does not include requests for data on users of Tumblr, a microblogging site recently acquired by Yahoo, although the company says details will be made available at a later date.

2020: The World According to Qualcomm

Qualcomm's view of the future is one where you are always connected, and the smartphone becomes the hub for everything you do. Watches, head-mounted displays like Google Glass, tablets, security systems, and even appliances and locks are connected to you through the smartphone hub. The devices you are surrounded by are collectively smart and know what you want and when you want it.

I was at Qualcomm's Uplinq last week, and the company announced and showcased a ton of products that could massively change how we interact with technology. I thought that the best way to showcase much of it might be a version of The Day Made of Glass, a video made by Corning to showcase the future it imagined, but in this case representing Qualcomm's view. If you watch the video, you'll actually find that Corning and Qualcomm are kind of on the same page -- they would simply emphasize different parts of the solution.

I think it's good to look at a dominant vendor's technology trend to get an idea of the future we are actually likely to have and decide if it is cool or objectionable before it actually occurs. In this case, I think it could be really cool, but you'll clearly form your own opinions.

I'll close with my product of the week: Qualcomm's Toq watch, the most Apple-like smartwatch launched to date.

Off to a Good Start

It is Friday in 2020, and you have an early morning meeting. Your smartwatch quietly buzzes to wake you up and you glance at it. Its low light display allows your spouse to sleep undisturbed as the watch reminds you of the meeting and alerts you that two of the people you will be speaking with have updates.

You grab your tablet and check the messages and find that two key people will be running late, so you need push back the start of the event 15 minutes. The tablet, understanding the context, offers to do this automatically, and you click yes. Putting your wireless stereo earpieces in, you switch to news that has been cached and summarized on your tablet, and you listen and watch the program as your spouse continues to sleep.

You find you have time for a quick run and place your wireless heart and blood pressure monitor on your waist, check your watch to confirm everything is linked, and slide your smarthub (what used to be called a "smartphone") into a pouch in your belt and start your run.

Your medical information tracks on your watch so you can keep in the zone, and your medical file is updated with the information. You think your doctor will be impressed with your drop in weight, heart rate, and increase in breathing efficiency -- even your blood pressure is down. It's going to be a great Friday.

You're alerted that you need to be back in the house, and you're asked if you want your coffee machine to prepare your favorite mocha. You confirm on the watch and adjust the music again, using the watchface to set a faster pace, because you've already met your goal and just want to get home fast.

After showering and changing, you grab your tablet for a review of the latest plans for your firm's headquarters. You click your watch to start the meeting, and after a brief introduction ask the attendees to hold their laptops over a flat surface. Everyone sees a 3D rendering of the building on their desk and you take them on a visual tour. The architect is listening in, and as people point out changes, he makes them in real- time on the image, so people can see that what they want has been addressed.

The meeting wraps and your watch notes that you have to leave in 30 minutes in order to make your train. You send a quick alert to your wife to let her know you are getting ready to leave and she signals back on her smartwatch that she wants to see you before you go. She comes down and kisses you goodbye as you tap your watch to open the garage and warm up your car.

Always Connected

You get your music running again, and it follows you as you move from your house to your car and your in car display shows you traffic and routing to get you to the station on time. At the station, your watch alerts you that there is a problem with the train you normally take and suggests an alternative route. On the way, it points out that the little dragon your son wants for his augmented reality game is on sale at a store you'll be walking by, and you hit purchase so the store has it wrapped and ready to go when you arrive.

As you approach your office, a combination of facial recognition and authentication with your smarthub unlocks the door and your team's smartwatches notify them you've arrived. Your watch alerts you that several calls are waiting for you per your instructions to hold them until you get to the office. You could have handled them in transit, but you wanted the time to think and listen to a great group of new music tracks an old friend had sent to you.

Your desktop becomes your interface, and its transflective design not only allows for sharp images but also eliminates glare. There is no sign of a PC. Your services are Internet-based (something that used to be called the "cloud") and automatically delivered to your watch, tablet or desktop, depending on your need.

It's been a long day, and you head home. Your watch reminds you to swing by the toy store. Your smarthub tells the store you are you, and the clerk meets you at the door with the wrapped gift. On the way home, your phone alerts you of some funny videos your brother has sent you and you pull out your tablet to watch them on a larger screen. The image automatically transfers from your watch to your tablet when you turn your tablet on.

Chill Time

As you enter your home, you find your son has his augmented reality game going. While he is looking down through his tablet at the coffee table, you see that the game software has drawn the game board over the items on the table, making each real thing a part of the game. He is on an advanced level and clearly about to lose. You suggest he pause for a moment and, grumbling, he does.

You hand him the package, and he excitedly opens it up, discovering the dragon. Picking up his table, he scans the dragon. He then resumes the game, and the dragon enters it, clearing the game board and allowing him to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat. He says, "Thanks dad!" and you smile.

Your watch alerts you that your wife has been kind of flustered all day, and it suggests you take her to dinner, showcasing a discount at her favorite restaurant. You click accept, and select from a number of provided choices when the restaurant has openings, and you request flowers waiting at the table to thank her for her hard work.

At the end of the day, you place all of your smart devices on the wireless changing pad on your nightstand and tap your watch to turn off the lights. You both read a little from your tablets before going to sleep and check the cameras monitoring the kids to see if they are safe and sleeping.

You note your son is still playing that game and currently using the dragon you bought him much more aggressively with a huge grin on his face. You do a quick online check of his grades, which have improved of late, and your wife leans over and says, "Let him play -- it's Friday."

Tapping your watch to set the house alarm, you power down your tablet and call in a night.

Wrapping Up: We're Almost There

While the elimination of the screen on the smartphone is my idea and not Qualcomm's, everything else was demonstrated at Qualcomm's Uplinq event last week. Its view of the future is one where you are always connected, and the smartphone becomes the hub for everything you do.

Watches, head-mounted displays like Google Glass, tablets, security systems, and even appliances and locks are connected to you through the smartphone hub. You are able to switch as needed, mostly using Bluetooth, between them. The devices you are surrounded by are collectively smart and know what you want and when you want it, allowing you to more efficiently and completely interact with and enjoy the world around you.

In addition, alerts are geo-centric and personal, so that ads are appropriate and timely. Thus you want to purchase goods more often, because the service actually knows what you like and when you'd like it.

It'll be an interesting future world.

Nissan launches Nismo smartwatch for drivers

A smartwatch that monitors the performance of a vehicle as well as the driver has been launched by car manufacturer Nissan.

Like many other smartwatches, the Nissan Nismo measures the user's heart rate, temperature and other biometrics.

But it also allows users to keep an eye on their car's performance - including average speeds and fuel consumption.

Experts say that the watch could be an important step towards greater connectivity in cars.

"Connectivity is the new battleground for car manufacturers," said Chas Hallett, editor-in-chief of

What Car?

"In-car internet is coming and now with consumer electronics focusing on watch-based connections, Nissan is getting ahead of the game and joining the two together very cleverly."

The Nismo watch can be connected to the car's on-board computer system to allow users to monitor vehicle telematics and performance data. Users can also receive tailored messages from Nissan via the gadget.

It was unveiled ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show, which runs until 22 September.

Concentration levels

"Wearable technology is fast becoming the next big thing and we want to take advantage of this innovative technology," said Gareth Dunsmore, marketing communications general manager at Nissan, Europe.

A glut of smartwatches has hit the market recently, including Samsung's Galaxy Gear and Sony's Smartwatch 2.

Car-connected watches could be even more useful than those offered by consumer electronic firms, thinks Mr Hallett.

"Imagine if you could heat up your car on a cold day before you got into it or shut the roof of your convertible when it started raining and it was parked outside," he said.

The Nissan Leaf electric car already allows users to interact with it via their mobile phone, said Mr Dunsmore, and such functionality should be available in the firm's next-generation watches.

The current gadget is one of the first products to come out of its Nismo laboratory, which captures live biometric and telematics data from Nissan racing cars and their drivers.

The lab plans to use electrocardiograms (ECG) and electroencephalograms (EEG) in the future to capture a range of heart and brainwave data.

The eventual aim would be to create wearable technology for drivers that can spot fatigue, monitor drivers' levels of concentration and emotions and record hydration levels.

The Nismo, which comes in three colours and has a battery life of around a week, can be controlled by two buttons on the screen.

Japanese social app to take on Facebook in the US

Popular Japanese instant messaging application Line plans to take challenge Twitter, Facebook and Google


Noriko Suzuki, a 22-year-old office worker in Tokyo, sends about 50 messages a day via the Line messaging app, including reports on her summer vacation and pictures of her lunch.

TOKYO — Japan’s most popular instant messaging application, Line, has outlined its plans to take on Twitter, Facebook and Google to become “the number 1 online service” in the world.

In an interview with the New York Times, the company’s chief executive Akira Morikawa said that he wants Line to become “first global Internet company from Asia” and “a common language for the world”, reported the Daily Telegraph.

Line, which already has 230 million monthly users, lets users exchange text messages, graphical ‘stickers’ and video and audio media, as well as make free VoIP calls, and hold free audio or video conferences.

Originally developed as a mobile application for Android and iOS smartphones, the service has since expanded to BlackBerry, Nokia Asha, and Windows Phone, and also exists in versions for laptop and desktop computers.

Mr Morikawa claims that Line has a critical advantage over applications like Facebook and Twitter, which is that it was originally conceived and created for smartphones, so the company does not have to design software that can leap from desktop computers to mobile devices.

Stickers – which are used during chat sessions between users and act as large-sized emojis – are one of Line’s most popular features. Stickers feature original characters as well as a number of popular manga, anime and gaming characters, movie tie-ins, and characters from Disney properties such as Pixar.

Users can purchase stickers as gifts, but many stickers are available as free downloads, depending on country availability. Purchased stickers are attached to an account and can be used on other social media platforms. Line says its users send more than 1 billion stickers per day.

However, the company makes most of its money from games, with offerings like Line Pop and Line Bubble recently moving into the Top 10 lists on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Like other popular online game providers in Asia, Line lets users download its games free, making money through in-app purchases, which provide players with special powers, for example.

As part of its plan to conquer the US, Line has teamed up with nine top video creators on Vine – the mobile app owned by Twitter that enables users to create and post short video clips – for a series of promotional videos.

All of the creators are involved with Collab, the LA studio working with Line to run the promotion.

“LINE is one of the most fun and addicting new mobile apps, so Collab is excited to help introduce Line to the United States market,” said Collab chief executive Tyler McFadden.

“There’s a lot of crossover between the young audiences on Vine and Line and we’re confident that the Vine Influencers we work with will be extremely effective in driving new Line users.” AGENCIES

BBM May Leave the Nest

Today in international tech news: BlackBerry might spin off its BlackBerry Messenger service. Also: The New York Times is hacked, apparently by the Syrian Electronic Army; Snowden is believed to have camped out at the Russian consulate in Hong Kong; and Facebook reveals information requests from governments around the globe (the U.S. wins... or loses, if you like).

BlackBerry is looking to spin off its BlackBerry Messenger service into a separate business to compete with other instant messaging apps.

The company announced in May that it would make BBM, once available only on BlackBerry devices, available to devices running on iOS and Android.

BlackBerry announced two weeks ago that it had hired a special committee to look into ways of revitalizing the reeling company.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal via PC Magazine]

New York Times Hacked; Syrian Electronic Army Apparently to Blame

The New York Times was knocked out for hours on Tuesday afternoon because of what Marc Frons, its chief information officer, called "a malicious external attack" on the company's domain name registrar.

The attack was executed by the Syrian Electronic Army, Frons said -- "or someone trying very hard to be them." The SEA has already wreaked havoc on websites belonging to The Washington Post, CNN and Time. The hacking group supports Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The Times website first went down after 3 p.m. and then was knocked offline again after being temporarily restored. The newspaper's website was also inaccessible earlier this month, a day before the SEA went after the Post, CNN and Time, but the Times said that was caused by technical problems.

The New York Times' domain name registrar -- which manages a company's Internet domain names -- is Australia-based Melbourne IT. However, it was one of its resellers -- not Melbourne IT itself -- that was penetrated, the company said.

The SEA also claimed via Twitter that it had hacked Twitter's administrative contact information. Twitter confirmed that it had indeed experienced problems, but less than two hours later said that all systems had returned to normal.

[Source: The New York Times]

Snowden Spent Two Days at Russian Consulate in Hong Kong

Edward Snowden spent two days at a Russian consulate in Hong Kong before flying to Moscow, where he was ultimately granted temporary asylum, Moscow-based newspaper Kommersant reported.

The paper also reported that Snowden aborted his plan to fly to Cuba after Havana, ceding to U.S. pressure, decided to disallow the plane to land with Snowden aboard. Snowden reportedly had a reservation on a Moscow-to-Havana flight.

Russian president Vladimir Putin was reportedly unaware of Snowden's plans to come to Russia.

[Source: The South China Morning Post]

Facebook Reveals Global Info Requests

Facebook published its first-ever "global government requests report," which chronicles government agencies' requests to access user information from the company.

More than half of the 38,000-plus requests came from the U.S., which made more than 10,000 requests for information on about 20,000 individuals. Facebook complied nearly 80 percent of the time.

The report, which details requests filed from the beginning of the year through June 30, says that India made the second-highest number of requests -- 3,245 requests on 4,144 users -- and that Facebook complied in 50 percent of the cases.

Facebook rejected each of Egypt's eight requests for information (on 11 account holders), while the company complied with 47 percent of Turkey's 96 requests (covering 170 account holders).

[Source: The Guardian]

Cyber-thieves blamed for leap in Tor dark net use

Cyber-thieves are behind a big leap in the number of computers connecting to the Tor anonymous web browsing system, a security company has said.

The number of connections to Tor almost doubled in late August.

Some thought the rise was caused by people in repressive regimes using Tor to escape official scrutiny.

But Dutch security company Fox-IT said it had evidence it had been caused by cybercriminals using Tor to control legions of hijacked home PCs.

Hidden network

The sharp leap in Tor numbers began on 19 August.

Before that date about 500,000 connections a day were being made to the network.

Within a week, the number of connections had hit 1.5 million and has continued to grow.

The latest update from Tor suggests about three million connections are now being made on a daily basis.

Tor (The Onion Router) attempts to hide who is using the web by routing their data through a series of computers each one of which encrypts the data passing through it.

It is widely used by people living in nations that monitor what citizens say online, to avoid official attention.

Many people on the Tor admin mailing list suggested the growth in use had been caused by more people turning to the network as many different governments cracked down on what can be said and done online.

But Fox-IT said it had traced the growing number of connections to a botnet - a network of home computers hijacked by malicious computer programs.

Botnets are the favoured tools of cybercriminals, who use them as a resource to plunder for saleable information or as a way to send spam or launch attacks on other sites.

In a blog post Fox-IT said there was growing evidence a group of criminals who ran the Mevade.A or Sefnit botnet had turned to Tor to control their army of hijacked computers.

The geographic spread of compromised computers on Sefnit was very similar to those recently seen to have joined Tor, it said.

And a closer look at the code being run by some individual PCs on Sefnit showed they had the latest version of Tor installed and regularly checked in with a Tor site for instructions about what to do.

So far, said the blog, it was not entirely clear what the botnet was being used for.

"It does however originate from a Russian-spoken region, and is likely motivated by direct or indirect financial-related crime," wrote Fox-IT analysts.

The rise in Tor connections has caused problems for operators of the browsing network.

In a blog post, Tor said it was looking into ways to stop botnet controllers using the network to co-ordinate criminal activity.

In addition, it added, Tor was not a great way to control millions of infected machines.

"If you have a multi-million node botnet, it's silly to try to hide it behind the 4,000-relay Tor network," said the blog.

"These people should be using their botnet as a peer-to-peer anonymity system for itself."

Apparently This Matters: Rent a wife? How 'bout a goat?

"Welcome home, dear! Can I make you a warm glass of the most disgusting thing I could find in the kitchen?"

Certain products are definitely OK to rent. Like a car. Or a tuxedo. Or the cheapest room at a Motel 6 when you find yourself strolling down I-85 at midnight with no pants.

Things are weird at home.

But a Los Angeles-based company caught the internet's attention this week for renting something completely unexpected: wives.

Yes, the Rent-a-Wife might just be as horribly misogynistic as it sounds. Because it's pretty much what you think it is: a housekeeping and odd jobs service where renters can choose a "wife" from three pricing tiers, ranging from the Starter Wife to the Good Wife to the Trophy Wife.

The company's founder, Juliette Bresnahan, says most of her clients are actually women. So, who the hell knows?

What really matters is that, clearly, if you just surf the Web long enough, you'll find lots of really weird stuff you can rent.

So I did.

Alas, when I started Googling "rent a ..." followed by each letter of the alphabet (minus vowels and X) to see what would autofill, this is what I found:

Rent-a-Bay: A self-service garage in Kent, Washington, Rent-a-Bay is where you can work on your own vehicle with the same professional conveniences of a mechanic. It's a good idea, but there's also a 100% chance I would kill both myself and others in the process of changing a spark plug.

Rent-a-Center: This is a fairly well-known store for rent-to-own furniture and appliances. It's also not a bad rebuilding option for the Phoenix Suns.

Rent-a-Dreads: This one sort of blew me away, for it has nothing to do with leasing a temporary dreadlock weave like the words might suggest. It's actually a term used in regards to female sex tourism. In the Caribbean and Central America, male sex workers are often referred to as Rent-a-Dreads.

In America, a male sex worker is simply known as "Dave with access to Craigslist."

Rent-a-Friend: This site claims to have "Friends from around the world available for hire," perfect for anyone who just needs a buddy. Some of the activities they say people are using Rent-a-Friend for are sporting events, wine tasting and hot air balloon rides.

"Hi. I'm Gary. Would you like to ride in a balloon with me?"

"Hi. I'm Tina. No."

Rent-a-Goat: This is just what it sounds like. You rent a goat and then let it eat unwanted plants and weeds. But, really, I just want to get one for my dog.

"Mikey, this is goat. Goat, this is Mikey. If you need me, I'll be inside shopping for friends."

Rent-a-Home: A house leasing company in Greensboro, North Carolina, somehow managed to come up first in my Google search. Which isn't very exciting. But right below it was Rent-a-Husband.

Their slogan is "For those jobs that never get done!" which leads me to believe they specialize in renting out alcoholics who like watching football.

"My Rent-a-Husband was just as advertised! The garbage disposal is still busted, and he left the toilet seat up. Would definitely use again. Five stars!"

Rent-a-John: If you live in the Carolinas and need a temporary outdoor toilet that doubles as a sweat lodge, these guys have you covered.

Rent-a-Kid: This is the title of a really bad Leslie Nielsen movie from 1995 about a guy who rents out orphans. I actually found it on YouTube and watched the entire thing when I literally could've been doing anything else with my time. Like riding in a balloon with Gary.

Rent-a-List: Put that coffee down! This lead generator aims to help people in sales find potential customers to sign on the line that is dotted. A ... B ... C ... Always Be Cluttering people's inboxes.

Rent-a-Midget: Lacking morals? Having a party? Looking for alternative entertainment? You're in luck.

"Barb, I have the perfect idea for Brian's bar mitzvah reception!"

Rent-a-Negro: Back in 2003, damali ayo -- who, officially, doesn't capitalize the first letters of her name -- created this (now-defunct) website as a form of "Web-art-performance" based around the fact that she felt like a "professional black person" to her white friends.

Through Rent-a-Negro, she created a special mock rental form so white people could request services such as touching her hair, teaching them how to dance and speaking with their racist grandmother.

She eventually turned her art experience into a book called "How to Rent a Negro."

Because that's what I need on my shelf.

Rent-a-Pet: This led to several articles about renting animals. On that note, my dog is now available for quinceañeras.

Rent-a-Quote: Turns out, this is a term used to describe someone who will shamelessly provide a comment to the media on pretty much any topic. Usually, this person's motivation is money and/or exposure.

I enjoy both. Call me.

Rent-a-Ruminant: Ruminants are mammals that eat plants and then barf out the cud. Thus, we have yet another service for renting out goats. I wonder if my new friend Gary knows about this.

Rent-a-Swag: Comedian Aziz Ansari portrays the character Tom Haverford on NBC's "Parks and Recreation." In the fifth season, he comes up with a business idea for renting expensive clothes to boys in middle school who, because they are still growing, have parents who won't buy them nice things.

We had Rent-a-Swag growing up. It was called crappy hand-me-downs from my brother.

Rent-a-Text: This just takes you to a site for textbook rentals. When I was in college, I once opened a textbook. It was exhausting.

Rent-a-Van: It appears Enterprise strategically cornered the Internet market for when you absolutely, positively need an all-white windowless van. They're perfect for driving slowly down sorority row while breathing heavily. Chicks dig that.

Rent-a-Wheel: This is the "largest rent-to-own custom wheel and tire retailer in the nation." Excellent. I've been thinking of tricking out my Saturn.

Rent-a-Yurt: Ask anyone. Nothing is more fun than camping in a large round room.

"Ha! Ha! Whee! No corners!"

So, if you want to rent a yurt lodge somewhere in America, Yurt Lodging will help get you there. Because we all want a round room at the end of the day.

Rent-a-Zilla: This search leads you to a specifically titled strip from a Web comic called MegaTokyo by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston. It involves ninjas and jails and monsters.

Kind of like my bris.

But that's a long story. And I'm saving it for my balloon ride with Gary.

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