IBM is putting a massive amount of
resources into Watson, which has the capability to dramatically improve
the quality of our decisions. I thought it would be interesting to
emulate how it might think when tied to a topical subject. As the U.S.
approaches its next election circus, two candidates have jumped to the
top as both frontrunners and targets. Given how accurate predictions
have been in the past at this phase of the election process, it's likely
that one or both of these folks won't even make it to the primaries,
let alone get elected.[More...]
In a keenly anticipated speech,
President Obama on Friday announced reforms to the NSA's surveillance
activities, but his pronouncements failed to please just about everyone.
"We heard nothing in his speech or proposal that will repair the damage
that has been done to the tech industry and the future of the
Internet," said Matt Simons, director of social justice at ThoughtWorks.[More...]
Facebook on Thursday announced
Trending, a new product designed to surface relevant and timely
conversations occurring on the network. Displayed to the right of the
user's News Feed, Trending will feature a list of topics that have
recently spiked in popularity, personalized according to subjects of
interest to the user. It will include topics that are trending across
Facebook in general, as well.[More...]
Google is taking the wearable tech
trend to a new level. The company has announced it is working on smart
contact lenses that measure the level of glucose in one's body.
Diabetes affects around one in 19 people in the world, many of whom
struggle to control the levels of blood sugar in their bodies, Google
said. Blood sugar imbalances can lead to issues with eyes, kidneys and
hearts.[More...]
For the second time in less than a
year, Apple has agreed to reimburse its customers for purchases within
applications made by children without their parents' consent.
In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday,
Apple agreed to pay at least $32.5 million in refunds to consumers who
incurred charges on their iTunes accounts through dubious in-app
purchases.[More...]
The hottest rumor for Microsoft Xbox Halo
fans is that the voice and text-based virtual assistant service --
code-named "Cortana" and planned for release with Windows Phone 8.1 --
actually might be created with the real-life voice behind Cortana, Jen
Taylor. There is no evidence to back up the rumor, but millions of Halo fans will be totally freakin' stoked if it's true.[More...]
Syed Farhan Hussain, a 22-year-old
from Luton, UK, was hit with additional jail time for refusing to
divulge the password for a memory stick that police were eager to take a
peek at. Police were unable to crack the password themselves and
therefore sought Hussain's help; Hussain declined, prompting a guilty
verdict under Britain's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.[More...]
I've been looking forward to trying
out Microsoft's official email product for the Android platform. Device
OS mismatches have, until now, prevented me from doing so. However, a
totaled and smashed tablet and an arbitrarily rebooting smartphone have
prompted me to get some new kit. I'm a power desktop Outlook user, and
for about 10 years I have relied on the desktop version.[More...]
Starbucks has admitted storing users'
passwords in plain text on its mobile apps, creating security and
privacy risks. Anyone with access to a customer's phone could obtain
that person's user name, password and email address by connecting the
device to a computer and opening a file. The clear text reportedly also
displays a string of geolocation data that could put customer privacy at
risk.[More...]
I was pleased last year when Apple
finally took a proactive stance and reached out to 28 million App Store
customers who might have been bamboozled by shady in-app purchases in
games designed to take advantage of children. However, even that action
had dubious beginnings stemming from a class action lawsuit that Apple
settled this summer. Most recently, Apple settled a similar issue with
the FTC.[More...]
Last week, China's military took its
new "ultra-high speed missile vehicle" -- or "hypersonic glide vehicle,"
if you prefer -- for its first test drive, raising eyebrows among U.S.
defense officials. The hypersonic aircraft, capable of maneuvering at a
mindboggling 10 times the speed of sound -- that's more than 7,500 miles
per hour -- is designed to deliver warheads through U.S. missile
defenses.[More...]
