As developers for tablets and smartphones we like to keep abreast of the latest mobile technology developments . This is a daily digest of mobile development and related technology news gathered from the BBC, the New York Times, New Scientist and the Globe and Mail to name a few. We scour the web for articles concerning, iPhone, iPad and android development, iOS and android operating systems as well as general articles on advances in mobile technology. We hope you find this useful and that it helps to keep you up to date with the latest technology developments.
BLU Win HD Windows Phone – $99 Tomorrow at Microsoft Stores
For day two of the 12 Days of Deal promotion running at your local Microsoft Store, you will be able to pick up the BLU Win HD 5″ Windows Phone for $99, $80 off the regular price of $179. For those who can’t get to a Microsoft Store, you can pick up the phone for $129 online, a savings of $50. This is similar to the savings you could have on the Toshiba Encore Mini tablet today. The BLU Win HD is unlocked and comes with a 5″ display, 8MP Camera, 8GB of Storage (expandable with up to a 32GB
The post BLU Win HD Windows Phone – $99 Tomorrow at Microsoft Stores appeared first on Clinton Fitch.
Shop where everybody knows your name
Shop where everybody knows your name
Uber Banned From Taking Bookings In The Netherlands
By Anthony Deutsch
THE HAGUE, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Uber, the fast-growing online car sharing service, has been banned from taking bookings in the Netherlands via its smartphone app where it could face fines of up to 100,000 euros ($122,650).
Uber said it would appeal against the decision by the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal in The Hague on Monday. It ordered Uber to stop providing the service known as UberPop, which it said broke a law requiring that drivers have a special license.
Uber, which was been valued at around $40 billion ahead of a planned IPO, could be fined a total of 100,000 euros ($122,000). Drivers could also face fines of 10,000 euros for each violation, up to a maximum of 40,000, the court said.
“This is only the first step in a long-running legal battle,” Uber said in a statement.
Uber had asked the Dutch court to overturn a government-imposed ban and fines for use of UberPop, the smartphone application used to arrange rides.
“We believe were are offering a service within the spirit of the law. We will continue to offer safe, competitive, quality services to consumers,” said spokesman Thomas van Oortmerssen.
Launched in California four years ago, the service has rapidly become popular in a number of countries because it often undercuts established taxi and minicab services.
However, taxi drivers across Europe say Uber breaks local taxi rules and violates licensing, insurance and safety regulations. It has faced legal action in Germany and a number of European capitals.
Uber service was also banned in Delhi on Monday after a female passenger accused one of its drivers of rape.
Uber said that Monday’s Dutch ruling did not address the underlying legality of UberPop and that the decision was based on a law from 2000, when there were no smartphones.
“The law is out of date and that means the technological service we offer had not yet been invented,” Van Oortmerssen said. “The law needs to be changed to make it possible and it is now up to the politicians to do that.”
(1 U.S. dollar = 0.8155 euro) (Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir)
About Mobiography
A Chat with Andy from Mobiography! by Dilshad Corleone
Andy and Dilshad are a part of Grryo, an international collective of social photographers.
All Photos Copyright Andy Butler
I first came across Andy when, by chance, I’d notice on Twitter that a certain Mobiography website had published my photography walk video from Barcelona. I felt well chuffed and very flattered, so I decided to write, as one does, a thank you mail. I think our friendship started from there.
From that day onward, we have exchanged many emails, phone calls and I have been lucky enough to be featured in his wonderful E-Magazine, which I truly recommend it to everyone (and if you want to be featured, keep reading)! Even more, I all heartedly suggest you to go and have a look at Andy’s photos, which have that romantic melancholic feel that draws you in his stories!
Photography never stops to surprise me, I have met more incredible people trough this medium, than anything else, and this is exactly why I love being part of this amazing community! But without further ado let us dive into this interview.
D: Dilshad A: Andy
D: Let’s start with the classic one: Tell me a bit more about yourself and how mobile photography has changed what you do?
A: I live in Lancashire in the North of England with my wife and two boys. By day I’m a web designer/developer and around web geek. I rarely switch off, I’m always on the go which frustrates the hell out of my wife.
I’ve always had an interest in photography ever since an early age. I remember playing as a child with my auntie’s old box type camera. In later years in photography class at Art College I loved the post production dark room work, developing film and exposing prints. I suppose this is where my love of dark, contrasty black and white photography started.
Several years ago I bought myself to a Nikon DSLR digital camera. Thinking back I do wonder if I was seduced by its large size, knobs and dials. Whenever possible I was out taking pictures but often found the bulky DSLR awkward to carry, especially on days out with the family.
This is why mobile photography has captured my attention so much. The freedom it offers me and the simplicity of the equipment that’s required is like a breath of fresh air. Combined with its integration into social media platforms is what makes smartphone photography so accessible to everyone. I love it. Now I solely shot with my iPhone, I find it much more convenient, instant and less obtrusive than the DSLR.
This is why a few years ago I decided to set myself a personal 365 project, where I attempted to take a photo a day for a year. This is where the power of mobile photography really comes into its own.
Walking with a Purpose
D: How did you discover mobile photography?
A: It was a couple of years ago. I had an Android phone, I had heard about Instagram and had previously searched for the app in Google Play but as it was an Apple only app it wasn’t available to me at the time. In May 2012 I was sat in the garden enjoying the sun when I had another look and bam, there it was. It had been released for Android and that was the beginning.
For the rest of that year I played about with Instagram but it’s when I rediscovered Flickr that I really started to take my mobile photography more serious and started interacting with those in the mobile community.
Saturday Shopping
D: You mentioned that you were undertaking a 365 project. Can you tell me more about this and the why’s behind it?
A: At the start of 2013 I came across an article about undertaking a 365 project. I’m not fully sure of the origins of the 365 project but I know there are many people and websites out there devoted to the concept. Basically it involves taking and publishing 1 photo a day for 365 days and is an excellent way to help you discover more about yourself and your photography, what makes a good picture and what doesn’t.
I had often thought about doing something like this before but had never managed to get past day 2 or 3 (mainly due to the impracticalities of carrying a bulky DSLR about and a busy lifestyle). This time it just seemed like the right time. It was the beginning of a new year, a new start; I was starting a new job and was planning out a website about smartphone photography so it all seemed to click into place. I have found it to be an excellent way to quickly improve and hone my photographic skills and style.
Passing In Profile
D: How did you find taking a photograph everyday for a whole year? Is there a story that has touched you?
A: It was very tough and I’m sorry to say I ran out of steam. Some days you finished with a selection of photos to choose from whilst other days you are scraping the bottom of the barrel. It’s a project that requires commitment and I began to question which is best, to keep to the schedule of taking a photo a day or miss a day or two in favour for producing better quality images? In the ned I was more comfortable with the idea of posting quality images when they happened rather than a steady stream of sub-standard work just for the sake of it.
Story wise, if anything the killer photo opportunities were all missed due to the time lag on the shutter, incorrect exposure, blurred images or not having the camera to hand. These were basic short comings of the phone I had at the time. Some harsh lessons were learnt during that period.
One story that does spring to mind is a photograph titled ‘Texting Solitude’. I was out on one of my lunch time photo walks and heading back to work when I spied a man at the end of the road. He was standing against the wall of the town hall totally engrossed in his mobile phone. I guess he was either texting, surfing the internet or maybe even checking photos he’d taken that day – who knows.
I got to the road junction praying that he’d stay as he was, not move and that no one would encroach on the shot and my luck held out. I love the simplicity of the shot and I think the space around him really helps to convey the solitude of the man.
Texting Solitude
D: How do you keep up with your inspiration and enthusiasm?
A: I have to say it’s tough. There are days when the weather is bad, which in the UK is most of the time. There are days when I have commitments with work or family and other days when all I want to do is rest.
That said there is nothing better than the feeling of coming back with a photograph that you are proud of and I think that is what drives me.
Inspiration wise I follow several photographers on Flickr and twitter including Richard Koci Hernandez, David Ingraham, Mark T Simmons and Dilshad Corleone. I do a lot of reading on mobile photography websites such as grryo.com. It’s the human stories and the views of other photographers that really interest me and I suppose this gives me a standard to aim for.
My enthusiasm comes from the fact that I’m pushing myself every day. I try to explore new areas of the city around me. I’ll walk down alley ways that many people pass by without even noticing. I look up above, through gateways, arches or doorways. The main thing that mobile photography has given me is a renewed sense of my surroundings. It has changed the way I look at the world.
Togetherness
D: What subjects fascinate you and how would you describe your style?
A: My first love is landscape photography, I love the outdoors but don’t get many chances to really explore the subject as I’d like. I tend to get a bit self-conscious shooting in public environments but as I work in a small city and when I was undertaking the 365 project it forced me out of my comfort zone and into street photography so urban locations have been a prominent feature in my work. I think this is a good thing.
I love black and white photography but I don’t necessarily set out to specifically shoot black and white as the end result. Maybe it’s a subconscious thing or the fact that it’s often dull and grim up north as they say round here. I love dark contrast in a photograph. I tend to burn in the edges of my images and add a hint of blurring as I find it gives the images a moody, old feel and helps draw the viewer’s eye into it.
A Combination of Reflections #2
D: What apps do you use to take your photographs?
A: I mainly shoot with the app ProCamera8. The new version offers a lot of flexibility with focus and exposure and the interface layout and handling just suits me fine. I will then either import the image into Oggl which allows me to play about the Hipstamatic film and lens combinations, my favourites being Jane or John S lens with either Blackeys Supergrain or DC11 for black and white or Sugar film for a colour look.
Alternatively I will edit using Snapseed which is an extremely versatile photo editing app.
Pass by Passageway
D: Do you have any incredible encounters or a story that really is part of your photographic journey that you would like to tell us?
A: Not so much encounters as I tend to prefer to observe subjects rather than interact with them. As I mentioned the 365 Project helped shape my photographic style and approach but I suppose the biggest stories or lessons I have learnt relate to missed photo opportunities. The couple in McDonalds holding hands across the table (missed because I didn’t have my phone to hand), the child running to her granddad at the train station with arms outstretched (missed due to a 5 second delay in the shutter going off) and the monk in full habit walking towards me in the high street (again, camera in my pocket and taking too long to get it out and fire it up).
The lessons learnt here are to always have your camera to hand as you never know when a photo opportunity will present itself.
I recently took a portrait of my son sat on a bench. At the time it seemed quite ordinary but it wasn’t until I had edited the image and was about to post it to Flickr under a different name that I noticed the plaque on the seat. It said in loving memory of someone dearly departed. It was then I noticed Luke was looking down to a spot next to him and it struck me that to a stranger this raised the question, is the child looking at the place where a loved one once sat or does the ‘loving memory’ subject line relate to the child. When you look at the photo with these questions in mind it takes on a whole new meaning.
I think it’s this ability to capture a snapshot of time and tell a powerful story with it that is the crux point of photography. To be able to tell a story in a single moment is something very special but also a difficult thing to do.
In Loving Memory
D: Have you ever gone into an artistic slump? This is something that I am interested in for I keep fighting the downs, sometimes it’s really hard for me and I have to force myself to come out from it…
A: Hell yes. For a good portion of this year in fact. It has been very tiring to try and juggle work, family, the website, my digital magazine and my photography. I think everyone will go through a slump sooner or later. It’s only natural.
My advice would be when one hits is step back and take a break. Go somewhere new or try different things, use different apps and explore different environments from those which you’re used to. If you shoot street go for a walk in the country, if you are a landscape photographer go urban. Set yourself a series of projects based on different themes such as public transport or urban decay. I find having a focus is essential as it gives you a sense of purpose and direction to what you do.
Abandoned Rollercoaster
D: I read, I think, one of your tweets on this, I was really interested reading maybe more about it… Have you thought about writing an article and discussing the whys behind inspirational slumps and how to get out from them? I think a lot of people; I firstly would be really interested to find out more!
A: Yes, it was a reply to a tweet from @wearejuxt asking about people’s thoughts on getting out of a slump. I think an article on the subject would be an interesting idea and it’s something I have been discussing recently with a friend.
I can only speak from my own experience and I guess there are many others out there far more experienced than me but I think the key really lies in pushing yourself, getting out of your comfort zone, exploring the world around you and above all enjoying what you do.
The Twitcher
D: How has social media helped you to connect and meet new people or to develop new ideas?
A: Social media is a core part of my daily routine. It is a fantastic tool that enables me to keep track of what is going on in the world of mobile photography, share things that I find and above all it has enabled me to make friends with others around the world who share a common interest.
It’s such a major part of everyone’s lives these days its truly amazing how fast it has developed, how it is shaping the way we live our lives, and how we consume information. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Eyeem, Flickr, Google+ the list goes on.
It’s also something that has enabled me to build a following to the website, www.mobiography.net. It’s been a key ingredient in it’s rising popularity.
“Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky”
D: As well as your website, you have just launched a digital magazine about mobile photography. Tell us about it, what made you decide to publish on the ipad?
A: The magazine is available on the iPad, iPhone and on android and is a bi-monthly publication.
In 2012 a friend told me about the idea of producing a magazine app for the Apple Newsstand. I was impressed by the interactive nature and tactile feel that the platform offered. Also when I saw the high definition quality of images on the platform, especially with retina display, I immediately realised the potential for using this medium to showcase mobile photography.
These days’ people are consuming content in so many ways and it struck me that both mobile photography and the tablet/smartphone market were two areas that gelled together beautiully. The iPad has revolutionised the way I work and it just seemed like a logical progression that could help raise the profile of the subject and the work of other mobile photographers and artists.
Mobiography Cover
D: I have to say your Mobiography magazine is absolutely wonderful, well designed and such a great resource for mobile photographers. What is the magazine about and what would you like to achieve from it?
A: Thanks I’m glad you like it. It was an honour to have you agree to do an interview for the debut issue.
With the magazine I’d like to use it as a medium to connect with and showcase the work of other iPhone photographers and artists out there and tell their story. I also look to feature interesting insights, tips, tutorials, photo essays as well as accessory and app reviews. Basically, too build a good resource of inspiration and information.
It’s the human aspect of mobile photography that interests me. I’m in awe of the quality of work being pushed out on sites like Flickr and Instagram. Its sites like these that are giving photographers a world stage to showcase their work which is fantastic.
But the one thing that really fascinates me is the fact that by day these talented people live ordinary lives. They work in the local bank; they are housewives, college lecturers or IT professionals. Ordinary people doing ordinary jobs but thanks to mobile photography and social media are producing extra ordinary work. I think events such as the Mobile Photo Awards is testament to that.
D: If someone would like to be featured in future magazine issues, what do they have to do?
A: First thing I would say is the magazine is open to everyone. I would encourage people to join in on the Flickr Group; I do a weekly roundup of the best submissions to the group so I’m always looking for new people and interesting work to showcase. From here I’ll also be featuring a selection of photos in the magazine and inviting people to be interviewed for it.
I don’t care if you’re a veteran or a newbie. I’m looking for interesting work, people who have a story to tell, something that’s maybe a bit different. If someone has an interesting idea for an article, a project they want to talk about or review which they’d like to contribute then get in touch via the website or email I would love to hear people’s ideas.
App home screen
D: What are your plans for the future of the magazine?
A: I still think it’s early days for the magazine, my hope is that it will build up into a community of like-minded mobile photographers to help showcase and promote their talents, to get people to share their experiences and knowledge. God knows where this will go; I mean just look at what ‘We Are Juxt/Grryo’ has achieved, exhibitions, worldwide 24 hour photo projects, a network of mobile photographers and bloggers. The sky is the limit if you have the ideas, time and a community behind you.
D: How can someone get a copy of the magazine?
A: The magazine is available in the Apple Newsstand and on Google Play. Download and install the app then for those who hit ‘Subscribe’ they also get access to special subscriber only issues.
D: Lastly, how can people connect with you?
A: I hang out in a variety of places but mainly:
Website // Twitter // Flickr // Facebook // Instagram // Oggl
People can also join in on the Flickr Group.
Apple policy breaks all share sheet uploads in Panic's Transmit
The latest version of Transmit for iOS has lost all share sheet-based uploads because of an Apple policy regarding iCloud Drive, says developer Panic. Until now the FTP app has exploited iOS 8′s Extensibility functions to let people upload files to several storage services, such as iCloud Drive or Dropbox. Panic explains that it was informed that an app can’t upload content to iCloud Drive unless a file was created within the app itself; the developer insists that there is nothing about iCloud Drive in Apple’s iOS Data Storage Guidelines.
Amazon To Experiment With 1-Hour Bike Messenger Delivery: WSJ
Dec 8 (Reuters) – E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc plans to experiment with bike messengers to offer deliveries in New York City within an hour, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The company was not immediately available for comment.
The superfast service, dubbed “Amazon Prime Now,” attempts to replicate shopping in a physical store by delivering some items in an hour or two, the WSJ report said. (http://on.wsj.com/1qmehHu)
Amazon has been experimenting with three different courier services to pick the fastest and the most careful for its deliveries, the report cited the source as saying.
The bike messengers are paid around $15 an hour and work in eight hour shifts, the Journal reported.
Amazon will use its West 34th Street location as a base for the bike messengers. The company has built a lounge there with facilities including foosball, pool and airhockey tables, for messengers waiting between deliveries, the Journal added. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
Cincom's Pricing Suite for Microsoft Manufacturing Users
During this year’s Microsoft Summit, I had fun with Cincom’s manufacturing demo; what’s not fun about outfitting your own 18-wheeler with custom tires and lights? As always, it was great to see Brad Fleming, Cincom’s Director of Sales for NA for CPQ and ERP, and he was kind enough to sit down with me for this Q&A, where I learned that Cincom’s relationship with Microsoft Dynamics is unprecedented in size and scope.
SDM: How did Cincom come to focus on manufacturing?
BF: The primary reason is that we are headquartered in Cincinnati, the heart of the industrial Midwest. There is a lot of manufacturing in this region. Our vertical direction has been driven by manufacturing customers who need help achieving their business goals. Our clients went from wanting database solutions to other business solutions such as the ERP and CPQ solutions that we offer today. Over time, we’ve also extended out industry expertise beyond manufacturing. Now we also have product lines that service the insurance and healthcare industries.
SDM: What is end-to-end ERP/CRM/CPQ?
BF: You can walk all the way through the selling pieces, put quotes together, and do project management. We built-in different modules — the sell module contains full CPQ for configurable products — and push those functions and data into the ERP system. We can create the routings, multi-organization, and project-based planning and controls, with regulatory compliance, and, after shipping, can get into some really core high-level project management and data management functions. We have a module for services, assets, engineering and service operations. When you get into highly complex project work, you need a powerful estimating module. With these types of complex projects, you’re really starting with a blank piece of paper — working with contract manufacturing — and going through revisions through every quotation. Really, what end-to-end means is that our ERP product can take your original sales quotes and configurations from your CRM and CPQ and push them to your ERP, where revisions can be made, and then move that project through the entire supply chain and manufacturing process with all of the project information intact. The product also contains a module for aftermarket support. We’re really closing the loop from the initiation of a project through the sales process, project revisions, manufacturing process, and aftermarket services.
SDM: Who are your competitors?
BF: In the CPQ space, Experlogix and others in the space like Axinom and Calitus Cloud. In the ERP space, Oracle, SAP, and Infor. In the government space our competitors are IFS, Columbus and Deltek.
SDM: Do you have a case study you can share?
BF: One that comes to mind is Harris Corporation in the government sector. They replaced an old legacy MRP and, once we were finished, they had a 20% improvement in productivity three months after implementation. Harris is a $5.4M aerospace company. We’ve simplified things like multi-organization project-based revision controls.
SDM: With that much of a global footprint you must see manufacturing trends.
BF: We are watching a lot of global consolidation eating away at some of the smaller niche players who have good IP and we’re seeing a lot of acquisitions of those smaller entities. We see a lot of disparate systems in need of good integration. How, for example, do you take your seven different ERP systems, rip everything out and put in one good platform, able to handle complex configurations, in the discreet manufacturing industry? Manufacturing is dealing with globalization. Globalization is causing an increase in the number of people, governments, and customers that a manufacturer has to deal on a daily basis. Having scalable technology will be beneficial to that manufacturer and the growth of the market.
SDM: And you’re seeing a lot of manufacturing come back to the US?
BF: Yes, it’s re-shoring but as I said, it’s also due to the fact that businesses are recognizing that they need to be closer to the customer. I think that’s the main reason that some manufacturers are choosing to move their operations back to the US, which is a big market. I know that it has been a topic of conversation in the manufacturing community for some time. At Cincom, we really are focusing our efforts not just on our customers in the US, but also trying to keep a global mindset.
SDM: What do you see looking out to the future?
BF: The future of manufacturing is really cloud, mobility, and IoT (Internet of Things). There has been some discussion of whether cloud is really where manufacturing is going to be moving, but I think it’s already shifting that way. A manufacturer is still going to need to see its operations, information, and analytics on the go; that’s where cloud and mobility are really going to make sense. Our products are capable of supplying both the ability to use the cloud and mobility options to our customers. We’re able to host on Microsoft Azure, and all of our products are responsive to any device that you’re using. This includes Cincom’s ERP solution.
Sam Tsui And Kurt Schneider Mash Up '1989' Songs Into 3 Glorious Minutes
Kurt Hugo Schneider and Sam Tsui, the YouTubers who have brought you gorgeous medleys of hit songs, have outdone themselves yet again. This time, the friends have taken all the songs from Taylor Swift’s “1989″ and squeezed them into one incredible medley mashup — in just over three minutes.
From the radio hit “Blank Space” to T-Swift’s Lana Del Rey-esque “Wildest Dreams,” Kurt and Sam’s acoustic version flows just like a daydream (#seewhatwedidthere).
Nicely done, boys.
h/t BuzzFeed
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Everyone Who Uses Yik Yak Needs To Update Immediately
Controversial bulletin-board app Yik Yak has reportedly fixed a bug that could have let hackers take control of users’ accounts and wreck their anonymity.
The app, popular with college and high-school students, lets users post anonymous messages. The flaw, which was discovered by SilverSky Labs, an organization that specializes in cloud security, makes it possible for hackers to find user IDs, which is all they need to take control of an account.
There’s an easy way to avoid being hacked, though: Just update the Yik Yak app on your phone. SilverSky says it told Yik Yak about the problem on December 2, prompting an update the next day that closed the loophole.
The exploit was discovered by Sanford Moskowitz, a security research intern at SilverSky. Moskowitz wrote that the hack requires an attacker and a target to be on a shared WiFi network — something that happens a lot on college and high-school campuses.
Yik Yak did not respond to a request for comment.
The app has come under fire in the past for letting young people post anonymous, negative messages about their peers. In a November blog post for The Huffington Post, student writer Fernando Hurtado wrote that the app’s format — “anonymous” messages posted publicly according to location — has often served as a conduit for racism, insensitivity and violent threats.
Federal Judges Hear Arguments Over NSA Surveillance
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal appeals court heard arguments Monday in an Idaho woman’s challenge to the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone records — the third time in recent months that appeals courts around the country have considered the controversial counterterrorism program.
Calling herself an ordinary American upset about the program, nurse Anna J. Smith sued the government last year, arguing the agency’s collection of call records violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. In June, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Winmill in Boise, Idaho, disagreed — but nevertheless noted that the case raised privacy questions that could wind up before the Supreme Court.
“We’re dealing with a dragnet of call records,” Smith’s attorney and husband, Peter Smith, told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. “Anna’s not a criminal defendant. She’s not a suspect in any crime. And yet her records are being swept up.”
The government has acknowledged that under a USA Patriot Act provision, and with authorization from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, it collects data from telecommunications companies showing the time and length of calls, along with numbers dialed. With a further showing to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, investigators can then run queries of that data in an effort to uncover links involving suspected terrorists.
The Justice Department called it an “important government anti-terrorism program” in its briefing to the 9th Circuit.
“It is true that, under the program, the government acquires a large volume of business records containing telephony metadata,” department lawyers wrote. “But consistent with the governing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders authorizing the program, that information is used and analyzed only under highly restricted circumstances.”
The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard arguments in an appeal of a judge’s opinion that upheld the program’s legality, while the D.C. appeals court heard arguments last month after a judge there found the program probably is unconstitutional.
The flurry of cases followed revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden about once-secret intelligence collection programs.
President Barack Obama has called for an end to the bulk collection of phone records of millions of Americans not suspected of crimes. Earlier this year, he suggested instead that Congress make changes that would have telecommunications companies — not the government — maintain the records, which could then be queried by investigators with appropriate court orders.
The arguments in Smith’s case Monday focused on how to interpret the Supreme Court’s 1979 ruling in Smith v. Maryland.
In that case, the justices upheld a decision by Baltimore police to collect, without a warrant, phone numbers a criminal suspect dialed over three days. The court held that people have no expectation of privacy in phone records because information about who they call is provided to a third party — the phone company.
Peter Smith told the judges that the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records concerning millions of Americans bears little resemblance to the 1979 case. The scope of data collected here could allow the government to piece together an intimate picture of someone’s life: whether a person has a medical problem or has been calling a suicide hotline or getting counseling for alcoholism, he said.
Judge Richard C. Tallman questioned whether Anna Smith had standing to challenge the program.
While the government has acknowledged that records of Verizon business clients are among those collected, it has not confirmed that Verizon’s personal phone customers, including Smith, are among them.
However, Smith also is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The ACLU is a Verizon business client, and her communications with the organization could be swept up, Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU’s deputy legal director, noted after the hearing.
Appeals judges M. Margaret McKeown and Richard C. Tallman questioned Justice Department lawyer H. Thomas Byron III about whether people would have constitutional privacy rights in other records turned over to a third party, such as medical records. Byron said it would depend on the context.
“I agree it’s a very difficult inquiry,” he said.
But as for the bulk collection of telephone records, Byron said, the steps the government takes to minimize any privacy violations should ease concerns. He noted that Congress, the administration and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court have all authorized the program.
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Follow Johnson at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle
The Funniest Someecards Of The Week
Congrats, y’all! You made it through the first week of December!
You conquered the first week of holiday parties, 24/7 Christmas music, and a non-stop loop of “Love Actually” on your TV screen. If you haven’t started to go insane just yet, don’t worry. We’ve still got THREE MORE WEEKS of all-Christmas-all-the-time.
As your reward for valiantly surviving week one, we rounded up the funniest Someecards we could find. Check them out below!
Twitter Under Fire As Users Spread Information About Alleged Rape Victim
Twitter is under fire for failing to quickly stop the spread of personal information allegedly belonging to “Jackie,” the woman who described being brutally gang raped in a November Rolling Stone article, despite recent efforts to beef up anti-harassment measures.
Last week, Rolling Stone reported that it had doubts about the accuracy of Jackie’s description of being raped at a University of Virginia fraternity party in 2012. On Sunday, a conservative blogger posted what he claimed was the woman’s full name, and wrote, “I’m giving Jackie until later tonight to tell the truth and then I’m going to start revealing everything about her past.”
Other Twitter users spread photos allegedly showing Jackie, along with what they claimed were her phone number and address. Some also shared a link to an online report detailing what it said was Jackie’s profile on another social network.
Twitter’s policies say it’s against the rules to “engage in targeted abuse or harassment,” which includes “if the reported behavior is one-sided or includes threats.”
The company also recently rolled out improvements to how users can flag harassment, including allowing users to report abusive Tweets on behalf of another person. In November, Twitter entered into a partnership with Women, Action and the Media so that the nonprofit could help track what Twitter does with complaints of gender-based harassment.
At that time, WAM Executive Director Jaclyn Friedman told The Atlantic, “The major systematic issue is Twitter — and they’re not alone in this, other social media companies do it too — doesn’t put nearly enough resources into moderation.” She called it a “scandal” that the Silicon Valley company needed the volunteer services from a tiny nonprofit to help monitor abuse.
On Sunday, journalists took to the social network to complain that it wasn’t doing enough to stop the tweets targeting Jackie:
Mat Honan, a senior staff writer at Wired, wrote, “Hard to take Twitter’s new anti-harassment commitment very seriously when this kind of stuff is still allowed.”
Clara Jeffery, the co-editor-in-chief of Mother Jones, tweeted, “Dear @twitter @safety: you will be measured against your failure today. Which is so far epic.”
Jill Filipovic, a senior political writer at Cosmopolitan, wrote, “When tweets with an alleged rape victim’s name, address, phone number & email are still up, @twitter is doing something wrong.”
A Twitter spokesperson would not comment on whether the company was taking any action related to the alleged harassment or the process by which Twitter determines whether accounts are breaking the rules.
“We do not comment on individual accounts, for privacy and security reasons,” the spokesperson said.
After receiving questions from The Huffington Post about releasing Jackie’s personal information, the conservative blogger, who has thousands of followers and has been actively sharing information related to Jackie, tweeted, “It’s funny that I have to explain to journalists what the first amendment is.”
As of Monday, a tweet from a separate account that had shared Jackie’s supposed contact information had been removed. The tweet had been retweeted dozens of times. The account that originally posted the information was still active.
Twitter has run into other issues around women’s safety before. This summer, late comedian Robin Williams’ daughter quit Twitter after being harassed on the social network. And last year, several prominent women received bomb threats on Twitter.
“This is just another example of online harassment not being taken seriously,” said Elizabeth Plank, a senior editor at Mic who covers feminist issues. “I find it disgusting, yet unsurprising. Social media platforms, though entirely dependent on women because they make up most social media users, are largely unsafe for women, and very little is being done about it.”
Friedman told The Huffington Post that Twitter’s “inaction on this seems to be a clear statement that it’s okay to out someone’s real name that they have taken great pains to keep private.”
“We are both alarmed and heartbroken and wish Twitter was taking more action in this case,” she said.
Typo returns with redesigned Typo2 keyboard for iPhone 6, iPhone 5s
The creators of the Typo keyboard case have returned with a new model, the Typo2. The accessory has been redesigned not only to accommodate the iPhone 6, but to avoid the legal troubles the company has encountered with BlackBerry. Although a lawsuit is still pending, BlackBerry won a sales injunction against the first-generation case.
Building the Next Silicon Valley: Your Regulations Are My Opportunity
By Dimitri Dadiomov
Jeff Bezos famously said, “Your margin is my opportunity,” and built a colossus of American business to take advantage of that. Amazon has become a dominant engine powering Seattle’s economy, reshaping downtown Seattle, creating jobs, and helping Seattle beat Austin for the title of America’s fastest growing city. Every city around the world envies the tech-powered economic growth Amazon brings to Seattle.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, China’s economic growth is slowing down, Europe is a sinking museum, the BRIC countries are under sanction, recession, or both, and the Middle East is on fire. Anywhere you look, you see signs of stagnation and pessimism, except for the one bright shining light of Silicon Valley and the broader world of technology. How can other cities follow Seattle’s example in recreating more Silicon Valley-esque technology clusters?
To be sure, there’s no shortage of governments attempting to copy Silicon Valley. To name just a few of the clones, New York touts its Silicon Alley, Israel its Silicon Wadi, Los Angeles its Silicon Beach, Nigeria its Silicon Lagoon, Kenya its Silicon Savannah, Bangalore its Silicon Plateau, Santiago its Chilecon Valley. All these governments are aiming to recreate a local cluster of technology innovation that can drive economic development, build an export industry, and create well-paying jobs. These governments dream of someday housing the next Amazon.
Tax breaks and subsidies are expensive and often ineffective, and governments are better off pursuing cost-free changes in regulation to attract tomorrow’s pioneers. The cutting edge of technology today is grinding up against many local and federal regulatory barriers in the US. One only has to check the latest technology news to read about Uber and Lyft’s highly publicized fights against local taxi commissions, the restrictive regulation of drones by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Food and Drug Administration’s clampdown on the 23andMe DNA testing service, or financial regulations imposed on lending, payments and crypto-currency startups. A myriad of regulatory issues faces companies that are pursuing the next world-changing innovations, be it stem cell research, self-driving cars, online education, or other barely-yet-imagined products and services.
If we have learned anything about innovation, it is that fast iteration matters. Trial-and-error matters. Learning-by-doing matters. The path innovations take matters. And therefore each regulatory hurdle that exists in San Francisco is an opportunity for a new, up-and-coming innovation cluster to create the market conditions for building tomorrow’s world-changing companies.
Many countries around the world do not share the peculiar American discomfort with centralized industrial policy, and can align regulations around rapid adoption of specific new technologies. These countries can turn industrial policy into a competitive advantage that drives clusters around the next “Big Thing.”
Need to legalize drone deliveries? Done.
Licensing self-driving cars? Let’s do it!
Electric skateboards restrictions? Those were designed for wheelchairs, sorry. Fixed.
Standardized tests restricting MOOC use? We waived it for the schools of the future. Come spend your precious resources educating our youth.
You’d like to offer DNA testing to patients in our country? Love it! Not only allowed but embraced by our healthcare system!
These are the conversations that the government of the next Silicon Valley should be having with both budding and established technology companies–today.
Combined with sufficient talent and capital, the cities that host these pioneering new businesses in their first deployments have every advantage in the world to become home to the Amazon of tomorrow.
This article first appeared on www.opedspace.com
'Tis the Season to Pass on Our Geek Addictions
‘Tis the season for all of us technogeeks to raise our children (and grandchildren) in our image. This means, of course, our Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Christmas gift list needs to be dominated by a few items geared toward geek development.
Here are a few suggestions:
Disney and Activision have probably developed the ultimate geek-inspired gaming packages with Infinity and Skylanders – - – the game that reportedly started this trend. We’ve had a chance to play with both on an Xbox One gaming console and the result was not only a lack of sleep after hours of play, but an addiction to two constantly expanding gaming universes.
This is the second incarnation of Disney’s Infinity package (suitibly dubbed version 2.0). You can pay as much as $179.99 for a collector’s edition, but we recommend the basic “starter pack” ($74.99), which includes three plastic toy figures (ours were Marvel super heroes), two Toy Box game disks, a Disney Infinity base, one play set piece, software for the game console, a poster and a Web Code Card.
Game play is fairly simple: you install the software, place a game disk on the Infinity base and put one of the toy figures on the game disk. Almost by magic, your character shows up on your TV screen and you begin your adventure. In our case we smashed through the various levels of the game as The Hulk
There’s an endless line of toy figures you can purchase separately, ranging from Disney Princesses to wicked witches, for $13.99, plus you can use any of the figures (but not play set pieces) from the original version of the game.
The game is available for any console in including the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and the Wii U. There’s also a “tablet” edition.
Activision’s Skylanders Trap Team Starter Pack ($74.99) has basically the same features as the Disney package, except gameplay is a bit more elaborate as you battle Kaos and try to stop him from dominating the world as we know it.
As with Infinity, you can purchase additional characters and other accessories at a wide range of prices, ranging from $4.99 to $99.99.
The game, which is also in its second year, is available for any console including the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and the Wii U plus there are editions for most tablets.
The starter pack includes one Skylanders Trap Team game, a Traptanium Portal (ie: game disk), two Skylanders figures, two Traps, a poster, two sticker sheets with secret codes and two trading cards.
Set up for the game is identical to Infinity, but that’s where the similarity ends. Instead of smashing your way through the game (as we did as the Hulk), you need to capture the villains using Traptanium and get them to fight for you.
The last item on our list is a bit different.
Enter, stage left, Ozobot ($49.95), the world’s smallest intelligent robot from Evollve Inc.
Basically this is a robot that can follow basic intructions given to it using combinations of colors, which it recognizes as code. But the fun doesn’t stop there. The robot can react to more than 1,000 digital codes disguised as strategy games, but actually “teaching” children the basics of code language.
A few of the basic games available for the robot include:
OzoLuck, where Ozobot travels a maze and randomly chooses the outcome
OzoPath, in which the robot tries to maneuver opponents (other Ozobots) to get to “home base”
And OzoDraw, which is a drawing and exploration app designed to test the robot’s intelligence
All of the games are free and can be downloaded to any Apple or Android device.
Attention Facebook users: Check out Michael Berman’s Jocgeek fan page at www.facebook.com/jocgeek, or follow him on Twitter @jocgeek. You can also contact him via email at jocgeek@earthlink.net or through his website at www.jocgeek.com.
When China's Censors Give Lessons in Liberty
Have human rights principles been consigned to a museum because they prevented the combined forces of China’s dictatorship and business community from asserting themselves? That at least is the impression you get from the moral lessons that the Communist Party’s censorship apparatus increasingly deliver in no uncertain terms to Internet freedom advocates.
And yet, by a strange inversion, Internet control zealots have the nerve to invoke laudable ideals in an attempt to silence those who defend freedom of expression and information, as enshrined in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
During the World Internet Conference that was held in the small city of Wuzhen in eastern China last month, the political leaders of the Chinese censorship apparatus and their accomplices continually used fine-sounding words to impose their sinister vision of the world.
The conference slogan — “an interconnected world shared and governed by all” — had all the appearance of a moving lesson in democracy and was echoed in the message from President Xi Jinping that a spokesman read at the opening, referring to the “principle of mutual respect and mutual trust” and China’s readiness “to deepen international cooperation, respect sovereignty on the Internet [and] uphold cyber security.”
Is a reality check needed here? These words are nothing more than a hollow propaganda exercise by a country that is classified as an “Enemy of the Internet” by Reporters Without Borders and is ranked 175th out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index.
The owners of China’s big (but not very independent) Internet companies use Newspeak as if it were their mother tongue. Active contributors to Chinese Internet censorship, Li Yanhong of Baidu, Ma Huateng of Tencent (China’s leading social network) and Cao Guowei of Sina thought out loud about the best way of exporting China’s information control “model.”
About a thousand businessmen from a hundred or so countries, including world leaders in the ICT sector, attended the three-day conference, during which the comments by the representatives of the Communist Party (and Internet gian