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.
Conquering the Skills Gap: The Industry Talent Consortium
Not so long ago, people, processes, data and things functioned independently. Today, the Internet of Everything (IoE) brings them all together by combining human and machine interactions in ways that only science fiction writers could have dreamed of. Information derived from these networked connections creates new capabilities, richer experiences and incredible economic opportunity. Cisco predicts that between now and 2022, $19 trillion in value is at stake for organizations willing to take advantage of the immense IoE opportunity.
Every industry and company will have new opportunities to create smarter products and services, create more convenience for consumers and begin to bring work-life integration to a whole new level. Finance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, oil and gas and every industry you can think of will rise to new standards to be globally relevant and competitive as well as provide safer and more interesting environments to work within.
These are all great opportunities to improve our lives, our health and our cost of living but these opportunities come with an ironic twist. Even with a pool of over 11 million
unemployed people in the US to choose from, 45 percent of employers cannot find qualified candidates for their open jobs. Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum, encapsulates our current dilemma: “We have entered a global economy where talent and skills shortages challenge economic and business growth around the world.”
The skills gap has had its skeptics, but the time for skepticism is over. The gap is real,
and it is serious. In the new war for talent, Employers are facing particular challenges finding people with the necessary skills for new industry jobs such as data scientists, cyber-security specialists, industrial network engineers, mobile app developers and network programmers.
A skilled and competent workforce will be required to realize the business outcomes, productivity gains and organizational efficiencies that are attainable through IoT. There is a need for re-skilling the existing talent pool and bringing new employees into the workforce to align with the skills needed for the future.
This task has proven easier conceptualized than done, yet it must be done well and as quickly as possible. It’s too big for any one entity to tackle; it requires a group of dedicated stakeholders. Toward that end, partners from all spheres of influence have created the Industry Talent Consortium. It’s a gathering of employers, academia, industry change agents and human capital solution providers to connect talent who have the pre-requisite skills to employers — after necessary training and certifications.
Subject matter experts from these key areas are assembling now:
Academia (The New York Academy of Sciences, MIT, Stanford) will help prepare students through degree programs, professional development and in partnering with companies to provide training for the jobs of the future.
Human Capital Solution Providers (Careerbuilder) will help identify top jobs, regions, supply/demand and skill gaps.
Employers (Rockwell Automation, Davra Networks, GE) are looking to hire individuals for the new job roles.
Change Agents (Cisco, Xerox, Rockwell Automation, Udacity, Pearson, Knod) will create education curriculum, training and certifications that will help train and validate the skills needed for the new jobs.
These Consortium members will work collaboratively to identify skills gaps and then address it on several fronts. They will identify individuals with the appropriate experience to re-skill or up-skill, create and deliver the necessary training and certification programs, and enlist identified talent to take part in degree or certificate programs. Consortium members will then hire those individuals for the jobs that will make the promises of IoE a reality. The Industry Talent Consortium is a line in the sand drawn for the sake of our collective future and will adapt and grow as needed to ensure a more connected world of greater possibility and prosperity for all.
Chase debuts new TV ad promoting Apple Pay partnership
Megabank Chase has aired a new TV commercial featuring the band Bleachers using a Chase Freedom credit account to purchase a variety of items and services ahead of a rooftop gig in Los Angeles — with the difference being that the band members used their iPhones and Apple Pay instead of their credit cards. A representative from Chase told AdAge that representatives from Apple were involved in the creation of the ad, but asked mainly that the Apple Pay be shown in realistic situations.
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'Ass Hunter,' Game Where Users Kill Gays, Removed By Google App Store
Google has removed a game from Google Play that involved the killing of gay people for sport and survival.
Called “Ass Hunter,” users reportedly downloaded the game over 10,000 times and gave it over 200 five-star ratings prior to its removal. According to The Independent:
In the game, players control a hunter with a shotgun who must kill naked men before they approach him. If they are able to reach him then the game shows a cartoon depiction of the men having sex with the hunter… That description remains cached on Google, though the page has now been taken down. Cached versions of the original site continue to be held by Google.
The description of the game listed by its makers is even worse. According to Towleroad it read:
Play and do not be gay! Legendary game where you are hunter and your mission is to kill gays as much as you can or escape between them to the next level. Gays may be hidden in bushes and unexpectedly catch you. Remember when they catch you they will do with you whatever they want.
The game is reportedly several years old but was downloaded at an exponential rate after recently being made available in the Google app store.
A petition for to see the game removed from the app store was launched at the end of last week.
A spokesperson for Google confirmed to The Huffington Post that the app is no longer available on Google Play. He did not comment on how the app ended up on the site in the first place but noted, “we remove apps from Google Play that violate our policies.”
(h/t Towleroad)
Expensive Baby Monitors Give False Reassurance, Researcher Says
By: Stephanie Pappas
Published: 11/21/2014 10:29 AM EST on LiveScience
Monitors meant to reassure parents that their sleeping babies are still breathing are “smarter” than ever — but the devices are still not proven to keep little ones safe.
Thus, any peace of mind brought by these monitors, which can cost several hundred dollars, is false reassurance, according to a new article in the journal BMJ.
New monitors, marketed by startups such as Owlet and Sproutling, are sold as consumer devices and not medical devices. This distinction means they don’t have to go through testing to prove that they really keep babies safe. And studies of at-home monitoring in the 1980s and 1990s found no evidence that tracking a baby’s pulse or breathing could prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant, usually during sleep.
“They just don’t work,” said David King, a lecturer in pediatrics at the University of Sheffield in England who authored the new article. [7 Baby Myths Debunked]
SIDS fear
For parents, SIDS is a terrifying prospect, particularly because there are no clear answers as to what causes it. The diagnosis is made when an autopsy, review of the death scene and medical investigation provide no answers as to why a baby younger than age 1 died. The vast majority of SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age. The current best understanding of SIDS suggests that abnormalities in the regions of the brain that control breathing may put babies at risk of not waking up or shifting positions if their oxygen intake is insufficient.
About 2,000 infants in the United States die of SIDS yearly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That makes SIDS the leading cause of death among infants between 1 month and 1 year old. Nevertheless, SIDS is very rare: Data show that 53.9 babies per every 100,000 live births die of SIDS, according to CDC data. This translates to 0.054 percent of infants.
Monitoring baby
Devices that monitor babies’ vital signs while they sleep have been around for decades, but the newest generation of these devices promises more ease and convenience. Owlet, for example, is developing a socklike pulse monitor that syncs to parents’ smartphones. (The monitor is not yet on the market but can be preordered for $250.) Sproutling uses an ankle monitor to sense a baby’s heart rate, skin temperature and motion, and promises to let you know “if your baby is sleeping soundly or if something is wrong,” according to the product’s website. Sproutling’s monitor is likewise available for preorder for $259.
The marketing for these products does not refer to SIDS, but rather states that the devices watch for changes in heart rate or temperature.
“They have to tread quite a fine line,” King said. As nonmedical devices, the monitors can’t be marketed as preventing a medical condition, including SIDS. However, the language used to market the monitors plays on SIDS fears, King said. Even medical-grade monitoring does not appear to protect against SIDS. A major study of more than 1,000 infants, published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1988, found that instances of slowed heart rate and interrupted breathing during sleep are common in even healthy infants, and that most of these abnormalities vanish before the babies reach the ages during which SIDS peaks — between about 2 months and 4 months old. Thus, events that may cause at-home monitors to alert parents to potential danger are not linked with SIDS.
As a result of this and other similar research, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against at-home SIDS monitoring.
However, the makers of the next-generation monitors defend their products.
“I have hundreds of comments from Owlet testers, and none of them focus on SIDS,” Kurt Workman, founder and CEO of Owlet, wrote in a statement to Live Science. “They just want to know if something is wrong.”
The current product is not a medical device, Workman said, but the company is working on another monitor, for which it will seek Food and Drug Administration approval, Workman said. Monitors tested in the 1980s and 1990s required multiple sensors and wires, and parents often gave up on using them out of frustration, he said.
“We are in a new era with new possibilities, and shouldn’t hold ourselves back because of the constraints we had 30 years ago,” Workman said.
Sproutling, which makes a fitness-tracker-type monitor that can collect data on babies while they’re asleep and awake, did not respond to Live Science’s requests for comment.
The recommendation against using these types of monitoring devices to keep babies safe from SIDS may be discouraging to parents who hear constant warnings about SIDS danger. First, King said, parents should remember that the “vast majority of babies are healthy and fine,” and speak to their doctors about any concerns.
Second, parents and caregivers should follow the recommendations proven to reduce the risk of SIDS, King said: Place babies on their backs to sleep, avoid bed-sharing, keep soft bedding out of cribs and don’t smoke.
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
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'If Toddlers Texted' Tumblr Shows What Little Kids Would Share On iMessage
Have you ever wondered what toddlers would say if they could text? A new Tumblr tackles that question head-on, and the results are highly entertaining.
“If Toddlers Texted” presents imagined conversations between a tech-savvy, texting toddler and some of the key players in his/her life — mommy, daddy, grandma, Caillou, Elsa and more. From messes to potty training to birthday parties, the text conversations encapsulate all the unpredictable chaos of toddlerhood.
The genius behind If Toddlers Texted, a mom who asked to remain anonymous, told The Huffington Post in an email she drew the idea for the Tumblr from her real life. “The inspiration came from watching my own kids play with my iPhone and imagining what they would text if they could,” she said, adding, “I’m sure toddlers would tattle on parents to grandma, learn annoying habits from their BFF Caillou and send texts to mom asking for milk or fresh socks.”
Below is a small sample of the comically accurate fake convos. Really only a toddler would be sneaky enough to offer Santa a bribe via text…
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Harman/Kardon Esquire Mini Review
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Exuberant but not refined, most portable Bluetooth speakers look like they’re designed for jocks, juveniles or jokers, with gentlemen left in the lurch. However, the aptly named Esquire Mini by Harman/Kardon fills that gap. If you ride polo ponies, look great in a tux, prepped at Andover and summer in Oyster Bay, then this is the speaker for you.
Of course, you don’t need to be quite as elite as all that: at $150 at the time of this writing, the unit is premium priced but not over the moon.
Part of what you’re paying for is design, materials and build quality. With a precision cut ceramic-coated metal front grille in black, brown, white or (coming soon) tan, a matching leather back and leather hand strap (sorry, vegans), plus accents in brushed aluminum and a bit of chrome, this slim, rectangular speaker drips with elegance. It’s so sophisticated, in fact, that it’s somewhat unisex: with its rounded corners and edges, the white one I tested looks just like a lady’s clutch, yet it’s still masculine enough for a gentleman.
I also tested a black unit; it reads as a tad more male but would still do well in distaff hands too. In any color, this is one of the classiest looking small speakers around. In matters of appearance, the attention to detail is exquisite: for instance, the chrome kickstand on the back of the unit has an almost imperceptible rubber foot to prevent the speaker from sliding around while in use. That foot is black on the black unit and white on the white. The slant of the kickstand echoes the angle of the openings on the front grille. And the handstrap is held together by a metal button that has a slash embossed in it, again echoing the grille’s diagonal openings.
The control buttons and indicators are likewise elegant, and are simple to use. There’s no NFC, but pairing was easy, and reconnecting was automatic.
Of course, in choosing a speaker, looks aren’t everything. Timbre matters too, obviously. When it comes to sound, the Esquire Mini is a bit more challenged. Indeed, the performance question is a complicated, because my review unit sounded good until it suddenly didn’t.
First, the good part. Throughout most of my testing, the Esquire Mini delivered crisp highs and mids, and even at maximum volume there was little or no distortion. Bass was fair, but with the low end of the frequency response at 180 HZ according to the specs, the Esquire Mini doesn’t even attempt to reproduce some of the lows that other speakers do and instead omits the lowest frequencies from musical instruments and even human voice (in contrast, slightly larger portables can go down to 60 HZ or so). That left some tracks feeling a bit thinner than on other speakers. The soundstage felt full so long as you were within about ten feet of the unit, while at fifteen feet or more it was apparent that the music was coming from a discrete place. So, the Esquire Mini would be good for personal listening and small groups, not loud, wild parties that demand room-filling sound.
So far, a reasonable speaker, albeit with significant bass compromises related to its svelte form factor. But one day my test unit suddenly and inexplicably developed a terrible distortion that made whatever I played sound like the speaker was wrapped in static-y, vibrating tissue paper. This was true with various songs and from both of my sources, a Galaxy S4 streaming Spotify via strong WiFi and an iPod Touch 5th Gen playing downloaded MP3s. It wasn’t a problem with bass response, since the problem was very apparent with, say “Motherboard” by Daft Punk, which is not especially bass heavy.
I tried backing off from full volume to around 50%, but got no relief. The battery was 3/5 full, so it wasn’t not a low battery issue, and the problem persisted even when I plugged the speaker into a USB power source. It wasn’t a Bluetooth problem either, since the distortion was the same using an aux audio cable. And it wasn’t a problem with my sources, because when I connected them to other speakers via BT or the aux cable, I got clean sound.
I tried the unit multiple times over several days, but the problem persisted. Finally, I set it aside. Soon afterwards, the company sent me a second unit to review – the black one mentioned above – and it showed no problems whatsoever. Indeed, to make matters even more confusing, when I returned to the white unit a week later, I found that it was now problem-free as well. Wtf?
The Esquire Mini also functions as a speakerphone. The sound was crisp on both ends and there was little or no problem with echo. Another plus is the USB power out, which lets you use the speaker to charge your cell phone.
A word about accessories: the Esquire Mini includes a tangle-resistant USB cable but no charger; you’ll have to supply your own (such as this one) or use a USB port on your computer. At a fairly average 8 hour battery rating (and less if you crank the volume), you’ll want to be sure to bring a charger or your laptop when on the go. Also, there’s no case included. To keep the attractive finish from getting scuffed or scratched, you’ll want to keep the unit protected when traveling with it. (This 4″ x 6″ velvet bag, not tested, should fit reasonably well.) For a product at this price point that is indeed marketed as a travel speaker – one publicity photo shows a businessman in a private jet (!) listening to the Esquire Mini – a case or a velvet carry bag plus a USB charger would be welcome additions.
So where does this leave us? Frankly, I’m a bit uncertain. Perhaps my experience represents a freak defect. For those who can afford $150 for a portable, personal speaker and can sacrifice a bit of bass in return for killer looks, I wish I could recommend the Esquire Mini wholeheartedly. But the distortion was real, so I’ll leave it to you to decide whether to purchase this great looking speaker or not.
——-
Compare and contrast: If you’re looking for an elegant, light-weight, very small speaker and decide that the Esquire Mini isn’t for you, the only other choice I know of with premium materials and build quality is the Soundmatters foxL DASH7. It’s got good bass for a small speaker and in months of use has never had a glitch. On the down side, it costs $50 more than the Esquire Mini, is a little less chic looking, and is slightly awkward to use (the buttons can be a little hard to press and the pairing process is a bit opaque).
Full disclosure: the manufacturers provided review product.
Check out “The New Zealand Hobbit Crisis,” available on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and audiobook. Visit my website (jhandel.com), follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook or LinkedIn. If you work in tech, take a look at my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.
Effort To Clone Woolly Mammoth Takes Big Step Forward
Scientists are one step closer to cloning a woolly mammoth, thanks to the results of a new autopsy conducted on a remarkably preserved specimen of the species discovered last year.
The 40,000-year-old mammoth, nicknamed “Buttercup,” was found in permafrost on the remote Siberian island of Maly Lyakhovsky. When scientists cut into the carcass, its fresh-looking flesh oozed dark blood, raising hopes that DNA could be extracted.
(Scroll down for gallery of images below.)
Scientists believe that the key to cloning the prehistoric beast is finding a complete copy of its DNA. That wasn’t found in this case, but the scientists did recover long fragments.
Plans call for researchers from South Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation to analyze tissue samples from the carcass over the next two years, with the hopes of finding an intact genome.
“There is the possibility of finding something that’s amazing,” Insung Hwang, a Sooam scientist who was involved in the autopsy, told NBC. “We are very hopeful that this mammoth can give us an accurate genomic map that we can use as a template in the future to possibly bring back the mammoth.”
Even if researchers turn up empty-handed, some say it may be possible to combine snippets of Buttercup’s DNA with elephant DNA to make a mammoth-elephant hybrid that could sport the mammoth’s big tusks and its woolly coat, Live Science reported.
No matter what, scientists are all but bonkers over Buttercup.
“As a paleontologist, you normally have to imagine the extinct animals you work on,” Dr. Tori Herridge, a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum in London, who was involved in the autopsy, said in a written statement. “So actually coming face-to-face with a mammoth in the flesh, and being up to my elbows in slippery, wet, and frankly rather smelly mammoth liver, counts as one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It’s up there with my wedding day.”
The autopsy revealed that Buttercup likely lived through eight calving seasons, and was around 50 years old when she died. The researchers determined that she was probably trapped in a peat bog and then killed by predators.
The full results of the autopsy will be revealed in the Smithsonian Channel’s “How to Clone a Woolly Mammoth,” which airs on Sunday Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. EST.
Why You Shouldn't Wait For Cyber Monday To Shop Online
Shoppers who don’t want to face the crowded stores on Thanksgiving or Black Friday but still want to get some good deals often shop online on Cyber Monday. But the Monday after Thanksgiving is no longer the best day for online shopping.
Every year, sales start earlier and earlier. Now, many start on Thanksgiving — both in brick-and-mortar stores and online — so you’re better off shopping earlier to catch the best deals. Here’s why:
Most of the good deals start way before Cyber Monday. Amazon started its Black Friday sales a full week before Black Friday (and 10 days before Cyber Monday). Other stores, such as Best Buy, will have special online-only deals on Thanksgiving.
You won’t be alone if you start shopping on your phone during Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is projected to be the biggest mobile shopping day of the year, according to Adobe.
The deals are not as good. Your best bet for online shopping is actually Thanksgiving, according to research by Adobe. Online prices are lowest on Thanksgiving, higher on Black Friday and even higher on Cyber Monday. Now you officially have an excuse to shop on your phone while your family argues.
What you want could be sold out. The things you want to buy are probably available in limited quantities, and a lot of things could be sold out by Monday. Adobe measured how often online shoppers were looking at out-of-stock items and found that Cyber Monday was the top day for people to land on out-of-stock items’ pages, suggesting that people were having a hard time buying what they were seeking.
Amazon is taking advantage of this by creating deals that exist only for a limited time or while supplies last.
You’re more likely to get your gifts in time for the holidays. As you may recall from last year, UPS had difficulty getting packages to their destinations by Christmas. Amazon ended up offering people $20 gift cards if their gifts were delayed. The earlier you shop, the better the chances are that your items will arrive in time for the holidays.
The Reason Normal Gloves Don't Work On Your Smartphone
Most of us have been there. It’s miserably cold outside and you need your phone or other touchscreen device, and you know how frustrating it is to remove your gloves to use your phone.
This is mere inconvenience in a city like San Francisco, where we need only wear gloves with fashion. But it’s brutal if you’re living in Buffalo, NY, this past week.
So why doesn’t your smartphone respond when you’re wearing gloves?
What’s happening at the physical level, is this. There are two main kinds of touchscreen technologies: capacitive and resistive. Resistive, the earlier of the two technologies, relies on the force of pushing down on the touchscreen of your device. Whereas a capacitive device screen requires actual touch.
Every touchscreen phone manufactured in the last few years uses the capacitive touchscreen. They are able to register movements by picking up on fluctuations on the screen’s electrical field.
When you apply pressure to the screen, it will only recognize the action if it has an electrical current. The naked hand delivers these electrical impulses directly to touchscreens. However, most fabrics don’t allow this current to pass through.
This is why the wool mittens your Aunt Vi made, won’t work on most touchscreen devices.
Not the Mittens Grandma Gave You
The “touchscreen glove” was developed to address this stifling condition. These touchscreen-capable gloves solve use conductive materials or the gloves’ fingertips to transmit electrical current from your body to the device. Conductive fibers consist of a non-conductive or less conductive substrate, then coated or embedded with electrically conductive elements like carbon or copper.
Touchscreen gloves cost anywhere from $20 to over $100 a pair. One online retailer even ranks them with this Top 5 Touchscreen Gloves list. Of course, you can make your own.
These gloves work, and you can bet they’re going to be a hot gift item this holiday season.
‘Tis the Season to Be Conductive
In 2013, the total U.S. market size for the glove and mitten manufacturing revenue was reported at $147.7 million. These statistics cover all companies, both public and private, of cut and sew gloves, those excluding those disposable rubber gloves you use in chem lab.
Now pair that with the estimated six percent of the U.S. smartphone population looking forward to upgrade their phones, and it’s potential for a lot of “smart glove” sales.
Let’s face it — people need these things in winter. Without them, we can’t communicate with one another. The point best illustrated in this made-for-YouTube video one reviewer described as “the best product jingle I have ever heard in my whole life.”
I can text. I can call. I can surf. I can do it all with my gloves on. With my gloves on.
Commerce Bank gains support for Apple Pay
Another financial institution, Commerce Bank, has added support for Apple Pay mobile payments. The bank operates chiefly in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Colorado. It hasn’t made an formal announcement, but is now listed in an official Apple Pay support document. Commerce customers who want to use Apple Pay are currently limited to personal MasterCards, even though the bank also offers Visa.
New Sony Ad Markets PlayStation With 'Sexy' Female Doctor
Women may represent nearly half of the gaming market, but video game companies are still catering first and foremost to heterosexual men.
A new ad reportedly published to Sony’s European YouTube channel on Friday has drawn criticism for its depiction of a “sexy” female doctor that equates gaming on the PlayStation Vita handheld device to masturbation.
The Verge called the ad “embarrassing for everyone,” pointing out that it’s obviously targeting teenage boys. Boing Boing called the marketing campaign “so dumb” that it “must be fake.”
Sony’s commercial was quickly set to private, meaning it can’t be viewed from the main account. However, it was hosted elsewhere by a third party on YouTube.
It’s unclear if the ad was pulled from the official YouTube page in response to criticism about its portrayal of women.
Representatives from Sony did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the agency that reportedly made the ad.
Despite marketing efforts like this, an increasing number of gamers are women. In fact, statistics published this year by the Entertainment Software Association say that 48 percent of game players today are female.
Still, women have struggled to gain recognition in the gaming sphere. In recent weeks, the #GamerGate controversy has put a spotlight on issues of sexism in the video game industry.
The Sony commercial advertises the “remote play” feature that allows the handheld PlayStation Vita device to act as a second screen and play games from a connected PlayStation 4 console. In other words, users could move from the big TV in the family room to another location with their Vita without interrupting gameplay.
“I know you’ve already done it today, and I bet you really enjoyed yourself,” the ad’s “Dr. Grace Powels” says. “How many times did you do it yesterday? Are you afraid you’re doing it too often? In the bedroom under your blankets? Or perhaps you prefer the kitchen or in the toilet?”
“You no longer have to feel ashamed. Everybody’s doing it, because it’s fantastic. And now you can keep going all day long. Don’t you like that? You don’t even need to stop. And if you want to, you could even join me,” she adds.
The ad is just the latest in a long tradition of “sexy” video game commercials aimed at straight men — in 2008, Heidi Klum appeared in lingerie to advertise “Guitar Hero: World Tour,” a 2001 ad for “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” featured a writhing woman in bed who appeared to be sexually involved with a squirrel, and so on.
Outlets like BoingBoing and The Verge also pointed out that a 2012 PlayStation Vita magazine ad similarly sexualizes women in an attempt to market the handheld’s unique functionality — traditional buttons and a touchscreen on the front and a “touch pad” in the back:
Europe Declares War on Google!
Word leaked out on Friday in Brussels that The European Parliament is going to call for the break-up of Google. That must be a tough pill to swallow for Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. Sorry Mr. Schmidt, apparently you can’t bully the European continent the way you’ve recently attempted to bully technology leaders such as Tim Cook about Google’s modus vivendi.
Recently I wrote about how Google, for all intents and purposes, exists as a textbook example of an overbearing monopoly. In that regard, John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil Company have nothing on Schmidt and his cast of Google characters. That led to my second point, mainly questioning why the U.S. doesn’t lay down the gauntlet by enforcing The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the 4th Amendment.
Someone finally has, albeit from a different continent. While America ignores its own laws and turns the other cheek, look who comes along to drop a nuclear bomb on Google? Europe. Forget about Europe’s stand on the right to be forgotten, in which to date, some 171,000 requests have been sent to Google to remove links. That’s marbles compared to if the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, follows through on Parliament’s recommendation. I sense there’s a storm of sweat cascading down foreheads on the Menlo Park campus..
So what does this mean to you, me, and the guy down the street? Nothing yet in the U.S. of A. But over in the old world, which suddenly becomes a new one mind you, you could expect the following to happen. Google will have to unbundle its search engine from all its other services such as Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, and more. Google will also be prohibited from giving favorable treatment in its search results to its own services. According to the Financial Times, “The commission has been investigating concerns over Google’s dominance of online search for five years, with critics arguing that the company’s rankings favor its own services, hitting its rivals’ profits.” Apparently, no one’s having the wool pulled over their eyes overseas.
Don’t think Google doesn’t see the writing on the wall. In a speech last month in Berlin in defense of his baby and integrating Google’s own content within search results, Schmidt claimed, “We created search for users, not websites.” Furthermore, regulation would “deprive sites of valuable traffic and disadvantages their businesses.” Really? Then tell me this sir, why, as I like to point out, does Google collects the following information:
Consider that at this very moment, Google has the means to know:
• What you are doing online (Google Chrome)
• What you are doing offline (Android and Chromebooks)
• What you are doing at home (Nest)
• Where you are in your home (Nest)
• What you are working on (Google Drive)
• Who you are connected to (Android, Gmail, Google+)
• Who you are talking to (Android, Google+)
• Who you are emailing (Gmail)
• What you are listening to (Google Play)
• What you are watching (YouTube)
• Where you are (Android)
• Where you are going (Google Maps and self-driving car)
• When you are going (Google Calendar)
• What you are looking for (Google Search)
• How to manipulate your reality (Magic Leap)
• Watching you everywhere (DigitalGlobe)
Money talks which is why Google walks away with your information and sells it to the highest bidder. It’s downright creepy. Now that Europe is about to shake Google’s moneymaker, you can rest assured that Google will fight back guns a blazing. Good luck with that because Europe is a lot less sympathetic to your causes. And where there’s smoke, in this case, Europe’s regulatory actions, there will ultimately be a call within the U.S. for fire, which Google, in its best Smokey the Bear impersonation, will want to avoid at all costs.
This is a monumental action and an important first step in people around the world taking back their rights and information. I can only hope that it leads us to follow suit within our own borders. Way to go Europe!
KC James And Ry Doon Describe The 'Pandemonium' Of Being A Vine Star
For Vine personalities like KC James and Ry Doon, who have millions of followers on the social media app, posting hilarious six-second videos has given them a shot at fame. In a HuffPost Live interview, the pair discussed their newfound celebrity and their interactions with their die-hard fan bases.
“If you go out of your room to the lobby and try to get a Starbucks, it can turn into pandemonium,” James told host Alyona Minkovski.
Most of the chaos is fueled by zealous fans looking to snap a photo with the online personalities.
“[There are] a lot of selfies,” Doon added.
Despite the craziness, James said that he loves being approached by fans because it gives him an opportunity to put a face to the users with whom they interact online.
“It’s cool because you get to see a lot of people who know your videos that you might not actually know about because when you see comments online, you don’t look at them sometimes as real people,” he said. “But when you see 50 people that know your lines from your videos, it’s super cool.”
As much as they love their fans, James and Doon said greeting their fans’ parents is actually the most exciting part of the gig.
“That’s, like, the biggest compliment,” they chimed in unison.
Learn more about life as a Vine star by clicking here to check out HuffPost Live’s conversation with KC James and Ry Doon.
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BT in talks to buy mobile operator O2
BT is currently in talks with Telefonica over buying the mobile network operator O2.
BT in talks to buy O2 from Telefonica
Telecoms giant BT is in talks with Telefonica about buying the O2 mobile network in the UK from the Spanish firm.
Feds Warn Against Surgery Device That Can Actually Spread Cancer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators have strengthened their warning against use of a once-popular device for gynecologic surgery that can spread unsuspected cancer, saying its risk is only justified in a fraction of patients.
The Food and Drug Administration is updating its April safety warning, now saying doctors should not use the devices, called laparoscopic power morcellators, for performing a hysterectomy or removing uterine fibroids “in the vast majority of women.”
The FDA’s Dr. William Maisel says there are safer options for the procedures for most patients — but he said the device may be appropriate for some women.
One manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, directed surgeons to stop using its device for the procedures in April, when concerns about inadvertently spreading cancer inside women’s abdomens first arose. It’s now conducting a worldwide recall.
App Store downloads surge in October off iPhone 6, 6 Plus sales
App Store downloads surged to a record 7.8 million per day average for the top 200 free iOS apps in October, says mobile marketing firm Fiksu. That represented a 42 percent increase from September, and a 39 percent jump year-over-year. The firm says it expects the trend to continue into the holiday season. It appears to have been kickstarted by sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which first launched on September 19, but which has been been gradually rolling out to more and more countries.
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