It seems every time I look around, a tech company is buying another tech company. Think about how often we’ve seen this in the last several years. It happened again.
It was just announced phone maker Nokia acquiring health tech company Withings. Since 2008, Withings have made health based watches, fitness bands, sleep trackers, thermometers, and scales. The acquisition is worth $192 million and will include headquarters in Cambridge, MA, Paris and Hong Kong. Nokia, one of the top phone makers in the 1990s and 2000s, is struggling to keep up with the ever increasing smart technology based 2010s. They already have the virtual reality Ozo camera. At the Mobile World Congress in February, they announced new 5G and security technology. Withings is equally as excited as Nokia is. “We?ve been impressed with the plans the Nokia team has shared with us both for preventive health and patient care…we can start working together to determine our way forward,” said Withings CEO Cedric Hutchings. However, this acquisition between Withings and Nokia is going to do Europe a lot more good than Silicon Valley. Both are based in Europe, although Withings have some headquarters in Massachusetts. Will this new alliance be able to stand up to the Silicon Valley machine?
This would be an opportune time for them to make this merger. Silicon Valley has been struggling over the last several months. Now this happened? Nokia is anxious to be a worthy competitor in the smartphone game, and in the smart technology game in general. Withings will help Nokia with things like smart watches and other accessories, but I don’t see how this is going to help their smartphone game. But I’m near Cambridge, and could this help headquarters here? This may be a strange question, but could Withings and Nokia be a good thing for the greater Boston/Cambridge area? Could it even make this area compete with Silicon Valley technologically?
Since the drone is a huge technological trend, the FAA implied strict rules to keep drones away from flying aircraft. Maybe the European Union and other European governments need to do the same thing.
A few days ago, British Airways Flight 727 was hit by a drone. The flight was from Geneva, Switzerland to London Heathrow Airport. In fact, the plane approached Heathrow when the drone hit. The Metropolitan Police (Britain’s version of the FBI) confirmed a drone hit the plane while making it’s decent into London, carrying 132 passengers. They can’t prove it yet, but if it’s an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), it would be the first time a drone hit an airplane in recorded history. But there’s been some close calls. In September 2015 alone, helicopter drones barely missed airplanes either landing or taking off at London’s Gatwick and City airports and Manchester’s airport. Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (similar to our FAA) says no drone should be within 400 feet of a plane in flight. Drones should never be out of sight from their pilots. Drones are not to be within 50 meters of another person, car, or public facility without their permission. British political and community leaders are calling for stiffer penalties and better education about drone safety.
A law is only as good as enforced and explained. Both Great Britain and America need to do a better job educating the public on drone safety. Explain why the rules are there. Make clear the potential devastation and destruction that could happen if these rules are broken. Let the people know the harsh fines and potential jail/prison time for violations. Think about the emotional guilt: If your drone hits an airplane, and that airplane goes down, the blood is going to be on your hands. Thankfully, British Airways Flight 727 landed safely and nobody was dead or injured. Next time, it might not be so lucky. What should be done to prevent tragedy before it gets started?
Starting at 6am this morning, about 39,000 Verizon employees from Massachusetts to Virginia went on strike. The strike is over new contract issues that are over eight months old.
The workers are members of unions Communication Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. They’re Verizon electricians, installers, costumer service representatives, repairmen, drivers, and other employees. They represent nine states and the District of Columbia. Most of them put down landline services and FIOS Internet services. Keith Pruce is a union president, who is right on the picket line. Like most strike workers, Pruce says this has to be done to maintain jobs and a standard of living, and they’ll be on those lines as long as it takes. Another striker says without a fair contract, Verizon will be able to move jobs overseas. Strikers accuse Verizon of everything from cutting health care to freezing pensions to making layoffs easier. Verizon wants to stop people from working at home at length. Some strikers complain this will allow jobs to be outsourced. One father of 3 fears, “I feel if the company had the opportunity, they would just lay people off.” Verizon said they prepared for this strike by training by hiring non-union workers to fill in. But how long will that last?
I can understand why some workers are so concerned. So far in 2016, companies from Yahoo to Sears have laid off many. Remember the outrage in Indiana when air conditioner company Carrier layoff workers? Look at how many tech companies have either sent jobs overseas or have offshore accounts. I hope this strike doesn’t last long because if it does, service could get severely crippled; I don’t care how many replacements they have. The strikers had better hope this doesn’t last long. Remember the 1981 air traffic controller strike? Remember what the end result was to all those workers?
These are crazy time we’re living in. I read an article of how the EU wants visa requirements for Americans and Canadians just to visit Europe, even it’s just for a weekend. Japan wants to go even further, using today’s technology for identification purposes.
This year, Japan, the nation that gave us the robot greeter, ?will test fingerprint systems for identification and security purposes. If this is successfully, the only way tourists will be able to buy or sell is through a fingerprint. This is supposed to fight theft and keep tourist from using credit and debit cards. Japan hopes to have this system in place by the 2020 Olympics. Tourist will have to register their fingerprints, credit/debit cards, and other information as soon as they arrive at the airport. They would be able to make purchases only if they pass identity inspection. That’s when they place two fingers in the device that’s already installed throughout that nation. Japan even wants the fingerprint tests installed in hotels. As of now, you can check in with a passport. But it won’t just measure who is in the country. Your spending habits will be analysed and processed by the Japanese governments, probably by Japanese corporations, too. There is already an outcry against this system. Some are concerned about tourists feeling uneasy about using such a system.
I know I wouldn’t use it. I’m not even that crazy about that RFID chip in your credit card. I wouldn’t even go to the 2020 Olympics if I knew I couldn’t buy or sell without a fingerprint. All it takes is one or two hackers to break into the system and infect it for everybody involved, the tourist as well as the government and businesses. Do they really want to take that risk? No, this has Big Brother written all over it. And they’re going to analyse our spending habits? What are they going to do next? Tell tourist where they can or can’t buy?
North Korea is at it again. Dictator Kim Jong Un is using technology to further isolate and oppress his own people. He’s using it to threaten and intimidate the rest of the world.
First off, North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, announced it’s total blockage of Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, and all South Korean websites. They’re also banning gambling and hard core pornography sites. For most North Koreans, they already have little or no online access. But visitors enjoyed basic, but heavily monitored online freedom. More than two million North Koreans have cell phones. But only officers and hand picked citizens had online access. Now, not even they or visitors have access to such sites. The law says anyone caught using Facebook, Twitter or ?You Tube will be subject to punishment, but Pyongyang was illusive to what that punishment would be.
Then, North Korea is jamming GPS signals. This tampering severely affects air and sea travel around the North/South Korean border. In the last month, this GPS jamming happened over 100 times. South Korean leaders say these jams haven’t caused major damage or incident. But they do believe this is blatant provocation on North Korea’s part. North Korea has had this jamming system since 2010, to be used in acts of hostility against the US and South Korea.
Why is North Korea doing this now? We all know how they sent satellites after the Super Bowl. They claim not only to have nuclear weapons, but they claim they can send them over the Pacific. Kim Jong Un, just like his grandfather and father before him, have always used extremely oppressive measures against their own people. This dictator is upping the ante. Why is Kim Jong Un blocking social media sites entirely, even for visitors and his own officers? And he’s toying with the GPS systems? I’m almost afraid to ask what the punishment would be if a North Korean did look at one of these websites? What is Jong Un trying to prove here?
Not so long ago, the FBI got a huge one-up on Apple over the iPhone unlocking case. It was revealed they no longer need Apple’s backing, permission, knowledge, or approval to crack codes: they can do so on their own.
The FBI says they will teach local law enforcement agencies all over the country this mysterious trick of unlocking phones. The fact that local police are asking how the Feds did it is should say enough. In a statement, the FBI said they ??…will of course consider any tool that might be helpful to our partners.? We can read between the lines. Of course they’re not going to reveal the third party who helped them unlock that phone. An anonymous law enforcement official told tech news website BuzzFeed sent an advisory to offer any tech support. The statement says there could be some limitations to revealing such secrets. The letter sounds like they’re concerned with the whole ‘classified’ part of this organization (Let’s get real. We all know ‘classified’ really means secrecy). What if these methods, or the contents, need to be exposed during trials?
I’m no legal expert. Maybe the title FBI Spills the Secrets was a little misleading. Because I know one thing: the FBI will never expose how they cracked the code to people like you and me. They won’t even tell us who this 3rd party is. That’s why this whole things stinks to high heaven. If they can break into a phone and be this secretive about it, what’s there to stop them from breaking into your or my device? They don’t even need a search warrant; you just need to be suspected of something. Could this lead to a big brother system? And who is this third party? Many inquiring minds want to know. Could this change everything? Was Edward Snowden trying to teach us a thing or two?
