Google is teaming up with jean and denim maker Levi’s to create a smart jacket. Aimed at cyclists, this smart jacket will let you control music, utilize phone calls, navigate with a system, and many of the other things you can do with a smartphone or smartwatch. All they have to do is tap or swipe the jacket sleeve. This super jacket is part of Project Jacquard. This project is dedicated to weaving technology in forms of clothes. The alliance between Levi and Google is around a year old, but they just revealed this revolutionary piece of technology for the first time. They’re aiming this fashion statement toward cyclists because it can be very dangerous to to be holding a smartphone while operating a bicycle. The results can be almost as bad as texting and driving a car. But with this jacket, they just tap and talk. A Jacquard tag is sewn in the sleeve and charged through USB. The embedded tags are connected to a battery, LED and haptic technology, all woven in this jacket. Makers insists you can wash this jacket in the washer and it won’t be harmed.
Testing will go into the next phase in fall 2016. If all goes well, it should be in stores near you in spring 2017. We don’t know how much this jacket will cost. Yes, this is a great safety alternative for cyclists. It would make a great fashion statement. But this wearable jacket is fascinating and a little terrifying. It’s terrifying because someone can probably track you through this jacket. I know we can easily be tracked already, but this would make it even easier. Would you get this smart jacket? How much would you pay for one?
Can self-driving cars lead to risky behavior? By now, we know they’re the next step in auto technology. We know there’s a race to be the first to sale them to consumers. But what about after such cars are sold in droves?
The promise of a drive free car could lead to less crashes. But it could also lead to risky behaviors such as texting, reading, even having sex behind the wheel. This worries people like Barrie Kirk, head of Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE). Kirk worries drivers will put themselves in emergency situations they may not be able to get out of. Kirk, and other safety experts, believe self-driving vehicles will make distracted driving far worse than it already is. They’ve even proven it. There was an experiment conducted between Tesla Model S and their owners. They used the Tesla Autopilot function, which lets cars do the driving with little human assistance or interference. But despite all this, when drivers took their hands off the steering wheel, accidents almost occurred. The test showed the computer can’t control everything, like lane changing. And if lane marks are worn out or nearly invisible, then drivers had better be paying attention.
So just because a self-driving car can do many things for you on the road doesn’t give drivers the license to act like a fool. You still have to apply common sense and the lessons we learned in driver’s education. Keep your hands on the wheel. Keep your eyes on the road. Keep your smartphones out of reach. Keep your hormones in check. Like in other aspects of life, technology can make it easier. But you still need to put some human effort behind it. Yes, we have access to lots of knowledge, but I have to do the research before I obtain the knowledge. It’s the same thing with a self-driving car. So I ask you, will your self-driving car lead to your risky behavior?
First of all, Apple Music isn’t doing that bad. But they’re not doing really great either. We can thank increased competition, changing streaming habits, and celebrity disapproval for that. It’s time for an Apple streaming makeover.
Apple is making changes to Apple Music. They want to make it easier for all to use. Apple Music plans to better integrate streaming and downloading services as well as expand radio services. They will use a massive marketing campaign to get more customers to pay for Apple’s $10 a month streaming service. Nobody at Apple is confirming this, but tech insiders expect this and more to be revealed at their Worldwide Developers Conference in June. This is just Apple’s latest attempt to be #1 in the music streaming race. Two years ago, they purchased Beats Music, helping make Dr. Dre hip-hop’s possible first billionaire. They’re turning to seasoned musicians like Nine Inch Nails lead singer Trent Reznor to help with design. Apple CEO Tim Cook is banking on Apple Music because Apple stocks are in slow decline. So are iPhone sales. At first, Apple lead the charge going from physical to digital music. Now it’s struggling just to keep up. The year 2015 was the first year permanent download did better than streaming.
Then there’s competition. Spotify is gaining new subscribers and new backers. Jay Z’s Tidal, which costs $20 a month, just released Beyonce’s song “Lemonade,” which is breaking records on the charts. Kanye West’s “The Life of Pablo” album, released under Tidal, did very well. It debuted #1 on the charts and has been streamed over 250 million times. But don’t count Apple Music out yet. Taylor Swift openly criticized Apple for not paying artists enough. Now, she’s doing commercials for them. Drake released an album with Apple, which is doing almost as well as Kanye’s. Are we heading for an all out streaming war between Apple and Tidal?
A few days ago, I wrote a blog arguing the desktop computer is irreplaceable. According to this one article I read, I may be in the very few who think so.
A study was done on 53,000 Americans from all walks of life. All across the board, Americans are abandoning wired Internet and choosing mobile only Internet in record numbers. In fact, 20% of households today are mobile only, compared to 10% in 2013. That’s double in just three short years. Households making $50,000-$75,000 a year were surveyed. About 18% of them had a mobile home. Only about 8% of households the same income went mobile only in 2013. For those making over $75,000, nearly a third of those homes are mobile only. Back in 2013, only 14% of such homes were exclusively mobile. Even for those making under $25,000 a year, the number of people trading in wired Internet for mobile service has nearly doubled. In public libraries, less people are standing in line for use of the wired desktop computer. More are coming in logging on to WiFi and using their smartphones. In fact, more of the financially challenged are using public WiFi from libraries to coffee houses to restaurants rather than pay the cost of ever increasing cable and Internet bills.
This is what happens when only a handful of companies own the whole ISP (Internet Service Provider) industry. They can charge whatever they want, and whose going to stop them? When they’re too big to fail, they’re too big to care. Plus, think about how expensive a smartphone was a few years ago. Today, prices for smartphones are so low that pretty much anyone can afford one. We can’t really say the same thing for monthly online service. But wired Internet isn’t going away, anymore than the desktop computer is going away. They will be needed for years and decades to come. But do you see even more Americans going mobile only in the years to come?
Yesterday, I talked about Japan’s plan to keep tourist ‘safe’ at the 2020 Olympics. They plan to implement a system in which no tourist can buy or sell unless they are fingerprinted. That means, no tourist will be able to use Japanese cash, just your fingerprint.
I read an interesting article in The Atlantic. Ever hear of Operation Choke Point? We were told it would fight predatory lending, the kind of lending that helped cause the Great Recession of the late 2000s. But big banks weren’t targeted: So-called ‘morally unsavory’ businesses were. This includes gun dealers, adult entertainment, gambling, dating services, online alcohol dealers, even coin dealers. Many gun stores and adult website owners complained of being cut off by their credit/debit card companies, to the point their websites couldn’t even process them. It gets worse. An adult film actress named Eden Alexander said she couldn’t even get the prescription drugs she needed because the medical providers just assumed because she’s a porn star, she’s going to abuse the prescriptions. When fellow porn stars raised funds to help her out, their platforms GiveFoward and WePay?shut that down too, claiming they violated policy. This ordeal almost ruined her health and finances. Don’t even get me started on how they’re following EBT recipients like a hawk.
I noticed how they’re not targeting 1% big banks or bankers, but 99% ordinary people. Let me be clear: We at Computer Geeks do not endorse adult entertainment. But Eden Alexander is a human being and an American citizen. She should not have to endure such cruel treatment at the hands of banks and credit card companies just because she’s involved in a ‘morally unsavory’ business. This is when technology becomes too far reaching. I love technology. But when it tramples on peoples rights to life and liberty, that’s when things get dangerous. I don’t see them getting any less reaching. Can a cashless society lead to big brother?
Imagine driving down a highway. Your brakes lock. Your steering wheel locks. Your speed increases, but not of your own power. Your car, not you, makes an aggressive turns and slams into another car going 80 mph. Your accident causes miles of back up. You, your family, and the passengers your car hit need the jaws of life to get out. All of you are fortunate to be alive.
Sounds like a cool TV episode, right? It isn’t. According to the FBI, this threat is real and it’s on the rise. This threat is called vehicular cyber-sabotage. ?This?PSA was put up by the FBI and backed by Dept. of Transportation and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration) warning drivers of cyber hacking to vehicles in motion. It talks about car sabotage and offers ways to keep your car safe. Such advice includes keeping your auto software up to date with the latest software editions. Avoid any unauthorized changes to your car’s software. Be weary about putting insecure gadgets in your car’s network. Take any vehicular recalls seriously, especially if your model is the one being recalled. Be vary weary of letting strangers control your vehicle. Would you let a stranger get too close to your computer information, bank account, or child? Take that same vigilance with your vehicle. If you feel your vehicle has been hacked, call the FBI or local law enforcement agency immediately.
Why would hackers go after cars? Some could argue it’s just another way for them to get money and/or your personal information. But they can hack a computer or smart device for that. Something way more sinister is going on. The only reason I can think of to cause vehicular cyber-sabotage is to either deliberately hurt or kill the driver and/or passengers, or to show utter contempt and hatred for society. That’s what makes vehicular cyber-sabotage so disturbing and so sick. What can be done about it?
