Tech News
Apple reaches settlement in e-book price fixing case: report
Apple has reached an out of court settlement with plaintiffs that accused it of price-fixing on e-books, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Apple and the plaintiffs -- consumers and some US states -- have reached an agreement in principle that…
Amazon expected to unveil first smartphone on Wednesday
Amazon's mystery unveiling Wednesday is widely expected to be a smartphone, which if managed well could shake up the market and boost the US online giant as a device maker. The company has given few hints, inviting a small group of media to the event…
[Image via Agence France-Presse]
Hackers steal Domino's Pizza customer data, threaten to publish info if ransom not paid
Hackers have stolen data on more than 600,000 Dominos Pizza Inc customers in Belgium and France, the pizza delivery company said, and an anonymous Twitter user threatened to publish the data unless the company pays a cash ransom.
Customer names, delivery addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and passwords were taken from a server used in an online ordering system that the company is in the process of replacing, Dominos spokesman Chris Brandon said on Monday.
He said he did not know if the stolen passwords had been encrypted.
A Tweet directed at Domino's customers through an account of somebody listed as "Rex Mundi" said hackers would publish the customer data on the Internet unless the company pays 30,000 euros ($40,800), according to an article in The Telegraph.
The Rex Mundi account was later suspended.
Brandon said he was not familiar with the ransom demands, but that the company would not be making any such payment.
Domino's Vice President of Communications Tim McIntyre said the hacking was "isolated" to independent franchise markets of Belgium and France, where the company's online ordering system did not collect credit card orders, so no financial data had been taken.
"This does not affect any market outside of France and Belgium," he said via email. "The site has been secured."
Domino's has some 11,000 stores worldwide, including 229 in France, 24 in Belgium and about 5,000 in the United States.
Washing raw chicken actually raises food poisoning risk, expert warns
You should not wash a chicken before cooking it, Britain's food safety watchdog said on Monday, in a new campaign to reduce food poisoning.
The Food Standards Agency said washing raw chicken spreads the campylobacter bacteria -- the most common cause of food poisoning in Britain -- onto hands, work surfaces clothing and cooking surfaces.
Campylobacter can cause abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea and vomiting, and in some cases death. Those most at risk are children and older people.
Poultry is the main source of the bacteria, which can also cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can leave victims paralyzed.
"Campylobacter is a serious issue. Not only can it cause severe illness and death, but it costs the economy hundreds of millions of pounds a year as a result of sickness absence," FSA Chief Executive Catherine Brown said.
The agency said some 44 percent of people always wash a chicken before cooking it, and that while most people had heard of salmonella and E.coli poisoning, only 28 percent had heard of campylobacter.
[Image via Wikipedia Commons]
New apps let parents control kids' access to smart phones, tablets from their own phones
Parents struggling to get their children away from smartphones and tablets for meals, homework, exercise, and other activities can arm themselves with new apps to remotely block access to the devices.
Usage of smartphones and tablets among children has tripled since 2011, according to Common Sense Media, a San Francisco based non-profit that studies the effects of media and technology on young users.
A new app called DinnerTime Parental Control, for iPhone or Android smartphones, enables parents to restrict when children can use their smartphones and tablets.
“The price of entry level smartphones and tablets have come down a lot, and as a result, more and more kids have their own individual devices,” said Richard Sah, co-founder of DinnerTime, based in San Mateo, California.
With the free app, parents can pause activity on a child’s Android smartphone or tablet so that they can focus on things like homework, exercise and family time. Once a device has been paused, all functions on their device are blocked, including the ability to text and play with apps.
To use the app, parents install it on the child’s device and enter in their phone number to link the two devices. Parents can then set specific break times, ranging from 30 minutes to three hours, when the device will be locked. A countdown screen displayed on the child's device shows when they can use it again.
Sah said he was inspired to develop the app by the tradition of family dinners, which he thinks is being lost in the age of technology.
“Dinner time brings families together for quality time and to have lots of different conversations. We want people to come together for engaging conversations, rather than be distracted by a tablet,” he said.
DinnerTime Plus, another free app from the company, lets parents manage the apps their children use and to views the apps they are using in real time.
Parents can also purchase detailed reporting, which outlines how much time kids spend on certain apps, and how often they used them.
With another app called ScreenTime, parents can push a button on their phones to block usage on their children's devices. They can also set daily time limits for particular apps. The app, for Android, requires a subscription of $3.99 a month.
Kimberly Young, a psychologist who focuses on Internet addiction, believes parents need to control how much time their children spend on their devices. But she added an app might not be the best way to do it.
“I do not agree that any app is better than good old-fashioned parenting in terms of treating Internet addiction,” said Young, who added that she has seen children as young as 3 years old using mobile devices.
“The larger issue is how young is too young,” said Young.
Sah is also concerned about usage of devices by young children.
"Most kids can use smartphones before learning to write their names or tie their shoes,” he said.
[Image via Agence France-Presse]
The Internet of Things (IoT) is actually a pretty big deal
Within a few years, the Internet of Things is going to be worth trillions of dollars
Good morning! Or evening, if you happen to be reading this on the other side of the world. Our topic for today is the internet. What? You already know about the internet? No, no, I don't mean that internet, the boring old one you use to access YouTube and send Facebook updates, email and tweets and stuff. That's the internet of people and it's so, well, yesterday. I'm talking about the new internet, which is going to be the latest thing Real Soon Now.
It's called the Internet of Things or IoT and it's got everybody very excited over in Silicon Valley, where they hyperventilate a lot about technology. When you ask them what it is they say things such as "a global, immersive, invisible, ambient networked computing environment built through the continued proliferation of smart sensors, cameras, software, databases and massive data centres in a world-spanning information fabric".
Translated into English, that means billions of gadgets, each one of them connected to the internet and communicating madly with one another without much in the way of human intervention. So your fridge can talk to your smartphone to tell it that you're running out of milk, while your bathroom scales messages your GP's computer to let it know that you're not sticking to your diet plan, and the webcam in your living room sends you a text to tell you that the cat has been sick on the sofa, and cool stuff like that.
You think I jest? Think again. I tell you, this thing is Big. Why, only the other day, an outfit called IDC said that the Internet of Things is going to generate a staggering $7.1tn in sales by 2020. No, that's not a misprint: I meant trillions. Who is this IDC? It's a "market intelligence" firm, apparently. And yes I know it sounds like an oxymoron, like "military intelligence", but the whole of the tech industry takes these guys seriously because everyone needs numbers to justify their investments. How else would Facebook have known that WhatsApp was worth $19bn?
Like I said, everybody who is anybody in the tech business is very turned on by the IoT. It's going to make lots of money – oh, and it'll change the world, too. Of course there are some boring old creeps who keep raining on the parade. Spoilsports, I call them. There are, for example, the "security" experts who think that the IoT opens up horrendous vulnerabilities for our networked society. Hackers in Azerbaijan could get control of our "smart" electricity meters and shut down the whole of East Anglia with the click of a mouse. Pshaw! As if the folks in Azerbaijan even knew there was such a place as East Anglia. Or some guy in Anonymous could remotely jam the accelerator in your car so that you drive into your garage at 130mph even when you have your foot firmly on the brake. As if!
That's why it's sooo annoying when the media publicise scare stories about security lapses involving connected gadgets. I mean to say, how could TRENDnet have known that its "secure" security webcams weren't really secure at all? It's not its fault that a hacker broke into the SecurView camera software and told other people how to do it. The result, according to the US Federal Trade Commission, was that "hackers posted links to the live feeds of nearly 700 of the cameras. The feeds displayed babies asleep in their cribs, young children playing and adults going about their daily lives".
This is so unfair. Poor old TRENDnet makes security cameras. Why should it know anything about internet security? Same story for Toyota and Volvo and co. They make cars – bloody good ones, too. Sure, they have a lot of electronics in them, but that's just standalone engine-management kit. Nothing to do with networks. Why should they be pilloried just because they know nothing about network security?
What's that? You've found an IDC report from last October saying the Internet of Things would produce $8.9tn in sales by 2020. So the IoT has "lost" $1.8tn in eight months? Well, yes, I have to agree it doesn't look good, especially for the Next Big Thing, but, hey, what's $1.8tn between friends when we're talking about the future of civilisation? And no, I don't think thatWilliam Goldman's crack that "nobody knows anything" has any relevance here. He was writing about Hollywood, for God's sake. We're talking about the tech business. Different thing entirely.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2014
So how many Tesla patents are there?
Elon Musk has opened the doors to automakers to use Tesla’s patented EV technology. Sounds great, but how many patents does Tesla hold, and what for? uAutoInsurance broke down the patent data, and not surprisingly found that most Tesla patents have…
Federal marshals will auction bitcoin seized in raid on Silk Road online market
(Reuters) - The U.S. government plans to auction about 30,000 bitcoin, the electronic currency, valued at about $17.4 million, on June 27 the U.S. Marshals Service said.
The bitcoin were seized during an FBI raid in October on the Internet marketplace Silk Road, known as a hub for transactions involving illegal drugs and criminal activities.
The bitcoin up for auction were contained in wallet files on the Silk Road servers and do not include the bitcoins contained on the computer hardware belonging to Silk Road owner Ross William Ulbricht, known online as "Dread Pirate Roberts."
The virtual currency is transacted independent of central control and is not backed by any government or central bank.
The FBI arrested Ulbricht in October and charged him with one count each of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
The auction will take place on June 27 on the U.S. Marshals Service website over a 12-hour period and consists of nine blocks of 3,000 bitcoins and one block of 2,657 bitcoins. (https://r.reuters.com/tuv99v)
The U.S. Marshals Service said it would notify the winning bidders by June 30.
FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langsmesser confirmed that about 144,342 additional seized bitcoins were transferred from the FBI e-wallet to the U.S. Marshals Service e-wallet.
The seized bitcoins are part of the civil forfeiture and criminal action brought against Ulbricht and the assets of Silk Road, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement. These coins have not been put up for auction.
Bitcoin prices fell about 6.74 percent to $585.56 today, on the news, according to the digital currency exchange Coindesk.com.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera and Tanvi Mehta in Bangalore; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
[Image via Agence France-Presse]
Tech firm creates 'wearable health record' app for Google Glass users
By Christina Farr
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's futuristic eyeglasses are finding their way into hospitals and clinics throughout the United States.
To meet the growing demand for Google Glass from physicians, Drchrono, a Mountain View, Calif., based electronic medical record company has developed a new application for the device it claims is the first "wearable health record."
Doctors who register for the Drchrono app for Glass can use it to record a consultation or surgery with the patient's permission. Videos, photos and notes are stored in the patient's electronic medical record or in Box, a cloud-based storage and collaboration service and can be shared with the patient on request.
Dr. Bill J. Metaxas, a podiatrist based in San Francisco, warned fellow physicians to take precautions before using Glass, such as obtaining patient consent and "locking down security settings." He also said Glass is no more or less secure than tablet devices such as the iPad, which are routinely used in clinical practices.
Metaxas, who uses Glass in the operating room and in patient consultations, said 99 percent of his patients agree to the gadget, but it is still early days and most of his fellow physicians have yet to adopt the technology. It is primarily used by the "bleeding edge" minority, he added.
Still, Box spokeswoman and former Google Health employee Missy Krasner said she is aware of at least 20 venture-backed startups catering to this niche of physicians. The majority of these Glass apps, including Augmedix and Pristine, are complying with federal regulation that protects privacy, known as HIPAA.
To develop the service, Drchrono worked closely with Box, one of its early investors, and the Google Glass team.
Google Glass was intended for the consumer mass market, but it has been criticized by some for its geeky appearance. But many industry professionals immediately saw value in the hands-free gadget.
The Glass team hosted an event last month at its San Francisco offices for care providers, hospitals administrators and medical-tech entrepreneurs to discuss how to bring these wearable computers into practices.
"Google is still in the early-stages of determining the most viable use-cases for Google Glass," said Drchrono co-founder Daniel Kivatinos. "But some doctors are demanding Glass, so Google is providing resources and support to developers."
Drchrono claims to have 60,000 registered physicians using its electronic medical record for doctors and patients. More than 300 of these physicians have already opted to use the app, Kivatinos said. The app is currently available for free, but the company may charge a fee in the near future.
Google could not be reached for comment.
(Reporting By Christina Farr. Editing by Andre Grenon)
[Image: A woman wears Google glasses after a media presentation of a Google apartment in Prague May 15, 2014. By David W Cerny for Reuters]
Tesla Motors turns all its patents over to the open source movement
Electric carmaker Tesla announced Thursday it was giving up its patents to "the open source movement" to help spur electric vehicle technology.
The unusual move comes with Tesla enjoying huge success, but against a backdrop of multiplying legal squabbles among technology firms over patents.
"All our patents belong to you," Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said in a blog post.
"Yesterday, there was a wall of Tesla patents in the lobby of our Palo Alto headquarters. That is no longer the case. They have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology."
Musk, an entrepreneur who made a fortune with the PayPal online payment service and also heads the space travel firm Space X, said he does not want patents to halt growth of an important environmental technology.
"We believe that Tesla, other companies making electric cars, and the world would all benefit from a common, rapidly-evolving technology platform," he wrote.
He said when Tesla was launched, "we felt compelled to create patents out of concern that the big car companies would copy our technology and then use their massive manufacturing, sales and marketing power to overwhelm Tesla."
But he said this turned out not to be the case.
"We couldn't have been more wrong," he said.
"The unfortunate reality is the opposite: electric car programs (or programs for any vehicle that doesn’t burn hydrocarbons) at the major manufacturers are small to non-existent, constituting an average of far less than one percent of their total vehicle sales."
Tesla earlier this year unveiled plans for a so-called "Gigafactory" for advanced electric car batteries as part of a plan to move from niche manufacturer to mass market carmaker.
The company says it hopes to bring the cost of production down and produce 500,000 cars a year.
Tesla, which makes a $75,000 sedan in heavy demand from well-heeled buyers, saw shares quadruple last year on expectations of surging growth.
Shares in Tesla dipped 0.2 percent to $204.05 in midday trade. The company's market value is above $25 billion, a figure which suggests investors expect huge growth from the California firm.
Sanctions hinder Iranian students quest to bring solar-powered car to the United States
It is not easy for an Iranian to visit America. With no US embassy in Tehran since 1979, obtaining a visa usually requires two costly trips to Dubai or Turkey.
A group of Iranian students, however, have a far bigger problem -- they want to send a car to the United States. Only then will they get on a plane.
The Havin-2 is no ordinary vehicle. Solar powered, its 4.5 metre (15 feet) carbon fibre chassis resembles a giant door. The four wheels that lurk beneath its sprawling white body are the only clue it is a car at all.
As entrants to the American Solar Challenge, a 1,700 mile (2,735 kilometre) road trip in July across seven US states from Austin, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota, a lot is at stake for the young Iranians.
But the sad reality is that the Havin-2 may never reach the start line.
"We are really worried about it," says Mohammad Saadatmand, the mechanical leader of the team from Qazvin Azad Islamic University, west of Tehran.
"To think that we might not make it is almost too terrible to contemplate."
The road block they face is more daunting than consular paperwork.
Standing in their path are the sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and other world powers as punishment for a nuclear programme that many believe masks an intention to develop an atomic bomb.
The restrictions make transporting the Havin-2 by air cargo a logistical nightmare.
- 'Researchers, not terrorists' -
The Iranian team is confident it can hold its own against the mostly American field, which includes the illustrious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The question is whether they will get the chance.
"This car has made us crazy," says Alireza Malmali, the team's electronics specialist who has now switched his attention to trying to find an air carrier.
Giving a tour at the team's spartan workshop, where the Havin-2 lurks under a tarpaulin, the prospect of being barred is writ large across his face.
"I wish governments across the world would accept we are researchers, not terrorists," he says.
The cargo arms of Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa all refused to carry the Havin-2, citing fears of breaching sanctions.
- Sanctions at heart of problems -
Several other companies set impractical conditions for carriage.
A letter from the US Treasury Department appears to confirm that the car does not require special authorisation if is being used "in a public conference, performance, exhibition or similar event".
The solar challenge organisers, however, were unable to navigate the regulations.
"It has been very difficult," says Sue Eudaly, the event's team coordinator. "We went to a senator, who directed us to the State Department who then sent us to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Ultimately, I guess we were not a high priority case."
Last ditch negotiations with a Tehran-based carrier are now under way.
Even then, a delivery date no later than July 1, which the carrier is reluctant to guarantee, leaves less than two weeks for the Havin-2 to clear customs in time for the start of the race.
The costs of sending the team and the car to America mean only 12 of the 18 students involved, all of whom have obtained visas, will travel.
- An ideal testing ground -
Located 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the capital, Qazvin has 300 days of sunshine a year. Good roads stretch for miles across a largely barren desert landscape.
To ensure a level playing field in the United States, all teams will rely on 516 photovoltaic panels, or solar cells, made in America and patched together in Germany.
But each entrant has developed their own Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) system, which connects inverters, battery chargers and other devices to optimise the car's performance.
The skill and key to winning is understanding the course and detecting the angles of the sun's rays during a day's racing, starting at 9am and ending at 6pm, with each team using four drivers.
The Havin-2 reached a top speed of 110 kilometres per hour (70 mph) during testing, but the team believes it is capable of 160 kilometres per hour in competition.
Beyond the solar challenge's aim of promoting clean energy, a sense of national pride is also palpable among Saadatmand and Malmali, who both took part in the same event in Australia three years ago.
"We want to show we are good, maybe even better than the rest of the world," Malmali says.
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