Otterbox is currently having a winter sale, and they've discounted many of their popular cases up to 30% for a limited time. Commuter, Defender, Symmetry series and more are included, in various colors and for various phone models including iPhone 6 and various Galaxy models. Jump over to the Otterbox winter sale page to explore options and current discounts available.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The iPad is undoubtedly a versatile device, but there's no getting around the fact that Apple's tablet has its fair share of limitations. A few months back, a UK sailor named David Carlin learned this the hard way after deciding it might be a good idea to navigate a 50-foot World War II boat he was steering via his trusty iPad.Things started out smoothly enough, but as relayed via a recent report in the Metro, navigation became tricky if not downright impossible once Carlin's iPad dropped its Wi-Fi signal.From there, a comedy of errors ensued as Carlin's boat, completely devoid of direction, blindly entered the UK's busiest shipping lane where it promptly crashed into a cargo ferry. From there, Carlin's boat was a goner and began to sink. Ultimately, Carlin had to make a Mayday call and wait for rescuers to help him out.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google is asking developers to take over its effort to make end-to-end email encryption more user-friendly, raising questions over whether it'll ever become an official feature in the company’s browser.On Friday, the search giant said its email encryption tool, originally announced in 2014, was no longer a Google product. Instead, it's become a "full community-driven open source project," the company said in a blog post.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
At Mobile World Congress this morning, Deutsche Telecom, SK Telecom and Ericsson showed a telepresence-controlled robot prototype to demonstrate the capabilities of 5G wireless networks, software-defined networks (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV).The point made is 5G’s ultra-low latency delivered end to end with SDN and NFV will enable new real-time use cases for industrial services, autonomous cars and the Internet of Things (IoT). Within a 5G radio access network (RAN), 5G can deliver sub-1ms latency. But a loaded RAN or traversing a network between RANs can add tens of milliseconds—too much for control applications that require synchronization over distances.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
MWC 2017 Smartphone CentralImage by LenovoNo, Apple isn’t at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona teasing its iPhone 8 and Samsung isn’t formally unveiling its Galaxy S8, but plenty of other big name vendors are using the annual wireless network confab to show off their latest and greatest Android smartphones. (This roundup includes reporting from IDG News Service.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As with its cars, Porsche Design loved what it has created with its new Book One 2-in-1, made to challenge Microsoft's Surface Book.The 2-in-1 device is unique in that it is both a convertible and a detachable computer. The Book One can become a tablet by detaching the 13.3-inch screen or folding the screen 360 degrees onto the keyboard.The folding functionality exists because of the hinge, which has been borrowed from the Porsche cars' gearbox. The flexible folding and detaching mechanism gives the device a unique design that is hard to find in other 2-in-1s today. It's likely other PC makers will try to come up with copycat designs.Porsche Design has created a "new product category" with Book One, Roland Heiler, chief design officer for the Porsche Design Group, said at a press event at the fancy W Hotel in Barcelona. The press event was held on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress show going on this week.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
After years of juggling with different strategies of how to pursue the cloud computing market, Cisco now has what it believes will be a winning one: Become a so-called Switzerland of the cloud.Cisco is not spending billions of dollars to build a public cloud to compete with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. “That ship has sailed,” says Fabio Gori, head of cloud marketing at Cisco.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: Cloud comparison Amazon Web Services vs. Microsoft Azure vs. Google Cloud Platform +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The purpose of indoor Wi-Fi is no longer simply about providing internet connectivity. Indoor positioning services that enable asset tracking and visitor navigation functions are adding to the traditional access point feature set of spotty internet access.GPS positioning doesn’t work as well indoors as out. And Wi-Fi equipment vendors are keen to point out that networks created with their equipment are better suited to indoor locationing—better than cellular, too, with its usually outdoor masts.This has led to the newest Wi-Fi system: meter-level positioning.9 tips for speeding up your business Wi-Fi
The latest nod comes from the Wi-Fi Alliance, the certifier and association of Wi-Fi technology companies. It just launched a certified program for “meter-level accuracy for indoor device location data” using its technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Motorola's G series phones have been darlings of the Android community for their ability to deliver exceptional value. You can't expect the world from a $200 phone, but Moto G phones are usually "good enough" to make budget-conscious buyers balk at spending two or three times as much for a premium phone.
The company is looking to continue that trend with the Moto G5 and G5 Plus. The G5 will cost only 199€ (it's not coming to the U.S.), while the G5 Plus will be only $229 when it ships here in March. For the price, they seem quite good. The bodies, now metal, aren't going to win any design awards, but they feel a bit more premium than the old plastic G series phones.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
HP’s Elite x3 Windows phone is getting a job, with two similar scanning accessories designed to turn it into a workhorse for vertical industries—businesses such as retail and healthcare, which have specialized needs. Announced Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, these accessories reinforce HP’s strategy since the Elite x3 launched a year ago: Put it into the hands of corporate employees, and the market share will follow.
One of the accessories, pictured above, is the Mobile Retail Solution, a barcode scanner that looks like a special cover for the phone. It’s designed to be used in retail storerooms, shipping warehouses and the like, where the barcode helps track products as they move from shelf to truck or display case. Before you blanch at the $999 price, note that it comes with an Elite x3 phone, which accounts for $699 of the cost.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
BARCELONA -- LG on Sunday introduced the G6 smartphone with a 5.7-in. display in a new 18:9 aspect ratio that is designed to enhance videos and game play.
The phone also comes with a bigger 3300 mAh battery -- 500 mAh more than the LG G5 -- that includes heat pipes to dissipate heat, similar to the way some laptops disperse heat. Battery heat is a current concern of smartphone makers, especially after Samsung Note7 Lithium Ion batteries overheated last year, prompting a worldwide recall of the devices.
The G6 looks to solve the dilemma of smartphone users who want both a large screen and a small enough handset to be used with one hand, LG officials said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Alienware’s first 13-inch VR gaming laptop features up to 7th Gen Intel Quad Core H- Class processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-Series graphics. For a limited time various configurations have been discounted up to $169, with free shipping. See the various configurations and discounts now on Dell.
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This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.As if ransomware wasn’t bad enough, there is a new twist called doxware. The term "doxware" is a combination of doxing — posting hacked personal information online — and ransomware. Attackers notify victims that their sensitive, confidential or personal files will be released online. If contact lists are also stolen, the perpetrators may threaten to release information to the lists or send them links to the online content.Doxware and ransomware share some similarities. They both encrypt the victim's files, both include a demand for payment, and both attacks are highly automated. However, in a ransomware attack, files do not have to be removed from the target; encrypting the files is sufficient. A doxware attack is meaningless unless the files are uploaded to the attacker's system. Uploading all of the victim's files is unwieldy, so doxware attacks tend to be more focused, prioritizing files that include trigger words such as confidential, privileged communication, sensitive or private. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A recently announced SHA-1 collision attack has the potential to break code repositories that use the Subversion (SVN) revision control system. The first victim was the repository for the WebKit browser engine that was corrupted after someone committed two different PDF files with the same SHA-1 hash to it.The incident happened hours after researchers from Google and Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands announced the first practical collision attack against the SHA-1 hash function on Thursday. Their demonstration consisted of creating two PDF files with different contents that had the same SHA-1 digest.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
SK Telecom and Nokia have developed a prototype quantum cryptography system that combines the South Korean company's quantum key server with an encryption device from Nokia.The system, shown Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, was put together to demonstrate interoperability between the two vendors and comes as SK Telecom kicks off a push to get telecom carriers and equipment vendors working together on next-generation quantum-secured networks.Quantum cryptography involves the transmission of encryption keys across fiber optic networks. It relies on the principles of quantum mechanics to detect if an eavesdropper has viewed a key en route.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As the number of consumers turning to online shopping increases, the rise of online fraud is also rising.Those committing internet crimes are depriving their victims of either funds, interests, personal property and/or sensitive data. As the threat escalates, consumers and companies alike are seeking various methods to tackle the phenomenon.Ecommerce fraud has a long and controversial history. Thus, providing a forecast for the months ahead can help retailers adopt an adequate solution to confront the many challenges in 2017.1. Identity theft and friendly fraud
The main threat will remain identity theft. Fraudsters will seek your personal information. Their main goal is to use a different identity and, for example, place an online order. Identity theft also includes a concept known as man-in-the-middle attacks where credit-card data is intercepted and copied as it is transferred online. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Brian LeClaire exercises, in his words, “like there’s no tomorrow.”And while he does, LeClaire tracks his workout stats through Polar and FitBit workout devices, which tie back to Go365, Humana’s new health and wellness app. The more his heart rate hits, say, 60 percent of its maximum for 30 minutes, the more rewards he reaps.[ Related: Fitness apps moving up to the big leagues ]But this isn’t some executive perk: Go365 is one of the latest initiatives that Humana, the $54-billion healthcare insurance provider, has launched in its ongoing focus on customer experience driven by technology. Humana, like its major competitors in the healthcare space, have faced monumental challenges in recent years as both current and potential customers have begun demanding that their providers offer services that mirror the technology they use in their personal lives.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google has begun populating its 2017 graveyard, with its Spaces app for group discussion and messaging grabbing an early plot.
Google Space won't even last one year: It was introduced in May of 2016 and will be shut down on April 17, 2017, according to a Google support page. Google
Google
MORE: What Google killed in 2016To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I just binge-listened to an outstanding podcast, LifeAfter, which, without giving too much away, is about artificial intelligence and its impact on people. Here's the show's synopsis:
When you die in the digital age, pieces of you live on forever. In your emails, your social media posts and uploads, in the texts and videos you’ve messaged, and for some – even in their secret online lives few even know about. But what if that digital existence took on a life of its own? Ross, a low level FBI employee, faces that very question as he starts spending his days online talking to his wife Charlie, who died 8 months ago…To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I've been writing about the Raspberry Pi, the Internet of Things, and supporting technologies for some time and here, for all of you RPi aficionados, is my list of related Gearhead posts in reverse order. Enjoy ... and to get early warning of a new Gearhead post, sign up for my newsletter.
Internet of Things Messaging, Part 3: Testing Mosquitto
Internet of Things Messaging, Part 2: The Mosquitto MQTT broker
Cluster HAT, the easiest way to build a Raspberry Pi Zero cluster
10 amazing Raspberry Pi clusters
PIXEL, the latest Raspberry Pi OS ... for x86!
Internet of Things Messaging, Part 1: Introducing MQTT
Putting Alexa on a Raspberry Pi
What's in a Raspberry Pi name? How to rename your RPi under Raspbian
Using the Raspberry Pi to thwart the creepy clown menace
Building a Raspberry Pi-powered Barkometer, Part 4
Building a Raspberry Pi-powered Barkometer, Part 3
Building a Raspberry Pi-powered Barkometer, Part 2
Building a Raspberry Pi-powered Barkometer, Part 1
The discerning nerd's guide to Raspberry Pi hardware (2016 mid-year edition)
9 Raspberry Pi programming tools bundled with Raspbian
7 ways to make your IoT-connected Raspberry Pi smarter
Ultimate Guide to Raspberry Pi Operating Systems Part 1
Ultimate Guide to Raspberry Continue reading