Showing 71 - 80 of 171
Think twice before going with Huawei
Life, James Hein, Published on 28/04/2021
» The Chinese firm Huawei is in the limelight again for allegedly snooping on the Dutch prime minister's phone calls, with the information used to track down Chinese dissidents. This was a while back and it only came to light now because back then the Dutch were worried about exposure. Huawei was able to do this because they have core components in the Netherlands' mobile network. The result was that Huawei employees could not only listen in on any conversation but also identify those in the conversations across their 3G and 4G networks. Even today, the Chinese have admin-level access due to the network management outsourcing deal. Huawei strenuously denied any wrongdoing but those thinking that their 5G Huawei networks will be safe might want to rethink this or look very carefully at the access granted under the contracts.
Google triumphs over Oracle
Life, James Hein, Published on 14/04/2021
» - Long-time readers may remember that back in the mists of IT time, over 10 years ago, Oracle challenged Google over the use of Oracle's Java API's and some of their code in Android.
Alternatives sought as chip shortages disrupt production
Life, James Hein, Published on 31/03/2021
» - There is a silicon shortage, which is another way of saying that getting your next computer will either be difficult with long wait times or that prices may rise soon, so you'd better get in earlier rather than later. A couple of fires, a cold snap in Texas and Covid-19 restrictions are some of the causes of the shortages which shows that it doesn't take a lot to disrupt supply chains.
The fight for a freer web continues
Life, James Hein, Published on 17/03/2021
» The social media platform Telegram has over 500 million users with over 55 million active every day. Unlike other platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and others, you are free to express your opinion there without being cancelled, shadow banned or throttled in searches.
Digital world backslides into autocratisation
Life, James Hein, Published on 03/03/2021
» - I love new technology and I often pick up the latest gadgets from sites like Kickstarter. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are one step closer to using humans as batteries.
The benefits and risks of neural interfaces
Life, James Hein, Published on 17/02/2021
» This week is dedicated to the brain-computer interface, or BCI. For some time now, sci-fi movies and TV series have presented the idea of a mind-to-computer interface that controls technology, retrieves information and displays it on virtual screens. Meanwhile, in the background, a number of companies have been working on this and the technology is close to realising some of the outcomes only seen in fiction so far.
Smartphone sales chilling like a fridge
Life, James Hein, Published on 03/02/2021
» According to the UK company CCS Insight, the smartphone trade is beginning to resemble the market for white goods. Instead of jumping on the newest model, many are now waiting until their device is broken or showing signs of age before they trade up. Not that long ago people upgraded every two years or so, this has extended to as much as five or six years for about a third of the market with the new average at around four years. Some manufacturers only provide support for three years of upgrades but Apple and Samsung are now committed to a longer support cycle.
When internet platforms are the judge and jury
Life, James Hein, Published on 20/01/2021
» The start of this year does not bode well for freedom of speech advocates. Consider this thought experiment. You are a citizen of Mythomia. You enjoy decent internet speeds but a group of organisations dominate the social media space. Your leader communicates with the populace via social media. One day the organisations decide they don't like the politics of the leader and cut off all means of communication with the populace. How would you feel about that?
Redefining your normal and other tech predictions
Life, James Hein, Published on 06/01/2021
» Thank goodness 2020 is finished. Hopefully 2021 will be better and that in this case not all of my predictions will come true.
Social media censorship the stamp of 2020
Life, James Hein, Published on 23/12/2020
» Well, it's that time of year again when I see how well my predictions for the year performed. With the advent of Covid-19, I'm not confident that many of them came to pass.