Showing 21 - 30 of 44
How safe is your data?
Life, James Hein, Published on 12/02/2014
» Researchers from Rutgers University have developed a smartphone tool that tracks how often applications track them. The app essentially monitors other applications and logs when they get location data and transmits it. The results indicated that lots of applications, sometimes those where it was not expected, grabbed location data and passed it along. Some apps will notify the user but the research found that others are not so forthcoming. The researchers concluded that Android permissions are not an effective method for disclosing and consenting for location data access. They also found that the flashing GPS icon is largely ignored or not registered by users. You have been warned. You can find the full report here: http://bit.ly/NrTyQN
A sexy new way to pay
Life, James Hein, Published on 05/02/2014
» Forget PayPal, what you really need is at least as The Register in the UK quaintly puts it "pay by bonk". Using the system, you knock your smartphone against another smartphone or device in a store to transfer funds from one account to another. A new payment system is also being planned at Apple, who wants to lead the near field communications (NFC) race. It will no doubt heavily feature the iTunes store (i.e. you pay money into your iTunes account and then use that to purchase items in the real world). This could essentially work like an iTunes-based debit card. Remember, however, that these NFC payment systems are also subject to those of a more unsavoury nature passing close to you and grabbing some cash for themselves. It is early days yet, but I expect that this will turn into a real issue. As for me, I bought myself a woven stainless steel wallet that acts as a Faraday cage. You could also just wrap it in tin foil, I suppose.
Don't bank on security of websites
Life, James Hein, Published on 22/01/2014
» In more hacking news this week, the names, home and email addresses, phone numbers and other personal information of around 70 million Target shoppers were grabbed in yet another a database raid that included 40 million credit card details. One of the reasons I use PayPal is because I only have to give my credit card details to one provider. I try to minimise who gets access to my credit card and banking details and PayPal is one way to do that.
Smartphone makers throw a curve
Life, James Hein, Published on 16/10/2013
» The internet is an amazing resource. Boasting around 40 billion pages and with exabytes of data, it contains a huge amount of information provided by a multitude of sources. One problem is that a lot of this information is unverified or consists of personal observations and opinions. Despite this, there appears to be a growing trend that the first result received when performing a Web search is the one used to find the answer to a question.
Connecting becomes hard work in China
Life, James Hein, Published on 25/09/2013
» I was recently on a trip in China and while I was there I bought myself a SIMM with a data plan to use Skype and to play the game Ingress. As a technologically advanced and well-developed nation I expected that the communications system and technology in general would be advanced, stable and ubiquitous. I was wrong.
Sympathy for the old devils
Life, James Hein, Published on 17/07/2013
» If you are below the age of 30 you were born into a world with global connectivity on your phone, at home and in your office. You probably grew up using mobile devices and social networking applications like Facebook to keep in contact with all your family, friends and business associates. In some countries you are doing most of your shopping online, doing your business with the government online and you probably don't have a fixed-line connection in your home or apartment. In short, you are connected everywhere you go.
There's one born every minute
Life, James Hein, Published on 26/06/2013
» One of the latest acronyms in the IT world is BYOD, or bring your own device. In the US apparently nearly two-thirds of mobile workers pay for their own devices and of those a third says it affects their choice of employer. These figures come from global connectivity provider iPass. If these figures are accurate then the BYOD is a growing trend. More than 80% of those polled claim they are more productive at home. I'm not so sure about this figure, but the office did at least poll ahead of coffee shops and public transport.
Samsung bites into big Apple
Life, James Hein, Published on 05/06/2013
» No prizes for guessing the fastest selling smartphone in South Korea. The Samsung Galaxy S4, of course _ it has sold 10 million units since the April launch. You will remember that the iPhone 5 sold five million units in its opening weekend but the S4 will be seriously attacking Apple's market share over the next month or so.
What big eyes you've got
Life, James Hein, Published on 29/05/2013
» When mobile phones became more common and were increasingly used in restaurants, questions began to be asked about etiquette. To this day I know people who are offended when others have phone conversations while sitting at the dining table. People speaking on mobile phones regularly bump into poles, trip over paving stones or have accidents while driving _ mishaps all caused by lack of attention to their surroundings. With the advent of technology like Google Glass these situations will become even more prevalent. Testers for Google Glass have already reported entering places like bathrooms without immediately realising where they were. Given that these devices can record video, this scenario also raises a number of privacy issues. With legislation in many countries lagging well behind developments in technology, a number of such incidents will, no doubt, be reported online before any real changes are made to these gadgets. So, next time you see someone wearing an odd-looking pair of glasses and talking to himself, he may be providing a running commentary to accompany something he is recording _ or he could, equally well, just be talking to himself.
Privates on parade
Life, James Hein, Published on 15/05/2013
» Privacy is still a major topic of debate all over the world and in many subject areas. My view has always been that I only put things up on the web that I want people to see. I have the same attitude with CCTV; I don't break the law so I don't care how many of them there are. This leads me to automatically wonder about people who complain about such things, because if they are not doing anything wrong, then what is the issue? I have read some of the counter-arguments but it always comes back to that question for me. Yes, the privacy issue is a little more complex and we will be debating it for some time to come, but apart from conspiracy theories and rogue government agencies, it does make you wonder what all the fuss is about.