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Category: Google Glass

There are 9 posts published under Google Glass.

Does Google Glass Have a Place Behind the Wheel?

Who would have thought that a speeding ticket could have such a large impact on the tech community?

 

When a California judge recently dismissed a ticket that was handed out to a driver wearing Google Glass behind the wheel, eyes were opened. While the ruling is limited to this particular case (and there is still much to be debated on the legality of utilizing Google Glass while driving) such a decision could potentially open the door for a number of integrated applications on this and similar platforms. We will touch on a few interesting developments and highlight some differing opinions on whether this new technology is a distraction or step forward for driver safety.

 

An Optimistic Outlook

 

According to a story from DigitalTrends.com, Google Glass could be “the most beneficial gadget to ever enter the vehicle.” While it could certainly be argued that increased connectivity for a vehicle operator might lead to increased distraction (checking email, internet browsing, watching videos), the flipside is that some applications could be likened to a highly sophisticated heads-up display (HUD).

 

Navigation, weather conditions and car functionality could all be fed to the driver without their eyes ever leaving the road. When you compare this to turning knobs, pressing buttons and averting your focus to a smartphone, it is definitely seen as an improvement. What will still be debated, however, is whether “eyes on the road” directly correlates to increased concentration. Studies have previously shown that, even with a hands-free device and focus straight ahead, talking on the phone is still a dangerous distraction.

 

Backlash and Debate

 

While Google Glass is still only the hands of developers, the impending release to consumers will certainly drum up a lot of debate on how safe it really is for you to operate a vehicle and this device at the same time. Several states and the United Kingdom have already hinted at banning Google Glass while behind the wheel. Like anything else, the technology could and certainly will be abused, but along the same vein as cell phone blockers and other add-ons, ways to restrict use while operating a fleet vehicle could be made available.

 

Potential for the Future

 

The potential is obviously huge for what could be done with this increased connectivity, especially when it comes to business applications and a fleet of vehicles. Just as companies today have been in a rush to utilize smartphone applications in their daily routines, we could soon see custom apps for the connected driver.

 

You can use your imagination when it comes to the possible uses for a HUD that is easily controlled with eye movement. Routing instructions could easily be updated on the fly. Vehicle diagnostics and trouble codes could be sent directly to your vehicle maintenance software and the right mechanic could be found in seconds. When it comes to the potential for added safety, there is already an app available for Google Glass that keeps drivers awake and alert. Hyundai has even gone as far as adding a Google Glass app that allows for advanced interaction with their 2015 Genesis model.

 

What will the long term impact be for consumers, companies and fleets? Only time will tell…

2477

Top Startup and Tech News Today: 7 Things You Missed Today

1. Hackers Offered Cash, Booze to Crack iPhone Fingerprint Security

 

Hackers are excited for Friday’s iPhone 5S release; not because they want the product, but because they want to be the first to hack the fingerprint scanner. A micro venture capital firm joined security researchers in offering $13,000 in cash, as well as alcohol, Bitcoin currency, books, and other prizes to the first hacker to do so. The content is hosted on istouchidhackedyet.com. Arturas Rosenbacher, who donated $10,000 to the hacking competition, says the effort will bring together some of the hacking community’s smartest minds to work towards the common goal of helping Apple identify bugs they might have missed.

 

An already published problem is the fact that it is possible to bypass the lock screen of iPhones to access photos, email, and other applications. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said that the company was already working on a fix as “Apple takes user security very seriously.”

 

2. Apple Suppliers to Boost Gold iPhone Production

 

Apple has asked suppliers to increase production of the gold iPhone 5S by an additional third after seeing strong demand. On Apple’s Hong Kong website, the gold iPhone 5S has already sold out. The gold model is the most popular among pre-orders in Hong Kong, which is a major iPhone market. Another major market is mainland China, which was among the first markets where Apple launched the new iPhones. While stores haven’t disclosed estimated of how many people have showed up, the lines seemed longer than the lines for the iPhone 5 launch.

 

The iPhone 5C, with its plastic casting and colorful design seemed to be less popular than the 5S in Hong Kong. Most customers seem willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a higher-end smartphone.  28-year-old Chris Wong explained the situation by stating “I think the metal casing looks much better.”

 

3. Online Piracy of Entertainment Content Keeps Soaring

 

Although sites like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu continue to grow and make it easier to legally watch entertainment online, the volume of pirated entertainment also continues to grow, at a faster pace.  In fact, the amount of bandwidth used for copyright infringement accounts for 24% of total Internet bandwidth. The number of people engaged in copyright infringement has also grown; as of January 2013, 327 million users illegally sought copyrighted continent.

 

This copyright infringement is detrimental to Hollywood studios, music companies, and other industry essentials. The general method employed by such organizations is generally a sponsoring of bills – for example, in 2012, most of the entertainment industry backed SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). However, both acts died in Congress after a massive opposition campaign led by Google, Wikipedia, and other internet giants, as well as a huge negative backlash from the civilian public.

 

4. Google redesigns logo, homepage

 

Like many other companies, such as Microsoft and Yahoo, Google has also revamped its official logo. The logo has been changed on Google’s search page and a new menu bar with a smaller range of links on the right side, has been installed. The new logo is flatter than the old, drop-shadowed logo, and is the first change to Google’s logo since 2010. A spokeswoman at Google said that similar changes would slowly be rolled out across all of Google products. This is being done in an attempt for Google to help streamline users’ experience of Google’s services; they hope that by flattening the logo, they remove distractions from the user.

 

Sarah Rotman, a tech analyst, said that Google’s revamped logo is subtle, as Google depends on loyalty and does not want to make any large changes that would alienate Google’s users.

 

Although many other changes have made, not all changes are available to all users yet. It is an ongoing process that will finish slowly.

 

5. Will Google Glass Catch On in the Office?

 

Christopher Kaeding performed a typical surgery – a knee to ligament reconstruction – while broadcasting his view of the procedure via Google glass. He showed the surgery to local medical students in a nearby conference room, saying that the device allowed him to shift between conversations with students and consultants without having to desterilize his hand. He plans to buy one when they officially come out in 2014. “Glass is first and foremost a consumer device intended for people from all walks of life,” says Chris Dale, Google spokesman. Startup Evernote chief executive officer, Phil Libin, says that Google Glass will likely be used mostly at work.

 

Google Glass features navigation, speech-to-text transcription, and video. Supervisors can use the gadget to film inspections, technicians who need a reminder can review product manuals; there are so many possible usages for Google Glass, which is why people assume that most Google Glass purchases will be to businesses and government agencies. “There’s the potential with Google Glass for there to be a significant increase in corporate surveillance of employees,” says Frederick Lane III, author of The Naked Employee: How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy. “The amount of information that could be collected is really staggering.”

 

6. Microsoft commits to ‘many more’ Windows RT tablets

 

On Thursday, during Microsoft’s 2013 financial analyst meeting, Microsoft executives said that customers should be prepared for “many more Windows RT tablets” in the future. Although Windows RT and The RT-powered Surface had had many negative complains, RT-powered tablets are here to stay, says Microsoft. Terry Myerson, who is the executive VP of all of Microsoft’s operating systems, says that he is looking into exploding commonalities in design, silicon, and interfaces in order to allow a consistent Microsoft experience regardless of platform. Specifically, Myerson said that he held three beliefs: one silicone interface, one API, and all apps for all devices. Al devices should also be cloud-powered with core services powering the device.

 

7. Microsoft ups iPad-for-Surface trade-in deal

Last week, Microsoft offered $200 store credit to anyone who brought in their iPad to trade it in for a Surface tablet. Now that amount has climbed to $350. However, the process for turning your iPad in is now harder. First, Clover Wireless must determine the value of the old device. Secondly, a new Microsoft devices, such as a Surface tablet must be purchased. Then, Clover needs to be sent the old iPad – after an undisclosed amount of time, Clover will send a prepaid Visa card with the value of the trade-in stored inside of it.

A standards iPad in good condition is worth roughly $285 in rebates, which is less than half of its $599 retail price. The rebate value depends on the make and model of the item being exchanged. If you are interested in trading in your iPad for a Surface tablet, then its good news; the Surface RT starts at $350 for 32-GB. There is no announced expiration date for the deals, but it is questionable whether or not these deals will continue as more and more Surface models are released.

 

1837

Google Glass Is Only The First Step Toward Nanotechnology

Google’s earnings for the second quarter of 2013 reminded me that the search giant faces some challenges. Expenses moved up a couple of billion dollars from the same quarter in 2012.

(See http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/18/after-a-quarter-of-huge-momentum-goog-posts-14-11b-in-revenue). More troubling, Business Insider said, “The total number of paid clicks that Google gets continues to go up, but Google gets paid less for each one. In other words, Google’s rock is still rolling up the hill but it takes a lot more energy to maintain that momentum than it used to.” (http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-why-google-missed-its-q2-revenue-expectations-2013-7)

 

Google may have to do some fast dancing with its current short term pricing and also with its innovations over a longer period of time. It’s no surprise that the competition is nearing. For example, Microsoft is working on a wristwatch smartphone described in “Microsoft Testing Surface Watch”. (See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10185372/Microsoft-testing-Surface-watch.html).

 

Perhaps this urgency is the reason Google has been pushing forward with Google Glass’s next version. On the recent quarter’s earnings call, Larry Page, Google’s senior manager, said: “I love using Glass because I feel like every time I’m using Glass I’m living that future, that’s really, really exciting to me.” (See http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-googles-larry-page-over-the-moon-about-glass-and-other-moonshots-20130719,0,219679.story).

 

Have I inadvertently glimpsed one possible trajectory for Google Glass? Is Google leapfrogging smartphones as wristwatches and moving beyond contact lenses and belt packs? Is Google looking to make revenue waves in medical diagnostics, nanomachines, and possibly DNA-scale communication devices? Google Glass might just be lapping our ideas of science fiction. Perhaps that $2 billion jump in R&D an indication that clean rooms, new research facilities, and world-class nanotechnology experts are signaling a new direction for Google. It’s not unthinkable they are dipping into nano-bioengineering and synthetic biology. Could Google become a nanotechnology giant? I found some interesting open source intelligence which may help frame this question, but I only know one thing for certain: Google is not doing much talking about self-assembly, bioengineering, and nanotechnology.

 

A month ago, I was sitting in Hotel Zetta near Union Square watching for Glass owners and reading on my iPad an article about Microsoft’s answer to Google Glass. Glass, as you probably know, is a smartphone converted to a heads up display. A Glass user dons a pair of eyeglasses and voilà, the smartphone display is hovering in the Glass wearer’s field of vision. The gizmo is controlled with voice commands like “Okay, Glass” or by touching the temple of the eyeglasses. While intriguing, Glass is not perfect. But regadless, Google’s clever public relations machine has propelled the new tool into headline news status, sending the tech savvy world in a frenzy. Google, once again, is delivering the future. Sure, Glass reminded me of the robot’s enhanced vision in The Terminator, but the form factor was almost a dead ringer for the eye wear of Geordi La Forge in the sci-fi blockbuster Star Trek: The Next Generation and its feature films.

 

The young person sitting next to me in the hotel lobby knocked a pile of photocopies to the floor. I put down my iPad and helped the person pick up the scattered papers. One photocopy was a big fat book chapter or technical article. I glanced at the title and noticed the word “self-assembly.” I asked them if I could copy down the title of the thick photocopy. The person said, “Sure, it’s from a textbook.”

 

The chapter was called “Using Biomolecules for Self-Assembly of Engineered Nano-Scale Structures and Devices.” I had some time to poke around and I was able to locate a PDF of the information written by Ranjana Mehta, John Lund, and Babak A. Parviz. The “Parviz” name triggered in my memory the fact that the Google Glass project lead was a fellow named Babak Amirparviz. Was this the same person? If so, why two different names?

 

I remember that in my past Google research, I discovered that often times when Google hires a smart person, they—for some reason—publish under a modified name. Examples include Alon Levy (dataspaces expert) becoming Alon Halevy and Charles Lee (Glass business development professional) working as Steve Lee. Was Dr. Babak Parviz the same person as the head of Glass, Dr. Babak Amirparviz? I poked around and learned, interestingly enough, that it was the same expert.

 

When I surfed through my collection of Google open source documents, I noticed that Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz delivered a lecture at a conference about putting electronic devices on a contact lens. The talk was from 2008 and a version of that presentation was published by the IEEE in 2008 as document 978-1-4244-1793-3/08 with the title “Contact Lens with Integrated Inorganic Semiconductor Devices.”

 

Dr. Amirparviz is the Glass project manager. Does it make sense that a world-leading expert in self-assembly, fluidics, and nanotechnology, would confine his efforts to the clunky eyeglasses form factor? Isn’t the trajectory more likely to be from the eyeglasses to a contact lens and then to even smaller devices?

 

Obviously, a user may not tolerate a contact lens version of Glass. This begs the question: is there a way to put a smartphone or, at least, most of its components into a much smaller form factor? I began wondering whether the display required to generate the augmented reality display could be presented as part of the eyeball itself. I recalled that a UK newspaper writing about a Glass engineer stated: “[Thad] Starner met Larry Page and Sergey Brin, cofounders of Google, in 1998, and they talked about how cool it would be to have a computer in your eyeball. Later, Page offered him a job with Google.” Dr. Starner is a member of the Glass team. The York Dispatch added, “His doctoral work, titled “Wearable Computing and Contextual Awareness,” dealt with pattern recognition and how wearable computing can be used for purposes such as recognizing hand motions used in sign language.” (Source: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/news/ci_20750762/)

 

But the book chapter I spotted on that café floor continued to suggest a more significant application of the wearable computing idea, perhaps one beyond a contact lens. The answer, in part, may be tucked into the dense language of Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz’s work. I tracked down the source of the “self-assembly” chapter. “Using Biomolecules for Self-Assembly of Engineered Nano-Scale Structures and Devices” appeared in Nanofabrication: Fundamentals and Applications edited by a fellow with a memorable name, Ampere A. Tseng. The book was published in 2008 by World Scientific.

 

The main point of this particular chapter written by Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz and two associates is that nanoscale self-assembly makes possible components and devices. The work of Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz is focused on implementing devices which are at the nano-scale. “Nano” refers to a nanometer, one-billionth of a meter. These can be built using nano assembly. Chemistry and physical properties become the methods for hooking, connecting, and coating nano-scale components. If Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz is correct about nanotechnology, Google Glass and related implementations will follow a miniaturization trajectory which propels devices to get smaller and smaller, such as those that can be embedded in a button or swallowed. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told a conference audience last year that he would swallow robots in the future (See http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/2012/10/eric-schmidt-plans-to-swallow-robots.html), and for those not so eager to ingest them, they can also be injected into a living organism.

 

Let’s assume that this steady march to miniaturization is motivating companies like Google to hire experts like Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz. What are the implications for professionals using computer technology?

 

First, the traditional devices will not go away, but the manufacturing processes are likely to undergo significant change. Opportunities will be created, but some companies may find that their products and services cannot be easily reengineered to meet the micro-scale and nano-scale future.

 

Second, the emergence of self-assembly may drive the cost of semiconductors to even lower prices than one can find in the store today. The proliferation of low-cost, powerful computing devices melts away barriers to ubiquitous computing.

 

Third, the data generated by large numbers of tiny devices which can communicate means that Big Data will become Even Bigger Data. One application area alone, like medical monitoring, creates a flow of high-value data which will require new approaches to collating and analyzing the outputs of nano-scale monitors.

 

Fourth, the notion of wearing goggles or putting an uncomfortable lens in one’s eye to make a phone call or look up a location on a digital map becomes as old fashioned as the brick cell phone. The new approach will be to have nano-devices assemble themselves in one’s eye.

 

The goal is not glasses. Glasses, clearly, are just a bridge to the goal. And that goal may be to embed a computer in your eyeball.

 

I must admit that these implementations are likely to be years, maybe decades in the future. I think I will skip the smartphone watch and smartphone contact lens. A nano-device sounds just right to me. The interesting thought is that for many young people, a nano-device will be the obvious choice. Only old people carry a smartphone, wear a watch, or insert a contact lens.

 

Nano-devices are likely to be hotter than the latest Nike sneaker.

 

Stephen E. Arnold

10116

Danger of Surveillant Brought By Google Glass

Ever since Google Glass came out, people have been worried about how easy it is to record video covertly with the technology.  Sure, it could protect the safety of war-reporters or witnesses who capture footage of a crime in progress - but what about creep shots?

What about the paranoia that can arise from the constant threat of surveillance?

 

Some have hailed the rival company GlassUp as an affordable alternative for those who want smart spectacles but are uncomfortable with the filming capabilities of Google Glass.  While Google Glass can do basically everything a smart phone can do, GlassUp is receive-only – meaning that it mainly is a tool for passively reading text messages, emails, and status updates.  Although it does promise closed captioning abilities, it is not really a recording device.  Most importantly, its current model does not have a camera.

 

But that may be changing soon.  I spoke recently with Francesco Giartosio, the founder and CEO of GlassUp and he confirmed that there will be version of GlassUp with a camera next year.

 

“We are very focused on the no-camera version…but we have been asked to do a camera version so much that we will do it” Giartoso said.

 

He assured me that he is still concerned with respecting privacy rights, claiming that people will always be able to tell when someone is filming with GlassUp because the camera will be very noticeable and there will be a light that turns on when it is recording video.

 

However, when I asked Giartoso if GlassUp would ever use face recognition technology, he gave a rather noncommittal response, stating that it largely depends on the developers and it would probably be a long time before that technology is in the works, anyways.

 

Google has already banned facial recognition software on both Google Glass and on its Android mobile devices – which means that people cannot access your facebook and your online image history just by looking at you with Google technology.  The ban, however, is only a company policy—not a law.  It is only a matter of time before another software developer makes a less ethically designed version of the smart-specs and churns out a huge profit with it.

 

At the moment, GlassUp seems the less ominous choice – but who knows if it will stay that way if demand favors the spyware route for the technology?  For all our worries about smart specs, the ability to film in secret might be the main attraction for many to the technology, in which case, the noticeable camera of GlassUp might make it sell less than the competition.  Despite high ideals, it may be difficult for GlassUp continue protecting privacy rights against such competition.

 

Unless they stay in a novelty niche market, the competition for smart spec developers is just beginning.  The market will decide what product is the most popular.  What it won’t decide, however, is what product is the most beneficial to society.  Should we really wait for the market to set the rules for this product?

363

Top Startup & Tech News Today: 7 Things You Missed

CitizenTekk brings you the top startup & tech news today - August 18th, 2013

1. Ubuntu sets crowdfund pledge record for Edge smartphone.

Ubuntu Edge’s crowdfunding smartphone campaign has raised more money in pledges than any other similar venture. The London-based developer, Canonical, has raised $10,288,472 in pledge money. But, this is still far from their funding goal of $32 million. As per policy of Indiegogo, the fundraiser’s host, Ubuntu would have to return the $10 million if they do not meet their $32 million goal. If the goal is met, Ubuntu would like to deliver 40,000 phones to qualifying backers by next May.

The smartphone has received a lot of press and acclamation though, from companies and individuals alike. Last week, Bloomberg announced that it had made an $80,000 contribution, saying that the open-source initiative could benefit its clients and change the future of mobile computing. But, Mr. Shuttleworth did admit that the product might be too much of an outlier relative to current smartphones; many major telecom companies, then, would not consider backing it.

The proposed smartphone’s apps would look like standard mobile apps when the Ubuntu smartphone was used as a standalone device. But, the apps would change their user interfaces to that of a desktop application when the phone was docked with a monitor. The OS itself could support apps written in the HTML5 web language.

The crowfunding campaign ends August 21st. But, But Mr. Green says that Ubuntu’s current pricing is an “absolute bargain”. “The product was sound. I would not say it is expensive.”

2. After Jimmy Wales makes a stand against China, Wikipedia’s Chinese editor banned from leaving country

Wikipedia China editor Huang Zhisong has told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that he has been banned by authorities from leaving China until 2016. He believes this is to put pressure on him, and is a result of his frequent trips to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan on Wikpedia editorial issues. When Huang Zhisong asked a local bureau agent why he could not leave mainland China, his response was that he should know the reason. This comes a week after Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said he would not comply with any form of censorship on Wikipedia’s Chinese site.

 

3. Cisco announced Wednesday that it will cut 4,000 jobs, citing a difficult economic climate.

These layoffs make up 5% of Cisco’s workforce. Cisco’s shares plunged 10% in after-hours trading after initially slipping 4% when Cisco released its fourth quarter fiscal results.

CEO John Chambers says that he’s “real pleased” but Cisco is “just not growing as fast as we need.” He isn’t worried at all about Cisco’s performance against competitors though. Overall, Cisco made $2.8 billion on sales of $12.4 billion for its fourth quarter. Cisco’s focus on Internet trends (such as video, wireless, and big data) has helped propel the company. Shares have risen up by 34% so far this year. The company has also stockpiled $50.6 billion in cash, which is $3 billion more than its previous quarter.

Since Cisco touches all part of the networking process, a large part of the company’s success is tied to the world’s economy. “A lot of [sales and growth] depends on GDP and global markets growth,” Chambers said. “We’re just not seeing it.”

4. The Only Startups That Matter To Job Creation

The idea that small business runs U.S. job creation is a common one. It is also an incorrect one. The Census Bureau shows that small businesses destroys jobs at nearly the same rate as it creates them.

The Kauffman Foundation has an insightful report showing that not all small businesses are equal-opportunity job destroyers. High-tech startups, unlike small businesses in general, create net new jobs.

In 2011, high-tech companies between one and five years of age created 16,700 jobs. Other similarly aged-businesses in the private sector overall lost 513,700 jobs. What’s more, the foundation concludes that startups aren’t located just in the Silicon Valley. Some most dynamic cities for high-startups include Missoula, Montana, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. But Colorado outshines them all, with Boulder, Fort Collins-Loveland, the greater-Denver area and Colorado Springs in the top 10 metropolitan areas marked by a density of high-tech startups.

This is all good news for the U.S. economy. There is more geographic and economic diversity among high-tech formations than the private sector in general. Results of other studies show that one high-tech job results in four others. Studies also show that the process of innovation and entrepreneurship, which is generally costly in the short term, leads to productivity growth. All in all, high-tech startups are good for the U.S. economy.

 

5. Bridging The Gap Between Tech Startups And The Fortune 500

How can a tech startup and a Fortune 500 company team up for mutual benefits? The most common ways are through corporate venture capital arms, contests, package of benefits geared to startups, and accelerator programs.

The main advantage of taking capital from corporate venture capitalists is that they become your internal allies at the firm. However, caution must be taken, as some of these investors may restrict your ability to exit to a competitor, as well as the possibility that the corporation may create something competitive with your product. It is for these reasons that some traditional venture capitalists are highly averse to working with corporate venture capitalists.

Fortune 500 companies also use contests to attract startups to work on problems the company cannot solve in-house. They also employ freebies to build relationships with startups. This not only promotes the company’s core services to new customers, but also hopefully locks the Fortune 500 company new and permanent customers.

The accelerator model has been around for a while and has produced some prominent companies; now, some Fortune 500 companies also want to get into the game. Nike, GE, and IBM are famous examples of companies that are trying to do so.

Startups should look into these opportunities and take advantages of the resources of larger companies, if it is possible for them and to their advantage.

6. Taxi-hailing apps offer unexpected benefit to minority riders

Taxi-hailing apps have become extremely popular in cities with infamously poor taxi services. However, minorities have found unexpected success using these apps to hail cabs that would otherwise have driven past them out of fear, xenophobia, and discrimination.

These apps “remove the uncertainty that you face that a cab driver will pass you by because they’re profiling you based on how you look expecting that you will maybe want to go to the outer boroughs like Brooklyn or Queens or sort of more nefariously potentially be a criminal,” says Stacy-Marie Ishmael. Ishmael said it is common for minorities to get passed over for travelers who look relatively “less brown” than them.

 

7. Wearable Computing Startup InteraXon gets $6 Million To Read Your Mind.

InteraXon is making a thought-controlled headband called Muse. They have managed to raise $6 milllion in Series A funding. They expect to release Muse in early 2014.

 

238

Top Tech and Startup News: 7 Things You Missed Today

1. John Carmack joins the Oculus team to work on the software for The Rift

John Carmack is a co-founder to the id software, and is most known for his programming work in the quake series. He has recently joined Oculus as Chief Tech Officer, where they have been focused on virtual reality technology. The goal for Oculus over the past year has been to develop a new type of hardware, where the user would be engulfed in a virtual reality while playing their game.
According to Carmack in an interview at QuakeCon in 2012 the prototype they are selling at the moment, is not meant for consumers. The project is still very much in the developmental stage and those at Oculus are hoping to get developers to look at their work and give feedback. In time after they work out all of the kinks, such as developing better software to support it and having more than one game to play on it, then it will be consumer ready. However, they recommend to those who want to support their project, wait until it would be worth the cost when it is software supported.
http://www.oculusvr.com/blog/john-carmack-joins-oculus-as-cto/

2. LiveScript, Julia and Elixir: Three Languages To Watch

 

Livescript is a JavaScript and CoffeeScript compatible language that is meant to be more user friendly. Livescript 1.2 was recently released, and is meant to be used at any point a person would use Java.

Julia is another language, more specifically meant for science, since it is more expressive with a larger library than most other languages that focuses on scientific computing tasks. Julia is not only a higher performance language, but is also faster than other languages.
Elixir is a modern version of Erlang VM, taking out what did not work in Erlang and keeping what did is a step forward to say the least. Some of Elixirs features are: list comprehensions, Metaprogramming via macros, and Protocol-based inheritance.
All of these more unheard of languages have massive potential, and have the purpose of making life easier for those who want to or need a language, but are unsure as to which is best for you. There are more than just the well-known and popularized languages such as JavaScript and Coffeescript.
http://adambard.com/blog/3-languages-to-watch/

3. A New Form of Terrorism: Hacker Terrorists

With the increasing dependency on the internet, a new form of terrorism is being achieved through hacking.
Michael Hayden, former NSA chief, calls these transparency groups “terrorists.”

 

But there are two sides to the story. Some see releasing sensitive information, as Edward Snowden did, as dangerous to the US government. Others see the transparency groups as “hacktivists” trying to bring light to unknown government activity.
Hayden jumps to the conclusion that hackers will target The World Trade Centers. “So if they can’t create great harm to dot-mil, who are they going after? Who for them are the World Trade Centers? The World Trade Centers, as they were for al-Qaida.” Said Michael Hayden during his Washington speech given on Tuesday, assuming that hackers want to target the US government for malicious reasons.
Although the conclusion given is from assumption, there is real fear with the dependency on technology today. When it comes to banking and personal information being out there, it is a real threat that personal and government information could be used for harm. Real terrorists, not just transparency groups, could use hacking to access private information from the government and use it to cause harm.
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/06/cyberscare_ex_nsa_chief_calls_transparency_groups_hackers_next_terrorists/singleton/

4. Google glasses are potentially disruptive and could violate privacy, but do the risks out way the potential benefits?

Some of the many points brought up against Google glasses, are the safety concerns when driving. It was said by “Henry Jasny, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety’s general counsel. ‘It will be just like cellphones, which became too ubiquitous and popular while driving.”’ (Jessica Meyers) Also thought to be a privacy issue when it comes to doctor patient confidentiality, yet it is also believed google glasses could help determine a diagnosis.
Another point brought up by police, is that although it could help with evidence, the video could be turned off and on leaving out context, leading to more troublesome than beneficial proof. There is also potential use for piracy when it comes to movies in the theaters. Many places are already beginning to ban Google glass from being used, even though there is not even a release date for the product.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller believes that no matter what is thought of now, it will take time before any policy can be made. This is probably for the best, since the only way to know the full scale of issues and benefits brought by Google glass will be known once the product is out and used by large number of the populace and not just the few who got a hold of the prototypes from Google.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/google-glass-to-see-fill-of-policy-questions-95194.html

 

5. Starting-Up your own business? Here are some tips

 

Good management is not the most important thing, companies who are just starting out often do not have the resources for it, and many big companies today started out very small with none at all. Although recently The Wall Street journal reported that cyber security was not going to be very big, Defense.net reported 9.5 million in funding. One thing to keep in mind is that most entrepreneurs often did not get in much legal trouble as teens, according to Arizona State University study.

 

However, if you are not looking to start a business, but instead invest in one, looking at the JOBS act and becoming an angel investor might just be the route for you. It is an easier way to get involved with much less risk than starting a business of your own.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323477604578653960989851832.html

6. New OS based on Bluetooth could revolutionize the way we live

Estimote is a company looking to promote their new product that brings the physical world reality into smart phones. If you were to walk around a museum, all you would have to do is look at your phone and the nearest art to you would be instantly described. If inside a store all that you were looking at would be in your phone, no need to keep track of what you want to get in the future, because your phone would do it for you.
Right now the technology is going to work using “motes” simple waterproof Bluetooth devices that would connect to smartphones, not just to track where you are, but with enough motes around the world or in a shop. A smartphone could map out the store that customer is in, also keeping track of products looked at and what part of the store the person is in.
With this technology, there is some privacy issues, since the ability to keep track of where a person is at all times is a little scary. Who exactly would be able to get a hold of this information would be important. However, it could revolutionize the way people shop, by eliminating buying at a store, it could just be a floor room and order over the phone while letting someone else handle the delivery, such as amazon. Possibly finding cheaper companies with the exact same product that is in front of you. Right now a package of 3 “motes” is available to developers for $99.
http://www.wired.com/design/2013/08/how-a-startups-cheap-sensors-could-bring-shopping-and-mobile-computing-into-the-future/

506

Tech and Startup News: 7 Things You Missed Today

Tech and startup news for August 5th, 2013

1. Government scientists reveal what they’ve come up with to make civilian internet faster, safer, and more efficient through quantum cryptography.”

US government laboratory scientists reveal that they’ve been operating a network that communicates in an exceptionally safe and potentially “hacker-resistant” environment since 2011. They have achieved this by using something called “quantum cryptography.”

What is quantum cryptography? Imagine the few seconds gap between the next loaded page when you click “buy” while online shopping. “That’s because of the cryptography,” says Hughes, a member of the laboratory team. It takes time to create a secure line to transmit sensitive information, like your card number, between your laptop, eBay, and your bank. But “in our case that just wouldn’t happen,” says Hughes, “in principle [our invention] could speed up the Internet.”

Researchers say that this hacker-resistant internet could be swiftly and cost-effectively applied to civilian internet. At consumer level, this would mean a safe and speedier internet when you go online, search up things on Google, and online shop. It would also help keep businesses and government institutions safe - secrets could finally stay private.

 

http://www.theconnectivist.com/2013/05/declassified-the-governments-quantum-internet/?utm_source=taboola

 

2. The Washington Post To Be Sold To Amazon.com Founder Jeff Bezos

 

Jeff Bezos, who was made famous by his entrepreneurship, is purchasing the Washington Post for a hefty sum of $250 million. Bezos will become the new and sole owner of the Washington Post when the sale is complete. The Post Co, who currently runs the Washington Post, will change to an undecided name and continue as a publicly traded company without the Washington Post.

 

The Washington Post has been the center of breaking domestic issues. Reporters from the Washington Post broke news of Watergate, and in June, the National Security Agency’s surveillance program. However, financial issues forced the company’s board to consider selling in order to bring in revenue.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/washington-post-to-be-sold-to-jeff-bezos/2013/08/05/ca537c9e-fe0c-11e2-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html

 

3. The Story of Jaclyn Konzelmann: “Why I Quit Microsoft To Join A 5 Person Startup In Toronto”

When Jaclyn Konzelmann was working in Seattle for Microsoft, she would have told you that she loved it and would never leave. Now, she is currently in Toronto, sleeping on air mattresses after taking a huge pay cut because she is “homeless.” Although her life may have gotten harder, she is happier - and she is always surprised that people show no shock when she tells them her story.

Read the 6 things that drove her away from Microsoft and her journey leaving the software giant behind at http://jaclynkonzelmann.tumblr.com/post/29070457063/why-i-quit-microsoft-to-join-a-5-person-start-up-in

 

4. FBI might be using malware to try to expose anonymous identities.

Over the weekend, security researchers at Tor noticed an anonymous “darknet” on their network. Some hacker was trying to use a custom made malware to identify its users. According to Wired’s sources, this hacker was not a random stranger - it was a member of the FBI.

This is worrying for advocates of privacy because Tor’s goal is to protect the anonymity of its users. The hacker got in through a security flaw in Firefox and identified users on websites hosted by Freedom Hosting. The telltale signs that this hack was a FBI operation are stemmed in the details of the hack. The hack took place in Reston, Virginia, miles away from the FBI’s headquarters. And, instead of breaking into the website to build a backdoor and steal usernames and passwords (like most hackers would have done), the malware simply identified users in an “evidence-gathering” way.

One possible reason for the monitoring of this website is Freedom Hosting’s infamous reputation for being a favorite destination for child porn. Anonymous actually targeted the hosting service in 2011 for hosting illicit and child pornographic material. Last Thursday, chid porn kingpin Eric Eoin Marques was arrested in Ireland - if the FBI was participating in an investigation related to Marques and his contacts in the United States, Freedom Hosting would be one of the primary places to look at.

On one hand, child pornography is highly illegal and highly awful, so it makes sense to do what you can to stop it. But on the other hand, it seems as though the government is inching towards breaking privacy lines day after day. Is this a step in the right direction for justice or is this a step towards a slippery slope that will one day lead to a complete lack of privacy for the American citizen?

 

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/08/is-the-fbi-trying-to-expose-the-anonymous-internet-using-malware/

5. The Rise Of The Hardware Startup

 

GABA, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving networking between German-American and Californian businesses will host “The Rise Of The Hardware Startup” next week in Palo Alto.

GABA has assembled a panel of experts, with expertise ranging from corporations to startups to manufacturing and investing. The event takes place August 15th and costs $25-$34.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/08/05/coming-up-rise-of-the-hardware-startup.html

 

6. Too busy or too lazy? There’s a startup for that.

It’s a new trend: startups catering to people who can’t - or won’t - do something for themselves.

If you don’t want to clean the house, you hit up Exec or Homejoy. If you don’t want to go grocery shopping, you can have Instacart bring your groceries to your door. If you don’t feel like cooking, Hasty will bring you healthy, gourmet cooked meals. Prim will pick up and do your laundry for you. And if you somehow manage to get sick, you can call Mediacast and have them find you a doctor who makes house calls.

The average salary of a Bay Area employee is estimated at $101,278 in 2012. Long working days and a high salary leads to a propensity to pay others to do your chores for you - as can be seen in the successfulness and wide use of these startups. For example, TaskRabbit, a startup that connects you to people willing to do your errands, is popular with many big tech names. An software engineer admits to using TaskRabbit to have someone stand in  the Apple iPhone 5 line on opening day. Roy Bahat, former IGN Entertainment president, admits to have hired a TaskRabbit to drive his car from meeting to meeting.

Although some of the startups may seem impractical it is clear there there is a market for laziness and a lack of time in the Bay Area, and these startups are definitely exploiting it.

 

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/08/05/too-busy-too-lazy-theres-a-startup-for-that/?iid=HP_River

 

7. 10 Sci-Fi Hacks That Are Now a Reality

Ten things you can now do thanks to the advancement of technology: Remote-Control a car; Kill someone with technology (hack their pacemaker, hack their heart); Spy on someone by hacking their phone; Impersonate a cell phone tower; Monitor people through their TV; Hijack a house through home automation systems; Induce power outages through cyber attacks; Spy on surveillance cameras; Spy on entire cities and Clone employee’s access badges to gain access to private facilities by scanning the badge.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kennedy/10-scifi-hacks-that-are-n_b_3709414.html

1122

Does Google Have a Top-Secret Plan to Embed Computers in Our Eyes?

Google’s earnings for the second quarter of 2013 reminded me that the search giant faces some challenges.

 

Expenses moved up a couple of billion dollars from the same quarter in 2012. (See http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/18/after-a-quarter-of-huge-momentum-goog-posts-14-11b-in-revenue). More troubling, Business Insider said, “The total number of paid clicks that Google gets continues to go up, but Google gets paid less for each one. In other words, Google’s rock is still rolling up the hill but it takes a lot more energy to maintain that momentum than it used to.” (http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-why-google-missed-its-q2-revenue-expectations-2013-7)

 

Google may have to do some fast dancing with its current short term pricing and also with its innovations over a longer period of time. It’s no surprise that the competition is nearing. For example, Microsoft is working on a wristwatch smartphone described in “Microsoft Testing Surface Watch”. (See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10185372/Microsoft-testing-Surface-watch.html).

 

Perhaps this urgency is the reason Google has been pushing forward with Google Glass’s next version. On the recent quarter’s earnings call, Larry Page, Google’s senior manager, said: “I love using Glass because I feel like every time I’m using Glass I’m living that future, that’s really, really exciting to me.” (See http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-googles-larry-page-over-the-moon-about-glass-and-other-moonshots-20130719,0,219679.story).

 

Have I inadvertently glimpsed one possible trajectory for Google Glass? Is Google leapfrogging smartphones as wristwatches and moving beyond contact lenses and belt packs? Is Google looking to make revenue waves in medical diagnostics, nanomachines, and possibly DNA-scale communication devices? Google Glass might just be lapping our ideas of science fiction. Perhaps that $2 billion jump in R&D an indication that clean rooms, new research facilities, and world-class nanotechnology experts are signaling a new direction for Google. It’s not unthinkable they are dipping into nano-bioengineering and synthetic biology. Could Google become a nanotechnology giant? I found some interesting open source intelligence which may help frame this question, but I only know one thing for certain: Google is not doing much talking about self-assembly, bioengineering, and nanotechnology.

 

A month ago, I was sitting in Hotel Zetta near Union Square watching for Glass owners and reading on my iPad an article about Microsoft’s answer to Google Glass. Glass, as you probably know, is a smartphone converted to a heads up display. A Glass user dons a pair of eyeglasses and voilà, the smartphone display is hovering in the Glass wearer’s field of vision. The gizmo is controlled with voice commands like “Okay, Glass” or by touching the temple of the eyeglasses. While intriguing, Glass is not perfect. But regadless, Google’s clever public relations machine has propelled the new tool into headline news status, sending the tech savvy world in a frenzy. Google, once again, is delivering the future. Sure, Glass reminded me of the robot’s enhanced vision in The Terminator, but the form factor was almost a dead ringer for the eye wear of Geordi La Forge in the sci-fi blockbuster Star Trek: The Next Generation and its feature films.

 

Google Glasses: Is that the Goal? Vet Google Analyst believes it's to embed computers in our eyes

Google Glasses: Is that the Goal? Vet Google Analyst Stephen E. Arnold believes it may be to embed computers in our eyes

 

 

The young person sitting next to me in the hotel lobby knocked a pile of photocopies to the floor. I put down my iPad and helped the person pick up the scattered papers. One photocopy was a big fat book chapter or technical article. I glanced at the title and noticed the word “self-assembly.” I asked them if I could copy down the title of the thick photocopy. The person said, “Sure, it’s from a textbook.”

 

The chapter was called “Using Biomolecules for Self-Assembly of Engineered Nano-Scale Structures and Devices.” I had some time to poke around and I was able to locate a PDF of the information written by Ranjana Mehta, John Lund, and Babak A. Parviz. The “Parviz” name triggered in my memory the fact that the Google Glass project lead was a fellow named Babak Amirparviz. Was this the same person? If so, why two different names?

 

I remember that in my past Google research, I discovered that often times when Google hires a smart person, they—for some reason—publish under a modified name. Examples include Alon Levy (dataspaces expert) becoming Alon Halevy and Charles Lee (Glass business development professional) working as Steve Lee. Was Dr. Babak Parviz the same person as the head of Glass, Dr. Babak Amirparviz? I poked around and learned, interestingly enough, that it was the same expert.

 

When I surfed through my collection of Google open source documents, I noticed that Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz delivered a lecture at a conference about putting electronic devices on a contact lens. The talk was from 2008 and a version of that presentation was published by the IEEE in 2008 as document 978-1-4244-1793-3/08 with the title “Contact Lens with Integrated Inorganic Semiconductor Devices.”

 

Dr. Amirparviz is the Glass project manager. Does it make sense that a world-leading expert in self-assembly, fluidics, and nanotechnology, would confine his efforts to the clunky eyeglasses form factor? Isn’t the trajectory more likely to be from the eyeglasses to a contact lens and then to even smaller devices?

 

Obviously, a users may not tolerate a contact lens version of Glass. This begs the question: is there a way to put a smartphone or, at least, most of its components into a much smaller form factor? I began wondering whether the display required to generate the augmented reality display could be presented as part of the eyeball itself. I recalled that a UK newspaper writing about a Glass engineer stated:

“[Thad] Starner met Larry Page and Sergey Brin, cofounders of Google, in 1998, and they talked about how cool it would be to have a computer in your eyeball. Later, Page offered him a job with Google.”

Dr. Starner is a member of the Glass team. The York Dispatch added, “His doctoral work, titled “Wearable Computing and Contextual Awareness,” dealt with pattern recognition and how wearable computing can be used for purposes such as recognizing hand motions used in sign language.” (Source: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/news/ci_20750762/)

 


But the book chapter I spotted on that café floor continued to suggest a more significant application of the wearable computing idea, perhaps one beyond a contact lens. The answer, in part, may be tucked into the dense language of Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz’s work. I tracked down the source of the “self-assembly” chapter. “Using Biomolecules for Self-Assembly of Engineered Nano-Scale Structures and Devices” appeared in Nanofabrication: Fundamentals and Applications edited by a fellow with a memorable name, Ampere A. Tseng. The book was published in 2008 by World Scientific.

 

The main point of this particular chapter written by Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz and two associates is that nanoscale self-assembly makes possible components and devices. The work of Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz is focused on implementing devices which are at the nano-scale. “Nano” refers to a nanometer, one-billionth of a meter. These can be built using nano assembly. Chemistry and physical properties become the methods for hooking, connecting, and coating nano-scale components. If Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz is correct about nanotechnology, Google Glass and related implementations will follow a miniaturization trajectory which propels devices to get smaller and smaller, such as those that can be embedded in a button or swallowed. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told a conference audience last year that he would swallow robots in the future (See http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/2012/10/eric-schmidt-plans-to-swallow-robots.html), and for those not so eager to ingest them, they can also be injected into a living organism.

 

Let’s assume that this steady march to miniaturization is motivating companies like Google to hire experts like Dr. Parviz/Amirparviz. What are the implications for professionals using computer technology?

 

First, the traditional devices will not go away, but the manufacturing processes are likely to undergo significant change. Opportunities will be created, but some companies may find that their products and services cannot be easily reengineered to meet the micro-scale and nano-scale future.

 

Second, the emergence of self-assembly may drive the cost of semiconductors to even lower prices than one can find in the store today. The proliferation of low-cost, powerful computing devices melts away barriers to ubiquitous computing.

 

Third, the data generated by large numbers of tiny devices which can communicate means that Big Data will become Even Bigger Data. One application area alone, like medical monitoring, creates a flow of high-value data which will require new approaches to collating and analyzing the outputs of nano-scale monitors.

 

Fourth, the notion of wearing goggles or putting an uncomfortable lens in one’s eye to make a phone call or look up a location on a digital map becomes as old fashioned as the brick cell phone. The new approach will be to have nano-devices assemble themselves in one’s eye.

 

The goal is not glasses. Glasses, clearly, are just a bridge to the goal. And that goal may be to embed a computer in your eyeball.

 

I must admit that these implementations are likely to be years, maybe decades in the future. I think I will skip the smartphone watch and smartphone contact lens. A nano-device sounds just right to me. The interesting thought is that for many young people, a nano-device will be the obvious choice. Only old people carry a smartphone, wear a watch, or insert a contact lens.

 

Nano-devices are likely to be hotter than the latest Nike sneaker which talks to an iPod.

 

Stephen E Arnold is a consultant providing strategic information services. You can find examples of his copyright free information at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress. For an in-depth briefing on topics related to Google Glass, contact him at seaky2000 at yahoo dot com.
Citizentekk, July 2013 submission from Stephen E Arnold © 2013 Stephen E Arnold 

 

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641

Special Report: Google Glass Arrest

For the first time, an arrest has been caught on film using Google Glass.

The arrest took place a couple of weeks ago when a fight broke out at a fourth of July celebration.  At the time, documentary-maker Chris Barrett had taken his computer-eyeware to the Jersey Shore boardwalk to film fireworks but ended up recording the fight.

 

After the celebration, Barrett posted his footage on YouTube, claiming in his post that “this video is proof that Google Glass will change citizen journalism forever!”

 

In an interview with NPR, Barrett said that Google Glass could help ensure the safety of journalists since it could allow war reporters capture footage while leaving their hands free to protect themselves.  He added that it could also help reporters film situations discreetly when knowledge of their filming could put them in danger.

 

Yet it is that same ability to film discreetly that has many privacy advocates worried. Christopher Gevrey of Reuters claimed that Barrett’s footage “foreshadows the rapidly approaching future where everything can be filmed serendipitously by folks wearing devices like Google Glass without the knowledge of the parties involved.”

 

In response to a series of questions from 10 privacy regulators from around the world, Google said last month that it won’t be changing any of its privacy policies for Glass-specific concerns.  However, Google has announced that the company will think carefully about lawmakers’ feedback.

 

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