My Appearance on WGST's "The Sully Show" 2/20/15 - Breaking Tech News

Rick and Sully look at the top tech news stories of the week.

A must listen:

listen to ‘The Sully Show February 20, 2015’ on audioBoom

 

 
*** Breaking news  -  Lenovo laptops shipped in the last year might have
preinstalled malware called Superfish.
Researchers have unearthed a security vulnerability in preinstalled software on some Lenovo products that breaks secure website connections and puts sensitive user data at risk.

It is worrisome that Lenovo was installing adware called Superfish.

Go into your control panel and uninstall it if you have it.

1.  Apple might be working on a car  -  the iCar?

From Reuters...

Technology giant Apple (AAPL.O) is looking beyond mobile devices to learn how to make a self-driving electric car, and is talking to experts at carmakers and automotive suppliers, a senior auto industry source familiar with the discussions said on Saturday.

The Cupertino, California-based maker of phones, computers and, soon, watches is exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just designing automotive software or individual components, the auto industry source said.

"They don't appear to want a lot of help from carmakers," said the source, who declined to be named.
Apple is gathering advice on parts and production methods, focusing on electric and connected-car technologies, while studying the potential for automated driving, the source said.

 

2.  FAA Proposes Rules To Limit Commercial Drone Use

We've talked about this before.

Applies only to commercial use right now...

The Federal Aviation Administration, last Sunday proposed long-awaited rules on the commercial use of small drones, requiring operators to be certified, fly only during daylight and keep their aircraft in sight. The rules, though less restrictive than the current ones, appear to prohibit for now the kind of drone delivery services being explored by Amazon, Google and other companies, since the operator or assigned observers must be able to see the drone at all times without binoculars. But company officials believe the line-of-sight requirement could be relaxed in the future to accommodate delivery services.
 

3. Privacy: the 21st Century's Newest Luxury Item

There is a report today on the 21st century's newest luxury item: online privacy The Christian Science Monitor writes about the growing market for premium privacy protection tools available to tech-savvy consumers with the desire for online anonymity — and the means to pay for it.

The piece profiles new tools from companies like Abine that deliver everything from self-destructing e-mail messages to the 21st century's equivalent of Kleenex: one-off "throwaway" online identities to keep advertisers, merchants and government snoops at bay. Privacy experts, however, doubt that the new tools will tip the scales of online privacy in favor of consumers and away from governments and advertisers. "Consumers really don't have a fighting chance," says Andrea Matwyshyn of Princeton University. "Technology moves entirely too fast."

She and others see the need for both bigger fixes and the level of Internet infrastructure and law. "As a consumer protection matter, there needs to be a floor," she said. "Just as there are laws protecting renters from substandard housing, or car buyers from 'lemons,' there need to be regulations that create a buffer between consumers and companies."

4. 1950s Toy That Included Actual Uranium Ore Goes On Display At Museum

The Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab — dubbed the world's most dangerous toy — has gone on display at the Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland. The toy earned the title because it includes four types of uranium ore, three sources of radiation, and a Geiger counter that enables parents to measure just how contaminated their child have become. The Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab was only available between 1951 and 1952 and was the most elaborate atomic energy educational kit ever produced. The toy was one of the most costly toys of the time, retailing at $50 — equivalent to around $400 today.
 

5.  What is the "Cloud"

* One of the most frequent questions I get from people, and they know they are using it, but they don't know what "The Cloud" is...

Cloud computing involves deploying groups of remote servers and software networks that allow centralized data storage and online access to computer services or resources.

Simply put..
The cloud, simply, refers to software and services that run on the Internet instead of your computer. Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, Amazon Cloud Drive, Flickr, Google Drive, Microsoft Office 365, Yahoo Mail -- those are all cloud services.

 

Daytona 500 this weekend... who is Rick's Pick?

Sullys Pick?