CES 2018: Laundry folding robot, bigger and rollable TVs, and Nokia sleep   

In this episode, we take a look at CES 2018, the biggest tech show in the world. Hear about autonomous cars, taxis, Samsung’s Wall TV, Razar’s laptop dock and FoldiMate’s laundry folding robot and more. 

Show Notes: 

• Fisker’s new luxury EMotion electric sedan is coming in 2020 with futuristic butterfly doors that open upwards at an angle.  
• Bell Helicopter is looking to bring us autonomous air taxis. Uber is partnering with Bell to help develop the project for launch sometime in the 2020s. 

• Samsung’s "The Wall" 4K TV is one of the largest (if not the biggest) TVs unveiled at CES 2018.  
• LG is showing off its eye-popping 65-inch rollable 4K OLED TV.  
• 50-qubit quantum computer that is capable of processing more calculations and could be a game-changer for AI and machine-learning. 
• FoldiMate laundry folding robot 
• Nokia has announced the Nokia Sleep, a bed sensor that sits under your mattress to provide you with data while you sleep 

• Fingerprint sensor under the display.  

Tech Bytes:  

Scientists at Harvard University recently unveiled a metalens that has the potential to shrink the size of any device that uses a camera while at the same time improving performance. 

While traditional lenses are made from glass, metalenses use a flat surface peppered with nanostructures to focus light. One problem with metalenses has been their inability to focus the full spectrum of light. 

That's not the case anymore, however, as a team at Harvard's Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a metalens that can focus the entire visible spectrum of light -- including white light -- at a focal point, with high resolution. 

This means that lens will be thinner making future phones and other devices much thinner.  

One of America's largest retirement villages will have a fleet of self-driving taxis introduced next year. 

US firm Voyage said it will start rolling out the service at The Villages, Florida which is home to 125,000 senior residents. 

It said the scheme, spanning 750 miles of road, would be the "largest by area size" in the world. 

Facebook is testing a new feature in its app where it will have city-specific local news, events and announcements available on its platform. 

The test is currently live for a new section called 'Today In' in six US cities.  

In this first episode of 2018, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about the world’s first ever tech nail which works as a phone, self-repairing screens can become a reality soon and a new technology from Nissan that uses signals from the driver's brain to aid in driving.  

Show Notes: 

According to report published in the journal Science, a research team has created a glass from a low-weight polymer that is able to re-bind cracks when pushed together by hand. This can also work at room temperature. 

Nail wearable 

In collaboration with inventor Sean Miles and beauty brand Nails Inc., the Mobile Nail is a new wearable that contains embedded technology that allows it to operate as a mobile "handset". The idea is that users can talk to their friends by simply raising their finger to their face. 

Brain-to-Vehicle 

Nissan announced some new automobile technology that goes beyond autonomous driving to make the car more responsive to the human hosts, and make driving more enjoyable. The new technology has been dubbed Brain-to-Vehicle, or B2V, technology and is said to enable vehicles to interpret signals from the driver's brain, "redefining how people interact with their cars". It's interesting to hear of Nissan's new B2V technology research as most other vehicle companies stride forward to remove the human from the driving equation. 

Tech Bytes: 

Spotify just announced that it has 70 million subscribers compared to Apple Music’s 30 million. Last July, Spotify had more than 60 million paid listeners and over 140 million active users. 

The App Store just blew through another record, Together, iPhone and iPad users spent $300 million in the App Store on the first day of 2018 alone.  

The company claims it set a new holiday record. "During the week starting on Christmas Eve, a record number of customers made purchases or downloaded apps from the App Store, spending over $890 million in that seven-day period," Apple said in a statement. 

Garmin announced Thursday an Intel-based infotainment platform for automotive manufacturers to embed in their products. For customers, Garmin's infotainment offering will bring Amazon Alexa, wireless rear-seat navigation, and other conveniences while driving or riding.  

Garmin is trying to take a shot at BlackBerry QNX, who has a large footprint in the infotainment space thanks to its partnerships with all the largest automotive industry chip suppliers. BlackBerry's software is in about 60 percent of the vehicles on the road. 

Trying to utilize its GPS expertise, Garmin's partnership with Amazon brings Alexa integration into Garmin's infotainment offering to enable drivers to control on-board navigation, media player software, and utilize Alexa skills –without the need for a smartphone. 

2017: Top searches, breakthrough technologies and biggest breaches 

In this episode, Marcello Sukhdeo talks the top searches on Google for 2017, also a look at 10 breakthrough technologies that emerged during the year and the biggest breaches of 2017 thus far.  

Show Notes 

It’s no secret that Google has been tracking us. Everything that we searched for on Google is being complied to see what the trends are and what we are interested in.  

https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2017/CA/ 

Technologies in 2017 

Looking back at 2017, there were some really innovative and breakthrough technologies that made the news. These technologies all have staying power. They will affect the economy and our politics, improve medicine, or influence our culture. Some are unfolding right now; and others will take a decade or more to develop.  

https://www.technologyreview.com/lists/technologies/2017/  

Biggest data breaches in 2017 

We’ve heard about so many data breaches during the year. As businesses continue in the path of digital transformation, some are making mistakes that others can learn from. 

The year 2017 was a record one for data breaches.  

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/biggest-data-breaches-2017  

Tech Bytes: 

Google has announced that it is bringing Google Assistant to older phones running Android 5.0 Lollipop and up. With this update, Google will be covering up to 80 percent of its active Android base with Google Assistant. This update has been rolled out to users with the language set to English in the US, UK, India, Australia, Canada and Singapore, as well as in Spanish in the US, Mexico and Spain. It’s also rolling out to users in Italy, Japan, Germany, Brazil and Korea." 

A few months after being spotted in tests, Twitter’s tool for creating tweestorms is now an official part of the app. Threads, as the company is calling them, let you string together tweets by tapping a new plus button in the tweet composer. “A few weeks ago, we expanded our character count to make it easier for people to fit what they’re thinking into a Tweet,” the company said in a blog post. “But we know people also may want to serialize a longer story or thought, or provide ongoing commentary on an event or topic. That’s where this update to threads comes in!” 

Snapchat is finally opening up so outside developers can help it offer infinite augmented reality experiences beyond those it designs in-house. Today, Snap launches the Lens Studio AR developer tool for desktops so anyone can create World Lenses that place interactive, imaginary 3D objects in your photos and videos. 

Lock 

In this episode, hear about ‘open banking’ and its concerns, smart apartments could change the future of health in Canada and how AI and Machine Learning are changing our customer service experience.

Show Notes:

Open banking is the concept of granting third-parties to access bank data to develop innovative apps. This according to Jeff Henderson, Toronto Dominion Bank's chief information officer could be a "game changer."

All but one of 100 payment executives at major banks globally said they were planning major investments in open banking by 2020, according to an online survey by consulting firm Accenture released last month.

But even as Canadian financial institutions toy with the idea, they're concerned about the looming risk to consumers' personal information amid the growing threat of cyberattacks.

The Accenture survey also showed that 50 per cent of respondents said that implementing the emerging concept increases risk.

The issue is because of this interconnectedness, this means if one bank is attacked then that could spread throughout the entire system affecting all other banks that are connected.

The smart apartment and aging in Canada

An apartment located inside Ottawa’s Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital, is a living laboratory that comes equipped with technology that gathers information to help identify memory and mobility issues.

This apartment looks like a typical one-bedroom senior’s apartment, but hidden inside are a series of sensors that could change the future of aging in Canada.

The Sensors and Analytics for Monitoring Mobility and Memory hub which was unveiled recently is the first of its kind in Canada that will work on the development and testing of new technologies to help seniors remain in their homes longer and more safely.

One of the technologies is a sensor pad on a bed that measures how a person gets out of bed — and can spot worrisome signs that could, for example, point to a stroke or other problem. There were also sensors on appliances to track how often and when the refrigerator was opened and whether the stove was left on, as well as a motion sensor that could help track movements throughout the apartment and sensors to check balance and the way a person walks.

AI to change the customer experience

In the world of customer service, we're experiencing the rise of chatbots, virtual digital assistants, and artificial intelligence (AI) agents, answering basic queries which allow humans to tackle more complex problems and improve the speed and efficiency of decisions.

These technologies will play a much more significant role in customer interactions in the next five years. According to Juniper Research, chatbots will create a cost savings of more than $8 Billion annually by 2022, up from $20 Million in 2017. In the enterprise, 31 per cent of business executives believe virtual personal assistants will have a substantial impact on their business, more than any other AI-powered solution according to a PwC report in 2017.

And 34 per cent of business executives say that the time saved that was generated from using digital assistants allows them to focus on deep thinking and creating.

Tech Bytes:

Apple may be getting into semiconductors in an even bigger way. The company may make its own iPhone power management chips as soon as 2018. Currently, Apple relies on supplier Dialog Semiconductor for those processors, which are important for making sure an iPhone charges correctly and doesn't consume too much energy.

Amazon.com Inc announced its adoption of Kubernetes, a popular open-source technology, in a sign of increased competition in the cloud computing business, which Amazon Web Services has long dominated.

Kubernetes has emerged as a standard among companies as they build more applications on public clouds, the big computer data centers that are displacing traditional customer-owned computer systems.

Earlier this year companies including Microsoft Corp, Oracle Corp and IBM Corp announced their support for Kubernetes, which was originally developed by a team at Google.

Samsung is looking into using palm scanning to remember forgotten passwords. 

Users would take a photo of their palm using the rear camera, in order to verify their identity. If the palm lines match with previous records, then Samsung would display a password hint scattered across the lines, so that you might be able to remember what your password is.

In this show, Uber is looking to get rid of motion sickness in self driving cars, Google has been tracking Android users even with location services turned off and Budweiser is about to start space experiments aimed at brewing beer on Mars.

Show Notes

Uber is working on a system to prevent travel sickness in cars. This is seen as an obstacle in the adoption of self-driving vehicles.

Uber describes this as a “sensory stimulation system for autonomous vehicles”. To get to the point of getting rid of motion sickness, Uber plans to use vibrating and moving seats, along with air blowing over your face and body, and also light bars and screens to prevent passengers from feeling travel sick.

The aim is to focus the rider’s attention on other activities like work, socialising, reading, writing and other activities which will change the rider’s perception of motion.

Google tracking

Google has confirmed it has been able to track the location of Android users via the addresses of local mobile phone masts, even when location services were turned off and the sim cards removed to protect privacy.

This story was reported by the Guardian.

In a report by Quartz, Google’s Android system, which handles messaging services to ensure delivery of push notifications, began requesting the unique addresses of mobile phone masts (called Cell ID) at the beginning of 2017.

The information was captured by the phone and routinely sent to Google by any modern Android device, even when location services were turned off and the sim card was removed. As a result Google could in theory track the location of the Android device and therefore the user, despite a reasonable expectation of privacy. 

Budweiser

When Budweiser announced earlier this year that it wanted to be the first company to brew beer on Mars, most commentators and almost everyone else laughed at the idea.

But for Budweiser, it is no laughing matter. It just announced that it is “upholding its commitment” and moving forward with the first stage of the plan. It involves sending barley

seeds to the International Space Station (ISS) this December to learn about how beer ingredients react in a microgravity environment.

Budweiser is hoping that when we finally build a city on Mars, then the Martians may want a beer or two from time to time. And Budweiser wants to be there to brew it.

To get the ball rolling, the famous beer brand is partnering with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the ISS U.S. National Laboratories, and Space Tango, a payload development company that operates two commercial research facilities within the National Laboratory.

Working with Budweiser’s innovation team, the group will send two barley-based experiments to the ISS as part of the next SpaceX cargo supply mission, scheduled for December 4.

Tech Bytes 

Following the success of its Galaxy S8 lineup this year, Samsung is now reportedly gearing up to show off the next generation of its flagship phones as soon as January 2018.

The upcoming devices, codenamed Star 1 and Star 2, will feature identical designs to the S8 and S8+, along with the same 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch curved Super AMOLED displays, respectively. Samsung is slated to reveal certain details about them at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Researchers from British energy price comparison platform Power Compare have discovered that the total volume of electricity required for mining Bitcoin – the computational process that keeps transactions on the blockchain moving – now amounts to more consumption than 159 individual countries.

In case you were wondering what all this electricity bills round up to, the researchers estimate the annual Bitcoin mining electricity costs currently stand at $1.5 billion. And if Bitcoin was a country, then it would rank 61st globally in terms of total electricity consumption.

And finally, Toronto is the best bet for technology companies looking to set up shop in a Canadian city, according CBRE annual ranking.

Ottawa took second prize on the list released Thursday, followed by Vancouver, Montreal, Waterloo Region, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg and London rounding off the Top 10.

Paramount Pictures is set to launch the first VR movie theater experience, Bose newest earphones to help you sleep better, and Facebook has removed the delete option for the web version of its platform.

Show Notes

Paramount Pictures in partnership with Bigscreen, is collaborating with several tech companies leading efforts in the virtual reality space — Oculus, Samsung, HTC and Microsoft, among others — to launch the very first VR movie theater.

To kick off the VR movie theater, Paramount plans to host a showing of "Top Gun" in 3D on Dec. 3. If you have a VR headset, you can sign on to bigscreenvr.com and experience Top Gun 3D in what looks like a movie theater.

Bose's newest headphones 

Bose is hoping with its newest headphones that it can be able to “put an end to sleepless nights” by cancelling out barks, snores and other irritating noises while you sleep — and it’s the smallest product they’ve ever made.

The earbuds connect to the “Bose Sleep” app on your phone, where you can choose which soothing sounds you prefer, out of 10 pre-loaded options.

They are estimated to cost $249 retail price.

Google Maps

Google Maps is adding a bit more colour to the interface and making things a little easier to pick out.

There are more categories than before, and the shades used are rather more pastel-like.

These changes will roll out to Maps and other Google products that use it over the next few weeks.

Tech Bytes

• Back in 2013, WhatsApp rolled push-to-talk voice messages. Now, the popular messenger is experimenting with a feature to record voice messages without having to hold that what many will consider that irritating button. WhatsApp will display a new sliding interface for the microphone button. Users will see an option to swipe up to lock into recording mode, allowing them to speak to their phones without holding the button.
• Vimeo has added HDR support to its video service. Users will be able to upload HDR videos in up to 8K, and the service also supports 10-bit video. Vimeo says all of its HDR videos will be available on the newest mobile devices with an HDR display, including the iPhone X and iPad Pro, and the Apple TV 4K as well.
• It appears that Facebook has removed the delete option on its web-based version. However, the option to delete posts is still available on the mobile website and in the iOS and Android apps. Some believe that Facebook is testing to see what kind of feedback it would get from this move or simply trying to get more users to use the mobile app version.

Blocking annoying popups in Google Chrome; keep your coffee warm for eight hours; Netflix email scam

In the show today, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about a Google Chrome update that will prevent websites from taking advantage of us by opening new tabs, a smart mug that can keep your coffee warm for up to eight hours, and if you are a Netflix subscriber there is an email scam that you need to be aware of. 

Show Notes: 

Google Chrome will now do more to prevent those annoying ways that websites try to take advantage of us.

Google is planning a new update which will prevent these websites from automatically launching new tabs and windows you never intended on opening in the first place. 

According to a blog post from Google, it says: "One piece of feedback we regularly hear from users is that a page will unexpectedly navigate to a new page, for seemingly no reason.” The source of these redirects, according to Google, is often content embedded within the site itself. 

Now, with the latest update, Chrome will block third-party content from launching new pages unless you're actively interacting with that content. With this update, you will get a notification to let you know the redirect has been blocked. 

A smart mug

The Ember Ceramic mug is a smart mug that connects to your phone through Bluetooth and allows you to set an ideal temperature for whatever you’re drinking (up to 62 degrees Celsius for Canadians). Once the beverage reaches that temperature, the mug will maintain it for up to eight hours.

The ceramic mug will retail for $79 US and is available exclusively at Starbucks and on Ember’s website. 

Netflix email scam

A well designed scanned email has been landing in the inboxes of millions of Netflix subscribers asking them to update their billing information. This of course is part of a large-scale phishing operation.

The email, which has the subject line: ‘Your suspension notification’, includes a link that takes readers what looks like a genuine Netflix home page. From there, readers are prompted to enter private information, regarding their billing details. 

Tech Bytes

Some 800 schools across the US have been targeted by hackers and their websites redirected to an Islamic State-sponsored YouTube video.

The attack, which lasted a few hours, affected schools in Arizona, Connecticut, Virginia and New Jersey.

The hack, which also affected private companies and government websites, is being investigated by the FBI.

Apple has offered to help the FBI with an encrypted phone belonging to Texas church shooter Devin Patrick Kelley after learning the bureau was having trouble getting into the device.

A statement from Apple reads: “Our team immediately reached out to the FBI after learning from their press conference on Tuesday that investigators were trying to access a mobile phone. We offered assistance and said we would expedite any legal process they send us."

Facebook has announced version 2.2 of Messenger. This new version introduces a series of new business-friendly features to the messaging platform. It includes a customer chat plugin that lets businesses integrate Messenger into their own website.

In this show, hear about how to turn your regular glasses into smart glasses, Samsung Pay in Canada gains new partners and now has the option to use debit cards, and Apple has made an update that now lets you change your third-party email address on your Apple ID to an Apple domain email.

Show Notes:

PogoCam

There’s a way to turn the glasses you already own into a pair of the smart glasses. Thanks to PogoCam from PogoTec.

This is a tiny camera, that you can attach to your existing pair of glasses or even sun glasses. It is fairly light and is not in your way to block your view. This camera which is removable has the function to record memories with the touch of a button on top.

It can hold up to 100 photos or six 30-second videos. The photos have a 5MP resolution, while videos are in 720p.

You can soon pre-order a PogoCam now for $149 US, with shipment expected for this fall.

Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay is getting its first big expansion in Canada. This includes the addition of new partners and the ability to finally use debit cards.

The new partners for Samsung Pay in Canada include Interac Debit, Scotiabank, American Express Canada, ATB Financial, Visa Canada, and Mastercard. Cards through these partners can be used on Samsung Pay now, and in addition to them, support for Tangerine and Peoples Card Services will also be rolling out soon.

Apple ID 

Apple has made an update to the process of changing the email address associated with your Apple ID. You can now change your Apple ID from a third-party email service such as Gmail or Yahoo to an Apple domain.

Now, with the update you can change your Apple ID from a third-party email to @iCloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.com account.

To make the switch:

Go to Settings > at the top where you see your name (tap) > Name, Phone Numbers, Email.

Next to Contactable At, tap Edit, then delete your current Apple ID.

Tap Continue. Enter the Apple ID that you want to use.

Tap Next.

Use your Apple ID account page

Go to appleid.apple.com and sign in.

In the Account section, click Edit.

Under your Apple ID, click Change Apple ID.

Enter the Apple ID that you want to use.

Click Continue.

Note: Once you changed your Apple ID from a third-party email address to an Apple domain, you cannot change back. 

Tech Bytes

Amazon announced its entry into the smart security camera business last week with the new $119 Cloud Cam.

The Cloud Cam works with a Cloud Cam app which is available on the Play Store. This is like a control center of your cameras on your phone. You can add cams, rename them, view the live stream if you want to drop in and check something, and activate two-way audio to talk to your kids or anyone at home, calm your pets, or scare an intruder. You also get notifications for motion alerts with the option to replay, download, share, or delete the automatically recorded videos.

The app lets you manage person alerts plus viewfinder zones to exclude areas you don't want to be monitored. Plus, you can use your phone as a presence detector and automatically turn off recording when you're home for privacy.

Social media giants Facebook and Instagram have told a parliamentary inquiry they are strongly opposed to any tightening of the laws on cyber bullying, saying prevention is better than cure.

The two platforms were invited to respond to the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee, which is looking at whether existing laws go far enough to punish perpetrators of cyber bullying. 

Concerns about cyber bullying and poor mental health resulting from sleep deprivation have prompted the principal of a private girls’ school to urge parents to ban all digital devices from bedrooms after lights out.

A recent study by the Australian Research Council indicated 75 per cent of Year 8s and 78 per cent of Year 11s were using their phones well into the night, up from 15 per cent in 2011.

The research also found most cyber bullying took place on social media late at night.

In this episode, hear more about how businesses are now targeting Generation Z, Using your watch or shoes as a form of two-factor authentication and a new ransomware attack, Bad Rabbit.

Show Notes:

For the longest while we have been hearing about Millennials and how they are being targeted by businesses as the main group to go after to increase sales but that is changing. Today, more and more efforts are being placed on targeting Generation Z.

Businesses have been preoccupied with how to cater to and exploit to their advantage the peculiar characteristics associated with consumers born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. But a new report released by Accenture indicates that the so-called Gen Z – the generation immediately following millennials – is the payment industry’s future customer base.

Gen Zs are projected to make up 40 per cent of all North American consumers by 2020, according to Accenture’s report Driving the future of payments – 10 mega trends. Accenture conducted an online survey of 1,000 adults in the United States and 500 in Canada between September 1, 2017, and September 10, 2017.

Gen Zers move fast but still demand personalized and highly-relevant experiences as consumers. As the payments market expands, customer experience will become a prime differentiator. The danger for many traditional non-digital players is that they are losing control of customers due to their difficulties of getting a handle on customer experience. For instance, businesses need to tie-in other desirable services to the payment solutions they offer customers.

Items and 2FA

One day, your household items and accessories like that old watch, or picture frame sitting on your fireplace, could become a new way to authenticate yourself online, according to researchers.

Many websites and online services are now enforcing or at least offering two-factor authentication (2FA) as a way to enhance the security of your accounts. We all know passwords are not ideal these days, with all the news about cyberattacks. And often times we set simple, repetitive passwords -- so we can see why other methods are now needed.

So, researchers from Florida International University and Bloomberg have come up with another idea of using your phone’s camera.

This project is called Pixie, which explores how 2FA can be implemented through cameras without the need for additional hardware.

Bad Rabbit

The U.S. government has issued a warning about a new ransomware attack that spread through Russia and Ukraine and into other countries around the world.

Cybersecurity experts said the ransomware -- which posed as an Adobe update before locking down computers and demanding money for people to get their files back -- targeted Russian media companies and Ukrainian transportation systems. It has also been detected in other countries including the U.S., Germany and Japan.

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team said late Tuesday it "has received multiple reports of ransomware infections ... in many countries around the world."

Dubbed "Bad Rabbit," the virus is the latest example of cybercriminals using ransomware to try to extort money from victims across the globe.

Tech Bytes 

• Twitter reported its earnings this week for Q3, and watchers of the company, used to seeing declines across the board, got an unexpected piece of news: the social media platform reported revenues of $590 million on adjusted earnings per share of $0.10. The revenues were still a decline over a year ago of about four percent compared to a year ago. The two areas where Twitter continues to get hit publicly are in the fact that its service continues to present itself as a hotbed for harassment and spreading false information, alongside its important role in providing a communications platform, which remains the problematic paradox of the service.
• Facebook has teamed up with auto car dealers to introduce a new Marketplace section for vehicles on its flagship social media app. The new section features search filters to find a vehicle of a specific type, maker, transmission, color, and more, offered by members of the public as well as car dealerships including Edmunds, Auction123, Cars.com, CDK Global, and SocialDealer. The automobile Marketplace includes a price checking function that uses the industry standard Kelly's Blue Book, and integrates with Messenger bots to allow users to communicate with dealers in real-time. More than 30,000 organisations have signed up to the Facebook's Workplace collaboration tool since its launch last year, the company has revealed, more than double the number announced just six months ago. Coinciding with the news, and to celebrate the app's one year anniversary, Facebook has also announced the release of a Workplace desktop app for group chats, which will eventually support video calls in an update due to land in the coming weeks.