Category: Technology
-
The Promise and Pitfalls of Wearable Technology
It’s been almost impossible to avoid the constant stream of media reports discussing the pending release of the Apple Watch. While pundits delve into details about technical specifications and pricing of the watch, it’s easy to overlook the growing trend toward wearable technology (wearables) and the role this technology may play in the lives of those…
-
Toronto Councillors eye permits for drone use
City councillors want to explore the idea of forcing aerial drone operators to get permits and comply with restrictions on flying them over outdoor city spaces including playgrounds. Mayor John Tory’s executive committee unanimously approved Councillor James Pasternak’s motion asking city staff to report back on a “strategy governing the use of drones in the City…
-
Interpol Creates Digital Currency to Study Crypto Crime
Interpol’s cybercrime research facility, the Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI), has created its own digital currency in a bid to combat cryptocurrency-fuelled crime. The IGCI team, which includes members from Singapore’s police force, will use its in-house virtual currency to study scenarios of cryptocurrency use and misuse in a specially designed simulation training game. (Via CoinDesk)
-
Wearable Technology: The Ultimate in Personal Marketing
Consider the highly personalized, connected world we have all created for ourselves. Everything we do, say, play, view, and more, leaves a vapor trail of valuable personal data to be sucked up, aggregated, modeled, and then used to target content back into our lives. Tapping into this personal ecosystem is the ultimate marketing goal. Being…
-
Twitter expands privacy on direct messages
Twitter is making it easier to take direct messages private, carving out a bigger space for targeted exchanges on the popular microblogging service. Previously, direct messaging could only occur between two Twitter users “following” each other, which basically allowed both parties to see whatever they posted publicly. As of Monday, a user can change the…
-
What’s the Future of Wearables?
Image Credit: Technology Image via Shutterstock Wearable technology may be niche now, but it offers big opportunities for retailers to improve customer experience and boost sales conversions. Here’s why it must be taken seriously NOW. Wearable technology; perhaps two words no one would have imagined sitting together a few years ago. But wearable technology is increasingly showing its…
-
First Licensed Digital Currency Broker-Dealer
The former bitcoin trading division of SecondMarket, has relaunched under the new name Genesis Trading in bid to become “the partner of choice for large institutional buyers and sellers” in digital currency trading, while creating an identity of its own from this specification. Genesis Trading, which claims to be the first fully licensed digital currency-centric…
-
There’s Something (Profitable) About Your Privacy
Why do so many companies hanker after apps? Smartphone apps, tablet apps, iOS apps, Android apps, the list is endless. Do apps need all the permissions they ask for? No. Would they work if they didn’t have all those permissions? 99% of the time, yes – they would work without a problem. For example, an…
-
Emerging Tech Trends in 2015…It’s All About the Data
Image: THINKSTOCK_ISTOCK There is a simple explanation for the 400 percent increase over the last five years in federal agencies’ investments in predictive analytics: Too much data. “The exponential growth in structured and unstructured data is the backdrop of future federal IT needs,” stated a new report from Deltek on “Emerging Federal Technology Markets” for 2015. The purpose…
-
Is Apple pay coming to Canada?
Apple Inc is planning to launch its electronic payments service in Canada in November, the first international expansion of Apple Pay, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The banks are open to an agreement, but are not happy with Apple’s fee proposals and are worried about security vulnerabilities like the…
-
Recon Jet eyewear is better than Google Glass
The Recon Jet smart sports eyewear is an interesting new development in the wearables industry and this one seems to be one step ahead of all that we have seen so far. This wearable, like many others (particular smartwatches), focuses on health and fitness of the users and it won’t come as a surprise if…
-
New Google security chief looks for balance with privacy
Google has a new sheriff keeping watch over the wilds of the Internet. Austrian-born Gerhard Eschelbeck has ranged the British city of Oxford; cavorted at notorious Def Con hacker conclaves, wrangled a herd of startups, and camped out in Silicon Valley. He now holds the reins of security and privacy for all-things Google. “The size…
-
Apple Watch to boost ‘glance journalism’
The Apple Watch, expected to catapult to the leading item in wearable technology, opens up new possibilities to a news industry seeking to connect with audiences in the digital era. The New York Times says its app for the Apple Watch will be “a new form of storytelling” and that “editors on three continents” will…
-
How Much Do You Know About Data Privacy?
Photo: Getty Images Anxiety about data privacy has reached a fever pitch. According to the Pew Research Center, 91% of Americans feel they’ve lost control over their personal data. But do you really know what you’re nervous about? Do you know what happens to your data? Test your knowledge about digital privacy with the following…
-
Bitcoin and the competition
Photo: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images Bitcoin is the digital currency exchanged online that has taken a bad rap. News abound of the currency being used for nefarious ends, such as drug running, illegal gun sales, human smuggling and terrorist activities. In the past couple of years, the value of the currency has been on…
-
Cyber security from an attacker’s perspective
Data is the most prized asset in the world of cyber security, involving threat analysis and protection. The use of technology has evolved, spurred on by the need to consistently protect infrastructure and resources, as well as source reliable information about the level of protection at any given time. It is about identifying potential weak…
-
Wearables May Be Next Consumer Communications Channel
Smart watches and other wearable devices could be the next frontier of brand-consumer interaction. But first, marketers need to figure out how customers intend to use them. According to new research from customer engagement agency Accent Marketing, nearly 70% of consumers are open to brand communications through a smart watch or other wearable technology device.…
-
5 tips for improving online privacy
If you want to watch who’s watching you online, Brett Gaylor’s “Do Not Track” is the series to stream. The seven-part “personalized documentary,” which premiered its first episodes on the National Film Board of Canada website Tuesday, focuses on the personal information Internet users are unwittingly sharing with companies as they surf the web. If…
-
Hairware – Wearable technology for your hair
Your hair extensions could save your life. Sound dramatic? Well, it kind of is, but in a mega sexy, super spy, Bond girl kind of way. Hairware is a new wearable technology that allows you to to operate your smartphone via, you guessed it, your hair. How does it work? The extensions look just like…
-
Wearable Technology for the Farm?
Many people have heard of Google Glass and how it allows users the ability to get connected to common Web applications without using their hands. But can such technology help run your farm? Craig Ganssle, founder and CEO of Basecamp Networks, says it already is for some agricultural operators. “We have developed a software program…
-
Paying For YouTube: The Next Experiment In The TV Revolution
Would you pay to watch YouTube videos, uninterrupted by advertising? That’s a question a lot of business analysts — and users — are now pondering, as reports emerge that Google’s video-streaming site is in the process of launching an as-yet-unnamed monthly subscription. “Netflix has proved people are willing to pay,” says Duncan Stewart, a media…
-
Digital media, privacy and consumer trust collide
The growth of digital media has been accompanied by increasing concern over consumer privacy. Is surveillance really the future for digital media? What are other viable business models? How are businesses managing consumers’ fears around data collection? To what extent do consumers care if their data is handled responsibly? In the digital age who should…
-
Apple Watch and Selfridges
Apple’s partnership with Selfridges has the potential to alter the face of technology retail forever. This week London’s Selfridges played host to hundreds of curious shoppers craning their necks to get closer to the Apple watch. But, in a uniquely Apple turn of events, they weren’t even customers eager to hand over their cold hard cash…
-
It’s time to do a digital spring cleaning
Spring cleaning may have you sifting through your closets and crawling through the storage spaces in your home, but tech experts say you should add digital cleaning to your to-do list. “Just like our homes get crowded with things in the winter, sometimes our digital lives get crowded,” Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National…
-
Canon Showcases Future of Surveillance
Image by Muhammad Zeeshan Samad Flickr CC Canon, the global leader in photographic and digital imaging solutions, today unveiled its line up of cutting-edge surveillance technology that will be showcased at INTERPOL World’s international debut in Singapore next week. Visitors will be able to experience Canon’s slate of surveillance solutions and technology, including: a preview…
-
Paypal merchants can now accept Bitcoin
Image by Lars Plougmann Flickr CC In a long SEC filing, PayPal states that its merchants can now begin accepting Bitcoin. In September 2014, PayPal announced it would accept Bitcoin via integration with Braintree, and the same month announced partnerships with Coinbase, BitPay and GoCoin. Via the PayPal Payment’s Hub merchants could use customizable APIs to integrate Bitcoin into their…
-
Amazon Tests its Delivery Drones in the U.S.
Image Amazon / AP Amazon got one step closer to delivering packages to customers’ doorsteps by drone. This week, the Federal Aviation Administration saidthe e-commerce giant would be free to test its delivery drones in the United States, as long as Amazon flies the drones under 400 feet and at a maximum speed of 100 miles…
-
Netflix enters the wearable market
According to rumors, it is believed that the company wants to develop a Netflix oriented smartwatch for its users. It understands that with the help of smartwatch, companies offer technology on users’ wrists. The same is the ideology of the streaming giant, as it plans to launch its wearable device in the coming times. (Via…
-
What age is right for a digital identity?
Image by Master OSM 2011 Flickr CC To share or not to share, that is the question. Facebook has put this dilemma to parents this week, with the launch of a new “scrapbook” feature, which allows parents to create a profile tag for a child. Facebook noticed that parents were tagging each other on photos of their…
Richelle Sibolboro 