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Archive for October, 2018

Scary Tech for Halloween

Wednesday, October 31st, 2018

https://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/13585502633

 

I ended a post a couple of weeks ago by asking “when will they ever learn” and answering my own question with “never.”

“They” referred to the millions of people who continue to rely on Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. — in spite of every security breech, hack, lie, prevarication, hedge, and excuse — not to mention buying all kinds of smart devices.

So what’s new?

What’s new is that Google won (conned) the right to teach kids how to behave online.

The tech giant is positioning itself in schools as a trusted authority on digital citizenship…

That is the message behind “Be Internet Awesome,” a so-called digital-citizenship education program that the technology giant developed for schools. (…)  Google plans to reach five million schoolchildren with the program this year and has teamed up with the National Parent Teacher Association to offer related workshops to parents.

Impressive, considering that historically the NPTA has been dominantly female (although they’re working to change that) and Google is the company that not only protects high ranking abusers, but pays them millions.

Mr. [Andy] Rubin was one of three executives that Google protected over the past decade after they were accused of sexual misconduct. In two instances, it ousted senior executives, but softened the blow by paying them millions of dollars as they departed, even though it had no legal obligation to do so. In a third, the executive remained in a highly compensated post at the company. Each time Google stayed silent about the accusations against the men.

The spying, listening and other sneaky actions of Google Assistant and Alexa are legion and now Facebook joins the herd, with a new in-home device equipped with microphones and a video camera that can really sell you.

“Portal voice calling is built on the Messenger infrastructure, so when you make a video call on Portal, we collect the same types of information (i.e. usage data such as length of calls, frequency of calls) that we collect on other Messenger-enabled devices. We may use this information to inform the ads we show you across our platforms. Other general usage data, such as aggregate usage of apps, etc., may also feed into the information that we use to serve ads,” a spokesperson said in an email to Recode.

You can bet people will buy it.

Alexa has a particularly creepy approach.

Amazon has submitted a patent application, recently granted, outlining how the company could recommend chicken soup or cough drops to people who use its Echo device if it detects symptoms like coughing and sniffling when they speak to it, according to a report by CNET. It could even suggest a visit to the movies after discerning boredom. Other patents submitted by the company have focused on how it could suggest products to people based on keywords in their conversations.

And, if you have one in the bedroom, just think what Echo could suggest based on what it hears.

Most smart devices cater to “what’s in it for me,” with little concern for their users.

However, some work a bit more for the public good, such as Kinsa smart thermometers, which has a public health focus.

“What this does is help us really target vulnerable populations where we have a clear signal about outbreaks,” Mr. Sarma said.

Mr. Singh, who was an executive vice president at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, said that Kinsa worked only with clients that can help with its mission of preventing the spread of illness through early detection. It made sense to work with Clorox, he said, because of the C.D.C. recommendation about disinfecting.

Since it’s Halloween, we’ll end with a truly terrifying look at Facebook in the detailed review of The Autocracy App by Jacob Weisberg

When will they ever learn?

As every link in this post proves…

Never.

Image credit: Paul Downey

 

Golden Oldies: Why NOT to Trust Your Apps

Monday, October 29th, 2018

https://www.flickr.com/photos/powerbooktrance/466709245/

 

Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.

Experts, Congress, pundits, media and plain people are (more or less) up in arms about the quantity, prevalence and effect of fake news. The upshot for many is the realization that the companies behind the apps can’t be trusted. In reality, they never could be, whether from carelessness, sloppy work or just not giving a damn — the “move fast and break things” attitude made popular by Facebook, and, to be fair, public apathy.

And although trust levels are at an all time low, join me Wednesday for a look at how they are still being handed the keys to the kingdom.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

When I was in college, I remember discussing a newspaper story with my aunts. I remember saying that I didn’t believe something and my aunts saying that if something wasn’t true it would not be in the paper.

They really believed that, because in the world they grew up and lived in it was mostly was true.

Fast forward to today and you find the same attitude being applied to the information supplied by the tech they use.

They don’t question the stuff supplied by various apps, especially if it’s from known vendors.

Vendors such as MaxMind.

Maxmind identifies IP addresses, matches them to a map and sells that data to advertisers.

Trouble is, accuracy isn’t their strong point.

Back in 2002, when it started in this business, Fusion reports, MaxMind made a decision. If its tech couldn’t tell where, exactly, in the US, an IP address was located, it would instead return a default set of coordinates very near the geographic center of the country — coordinates that happen to coincide with Taylor’s front yard.

Taylor is the unfortunate owner of a farm that sits on one of those catch-all co-ordinates.

And although the info isn’t supposed to be used to identify specific addresses, surprise, surprise, that’s exactly how people do use it, law enforcement included.

The farm’s 82-year-old owner, Joyce Taylor, and her tenants have been subject to FBI visits, IRS collectors, ambulances, threats, and the release of private information online, she told Fusion.

As bad as that is, at least the Taylor’s still have their home, unlike the two families who are homeless because a contractor assumed Google maps was correct, so he didn’t check the demolition addresses.

Unbelievable.
Unbelievable that they accepted the tech without checking.
Unbelievable that they first called it a minor mistake.
Unbelievable that the owners aren’t suing.

Image credit: Terry Johnston

If The Shoe Fits: NOT Changing the World

Friday, October 26th, 2018

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.

The mantra of startups is “change the world.”

That slogan seems to be the one thing that startups have in common; they all claim their product/service will do it.

No matter how silly, invasive, unnecessary, or just plain creepy.

One of the creepiest (say the comments) is MobiLimb.

MobiLimb is a robotic finger attachment that plugs in through a smartphone’s Micro USB port, moves using five servo motors, and is powered by an Arduino microcontroller. It can tap the user’s hand in response to phone notifications, be used as a joystick controller, or, with the addition of a little fuzzy sheath accessory, it can turn into a cat tail.

Creativity should be celebrated and innovation can be a wonderful thing — when it isn’t just plain stupid.

Image credit: HikingArtist

Ryan’s Journal: What’s in a name?

Thursday, October 25th, 2018

https://unsplash.com/search/photos/names

 

My life has been very busy as of late. I recently switched jobs and I also have a new arrival on the way.

My wife will be having what we are calling the grand finale baby. I currently have three girls and am being blessed with a little boy this time around. It’s an exciting and busy time but also hectic.

One item to tend to during this planning period is a name for our son. There are so many choices and feelings associated with names. Should we go traditional? Family oriented? Something unique but not too unique?

It’s been tough. With our girls it seemed to make sense when we came up with their names, with the little man not so much.

I have also begun observing my own actions as a father. With girls I have learned how to act. I feel comfortable and confident. I think that they will be such great companions for their little brother. He will be surrounded by dolls, pink and lots of love.

I think we have figured out a name that carries a legacy, but is also strong. Unique but not too much so.

It carries a family line and honors the past while looking to the future.

What’s in a name?

Image credit: chuttersnap on Unsplash

Are You a Noun or a Verb

Wednesday, October 24th, 2018

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamsjung/23048646929/

 

One of Wally Bock’s tips about planning (worth reading) lead me to reread a post I wrote on the same topic a couple of years ago and reposted as a Golden Oldie last February.

The crux of the post is the difference between nouns and verbs.

It is plan-the-verb that distinguishes the winners from the also-rans and it is the verb that keeps you ahead of the competition. (…) Plan-the-verb boosts initiative, encourages taking responsibility and speeds professional growth, providing you with a stronger in-house bench from which to grow.

It is always detrimental to value the noun—plan, leader, manager—more than the verb—plan, lead, manage—but in the business world it can be devastating.

Which are you?

Being a noun involves making announcements, pronouncements, discussions, and shifting paper from here to there — and (often) back again.

Being a verb requires initiative and action.

Verbs don’t wait to be told what needs doing; they actively look for it and each time they find it they move, of their own volition, to resolve it.

In most things in life you have a choice and this is no different.

While we are all part noun and part verb, it is our individual decisions that determine which trait grows and dominates.

Image credit: Jason Taellious

Role Model: Basecamp

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018

I, and dozens of others, have written on the negative and downright destructive effects from social media’s FOMO.

However, I hadn’t given any thought to the idea that it had invaded the workplace, too.

As if email [at work] wasn’t bad enough at cultivating FOMO, we now have a new generation of real-time tools like chat to stoke it. Yet another thing that asks for your continuous partial attention all day on the premise that you can’t miss out.

FOMO is just as detrimental at work as it is personally. It distracts, interrupts conversations, and destroys focus.

Basecamp noticed and not only created a solution, but also gave it a catchy, sharable name.

People should be missing out! Most people should miss out on most things most of the time. That’s what we try to encourage at my company, Basecamp. JOMO! The joy of missing out.

It’s JOMO that lets you turn off the firehose of information and chatter and interruptions to actually get the right shit done. It’s JOMO that lets you catch up on what happened today as a single summary email tomorrow morning rather than with a drip-drip-drip feed throughout the day.

Once again, Basecamp hits a homerun. (Two previous posts, here and here, talk about others.)

If you’re impressed with Basecamp’s ideas, you’ll not only enjoy It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work, by Basecamp co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, you’ll also find solutions you can use.

Image credit: Basecamp

Golden Oldies: The Screen that Kills Connection, Friendship and Empathy

Monday, October 22nd, 2018

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikemacmarketing/36212534755/

 

Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.

An excerpt from It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work reminded me of just how much damage socially driven FOMO is causing — not just psychologically, but physically, too.

And now it’s invaded the workplace. Join me tomorrow for a look at what one company is doing to combat FOMO at work.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

People’s preoccupation with their screens has been blamed for many things and if you’ve been around someone who kept sneaking peeks while talking you know how annoying that is.

But did you know it messes up not only your brain, but also your capacity for connection, friendship, empathy, as well as your actual physical health?

Texting even messes up your infant’s future!

New parents may need to worry less about genetic testing and more about how their own actions — like texting while breast-feeding or otherwise paying more attention to their phone than their child — leave life-limiting fingerprints on their and their children’s gene expression.

It’s not just a case of being distracted.

Your vagus nerve connects your brain to your heart and how you handle your social connections affects the vagal tone, which, like muscle tone, can improve with exercise and that, in turn, increases the capacity for connection, friendship and empathy.

In short, the more attuned to others you become, the healthier you become, and vice versa. This mutual influence also explains how a lack of positive social contact diminishes people. Your heart’s capacity for friendship also obeys the biological law of “use it or lose it.” If you don’t regularly exercise your ability to connect face to face, you’ll eventually find yourself lacking some of the basic biological capacity to do so.

Do I think this research will actually make a difference in people’s actions?

No.

Even if the information becomes widespread I don’t think people would give up the instant gratification of being mentioned or conquer their FOMO and focus instead on quality face time.

It doesn’t seem a big deal right now, but look into the future at a world that doesn’t just lack connection and empathy, but is filled with people who aren’t even capable of it.

I’m glad I won’t be around.

One last item; a short essay that says better than I have in the past exactly why I don’t carry a cell phone. Enjoy!

Image credit: Mike MacKenzie

An Attitude to Avoid

Friday, October 19th, 2018

https://hikingartist.com/2013/01/02/illustration-about-personal-branding/

I’ve used stuff from Frits Ahlefeldt many times over the years; he does amazing cartoons, illustrations and art.

Better than anything I could say are Frits’ own words.

Drawing and wondering about how the need for personal online branding on places like Facebook and Twitter more and more influence the experiences and challenges people choose, because  they are all part of a personal media / branding strategy.

This guy took it all the way:

Image credit: HikingArtist

When Will We Ever Learn?

Wednesday, October 17th, 2018

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ikoka/45083521431/

Are you familiar with the song Where have all the flowers gone?

It was written by Pete Seeger, with additional verses added by others, and the full circle of the song is as valid today as it was when Seeger wrote it nearly 60 years ago.

The refrain at the end of each verse is “Oh, when will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn?” and it became one of the best known protest songs of the Viet Nam War. Fast forward to today you find proof across the globe that we still haven’t learned.

That refrain also applies, with some rewording, to the war being waged between technical advances and consumer safety and security.

In September, Facebook hesitantly admitted that its access keys were hacked due to flawed code — a hack that potentially affected more than 50 million users, including Zukerberg and Sandberg.

Facebook explained that the hack was caused by multiple bugs in its code relating to a video-upload tool and Facebook’s pro-privacy “View As” feature. (…)

Most recently, a major flaw was found in the AI code used in personal assistants, such as Alexa, Siri, or Cortana.

Scientists at the Ruhr-Universitaet in Bochum, Germany, have discovered a way to hide inaudible commands in audio files (…) the flaw is in the very way AI is designed. (…) According to Professor Thorsten Holz from the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security, their method, called “psychoacoustic hiding,” shows how hackers could manipulate any type of audio wave–from songs and speech to even bird chirping–to include words that only the machine can hear, allowing them to give commands without nearby people noticing. The attack will sound just like a bird’s call to our ears, but a voice assistant would “hear” something very different.

The “damn the security / full speed ahead” mentality isn’t anything new.

Nor is the greed that drives it.

There is an old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

When will they ever learn?”

It’s likely the answer is “never.”

Image credit: koka_sexton

Ducks in a Row: The Bias of Wikipedia Editors

Tuesday, October 16th, 2018

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95782365@N08/42413976790/

 

Last year I had an argument over lunch with a woman friend who insisted that women in tech, especially in Silicon Valley, don’t face the same kind of difficulties career-wise that other women do.

She based her argument on the successful technical careers of a number of women friends and she became increasingly an4gry when I kept disagreeing with her.

I didn’t realize until several days later that we were both right.

Her friends did indeed build successful tech careers during the 1970s and 80s — predating the dot com era.

I, however, was focused on post dot com attitudes in the wake of the rise of bro culture.

Anyone around tech these days either recognizes the bias against women or lives in deep denial.

The latter apparently includes the editors in charge of Wikipedia, who didn’t think much of Donna Strickland’s work.

Prior to winning the Nobel Prize, Strickland’s only previous mention on Wikipedia was in an article about Gérard Mourou, her male co-inventor. On May 23, a Wikipedia editor rejected a draft of an article about Strickland, claiming that it failed to “show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject.” The rejected draft noted that she was at that time the associate chair of the physics department at Waterloo, and a past president of the Optical Society.

Not surprising when you consider that 90% of Wikipedia editors are young, college-educated males. Not a group exactly known for their pro-diversity stance.

As for Waterloo, Strickland says she never applied for a full professorship, but one has to wonder why the school didn’t notice her work.

Of course, if one is going to choose who notices their work, most would prefer the Nobel Committee to the editors of Wikipedia.

After the Prize was announced, Wikipedia finally created an article about Strickland.

But in what seems like an effort to disparage her accomplishment those same editors added a “personal life” section to her page.

Strickland is married to Douglas Dykaar, also a physicist.[7] They have two children.[7]

Information that is conspicuously absent from her male co-winner’s page.

Finally, the video on Strickland’s page talks about a childhood trip to a science fair, while Mourou’s features his post award speech.

How’s that for bias?

Image credit: Susan Young

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