Technology

Wed
20
Jan
John Lister's picture

Dating App 'Politics' Filter Turned Against Rioters

A dating app has removed – and then replaced – a filter for political views among potential partners. Bumble discovered some users were taking advantage of the filter to "entrap" people involved in the recent breach of the US Capitol. Bumble is a dat ...ing app that works like several others in that it shows users potential matches in their geographic area. If two users both indicate an interest in each other's profile, they can begin communication. However, unlike most such services, with a male-female match, only the woman can initiate contact and begin an exchange of messages. Users can filter ...ref="/news/10884/dating-app-politics-filter-turned-against-rioters" class="more-link">view more)

Wed
30
Sep
John Lister's picture

Fitness Trackers Could Boost Urban Planning

Fitness tracking company Strava is to share four billion pieces of user data. Unlike previous glitches, it's a deliberate action designed to help urban planners. The news came to light as Strava sent an email to customers to remind them that its ... user agreement gives it the right to share and sell user data as long as it is in completely anonymized form. Users can opt out, but their data is collected by default. The company is bundling the data, which includes details of walks and cycle rides, as a commercial product called Metro. The idea is that buyers such as urban planners and cycling ... (view more)

Thu
03
Sep
John Lister's picture

COVID Tracing Now Built into Mac, Android

Apple and Google have added a way to notify users about potential COVID-19 infections without them having to install an app. The Bluetooth-based system is coming to iOS and Android but will be opt-in only. Both companies have already built ... technologies that use Bluetooth to anonymously track which handsets have been in close proximity of a user who reports either symptoms or a positive test. However, until now the technologies have only been used through official government or health authority apps. Now the mobile operating systems are getting a built-in tool called Exposure Notifications ... (view more)

Mon
11
May
John Lister's picture

Microsoft Tackles 'Reply All' Misery

Microsoft wants to stop one of the most annoying parts of email. It's going to try cutting the vicious cycle of the "reply all" message storm. The problem arises when somebody sends a group message to a large number of people and then one of the ... recipients mistakenly (or perhaps worse, deliberately) clicks on "Reply All" rather than simply using "Reply" to address the original sender. Not only does that mean the entire group seeing the reply, but it can quickly spark others to reply, extend a conversation, point out the error, or make a joke. In some cases, the configuration means that all of ... (view more)

Tue
11
Feb
John Lister's picture

Scientists use Light, Sound to Produce 100 Gbps Internet

Researchers believe a new type of cable could carry Internet data at speeds 100 times greater than even the fastest on offer today. The new technology could benefit hospitals and research facilities in particular. The technique was developed by ... researchers at universities in Leeds and Nottingham in the United Kingdom, and is based around similar technology found in fiber optic cables. Those are the fastest data-carrying cables and work by sending pulses of light down a tiny transparent tube. By far, the greatest benefit of utilizing fiber optic cables is that it can transfer data over long ... (view more)

Tue
21
Jan
John Lister's picture

Microsoft Could Improve Google Chrome

The Chrome browser may soon put less drain on processors and battery life in Windows 10. Perhaps surprisingly, that's because of changes made by Microsoft rather than Google. The relevant tweaks were discovered by Microsoft as part of its work to ... rebuild the Edge browser that comes with Windows 10. Originally it ran on Microsoft code, but the new version of Edge is now based on Chromium. For those unaware, Chromium is an open source project, which is the basis of Google's Chrome browser. Microsoft found one cause of battery drain was disk caching during online video playback. In simple terms ... (view more)

Thu
26
Dec
John Lister's picture

Report: Most Facial Recognition Software 'Racist'

Facial recognition software may be less accurate when dealing with non-Caucasian faces, according to a new study. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) noted the problem was likely the data used to "train" algorithms. The NIST ... examined 189 algorithms from 99 different developers, which it says is a majority of all commercially available systems. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) In the testing, it looked at two tasks. Specifically, they looks to see if two specific photographs are of the same person. In one example, it was to verify identity in order to unlock a phone or check a ... (view more)

Tue
10
Dec
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FBI Warns: Smart TVs a Major Security Threat

The FBI has warned users to think carefully when buying and using "smart" televisions. The warning is based on the idea that many people have bought or will buy new televisions either as part of "Black Friday" or in time for Christmas. The warning ... from the FBI's Portland office is based partly on the prospect that people might not have set out to buy smart sets, but that most or all of the TVs on offer currently have such features. (Source: techcrunch.com ) Cameras and Microphones on Some Sets A "smart" television is simply one that has an Internet connection. Previously that's mainly been ... (view more)

Mon
23
Sep
John Lister's picture

Google Responds to Device 'Eavesdropping' Claims

Google is making several changes to the way it handles audio collected from phones and smart gadgets such as the Google Home speaker. It follows revelations that humans listened to recordings collected by several tech giants. Amazon, Apple and ... Google were all hit by claims that they'd not done enough to make clear that staff or contractors listened to recordings to check the accuracy of automatic speech recognition. In several cases, human engineers heard sensitive material which appeared to have been collected unintentionally, rather than the user meaning to make a spoken query or request. ... (view more)

Thu
19
Sep
John Lister's picture

Study Reveals Smart Gadgets Share Data Unexpectedly

Researchers have discovered that many smart gadgets (such as smart TVs and streaming sticks) send data to tech companies, even when idle. The purpose of the experiment was to determine if devices were being used to monitor users, or could ... potentially leak data about the user to a third party. The research was a joint project between Northeastern University and the UK's Imperial College London. They examined 81 devices under the broad category of the Internet of Things (IoT). The study included security cameras, home automation devices such as WiFi plugs, Smart TV sets, smart speakers and home ... (view more)

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