Should We Trust a Self-Driving Car?

Over the past century there has been a trend of autonomy, attempting to make the world easier for the average citizen. From the automatic dishwasher, the cell phone contact list (Do you know your best friend’s number?), to the remote vacuum ( http://www.irobot.com/For-the-Home/Vacuum-Cleaning/Roomba.aspx ). It is all in an attempt to make our lives easier. These innovations have become common in our lifestyles, to the point where some users would be helpless without them.

What will be the next major automated innovation? How can we “make life easier” from here? For an innovation to be a major change in our daily lives, it must significantly affect our daily lives. With every innovation comes skepticism, it is part of the process. What’s the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? How many brilliant ideas were made with good intentions, but led to unforeseen consequences? This is the primary question I’ll ask today, can we truly trust the next major innovation in automated living? Can we trust a self-driving car?

The first question you might be asking is “What company has the confidence and aptitude to attempt such a feat?” The answer might surprise you. This project is led by the fascinating minds at Google.

In 2010 Google announced that they were creating a small division within their company for research and experimentation of a self-driving car ( http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-were-driving-at.html ). Their goal? “According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million lives are lost every year in road traffic accidents. We believe our technology has the potential to cut that number, perhaps by as much as half…as well as help create the new “highway trains of tomorrow." We have good intentions from a reputable company, with the resources to support this project, but is the risk of a malfunction worth it?

Google released a promotional video in 2012 giving the public an example of how this technology can change the lives of the handicap (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdgQpa1pUUE). The video shows Steve Mahan, a legally blind man from California working with Google. Steve is in the driver’s seat, relaxing as his car drives him around town and even manages to navigate a taco restaurant’s drive-through! This is a great example of how this technology could change a life, but we should notice that this situation takes place in a controlled situation, minimal traffic, prefect weather, and a planned route.

What do we do about the unforeseen events that come with driving? Some of the known limitations of the self-driving car include, but are not limited to; safe driving during poor weather conditions such as ice, unexpected traffic stops such as an officer directing traffic, and the system’s inability to discern a major hazard from trash on the street.

It will be interesting to see how Google progresses with their self-driving car, it could be the next major innovation that shifts the world yet again.

Andrew Miller

Apple Releases iOS 8.1- New Features and Fixes

Today on October 20th, Apple released its next update for iPhones and iPads, iOS 8.1. This is a departure from the way Apple generally releases new software. In the past major .1 updates haven't come for at least 2 to 3 months after a X.0 release. Apple has already sent out two updates, 8.0.1 & 8.0.2 in the past months in an attempt to cure problems some users had come across, but those were temporary fixes and the 8.1 update should be a catch all fix. 

Apple has always been the leader of the pack when it comes to user experience and while it might not always be the first to release a service, they tend to do it right when they do. Apple Pay is expected to single handily bring NFC mobile payments to the mainstream. While Google has offered its Google Wallet service for years it was always hampered by a lack of usability due to so few locations that accepted tap & pay as a payment option. Before their service has even launched, Apple has gotten a large amount of major retailers including Nike, Macy’s, Starbucks and Walgreens onboard as well as over 450 banks.

Another break out feature that isn’t being talked about as much is the ability to send SMS messages from a both iPads and Mac computers. Apple is touting their continuity and handoff features which allow seamless connection between all of your devices. Android users have had the ability to send SMS messages using a desktop or tablet for a while now using services like Pushbullet or Mighty Text, but those services don’t always work the way they are intended and tend to feel a bit hacky in nature. Apple makes the transition easy enough anyone can do it and all they have to do is update to the latest versions. IMessage now truly is the king of all messaging platforms.

Here’s a quick rundown of the 8.1 change log-

·        Photos includes new features, improvements and fixes

o   Adds iCloud phot library as a beta service

o   Adds Camera Roll album in photos app and my photo stream album when iCloud phot library is not enabled

o   Provides alerts when running low on space before capturing Time Lapse

·        Messages includes new features, improvements and fixes

o   Adds the ability for iPhone users to send and receive SMS and MMS text messages from their iPad and Mac

o   Resolves and issue where search would sometimes not display results

o   Fixes issues with group messaging

·        Resolves issues with Wi-Fi Performance that could occur when connected to some base stations

·        Fixes an issue that could prevent connections to Bluetooth hands-free devices

·        Adds an option to select between 2G, 3G, or LTE networks for cellular data

·        Adds Airdrop Support for Passbook Passes

·        Enables Health kit apps to access data in the background

While this isn’t the longest list of changes, there are some notable ones like being able to change your data connection type that users have wanted for some time now. Many of the changes are fixes to problems caused by 8.0-8.0.2, which some would say is an example of Apple’s wavering services. But Apple has responded to and fixed those issues in less than a month time, which I think we can all agree is a pretty speedy turn around. 

-Scott Evans 

The Adoption of the Digital Wallet

In today's ever-changing world we are always adapting to the latest and greatest technology. Among the more recent advancements is the digital wallet. The digital wallet makes swiping your credit card, an already very easy process, much more convenient. Some people might be hesitant to trust a gadget with all of their money but isn't that almost what we are doing with our credit/debit cards? People were skeptical initially when adopting these cards as well. What if instead of dragging your wallet or purse with you, all you had to do was take your phone with you, which is already with you at every living second. Technology is constantly making your life easier, so why not adapt to this change?

The majority of stores we go to are always bombarding us to sign up for rewards cards and/or credit cards. Eventually, either all of those cards get thrown somewhere and we never look at them again or we have to stand at the cash register and dig through them and makes us wonder why we ever signed up for them anyway. The Digital Wallet stores all of your loyalty cards, credit cards, coupons, gift cards, and debit cards in one location. The biggest challenge that people have seen come with the Digital Wallet is having stores adapt to this new change. 

Here are two of the more popular digital wallets:

1. Apple Pay: Coming soon, Apple Pay will let you store all your accounts in one place. The hassle of opening the app and waiting for the app to load is long over. Just hold your phone up to the reader with your finger on the Touch ID, you will then be noted if the payment goes through by a vibration or a beep, and off you are with the purchase you just made. 

2. Google Wallet: With multiple wallets, Google lets you store all your accounts and even lets you send money across the country. Making checking out online even easier, Google as a special account called, "Buy with Google" which stores all our information and makes checking out that much more convenient.

The digital wallet is still in the adoption phase but this will likely become a more popular payment method as consumers and stores incorporate the use of digital wallets. Many people are hesitant to adopt a digital wallet with all of the security breaches lately (rightfully so) which puts all the pressure on the developers to produce a secure and reliable product. Like I said earlier, once the credit card became a trusted form to make a purchase, consumers had no problem with owning one. I think the digital wallet will become the primary source to make payments in the future. How quickly people adopt it, on the other hand, will depend on how quickly stores will make these digital wallets an available form of payment. 

-Brady Feldman

Keeping Up With The Johnson’s Of The World

Last week we talked about personal information protection, but what about the risk to national security?

In a world of crime it is always important to be one step ahead of the bad guys, especially when it comes to cybercrime. It seems like in the world of information systems, the next best thing came out yesterday. The growth of these systems seems to be exponential! Traditional “large bodies”, such as government are much slower when it comes to system upgrades compared to an individual or group of individuals.

For example, the FBI is currently facing a national crisis of constant information intrusion by foreign and domestic hackers. One of the primary reasons? The government can’t keep up. FBI Director, James Comey, interviewed with “60 minutes” this past Sunday and talked about his history with cybercrime and the FBI’s growing pains over the years. “When I last left government, my sense of us was kind of like four-year-old soccer. So like a clump of four year olds chasing the ball, we were chasing it (cybercrime) in a pack. We're about high school soccer now. We're spread out. We pass well. But the bad guys are moving at World Cup speed. So we have to get better.”

Comey went on to explain the typical target of these hackers as “Information that's useful to them so they don't have to invent. They can copy or steal to learn about how a company might approach negotiations with a Chinese company, all manner of things.” The FBI Director, sworn in during September of 2013, recognizes the challenges of keeping his large body of government up to speed with global hackers. His plan is to continually push for funding and focus on getting all branches up to speed.

How far behind are some of these governmental branches? The Federal Register is currently using floppy disks as one of its primary means of storage! The Federal Register currently believes that USB’s are not a secure way to pass along information and will hold off on modernization until funding for a secure email system is granted.

Is there something to be said about the duty of our government to provide cybercrime protection, similar to physical crime protection? Consider this, if the police did not have the appropriate equipment to stop a crime, what would be done? How long would it take to get that police force adequately funded? Obviously a physical threat takes priority over the virtual threat, but assets and intellectual property are at stake! Though some may argue about a loss of privacy, I believe that the government as a whole should make it a top priority to upgrade their systems on a more frequent basis to better monitor illegal internet activity. Progress has been made within the FBI, but it is of the utmost importance that this gap between “good and evil” is actively reduced. It will be expensive and it will be a nuisance, but we need to keep up with the Johnson’s of this world before they are out of reach all together.

Andrew Miller

60 Minutes – James Comey

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-director-james-comey-on-threat-of-isis-cybercrime/

Floppy Disks

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/07/us/politics/slowly-they-modernize-a-federal-agency-that-still-uses-floppy-disks.html