Tag: smart

Are Tech’s Big Four Smart Enough to Break Themselves Up?

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House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee Chair David Cicilline.
Photo: Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images

Buried in the one of the most chaotic news cycles of the year, earlier this week the House Judiciary Committee published a report based on its 15-month investigation into the antitrust potential of tech’s big four: Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. “To put it simply, companies that once were scrappy, underdog startups that challenged the status quo have become the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons,” the 449-page report from the antitrust subcommittee states. “They not only wield tremendous power, but they also abuse it by charging exorbitant fees, imposing oppressive contract terms, and extracting valuable data from the people and businesses that rely on them.”

On the most recent episode of the New York podcast Pivot, co-hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway consider the massive investigation and why the

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A Smart, New Approach To Stop Foreign Interference In Elections

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FBI Director Christopher Wray’s recent warning that Russia is seeking to disrupt and influence US elections underscores the vulnerability of our elections and political campaigns to foreign influence and hacking. 

As is increasingly the case, whistleblowers likely will be a vital first line of defense.  

Recognizing that, the State Department has launched a promising way to turn the tables on foreign hacking operations and disrupt the disrupters: It is offering whistleblower rewards of up to $10 million to those who can identify or provide the location of individuals who are working at the behest of foreign governments to interfere with a national, state or local election.

Incentivizing knowledgeable insiders to report wrongdoing by offering whistleblower rewards has long been

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When Will Apple Release Smart Speaker?

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KEY POINTS

  • Apple is expected to release a new HomePod this year
  • A known leaker claims Apple will launch a “mini” version of the HomePod instead of HomePod 2
  • Previous reports also hinted at the new device’s arrival

A “mini” version of Apple’s HomePod may be coming soon, according to a known leaker.

Apple is set to reveal new devices during its Oct. 13 event, with the iPhone 12, wireless headphones AirPods Studio, tracker AirTags and a new version of the HomePod among those expected to be unveiled. But the Siri-powered smart home speaker, which hasn’t been updated since 2017, may not be refreshed and replaced with a newer model. Instead, the company could release a smaller version.

According to a prominent leaker known only as L0vetodream, “there is no HomePod2 this year.” Instead, the leaker claims that Apple will only have a “mini one,” indicating that the Cupertino

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Beirut Blast Was Among History’s Largest Accidental Explosions | Smart News

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On August 4, about 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Now, new research gives a clearer picture of the size of the blast, George Dvorsky reports for Gizmodo.

The explosion’s force makes it the sixth-largest accidental, non-nuclear explosion in history, reports Gizmodo. The largest ever accidental explosion occurred in 1917, when two ships—one carrying TNT and other explosives—collided near Halifax, Nova Scotia. The blast killed about 1,800 people and shattered windows 50 miles away. The largest non-nuclear, human-caused intentional explosion was a mock-up test of future nuclear blasts. Dubbed “Minor Scale,” the test blast had the power of about 3,500 tons of TNT, per BBC News’ Jonathan Amos and Paul Rincon.

The blast shattered windows around the capital, destroyed three neighborhoods, killed about 200 people and injured thousands more. Engineering researchers at the University of Sheffield estimate that the explosion had

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Smart Labels Market Expected to Expand More than Three Fold through 2030. CAGR to be registered at 13%.

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Surging demand for packaging materials in food, beverage, logistics and automotive industry becomes the prime driving factor for smart labels production. Asia-Pacific region to dominate worldwide.

DUBAI, UAE / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2020 / The smart labels market is expected to unfold by 3.36x with US$ 18 billion through 2030. When talking about packaging market, adoption of smart labels is gaining maximum traction in Asian-Pacific region. Due to the increment in need for convenient packaging solutions in food and beverage or retail industries, demand is gaining popularity in the market.

“Availability of wide range of printing technologies, improved communication network and higher preference for sustainable packaging solutions across the world, demand for smart labels has escalated in a dexterous manner. This has also helped the manufacturers get an insight about the kind of production this market demands,” says the FMI Analyst.

Request a report sample to gain comprehensive market

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Exclusive: Google faces new antitrust case in India over abuse in smart TVs market – sources

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By Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google is facing a new antitrust case in India in which the U.S. tech giant is alleged to have abused its Android operating system’s position in the smart television market, a source and two lawyers involved in the case told Reuters.

FILE PHOTO: A man stands in front of a screen during a Google event in New Delhi, India September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo

The case is Google’s fourth major antitrust challenge in India, one of its key markets where it is currently facing public criticism from local startups for enforcing certain policies and company charges they contend hurt their growth.

It also comes as Google faces new antitrust challenges in the United States, and a potential antitrust probe in China that is set to look into how it allegedly uses its dominance of its Android mobile operating

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‘Smart’ Male Chastity Device Vulnerable To Locking By Hackers: Researchers

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A security flaw in an internet-connected male chastity device could allow hackers to remotely lock it — leaving users trapped, researchers have warned.

The Cellmate, produced by Chinese firm Qiui, is a cover that clamps on the base of the male genitals with a hardened steel ring, and does not have a physical key or manual override.

The locking mechanism is controlled with a smartphone app via Bluetooth — marketed as both an anti-cheating and a submission sex play device — but security researchers have found multiple flaws that leave it vulnerable to hacking.

“We discovered that remote attackers could prevent the Bluetooth lock from being opened, permanently locking the user in the device. There is no physical unlock,” British security firm Pen Test Partners said Tuesday.

“An angle grinder or other suitable heavy tool would be required to cut the wearer free.”

The firm also found other security flaws

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Arlo’s new wire-free Pro 4 camera doesn’t need a smart home hub

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Arlo has announced two new security cameras: the Pro 4 Wire-Free Spotlight Camera and the Ultra 2 Wire-Free Spotlight Camera System. You can preorder both cameras now; the Pro 4 starts at $199.99 and the Ultra 2 starts at $299.99.



The Arlo Pro 4 mounted outdoors.

© Arlo
The Arlo Pro 4 mounted outdoors.

Both cameras are wire-free. That makes them easier to set up and more convenient to place than many other cameras, since you’re not limited by the location of your outlets.

The Arlo Pro 4 connects directly to Wi-Fi — no smart home hub required. It produces 2K video with HDR, color night vision, and a 160-degree viewing angle. It also comes with a built-in spotlight to illuminate intruders, a siren, and two-way audio to communicate with guests.



a light in a dark room: The Arlo Pro 4 with the spotlight on.

© Image: Arlo
The Arlo Pro 4 with the spotlight on.

It can be placed indoors or outdoors, and Arlo says the removable battery lasts

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Three Scientists Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for Discovering Black Holes | Smart News

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Black holes are cosmic phenomena that never fail to capture the world’s attention and curiosity. Millions of these galactic beasts are peppered throughout the universe, and their gravitational force is so strong that not even light can escape. This morning, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics to three scientists for their research that illuminated details of black holes’ existence and function in the universe.

Roger Penrose, a cosmologist and professor emeritus at the University of Oxford in England, received half of the award for demonstrating that black holes exist—an idea that even Albert Einstein himself was skeptical of. The other half of the award was jointly awarded to Reinhard Genzel, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, and Andrea Ghez, an astronomer professor at the University of California in Los Angeles, for discovering a supermassive black hole at the

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Smart Chastity Sex Toy Could Have Been Hacked to Permanently Lock Users In

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Security flaws in the app for an internet-connected male chastity device could have allowed hackers to permanently lock a user’s penis into the sex toy, researchers have revealed.

Pen Test Partners, a security firm based in the U.K., discovered the vulnerabilities in the Qiui Cellmate smart chastity lock in April. It said that because there is no way to manually unlock the device, an “angle grinder or other suitable heavy tool would be required to cut the wearer free.”

It’s a chilling thought, and Pen Test Partners says it discovered numerous security deficiencies in the app.

While the possibility of getting locked into the chastity device was the most eye-catching danger of those discovered by the security firm, it is also notable that the app was leaking a litany of potentially highly sensitive user data, including names, locations, birthdays, passwords and phone numbers, which could be used for extortion, fraud

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