The Smartphone’s Next Frontier: Earthquake Early Warning System

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The Smartphone’s Next Frontier: Earthquake Early Warning System

A new study has shown that smartphones can be used to create an earthquake early warning system, providing an inexpensive option for many countries.

Early warnings can mean the difference between life and death when an earthquake strikes. Many wealthier nations have invested in expensive early warning system. For many developing countries, however, such systems are out of reach.

Ben Brooks, of the U.S. Geological Survey, presented the results of a study before the Seismological Society of America (SSA)’s 2021 Annual Meeting. According to the study, a network of 80 cellphones were used to detect earthquakes, and the results compared against a scientific-grade system.

According to ScienceDaily, the ASTUTI (Alerta Sismica Temprana Utilizando Teléfonos Inteligentes) network detected and alerted on 5 of 13 noticeable earthquakes in Costa Rica. The smartphones were attached to baseboards, with their accelerometers detecting the earthquake-induced shaking.

“The performance level over the six months is encouraging,” Brooks said. “Cascadia events in the Pacific Northwest are similar to the Costa Rican subduction zone, and latencies for ShakeAlert in Cascadia are about 10 seconds, so it’s comparable.”

Brooks believes ASTUTI could be valuable to countries across the wealth spectrum.

“I would imagine that would be attractive for countries with less resources to dedicate to earthquake early warning” Brooks said, “but the performance is also at a level that I imagine would interest even wealthier countries.”

The entire report is well-worth a read, and demonstrates another innovative way smartphones can be put to use.

The Smartphone’s Next Frontier: Earthquake Early Warning System
Matt Milano

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Huawei Could Monitor Calls on One of the Largest Dutch Wireless Networks

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Huawei Could Monitor Calls on One of the Largest Dutch Wireless Networks

Huawei is facing accusations that it had the access and ability to monitor all the calls made on KPN’s wireless network, one of the largest in the Netherlands.

Huawei has been facing accusations for years that it serves as a conduit for Beijing to spy on governments and companies around the world. The US ultimately banned the Chinese firm from participating in its networks, and many of its allies did the same.

Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant saw a confidential report prepared for KPN in 2010 by the Capgemini consultancy firm. According to The Guardian, the report found that Huawei and China could have monitored calls by then prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, as well as Chinese dissidents.

KPN has downplayed the report, saying it “never observed that Huawei took client information.” At the same time, it did acknowledge that one of its suppliers had “unauthorised, uncontrolled or unlimited access to our networks and systems”.

The report was originally commissioned after the Dutch intelligence service warned of potential espionage. Despite the findings, KPN continued to use Huawei for its 3G and 4G deployments, although it excluded the company from its 5G network.

The report concluded that the findings put “the continued existence of KPN Mobile in serious danger” since customers “may lose confidence … if it becomes known the Chinese government can monitor KPN mobile numbers.”

It remains to be seen what fallout KPN may still face now that the report has become public.

Huawei Could Monitor Calls on One of the Largest Dutch Wireless Networks
Matt Milano

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Daily Mail Newspaper Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google

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Daily Mail Newspaper Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google

The Daily Mail has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, claiming the search giant wields too much advertising power and newspapers see little in return.

As Google has grown from a search engine to an advertising behemoth, it has exerted an increasing level of control over the entire advertising process. The company now controls the ad exchange, ad space on publishers pages and the inventory of available ads.

According to Reuters, The Daily Mail has had enough and is suing Google.

“The lack of competition for publishers’ inventory depresses prices and reduces the amount and quality of news available to readers, but Google ends up ahead because it controls a growing share of the ad space that remains,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit adds to a growing list of suits Google is facing, including one by the Department of Justice, as well as one by a coalition of states.

Daily Mail Newspaper Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
Matt Milano

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FTC: Make Sure Your AI Algorithms Are Unbiased…Or Else

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FTC: Make Sure Your AI Algorithms Are Unbiased…Or Else

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent a stark warning for companies to ensure their AI algorithms are unbiased…or else.

AI is being adopted across a wide spectrum of industries. Unfortunately, studies repeatedly demonstrate the propensity for AI algorithms to be biased. In many cases, this is the result of the datasets used to train AIs not reflecting the necessary diversity.

In a blog post, the FTC addresses this issue:

Watch out for discriminatory outcomes. Every year, the FTC holds PrivacyCon, a showcase for cutting-edge developments in privacy, data security, and artificial intelligence. During PrivacyCon 2020, researchers presented work showing that algorithms developed for benign purposes like healthcare resource allocation and advertising actually resulted in racial bias. How can you reduce the risk of your company becoming the example of a business whose well-intentioned algorithm perpetuates racial inequity? It’s essential to test your algorithm – both before you use it and periodically after that – to make sure that it doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or other protected class.

The FTC also warns companies to be careful not to overpromise what their AI can do, such as advertising a product that delivers “100% unbiased hiring decisions,” yet was created with data that wasn’t truly diverse. The FTC advises companies to be transparent, use independent standards and be truthful about how they will use customer data.

The FTC warns that companies failing to follow its advice will deal with the consequences:

Hold yourself accountable – or be ready for the FTC to do it for you. As we’ve noted, it’s important to hold yourself accountable for your algorithm’s performance. Our recommendations for transparency and independence can help you do just that. But keep in mind that if you don’t hold yourself accountable, the FTC may do it for you. For example, if your algorithm results in credit discrimination against a protected class, you could find yourself facing a complaint alleging violations of the FTC Act and ECOA. Whether caused by a biased algorithm or by human misconduct of the more prosaic variety, the FTC takes allegations of credit discrimination very seriously, as its recent action against Bronx Honda demonstrates.

FTC: Make Sure Your AI Algorithms Are Unbiased…Or Else
Matt Milano

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Discord Ends Buyout Talks With Microsoft, Will Go Public Instead

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Discord Ends Buyout Talks With Microsoft, Will Go Public Instead

Discord has ended talks with Microsoft — over the latter attempting to buy the chat platform — and will focus on going public instead, according to reports.

Discord got its start as a place for gamers to chat and communicate. The platform is especially popular as gamers play competitively, or in games that require coordinating large numbers of participants. In the wake of the pandemic, however, Discord has been rebranding itself as a general purpose chat app, as opposed to strictly one for gaming.

The company was in discussions with Microsoft for the Redmond-based company to purchase it. The combination seemed like a good fit for both parties, especially with Microsoft’s Xbox platform and gaming focus.

The talks have ended, however, with Discord rejecting a $12 billion bid from Microsoft. According to Bloomberg, the company will now focus on going public.

Representatives of both companies declined to provide Bloombergwith a statement.

Discord Ends Buyout Talks With Microsoft, Will Go Public Instead
Matt Milano

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Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ Event: iPad Pro and M1 Mac

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Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ Event: iPad Pro and M1 Mac

Apple uses its “Spring Loaded” event to unveil the new iPad Pro and an M1 iMac.

iMac

New iMac – Credit Apple

Cook highlighted the revolutionary impact of the transition to Apple’s custom M1 silicon, before giving the stage to John Ternus to discuss the latest addition to the M1 family: the iMac.

The new iMac is a throwback to the original iMac, coming in seven different colors. Unlike previous generations, however, the M1 allows the iMac to achieve an all new degree of thinness. In fact, the new model is only 11.5 millimeters thick.

iMac stays under 10 decimals under most situations, barely audible to the human ear.

Navpreet Koloty showed off the progress Apple has made on the iMac’s cameras, the best the company has ever put in a Mac. Cameras were always a weak point for the Mac, something that became more apparent during the pandemic, as people started relying on videoconferencing.

The iMac’s speakers and microphones also received a major upgrade, resulting in the best sound system ever put in a Mac.

The new machines are up to 85% faster than previous models, with up to 2x faster GPU performance and up to 50% faster than the fastest discrete graphics iMacs. Machine learning is up to 3x faster.

The iMac is the first desktop to offer Touch ID. Touch ID can be used to log in, make purchases and activate fast user switching, to switch between user accounts.

iPad Pro

iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard – Credit Apple

Raja Bose took the stage to announce the iPad Pro now has the M1 chip as well. The M1 in the iPad Pro delivers 50% faster performance than the previous generation. The 8-core GPU delivers up to 40% faster GPU performance than the previous model.

The new model includes support for the latest Playstation and Xbox controls, complete with haptic feedback.

The new iPad Pro has 2x faster storage access, and is now available with up to 2TB storage. New model includes Thunderbolt support with USB 4.

The new iPad Pro supports 5G, including mmWave in the US, giving it the ability to have 4Gbps download under ideal conditions.

iPad Pro Center Stage – Credit Apple

Fiona O’Leary showed the improvements Apple has made to the cameras. One of the biggest announcements was the introduction of Center Stage. Using the new 122-degree, Ultra-Wide camera and machine learning, Center Stage keeps the user in the center of the view, addressing one of the biggest complaints of the iPad’s current cameras.

The new models also include the much anticipated mini-LED display, complete Liquid Retina XDR, a first for the tablet line. The Magic Keyboard is also available in white.

The 11-inch model starts at $799, while the 12.9-inch starts at $1,099.

Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ Event: iPad Pro and M1 Mac
Matt Milano

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Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ Event: Apple Card, Podcasts, iPhone, AirTag and Apple TV

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Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ Event: Apple Card, Podcasts, iPhone, AirTag and Apple TV

Apple unveiled its “Spring Loaded” event, unveiling the much-anticipated AirTags, as well as changes to Apple Card, Podcasts and the Apple TV.

Tim Cook kicked off the latest event touting the company’s environmental progress, with the goal of being carbon neutral from end-to-end, including its supply chain, by 2030. Cook also highlighted its recent Restore Fund launch, in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Conservation International.

Apple Card

Apple Card will target financial equity, by allowing couples to merge their account and credit lines so both benefit from improvements to their credit score.

Podcasts

Apple Podcasts – Credit Apple

Biggest change to Podcasts since its debut, including a complete redesign of the app, making it easier to discover new content. Apple Podcast Subscriptions will unlock early access, ad-free listening and more, all while supporting content creators.

iPhone

Not much changed for the iPhone, other than a new color: purple.

AirTag

Apple AirTag – Credit Apple

Carolyn Wolfman-Estrada took over to discuss Apple’s changes to Find My. The service is used on nearly a billion Apple devices. The company recently opened Find My to third-party companies.

The real news, however, was the introduction of AirTag. With a clever commercial highlighting the great mysterious chasm that is the living room couch, a man uses AirTag to find his keys.

A small, round device that can be encased in a keychain accessory, AirTag uses Precision Finding, in combination with Find My, to give very precise distance and directional information.

Wolfman-Estrada also emphasized Apple’s focus on privacy, reiterating the company’s AirTags are designed to track devices, not people.

The devices are available for $29 for a single one, or $99 for a four-pack.

Apple TV 4K

New Apple TV – Credit Apple

Cook handed the reins to Cindy Lin to show off the company’s plans for Apple TV. New version is built with the A12 Bionic, giving it the ability to play HDR in high frame rate. This will be a big boost to sports and fast-action programming. AirPlay is also being updated to support high frame rate HDR.

Apple TV will also work with the iPhone to adjust the color and picture settings to compensate for any inaccuracy issues with the TV.

Apple also redesigned the Siri Remote, with an all-aluminum design, improved click buttons, circular control for fast-forward and rewind, and a power button that can turn the TV on and off.

Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ Event: Apple Card, Podcasts, iPhone, AirTag and Apple TV
Matt Milano

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