Posts By: David Firth

Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

Posted by & filed under Competitive advantage, Consumer Technology, disruptive technology, Emerging Technologies.

Canada, with nine percent of the world’s forests, is a land of plenty. As well as an enviable array of natural resources, Canada also boasts incredible support for entrepreneurs, both homegrown and international. Many household names, such as Slack, Hootsuite and Shopify — which may be mistakenly considered as U.S. products — hail from north… Read more »

Rise of the machines: Bank of Canada warns of automation’s side effects

Posted by & filed under Automation, Careers.

Policy-makers need to prepare for the negatives like income inequality brought on by conditions that could help workers whose skills are complemented by innovations and those whose tasks are replaced by machines. Source: Toronto Star Date: April 21st, 2017 Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/2017/04/18/rise-of-the-machines-bank-of-canada-warns-of-automations-side-effects.html Discussion 1) Technology will bring “painful side effects like job losses and greater income inequality.”  What, if… Read more »

How one app wants to make you smarter while you wait

Posted by & filed under App Economy.

Modern technology requires an awful lot of waiting. Waiting for slow web pages to load. Waiting for people to reply to your texts. Waiting for email to send. This week, researchers at MIT unveiled a new system designed to make wait times more productive. It’s called WaitSuite. Source: CBC Date: April 18th, 2017 Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/waitsuite-makes-use-of-tech-wait-times-1.4073743 Discussion 1) “How would I… Read more »

Internet pioneer Robert Taylor dies

Posted by & filed under IT and History.

While working at the Pentagon in the 1960s, he instigated the creation of Arpanet – a computer network that initially linked together four US research centres, and later evolved into the internet.  At Xerox, he later oversaw the first computer with desktop-inspired icons and a word processor that formed the basis of Microsoft Word. Source: BBC… Read more »

The subtle power of default choices

Posted by & filed under App Economy.

A 2003 study found that the number of people who consented to be organ donors was about 80 percent higher in countries with opt-out policies–(Would you like to refuse to join the organ donor registry?) –than those with opt-in policies (Would you like to join the organ donor registry? Source: FAST Company Date: April 18th, 2017 Link: https://www.fastcompany.com/40403706/the-subtle-power-of-default-choices Discussion… Read more »

Mobile phone motion sensors can be used to crack your PIN

Posted by & filed under Cybersecurity, Emerging Technologies, IT and Politics.

A new study has revealed just how easy it is for hackers to use the sensors in mobile devices to crack four-digit PINs and to access a wide variety of other information about users. Cyber-security experts from Newcastle University in the U.K. found that once a mobile user visits a website, code embedded on the page could then use… Read more »

Investigation found Ohio inmates built and hid computers in prison

Posted by & filed under Cybersecurity.

Lax security allowed inmates at an Ohio prison to build two computers and connect them to the state’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s network, investigators found. Source: CNN Date: April 13th, 2017 Link: http://us.cnn.com/2017/04/12/us/ohio-jail-computers-trnd/index.html Discussion 1) What steps could the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction have taken to find network traffic they weren’t expecting on their network?… Read more »

Banking On The Blockchain

Posted by & filed under bitcoin, blockchain, disruptive technology.

Ever since Bitcoin was introduced in late 2008, the blockchain code that underpins the cryptocurrency has been the source of hope and fear—and much hype. In theory, agile startups could create software built on blockchain protocols with the hope of providing a safer, faster, cheaper and more transparent alternative to traditional financial intermediaries, such as… Read more »

Will 3D printed houses be the next big thing?

Posted by & filed under 3D Printing, Emerging Technologies.

According to the company Apis Cor, the body of this 409 square foot house was built in 24 hours by a 3D printer in Russia. And they are not the only company experimenting with 3D printed homes. Source: CNN Date: April 13th, 2017 Link to video: http://www.cnn.com/videos/cnnmoney/2017/03/24/3d-printed-houses. Discussion 1) 3D printing is changing everything.  How might you introduce… Read more »