California proposes a plan to tax text messages

Posted by & filed under IT and Politics.

California regulators want to tax text messages to increase funds for programs that bring connectivity to underserved residents.
A new surcharge proposed by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) wouldn’t be a per-text tax, but a monthly fee based on a cellular bill that includes any fees for text-message services. Most carriers offer a flat fee option for texting, and already charge a similar fee for other services included in the bill — such as phone calls. The exact structure of the charge would vary from carrier to carrier.
Source: CNN Technology News
Date: December 13th, 2018
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/12/tech/california-text-tax/index.html
Discussion
1) Is it fair to “tax text messages to increase funds for programs that bring connectivity to underserved residents”?
2) Why do think California is targeting text messages for this tax?

Apple to create $1bn Texas base

Posted by & filed under Apple, Careers.

Tim Cook

Apple has announced plans to build a new campus in Austin, Texas, saying the project will involve a $1bn (£790m) investment.

The company already has an existing base in the city.

The iPhone-maker said it expected the latest move would eventually make it the state capital’s biggest private employer.

One expert said the area had a big pool of talent to draw on but was no longer cheaper to hire in than Silicon Valley.

Intel’s Atom computer processors were developed at its facility in the city. Dell, Amazon, Samsung, Facebook, Google and IBM are among other large local employers.

Source: BBC Technology News

Date: December 13th, 2018

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46552904

Discussion

1) What things would Apple likely have considered when they were making their choice of where to put their new technology campus?

2) Why might Amazon have picked Washington D.C. and New York City for it’s HQ2 whereas Apple picks Austin, TX?

Huawei arrest puts ‘bullseye’ on Apple

Posted by & filed under Apple.

market share of mobile phone companies by shipments

You don’t need to look hard to see how the Global Times – the state-backed Chinese newspaper – is interpreting the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.

“Washington’s move to stifle Huawei will undermine itself,” reads a headline. “Banning Chinese companies like Huawei will isolate US from digital economy of the future,” reads another.

It’s that second headline, the threat of isolation, that should give US technology companies considerable pause as we head into Ms Meng’s 12th day of detention in a Canadian jail.

Source: BBC Technology News

Date: December 11th, 2018

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46516662

Discussion

1) Every class I’ve asked has thought that Apple had somewhere around 60% of the world smartphone market. As the chart shows, it is around 13% and falling.  Why do most people in north America overestimate the amount of people with an Apple smartphone?

2) Why is Huawei growing?

Privacy watchdog warns of ‘critical tipping point’ as Canada stakes ground in digital economy

Posted by & filed under Privacy.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks at a quantum ready cybersecurity device from Crypto4A as he participates in a tour of Bayview Yards, a business acceleration hub, in Ottawa

Source: CBC News

Date: December 6th, 2018

Link:

Discussion

1) “The federal privacy watchdog is warning the Liberal government that it must not trade privacy rights for commercial gain as it strives to position Canada as a global leader in the digital, data-driven economy.”  What do they mean when they say ” trade privacy rights for commercial gain”?

2) How can you, the user, protect your privacy rights when you get things from companies that are focused on commercial gain?

Huawei is ‘growing astronomically’ despite allegations it spies for China

Posted by & filed under cyber war, Cybersecurity.

The arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer is just the latest controversy to hit the tech giant which has been accused of conducting espionage activities for the Chinese government.

“We don’t know to what extent they might be considered an arms length business and to what extent they might be simply an arm of the Chinese government,” said David Skillicorn, a professor in Queen’s University School of Computing.

Source: CBC News

Date: December 6th, 2018

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/huawei-china-telecom-arrest-spying-1.4934905

Discussion

1) What sorts of things could a company like Huawei do if it were spying for China?

2) “It is hard for me to believe that a company such as Huawei would not do the bidding of the Chinese government and would not build traps, back doors into its technology on behalf of the Chinese government.” What is a “trap” and what is a “back door”?

Singapore’s Grab ends its game-changing year flush with cash

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Uber.

Grab, the most popular ride-hailing app in Southeast Asia, will end 2018 with $3 billion in new funds as it seeks to fend off rivals in a region of more than 600 million people.

The Singapore-based startup has raised more than $2.7 billion so far this year and will get to $3 billion “before New Year’s bell,” President Ming Maa said in an interview Tuesday with CNN Business.

The new funding, which includes a $1 billion investment from Toyota (TM) in June, values Grab at over $11 billion, according to a person familiar with the company.

Grab made international headlines in March when it bought Uber’s operations in eight Southeast Asian countries. The startup now dominates those markets, but it no longer wishes to be known as a ride-hailing company.

Source: CNN Technology News

Date: December 6th, 2018

Link (includes 2 minute video): https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/04/tech/grab-president-ming-maa/index.html

Discussion

1) “Grab wants to be a “daily lifestyle platform,” Maa said, as it expands into areas like digital payments and health care services”.  How can a ride-hailing company move into digital payments and health care?

2) Should Uber and Lyft be looking to move in the same direction as Grab?

Facebook ‘struck secret deals over user data’

Posted by & filed under Ethical Issues, FaceBook.

Facebook documents

Emails written by Facebook’s chief and his deputies show the firm struck secret deals to give some developers special access to user data while refusing others, according to MPs.

A cache of internal documents has been published online by a parliamentary committee.

It said the files also showed Facebook had deliberately made it “as hard as possible” for users to be aware of privacy changes to its Android app.

Source: BBC Technology News

Date: December 6th, 2018

Link:  https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46456695

Discussion

1) Why is it important news that Facebook is playing favorites with some developers and blocking access to others?

2) Facebook is a public company, not a government entity, is run for profit, and is not a requirement for life.  Why should it not be able to treat certain customers more favorably than others?

Biohacker: Meet the people ‘hacking’ their bodies

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

Liviu

Biohackers want to make their bodies and brains function better by “hacking” their biology. The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme meets the people who are inserting technology under their skin, adopting extreme diets and trying to change their DNA.

Liviu Babitz wants to create new human senses. Touch his chest and you feel his first effort, a vibration every time he faces north. If some animals can already sense direction, why shouldn’t we?

He can feel north because of an electronic implant on his chest called the “North Sense”. It includes a compass chip, Bluetooth connection and is attached to the skin with two titanium bars like a piercing.

Source: BBC Future

Date: December 6th, 2018

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46442519

Discussion

1) What sorts of things might you usefully bio-hack on to your body?

2) What sort of business could you set up around this technology?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-29/what-it-takes-to-make-instagram-influencing-a-full-time-career?srnd=technology-vp

Posted by & filed under Careers, Ethical Issues.

Meghan Young is a professional Instagram star. She gets paid to climb beautiful mountains, photograph their glittering summits and post about her adventures to her fans. “My job is to make it look effortless, to look like it’s the most fun ever and it’s never a job,” she says. “But it is a job.”

Young, 33, makes money from companies that pay her to endorse their products on her Instagram feed, and she’s part of a burgeoning ecosystem of social media influencers—made possible by the billions of users eager for their content, and advertisers hungry for new ways to a youthful audience.

Source: Bloomberg

Date: November 30th, 2018

Link (open with an incognito window to avoid download limits): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-29/what-it-takes-to-make-instagram-influencing-a-full-time-career?srnd=technology-vp

 

Discussion

1) What sort of person could do this sort of job?

2) Is it ethical that there are paid influencers like this?

Alphabet Aims to Win Over Toronto With Affordable Housing

Posted by & filed under Google.

Alphabet Inc.’s digital city on Toronto’s waterfront will be made out of wood, heated by geothermal wells and offer a swathe of affordable housing as it seeks to win over a skeptical public concerned about privacy issues at the development.

Sidewalk Labs LLC, the urban innovation unit of Google parent Alphabet says about 40 percent of the 2,500 residential units on the 4.9-hectare (12-acre) development dubbed “Quayside,” will be below-market housing, including 20 percent affordable. Just over half will be purpose-built rental.

Source: Bloomberg

Date: November 30th, 2018

Link (if you open with an incognito browser you will not trigger the article limitations): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-29/google-aims-to-win-over-skeptical-toronto-with-affordable-homes?srnd=technology-vp

Discussion

1) Is it “technology news” that a technology company is going to build affordable housing?

2) Why is it important that Google is doing this?