Posts By: David Firth

“No, the presidential election can’t be hacked”

Posted by & filed under Cybersecurity, election, Ethical Issues, fraud, IT and Politics.

The Obama administration is accusing Russia of hacking US political organizations. States are reporting attempts — in one case successful — to breach voter registration databases. And the final days of the campaign are dominated by talk of whether the race is “rigged.” Source: CNN Date: October 27th, 2016 Link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/19/politics/election-day-russia-hacking-explained/index.html Discussion 1) “Nobody is going to be able to change the outcome of… Read more »

How I survived my two-week digital diet

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Consumer Technology.

No Smartphone. No Google. No Twitter. No texting and no music — except for a Walkman. Source: Toronto Star Date: October 21st, 2016 Link: https://www.thestar.com/life/technology/2015/11/13/how-i-survived-my-two-week-digital-diet.html Discussion 1) Is there anything a company could learn from this non-tech experience? 2) Why, or why not, would you be able to do this too?

Bad wiring or bad chemistry? What’s behind Samsung’s exploding smartphone batteries?

Posted by & filed under Amazon, Apple, Consumer Technology, Google.

Samsung has been forced to recall thousands of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones because some of the batteries in the devices overheated and exploded.  The company hasn’t yet explained the cause. And it’s curious, because lithium-ion batteries — the kinds used in the phones — are safely used in millions of wireless devices around the world. Source: CBC News… Read more »

How the street light has been given a hi-tech makeover

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Cloud Computing, Consumer Technology, Cybersecurity, Emerging Technologies.

Not only are light bulbs getting sharper and more energy efficient as they are upgraded to LEDs, but they increasingly help fight crime, promote safe cycling and even protect turtles.  That’s because street lights are also becoming the eyes and ears of “smart” cities.  Lamp posts double as data collectors, communicating with a central control… Read more »

Is that app you’re using for work a security threat?

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Ethical Issues.

When cybersecurity firm Imperva asked one of its banking clients how many apps it thought its staff were using, the firm estimated between 75 and 100 in total. The figure was actually closer to 800.  Why does this matter? Source: BBC Technology News Date: October 18th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37541594 Discussion 1) “Cloud-based apps often gain access to the… Read more »

Humans need new skills for post-AI world

Posted by & filed under Artificial intelligence, Emerging Technologies, Ethical Issues, IS ethics, IT and the law.

Robotics and AI have “huge potential” to reshape the way people work and live, but the government needs to do more to address the issues raised by such technology, including careful scrutiny of the probable ethical, legal and societal impact. Source: BBC Technology News Date: October 18th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37618579 Discussion 1) What might be some probable ethical issues… Read more »

Is the world wide web a waste of water?

Posted by & filed under Cloud Computing, cloud services, Ethical Issues, Green Computing, Green Tech.

Researchers at Imperial College London made headlines last year when they claimed that up to 200 litres of water could be involved in the download of a single gigabyte (GB) of data. Source: BBC News Date: October 18th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37471911 Discussion 1) “Whenever you check social media, send an email, or stream a video, you will be… Read more »

Competition heats up to build Canada’s first Arctic fibre line, as Inuit want in

Posted by & filed under bandwidth, Consumer Technology.

High-speed fibre-optic internet could finally be coming to Nunavut, with two groups now competing to run subsea cables through the Arctic archipelago. For the past year, Nunavut Resource Corporation, which is partly owned by the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, has been lobbying the federal government for support for a new $850-million plan to build onto existing fibre optic networks in Labrador, Quebec and the… Read more »