Episode 622 – Aussie Tech Heads Shownotes

posted in: Show Notes

 

Microsoft takes wraps off HoloLens 2

The HoloLens 2 will be out some time later this year starting at US$3500 and will be initially available in 10 countries, including Australia

 

new hardware features for the updated device, including an advanced visual display that doubles the field of view from the previous version while maintain a pixel density of 47 per degree of sight.

The company said its new time-of-flight depth sensor, combined with built-in AI enables direct hologram manipulation, claiming it has the same instinctual interactions as the real world. HoloLens also has eye-tracking sensors that make interactions more natural.

 

HoloLens 2 has a more balanced centre of gravity and uses a light carbon-fiber material that means users won’t have to keep readjusting it.

 

Google fails to disclose microphone in home security system

Google said this week it had made an “error” in not disclosing that its Nest Secure home security system had a built-in microphone in its devices.

Earlier this month, Google said Nest Secure would be getting an update and users could now enable its virtual assistant technology Google Assistant on Nest Guard.

The device’s published specifications did not mention a microphone, however the updated product page now mentions one.

“The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs. That was an error on our part. The microphone has never been on and is only activated when users specifically enable the option,” Google said.

 

oogle acquired for US$3.2 billion in 2014, sells video doorbells, security cameras and thermostats that automatically adjust settings based on user behavior.

Alphabet merged Nest, which had operated as an independent unit, into its Google hardware group last year

 

Byron Bay is catching Sydney’s lucrative tech dropouts

What’s Sydney ?

 

ZOHO The CRM and productivity software vendor (among many other things) will today reveal it’s picked Byron Bay in the of NSW to set up its first Australian head office

 

Zoho’s new ANZ managing director Timothy Kasbe the location was picked as part of the privately-held company’s philosophy of setting-up shop in locations outside of capital cities to spread wealth and reduce cost pressures for employees.

Kasbe said the company will initially be putting on 20 people in Byron as the business “puts down roots” to cater what he said were the scale demands of a customer base of tens of thousands in Australia and New Zealand.

 

Algorithm flaw meant Census responses could be identified

Macquarie University uncovered a vulnerability in the Census data visualisation tool that would have allowed individuals to be re-identified through their responses.

The exploit, which the Australian Bureau of Statistics says has now been addressed, also made it possible to reconstruct original data from the population count

 

Dr Dali Kaafar and Hassan Jameel Asghar discovered the vulnerability in the perturbation algorithm used for the agency’s online tool TableBuilder, which allows users to create tables, graphs and maps of census data.

The algorithm preserves privacy by adding “noise distributed within a bounded range (possibly undisclosed)” to perturbs answers to queries.

 

But the cyber security researchers said the algorithm was “faulty and puts the highly sensitive original census data at major risk of being revealed” after working out how to “find any hidden parameters of the algorithm” and “remove the noise applied by the algorithm”.

 

While neither relies on any background information, the researchers said “a little background information” would be enough to link unique census responses to “real persons in the population”.

 

“Implications of this attack go beyond re-identification risks, as the attack makes it possible to reveal values intended to be hidden by the TBE perturbation algorithm and hence can reconstruct the original census data,” the researchers said.

 

New app to be trialled helps drivers avoid parking tickets

 

The app, called Park’n Pay, will be trialled in Sydney and will help speed up the parking process by allowing drivers to pay for parking on their phone.

Drivers will also receive an alert if their meter is running low or if the park is about to turn into a no-stopping zone, a feature that will drastically help motorists avoid parking fines.

 

When users get the notification they have the option of topping up the meter through the app, meaning they don’t have to go all the way back to their parked car to do so.

 

The app is set to be trialled in the coming months in The Rocks area of Sydney. If it is a success, it will then be rolled out across the state.

There are plans to also include a feature that will help drivers find free spots, hopefully reducing congestion around busy areas.

It is believed the 10-minute “grace period” introduced across the state on January 31 will still apply when using the app.

Motorists now have 10 minutes from the moment their paid parking ticket expires to move their car before they can be fined.

if you are parked in a private car park or at a meter that doesn’t issue tickets, then you’ll miss out.

 

Joes Podcast Notes for

28/02/2019

Energizer’s Massive Smartphone

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/02/i-want-energizers-power-max-p18k-pop-massive-unit-of-a-phone/

 

  • This energizer smartphone is called The Power Max 18K Pop, it has an enormous 18,000mAh battery. That’s around 6 times larger than a lot of modern flagship phones.
  • The company states that on standby it can last up to 50 days. It also has reverse wireless charging – which could be really useful for charging other phones and devices on the go.
  • It’s 28mm thick and has a weight so hefty that an official number hasn’t even been released yet. They say that you can definitely feel the strain after holding it for awhile.
  • As far as specs go The Power Max has 6GB Ram, 128GB storage and is using a Mediatek MT P70 CPU. It runs on Android Pie and has dual 12MP/5MP rear cameras and a pop-up front-facing 16MP camera.
  • It will be out in Europe later this year and have an RRP of about $950 Aussie Dollars.

 

USB 3.2 is out now , may also cause some confusion

https://www.androidauthority.com/usb-3-2-gen-2-x-2-960518/

 

  • USB 3.2 will be known by the technical name USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 because it makes use of two high-speed 10 Gbps channels.

 

  • USB 3.1 Gen 2×2 only works with USB-C, which most new Android smartphones will have, but we’ll need to wait for next-generation chipsets to benefit from it. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, which will power many 2019 flagship phones, only supports 10Gbps transfer speeds via the newly named USB 3.1 Gen 2.

 

  • However, even once the supporting technology is there, this is probably isn’t something smartphone owners need to worry too much about it. Very few if any at all Android users will transfer large enough files to really take advantage of the 20Gbps connection. This new USB 3.2 2×2 standard is more for something that power users on a laptop or desktop would make use of.

Telstra is connecting your Windows 10 PC with eSIM

https://exchange.telstra.com.au/connect-windows-10-pc-esim/

Telstra have partnered with Microsoft to enable embedded SIM support in compatible Windows 10 Modern PCs. From March 7, Telstra will be the first Australian telco to make it possible for you to connect a Windows 10 device with eSIM to the Telstra mobile network, without a SIM card or additional hardware.

  • Telstra say that from March 7 to December 31, anyone that wants to try out the new technology for themselves, can do so as Telstra is offering customers who have a compatible Microsoft eSIM-enabled device a 30-day trial that includes 30GB of free data to use in Australia. Once the trial period or data has expired, customers will be able to choose a variety of prepaid or post-paid offers from our range of plans.
  • As soon as the service is enabled by Telstra on March 7 , customers with eSIM-enabled Modern PCs running the latest version of Windows 10 will be able to activate a Telstra mobile broadband plan and connect in a matter of moments, with activation of the trial offer typically only taking a few minutes.
  • eSIM technology is currently already available on some Windows 10 devices including the Microsoft Surface Pro 4G LTE and premium HP Spectre range – the HP Spectre Folio 4G LTE and the HP Spectre x360 4G LTE – and more new Windows based devices are ready for launch through 2019.