Archive for September 29, 2016

Fitness Apps More Effective When They Are Personalized

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2016 by itnerd

When fitness apps include personal touches such as individualized goals and contact with a ‘real live trainer’, users tend to exercise more consistently, a UBC study concludes.

Mary Jung, an assistant professor in UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, recently completed an eight-week study that examined the effectiveness of fitness apps.

In her study, Jung worked with a fitness app company to incorporate goal setting, personalized feedback and opportunities for self-monitoring and self-evaluation—all key elements of health behaviour change. Activity levels were compared between those who had use of the app compared to those who did not.

Jung found that that not only did the test subjects use the app for the duration of the study, they exercised more. This is in comparison to the group that did not use the app and who showed no change in their exercise bouts.

According to Statistics Canada, about seven per cent of Canadian children are meeting activity guidelines that call for 60 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous exercise. For adults, who are recommended to undertake at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each week, that rate is 15 per cent.

Jung’s study—the first of its kind to combine psychology and technology to encourage people to exercise more—was recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

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Opinion: BlackBerry Is Getting Ready To Sell Itself

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2016 by itnerd

I’ve had 24 hours or so to absorb all the news that came out of BlackBerry’s quarterly earnings statement yesterday. And it seems to me that BlackBerry might be positioning itself for a sale. Why do I feel that way? Here’s my logic. There are two key points in my mind:

  • With the move to not make its own hardware anymore, BlackBerry is pretty stripped down. They have a pile of patents, QNX which is used in a lot of places including car infotainment systems, BBM which was spun off as a separate entity last month, and their global infrastructure. Nothing is really left that would be a drag on earnings. At least in theory. Thus making all of this valuable in whole or in parts to the right buyer.
  • Something that most people missed yesterday is the fact that BlackBerry has a new CFO. Steven Capelli is the guy in question and he brings 25 years of executive experience in the software and technology industry with a strong track record for driving profitable growth and increased operational efficiencies across business and corporate functions. The thing is, he’s never been a CFO which is kind of weird. He also has worked at Pyramid Technology Corporation and Sybase which means he’s buddies with CEO John Chen who has worked with both companies. But the key thing is that both Pyramid and Sybase were eventually bought by other companies while both men were working for said companies. Thus one has to wonder if this is a case of history repeating itself.

While I do think that the short term goal is to get BlackBerry back to profitability, I think that BlackBerry CEO John Chen will not hesitate to pull the trigger on a sale of the company. It’s clear that he is aligning the company for that to be an option. The only question in my mind is when might that trigger be pulled.

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Apple Tracks Who You Contact On Messages & Stores That Info For 30 Days

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2016 by itnerd

The Intercept is reporting that Apple tracks who its customers send iMessages to and is able to hand that information over to law enforcement when compelled to do so through a court order.

The Intercept received the document about Apple’s Messages logs as part of a larger cache originating from within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Electronic Surveillance Support Team, a state police agency that facilitates police data collection using controversial tools like the Stingray, along with conventional techniques like pen registers. The document, titled “iMessage FAQ for Law Enforcement,” is designated for “Law Enforcement Sources” and “For Official Use Only,” though it’s unclear who wrote it or for what specific audience — metadata embedded in the PDF cites an author only named “mrrodriguez.” (The term “iMessages” refers to an old name for the Messages app still commonly used to refer to it.)

Lovely. Apple claims to take a strong stance on privacy and promises to keep customer data private. This statement that they gave to the Intercept seems to reinforce that: 

When law enforcement presents us with a valid subpoena or court order, we provide the requested information if it is in our possession. Because iMessage is encrypted end-to-end, we do not have access to the contents of those communications. In some cases, we are able to provide data from server logs that are generated from customers accessing certain apps on their devices. We work closely with law enforcement to help them understand what we can provide and make clear these query logs don’t contain the contents of conversations or prove that any communication actually took place.

The thing is, that this news will cast doubt on their stance on privacy. Perhaps Apple would be wise to come up with a more robust statement to clear the air on this?

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Samsung In The News Again For Exploding Washing Machines

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2016 by itnerd

First Samsung actually brought accuracy to the phrase “my phone is blowing up.” Now Samsung has an issue with washing machines that explode according to CNN:

U.S. regulators on Wednesday warned owners of certain top-loading Samsung washing machines of “safety issues” following reports that some have exploded.

The warning, from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, covered machines made between March 2011 and April 2016. It did not specify a model.

The commission suggested people use only the delicate cycle to wash bedding and water-resistant and bulky items because the lower spin speed “lessens the risk of impact injuries or property damage due to the washing machine becoming dislodged.”

The agency said it is working with Samsung on a remedy.

One has to wonder if anything that Samsung makes doesn’t blow up?

I can’t wait to see how Samsung deals with this as this will be fodder for late night comedians as well as being a story that keeps them in the news for all the wrong reasons.

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Infographic: 2016 McAfee Most Dangerous Celebrities

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2016 by itnerd

MDC 2016_Infographic_EN-CA_fnl-flag.jpg

Now in its 10th year, the McAfee Most Dangerous Celebrities list, from Intel Security, reveals which cultural personalities generate the most dangerous search results.

Globally, female comedian superstar, Amy Schumer, knocked Electronic Dance Music (EDM) DJ Armin van Buuren off of the list to become the most dangerous celebrity to search for online.

 With Cyber Security Awareness Month beginning on Oct. 1, Intel Security is reminding consumers to be vigilant in practicing safe online behaviour with the following tips:

  •  Think before you click! Are you looking for the latest episode of Amy Schumer’s TV show “Inside Amy Schumer?” Don’t click on that third-party link. Get your content directly from the original source at comedycentral.com to ensure you aren’t clicking on anything that could be malicious
  • Use caution when searching for “torrent.” This term is by far the riskiest search term. Consumers searching for torrents or files to download should be careful so as not to unleash unsafe content such as malware onto their computers
  • Keep your personal information personal. Cybercriminals are always looking for ways to steal your information. If you receive a request to enter information like your credit card, email, home address, or social media login don’t give it out thoughtlessly. Do your research and ensure it’s not a phishing attempt that could lead to identity theft
  • Browse with security protection like McAfee WebAdvisor software. WebAdvisor will help keep you safe from malicious websites and browser exploits by helping to identify potentially risky sites. A complimentary version of the software can be downloaded at www.mcafee.com/mcafeewebadvisor
  • Use cross device protection. Consumers need to protect their digital lives and all devices regardless of where they are, what device they use or where they store their personal data. Use solutions that deliver protection against threats, such as malware, hacking and phishing attacks, and device-specific protection in case of loss or theft, which will also help to secure their identity across the devices they use

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PONS Illustrated Dictionary App Now Available

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2016 by itnerd

PONS and Paragon Software Group have released PONS Russian Illustrated Dictionary for Android and iOS. Developed by leading language instructors, this dictionary app presents information in a new and unique way – with corresponding illustrations for every word. More than 5,000 words and phrases are grouped into 13 essential topics for everyday life, covering everything from emergency situations, education, and work to hobbies and culture. 

The app covers the following topics:

  • People
  • At home
  • Food and drinks
  • On the go
  • In the city
  • Education and work
  • Communication
  • Sport and fitness
  • Free time
  • Body and health
  • Emergencies
  • Earth and nature
  • Numbers and measurements

System requirements: iOS 8.0 or later; Android 4.0 or later.

Availability:

PONS Russian Illustrated Dictionary apps are available for $4.99 each, or $14.99 as a set of dictionaries for all languages via in-app purchase. You can get it from the App Store or from Google Play. 

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Bilinguals are more attractive, say 68% of English Canadians: Babbel

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2016 by itnerd

Almost 70% of English Canadians think that speaking a foreign language makes a person more attractive, according to a new survey by Babbel. The leading language learning app polled English Canadians on their perception of languages. The survey also revealed that not only is French considered the most useful second language, but also that it makes a person seem cleverer.

Although Canada is increasingly diversified linguistically, it may not come as a surprise that 47 percent of English Canadians think French is the most useful foreign language, followed by Spanish (43 percent) and German (5 percent). A lot of business is conducted between Quebec and English Canada and being bilingual definitely helps when working with colleagues or different companies; not to mention it is an attractive skill set to have as it’s a sign of experience and education.

In addition to identifying French as the most useful foreign language, 41 percent of English Canadians believe that French as a second language makes people seem cleverer. German (18 percent) and Spanish (16 percent) came in second and third place.

Notable survey findings also include:

  1. Exaggeration of language skills: 14 percent of English Canadians have exaggerated their language skills on a resume.
  2. Hardest to learn: The top five hardest languages to learn according to English Canadians are Russian (33 percent), German (14 percent), Indonesian (13 percent), Turkish (10 percent) and French (9 percent).
  3. Easiest to learn: The easiest languages to learn are Spanish (37 percent), French (34 percent), Italian (12 percent), German (9 percent) and Dutch 92 percent).
  4. Language barriers: 21 percent of English Canadians have decided to not visit a country because they don’t speak the language.

The survey was answered by more than 2,000 Canadian Babbel users; more than 700 from English Canada. The survey was conducted during spring 2016.

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