Archive for July 17, 2019

Hex Launches New Glacier Series Photography Bags

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 17, 2019 by itnerd

HEX, award-winning fashion accessory brand, today announced the innovative new Glacier Series DSLR Bags. The collection consists of four new DSLR bags designed to help you tackle your next shoot or urban adventure.

Glacier Camo Back Loader DSLR Backpack |  MSRP: $198.95

The Back Loader DSLR Backpack is constructed with premium, water resistant, Cordura® or premium 900D Poly materials. It features a padded and fleece-lined multi-use main compartment with configurable and removable partitions to store all of your camera gear, with 3 mesh and velcro pockets on the facing side for additional accessory storage. A top zipper provides quick and easy access to your camera without the need to open main compartment.

The padded and faux-fur lined laptop slot is designed to hold a 15″ laptop, but will also fit smaller sized laptops. Our signature front iPad/tablet pocket keeps your tablet or phone easily accessible. The back panel and straps are padded in EVA foam and finished in air-mesh for breathability and comfort. On the side, you will find quick-access tripod straps. Finish it all off with YKK® zipper pulls, custom logo lining, bar-tacked critical seams for durability, premium belting straps, a chest compression strap, a handy ID card pocket, and you have one serious gear pack.

Glacier Camo Cinema Backpack | MSRP: $239.95

The HEX Cinema Backpack is designed for cinematic gear – specifically a Canon 1DX with lens attached. Most bags are not deep enough to accommodate this, even though it is a standard go-to camera for the filming community. The backpack is constructed in premium, water resistant, Cordura® or 900D poly materials. It features a padded and fleece-lined multi-use main compartment with configurable and removable partitions to store all of your camera gear, with 3 mesh and velcro pockets on the facing side for additional accessory storage.

An important feature on this bag is the padded lumbar support belt which helps distribute the weight of your gear off from your shoulders to the larger muscle groups on your hips and legs.

A top and side opening provides quick and easy access to your camera without the need to open main compartment. A separate storage compartment with organizer for up to a 17″ MacBook Pro is padded and lined in soft faux-fur. The signature front iPad/tablet pocket keeps your tablet or phone easily accessible. If you still need more, there are 5 general storage side compartments for easy access to additional gear, cables, lens caps, or accessories.

The back panel and straps are padded in EVA foam and finished in air-mesh for breathability and comfort. On the bottom you will find a quick access tripod straps. Finish it all off with YKK® zipper pulls, custom logo lining, bar-tacked critical seams for durability, premium belting straps, a chest compression strap, and a handy ID card pocket and you have one serious gear pack.

Ranger Clamshell Glacier Camo DSLR Backpack | $199.95

The Patent-Pending clamshell design with integrated compression buckles allows you can control how the bag is opened for easy camera access.  Based on your preferences, it can be used as a top-open, left-side open, or right-side open.  The compression straps serve to segregate these three “zones” and protect again over-opening in any one zone.

The Ranger DSLR Backpack is constructed in premium, water-resistant 900D ballistic poly. Genuine large gauge YKK zippers with custom metal pulls for strength and dependability. Durable non-skid bottom.

The design of the straps has been thoughtfully designed to provide the most comfortable experience while carrying your camera gear on a full day excursion. The one-piece strap is designed to be ergonomic while the padding and air-mesh provide comfort and breathability.

The Ranger Backpack features a padded and fleece-lined multi-use main compartment with configurable and removable EVA foam partitions to store all of your camera gear. Zippered mesh accessory pockets throughout the internal portion of the bag help organize smaller accessories and cables.

The side entry zippered laptop sleeve will hold up to a 15″ MacBook Pro. This compartment is padded soft faux-fur lined. The side of the bag has a faux-fur lined zippered phone pocket.

Ranger Glacier Camo DSLR Sling | MSRP $ 99.95

The all-new Ranger DSLR Sling is constructed in premium, water-resistant 900D ballistic poly. Genuine YKK zippers with custom metal pulls for strength and a consistent experience.

The Sling features a fold-out bottom panel that can be folded out of the way or completely removed to allow the bag to be packed flat for travel.  Once at your destination, simply fold out the bottom and the bag returns to a structured, protective camera bag.

The Ranger Sling features a padded and fleece-lined, multi-use main compartment with configurable and removable partitions to store all of your camera gear. Holds everything, from a Leica or Sony Mirrorless or even a Canon 5D with a 24-70mm lens! Zippered mesh accessory pockets throughout the internal portion of the bag help organize smaller accessories and cables.

This small, lightweight sling is designed to streamline the storage of DSLR essentials. The EVA padding will protect your gear with flexibility to organize your kit with the padded, adjustable, and fold-away dividers.

The back entry zippered tablet sleeve will hold your iPad Mini or other similar sized tablets. This compartment is padded soft faux-fur lined. The front of the bag has a faux-fur lined zippered pocket to hold your phone or a pair of sunglasses.

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Guest Post: Younger Children Are Using Digital Devices More Than Ever Before Says NordVPN

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 17, 2019 by itnerd

A study from Ofcom about children’s media usage revealed that parents are getting more and more concerned about the internet. At the same time, younger kids are spending more time than ever on digital devices because of their accessibility.

In general, the older the children get, the more they use and interact with media devices and services. Increasingly, the group of 12-15s goes online for the longest time per week. They choose the most ‘over the top’ TV services like Netflix, Now TV, or Amazon Prime Video or a video-sharing website YouTube, and have a social media profile. Also, preschoolers of age 3-4 are spending more time on tablets.

“The number of younger kids using electronic devices connected to the internet is growing at a rapid pace. This means that more people could become victims of cyber attacks or face other threats, such as cyberbullying or offensive content. Thus, parents should become more aware of their children’s activities online and start educating them as early as possible,” says Daniel Markuson, a digital privacy expert at NordVPN.

Compared to the previous year, content created by vloggers was more popular than ever among kids aged 3-15. Such content was also seen as a source of inspiration for creativity. Many of the interviewees upload content both to YouTube and Musical.ly, and it often mimics other popular YouTubers. Also, the rising vloggers’ popularity may be responsible for the increasing pressure to spend money online. Although kids understand that their favorite YouTubers get paid for product endorsement, this doesn’t stop them from buying promoted things.

Considering parental worries, the greatest one is “companies collecting information about what their kid is doing online.” Through the year, three other issues raised more concern: the child damaging their reputation, the pressure on the child to spend money online, and the possibility of the child becoming radicalized online.

Despite rising concerns, parents are sometimes less likely to restrict their child’s activities. In contrast with 2017, in 2018, children aged 12-15 were less likely to say they had received information or advice from their parents or guardians. Some of the parents thought that their kids were using common-sense while interacting online. Others believed that safe internet usage was taught in schools already.

NordVPN recommends that parents spend more time talking to their children about the threats in the digital world. “Cybersecurity education should start at an early age when guardians are still authorities. Limiting certain online activities is often not the best choice. Instead, one should try to explain to their children how important digital reputation, fact-checking, online etiquette, and safety are and how online advertising works. Being open and supportive will gain the child’s trust. Most importantly, a parent or guardian should set the best example they can,” explains Daniel Markuson.

The study ‘Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report 2018’ was released in February 2019.

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The Privacy Concerns Around FaceApp Are Not Going Away

Posted in Commentary with tags , on July 17, 2019 by itnerd

Earlier today, I posted a story on FaceApp and the fact that it has significant privacy concerns. And I recommended that you should avoid it.

I am now doubling down on that recommendation. Here’s why. Developer Joshua Nozzi posted this on Twitter today.

https://twitter.com/JoshuaNozzi/status/1150962227433943040

So this app grabs all your photos without your permission? This is mind blowing. But wait, that might be incorrect:

I encourage you to click on the tweet above to get the full picture of what this person is saying. But in short, FaceApp does not upload all your pictures. Or at least, it doesn’t appear to. But… It does use Facebook Accountkit for seamless login purposes. As it you can use your Facebook account to log in. Which doesn’t inspire confidence. Nevertheless, the fact that it isn’t clear what this app is doing or not doing is cause for concern.

The company clearly is feeling the heat because they responded to this crisis via TechCrunch today. I encourage you to read the full statement as it isn’t the most robust one that I have seen and leaves them with a bit of wiggle room. Plus they admit to having a R&D team in Russia, but no info is sent there. That’s something I find difficult to believe.

I’ll go back to what I said earlier today. Avoid FaceApp. Don’t use it. Don’t install it. Don’t go near it. Because given today’s events, it isn’t clear what this app is all about and if you are safe to use it.

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Avoid FaceApp If You Want To Keep The Rights To Your Photos

Posted in Commentary with tags , on July 17, 2019 by itnerd

There’s a new app that is making waves called FaceApp. It’s available for iOS and Android, and it uses neural network technology to automatically generate highly realistic transformations of faces in photographs.The app can transform a face to make it smile, look younger, look older, or even change gender. Now it’s been around for a while, but has gone viral recently due to the addition of some new filters. But I would say don’t use it. Don’t go near it. Avoid it like it has the plague.

Why? Well, according to the Terms of Service laid out by FaceApp, users own all their own content. But when you dig deeper, they don’t own their own content. Here’s a link to their Terms Of Service where you will find this under section 5:

Our Services may allow you and other users to create, post, store and share content, including messages, text, photos, videos, software and other materials (collectively, “User Content”). User Content does not include user-generated filters. Except for the license you grant below, you retain all rights in and to your User Content, as between you and FaceApp. Further, FaceApp does not claim ownership of any User Content that you post on or through the Services.

You grant FaceApp a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you. When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through our Services, you understand that your User Content and any associated information (such as your [username], location or profile photo) will be visible to the public.

You grant FaceApp consent to use the User Content, regardless of whether it includes an individual’s name, likeness, voice or persona, sufficient to indicate the individual’s identity. By using the Services, you agree that the User Content may be used for commercial purposes. You further acknowledge that FaceApp’s use of the User Content for commercial purposes will not result in any injury to you or to any person you authorized to act on its behalf. You acknowledge that some of the Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions, and you hereby agree that FaceApp may place such advertising and promotions on the Services or on, about, or in conjunction with your User Content. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising and promotions are subject to change without specific notice to you. You acknowledge that we may not always identify paid services, sponsored content, or commercial communications as such.

You represent and warrant that: (i) you own the User Content modified by you on or through the Services or otherwise have the right to grant the rights and licenses set forth in these Terms; (ii) you agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owed by reason of User Content you stylize on or through the Services; and (iii) you have the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms in your jurisdiction.

You may not create, post, store or share any User Content that violates these Terms or for which you do not have all the rights necessary to grant us the license described above. Although we have no obligation to screen, edit or monitor User Content, we may delete or remove User Content at any time and for any reason.

User Content removed from the Services may continue to be stored by FaceApp, including, without limitation, in order to comply with certain legal obligations. FaceApp is not a backup service and you agree that you will not rely on the Services for the purposes of User Content backup or storage. FaceApp will not be liable to you for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Services, or the loss of any User Content.

So in short, if you make something in FaceApp, FaceApp can do whatever it wants with what you’ve made. And they don’t have to pay you for it even if they make money off of it. And they can keep the images for as long as they want. And even if you delete them off the service.

#EpicFail

This is incredibly concerning due to the fact that this company wants to do whatever it wants with your content which 1000% wrong. If the bad press that this company is getting doesn’t convince them to change course on this, then perhaps they need to pulled in front of lawmakers to explain themselves as this is unacceptable. Until that happens, I would strongly suggest that you avoid this app.

 

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