‘World’s first’ backpack ventilation fan aims to prevent sweaty backs

Why it matters to you

It may not be the coolest-looking gadget you’ve ever seen, but at least someone’s having a crack at solving this annoying problem.

Sweaty backs from backpacks are a hot topic, it seems. Google “sweaty back backpack” and you’ll find pages of intense discussion on the matter, with many desperate outdoor types pleading for a solution that means their T-shirt won’t get sopping wet every time they go for a hike in warm weather.

Current advice appears to fall into one of several categories, from “wear fewer clothes” to “low- and no-sweat walking techniques” to wearing some kind of frame that puts some space between your back and the pack, allowing for greater airflow.

It’s this last suggestion that forms the basis of the intriguing G2 Turbo backpack ventilation fan. Designed by Hong Kong-based Edwin Wang of Presti Technologies, the G2 Turbo consists of a “powerful blower” inside a “highly elastic rubber” case that connects quickly to medium-sized backpacks using the provided mounting clips.

The fan, which Wang claims is the first of its type in the world, fits toward the bottom of the backpack and rests close to your body when you put it on. Its flexible build means it should be pretty much undetectable by the wearer, allowing you to enjoy the flow of air blasting out from the top of the device and preventing any uncomfortable sweat patches from forming on your back.

A wired controller lets you adjust the strength of the fan, while power is provided via four AA batteries, or a separate pack containing a lithium battery (not supplied). Depending on the power source and fan speed, you can expect to get up to 18 hours of use from the lithium battery, and up to 5.5 hours from AA rechargeables. Of course, if you opt for the heavier power pack, you’ll have to carry it around, adding to the weight of the 0.72-pound (330 gram) fan as well as the contents of  your pack.

Its creator promises the fan is “sturdy [and] quiet,” important if you don’t want to walk around sounding like you have a massive bumblebee in your bag.

Admittedly, this isn’t the most stylish gadget we’ve ever set eyes on, but the G2 Turbo works largely unseen, quietly whirring away in a bid to keep you and your backpack damp-free. And without trying it for ourselves in a range of conditions, it’s hard to say how effective it is, but we’re just happy to see that someone’s having a crack at trying to solve this annoying problem.

If the Kickstarter campaign can raise just over $4,000, Wang aims to ship the first fans in July, 2017. Early-bird deals are offered for $19, about $6 off the expected retail price.

A U.K. prison just switched on an anti-drone ‘force field’ to stop illegal flights

The proliferation of cheaper, highly agile quadcopters has opened up a myriad of possibilities for hobbyists and industry alike. But the remotely controlled flying machines have also caught the attention of folks in the slammer, offering as they do an excellent way of delivering contraband directly into the exercise yard, or better still, right to a cell window — although admittedly such efforts don’t always go according to plan.

It’s a major problem for the authorities as they scramble to find the most effective technology to deal with the illegal incursions.

Not surprisingly, the issue of rogue drones has spawned a whole new industry, with a growing number of startups developing all kinds of kit designed to detect and bring down machines that fly into restricted areas, which besides prisons also include airports, government buildings, and nuclear facilities. Up to now, we’ve seen everything from net-firing bazookas and anti-drone “death rays” to beastly looking signal jammers and even highly trained birds of prey.

Keen to press ahead with countermeasures, a British prison this week switched on a newly installed 600-meter-high (about 2,000 feet) “drone shield” that’s designed to detect and block drones that fly close to its perimeter. It’s thought to be the first prison in the world to use such a shield.

The “Sky Fence” is the work of U.K. firms Drone Defence and Eclipse Digital Solutions and it’s been set up at Les Nicolles prison on the southern British island of Guernsey.

The system incorporates a number of signal disruptors placed around the perimeter as well as inside the prison grounds. When it detects a drone flying close by, it jams the signal between the drone and the pilot, thereby preventing it from completing its mission. The technology in its current form returns the drone to where it took off, which may give alerted security guards a chance to apprehend the offender and seize the contraband.

The cost of installing the technology is put at £100,000 to £250,000 ($130K to $325K), depending on the size of the prison.

Prisoner governor David Matthews told the Telegraph it’s the first time the kit has been used “in any prison anywhere in the world.”

He added, “I would like to see it adopted in other U.K. prisons because it has become a significant problem there. Drones can carry weapons, contraband, mobile phones and drugs. This is about prevention.”

Android Instant Apps are now open to all developers

After a year of testing, Android Instant Apps are now available for all developers.

Google unveiled Instant Apps at last year’s I/O, offering developers a way to build a lightweight version of their app that customers can use directly from search results. The idea is to offer a native app experience even when that particular app isn’t installed on your phone. Google trialled the service with select developers earlier this year, and is now making Instant Apps available for all developers.

All devices running Marshmallow and above support Instant Apps, with Google saying that Android O will offer a “more efficient runtime sandbox for instant apps.” Google is also working to expand available to older devices on Android 5.0 Lollipop.

In order to build an Instant App, developers have to modularize their app so customers can navigate to a particular section through deep links. If you’re a developer, you can get started by installing the latest preview of Android Studio 3.0 and the Android Instant Apps SDK.

Facebook fined €110 million for misleading EU over WhatsApp takeover

After months of deliberation, the European Commission has ruled that Facebook intentionally mislead officials over its ability to utilize data following its acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014. As a result, the social network has been fined €110 million ($122 million or £94 million) and becomes the first company to be penalized under the Commission’s Merger Regulation law since it was introduced in 2004.

The case, which was opened in December 2016, focused on Facebook’s admission that it would be unable to reliably automate the sharing of data between a user’s Facebook and WhatsApp accounts. However, in August 2016 — nearly two years after the companies had merged — Facebook announced an update to its terms of service, noting that it could link WhatsApp users’ phone numbers to their Facebook profile. The Commission filed a Statement of Objections three months later.

According to today’s statement, Facebook was judged to have lied on two occasions. The first was when it submitted documentation immediately after it asked the Commission (and competing companies) to investigate the deal. The second came in its response to Statement of Objections filed in December.

“Today’s decision sends a clear signal to companies that they must comply with all aspects of EU merger rules, including the obligation to provide correct information. And it imposes a proportionate and deterrent fine on Facebook,” said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. “The Commission must be able to take decisions about mergers’ effects on competition in full knowledge of accurate facts.”

It believes Facebook employees “were aware of the user matching possibility” and knew that the Commission would critique its data-handling processes as part of the Merger Regulation. “The technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook and WhatsApp users’ identities already existed in 2014, and that Facebook staff were aware of such a possibility,” the Commission states. “Therefore, Facebook’s breach of procedural obligations was at least negligent.”

Yesterday, authorities in France and the Netherlands announced separate rulings on Facebook’s privacy practices. The French Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) imposed a 150,000-euro fine (about $164,000) fine for not giving users enough control over their data and collecting information via partners without prior consent. The Dutch watchdog didn’t levy a penalty at all, but may do so in the future.

Under EU rules, the Commission can impose a fine of up to one percent of the aggregated turnover of companies that “intentionally or negligently provide incorrect or misleading information.” However, it did note that Facebook admitted its guilt and waived its rights to access the case and to have an oral hearing, assisting officials where possible. The company also halted data-sharing across Europe, pledging to make it opt-in rather than requiring users to manually remove themselves from data harvesting.

Facebook responded to the ruling with the following statement: “We’ve acted in good faith since our very first interactions with the Commission and we’ve sought to provide accurate information at every turn. The errors we made in our 2014 filings were not intentional and the Commission has confirmed that they did not impact the outcome of the merger review. Today’s announcement brings this matter to a close.”

Because it was able to conduct its investigation “more efficiently,” the Commission decided that the €110 million levy is “both proportionate and deterrent.”

Source: Europa

Gogoro and Bosch launch electric scooter-sharing service in Paris

The Gogoro EV Smartscooter is headed to France. A fleet of 600 scooters will be available starting this summer for short-term rentals via Bosch’s Coup Mobility service. This is the second city — Berlin being the first — that Coup and Gogoro have teamed up in.

Coup’s service uses an app to reserve and rent scooters. Users can check a bike out, ride it to their destination and leave it parked and end their rental. It’s like Car2Go, but with scooters. The pilot program that launched in Berlin last summer did so well, the fleet grew from the initial 200 to 1,000.

Gogoro CEO Horace Luke sees Paris as a natural fit for the Coup and the Gogoro Smartscooter. “If you’ve ever been to Paris, you know it’s one of the most congested cities in all of Europe,” Luke said.

The Gogoro electric scooter is different from other two-wheeled EVs thanks to its swappable battery system. Instead of charging the bike, riders pull up to a GoStation, exchange batteries and they’re on their way. The company launched the bike in Taipei and has installed over 300 of those stations and sold 20,000 bikes.

Source: Gogoro

Facebook Fined $122 Million for Misleading EU Regulators Over WhatsApp Deal

The European Commission has fined Facebook $122 million for misleading regulators over its 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp. The announcement came on Thursday in a press release in which the Commission said that the social media company had provided “incorrect or misleading information” when it told regulators that it would be unable to link the profiles of users on WhatsApp and Facebook.

However, WhatsApp announced in 2016 that it would start sharing some user data, including phone numbers, with Facebook, contradicting the earlier claim. In its press release, the Commission said that Facebook knew the data crossover was technically feasible in 2014 when it bought WhatsApp for $22 billion, but that it had stated otherwise when asked by merger regulators.

“When Facebook notified the acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014, it informed the Commission that it would be unable to establish reliable automated matching between Facebook users’ accounts and WhatsApp users’ accounts. It stated this both in the notification form and in a reply to a request of information from the Commission. However, in August 2016, WhatsApp announced updates to its terms of service and privacy policy, including the possibility of linking WhatsApp users’ phone numbers with Facebook users’ identities.

The Commission has found that, contrary to Facebook’s statements in the 2014 merger review process, the technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook and WhatsApp users’ identities already existed in 2014, and that Facebook staff were aware of such a possibility.”

The ruling by the Commission will not have any impact on its decision to rubber stamp the acquisition, and remains separate from data protection investigations that are currently ongoing, the EC explained in the press release. The separate investigations involve historical data collection of WhatsApp users in Germany, the U.K., and Italy. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said:

“Today’s decision sends a clear signal to companies that they must comply with all aspects of EU merger rules, including the obligation to provide correct information. And it imposes a proportionate and deterrent fine on Facebook. The Commission must be able to take decisions about mergers’ effects on competition in full knowledge of accurate facts.”

Facebook responded to the decision in a statement published on its website on Thursday. The company said it had “acted in good faith” during its communications with the EC, and claimed that it had attempted to provide “accurate information at every turn”.

“The errors we made in our 2014 filings were not intentional and the Commission has confirmed that they did not impact the outcome of the merger review,” the statement reads. “Today’s announcement brings this matter to a close.”

Tags: Facebook, WhatsApp
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Microsoft’s Template Studio codes your Universal Windows apps for you

Back in 2015, Microsoft unveiled a visual way to write apps from a web browser without writing a single line of code. While the template-based Windows App Studio wasn’t powerful enough to build the most beautiful interface, it did offer a glimpse into Windows development and an introduction to the Windows Store marketplace. Today, Microsoft announced the App Studio’s successor, Windows Template Studio, is getting a fresh update to provide the same easy interface for building Universal Windows Platform apps.

This time around, the Template Studio actually runs as an extension in Visual Studio, rather than in-browser app, but the same guided wizard interface is still intact. The wizard will talk you step-by-step through the basics of your UWP as you select the project type, the app’s framework structure, app pages and features. The whole thing is available on GitHub and Microsoft is open-sourcing the project so other developers can help flesh out the wizard’s code generation engine.

Via: Windows Blog

Source: Windows Template Studio on GitHub

Google speeds up transactions even without Android Pay

Another small, but significant update from today’s I/O event comes courtesy of the Google Ads and Commerce team this afternoon. According to a blog post, the Google Payments API has been simplified to streamline things for users who might be confused about the difference between their Google Wallet, their Android Pay account and whatever cards they have saved in their browser.

Effectively, the new streamlined system makes any credit or debit card saved anywhere in your Google account available for purchases through any merchant or developer using the Google Payments. That means any card you’ve used to make a purchase on the Play store or saved in Chrome can now work with Android Pay. The API also extends to third party apps and mobile sites, so vendors can accept payment directly from your Google-linked cards, and you can be spared the headache of keying in your card number on a mobile page for the umpteenth time. (You will, of course, have to confirm any payments via fingerprint first.)

Besides saving users a couple keystrokes at checkout, the simplified payments also makes it easier for Google Assistant to work its magic and order Panera Bread for lunch without actually asking you to take out your wallet. On the other hand, the ease of use should be taken with a grain of salt: as with all things Google, that level of deep access to your purchase and spending history will likely lead to some eerily specific marketing opportunities or advertisements down the line.

For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2017, follow along here

Source: Google Inside AdWords

NSA would have to disclose its cyber exploit policies under new bill

It wasn’t long after last week’s devastating international ransomware attack before details surfaced about how the hackers found the exploit to target: It was stolen from the NSA, which stockpiles the digital vulnerabilities. Now, Democratic Texas Senator Brian Schatz has introduced a bill that would create policy regulating how and when federal agencies would disclose known attack vectors.

Schatz’ legislation (PDF), the Protecting our Ability to Counter Hacking Act of 2017, would establish a Vulnerability Equities Review Board consisting of the heads of US security agencies along with Presidential Cabinet members on an ad-hoc basis. The board would create policies and regulations establishing when to tell non-government entities about known tech exploits, a process that could potentially prevent another WannaCry ransomware disaster.

The bill’s acronym, PATCH Act, is something of a dig at how the mishandled NSA exploit became a malware catastrophe. When a hacking group known as The Shadow Brokers dropped a cache of Windows exploits taken from the NSA back in April, Microsoft quickly issued a security patch to fix a code execution vulnerability called EternalBlue. Unfortunately, the software giant can’t force its worldwide users to upgrade, especially for systems like Windows XP and 2000 that are no longer supported. Less than a month later, attackers reconfigured the exploit into the WannaCry ransomware. Only by chance did a British security expert activate its global killswitch.

Days ago, Microsoft criticized US cybersecurity policy for stockpiling the exploit instead of informing the company in order to protect its users worldwide. While individuals who deign to upgrade their systems can quickly install single patches, rolling out updates to many companies and organizations is a time-consuming endeavor, making rapid response essential to protect infrastructure. It wasn’t just companies that WannaCry locked out of their systems, either: thousands of operations and appointments were canceled as the ransomware crippled computers in state-run hospitals across the United Kingdom.

Whether this bill makes it to law or not, the clock is ticking for a better approach to sealing vulnerabilities: The Shadow Broker collective has threatened to dump more exploits next month.

Via: The Verge

Source: Protect Our Ability to Counter Hacking Act of 2017

Android Device Manager has a new name: Find My Device

Since Google introduced Android Device Manager in 2013 it has updated the feature periodically, but the latest change gives it a new name — Find My Device — and a few new features. It’s now a part of the Google Play Protect service mentioned earlier during I/O, and most Android owners should see an update for it on their devices. The standard features (similar to iOS’ Find My iPhone) are still intact with the ability to locate, ring, lock down or wipe your hardware remotely — you can even Google Search “Find My Phone” to use it — while it has added information about the current battery level and WiFi network connection.

For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2017, follow along here.

Source: Google Play, Google Find My Device, Android Blog