Amazon may be seeking to enter the healthcare industry

One of the world’s largest online retailers may be getting into the healthcare industry. The Verge reports that Amazon is in “high level” talks with industry representatives regarding prescription drugs.  Anonymous sources report that Amazon has been in talks with Mylan and the Sandoz branch of Novartis. A note from Leerink bank confirmed that the Sandoz meeting happened. Both of these companies are fairly large players in the generic prescription drug industry.

This is hardly the first time that Amazon has expressed an interest in entering the healthcare industry. Earlier this year, it was reported that Amazon was hiring personnel to help it enter the healthcare field, and that the company has a license to sell medical equipment.

Initial reports have not made it clear what Amazon’s role in the healthcare market might be. It is possible it could work as a wholesaler, selling drugs to businesses, or sell them as a retailer.

Amazon’s entry into the healthcare industry could bring some major changes to the field. After all, the company has greatly disrupted traditional retail and bookstores, but representatives from Sandoz have said it does not expect Amazon to have a “major impact” on its business. Other players in the pharmaceutical industry are also skeptical of Amazon’s entry into this field.

At the recent Forbes Healthcare Summit, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina said that he believes the regulations and complexities of the pharmaceutical industry may be more than Amazon wants to deal with.

“I believe that they will not come in an industry so complicated as our industry,” he said. “I believe in the end they will use their technology in a different way.”

Despite this skepticism, the leaders of major drug companies have expressed interest in work with the online retailer in the past. The CEOS of Pfizer and Allergan were asked about Amazon during a recent conference call and expressed a willingness to engage with the retail giant, but nothing official has been announced.

“Just like science is disrupted with gene therapy or novel treatments, I think the drug distribution channel also should be disrupted with improvements based on technology or efficiency,” Allergan’s Brent Saunders said during a recent conference call.

Who knows, one day ordering your medication might be as easy as using Alexa to check WebMD.

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In Cyberwar class, college students learn to think like hackers

At the University of California, Berkeley, college students are learning to think like hackers in order to find exploits and bugs in applications and websites that consumers use every day. These students are taking a class called Cyberwar.

The applications range from government websites to commercial banking and shopping applications, though one student admitted that local government websites were often more insecure.

“I mostly focused on government websites, specifically voter registration websites,” Vy-An Phan, a junior studying computer science, told CNN. “What I found was state websites and local websites were usually extremely poorly run. If I can find [bugs], certainly someone else can.”

Professor Doug Tygar says the goal of his class is to teach his students how to think like hackers so that they can design secure websites and apps.

“The goal is to train students to build super secure systems,” Tygar said. “But in order to do that, they have to be able to think like a hacker.”

The class has partnered with HackerOne, an organization that hires hackers to help companies repair vulnerabilities in their security systems. Every bug a student finds is reported to HackerOne and, sometimes, the students are paid for their work. Most of the students do their classwork for organizations that use HackerOne.

In addition to possibly earning them some extra cash, the class may also help them prepare for careers in cybersecurity. It’s estimated that by 2021, there will be more than 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions worldwide.

HackerOne has expressed an interest in expanding the program’s reach, though the Berkeley offering won’t be available next year. However, Tygar has said that he hopes to bring the class back in the future, though he says he will be changing the name.

For her part, Phan says that she hopes to fill one of those jobs as she finds security work “much more rewarding” than the work of a developer.

Cyberwar might not be offered next year, but Berkeley offers plenty of unique courses. For instance, if you’ve ever wanted to learn the language of Game of Thrones’ horse lords, then you might be interested in Berkeley’s class on Dothraki.

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CryptoKitties lets you buy, sell, and breed virtual cats — all for real digital currency

If you’re tired of trading tokens and mining for digital currency, CryptoKitties is a new “game” on the Ethereum blockchain that lets you purchase and collect virtual cats, and then breed them with each other to try to create valuable new creatures with rare attributes, or “catributes,” in the game’s parlance.

Blockchain systems are based around tokens, or virtual properties that are individually owned and not controlled by a central proprietor. The most well-known blockchain is Bitcoin currency, but the same market-driven principles can be applied to almost anything. Animated cats, for example.

CryptoKitties is developed by Axiom Zen, and it seems it’s taking a humorous approach while still hoping to make blockchain transactions and technology accessible to more casual users. “Our approach to brand and marketing is, in part, a tongue-in-cheek critique of the ICO market today,” marketing director Elsa Wilk said in a press release.

It’s proven to be very popular, as the game just launched a few days ago and has already zoomed to the top of all the transactions on the Ethereum network according to the tracking site ETH Gas Station, with more than 10 percent of all trading activity as of this writing.

How does it work? Each virtual cat is a unique object or “token” on the Ethereum blockchain, and it’s as real as a unit of Ether (ETH, or the unit of currency used on the trading platform). Each one is coded with a 256-bit genome, which includes a set of phenotypes (visible features) and genotypes (genetic features). When two of your little critters breed, their new kitty’s appearance, biography, and traits are the resulting combination of each parent’s attributes, resulting in four billion possible variations.

According to the official site, Generation Zero cats are created by the developers themselves and let loose on the network every fifteen minutes. The gen-zero cats will not be available any more after the end of the year, meaning they will become more valuable.

The market for CryptoKitties is already thriving according to the tracking site Crypto Kitty Sales, with almost ten thousand virtual cats changing hands and a top price of nearly 12 thousand dollars.

If you’re worried about any behind-the-scenes funny business, the developers claim that it’s not possible. “The CryptoKitties economy is entirely decentralized and impossible for the development team to manipulate,” technical architect Dieter Shirley said. “Anyone on the team with knowledge of the breeding algorithm is prohibited from playing.”

How do you get started? You’ll need a computer with a Chrome browser, some Ethereum to buy your first cats, and the MetaMask wallet app.

Who knows, you could even end up with a rare and valuable Fancy Cat such as Chairman Meow, Feline Musk, or Kitty Perry. As it says on the website, “The future is meow.”

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CryptoKitties lets you buy, sell, and breed virtual cats — all for real digital currency

If you’re tired of trading tokens and mining for digital currency, CryptoKitties is a new “game” on the Ethereum blockchain that lets you purchase and collect virtual cats, and then breed them with each other to try to create valuable new creatures with rare attributes, or “catributes,” in the game’s parlance.

Blockchain systems are based around tokens, or virtual properties that are individually owned and not controlled by a central proprietor. The most well-known blockchain is Bitcoin currency, but the same market-driven principles can be applied to almost anything. Animated cats, for example.

CryptoKitties is developed by Axiom Zen, and it seems it’s taking a humorous approach while still hoping to make blockchain transactions and technology accessible to more casual users. “Our approach to brand and marketing is, in part, a tongue-in-cheek critique of the ICO market today,” marketing director Elsa Wilk said in a press release.

It’s proven to be very popular, as the game just launched a few days ago and has already zoomed to the top of all the transactions on the Ethereum network according to the tracking site ETH Gas Station, with more than 10 percent of all trading activity as of this writing.

How does it work? Each virtual cat is a unique object or “token” on the Ethereum blockchain, and it’s as real as a unit of Ether (ETH, or the unit of currency used on the trading platform). Each one is coded with a 256-bit genome, which includes a set of phenotypes (visible features) and genotypes (genetic features). When two of your little critters breed, their new kitty’s appearance, biography, and traits are the resulting combination of each parent’s attributes, resulting in four billion possible variations.

According to the official site, Generation Zero cats are created by the developers themselves and let loose on the network every fifteen minutes. The gen-zero cats will not be available any more after the end of the year, meaning they will become more valuable.

The market for CryptoKitties is already thriving according to the tracking site Crypto Kitty Sales, with almost ten thousand virtual cats changing hands and a top price of nearly 12 thousand dollars.

If you’re worried about any behind-the-scenes funny business, the developers claim that it’s not possible. “The CryptoKitties economy is entirely decentralized and impossible for the development team to manipulate,” technical architect Dieter Shirley said. “Anyone on the team with knowledge of the breeding algorithm is prohibited from playing.”

How do you get started? You’ll need a computer with a Chrome browser, some Ethereum to buy your first cats, and the MetaMask wallet app.

Who knows, you could even end up with a rare and valuable Fancy Cat such as Chairman Meow, Feline Musk, or Kitty Perry. As it says on the website, “The future is meow.”

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Comcast is also interested in buying most of Fox’s assets

It’s not just Disney interested in snapping up a large chunk of 21st Century Fox. Wall Street Journal tipsters claim not just that Disney has resumed “active talks” to buy most of Fox’s movie and TV assets, but that Comcast has entered discussions as well. Apparently, the initial leak of Disney-Fox negotiations prompted a frenzy of interest. Sony and Verizon have reportedly shown interest at the same time, but it’s not certain that they’re as deeply involved as Comcast and Disney.

Hulu’s streaming TV plays an important role in the discussions, according to the rumor. Both Comcast (via NBCUniversal) and Disney own 30 percent stakes in Hulu, so either of them could take majority control of the internet service simply by acquiring Fox’s existing 30 percent stake. As before, Fox would keep most of its broadcast networks (regional sports could be up for grabs) but would likely sell off its movie and TV studios, cable networks like FX as well as stakes in non-US networks like Sky and India’s Star TV.

The Murdoch family will supposedly decide on whether or not to make a sale before the end of 2017. Ostensibly, a selloff would let Fox focus its efforts and compete more effectively than it could while trying to take on media giants like Disney, which tend to do better at juggling movies and TV.

There’s no guarantee that talks would lead to a deal. Disney’s negotiations have been off-and-on, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Comcast’s chats went the same way. There’s also the not-so-small matter of antitrust concerns: Comcast raised eyebrows when it bought NBCUniversal, and taking on Fox is only going to prompt further worries about media consolidation. Verizon might have its own issues — if AT&T is facing a lawsuit over its attempt at a Time Warner merger, why would Big Red fare better buying large portions of Fox? Whatever happens, Fox’s decision is likely to have a significant repercussion on what you can watch, especially online.

Source: Wall Street Journal

NASA wakes up Voyager’s slumbering thrusters 37 years later

NASA’s Voyager 1 has been drifting farther and farther away from our planet for the past 40 years. Now, the agency has ensured that it can maintain contact with the farthest spacecraft from Earth for at least two to three more years by waking up a set of backup thrusters it hasn’t used since 1980. Voyager needs to rotate itself every so often so that its antenna points to our planet. It orients itself by firing several 10-millisecond puffs with its thrusters — problem is, the ones it regularly uses haven’t been performing as well after four decades in space.

Since nobody can physically check the condition of a probe 13 billion miles away, the team first gathered experts to assess the situation. On November 28th, they finally test-fired the backup thrusters, which worked perfectly and rotated the spacecraft just as well as the primary ones can. Todd Barber, one of the propulsion experts who looked at the issue closely, said that “The Voyager team got more excited each time with each milestone in the thruster test. The mood was one of relief, joy and incredulity after witnessing these well-rested thrusters pick up the baton as if no time had passed at all.”

Thanks to the successful test, Voyager will switch to the backup thrusters in January and will be able to beam data back to Earth a bit longer. The team might conduct a similar test with Voyager 2’s backups to ensure it can also send data back after it follows its older sibling to interstellar space in a few years’ time.

Source: NASA

AI bots just dropped a death metal album that will make your head explode

Coditany of Timeness seems like an average entry in the black metal genre, until you consider its source. It was created by a neural network algorithm without a single guitar, without any drums, without even a vocalist. Instead, it’s a product of machine learning, the result of a project by Zack Zukowski and CJ Carr called “Dadabots.”

As their inspiration, the duo used the New York death metal band Kralice and their 2011 album Diotima to teach their algorithm how to create its own music. After breaking the audio into small pieces, they fed it all into the algorithm to let the artificial intelligence learn what death metal was and how to create it.

Basically, after “playing” each segment, the creators asked the AI software to guess what came next. If it guessed correctly, it would strengthen the path of the neural network and prioritize it for the next guess. An incorrect guess would downgrade that particular network. It’s very similar to how our own brains learn.

At first, the AI just generated random sounds. “Early in its training, the kinds of sounds it produces are very noisy and grotesque and textural,” Carr told The Outline. Over three days, the procedure was repeated as many as five million times, and the music began to sound more and more familiar. “As it improves its training, you start hearing elements of the original music it was trained on come through more and more,” he said.

As if that weren’t enough, the names of the songs, the title of the album, and even the album cover artwork were all created by AI programs. If you’d like to check out the album yourself, it’s available to download or stream free from Bandcamp.

We tend to think of robots as suitable for repetitious and mundane mechanical tasks, but creative endeavors like art or music are things only humans can create. That’s not necessarily the case, however. Composer David Cope at UC Santa Cruz created a classical music AI program called Emmy that was so successful at emulating the styles of other composers, that he convinced some scholars he had discovered a lost Mozart piece.

Zukowski and Carr plan to release a new album every week on Bandcamp, with various styles from jazz to hard rock. They will be presenting their paper, “Generating Death Metal and Math Rock,” at the Machine Learning for Creativity and Design NIPS 2017 Workshop in Long Beach, California.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.

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10 of the worst Android Wear problems, and how to fix them

After a clunky start, Android Wear is now beginning to hit its stride. Smartwatches are improving with every iteration, and Google has rolled out a host of welcome improvements in Android Wear 2.0 since the software’s initial release. Despite going in the right direction, however, it hasn’t gotten there quite yet. If you’ve running into Android Wear problems, then you aren’t alone. We’ve put together a list of the most common problems plaguing Android Wear users, as well as advice on how to get around them.

You should also read up on our Android Wear tips and tricks, and if you’re in the market for a new technological timepiece, then check out our picks for the best smartwatches.

Glitch: Rapid battery drain on phone

A lot of users on the Google product forums have been complaining about the battery on their connected smartphone draining faster than it should. This is probably the most commonly reported problem that people are encountering with Android Wear. Take a look under Settings > Battery on your phone and you may be able to see where the problem lies. There are various potential causes.

Workarounds:

• Look for problem apps causing excessive battery drain and consider uninstalling them.
• Some people report a significant drop in battery drain after turning off Google Now. To do this go to Settings > Accounts > Google > Search and tap Now cards at the bottom, then toggle it off.
• Reducing the screen brightness will reduce battery drain. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Settings > Display > Adjust brightness.
• It’s a good idea to turn off any notifications you don’t need on your smartwatch. Open the Android Wear app on your phone and tap the gear icon for Settings, then Block app notifications.

Potential solutions:

• Start off by rebooting your watch and your smartphone and see if it makes a difference. Go to Settings > Restart on your watch.
• Make sure you’re running the latest version of the Android Wear app that corresponds with Android or iOS.
• Try resetting your watch to factory settings and pairing it from scratch. Remember that you’ll lose any data on the watch, so sync first. When you’re ready, go to Settings > Reset device on your watch. Try uninstalling and re-installing the Android Wear app on your smartphone. Now try pairing your watch with your smartphone again.
• It’s possible that a Wi-Fi network is causing the issue. Some people have discovered the battery drains when connected to specific Wi-Fi networks. Test to see if the problem occurs when the phone is connected to your cellular data network. If the drain occurs when you’re connected to your work Wi-Fi then ask IT if they are limiting outbound connections, it may be that the app is continually trying to connect to a blocked port. You can either persuade IT to open them or use a VPN client to bypass the restrictions.

Issue: Watch won’t connect to phone

This 489 post thread is full of people having trouble getting their Android Wear device to connect to their smartphone. In order to ensure that your phone is definitely compatible go to g.co/WearCheck on your phone.

Potential solutions:

• Make sure you have Bluetooth turned on.
• Try restarting your watch and your phone.
• Open up the Google Play Store app, tap menu at the top left and choose My apps. You want to make sure that Google Play Services, Google Search, and Android Wear are up to date. Have a look for them in the Updates list and update them, or just tap Update all at the top.
• If your device was previously connected, open up the Android Wear app on your phone and tap Menu > Disconnect and then Menu > Connect.
• Go to Settings > Apps and find the Android Wear app on your phone and tap Clear cache.
• You could also try resetting your watch to factory settings via Settings > System > Disconnect & reset on the watch.

Glitch: Notifications not coming through

A number of Android Wear users are having trouble with inconsistent notifications. The watch will just randomly stop receiving notifications even though it says it is connected. This can happen multiple times in a day. Sometimes it will seemingly resolve itself, other times it won’t.

Workaround:

• Restarting the watch seems to work for most people in the short term, but the problem can re-occur, sometimes quite quickly.

Potential solutions:

• A few have found success after clearing all data for Google Play Services. To do this, tap Settings > More > App manager, then swipe to the All section and tap Google Play Services > Clear cache or Clear data.
• If your phone runs Android 7.0 Nougat, go to Settings > Notifications > Settings > On the lock screen. Check to see if the Show all notification content option has been enabled.
• Check the priority settings on your Android phone
  • Go to Sound > Do not disturb > Priority only allows. On this page, you can set your priority notifications, which includes Alarms, Reminders, Events, Messages and Calls.
  • Check to see if Priority Mode is on. In your Quick Settings, tap Do not disturb > priority only. From here, you can set Priority Mode to last for a specific length of time, or until you manually turn it off.
• On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications to adjust your notification settings, or go to Settings > Do Not Disturb to see if the feature has been enabled.
• Check nothing is muted in the Android Wear app on your phone under Settings > Block app notifications.
• Check the Show notifications box is ticked for the app in question via Settings > Apps > All on your phone or tablet.
• Make sure that Theater or Cinema mode is turned off on your watch. You can turn it on and off by pressing the power button on your watch twice quickly, or swipe down from the top of the screen then swipe right to left until you see Theater mode.
• Get rid of old Bluetooth profiles via Settings > Bluetooth on your phone. If you have other devices listed under Paired devices then tap the gear icon at the right and choose Unpair or Forget.
• Try disconnecting the watch and forget the Bluetooth connection on your phone. Uninstall the Android Wear app on your phone. Reset your watch to factory settings via Settings > System > Disconnect & reset. Restart your phone and re-install Android Wear and then set up the connection afresh.
• If you’re still having issues then you may have to contact support.

Glitch: Android Wear keeps crashing

Several Android Wear users have been experiencing random crashes, sometimes with the “Unfortunately, Android Wear has stopped” message. These can be frequent, or intermittent, with no obvious cause. There are a few different things you can try:

Workaround:

• Some people have had success by removing Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync accounts. It may also be related to a recurring appointment in your calendar, or to the security policies on your Exchange account. Unfortunately, there isn’t a great deal you can do about this beyond removing the recurring appointment, or, if that doesn’t work, removing the account.
• Another suggested workaround, if you’re using an iPhone, is to turn on Airplane Mode/turn off Wi-Fi, and enable Bluetooth before launching the Android Wear app. However, turning on Wi-Fi can cause the app to crash again.

Potential solutions:

• Make sure that the Android Wear app is up to date on your phone by opening up the Google Play Store and tapping the menu icon at the top left, then My apps.
• Make sure that you have the latest updates from Google in Settings > About > System Updates.
• Try going to Settings > Apps, swipe over to the All tab and find Android Wear. Tap Clear cache, Clear data, and Force close, then try again.
• Try deleting the connection, uninstalling Android Wear, reinstalling it, and then setting the connection up again.

Problem: Can’t connect to Wi-Fi

A few people have had issues connecting to Wi-Fi directly on their Android Wear device. Not every Android Wear device will actually support Wi-Fi, so check with your manufacturer.

Official solution:

• On February 2, a community manager for the Google Products forums stated the Wi-Fi issue had been solved in a recent update to the Android Wear app. Those affected should update the Android Wear app for their Android or iOS device.

Potential solutions:

• If you’re sure that your device supports Wi-Fi, then open up the Android Wear app on your phone and tap Settings > Privacy & Personal Data > Cloud sync and make sure it’s turned on. Next, go to Settings > Connectivity > Wi-Fi on your watch, and make sure it’s set to Automatic. You can also check saved networks in here and add new ones.
• It’s possible that your watch doesn’t support the channel your router is set to. This was a problem for some LG Watch Urbane owners, because the watch could only go up to channel 11, but it was supposed to be fixed by a software update. Take a look in Settings > System > About > System Updates, to make sure you have the latest OS version. You could also change the channel on your router to a lower channel.

Bug: “OK Google” appearing on watch face

Some Android Wear users have found that the “OK Google” phrase is present on their watch face when the screen comes on. Thankfully, it’s easy to get rid of.

Solution:

• Just say “OK Google” three or four times and it will disappear.

Problem: Voice commands trigger search instead of app

Quite a few Android Wear users have encountered an issue with voice commands. They’ll say a command expecting it to relate to an app, but it actually just returns a Google search. This can happen when trying to set a reminder, an alarm, or launch a specific app.

Potential solution:

• Open up Google on your phone and go to Settings > Search language. Try setting it to English (US) and see if it works. It seems that certain commands are not working in other languages. Here is a list of the voice commands that you should be able to use.
• If you’ve signed up to beta test the Google app, the beta version may be the cause of the issue. Installing a stable build of the app has been said to alleviate the issue.

Problem: Can’t use or update to Android Wear 2.0

Despite Android Wear 2.0 being the latest version of the app to come to Android smartwatches, some users are unable to use, or even install, the update. There are some people who have said they’ve downloaded the update, but their watch continues to show the incorrect version numbers. Others are curious about their watch’s compatibility, after being unable to receive the 2.0 update. In both cases, however, there are very simple explanations.

Official solutions:

• Android Wear 2.0 may be available for smartphones, but that update doesn’t include the new features that are set to come to smartwatches in the coming months. Google has said the 2.0 update will arrive “in the coming weeks” for supported hardware, however, the exact date depends on your your hardware manufacturer.
• As for future Compatibility, new smartwatches moving forward will come with Android Wear 2.0 pre-installed. The update will support some older models, save for the LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live, Moto 360 V1, Sony Smartwatch 3, and the Asus ZenWatch V1. To see a full list of compatible models, look no further than our Android Wear 2.0 guide.
• Additionally, make sure your smartwatch is on its charger, paired with your smartphone, and connected to Wi-Fi. Otherwise, you won’t be able to download the update when it arrives.

Problem: Unable to install Google Play Music app

LG Watch Sport users have reportedly been unable to find or install the Google Play Music app on their Android 2.0 device. When searching for the app on the watch’s version of the Google Play Store, the music app does not appear.

Solutions:

• Open the Android Wear app on your phone. Tap Settings > Your smartwatch > Resync apps.
• If you’ve recently used Google Play Music on your phone or a previous watch, open the Google Play Store on your watch and go to Apps you’ve used. Here, you may be able to find and install the Google Play Music app.

Glitch: Apps and updates won’t download

Some people are having trouble downloading apps or app updates from the Play Store on their Android Wear smartwatch. The download just hangs with a “Download pending” message, according to posts on the Google support forum and Reddit.

Workaround:

• Try turning Wi-Fi off on your smartwatch as that has worked for some people. Go to Settings > Connectivity > Wi-Fi and turn it off.

Possible solutions:

• Open the Android Wear app on your phone and tap the gear icon for Settings, then tap your smartwatch name, Q Explorist, for example, and tap Resync apps.
• Try going to Settings > Apps on your phone, find Google Play Store and tap Storage > Clear cache and Clear data. Repeat the process for Google Play services and Android Wear in the Settings > Apps list.
• If that doesn’t help then it’s time to factory reset. On your watch, go to Settings > System > Disconnect & reset. Uninstall the Android Wear app on your phone. Go to Settings > Bluetooth on your phone and find your smartwatch under Paired devices then tap the gear icon at the right and choose Unpair or Forget. Try wiping the cache and data for Google Play Store and Google Play Services again, as described in the last possible solution above. Open Play Store on your phone, tap the three horizontal lines at the top left and tap My apps & games, then Update all and wait for it to complete. Once you’ve done that, reinstall Android Wear on your phone and set up your smartwatch as new.

Update: Added some new workarounds for battery drain, updated all instructions for Android Wear 2.0, and added the app download glitch.

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Your own palm may be used to fetch your password on future Galaxy phones

The future of phone security may literally be in the palm of your hand. Samsung recently filed a patent for a technology that uses palm scanning as a means of verifying a user’s identity on future Galaxy phones.

The image found in the patent shows a user taking a photo of their hand to give them a hint to a forgotten password. Instead of simply displaying the password on the phone’s screen, the letters are shown in the patterns of your palm. The idea is that this will help legitimate users remember their forgotten passwords while maintaining security.

Biometric methods of identification are nothing new on flagship smartphones. Samsung’s current line of Galaxy phones uses several different forms of security technology. In addition to passwords, the phone offers a fingerprint reader, iris scanner, and a form of facial recognition. Assuming this palm reader makes it to market, it will likely be a supplemental feature rather than the only security option.

Apple spent a lot of money and effort developing the iPhone X’s Face ID feature and it does work well, but it is also the only option available for the latest phone to come out of Cupertino. Those who prefer to rely on a fingerprint reader will have to go with the iPhone 8 or an Android device.

Samsung, for its part, appears to favor giving consumers a wide-range of options in terms of security. The downside to this approach is that its form of facial recognition may not be as secure as that offered by Apple.

Apple’s Face ID cost the company a lot of time and money to develop, and it is unclear if Samsung would develop this palm reader technology in-house or contract it out to some other company.

There is no guarantee that this palm reader patent will be used in the next Samsung phone, however; it may not be used at all. It isn’t uncommon for companies to file patents for technologies that never get used. Current rumors suggest that Samsung’s Galaxy X may make use of improved facial recognition technology, similar to what is seen in the iPhone X.

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Honda hopes developers can help keep the LA Olympics moving

If you’ve ever been to Los Angeles, you’ve been in traffic. It’s such an integral part of the LA experience that the running joke is that the city is nothing more than a giant parking lot. But the sprawling metropolis is trying to do better. It’s expanding its subway system with a new line and seven stations by 2023 while the light rail expansion will connect the Crenshaw district with LAX. Still, the freeways and surface streets are crowded with four-wheeled chunks of metal and glass. That’s where 16 teams of developers, the city of LA, and Honda come in.

During the 2017 LA Auto Show, Honda Innovations put on a hackathon in conjunction with the city of Los Angeles, the show’s organizers, and partner Smartcar. The 24-plus-hour coding extravaganza asked developers to make The City of Angeles easier to navigate during a large sporting event. Something the city needs to figure out soon, because it’s hosting the 2028 Olympics. LA county is home to over 7.5 million registered vehicles as of 2016, by 2028 that number will balloon while infrastructure tries to deal with a huge influx of athletes and international visitors.

The teams were tasked with making sure people could still get around the city during the future two-to-three-week sporting event. At the end of the hackathon, five judges (full disclosure I was one of them) would determine which idea would best benefit the city, its inhabitants and visitors.

The teams were given access to data, APIs, and software from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. They were also tasked with using the telematics and other data from a 2018 Honda Odyssey for their app or service. (This event was sponsored by Honda, after all.)

For over 24 hours, in a room sandwiched between the south and west halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center, 16 teams toiled, building apps and services that would not only tackle the city’s upcoming sporting event, but also its ongoing traffic issues.

After two rounds of judging, Team TribalScale walked away with the grand prize of $7,500 thanks to their predictive driver assistance platform that monitors and predicts trouble spots within the city of LA. The service would share that information with drivers (to avoid the area), dispatchers (to send help to those areas in anticipation), and to the actual helpers that could be on the scene in as little as 30 seconds after an incident.

Strategically placed first responders would also spend less time getting to an accident or other situation. During a considerable collision with major injuries where every second counts, it could mean the difference between life and death. TribalScale also said their service could tap into car data and share that information with dispatchers so they would know if an incident is minor — like as a flat tire or fender bender — or something more substantial.

The two other finalists, teams Wing and EPAM systems both tackled the issue with companion apps that helped visitors navigate the city either by directing them to alternative means of transportation or helping them tackle the city streets on their own. Ultimately TribalScale’s project won the grand prize with their predictive incident system.

Sure, it could help during a major sporting event like the Olympics, but if deployed today, it could also reduce traffic around an incident and quickly deploy assistance to victims.

“We expected a lot of noisy data and took a lot of time cleaning and making a platform that allows the city of LA to welcome more people for bigger events,” said Ardy Rahman of Team TribalScale said. “To get that, we have to make sure our infrastructure can handle it.”

With cities growing and the self-driving future still potentially decades away, finding solutions to solve the problems we have right now is important. Frankly it doesn’t matter who comes up with the solution. It could be a department toiling on big problems inside a local government. Or in this case, a group of developers based out of Toronto, Canada that stayed up all night to figure out how to deploy assistance to those who need it as quickly as possible.