The Tech Thread

[Dr Zaius]

7 hours ago, Noeller said:

Intriguing, anyhow....curious to see if that takes off. 

Hey, tech related thing......... what all are you guys doing for smart watches these days? I'm an Android-only guy, and want to get a new smart watch for the usual stuff...sleep tracking, fitness monitoring, and I like the idea of being able to receive texts and stuff on it. I think @17to85you've got a Samsung, right?  What's everyone else doing? Are they all in around that $250 mark -ish? 

I got the active 2. it. I got a used one of kijiji for like 125 i think? 

it's a hidden feature, but I actually enabled it to measure blood pressure. There's youtube videos on how to do it. In korea it's approved but in NA the blood pressure monitor is not FDA approved so it doesn't come pre-installed. 

waterproof, tracking workouts, walks, bpm all work well. phone functions well

worth every penny

Edited April 16, 2021 by Dr Zaius

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-event-2021-new-apple-tv-4k-purple-iphone-12-apple-airtags-and-more/

 

[Jpan85]

Looking for webcam for conference room at work. Want to have entire room on camera during calls not just the person at the laptop. Camera will be positioned about 20 feet from laptop. So I guess I would need some sort of WIFI setup. Any suggestions?

[Brandon]

13 hours ago, Jpan85 said:

Looking for webcam for conference room at work. Want to have entire room on camera during calls not just the person at the laptop. Camera will be positioned about 20 feet from laptop. So I guess I would need some sort of WIFI setup. Any suggestions?

It all comes down to budget.... most high end systems that I've used at places that I've worked are in the tens of thousands of dollars and are hard wired and come with a standalone system.  

The middle ground I've usually seen rooms that have a podium or else the main table has ports to plug your equipment in and the wiring is ran under the carpet towards all of the equipment.  Usually they also have good microphones which can be daisy chained if the table stretches out really long.  

On the lowest ends I've also seen places that hook up a computer to a tv and a web cam and then use a wireless keyboard and mouse from the table to conference.   

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.displaydaily.com/article/display-daily/hisense-finally-introduces-dual-cell-tv-in-the-us

[FrostyWinnipeg]

 

[iHeart]

to be fair edge is no better

Edited May 20, 2021 by iHeart

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, iHeart said:

to be fair edge is no better

I like the Opera browser.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://openmedia.org/press/item/todays-crtc-ruling-on-wholesale-internet-rates-most-anti-consumer-decision-on-record

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Post of the year candidate here!

 

[Tracker]

56 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Post of the year candidate here!

 

Snu-snu?

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/hackers-exploited-0-day-not-2018-bug-to-mass-wipe-my-book-live-devices/

[Tracker]

                                                  

[Tracker]

Ransomware Attack Before Holiday Leaves Companies Scrambling.  At least 200 U.S. businesses were hit, according to a cybersecurity firm that believes Russians are behind the attack.

Businesses around the world rushed Saturday to contain a ransomware attack that has paralyzed their computer networks, a situation complicated in the U.S. by offices lightly staffed at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

It’s not yet known how many organizations have been hit by demands that they pay a ransom in order to get their systems working again. But some cybersecurity researchers predict the attack targeting customers of software supplier Kaseya could be one of the broadest ransomware attacks on record — even after a scourge of headline-grabbing attacks over recent months.

“The number of victims here is already over a thousand and will likely reach into the tens of thousands,” said cybersecurity expert Dmitri Alperovitch of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank. “No other ransomware campaign comes even close in terms of impact.”

The cybersecurity firm ESET says there are victims in least 17 countries, including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Argentina, Mexico and Spain.

In Sweden, most of the grocery chain Coop’s 800 stores were unable to open because their cash registers weren’t working, according to SVT, the country’s public broadcaster. The Swedish State Railways and a major local pharmacy chain were also affected.

Cybersecurity experts say the REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack that targeted the software company Kaseya, using its network-management package as a conduit to spread the ransomware through cloud-service providers.

Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola said in a statement that the company believes it has identified the source of the vulnerability and will “release that patch as quickly as possible to get our customers back up and running.”

Voccola said fewer than 40 of Kaseya’s customers were known to be affected, but experts said the ransomware could still be affecting hundreds more companies that rely on Kaseya’s clients that provide broader IT services.

John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs said he was aware of a number of managed-services providers — companies that host IT infrastructure for multiple customers — being hit by the ransomware, which encrypts networks until the victims pay off attackers.

“It’s reasonable to think this could potentially be impacting thousands of small businesses,” said Hammond, basing his estimate on the service providers reaching out to his company for assistance and comments on Reddit showing how others are responding.

At least some victims appeared to be getting ransoms set at $45,000, considered a small demand but one that could quickly add up when sought from thousands of victims, said Brett Callow, a ransomware expert at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft.

Callow said it’s not uncommon for sophisticated ransomware gangs to perform an audit after stealing a victim’s financial records to see what they can really pay, but that won’t be possible at this scale.

“They just pitched the demand amount at a level most companies will be willing to pay,” he said.

Ransomware Attack Before Holiday Leaves Companies Scrambling | HuffPost

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.howtogeek.com/739100/how-to-install-windows-31-on-an-ipad/

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-announces-windows-365-version-windows-you-can-stream-cloud

[Tracker]

ENGINEER BUILDS VOICE-CONTROLLED EXOSKELETON SO HIS SON COULD WALK
"DAD, YOU'RE A ROBOTICS ENGINEER, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE A ROBOT THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO WALK?"
In order to help his son get around without a wheelchair, a French robotics engineer named Jean-Louis Constanza built a robotic exoskeleton that lets his son stand up and walk around by issuing voice commands.

“My son Oscar, one day he said to me ‘Dad, you’re a robotics engineer, why don’t you make a robot that would allow us to walk?'” Constanza sad in a video interview with the BBC, as translated by the publication.

So he did just that, cofounding the company Wandercraft to develop and manufacture assistive robotic devices that can grant extra mobility to wheelchair users, according to the BBC.

For now, the exoskeleton is too heavy and clunky for consumer use, but the company has sold a few dozen to hospitals in multiple countries at about $178,000 each.

All his son, Oscar, has to do is strap in to the exoskeleton while sitting then say “Robot, stand up” and the machine will help him stand and balance as he walks. While there are plenty of robot exoskeletons out there, the voice input is a useful trick for making sure the machine actually does what it’s supposed to at the right time.

“This is new for me because before to walk, I’ve always had assistance,” Oscar Constanza told the BBC. “And now I no longer need assistance so I feel independent.”

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

 

[Tracker]

 

 

                                      

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-6-launch-date-2744441

[Mark F]

good / bad news story

 

https://www.africanews.com/2021/08/31/colrerd-nkosi-the-malawian-self-taught-electrician-who-powered-up-his-village/

we are so spoiled.

[Tracker]

3 hours ago, Mark F said:

good / bad news story

 

https://www.africanews.com/2021/08/31/colrerd-nkosi-the-malawian-self-taught-electrician-who-powered-up-his-village/

we are so spoiled.

A friend who retired recently at MB Hydro tells me that the organization has been under orders for the past four years to not upgrade the system or make any substantial equipment purchases, The probable thinking is to cripple the services to the point where there will be so much dissatisfaction by consumers that the PCS can justify selling it off. MLCC is next on the block, though.

[Mark F]

38 minutes ago, Tracker said:

A friend who retired recently at MB Hydro tells me that the organization has been under orders for the past four years to not upgrade the system or make any substantial equipment purchases, The probable thinking is to cripple the services to the point where there will be so much dissatisfaction by consumers that the PCS can justify selling it off. MLCC is next on the block, though.

of course.

cons have been drooling over that forever.

 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Mark F

[bigg jay]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

A friend who retired recently at MB Hydro tells me that the organization has been under orders for the past four years to not upgrade the system or make any substantial equipment purchases, The probable thinking is to cripple the services to the point where there will be so much dissatisfaction by consumers that the PCS can justify selling it off. MLCC is next on the block, though.

And if the NDP gets in and goes ahead with the needed upgrades/purchases, the PC's can criticize the spending increases.  Win-win for them.  Same play book they use for Healthcare.