Daily Archives: July 2, 2017

Updated / Sunday, 2 Jul 2017 10:17

There is always a huge amount of interesting stuff going on in the world of technology.

But every so often there is an outstanding period, where we are acutely reminded just how pivotal and far reaching a role technology now plays in our lives, writes RT's Science and Technology Correspondent Will Goodbody.

Last week was one of those periods.

It began last weekend with news that the US government was lodging a Supreme Court appeal against Microsoft's victory in a court case that is crucial to the future of data privacy and cloud computing.

The case revolves around US law enforcement agents efforts, as part of a criminal investigation, to access emails that are being held on a Microsoft server in a data centre in Dublin.

Microsoft not surprisingly has pushed back, arguing even though it is a US based company, the data is not stored in that country and the government does not therefore have the jurisdiction to reach across oceans to access it.

But the US government is not taking the decision of the federal appeals court earlier this year lying down and is to take the matter to the Supreme Court.

The case is hugely significant as it threatens to not only undermine the privacy rights of huge numbers of people, but it also could seriously damage the cloud computing model on which so many services are now based.

After all, if companies and users become nervous that data they have legitimately entrusted to cloud service providers could suddenly become reachable by law enforcers in other jurisdictions without a local warrant, then the proposition becomes irreparably damaged.

Google anti-trust

Just days later on the other side of the Atlantic, came an unrelated significant twist in events for another giant of the global tech sphere.

Google was slapped with a fine of 2.4 billion by the European Commission for breaking laws forbidding anti-competitive practices.

After an exhaustive seven year probe, Europe concluded the internet giant had wrongly used its dominant position in the search market to artificially promote its shopping price comparison service in an anti-competitive manner.

It was a record fine and in the long-term could prove a significant blow to Alphabet, Google's parent, if it chooses to accept the medicine by changing how this and related services work into the future.

But from the perspective of those of us living and shopping in Europe, it also goes to demonstrate just how at the mercy of a small handful of internet based technology services we have become and how we can be easily manipulated.

Most of us now research and buy products online by carrying out a Google search.

The Commission's investigation revealed 95% of all user clicks are on the first page of such search results, with the top generic result getting 35% of all clicks.

And the tendency is even stronger on mobile.

What that means is that we, being the lazy creatures we are, tend to make our buying choices on the first few suggestions we are offered, not taking time to consider that in many cases those suggestions are there because someone may have paid Google for them to be there.

Held to ransom?

Just as the implications of that EU ruling were beginning to sink in, another cyber attack began to sweep the globe.

It seemed to originate in the Ukraine, reportedly in a maliciously compromised software update for a tax package that is widely used there.

It knocked out central bank, shop and airport systems in the country, but quickly spread across continents causing havoc in small and large businesses, including Maersk, Mondelez and Merck.

Initially it appeared to be just another sophisticated form of ransomware, locking the device master file structures until a $300 ransom was paid via Bitcoin.

It had the appearance of another virus released last year called Petya and seemed to exploit some of the same vulnerabilities as "WannaCry", the ransomware that caused chaos globally in May.

But later it began to emerge that this "GoldenEye" malware may have been more about destroying data than earning cash for the hackers.

Either way, the incident once again went to underline just how dependent we are on technology in our everyday lives and how vulnerable we've become to an assault on those systems.

It is fast becoming abundantly clear that cybercrime is starting to pose as big a threat to global security as other far more obvious concerns, like terrorism, political instability and climate change.

It also underlines the need for co-ordinated global action to at least slow down if not stop the criminals and to raise awareness and educate the public and businesses about how to protect themselves as much as possible, even though at times it may seen impossible.

Facebook's milestone

Those frenzied efforts by IT experts everywhere to stop the virus and patch their systems overshadowed another illuminating announcement - this time from Facebook.

Thirteen years after it first launched, the social network now has two billion monthly active users.

The milestone makes Facebook the largest social app in the world (in terms of those regularly logging on).

Two thirds of those monthly users go into the service every day and Facebook has no intention of stopping there.

Two billion using it means there are still five billion who don't and that is the focus of Mark Zuckerberg as he pushes its expansion on into the developing world.

Still, it is a staggering number of people using one internet based service and is another example of how technology is transforming how we communicate.

It might not all be for the good though and Facebook has a great deal of work to do in making the platform a safe, tolerant and pleasant place to be.

But it is astonishing that this number of people are now connected to a service that lets them share news, thoughts and feelings through text, video and icons.

iPhone turns 10

As Facebook marked its milestone on Wednesday, a day later and 15 minutes down Route 101 in California, Apple was having its own celebrations as it marked tenyears since the first iPhone went on sale in 2007.

It is unlikely that when he hopped on to the stage to launch it six months earlier at that year's MacWorld conference, that Steve Jobs could have foreseen what a revolution it would bring in technology.

He introduced it as an iPod, phone and internet communication device.

But since then it has evolved into a camera, a GPS navigator, a video recorder, a mobile wallet, a gaming system, a video player and much more.

We have also seen an entire economy and ecosystem grow up around the concept of apps.

It is not hyperbole to say it kickstarted a reinvention of the phone industry and although it is a word that is frequently overused in tech, the iPhone was the essence of disruption, sending Apple on a trajectory towards stunning financial success.

Some will argue that the culture it has spawned, where heads are more often looking down at phones instead of up at the real world, where work is done everywhere and all the time not just in the office during work hours, and communication is instantaneously reactionary rather than considered, has set us back rather than moved us forward.

But as other events earlier last week also demonstrate, while technology brings us many amazing new opportunities, few things in life are universally positive.

Comments welcome via Twitter to @willgoodbody

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Will Goodbody: What a week in technology - RTE.ie

Investors gravitate to technology stocks because of their exposure to the fast-paced innovative tech sector. Some of the best-known and best-performing stocks of all time have come from the technology industry, and many investors still believe that there's plenty of potential for even bigger gains going forward. Funds with good track records have attracted considerable assets, and that's why the following five technology mutual funds stand out among the elite of the industry.

Data source: Fund providers.

If you want exposure to the top technology stocks, then both the Vanguard and Fidelity technology mutual funds deliver. In both funds, you'll find the stalwarts of the industry among the top 10 holdings, and they make up a relatively large portion of the overall assets of the fund. For instance, more than 40% of the Vanguard fund's assets are tied up in five stocks, and two of those holdings are different share classes issued by the same company. You'll find some companies in adjacent sectors with technology leanings, but for the most part, the Vanguard fund's holdings are squarely within technology. Moreover, with expenses of just 0.10%, the price is right for this index mutual fund.

The Fidelity fund goes a bit further afield, including some companies that aren't strictly tech stocks but that have cutting-edge applications in areas like electric vehicles. You'll pay up for management with this fund, but a greater exposure to companies with a global scope might be worth the extra cost for some tech investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Two funds from T. Rowe Price make the list, and they have different ways to attack the tech sector. The Science and Technology Fund looks a lot like the Fidelity and Vanguard funds above, with many names from the top ranks of the tech sector. Yet the weightings are much different, with a greater emphasis toward the more innovative companies in the social networking, cloud computing, and internet services industries. You'll also find a greater exposure to high-technology healthcare names, especially those producing cutting-edge medical devices that have had dramatic impacts on the quality and sustainability of healthcare with certain applications. Even with this fund, an international exposure to the sector adds some diversification.

The Global Technology Fund goes a step further, casting its net across the globe in search of the best companies with high-technology aspirations. From pure cloud computing and internet services companies to consumer and industrial stocks with the know-how to bring transformative change to their respective industries, the Global fund makes a slightly different play on where tomorrow's leadership in technology will come.

Finally, the Columbia Seligman fund looks a lot different from its peers. Big tech stocks play a much less important role in this fund, with outsized bets on smaller stocks providing some differentiation from the crowd. That has earned the fund a five-star rating from Morningstar, and long-term performance has also been relatively impressive.

The downside of the fund is that it charges a sales load of up to 5.75%, and expenses of 1.35% per year for the Class A shares of the fund are quite high. That means that money will come out of your pocket when you first buy shares and never get invested into the fund at all, instead going directly to your financial professional.

These top technology mutual funds have attracted considerable amounts of assets, and they each take different tacks toward capturing returns from technology stocks. By looking more closely at these five stocks, you'll be able to pick the one that best fits your own particular investing strategy.

Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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5 Top Technology Mutual Funds for Cutting-Edge Investors - Motley Fool

As the inevitable robot takeover looms, its nice to know we have one surprising weapon in our arsenal: kangaroos.

Volvo has confessed that the springy marsupials are throwing off the Large Animal Detection systems being developed for self-driving cars, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports.Those systems are meant to make sure the cars avoid animals along the road, such as deer or cattle.

binbeter via Getty Images

But the hopping of the kangaroos is messing with the detection, which uses the ground as a reference point, Volvo Australias technical manager David Pickett told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Weve noticed with the kangaroo being in mid-flight ... when its in the air it actually looks like its further away, then it lands and it looks closer, he said.

Originally, Volvo tested out the detection software on moose in Sweden. Researchers have been working on the kangaroo problem for more than a year.

However, Kevin McCann, managing director of Volvo Australia,told The Guardian that researchers would be able to solve the problem before the driverless cars are commercially available in 2020. He noted that any driverless car maker working in Australia would likely run into similar issues.

Any company that would be working on the autonomous car concept would be having to do the same developmental work, McCann said.

The BBC points out that the problem would hardly be a trivial one for self-driving cars in Australia, since kangaroo collusions are a significant problem for regular cars. About 80% of vehicle collisions with animals in Australia involve kangaroos, adding up to more than 16,000 kangaroo-related collisions every year.

See the article here:

Self-Driving Car Technology Foiled By Kangaroos - HuffPost

STEELEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - David Knop is not scared of risk. Thats why when he looked at the 14 acres behind is home in rural Steeleville he had no problem with planting organic blackberries in hopes for a harvest in the next two years.

Knop, who comes from a background of traditional grain farming in Randolph County, said he had been looking for something to do with the land for some time and when grain prices began to sink in the last few years, he started to think outside the box.

Grain farming is not the best crop to be in, or field to be in right now. Prices are low, Knop said.

Knop said he spoke with a friend who had looked into using Indiana-based Trellis Growing Systems to plant berries, but never pulled the trigger.

Knop said this was the last piece of his puzzle.

After the initial talks and planning phase, Knop has finally been able to put plants in the ground. Now he waits - blackberries take one-to-two years to mature and produce a full harvest.

Looking out at one section of his berry farm hedged by woodland, Knop can already see progress. The tiny blackberry plants that are not yet a month in the ground are already showing fresh growth. Knop said he looks forward to taking his first harvest to market and to having families out for you-pick, opportunities, making another chance for drawing in tourism to the county.

Large-scale berry farms, like the one Knop has started, are not the norm in Illinois, or even the Midwest. Travis Olinske, small fruit crop adviser for Trellis Growing Systems, said the inconsistent winters can put a strain on farmers - at least those using traditional methods. Olinske said it has been the norm for blackberry farmers to grow plants vertically on a hedgerows system. This creates tall, dense rows of brambles that leave themselves exposed to the elements.

In the last decade, however, Olinski said his company devised a new way that will allow farmers to get consistent yields year-to-year - music to the ears of producers like Knop.

This new system trains plants to grow along low-lying wires. Plants are staggered every five feet with new plants growing along this length and being rotated down, or trained to root themselves again in the ground not far from where another plant is located. Olinske said this system of using low-profile trellises allows plants to be covered during cold winters, which is not always possible for hedgerows that can be five to seven feet tall. This combats one of the biggest issues berry farmers have in the Midwest - winter damage. Olinske said it is the hope that this method will bring berry production from the coasts to the Midwest and Knops operation is a good start.

Keeping costs low is key to success in farming and Olinske said with an operation Knops size this will be a big challenge.

The biggest thing that is going to be his make or break is how he manages his labor, Olinske said. Olinski said labor can also be a killer for berry farmers, but with their system of growing, the blackberry blossoms grow in one direction - either the east or the north to protect the fruit from sun scalding - making harvesting that much easier. He said pickers only have to work one side of the row and because the trellises are so small, workers do not have to search deep within a plant to find fruit cutting down in labor costs.

Knop admitted this kind of farming is new to him, but he likes a good challenge - he said he always does his homework before jumping in. However, he admitted having Olinske to work with directly has been incredibly helpful. Olinske has been there to help him every step of the way from building his irrigation system to putting plants in the ground - even with helping go through the hoops of getting his organic certification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Olinske said Knops venture is unique in a lot of ways. It is one of only a scant few berry farms in Southern Illinois and is certainly the biggest he knew of. Knop said he hopes the organic certification will also help set him apart. He said it also just seems to be the right thing to do and he hopes it will inspire others in the area to plant consumer-ready crops like fruits and veggies, but maybe even to step up and go organic.

Maybe this will change things around here. Maybe other people will start, Knop said, adding that there is a lot of ideal farm land for berry farming.

Theres a lot of ground like Ive got thats not the best for raising corn, he said.

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Source: The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan, http://bit.ly/2uiovMg

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com

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Randolph county berry farm uses new technology to tame crop - Washington Times

Mel Cossette (Photo courtesy Edmonds Community College)

A recent national report co-authored by Edmonds Community Colleges Mel Cossette asserts that U.S. innovation will require the production and retention of workers skilled in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

The purpose of this report was to shed light on the relatively underappreciated roles and contributions of engineering technicians and technologists, said Mel Cossette, executive director and principal investigator of the National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education (MatEdU) and coauthor of the report, Engineering Technology Education in the United States. MatEdU, a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education funded center, is housed at Edmonds Community College.

The report presents and analyzes the findings and recommendations in four areas: the nature of engineering technology education, supply and demand, educational and employment pathways, and data collection and analysis.

According to Cossette, the focus has been on four-year degrees in engineering; however, two-year community and technical colleges are graduating excellent technicians in engineering technology.

The report makes the following comparison: If engineers are viewed as being responsible for designing the nations technological systems, then engineering technicians and technologists are the ones who help build and keep those systems running.

The demand for trained engineering technicians is high because it takes a support team with many technicians to support one engineer, Cossette said.

Edmonds CC offers Engineering Technology associate degrees in Materials Science Technology, Manufacturing and Materials Science Technology, and Robotics and Electronics, and certificates in Aircraft Electronics Technician and Basic Electronics.

Many potential technician students are not aware of interesting and rewarding careers as engineering technicians, Cossette wrote in Educational Pathways for Engineering Technicians, an article for the National Academy of Engineerings publication The Bridge (Summer 2017 edition) and co-authored with colleague Daniel Hull.

They may not also know that U.S. two-year colleges offer relatively low tuition and strong opportunities for technician graduates to enter the workforce at annual starting salaries exceeding $50,000.

For more information about Edmonds CCs degrees, go to edcc.edu/etec.

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Report sheds light on value of two-year engineering technology degree - My Edmonds News

An official from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) told The Hill the department's science division is staffed, despite a report saying the last three employees of the division left last week.

However, an OSTP official told The Hill there are currently 35 employees in OSTP, and 12 employees in the department's science division, adding that the division is organized and divided differently under the Trump administration compared to the Obama administration.

"Science division out. Mic drop, former OSTP assistant director for biomedical and forensic sciences Eleanor Celeste said on Friday in a tweet.

science division out. mic drop. pic.twitter.com/RoYTJqLoXa

"By COB today, number of staffers in White House OSTP's Science Division = 0, Obama era OSTP staffer Kumar Garg tweeted on Friday.

By COB today, number of staffers in White House OSTP's Science Division = 0. https://t.co/o4dsn4y3hO

There were more than 100 employees in OSTP during the Obama administration.

Originally posted here:

WH refutes reports that Science and Technology office unstaffed - The Hill