Wednesday 20 December 2017

Editor's Pick: US Fingers North Korea for WannaCry Epidemic

US Fingers North Korea for WannaCry Epidemic

John P. Mello Jr. Dec 20, 2017 9:52 AM PT
	The United States on Tuesday accused North Korea of responsibility for a global ransomware attack that locked down more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries earlier this year. The U.S. now has enough evidence to support its assertion that Pyongyang was behind the WannaCry attack in May, Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert told reporters at a White House press briefing. [More...]

More Picks:

P2P WiFi Plan Challenges ISP Dominance
Open Garden has announced the launch of a new P2P service that allows users to share Internet connections and unused plan data for free, with compensation in a new cryptocurrency as an extra incentive. The company is offering the service through an app that can be downloaded from Google Play. The system requires no hardware other than an Android phone to participate in the Internet access sharing. [More...]

Uber Is Great Until It Leaves You Out in the Cold
Uber works great -- until it stops working, leaving your kid walking home alone on a cold winter night. Wireless technology opens up new avenues for innovation and excitement, with companies like Uber and Lyft. Most of the time, their technologies work just fine, but don't let your guard down. Prepare for the moment when something goes wrong, because eventually something always goes wrong. [More...]

The FCC Screwed Up! My Firsthand Experience Without Net Neutrality
As a high-tech industry analyst, I have worked from home for more than a decade. As someone who tracks new technology and is always on the lookout for a better communications solution, I migrated to a Voice over Internet Protocol service through Vonage early after its introduction. The service was great. I had great call quality and the flexibility to take the service anywhere. [More...]

Reading Between Oracle's Lines
Oracle's most recent financial report reveals some hints about its future. Oracle has posted some very impressive numbers as its cloud computing products and services have taken off, and the recent Q2 reporting is a fine reference point. From the company's Q2 announcement: Cloud SaaS revenues were up 55 percent; PaaS plus IaaS revenues were up 21 percent; total cloud revenues were up 44 percent. [More...]

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Tech News Flash

Tech News Flash: Wednesday -- December 20, 2017

TechNewsWorld -- All Tech - All The Time
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Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
US Fingers North Korea for WannaCry Epidemic
Gadgets: Special Deliveries, On-Demand Drinks, and Magical Masks
Social Media or Social Disease?
What Amazon's Abuse of Power Foreshadows for 2018
Microsoft Gives Productivity Tools More AI Chops

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Today's Story Highlights

US Fingers North Korea for WannaCry Epidemic

The United States on Tuesday accused North Korea of responsibility for a
global ransomware attack that locked down more than 300,000 computers in
150 countries earlier this year. The U.S. now has enough evidence to
support its assertion that Pyongyang was behind the WannaCry attack in
May, Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert told reporters at a White
House press briefing.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85023.html

Gadgets: Special Deliveries, On-Demand Drinks, and Magical Masks

BoxLock Home is a smart padlock designed to allow delivery persons to
leave your packages in a secure place when you're not around. The driver
scans the package and goes through a verification process to unclasp the
lock and place your package inside the container. Of course, you'll get
a notification when the process is complete. I'm not really sure I need
it, but I'd rather not have a box lying in clear view of everyone on the
street.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85022.html

Social Media or Social Disease?

Is social media evolving into an antisocial medium? Days after one of
its former execs argued that the answer is yes, Facebook published a
post addressing the issue. "I think we have created tools that are
ripping apart the social fabric of how society works," said Chamath
Palihapitiya, who once served as vice president for growth at Facebook.
There is a lack of civil discourse, he added.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85019.html

What Amazon's Abuse of Power Foreshadows for 2018

Given how many big names have fallen over the last few weeks due to
sexual misconduct, abuse and harassment, you'd think I'd name 2017 as
the year of power abuse. However, while I know a lot of folks think the
issue is dying down, I don't see that at all. There are entire
industries that have yet to be hit by this, and Congress hasn't even
finished cleaning house or putting in place rules to prevent this
activity.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85009.html

Microsoft Gives Productivity Tools More AI Chops

Microsoft has announced new AI features and functionality for several of
its flagship products and services. Harry Shum, EVP of Microsoft AI and
Research, recently demonstrated some of the new capabilities. Building
on the progress the company has made in integrating AI over the past
year, the new enhancements are designed to help users perform
increasingly complex and complicated tasks.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85012.html

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ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter

ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter: Wednesday -- December 20, 2017

ECT News Network -- Where Business Meets Technology
http://www.ectnews.com
E-Commerce Times | TechNewsWorld
CRM Buyer | LinuxInsider

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This Week's Top News Headlines From the E-Commerce Times

Uber Is Great Until It Leaves You Out in the Cold
(Posted 20-Dec-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85020.html

The FCC Screwed Up! My Firsthand Experience Without Net Neutrality
(Posted 19-Dec-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85017.html

B2B Digital Ad Spending to Jump Next Year
(Posted 18-Dec-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85015.html

Most Marketers Struggle to Reach Targeted Customers
(Posted 16-Dec-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85013.html

FCC Votes 3-2 to Upend Net Neutrality
(Posted 14-Dec-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85007.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From TechNewsWorld

Gadget Ogling: Special Deliveries, On-Demand Drinks, and Magical Masks
(Posted 20-Dec-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85022.html

Social Media or Social Disease?
(Posted 19-Dec-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85019.html

What Amazon's Abuse of Power Foreshadows for 2018
(Posted 18-Dec-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85009.html

Microsoft Gives Productivity Tools More AI Chops
(Posted 15-Dec-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85012.html

Google Reveals What Searchers Wanted in 2017
(Posted 14-Dec-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/85006.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From CRM Buyer

Reading Between Oracle's Lines
(Posted 19-Dec-17)
http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/85016.html

Data Modeling Is Key in New Customer Insight Platform
(Posted 15-Dec-17)
http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/85008.html

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The Morning After: EU clamps down on Uber

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Wednesday, December 20, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

What’s the connection between chocolate and tech? If you don’t know yet, we can answer that for you, as well as provide some impressions of Google’s latest smart speaker and a new hybrid from Honda.

Does the company provide rides or just information?

EU decides to treat Uber like a taxi company

Europe's highest court has ruled that Uber is a transportation company and not some kind of middleman between passengers and drivers, like it has often claimed. The much-anticipated decision opens the door for member nations to impose stricter regulations on the company, especially where it operates the UberPOP service with non-professional drivers.

No other smart speaker sounds this good.

Google Home Max review: an assistant for music lovers

Google upgrades the sound quality for its latest smart speaker. The Google Home Max is expensive, but you get a lot for your money. If you want great audio and don't want to mess around with more complicated speaker setups, the Home Max is a solid option -- with all those Google Assistant smarts.

Its lane-keeping skills need work, though.

Honda’s Clarity Plug-In Hybrid is a luxury car at a bargain price

The Honda Clarity line is now complete. After introducing the lease-only pure EV back in July, the Plug-In Hybrid and Fuel Cell models are here; Roberto Baldwin got to test-drive both and came away impressed. While the Clarity vehicles look identical, their inner workings are different enough that it's like driving three different cars.

Even though Google… sells… ads

Chrome starts blocking annoying ads on February 15th

In June, Google announced Chrome would get a blocker to filter out ads that blare loud music or hide the webpage, and now the feature has a launch date. We’re about two months away from finding out how some skeevier parts of the ad industry respond to this change.

Can we learn to get along with our robotic pals of tomorrow?

This year we took small, important steps toward the Singularity

Artificially intelligent robots already walk, roll and occasionally backflip among us. They're on our streets and in our stores. AI is adopting physical form to multiply the capabilities of the humans it serves. As robots gain ubiquity, friction between these bolt buckets and we meat sacks is sure to cause issues. So how do we ensure that the increasingly intelligent machines we design share our ethical values while minimizing human-robot conflict? Warning: may contain science-fiction references.

Check the fine print.

Proposed net neutrality bill would ban blocking and throttling

The FCC only just decided to undo Title II net neutrality protections; however with a court battle over the move still pending, Congress is considering its next step. Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn has introduced a net neutrality bill that would contain language banning ISPs from blocking and throttling, but it is largely similar to the FCC’s new rules.

The president of the Free Press Action Fund called it fake net neutrality and said: “This cynical attempt to offer something the tiniest bit better than what the FCC did and pretend it's a compromise is an insult to the millions who are calling on Congress to restore real net neutrality.”

A future X-plane.

NASA will take images of its quiet supersonic jet's shockwaves

The photo above was captured during NASA's latest round of tests wherein a US Air Force Test Pilot School T-38 aircraft traveled in supersonic speeds between the cameras and the sun at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

But wait, there's more...

1. White House temporarily shuts down 'We the People' petition site

2. UPS is Tesla's latest electric semi-truck customer

3. Samsung's mega-wide gaming monitor is first to be HDR certified

4. Bean-to-bar chocolate is fueled by the tech world

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