Thanks for the memory

There was once a time where microSD cards were the first choice for removable storage. Small and portable, they could be moved from one device to another with ease, allowing for the downloading of photos, video files and more in mere minutes.

But as time marches on, tech companies are thinking smaller and faster when it comes to file storage. Samsung has found a way to combine those two elements, and the result of that fusion is the creation of the world’s first Universal Flash Storage (UFS) memory cards.

Compared to their predecessors, the UFS cards have sequential reading speeds of up to 530 MB per second, making them five times faster than even the most powerful microSD cards. According to official Samsung specs, UFS cards can read a 5 GB high-definition movie within 10 seconds. A standard UHS-1 card can accomplish the same feat in 50 seconds. 

Although not yet available on the market for standalone purchases, UFS cards are already embedded within some newer Samsung offerings, such as the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones. When they are officially released, the cards will be available with up to 256 GB of storage capacity.

Read more here:
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/7/7/12115616/samsung-ufs-removable-memory-cards

Official Samsung news release:
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-introduces-worlds-first-universal-flash-storage-ufs-removable-memory-card-line-up-offering-up-to-256-gigabyte-gb-capacity

Dell steps up storage

The Dell PowerVault MD3460.

Data storage space within the business sphere often comes at a premium. It’s common for companies to store terabytes of corporate data on their servers, but in environments that rely on high-performance computing (HPC), that space gets filled up fast.

Microsoft Links up

If there is one thing that is a guarantee in the vast world of technology, it’s that dominance is fleeting. At any given moment, a company can be considered as a force in the industry, only to be overtaken by a competitor or newcomer shortly afterwards.

Microsoft understands this position all too well. For years, the personal computing juggernaut has wrestled with the competition. Sometimes, it achieved dominance; other times, it was Microsoft who was dominated instead. But the company could be well on its way to domination once again, as it announced a major acquisition recently.

Considered by many experts as its most ambitious move to date, Microsoft announced the acquisition of professional networking service LinkedIn. The price tag: a colossal $26.2 billion. The deal, reports The New York Times, is among the largest in Microsoft’s history, and it seeks to add a second dimension to the company’s offerings. Microsoft is widely known as a purveyor of computers and software, but the addition of LinkedIn will add the world’s largest professional networking site to its portfolio.

LinkedIn, which boasts more than 400 million users worldwide, represents Microsoft’s desire to move away from being solely a traditional software developer. The evolution of cloud computing – an area that Microsoft itself is a leader in, thanks to its Azure platform and related services – is making software development less viable for some corporations. Although it’s highly unlikely that Microsoft will ever stop producing staples like Windows and the Office suite, the future appears to be in the cloud, so to speak.

Read more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/business/dealbook/microsoft-to-buy-linkedin-for-26-2-billion.html?_r=0

BlackBerry and the law

Personal data is a sensitive subject, and issues involving it are constantly making headlines. Most notably, there was the recent battle between Apple and the FBI over the unlocking of the iPhone 5C of the shooter responsible for the San Bernardino attacks in 2015. 

The FBI eventually dropped their request, but not without a bitter war of the words that caused widespread debate among Apple users, politicians and government officials alike.

However, one mobile phone developer has an entirely different stance when it comes to device unlocking or data requests from the authorities. A CBC report reveals that BlackBerry actively cooperates with the police, providing them with access to user data and BBM messages for use in their investigations.

Within the confines of their Waterloo, Ontario headquarters, there exists a highly secretive unit that carries out these requests. While their intentions for allowing law enforcement to have this access are certainly good, their reasoning might not sit well with BlackBerry users.

Read more here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/blackberry-taps-user-messages-1.3620186

Clouds over Canada

When most people think of a cloudy day, bad weather and feelings of gloominess come to mind. When Microsoft thinks of a cloudy day, they see an opportunity for expansion.

Ringing it in

In the critically acclaimed novel and movie series The Lord of the Rings, there is much discussion about the One Ring, a small, yet powerful ring that possesses unprecedented power. Bearing this in mind, Visa has created a powerful ring of its own, but it won’t exactly let its wearer rule the world.

Visa’s ring is not only a nice-looking accessory; it’s also a payment device. Much like the way credit cards can be tapped on certain devices to instantly pay for items at stores, this NFC-equipped ring serves a similar function. 

The payment ring, which has yet to receive an inventive name, will be beta-tested at the Rio Olympics, where it will be given to 45 participating athletes. If the athletes like it, Visa hopes they’ll literally put a ring on it.

Read more here:
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/6/2/11846194/visa-payments-ring-nfc-olympics

Devouring mobile data

Human being are natural-born consumers. We consume food, natural resources and money at a rapid rate. But those aren't the only things we’re devouring.

The results of Ericsson’s Mobility Report show that humans are also huge consumers of mobile data. According to the study, worldwide mobile data traffic increased by 60 per cent between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016. 

The total mobile data usage during this period was estimated to be 5.7 exabytes, which is 5 million times the space on a standard PC hard drive. In addition, the results indicated that between 2015 and 2021, data usage will show a further increase, thanks to 12 times growth of smartphone usage.

North Americans were by far the largest consumers of data overall, accounting for roughly 4GB of data per smartphone per month. Ericsson believes that by 2021, that amount will jump to 22GB.

Read more here:
http://www.cnet.com/news/insatiable-appetite-mobile-data-americans-biggest-pigs-says-ericsson/

The full report from Ericsson can be found here:
http://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/2016/ericsson-mobility-report-2016.pdf

Verizon takes 5

The world of mobility has seen its share of evolution over the years. It began with 1G in the 1980s, and later which later gave way to 2G, 3G and 4G networks. And if U.S.-based Verizon has its way, mobile networks may soon be given a high five.

FiOS, Verizon’s bundled Internet, telephone and television service, is exploring the opportunity to develop and implement 5G capabilities within its service areas. Presently, FiOS is available only to customers in the northeastern United States, but the company plans to take it nationwide if all goes according to plan.

Unlike standard television, DSL and landline phone services, FiOS operates via the use of fiber-optic technology to provide users with increased speed and reliability. The 5G network would build upon FiOS’ success by offering a service with speeds so fast, a feature-length HD movie could be downloaded in mere seconds.

Verizon’s 5G plan, once officially launched, could create an interesting scenario in markets where fewer options available for Internet services.

Read more here:
http://www.cnet.com/news/with-5g-verizon-could-be-anyones-crazy-fast-home-broadband-provider/

Character analysis

If you are a regular reader of our site, you may have seen us tweet out links to our content via our Twitter account, @md2news. 

Like anyone else who uses Twitter, we abide by the microblogging site’s strict limit of 140 characters per post. An announcement made by Twitter earlier today will make using the service a bit easier for you, us, and everyone else.

In the coming months, items such as usernames, photos and videos will no longer count towards the 140-character limit, which will remain in place. Previously, adding these items to posts counted towards this limit, with URLs taking up to 23 character in total. 

Twitter has been mired in an uphill battle recently, with user growth remaining stagnant. The modification is the latest in a series of new enhancements made by Twitter over the past year.

Read more here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-characters-idUSKCN0YF21M

Going Home with Google

These are exciting times for Google. What began as a simple search engine service is now among the most powerful companies in the IT and technology industries. Google is always on the lookout for the next great thing, and their latest creation will help you feel right at Home.

At the I/O developer event held in Mountain View, Calif., Mario Queiroz, Vice President of Product Management for Google announced the launch of Google Home. Designed to compete head-on with Amazon’s Echo, Google Home is a voice-activated speaker that enables users to ask questions, receive answers, stream music, and get help with everyday tasks.

Google has made several attempts to expand into the world of artificial intelligence lately, and Google Home represents the next step on that journey. No launch date or price has been set for Google Home as of yet.

Read more here:
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Google-Plots-Home-Invasion-83525.html

Official Google Home website:
https://home.google.com/

All that and a bag of chips

Google is many things to many people. They’re one of the top search engines in the world, they’re the creators of the Android operating system for mobile phones, and they’re responsible for Blogger, the platform on which this site is hosted. And the list goes on.

But the Alphabet-operated juggernaut is about to expand into a new area – computer chips. On May 19, Google announced that the future of their organization will rely on a custom-designed chip that will power artificial intelligence systems. 

The past few years have seen Google undergo an unprecedented evolution from a search engine service to a relative giant in the realms of technology and IT. This progress has many people wondering just what they’ll do or create next.

While Google firmly believes that AI is the future of personal computing and user experience, should the creation of these new chips have companies like Intel and NVIDIA scrambling to maintain their market share?

Read more here:
http://www.wired.com/2016/05/googles-making-chips-now-time-intel-freak/

Law & Order: Digital Intent

In the criminal justice system, offenders of all kinds rely on legal representation. At the bankruptcy division for U.S. law firm BakerHostetler, the latest lawyer to join their team is unlike none ever seen before. This is his story.

Meet ROSS, the latest creation from IBM. Built with the assistance of the company’s Watson cognitive system, ROSS is the world’s first artificially intelligent lawyer. Designed to understand language and develop hypotheses when posed legal questions, ROSS provides answers and subsequently draws conclusions backed up by the necessary references and citations.

While ROSS’s arrival on the legal scene certainly won’t spell the beginning of the end for human lawyers, he will certainly make their case work easier.

Read more here:
http://futurism.com/artificially-intelligent-lawyer-ross-hired-first-official-law-firm/

Google goes it a-loan

Payday loan services like Cash Money and MoneyMart may soon need to look to other sources if they want to place online ads. 

Today, Google announced that effective July 13, they will no longer display ads for payday loan companies. The decision was made based on the fact that the loans offered by these organizations generally do more harm than good for consumers.

“We will no longer allow ads for loans where repayment is due within 60 days of the date of issue,” wrote Google product policy director David Graff in a blog post.

“When reviewing our policies, research has shown that these loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users, so we will be updating our policies globally to reflect that,” Graff added.

The ban is also extended to American companies offering loans with an annual percentage rate (APR) of 36 per cent or higher.

Read more here:
http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/11/11656088/payday-loan-ads-banned-from-google

Infection detection

Malware is the thorn in the side of many a computer user. Its sources are many in number, ranging from pop-up ads to downloadable programs, and it can strike when you least expect it. 

But how exactly can you tell that your machine has been bitten by the ever-intrusive malware bug? Here are a few ways you can perform your own infection detection, and solve the problem. 

Read more here:
https://blog.malwarebytes.org/101/2016/05/how-to-tell-if-youre-infected-with-malware/

Flexible benefits

Anyone who owns a smartphone knows that as useful as they are, they are often prone to breaking. Take a walk outside, and you’ll most likely encounter a few people using smartphones with damaged screens. 

With this in mind, Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab has developed a flexible smartphone. Known as the HoloFlex, the device has a completely flexible body and a holographic screen. The phone’s ability to bend might seem like a novelty to some, but it helps users to interact with with whatever is on the HoloFlex’s screen.

Could flexible smartphones be bending their way into the hands of users soon? 

Read more here:
http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/5/11604680/holoflex-flexible-holographic-smartphone

YouTube gets Unplugged

TV on the Radio is a band known for making noise on the indie rock scene since 2001. If YouTube has their way, they will make TV on the Internet a reality by 2017.

Already home to millions of hours of video content, many of which includes clips and episodes of popular TV shows, YouTube is planning to enter the world of pay TV. They’ll do it with the launch of a new service that would offer users a bundle of cable channels that would be streamed online.

Branded as Unplugged, the service would be available for under $35 per month. YouTube has already begun initial discussions about Unplugged with several major media companies, but has yet to get any of them on board. 

Unplugged isn’t the Google-owned company’s first foray into paid video streaming. YouTube launched its Red premium subscription service last year.

Read more here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-04/youtube-said-to-plan-unplugged-online-tv-service-for-2017

Taking flight

Think selfie sticks are annoying? How about an AI-powered flying camera that will follow your every move? The camera is mounted on a small flying drone that will automatically capture images and videos wherever you go.

Read more here:
https://news.developer.nvidia.com/ai-powered-flying-camera-to-replace-your-selfie-stick/

Face off

Say, do you remember old what’s-his-face? You know, that guy who might have shoplifted from your store a while back? If not, there’s a new technology being developed  that will help many retailers solve that problem.

Los Angeles-based FaceFirst is helping to crack down on crime with an intelligent software system that scans the faces of customers upon entering a store. The software then captures an image of each face and compares their features to those of known shoplifters. A Canadian equivalent, developed by Genetec in Montreal, is also in the works.

In theory, a system like this sounds like a good idea, as it might help the police to nab recurring five-finger discount seekers, but the facial recognition software is not without its detractors. Some top privacy experts are questioning its legality in Canada.

Read more here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/facial-recognition-shopping-1.3561060

Apple gets healthy

They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. However, Apple is looking to attract the attention of healthcare professionals by entering the world of healthcare.

Designed exclusively for the creation of personal health management apps, Apple’s new CareKit platform will serve as a key catalyst in the development of apps that allow users to transmit information about various medical conditions to their doctors. 

Apps created with this platform will not only be a boon for everyday users, but will help doctors to remotely track patients suffering from certain medical conditions.

While the idea sounds promising, getting doctors on board is vital to the success of CareKit. There are still some doctors in the U.S. who have yet to adopt electronic health records in their offices.

Read more here:
http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/28/11510590/carekit-apple-apps-glow-start-one-drop-diabetes-depression-pregrancy?via=indexdotco

Reality check

One of the hot topics in the tech industry today is augmented reality (AR). AR is designed to modify or enhance a realistic environment with the addition of audio, data, graphics and other elements. Discussions about AR were originally met with caution and skepticism, but over time, that has evolved into optimism and confidence. 

Investors have opened their minds and wallets to the tune of over $3 billion in this previously uncharted area, and major players like Google and Microsoft followed suit. In fact, a recent report from Digi-Capital predicts that AR will be a $120 billion market within the next four years.

AR has the potential to impact many fields, such as education and medicine, and will play a major role in the development of smart homes. But the real questions on everyone’s minds are is the world truly ready for AR, or is it in need of a reality check?

Read more here:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mahindracomviva/2016/04/11/augmented-reality-blurring-the-lines-between-the-real-and-virtual-worlds/#64380bdb5f6a