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New Laser Pico Projector

8/30/2015

If you’re a road warrior and need extreme portability for your presentations, look no further. The UO Smart Beam Laser is now shipping and looks to be my next purchase for travel.

The unit is a 2.2 inch cube and weighs less than 7 ounces with its battery included. The projection distance is from 2-6 feet and the image size is from 20 inches to 100 inches. The laser diode has a life of 10,000 hours and the 4,200 mAh battery lasts two hours in continuous use.

Most pico projectors will give you a small size and high resolution, but at the expense of brightness. This projector gives you all three, size, resolution and a bright image. It projects in 720p (Hi-Def) in a 16x9 aspect ratio.

You can connect wirelessly to many devices using Miracast or DLNA, or connect your favorite smartphone, laptop, tablet or other mobile device using the built-in HDMI port.

The unit is available now from United Object’s website for $420.

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New EMV Credit Card Technology May Be Losing Steam

8/23/2015

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If you’ve received a new credit card over the last 6-12 months, then you’ve noticed that a new chip has been imbedded into the card. The new cards are called EMV cards (EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa, the three companies that originally created the standard). These new cards are termed “smart” because they store their data on integrated circuits rather than magnetic stripes. Most EMV cards also have those stripes as well for backward compatibility.

As with other payment technologies, Europe is far ahead of the United States. As of February, nearly 95% of payment terminals in Western Europe accepted EMV cards. In the U.S., however, just 14% of the 11.8 million operating terminals were EMV-compatible, putting the nation in last place for EMV adoption and at the greatest risk for fraud.

While the deadline for the impeding EMV migration looms, only one in 10 Americans reported receiving chip-enabled cards in a recent poll. The survey results show the major shift from mag-stripe to EMV in the U.S. may have an even longer way to go before the Oct. 2015 deadline.

This delay in implementation will have the greatest impact on the credit card companies themselves as the quicker the migration is made, the quicker the level of fraud security can be ramped up.

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Automotive Security Vulnerability

8/16/2015

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It started in 2010 when researchers at two West Coast universities took control of a GM car with cellular and Bluetooth connections. Five years later, two “white hat” or ethical hackers used a laptop computer to control a Jeep over the Internet and the stakes for the automotive industry rose significantly.

In the 2010 incident, the hackers worked near the car. In the 2015 attack, the hackers were in Pittsburgh controlling a vehicle in St. Louis.

Fiat Chrysler, the maker of Jeeps, has now recalled 1.4 million vehicles to patch the cybersecurity problem. The problems will get even bigger as the industry equips their products with more computing power. A recent KPMG study found that the average new car in 2015 has between 40 and 50 computers that run 20 million lines of software code, more than a Boeing 787.

Mark Rosekind, who heads the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has urged the industry to set cybersecurity standards and avoid government regulation.

But two Democratic senators, Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, have introduced a bill that would force the industry to seal off critical computers and add technology to stop hackers in real time.

Stefan Savage, a UC San Diego computer science professor, who participated in the 2010 hack said that some forward-looking companies like Tesla have hired cybersecurity officers who have the power to make changes in car design. Most others, he said, are moving slowly. Savage believes that all automakers will accelerate plans for instant Internet software updates to combat destructive hackers.

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The Newest Earthquake Early Warning System For Your Smartphone

8/9/2015

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While this article may be of more interest to our west coast readers, earthquakes occur everywhere and getting a 30 second warning that a big quake is about to strike can mean the difference between life and death.

Early warning systems do exist, but they are expensive and complicated to implement. Even in tech-filled, quake-prone California, an early-warning system for earthquakes is only in the pilot stages.

Now a team of seismologists has designed a low-cost sensor that can help people today. Called the Brinco, it can send personalized warnings through an app up to 30 seconds before an earthquake hits. That may not seem likely a lot of cushion, but it could be enough crucial time to duck and find cover.

Even in places where early warning systems already exist, the Brinco's sensors can go further, giving a message targeted for a person's exact location and letting them know what to expect. A message might say, "Strong shaking in 15 seconds. The shaking should last 20 seconds. There is no risk of tsunami," or "Don't worry, you will feel a little bump but this earthquake is going to be harmless."

"No other products on the market are doing this," says Branden Christensen, a seismologist from OSOP, the seismograph manufacturing company that designed the gadget. "Brinco was designed to protect you and your family, not for scientists. Brinco's goal is to identify danger and get the word out instantly."

The company plans to initially target cities living on the "Ring of Fire," with a focus on the West Coast—everywhere from Seattle to Los Angeles. "There is no other place on the globe where the population is as tech savvy, open to innovative new products and as in tune with earthquake danger," Christensen says. "We would like Brinco to be as commonplace and reliable as a fire alarm —quietly vigil while you eat, sleep and go about your daily routine."

The device is available for pre-order from the company’s Indiegogo website for $189.

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Apple’s Secret Car Project Code-Named Titan

8/2/2015

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Apple doesn't invent new industries. It revolutionizes and disrupts established ones. They started in 2001 with a new music player and added the iTunes store shortly after that and the music industry was never the same again. Six years later, it was the iPhone and the post-PC mobile era was underway. Next it was the iPad and the modern tablet was defined. And last April, the company brought out the Apple Watch and ligitimized the wearables world. Now there are credible rumors that Apple has its eye on the auto industry.

In the past year, the company has gone on a hiring spree, bringing in hundreds of engineers and other automotive experts. The latest hire was Chrysler vice-president Doug Betts. He has declined to comment on what he will be doing for Apple, but his prior assignment was a leader of automobile quality assurance for Fiat Chrysler.

Rumors have also surfaced that Apple was in talks with BMW to use its i3 carbon fiber body as the basis for an Apple automobile. Talks began last fall and broke off recently.

Another sign of an automotive-based project was the settlement, in May, of an employment lawsuit from high-tech battery manufacturer A123. Apple was alledged to have poached much of A123’s electric-vehicle battery team, including, most notably, the company's chief technology officer, Mujeeb Ijaz. After 16 years at Ford Motor Company working on electric-vehicle technology, Mr. Ijaz researched advanced lithium-ion batteries for A123 and Formula 1 Racing.

Now there is no proof that all these people are working on the same project, but several news sources have reported that Apple’s Titan project is designing an electric “minivan-like vehicle” that could challenge Tesla Motors’ all-electric products.

Titan might be Apple’s “Next Big Thing” or just an experiment that never gets out of the lab. Rumors have circulated for years that Apple was just about to release a full-fledged television set, but that project has never seen the light of day.

With over $200 billion in cash reserves and a corporate culture that values iterative research until products are “perfect,” it may be quite a while before we see anything concrete from the Titan project.

Elon Musk, for one, welcomes the competition. Tesla's chief executive officer told analysts in May that he hopes Apple will debut an electric vehicle. Of course, these are the early days. Bloomberg News reports that Apple won't wrap up Titan until 2020 at the earliest. Stay Tuned.

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Rick Richardson, CPA, CITP, CGMA

Rick is the editor of the weekly newsletter, Technology This Week. You can subscribe to it by visiting the website.

Rick is also the Managing Partner of Richardson Media & Technologies, LLC. Prior to forming his current company, he had a 28-year career in technology with Ernst & Young, the last twelve years of which he served as National Director of Technology.

Mr. Richardson has been named to the "Technology 100"- the annual honors list of the 100 key achievers in technology in America. He has also been honored by the American Institute of CPAs with two Lifetime Achievement awards and a Special Career Recognition Award for his contributions to the profession in the field of technology.

In 2012, Rick was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. He has also been named to the 100 most influential individuals in the accounting profession in America by Accounting Today magazine.

In 2017, Rick was inducted as a Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achiever, a registry of professionals who have excelled in their fields for many years and achieved greatness in their industry.

He is a sought after speaker around the world, providing his annual forecast of future technology trends to thousands of business executives, professionals, community leaders, educators and students.

New Laser Pico Projector

New EMV Credit Card Technology May Be Losing Steam

Automotive Security Vulnerability

The Newest Earthquake Early Warning System For Your Smartphone

Apple’s Secret Car Project Code-Named Titan

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