Top Bananas | Monthly Archives: November 2017

Smart Bands Coming to the Apple Watch

Posted on November 30, 2017 by admin Posted in Hardware, Medical Leave a comment

What it is: The Food and Drug Administration has just cleared AliveCor’s Kardiaband EKG reader as the first medical device accessory for the Apple Watch.

Many people don’t see a need for the Apple Watch. Then again, many people also don’t see a need for a computer, smartphone, or car either. The real purpose of the Apple Watch is real-time health monitoring. While the Apple Watch can perform basic health monitoring like measuring your heart rate, more sophisticated health sensors require approval for use in the United States through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Apple has hinted in there past that instead of burdening the Apple Watch with health sensors people may not want, a better solution might be to offer smart bands that contain unique health sensors. That way customers can customize their Apple Watch but more importantly, putting additional health sensors on bands avoids getting approval from the FDA just to sell more advanced models of the Apple Watch.

Now a company called AliveCor has released a smart band with an EKG reader that can potentially detect an abnormal heart beat. EKGs are usually only available in offices and hospitals so having one on your wrist that can check your heart and then send a readout straight to your doctor could help prevent a heart attack or stroke.

Wearable computers will only get more powerful over time and with third parties going through the arduous process of getting FDA approval, Apple can continue offering improved versions of the Apple Watch while other companies offer optional smart bands to monitor special medical conditions.

The future of wearable computers lis with real-time health monitoring. Since everyone is concerned about health, the market for wearables like the Apple Watch will only continue to grow over time until one day the Apple Watch will likely be far more important to Apple than even the iPhone.

Security Isn’t Easy

Posted on November 29, 2017 by admin Posted in Software Leave a comment

What it is: The latest version of macOS High Sierra has a huge security flaw that allows anyone to access a Macintosh.

Security is never easy. What’s even worse is that consumers aren’t skilled enough to know about the technical details of computer security so they must trust the so-called experts who implement security in all types of computer products. That’s why Apple’s latest flaw in macOS High Sierra is so critical because it allows anyone to access a Macintosh without knowing a password.

Apple released a patch for this security flaw so make sure you install this patch as soon as possible. Beyond this problem, keep in mind that security is largely out of your hands. You can buy all the latest technical gadgets and software but none of that matters if there are flaws in those products and there will always be flaws in those products. Security products are never 100% secure so you can never trust them completely.

That’s why the best security simply comes from the user. If you restrict access to your computer, you’ll go a long way towards making your computer secure. If you practice smart computing and refuse to fall for online scams that try to convince you to download and run files, or visit suspicious websites, you’ll also go a long way towards keeping people from accessing your computer and its data. Of course, a determined thief will always be able to break into any computer so even your best behavior can never guarantee absolute security but that’s simply impossible anyway. Any time you use a computer, your risk your data.

The best security comes from you. Understand the problem and you can prevent foolish user errors. Constantly update your operating system and various programs and you’ll also close many security flaws. As long as people continue to blindly trust others and refuse to take responsibility for their own computer security as much as possible, hackers will always be able to exploit flaws in both computer systems and people. Understanding computer security is little different than knowing how to wear seat belts and use turn signals to minimize the risk of accidents.

Ultimately, security doesn’t lie in the hands of experts. It lies with you.

Recognizing Hand Gestures

Posted on November 28, 2017 by admin Posted in Hardware, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Apple recently patented a way for a computer to detect hand gestures.

During the game console wars between Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, Nintendo scored a major coup when they released the Wii, which let players control a game by holding a hand control. Moving the hand control moved objects on the screen such as mimicking the swing of a baseball bat or tennis racket. The Wii helped make games more immersive. Then Microsoft leapfrogged Nintendo when they used gesture recognizing technology from a company called PrimeSense, which helped Microsoft crate the Kinect motion detector.

By using Kinect, players could play games without holding on to anything at all. The Kinect device detected a player’s movement and translated that into the video game such was a dance video game where players danced in their living room floor. Yet for some odd reason, Microsoft let the Kinect fade into obscurity even though surgeons were using the Kinect to view medical images that they couldn’t physically touch without contaminating their hands during surgery. Microsoft even introduced a software developer’s kit (SDK) to help developers create programs that took advantage of the Kinect, but the Kinect seems to have faded from Microsoft’s attention until it’s essentially dead.

Curiously, Apple acquired PrimeSense, the company behind the Kinect, and has patented a hand gesture recognizing device for translating hand gestures into controlling a computer. Most likely this will be used to do exactly what people used the Kinect to do on PCs. The only difference is that now Apple will introduce this technology to the world that Microsoft introduced first. The only difference is that Apple will likely offer compelling reasons to use such motion detecting technology while Microsoft did not.

Right now, the iPhone X cameras and sensors can scan a person’s face but it’s only a matter of time before such sensors and cameras can detect motion gestures. Such hands-free computing might seem pointless on a Macintosh or iPad, but it could be perfect for the HomePod.

Remember, the HomePod is essentially introducing hands-free computing, so in addition to controlling it by voice, you might also be able to control it with hand gestures as well. Rumors have circulated about HomePod eventually adding a screen so you can see something, and what better way to control a screen than through hand gestures instead of voice?

The paradigm for user interfaces is simple:

Macintosh – keyboard and mouse through a graphical user interface
iPhone and iPad – touch screen
Apple Watch – sensors touching the skin and a tiny touch screen
Apple TV – swiping gestures on a remote control
HomePod – voice recognition and possibly hand gestures

Using hand gestures on an iPhone will likely be pointless because you’re typically holding an iPhone so you might as well touch it. However, hand gestures can be useful for the Apple TV or HomePod since you’re likely be away from each device instead of touching it like an iPhone or iPad.

Hand gestures aren’t going to replace other forms of user interfaces like keyboards and touch screens, but they will likely work perfectly for niche applications like the HomePod or Apple TV. Whatever the case, motion detecting technology will likely find a way to mainstream products in the next few years but look for it first on future models of HomePod.

The Future of 3D Printing

Posted on November 27, 2017 by admin Posted in Hardware, Medical Leave a comment

What it is: 3D printing company Stratasys has launched BioMimics to create 3D models of lifelike anatomical structures for training physicians and medical testing.

3D printing was all the rage a few years ago because you could create all types of objects using plastic. The huge problem with 3D printers was that they were slow, error-prone, and ultimately not very useful to the average person. After all, what’s the average person going to do with creating plastic objects of cups or pencil holders that look drag in one color with a rough texture of plastic?

3D printing isn’t going to change the world of the ordinary person, but it can change niche markets. One 3D printing company, Stratasys, has targeted the medical profession by creating 3D printed objects that mimic anatomical structures for medical professionals to train on. The idea is to replace actual cadavers with plastic objects instead. Not only can this be reusable with less health concerns, but printing 3D objects of body parts is much simpler and cheaper than finding more cadavers to practice on.

The real market for 3D printers initially will be in niche markets because those markets will be profitable and welcoming. While the average person doesn’t need a 3D printer, niche markets can find a need for 3D printers even if the quality and speed of creating objects is relatively poor for now. As the quality and printing speed increases, then more average people will want to use 3D printers. Until that occurs, perhaps several years from the future, 3D printers will be an interesting technology that hasn’t quite matured yet.

What will help 3D printers will be 3D scanners on smartphones. If you see something you like, scan it with your smartphone and capture the image as a model that you can print in a 3D printer. That way you can create objects simply and quickly, which is another drawback of current 3D printers because you must either design a model yourself (not an easy task) or use an existing model that someone else has created. If you need a custom object, you’ll have to design it yourself, which isn’t easy.

Apple has been rumored to be experimenting with 3D printers but because the market is still weak for the average consumer, it’s likely we won’t see a 3D printer from Apple for years. However, watch the camera and sensors in the iPhone to get a clue on the future of 3D scanning. Already the iPhone X cameras can use facial recognition to identify a 3-dimensional image of a face. Those same sensors can later be used to scan 3D objects and save them as models for 3D printing later.

Technology moves in fits and starts, and 3D printing its one example of technology that’s still maturing. It will get there eventually, but it’s not here yet. Until then, keep watching the scanning abilities of the iPhone to get a clue how close 3D printing and scanning will be.

Time to Switch to Firefox?

Posted on November 26, 2017 by admin Posted in Software Leave a comment

What it is: The latest version of Firefox is here and it’s often faster than Chrome.

At one tine, Netscape Navigator was the most popular browser, but you had to pay for it. To gain market share from Netscape Navigator, Microsoft crated Internet Explorer and gave it away for free. Given a choice between paying for a browser or using a free one, most people simply chose the free one and helped make Internet Explorer the most popular browser in the world.

Then Microsoft got lazy and complacent. Instead of improving Internet Explorer, they let it continue running slowly with plenty of security flaws. People soon got fed up with Internet Explorer and looked for alternatives, and one of first of those free and secure alternatives turned out to be Firefox. Within a short time, Firefox killed Internet Explorer’s lead in the browser market until practically everyone used Firefox instead of Internet Explorer.

Then Firefox got lazy and complacent. Rather than continue improving their browser, Firefox got distracted with other projects such as their mobile operating system that never went anywhere. In the meantime, Google released the free and secure Chrome browser, and now Chrome is the most popular browser in the world.

However, Firefox has focused their efforts on their browser again and released a new version of Firefox that mimics Chrome’s user interface while offering greater speed at the same time. Since Firefox is also free and cross-platform like Chrome, many people are rediscovering the advantages of Firefox over Chrome.

(In the meantime, Microsoft is trying to promote their new Edge browser which isn’t as full featured as Internet Explorer. So rather than rely on Edge, many Windows users are simply using Chrome since Chrome is definitely better than Edge.)

Now the big question is whether there’s enough incentive to switch browsers from Chrome to Firefox? Firefox may be faster, but is that additional speed worth the hassle of switching browsers? It depends because Google will likely boost Chrome’s speed so it will be relatively equal to Firefox.

If Firefox had simply kept improving their browser, they would have maintained their dominance in the browser market. Now that they’ve let Chrome take over, they have an uphill battle to take back the browser market. In any event, you probably can’t go wrong with either Firefox or Chrome, but at least Firefox frees you from Google if that’s important to you. Just remember that Firefox’s default search engine is Google for financial reasons, but you can always change the default search engine in Firefox to something other than Google.

As long as Firefox keeps improving their browser, Firefox has a chance to take back market share from Chrome. Maybe Firefox will equal or surpass Chrome in the future, or maybe Chrome will retain its dominance. Whatever happens, having a choice between two good options is far better than having no choice at all. If you use Linux, Windows, or macOS, take a look at Firefox. You may like what you see.

Technology Trying to Solve Social Issues

Posted on November 25, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Software Leave a comment

What it is: A UK-based new charitable foundation plans to create a platform that allows members of an ideology to define their faith.

One huge problem with the government is that they try to use legal measures to solve social problems. That’s like trying to solve marriage problems lay buying a new computer. The only sure way to solve social problems is to offer social solutions. Laws merely provide guidelines but cannot force people into specific behavior. Just look at how many dictatorships try and still fail to stamp out dissent.

While the technology industry keeps touting technology as a way to solve social problems, the real use of technology is to allow people to more effectively solve social issues. That’s why an organization called Ananas planet to post an online version of the Quran (dubbed “The Living Quran”) with digital content and real-life resources. This by itself isn’t any different from what other people have done, but the big difference is that this group plans to offer its own form of crypto currency called Anacoin.

The idea is to encourage people to share ideas on this platform and get rewarded by their contributions through cryptocurrency, essentially getting paid to contribute ideas. The ultimate goal is to help people better understand Islam.

Extremists of all religions always warp their beliefs to support their activities, even if those activities directly violate the religion they purport to support (thou shalt not kill), so a site like Ananas hopes to give people a chance to share and contribute positive ideas and get paid for their efforts. The more people who get paid, the more people will be attracted to the site (theoretically) and the more people will be exposed to what the founders hope will be a truer picture of what this particular faith is really all about.

Of course, anyone can simply pick up books on different faiths and read them with an open mind, but that still hasn’t helped stamp out ignorance and prejudice about different faiths. Adding cryptocurrency probably isn’t going to make much of a difference but at least these people are trying. Their efforts show that while technology can be helpful, it can never be the sole solution to solving social problems. If we really want to solve social problems, we simply need to talk, respect one another, and listen — which means most social problems will likely continue going unsolved because people aren’t willing to do even that.