Cold Hard Cache
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| Cold Hard Cache | |
| Number | 2880 |
| Broadcast Date | OCTOBER 17, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 31:51 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
| Guests | Veronica Belmont |
Tim Cook hopes Apple can be the catalyst to a cashless society? Do we really want to replace cash with digital? Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt discuss that plus a way to let you feel your robotic arm, and why Tesla should just drop the word autopilot.
Guest
Top Stories
- Apple just hired Carnegie Mellon professor Russ Salukhutdinov to head a team working on AI. Now here are some more top stories.
- Bloomberg reports that Apple shifted its automotive "Project Titan" research from building a car to building an autonomous system for cars. The project supposedly has a deadline of late next year to prove feasibility. The shift happened after iPod designer and former Ford engineer Steve Zadesky handed over the project to Dan Riccio. In April, long-time Apple engineer Bob Mansfield took over as team leader. Dan Dodge, creator of the QNX embedded OS now owned by BlackBerry has taken over a larger role on the team as well.
- Google.com/flights launched a new feature that will show you when prices are expected to increase for certain flights. That way you can decided if you need to pull the trigger or whether you have a little time to wait before booking. A notification bar will also recommend alternate airports or dates that could save you money. The updates should roll out in the coming weeks. This puts the search engine service in closer competition with mobile app Hopper.
- German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt wrote to Tesla asking the company to stop advertising its Autopilot function. The ministry letter called the term Autopilot misleading, possibly causing drivers not to be attentive while using the driver assistance technology. A Tesla spokesperson told Reuters that the term has been used in the aerospace industry for assistive operation for decades, and that they make clear that drivers must pay attention at all times while using Autopilot.
- The UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled that GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 bulk data collection programs violated European privacy protections prior to the implementation of of an official policy in February 2015. The new policy governs how data is collected, managed and destroyed, and makes the collection lawful.
- Scientists at MIT and Harvard Medical School have developed rubber-like optical fiber out of a hydrogel that can be stretched and bent. It can hold up inside a human body without damaging its surroundings. Fiber optics are often used to activate cells and trigger neurons. Existing materials are inflexible and risk causing damage to tissue, like the brain. The new fiber also transmits light without fading or losing signal. It could be used to indicate the return of flexibility to a limb or the beginnings of inflammation indicating disease.
- Geek.com reports that a group at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have implanted quadraplegic Nathan Copeland with a series of chips that can let him "feel" with a robotic arm. Two arrays of electrodes were implanted and connected to a receiver attached to his skull. One set lets him send signals from his motor cortex to a computer which can then move a robotic hand. The other set sends signals from the robotic fingers into his sensory cortex.
Discussion
- Apple's Next Goal Is Killing Paper Money Once and For All
- How Currency Works
- Cash Is a Wasteful System, but Hard to Replace
- The truth about the death of cash
- Why digital can’t replace cash
Pick of the Day
- G'day Tom,
Aussie Rob in Maidenhead here with a suggestion for Pick of the Day.
It's an Android app called "Should I Answer" and basically it crowdsources anger at telemarketers and other unsolicited calls.
When your phone rings, the app pops up to show you if the number has a positive or negative rating so that you can decide if you want to answer it or not. The number of current ratings is shown as well.
If a number is not as yet rated, the caller shows as unknown. Then once you hang up after answering the call, the app allows you to submit your rating. Calls can be marked as private if you don't want to send your caller rating back to the mothership.
It works really well and I highly recommend it. A 4.8 out of 5 rating over 82k plus reviews must mean something!
As ever, thanks for the show.
cheers, - Submitted by Rob
- G'day Tom,
- Submitted by Veronica
Messages
- Hi Tom and Guest
Was listening to you and Brian discussing (I am catching up still) Hydrogen fuel cells this morning and how the biggest issue at present is the canisters for refueling.
Here in South Africa we don't have gas supplied to houses via piping. If you want to use gas for cooking or heating you get it supplied in a metal gasbottle. You don't own the bottle, you just pay a deposit per bottle and the gas inside. Once you run out, you just swop bottles and pay for the gas. Sounds like a viable solution to the Hydrogen canisters you need. Alternatively, how about a cellphone refueling station at your local corner store or gas station, where you just pay for the hydrogen?
Second though comes from last nights watching of the Martian (both recommended) ...you know the line about Hydrogen and a open flame and exposed oxygen. Not a great track record. Now think smoker with cellphone to his ear. Maybe that smoking Note 7 was just ahead of it's time (Too Soon?)
Anyway, just two random thoughts. - Sent by Thinus from Cape Town
- Hi Tom and Guest
YouTube
Links
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Cold Hard Cache |
Followed by: "VR IS AWESOME!!!! Don’t get it." |