Middle-Class VR

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Middle-Class VR
Number 2713
Broadcast Date MARCH 16, 2016
Episode Length 41:39
Hosts Tom Merritt
Guests Scott Johnson, Erin Carson

Sony’s PlayStation VR is officially in the race now. Tech Republic’s Erin Carson was at the announcement and talks with Tom Merritt and Scott Johnson about the state of VR.

Guest

Headlines

ReCode reports heart-monitoring sensor company AliveCor, is making the Kardia Band. The coin-sized device snaps into the Apple Watch’s wristband. Patients can describe symptoms to an accompanying app on the watch or phone to generate heart-rate analysis that can be emailed to a doctor. The app is available and FDA approved for ECG analysis. The Watch sensor will arrive and get a price once it gains approval.
Instagram announced today it will order users timelines, “based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post.” Instagram says it will take time to get it right and listen to feedback as the changes roll out in the coming months.
Sony announced the PlayStation VR headset will arrive in October for $399. It will not come with PlayStation Camera which sells for $60 or less. Move controllers are optional and sell separately for less than $50. It will launch with at least 5 games and promises 50 by December. Oculus announced 30 games will be available on its March 28th launch day. And Valve’s Chet Faliszek says 50 developers have VR games ready for the HTC Vive.
Ring announced an update to its Video Doorbell called Video Doorbell PRO. The Doorbell connects by WiFi and you can answer it on your phone. It also has night vision and can save up to 6 months of video for $3 a month or $30 a year. The new Pro model offers 1080p resolution and the ability to mark zones for motion detection. It’s available to order now for $250 shipping in late April.
Twitter has updated its universal app for Windows 10 to support phones now as well as desktops and tablets. Some phones have shipped with Windows 10 and Microsoft plans to roll it out to other devices sometime this month. It includes the dark theme which was popular in Twitter for Windows Phone.
Apple has opened its News app to all publishers including bloggers. The News apps was previously limited to high profile media outlets like CNN, NY Times and Conde Nast. Once approved, publishers can use the Apple News Format or submit their RSS feeds to News Publisher to post content. Publishers will also get analytic tools to monitor traffic and iAd to insert ads.
Comcast began selling Gigabit fiber in Atlanta for $140 a month with a 300GB monthly data cap. Or unlimited data for $175 a month. Customers willing to sign a three year contract can get a discount to $70 a month with a $350 early termination fee. Google Fiber is already available in Atlanta for $70 a month with a $100 installation fee. Customers who sign a one year contract with Google can waive the fee.
Submitted by anotherjmartin
Engadget reports the US Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California has charged 36-year-old Ryan Collins with computer hacking felony for unauthorized access of 50 iCloud and 72 Gmail accounts. Collins agreed to plead guilty to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer. Collins admits to a phishing scheme to obtain access to celebrity accounts between November 2012 and September 2014.
The Guardian reports The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has agreed to a plan to end US Department of Commerce oversight, at a meeting in Marrakech. The new model will employ something called “multi-stakeholderism.” It will transition the IANA and enhance ICANN accountability. The plan will be reviewed by the US NTIA in April and must be approved by September.
Submitted by Kylde
Uber is testing its new the “Family Profiles” pay option that allows one person pay for the rides of up to 10 other people in Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix. You send invites to everyone you want on your plan. Once accepted all Uber rides under that plan will be billed to the organizer.


And two other notable stories. In response to Microsoft’s new cross-platform multiplayer offering Sony said, “We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross-platform play." And marketing company DigitasLBi has attached tiny backpacks to 10 pigeons in London that can Tweet about air quality.

Discussion

Pick of the Day

Hey Tom, This is my pick of the day for Android users. It's an app called @Voice Aloud Reader that reads articles to me during my commutes or when I just don't feel like reading.

When you find an article "share" it to the app to read immediately or to add to a list that you can queue up and have several read back to back. While reading, you can pause, rewind, etc like most audio player apps.
Submitted by Tu

Messages

People often won't go out of their way to do what's good for themselves not because they don't care, but because they are overloaded with too many things to care about. That's why we rely on experts to guide our opinions. It is our job as those people who care about these technical issues to be the ones fighting for the rights of the whole, because it is something we are the experts in for those who don't have the time, knowledge, or energy to care about enough to do something. I'm sure while Patrick may not be an expert on farming that he cares about what chemicals end up on the food he ends up eating and is glad that there are experts that have pushed governments to make laws about such things.

I wouldn't consider myself an expert in tech, but I care enough about tech issues to be an expert for my community. Working at a local library tech center I often try to teach people safe computing, but it is often more than they can care about. I have individuals that come in concerned but not knowing what to do about that pop-up ad, that they didn't know was ad, telling them they have a virus and I can explain that it's just an ad, but the next time it pops up they'll be just as worried or worse they'll ignore their anti-virus software when it warns them. So, in addition to explaining what happened I usually install Firefox and uBlock Origin. It's not that they mind seeing ads, it is more about the fact that I can't be there every time a malicious ad makes it's way on to a legitimate site like Forbes (http://www.networkworld.com/article/3021113/security/forbes-malware-ad-blocker-advertisements.html). I could install Privacy Badger (what I run), but it's not going to protect them the way they need to be protected. Again it's our job to be concerned for the things we can take to time to be "experts" in for those that can't.
Sent by Matt


I know the importance of online security. I work in the tech industry with financial institutions. Security is part of my daily conversation.

But I have a husband who just needs his technology to work. And while I love him very much I'm pretty sure he can't even spell encryption. If I was to use all the tools available to fully protect our privacy (password managers, 2 factor authentication, VPNs), he wouldn't be able to go online ever.

So I rely on some analog solutions (checking bank statements, monitoring credit reports, etc). If Apple and Google can provide some easy and transparent solutions to assist me, then I will be grateful.

Yours for what its worth!
Sent by Lisa (Nana and DTNS Analyst!)

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Preceded by:
"Save The Puppy? ( ) Yes ( ) No" 		Middle-Class VR
 Followed by:
"The Next Bot Thing"
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