The Guide to Secure Online Living and Protecting your Digital World

We just got our hands on the new Apple X, part of Apple’s big announcement the other day at the new spaceship style headquarters in Cupertino. It is a great phone, no doubt about that. But with all of the Pros come some Cons, so let’s break it down.

The device is sleek, slender and almost all glass and stainless steel. The new display is quite impressive and you will notice the difference. It come with a fancy facial recognition feature called FaceID, (which sometimes actually works), and Super Retina Display, whatever that is. Its new cameras are also upgraded and will impress any Apple user. But it starts at $999, which might compel people to wait before they buy one, and it has no Home Button, which will surely annoy some people who will be forced to learn a bunch of new gestures that control how they navigate between apps and functions. And it still has no earbud port, which we continue to find irritating. For the full detailed review, see this one by Cnet.

The Display (Pro)

The Apple X has a 5.8-inch OLED show that extends the distance over the front of the telephone. It's got a bigger screen than the 5.5-inch Plus iPhones, and the iPhone 8 models, which are also coming out. When you contrast with what Samsung is doing with bended OLED shows on Galaxy gadgets, it's altogether different: there's as yet a dark outskirt around the show. The telephone feels little, yet in a different route than, say, the S8. Apple's calling this a "Super Retina Display" with 1125 x 2436 pixels of determination, making it the most astounding thickness screen on any iPhone. It's nice to look at, and as sleek and dynamic as you'd anticipate from an OLED screen. It has the greater part of Apple's mark tech, as well, including 3D Touch and TrueTone programmed adjustment.

FaceID (Pro or Con?)

FaceID works with a TrueDepth front camera to splash 30,000 infrared dots on your face to unlock your phone. Maybe it is just us, but when we tried (and failed) if use my finger print sensor as a security protocol on my old device, it just annoyed me and lead to me switching it off. Yes it is cool (when it works) but when it doesn’t (and trust us, it won’t), it simply becomes a nuisance and adds time to the screen unlock process. Just tap in your code or do your swipe and you’ll be on your way. We like the idea of added security, but this is just another twist on an old idea that people don’t use. Apple says it won't work if your eyes are not open, which we verified, and says that is does work with glasses and a hat, which we have not verified. The only cool use of this new facial recognition technology is how it can enable animated emojis. But then again, for many of it will only be a matter of time before this just becomes a silly distraction.

No Home Button (Con)

The absence of a home button is a problem for us. It seems like it leads to some new interface designs you'll need to learn, however. You wake the screen with only a tap or by lifting it up. But the new swiping commands will take a while for Apple users to get used to. The Control Center is where you find an open all of your apps, and how you multitask. You swipe up to go home, and swipe up and hold to enter the application switcher. Control Center is currently a swipe down from the correct best edge, and the notices shade is a swipe down from the upper left. Apple Pay is also different. Instead of pointing your phone at the card reader and using TouchID, you double-click the side button, authenticate with your face, and then point the phone at the reader. It’s a little more work than just grabbing and pointing it to pay, but it’s manageable. All these new commands will definitely take some getting used to, and some will like it and some won’t.

Front and Back Camera (Pro)

The new front and back cameras are advanced improvements over the iPhone 7.  A series of upgrades to the experience will entice you. You'll be able to capture slow-motion film in higher definition or shoot film-style 4K. With the new Portrait Lighting setting, you'll be able to change the flash on the back of the iPhone to fill a little more naturally, or backlight your subject.

The back-facing camera is also upgraded. Inside are dual 12-megapixel cameras, just like in iPhone 8 Plus, with f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures. Dual optical image stabilization mitigates shakes in both cameras. You can see a more detailed spec here on the Apple Website.

The Pricetag (Con)

Maybe we are getting old and miserly, but starting at $999 really means it will be $1,200 before we get out of the Apple Store with our new toy. For many of us $1,200 isn’t a lot of money, but to us it is. And we just can’t justify this kind of upgrade for this much money. We think people will balk at this, and apparently so do investors as they sold off Apple shares after the big announcement.

The Wait (Con)

The iPhone X doesn't show up until November, so you’ve got time to decide if the price tag is worth it. But we see it as just another reason not to run out and buy one: Because you can’t. And, you should wait until the masses have had a chance to use their new iPhones and see if they agree with us.

If you needed any confirmation about how out-of-control the human race has become, look no further than the new Front Row necklace offered by a company called Ubiquiti Labs. First came Google Glass, then Snap’s Spectacles, and now this.

A new camera makes it possible to record and stream video without lifting a finger. 

This camera is worn like a necklace, and has 2 cameras that can live stream video straight to FaceBook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. It can be control by a touch screen, or your smartphone via the app that uses need to install. ‘Share your world in real time,' reads the device's website. The website goes on and on about how awesome this device is and how it will free up your hands to do cool stuff like, I don’t know, fill out you unemployment form or stare at your phone. Yeah, because Meercat and FaceBook Live have given us so many great unedited, real-time memories of things like sexual assaults and murders for all to watch. I read the book The Circle and as I recall, it pretty much clearly lays out in how flawed the notion of a ubiquitous, ever-streaming device like this is, and how society is not ready for it. My guess is most civilized people of average intelligence won’t want to buy it either. How does that expression go? ‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should…’ or something. Anyway, The Circle was made into a movie and currently owns a unremarkable score of 17% on Rotten Tomatoes despite the fact that it starred A-Listers like Emma Watson and Tom Hanks.

So, without further ado, and because the headline somewhere promised, the three reasons you should never, ever get this device or use one:

Reason 1

In case you haven’t yet figured it out, your life and your story just isn’t that interesting to most other people. Let’s face it, if I live streamed myself typing this story, the most interesting moment would be when I spilled coffee on myself and getting up stretch my legs. Not very compelling. Don’t assume others will be as enamored with your day-to-day stuff. If you still don’t believe me, read the first 100 pages of Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past and you’ll see what I mean.

Reason 2

This should be pretty obvious but we’ll state it it anyway. Your ‘content’ will be out there for all to see when (see reason 1) no one is really interested anyway. But they might become interested when you go out to apply for a job or a school. Nothing good happened after 11pm, and nothing good happened when you live stream yourself doing boring or (see reason 3) potentially libelous stuff.

Reason 3

What happens if you record yourself, either on purpose or accidentally, committing a criminal act? What if you record someone else, knowingly or unknowingly committing a criminal act? Problems ensue, that is what happens. Imagine of judges started writing warrants for access to this information, or courts started allowing them as evidence (in some cases they already do)? Every second of everyone’s live were never meant to be captures for others to see. Do yourself and the rest of us a and favor and go read a book or talk a walk, and don’t buy one of these things.

Apple’s new HomePod and the Threat to Google Home and Amazon Echo

Apple unveiled the company's long awaited competitor to the Amazon Echo smart speaker at the company's WWDC conference on Monday. Like the Echo and the Google Home, the HomePod is an always-listening speaker that plays music, answers questions and controls your smart home. 

It's due out this December in the US, UK and Australia and will cost a lofty $349. That's expensive -- the Echo's only $180 and the Home's even cheaper at $130.

Apple's upcoming HomePod has to sound better than both the Amazon Echo and the Google Home. That's the expectation the company set, and the HomePod has to follow through for it to outdo the highly competent competition. The HomePod could sell well enough just on the clout of its Apple branding, but to actually be better than either the Echo or the Home, it will need to sound great. Because I expect it'll have a hard time keeping up with either of its competitors as a smart home control point or an entertainment device.

Here are just some of the comparative features:

	Apple HomePod	Google Home	Amazon Echo
Price USD	$349	$129	$180 / $40
Wake word	"Hey Siri"	"OK Google," or "Hey Google"	"Alexa," "Echo," "Amazon" or "Computer"
Music streaming options	Apple Music	Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn	Amazon Prime Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, others
Smart home Partners	Will likely work with Apple's established HomeKit partners: Ecobee, Honeywell, Chamberlain, D-Link, August, Kwikset, Philips Hue, Lutron, iDevices and more	Nest, Honeywell, SmartThings, Wink, Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, Lifx, Lutron, August, Logitech Harmony	Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, SmartThings, Wink, Insteon, Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, Lifx, Lutron, August, Logitech Harmony, Anova, Big Ass Fans, Crestron, other devices via skills
Output to stereo system	Unknown	Yes, via Chromecast	Yes, via Bluetooth and Echo Dot
Personal assistant highlights	News, language translation, weather & traffic info, reminders, podcasts	Google Search, traffic, calendar, shopping lists, flight status	Calendar, news, traffic, weather, shopping lists, reminders, flight status,

 

Apple Opportunity

Neither the Amazon Echo or the Google Home fared particularly well on our sound tests during their reviews. Both devices sound fine for casually listening to music, but we heard distortion from both of them at high volume levels. Sound quality is really important to some people, but the speakers that come with the unit can always be tethered to other speaks or speak systems. Both the Echo and the Google Home allow you connect your unit to your existing sound system, either directly or via BlueTooth. Google Home allows the user to connect via Chromecast to another enabled device, but I couldn’t get it to work.

The only way the HomePod can actually justify its $350 price tag is to blow away users at the get go, and that might be so easy. Apple also has an established smart home platform called the HomeKit, which is like an SDK of a sort. It works with Siri and allows for smoother interaction for other devices and services, but I am not sure how compelling this will be for the everyday user. I think there is a decent chance that HomeKit end being more trouble than it is worth for developers since there is a strong chance most users will use HomePod like a very expensive voice controlled iPod.

What we like about Amazon Echo

I bought mine for $39 last Christmas, plugged in the speaker I already had, and connected it to my Amazon Prime account and that was it. Don’t underestimate the perceived value of simplicity. Plus Amazon Music has a pretty good selection of music for me and it sounds pretty good. And, I can order razor blades and toilet paper if I need to. I also like the fact that if something goes wrong with the WIFI connection, I can just access the device through my laptop and quickly fix it. And while I haven’t yet hooked up my lights to the Echo, I plan on doing it so I can order Alexa to shut off my house lights for me.

What we like About Google Home

Google has a cool thing called shortcuts, and the voice command is much more flexible and permitting than Alexa is. And as a result of it massive trove of information to tap into, Google Home can answers question much more accurately and more effective than Echo can. It also has excellent home entertainment capabilities with Chromecast. I would not bet again Alphabet and Google Home is the race for dominance. Just get ready for the annoying voice ads.

 

If you work remotely or travel a lot for your job, you probably take advantage of free public Wi-Fi often. Unfortunately, that probably means you’re regularly opening up your devices and your data to serious security threats. And if you’re a heavy user of cloud services, which often store your data on a remote server rather than your computer, Wi-Fi security is even more crucial.

Most people these days have password-protected networks at home, so it’s unlikely that anybody is able to snoop on your data as it passes between your device and your router. But when you’re surfing the Web via a free public Wi-Fi at a cafe, library or airport, you should be suspicious of everyone, says technology consultant Leo Notenboom of Ask-Leo.com. “It’s trivially easy for any of them to be watching your unencrypted information flying by.”

Here’s what you need to know to stay safe next time you’re surfing on a free public Wi-Fi connection.

Free Public Wi-Fi Tip No. 1: Turn on your firewall.
The cafe might use firewall software to protect your computer from outside attacks, but that doesn’t protect you from other people surfing around the same Wi-Fi network inside the cafe. Be sure your computer’s firewall is turned on.

Free Public Wi-Fi Tip No. 2: Protect your smartphone or tablet.
If your smartphone or tablet connects to Wi-Fi networks, require it to ask your permission before joining any network. A lot of people never change the default network name, so if you logged on to your friend’s “linksys” network, your device will remember that and could automatically join any network of the same name in the future -- unless you tell it to ask your permission first.

Free Public Wi-Fi Tip No. 3: Use strong encryption.
Encryption works by disguising data that your computer wirelessly sends to a router. Without it, that person sitting near you at the cafe could use special software to intercept and see all the data that travels back and forth between your device and the router. And that means everything: emails, passwords and things you search for. That’s why it’s imperative, says Notenboom, to use encrypted sites when possible.

How do you know when a site offers encryption? Instead of “http” at the beginning of the address, you’ll see “https.” You’ll also see a little padlock icon in your browser window, usually on the bottom right.

What else should you consider encrypting?

• Your email. If you use a locally installed email program such as Outlook or Entourage, you can protect your mail and passwords by using something called SSL (secure sockets layer) on each of your accounts. This encrypts all your data when you send and receive email. Not all email providers allow the use of SSL, though, so check your provider’s help page.
• Your Facebook and Twitter pages. Facebook and Twitter recently began offering encrypted sessions; just go into your account settings and find the option that says “Always use https.”

• Your Google search. If you think the keywords you’re searching could be embarrassing or you prefer to keep your privacy, try the secure version of Google search. Instead of going to Google.com, do all of your searching at Encrypted.Google.com.

• Everything. Consider a VPN service. VPN stands for virtual private network and encrypts everything you send and receive. You can download free mobile VPN software from such a site as Hotspot Shield and everything -- instant messages, passwords, emails and websites -- will be virtually impenetrable to prying eyes whenever you’re using a free public Wi-Fi connection. Or if your employer offers its own VPN, always connect to it through your computer or mobile device.

“That guy in the corner of Starbucks with his laptop -- do you trust him with your private data?” asks Notenboom. Follow these Wi-Fi safety tips, and you won’t ever have to ever wonder.