Apple's Researchkit Could Be Gold Mine for Hackers

Earlier this week, Researchkit was announced by Apple. This is an open source framework which will allow the health and medical researchers to gather data via iPhone apps. Apple has confirmed that the Researchkit will be available from the month of April. The Researchkit has already been used for developing apps for monitoring asthma patients and to conduct studies on breast cancer survivors, Parkinson's disease and cardiovascular health.

According to the reports of Sagentia, due to the increasing demand of remote patient-monitoring, nearly 26 billion people can be expected to use health-related apps by 2017 worldwide. Danielle Levitas, a group VP at IDC opines that the healthcare-related market will get boosted by Wearable devices. Apple can be expected to be working on something hardware related which will depict their various healthcare partnerships. Market researchers suggest that Apple should move beyond focusing on fitness and increase the reach of the wearable devices to health and lifestyle.

Global reach: 

Researchers will be able to contribute towards activity modules like gait and memory testing, which are part of the framework. They have the option of sharing their data with the global community. Even though the Researchkit is currently available in app stores for US, the company will be rolling the same worldwide in other countries soon.

Limitations: 

The apps which will be developed based on the Researchkit will be applicable to only those who have access to iPhone, which is not possible for everyone around the world. Apart from this not all the iPhone users will be comfortable in monitoring their health apart from sharing the data to a third party. Even though a massive amount of health data can be collected through this but the collection process cannot be deemed completely reliable.

Security Issues: 

According to Apple even though the data collection through Researchkit will not be at risk but security can be a major concern. Since the mobile security in general is poor, intelligence agencies and law enforcement have little qualm about conducting any surveillance on the mobile devices around the world. For example CIA has been working from years to crack the iOS security.

Meanwhile there has been so many instances of iOS hacking making it very less secure. On the other hand even smartphones are not secure since they require broadcasting personal information with the developers of apps. Researchkit might ask to access to an iPhone's microphone, GPS sensors to monitor patients.

According to the ABI Research, at the moment healthcare sector is not fully prepared for any new cyber-age. With the increasing number of cases pertaining to identity theft and fraud, the value of the personal health information becomes 10 times the value of a user’s finances. Millions of health records have been reported missing from the personal health information.

Despite this the health care industry spends a very less amount towards the cyber-security. The best way to secure data is not collect any data and if the data has been collected, then the user should encrypt the data and ensure the safety of the key.

The New and Powerful Nvidia GPU to Be Supported By Asus

On Thursday, Nvidia launched the latest of its GTX 900s series of mobile GPUs, GTX 960m and GTX 950m. These have been designed to evolve and make the gaming laptop as futuristic as well as future-proof as possible. Asus had recently unveiled GX501 which is one of the machines that has incorporated the latest Nvidia tech already. According to the reports the new GPUs comprises of gaming-enhancing features as Shadow-Play, Battery-Boost, and Optimus.

Shadow-Play can track the achievements and capture the videos, Battery-Boost will prolong the play time by managing battery consumption and the Optimus will optimize laptops for battery life and performance. Although Asus is not ready to reveal more about the specifications of GX501, they have hinted that the GTX 960m card will be bounded with worthy hardware. Reports suggest that the GX501 will have the option of a resolution of 3840 x 2160 or even standard HD apart from option of a 4K display. Asus has improvised the cooling system of their gaming laptops for stealthier performance.

Nvidia's Win: 

Before freezing on its plans for the GX501, Asus was reported to be keeping a watchful eye on the processor competition in the market. Even though long-awaited Broadwell chips have been announced by Intel, but still they are in the initial phase and haven’t been able to reach to their maximum potential as if now. The market also saw AMD which basically struggled to compete with both Intel and Nvidia in the GPU wars. According to senior gaming analyst at Jon Peddie Research, Ted Pollack, this doesn’t mean that AMD is giving up and the game is still not over. AMD does have compelling option for some of the consumers.

Prospect of Gaming Laptops: 

According to Mike Schramm, manager of qualitative insights at EEDAR, even though there has been constant rise in the mobile gaming machines, smartphones, tablets, laptops in general are still flourishing. He further added that there is not crossing between the worlds of mobile gaming and laptop gaming. Most of the gamers rely on laptops for playing desktop-style PC games. He further pointed out the today gamers are ready to pay more for high-end laptops to play AAA titles, which are the big budget games and give a totally new experience from mobile gaming. Players might chose tablets for enjoying Monument Valley but go for laptop to play League of Legends.

According to Tim Coulling, senior analyst at Canalys, the market is open for both for PCs and laptops as this is mainly due to gaming and productivity. Hardware manufacturers are leaning towards gaming due to the changing environment. The current market is showing a decline in the sales price making it difficult for the vendors like Asus to make money in the desktop and notebook market. Coulling adds that even though at the lower end prices might be dropping but still PCs will continue to have their own place in every home, especially due to the keyboard and mouse.

Battery Life Can Be Improved By Using Glass Coated Sulfur Particles

Even though the battery capacity of the Lithium-ion batteries have been holding us back, these batteries have still managed to take us a long ways in tablets, phones as well as cars over the years. The drawbacks of these batteries have prompted the scientists to look out for alternate methods but nothing has been working out until now. There has been significant amount of curiosity from the people in the lithium-sulfur batteries in the last couple of years and a recent breakthrough experiment conducted by the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California, Riverside can make these batteries the next big obsession. All it took was a simple glass of the experiment.

Lithium-ion batteries and Lithium-sulfur batteries: 

The traditional Lithium-ion batteries have become a part of different types of models of phones and technologies, mainly as they have considerable amount of energy density as well as comparatively long life. Before these batteries can fail, the user can recharge it for a few hundred times. Apart from this, there is no effect on the memory as it was seen with nickel-metal hydride and older nickel cadmium rechargeable. The lithium-sulfur battery falls short in terms of them being dirty and not because of any memory effects.

Compared to the conventional lithium-ion battery, a new lithium-sulfur battery has ten times more of energy density. Just image a huge Android phone with 30,000mAh of juice unlike the usual 3,000mAh, now this is something to be excited about. The current lithium-sulfur technology has indicated a drop as the lithium and sulfur reaction products starts to clog the works. These products (lithium polysulfides) dissolve in the electrolyte solution and get stuck to the electrodes. This process decreases the overall capacity and there is no solution to reverse this process.

According to the UC Riverside team, this “polysulfide shuttling” process can be prevented by using the nano-scale sulfur beads inside the cathode and coating of the battery with the SiO2. SiO2 is also known as glass. The thickness of the silica sheath is measured in nanometers (Tens). This sheath should not be too thick as it can interfere in the function of the battery. On the other hand, it cannot be too thin as it can lead to the rupturing of the glass layer and further lead to the formation of lithium polysulfides and lead to the structure damage.

Researchers found that coating the glass with the sulfur was able to give substantial improvements in durability however; it was still prone to rupturing. They found that this issue can be addressed by incorporating graphene oxide (mrGO) in the cathode, which added stability apart from making the nanoparticles less prone to rupture. They are however still unable to develop the kind of stability one can find in a commercial lithium-sulfur battery. With batteries becoming non-removable in phones and other devices, it is important that they last for few years. This experiment marks an evolution in the battery.

How to Turn Your Smartphone into an Authentication Tool

Encap – An Alternative to SIM Based ID Solution 

For the purpose of online banking, users need to identify themselves and hence the password and Pin has been allotted to each user while indulging in online banking activity. Online banking prompts users in identifying themselves correctly and hence most of the banks begin with a password and PIN and also demands some kind of extra info into a key fob or a card reader.

In the present scenario, millions of customers have been using the digital banking service most of them through their mobiles. As per a recent study by Encap, it could cost $ 202,000 to make onetime password hardware though it could be reduced to $9,000 on switching to a software based solution.This trend was spotted by Encap and in 2006, two DnB Norway bank employees planned to form Encap as an alternative to SIM based ID solution.

 They build a system instead which used the mobile phone to identify the users and presently the company has around ten partners in Europe and branching out across the US. The issue is that, these authentication solutions had been created for enterprise wherein an enterprise grade technology is done to support around 15,000 users which now needs to be increased to hundreds of millions.

Solution Based on Three Things 

The difference with regards to the solution is based on three things - `something you have’, `something you know’ and `someone you are’.Encap captured the identity of a device, enabling customers to use it as `something they have’, which runs on any device irrespective of it being an Android or Apple and is independent from operators SIM cards.

It is then covered with a password or a PIN which is `something you know’. Biometric could also be used which is natively available on the device for instance, Touch ID which is `something you are’. It is much easier to operate, wherein on switching from fobs to Encap, the clients eradicate the customer support service, the no. of the phone calls on authentication that goes down to around five for every 10,000 users.

Rather than providing an app, the provision of API is also made available wherein customers could build in an app which means that customer could do anything needed within the app and would not be compelled to leave it to do any security functions.

Authentication – Security – App-Defender

Besides authentication, it is also related to security wherein a component known as app-defender is a security layer which protects the app against any malware. It is presumed that the application could be running in a hostile environment and should the malware make attempts to intrude or inject itself, it is shutdown like a barrier.

Encap also seems to be a digital signature and to change the device into a legal writing pen to sign documents, one would have to venture out in order to purchase expensive SIM based solutions. This can be replaced with a software component which enables user in generating cryptography keys directly on to their smartphones as well as tablets.

Consumers keen on using financial services could bank on Encap which is unique and helps users to protect themselves from security breaches and malicious hackers.

Hamburg Residents Take Revenge on Late-Night Revelers With Urine-Repellent Paint

New High Tech Paints on Late-Night Revellers

An area in German city of Hamburg which is well-known for its nightlife at St Pauli’s nightclub district,has their locals gearing up with a new high tech paints on late-night revellers who tend to urinate on public buildings. The problem of what is known as the `wild urinator’ or `Widlpinker’, is an obsession in Germany and they have been fighting back against the drunken revellers who tend to relieve themselves on street corners.

 These group of locals have come up with a solution that can send the spray bouncing right back on them, by modifying the area’s walls to `pee back’ on them.The matter has been taken up by a local interest group who has applied the special water repellent paint which is also utilised in shipbuilding process, on two especially frequented buildings in the vicinity of the renowned nightclub district area near the port.

 This was with the aim of deterring the `Wildpinkler’ as they are so called by the Germans. The attention of around 181,000 viewers was drawn when a video was posted on YouTube on its first day where Julia Staron who has organised the group, is portrayed putting up signs in German as well as in English which say `Hier nicht pinkeln! Wir pinkeln zurueck’ – Do not pee here! We pee back!

Paint Job – Direct Message to Perpetrators 

She has informed Reuters that the paint job sends a direct message back to the perpetrators that their wild urinating on the wall is not welcome and the paint protects the building as well as the residents and most importantly, it sends a signal that this behaviour is not on’. A neighbourhood association began repainting the walls along the popular Reeperhahn street with a water repellent paint and the offending urine then tends to bounce back off the wall and on to the shoes of the perpetrator.

The said paint is considered to be pretty expensive and according to Staron it could cost about 500 euros to paint a six square meter surface – 65 sq. feet, though it would be worth the effort which is already having a positive effect on newly protected walls all over. She further states that `on comparing the work involved for daily cleaning of the mess and the awful smell as well as all the collateral damage involved, it has definitely been well worth it’.

Effective Idea – Prevailing Problem

Staron has also informed that her community group had come up with this notion on realizing that conventional method were not being very effective in this situation. She relates that they had tried to analyse the issue and come up with some solution and were interested especially in bringing about an effective idea which would be suitable with regards to this prevailing problem at St. Paulis’ famous red light and nightclub location.

For a long time public urination has been illegal though it could be some sort of illegal which makes one to do it more often at any public spot without any penalty imposed. Locals living near nightclubs in this popular location of St. Pauli’s neighbourhood have now invested in water resistant paint to resolve this issue that when the pee hits the paint, it apparently will splash back and the reveller would then have to walk around with urine all over them which would cause embarrassment for the crime committed by them.