Computers are useful tools and they will emotionlessly churn through thousands of operations in the blink of an eye to produce whatever results they were programmed to do. Most of the time the results are welcomed. When it comes to malware the results generate a different reaction, and then there are those spaces in the middle. The situation surrounding the Boeing 737 Max MCAS aircraft and the recent crash is an excellent example. The latest analysis would seem to indicate that the computer engineers made some choices that have had unintended consequences. In this case overriding the wishes of the pilots by assuming the plane was crashing, when it wasn't, and not allowing the human pilots to correct the computer's decisions.
- The other part of this example are the potential effects in other places like artificially directed land vehicles. There have been discussions recently around machine controlled trains, trucks and cars. To date the results have been less than encouraging with success only within some fairly narrowly defined parameters. While the sci-fi movies show completely automated systems, it will be some time before a human will be unnecessary in the driver's seat. This hasn't stopped the marketing divisions of some organisations and the lobbyists from others petitioning politicians and others with their near future promises.
- The big news of the last couple of weeks was the passing of Articles 11 and 13 (now called 17) by the European Union. Both of these articles are a means to controlling and censoring the internet. It would mark the end of any Fair Use considerations. This includes a single image used in a meme, text snippets used for analysis or commentary. This will have a real impact on social media providers because it requires them to filter out material uploaded to their platforms. Member countries have two years to implement the somewhat fuzzy requirements that could potentially block almost anyone that is not a major provider from all forms of social media.
- How it actually shakes out remains to be seen but the worst-case scenario has all of those in the EU existing under an environment eerily similar to the one now found in China, but adding the banning of all memes and similar items. The free market will not fill in the gaps because only the owners of material will be able to operate without payment. Facebook finally realised the potential impact to their business model just before the vote and tried to raise their corporate hand, but they were way too late to make any difference to the result that took 12 seconds to decide in a vote.
- I've been checking out the new Samsung S10 phone range and there are some nice improvements, in particular in the 5G model that will have been released by the time you read this. Imagine if you will a 6.7-inch screen displaying 1440 x 3040 pixels, four cameras on the back and two on the front. Bluetooth 5, support for four GPS providers, Gorilla Glass 6, eight core CPU and 8-12GB of RAM and 256GB-1TB of memory. There is no microSD card support but who cares. I also think Samsung is the first to market with the in-screen fingerprint reader. The 4,500mAh battery is huge, but if you are using 5G then it is necessary. It also comes with a superfast battery and wireless charging. All in all a monster of a phone. I'll be waiting until about June to decide to get one so that the price has dropped to a more affordable level.
- As far as GPS goes it appears that our friends the Russians have been playing at spoofing the Global Navigation Satellite Systems networks. According to the Center for Advanced Defense, a data analysing non-profit, they detected Russia doing this in Syria and Crimea and according to Norway and Finland, Russia did it during a recent Nato exercise. Other countries like North Korea have also been playing in this space. None of this is new as some University of Texas researchers used about US$2,000 (63,890 baht) in hardware to steer an $80 million yacht off course via signal manipulation back in 2013
- On the subject of Samsung, I have been using my new Galaxy Watch for some months now and while I am definitely using all the features it does track my steps well and I like the notification when a call is coming in, especially if my phone is on vibrate or silent and I'm some distance away from it. The battery life continues to impress but I'm in the habit of dropping it on the charging cradle when I sleep so that is not really any issue. I'm not a big fan of the new Samsung watch range at all.
- In not unsurprising news, Microsoft in the UK has earned more money in terms of turnover, almost double, and profits, but paid less tax. This is because UK corporation tax rates have dropped and Microsoft has some really good tax lawyers and accountants.
- The conclusion to Game Of Thrones is due and I will be one of the millions watching it.
James Hein is an IT professional of over 30 years' standing. You can contact him at jclhein@gmail.com.
