Digital - Privacy Matrix may not allow too much Privacy

Times of India reports that in a world driven by data, notably in the digital format, culture and ethics must be at the heart of any debate on protecting a human's privacy, before seeing it as a technical or legal issue, said the participants at a creative forum here. Likening the current debate over data privacy and ethics to one on the uses of personal DNA in the 1990s, the participants at a meeting of Forum d'Avignon, a think tank on culture, said every individual has the right to have his personal data protected. "It is the responsibility of every state to enforce in an ethical framework, regulations in compliance with its culture. Our digital DNA, our privacy and cultural values deserve this ethical dynamics," the forum said after its 7th global meeting this month.

I suppose every person will have a unique digital DNA which should be protected from prying eyes. But that may not be possible in this age of digital data. The Digital - Privacy Matrix may not allow too much Privacy.

DigitalAsian

Selling to Yourself: Financing Your Business with E-Commerce

Times of India reports that with a heady growth in online transactions in the country, unscrupulous e-commerce merchants are setting up shops to try and gain from the system by buying from their own portals and thus swiping card for instant cash to finance their offline businesses. "We have suffered Rs 4.5 lakh of fraud out of which one e-commerce merchant sold a used 'car' worth Rs 1 lakh to himself by his credit card," said Nitin Gupta, CEO of PayU India, one of India's leading payment gateways, which has over 30,000 e-commerce merchants registered with it. Cash withdrawal at an ATM in India through a credit card is charged at about 2.7%-2.8% monthly, which on an annualized compounded basis comes to about 40%. But a swipe at your own e-store will land you 'instant' cash at just 1%, the rate now being charged by most mobile wallets and payment gateways for e-commerce transactions. It's this loophole, that small time traders have found to be a cash rotating machine by opening fake online retail companies. "In the particular case, the transaction went through but was caught as the buyer and seller account details were the same. No real sale happened," said Gupta.

Financing your business through e-commerce: Sell to yourself? E-commerce is throwing up new dilemmas.

SJP @DigitalAsian

Virtual Value in the Digital World

Media reports that the market value of Facebook is more than Coca-Cola or AT & T. Facebook which operates in the virtual or digital world is valued more than these other companies. The digital world has virtually overtaken the real world.

SJP @DigitalAsian

Get Off of My Cloud: Cloud Seeding

Times of India reports that a bad monsoon could be good for some. The monsoon has been late this year, worrying a government that's trying its best to revive the economy. But if the Indian weather gods don't feel propitiated enough to ensure that the rains fall in the right place at the right time, some are going to take matters into their own hands. They are planning to use cloud seeding to combat the worst effects of a dry monsoon, although there doesn't seem to be a consensus on how well the process works. Companies engaged in the business of cloud seeding expect demand to shoot up this year as the June-September southwest monsoon, the biggest source of irrigation for India's crops, has been playing truant. 

How does cloud seeding impact regional or worldwide weather systems?

SJP @DigitalAsian

Digital Evolution: Currency Evolution in the Digital World

Currency DNA

Currency Evolution - With the growing use of digital currencies online such as Bitcoin, might this eventually lead to a single online digital currency being used across many countries? Might the Internet become a domain where a single currency evolves. In the European Union, the Euro is under great pressure and some Eurozone countries might consider leaving the Euro. But in the digital world, digital currencies are evolving and gaining ground without the associated political union taking place. How will a digital currency evolve?

DigitalAsian

Image: Currency DNA - copyright CooperJal Ltd All rights reserved

Word Up: The Writing is on the Wall

Times of India reports that the Spike Jonze movie 'Her' is a glimpse into the future. Siri and Google Now's conversational styles are not perfect but their development is part of a movement that the death of  the written word. Our handwriting has never been worse, typing on a keyboard is beginning to feel archaic and even constantly tapping out text messages and web search terms is likely to bring on finger cramps and sore hands. With iOS devices now giving us the ability of sending of voice messages and predictions for self-driving cars and voice-activated doors, lights and elevators (The Internet of Things), it's clear that the future will be spoken, not written. The technology behind how we interact with our surroundings is natural language processing, a technology that enables computers to understand the meaning of our words and recognize the habits of our speech.

Could we be seeing the beginning of the end of the written word? This will give new meaning to the old word processor.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Intel: Making it Personal

Times of India reports that Intel Corp believes the worst is over for a personal computer industry hammered by the mobile revolution. The US chipmaker forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street's expectations, sending its stock 4% higher. Investors have pushed shares of PC companies like Microsoft Corp and Intel to decade-highs, partly on bets that the global slump in PC demand that began with Apple Inc's launch of the iPad four years ago is hitting bottom. "PCs have stabilized," chief financial officer Stacy Smith said after Intel's report. He said he expects shrinking demand from consumers in China and other developing countries to rebound, just as it recently has in the United States. 

Is the personal computer still alive and kicking in the short to medium term or is Intel taking it too personally?

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Adding Value but not Jobs: IT Automation

Economic Times reports that Indian software companies dramatically improved their ability last year to earn more revenue while employing fewer people, reflecting the major transformation underway in a sector that has created a new middle class in India. While the development is good news for information technology companies, it is also a warning sign for employees in the software industry and for students looking to make a career in an industry that used to hire thousands of employees every year.

Between April 2013 and March 2014, the IT industry added only 13,000 employees for every billion dollar of revenue, according to data from software industry grouping Nasscom. During the year to March 2013, it needed 26,500 employees. "We are moving up the value chain, getting more dollar for every hour of work. And more automation of existing work means we are hiring less and less to achieve the same growth," said Achyuta Ghosh, head of research at Nasscom.

This is good for businesses but not for job creation in a country with the population that India has. How will the Indian middle class expand at this rate? Is it that India also needs companies that provide services at the lower end of the value chain to create jobs?

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

UBERrimae Fidei - Digital Technology Upsets Faith in Traditions

The Taxi App Uber has upset a great many traditions. In London, for example, the Black Cab drivers are up in arms over Uber as it has upset their age old monopoly. This is a case where the digital mobile world has upset traditional mobility in London and elsewhere. Modern digital technology is on the move and there is no stopping it now - Pandora's Box has been opened. Faith in traditions is being upset by digital mobile technology.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Etiquette in the Digital Age

The digital age has created a host of new etiquette dilemmas reports the Times of India. What should you do when your boss sends a Facebook friend request? Is it OK to take and share smartphone pictures at a friend's wedding? When should you take off Google Glass, rather than just turn it off? Etiquette experts say the book on manners must be rewritten, literally, to take into account new technologies and social media. "Technology is such an area of anxiety for people," says Steven Petrow, an author of etiquette books.

Petrow has addressed a number of issues for the digital age including mass emails that reveal the names of all recipients (which is not OK, he says), and how to deal with wedding guests who want to share smartphone pictures before the official photos are available (he urges the couple to make their wishes clear in the invitation). "Fundamentally, I come back to my core values, which are about respect, kindness and civility," Petrow said. Social media such as Facebook pose particular etiquette problems: if users post news about a death, birth or engagement before relatives are notified, that can create tensions among family members.

These digital dilemmas will only increase as technology evolves.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Drones at Home?

Times of India reports that if you present people with a new, exciting technology, chances are they will use it to take photographs of themselves. Take drones, those hovering, helicopter-like flying devices that the military has used for years and that are slowly, in miniaturized form, finding their way into the consumer world. Over the last few years, drones have been finding jobs in industry. They are used for gathering news, checking crops on farms, as well as photographing houses for real estate agents, and drones may one day deliver packages to consumers who just can't wait for the truck. In India, for example, one pizza company has used drones to deliver pizza to customers. Yet mainstream users have had trouble figuring out where an unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) fits into their lives. Among the first mainstream uses for drones could be airborne selfies, dronies.

Imagine drones for consumers. You could have your SUV and UAV in your driveway. Would city authorities allow widespread use of consumer or commercial drones?

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

SmartWear: Internet of Medical Things

Times of India reports that for decades now, medical technology firms have searched for ways to let diabetics check blood sugar easily, without great success. Now, the world's largest mobile technology firms are getting in on the act.  Apple, Samsung Electronics and Google, searching for applications that could turn nascent wearable technology like smartwatches and bracelets from curiosities into must-have items, have all set their sites on monitoring blood sugar, several people familiar with the plans say. These tech firms are hiring medical scientists and engineers, asking US regulators about oversight and developing glucose-measuring features in future wearable devices. The first round of technology may be limited, but eventually the companies could compete in a global blood-sugar tracking market worth over $12 billion by 2017, according to research.

These future wearable medical devices would presumably be Internet enabled – so-called Internet of Things - which would mean medical data being transmitted over the Internet leaving it susceptible to hacking or monitoring. Imagine someone wearing a device to monitor e.g. their heart, lung, liver or kidney activity and this medical data being monitored over the Internet by their employer or medical insurance company or anyone else for that matter. With Google, Apple and others getting into all sorts of industries, rather than the Internet of Things, it will be the Internet of Google Things.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

A Brave New Digital World: Smart Cities for a Smarter India?

The new Indian Government is keen to carry with the plan of building so-called Smart Cities along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

The Government should ensure that manufacturing is catered for in these new smart cities and not just finance and service industries. Also upgrading infrastructure in existing cities should be a priority. In this brave new digital world smart cities are all the rage. But are they the solution?

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Digital Content and Delivery Business

Tech news reports that Amazon has launched its new 3D Fire smartphone. This is really about being able to deliver digital content and services to the consumer wherever they may be and as conveniently as possible. Now we have Google Android, Apple iPhone, Amazon Fire and Samsung phones. Having the content and being able to deliver it is the name of the game. Intellectual property owners such as authors and publishers are getting left behind.

DigitalAsian

Government Google: Getting into the Business of Government?

BBC News reports that Google has confirmed it has purchased satellite firm Skybox Imaging for $500m. Google said the satellites will help it keep their maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. It also said Skybox's satellites could be used to help expand Internet access. Founded in 2009, Skybox's satellites offer video images and stills at a resolution of just over 1m per pixel - which can track single cars travelling along a road. The firm sent its first high-resolution satellite, SkySat-1, in to space last December. It circles the Earth around 16 times a day, relaying 90-second black-and-white clips, permitting analysis of movement on Earth. Skybox has said it plans to launch a total of 24 satellites. Google's purchase of Skybox Imaging follows its acquisition of solar-powered drone maker Titan Aerospace earlier.

Google is getting into businesses that governments get into such as satellites and drones. 

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Guarding Data Against Hacking: Barbarians at the Gates

Times of India reports that with hackers stealing tens of millions of customer details in recent months, firms across the globe are ratcheting up IT security and nervously wondering which of them is next. The reality, cyber security experts say, is that however much they spend, even the largest companies are unlikely to be able to stop their systems being breached. The best defence may simply be either to reduce the data they hold or encrypt it so well that if stolen it will remain useless. Only a few years ago, the primary IT security concern for many large corporations was stopping the loss or theft of physical disks or drives with customer information. Now, much harder to detect online thefts are rife. Last week, Reuters revealed a host of US Fortune 500 companies were on a hiring spree for board level cyber security experts often offering $500,000-700,000 a year or more. 

Data storage and security is probably a cat and mouse game with hackers and the companies trying to outdo the other and play catch up.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Cyber-Insecurity: Can Cybercrime be stopped?

Times of India reports that cybercrime costs the global economy about $445 billion every year, with the damage to business from the theft of intellectual property exceeding the $160 billion loss to individuals from hacking, according to research published on Monday.  The report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said cybercrime was a growth industry that damaged trade, competitiveness and innovation. 

A conservative estimate would be $375 billion in losses, while the maximum could be as much as $575 billion, said the study, sponsored by security software company McAfee.  "Cybercrime is a tax on innovation and slows the pace of global innovation by reducing the rate of return to innovators and investors," Jim Lewis of CSIS said in a statement. "For developed countries, cybercrime has serious implications for employment." 

The world's biggest economies bore the brunt of the losses, the research found, with the toll on the United States, China, Japan and Germany reaching $200 billion a year in total. Losses connected to personal information, such as stolen credit card data, was put at up to $150 billion. 

With more devices becoming connected with the so-called Internet of Things, this gives cyber-criminals more opportunity to hack and steal. Does being offline give more security? This is the digital dilemma and tryst we have with technology.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Is there any difference between Amazon, Apple and Google?

Times of India reports that Amazon.com revived speculation about its next major product, using a mysterious YouTube video and website post to tease a June 18 "launch event" in Seattle to be hosted by CEO Jeff Bezos. The 50-second video posted by Amazon featured people staring downward at something just off-camera, moving their heads from side-to-side to try different vantage points and making comments like "It's very real-life," and "I don't know how you guys do it." Amazon would not elaborate further. But speculation is growing that the Internet retailer is set to unveil some kind of smartphone or device in the wake of several hardware launches over the past year, including the Fire TV streaming box and new Kindle Fire tablets. The company has been working on a smartphone for some time, according to two sources briefed on its plans. The Wall Street Journal and several tech blogs report that Amazon may be working on a phone with a three-dimensional display.

Is there any difference between Amazon, Apple and Google? They all seem to be going into the same businesses and dominating them. Samsung better get into the digital content business soon or it will get left behind.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Going Digital: Will eBooks Eclipse the Printed Word?

BBC News reports that the sale of printed books will be outstripped by eBooks by 2018, a new report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) has suggested. It says the consumer eBook market - which excludes text books and professional manuals - will increase in value from £380 million to £1 billion. At the same time, sales of printed books are forecast to fall by a third. PwC said 50% of the UK population would own an iPad, Kobo, Kindle or similar e-reader device by 2018. It added that 15.5 billion apps were expected to be downloaded in the UK in 2018. 

The company's evaluation of the eBook market is at odds with the founder of the Waterstone's book shop who predicted the "e-book revolution" would soon go into decline. Tim Waterstone told the Oxford Literary Festival in March that "every indication - certainly from America - shows the eBook share is already in decline. The indications are that it will do exactly the same in the UK."

Mobile devices are increasing and the desire for digital content can only increase. what will make a big difference is if major publishers or authors decide to publish certain works as eBooks only.

SJP (@DigitalAsian)

Droning Out the Silence: Privacy and Drones

BBC News reports that US authorities have said they are considering allowing the film and television industries to use drones. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said there could be "tangible economic benefits", but cautioned safety hazards must be "mitigated". Seven aerial video and photography firms have petitioned the FAA for exemptions to the agency's current ban on commercial drone use. The FAA did not set a deadline for determining the exemptions. Businesses have been pushing hard for permission to use drones, which are much less expensive to run than manned aircraft. 

There is also the issue of privacy with lots of drones around. In India there is a pizza company that apparently delivers pizza to the customer via drones.

Digital Asian

Ci-Tizen's Choice? Samsung Attempts to Take on Google Android

News media is reporting that Samsung Electronics Co Ltd plans to launch the first smartphone based on its  own Tizen operating system later this year, marking the company's latest bid to build up its own ecosystem and reduce reliance on Google's Android. The South Korean firm on Monday said the Samsung Z, which comes with a 4.8 inch high-definition display and offers features such as a fingerprint sensor, will be unveiled at the Tizen Developer Conference in San Francisco shortly.

With Google's Android being the dominant force in smart phones, will Samsung's new smart phone running its Tizen OS be the citizen's choice?

Digital Asian

Thingamajig Internet: Internet of Things in a Connected World

Internet of Things or connected devices and objects, reports the Economic Times, from sharks in the ocean to smart refrigerators to inhalers that are provided with sensors to transfer data over a network, may be the next big business idea. According to McKinsey Global Institute, the Internet of Things (IOT) revolution has the potential to create economic impact of anywhere between $2.7 - 6.2 trillion annually by 2025 as the number of connected devices is expected to increase dramatically to anywhere between 50 billion to 1 trillion devices. There are several smart devices from refrigerators, cars to medical devices that help in collecting data or to control their operations via the Internet.

With everything being connected can anything be unconnected? All the data from all the devices will be available to whom?

Digital Asian

Leaving Behind your Intellectual Real Estate in your Will

With the online virtual world gaining business dominance and value, its time to start thinking about leaving your intellectual property or digital property behind in your will. Any blogs, social media accounts, emails etc., that you may have could be left to your legal heirs in your will or else they could in theory be taken under intestacy laws just as real estate is. Death needn't mean your digital demise. Its time to think about treating your digital footprint as your digital assets.

DigitalAsian

ALGORITHM APPOINTED TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS: DO ALGORITHMS GET SHARE OPTIONS?

BBC News reports that a venture capital firm has appointed a computer algorithm to its board of directors. The program, called Vital, will vote on whether to invest in a specific company or not. The firm it will be working for, Deep Knowledge Ventures, focuses on drugs for age-related diseases. It said that Vital would make its recommendations by sifting through large amounts of data. The algorithm looks at a range of data when making decisions - including financial information, clinical trials for particular drugs, intellectual property owned by the firm and previous funding. "On first sight, it looks like a futuristic idea but on reflection it is really a little bit of publicity hype," said Prof Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield. "A lot of companies use large data search to access what is happening on the market, then the board or trusted workers can decide on the advice. 

Human element is truly being eliminated from business decisions. I wonder if the algorithm will get share options or a bonus?

Digital Asian

Forget Me Not: A Google Takedown: A Tryst with Technology

BBC News reports that Google has received fresh takedown requests after a European court ruled that an individual could force it to remove "irrelevant and outdated" search results. An ex-politician seeking re-election has asked to have links to an article about his behaviour in office removed. And a doctor wants negative reviews from patients removed from the results. Google itself has not commented on the so-called right-to-be-forgotten ruling since it described the the European Court of Justice judgement as being "disappointing". Nor has it released any figures about the number of take-down requests received since Tuesday. The original case was brought by a Spanish man who complained that an auction notice of his repossessed home on Google's search results had infringed his privacy. EU Commissioner Viviane Reding said the decision was "a clear victory for the protection of personal data of Europeans" but others are concerned about the consequences that it will have for search engines and others.

Clearly people have right to privacy but this ruling could lead to people and organisations trying to manipulate search results. Could search engines now be at the mercy of individuals for once?

Digital Asian

3D PRINTING OF HUMANS A POSSIBILITY?

BBC News reports on the latest gadgets in the CES 2014 show at Las Vegas. One gadget is a 3D printer that can supposedly make food such as chocolates. It won't be far off before such devices could be used to make more complex things such as humans or even body parts perhaps?

Digital Asian