Sorry, You’re Going to Have to Upgrade With the Nerds
Hack Brief: Upgrade to iOS 9 to Avoid a Bluetooth iPhone Attack, Wired, Sept. 16, 2015
“If improved battery life and a smarter Siri aren’t enough to convince you to upgrade to iOS 9, there’s now another incentive to trade up sooner rather than later: To avoid having your iPhone wirelessly hijacked by any miscreant within Bluetooth range.”
Note: I was going to wait until the first sub-update too. But now we’re all going to have to update. Maybe it’s an inside job 😉

REALLY BIG DEAL!!! This Needs To Reach The Market
Proteus Digital Health And Otsuka Seek FDA Approval For World’s First Digital Pill, Forbes, Sept. 14, 2015

“California-based Proteus Digital Health and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals have created the world’s first smart pill with an ingestible sensor linked to a wearable patch that can record when a pill is actually taken.. . . Proteus Digital Health reported on September 9 that the FDA will be reviewing its unique “chip within a pill” device for the depression and schizophrenia medication, Abilify, to hopefully gain approval as the worlds first digital medication.. . . That said, the issue of rights and privacy related to digital medications will be an important legal issue that insurers will likely have to face in the near term assuming such technology becomes widely adopted. Legal challenges may become important, as insurers could have the ability to record and track medication compliance.”
Note: I kept the summary short, but this is a mind-blowing advance in health technology. Read the article. Also, I would really like to work at this company. So, if you know anyone, holler.

If you really don’t have time to read the article, then at least read a bit more about the pill + the patch:
“When ABILIFY with the embedded ingestible sensor is taken, the ingestible sensor sends a signal to the wearable Proteus patch after it reaches the stomach. The patch records and time-stamps the information from the ingestible sensor in addition to collecting other patient metrics, including rest, body angle and activity patterns. This information is recorded and relayed to patients on a mobile phone or other Bluetooth-enabled device, and only with their consent, to their physician and/or their caregivers. Patients view the information using a secure and local software application on their mobile phone or device. Physicians and caregivers view the data using secure web portals.” I also put this article and commentary here: Proteus and Digital Health’s and Otsuka’s Magical Pill.

I Like Like You – Or Maybe I Just Like Like Curly Fries
What Your Facebook Likes Say About You, Gawker, March 12, 2013
“Using data—including IQ and personality tests—on 58,466 individuals, researchers were able to create a list of highly predictive Facebook pages—that is, Facebook pages that could be used to a high degree of accuracy to predict certain traits about the people who liked them.”
For instance: “If you “like”…

• The Daily Show
• Thunderstorms
• Science
• “Morgan Freeman’s Voice“
• Curly fries

…you are more likely to have a high IQ”
Note: This is a really old article, but I only recently learned about the study, and thought it was worth sharing as a pre-cursor to the latest news re the “dislike” button.

How The New ‘Dislike’ Button Will Help Facebook Know Even More About You, Fusion, Sept. 17, 2015
“From a machine intelligence perspective, the dislike button is going to give Facebook more insight into user preferences, said Chris Nicholson, CEO of AI company Skymind. “It adds a new dimension to what they know about us,” he added.”
Note: Just a heads up to not be so eager to like/dislike everything. You’re just handing over even more information about yourself.

Where No Tweet Has Gone Before
Obama Is Now Letting U.S. Telecom Carriers Go To Cuba, The Washington Post, Sept. 18, 2015
“What’s more, Americans will be allowed to hire Cuban software developers and bring their mobile apps into the United States. This is a huge deal. U.S. venture capitalists consider Cuba a fantastic investment that’s just waiting to flourish. Cuban-designed apps could help facilitate interactions between family members an ocean apart, for instance, or put add momentum to the country’s own, local economy.”
Note: Woo hoo! Can you imagine being suck on Cuban Twitter forever? No seriously, currently only about 5 percent of Cubans have access to the global Internet. That alone is a huge detriment to the population.

Sometimes the Gov’t Gets It Right…. And Sometimes They Most Definitely Do Not
City Makes Rule Favoring Google Fiber, Gets Sued By Cable Company, Ars Technica, Sept. 18, 2015

“Tempe’s bald assertion that Google Fiber is not a cable operator is incorrect,” Cox argued. “And based on this incorrect assertion, Tempe’s regulatory scheme allows Google Fiber to provide video programming service to subscribers in Tempe under terms and conditions that are far more favorable and far less burdensome than those applicable to Cox and other cable operators, even though Cox and Google Fiber offer video services that are legally indistinguishable.””
Note: Cox communications has a bunch of other arguments against Google because by not having to comply with FCC standards, Google therefore doesn’t have to comply with standards regarding “response times, installation timeframes, and requirements regarding communication with customers and local authorities about the services provided, and when changes in services or rates occur”. Except here’s the thing:

• Google Fiber Installers On Time For 96% Of Appointments, Call Center Hold Times Under A Minute
• Also…. 1000Mps. I have really good Comcast, and that’s still a lot faster than my Comcast. Like at least 10 fold. And Comcast is awful at customer service. And theoretically, they have to comply with the FCC.
• “Google is quicker to build in cities that provide favorable regulatory schemes and easy access to utility poles and other infrastructure.” <— favorable regulatory schemes = really fast Internet.

So good job Tempe! Now let’s get everyone else’s regulatory scheme together & let Google give it a try – they may even surpass the FCC’s standards and *gasp* provide really fast Internet in the process.

 Tinkering Isn’t a Crime—But It’s Not Only Officials in Irving Acting Like it Is, EFF, Sept. 17, 2015
“The picture the police released shows of Ahmed’s clock—made of a metal box with a tiger hologram on it, a circuit board, and a battery wired to an LED that had an hour and minute digital display—was a simple, unassuming device. But when Ahmed showed it to his engineering teacher, his teacher’s response was “That’s really nice. I would advise you not to show any other teachers.” Perhaps the engineering teacher foresaw the incredibly closed-minded attitude of the police.”
Note: It was a clock guys. A clock. My house literally has hacked batteries strewn about – never had an issue. Because, like Ahmed, there’s no explosives. Anywhere. At all. Come on….