Geekly Update - 11 September 2013

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Theater security: that little lock icon and the “https” in your Web browser don’t mean a thing to the NSA, which has been cracking SSL encryption to read Web traffic for years. But they still haven’t knocked on your door, have they?

This just in from the Unintended Consequences Department: “Mobile Encryption for Android and Sybian” is a free download that encrypts messages and files on smartphones, foiling the NSA. You know you want it; problem is, it was released by a terrorist organization.

"Gorilla warfare." A hacker in Zilwaukee Michigan tapped into a digital highway warning sign, making it read "I-75 is closed due to loose gorilla." Michigan DOT investigators, apparently driven bananas by this monkey business, are swinging into action to determine how the hack was perpetrated.

Digital license plates similar to iPads may come to California cars. The State Senate approved a bill launching a pilot program involving up to 0.5 percent of California vehicle owners. One application: your plate displays “EXPIRED” the instant your registration expires. Privacy advocates worry about tracking. I worry about hacking.

"It's a car! It's a trash compactor! It's... an Armadillo!" An experimental car developed in South Korea will respond to commands issued by a smartphone, automatically parking and folding itself in half.

No free smartphone for you! Forty-eight hours after a rumor that Amazon will launch a free smartphone for its customers shook the tech media, the e-commerce giant put its foot down on the little blog that began the hysteria. If Amazon launches a smartphone, it won’t be in 2014 and it definitely will never be free, says the company.

Run, Sarah Connor, run! Researchers at NUS Engineering have developed artificial muscles that can lift 80 times their weight, raising the prospect of robots with superhuman strength and agility.

“Do no evil, nor countenance evil-doing in your house.” Google is encrypting all the torrents of user data it handles against snooping by the NSA or others. This is a staggering undertaking; when most Google services went down briefly last month, global Internet traffic plummeted by 75 per cent.

Just watch out for lamp posts. Google Glass now has an app that lets Android users control the augmented-reality spectacles from their smartphones. This may prevent deep-tissue neck injuries, as users will not have to twitch their heads like bugs are down their collars.

You can really immerse yourself in this experience. Samsung demonstrated a 4K TV set with a 98-inch screen at the IFA show in Berlin. The model S9 is aimed at commercial use, because homes are shrinking and this thing lacks a bathroom.

The latest social media guilt trip: researchers conclude that liars take longer to reply to text messages. Or maybe some people think they pay for text service for their own convenience.

Your thoughts on any of these topics are welcome! Post your comment or question below...