Geekly Update - 24 August 2016

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

MIT has developed “duoskin temporary tattoos” that function as on-skin interfaces to mobile devices. Metallic-looking temporary tats are a fashion trend, and MIT’s Media Lab is not one to let a good trend go un-geekified.

"It's just not a good time for me..." Most people ignore popup security warnings from their antimalware programs because the alerts pop up at the most inconvenient times, researchers at Brigham Young University report. The finding has potential to improve users’ response rates to warnings simply by timing them properly.

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. But will that work when you need to swallow a battery? A team at Carnegie Mellon University is working on non-toxic, edible batteries with the goal of providing power for ingestible medical devices that can be used to diagnose or treat diseases.

The FCC’s push to override state laws that restrict municipal broadband networks was dealt a severe setback by a three-judge appeals panel’s ruling that the agency overstepped its authority in attempting to preempt state laws. The FCC could take the matter to the Supreme Court, or ask the full appeals court to hear its case. But it’s not looking good for municipal networks. On the bright side, perhaps the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not completely shredded.

The keyless remotes that lock and unlock 100 million Volkswagen vehicles are vulnerable to hackers, security researchers have demonstrated. There’s no reason to believe that other carmakers’ remotes are any more secure.

"Take a letter, Maria." My Text In Your Handwriting is an algorithm that can scan a sample of the worst handwriting and replicate it to a credible degree. Developed by a team at the University College London, the program fooled human judges 40 percent of the time.

China has launched a communications satellite powered by a quantum computer, which supposedly creates encryption that is practically impossible to break. (Isn't that what they said about the last "unbreakable" encryption scheme?)

Robots have been dealt a serious blow in their quest to take over the world. A Roomba self-driving vacuum cleaner ran over a fresh lump of doggy doo, and the resulting “poopocalypse” was appalling, reports The Guardian newspaper. Even more appalling is the reaction of Roomba’s spokesperson: “Quite honestly, we see this a lot.”

Google has launched Duo, a one-to-one VoIP and videoconferencing app that does not require a Google account to use. Unfortunately, no desktop version is planned, only Android and iOS versions.

What weighs 25 pounds and costs $41 to mail less than ten miles? One company’s monthly bank statement, thanks to the combination of an antiquated Dept. of Motor Vehicles policy and Silicon Valley Bank’s refusal to provide paperless statements to businesses.

File this under "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" -- Driverless buses are being tested on the streets of Helsinki, Finland, mainly because Finnish law does not require motor vehicles to have human drivers.

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