Geekly Update - 24 June 2020

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

You hear that sound? It's mall cops weeping. Segway has just announced the end of production for the iconic two-wheeled vehicle. They'll continue to offer the Segway S-Pod, an egg-shaped chair on wheels.

Rumor has it that Amazon will be adding live TV to their Prime video-on-demand streaming service. According to Protocol, Amazon is looking into licensing deals for live news, music, sports, TV shows and movies. If true, it would differentiate them from Netflix, and put them in competition with Youtube TV, Sling TV, and cable TV providers.

AirShield is an invisible germ isolation unit which directs passengers' exhaled air, coughs or sneezes downward and filters it with the aircraft's existing HEPA filters. Teague, the company behind the Airshield says, "Rather than distance, it's airflow that plays the most significant role in the spread of COVID-19 in an airplane."

A few years back, Google provided some privacy controls to allow you to auto-delete your web history after three months, but most people don't bother to change that setting. Google just announced that the default for new accounts requires no action by the user, and will delete location data, web and browsing activity after 18 months.

Apple just announced iOS 14, their latest operating system for iPhone and iPad mobile devices, with a release expected in September. This MacRumors story details all the details.

One of those new iOS 14 features can detect the sound of a doorbell or fire alarm, and alert a hearing-impaired user with a visual notification on the iPhone.

If you're looking for a laptop that can swim, we're not quite there yet. But Acer’s new rugged Enduro laptop line, designed to be used outdoors, can survive drops, extreme temperatures, and water exposure with a "water-resistant Aquafan" inside the unit.

The Lockport City School District spent $3 million installing a facial recognition system, ostensibly to deter school shootings. But the New York Civil Liberties Union is suing to have it removed, claiming it violates student privacy, and isn't sophisticated enough to prevent misidentifications based on race and gender.

They probably have a good point. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a wrongful arrest complaint against Detroit police, citing faulty facial recognition technology. A facial recognition system used by the department falsely matched an African-American man with with security footage of a shoplifter.

CNet says "funerals are expensive, broken and exploitative." This article offers some ideas to change the way we think about death, and make funerals more cost effective and environmentally friendly.

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