Geekly Update - 26 February 2020

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Robo Revenge is a service that lets you sue robocallers for up to $3,000 per call. Using the time-tested "follow the money" principle, the service uses a virtual credit card to fool the robocaller into providing their contact information so you can sue them.

A new "semantic camera" from Outsight can identify whether an object is skin, cotton, ice, snow, plastic, metal, or wood. The technology can help facial recognition systems determine if a face is real, and because it is able to identify and follow moving elements, it may improve self-driving applications.

A two-year investigation of the crash of a Tesla in Autopilot mode reveals that the Apple employee behind the wheel was distracted by a video game. The Tesla failed to identify a concrete highway barrier and accelerated when it should have braked.

Last year, Microsoft changed the name of its security product from Windows Defender to Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, and now we know why. The Defender product is now available for Mac OS and Linux, and Microsoft will soon be rolling out versions for Android and iOS mobile devices.

This just in from the "Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste" Department: Hackers are taking advantage of Coronavirus fears to spread computer viruses. They're sending emails that appear to come from the Centers for Disease Control, encouraging recipients to click a malicious link.

Researchers say that the Trifo Ironpie smart vacuum's camera can be accessed by hackers, and that the device has multiple security vulnerabilities.

Inpixon's radio frequency scanners pick up Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular signals from phones, smartwatches, and headphones. The same technology being used to monitor prisoners is now being adopted by some schools to pinpoint the location and movements of students.

If you've ever wondered why all movie villians have Android mobile phones, here's why. Rian Johnson, director of the "Knives Out" and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" movies, says Apple won't let bad guys have iPhones on camera in movies.

The Smithsonian Institution has released a trove of nearly 3 million high-resolution images from its museums, research centers, archives, libraries, and the National Zoo. The Smithsonian Open Access online platform offers 2D and interactive 3D images for anyone to use and download for free. Very handy if you need a picture of Owney the Dog or a 3D image of Triceratops Horridus for your website.

5G mobile technology is safe, at least in the UK. Testing in 10 cities across the UK found "no identifiable risks" in the deployment of 5G. The highest radiation reading found for the 5G band was 0.039% of the recommended exposure limit.

"Mad Mike" Hughes believed the Earth was flat. So he built a rocket that he hoped would take him high enough to prove his theory. But a parachute malfunction caused his rocket to crash into the ground, killing Hughes.

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