The Internet of Things - like real coffee or Internet-connected mobile wallets - is on the horizon. We are waiting, a world in which all our devices are connected and communicate with each other in a sort of futuristic circle of life.
But as with any major change in technology, we are certainly not there yet. For those of us who are growing impatient, ¿I can present the Gecko, a new Indiegogo project has meant to "make your smartphone smarter."
The idea here is that the accelerometer equipped Gecko connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth low energy to help control the various things in your life and bring gesture controls and triggers to your smartphone.
With Gecko, the connection is not built into the devices themselves, but rather can be applied to objects in the house through these accelerometer- Bluetooth-based labels.
The device itself is filled with a TI CC2541 SoC removable battery type button with a year's worth of juice (depending on usage), as well as buzzer and LED light for alerts.
So, for starters, you can use a Gecko hand to control the music on your phone, or to activate
camera
to take a photo or record a video. With Gecko application accompanies even can trigger several photos taken at set intervals. The Gecko comes with four gestures available, including turning left and right and moving once or twice.
Meanwhile, Gecko can also be used as a tracking or monitoring. Tag your gateway to receive alerts when opened or closed. Tag a pillbox to get a reminder when you or a loved one has not taken his medication that day at the scheduled time. Tag your pet to get an alert when you leave a radius of 100 meters. Hell, label your child to make sure they do not go away, either.
You can even find the phone if it is paired with a Gecko as long as you have not lost the Gecko. (But in that case, you should really work on being more organized.)
The project recently went on Indiegogo and has about 40 days to reach its funding goal $ 50,000. That's plenty of time for this well-designed, clever little adventure, and hat tip Woz does not hurt either.
Everyday steps that brings us to the Internet of Things are taken. We have seen this with Samsung TecTiles-friendly and NFC tags that trigger reactions in the phone, but even with devices like the Nest learning thermostat and smart lock Lockitron.
The access code can not die yet. the
iPhone
Security System Fingerprint Touch ID 5s can be unlocked with the finger, even if you are asleep. That means a jealous lover could hold the phone to your thumb while sleeping and read all your texts, call logs, emails and more.
Apple confirms that a dead thumb will not work. Chloroforming the victim could, but international spies have no luck cutting a
first
Minister thumb to access their insurance / selfies files. Apple also does not send a copy of the fingerprints back to their servers, and instead stores it in a "safe enclave" in its A7 processor designed to be accessible by hackers or other applications.
Apple has worked hard to make the security system ID Touch easy to use. So Easy A 5s can be unlocked by a cat, your toe, or even your ... member, if you have registered your phone. The real problem, however, is that Touch ID has no way of knowing if someone passed out.
Types of fraternities, with the head up. You could wake up from a night of drinking to find his bros sent a message to all your ex boyfriends and creatively rewrote his
Facebook
Profile. However, the biggest threat is likely to misuse by significant others.
It is common to hear the story of a suspicious girlfriend or boyfriend who went through your phone unlocked guy / girl while sleeping, found them flirting with someone else, and left them. Numeric passwords prevent this.
But Touch ID is vulnerable to "sleephacking."
As anyone knows which finger [s] you have registered with tactile identifier, you can pick up the phone to the nightstand, pressed against the finger to sleep, and voila, the phone is unlocked.
If you have personal things shadow on your phone, you must have personal things ... no shadow on your phone. And if the other significant rifle will through your phone while you sleep, you have bigger problems. But if you're stuck sleeping by someone unscrupulous, you may want to go to settings, enable lock code, and delete the tracks that you have on file.
It really all comes down to the idea that there is no password that humans have yet developed is convenient and 100 percent safe. Bit strings, no facial recognition, and no fingerprints. The lack of perfect digital security has become part of our culture - a risk and an inconvenience to no one is above time. On that note, I leave you with this painting play / poem Banksy:
Every time Apple has designed a new device, the search firm IHS check out parts and try to estimate the bill-of-materials for the new gadget. The resulting price is an approximation of what it costs Apple to build each
iPhone
, Which can provide an idea of what Apple makes from the sale of each device to consumers.
AllThingsD IHS provides an early look at the evaluation of new iPhone 5s this year and iPhone 5c, and finds that Apple probably spends a minimum of $ 191 on the iPhone 5s with 16 GB of onboard storage, plus $ 8 for the mounting at a total cost of $ 199 per device. At the upper end, a 64GB iPhone 5s probably cost around $ 208 for Apple, which is close to the estimate for the iPhone 5, which is said to cost a minimum of $ 205 last year IHS for more storage option low.
The iPhone 5 c is estimated to have a total cost of about $ 173 USD to start for the 16GB model, or $ 183 for the 32GB version $, including $ 7 for assembly. As is usually the case, Apple has managed to reduce costs compared to previous versions, while introducing new unique components such as the ($ 7) fingerprint sensor and radio frequency chips that IHS says are designed exclusively for Apple to be able to handle 13 LTE bands. Both 5s and 5c contain the same combination of radio frequency chips, clocking in at around $ 32 per unit, which is still cheaper than the estimated $ 34 to Radio 5 Band iPhone 5 LTE.
Apple never reveals its devices or supply costs, and there is no way of knowing exactly how close IHS has to set the right prices. Suffice it to say that it is fair to assume that they are on the right track, given its experience and long history. The key takeaway here is that Apple's ability to massage lower prices and margins supply unit until it seems in danger of slipping, and in fact, given this information, Cook and his experience could be more efficient effective than ever.
