All posts by Paul Stradling

News

Sustainability In Tech : Environmental Ethereum?

The most popular altcoin and second-largest cryptocurrency by volume, Ethereum, has switched to a new operating model which uses 99.95 per cent less energy!

The Merge 

‘The Merge,’ which the change is being called, and which finally happened on September 15, refers to the original Ethereum Mainnet merging with a separate proof-of-stake blockchain called the Beacon Chain, now existing as one chain.

A proof-of-stake blockchain is a consensus mechanism used to verify new cryptocurrency transactions that can guarantee that data saved on the network is valid. The advantages of proof-of-stake are faster transaction speeds and more efficient energy requirements. The Merge has, therefore, eliminated the need for energy-intensive mining and instead enabled the network to be secured using staked ETH i.e., a token that’s meant to be worth the same as Ethereum.

The technical complexity of tasks involved in switching over from a system that has been operating since Ethereum’s introduction in 2014 has been likened to rebuilding the foundations of a skyscraper while it remains standing. Also, The Ethereum blockchain supports the Ethereum currency and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of other coins and crypto products such as NFTs, thus making the risks of The Merge even greater.

The Merge became possible after the Beacon Chain was created as a separate blockchain to Mainnet (On December 1, 2020), was run in parallel, and was extensively tested to ensure that there would be a smooth switchover.

Mining No Longer Needed 

A proof-of-work (rather than proof-of-stake) consensus mechanism requires cryptocurrency computers to solve complex mathematical problems to verify transactions in a process known as crypto-mining. This mining process requires a vast amount of electricity, making it very energy intensive.

However, with Ethereum’s ‘The Merge’ and its switch to using the Beacon Chain as the engine of block production, mining is no longer the means of producing valid blocks. Instead, the proof-of-stake validators have adopted this role, thereby dramatically reducing Ethereum’s energy requirements.

Now Green 

Ethereum now describes itself as a green blockchain with the energy expenditure of Ethereum being roughly equal to the cost of running a modest laptop for each node on the network.

Scalability Enabled 

The Merge has also paved the way for or further scalability upgrades that would not have been possible under proof-of-work, bringing Ethereum one step closer to achieving full scale, security, and sustainability.

Changes For Ethereum Miners 

Although Ethereum points out that ‘The Merge’ “did not change anything for holders/users,” with energy costs increasing, miners of Ethereum will now need to find a new way to make money with their equipment or sell their many mining computers.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation? 

Prior to ‘The Merge,’ due to the use of crypto-mining and a proof-of-work mechanism Ethereum was using as much energy as a medium-sized country! This merging and switching over to the proof-of-stake Beacon Chain has reduced Ethereum’s energy requirements by a massive 99.95 per cent which brings obvious environmental benefits (carbon reduction) and much greener and more sustainable model.  In addition to the very welcome environmental benefits ‘The Merge’ also offers greater security and stability, a possible price growth for related altcoins, the ability for Ethereum to scale up, and could put pressure on competing protocols such as solana and polkadot.

News

Security Stop-Press : Gaming Videos On YouTube Spreading Malware

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky has reported that cyber criminals are using malware that can log into compromised YouTube accounts and upload a gaming video (disguised as a game cheat) which distributes malware.

The videos prompt gamers to click on a link in the description and disable Windows SmartScreen. This results in the victim downloading RedLine Trojan stealer, which steals most valuable information on their computer, including browser-saved passwords, as well as downloading a cryptocurrency miner.

The advice is not to download gaming cheats, never disable protection features, and turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible.

News

Tech Tip – Customise Google Chrome

If you’d like to customise and personalise your Chrome browser, including changing the colour, the theme, and the avatar, here’s how:

– Click on the three dots (top right) and click on ‘Settings.’

– Click on ‘You and Google.’

– Pick a theme colour and pick an avatar.

– To add a theme, click on ‘Appearance’ (left hand side menu).

– Click on ‘Theme’ (open Chrome Web Store).

– Click on your chosen theme and click ‘Add to Chrome.’

News

Featured Article : The Queen and iPad

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8th, we take a look at the technology the 96-year-old monarch was known to use during her reign.

Did Queen Elizabeth Embrace or Avoid Tech?

Queen Elizabeth II very much embraced and enjoyed technology, particularly what we would recognise as the most up-to-date tech for communication during the pandemic. However, the Queen’s reign of 70 years meant that she was able to witness, use, and enjoy technology as we would understand it right from its earliest development. So, what kinds of tech did the late monarch famously use and enjoy most of all?

Transport Tech

In her role as head of state, global as well as national travel was a must and Queen Elizabeth II used a variety of the world’s most high-tech vehicles for their day including:

– London’s tube. In 1969, Queen Elizabeth II opened London’s Victoria tube line, which, of course, was named after her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. On that occasion the queen took the tube from Oxford Circus to Victoria station. The London Underground, however, long pre-dates Queen Elizabeth II, and was opened in 1863. The Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon was the first, urban, underground railway in the world.

– Concorde, the now retired supersonic passenger aircraft, upon which she was a passenger on its inaugural Barbados to London flight during her Silver Jubilee year (1977). She is also reported to have used it many more times including to Kuwait in 1979, to Barbados in 1987 and 2003, to the Middle East in 1984 and USA in the early 90s.

– Queen Elizabeth II also used some of the most up-to-date models of state cars. These included the Bentley Bentayga (4×4), launched in 2015, the Daimler Super V8 LWB including controls for hidden blue strobe lights and phone fittings to enable direct contact with Downing Street, and a Range Rover LWB Landaulet.

Communication

– The young (then Princess) Elizabeth (with her sister Margaret) famously made her first public speech on 13 October 1940, using the main technology of the day – radio. The wartime broadcast addressed the children of the Commonwealth, many of them living away from home as evacuees.

– TV Broadcast television started in the UK in 1936, was stopped during the war, and resumed in 1946. Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 was not only a huge boost to the sales of TV sets but was also filmed in colour and was recorded using experimental 3D technology.

– In 2007, Queen Elizabeth also famously spoke via video link from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, US, to astronauts on the International Space Station.

Devices and Gadgets – Mobile Phone & MP3 Player

– Back in 2009, President Obama gave Queen Elizabeth II an official gift of an iPod which had Broadway tunes and a songbook for The King and I on it, and footage of her 2007 visit to the US. The Queen was reported to have been delighted with the gift.

– Queen Elizabeth II was first given a mobile phone back in 2010, and later upgraded to a Samsung (reportedly given encryption by MI6). There are reports that royal commentator Jonathan Sacerdoti said that she only answered it to Princess Anne and her racing manager John Warren.

– In her Diamond Jubilee, in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II added a Galaxy Note tablet, loaded with recorded memories of the last 60 years to the Royal Collection. Queen Elizabeth II is also known to have used an iPad from 2020 for her many Zoom calls during the pandemic.

Email and Social Media

– Queen Elizabeth II was also the the first monarch to send an email, way back in 1976! On March 26 that year, Elizabeth II send an early form of e-mail from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) in Malvern as a part of a demonstration of networking technology.

– In 2019, the Queen made her first Instagram post where she highlighted the details of a letter sent to Prince Albert by computer inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage. In the letter (1843), he told Albert about his Analytical Engine, a machine which could perform calculations using punched cards and also had a memory unit to store number.

– In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II sent her first ever tweet while opening an information technology gallery at the Science Museum. The Tweet to 724,000 followers of the @BritishMonarchy account, read: “It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R.”

Lockdown Zoom Calls

Back in 2020, the Queen made the news for taking to Zoom calls from her iPad, such as Zoom calls in May that year to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to celebrate Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’s birthday, and also an official call with Princess Anne and the leaders of the Carers Trust charity. She also famously joked in a Zoom meeting with Australian of the Year award winners, teasing them about their Parliament building.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

In her 96 years, 70 of them as Queen, Elizabeth II was able to witness and try the early incarnations of the technologies that are used widely today and, in recent years, became quite adept at using her iPad and platforms such as Zoom. As Queen, although she spent a lot of time carrying out a packed calendar of royal engagements, and many ceremonies having their roots in the past, it appears that she was happy to embrace and try many of the technologies that are very much part of the present. As a head of state, she was loved around the world and widely regarded as a leader who was wise and knowledgeable, and showed a character and values that reflected well on the country, which has benefitted UK businesses over the years. Her embracing of technology, especially during her latter years, also sends the message that it is possible for people of any age to learn to use technology.

News

Tech News : Wikipedia : Queen’s Status Updated In Just 2 Minutes

The speed at which the deaths of famous people are updated on Wikipedia was highlighted by the Queen’s Wikipedia page being updated just minutes after the first news reports of her death were made public.

Twitter Account Monitored Update

The “depths of Wikipedia” Twitter account reported that “the FIRST editor to update her death was Sydwhunte, whose edit came in at 17:32 — seconds after the first sources broke the news”. In reality, it took an estimated 2 minutes for the updates to be made and published.

Also, the same source reported that in the next 15 minutes, the Queen Elizabeth II article had more than 55 edits, such as changing verbs to past tense, updating categories, and updating the infobox.

King Charles III

The depths of Wikipedia Twitter account also reported that the former Prince Charles, now King Charles III’s article changed titles five times while people waited for his official regnal name.

Who Updates Wikipedia On Deaths?

Wikipedia says that “Wikipedia does not require that its editors and contributors provide identification” and that “According to researchers in Palo Alto, one percent of Wikipedia users are responsible for about half of the site’s edits.”

The English Wikipedia, for example, has 44,147,744 registered editors, and 117,820 active editors. Wikipedia considers an editor to be active if they have made one or more edits in the past 30 days.

Research

An entry on Hay Kranen’s web site from 2018 outlines the findings of his research into who updates Wikipedia articles so quickly whenever a celebrity dies. Based on the first 26 names and the English Wikipedia for edits, Kranen found that two-thirds of those edits were done by anonymous users, and that almost a third of those 26 edits were done from a mobile phone. Kranen concluded that the updates were made by “a highly diverse set of people, often anonymous, and surprisingly often from their smartphone.”

Interestingly, A Dartmouth College study (2007) found that “anonymous and infrequent contributors to Wikipedia … are as reliable a source of knowledge as those contributors who register with the site.”

Fast Updates On Celebrity Deaths Nothing New

It is not unusual for celebrity Wikipedia pages to be updated extremely quickly following news of their death. For example, in 2018, following Aretha Franklin’s death being announced by her publicist, her Wikipedia page was updated in only twelve minutes.

How Reliable Is Wikipedia As An Information Source?

Wikipedia itself says that “Wikipedia is not a reliable source for citations elsewhere on Wikipedia. As a user-generated source, it can be edited by anyone at any time, and any information it contains at a particular time could be vandalism, a work in progress, or simply incorrect. Biographies of living persons, subjects that happen to be in the news, and politically or culturally contentious topics are especially vulnerable to these issues.”

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

It could be considered a positive that such a widely used information source is able to be updated so quickly. Many businesses and organisations use Wikipedia as source of reference but, as Wikipedia itself warns, it is a user-generated source, is only as good as its many (mostly anonymous) editors, the motivations, and situations of whom may vary, and it may not be considered a definitive source in and of itself. Research into who edits and updates facts about famous people so quickly can only really say that they are a diverse group of anonymous people, mostly using smartphones. Some speculate that their motivations for acting so quickly to update details about the deaths of famous people may be doing it for prosperity or bragging rights or having a close personal interest in a specific person. With the Queen’s global fame, it was not surprising that details on Wikipedia would be quickly changed. The user-generated nature of the site, and the proliferation of smartphones also mean that all high-profile deaths are likely to updated very quickly on Wikipedia, although maybe not as fast as Queen Elizabeth II’s.

News

Tech Insight : Sharing Files That Self-Destruct

In this insight, we take a look at some of the many options available for sharing files that self-destruct.

Why?

Many business IT users have occasions where they need to send sensitive information, e.g. passwords and other private work data and files but would feel uneasy about simply sending it via the normal email system, thereby leaving them sitting around inboxes and on servers that may be vulnerable to being compromised. There are, however, apps and websites that enable users to send files that self-destruct after a given time period, giving the sender extra peace of mind. Here are some examples and details of some of the more popular ways to send files that self-destruct.

Keeper Password Manager

Keeper Password Manager incorporates a secure, digital file vault, giving the user the option to set any links they share from there to work only once, and to expire after a set period. As well as incorporating a self-destruct timer, Keeper also offers message retraction, both of which enable the removal unwanted or sensitive messages and files without a trace. Keeper’s time-limited protected sharing of an item with both Keeper users and those who don’t have a Keeper account also means that sensitive items can be shared safely with contacts such as with co-workers, classmates, or family.

WeTransfer

WeTransfer is a popular, easy to use file-sharing app where users can share files up to 2GB for free which expire automatically after seven days. WeTransfer Pro allows users to send and receive up to 200 GB and gives 1 TB storage per person.

pCloud Transfer

pCloud’s app and web interface ‘pCloud Transfer’ allows the sharing of files with pCloud users or those who don’t have a pCloud account. Files sent through pCloud Transfer are available for only 7 days, with the sender and recipient both receiving a reminder email notification before the expiration date. pCloud Transfer is free, no registration is required, and users can send files up to 5 GB either directly via an email from pCloud Transfer or using a secure link. Users can also choose to encrypt their files adding password protection.

Dropbox

Among its many other file sharing features, Dropbox allows users to share a link to a file or folder that is limited to view-only access, and the sharer can add password protection to a shared link, set a link expiration date, and disable downloads.

Privatty

Privatty is an easy-to-use website to send notes or files, using a variety of methods, that will self-destruct. Privatty doesn’t require any personal or login information to use it. Users can write notes or upload files which are then converted into a secure link that can be emailed to the recipient. Users can choose how much time should elapse before the message self-destructs, e.g. in 1, 3, or 24 hours, or in 7 or 30 days. When the contact receives the link, they are given a notification that opening the link will result in its destruction.

SafeNote

Like Privatty, SafeNote it is a free, simple file sharing website-based service that doesn’t ask for any personal information to use it. SafeNote says its ‘SafeNote upload file’ “is the best option when you want to upload a temporary file to share it anonymously.” Users of the service only need to upload a file, share the secure link, and after it is downloaded, the file is completely deleted. Users can set an expiration on the file, and it is deleted within a certain amount of time, even if it was never downloaded. SafeNote says that all files are encrypted when stored on their servers.

Other Ways

Other ways to send self-destructing files include:

– The Telegram app’s ‘Secret chats’ feature.
– WhatsApp’s Disappearing Messages feature.
– The ‘Vanish Mode’ feature in Messenger in Facebook Messenger.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Businesses now need to be security conscious in all aspects of their work and communications and the sophistication of cyber attackers and sheer proliferation of those attacks means that many businesses no longer take the risk of sending sensitive files as attachments to normal emails. Self-destructing file sharing apps and websites provide an easy, fast, mostly free, and much more secure way to share sensitive files and gain the peace-of-mind of knowing that the lifespan of those files can be limited. This also gives much greater control to the sharer/sender in mitigating future risks, e.g. the recipient’s email or other systems being compromised further down the line. There is now a very a wide choice of different apps and websites offering self-destructing file sharing, some of which many businesses may already use other features of, e.g. Dropbox.

News

Tech News : Android 13 : More For Work, But Still Enough For Play

With Google announcing that Android 13 gives businesses using Android Enterprise new ways to get more out of their devices, we take a look at what the more business focused OS offers.

Simplifying The Separation And Management of Personal and Work Profiles

Android’s Work profile already helps keep company data accessible and secure, with personal profile data private and separate on a single device. This has proven to be useful with employees working from home and hybrid working. Google says that Android 13’s Work Profile gives employees an even smoother experience, a simpler design, improved productivity, and new cross-device capabilities. It also offers more intuitive navigating between work and personal profiles, while respecting cross-profile admin policies.

How?

Google says that Android 13 helps enable this separation by allowing employees to choose to open an app in either their work or personal profile, depending on where it’s installed. If they’d prefer to keep work-related content out of their personal apps, e.g. a work-related training video on YouTube, employees can choose to access that content in their browser instead. Also, Google says that with Android 13, employees can switch between work and personal photo galleries when sharing pictures with an app, granting access only to selected files rather than their entire media library.

More Productivity Tools and Features

Android 13 also offers more productivity tools in work profile. For example, Smart dictation (available in work profile apps on Pixel devices) keeps corporate jargon dictated for work emails out of personal chats, and all Android 13 devices can now use Near-Field Communication (NFC) from work apps to enable usage like digital access badges and tap-to-pay from work profile.

Security and Privacy Features

Android 13 has some security features that can also benefit businesses. For example:

– Integrations Between Phone Hub and Android and ChromeOS, allowing employees to securely respond to and access work information that’s on their phones, e.g. messages, notifications, and pictures, from their corporate Chromebooks, all protected by end-to-end encryption and company management policies.

– A new central hub that allows employees to manage device security and privacy settings, plus view company policies applied on the device as well as device data shared with IT admins.

– IT admins being given more control over device Wi-Fi connectivity for features like Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi tethering.

– The addition of security logs for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and password activities in line with National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) requirements.

– Faster security patching through Bluetooth and ultra-wideband (UWB), as well as the 30+ modules that can be updated remotely through Google System Updates.

Play

Android 13 may have a strong business focus, yet there are still plenty of new features more related to personal rather than business use. Just some of the many examples of these include:

– A new look and style that builds on ‘Material You’ so users can customise non-Google apps to match their phone’s wallpaper theme and colours, making the home screen more cohesive and unique to the user’s individual style.

– An updated media player that tailors its look and feel based on the music or podcast that the user is listening to, e.g. spotlighting album artwork and a playback bar that dances as the song progresses.

– The ability to customise ‘Bedtime Mode’ with wallpaper dimming and a dark theme. These screen options can help a user’s eyes adjust to the dark just before bed and get back to sleep if the user wakes up and checks their phone in during the night.

– The use of Gboard now enables users to “emojify” their messages without the added effort of selecting emojis one at a time.

– HDR video support on third-party camera apps, an updated media output switcher, and braille displays for Talkback.

– The addition of new shared experiences in Google Meet, e.g. live-sharing to allow instantly co-watching of YouTube videos and playing classic games (UNO!™ Mobile, Kahoot! or Heads Up!) with up to 100 friends and family members at a time.

– Sound Notifications within ‘Live Transcribe & Notifications’ which can detect critical household sounds like fire alarms, running water and door knocks and alert the user on their phone or watch when they occur.

When?

Android 13 started rolling out to Pixel devices in the middle of August with further rollouts over the coming months to Samsung Galaxy, Asus, HMD (Nokia phones), iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo, Xiaomi and more.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Many of the new Android 13 features are, not surprisingly, focused on making it easier for remote and hybrid workers to separate and manage work and personal profiles on a single device, as well as giving them more tools to help productivity and improve security. Android 13 also has features to make IT admins’ lives easier, e.g. more control over device Wi-Fi connectivity. Outside of work, there are also plenty of new features to please Android users, although following the rollout in August, many Google Pixel owners complained that the upgrade to Android 13 caused them problems charging their devices. The response so far, however, has been mainly good and Google is promising the addition of more features in the coming months as it hopes to compete favourably with the rollout of Apple’s iOS16.

News

Sustainability-In-Tech : Stockholm’s E-Ferry : World’s Fastest Electric Passenger Vessel

The Candela P-12 Shuttle electric ferry, recently unveiled and due to enter service in between Stockholm city and the Ekerö suburb next year, can dramatically cut journey times.

Faster Than Stockholm’s Cars and Subway?

The makers of the world’s fastest, longest-range, and most energy efficient electric ship ever, the electric-powered the Candela P-12 Shuttle, claim that not only is it environmentally friendly, but will make Stockholm’s waterborne public transport faster than cars and subway!

30 Passengers At 30 Knots

The company makes this claim because the powerful electric engine and hydrofoil design mean that the 30-passenger waterborne shuttle can travel at 30 knots, making it a faster way to commute than the subway and bus lines it competes with, and faster that Stockholm’s rush-hour traffic. The electric engine also means that it is much more energy efficient than diesel passenger buses and trains.

Saves Commuters 50 Minutes Per Day

Stockholm commuters are currently facing a 55-minute trip by bus, subway, or conventional ferry (or even car during rush hour) whereas the Candela P-12 Shuttle will cover the 15 km route in only 25 minutes – saving the commuter an average 50 minutes per day!

Hydrofoils Reduce Drag

Candela says that the secret to the P-12 Shuttle’s high speed and long range are the three carbon fibre active hydrofoil wings that extend from under the hull, allowing the ship to lift itself above the water, thus decreasing drag.

Energy Efficient

The Candela P-12 Shuttle’s manufacturers say that its electric engine technology reduces energy per passenger kilometre by 95 per cent compared to current vessels, allowing for an unprecedented range of 50 nautical miles at service speed. This means that, at the equivalent of 0.1 kWh of electricity per passenger kilometre, the P-12 is more energy efficient than a hybrid electric bus. The electric direct-drive engine also means no noise from gears, no oil changes, and no maintenance.

Battery

Also, with up to 200 kW DC charging, the Candela P-12 Shuttle can charge its battery in under one hour!

The End Of Sea Sickness?

One unexpected bonus of a ferry that combines lifting itself above the water with a computer which regulates the hydrofoils 100 times per second is an incredibly smooth ride, which could mean no sea sickness for passengers.

Successful Trial Could Mean A Shift To The Waterways

The first P-12 Shuttle is due to undertake a nine-month trial period during 2023 and, if it meets expectations, the hope is that Stockholm’s fleet of over 70 diesel vessels will eventually be replaced by P-12 Shuttles. This could also mean a shift away land transport on congested highways to the city’s waterways.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?

City commuting is often major source of frustrating congestion for workers, but also of pollution from the cars and the diesel public buses and trains. An environmentally friendly, sustainable, fast, and comfortable alternative, such as the P-12 Shuttle could be the welcome shape of things to come. For canal cities and cities with waterways that lead right into or close to the centre from suburbs, provided the price is right and the capacity is available, commuters may be tempted to switch from the bus of train to the water shuttle instead. City councils are also likely to favour schemes that cut emissions, reduce city centre congestion, and present a forward-thinking, environmentally conscious image of a city. Although many cities are now switching to electric buses and trains/trams, electric ferries don’t suffer the same traffic congestion problems and this reliability and timesaving may be more attractive to commuters.

News

Security Stop-Press : Halford’s Spam Shame

A fine was imposed on Halfords by the UK’s privacy regulator after numerous complaints were raised about a marketing email encouraging people to redeem a £50 voucher.

Even though Halfords maintained that the £50 government-backed voucher represented a legitimate interest, the ICO said it was a marketing email which they would derive income from, which meant it was therefore not only unsolicited but also outside the remit of legitimate interest, according to the ICO. This is especially as the recipients had not opted-in.

The £30,000 punishment sends the signal to businesses that the ICO is increasingly active and is a stark reminder to maintain good data protection policies.

News

Tech Tip – Stay Organised In Chrome By Pinning Important Tabs To The Left

If you’re working with lots of tabs open but want to be able to quickly locate essential web pages in your Google Chrome browser, try pinning important tabs to the left-hand side. Here’s how:

– Right-click on the tab and select ‘Pin’.

– The pinned tab will appear as a smaller tab to the left of your other tabs and will only show the site’s icon.

– To unpin the tab, right-click on the tab and select ‘Unpin’.

– To move a tab to a completely different window, right-click on the tab and point to ‘Move tab to another window’ and select the window that you want to move it to.