Episode 211 – Ducking the Hurricane

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For our North Carolina-based co-hosts, Hurricane Florence, while now degraded to a tropical storm, continues to batter the state and southeastern United States with intense rain and high winds.  Our hearts go out to everyone who had to evacuate or will be displaced from their homes due to the storm.  We are also grateful for the level of preparedness and strong communication throughout the past couple of days getting ready for the storm and keeping the population well informed though radio, tv and social media.

A Games At Work public service announcement: cars can be swept away with even 12 inches of moving water, so do not try to drive through flooded roadways — turn around, don’t drown.

The team at Waffle House know all about severe weather, and Michael R points out that the Waffle House index has been in use for a long time to determine just how bad things are based on whether this southern restaurant, which is normally open 24x7x365 is in full or limited operation.

Shifting gears to the tech world, the co-hosts talk about the design that went into autocorrect in order to avoid unintentional foul language, how simple games gain traction, such as the new Pokémon game featuring the Magikarp, and arial drone acrobatics, including the Skydio which can follow you on your adventures.

Michael and Michael wish that everyone stays safe and dry — and are looking forward to next week’s episode!

Selected Links

NPR article: 17 Apps to Help You Get Through The Hurricane — https://www.npr.org/2018/09/13/647463731/17-apps-to-help-you-get-through-the-hurricane 

ReadyNC app — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/readync/id740889890?mt=8 

The Weather Channel article: How Waffle House Will Help Determine How Bad Florence Is — https://weather.com/safety/hurricane/news/2018-09-13-how-waffle-house-will-help-determine-how-bad-florence-is 

Waffle House News Twitter account — https://twitter.com/WaffleHouseNews 

Business Insider article: Why the iPhone keyboard inserts ‘ducking’ into your texts, according to the person who designed it — https://www.businessinsider.com/why-iphone-keyboard-autocorrects-ducking-in-texts-explained-2018-9 

Pokémon: Magikarp Jump — https://www.pokemon.com/us/app/pokemon-magikarp-jump/ 

Ian Bogost’s Cow Clicker — http://bogost.com/games/cow_clicker/ 

TechCrunch article: New techniques teach drones to fly through small holes — https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/12/new-techniques-teach-drones-to-fly-through-small-holes 

Skydio drone — https://www.skydio.com 

Games the co-hosts are playing 


Michael R: Samatha Bee’s This is Not a Game — https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/samantha-bees-get-out-the-vote-game-app-crashes-after-big-turnout/532347/ 

This is Not a Game: The Game — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/this-is-not-a-game-by-sam-bee/id1407837340?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2 

Michael M: Magikarp Jump — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pokémon-magikarp-jump/id1162679453?mt=8 

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Episode 210 – HodgePodgePaloosa

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Michael and Michael reprise the mobile hotel concept from last week to start off this week’s episode, with Volvo’s 360c concept car which takes into account the distances and speed necessary to make such a concept viable.  Consistent with the excellent Swedish design Volvo is known for, the physical seats in the vehicle, as well as the user experience to show the distance to destination on the glass reminded the co-hosts of a head up display.  

After reacting briefly to the VR360 article noting that VR headset shipments have gone down year to year, and the Business Insider article on the expectation that Apple is focusing on AR glasses, with the idea that fashion will play a major role in the AR glasses of the future.  Glasses are an extremely personal effect, and make a statement about who you are in the world to the world.  Remembering the AR focus on iOS 12 at WWDC earlier this year, and the imminent launch of the next generation of the software, there is high expectation that there will be exciting news coming soon, and the Akonia acquisition certainly fuels those expectations.

Also coming soon are other means of human-computer interaction, and the Origami Labs example of the voice powered Orii ring is a particularly intriguing example.  For when it would be obtrusive to look at a screen, and have that be in between a service professional and their customer, the haptic signaling of this ring, as well as the ability via bone conduction to allow for easy voice communication can keep the engagement between the employee and the customer very high.

Rounding out this week episode, the co-hosts turn once more to security, and this time, keeping with the audio theme, they explore an example that leverages active acoustics to crack smartphone unlock patterns.  Using the combination of the top and bottom microphones of a smartphone and echos from a frequency inaudible to most people, it is possible to determine the movement of the user’s finger to unlock their smartphone.   Amazing.

Selected Links

TechCrunch article: The Volvo 360c concept is an office-bed-living room mashup to disrupt domestic air travel — https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/05/the-volvo-360c-concept-is-an-office-bed-living-room-mashup-to-disrupt-domestic-air-travel 

VR360 article: VR headset shipments go down year on year – but it’s only a blip, says IDC — https://www.virtualreality-news.net/news/2018/sep/06/vr-headset-shipments-go-down-year-year-its-only-blip-says-idc/ 

Business Insider article: The evidence is mounting that Apple’s next big product will be a pair of computer glasses — https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-buys-akonia-holographics-next-big-product-will-be-smartglasses-2018-8 

Akonia Holographics — http://akoniaholographics.com 

Warby Parker — https://www.warbyparker.com 

Microsoft News Center UK: You can now sign up for a HoloLens subscription and get one delivered to your door — https://news.microsoft.com/en-gb/2018/05/01/you-can-now-lease-a-hololens-thats-delivered-to-your-door/ 

Lego AR Studio — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lego-ar-studio/id1296734986?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 

CNet article: Lego AR lets Batman come to life with iOS 12 at WWDC — https://www.cnet.com/news/lego-ar-lets-batman-come-to-life-with-ios-12-at-wwdc/ 

Lego Friends Creative Rings — https://shop.lego.com/en-US/Creative-Rings-853780 

TechCrunch article: Origami Labs shows off its voice-powered smart ring — https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/05/origami-labs-shows-off-its-voice-powered-smart-ring 

Wired article: The Handphone: Possibly the Worst Cellphone Concept Ever — https://www.wired.com/2008/05/the-handphone-p/ 

Schneier on Security blog post: Using a Smartphone’s Microphone and Speakers to Eavesdrop on Passwords — https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2018/09/using_a_smartph.html 

BleepingComputer article: SonarSnoop Acoustic Side-Channel Attack Can Steal Touchscreen Interactions — https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/sonarsnoop-acoustic-side-channel-attack-can-steal-touchscreen-interactions/ 

SonarSnoop: Active Acoustic Side-Channel Attacks — https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.10250 

Games the co-hosts are playing 


Nothing new this week! 

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Episode 209 – Driving Doom

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Michael and Michael start off this episode with a discussion on the classic first person shooter Doom, and how in a recent episode of the Boundary Break YouTube series, we are treated to a behind the scenes view of how the Doom 2016 developers wrote the code for the game.  It is fascinating to see where some of the off-camera elements are left out (such as the face, torso, etc of the shooter) and where sometimes the details are very richly embellished, even if no one will ever see them in the game.

Moving (heh) along, the co-hosts imagine a world where your travel and hotel are a package deal, with the self-driving hotel room comes to you and takes you to your destination.  The Autonomous Travel Suite would arrive at your home, and you would board the hotel on wheels, which would then navigate to your destination.  While an intriguing concept, it would have to be something that gets you quickly to a destination that is further than you could drive and be back at your home — speculation that this could be something done in conjunction with the Boring Company.  

Wrapping up the show, Michael and Michael discuss various security constructs, from the recently announced Google two factor Titan hardware keys to Yubico to SMS to GRC’s SQRL.  

Selected Links

Kotaku article: 2016’s Doom Looks Very Silly In Third Person — https://kotaku.com/2016s-doom-looks-very-silly-in-third-person-1828601195 

Mashable article: ‘Doom’ player uncovers a secret that’s been hidden for 24 years — https://mashable.com/article/doom-2-secret-24-years-found 

Condé Nast Traveler article: Self-Driving Hotel Rooms May Soon Become a Reality  — https://www.cntraveler.com/story/self-driving-hotel-rooms-may-soon-become-a-reality 

The Boring Company — https://www.boringcompany.com 

The Verge article: Google’s in-house security key is now available to anyone who wants one — https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17797338/google-titan-security-key-2fa-token-store-sale 

Yubico — https://www.yubico.com

GRC’s SQRL Secure Quick Reliable Login — https://www.grc.com/sqrl/sqrl.htm 

Security Now Episode #626 transcript — https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-626.htm 

GRC Search on SMS Two Factor Authentication — https://www.grc.com/search.htm?cx=000064552291181981813%3Ay8yi5go2xza&cof=FORID%3A11&q=SMS+two+factor&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Search 

Games the co-hosts are playing 

Nothing new this week! 

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Episode 208 – Aibo Aibo

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My grandma and your grandma sittin’ by the fire, talking about Aibo.  Aibo?  Aibo-abio-a-be!

Robotics and robot dogs factor in this episode in a major way, with the second and much improved version of Sony’s Aibo robot dog.  An interesting fact about the new Aibo, is that this dog starts off as a bit disobedient, just like a real dog, and (machine) learns from it’s owner over time.  Could such a cute robot find its way into your home?  

Well, if not a robot dog, how about a robot symbiot, such as LG’s CLOi SuitBot, a human-centric wearable robot?  Expected to be unveiled in Berlin at the IFA show this week, LG will show how this tandem human-robot pair can improve the performance of the human — early articles highlight how this robot will make work easier — and we can’t wait to see how it performs.

SecondLife is in the news due to a job posting, causing some to speculate whether there may be a SecondLife client for iOS and Android in the future, and an article from the MIT Technology Review highlights Three Square Market company employees that have sub-dermal RFID microchips embedded in their hands in order to authenticate themselves when buying from vending machines or entering secure areas.  

Would you inject a chip under your skin or spring for a robotic canine companion?  We’d love to hear what you think!

Selected Links

New World Notes blog post: Linden Lab Creating iOS & Android Versions of SL, Job Listing Suggests — http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2018/08/lumiya-android-ios-second-life.html 

TechCrunch article: Hands-on with the bizarrely fascinating Looking Glass volumetric display — https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/22/hands-on-with-the-bizarrely-fascinating-looking-glass-volumetric-display/ 

Games at Work episode 159 — Virtually Secure — example of Gatebox — https://gamesatwork.biz/2017/01/22/episode-159-virtually-secure/ 

Engadget article: Sony Aibo hands-on: An adorable robo-pup that needs training — https://www.engadget.com/2018/08/23/sony-aibo-hands-on/ 

Cindi Lauper’s rendition of Iko Iko — https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/iko-iko/193520976?i=193521578 

The Belle Stars rendition of Iko Iko — https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/iko-iko/724500811?i=724501020 

Inverse article: LG’s Robot Suit Is Straight-Up Sci-Fi and Will Debut at IFA Berlin — https://www.inverse.com/article/48331-lgs-robot-suit-is-straight-up-sci-fi 

Cnet article: LG’s ‘wearable robot’ will transform the proletariat into unstoppable machines — https://www.cnet.com/news/lgs-wearable-robot-will-transform-the-proletariat-into-unstoppable-machines/ 

MIT Technology Review article: This company embeds microchips in its employees, and they love it — https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611884/this-company-embeds-microchips-in-its-employees-and-they-love-it/ 

Three Square Market — https://32market.com/public/ 

NPR article: Beer, Drinking Water And Fish: Tiny Plastic Is Everywhere — https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/08/20/636845604/beer-drinking-water-and-fish-tiny-plastic-is-everywhere 

They’re coming to get you, Barbara — https://youtu.be/UYR3dorshwA 

Games the co-hosts are playing 

Michael R: Pocket Run Pool — http://www.pocketrunpool.com 

Michael M: Pocket City — https://pocketcitygame.com 

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