Google plans to shut down Android Things, a stripped-down version of Android designed for smart home devices. The OS never really got off the ground, so this isn’t all that much of a loss, but it is yet another entry in Google’s expansive graveyard of shut-down projects. The Verge reports: The smart home project got its start in 2015 under the…
Tag: security cameras
Offices Resort To Sensors In Futile Attempts To Keep Workers Apart
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Millions of workers in recent months have returned to offices outfitted with new pandemic protocols meant to keep them healthy and safe. But temperature checks and plexiglass barriers between desks can’t prevent one of the most dangerous workplace behaviors for the spread of Covid-19 — the irresistible desire to mingle. “If you have…
Bright fireball widely seen over northeastern Mexico
A fireball is an especially bright meteor from space. It can start out icy and burn up entirely in our atmosphere, or rocky … in which case a meteorite sometimes falls to Earth’s surface. This bright fireball blazed over northeastern Mexico on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/video-photos-bright-fireball-northeastern-mexico…
Why Did a Tech Executive Install 1,000 Security Cameras Around San Francisco?
The New York Times explains why Chris Larsen installed over a thousand surveillance cameras around San Francisco to monitor 135 city blocks:
It sounds sinister. A soft-spoken cryptocurrency mogul is paying for a private network of high-definition security cameras around the city. Zoom in and you can see the finest details: the sticker on a cellphone, the make of a backpack,…
Security Cameras Can Tell Burglars When You’re Not Home, Study Shows
schwit1 shares a report from CNN: Some popular home security cameras could allow would-be burglars to work out when you’ve left the building, according to a study published Monday. Researchers found they could tell if someone was in, and even what they were doing in the home, just by looking at data uploaded by the camera and without monitoring the video…
Some States Have Embraced Online Voting. It’s a Huge Risk.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Politico: On Sunday, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan revealed numerous security flaws in the product that West Virginia and Delaware are using, saying it “represents a severe risk to election security and could allow attackers to alter election results without detection.” In fact, it may be a…
Paris Tries AI That Counts How Many People are Wearing Face Masks
“France is integrating new AI tools into security cameras in the Paris metro system to check whether passengers are wearing face masks,” reports the Verge:
The software, which has already been deployed elsewhere in the country, began a three-month trial in the central Chatelet-Les Halles station of Paris this week, reports Bloomberg. [Alternate source] French startup DatakaLab, which created the program, says…
Belkin Criticized For Its Upcoming Bricking of NetCams
A Forbes contributor notes that Belkin abruptly announced the end-of-life for its Wemo NetCams, which will discontinued on May 29 2020. But that’s just the beginning… Unlike many other end-of-life announcements which simply render products ineligible for support or upgrades, Belkin is literally pulling the plug on its Cloud service, rendering its NetCam range of home security cameras as useless beige…
‘Video Vigilante’ Arrested After Filming a Hospital’s Emergency Ramp
The Boston Herald writes that a “video vigilante faces numerous charges after being arrested outside Massachusetts General Hospital where police say he was recording the emergency ramp at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.” schwit1 shares their report: John L. McCullough, 41, was charged with trespassing, disturbing the peace and threats to do bodily harm after police say he refused to…
Google Is Lowering Nest Camera Quality ‘To Conserve Internet Resources’
Google is temporarily lowering the video quality of its Nest security cameras to “conserve internet resources” during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The adjustment is rolling out over the next few days, and Google says anyone who has their quality settings adjusted will get a notification in the Nest app,” reports TechCrunch. From the report: While Nest cameras aren’t inherently using more bandwidth…