Category: Technology

Gas hot water system technology consists of two parts: the gas boiler and the water tanks. The gas boiler uses long pieces of copper tubing that absorb the heat of the water that passes through it. This heat transfers to the water inside the coil, generating hot water. The gas boiler also includes a separate storage tank.

The gas boiler uses propane or natural gas to heat the water. The gas supply pipe, which may be made of steel black pipe, feeds into a gas regulator. The gas regulator has a thermostat and controls the temperature of the water heater. A secondary tube in the tank supplies gas to a pilot light. This pilot light ignites the burner when needed.

The capacity of the hot-water system refers to the capacity of the burner and the heat storage capacity. Burner capacity refers to the maximum amount of heat that the system can produce from a given amount of fuel. It is the practical limit of the system’s output. If the fuel rate is increased, the system’s capacity will be equal to the amount of fuel used.

Water use for hot water has fallen over the past decade, and that trend is expected to continue. This is a result of ongoing government regulations, residential building standards, and energy efficiency policies. The use of hot water has also been reduced by water restrictions and system conversions. These factors have all helped to reduce the carbon footprint of our homes and the water we use for it.

To get around Beijing’s censorship, which protects some men accused of sexual assault by deleting complainants’ posts on the internet, students are using these encrypted database strings.

Chinese students want to be able to report sexual harassment at their universities. In the wake of the Weinstein affair, the hashtag #metoo (#balancetonporc in France) had allowed women from all over the world to denounce acts of sexual assault of which they say they are victims. In China too, the movement has been emulated. As evidenced in January by the eviction of a renowned professor from Beihang University in Beijing after testimonies from former students.

But since then, the government has removed many posts related to these harassments on Chinese networks (Weibo and Wechat in particular). So to counter the censorship, students from Peking University have written a petition directly on the Ethereum blockchain, a database considered inviolable since its servers are spread all over the world.

The purpose of this letter is to reopen the case of Gao Yan, a student who committed suicide in 1998 after writing that she had been sexually assaulted by a professor for years. It was Yue Xin, a student at this prestigious Beijing university, who encoded her message into the blockchain. Indeed, when she started to ask for the reopening of the investigation, professors and administrators had strongly encouraged her to back out. And her letter had been immediately deleted from Chinese social networks.

No 404 error in Blockchain

So on April 27, Yue Xin made a transaction of 0 Ethereum, a virtual currency, to herself. Transaction that cost him 53 cents in fees. The objective was to attach to the chain his petition. The American site Quartz compares this technique to an individual who would make a transfer to himself of 0 dollars while adding, in the optional note proposed for each transfer, the letter. Except that unlike the bank account, the blockchain is accessible to all. And that where a website can always be blocked, especially in China, the chains like Ethereum or Bitcoin, are almost untouchable.

If the method seems very useful to set in stone such a petition and not to see it systematically deleted, it does not facilitate the visibility of this message on the web. Indeed, it is necessary to go through search engines specific to blockchains and not adapted to the uninitiated to find it. But at least, as a user pointed out in a comment on the Etherscan.com website, “the blockchain does not have a 404 error”.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is an experiment led by entrepreneurs and developers in search of an alternative financial system. It remains to be seen if finance can definitively do without traditional mechanisms and its centralized intermediaries.

Simply put, “DeFi aims to accomplish many of the key activities found in traditional finance that possess a risk-reward paradigm but without the intrusive overlay of traditional intermediary institutions,” as summarized by Usman W. Chohan, Ph.D., an economist and subject matter expert, in his analysis “Decentralized Finance: An Emerging Alternative Financial Architecture.”

A powerful example of cryptoanarchism, the author continues, as manifested in the context of cryptocurrencies. The ambition remains indeed to emancipate individuals by granting them the power to control their financial activity without the intervention of state power. This is an attractive promise for those predisposed to independence in the digital world.

More pragmatic than ideological

More pragmatically, DeFi remains an umbrella term covering various fintech solutions ranging from financial computing protocols to crypto derivatives. This “blockchain” finance promises overall cheaper and more open access to banking, insurance, loans, etc.

And it does so precisely by reducing the costs and risks associated with the use of centralized intermediaries through blockchain and cryptographic technologies. The phenomenon therefore promises interoperability between blockchains that could help eliminate silos in the financial sector and significantly promote innovation.

More than a trend, it is a likely forced march that is pushing more and more traditional players into the crypto world. Since even Quebec’s own Caisse de dépôt et placement (CDPQ) is contributing several million dollars to the funding round of an English cryptobank.

The limits of progress

The emerging DeFi industry is one of the most innovative fields, acknowledged U.S. securities regulator Chairman Gary Gensler while speaking at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets conference on Monday. If Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, “was putting pressure on the definition of money, […] DeFi is starting to put pressure on other innovations,” Gensler said.

That’s because DeFi is not without its challenges. And these remain understudied. Yet it is critical to conceptually understand the risks inherent in the decentralized nature of blockchain (operational risks, smart contract vulnerabilities, governance risks, scalability, etc.).

“The goal of automating financial service delivery and reducing human dependencies also has the congruent effect of reducing oversight and control,” authors Nic Carter, a venture capitalist, and Linga Jeng of Georgetown University recently pinned down in their paper “The DeFi Paradox.”

And the paradox, too, keeps swelling when looking at the “total locked value” (TVL) of these DeFi protocols, an estimated metric that refers to the cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens (tokens) contained in decentralized lending or trading platforms. The capitalization of the DeFI market has doubled since the end of June and currently stands at about US$247 billion, according to the watchdog site Defi Llama.

The payment services company PayPal announced on Friday, October 4, 2019, that it would not participate in Facebook’s digital money project. A decision that could be followed by others, and that weakens him a little more freed him up.

Is this the first name of a list that will soon include others? The payment services company PayPal announced on Friday, October 4, 2019, that it would not take part, finally, in the digital money project carried by Facebook, the libra, which is to be launched in mid-2020.

The first source of concern

Facebook has a poorreputation for privacy and personal data protection. The second concern is that this parallel monetary system does not encourage money laundering, tax evasion, or even the financing of terrorism due to a lack of control. Finally, the size of Facebook, the world’s largest social network with 2.7 billion users (including Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.), also implies that the new currency could complicate the task of central banks in controlling the international financial system.

Monetary sovereignty of States

On September 12, 2019, the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, announced that France refused to authorize the introduction of libra “on European soil,” considering that “the monetary sovereignty of States is at stake.” He continued: “Any failure in the functioning of this currency, in the management of its reserves, could create considerable financial disorders.” Bruno Le Maire also fears that the libra will replace the national currency in states where the currency is weak or has been severely devalued.

In addition to this mistrust from the public authorities, there are doubts about the libra’s chances of success. The latter will remain dependent on the basket of currencies to which it will be backed. Libra managers will, therefore, not be able to create currency if the need arises, nor will they be able to act as guarantors “as a last resort” in the event of instability.

Rumors about Visa and Mastercard

This decision by PayPal deprives Facebook of an investment of at least $10 million (9.1 million) but raises questions about the possibility of other announced partners disengaging. For several days, rumors have been circulating in the press about this subject concerning Visa and Mastercard.

For its part, PayPal has not provided any official justification for its withdrawal. But a source close to PayPal explained to the Financial Times that “it would appear that there has been little preparatory work done with financial regulators” and that payment services such as Paypal did not want “regulators’ attention to overflow on their business.”

Apple reports results for the second quarter of its 2019 fiscal year. When the iPod was still a bestseller, this quarter from January to March was as soft as the previous quarter, the Christmas and New Year’s Eve quarter. And then China grew in power. The second fiscal quarter has become a second Christmas quarter.

But the Chinese market shrank, and the beautiful mechanics stopped. Worse still: iPhone sales, which represent more than half of Apple’s business, are leveling off. It explains the relative underperformance of this quarter, anticipated by the Cupertino firm’s management. Because all the other signals are green: the iPad continues to rise, the Apple Watch and AirPods weigh almost as much as the Mac, and services continue to grow.

Mac Sales

A quarter in the green, a quarter in the red, Mac sales continue to play the yo-yo. After increasing by 8.68% at Christmas, they fell by 4.55% to $5.513 billion. It is not quite a surprise: both IDC and Gartner had warned. Apple is not immune to the contraction of the PC market, but maintains its third place in the US market and its fourth place worldwide, ahead of Acer and behind Dell.

Services and other products

Services continue to grow wildly: they grew 16.24% again this quarter, reaching $11.450 billion. While it has just devoted a unique event to them and should open new services in the coming months, Apple confirms its ability to reach 500 million paying subscribers by 2020.

Revenues from operations

International sales represented 61% of the company’s business. Without China, sales would have fallen by only a very minor 0.66%, with sales increasing both in the Americas (+3.04%) and Japan (+1.17%). That said, the situation in the Chinese market has not worsened: the drop in sales in the second quarter (-21.54%) is less significant than in the first quarter (-26.66%). Tim Cook sees this as the effect of the recent VAT cut and the relative lull in the trade war between China and the United States.

iPhone sales

The first results seemed encouraging: the iPhone’s market share is actively growing in the United States, the latest models have entered the Chinese top 5, and the iPhone XR is a hit. But they are not reflected on the balance sheet: iPhone revenue fell by 17.32%, even worse than in the first quarter, to $31.051 billion. As a result, in two years, the iPhone’s share of Apple’s revenue has risen from 66% to 53%.

iPad sales

With a turnover of $4.872 billion, up 21.55%, the iPad is once again a pillar of Apple’s business. The recent refresh of the iPad mini, designed to meet the continuous demands of a concrete customer base, should continue this success in the third quarter. For the past two years, Apple has been adapting its model to the longer renewal cycles of the iPad, playing a lot on the range effects.

The iPad Air is a crucial component in this device: without being much less capable than the iPad Pro, it is much cheaper, but also more profitable. Now that Apple no longer details sales figures, it will be more challenging to assess its success. However, financial analysts will undoubtedly provide some answers in the coming months.

Sales of cannabis vaporizers are increasing, appreciated by those who want to consume cannabis more “healthily.” It’s still illegal, but it’s less harmful,” says an addictologist.

“Every time I smoked a joint, I would go back… back to smoking cigarettes. During a trip to the United States, I found a grass sprayer. It may sound strange, but it has allowed me to burn healthily.

Jonas, 42 years old, manager of vaporisateur-cannabis.org, is one of those new cannabis users… concerned about their health! A paradox that makes the happiness of sellers of portable electronic vaporizers, on sale on the Internet and in some electronic cigarette stores.

The principle? An alternative to the traditional joint.

With these devices, no combustion or smoke. Cannabis herb is heated to 190°C to release steam. In this way, only the active ingredients of the illegal plant are extracted.

Vapes are very popular in the United States

“Today, people want to inhale clean and eat healthily,” says Grimhild in his store, one of the few specialized in “vaping’,” in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Here, officially, the vaporizers are only used to suck up laurel, chamomile or marshmallow vapor. “Many want to adopt it and give up the electronic cigarette, which they find too toxic. On the Internet and in our shop, we sell up to 5 to 10 a day,” says Grimhild.

These devices, very popular in the United States, are used in clinics in Germany, Israel, or Switzerland, countries that have legalized the medicinal use of cannabis, in the form of CBD, a molecule of hemp, to calm anxiety and pain. Some look like electronic cigarettes; others fit in the palm of your hand. Prices vary from 75 to 300 €.

Less toxic than smoking joints

“When you smoke hemp mixed with tobacco, you swallow tar, heavy metals, carbon monoxide,” says Florent of the Norml association, which advocates for a relaxation of cannabis regulations. On his site, we recommend the use of the vaporizer rather than the “firecracker” that “blackens the lungs.”

The same is true for Olivier, 28 years old, project manager: “I started running. I also stopped drinking and smoking. But I’m not going to quit cannabis. That’s why I went to the vaporizer. Besides, it is economical, and you can smell the aromas more. Some friends followed me.

Amine Benyamina, addictologist at the Paul-Brousse Hospital in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne), confirms that if you can’t do without grass, spraying is “less harmful”: “All combustion products should be avoided. With this process, tobacco, which contains more than 4,000 substances, most of them toxic, is avoided. They are right to use it,” he concludes. This technique is even indicated in therapeutic hemp.

Another particularity of these new seals is that the steam is almost odorless; the devices are becoming more and more discreet. “I’ve already vaporized in the street, but also in meetings and even… on the plane, without anyone noticing,” Jonas boasts. It is enough to make it difficult for the authorities to track down drug smokers.

More about weed vaporisation

Vaporization is a gentle heating process for all types of plants to release their active ingredients in the form of steam. Vaporizers use either hot air (known as convection), a hot surface (known as conduction) or a combination of both.

Convection would be preferable because it provides better temperature control, more uniform heating, and better taste. But some will prefer conduction because it heats up faster, it is often easier to miniaturize and it often costs less, but there is a greater risk of combustion.

Although vaporization and combustion use heat to release the active ingredients from the herbs, the major differences are the temperature used and the by-products resulting from each method.

Adobe has recently announced its acquisition of the French talent Allegorithmic, a reference in the creation of textures and materials for 3D models. In addition to the absorption of the Substance tool suite into Adobe’s Creative Cloud, this acquisition aims to accelerate Adobe’s growth in 3D creation, particularly for virtual and augmented reality.

The American graphic design giant Adobe announced on the evening of January 23, 2019, its acquisition of the French genius Allegorithmic. Adobe and Allegorithmic did not disclose the transaction amount. Based in Clermont-Ferrand, France, this small business founded in 2003 has established itself as the pioneer of 3D texturing and has quickly become the world leader in this field.

Pioneer and leader in 3D texturing

Almost all video game development studios now use its Substance software suite. Its founder, Sébastien Deguy, explained that Substance Painter had succeeded in supplanting Adobe Photoshop, a powerful but generalist tool, in this field, by meeting the particular needs of 3D texture creation. Following its success, Adobe became a shareholder of Allegorithmic two years ago.

While the video game industry was the first to take an interest, many others are now following. Allegorithmic tools are now widespread in Hollywood and movie studios have used for the films Blade Runner 2049 and Pacific Rim Uprising. The company also makes inroads into the world of architecture or product design. For example, its tools have been used by BMW since 2017 for its design reviews.

Allegorithmic’s 140 employees will continue to develop Substance tools, whose pricing will not change immediately. In the long term, they will obviously integrate the tool into Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.

Adobe accelerates its strategy in 3D and immersive technology

This acquisition is in line with Adobe’s strategy of expanding into the world of 3D creation. The company is historically specialized in 2D production but became seriously involved in 3D a year ago with the announcement of Adobe Dimension. Sébastien Deguy will be responsible for continuing these efforts as Vice President 3D & Immersive at Adobe. One of the challenges is immersive creation, whether it concerns virtual reality or augmented reality.

Allegorithmic is ahead of the curve, as the company is the first partner officially announced by Oculus for its hybrid applications, capable of switching from 2D to VR mode on the fly. For its part, Adobe launched the Aero project a few months ago, a tool dedicated to the design of augmented reality applications. Two complementary approaches that have undoubtedly contributed to this rapprochement.

The folding smartphone is still a dream in the high tech world. Even if its potential users do not well understand the technology yet, Samsung wants to unveil its model by the end of the year.

We’ve been talking about it for years: the foldable smartphone is one of the most anticipated evolution in the small world of technology that never ceases to fascinate users. Samsung is the one who is most intended to use this format – even if other Asian manufacturers seem to be racing. And Samsung could also draw the first one: the CEO of the Korean company told CNBC that a first model of a folding smartphone could be presented as early as November 2018 at the conference for the giant’s developers.

DJ Koh felt that this was “the time to keep the promises,” even if the project is challenging. Samsung is no fool: if folding a technological object is just a gadget, the format will never break through. If the unfolded smartphone is just a tablet, it will have no interest. If the folded smartphone is just a smartphone, it will only be too thick a smartphone. The challenge for the manufacturer is, therefore, to create an experience at the service of uses that can take advantage of both forms of the smartphone.

It is a beautiful profession of faith, but the challenges are many. Beyond the novelty on the formal side, it will be necessary to make an efficient and effective operating system – two adjectives that do not correspond to what Samsung offers today on Android, the manufacturer having the reputation of overloading its devices. But we will also have to think about the whole ecosystem around it: in-house applications may be enough for a proof of concept, but they will not replace a real marketplace with thousands of apps designed for the format.

And as often with radical newness, you never really know where to start: developers will have no interest in creating applications for a platform that has no customer and customers will not buy an object that has no use. It is why an announcement at a conference dedicated to professionals is interesting: Samsung has a keen interest in providing tools well in advance to developers, or even financing development programs to ensure a significant application market.

Once achieved, the Korean will have to find the right price for a commercial product and given the trend towards increasing the cost of high-end smartphones, we can only bet on a device exceeding $1,000. Bit expensive for such a device!

Google would turn to Foxconn to build its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, ending its partnerships with HTC and LG that have been doing this until now. More information on the design of the largest model was also revealed.

Since the launch of the first Google Pixel and Pixel XL, the Mountain View firm has always operated the LG and HTC production lines which operated in white brands. Nevertheless, for the third generation of this range of devices, Google might prefer another partner.

Indeed, anonymous sources from Bloomberg indicate that the web giant is currently negotiating with Foxconn – who is already assembling Apple iPhone. Google had already acquired the mobile division of HTC and the engineers and developers involved in this migration would probably be very involved in the design of the new devices.

Also note that according to Digital Daily – taken over by 9to5Google – LG will nevertheless provide the OLED screens of the Google Pixel 3 XL. The divorce is therefore not entirely recorded.

A few hints on the new Design

Bloomberg sources also corroborate previous information about the design of Google Pixel 3 XL. Leaks had indeed shown that a notch on his forehead would mark the larger of the two models. The notch would be smaller, but longer than on the iPhone X and would house two photosensors – while there would only be one at the back.

It is also specified that the XL model would keep a relatively thick border at the bottom of the screen. Google would probably be working on a model with no edges and no notches, but they would have preferred to preserve the front stereo speakers for this year’s product.

The smaller Google Pixel 3 will be very similar to its predecessor. Finally, the American operator Verizon would, once again, be Google’s exclusive partner.

Chrome 67, the latest update of the web browser gets rid of passwords thanks to a new identification system. It can be based on a device such as a fingerprint sensor on smartphones. Other novelties concern virtual reality features and more, discover the complete list by reading the following article.

Chrome updates to version 67, Google announces some new features. Most of them are mainly aimed at developers. However, the research giant has decided to take a new step that will make life easier for all users. The new version will make it possible to get rid of the old password in favor of an alternative method which requires a device connected in Bluetooth as the smartphone for example. WebAuthn, an API is now integrated into the new version of Chrome.

Chrome 67: discover the list of new features of the new version of the web browser

Services compatible with this device can open up new authentication possibilities to their users. There is, of course, the biometric sensor, but we can also consider using facial recognition, which is very popular with Apple with the iPhone X or the recent Xiaomi Mi 8, the first Android smartphone to be equipped with a 3D sensor. Of course, the WebAuthn standard is not only present on Chrome since we also find it at its competitor Firefox 60 Quantum. Here is the list of other new features introduced with Chrome 67 :

• Progressive Web Apps land on the computer browser
• Generic sensor API facilitates access to sensors on devices such as accelerometer, gyroscope and more
• WebXR: an API dedicated to virtual reality
• Better security by compartmentalizing the processes launched within the web browser

Many new features especially for developers for this latest version of Chrome. WebXR supports virtual reality, augmented and mixed, it is developed by Mozilla who already uses it on Firefox. The deployment of the update is already underway. We have seen that we already have Chrome 67 on our side. Google, in particular, is making efforts to improve the battery life of mobile equipment using Chrome. So far Microsoft Edge has done better in this area.

Watch the following promotional video to know more about these new features:

Over the years of producing cutting-edge drones, DJI has earned the moniker of being “The Apple of Drones”. DJI Mavic Air is yet another impressive drone from their assembly lines with superb features.

The first experience of using the drone makes you love it instantly.

The Quickshot feature enables you to capture Holywood-quality video footage by simply pressing a button while the Boomerang feature lets you command the drone to hover around an object and take awesome close shots.

This top drone has been mainly recommended to photography newbies, but racers can find it to be a valuable tool for capturing shots in its Sports Mode at a blistering speed of 42 mph.

Features

12MP Photos and 4K Video capturing capability
3-Axis Gimbal-Stabilized movable Camera
Vision and GPS Position-Based Navigation
8GB Internal Storage
Flight Autonomy made possible by obstacle Detection and avoidance capability
Maximum speed of 43mph in the Sport Mode
21 Minutes battery life
Foldable, compact and portable Body
Charger dock supporting multiple batteries

Mavic Air has one fascinating difference from its older yet more professional sibling Mavic Pro in that Mavic Air’s cameras sturdier while that in Mavic Pro is fragile.

Pros

1. Incredibly portability makes this drone an excellent option for photography when you are traveling to the most remote places to which you need to carry few devices.

2. With 21 minutes battery life, this drone can last longer in the air than other drones in its class. Besides, you need just 50 minutes of charging time to return to your aerial photography adventure.

3. It has a solid camera performance that ensures capture of HD overhead footages

4. The rugged construction of the drone is sturdy enough to withstand bruising impacts and scratches.

5. The charger dock allows you to charge more than one battery. It is an excellent opportunity to charge all your batteries simultaneously so that you can last longer in the air.

6. The stabilizing rig is superior to most other drones in its class and slightly better offer compared to that in Mavic Pro

Cons

1. Compared to Mavic Pro, Mavic Air has a much shorter range.

2. The drone comes with connection quirks that could have been easily avoided such having two different USB versions to perform two tasks. Instead of one unified USB option.

3. Regarding raw specs, the camera of the drone lags behind those of its peers.

Warranty Information

The drone has a 2-year warranty which looks normal. Second party owners are not eligible for the warranty.

Summary

DJI Mavic Air is certainly not the best drone out there, but it is still the best drone ever to roll out of DJI assemblies. All the right boxes about this drone are checked. The fiercest competitor to this drone is its stablemate Mavic Pro.

All things considered, Mavic Air still has impressive features compared with its predecessor especially the groundbreaking obstacle avoidance feature and its robust 8GB storage space.

Therefore, it is a drone I can recommend to anyone except if camera resolution is a factor in which case I would recommend the Mavic Pro.

U. S. Tech websites have been testing Apple’s latest product for a few days. They praised the excellent sound quality but regretted the limited use of Siri.

A marvel of software engineering, a more qualitative sound than that delivered by loudspeakers more expensive but critical intellectual limitations. American media specialized in new technologies delivered their first verdicts on the strengths and weaknesses of the HomePod, Apple’s latest creation.

Available since February 9 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia at a price of $349, the HomePod is a voice-driven connected speaker via Apple Siri’s virtual assistant that focuses on acoustic performance.

The HomePod is Apple’s response to Amazon and Google, which capture most of the market share of voice-activated smart speakers with Google Home and Amazon Echo. With these products fuelled by artificial intelligence, the digital giants hope to be able to impose their services in the users’ homes.

An excellent and easy to use speaker

All the journalists who have tried Apple’s speaker system agree on one thing: the HomePod keeps its promises regarding sound performance with excellent bass. The device’s eight speakers and seven microphones, driven by a microprocessor designed by Apple, do justice to the device’s premium positioning.

The HomePod offers the best of your music, no matter where you are. An accelerometer allows the HomePod to adapt to the room in which it is installed to deliver a spatialised sound like the Sonos speakers.

American medias also praise the ease of use of Apple’s latest product. The software and hardware know-how of the American group is once again reflected in the installation and configuration of the HomePod, which takes just a few seconds from an iPhone. The paw of the American IT group is as impressive in the sleeker style of the device, which is finally more compact than its competitors Home Max or Sonos Play: 5. A good point for Apple that capitalizes on its strengths.

An environment locked in the Apple universe.

The HomePod is designed to become the cornerstone of music listening at home. Provided you subscribe to Apple’s music streaming service, Apple Music. Unlike its rivals Amazon Echo and Google Home, Apple’s speaker only works with the home ecosystem. No need to hope to throw a song on Deezer or Spotify. Only Apple Music, iTunes, Beats1, and MusicMatch are compatible with the native features of the device.

The HomePod logically gives its full measure with Apple Music. It is therefore aimed above all at Apple addicts, who have several products and subscriptions to the group’s services and will see no disadvantage in remaining in its universe. To play a song from a competing service, you will have to use the AirPlay protocol.

Siri use is still limited.

The analysis site Loup Ventures has put the artificial intelligence of Apple’s loudspeaker to the test against that of Google. According to the results obtained, Siri is far from overcoming his delay on Google Assistant. Less relevant, Apple’s voice was only able to provide a correct answer to 52% of the 782 questions asked during the exam.

Not fixable

Finally, it is difficult not to mention the red card addressed to Apple by iFixit. The site specializing in the dismantling of technological products scrutinized the HomePod and found that it, like other Apple devices, was simply irreparable. No easy access to components is provided.

The repair mark is irrevocable: 1/10. In other words, in the event of a glitch, it’s better to rely on a simple and straightforward replacement by Apple.

UAVs, also known as the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drones, are being increasingly used in a variety of industries.

Commercial drones are used responsibly by the majority of their users, most of their applications and users have a positive impact, but their use is not without problems. Knowing that it is possible to use a drone as a mobile “flying camera” to produce images or video footage of the sky, it can also be used to spy on a company or to identify security holes.

Likewise, it is possible to use a drone as a mobile and remote delivery tool for illicit products or even to commit an attack. More innocently, but not less dangerously, UAVs can pose a safety risk if they are inadvertently flown in airspace where other aircraft are flying or over people working on the ground. Companies must, therefore, take this new threat into account and put measures in place to monitor UAVs and control them from the field.

A growing risk, involving monitoring UAVs

Last April, the British newspaper “The Guardian” reported a sharp increase in complaints filed with police services about UAVs, including cases of detection for burglary, near-flight collisions and smuggling of illegal products into prisons. With drones on sale for only 35 euros, even if most of them are used for playful purposes, the risk of some of them being misused increases.

One of the critical issues is aviation safety. As reported in August at New York’s JFK airport, a drone was seen within 30 meters of two aircraft arriving at the airport. Between August 2015 and January 216,583 UAV incidents were reported by the FAA (Federal Administration Aviation) between August 2015 and January 216.

Many of these episodes were minor incidents in which pilots or citizens on the ground reported seeing a drone fly in restricted airspace, but not necessarily a danger. However, any risk to aircraft in flight is significant and can lead to a major disaster.

UAV detection, monitoring, and control

One solution to the problem is to combine network cameras with sensors and analysis software to detect, monitor and control UAVs entering an organization’s airspace.

A few industry experts have recently developed a platform solution that aggregates sensor data and advanced video analytics algorithms on video sequences from our network cameras that establish a comprehensive detection area, provide visual localization and reduce risk. The solution’s user interface automatically generates visual alerts and notifications, while risk reduction can take many forms, such as UAV radio frequency jamming, laser signal disturbance, anti-drone deployment and fog bombing.

The solution enables the protection of sensitive sites, including 24/7 UAV detection, monitoring, and surveillance, real-time alerting and identification of potential threats, even if they are several hundred meters above ground level.

The threat posed by the development of the use of drones, whether innocent or malicious, is real and growing. From a safety perspective, it is essential that organizations of all types consider and act now on the risks to their businesses, employees, and customers.

A loophole made it possible to take control of any connected object from the manufacturer LG. In particular, it allowed the use of a robot vacuum cleaner to film the interior of a house.

Are you a fan of robot vacuum cleaners? It is true that these devices are efficient, but the fact that they are connected and equipped with sensors creates a risk to our privacy. Check Point experts have just revealed a flaw called HomeHack, allowing remote control of an LG Hom-Bot vacuum cleaner and spy on the user with the integrated camera. To prove it, the researchers made a demonstration video.

Now corrected, this flaw had a much broader impact because it concerned the whole range of connected LG objects: vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, etc. Millions of users were potentially exposed to this vulnerability. The problem was actually with LG’s SmartThinQ mobile application. Available on Android and iOS, it allows the user to log into their LG account and access the control functions of their connected object (s).

Unfortunately, the authentication procedure was not correctly programmed. After creating their own LG account, the researchers set up a Man-in-the-middle device to intercept requests and replace their identifiers with those of others. And bim, they were connected to a third party account. To do this, however, it was necessary to decompile the Android mobile application and remove two safeguards that the manufacturer had implemented. The first one prevented the app from running on a rooted smartphone; the second one stopped a middle-man interception by checking the authenticity of the HTTPS certificate (“Certificate pinning”).

Check Point discovered this flaw last July. LG released a patch in September. If you are a user of LG connected objects, make sure you have the latest version of the mobile application (1.9.23). It is also advisable to update the firmware of the devices, which you can do directly from the application dashboard.

The next Mac targeted at professionals, the iMac Pro, has reached monstrous speeds; that’s what emerged. The data comes from GeekBench where the results of two machines that would be just two iMac Pro machines appeared.

The first, an 8-core core, would have scored 23,536, the highest score ever seen, of course, for any iMac. Performance would be 21% higher than today’s most powerful iMac, the 4.2 GHz 5K with an average score of 19,336.

iMac Pro means high-performance

Seeing the speed of the 12-core iMac Pro, a Mac in the mid-range, we have monstrous results: 35,917 points that sweep even the latest model of the Cupertino based firm.

It should be noted that, in these tests, the 18 core model is still missing. We are sure that this machine will leave everyone open-mouthed and will burn any other competitor, giving the edge too many other devices on the market today, even very high-end ones.

Now we are all waiting for the release of this new iMac Pro that has scored so high and unprecedentedly. We look forward to 2018 for further developments.

Benchmarks show specially adapted Xeon chips

An exciting aspect to emphasize is what emerges from the benchmarks; the Xeon processor used by iMac Pro is calibrated on clock speeds lower than Intel’s standard products. It may be due to the heat dissipation problems that Apple’s compact machine, like the one Apple, is preparing to present, is more complicated than those devices that have the usual tower or mini-tower shape.

Benchmarks have now revealed Macs that work with hitherto unknown Intel chips – which suggests that they are not “Hackintosh.”

These are computers with an 8-core 3.2 GHz Xeon chip with the model designation W2140B and a 10-core Xeon chip with 3.0 GHz and the designation W2150B chip. The “B” variants of these chips have not been known so far; it is likely to be processors adapted by Intel for Apple – which apparently works at a slightly lower clock frequency to limit the heat build-up in the compact all-in-one iMac package. You will of course still need to do regular maintenance on your websites and use a software such as clean my mac 3 avis!

Even if the chips are obviously clocked down a bit, geekbench results are impressive: The 8-core model achieves a value of 23,536 points in the multi-core test – significantly more than the fastest iMac to date, the current Retina 5K iMac with 4.2 GHz 4-core Core i7 processor, which “only” reaches 19,336 points.

Are you lost between all Wi-Fi 802.11 declinations (a/b/g/n/ac/ad/ax/ah…)? MU-MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Aware and TimeSync don’t tell you much?

Let us, therefore, go back to the basics of understanding what this is all about. Because yes, not all “Wi-Fi” is the same, far from it!

Behind the “Wi-Fi” name lies a myriad of technologies and standards, each with its particularities. The best known are of course the 802.11b/g/n/ac, but there are many others. To add some complexity, there are sometimes significant differences within the same standard.

So, between two Wi-Fi 802.11n and 802.11ac routers there can be significant gaps in performance and functionality, so it’s important to know what it’s all about before you make your choice. To avoid being lost in the jungle of acronyms, here is a glossary of relevant terms to know.

Frequency and rate reminders

Before entering deeper into this subject, an important reminder: the evoked flows are theoretical maximums. They will therefore always be lower in practice, even under perfect conditions. Then know that the signal is disturbed by the presence of walls, a microwave oven (on the 2.4 GHz band) and depends of course on the distance. This can cause flow rates to drop rapidly and the connection to be cut off, even over short distances.

Also, in Wi-Fi, the manufacturers always talk about Mb/s (or Gb/s) and not about Mo/s (or Go/s): to convert them you have to divide them by 8. Thus, 300 Mb/s gives “only” 37.5 MB/s, while 1 Gb/s corresponds to about 125 MB/s. Here again, always in theory and of course at most (see our test of Google Wifi to be well aware of it).

As in mobile telephony, the lower the frequency, the farther away it is. However, higher frequencies have more bandwidth to reach higher speeds. In Wi-Fi, the most commonly used are 2.4 GHz (best range) and 5 GHz (best rate).

The youngest will undoubtedly remember the 802.11a (up to 54 Mbps) in the 5 GHz band and the 802.11b (up to 11 Mbps) in the 2.4 GHz band, both standards dating back to 1999. The 802.11b was replaced in 2003 by the 802.11g. It is backward compatible with the previous standard and capable of climbing up to 54 Mbps.