CES 2020 has arrived. We’ve dug through rumours, press releases and our inboxes to pick some of the most exciting tech you can expect to see at the world’s largest technology show in Las Vegas this coming week. Here’s a peek at what’s to come.
TVs at CES 2020: Transparent displays, 8K and more
TVs tend to dominate at CES, and this year is no different. South Korean heavyweights Samsung and LG will unveil fancy screens aplenty, with 8K the order of the day. LG will tout its ‘Real 8K’ TV lineup, complete with an industry-certified 8K UHD logo – a standard set by the Consumer Technology Association that runs CES.
We’re not going to torture you with the ins and outs of television standards, but you should take them all with a pinch of salt. Samsung and other manufacturers such as Panasonic, for example, have certifications from a separate body called the 8K Association, so it’s all a PR battle as much as anything else.
That aside, LG’s new TVs deliver 8K upscaling, courtesy of a new AI-powered processor, designed to make lower resolution content shine on its 65-inch to 88-inch screens. The same tech also promises to automatically detect what you’re watching and adjust the settings accordingly, while also letting you control your smart-home connected kit from your sofa.
There have also been whispers of an update to LG’s rollable TV. Revealed last year as a screen that unfurled from within a stand, this year’s version apparently houses the display in the ceiling, allowing it to magically unroll from above. The last trick in the LG camp is a transparent OLED display, which can be used as a high-tech partition or wall as has been aimed squarely at the business sector.
Samsung has played its cards closer to its chest this year. Leaks point to a completely frameless 8K QLED screen, called the Zero Bezel TV. According to rumours, Samsung has managed to glue the chassis of the TV to the panel with a miniscule distance, giving the appearance of a floating screen.
We also expect Samsung to reveal Neon, its ‘artificial human’, thought to be some form of AI that’s completely separate from the much-maligned Bixby (thankfully). We don’t know what products Neon is expected to infiltrate, but it could very well be TVs and phones. Expect all to be revealed during the company’s keynote on Monday.
Samsung will also be showing off the Sero – a TV with the dubious ability to rotate from portrait to landscape mode. While there are currently no details on Samsung’s site, we know from its announcement last year that it’s aimed at “young people” who want to enjoy Snapchat videos, Insta stories and other vertical video content in their full intended glory.
And a more general televisual trend for CES 2020: expect to see in TVs with faster refresh rates, in preparation of the upcoming new consoles from Sony and Microsoft.
Cars at CES 2020: flying cars and fancy displays
Let’s kick off with Hyundai’s flying car, or Personal Air Vehicle (above). Due to be unveiled as a concept, it’s designed to “alleviate road congestion and give back quality time to city commuters”, while allowing the rest of us to live out our Fifth Element fantasies in a (presumably) safe manner. The company will also show off a concept for its self-driving Purpose Built Vehicle, which can join its flying brother at Hyundai Hubs – locations in future cities which will presumably be used to recharge and maintain the vehicles.
Nissan’s CES showcase is a little more grounded in reality, showing off the previously announced zero-emission Nissan Ariya Concept, new Formula E and the Nissan LEAF e+ electric vehicles. Oh, and an electric ice-cream van which uses recycled energy cells from Nissan’s first generation of electric cars, with a solar panel to help charge the batteries.
Honda will kick show off its Augmented Driving Concept (above), which is described as a self-driving car in which the “autonomous driving system is constantly on standby, ready to intervene and control the vehicle when needed”. In other words, the driving system changes between automatic and manual with a switch, and features more than eight modes between fully autonomous and semi-autonomous operation. Sensors in the vehicle continuously read the driver’s intention, to smoothly shift between these modes.
In addition to new cars, we’re also going to see specific components steal the automotive spotlight at CES. Futurus Technology’s mixed reality windshield is one example, which augments the driver’s view with important information. The company is reportedly working BMW, amongst others, to implement this tech into future vehicles.
Smart home at CES 2020: Fridges, baby rockers and Apple
It wouldn’t be CES without a smart kitchen appliance, and Samsung’s latest Family Hub fridge is one of the biggest you’re likely to find. Beyond the obvious fact that it’s a fridge with a giant built-in display and cameras to show you the contents, this year’s model has an AI-powered Meal Planner feature, courtesy of recently acquired startup Whisk. It can, apparently, help you plan a week’s worth of meals by adjusting various factors such as your ingredients and number of guests, before creating a smart shopping list that consolidates ingredients from different recipes.
On the other end of the smart-home spectrum is the mamaRoo sleep bassinet (above) – a bed for infants which gently rocks them to sleep with five different motion modes – car ride, wave, kangaroo, tree swing and rock-a-bye.
In more dystopian news, Amaryllo Inc is displaying the Athena – “the world’s first dual biometric security camera with high power CPUs to remotely perform cloud data mining to actively identify voices and seek objects”. In other words, it’s a camera that’s capable of recognising people based on their face, voice and body, without requiring a separate computer to process it all.
Last year, Kohler stole the show with its ludicrously priced Alexa-powered smart toilet, and the company has returned to upgrade your shower. Its updated Moxie showerhead has a built-in speaker with sound designed by Harmon Kardon, with Alexa once again thrown in for good measure.
CookingPal’s Julia can apparently chop, mix, steam, knead, emulsion, weigh and cook – all while being controlled via your smartphone or dedicated Smart Kitchen Hub Tablet. Voice assistant smarts have been thrown in for good measure. It’s as easy as choosing from over 500 tailored recipes, chucking the ingredients in, and letting Julia take care of the rest.
The puripot airLamp hides air-purifying tech inside a regular looking lamp. Its two-part purification process involves a washable dust filter, followed by special light rays which apparently destroy unwanted airborne particles. The mind boggles.
Following on from the stranger end of the spectrum, Samsung’s stand will also host its new Shoe Care System – an all-in-one “solution” to store and look after your footwear. Featuring the ability to deodorise, dehumidify and dry your shoes, it’ll supposedly help them last longer, look better and feel fresher. We’ll see.
Lastly, Apple will be making an extremely rare appearance at CES this year, to show off HomeKit. There’s apparently nothing new to announce from Apple itself, but new HomeKit products from third-party manufacturers will be shown off.
Laptops at CES 2020: Screen dreams are made of these
Laptops aren’t the most exciting thing in the world, but there are a couple we’ve spotted ahead of time that warrant your attention. For starters, Dell will be showing off its latest model of the XPS 13 – widely regarded to be the best general notebook in the world. With refreshed innards including the latest Intel processors, even thinner bezels and a full-width keyboard, this could very well be the world’s best laptop.
On the more extreme end of the scale, we have Asus’s horrifically named ROG Strix Scar III (above). It’s thankfully more handsome than its moniker suggests, with enough power to run the latest AAA titles, packing the punch of larger gaming PCs. Its headline-grabbing feature is its 300Hz display, a refresh rate that’s a rarity even amongst the highest end of the gaming monitor spectrum.
Phones at CES 2020: A OnePlus Concept
CES isn’t normally a stage for smartphones to strut their stuff, but OnePlus has ignored the memo with its Concept One handset. The standout feature is its invisible camera lenses, developed with McLaren, which appear and disappear at will, thanks to the wonders of electrochromic glass – the same tech you see in fancy office windows which can become clear or transparent at the touch of a button.
The Twitter teaser video only shows off the rear camera lenses in action, but if OnePlus has managed to work the same magic on the front-facing selfie cam, then this could be a game changer for notch haters. Or if it anything other than lightning quick, it could equally be fantastically annoying.
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.
Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.
The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.
The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.
The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.
Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.
“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.
The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.
“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”
The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.
However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.
That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.
“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.
“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”
The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.
About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.
“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.
Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.
In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.
The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”
“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.
“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”
Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.
Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.
In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.
The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.
Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.
“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.
Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.
Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.
“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”
Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.
As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.
But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.
Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.
The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
