Phone Security

Phone Batteries Can Be Used to Spy on Their Owners and Track Them Around the Internet

Andrew Giffin | August 3, 2015

Phone batteries are sending out information that could be used to identify their owners and track them around the internet, even if they have taken very careful privacy precautions, according to a paper by security researchers.
A piece of software in HTML5 — the technology used to let people read sites on the web — tells websites how much batteryis left in a users’ phone, and is intended to allow websites to help preserve battery if phones are running low. But that same information can be used to identify phones as they move around the internet, allowing people to be tracked.

<more at http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/phone-batteries-can-be-used-to-spy-on-their-owners-could-track-people-around-the-internet-10435578.html; related links: http://it.slashdot.org/story/15/08/03/1728255/privacy-alert-your-laptop-or-phone-battery-could-track-you-online (Privacy Alert: Your Laptop Or Phone Battery Could Track You Online. August 3, 2015) and http://betanews.com/2015/08/03/privacy-alert-your-laptop-or-phone-battery-could-track-you-online/ (Privacy alert: your laptop or phone battery could track you online. August 3, 2015); further: https://eprint.iacr.org/2015/616.pdf (The leaking battery; A privacy analysis of the HTML5 Battery Status API.  Lukasz Olejnik, Gunes Acar, Claude Castelluccia, and Claudia Diaz. [Abstract: We highlight the privacy risks associated with the HTML5 Battery Status API. We put special focus on its implementation in the Firefox browser. Our study shows that websites can discover the capacity of users’ batteries by exploiting the high precision readouts provided by Firefox on Linux. The capacity of the battery, as well as its level, expose a fingerprintable surface that can be used to track web users in short time intervals. Our analysis shows that the risk is much higher for old or used batteries with reduced capacities, as the battery capacity may potentially serve as a tracking identifier. The fingerprintable surface of the API could be drastically reduced without any loss in the API’s functionality by reducing the precision of the readings. We propose minor modifications to Battery Status API and its implementation in the Firefox browser to address the privacy issues presented in the study. Our bug report for Firefox was accepted and a fix is deployed.])>

Creative Library Funding

Fine Arts Library Uses University Crowdfunding Site to Fund Recording Studio

Selah Maya Zighelboim | August 1, 2015

Beginning in January, students from all departments will be able to record music, podcasts or other audio recordings using a new recording studio in the Fine Arts Library.

Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/fal/about

The Fine Arts Library will add a recording studio as part of a plan called “The Foundry,” which aims to renovate the Fine Arts Library with more technology. To fund this, the library raised more than $15,000 through HornRaiser, a University crowdfunding platform.

<more at https://www.dailytexanonline.com/2015/08/01/fine-arts-library-uses-university-crowdfunding-site-to-fund-recording-studio>

Apple and Amazon: "Frenemies" on eReaders

Apple and Amazon are ’Frenemies’ When it Comes to eReaders

New research by Feng Zhu and colleagues reveals why sometimes it's better for fierce competitors like Apple and Amazon to work together

Michael Blanding | August 3, 2015

Let's get one thing straight from the start: Apple and Amazon are not friends. If they were high school students, they'd be mean girls glaring at each other from opposite sides of the cafeteria, jealously forcing their friends to pick sides between Team Chloe and Team Madison.

[Above image from: http://www.slate.com/articles/business/rivalries/2013/08/amazon_facebook_google_apple_the_top_four_tech_companies_need_one_another.html]

...So why would Amazon release a version of its Kindle Reader on Apple's iPad, allowing users to access its library of exclusive digital books? "Doesn't that diminish interest in the Kindle device?" asks Feng Zhu, an assistant professor in the Technology and Operations Management unit at Harvard Business School.

<more at http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7768.html; related links: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml (Why Apple And Amazon Choose To Be 'Frenemies'. August 3, 2015) and http://www.slate.com/articles/business/rivalries/2013/08/amazon_facebook_google_apple_the_top_four_tech_companies_need_one_another.html (Behind Frenemy Lines; We think of the top four tech companies as mortal foes, but they need one another in order to thrive. August 5, 2015)>

Roku Gets Dropbox

Dropbox Comes to Roku

Adnan Farooqui | August 2, 2015

If Dropbox is your cloud storage service of choice and you happen to have a Roku hooked up to your TV then you’re going to like what the two have to offer. Dropbox has arrived on Roku and it lets you view photos and movies stored in your cloud storage directly on the TV by using Roku’s streaming media player. It’s quite capable as it lets you search for items by name, view thumbnails and slideshows and browse through folders.

          Source: https://blog.roku.com/blog/2013/03/05/introducing-roku-3-video          /

<more at http://www.ubergizmo.com/2015/08/dropbox-comes-to-roku/; http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/02/roku-dropbox-channel/ (Roku's Dropbox channel puts cloud files on your TV. July 23, 2015) and http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/dropbox-roku-app-released/ (Dropbox App for Roku Lets You View Your Movies and Photos on a Big Screen. July 23, 2015)>

Activities to Boost Memory

Memory Boosted a Staggering 50% By These Activities From Childhood

Phys Blog | [based on research appearing] June 2015

Climbing a tree can improve working memory by 50%, a new study finds.
The same is true of other dynamic activities like balancing on a beam, carrying awkward weights and navigating around obstacles.

Source: http://thesecretyumiverse.wonderhowto.com/how-to/boost-your-brain-power-7-tips-for-improving-your-memory-0135431/

<more at http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/07/memory-boosted-a-staggering-50-by-these-activities-from-childhood.php; related links: http://www.dddmag.com/news/2015/07/lifestyle-changes-may-guard-aging-brain-against-memory-loss?et_cid=4692835&et_rid=353748268&location=top (Lifestyle Changes May Guard Aging Brain Against Memory Loss. July 24, 2015) and http://www.amsciepub.com/doi/10.2466/22.PMS.120v18x1 (The Working Memory Benefits of Proprioceptively Demanding Training: A Pilot Study. Perceptual and Motor Skills: Volume 120, Issue 3, pp. 766-775. doi: 10.2466/22.PMS.120v18x1. Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of proprioception on working memory. It was also of interest whether an acute and highly intensive period of exercise would yield working memory gains. The training group completed a series of proprioceptively demanding exercises. There were also control classroom and yoga groups. Working memory was measured using a backward digit recall test. The data indicated that active, healthy adults who undertook acute, proprioceptively demanding training improved working memory scores compared to the classroom and yoga groups. One possible reason that the training yielded significant working memory gains could be that the training was proprioceptively dynamic, requiring proprioception and at least one other factor—such as locomotion or navigation—at the same time, which may have contributed to the improvements in working memory performance.)>

MOOCs May Lead to Future Online Students

From Free to Degree: How MOOCs Open the Door for Future Online Students

Michael Moyes | July 27, 2015

When Massive Open Online Courses burst onto the scene in 2012, there was a great deal of excitement around the capacity for these offerings to transform the higher education space. While they have been successful in creating access to higher education for underserved populations, many administrators saw an opportunity to both deliver high-quality programming to students they may never have reached and to encourage these students to also enroll in online credit-bearing programs offered by the institution. While some institutions have not seen the return they were hoping for from these courses, others, like Berklee Online—the continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, which offers a range of for-credit and non-credit online music education options—have enjoyed great success. In this interview, Michael Moyes and Pat Raymond share some of the secrets behind the Berklee Online’s success in the MOOC environment.

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/online-learning-campus-2-0-1.12590

<more at http://evolllution.com/attracting-students/enrollment_strategies/free-degree-moocs-open-door-future-online-students/; related link: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/04/11/397295495/the-future-of-free-online-courses-new-research-from-mit-and-harvard (New Research Shows Free Online Courses Didn't Grow As Expected. April 11, 2015) and https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/future-moocs (The Future of MOOCs. October 29, 2014)>

Copyright and Video

With Increased Video Use Comes Greater Copyright Concerns for Higher Ed

From the use of stock footage to audio clips, students and faculty face intellectual property concerns

Tara Garcia Mathewson | July 29, 2015

Google provides a quick and easy way to search for images, taking just tenths of a second to return millions of results. A person could spend less than a minute thinking of an image, searching for it, and then copying it into a presentation or a video project. But someone photographed that image, and just like scholarly text should be properly cited, so too should digital content be fairly sourced.

Source: http://webresourcesdepot.com/videoblocks-unlimited-stock-videos-motion-bgs-more-3-accounts-giveaway/

<more at http://www.educationdive.com/news/with-increased-video-use-comes-greater-copyright-concerns-for-higher-ed/403037/; related links: https://www.videoblocks.com/ (Upgrade your creative projects with unlimited downloads of studio quality, affordable stock footage, motion backgrounds, After Effects templates & more) and http://education.videoblocks.com/grant/ (The Digital Media Action Grant. [About: VideoBlocks for Education is excited to launch our Digital Media Action Grant program. VideoBlocks Digital Media Action Grant program is designed to inspire further research into the impact that digital media has in developing 21st century communication skills, ensuring the ethical use of digital content and in engaging learners. The theme for this year’s program is “Improving Learning Using Creative Digital Media.” VideoBlocks will be awarding two (2) grants of $10,000 to higher education researchers to study the influence of VideoBlocks digital creative content on an array of education topics. The research findings from program grantees will create best practices for incorporating creative digital content across the campus and uncover innovative new use cases for engaged and active learning.)>