The Actuator – March 28th

sqlrockstar over 6 years ago 1 minute read time

It's the last week of March, which means the year is about 25% complete. Time to check in on your New Year's goals and see how you have progressed. There is still time to follow through on those promises you made to yourself.

As always, here are some links from the Intertubz that I hope will hold your interest. Enjoy!

12 Things Everyone Should Understand About Tech

Understanding these twelve things is crucial if we want to work together to make tech better for everyone.

Expedia's Orbitz Suspects 880,000 Payment Cards Stolen

“Orbitz says the breached system is not part of its current website.” In other words, they weren’t hacked through the website, they let their data get stolen because they lacked proper internal security measures. But here’s the #hardtruth: They are not unique, many companies fail in this area, they just don’t know it yet.

AVA: The Art and Science of Image Discovery at Netflix

Ever wonder how Netflix decides what images to use? Meet AVA, the brains behind the machine.

Ex-Googler Wants to Upend Pigs and Hotels With the Blockchain

Finally, a practical use case for Blockchain! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had issues getting quality bacon delivered to my hotel room.

Silicon Valley Has Failed to Protect Our Data. Here’s How to Fix It

I love this idea except for one detail, and that is I don’t want the government to have any part in this effort. They move too slow, and are often at the bequests of lobbyists. Seems like something Bill Gates could put a billion dollars behind and create something more useful than anything Congress would do.

Facebook denies it collects call and SMS data from phones without permission

I want to believe Facebook here, but, well, they haven’t exactly demonstrated that they can be trusted with our data. It’s quite possible that such data was collected, but not in an official capacity. So they can deny they are doing it, which is not the same as saying it never happened.

Ford vending machine begins dispensing cars in China

I love this idea, but I’d love it more if it were full of Jeeps.

Nothing makes a meeting more fun than showing up wearing a Luchador mask:

Top Comments

ecklerwr1 over 6 years ago +2

What did people say about that mask you had on? I liked the netflix article the best... only because ima computer scientist and like that kind of thing!
Jfrazier over 6 years ago +2

Hmmm, vending machine for jeeps. Brings a new meaning to the term: Just Empty Every Pocket Then beside it will be another vending machine for upgrades like rock rails, wheel covers, off road tires, off…
jm_sysadmin over 6 years ago +1

Facebook is going to be the tip of the iceberg once people really understand what these apps can tell about you. People will want laws, laws will be poorly written and miss the point. I do want some guardrails…

byrona over 6 years ago

sqlrockstar with regard to your statement on the Facebook article "they haven’t exactly demonstrated that they can be trusted with our data" I guess I would ask who can we trust with our data? More importantly, how can we tell who we can trust with our data?
Just thinking out loud here now but I feel like there is something missing, like some type of general data protection standard that companies are audited against by a trusted 3rd party and then certified as being a Trusted Data Custodian? I realize things like that sort of exist how with the likes of HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI, etc.; however, the problem with those is they all look for different things (lack of standards) and the auditing process is totally flawed. We go through HIPAA and PCI audits every year but he problem is we go out and pay an external company to come in and do the audits, those companies want our repeat business so of course they want us to pass and be happy with them which creates a conflict of interest.
I don't claim to know the answer to the problem because I don't, just sharing my thoughts on the issue.
- Cancel
- Vote Up 0 Vote Down
- More
- Cancel
Jfrazier over 6 years ago

Half the time I browse netflix they don't have what I am looking for or their selection is so mediocre.
For somethings it is not so bad. The kids and grandkids seem to find stuff there all the time.
- Cancel
- Vote Up 0 Vote Down
- More
- Cancel
sqlrockstar over 6 years ago

Netflix has 60-90 seconds to keep our attention when we browse for something to watch. If imagery helps us make a decision, then that's a good thing for Netflix. With so much content to choose from, it is more efficient to let the machines pick a sample of images that work best. That way the humans can give approval on the final image, without having to spend hours doing the task themselves. What I love about this is the practical application of facial recognition technology. I can't wait for my DeepLens to arrive, now I just need a project to work on!
- Cancel
- Vote Up 0 Vote Down
- More
- Cancel
Jfrazier over 6 years ago

Hmmm, vending machine for jeeps.
Brings a new meaning to the term:
Just
Empty
Every
Pocket

Then beside it will be another vending machine for upgrades like rock rails, wheel covers, off road tires, off road lights, etc.
Just
Empty
Everyones
Pockets
- Cancel
- Vote Up +2 Vote Down
- More
- Cancel
bdufresne over 6 years ago

I don't mean to say I think that the idea of loss of privacy is paranoia, it's the thought process that "big brother" is always watching that is almost borderline paranoid... for the time being.
- Cancel
- Vote Up +1 Vote Down
- More
- Cancel