The Internet of Things has a new home on Gigaom Research, and more for Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Internet of Things has a new home on Gigaom Research Cormac Foster Feb 15 2015, 6:00am PDT For years, Gigaom Research has covered the Internet of Things, from smart cities to smart homes to a smart and connected supply chain. During that time, our IoT content has been part of our existing research coverage areas. But over the past 18 months, the IoT […] Read More » Why deep learning is at least inspired by biology, if not the brain Derrick Harris Feb 14 2015, 10:58am PDT As deep learning continues gathering steam among researchers, entrepreneurs and the press, there’s a loud-and-getting-louder debate about whether its algorithms actually operate like the human brain does. The comparison might not make much of a difference to developers who just want to build applications that can identify objects […] Read More » Why this Apple TV fan has come to prefer Amazon’s Fire TV Geoffrey Goetz Feb 14 2015, 9:00am PDT While many anxiously await Apple’s new groundbreaking iWatch, Amazon’s Fire TV sets its sights on replacing Apple’s hobby device. Even for the most devout Apple addicts that cant live without their Apple TVs will find the Fire TV to be a worthwhile replacement. Read More » How tech trials force a choice between bad people and bad law Jeff John Roberts Feb 14 2015, 8:00am PDT Of course Ross Ulbricht was guilty. Despite his far-fetched claims of mistaken identity, a New York jury confirmed the obvious: that Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts) was the criminal mastermind who took on a villain’s name, and became rich by running an online marketplace that sold any drug imaginable. All the same, protestors on the […] Read More » Mobile recap: Windows 10 phone peek; Android Wear shipments Kevin C. Tofel Feb 14 2015, 5:56am PDT This was the week where mere mortals could get their first look at Windows 10 on a smartphone and I took advantage it. Using a loaner Lumia 830, I ran through the installation process, which requires a Windows Insider account; you can get one here, which […] Read More » If Pinterest hadn’t gone after affiliate marketers, the FTC might have Carmel DeAmicis Feb 13 2015, 3:53pm PDT On Friday, Pinterest banned affiliate links on its site, claiming that they cluttered up people’s feeds with spam. Most media companies called foul, saying that Pinterest was putting its own financial interest above its users, some of whom would lose big streams of revenue without affiliate links. […] Read More » Report: Apple might challenge Tesla with an electric minivan Signe Brewster Feb 13 2015, 3:24pm PDT Hundreds of Apple employees are working on an electric car that resembles a minivan, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. It’s possible the car will never make it to market, but the WSJ’s sources said the company has been meeting with manufacturers in […] Read More » Why it matters that the federal government will accept Apple Pay Kif Leswing Feb 13 2015, 1:31pm PDT Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke before President Barack Obama at a cybersecurity summit at Stanford University on Friday, and he was able to slip a few major Apple Pay announcements into his talk reiterating his commitment to privacy. There were two big Apple Pay developments from today’s […] Read More » Microsoft’s next mobile move may be apps pre-installed on Galaxy S6 Kevin C. Tofel Feb 13 2015, 1:09pm PDT That Galaxy S6 phone Samsung is expected to introduce on March 1 could have one big trick up its sleeve: Microsoft apps pre-installed. That’s the word from SamMobile’s sources, which previously reported that Samsung’s own TouchWiz apps were likely to be unbundled from the new Galaxy […] Read More » Report: Google following Facebook down the zero-rate rabbit hole Kevin Fitchard Feb 13 2015, 12:38pm PDT Google wants to make Android apps free to use overseas, giving more people access to mobile data services in developing markets, according to a new report in The Information. This kind of zero rating, as it is known, is exactly what Facebook does in several countries […] Read More » Wi-Fi industry is worried about mobile invading its airwaves Kevin Fitchard Feb 13 2015, 11:49am PDT There’s a new technology buzzing around mobile carrier circles called License Assisted Access that promises to make our 4G networks faster by dipping into unlicensed airwaves. Most people have never heard of it, but the Wi-Fi industry sure has and it’s raising some red flags. LAA, also […] Read More » MIT uses patent from 1997 to sue Apple over chips Jeff John Roberts Feb 13 2015, 10:38am PDT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a patent lawsuit against Apple and its suppliers this week, claiming that semiconductor wafers found in the company’s computers and mobile devices infringe on a patent obtained by two academics more than 15 years ago. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Boston federal […] Read More » First look at Windows 10 on phones: Clean, elegant and promising Kevin C. Tofel Feb 13 2015, 9:28am PDT Microsoft promised a preview version of Windows 10 for phones would arrive before the end of February and it delivered on that promise earlier this week. If you’ve signed up for the Windows Insider program and have a currently supported phone, you can install Windows 10 […] Read More » How NASA uses quantum computing for space travel and robotics Jonathan Vanian Feb 13 2015, 7:00am PDT Quantum computing is still in its infancy, even though the idea of a quantum computer was developed some thirty years ago. But there are a whole load of pioneering organizations (like Google) that are exploring how this potentially revolutionary technology could help them solve complex problems […] Read More » Apple makes iWork for iCloud beta free on Windows, Linux, Chrome OS Kevin C. Tofel Feb 13 2015, 6:42am PDT Add another option to the freely available online productivity software suites: Anyone can sign up for and use Apple’s iWork for iCloud, even if they don’t have a Mac or iOS device. The open access is actually in beta, so to use it, you’ll have to head […] Read More » Tesla charges ahead at the grid storage market Katie Fehrenbacher Feb 13 2015, 6:00am PDT For years Tesla, in partnership with solar partner SolarCity, has been experimenting with selling batteries that can store energy locally at a building, or combined with a solar panel. I was one of the first to report on this, and an early stage of the companies’ […] Read More » Researcher discovers security flaw in Netatmo weather station Stacey Higginbotham Feb 12 2015, 6:50pm PDT The Netatmo weather station, a popular and beautiful connected weather station, apparently sends your Wi-Fi password as well as other device and network information over the internet in an unencrypted format. Johannes Ullrich, CTO at the SANS Internet Storm Center in Jacksonville, Florida, posted a blog […] Read More » Did you know Uber has a VIP loyalty program? Carmel DeAmicis Feb 12 2015, 3:02pm PDT Turns out that Uber has a loyalty program for some of its regular customers, but only in select cities. Despite being around a few years, it has gone mostly unnoticed aside from errant tweets and personal blogs, because the company never officially announced it. Individual Uber market managers decide whether […] Read More » iMessage just got secure: Apple expands iCloud two-factor authentication Kif Leswing Feb 12 2015, 1:13pm PDT Since the embarrassing revelation that iCloud’s two-factor authentication didn’t actually cover many of Apple’s online services, partially responsible for a rash of leaked celebrity photos last year, Apple has been gradually adding the security setting to many of its other services. On Thursday, users with iCloud’s two-factor authentication enabled will need […] Read More » Why Elon Musk thinks Tesla will be worth as much as Apple in a decade Katie Fehrenbacher Feb 12 2015, 12:44pm PDT Thanks to a killer 2014, this week Apple became the first U.S. company to be worth over $700 billion. Could a company that makes electric cars ever be worth that much? Well, yes, according to comments made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk during the company’s earnings […] Read More »