There was a time that oil companies ruled the globe, but “black gold” is no longer the world’s most valuable resource — it’s been surpassed by data. The five most valuable companies in the world today — Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Google’s parent company Alphabet — have commodified data and taken over their respective sectors. “Data is clearly the new oil,” says Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus of the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab and the author of Move Fast and Break Things: How Google, Facbook and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy. But with…
Read MoreMonth: August 2017
Updating ‘Briefcase Law’: Defence Lawyers Try To End Warrantless Smartphone Searches At Border – Technology & Science – CBC News
Imagine losing your smartphone or leaving your laptop behind on a train or bus. How much could someone learn about you — your interests, your lifestyle, your habits — based on what they could access on the device? What conclusions could someone make when the photos you’ve taken, the apps you’ve installed and the websites you’ve visited are laid bare? According to the Supreme Court of Canada: quite a few. Unlike a briefcase or a filing cabinet, judges have found, a smartphone can contain “immense amounts of information” that touch a person’s “biographical core.” Read…
Read MoreCanadian Co-Author Of U.S. Climate Report Says Findings ‘Flatly Contradict’ Trump Administration – Politics – CBC News
A Canadian scientist who helped author an exhaustive U.S. draft report on climate change says the study makes it clear dramatic action is needed to stop global temperatures from rising, but that her team has no idea how the Trump administration will react to it. The report, written by scientists from 13 federal agencies, concludes that the United States is already feeling the effects of climate change, with a stark increase in the frequency of heat waves, heavy rains and other extreme weather over the last four decades. The report is now…
Read MoreCoding May Not Be All It’s Cracked Up To Be When It Comes To Getting A Job In The Future – Business – CBC News
Coding is, apparently, the new language we all need to learn. It’s billed as essential by the likes of Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking. General Motors CEO Mary Barra calls coding a “core skill” that you need to learn if you want a high-paying job. But what if this emphasis on coding is distracting us from teaching kids about other, more important things that they’ll actually need for the jobs of the future? Marina Gorbis, executive director of the Institute for the Future, sees this obsession with coding as the equivalent of putting…
Read MoreFree Wi-Fi Has Driven 88% Of Canadians To Put Their Personal Info At Risk: Report – National | Globalnews.ca
A strong Wi-Fi signal is one major factor that helps Canadians decide where they want to stay when they go away for long weekends, said a risk report released by Norton last month. And while a hefty majority of Canadians believe their information is safe while using public Wi-Fi networks at hotels, restaurants and elsewhere, the report reveals that these services aren’t as secure as users might like to believe they are. “The most common misconception about public Wi-Fi is that it’s secure,” Kevin Haley, Norton’s director of security response, said…
Read MoreMore Fast-Charging Stations Coming For Electric Vehicles In The Maritimes | The Chronicle Herald
HALIFAX — Driving an electric car along Canada’s rugged East Coast is about to get a lot easier. Electric utilities in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are moving ahead with plans to install more charging stations along major highways. “It’s a good step forward,” says Wayne Groszko, renewable energy co-ordinator with the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre. “When they’re in place, people will be able to drive their electric cars farther. I see that as a good thing.” In Nova Scotia, the province’s electric utility announced Wednesday it will set up 12 more stations along the province’s 100-series highways,…
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