July 25-26
A Jeep gets hacked, the future of flying cars, Samsung Pay has problems and more tech trends to follow.
Tech Trend 1 – Hackers take hold of a Jeep and have a lot of fun doing it
If you thought having a backseat driver was annoying, imagine having one who’s not even in your car.
Two hackers, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, have managed to hack a 2014 Jeep Cherokee over the Internet. Giving them access to any Jeep Cherokee, regardless of the distance. They were able to gain control of nearly everything, from simple things like the radio and air conditioning to more complex things such as the steering wheel and brakes. They were even able to upload a picture of them wearing tracksuits onto the cars digital display.
It’s scary. The idea that cars are hackable and that people can control them from nearly anywhere, regardless of whether or not they drive a Jeep. Miller and Valasek are trying to raise awareness and encourage car manufacturers to take the security of their cars a top priority. And luckily for Chrysler, Miller and Valasek were generous enough to share their findings with Chrysler 9 months before they released it to the public. What isn’t so lucky for Chrysler, is they now have to recall 1.4 million cars after the hack.
Thankfully, On July 16th Chrysler released a patch in response to the hackers findings. Hopefully more car manufacturers will follow suit and start taking security more seriously. Check out the video below to see Wired’s Andy Greenberg experience what it is like to be hacked while driving.
Source: Wired
Tech Trend 2 – Samsung Pay not available on rooted devices
After announcing Samsung Pay back in March, Samsung has begun to roll out a live trial of the service in South Korea. And to some users grave disappointment, Samsung Pay does not work on rooted devices. When trying to pay with a rooted device, users are presented with an error message that reads, “Samsung Pay has been locked due to unauthorized modification.”
This means that people looking to use Samsung Pay upon full release (which could be as soon as next month) will need to choose between a rooted phone and this new mobile payment platform. This comes as a surprise to many seeing as Google Wallet works on rooted devices. But in the end, security is most important, so don’t expect Samsung to be change this anytime soon.
Source: Sammobile
Tech Trend 3 – Apple releases new update for public beta of iOS 9 and El Capitan
Apple has officially released the second version of the public beta for iOS 9 and El Capitan. The second beta has some important elements to it, such as Home Sharing and new shutter buttons for the camera.
Home Sharing gives users the ability to play iTunes media across devices in the same household. While this feature had previously been released, it was removed in iOS 8.4. The other feature new to this beta is the ability to use the volume buttons as shutter buttons for the camera. This feature is also supported on the new iPod Touch.
In regards to the El Capitan update, it seems to be focused on stability and bug fixes. But users of the betas still suggest holding out if installing on your primary device. While the beta has received improvements, it isn’t bug free yet. We can expect the full versions of iOS 9 and El Capitan in September.
Source: Mashable
Tech Trend 4 – Is the future we all dream of becoming possible?
When people think of what the future will hold, one common thought has always been on the forefront. Flying Cars. It seems that every generation feels that the next generation will be the one to have flying cars. This time they may be right.
Terrafugia, a company that exists with the sole purpose of creating flying cars, has created a concept that may be able to make flying cars a reality. Back in 2012, Terrafugia revealed the Transition model, a car that had fold out wings which was successfully flown during a test flight. Terrafugia has since set their sights much bigger with the TF-X.
Fitted with two primary, helicopter style rotors, the TF-X requires a simple helicopter landing pad rather than a runway. This makes it much more practical considering it isn’t always convenient to find a runway. Equipped with an electric motor with a 300 horsepower engine, the TF-X would have a 500-mile range and be able to achieve cruising speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. Another amazing feature is that flight would be partially computer controlled. Outside of manual control, the driver will be able to engage automatic cruise or landing mode, allowing for the TF-X to automatically avoid restricted air space, bad weather, and congested traffic areas. However, there is a not so cool part of it. Terrafugia has said that the TF-X will be in development for the next 8 to 12 years. So we still won’t be seeing flying cars for a while. Check out the video below to see the concept in action and a glimpse into the potential future.
Source: Mashable
Tech Trend 5 – CurrentC gearing up for launch
Apple Pay is about to receive one more competitor in the mobile payments market. This time, it comes from a company by the name of MCX, who is the maker of the app, CurrentC. Even though it is just hitting the market now, CurrentC received backing by major retailers in 2012. The reason CurrentC is more popular with retailers than Apple Pay or Google Wallet is because it allows retailers to avoid the 2% to 3% processing fee that comes with a purchase made by a credit card. In order to use CurrentC, the user must connect the app to a bank account or a store card such as Target’s REDcard. This will be a major barrier for CurrentC to overcome due to that most consumers prefer to pay by credit card. The only way to find out if this can compete with Apple Pay is to wait and see how well CurrentC performs during its upcoming trial run next month and in the future once it’s fully released.
Source: MacRumors
