This week, we’re excited about what the new M7 sensors mean for iPhone activity tracking, we’re thinking about how to rebuild trust in the internet and tech companies post-Snowden, and we’re listening to some music that plays with the boundaries between analog and digital. As always, if you want to keep up with what we’re reading/thinking about on a weekly basis, the best way is to subscribe to the “else” feed, either as an email newsletter or through RSS.
Apple’s M7 Motion Sensing Coprocessor Is The Wizard Behind The Curtain For The iPhone 5s – TechCrunch
One of the most interesting new features of the iPhone 5S is the M7 sensors that bring fitness tracking to the devices we already carry in our pockets, making it easier for us to all become quantified selves without having to remember to wear our Fitbits or Jawbones.
This bracelet could replace your passwords, your car keys, and even your fingerprints – The Verge
Using ECG as a unique biomarker, the Nymi might introduce new ways of using our physical attributes as digital identifiers.
E-ZPasses Get Read All Over New York (Not Just At Toll Booths) – Forbes
A hacked E-ZPass reveals other checkpoints where it is surreptitiously read on the road. Must we assume that if a sensor is present, it will be read?
Video: Google Finally Explains the Tech Behind Their Autonomous Cars – PopSci
It’s a little old, but it’s a great walk through of what’s going on with driverless cars. We’re especially intrigued by the programmed signaling that goes on at four-way intersection.
Government Announces Steps to Restore Confidence on Encryption Standards – NYTimes
NIST needs to restore trust after it was revealed that the NSA is able to break encryption standards.
CloudFlare CEO: ‘Insane’ NSA gag order is costing U.S. tech firms customers – Washington Post
Customers demand greater transparency, but there are barriers to disclosing data requests details that explain tech companies’ interactions with the NSA.
Government Secrecy and the Generation Gap – FT
Bruce Schneier writes that the culture of loyalty and secrecy that intelligence agencies relies on is breaking down with generational differences. Expect more whistleblowers.
Dawn of Midi – Radiolab
This Radiolab short features Dawn of Midi, a band that plays with the boundaries between acoustic and electronic music production. We’ve gone from analog to digital and back again. Worth a listen for the music, and for the description of the process we’re going through as our tools expand our understanding of what we might be capable.