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The blogosphere was buzzing when Google announced to developers that it would introduce the Ara, a new modular smartphone that would cost $50 in its most basic form. The idea behind the phone is that there would be a basic chassis or as some have called it, an exoskeleton that would hold the phone’s modules together and provide the basic data and power connections for the modules to function.
The rumor is that there will be several chassis designs in different sizes and capabilities. This suggests that companies will be able to tailor their mobile phones to meet the specific needs of different departments.
For the past week the number one thing on the minds of people who work in IT security has been the Heartbleed vulnerability that sent many people rushing to change their passwords, or run the risk of having their information compromised.
Now, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police say that they have arrested a 19-year-old student in connection with the exploitation attacks against the Canadian Revenue Agency using the Heartbleed flaw. Stephen Arthuro Solis-Reyes was charged with one count of Unauthorized Use of Computer and one count of Mischief in Relation to Data.
AT&T recently announced that Volvo’s 2015 model year vehicles, which should be available in May, will be equipped with AT&T wireless technology. Glenn Lurie, AT&T’s president of emerging devices, explained that details are still being worked out. But the company views cars similarly to smartphones and tablets—they are devices that the company intends to support. While every major U.S. carrier has made announcements related to the connected car market, AT&T remains by and large the leader.
Finally, the National Technical Information Service is a little-known federal agency that collects scientific, technical and engineering information and sells reports on those topics to the public and industry. However, a new bill has been introduced, called the “Let Me Google That For You Act,” that aims to eliminate the NTIS, since about 74 percent of the documents it circulates can be found for free by searching Google.