Hasta La Gadget!

Researchers use computer algorithms and a new testing model to design hearing aids that are built to address the causes, not symptoms, of hearing impairments.

Originally posted at News – Health Tech

Everything can be hacked — that’s an important detail to keep in mind as we start cramming wireless radios into our bodies attached to medical implants. Researchers have been working on ways to protect devices like pacemakers from ne’er-do-wells looking to cause, not just e-harm, but physical injury or even death. A new system developed jointly by MIT and UMass is much more sophisticated that earlier solutions, can be used with existing implants, and is worn outside the body allowing it to be removed in the event of an emergency. The shield, as it’s called, acts as a sort of medical firewall, protecting implants from unauthorized access — doctors send encrypted instructions to it which are decoded and relayed to device, while it blocks any signals not using the secret key. All that’s left to do is figure out what sort of person would mess with someone’s defibrillator.

Researchers shield implants from hackers with wireless charm of protection originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  MIT  | Email this | Comments

Everyone’s favorite Italian grandmother and likely next Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made headlines last week when he cautioned that “there’s a strong likelihood that the next Pearl Harbor we confront could be a cyber attack.” That’s fear-mongering nonsense. More »

From the looks of it, a job posting on Microsoft’s career site has informally confirmed that Windows Phone is on track to receive “major yearly releases.” The idea of pushing a hefty Mango-sized package of features to its phones once a year shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as both iOS and Android aim for the same goal, but it’s nice to see that the folks in Redmond have a good feel on exactly where the platform is headed. Now, update fans need not be worried about refreshes only coming once a year; the listing asks for someone to head up work on minor amendments in between these releases, which means we should look forward to NoDo-style maintenance updates on a regular basis. Or it could all amount to absolutely nothing. Your move, Ballmer. Your move. Head to the source link for the job listing.

Microsoft job listing hints at annual Windows Phone updates originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileTechWorld  |  Microsoft  | Email this | Comments

Certain things, when homemade, are better than the store-bought version. Macaroni. Mother’s Day cards. Cleaning products? We tested some famous home remedies against some familiar brands. More »