Researchers Have Linked a Human Brain to the Internet for the First Time Ever
Posted on June 13th, 2018
200 universities just launched 600 free online courses. Here’s the full list.
Posted on June 13th, 2018
AI offers exciting opportunities for ecommerce industry – expert
Posted on June 13th, 2018
Amazon Key is a new service that lets couriers unlock your front door
Posted on June 13th, 2018
You’ll need a smart lock and Amazon’s new Cloud Cam
Twelve years ago, Amazon launched Prime, a subscription service that entitled members to free two-day shipping in the United States. Since then, it has added a number of options to make delivery faster and more convenient. Prime customers can get same-day delivery, and drop off with an hour or two on some items. Of course, customers aren’t always home to receive their packages. So Amazon started putting lockers in nearby convenience stores and building lobbies. It even showed off drones that could drop the package right into your backyard. Today it’s taking the obvious next step and introducing a service that will allow Amazon couriers to open your front door and put your package safely inside your home.
The service is called Amazon Key, and it relies on a Amazon’s new Cloud Cam and compatible smart lock. The camera is the hub, connected to the internet via your home Wi-Fi. The camera talks to the lock over Zigbee, a wireless protocol utilized by many smart home devices.
When a courier arrives with a package for in-home delivery, they scan the barcode, sending a request to Amazon’s cloud. If everything checks out, the cloud grants permission by sending a message back to the camera, which starts recording. The courier then gets a prompt on their app, swipes the screen, and voilà, your door unlocks. They drop off the package, relock the door with another swipe, and are on their way. The customer will get a notification that their delivery has arrived, along with a short video showing the drop-off to confirm everything was done properly.
The Amazon Cloud Cam and compatible locks Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge
The system works with locks from Yale and Kwikset, two well-known brands. But the other piece, the connected camera, is made by Amazon, and that’s a really big deal. Amazon is pushing even further into the smart home space, a market it’s made big strides in, thanks to the huge popularity of its Alexa devices. Amazon’s Cloud Cam is a central piece of its Key service, but it’s also just a straightforward home security camera, one that can respond to voice commands and integrates with other Alexa devices. Amazon is planning to sell them in bundles and offer a subscription service for customers who want video archives and advanced home monitoring, putting the product in direct competition with Alphabet’s Nest brand and others in the smart home space, like Ring and Logitech.
Prime customers can preorder the camera today. The Key app and actual delivery service will become available November 8th.
All this raises a big question, however: will Prime customers trust Amazon to monitor their homes around the clock, and to know when it’s okay to unlock their doors for a stranger? And will the benefit of having your packages delivered quickly and securely outweigh any concerns about privacy and security customers might have?
For $249.99, Amazon will sell you a bundle that includes a smart lock, the connected camera, and free installation. Once you have the system in place, in-home delivery will begin to appear as an option every time you order something on Amazon. There is no additional charge, and Amazon says the in-home delivery will be available on over 10 million items (anything that isn’t too big and bulky). The one caveat is that, for now, Amazon only trusts its own delivery team to handle this work. So Amazon Key is only available in 37 cities across the US where Amazon Logistics handles the drop-off. But the company says it hopes to expand the service more widely in the future. It will be interesting to see if it eventually allows third-party delivery companies to handle this sensitive process.
Cloud Cam streaming on an Echo Show Image: Amazon
Amazon knows that it’s asking a lot of consumers with its new Key service. You have to really trust a company to let it record what’s going on inside your home at all times, and even more to unlock your door for strangers. So it tries to make sure the process is minimally invasive and totally transparent. Customers will get a notification the morning of a delivery, with a window of time when they should expect Amazon to arrive. They will get another notification when the delivery van shows up. That means you can start watching a live stream of the delivery on your camera if you want to keep an eye on things.
Even if you choose in-home delivery, couriers are instructed to ring the bell or knock on the door first. That’s meant to let people inside know someone is entering, and also give the delivery person a chance to check for potential hazards like angry dogs. Couriers are instructed to open the door as little as possible, slide the packages in, and not enter the home if possible.
While Amazon isn’t going to allow any third-party delivery services to get inside your house with Key (at least not at launch), the company is hoping that you’ll use Key when ordering stuff like dog walking or kitchen cleaning from its Amazon Home Services division. In the coming months, it says Key will be integrated with over 1,200 service providers across 60 professions. You’ll log on to the website or app of a service like Rover.com or Merry Maids, and there will be a button offering the option for in-home service through Amazon Key.
Amazon’s Cloud Cam and a compatible smart lock are essential ingredients for in-home delivery. But the company is hoping you’ll use these devices for other things as well. The Key app is designed to make it simple for you to grant access to trusted friends and family. You can give permanent access, a one-time pass with a time limit, or recurring access that works on certain days and at certain times. You can grant access through the app or send permissions via a simple SMS message.
Individual Cloud Cams cost $120, but Amazon says it will be much cheaper if you buy them in bulk. Its forthcoming subscription service will allow you to archive and review footage and activate high-end features like motion detection, people detection, and zone monitoring. It’s integrated with Alexa, so if you were down in the basement, you could ask Alexa to show you who’s at the front door. For now, it’s billed as an indoor security camera, and won’t work if left outside in the rain.
While Amazon’s foray into smartphones flopped, it staged a coup with the introduction of Alexa, vaulting to the front of the pack when it comes to smart home gadgets. Alexa was thestar of the show at CES for the past two years, finding its way into a wide range of products. Amazon has been aggressively pushing out more Alexa devices this year, everything from wardrobe assistants to alarm clocks. The Amazon Look is probably its most daring product; a camera that’s meant to live in your closet and watch you change clothes requires a very high level of trust. But so far, Amazon has limited access to this device, which is still available for purchase by invitation only.
That makes Amazon Key a crucial stepping stone in Amazon’s quest to manage your home life and integrate itself into your daily routine. Prime customers, of which there are now anestimated 85 million, may sign up for the service because they’re interested in the convenience and security of having their deliveries left inside their homes. But in the process, they would be positioning Amazon to know a lot more about their lives and habits, like when they leave the house in the morning, how often they go on vacation, and when they get back from work at night.
Amazon Key feels like a major test of how thoroughly the company has earned customers’ trust, and a harbinger of a future where tech companies mediate every aspect of our lives. Of course, if you’ve already got an Alexa alarm clock keeping an eye on you at night, maybe it won’t seem like such a leap.
By Ben Popper Oct 25, 2017, 7:00am EDT
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/25/16538834/amazon-key-in-home-delivery-unlock-door-prime-cloud-cam-smart-lock
Amazon Cuts Whole Foods Prices as Much as 43% on First Day
Posted on June 13th, 2018
Company Creates Decentralized VR World Where Public Can Meet Celebrities
Posted on June 13th, 2018
An established company that is listed on the stock exchange in Frankfurt is creating a decentralized, social virtual reality world which gives users the chance to rub shoulders with some of the world’s biggest celebrities.
Staramba has already created what it claims is the world’s largest database of 3D avatars, which features 7,000 stars. They specialize in creating lifelike avatars for Hollywood studios as well as companies like Konami, the brand behind the ProEvolutionSoccer video game – with its scan of David Beckham featuring prominently in the title’s 2019 edition.
Its upcoming venture, Staramba.spaces, allows users to immerse themselves in a virtual world and engage with their idols in a whole new way. Training sessions with an internationally renowned football star would become possible – as well as enjoying a singalong with a famous musician.
The platform also offers users the opportunity to buy virtual plots of land. Examples highlighted by Staramba’s white paper include the prospect of becoming a neighbor to Cristiano Ronaldo or Paris Hilton, or gaining a prime property with a balcony that overlooks the grounds of a major football club.
These investments could prove lucrative, as it will be possible to rent out these plots to other users – or sell a desirable space at a premium. The company envisages that demand will be high because properties in the most fascinating locations with the highest footfall are going to be finite.
Staramba.spaces is also looking to appeal to businesses – such as football clubs and big brands. This is because virtual spaces can be used to promote events or services, as well as create premium content and merchandise that would generate higher levels of brand awareness and build a deeper connection with loyal fans. Payments within Staramba.spaces would be facilitated through the ERC20-compliant Staramba.token, with all transactions settled in real time.
“Exclusive partnerships”
Staramba has already forged a series of partnerships – including with top-flight football clubs such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, the world’s number one table tennis player Timo Boll, and wrestling legend Hulk Hogan.
Other official licensing partners include the English Football Association, Paris Hilton, SLASH and KISS. It expects further A-listers from the worlds of entertainment, music and sport to join in the future.
The company currently has more than 100 employees from 23 countries, with offices in Berlin and Los Angeles. Since it was founded in 2014, its turnover has soared from €250,000 to €16 mln as of 2017.
As well as being used in its own applications, the data derived from the 3D models of stars is sold by Staramba to other software manufacturers.
The company is continually developing its high-quality scanner, the 3D INSTA-GRAPH, so it can be used in an array of other situations. In time, it says the technology could be used for determining clothing sizes on e-commerce sites, and potentially during fitness training.
The initial token offering
Staramba is holding an initial token offering to help with the expansion of Staramba.spaces – all with a view to the new platform going live in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Whitelisting began on May 23, with the token sale itself beginning on June 20. A discount is being offered for most of the ITO – with contributors receiving 30 percent off during the first week of the World Cup in Russia, decreasing to 20 percent in the second week and 10 percent in the third. Payments are being accepted in US dollars, Bitcoin and Ethereum. Public trading is scheduled to begin in October 2018. The CEO of Staramba is Christian Daudert, who has more than 20 years’ experience within the sporting sector.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/company-creates-decentralized-vr-world-where-public-can-meet-celebrities
A floating Pacific island is in the works with its own government, cryptocurrency and 300 houses
Posted on June 13th, 2018
Buying GitHub Would Take Microsoft Back to Its Roots
Posted on June 13th, 2018
Cannabis Revolution and the Blockchain It Will Be Built On
Posted on June 13th, 2018
The Cannabis revolution has been raging for the past few years as many states in the US have legalized it, but its standardization, regulation and overall functioning as an economic ecosystem has been heavily fractured. This has caused Jessica Versteeg to head up Paragon to try and revolutionize the Cannabis industry on Blockchain technology.
Versteeg witnessed first hand how Cannabis could have saved her former boyfriend, Tyler Sash of the New York Giants, as she thought back to the times he would ask for her approval on using cannabis to help manage his pain vs the cocktail of painkillers dished to him by the NFL doctors.
However, Versteeg had fallen victim to the stigma and outdated image of Cannabis and has now witnessed first hand the difficult regulations and lack of standardization despite the drug gaining legal legitimacy in a number of states.
Versteeg has now decided to take another disruptive and revolutionary technology, the Blockchain, and utilize its power along with the healing power of Cannabis to hopefully push its image right up there to the white list alongside Big Pharma.
The pain of Sash
Versteeg’s story of how she became a believer in the power of Cannabis stems from her experiences with Super Bowl winning boyfriend Sash. The New York Giants player was in constant pain because of his vocation and would beg Versteeg to let him opt for a natural painkiller in Cannabis rather than the handful of pills prescribed to him.
The former Miss Iowa US would not allow it as her image of Cannabis was that it was a dangerous drug that could take your life, and conversely her understanding of opioids was that they were 100 percent safe. She also worried about the fallout of testing positive in a random drug test.
Versteeg recounts how Sash would throw up almost daily after retiring because of concussion symptoms, she was told that’s all it was from. Later she found numerous pill bottles with the labels ripped off and while doing some research she realized he was hiding an addiction from her and that addiction to pain killers can take a toll on one’s stomach, causing them to throw up. She mentioned that he was already falling into depression and after she confronted him about the pills he would bring up wanting to take his life.
Breaking the stigma
It took Versteeg a while, but through her research she started to understand the power of Cannabis and how its reputation was all wrong.
This led Versteeg to start a monthly subscription box for Cannabis products that was aimed for anyone to use without the negative stigma attached, breaking the grimy black market feel of Cannabis.
However, the young entrepreneur soon encountered the real problems within the Cannabis industry. Despite legislation in over 20 states, the marketplace for legal Cannabis is broken, fragmented and unregulated.
Creating Paragon
Versteeg has now identified the ability that Blockchain technology has in disrupting certain sectors of society and business, and she hopes that Paragon can be the vehicle that pushes the Cannabis revolution into something more mainstream.
Paragon uses Blockchain technology to store data from the seed to sell with everything from the water quality to fertilizers used, from the labs it was tested in to the actual lab results, in an immutable ledger that can be checked by anyone to ensure quality and standardization.
Additionally, doctor certification, patient ID’s and prescription details are stored on the blockchain and remain tamper-proof. Importantly, not all patient information will need to be stored on the blockchain as some may be personal and will be stored offline to remain HIPAA compliment.
The Paragon coin emerging from this blockchain is also supposed to solve the problem with funding a marketplace that is still unregulated and not accepted across all states or even the world.
Paragon Space
VerSteeg and her team at Paragon will also be erecting co-working spaces as part of their business model. Cannabis related startups in the industry will be able to utilize these spaces not only for working remotely but also as a specialized hub with industry specific guidance from Paragon – this model forms part of the Paragon incubator program.
JAYANAND SAGAR | SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 | 1:47 PM
