Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Rise of connected homes raise security concerns

And that may be just the start. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich demonstrated at CES how a connected door lock might unlock automatically when a security camera recognized the owner's face. Hosain Rahman, CEO of Jawbone, described how his company's latest Up activity tracker could automatically tell your lights to turn on when it sensed you were getting up from bed.

"I don't have to program that," said Tom Kerber, director of research at Parks Associates, a technology consulting firm. "The devices are talking to each other and making those smart decisions on your behalf."

However, the show also pointed out that as the Internet of Things is rapidly developing, it's also facing some serious challenges, most notably a lack of standards.

For years now, many Internet of Things devices haven't been able to talk to one another because they use different communications protocols. That problem has started to be solved by hub devices that can translate among devices.

But a new problem is emerging: Many different companies want to establish themselves as the primary gatekeeper for the Internet of Things, and the ability of devices to communicate with one another is starting to be more about which companies have deals with each other.

From the article "Rise of connected homes raise security concerns" by David Jackman.

Previously In The News

Netflix Heads Digital Video Services List, But There Are Questions

You would probably guess right if you were asked “What are the top three digital video subscription services?” They are 1. Netflix 2. Amazon Video and 3. Hulu. No surprises there. But what about numbe...

Amazon patents floating warehouses to cater for drone delivery

“Sleep-tracking features of smartwatches and fitness trackers are raising consumer awareness about lack of sleep. 42pc of consumers in US broadband households are concerned their health will worsen du...

TV Antennas Make Comeback As Pay-TV Prices Soar

So says market-research and consulting firm Parks Associates that estimates that the percentage of U.S. households that watch TV via antennas rose to 15 percent in 2016 from 9 percent in 2013. The res...

You can tell Comcast what to do on its Xfinity TV voice remote

Voice’s resurgence seems counter-intuitive. The technology first boomed in the 1990s with voice prompters in customer call centers – not always a satisfying experience as the prompters many times rout...