Gotcha, CAPTCHA!

A CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart, is a program that can generate and grade tests that humans can pass but current computer programs cannot.

Computing has become so pervasive and computerized tasks and services so commonplace, that the need for increased levels of security has led to the development of CAPTCHA for computers to ensure that they are dealing with humans in situations where human interaction is essential to security. Activities such as online commerce transactions, search engine submissions, Web polls, Web registrations, free e-mail service registration and other automated services are subject to software programs that mimic the behavior of humans in order to skew the results of the automated task or perform malicious activities, such as gathering e-mail addresses for spamming or ordering hundreds of tickets to a concert.

In order to validate the digital transaction, with the CAPTCHA system, the user is presented with a distorted word typically placed on top of a distorted background. The user must type the word into a field in order to complete the process. Computers have a difficult time decoding the distorted words while humans can easily decipher the text.

Or so you thought..

Vicarious, a startup developing artificial intelligence software, announced October 27, 2013 that its algorithms can now reliably solve modern CAPTCHAs. A CAPTCHA scheme is considered broken if an algorithm is able to reach a precision of at least 1%. By leveraging core insights from machine learning and neuroscience, the Vicarious AI achieves success rates up to 90% on modern CAPTCHAs from Google, Yahoo, PayPal, Captcha.com, and others. This advancement renders text-based CAPTCHAs no longer effective as a Turing test.

Vicarious is an artificial intelligence company that uses the computational principles of the brain to build software that can think and learn like a human. The company believes understanding how the brain creates intelligence is the ultimate scientific challenge. Vicarious has a long term strategy for developing human level artificial intelligence, and it starts with building a brain-like vision system. Modern CAPTCHAs provide a snapshot of the challenges of visual perception, and solving those in a general way required us to understand how the brain does it.

Solving CAPTCHA is the first public demonstration of the capabilities of Vicarious’ Recursive Cortical Network (RCN) technology. Although still many years away, the commercial applications of RCN will have broad implications for robotics, medical image analysis, image and video search, and many other fields.

by: Jessica Wiggins

For more info visit:

• ·         http://www.gizmag.com/captcha-beating-ai/29559/
• ·         http://vicarious.com/

Augmented Reality

We've all been to 3D movies, may have seen 3D TV's, and possibly even have experienced a new virtual environment of some kind. But 3D mobile applications? For some of us, the buzzword "Augmented Reality" may be completely new. If you have iOS take a few minutes to download the new app String™ Augmented Reality Showcase from the Apple Store to get the full experience of this blog post. It is a free, quick download only available to Apple devices (as of right now) that will change the way we interact with applications as we know them.

String is one of the first well constructed augmented reality applications. Wikipedia explains, "Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data." So what does this mean to us? The app String has the capability to recognize images and see where they are in 3D space.You can actually see certain graphics in 3D through your own camera in real time as if it was in the real world. To see how this all works, open your newly downloaded String App and focus on the following image:

If you hold your camera steady enough you should be able to see a dragon coming out of the center of your screen like illustrated in the photo to the left. The dragon will come out of the image focused on as shown above and fly around you.

If you check out poweredbystring you can test out other images that have the same enchanting capabilities as above. String can also be purchased as a Software Developer Kit (SDK)  for developers using iOS devices who want to create augmented reality apps. Augmented apps and games are quickly becoming a huge source of revenue in the gaming industry and for social media marketers. According to Layar, the market for Augmented Reality Applications will grow quickly, and,"generate nearly $300 million in revenues and reach $5.2 billion in 2017." The way we use applications will be changing; the possibilities only continue to grow with this new software. As the future generation of IT, we have to accept and adapt to what the future will hold for technology, and the way it may be programmed or used differently than before. There will be a lot of money to be made in this industry if the predictions hold true, and we can either choose to open our eyes to the new opportunities, or ignore it. Or, as a last result we can just use String for our own pure entertainment and let little green monsters crawl all over us. Download it now!

-Bailey Anderson

"Hands Free" Payment

With Bluetooth, Siri, and talk-to-text, there's no question that hands free is a big thing now. Are you tired of the time it takes to go to a coffee shop, order your drink, find your wallet, pay for your drink, put your wallet away, and wait for your drink? Well, there's an app for that! If you haven't heard of Square, they are mostly known for their product that makes it easier for smaller businesses to accept credit card payments using your phone or tablet (sell with Square).                                                                                                 What I want to talk about is their newest "product" called Square Wallet. The Square Wallet is a app you can download on your phone and use it to pay instead of getting out your credit card or going through the steps of finding payment information on your phone. Using the Square Wallet, the merchant behind the counter will be able to look up your name and confirm it is you by looking at the picture associated with your name without even getting your phone out. You're basically "paying with your name." 

The only problem I see with this is that there may not be very many stores or restaurants that accept this type of payment, but other than that, I feel that this might be the "next big thing."

By: Amber Klostermann

For more information visit:

• http://www.cooper.com/journal/2012/08/the-best-interface-is-no-interface
• https://squareup.com/wallet
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzr-WezXH8w

pump, Pump, PUMP it UP!!

Mipwr is a company focused on sustainable technology. Their mission is centered on emergency, lifesaving devices, to make innovative products that people cannot live without and affordable for everyone to own. They have taken the principal of electromagnetic induction and applied it to powering cellular devices as a hybrid power source used for emergencies.

Witnessing the aftermath of power outages from recent natural disasters, the team at Mipwr thought about taking existing technology and making it small enough to fit inside a cell phone case, creating an alternative energy source that could power a mobile device to allow users to send out a message or phone call when they need it the most.

With the help of a prototyping company and trial and error, a prototype was created that fit the vision. These devices are created for various lifestyles and occurrences such as natural disasters, boaters, teens, active business persons and in emergency kits.

A triple threat, the Mipwr Dynamo is a protective case, back-up battery and hybrid charger in one. It contains a 400 mA battery and a concealed push lever. A switch on the side of the case releases the small lever where it can be gripped comfortably. Electricity is generated to charge the internal battery when the lever is activated by pushing. When charging is done, the lever can be locked back into place. For every minute of “pumping” the push lever, 30 seconds of talk or text time is produced. This allows users to make a distress call or simply let someone know that they are alright!

The Mipwr Dynamo design team says inspiration to build their phone charger came from seeing reports of people struggling to find power following Hurricane Katrina. The Mipwr Dynamo is intended mainly for situations in which electricity is scare; for instance during a camping trip or a natural disaster. The device also includes a port for a micro-USB connection that can recharge your phone and the Mipwr simultaneously that when fully charged provides power for two hours of talking or texting.

The developers have working prototypes for the iPhone 4/4S. They have launched a campaign on KickStarter, a company that allows users of their site to pledge funds to support creative projects to raise funds, to finalize a model for the iPhone 5/5S and begin mass production. The company’s plans are to ship the first batch of phone chargers in Feb. 2014.

by: Jessica Wiggins

For more info visit:

• ·         http://www.gizmag.com/mipwr-dynamo-iphone-charging-case/29235/
• ·         http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1979044355/mipwr-instantly-charge-your-iphone-4-4s-with-your

Deluxe Applications

UX or User Experience is starting to become a buzz word in every industry, particularly IT. User Experience is defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that discusses the ergonomics of human-computer interaction as "a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service. UX includes all the users' emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, and behaviors that occur before, during and after use of a produce, service, or experience."

So why is this so important? Think about the apps or websites you encounter on a daily basis; you decide in seconds whether it is easy to use, if it's something that responds quickly, and if it's something you'll want to use again. UX is not just something that "happens" and it is not an accident. You don't wait until the implementation phase to incorporate it. UX is extremely important for developers. Users drive the demand for your product or service, and expect the applications and technology they work with to be easy to use and to get a meaningful experience from it. Tools like surveys can tell us directly what the customers want, and can be taken a step further by looking at physical evidence of user analytics and trends. We can allocate resources and design something that makes sense to each of us, but there's more to it than that. If I were to design something that I absolutely love it would be decorated in black and gold and covered in chocolate. This hardly relates to anything IT, but goes to show that only a small percentage of the user-base will share the same desires as your own personal biases. If the product falls through, it is us to blame, not the user. You don't want to make the user confused or have to think in any way when using your application.


Many employers and organizations thrive on analytics, so if it can be proven that you can enhance user experience based on data from a source like Google Analytics, why wouldn't you user-center your design? In Google Analyics, you can see demographics of locations, behaviors, the bounce rate, the number of hits on each sub-page of your site, what people are searching on your site, and even the technology behind your web-site traffic. For example see the screenshot to the left of this blog's mobile technology metrics.

As you can see, the only hits we've gotten on our page have been from desktops. We could use this to justify the revision of our site to make it more mobile friendly. Of course, this is just an example, but this is one way that you can use analyics to start the user-experience process to make all of your applications, technologies, products, or services deluxe applications.

Related UX Reads:
UX Design Magazine
UX Defined

-Bailey

3D Printing...Yeah, that's right, 3D!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_harouni_a_primer_on_3d_printing.html

I don't know about you, but I find this whole 3D Printing (also known as additive manufacturing) to be pretty awesome! As she mentioned in the video, it has been around for about 3 decades, and I'm surprised I haven't heard more about it before now.

3D Printing creates a 3D model or copy of an object and can be done with several types of materials. She goes in to detail in the video on exactly how this is done, but the "printer" basically creates very intricate layers upon layers of the object you are printing. The detail that goes in to these models is so great that the printed copy can function exactly the same as the original.

When I researched this topic initially, I came across a video of someone copying a wrench. The printed wrench could work exactly like the original one, which they do test at the end of the video. That got me interested, but after watching Lisa Harouni's TED Talk, I think this is much more than just a new way to create tools or spare parts. Hearing her talk about prosthetics and implants made me wonder where this 3D printing is going to take us in the future.

For more information visit:
http://www.3dprinter.net/reference/what-is-3d-printing
http://www.ted.com/speakers/lisa_harouni.html (info about Lisa)
http://www.3ders.org/3d-printing.html

Phone need juice?.. not so fast!

You might want to think twice next time about what ports you use to charge your phone!

Personally, when I need juice, I need it now. I don’t have time to wait until I return home to charge my phone. I may miss an important phone call that needed to be picked up when it was placed. I will do whatever it takes to pump life back into my phone even if it’s a public charging station; especially at an airport. However, doing this can lead to a not so good outcome. USB cables carry both power and data which means they are potentially ripe for abuse when it comes to desperate smartphone users plugging into public chargers to boost their battery charge. All that’s required is for the charger to be connected to some form of computer which is able to pull data from the smartphone when it is connected.

Insert the USB Condom. This device made by int3.cc fits on top of a USB plug and cuts off access to the pins that allow it to transmit and receive data. Only the pins that allow the plug to receive power are left open, so that a device can charge without the possibility of malware being passed between the device and its power source. The USB Condom is meant to protect against what's known as "juice jacking," where a charging station is used to steal data or harm a device.

int3.cc specifically cites the phenomenon of juice-jacking as cause for concern. Power stations are dangerous and it turns out that most smartphones are configured to connect and dump off data. Any random person could implement a system at one of these stations that can extract photos and data or write malware to devices that have been connected to it.

iOS devices seen as more secure than other smartphones are also susceptible to being compromised. During a BlackHat security conference, it was demonstrated that within one minute of being plugged into a malicious charger, a computer could implant malware onto the phone. Some phones may be more susceptible to data theft and malware than others, but what is certain is that by breaking the data connection, int3.cc's USB Condom removes all doubt.

Safety Tips:

Assuming an outlet is available, charging your phone through a power cord is the safest route for protecting your information. Battery powered mobile charging devices also work well. It is advised that if you must use a charging kiosk to power down your device before juicing up!

For more info visit:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/13/4726486/usbcondom-protects-charging-devices-from-hackers-juice-jacking

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/08/beware-of-juice-jacking/