ITy Bytes 31 October: Best Telco; Arlo; Dyson; D-Link; Aspera; CISCO; Intel; Samsung

ITy Bytes 31 October

ITy Bytes 31 October – in this edition

  • Which Telco is best at what – Opensignal,
  • Arlo Ultra speaks Siri and gives away Philips Hue,
  • Dyson sharpens the Airblade,
  • D-Link adopts IEC 62443-4-1 to help mitigate cyberattacks, 
  • Aspera’s new 4G Flip 40 for $99,
  • CISCO AP CISO Benchmark Study – Cybercrime just ratcheted up several notches,
  • Intel and Samsung collaborate on QLED screen Project Athena laptops,
  • Samsungs new One UI 2 focuses on accessibility,

ITy 31 October is a short, curated collection of news you may like to know.

ITy Bytes 31 October

Which Aussie Telco is best at what – Opensignal

Opensignal, the mobile analytics company, has just analysed the mobile network experience of Australia’s three operators – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone – based on metrics from 198K Australian Opensignal users. Its Australia Mobile Network Experience report is now out. Highlights:

  • Telstra won in the new ‘Voice App Experience’ award for call quality (e.g. via WhatsApp et al.). Optus was just a smidgen behind.
  • ‘Video Experience’ (quality) is becoming a priority. All three score ‘Very Good.’
  • Optus and Vodafone have by far the lowest millisecond latency (for gamers) – 30% faster than Telstra
  • 4G availability with all three operators scoring above 90% with Optus and Vodafone leading.
  • Outside capital cities Optus offers the broadest coverage
  • Telstra offers slightly higher download and upload speeds to its direct 4GX clients (not via MVNOs which it hobbles to 3/4G and 100Mbps)
ITy Bytes 31 October
ITy Bytes 31 October

Arlo Ultra speaks Siri – and bonus Philips Hue

Arlo Ultra Security Camera Systems that pair with the Arlo Ultra SmartHub (VMB5000) now have HomeKit compatibility. iOS users can access many Ultra functions with Siri voice commands. An automatic firmware update enables this for new and existing Ultra users.

ITy Bytes 31 October Arlo

Bradley Little, Vice President and Managing Director, Arlo Technologies, said

“Now, Arlo’s line-up of Ultra Hub compatible wire-free camera solutions are fully compatible with HomeKit, giving users the added convenience to manage their cameras with simple voice commands.”

iOS users will now be able to receive notifications on the Apple Home app when motion is detected. iOS users can also utilise Siri to quickly activate an HD live stream onto their iPhone or iPad hands-free. With HomeKit, Arlo Ultra users can also set up automation to control other HomeKit-enabled smart home devices.

Arlo also has a bonus Philips Hue White starter kit (2 lamps and a hub value $149). This may be perfect for hooking up via IFTTT.

ITy Bytes 31 October Arlo

Simply purchase eligible products (Arlo Pro 2 and Pro 3, 2/4/4/5 camera kits) from a participating retailer (in-store or via the retailer’s website) and retain the original receipt. Visit www.arloredemption.com.au and follow the prompts to complete the claim process. Make sure you specify Edison Screw or Bayonet fittings.

Dyson sharpens the Airblade

Dyson has unveiled its fastest and most energy-efficient HEPA-filtered hand dryer, Dyson Airblade 9KJ.  

With a unique design and cutting-edge V4, 75,00 rpm technology motor, the Dyson Airblade 9kJ enables people to dry their hands quickly and hygienically, while using low energy and offering an alternative to single-use paper towels.

ITy Bytes 31 October Dyson Airblade

It has been over three years in development, with more than 700 prototypes made. The result is the quietest Dyson Airblade hand dryer yet, with two settings – 900 watts and 650 watts for a 10 or 12-second fast hand drying.  Available online at www.dyson.com.au at $1,590.

D-Link adopts IEC 62443-4-1 to help mitigate cyber attacks

In a nutshell, it is the global standard for security for industrial automation and control systems. This standard protects D-Link products from the secure design, component sourcing, assembly, testing to distribution stage to help prevent ‘supply-chain’ hacks.

There is a lot of concern that third-parties in any supply chain could built-in ‘backdoors’ for State hacks or cybercriminals and D-Links move addresses that.

ITy Bytes 31 October IEC 62443

To segue – it is a similar move to Kaspersky’s Global Transparency Initiative where its security customers can verify the code and see it ‘assembled’ in a clean-room in Switzerland to ensure that there are no supply chain hacks.

More and more IT goods and services will need to establish similar systems to guarantee their integrity. Congrats to D-Link.

Aspera’s new 4G Flip 40 for $99

If you don’t need a complicated smartphone but rather one with real press-buttons and svelte flip-open design, then the unlocked Aspera 4G Flip 40 phone at $99 is perfect. Features:

  • 2.8” colour screen and notification LEDs on the ‘Flip’
  • Removable 1600mAh battery and micro-USB charger
  • 5MP camera, FF for stills or 7230p video
  • Single sim 3/4G with VoLTE, SMS/MMS. Bands 1/3/5/7/8/28
  • Wi-Fi 4 (N), Hotspot, BT 4.2, FM radio (uses 3.5mm headphones as aerial), microSD to 32GB, flashlight
  • SOS button, basic productivity apps – mail, calendar, contact, video viewer, internet browser
  • 107 x 53 x 18mm x 123g

CISCO AP CISO Benchmark Study – Cybercrime just ratcheted up several notches

GadgetGuy does not cover Enterprise news, but the results of the CISCO Asia Pacific Chief Information Security Officer Benchmark Study were astounding. These are from larger companies in 11 countries from over 2,000 security professionals (209 from Australia).

  • 84% of Australian organisations had a breach that cost them over $1+ million (higher than any other country)
  • 69% received more than 100,000 alerts every day, more than double last year’s figure of 33%
  • 75% had an outage of 5-16 hours. This is longer than the global average of 43% 
  • Australian businesses had twice the level of Cybersecurity Fatigue 65% vs. 30% global

Now the $1+ million figure includes downtime, labour to rectify and patch – not just loss of profit. CISCO says a shortage of skilled professionals exacerbates this, Cybersecurity fatigue – the relentless 100,000 alerts a day is taking its toll – and only one threat needs to hit the target.

Cisco Australia and New Zealand’s Director, Cybersecurity, Steve Moros, says,

“Businesses are now facing challenges from all sides – it is a constant battle. Our report shows that data breaches and attacks are increasingly costing businesses and they have to fight constant levels of attacks and in turn suffer cyber fatigue where they don’t have the resources, either in people or time, to proactively protect their business.

Investing in people and skills is the best way forward to alleviate cyber fatigue and increase proactive cybersecurity, particularly around identifying false threat quickly to focus on the high-risk threats. There is no doubt that as we move into a more digital open playing field, these threats will increase, but by investing in upskilling in cybersecurity and working with security partners, we can all fortify our cybersecurity workforce for the better.”

Intel and Samsung collaborate on Project Athena laptops

Intel’s Project Athena focuses on instant-on, long battery life, 10th gen Core speed and small form factor. You are going to see lots more about Athena laptops (17 brands/models are authorised – the initial offerings are quite spectacular).

Samsung has two new Athena laptops:

Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion are co-engineered with Intel to deliver consistent responsiveness on battery, real-world battery life performance and instant action. Each has the world’s first QLED FHD laptop display with an ultra-thin in two sizes: 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch.

Galaxy Book Flex is based on 10th Gen Intel Core processors with Intel Iris Plus graphics, has a 360-degree hinge, enhanced S Pen with gesture control, biometric login and an aluminium body.

Galaxy Book Ion uses the 10th Gen Intel Core processors for demanding multithreaded workloads. It has an ultra-thin frame made of lightweight magnesium.

Athena

Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion will be available in December in select markets (Note: Samsung laptops are not sold in Australia, and that is a shame as they have a terrific build quality). More information here.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsungs new One UI 2 focuses on accessibility

Samsung has also previewed it’s new One UI 2 which focuses on accessibility features like improved screen visibility via its high contrast theme, larger fonts and simple keyboards, haptic feedback, and the dictate, live transcribe and caption functions. Bixby also receives special AI features to aid accessibility.

One UI 2

ITy Bytes 31 October is a brief, curated newsfeed. Any PR/Vendor may send items for consideration to news@gadgetguy.com.au

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