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In the Internet of Things -- or the "Intelligence of Things," which is more apt -- the automotive segment has become a leading center of innovation. Only healthcare offers the same ability to leverage advances in sensors, processing, connectivity and artificial intelligence technology to advance an industry while simultaneously improving society. As a result, the entire electronics and automotive ecosystem is racing to develop self-driving/autonomous vehicles. However, changing an established industry does not come without challenges. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2NFvSdS

Drauger OS is a relatively new Linux distro for users with a penchant for games. Several design elements make this Linux gaming platform different from typical distributions that merely pack digital titles. However, it lacks a few productivity tools that otherwise would make it a daily computing driver out of the box. Based on Xubuntu, Drauger OS uses a modified Xfce4.12 desktop environment and runs only on 64-bit computers; no 32-bit gear is supported. This is a distro targeting game players who want good desktop performance. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2ZBNjhA

Verizon, the No. 1 mobile carrier in the United States, this week introduced a free version of its robocall-blocking app, which will be standard on all new Android devices. The company further announced that it will auto-enroll eligible Android users to its Call Filter service and block what are seen as "high-risk" calls. This includes calls from numbers that have been reported as fraudulent. Those calls will be sent to voicemail, while the display on caller ID will indicate "Potential Spam" to warn callers that it is likely a robocall. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Lb4IbS

A new application may be in the works that allows Instagram users to share real-time information with their closest friends. Called "Threads," the app allows users to set up automatic sharing with their closest Instagram buddies of such information as location, movement and battery life, as well as text, video and photo messages generated using Instagram's tools. Once you choose to activate Threads, it will automatically alert people on your Instagram "close friends" list about your location, movements and more. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2ND6a9Y

Chinese government-affiliated hackers have been making a concerted effort to steal medical research, particularly cancer research, from U.S. institutions. The step-up in medical research theft appears to be linked to China's growing concern over cancer mortality rates and increasing healthcare costs. Cancer in the leading cause of death in China. "As the PRC continues to pursue universal healthcare by 2020, controlling costs and domestic industry will surely affect the PRC's strategy to maintain political stability," the researchers wrote. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/340N17q

I came to tech by accident. Formally trained in public health and international development, I was presented with a problem that needed to be fixed. Suffering from a naturally inquisitive mind as I do, it was only a few rabbit holes later that I found my world blown open by a richly diverse global network of coders, mappers, geeks and dreamers. These are folks who are trying to hack real-world development challenges faced by people fighting infectious disease outbreaks, communities piecing life back together in disasters' wake, and more. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2PeZd1f

I'm struck by the extent to which Apple and Tesla are executing a model very similar to IBM's. While IBM has evolved to put the customer at the center always, Apple and Tesla are nuanced in that respect, much like IBM was in the past. I worked at IBM when it imploded in the early 1990s, so I can speak to what is in Apple and Tesla's future unless they learn the easy way what IBM learned the hard way: that the customer is always king, and mining a locked-in customer base to increase revenues and reduce costs will virtually always end badly. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/324jwzS