Amazon to use your palm print as your credit card
Brilliant and scary, Amazon is implementing palm reader technology, Amazon One, which uses the individual and distinct signature of your palm, rather than facial or retinal recognition. The technology links your name, phone number and the credit card on file so that anyone who passes through their unattended convenience stores can charge products with only their hand. The company has side-stepped the controversies surrounding facial recognition by using the palm. The technology will be offered to other industries, including stadiums, airports and office buildings. TheVerge
dis-rup-shun: It seems that this technology would end sales of alcohol and cigarettes to underaged persons as it is hard to use a fake palm, unless, of course, nefarious entrepreneurs create fake ID gloves — something that teens could slip onto their hands to emulate a fake person. The potential for easing access in concerts, stadiums and airports, not to mention speeding up trips to Target or the grocery store, is promising. The technology could be used to start your car, use your ATM card, and many other things. For those concerned about Amazon’s dominance of online markets, consider how this technology will put Amazon in the center of retail shopping and give them complete knowledge of each customers location and purchase history.
Microsoft outage cause undisclosed
Microsoft users (isn’t that everyone?) experienced an outage on Monday evening, impacting use of all cloud-based applications including Office 365, Teams and OneDrive. Little is know about the outage, which was resolved after about five hours, and credited to a “change” that was made. Forbes
dis-rup-shun: We have come to take the cloud for granted as being secure, reliable, and always on. It is hard to imagine that a lone developer at Microsoft could have implemented an update that brought the entire Microsoft world to its knees. On the other hand, if the good people in Redmond were hacked by nefarious forces, the fact that they restored the system in under five hours is an impressive piece of work. I still feel better about the brilliant minds in Redmond being responsible for protecting my data over leaving me to my own devices, hoping that Norton antivirus, or the security application du jour, is protecting my personal and business assets.
Yale’s smart delivery box is out to defeat porch pirates
Yale’s Smart Delivery Box is heavy duty plastic container with a smart lock that can be controlled via smartphone app to safely receive all but large packages from delivery services. The box has an impressive number of safety features and options that anticipate a host of scenarios. The problem, however, is that most delivery people don’t take the time to place items in the box. Educating delivery services, and perhaps incentivizing them to use the box, may the answer to address the rising leakage of products due to porch pirates. TheVerge
dis-rup-shun: The number of claims for stolen packages will only rise as the online commerce trend continues upwards. Yale’s device makes great sense, as does Amazon Key, a service which allows homeowners to unlock their front door for an Amazon delivery. The first logistics company that offers secure delivery — using their own lock box or partners such as Yale, will have an advantage in most neighborhoods. Until that feature is seen as a competitive differentiator, delivery services will see lock boxes as seconds-wasting friction. Expect lockboxes to become an integrated part of the delivery service experience soon.
Google enforces 30% app store cut
Google is cleaving tightly to Apple before the storm of legal action initiated by Epic. Google has announced that it will enforce its policy of all in-app transactions paying the standard 30% to the app store — a stated policy that it has been lax in enforcing. Google appears to be closing ranks with Apple ahead of the storm initiated by Epic and a growing number of companies claiming that the app store policies are anti-competitive. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: Why Google is drawing a harder line prior to legal action is hard to understand, unless the company believes its policies will be upheld in higher courts. The winds of change for Big Tech are starting to howl, as legislators continue to stack evidence of anti-competitive policies. Apple as of late has been using its “more private” message to differentiate from Google and curry favor with increasingly privacy-wary consumers, but this battle puts both giants in the same boat.