Paul Wallbank – Brilliant Communications

Author: Paul Wallbank

  • Computing in a fog

    Computing in a fog

    One of my favourite IT industry buzz words is fog computing.

    Initially coined by Cisco Systems, fog computing also goes by the name ‘distributed computing’ or ‘edge computing’ – never accuse the IT industry of not having enough terms for the same thing.

    The idea behind distributed, edge or fog computing is that sometimes cloud computing (another term) is not always suitable for jobs where internet connections are unreliable, sending things to a cloud server wastes valuable milliseconds or lots of unnecessary data is being gathered.

    Cisco’s Wim Elfrink discusses fog computing in the interview he did with Decoding the New Economy earlier this year.

    For many internet of things applications, edge computing makes sense as it means devices aren’t reliant on being constantly connected and the local computer can filter noise out of the data stream being sent to head office.

    Another big advantage is in saving internet costs; rather than having say all the sensors on a car having their own expensive mobile connections they instead report back to a central computer which sends relevant information back to the dealer or manufacturer.

    The car is also a good example of needed immediate responses; if the airbags are deployed, the onboard computer system has to make a lot of critical decisions immediately. Waiting for a response from a server on the other side of the world could cost lives.

    For computing is not only a good example of how technology vendors make up their own catchy names for concepts, it also shows that there are limits to every solution. In this case, situations where cloud computing is not the answer.

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  • Privacy by design

    Privacy by design

    “Know your data” is the key tip for businesses concerned about privacy says Michelle Dennedy, Chief Privacy Officer for Intel Security, formerly McAfee.

    “It’s really important to go back to basics,” says Michelle. “We’re trying to do bolt-on privacy, just like we did with security years ago. I think it’s time to take a good look at the policy side, which id called Privacy By Design, thinking about it at early states and being consumer-centric.”

    “We at McAfee call it ‘Privacy Engineering’; looking at the tools. methodologies and standards from the past, adding current legislative requirements and business rules then turning them into functional requirement.”

    Michelle, who is also co-author of the Privacy Engineering Manifesto, was speaking to Decoding The New Economy as part of Privacy Awareness Week.

    A key part of the interview is how Michelle sees privacy evolving in a global environment, “if you’d asked me in 2000 where we’d be today I’d have told you it would be like the 1500s when we were dealing with shipping lanes. We would have treaties, it would harmonised and we’d understand that global trade is a hundred percent based upon sharing.”

    “We have instead decided to become a set of Balkanized nations.”

    For individual businesses “know thy data,” is Michelle’s main advice. “Know what brings you risk, know what brings you opportunity.”

    In Michelle’s view, businesses need to balance the opportunities against the risks and treat customers data with respect as the monetisation policies of many online platforms don’t recognise users’ costs in time and data sold.

    As businesses find themselves being flooded with data, protecting it and respecting the privacy of customers, users and staff is going become an increasing important responsibility for managers.

    It’s worthwhile understanding the privacy laws as they apply to you and making sure your systems and staff comply with them.

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  • Dropping off the grid

    Dropping off the grid

    Just how hard is it to hide from big data? ABC Newcastle’s Carol Duncan and I will be discussing this from 2.40 this afternoon.

    Princeton University assistant professor of sociology Janet Vertesi decided she’d find out by trying to conceal her pregnancy from the internet.

    She describes her experiences to Think Progress and the lessons are startling on how difficult it is to drop off the Internet and business databases.

    While it’s easy to tritely say ‘don’t use the internet’, Janet found that using cash to avoid being picked up by bank databases raises suspicions while not using discount voucher or store cards meant she missed out on valuable savings.

    For many people though dropping off the internet is not an option – not having a LinkedIn profile hurts most job hunters’ chances of finding work while if you want to participate in communities, it’s often essential to join the group’s Facebook page.

    The amazing part of all is that Janet herself became a Google conscientious objector two years ago after deciding the company’s data collection methods were too intrusive. Yet she still found it hard to keep the news of her baby off the internet.

    Ultimately her friends were the greatest risk and she had to beg them not to mention her pregnancy on Facebook and other social media channels lest the algorithms pick that up.

    For Janet, it proved possible but it was really hard work;

    Experience has shown that it is possible, but it’s really not easy, and it comes with a lot of sacrifices. And it requires some technical skill. So to that end, it’s my concern about the opt-out idea. I don’t actually think it’s feasible for everyone to do this.

    So can you drop off the net? Do you know if you’re on it at all. Join us on ABC Newcastle with Carol Duncan from 2.40 to discuss these issues and more.

    Filing cabinet image by ralev_com through SXC.HU

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  • Heartbleed, kettles and design – ABC 702 Mornings

    Heartbleed, kettles and design – ABC 702 Mornings

    This morning from 10.20am on 702 Sydney I’m talking to Linda Mottram about the Heartbleed bug, connected kettles and dropping off the grid. It’s crowded twenty minutes and I’m not sure how much we’ll cover.

    Heartbleed is the main topic of the segment and it’s a big issue that not only exposes a weakness in secure computing but also points out problems with the Internet of Things and the open source model of developing software.

    One of the quirky stories of the last few weeks has been the iKettle, a connected kitchen appliance. Do we need one and what happens to your cup of tea if the internet drops out.

    3D printing is changing the world of manufacturing but designers are now looking at 4D printing, what is it and how might it change the world of design.

    If we get time we’ll also look at the possibilities of dropping off the all seeing grid with the story of a security researcher who tried to hide her pregnancy from the Internet.

    We’d love to hear your views so join the conversation with your on-air questions, ideas or comments; phone in on 1300 222 702 or post a question on ABC702 Sydney’s Facebook page.

    If you’re a social media users, you can also follow the show through twitter to @paulwallbank and @702Sydney.

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  • It’s hard copying Silicon Valley

    It’s hard copying Silicon Valley

    This site has looked at cities wanting to become imitations of Silicon Valley in the past.

    New York, along with London, has been one of the places most likely to create its own Silicon Valley.

    The New York Times though describes how that journey isn’t proving easy, with the city boasting few major tech successes.

    The question though is does New York really want to be Silicon Valley – or San Francisco for that matter?

    Right now the Bay Area is sexy and the centre of the world’s growth industries; but so too were Detroit and Birmingham, England once upon a time.

    Perhaps it’s better to work on being the next big thing rather than trying to imitate today’s successes.

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