TECHNOLOGY

Weekender

Five things new smartwatches can do for you

YOU probably don’t suffer from a heart rhythm disorder. But who says you shouldn’t be able to use your smartwatch’s EKG function to check for cardiac conditions? Smartwatch features are getting pretty futuristic, as a glance at some of the latest models reveals.
A stylish extention of your phone on your wrist or a sports tracker with a wealth of features – smartwatches have many faces. We look at a selection of the latest products.
How much oxygen is in my blood?
Garmin has announced a new GPS sportswatch, the Venu, which can measure oxygen saturation in the blood and the respiratory rate using its pulse monitor.
With a 1.2in, energy-saving AMOLED touchscreen display, the watch is said to last up to five days without charging.
With four gigabytes (GB) of memory, the watch can hold a lot of music and contactless payment is possible via Garmin Pay. The Venu is available in four colour variants and costs US$420 (RM1,751).
Garmin has also upgraded its Vivoactive sports watch with many fitness tracking functions and sports profiles. The Vivoactive 4S or 4 is available from US$310 (RM1,292).
Asus and Samsung: Check for heart rhythm disorders
Asus has positioned its new Vivo Watch SP model somewhere between a fashionable smartwatch and a functional sports watch, featuring GPS and a heart rate monitor which will also let you check for oxygen saturation in the blood.
But there’s also an EKG function to help you check for certain heart disorders, just like Apple announced in a head-turning feature on its Apple Watch.
The price and release date of the new Asus watch have not been announced.
The Galaxy Watch Active2 is also set to become one of the first Android watches to get its very own EKG sensor. However, this rare health function on smartwatches is only set to be activated in 2020, according to Samsung.
Samsung’s latest smartwatch lets you swipe your finger along the outer rim to do things like control apps and scroll through messages on the AMOLED touchscreen.
Prices start at US$330 (RM1,376). A version with an LTE wireless connection is available from US$500 (RM2,084).
Mobvoi: Leave your phone at home
Just like Samsung, Mobvoi has made its latest budget Android smartwatch, the Ticwatch Pro 4G, more autonomous by adding an LTE modem.
In other words, your watch will continue to be able to stream music, get messages and stay online even if your phone is off or at home.
Otherwise, the water-proof and dust-proof (IP68) stainless steel case has retained the chronograph style of the previous model.
Fossil: Have a conversation with your wrist
The Fossil Group has announced its fifth generation of Android Wear smartwatches with the Carlyle HR and Julianna HR, each costing US$330.
They include a speaker, which, in conjunction with the integrated microphone, enables direct phone calls as well as conversations with the Google Assistant. It’s also possible to listen to music without headphones.
Fossil also licenses its smartwatch technology to other brands. New models based on the fifth generation include bling-bling models such as the Bradshaw and Lexington 2 from Michael Kors, a sporty and colourful watch from Puma, a fashion-futuristic design from Emporio Armani (Smartwatch 3), and some beefy industrial chic from Diesel (Axial).
All models in the Fossil family have a powerful processor in the new Snapdragon 3100. Features include a 1.28in AMOLED display, GPS, a gyroscope, an altitude and acceleration sensor, and a heart rate monitor that displays its data via a cardiogram app.
Powerwatch : No more charging
Never have to recharge again: That’s the promise from Matrix Industries’ Powerwatch 2, which is charged mostly by thermoelectric energy gains.
The greater the difference in temperature between the skin of the wearer and the air, the more power is generated. Energy is also generated by solar cells in the display.
The watch also has GPS and a heart rate monitor. Prices start at US$645 (RM2,689) for the version with a standard plastic bracelet. – dpa


Youtube ‘creators’ fret over impact of new child protection rules

YouTube and creators may still be able to generate revenue from video ads as long as they are not targeted based on data collected from children. — Bloomberg

SAMUEL Rader quit his job three years ago to work full time on his YouTube channel, “Sam and Nia,” featuring videos of his family life.
The channel created by the Texas-based couple – with videos of their Hawaii vacation, setting up their backyard pool and other content about “Christian family life” – has become one of the stars of the Google-owned video service with some 2.5 million subscribers.
But the future is now uncertain for “Sam and Nia” and other YouTube “creators” as a result of a settlement with US regulators that will make it harder to get ad revenues from videos and channels directed at children.
“I went into a minor panic attack when I heard,” said Rader, whose channel has taken in a reported US$2mil from ads placed along the videos.
“I thought we would have to find a new source of revenues.”
YouTube earlier this month agreed to pay a fine of US$170mil and change how it handles collected data from children under a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission.
YouTube will treat data from anyone watching children’s content on YouTube as coming from a child. It will also stop serving personalised ads on this content entirely, and bar features such as comments and notifications.
The new rules, set to go into effect in four months, have stoked fears in the YouTube community of creators and “vloggers” like the Raders, who live off the advertising revenue.
Shock, grief, fear
“There’s a lot of shock, grief and fear. For many creators, this is their only source of income,” said Melissa Hunter of the Family Video Network, a consultancy which also operates a group of channels on YouTube.
“They are people making content in their houses, not huge companies; they’re small homemade businesses.”
Many questions remain as to how YouTube will define children’s content – intended for kids up to age 12 – which will be subject to the new rules.
Rader said he has been advised that “we are a low-risk channel because our content is not targeting children.”
YouTube is believed to have millions of content creators on its network, who share in the service’s ad revenues, estimated to be more than US$10bil (RM42bil) annually, though it is unclear how much of YouTube’s content is directed at children.
In announcing the new policy, YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki acknowledged that “these changes will have a significant business impact on family and kids creators who have been building both wonderful content and thriving businesses, so we’ve worked to give impacted creators four months to adjust before changes take effect.”
Wojcicki added that YouTube is “committed to working with them through this transition, and providing resources to help them better understand these changes,” and would also establish a US$100mil fund “dedicated to the creation of thoughtful, original children’s content.”
Critics of the Internet giant said YouTube marketed itself as a destination for children and benefitted by selling advertising to toymakers and others.
FTC chairman Joe Simons said the settlement “prevents YouTube and Google from turning a blind eye to the existence of kids-directed content” on its platform.
Hunter said the creators of family content may collect anywhere from US$30 to US$100,000 per month, but that “those families are going to make almost nothing on Jan 1” when the new rules come into effect.
Ending targeting?
YouTube and creators may still be able to generate revenue from video ads as long as they are not targeted based on data collected from children, although these are far less lucrative.
“Advertisers do spend more for trackable, measurable placements,” said Nicole Perrin, an analyst at the research firm eMarketer.
“I’m not sure there is a way to comply with this for kids without limiting some of the revenues on that side.”
Shaun McKnight, whose Dallas-based M-Star Media has created several popular YouTube channels which have attracted millions of subscribers, said he and his wife anticipated changes were coming.
“My wife and I thought it was too risky so we pulled back,” he said. – The Star/AFP


US teenager jailed for prank

A UNITED States teenager has been jailed for 15 months for involvement in a prank leading to an innocent man’s death. Casey Viner, 19, from Ohio, conspired with fellow gamer Tyler Barriss to make a so-called “swatting” call to police.
In the 911 call, Barriss claimed he was holding his family hostage but when police visited the address provided, they shot father-of-two Andrew Finch.
The two men admitted to making the call after a row with another gamer, Shane Gaskill, while playing Call of Duty.
Bariss was sentenced earlier this year to 20 years behind bars
In court, Viner pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice. After his sentence he will be banned from gaming for two years.
Viner said he was “awfully sorry”, that he never intended anything to happen and he thinks of it every day.
“We impose sentences not only for what people intend, but what happened,” said US District Judge Eric Melgren.
How did a prank call kill an innocent man?
A “swatting” call is a hoax phone call designed to make special weapons and tactics (Swat) police raid a target’s house.
On Dec 28, 2017, Barriss told police he had shot his father and was holding the rest of his family hostage.
He gave police what he thought was Gaskill’s address in Kansas.
However, the address provided by Gaskill was not his own but that of Finch, 28.
Armed police went to the property and shot dead Finch, who had no involvement in the video game dispute.
Police say the responding officer shot Finch after he moved his hands towards his waist.
US Attorney Stephen McAllister described swatting as “reckless, dangerous and, as this case proves, potentially tragic”.
The police officer involved was not charged as there was not enough evidence to show they acted unreasonably considering the context.
“Swatting is not a prank, and it is no way to resolve disputes among gamers,” Mr McAllister added, calling on gamers to “self-police their community to ensure that the practice of swatting is ended once and for all”. – BBC

Tyler Barriss pleaded guilty to a total of 51 charges.