Infotainment test: best in-car entertainment systems reviewed

Who makes the best in-car entertainment and sat-nav systems? Our top 10 includes verdicts on Audi, Ford and Vauxhall systems

Digital technology has transformed the way in-car entertainment and information is delivered, and for many drivers nowadays their car’s ‘infotainment’ system is as important as its performance on the road.

Technology: facial recognition to eye scans and thought control

You stare at a ceiling light and it switches on. The same applies when you stare at the coffee machine or focus your eyes on the button showing your preferred washing machine cycle. You refocus on the “on” button and away it goes.

Snapchat Suit May Influence Facial Recognition Technology Controversy

The lawsuit against Snapchat brought by two Illinois residents is making its way to federal court in California-and eventually may help address controversies about the use of facial recognition technology.

The lawsuit focuses on Snapchat’s “Lenses” feature and whether it conflicts with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The plaintiffs say it does, but Snapchat contends it recognizes objects, not “a specific face.”

“Snapchat’s proprietary facial recognition technology scans a user’s face each time he or she uses Lenses to send a snap or story and collects, stores and uses geometric data relating to the unique points and contours (i.e. biometric identifiers of each face),” the lawsuit filed initially in Los Angeles Superior Court said.

Under BIPA, Snapchat or another company cannot obtain someone’s biometrics unless it informs the person in writing; receives a written release from the person who provides informed consent; and publishes guidelines for destroying biometric identifiers, with these guidelines being available to the public, according to the lawsuit.

But Snapchat never informed its users in Illinois about “the specific purpose and length of term for which their biometric identifiers or information would be collected, stored or used,” the lawsuit contends. Snapchat also did not get a written release or consent from these users, nor did the company have publically available guidelines on when the identifiers would be destroyed, the lawsuit adds.

It further claims that Snapchat has created, collected and stored tens of millions and maybe hundreds of millions of face templates, as it estimates that tens of thousands of Snapchat users live in Illinois. Snapchat creates the templates using “sophisticated facial recognition technology” that can extract and analyze data from the “points and contours of users’ faces when they use Snapchat’s Lenses feature,” according to the lawsuit.

Read More@http://www.law.com/sites/articles/2016/07/26/snapchat-suit-may-influence-facial-recognition-technology-controversy/?slreturn=20160627082736

Precision farming – the way to go for Africa

Windhoek – It is not wise and sustainable to continue practising conventional agricultural methods, such as ploughing and loosening the soil before planting as it puts stress on land resources and is worsened by effects of climate change, says global agricultural experts who convened in Brussels, Belgium, last week.