The current chip shortage could should be a thing of the past by 2023... maybe. The current foundries are booked out for the rest of the year and are starting to catch up with current demand. New plants will be coming online by the end of 2022. The maybe part here is the potential shortage of raw materials needed in the fabrication process. This could be a problem by 2023, or perhaps we may have new manufacturing process by then. Fingers crossed that all is good by the end of next year.
A quick warning for those who have tried Apache OpenOffice. It is currently open to a remote code execution vulnerability. The source code has been patched and is in beta so expect a new release soon. The software has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times since the May update so that is a lot of people currently vulnerable.
The Lithuania National Cyber Security Centre has advised its citizens to get rid of Xiaomi-made mobile devices, based on an audit of the device. The firmware in the Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G will censor out over 400 terms such as "Free Tibet", "Long live Taiwan independence" and "democracy movement". When the system is started up it contacts a server in Singapore to grab a JSON file containing the banned terms. In some locations the censorship setting is disabled, but Lithuania is recommending that none of their citizens buy Chinese-made phones because of security concerns. No one who has read this column for long enough should be surprised by any of this from China.
Also of no surprise is another potential monitoring layer being floated by Google, called Idle Detection. Chrome 94 for desktop and Android comes with the new feature and will be on a device near you soon. Mozilla, Apple and others have lodged privacy concerns. Chrome 94 adds a number of features like VirtualKeyboard and removes the AppCache feature due to its stability and security issues. Microsoft loves the new self-profiling API that feeds back performance info for JavaScript.
The Idle Detection API lets developers know when a user is in idle mode, ie, not using the device. The aim is to tell when someone is not active in a multiplayer game or while in a meeting or group chat. It detects if you move away from a window and is not limited to just the browser. It can even detect if someone is away from the device if the right tools are available. Concerns about surveillance, behaviour tracking and working out daily rhythms have been expressed. Developers could send an advertisement for lunch, run their own processes like eCoin mining or working on security exploits when no one is watching the screen. Google has dismissed any concerns.
Sir Clive Sinclair has passed on to that great circuit board in the sky. A few of us will remember him releasing the ZX Spectrum in 1982, a small computer having better colour output than anything else at the time. His device was used by many for games, learning programming and the basics of computer science. Sir Clive wanted to get a computer into every home and at launch the Spectrum ZX was a low £125, with 16K of RAM. The problem was build quality due to the cutting of too many corners. He was the kickstarter to the UK computer scene and even came out with a small TV that didn't do so well at the time. With the right luck he could have been the Steve Jobs of the UK, but even now he is fondly remembered for that ZX Spectrum.
I bought my first online books from Amazon when it was still just a bookshop. Since then, I have bought a lot of products from the store including a few Kindles. Sometime in the past five years Amazon has morphed into a behemoth like Google, and is active in driving its version of social change instead of just selling products. You can of course just order stuff from Amazon like their new Fire TV. Shipping in October, Fire TVs will range from 43 to 75 inches with the top two models supporting Dolby Vision. You also get easier access to the company's programmes, movies and video services. The Fire is essentially a TV with Amazon built in, no need for the Fire stick. Sounds great.
They will probably be excellent TVs. The problem is the built in Alexa voice control. On Omni sets, voice commands will always be available, even when the TV is off. As noted in earlier articles on smartphones, this can be added to the list of devices that listen to whatever you say and as part of the Internet of Things record it. Since they are connected to the internet then potentially anyone else can listen as well. Since the device also includes Amazon's far-field voice technology, it can detect what you're saying from across the room. Some have made comparisons to Orwell's 1984. If you get one and are concerned then turn it off at the power point and disconnect it from the internet when not in use.
James Hein is an IT professional of over 30 years' standing. You can contact him at jclhein@gmail.com.
