Web-connected comfort duck, fitness information privacy, and an intro to Windows Hello

Published on: February 08th, 2018

ROBOTS aren’t all bad, especially if the robot is a soft, fuzzy duck designed to help children cope with painful cancer treatments. The story about the Aflac duck is sure to warm your heart and perhaps it will inspire you to put some of your company’s special expertise to work in bringing joy or comfort to people in special need.

This being only the second week in February, I’m sure everyone is hot on the trail of fulfilling those New Year’s resolutions, a major one being physical fitness. But, is your fitness program private, or is it being connected to the Web and therefore publicly accessible? The answer may surprise you as much as it has surprised our military. Read all about what’s happened with our soldiers in Iraq, and then go check your privacy settings (or decide to exercise off the grid completely).

The last stop on today’s journey has to do with passwords. As you know, creating, managing, protecting and remembering them can lead to no end of frustration. Check out the explanation of “Windows Hello” and perhaps you will decide to use facial recognition or an iris or fingerprint scan instead of a multitude of written passwords. It’s an article worth reading and giving some serious thought to.

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Aflac creates a robot duck to help children being treated for cancer

“”On average, childhood cancer treatment lasts more than 1,000 days, and we thought there must be something we can do to help alleviate some of the burden,” said Aaron J. Horowitz, CEO and co-founder of Sproutel, in a statement.”

Aflac has partnered with Sproutel to create “My Special Aflac Duck” which contains a web-based app. The companion duck is designed to mirror the children’s moods, dance, quack and nuzzle in order to comfort them.

Warm your heart with a duck story here

Source:
Brett Molina, usatoday.com

 

Getting fit in the public eye

Strava and Fitbit users may be unknowingly publishing their, or their child’s, exact location by using the GPS function to map out exercise routes, just like our soldiers have unwittingly done in Iraq. Also, because the HIPPA regulations pre-date web-connected exercise devices, your health information contained within such exercise apps is not federally protected private information, and is in fact accessible to insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, and John Q. Public. How much information do you really want to share?

Read about the soldiers’ experience here

Source:
Laignee Barron, time.com

Find out how public your Fitbit information is, here

Source:
Mark Weinstein, huffingtonpost.com

 

Windows Hello explained

Microsoft Windows 10 users may not realize that they have an alternative way to log into their applications and devices through facial recognition, iris or fingerprint scan. Are you tired of trying to choose a multitude of unbreakable (yet memorable) passwords? This may be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Check out Windows Hello here

Source:
Matt Kapko, computerworld.com