Minnov8 Gang 295 – Do NOT Eat the Super Cookies!

Lots of news this week, especially since the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show just ended. Graeme Thickins was there and we’ve also linked to several recaps so you can see more.

Unfortunately it looks like we have yet another privacy-breaching tracker ‘super cookie’ in our midst and we talk about that too. One privacy bright spot potentially? There is legislation pending here in Minnesota that would make it illegal to perform warrantless vacuum surveillance. Listen to learn more.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson.
Music: Boos Boogie Woogie by Boo Boo Davis. Brought to us by the podsafe Music Alley.

The Podcast

Story Links

Past Week’s Biggest MN Stories

• Minnesota Bill Would Ban NSA Activity Called the “Biggest Threat Since the Civil War”
  • The bill, SF33, as introduced by Sen. Branden Petersen (R Dist. 35)
  • Find and contact your MN legislator(s) to voice your support
• Teen’s computer-privacy tussle with his Wayzata school goes viral
• CoCo Celebrates 5 Years
• Target
  • Target hits mobile milestone
  • Target’s next designer partnership: Lilly Pulitzer

Other Top Stories & Mentions

• Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2015
  • What Twin Cities firms are showing at CES: Photo sharing apps, listening alarm systems, smartbeds for kids
  • Minnesota-related companies vie for attention at CES in Las Vegas
  • Samsung’s SmartThings Rolls Out New Product & Services
  • CES Editor’s Choice Award Winners
    • SmartThings Wins 2015 CES Editor’s Choice Award
    • Engadget: Presenting the Best of CES 2015 winners!
  • The Guardian: CES 2015: 25 new products and technologies worth talking about
  • The Verge: All CES 2015 Coverage
  • Things We Like for 2015: A Realist’s Guide to CES
  • NYTimes: CES: Security Risks From the Smart Home
  • CNET: The connected car meets the connected home at CES 2015
  • Graeme’s post on the VW announcements at CES
• Comcast says it will sell gigabit cable service this year
• Apple
  • Apple Emerges As A Promising Internet Of Things Platform At CES 2015
  • CNET: Apple HomeKit gadgets of CES 2015
  • Apple: App Store developers in 2014 earned $10B, up 50% from last year 
  • Retina 12” MacBook Air: Everything We Know
  • Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here
• The EFF’s New App Is Android-Only, As Organization Calls Out Apple For “Outrageous” Developer Terms
  • When Malware Goes Mobile: Why iOS is safer than Android
• Amazon Secretly Working on New Platform for Inventors
• Keyboard Waffle Iron Sells Like Hotcakes, Surpasses Kickstarter Goal

Steve’s Security Tip of the Week

• Do NOT Eat the ‘Super Cookies’ – “Super cookies” can be used to place permanent trackers on your computer, tablet or smartphone.
  • Test your browser to see a super cookie set
  • Brit Proves Google’s Eric Schmidt Totally Wrong: Super Cookies Can Track Users Even When In Incognito Mode
  • New ‘Super Cookies’ Can Track Your Private Web Browsing — And Apple Users Can’t Get Rid Of Them
  • Traditional Cookies Begone & Make Way For The “Super Cookie”!
  • Make your own ‘self-contained’ web browser with Fluid app

Cool Thing of the Week

• Phil: Polaroid Social Matic camera
• Tim: Seagate’s new Personal Cloud drive is a $170 Plex Media Server
• Graeme: Pono music player
  • Neil Young’s LincVolt
• Steve: Samsung Portable SSD T1

Upcoming Events

• Educelerate Twin Cities Demo2, January 14, 2015
• GameCraft, January 23-25, UofM
• Date Night: How Data Science Leads to “I do”, February 3, 2015  (tickets)
• MinneDemo 19, February 5th, Guthrie Theater (tix released Jan 27th & Feb 2nd)
• Hennepin County Geo Code, February 21-22
• IoT Fuse (Internet of Things event) March 19th, 2015 (tix here)
• Mobile March, March 26th, 2015
• MinneBar 10, April 11th, Best Buy HQ
• Twin Cities TechPulse 2015 – April 21, 2015