Written By Unknown on Senin, 09 Februari 2015 | 08.10
8 February 2015Last updated at 21:41By Tessa WongBBC News, Singapore
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The waiter drone in action
In Singapore food is a national obsession. But finding enough people to bring the food to diners is increasingly becoming a problem.
One company thinks it has come up with a solution - flying robot waiters. They are sturdy, reliable, and promise never to call in sick at the last minute.
Infinium Robotics' drones, due to be introduced at a local restaurant-bar chain by the end of this year, can carry up to 2kg (4.4lbs) of food and drink - that's about two pints of beer, a pizza, and two glasses of wine.
The unpiloted robots whizz above the heads of diners on paths charted by a computer programme, and navigate using infra-red sensors placed around the restaurant.
Culinary handwringing
Keen on slowing down immigration and increasing efficiency, the government has put curbs on the cheap foreign labour on which the restaurant industry has long depended.
But young Singaporeans tend to shun service jobs due to their lower wages and perceived lower social status.
A number of well-known restaurants and food stalls have shut down in recent months citing the manpower shortage and high rentals, causing some handwringing over the future of Singapore's food culture.
The "F&B" - food and beverage - industry currently lacks nearly 7,000 people, according to government statistics on job vacancies.
"Singaporeans do not want to eat sub-standard food. We need the F&B industry to thrive once again," reads one letter recently published in a national newspaper.
Restaurateurs have been experimenting with ways to address the shortage, from robots that can wok-fry rice and noodles to iPad menus and bullet train delivery systems. None, however, has so far gone to the extent of having robots fly around serving food to diners.
Infinium Robotics' chief executive officer Junyang Woon says that his technology frees up capacity: "So staff are able to interact more with customers and enhance their dining experience."
Drones can pose safety and liability issues, especially when used indoors. In December, a drone crashed into someone's face at a TGI Fridays outlet in New York.
But Mr Woon says their machines use onboard cameras and sensors to ensure they do not collide with one another or with people. Their blades are covered with grates.
Is it all just a gimmick, or can it be a long-term solution?
Non-profit director Stacey Choe, who eats out four times a week, balks at the idea of drone waiters.
"It provides efficiency especially at bigger establishments. So it could well be the future. I would be keen to try it, it's a novelty - but it's something that's not very attractive in the long run. I just think service needs to feel personal," she says.
Even the chain that's buying Infinium's drone waiters, the Timbre Group, admits that there are limits to the technology.
Managing director Edward Chia currently employs 90 people across six restaurants and bars. He says that with the drones - he plans to use 40 of them - he now has the capacity to open more outlets and redirect staff to do higher-skilled jobs, such as making cocktails and preparing food.
But he still plans to have human waiters - the drones will ferry food from the kitchen to a serving station, and a person will then place the dish in front of the customer.
"We still want to have that human touch," he says.
An American man alleged to have been involved in several "swatting" incidents has been arrested in the US.
"Swatting" involves pranksters phoning police with fake information about crimes that require the presence of armed Swat teams.
Brandon Wilson was arrested for his suspected involvement in an incident in July that led to armed officers laying siege to a house in Illinois.
If found guilty, Mr Wilson could face up to five years in jail.
The arrest took place on the same day that a popular online gamer Joshua Peters was swatted while fans watched him playing via his Twitch TV stream.
Swatting has become a significant problem in the US with many pranksters and trolls using it as a tactic against people they dislike or as a means of revenge. Cybercriminals have also used it against security researchers who have exposed their identities and how they work.
The incident which led to Mr Wilson being arrested involved police responding to a fake call about a murder at a home in an Illinois town called Naperville.
Mr Wilson, who lives in Las Vegas, is also suspected of involvement in several other swatting incidents according to a local US report about his arrest. Mr Wilson, who uses the gaming handle "famed god", has been charged with computer tampering, intimidation, fraud and ID theft.
Illinois state attorney James Glasgow said swatting was a "dangerous prank" and added that he was drafting laws that would make it a crime in the state. The law would require convicted swatters to pay the costs of calling out emergency response teams.
Newsbeat visited Ask.fm in May 2014 when the company first addressed criticism about cyberbullying
In the summer of 2013, things could not have been much worse for Ask.fm.
After being linked to several teen suicides, the social network found itself at the centre of a media firestorm.
Grieving families pleaded with people to avoid it, campaigners called for its closure and the Prime Minister said users should stage a boycott.
Add Islamic State recruitment tips to that on the platform and you had a company with a reputation in tatters.
Ask.fm was toxic. Damaged goods. The lack of moderation led to a free-for-all where bullies could hide and do their worst.
It therefore came as a surprise to those of us who'd watched the company lurch from one crisis to the next that it was bought in August 2014 by the well-established and similarly named internet company Ask.com.
Boss Doug Leeds admits he considered shutting down Ask.fm after his company bought the network in 2014
Surely the only sensible thing to do would be close the whole operation?
"The answer is yes," said Doug Leeds, CEO of the controversial social network's new owner Ask.com.
"We did look at shutting it down and we thought about it significantly as an option."
Speaking to Newsbeat from the US, he said the company decided that it was worth trying to turn Ask.fm around.
"We came to the conclusion that there's a good business here as long as you make the service safer."
And that is what Ask.fm's new parent company IAC, which owns online brands including Tinder and Vimeo, is banking on.
Ask.fm says its new Safety Centre will offer users and parents help and advice on how to avoid abuse
The launch of a new safety centre providing advice to teenagers, parents and the police is proof, the company claims, of its commitment to keeping its users safe.
A slick video attempts to present a caring and considerate company in which staff admit safety "had to be improved".
There are tips on "being smart and safe" and "dealing with cyberbullying" along with an explanation that in "certain circumstances" the company may hand over user data to law enforcement agencies.
It's far more extensive than the token effort made by Ask.fm's previous owners, who have now left the company, but surely allowing users to stay anonymous is inviting abuse?
"Our motto since we bought the company has been anonymity with responsibility," said Leeds.
"We think there are a lot of benefits - and obviously users agree - to anonymity.
INTERACTIVE
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Ask.fm is set up by brothers Ilja and Mark Terebin as a rival to question and answer based social network Formspring.
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Privacy settings introduced to Ask.fm, including the option to disable anonymous questions.
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Ciara Pugsley, 15, is found dead in woodland near her home in County Leitrim, Ireland. This was the first of several teen suicides linked to abuse via ask fm.
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Hannah Smith, 14, is found hanged at her home in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. It is believed she killed herself after she was bullied on the site.
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Prime Minister David Cameron urges people to boycott sites which do not 'step up to the plate' and tackle online abuse. He said that after the 'absolutely tragic' death of Hannah Smith, those running the websites had to 'clean up their act'.
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Changes made to make Ask.fm safer in the wake of online bullying cases. It said it would view all reports within 24 hours, make the report button more visible, and include bullying and harassment as a category for a report.
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In the 2013 Annual Cyberbullying Survey by charity Ditch the Label, Ask.fm is named as one of the three most likely places teenagers experience cyberbullying, alongside Facebook and Twitter.
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Ask.fm launches a 'Safety Center' containing advice and guidance for users of the site and their parents.
"You can ask questions that you wouldn't feel comfortable asking."
Allowing users to hide their identity is clearly a big attraction to Ask.fm's 150 million users, who are mainly teenagers.
But providing anonymity, while ensuring it is not used as a veil of secrecy for bullies, is Ask.fm's greatest challenge.
"That's where we draw the line; when anonymity is being used as a method to cause harm then we can take action and it isn't appropriate for our service," said Leeds.
Moderation and enforcement of rules is difficult, with 50 million questions being asked on the network every day.
But Ask.fm is trying, with the help of technology.
They have extended the use of software to scan questions and answers posted by users for key words and phrases.
"We've expanded the number of filters we're using, we've increased the vocabulary that we use, we've added new employees to look at this content," said Leeds.
"We're now seeing about 40% more content in total than we saw before either before it gets to a user or just afterward and usually we can respond in under 15 minutes to anything that we're seeing that isn't appropriate," said Leeds.
There will also be more oversight of what the company is doing, with a Safety Advisory Board made up of leading figures in online safety.
John Carr, secretary of the British Childrens' Charities Coalition on Internet Safety, is among its members.
He claims the approach taken by Ask.fm's previous owners of offering free speech with light-touch moderation did not work.
Ask.fm will launch a new mobile web version after seeing a drop in the number of users signing up
"There was a naivety there, but that's all history now," he said.
"It's a big investment in clever technology and people, that's what's going to make the difference."
He acknowledged that the rapid rise in popularity of Ask.fm without adequate safety measures led to its poor reputation.
"These things can become very fashionable, they get gigantic numbers of users rapidly, but if you haven't got the safety mechanisms in place that's when things can go badly wrong."
When we bought the company questions on the service were not being moderated - or looked at by anybody - unless they were answered or reported by a user
The question has to be asked though, whether the damage has been done.
In the world of social networking, new companies come and go almost daily. Ask.fm set itself apart by allowing, perhaps encouraging, users to stay anonymous.
Now it is just one of many in a crowded market with apps including Whisper, Secret and YikYak jostling for position.
Ask.fm admits it has lost users since its run of bad publicity, partly as a result of changes put in place.
When Newsbeat visited Ask.fm's head office in Latvia in May 2014, 17-year-old student Sophie Downes from Flintshire was one of many who told us about the abuse she faced on the site.
A few months later she and her friends have moved on.
Sophie has been a victim of anonymous online abuse and says she no longer uses Ask.fm
"I'm glad they're finally doing something to improve their safety policy, but I actually don't use the site any more.
"It seems to have lost popularity within my friendship group," she said.
Ask.fm is staking its future on allowing "anonymity with responsibility".
To survive, it will need to prove that phrase is more than a slogan.
If you or your friends are experiencing any negativity online, search for BBC Advice where you can get information and support.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube
Social media users who spread racial hatred should be banned from sites such as Twitter and Facebook, MPs say.
The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism wants prosecutors to examine whether prevention orders like those used to restrict sex offenders' internet access could be used.
The cross-party group also highlighted the use of anti-Semitic terms online.
Last week, a Community Security Trust report said UK anti-Semitic incidents more than doubled to 1,168 in 2014.
The trust - which monitors anti-Semitism in Britain - says this was its highest figure recorded since it began work in 1984.
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Rabbi Mark Goldsmith: "People do need that sense that wherever you spread hate, it's not going to be legal"
'Hate crimes'
The Parliamentary inquiry was set up following a rise in incidents in July and August last year during fighting between Gaza and Israel.
Although the primary focus of the inquiry was anti-Semitism, one recommendation it made was that those who carry out any kind of hate crime should be prevented from using social media.
Hate crimes are defined in England and Wales as offences carried against someone because of their disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation and can include harassment.
The MPs said social media platforms had "increasingly been used for the spread of anti-Semitism".
Their report said the terms "Hitler" and "Holocaust" were among the top 35 phrases relating to Jews during the conflict.
The hashtags "Hitler" and "genocide" featured with "high frequency", it added. The "Hitler Was Right" hashtag trended worldwide in July 2014.
AnalysisBy Caroline Wyatt, religious affairs correspondent, BBC News
The rise in violent anti-Semitic attacks last year in the UK was clearly linked to the conflict in Gaza, with some using criticism of Israel's actions as a pretext for hate speech.
Although the Jewish community is deeply integrated into British society, many British Jews say there has always been a low level of underlying anti-Semitism - such as casual, thoughtless remarks - but the rise of hate speech online is new and risks normalizing such sentiments.
Extremist or hate speech against one minority creates an environment in which such sentiments can easily spread to others. So today's call may also be welcomed by Muslim communities, facing what they say is a rise in Islamophobia following the Paris attacks.
Despite all that, the UK is still seen as one of the most tolerant places in the world to live. MPs, peers and others are keen to ensure that remains the case.
The report said: "There is an allowance in the law for banning or blocking individuals from certain aspects of internet communication in relation to sexual offences.
"Informal feedback we have received from policy experts indicates that this is a potential area of exploration for prosecutors in relation to hate crime.
"If it can be proven in a detailed way that someone has made a considered and determined view to exploit various online networks to harm and perpetrate hate crimes against others then the accepted principles, rules and restrictions that are relevant to sex offences must surely apply."
The report also said there was an "unacceptable rise in anti-Semitic incidents" in July and August last year.
It added: "It is for non-Jews to speak out and lead the fight against anti-Semitism with strong action."
It also called for:
A government fund to be set up to cover the costs of security at synagogues
Fresh research on identifying and explaining anti-Semitic language
Guidance for teachers on how to handle the Middle East conflict in the classroom
The report also comes weeks after four people were killed at a Jewish supermarket in Paris.
'Zero-tolerance approach'
Prime Minister David Cameron called the report "hugely important", adding that tackling anti-Semitism went "right to the heart of what we stand for as a country".
Community Secretary Eric Pickles added: "We remain staunchly committed to tackling anti-Semitism wherever it occurs and will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach."
And Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis welcomed the timing of the report, which he said came when the "threat against the Jewish community is real and anxiety remains high following recent events".
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the force had taken steps to provide "additional reassurance" to Jewish communities in recent weeks.
The best way of helping police was to report hate crime, but a wider response was also needed, he said.
"We need society to become as vocally intolerant of faith-hatred as it is of other forms of discrimination, and a clearer understanding of where freedom of speech oversteps the mark."
Meanwhile, a Populus poll accompanying the report also suggested a third of Britons - 37% - believed the problem of anti-Semitism had got worse in the last decade.
In comparison, 16% thought it had got better.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where one means anti-Semitism is not a problem at all and 10 means it is a serious issue, participants rated it at 4.66.
That figure was largely unchanged from when a similar survey was carried out in 2005.
6 February 2015Last updated at 13:18By Dave LeeTechnology reporter, BBC News
A website has been ordered to remove a design for a 3D-printed model of the "Left Shark" dancer from the Super Bowl half-time show.
Lawyers for singer Katy Perry contacted Fernando Sosa, who had sold the design via an online directory of blueprints.
Left Shark became a viral hit after appearing to forget its steps during a routine with the 30-year-old artist.
3D-printing is becoming an increasing headache for companies trying to protect their intellectual property.
Falling costs of 3D printers, coupled with a growing community of model designers, means many small products can be made to a relatively high quality.
In a letter, the lawyers said Perry had not consented to the use of the shark, which was being sold through Shapeways.com.
"Your unauthorised display and sale of this product infringes our client's exclusive rights," read the letter, posted on Instagram by Mr Sosa.
Mr Sosa was selling the design for $24.99 (£16). After the item was removed by Shapeways, Mr Sosa submitted the design to a different site, Thingiverse, and offered it free-of-charge.
Facilitating demand
On the site, Mr Sosa wrote: "Apparently sharks, palm trees and beach balls are all now copyrighted... anyways I'm making this available to everyone.
"Now you can 3D print your very own Left Shark. Just make sure you download this file ASAP since just in case it's taken down."
Intellectual property lawyer Dai Davis told the BBC he expects disputes like this to become more common, and that industry must adapt to facilitate demand.
"In the same way copyright is difficult to protect in music because of the way the internet has allowed piracy sites, in the same way you already have lots of sites popping up which will increasingly allow unlawful copies of design rights [for objects]."
He suggested that companies would perhaps be wiser to offer their own official 3D-printed designs, rather than putting effort into removing designs by others.
The man inside one the shark costumes, professional dancer Scott Myrick, said of the performance: "The visibility was terrible. I ran into a palm tree but the camera missed it."
6 February 2015Last updated at 14:30By Leo KelionTechnology desk editor
An Ubuntu-powered smartphone is coming to the market a year and a half after a previous attempt to launch a model via crowdfunding failed.
The Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu edition relies on a card-like user interface that is not focused on apps.
Unlike the original proposal, the handset does not become a desktop PC when plugged into a monitor.
It is initially being targeted at "early adopters", who developers hope will become advocates for the platform.
The British company Canonical, which developed the Linux-based operating system, said it hoped to emulate the success of Chinese companies including Xiaomi with its launch strategy.
This will include holding a number of "flash sales" in Europe beginning next week, in which the device will be sold for short periods of time - giving the developers an opportunity to gauge demand and respond to feedback before committing to a bigger production run.
"It's a proven model - we're making sure that the product lands in the right hands," Cristian Parrino, vice-president of mobile at Canonical, told the BBC.
"We are way away from sticking this in a retail shop in the High Street. [But] it's where we want to get to."
Millions of PCs used by schools, governments and businesses already run the desktop version of Ubuntu.
"The Ubuntu fan base will clamour to buy the phone just because they will be curious to see what it is, how it works and how they can develop for it - they'll want to be one of the few that have it," said Chris Green, from Davies Murphy Group Europe.
"But for the broader, more mainstream, early adopter market, I think demand will be constricted because people are more app-focused."
Scope cards
The Ubuntu handset can run apps written in either the HTML5 web programming language or its own native QML code.
However, its operating system effectively hides them away. Instead of the traditional smartphone user interface - featuring grids of apps - it uses themed cards that group together different facilities.
Canonical calls these Scopes, and they are reminiscent of the swipe-based card system used by the Google Now personal assistant.
The phone's home screen is the Today Scope. It presents a selection of widgets based on the user's most frequent interactions on the phone.
These can include the local weather forecast, the headlines of the day from third-party news services, Twitter trends and a list of the owner's most commonly contacted friends.
By swiping to the right, the owner can make a call or access some of the other default Scopes, including:
A Music Scope, with favourite tracks sourced from Soundcloud and other streaming music providers, as well as offering details of forthcoming concerts via Songkick
A Video Scope, which presents clips from YouTube and other services
A Photos Scope, which collects together images stored on the phone as well as pictures stored on Flickr, Picasa, Facebook and elsewhere
A Nearby Scope providing location-specific details, including traffic conditions, public transport options and restaurant recommendations
An Apps Scope, which provides access to the camera, calendar software and programs from other companies
Users can create and configure their own Scopes, and individual services can also be set to have Scope cards of their own.
Mr Parrino suggested that the benefit to the user was an "unfragmented" experience, while developers would gain by being able to make their products available via Scopes at a fraction of the cost of creating full apps.
"If you come out with a new [OS] that's based on apps and icons then you're just a 'me too' platform," he said.
"You'll only be as relevant to developers as the number of users you can bring to them, because you're adding the burden of supporting a new platform. And for users you'll only be as good as the apps that you have.
"We've had to switch that model around and deliver an experience that is valuable in its own right - clearly the more services that plug into it the better it becomes, but it's not fully dependent on them from day one, and for an early adopter audience it's a great product."
Certain services will, however, be missing at launch, including Whatsapp, Skype and several of Instagram's core features.
'Stopgap' features
Canonical makes money by charging organisations for support services.
The phones themselves are being made and sold by a Spanish company, BQ, which already has an Android variant of the hardware.
They include an eight-megapixel rear camera, a 5MP front one and one gigabyte of RAM memory. They will cost about 170 euros ($195; £127).
"It's a good-looking device and a very slick interface at a realistic price," commented Mr Green.
"Scopes are an interesting stopgap between a full third-party app environment and a fixed feature phone.
"However, they are just that - a stopgap. They will interest very early adopters and the Ubuntu faithful in the short term. However, it won't take long before people start wanting a full add-on app experience akin to the other existing platforms on the market today."
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A US teenager has been charged with the murder of a classmate after police said he posted a Snapchat photo of himself with the victim's body.
Maxwell Marion Morton, 16, was arrested for killing Ryan Mangan in his home near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The suspect used Snapchat - an app that auto-deletes content after a few seconds - to send an image to a friend.
The friend took a screenshot and his mother contacted police. Prosecutors said the Snapchat was "key evidence".
"[Police] received a copy of the photo which depicted the victim sitting in the chair with a gunshot wound to the face," a police affidavit states, according to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"It also depicts a black male taking the 'selfie,' with his face facing the camera and the victim behind the actor. The photo had the name 'Maxwell' across the top."
The boy also received text messages from the suspect saying: "Told you I cleaned up the shells" and "Ryan was not the last one."
Snapchat has become wildly popular among US teenagers and youth, with many attracted by the fact content shared via the app disappears so quickly.
But there are ways to make Snapchat messages permanent - including taking screen captures and using third-party services.
Users are alerted when someone takes a screen capture of a message.
Maxwell Marion Morton confessed to killing Mr Mangan after police found a 9mm handgun hidden in his home, according to The Tribune-Review.
He will be charged and face trial as an adult, police said.
Samsung is warning customers to avoid discussing personal information in front of their smart television set.
The warning applies to TV viewers who control their Samsung Smart TV using its voice activation feature.
Such TV sets "listen" to every conversation held in front of them and may share any details they hear with Samsung or third parties, it said.
Privacy campaigners said the technology smacked of the telescreens, in George Orwell's 1984, which spied on citizens.
Data sharing
The warning came to light via a story in online news magazine the Daily Beast which published an excerpt of a section of Samsung's privacy policy for its net-connected Smart TV sets.
The policy explains that the TV set will be listening to people in the same room to try to spot when commands are issued. It goes on to warn: "If your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party."
Corynne McSherry, an intellectual property lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) which campaigns on digital rights issues, told the Daily Beast that the third party was probably the company providing speech-to-text conversion for Samsung.
She added: "If I were the customer, I might like to know who that third party was, and I'd definitely like to know whether my words were being transmitted in a secure form."
Soon after, an activist for the EFF circulated the policy statement on Twitter comparing it to George Orwell's description of the telescreens in his novel 1984 that listen to what people say in their homes.
In response to the widespread sharing of its policy statement, Samsung has issued a statement to clarify how voice activation works.
It said the privacy policy was an attempt to be transparent with owners in order to help them make informed choices about whether to use some features on its Smart TV sets, adding that it took consumer privacy "very seriously".
Samsung said: "If a consumer consents and uses the voice recognition feature, voice data is provided to a third party during a requested voice command search. At that time, the voice data is sent to a server, which searches for the requested content then returns the desired content to the TV."
It added that it did not retain voice data or sell the audio being captured. Smart-TV owners would always know if voice activation was turned on because a microphone icon would be visible on the screen, it said.
The third-party handling the translation from speech to text has not been named.
Samsung is not the first maker of a smart, net-connected TV to run into problems with the data the set collects. In late 2013, a UK IT consultant found his LG TV was gathering information about his viewing habits.
Publicity about the issue led LG to create a software update which ensured data collection was turned off for those who did not want to share information.
