3 Questions. 3 Hints. 3 Answers.
October 13, 2015
1. I spy with my little glass eye…
Hint:
Answer: yet another great use for a Post-It note: a partition between you and your computer’s webcam. Webcam hijacking is becoming more and more popular. Hackers gain control of innocent users’ cameras through Remote Administration Tools (RATs) in order to record users engaged in everything from typing a term paper to … well, other stuff. Also disturbing is that many unsuspecting folks don’t even realize they are being watched and filmed. Perhaps, as this article suggests, it is time for computer manufacturers to integrate more obvious technology so users are more aware when the rats are active.
2. How many arguments does it take to defend a patent Down Under?
Hint:
Answer: a myriad of arguments didn’t help Myriad Genetics as it stood before the High Court of Australia (HCA) recently. Reminiscent of the Supreme Court ruling in AMP v. Myriad in 2013, the HCA in D’Arcy v. Myriad Genetics held that genetic material isolated from the body is not that different from the same material within the body. Isolated nucleic acid was determined not to be a manner of manufacture and, therefore, not a patentable invention.
3. Where and when might one be able to sit back and enjoy Snapps and Glögg worry-free?
Hint:
Answer: Volvo recently announced it “will accept full liability whenever one of its cars is in autonomous mode.” At the same time, the car manufacturer impressed that a national regulatory framework is key to solving issues like liability. It is not clear whether the sobriety of the Volvo “passenger” would be a factor with regards to the assumption of liability. Nonetheless, even if not, legally sipping Glögg in a slightly inebriated state as your automated Volvo maneuvers you around the Swedish countryside is still distant (per Audi spokesman, Brad Sterz: ‘the days of sitting back and drinking a latte while your car picks you up and shuttles you around are many years off”). The possibility, however, is a nice thought.