Maybe you’re bored of reading about ransomware attacks, but plenty of local government agencies wish they were so bored. Organized bands of cybercriminals keep pounding away at smaller government IT systems with great success. In the latest attack (that we know about), more than 20 agencies across Texas were hit [Keep reading]
One of my favorite subjects is the problem of shortened attention spans and the fallacy of multitasking in the digital age. Tech competes for our eyes and ears perhaps thousands of times each day. The average worker only gets a few moments to focus on something without being interrupted. Even [Keep reading]
When Facebook announced its grand cryptocurrency idea on Tuesday, the rebellious nature of crypto-coins — decentralized, anonymous, not backed by a government — was decidedly missing. Facebook has a highly sophisticated way of identifying users, said its currency would be back by real money, and “Libra” seems anything but libertarian. [Keep reading]
Work addiction, like gadget addiction, is a real problem. But you don’t have to be an addict to suffer the consequences of overwork. American workers are struggling to find balance in a world full of new demands — always on technology, a proliferation of messaging apps, dual-income households struggling to [Keep reading]
“Working too hard can give you a heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack. You oughta know by now.” It’s the official start of summer, and if you haven’t planned your vacation yet, you aren’t alone. Americans are terrible at taking vacations, terrible at relaxing — terrible at shutting down and rebooting. I think I [Keep reading]
Does your power company know when you get home at night? Does it know how often you use your microwave oven? In this week’s week’s episode of So, Bob, we examine the sometimes controversial topic of smart meters. They have great potential to help cities manage the increasing power demands [Keep reading]
How would you feel if you discovered your smartphone was recording you while you sleep without your knowledge? Last year, co-host Alia Tavakolian came to me when she discovered a sleep app had made dozens of such recordings. Worse yet, to hear what was on the files, she had to [Keep reading]
I’ve spent a year working with Alia Tavakolian and Spoke Media developing this podcast, and I’ve spent almost 25 years preparing for it. So, please give it a try. Click play below, if a play button appears, or click on this Stitcher link or this iTunes link. I started [Keep reading]
Every once in a while, a passion project becomes something real. And I’m over-the-moon to share with you news of our new podcast, called “So…Bob?” — a weekly conversation about the unintended consequences of technology. I haven’t been this excited about a new project since the birth of The Red [Keep reading]
Stealing money using Zelle is apparently as easy as adding a phone number to a consumer’s checking account, and then telling the bank to “Zelle” money to a hacker-controlled account — at least in some cases. When following up my story earlier this week about consumers who don’t even use [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan