Category: Mobile Computing

Article

Ultraportables soon to serve the same role as smartphones

Cellular voice could be the next step in merging phones and PCs | Windows Central

My Comments

An increasing trend we are seeing with regular desktop and laptop computers is that they are being used for voice and video telephony. Thu is being driven by messaging apps of the Skype, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber kind being ported to desktop operating systems; along with softphone applications that provide telephony functionality being made available for these operating systems. The softphone applications, along with Skype are even legitimising this usage case with laptops in the business environment turning them in to secondary or replacement phone extensions.

Headsets like the JBL E45BT Bluetooth headset are used with laptops to make voice calls with messaging apps and soon this will happen for mobile telephony

With these setups, you can talk with the caller using the computer’s integrated or attached microphone and speakers. Or, should you want the same level of privacy associated with holding a handset up to your ear, you can talk to the caller using a wired or Bluetooth headset, of which I have reviewed many on HomeNetworking01.info.

Microsoft and others in the “open-frame” computing world are pushing along with the Always Connected PC which runs ARM RISC microarchitecture rather than the traditional Intel-based CISC kind. These ultraportable computers will also be equipped with a wireless broadband modem that is authenticated using eSIM technology.

The idea is to eventually have these computers become like a smartphone with them linked to the cellular mobile network. It is also alongside the fact that today’s smartphones are effectively pocket computers running a mobile operating system.

It could be easy to say that the Always Connected PC concept is irrelevant because one can “tether” a computer to a smartphone to have access to the mobile broadband service, whether through a USB connection or a Wi-Fi-based “hotspot” function that mobile operating systems support. Or we can simply connect our computers and phones to Wi-Fi networks including publicly-accessible networks like hotspots. For that matter, computers can also be connected to other network types like Ethernet or HomePlug AV networks.

Smartphones now are pocket computers

Let’s not forget that the GSM Association and the Wi-Fi Alliance are looking at Wi-Fi networks as a way of providing data-offload functionality. This is through mobile carriers like BT and Telstra offering FON-style community Wi-Fi networks and the Wi-Fi Alliance using Passpoint / Hotspot 2.0 as a way to provide hands-off login to public-access networks.

The Wi-Fi functionality is also being taken further in the context of smartphone-based voice telephony with the use of VoWLAN as another call-transport option for these devices. Some mobile telcos like Telstra even use this as a way to provide voice telephony continuity to their customers if they can’t reach the cellular network but can use Wi-Fi-based Internet.

The focus now is towards the concept of always-connected portable computing with a secure and consistent connectivity experience. This is being brought on through the use of 5G mobile-broadband technology and the interest in edge computing which provides support for localised data processing and storage in a cloud environment.

The eSIM is being pitched as a way to provision mobile service in an online manner, especially to vary the service to suit one’s needs or switch to a competing mobile telco. It also is placing pressure upon mobile telcos to adopt a “service-focused” approach with the idea of having multiple devices on the same mobile account and plan, ringing to the same mobile number and using the same data allowance. The goal with mobile telephony will then be to make or take a voice or video call or send and receive messages on the device that you currently are using rather than changing to a different device for that task.

Connected cars even to be another logical device for one’s mobile service account.

This concept has been driven by the Apple Watch and will be pushed on with smartwatches that have built-in mobile broadband modems. But it will be extended through other devices like smartphones, Always Connected PCs and connected vehicles. There is also the idea of implement the equivalent of a local area network across devices tied to the same service and this will be driven by the trend towards ubiquitous ambient computing.

A question that will come about is the ability to maintain multiple different services on the same physical device whether from the same telco or different telcos. This will be about maintaining separate services for business and private use. Or it could be about travellers who want to maintain a local service while at their destination along with their “home” service. This is a feature that is of relevance in countries where cross-border commuting is the norm thanks to land borders or short affordable ferry rides.

This could be addressed through support for multiple services including the ability to provision a cluster of multiple devices with the one service simultaneously. This same issue can also address the ability for us to use the conventional Internet service based around a hardwired broadband service with a Wi-Fi and / or Ethernet local network in the premises.

What I see out of this new trend is that if your computing device has mobile broadband or connection to the Internet via a local-area network, along with a speaker and microphone, it will become the one-stop computing and communications device. It doesn’t matter what shape or size it is in, being a smartphone, laptop or whatever. As well, the right-sized computing device will serve your computing and communications needs as you see fit.

Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot – first retail 5G device

Article – From the horse’s mouth

NETGEAR

NETGEAR Nighthawk® 5G Mobile Hotspot – World’s First Standards-Based Millimeter Wave Mobile 5G Device (Blog Post)

My Comments

There has been a lot of talk about 5G mobile broadband lately with Telstra running consumer trials of this technology in the Gold Coast using 5G “Mi-Fi” devices installed at fixed locations.

Of course, some people are seeing it as an alternative to wireline and fibre next-generation broadband deployments. Here, they are trying to see the technology as an enabler for the “digital nomadic” lifestyle where people live and work while roaming from place to place, keeping in touch with the world with mobile telecommunications technology.

But NETGEAR and AT&T have stepped forward with a production-grade consumer endpoint device as part of a production-grade 5G network being rolled out across the USA. It is typically assumed that the first production-grade consumer endpoint device for a new mobile broadband technology will be a smartphone of some sort or a USB wireless-broadband modem. But this time it is a highly-portable “Mi-Fi” router in the form of a NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot.

Here, it is to use a device that could support high-throughput data transfer arrangements with a network of mobile devices and take advantage of what a production 5G network could offer. As well, the WAN (Internet) aspect of the NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot is based on millimetre-wave technology and is designed according to standards.

Being the first device of its kind, there could be issues with connection reliability because of it implementing technology that is too “cutting-edge”. As more service providers “light up” standards-based 5G networks in more areas and more device manufacturers offer 5G mobile-endpoint devices, it will be the time to show whether 5G can really satisfy mobile-broadband users’ needs or be a competitor to fixed broadband.

I will update this article as NETGEAR and AT&T release more information about this Mi-Fi’s capabilities.

Article

BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant may be the cold, distant German Siri of our dreams | CNet

From the horse’s mouth

BMW Group

Video – Click or tap to play

My Comments

I have been pushing for the idea of European firms answering what Silicon Valley offers but applying European values to these offerings. Here, it’s like the rise of Airbus and Arianespace from France answering the USA’s leadership in the aerospace industry.

I was calling this out because the European Commission were always worried about the way the popular Silicon-Valley-based online services, especially Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple were doing to European personal and business values like democracy, competitive markets, user privacy and transparency. Their typical answer was to either pass more regulations or litigating against them in the European court system. But they could easily encourage European companies to offer online services that underscore the European mindset through, for example, business-development assistance. 

It is something that is slowly happening with the rise of Spotify, the leading world-wide jukebox, rising from Sweden. There is also a persistent effort within France to answer YouTube with a peer-to-peer video-streaming service.

Now BMW have stepped up to the plate by working on a voice-driven assistant which will initially be focused towards the automotive space. But they intend to take it beyond the vehicle and have it as a European competitor to Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant or Cortana.

But I would say that even if they don’t get it beyond the car dashboard, they could establish it as a white-label platform for other European tech firms to build upon. This could lead to the creation of smart-speaker products from the likes of Bang & Olufsen or TechniSat that don’t necessarily have to run a Silicon-Valley voice-driven assistant platform. Or Bosch or Electrolux could work on a “smart-home” control setup with a voice-driven assistant that is developed in Europe.

Article

Google’s Assistant is here to give you a break from the horrible news cycle | FastCompany

From the horse’s mouth

Google

Hey Google, tell me something good (Blog Post)

Video – Click or tap to play

My Comments

The news cycle that you hear in the USA has been primarily focused on bad news especially with what President Trump is up to or some natural disaster somewhere around the world. It is a very similar issue that is happening around the world. A common issue that is drawn out regarding this oversaturation of bad news is that it can bring about fear, uncertainty and doubt regarding our lives with some entities taking advantage of it to effectively manipulate us.

Some of us follow particular blogs or Facebook pages that contain curated examples of good news that can break this monotony and see solutions for the highlighted problems. But Google is extending this to a function they are building in to the Google Assistant platform with stories that are curated by people rather than machines and, in a lot of cases, derived from a variety of media sources. But this is facilitated by the Solutions Journalism Network non-profit which is more about solution-focused media coverage.

Of course, there will be the doubters and skeptics who will think that we aren’t facing reality and are dwelling in the “Hippie Days” and the “Jesus People” era of the 1960s and early 1970s. But being able to come across positive solutions for the various problems being put forward, including people working “outside the box” to solve that problem can inspire us.

This is a feature is offering on an experimental basis through the USA only and can be used on your Google Home or other Google-Assistant devices. But as this application is assessed further, it could be easily made available across more countries.

Wirelessly transferring data between two devices in the same space

The industry has explored various methods for achieving point-to-point across-the-room data transfer and user discovery. This would avoid the need to use the Internet or a mobile phone network to share a file or invite another user to a game or social network. Similarly, it would be a way to exchange data with a device like a printer or an interactive advertising setup in order to benefit from what that device offered.

Methods that have been tried

The first of these was IrDA infra-red transfer working in a similar to how most TV remote controls work to allow you to change channels without getting off the couch. This was exploited by the legendary Palm Pilot PDA and some of the Nokia mobile phones as a way to “beam” one’s contact details to a friend or colleague with the same device.

Bluetooth pushed forward with the Object Push Profile and File Transfer Profile as methods for exchanging data across the room. This was typically useful for contact details, low-resolution photos or Weblinks and was exploited with the popular feature phones offered by the major phone manufacturers through the 2000s. This method was also exploited by the out-of-home advertising industry as a way to convey Weblinks or contact details from a suitably-equipped poster to suitably-equipped mobile phones set to be discoverable.

But Apple nipped this concept in the bud when they brought out the highly-popular iPhone. The concept has been kept alive for the regular-computer operating systems and for Android mobile applications but mobile users who want to exchange data would have to ask whether the recipient had an Android phone or not.

Bluetooth also implemented that concept with the 4.0 Low Energy Profile standard by using “beacons” as a location tool. But this would be dependent on application-specific software being written for the client devices.

Microsoft is even reinstigating the Bluetooth method to transfer files between two computers in the same room as part of the functionality introduced in the Windows 10 April Update. But I am not sure if this will be a truly cross-platform solution for Bluetooth as was achieved with the earlier Object Push Profile or File Transfer Profile protocols.

Apple tried out a method similar to Bluetooth Object Push Profile called AirDrop but this implemented Wi-Fi-based technology and could only work with the Apple ecosystem. It was associated with “cyberflashing” where lewd pictures were forced out to unsuspecting recipients and Apple implemented a “contacts only” function with contacts’ emails verified against their Apple ID email logins as a countermeasure against this activity.

QR codes like what’s used on this poster being used as a pointer to an online resource

The QR code which is a special machine-readable 2D barcode has the ability to convey contact details, Weblinks, Wi-Fi network parameters and other similar data to mobile phones. These can be printed on hard-copy media or shown on a screen and have a strong appeal with business / visiting cards, out-of-home advertising or even as a means for authenticating client devices with WhatsApp.

Facebook even tried implementing QR codes as a way to share a link to one’s Profile or Page on that social network. Here, it can be a secure method rather than hunting via email or phone number which was raised as a concern with the recent Facebook / Cambridge Analytica data-security saga,

The Android and Windows communities looked towards NFC “touch-and-go” technology where you touch your phones together or touch an NFC card or tag to transfer data. This has been exploited as a technique to instigate Bluetooth device pairing and implemented as a method of sharing contact data between Android and / or Windows devices. For a file transfer such as with contact details, the data itself is transferred using Bluetooth in the case of Android Beam or Wi-Fi Direct in the case of Samsung’s S Beam feature.

The Wi-Fi Alliance are even wanting to put up a Wi-Fi-based method called Wi-Fi Aware. Here, this would be used for data transfer and other things associated with the old Bluetooth Object Posh Profile.

This is implemented on a short-range device-to-device basis because users in the same room may not be connected to the same Wi-Fi Direct or Wi-Fi infrastructure network as each other. There is also the reality that a properly-configured Wi-Fi public-access network wouldn’t permit users to discover other users through that network and the fact that a typical Wi-Fi network can cover the whole of a building or a street.

But there could be the ability to enable data transfer and user discovery using Wi-Fi Aware but being able to use a Wi-Fi infrastructure network but allow the user to define particular restrictions. For example, it could be about limiting the scope of discovery to a particular access point because most of these access points may just cover a particular room. Using the access points as a “scoping” tool even if the host devices don’t connect to that network could make the concept work without jeopardising the Wi-Fi infrastructure network’s data security.

Applications

There are a series of key applications that justify the concept of “across-the-room” data transfer. Typically they either involve the transfer of a file between devices or to even transfer a session-specific reference string that augments local or online activity.

The common application here is for a user to share their own or a friend’s contact details with someone else as a vCard contact-detail file. Another common application is to share a link to a Web-hosted resource as a URL. But some users also use across-the-room data transfer to share photos and video material such as family snapshots.

In the same context, it could be about a dedicated device sending or receiving a file to or from a regular computer or mobile device as outlined below for advertising. But it can also mean having a printer, NAS storage or smart TV being a destination for a file such as a photo.

In the advertising and public-relations context, “across-the-room” data transfer has been seen as a way to transfer a URL for a marketer’s Website or a visual asset to an end-user’s phone or computer. For example, the QR code printed on a poster has become the way to link a user to a media-rich landing page with further explanation about what is advertised. Similarly some out-of-home advertising campaigns implemented the Bluetooth Object Push Profile standard as a way to push an image, video or Weblink to end-users’ mobile phones.

But “across-the-room” data transfer is also being used as a way for users in the same space to discover each other on a social network or to identify potential opponents in a local or online multiplayer game. I find this as a preferred method for discovering someone to add to a social network or similar platform I am a member of so that I can be sure that I am finding the right person on that platform and they are sure about it. Also, in the case of a local multiplayer game, the players would have to continue exchanging data relating to their moves using the local data link for the duration of their game.

Facebook even explored the idea of using QR codes as a way to allow one to invite another person whom they are chatting with to be their Facebook Friend or discover their Facebook Page. It is infact an approach they are going to have to rediscover because they are closing off the users’ ability to search for people on the social network by phone number or email thanks to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

What does the typical scenario involve?

The users who are in the same area are talking with each other about something that one of them has to offer such as contact details or a photo. Or, in the context of advertising or other similar situations, there will be some prior knowledge that there is something to benefit from knowing more about the offer using an online experience.

One of the users will invoke the transfer process by, for example, sharing the resource or hunting for a potential game opponent using their device’s user interface. The other use will share a nickname or other identifier to look out for in the list that the initial user is presented.

Then the other user will confirm and complete the process, including verifying success of that transfer and agreeing that the contents are what they were expecting. In the case of adding another user to a social network or multiplayer game, they will let the instigating user know that they have been added to that network or game.

What does a successful across-the-room data transfer or user-discovery ecosystem need?

Firstly, it needs to be cross-platform in that each device that is part of a data transfer or user/device discovery effort can discover each other and transfer data without needing to be on the same platform or operating system.

Secondly, the process of instigating or receiving a data transfer needs to be simple enough to allow reliable data transfer. Yet end-users’ data privacy should not be compromised – users shouldn’t need to receive unwanted content.

The protection against unwanted discovery or data transfer should be assured through the use of time-limited or intent-based discovery along with the ability for users to whitelist friends whom they want to receive data from or be discovered by in the wireless-based context. Intent-based discovery could be to have the recipient device become undiscoverable once the recipient device confirms that they have received the sender’s data or, in the case of a local multiplayer game, the players have completed or resigned from the game.

Conclusion

The concept of “across-the-room” data transfer and user/device discovery needs to be maintained as a viable part of mobile computing whether for work or pleasure. Where operated properly, this would continue to assure users of their privacy and data sovereignty.

There needs to be software-wide support for determining when a laptop like the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 is on battery power or not so it runs in a manner to conserve battery power

I had read a Lifehacker article about how one could disable real-time malware scanning on a laptop while it is running on battery power as a way to “spin out” the battery runtime further. This was because if the desktop-security program is performing real-time scanning, it would be using a processor thread and demanding more power to do that job.

It is in addition to Microsoft researching ways to minimise screen refreshing while a portable computer is running on batteries so as to conserve battery power. Here, it was about avoiding the need for the CPU and graphics infrastructure to devote lots of energy to “painting” the whole screen when there is a small amount of animation taking place.

Here, I am advocating a “dual-power” approach for software development to allow software to operate in two different modes – a high-performance mode and a power-economy mode. The operating system would sense if the computer is running on external power or battery power and convey this power status to the software applications accordingly. This is in addition to optimising the display, Wi-Fi or other functionality depending on their power source.

It also applies to smartphones like this Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus so they can take advantage of time they are connected to a charger

It is similar to how some portable electronics made through the 70s to the 90s operated depending on the power source. For example some portable radios and boomboxes along with some personal audio players would have the dial or display illuminated while they were connected to external power but you could activate this lighting at the press of a button if the unit was running on batteries. Or some devices would charge rechargeable batteries installed therein while they were connected to external power.

Also there is a reality that most of us will plug our laptops, tablets or smartphones in to a charger while we are at home, in the office or in the car even while we have a full battery in our devices. This is typically to “spin out” the battery runtime and make sure the battery’s “topped off”. In this situation, if we use our devices while they are plugged in to the external power source, we could see a situation where they work in a higher-performance mode.

For example, a game could activate extra “between-move” animations only while the laptop, tablet or smartphone is connected to external power. Or a program which does a lot of calculations like a photo-editing program could work in a “high-performance” mode while on external power. Similarly an email client or similar program could work in a “manual refresh” mode on battery power or an endpoint security program could enable real-time scanning and similar functionality only while on external power.

Games like Candy Crush Saga could work in a manner to provide the best experience depending on if the mobile device is connected to external power or not

What needs to happen is for the desktop or mobile operating system to convey the device power-mode status to all of the apps as part of an “application-programming-interface” hook and for the apps to take advantage of that hook to adapt their behaviour.  The functionality could be enabled or disabled for each application through a configuration option in the application’s settings window.

A security issue that can easily be raised is enablement of unwanted cryptomining and other processes while the mobile device is on external power as a way to facilitate stealthy operation of these processes. This is to make it appear to the user that the unwanted processes don’t exist because there isn’t the excessive battery drain taking place with these processes.

In the privacy context, determining whether a device is running on external power could be used to assume whether the device is at a fixed location or not because AC mains power is the common power source associated with these locations. This is although external power supplies can be used in a mobile context such as being connected to a vehicle’s, boat’s or aircraft’s power infrastructure and used while underway for example.

What is being highlighted here is for the feasibility for operating systems in portable computing devices to convey a system-wide power-mode status relating to use of external power. This is to allow application software to work in a manner to conserve the host computer’s battery power.

USB-C as the power connection for a Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Ultrabook

I have given a fair bit of space on HomeNetworking01.info to the USB-C host-peripheral connection type since it was launched. It was more to do with a simplified high-throughput high-reliability connection type that will grace our computers, smartphones and similar devices.

But just lately I had upgraded to a new Samsung Galaxy S8+ Android smartphone due to my previous smartphone failing. But I had some previous experience with the USB-C connection through my reviewing of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 convertible Ultrabook, which was powered using USB-C as its primary connection type. The previous Android smartphones that I had before implemented a USB microAB connection for their power and data-transfer needs and recent iterations of Android which I experienced on the Galaxy Note series of phones supported USB OTG host-operation modes.

Samsung S8 Plus Android phone using USB-C connection for power and data

The main feature that I liked was the simple approach to connecting devices to my phone. Here, I didn’t have to worry about which way the cable plugged in to my phone, something that was important when it came to connecting it to a charger or power pack.

A situation I was previously encountering with the USB micro-B connector on the previous phones was the need to replace USB cables due to the USB micro-B plug wearing out in the USB micro-AB socket in these phones due to frequent connection and disconnection. This would be typical in relationship to connecting a phone up to a charger for charging then subsequently disconnecting it from the charger for regular use. Then I ended up buying replacement USB A to USB micro-B cables to remedy this problem.

Now I am ending up with a sure-fire connection experience for USB devices similar to using the regular USB connections commonly fitted to regular computers or peripherals.

That situation was often brought on through the use of leaf-spring-type lugs on the USB micro-B connector that were used to make sure the plug fitted properly in the common USB micro-AB socket fitted to smartphones. Here, they can easily wear out and lose their springiness through repeated use. The USB-C connector doesn’t make use of those leaf springs to secure the plug in the socket thanks to it being one plug design for data input and output.

USB-C also works for connecting this phone to a memory card reader for reading photos from my camera

Another benefit that I have experienced is the ability to use the same kind of connector whether the phone is to be a host to a peripheral or to be connected to another computer device. This avoids the need to worry about having to use a USB OTG cable if, for example, I wanted to use a photo from my camera’s SD card to post on Instagram. But I still needed to use a USB-A (female) to USB-C adaptor with the SD card reader but would find this useful if I wanted to use the SD card reader or a USB memory key with any USB-C host device.

Again, I wouldn’t need to worry about which way the cable plugged in to a computer or smartphone equipped with this connector. This can come in handy if I was dealing with USB memory keys attached to keyrings or USB peripherals hanging off a USB cable.

Personally, I see the USB Type-C connection appearing as a viable connection type for laptops, tablets and smartphones especially where these devices are designed to be slim.

One way this connection can be exploited further would be for smartphone manufacturers to install two USB Type-C connectors at the bottom of their products. Similarly, a USB battery pack with USB Type-C connectivity could have have three USB-C sockets and have USB hub functionality. This could then allow for multiple devices to be connected to the same host device.

This article will be built out further as I deal with more connection setups that are based around the USB Type-C connector.