|GadgetsDreams|

This week, we discover a padlock unlocked with the power of a fingerprint, a powered standing desk, and a smart mirror. As ever, these are not reviews, and the ratings indicate only how much I'd like to try each item or consign them to the shadows forever. Padlock Prints Tapplock  is a padlock that unlocks when you press your finger against a sensor to let it read your print. There are other smart padlocks on the market you can unlock using your smartphone via Bluetooth, though there are a couple of points that help Tapplock stand out. First, the price for backers of the crowdfunding campaign is reasonable, at US$29 for the basic version and $49 for the larger model. Second, what you get for that larger model is compelling, since it can charge your phone if you're in a bind. The battery on that one lasts up to three years on a single charge, while the basic version has a six-month battery life. Meanwhile, Tapplock apparently can recognize your fingerprint and ...

SOMEONE in Cuba wants to know about AC/DC. The query pops up on a screen in Atlanta. After a quick web search, the answer is on its way back to Cuba. Next up: a request for the English translation of a Spanish phrase. Launched last week, Cuba Intercambio is an email-based service that connects Cubans to people who act as their online proxies. The service exists because Cuba’s internet provision is one of the most restricted anywhere, and expensive to access. Only 5 per cent of the population is hooked up to the web, although the state telecoms company has announced that it will begin offering home broadband access. But censorship could still make even a Google search impossible for most. However, many people in Cuba have access to the national email system, so Amy Bruckman and her colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology built Cuba Intercambio around that. It receives users’ queries by email and puts them up on a Facebook group. Anyone outside Cuba canlook up...

Vaio on Wednesday announced Phone Biz, a Windows 10 mobile phone. The device doesn't have a SIM, leaving users free to select their own carriers. The Phone Biz lets users easily access corporate apps, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Exchange, as well as the Azure cloud, according to Vaio. The OS is synced with the latest version of Windows 10. Users can manage settings from the same Microsoft account as their PCs. The Phone Biz incorporates Microsoft's Continuum feature, which lets users connect phones to TVs or monitors, if they want to work on a larger screen. The Phone Biz supports single sign-on and connection speeds of up to 225 Mbps. The position and size of tiles are customizable, and the phone comes with the Cortana digital assistant. The phone can use encryption or a virtual private network. It includes built-in GPS and supports remote data erase and remote locking. Admins can change users' access to apps and data remotely. The Phone Biz will...

Keybase last week announced the alpha release of the Keybase app for the iPhone with a cryptographically secure file mount. Users can write data in an automatically created folder in this format: /keybase/public/username. Files written in the folder are signed automatically and appear as plain text files on computers. The folder prevents server-side and man-in-the-middle attacks, according to Keybase. Files stream in on demand; there is no syncing as there is in Dropbox, Google Drive and Box. Shared folders are encrypted using keys specific to the device of the person sharing them. If the device is lost, so is the private data. Until the phone app is ready, users have to make a paper key, which is a full-powered private key that can be used to provision and rekey. Participation is by invitation only. The system "is a lot less complex than PGP keys and far harder to compromise, particularly with man-in-the-middle exploits," observed Rob Enderle, princ...

Google on Wednesday announced that it has chosen Kirkland, Washington, as the next location to test its self-driving cars. It picked Kirkland as the third test city to give the cars more experience driving in new environments, traffic patterns and road conditions, the company said. Google has conducted testing mainly at or near its campus in Mountain View, California. Last year it expanded to Austin, Texas. Its self-driving cars have racked up 1.4 million miles, the company said, adding that people in Kirkland soon may be able to catch a glimpse of the latest test vehicle, a Lexus RX450h. The move to Kirkland will allow the autonomous team to experience different -- notably wetter -- conditions, while the area outside of Seattle is known for its winding roads and quick changes in elevation, according to Google. Real-World Conditions Testing in varied weather and road conditions is considered crucial in the development of autonomous vehicles. "Google ha...

Microsoft on Wednesday announced an agreement to acquire SwiftKey , whose software keyboard and SDK are used on more than 300 million Android and iOS devices. SwiftKey's technology aligns with Microsoft's vision for more personal computing experiences that "anticipate our needs versus responding to our commands, and directly supports our ambition to reinvent productivity by leveraging the intelligent cloud," said Harry Shum, Microsoft's executive VP of technology and research. Users have saved an estimated 10 trillion keystrokes across 100 languages since the app was launched in 2010, SwiftKey said. Microsoft will continue to develop SwiftKey's keyboard apps for iOS and Android and "explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of our product and services portfolio," Shum said. SwiftKey's predictive technology aligns with Microsoft's interest in developing intelligent systems that can wo...

Turing Robotic Industries this week announced that it has uninstalled Google's Android mobile platform in favor of Jolla's Sailfish OS in its yet-to-appear secure smartphone. The Turing Phone, molded from a single unit of the Liquidmorphium liquid-metal alloy, is designed to be more durable to absorb shocks and prevent screen breakage. Preorder pricing ranges from US$610 for the 16-GB version to $870 for the 128-GB model. Optimized for Swiftness TRI started taking preorders for the smartphone last year. It delayed the planned shipping date of Dec. 18 to resolve remaining developmental steps for the device, including its security platform and operating system. The new projected shipping date is in April. Customers found out about the OS switch this week through an email. The Sailfish OS is optimized to run fast on the Turing Phones and the Snapdragon 801 processor, according to the notice. "It has a super-secured platform environment, whic...