THE THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, June 8, 2016, PAGE Wednesday, June 8, 2016, PAGE A99
TECHTALK
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE ICT SECTOR MORE THAN 100 students, teachers and industry representatives participated in the second celebration of Girls in ICT Day in the Bahamas. Girls in ICT Day, part of a global initiative led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), was held on April 28 at the British Colonial Hilton and hosted students from 24 schools throughout Nassau and the Family Islands. Its purpose is to promote the use of and access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) by women and girls; to expose young women to the myriad of opportunities in the sector and to empower girls and young women with the knowledge that careers in ICTs can be very beneficial. The event was hosted by the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA) in partnership with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), Cable Bahamas, The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (ZNS) and other service providers in the electronic communications sector. The event was a one-day symposium for senior high school girls in grades nine to 12, and was designed to give students the opportunity to meet and speak with outstanding women whose jobs require significant ICT skills. The students were treated to words of wisdom from many women working in ICT positions throughout the country. Presentations included an informative and personal keynote address from Julianna Mahelis, a pilot at Bahamasair, who said when she told persons that she worked for the airline, she would often be asked “oh what is it like being a stewardess”.
Another highlight was the panel discussion featuring Shantelle Lopez, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Manager at the Water & Sewerage Corporation; Lynda Burrows, Senior Manager IT Operations and IT Helpdesk at Commonwealth Bank; Kendia Barr, Information Technology (IT) Teacher at Old Bight High School, Cat Island; Caron Klein, Enterprise Resource Planning Manager at BTC; and Shayvonne Moxey-Bonamy, Senior Meteorological Officer at the Bahamas Dept of Meteorology. The girls also participated in activities led by fellow student Gabrielle Hollaende, of Lyford Cay International School and a prospective computer game creator, and IT educator Ramona Wells. They were given the opportunity to visit a host of exhibitors representing various areas of ICTs, including The Amoury Company, BTC, BTVI, Cable Bahamas, Fourth Terrace Diagnostic Centre, Synergy Bahamas and URCA. “Thanks to URCA for mak-
NFL TWITTER ACCOUNT SACKED BY HACKERS
IT LOOKS like the NFL needs to change its Twitter password after another high profile hacking yesterday. The league’s official Twitter account was hacked with with a fake tweet saying Commissioner Roger Goodell had died. “We regret to inform our fans that our commissioner, Roger Goodell, has passed away. He was 57. #RIP.” The NFL responded quicker than a strong side safety blitz, announcing the league’s Twitter account was hacked. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, who tweeted to confirm the hacking, added that Goodell “is alive and well”. The hack is the latest involving big-name Twitter accounts, including pop stars Katy Perry, Drake and reality star Kylie Jenner. On Sunday, Ourmine, a hacker group with 41,000 followers on Twitter, claimed to have compromised Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. In a tweet, the group bragged about the alleged hacks and invited Zuckerberg to contact the group. The hacks come after LinkedIn said last month more than 100 million members’ email and password combina-
tions had been posted online. The data was taken during a 2012 data breach. A separate set of 6.5 million encrypted passwords stolen during that attack had previously been posted. Although the NFL deleted yesterday’s bogus tweet, the hacker did not stop. In a second tweet, the hacker wrote, “Oi, I said Roger Goodell has died. Don’t delete that tweet.” In a third tweet the hacker gave up, saying, “OK, OK, you amateur detectives win. Good job.” The hacker’s tweets have been retweeted thousands of times. TERRY COLLINS Cnet.com
• A TEAM accompanied by renowned Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass is testing a new scanner on the Great Pyramid of Giza tomorrow, hoping that modern technology could help unlock ancient secrets buried deep beneath the stone. The scanner, which uses subatomic particles known as muons to examine the 4,500 year-old burial structure, was first set up at the site last year and will complete its data collection this month. “It’s running right now, and if it manages to detect one of the three chambers we already know exist inside, then we will continue the scans,” Mr Hawass said. He has been appointed by the Antiquities Ministry to head the team that will review the scan results. Late last year, thermal scanning identified a major anomaly in the pyramid three adjacent stones at its base which registered higher temperatures than others.
ing this experience possible. “Being around the ICTs field for a day, I had an awesome time. I hope to be back next year by God’s grace,” remarked a 10th grade student from Samuel Guy Pinder All Age School in Spanish Wells. “My career is cooking, but that might change into ICTs,” she said. “Almost 70 per cent of attendees indicated their interest in pursuing studies and/or careers in ICTs as a result of the event, which speaks to its success,” added Mavis Johnson-Collie, Corporate and Consumer Relations Manager at URCA. “We look forward to this event growing and evolving each year as we look for unique and engaging ways to expose our young women to the opportunities that abound in field of ICTs in the country.”
• TWO NEW Samsung phones with folding screens could be unveiled next year. The South Korean tech giant is mulling the release of two phones with bendable screens as soon as 2017, according to the Bloomberg news agency yesterday, which cites anonymous sources “familiar with the matter”. One of the phones, which could reportedly see the light of day early next year, is said to fold in half like a makeup compact. The other could serve as a 5-inch smartphone but fold out into a larger tablet-style gadget. “We can’t comment on market speculation,” Samsung said.
SAMSUNG CHALLENGES FITBIT WITH GEAR FIT2 SAMSUNG is unveiling a new fitness tracker that aims to undercut gadgets from market leader Fitbit. Beyond offering all-day step counting and automatic sleep tracking, the $180 Gear Fit2 comes with GPS sensors for more accurate measuring of distance and pacing for runners and cyclists. GPS is typically limited to higher-end devices, such as the Fitbit Surge and the Microsoft Band 2, both of which go for $250. The Fit2 is also cheaper than the new $200 Fitbit Blaze, which does not have GPS. The main drawback: The Fit2 won’t sync with iPhones, as Fitbits do. An Android phone - not necessarily Samsung’s - is required for syncing music and workout data. While Samsung is the world’s fifthlargest maker of wearable devices, according to technology market research firm IDC, most of those are Gear smartwatches, where fitness is an afterthought. By contrast, fitness is front and centre with the Fit2. Yet it will also have some smartwatch capabilities, including the
ability to reply to messages from the device. Rival trackers at most tend to show you messages; replies are typically limited to smartwatches such as Apple Watch and Samsung’s Gear S2. Advance orders on the Fit2 will begin Friday in the US, with shipments a week later. Later this year, Samsung will release its $200 Gear IconX earbuds that, in addition to playing music, will track exercise and heart rate. They are designed as a standalone tracker, rather than a companion to the Fit2. Under Armour’s upcoming heartrate-tracking headphones are expected to cost $250. Samsung’s IconX goes further with built-in sensors to measure distance and pacing, though with less accuracy than GPS devices. There’s no screen, so you get audio readouts every mile or whatever interval you set. With its announcements, Samsung is trying to tap growing interest in health and fitness as sales of smartphones slow down. ANICK JESDANUN Associated Press
• PROSECUTORS in Chicago say a 17-year-old accused in his 16-year-old friend’s fatal shooting admitted to the killing in a Snapchat video. The Chicago Tribune reports that Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Anna Sedelmaier said in court on Sunday that the teen posted the video on the social media app from the back of a police car. He is charged with firstdegree murder in the death of Christian Bandemer, who was shot in the chest on Friday on the city’s South Side. Sedelmaier says the suspect said on Snapchat: “I killed Chris and now I’m going to kill myself.” Snapchat videos can be viewed once then disappear. A spokeswoman for the prosecutors’ office said on Monday she didn’t know how authorities accessed his video. • THE latest leg of a solarpowered airplane’s aroundthe-world journey has been postponed due to weather conditions. The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 was scheduled to take off from Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and head to New York City around midnight on Monday, but project officials announced early yesterday that the flight had been postponed because of showers and thunderstorms in the area. The plane was scheduled to fly over the Statue of Liberty before landing at John F Kennedy International Airport, its last stop in the United States before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn’t immediately clear when the flight would take place.