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John Martellaro

John Martellaro was born at an early age and began writing about computers soon after that. With degrees in astrophysics (B.S.) and physics (M.S.), he has worked for NASA, White Sands Missile Range, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Apple. At Apple he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager, a Federal Account Executive and a High Performance Computing manager. His interests include chess, science fiction and astronomy. John is the host of the TMO podcast Background Mode.

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Articles by John Martellaro

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AI-based Malware is Coming For Our Networks

John Martellaro ·

Security Week writes:

The threat of a HAL-9000 intelligence directing malware from afar is still the realm of fiction, so too is the prospect of an uber elite hacker collective that has been digitized and shrunken down to an email-sized AI package…  However, over the next two to three years, I see six economically viable and “low hanging fruit” uses for AI infused malware – all focused on optimizing efficiency in harvesting valuable data, targeting specific users, and bypassing detection technologies.

Author Gunter Ollmann describes six ways networks will be attacked.

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview with Takeoff Technologies President Max Pedró

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Max Pedró is an eCommerce and financial services entrepreneur. Today, Max is the Co-Founder and President of Takeoff Technologies Inc.

Takeoff Technologies aims at transforming on-line grocery retailing by developing a marketplace of efficient automated robotic fulfillment centers to solve the cost and immediacy issues of grocery shopping.

I asked Max all the tough questions about having a robot pick groceries off the shelves and prepare for pickup or delivery. What about customer preferences for just the right piece of fruit or cut of meat? What about perishables? What about the security of the iOS app? Will they sell customer data? Can we use Apple Pay? And finally, how does the grocery chain obtain an ROI? Max has the answers in this fascinating interview.

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An Amazing Basketball-shooting, 3 Point Specialist Robot [Video]

John Martellaro ·

Business Insider writes: “Toyota built Cue 3 to demonstrate the robot’s use of “visual feedback” when shooting. Cue 3 can’t run, dribble, or execute the other fundamentals necessary to play alongside humans.” But maybe soon! And the skills demonstrated here will, no doubt, someday be absorbed into more well-rounded robots. (Image credit: BI/Toyota.)

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AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning Explained

John Martellaro ·

We hear the first two terms all the time from Apple. They can be confusing. So, in order to help differentiate between the terms, the TechRepublic has written up a short but helpful tutorial for business people.

The first step is communicating what the definitions are for AI, machine learning (ML), and deep learning. There is some argument that AI, ML, and deep learning are each individual technologies. I view AI/ML/deep learning as successive stages of computer automation and analytics that are built on a common platform.

A traffic planning example makes it clear.

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How TiVo Changed the World: An Oral History

John Martellaro ·

OneZero writes: “… in 1999, two former employees of Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics (SGI), Jim Barton and Mike Ramsay, introduced a revolutionary new product: a digital video recorder, or DVR. The product, named TiVo, seamlessly recorded shows, paused live television, and allowed users to fast-forward through the commercials.”

The TiVo set the stage for all our modern TV viewing habits.  It changed television forever. This is a fascinating story.

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview #2 with Producer Rod Roddenberry

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Rod Roddenberry is a media producer. The son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, he’s following in his father’s footsteps. Today, Rod is carrying on his father’s work as a producer, the chief executive of Roddenberry Entertainment and the founder of the Roddenberry Foundation.

We chatted about how Star Trek: The Next Generation was his first-love version of the show, the Star Trek philosophy, the show’s split between CBS (TV) and Paramount (movies), what a producer actually does behind the scenes, extraterrestrial intelligence first contact protocols, the future of Star Trek with Sir Patrick Stewart, his previous work in preserving the oceans, and his foundation’s mission. We also chatted about Rod’s reaction to Apple’s March 25 event and his current feelings about Apple.

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A Paper Book is Better Than an eBook for Kids

John Martellaro ·

It’s just one study, but it feels right.

Researchers find that toddlers verbalize and interact more with their parents when reading sessions feature print books, not tablets.

I think many of us suspected that the tactile feel of a paper book stimulates a child better than a digital display. Here’s some evidence that it’s true. (Image credit: BigThink.)

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview with Astronomer Dr. Clay Sherrod

John Martellaro · · 1 Comment

Dr. Clay Sherrod’s astronomical studies began, soon after his Ph.D. work, in 1970 with the Arkansas Sky, Inc., his private non-profit and educational research and educational program. Although now retired, the work, publications and outreach from him via the Arkansas Sky Observatory ranks among the top in private non-profit facilities.

We chatted about how he got interested in astronomy at age 8. His grandfather, an educator who owned a country farm, was instrumental in introducing Clay to the night sky. In his Ph.D. work at Cornell, Clay studied under the legendary Dr. Carl Sagan, and he remembered Sagan fondly. We chatted about Clay’s career in privately funded astronomy, his work philosophy, the integration of science and religion, and how his talents in music and art enhance his scientific thinking. Clay is a fascinating speaker.

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The Least Secure Programming Languages

John Martellaro ·

The design, structure and syntax of a programming language can lead the average programmer into a minefield of unsuspected programming errors. Those errors lead to vulnerabilities.

But which languages are the most and least secure in the end?

To answer this question, the report compiled information from WhiteSource’s database, which aggregates information on open source vulnerabilities from sources including the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), security advisories, GitHub issue trackers, and popular open source projects issue trackers.

This TechRepublic article presents the list.

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US DoE and Intel Building First Exascale Supercomputer

John Martellaro ·

Intel’s newsroom reports: “Targeted for 2021 delivery, the Argonne National Laboratory Supercomputer will enable high-performance computing [HPC] and artificial intelligence [AI] at Exascale” The work is being done with sub-contractor Cray Inc.

This means 10^18 floating point operations per second, or exaFLOPS.  Intel continues:

The Aurora system’s exaFLOP of performance – equal to a “quintillion” floating point computations per second – combined with an ability to handle both traditional high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) will give researchers an unprecedented set of tools to address scientific problems at exascale. These breakthrough research projects range from developing extreme-scale cosmological simulations, discovering new approaches for drug response prediction and discovering materials for the creation of more efficient organic solar cells. The Aurora system will foster new scientific innovation and usher in new technological capabilities, furthering the United States’ scientific leadership position globally.

The Argonne National Laboratory is in Lemont, Illinois.

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The Three Eras of the Apple Retail Stores

John Martellaro ·

At ZDNet, Chris Matyszczy, recounts his discussion with a former Apple store manager. Described are the three eras of the Apple retail stores, starting with the “golden age” under SVP Ron Johnson. After Johnson left Apple, in this employee’s opinion, the experience went vastly down hill. It’s just one ex-employee’s view. but fascinating reading nevertheless.

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview #4 with Tidbits Managing Editor Josh Centers

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Josh Centers is the Managing Editor of Tidbits.com and has published several Take Control (TC) books. He’s the author of Take Control of Apple TV and Take Control of Home Automation. He’s been writing the Take Control books for iOS since version 8, and his latest book is Take Control of iOS 12.

Josh is a great guest and very knowledgeable about Apple, so I invited him to return to Background Mode for the fourth time. In this show, we first discussed the technology and viability of foldable smartphones. Will Apple develop a foldable iPhone or iPad? Or not at all? In the second segment we took a close look at Apple’s new original TV content and service. We pondered pricing, if not free, and how the March 25 “It’s show time” event might play out.

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MWC 2019: 5G Announcements by Each Carrier

John Martellaro ·

Digital Trends writes:

At Mobile World Congress, a spotlight usually shines on new and improved smartphones, and this year was no different. From the LG V50 ThinQ to the Sony Xperia 10, a number of handset announcements were made at MWC. But handsets are only part of the news from the show. Carriers made some big announcements too — especially when it comes to the deployment of 5G.

AT&T and Verizon are off to the races.

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Apple's TV Streaming Service Faces Tough Competition: Disney+

John Martellaro ·

Media Play News writes:

Disney’s pending subscription streaming video service is projected to generate wide consumer appeal – if it is priced right, according to new data from The Diffusion Group.

When asked about the likelihood they would sign up for “a Netflix-like service” that included movies from Disney, National Geographic, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm (Star Wars); Disney TV shows for children; and original content, 43% of survey respondents said they were likely to sign up, while 27% very likely to subscribe.

Can Apple equal that?

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You'll do Backflips When You See This Robot do Backflips

John Martellaro ·

As bits and pieces of robot dexterity come together, soon we’ll see some remarkable robot athletes. It’s a glimmer of things to come. The Verge writes:

MIT is back with the latest version of its Cheetah quadrupedal robot, the Mini Cheetah, and it’s got a new trick up its sleeve: it can do backflips.

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Special Edition Chat #5 with Kelly Guimont

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Kelly Guimont is a long-time pro podcaster, Contributing Editor for The Mac Observer, host of the Mac Observer’s Daily Observations podcast, a tech support guru, and a Founding Volunteer of App Camp for Girls.

Kelly first appeared here in December, 2015 to tell her career story and has returned several times for interesting technical discussions. In this encore special edition, we chat about our favorite TV shows of late. John: Star Trek: Discovery, Saving Hope, and Being Erica. Kelly: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Doc Martin, and Wynonna Earp. Join us as we explore together what makes these shows so cool.

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Update Your Chrome Browser Right Now

John Martellaro ·

PC Magazine writes:

Google is urging Chrome users [Mac, Windows, Linux] to update the web browser right away to patch a zero-day vulnerability that is being actively exploited.

In a Tuesday tweet, Google Chrome Security and Desktop Engineering Lead Justin Schuh said users should install the latest version of the browser—72.0.3626.121—right away.

Like…right now.