Toronto Electricians and Electrical Contractors

Stupid Patent of the Month: IBM’s Software Patent on Texting and Driving In the smartphone era, “distracted driving” is a serious, and well-known, problem. Official warnings about poor driving habits are as old as the automobile itself. The New York Times published a Pulitzer-winning series on distracted driving back in 2009. Increasingly, technological assists are available for those seeking to manage their smartphone’s distractions while in the car. Apple integrated a “do not disturb while driving” mode into iOS 11, and Google has long had similar functionality in its Android Auto app. Multitudes of third-party smartphone apps exists to address the issue. Finally, more than 50 companies are working on what may be the ultimate solution to distracted driving: autonomous vehicles.  Unfortunately, the U.S. patent system creates warped incentives for emerging software fields like road-safety features. Rather than competing in a challenging space, some players are seeking broadly

Stupid Patent of the Month: IBM's Software Patent on Texting and Driving In the smartphone era, “distracted driving” is a serious, and well-known, problem. Official warnings about poor driving habits are as old as the automobile itself. The New York Times published a Pulitzer-winning series on distracted driving back in 2009. Increasingly, technological assists are available for those seeking to manage their smartphone’s distractions while in the car. Apple integrated a “do not disturb while driving” mode into iOS 11, and Google has long had similar functionality in its Android Auto app. Multitudes of third-party smartphone apps exists to address the issue. Finally, more than 50 companies are working on what may be the ultimate solution to distracted driving: autonomous vehicles.  Unfortunately, the U.S. patent system creates warped incentives for emerging software fields like road-safety features. Rather than competing in a challenging space, some players are seeking bro

Brazil in 2019: Free Speech and Privacy in the Crosshairs. What Are the Threats? Last year’s Brazilian elections were a victory for Jair Bolsonaro—a politician with highly controversial positions on the country’s past military dictatorship and civil rights.  Bolsonaro’s ascent to power and the beginning of his administration in January has attracted international attention for their potential impact on human rights. His election reflects greater support for a conservative agenda likely to jeopardize free expression and privacy safeguards. Executive branch decisions, bills in Congress, and cases up for trial in the Supreme Court, may all deserve careful attention because of their potential to undermine civil liberties.  One key example is the set of anti-terrorism bills pending in Congress that may gain greater support. Most of roughly ten proposals so far build on an existing 2016 law passed mainly due to international pressure before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The legisl

Brazil in 2019: Free Speech and Privacy in the Crosshairs. What Are the Threats? Last year’s Brazilian elections were a victory for Jair Bolsonaro—a politician with highly controversial positions on the country's past military dictatorship and civil rights.  Bolsonaro’s ascent to power and the beginning of his administration in January has attracted international attention for their potential impact on human rights. His election reflects greater support for a conservative agenda likely to jeopardize free expression and privacy safeguards. Executive branch decisions, bills in Congress, and cases up for trial in the Supreme Court, may all deserve careful attention because of their potential to undermine civil liberties.  One key example is the set of anti-terrorism bills pending in Congress that may gain greater support. Most of roughly ten proposals so far build on an existing 2016 law passed mainly due to international pressure before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The le

Each year, Schneider Electric regional leaders nominate a select group of EcoXpert partners to be considered for the title of Master-level EcoXpert. Those chosen to receive this prestigious designation have not only completed extensive training and certification requirements with Schneider Electric, they have also demonstrated excellence beyond expectation in their close collaboration with Schneider Electric’s research and development teams. This year, we are proud to share that 29 companies spanning 17 countries have earned this coveted partner level for going above and beyond to develop truly innovative solutions using EcoStruxure TM Power , Schneider Electric’s IoT-enabled platform for electrical distribution. Because of their work on such comprehensive power management solutions, these companies have been recognized among all our valued partners as best-in-class integration companies for providing safe, reliable, and efficient power to the world’s most critical buildings, data

The frequency of lightning and thunderstorms implies that power problems pose an increasing threat to equipment and data within businesses & home offices. Many lives depend on the regular supply of electrical power. Even a temporary disturbance of power can lead to chaos, loss of data, and business inefficiency. Getting ready for the storm season does not need to be expensive or complicated. Schneider supplies a wide range of equipment with safe electrical sockets, reliable power, and the protection of investments and data. The ever-changing and difficult-to-predict energy expenses are constantly challenging for almost every kind and size of building around the world. Coupling this with international and regional economic issues means that building management decision-makers require creative solutions to reduce energy costs, enhance efficiency, meet corporate sustainability goals, and improve building value while maintaining an efficient and comfortable environment for occupants.

The manufacturing of industrial automation systems and robots has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few decades. Following the global reduction of production costs and an increase in productivity, technology has completely revamped manufacturing operations as we know it. For instance, the application of technology has revamped the industrial automation industry by leaps and bounds, allowing them to produce high-standard cars at affordable prices. The manufacturing industry is no stranger to technology – machines have taken over many of the soft production tasks that demand high levels of efficiency, such as network connectivity and home automation. The automation industry uses almost half of the world’s machine control technology. With this growing consumer demand, the automation technology has a wider scope and applicability. This, coupled with home control processes, has helped manufacturers increase their earning potential to meet market expectations. Industrial technolo

Industrial physical infrastructure and the methods for managing industrial assets are transforming before our very eyes. According to IHS Markit , the volume of Cloud/Edge analytics that support manufacturing operations are set to double by 2020 and, by 2030, the installed base of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is projected to exceed 120 billion . Industrial Edge Applications In 2019, technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and video analytics will expand their influence and will help to drive these transformations as more and more “ industrial edge ” applications take root (Industrial Edge enriches industrial automation through live and constantly available data and analytics, to drive operations more efficiently and effectively). As these technologies proliferate, their business value will manifest itself in multiple ways: Artificial Intelligence (AI) AI combines a set of defined rules, intelligence and information. For example, when data is coming f

A Surveillance Wall Is Not a Good Alternative to a Concrete Wall Since even before he took office, President Trump has called for a physical wall along the southern border of the United States. Many different organizations have argued this isn’t a great idea. In response, some Congressional Democrats have suggested turning to surveillance technology to monitor the border instead of a physical barrier. Without specific legislative proposals, it’s hard to know what these suggestions actually mean. However, any bill Congress considers related to border security should avoid–at minimum– invasive surveillance technologies like biometric screening and collection, DNA collection, social media snooping, unregulated drones along the border, and automatic license plate readers aimed at interior traffic. Biometric Border Screening We have already seen several proposals authorizing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its sub-agencies to collect biometric information from

A Surveillance Wall is Not a Good Alternative to a Concrete Wall Since even before he took office, President Trump has called for a physical wall along the southern border of the United States. Many different organizations have argued this isn’t a great idea. In response, some Congressional Democrats have suggested turning to surveillance technology to monitor the border instead of a physical barrier. Without specific legislative proposals, it’s hard to know what these suggestions actually mean. However, any bill Congress considers related to border security should avoid–at minimum– invasive surveillance technologies like biometric screening and collection, DNA collection, social media snooping, unregulated drones along the border, and automatic license plate readers aimed at interior traffic. Biometric Border Screening.  We have already seen several proposals authorizing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its sub-agencies to collect biometric information