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NEWS STREAM

The Biggest Tech Stories of 2014

Aired December 26, 2014 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to a special edition of News Stream where we look back on some of

the year's bigest technology stories.

A high profile breach sees private celebrity photos posted online. Just how safe is your data?

We test out the latest drone from an industry leader, DJI's Inspire One.

And Apple retires a design icon. We pay tribute to the iPod Classic.

Now one of the big themes this year in technology: how safe is your data? Now we're putting more and more of our personal information online

and this year has seen a string of massive breaches. AT&T and eBay were just some of the company's compromised.

eBay alone says hackers may have stolen personal records from more than 100 million users. But the highest profile incident involved

celebrities. Now several Hollywood stars saw their private photos posted publicly on the internet after hackers gained access to their iCloud

accounts.

Now all of those security breaches have put the focus on online privacy and how much personal information we're sharing.

Now data expert Adam Tanner recently wrote a book called "What Stays in Vegas: The World of Personal Data." And I asked him about the ways we

might be revealing too much about ourselves online.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAM TANNER, AUTHOR: I'm just surprised by the breadth of different data gathers that there are. And so for example one of the most surprising

is Jimmy Page, the former Led Zeppelin guitarist, JimmyPage.com where you go to that site. Just to get into the site you have to share the personal

information, your name, first name, your birth date, your gender and so on. That's just to use the site. And many sites are requiring this kind of

information. That's much more extensive than you would have expected in past.

LU STOUT: But why would Jimmy Page want that information about us?

TANNER: I've met him and I still do not know, but again a lot of these services are great. And if he can personalize it and make you happy as a

customer they may be something that you appreciate as a fan.

But there should be choice and transparency, you should know what you're getting into and what you're getting in exchange. And often we don't

have that level of transparency that I would like to see.

LU STOUT: This is my Google search history. There are a couple of embarrassing Tidbits that I found in there. But you know I can't live or

work off the grid. So what can I do to better protect my personal data?

TANNER: Well, so you have to decide what's important to you. Are there things you don't want widely shared.

Now you've showed some of these things over here that could be sensitive in some countries or some circumstances, but not in others.

So in the appendix of my book, I give some examples of how you could mask some of the activities that you do on the internet, you could use

different email addresses for different companies via easy services. You could, for example, encrypt things. These are all ways to boost your

privacy if that's something you care about.

And there are certain commercial website out there that do, in fact, respect our privacy and online data. Of all places, Wal-Mart's contact

lenses website.

TANNER: That's right. So if you're buying contact lenses it's not incredibly personal, but I mean how well you see is somewhat personal. And

they tell you, look, we're not going to sell the data to any other site if you buy your contact lenses from us.

And I think this is a fairly good example of some transparency. You want to know what's happening with my data if I share this bit of

information, because if I know how well you see and if I know your waist size and if I know from the buying of the pants and something else, this

could be an intimate portrait and this is what happens. There's lots of different information is piled onto itself for commercial gatherers.

LU STOUT: Now in addition to the online world, you've also been researching data collection in the real world, namely in casinos like in

Las Vegas. What's happening here?

TANNER: So, in Las Vegas many of these casinos have the same product at the core, it's the same machines, the same different kinds of gambling

opportunity in different packages. So they want to have you loyal to them. And they do that through the loyalty program. If you decide to join, you

may get free food, free benefits of different kinds, drinks and spa treatments and chips and so on.

So they want you to join. You have to give your personal information. They'll know an incredible amount of what you do inside the space of the

casino. and in exchange for that information they will give you those perks.

Now they don't sell the information beyond the casinos. And that's actually what stays in Vegas. Unlike a lot of the information that you

share on the internet, which may be then shared beyond with other companies.

So that's why I think it's interesting to see what companies are doing with the data and who is being transparent about what goes on beyond.

LU STOUT: It's incredible and very worrying, isn't it, that in this era of mass data collection the cliche is true. There was no such thing as

a free lunch. It applies in certain casinos in the real world, it applies to Facebook where they're collecting our personal data for this free

service. And this is something that we need to remind ourselves of.

TANNER: Well, of course.

So countless millions use Facebook and love it, but they do use your data to target information to you very -- and advertising very directly.

Now what you keep in mind that sometimes having even social networks can lead to inferences about you that you did not expect to be known.

So, for example, who your friends are could reflect on details about you that you had not shared.

So, studies have shown, for example, if you don't declare a sexual preference, who your friends are could indicate that you're gay based on

the percentage of people -- or who your likes are could suggest a similar kind of thing.

Now these are things you may not have expected, but are possible through the big world of big data.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: As Adam Tanner suggests, encryption is one good way to safeguard your personal data, but for a full proof approach, just don't

make any sensitive purchases online. He recommends you go to the store and pay in cash.

So, how do people gain access to the private photos of celebrities? Well, Apple says that their accounts were compromised in a targeted attack

on user names and passwords, but did not result from any breach in Apple systems.

Still, some have now questioned the wisdom of storing data in the cloud. It's safe to say that many don't really understand the cloud.

Well, the Cameron Diaz movie is called Sex Tape is based around the idea that nobody understands how data syncs with the cloud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMERON DIAZ, ACTRESS: What if it gets out on the Internet?

We have to get that back right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was using that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It went up. It went up to the cloud.

DIAZ: You can't get it down from the cloud?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody understands the cloud. It's a mystery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, it's not a mystery, it's actually fairly simple. You can think of cloud computing as being like outsourcing. Now, instead of

storing data on your iPad or computer, its stored in a server on the internet. In a sense, storing photos in the cloud it's a little bit like

putting money in a bank. You're putting your property in this dedicated storage space. It means you don't have to keep all your money at home, or

keep all your photos on your iPad.

But when you do want to see your photos, the cloud allows you to access it on any device, similar to how banks allow you to withdraw money

from any ATM.

And it's not a new idea, in 1996, Hotmail became one of the first ever webmail companies, an early example of moving data to the cloud that still

exists today in the form of Outlook, Gmail, or Yahoo Mail.

Now still ahead right here on this special edition of News Stream, we test fly the latest drone from DJI, the company behind the Phantom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: You may have never heard of DJI, but you know their drones. The Shenzhen-vased company has created flying machines so iconic, even

Cartman from South Park has flown them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can fly like a quarter mile away from whoever is controlling it. And it can take video of the entire town right to your

phone. Don't touch the propellers.

LU STOUT: After its success of its Phantom drones, the firm has launched a new, more upscale model. With the Inspire 1, DJI is out to

further expand its market for commercial drones. I talked to DJI's Michael Perry about the new drone.

MICHAEL PERRY, DJI: It's like a marriage between form and function. So on the one hand, it does look very cool, but on the other hand, the small

chassis in the middle is aerodynamic and it's also lightweight so that it can carry all this complex technology in a really efficient way.

It's also got this motor servo inside that folds the wings up. So while it's in the air, the camera can rotate 360 degrees without getting

any other parts of the machine in the way.

LU STOUT: Who is the target market for the Inspire 1 drone?

PERRY: So, the Inspire 1 actually bridges our two main sort of platform series. So with the Phantom, we had a very easy to use platform,

so it's just ready to go out of the box. with our more professional series you were able to get the high quality imaging, but you need a lot more

experience to get it set up and get it in the air.

This combines the ease of use with a lot of the professional features of our larger system.

LU STOUT: So this is a so-called pro-sumer (ph) drone. How much does it cost?

PERRY: So, the final pricing has not been released yet, but we're looking around $3,000.

LU STOUT: OK, so for around $3,000, whether you are a professional or a consumer hobbyist you could use it right out of the box.

But a lot of policymakers around the world aren't catching up. In fact, the reason why we have to fly this in our news room is because we

have to wait for weeks here in Hong Kong just to get the government OK to be able to fly it outside.

Are you talking to policymakers around the world about rules and regulations for flying drones like this?

PERRY: Absolutely. And it's a big challenge, because everybody wants the same thing, which is opening the skies to innovation while also keeping

them safe. So it's a big challenge on the behalf of regulators.

At the same time, we are seeing a lot of really positive movements towards creating an integrated air environment. In Australia and New

Zealand, for instance, they've set out some very clear rules of the road. So do this, don't do that. If you do something that's against the rules,

then you get fined.

We're hoping to see more clear regulations from all of our different partners around the world.

LU STOUT: There's the issue of free flying, issue of safe flying practices and also the issue of privacy. And recently it was another DJI

drone that was used to fly and go into Apple headquarters top secret, the new building that's being built in Cupertino. What is DJI's stance on

privacy and the use of commercial drones?

PERRY: So these systems were clearing designed for creativity. So allowing people to get a new perspective on the world. So, that's kind of

the thought process behind every new imaging technology, whether it's Google Glass, telephoto lenses or instant film. When you have that sort of

new innovation in technology and imaging there is the concern about privacy.

But there's a combination of the regulatory side in terms of what air space it belongs to who. And then also a matter of social etiquette. What

are the situations that are proper and improper to use that? We see that already developing with these systems.

LU STOUT: I find it remarkable that the maker of these drones, DJI, it's a Shenzhen-based company. But it's not widely recognized as a Chinese

brand like Lenovo or Huawei or Xiaomi. How were you able to brand DJI without branding itself as a Chinese drone maker, or a Chinese tech firm?

PERRY: Well, we don't necessarily think of ourselves as a Chinese company. We think of ourselves as an international company. We have offices

in the U.S., Japan, Germany, all over the place. And I think that really reflects our team, which is from all over the world and also approach into

the market which is to develop first abroad and then also domestically.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Michael Perry there of DJI.

Now from the cutting edge of technology to a more simple form that's all around us: the bright lights of Hong Kong harbor are a popular tourist

site. And its neon-lit streets are an iconic part of the city.

But one day those neon signs may become a thing of the past. I met one man determined to preserve the signs and with them a key part of Hong

Kong history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Layers and layers of neon signs from restaurants, banks, boutiques, all competing for attention on the streets of Hong Kong. They

have defined Hong Kong's cityscape for decades, emitting an intoxicating glow that has inspired artists and filmmakers the world over, including

Ridley Scott and his vision of a neon lit dystopia in Blade Runner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Neon signs have a very unique quality of light, but they also have incredible associations. I mean, they really mirror the way

cities have developed throughout the 20th Century and the associations with them have changed from sort of glam and glitz to kind of seediness and the

risque to (inaudible) prosperity as was the case in Hong Kong.

LU STOUT: Right above me is the iconic neon sign for Sammy's Kitchen, a local restaurant that dates back to the 1960s. It was sketched by its

owner Sammy Yip (ph). But this little bit of Hong Kong history has a shelf life. It'll be taken down in a matter of months.

They are being taken down for a variety of reasons -- not passing code and not being cost effective or as energy efficient as LED signs. Hong

Kong's Neon glow is fading.

We go into the studio of one of the city's remaining neon artists. Lau Wan started his craft when he was just 12-years-old.

LAU WAN, NEON CRAFTSMAN (through translator): During the boom seven or eight of us worked here together. Now, business is not so good. Many

craftsman are getting older, some have gone away. So there's just me left.

LU STOUT: Master Lau shows us the painstaking process of creating a sign, heating and bending the glass and adding the correct color and

chemical elements to set them aglow.

WAN: I'm not young anymore. I've stayed in this industry until now. My kids have grown up. I'm just here to pass the days. There's no hope.

What hope?

LU STOUT: It's a matter of time before these street scenes change. But Aric Chen is out to preserve and commemorate the city's glowing neon

landmarks online with the neonsigns.hk virtual gallery space and eventually in the real world when the M+ museum opens its doors in 2017.

Until then, he admires the craft and typography of the signs that still hang above him.

ARIC CHEN, DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE CURATOR, M+: You know, it's funny we always appreciate things more as we realize they're disappearing.

LEDs definitely have their advantages, but I think what we lose when we lose neon signs is a very sort of special quality, like a more sort of

analogue quality of light, let's say. And also a craft, because there is a really beautiful craft to making neon signs. It's sort of like a difference

between a digital recording and a vinyl record and there's room for both.

LU STOUT: On the streets of Hong Kong, neon may be flickering out, but in Hong Kong's archives, they have risen in status to works of art.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Apple had a big year, but it also said farewell to an iconic product in 2014. Now still ahead on this special edition of News

Stream, we pay tribute to the iPod classic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now 30 years ago, Apple introduced the original Machintosh. It was revolutionary, because it had a graphical user interface. No more typing

obscure commands with the keyboard.

Now the Macintosh was the first to make the mouse an essential part of computing.

Now earlier this year, I spoke to Susan Kare, the designer of the Mac's icons. And I asked her what it was like to work on that team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN KARE, ICON DESIGNER: I had a wonderful experience working on that Mac team. At any time of the day or night, someone might pop in to

demo something new or Phil Atkinson, who wrote Mac Paint would arrive to demo a new Mac Paint feature to the rest of the group. It was seeing things

like drawing a circle with a mouse and filling it with a pattern and changing font sizes from a menu, it -- it's so no big deal now, but it was

pretty cool to see those features come to life.

LU STOUT: And what was it like working with Steve Jobs?

KARE: Well, I loved working with Steve Jobs, because he cared so much about detail. And a lot of what I did involved symbols and graphics and he

could be a bit relentless in trying to get something just right, but in retrospect I'm really grateful for that exposure to obsession with detail,

because I've -- you know, tried to think about that ever since.

I mean, I learned -- if you were going to show Steve something -- and he would always drop by and he loved seeing what was new in graphics, I

learned never to show him something and say do you like this? Because he would invariably say no, because he wanted to get you to work on it more

and maybe come up with something better, even if he did like it.

So, the work around was to just show him a few things and say which of these do you like.

LU STOUT: Let's talk more about the technical constraints and the creative constraints working with the original Macintosh operating system.

I mean, it's low resolution. It's black and white. Were you as a designer ever frustrated with the constraints, or did you feel that you could

actually be more creative because of what you were up against?

KARE: Well, you know, looking back on it now it seems as if it was limited, but at the time I thought it was wonderful.

I always thought of everything as a little puzzle. And there's still a huge amount of different things you can do even in a space that -- 32 by 32

is still 1,000 dots.

LU STOUT: And your classic icons, they are simple. They are meaningful. And they're also friendly and approachable. I mean, even the

icon of the bomb that you designed, it still has this sort of friendly cartoonish aspect to it.

Do you think that approachability in design has kind of been lost today?

KARE: Well, I mean, I would never want to overgeneralize, because you know yes, sometimes no. But I do think that when icons are in the style

where there's a tremendous amount of detail that makes something look very specific, say thinking about a smiling face looks like everybody. But if

you have hair and a beard and a mustache, it can start to look like one specific person.

LU STOUT: When you were working with the original Mac team, did you ever feel at odds with the software designers or the engineers or the so-

called techies? Or were you well integrated in the team?

KARE: They were great. It was one of the most good-humored, creative, hard--working batch of people I had ever worked with. And I remember Steve

used to say we're going to look back on these days and these are going to be some of the best days of our lives. And he was right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That was designer Susan Kare.

Now we go from an Apple anniversary to an Apple eulogy, because in 2014 Apple discontinued the iPod Classic. It was the latest incarnation of

Apple's first consumer electronics device, the gadget that sent it on a path to becoming the world's most valuable company.

It all started with Steve Jobs' passion for music and his declaration that digital music players, quote, "truly sucked."

It's worth remembering what music players looked like before the iPod.

Now the Creative Nomad was the size of a chunky CD player with a tiny screen. So Jobs pushed his team to come up with their own device.

It wasn't until 2001 when Toshiba told then Apple executive John Rubenstein that it had a tiny new hard drive, but Toshiba had no idea what

to do with it. Rubenstein new the hard drive would be perfect for Apple's music player. And just nine months later, Jobs unveiled the iPod.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER, CEO, APPLE COMPUTER: And there it is right there. This amazing little device holds 1,000 songs and it goes right in

my pocket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: But the iPod wasn't an immediate hit. The tech site Slashdot famously dismissed the device with this withering summary, quote, "no

wireless, less space than its competitor the Nomad, lame."

Now that is all for this special look back on the big tech stories of 2014. Now what's next, you can find out by watching News Stream in 2015.

END