Update on Surface 2 Sound Issues

Well, it looks like someone at Microsoft was working hard on Thanksgiving Day. Late on Turkey Day, Microsoft pushed out a firmware update that looks to have fixed the reduction in sound volume issues for the Surface 2 I mentioned in this post.

If you don’t have updates set to automatically install you can check for the update manually by going to PC Settings, then selecting Update and Recovery, Windows Update, Check Now. If you want to see if the update installed properly you can select View Your Update History, or go to Control Panel and select Hardware and Sound. Under Sound select Manage Audio Devices. Then choose Speakers, then Properties. Once you’re in the tab for NVIDIA Tegra Audio Properties, choose the Driver tab. You should see a driver date of 11/26/13 and the driver version as 9.17.13.2774.

I can report that sound volume has returned to normal on my Surface 2 after manually updating the drivers as described above. As to the other issues reported in the post I’m not sure if they have been rectified by this update or not.

Thanks to GBM reader, Ryan, who spotted the update and let us know in comments.

Illiri sound API aimed at secure mobile data exchange, log-ins, payments

Something as simple as a sound should be all it takes for a mobile device to securely log-in to a website, complete a payment or connect two or more devices together to share data, according to a startup making noise in the mobile space.

Illiri last month introduced its SAPI application programming interface, which is the cornerstone for a sound-based data exchange that appears to be an alternative to Near Field Communications.

The company's co-founder, Vadim Sokolovsky,  said Illiri uses sounds to initiate a connection.

"We get a unique session ID from the server and transmit it using sound waves," he said. "We pretty much shout out, 'hey guys, if anybody is interested the session number is 12345 and I'm actually listening on it.' "

The sound-based connection can link two or more devices but also connect a device to a web site. Sokolovsky said a connection to a Web site represents a method for users to provide log-in information via JavaScript over the Illiri connection. Sokolovsky said using a sound-enable app to log-in would bypass keyloggers since the user would never have to touch the keyboard.

The company is also promoting mobile payments, gaming, and social media as potential applications.

Unlike NFC, physical proximity is not a requirement because sound can be transmitted over an app or service such as Skype or video conferencing systems.

All users in the connection must be running an application that supports Illiri's Sound API (SAPI).

A user initiates the connection by clicking a button in the app, which makes a request for a session ID. The ID is wrapped in a sound by the server and returned to the phone and played via the phone's speaker.

The listening device hears the sound, decodes it and returns the ID to the server. The server establishes the connection. The client app allows users to either confirm or deny a connection. Multiple devices can hear and decode the sound, but the range is limited to a few feet.

The data exchange server either runs on Illiri's public network or can be deployed inside an enterprise or service provider network. Illiri has built a card exchange app and a photo exchange application that are available for free.

Illiri is offering SAPI for free with the expectation that a portion of customers will run their own servers. Illiri also plans to offer a fee-based cloud service. Illiri said the servers do not store any information; they just matche the devices to make the connection and transfer data via TLS/SS using standard cell networks or wi-fi.

In terms of security, Sokolovsky said the session ID is short lived and that a user initiating the session can set the number of connections the session will handle. That would prevent a third party from recording the sound and then playing it back to join a two-party session. Likely that would take too long to execute before the intended recipient would connect, Sokolovsky said. In addition, someone attempting to intercept the message would have to be running a SAPI-enabled application.  

Sokolovsky said the company is thinking about an ultrasound option for SAPI. He said SAPI-based apps would likely be more consumer focused initially, but that there is nothing preventing the technology from being used in business applications.

The sound and fury about AllThingsD conflicts of interest

It's strange to read Michael Wolff in USA Today describing AllthingsD publisher Kara Swisher as a "feared player" in Silicon Valley and that Rupert Murdoch once called her "crazy scary."Wolff: Tech journalist Kara Swisher is a feared player

I've known Kara Swisher for many years, back when I was at the Financial Times and she was "Boomtown" columnist at the Wall Street Journal. She's a tenacious and persistent journalist and those are also key characteristics of her success at building AllThingsD into a solid news platform.

She's also done a great job in hiring reporters with similar qualities of tenacity and persistence and it has given AllThingsD a good reputation for accuracy and quality.

In a long article that desperately searches for something meaningful to say about today's new media, and something nasty to pin on Ms. Swisher, Mr. Wolff struggles and fails to Google much of anything about her that's not known, or that deserves new attention.

He brings up her same sex marriage and the disclosure that her spouse works at Google. I agree with him that disclosures, which other news sites such as Pando Daily and TechCrunch have disclosed about conflicts of interests —doesn't resolve them —in this case there's nothing much to say but Mr. Wolff still manages to write a lot of indignant sentences.

Reading his piece I can see why one of Mr. Wolff's critics described him as, "Intelligent enough to be an actual, serious media critic, he's also canny enough to know that few people give a shit about serious media criticism."

I have a private description of Mr. Wolff that's best not shared.

He's lazy in his attacks. For example, he accuses Ms. Swisher of a "new kind of journalism career … from the days before conflicts had to be identified."

He must be thinking of some other prominent online publishers.  She has constantly identified the single conflict of interest she has, and does it again, and again. Yet she is accused of "ever-shifting and complex alliances and her own political power, as well as her ability to rough you up if you oppose her."

She's tiny, she couldn't rough up a flaky pastry hot from the oven. Yes, she is combative, and fiercely loyal to her brand and her team, which are all great qualities. But what "political power?"

She doesn't invest in startups like the other lot, or take investments from the power players in Silicon Valley. She's one of the most ethical publishers of all the new news media sites, (GigaOm is similar), and it's because she's from the old media, where ethics are important and continue to be important.

What's puzzling is why Mr. Wolff has published a hatchet job on Ms. Swisher, and the timing of it?

She is trying to decide to stay on with AllThingsD or start a new news and conference venture. Is he trying to discredit her with potential backers? What's in it for him? 

At times like these these words come to mind: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (Macbeth Act V, Scene V).

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Please see: AllThingsD At Crossroads - Founding Team Wants Buyout From Dow Jones

Also: Michael Wolff (journalist) - Wikipedia