Toyota to discontinue the Scion youth-oriented brand

Scion no more: Scion's last concept vehicle shown off at the Detroit Auto Show - Photo By Gadjo Sevilla

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Scion, the Toyota sub-brand designed to attract younger buyers will be discontinued. Toyota said it will rebadge three of its 2017 model-year Scions as Toyotas, beginning in August. One model, the tC coupe, will no longer be produced as of that month. Scion debuted in the US in 2003 and was a targeted towards first-time buyers and students.

The brand was built on the foundations of Toyota vehicles but offered customization in terms of colour and materials, quirky vehicle styles and youthful advertising campaigns. Scion only came to Canada in 2010, Toyota is scrapping the brand in response to customer needs.

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Study: Apple Watch trumps standalone fitness trackers in terms of privacy and security

Privacy and security aren't issues most of us have in mind when thinking about our fitness trackers. Mostly though of as 'dumb' devices or a collection of sensors that are designed around tracking physical activity, they don't seem like the types of gadgets that will be susceptible to attacks or data exploits. 

A recent study held by Open Effect called Every Step You Fake took a look at eight fitness trackers and wearables and determined that seven out of the eight fitness trackers emit persistent unique identifiers (Bluetooth media addresses, etc,). Many were shown to have vulnerabilities in their companion smartphone apps and some can even be used to create fake fitness band records. Apple's Apple Watch, which features activity tracking features, a hear rate monitor and various motivational features to keep user's moving, was the only device that did not exhibit security vulnerabilities. This is likely because, watchOS, as an extension of the ironclad iOS platform, surely has key security loopholes covered in their Watch products.

Check our the full report here.

Windows 10 will come as an automatic update for older machines

Whether you like it or not, Microsoft’s Windows 10 will be coming for your Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 machine. If you haven’t turned off the automatic updates for your Windows PC, the latest iteration of Windows will start installing on your machine. Recently, Microsoft started sending out notifications twice a day to remind users to upgrade their computers. But it seems that didn’t work so they’re trying this new tactic.

Source: SlashGear

Zagg purchases Mophie for US$100 million

It’s a joining together of mobile accessory makers. Mobile accessory manufacturer Zagg has bought phone battery case maker Mophie for at least US$100 million, which could change figures later depending on the sales figures of Mophie. “This strategic combination of two industry innovators with complementary product, brand and distribution platforms will enable us to deliver increased value for our customers and shareholders,” Randy Hales, president and chief executive officer of Zagg, said in a statement. Mophie first gained popularity as a battery case for iPhones but later expanded to Android devices and then to standalone battery packs.

Source: Engadget