7/20 Topic 2 : Microsoft and Google to add ‘kill switch’ to their smartphones

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Microsoft and Google to add ‘kill switch’ to their smartphones

Microsoft and Google have announced that they will add a ‘kill switch’ feature to their Windows and Android smartphones. A kill switch allows a user to disable their phone if somebody steals it. The user can disable the phone from any computer connected to the internet. Some kill switches allow a user to ‘hard kill’ the phone, which makes it completely unusable. A ‘soft kill switch’ just locks the phone until the user enters a password. It is not certain which type of kill switch Google and Microsoft will use yet. Lawmakers in the US have been trying to persuade phone makers to introduce the feature for the last few years to help reduce the amount of phones that are stolen. In 2013, 3.1 million smartphones were stolen in the US. Last year Apple and Samsung started offering the kill switch feature on their phones. Since the feature was introduced by Apple, iPhone thefts in New York City have fallen by 17% in the first five months of 2014. In London, iPhone robberies fell by 24%, and in San Francisco the number of robberies fell by 38% in the first six months after the kill switch was introduced. Smartphones continue to rise in popularity, and there are now almost 2 billion smartphones in the world. By 2015, experts believe that 83% of the world’s internet usage will be through smart devices.

Sources: The Independent, The Register

Discussion Questions

1. Do you have any experience you lost or broke your cell phone? Tell us about your stories.

2. Do you think phone theft is a big problem in our country?

3. What features do you use the most on your phone?

4. What else could phone companies do to reduce the amount of phone theft?

5. How do you usually access the internet? On a computer or smart device?

6. What other new features would you like to see on smartphones in the future?

7. Have you heard of any other phone-related news stories recently?

8. Have you ever stolen something from someone? Please confess your fault.

9. You might experience living without cellphone or smartphone in the past. How your life was gone? Tell us about your past.

10. How about living without cellphone or smartphone upcoming future?

Microsoft and Google to add.pdf

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