Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Urban Barns
October 2nd, 2015I wonder what that power bill is each month? Via: The National: Related: Meanwhile in Japan
IBM Overcomes One of the Three Barriers to Viable Carbon Nanotube Transistors
October 2nd, 2015Via: MIT Technology Review: For decades the semiconductor industry has been packing more and more silicon transistors onto each computer chip to keep steadily improving performance, but that process will soon reach its physical limits. Now researchers at IBM say a “major engineering breakthrough” gives reason to be optimistic that a promising alternative to silicon […]
Apple Suddenly Banned an App That Maps U.S. Drone Strikes
September 29th, 2015Via: tech.mic: Freelance journalist and data artist Josh Begley has been methodically recording U.S. military drone activity for years. Every week or so — whenever the strikes occur — Begley will post a news story from the @dronestream Twitter account, identifying when and where drone strikes have occurred before feeding the results into an app […]
Australia: Electricity Networks Propose Connection Fees for All Homes – Including Off-Gridders
September 28th, 2015The mask comes off. Behold… Via: SolarChoice: Australia’s major power networks are calling for compulsory connection fees for all homes and businesses – even if they are not connected to the grid – and penalties for those who disconnect, as part of a last-ditch effort to protect their declining revenue streams. The Energy Networks Association […]
Eyes Down, Minds Elsewhere, ‘Deadwalkers’ Are Among Us
September 28th, 2015Via: Washington Post: You have seen the zombie-like creatures walking among us. In fact, you may be one of them, moseying along with your eyes fixated on that tiny screen that rests in the palm of your hand. … “Some data suggests that at any given moment on the streets of America, 60 percent of […]
DARPA: Soldier Brain Implants to Improve Artificial Intelligence [???]
September 28th, 2015Via: Fusion: For decades, DARPA, the secretive research arm of the Department of Defense, has dreamed of turning soldiers into cyborgs. And now it’s finally happening. The agency has funded projects that involve implanting chips into soldiers’ brains that they hope will enhance performance on the battlefield and repair traumatized brains once the fog of […]
New Zealand: Fair Go for Solar Initiative
September 27th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — For people in New Zealand: Please consider getting the word out about the Fair Go for Solar Initiative by the Greens.
GCHQ Mass Surveillance: KARMA POLICE
September 26th, 2015Via: The Intercept: THERE WAS A SIMPLE AIM at the heart of the top-secret program: Record the website browsing habits of “every visible user on the Internet.” Before long, billions of digital records about ordinary people’s online activities were being stored every day. Among them were details cataloging visits to porn, social media and news […]
General Atomics Wants to Install 150-Kilowatt Laser Onto its Avenger UAV
September 23rd, 2015Via: DefenseOne: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., or GA-ASI, the San Diego-based company that makes the Predator and Reaper drones, is undertaking a privately funded study to integrate a 150-kilowatt solid-state laser onto its Avenger (née Predator-C) drone. If the company gets its way, a drone with a high-energy laser will be a reality at […]
DHS Wants Boeing to Test a Brain Chip in Firm’s Self-Destructing ‘Black’ Spyphone
September 23rd, 2015Via: NextGov: The Department of Homeland Security is funding a Boeing company to create a “brain chip” for its self-destructing Black smartphone that could be adapted for any device, DHS officials say. The technology powering the devices potentially could identify the user’s walking style, for example. Officials would be alerted if the gait does not […]
