Archive for the 'Technology' Category
CITE: The $1 Billion City That Nobody Calls Home
October 7th, 2015Via: CNN: In the arid plains of the southern New Mexico desert, between the site of the first atomic bomb test and the U.S.-Mexico border, a new city is rising from the sand. Planned for a population of 35,000, the city will showcase a modern business district downtown, and neat rows of terraced housing in […]
Hacking Risks to Nuclear Power Plants
October 6th, 2015haha. Somehow, I thought the control systems for nuclear power plants were air-gapped. This article says that’s a, “Pervading myth.” Via: Computer World: The risk of serious cyber-attacks on nuclear power plants is growing, according to a new report by think-tank Chatham House. If you follow this type of news, then this is probably not […]
New British Killer Drone Called “Protector”
October 6th, 2015Maybe “Reaper Overkill Edition” didn’t do so well in focus groups. Via: Janes: The UK is to receive 20 new ‘Protector’ unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as part of a wider ramp-up of unmanned, surveillance, and special forces capabilities to combat militant Islam in the Middle East, Prime Minister David Cameron announced on 3 October. Speaking […]
The Era Of Automatic Facial Recognition And Surveillance Is Here
October 5th, 2015Via: Forbes: ID checks were a common response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but they’ll soon be obsolete. You won’t have to show your ID, because you’ll be identified automatically. A security camera will capture your face, and it’ll be matched with your name and a whole lot of other information besides. Welcome to […]
A Robot at Best Buy Sells CDs, DVDs, Games
October 5th, 2015Service with a smile. Via: Fox 5: Best Buy is experimenting with full automation — in the form of a robot — to sell a decidedly old-fashioned medium: CDs and DVDs. I’m in my 40s, so yes I remember vinyl records, tapes and even 8-tracks. So I still do like buying at least some of […]
Daimler Tests Self-Driving Truck on German Highway
October 2nd, 2015Via: AFP: German automaker Daimler said it trialled a self-driving truck under real traffic conditions for the first time Friday, on a motorway in southern Germany. The truck has smart systems including radars, cameras and active speed regulators and works without a human driver — although one has to be in the driver’s seat and […]
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 […]
