Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Prime Minister of New Zealand on Mobile Phones: “You can use it as a listening device, whether it is on or not”
June 10th, 2015Via: New Zealand Herald: Prime Minister John Key gets rid of his mobile phone every few months for security reasons. Mr Key has also revealed that he would never take his phone into sensitive meetings – whether it was turned on or not – for fear that it could be turned into a listening device […]
Tesla Doubles Powerwall Output Specifications Without Raising Prices
June 10th, 2015Disclosures: I sell solar power systems in NZ. I’m long Enphase Energy. — Panasonic, Mercedes, Enphase and Trina are also jumping in. Via: Electrek: Tesla Motors held its 2015 Annual Shareholders Meeting today at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. During his presentation, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, announced that Tesla will be doubling the […]
Mass Snooping Fake Mobile Towers Uncovered in UK
June 10th, 2015Via: BBC: Fake mobile towers that scoop up data from passing phones are routinely being used in London, an investigation by Sky News suggests. Working with German security company GMSK Cryptophone, it claims to have uncovered direct evidence, the first in the UK, of at least 20 instances of the use of these cell site […]
SpaceX Files with Government to Provide Internet Service from Space
June 9th, 2015This has been only a couple of years away for the past two decades. Via: Washington Post: Elon Musk’s space company has asked the federal government for permission to begin testing on an ambitious project to beam Internet service from space, a significant step forward for an initiative that could create another major competitor to […]
Israel Built, Exploded ‘Dirty Bombs’
June 9th, 2015Via: AP: Israel built and exploded so-called “dirty bombs,” explosives laced with nuclear material, to examine how such explosions would affect the country if it were to be attacked by the crude radioactive weapons, the Haaretz daily newspaper reported Monday. Israeli defense officials and scientists refused to comment on the report when reached by The […]
5-Mile Hyperloop Test Track in California
June 8th, 2015Via: Navigant Research: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. has struck a deal with landowners in central California to build the first hyperloop test track in the world. The track will encompass a 5-mile stretch near the busy Interstate 5 highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
A Compilation of Robots Falling Down at the DARPA Robotics Challenge
June 6th, 2015Yes! Robots can reliably imitate the behavior of falling-down-drunk humans. Go team! Via: IEEE: On Thursday, the day before the competition was to officially start, DARPA allowed the teams to conduct a dress rehearsal, putting their robots through the course to see how they’d do. During that dry run, not many robots fell over, so […]
Data Hacked from U.S. Government Dates Back to 1985
June 5th, 2015Via: Reuters: Data stolen from U.S. government computers by suspected Chinese hackers included security clearance information and background checks dating back three decades, U.S. officials said on Friday, underlining the scope of one of the largest known cyber attacks on federal networks. The breach of computer systems of the Office of Personnel Management was disclosed […]
“Amazon, Google Race to Get Your DNA Into the Cloud”
June 5th, 2015Via: Reuters: Amazon.com Inc is in a race against Google Inc to store data on human DNA, seeking both bragging rights in helping scientists make new medical discoveries and market share in a business that may be worth $1 billion a year by 2018. Academic institutions and healthcare companies are picking sides between their cloud […]
Massive Breach of Federal Personnel Data at Agency Handling Security Clearances
June 4th, 2015Via: AP: The Obama administration is scrambling to assess the impact of a massive data breach involving the agency that handles security clearances and employee records, U.S. officials said Thursday. A congressional aide familiar with the situation, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss it, said the Office of Personnel […]
