Archive for the 'Technology' Category
U.S. to Begin Widespread Sales of Killer Drones to Allies
February 22nd, 2015Via: Washington Post: The Obama administration will permit the widespread export of armed drones for the first time, a step toward providing allied nations with weapons that have become a cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism strategy but whose remotely controlled power to kill is intensely controversial. The new policy, announced Tuesday after a long internal review, […]
Apple Wants to Start Producing Cars as Soon as 2020
February 20th, 2015Via: Bloomberg: Apple Inc., which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said. The timeframe — automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car — underscores the project’s aggressive goals and could […]
The Great SIM Heist
February 19th, 2015Via: First Look: AMERICAN AND BRITISH spies hacked into the internal computer network of the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world, stealing encryption keys used to protect the privacy of cellphone communications across the globe, according to top-secret documents provided to The Intercept by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. The hack was […]
BASF Doubles Nickel-Metal Hydride Energy Storage
February 19th, 2015Via: MIT Technology Review: Almost every automaker interested in producing electric cars is betting on improvements to lithium-ion batteries to make the cars cheaper and extend their driving range. But scientists at BASF are exploring the possibilities of an older type of battery, nickel-metal hydride, now used in hybrids. They recently doubled the amount of […]
“The Equation Group”: NSA Has Been Able to Exploit Most Hard Drive Firmware for Years, Wiping Drives Does Nothing
February 17th, 2015Via: Kaspersky (.pdf): 10. What is the most sophisticated thing about the EQUATION group? Although the implementation of their malware systems is incredibly complex, surpassing even Regin in sophistication, there is one aspect of the EQUATION group’s attack technologies that exceeds anything we have ever seen before. This is the ability to infect the hard […]
LG Chem to Build Battery Storage Systems Worth $272 Million for Japanese Solar Plants
February 16th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. I’m doing a solar power deal for a guy who wants a normal grid tie rig for his house, but he also wants to charge his electric farm vehicle with solar. “Would that work?” he asked me. Oh yes. We’re going to set up his hot […]
Rutgers Professor Concerned About Weather Weapons
February 15th, 2015Via: Independent: A senior American climate scientist has spoken of the fear he experienced when US intelligence services apparently asked him about the possibility of weaponising the weather as a major report on geo-engineering is to be published this week. Professor Alan Robock stated that three years ago, two men claiming to be from the […]
FAA Commercial Drone Rules: Line of Sight Operation Will Be Allowed, Autonomous Flight Beyond Line of Sight, Deliveries Banned for Foreseeable Future
February 15th, 2015Via: Guardian: Commercial drone operators will be banned from letting unmanned aircraft out of their sight, under new US proposals that come as a major blow to companies like Amazon that were hoping to use the unmanned aircraft to make aerial home deliveries. Amazon said the proposed new Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) rules, which were […]
Wall Street Journal: Apple Is Working on an Electric Car
February 14th, 2015Via: The Verge: The rumors have been getting stronger all week, and now they’ve come to a head: WSJ is reporting that Apple is indeed working on a car. “Project Titan,” as it’s known internally, is an all-electric vehicle that apparently “resembles a minivan” in its current iteration and has a team of several hundred […]
Tesla Plans Battery for Household Energy-Storage Market
February 12th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. Via: Bloomberg: Tesla Motors Inc., best known for making the all-electric Model S sedan, is using its lithium-ion battery technology to position itself as a frontrunner in the emerging energy-storage market that supplements and may ultimately threaten the traditional electric grid. “We are going to unveil […]
