Archive for the 'Technology' Category
New Solar Power Material Converts 90 Percent of Captured Light Into Heat
December 31st, 2014Via: Physorg: A multidisciplinary engineering team at the University of California, San Diego developed a new nanoparticle-based material for concentrating solar power plants designed to absorb and convert to heat more than 90 percent of the sunlight it captures. The new material can also withstand temperatures greater than 700 degrees Celsius and survive many years […]
Fish Farming in Aquapods
December 30th, 2014Via: Vice: Whether it’s found on a plate of sushi, grilled in our backyard, or thrown on pasta, seafood is a staple for many diets around the world, and demand is growing. And as the commercial seafood industry booms, fish stocks worldwide face perilous declines. We’ve surpassed our capacity to sustainably fish wild caught fish, […]
Who Is Watching You?
December 29th, 2014Via: Medium: We are living in a Dragnet Nation?—?a world of indiscriminate tracking where institutions are stockpiling data about individuals at an unprecedented pace. The rise of indiscriminate tracking is powered by the same forces that have brought us the technology we love so much?—?powerful computing on our desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Before computers […]
Google’s Gmail Blocked in China
December 29th, 2014Via: Reuters: Google Inc’s Gmail was blocked in China after months of disruptions to the world’s biggest email service, with an anti-censorship advocate suggesting the Great Firewall was to blame. Large numbers of Gmail web addresses were cut off in China on Friday, said GreatFire.org, a China-based freedom of speech advocacy group. Users said the […]
NSA Reports It May Have Broken Laws With Decade of Spying on U.S. Citizens
December 25th, 2014Oh sure, it’s just a few bad apples, combined with people making mistakes plus some coincidences. Nothing to see here. Maintain Christmas stupor. Situation normal. Via: Bloomberg: The National Security Agency today released reports on intelligence collection that may have violated the law or U.S. policy over more than a decade, including unauthorized surveillance of […]
Helicopter Drone Makes First Flight from Navy Destroyer
December 25th, 2014Via: Defensetech: A helicopter drone developed by Northrop Grumman Corp. has made its first flight from a U.S. Navy destroyer, the company announced. The MQ-8C Fire Scout on Dec. 16 completed 22 autonomous takeoffs and landings aboard the guided-missile destroyer, USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, according to a Dec. […]
Tech Investors Plowing Money Into Future Farms
December 19th, 2014Via: The Seattle Times: Investors and entrepreneurs behind some of the world’s newest industries have started to put their money and tech talents into farming — the world’s oldest industry — with an audacious agenda: to make sure there is enough food for the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2100, do […]
Major Flaws in Mobile Communications Routing System
December 19th, 2014Bugs or features? Via: Washington Post: German researchers have discovered security flaws that could let hackers, spies and criminals listen to private phone calls and intercept text messages on a potentially massive scale – even when cellular networks are using the most advanced encryption now available. The flaws, to be reported at a hacker conference […]
EFF in Court to Argue NSA Data Collection from Internet Backbone Is Unconstitutional
December 18th, 2014Via: Electronic Frontier Foundation: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will argue on Friday before a federal court that the National Security Agency (NSA) is violating the Fourth Amendment by copying and searching data that it collects by tapping into the Internet backbone. The hearing on a motion for partial summary judgment in Jewel v. NSA […]
Sony Loses Cyberwar, Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas
December 17th, 2014Via: Variety: With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas Day release of “The Interview.” In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony hit back at the hackers who threatened movie theaters and moviegoers and who have terrorized the studio and its employees for weeks. “Those who […]
