Archive for the 'Technology' Category
DARPA: .50-Caliber Bullets with Guidance Systems
July 13th, 2014I’d buy that for a dollar. Via: DARPA: For military snipers, acquiring moving targets in unfavorable conditions, such as high winds and dusty terrain commonly found in Afghanistan, is extremely challenging with current technology. It is critical that snipers be able to engage targets faster, and with better accuracy, since any shot that doesn’t hit […]
Binney: “The NSA lies about what it stores.”
July 13th, 2014Via: Guardian: William Binney is one of the highest-level whistleblowers to ever emerge from the NSA. He was a leading code-breaker against the Soviet Union during the Cold War but resigned soon after September 11, disgusted by Washington’s move towards mass surveillance. On 5 July he spoke at a conference in London organised by the […]
Can’t Beat Them? Grow Lettuce: In Japan, Idled Electronics Factories Find New Life in Farming
July 7th, 2014Via: Wall Street Journal: Haruyasu Miyabe used to oversee a computer-chip production line at a Fujitsu Ltd. plant here. One day last year, the plant manager told Mr. Miyabe to prepare for a career change. “Starting tomorrow, you are going to make lettuce,” he recalls being told. Amid troubled times in the Japanese electronics industry, […]
Foxconn May Replace ‘iPhone 6’ Assembly Line Workers with ‘Foxbot’ Robots
July 7th, 2014Via: Apple Insider: During a recent shareholder meeting, president and CEO of Apple partner manufacturer Foxconn said his company plans to roll out robots on assembly lines responsible for products like the iPhone, possibly in time for production of the so-called “iPhone 6.”
Consciousness On-Off Switch Discovered Deep in Brain
July 6th, 2014Wow, you’ll love this one. Via: New Scientist: ONE moment you’re conscious, the next you’re not. For the first time, researchers have switched off consciousness by electrically stimulating a single brain area. Scientists have been probing individual regions of the brain for over a century, exploring their function by zapping them with electricity and temporarily […]
These Bricks Are Like Lego for Full-Sized Buildings
July 5th, 2014Via: Wired: A company called Kite Bricks is out to disrupt the construction business starting with the humble brick. Kite Bricks has developed “Smart Bricks” (S-Bricks) made out of high-strength concrete that can be used to make buildings rapidly, cheaply and energy efficiently. The bricks — which are patent pending — are much like Lego […]
NSA Targets Tor Administrators and People Searching for Privacy Tools
July 3rd, 2014More: NSA Targets the Privacy-Conscious Via: ndr.de: The investigation discloses the following: Two servers in Germany – in Berlin and Nuremberg – are under surveillance by the NSA. Merely searching the web for the privacy-enhancing software tools outlined in the XKeyscore rules causes the NSA to mark and track the IP address of the person […]
Dean Kamen’s Stirling Engine
July 2nd, 2014Via: Forbes: Kamen’s contribution has been in engineering his Stirling with the most high-performance materials. He started off using skilled welders to put together key parts of the engine made out of exotic alloys. More recently he’s figured out how make those pieces with even more precision using 3-D printing. Crane says a key element […]
Ambitious Artificial Intelligence Project Has Been Operating In Near-Secrecy For 30 Years
July 2nd, 2014Via: Business Insider: “We’ve been keeping a very low profile, mostly intentionally,” said Doug Lenat, President and CEO of Cycorp. “No outside investments, no debts. We don’t write very many articles or go to conferences, but for the first time, we’re close to having this be applicable enough that we want to talk to you.” […]
New Record for a Trapped Field in a Superconductor
July 2nd, 2014Via: University of Cambridge: A world record that has stood for more than a decade has been broken by a team led by University of Cambridge engineers, harnessing the equivalent of three tonnes of force inside a golf ball-sized sample of material that is normally as brittle as fine china. The Cambridge researchers managed to […]
