Archive for the 'Technology' Category
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 […]
More Books Sold Online Than in Brick-And-Mortar Retail
July 2nd, 2014Via: Book Industry Study Group: In formats, eBooks hit record volume numbers while revenue was flat; downloaded audiobooks hit all-time highs in both revenue and units. In sales channels, publishers’ net revenue from sales of digital and print content via online retail is now ahead of revenue from brick-and-mortar retail.
PayPal Froze Account of Secure Email Startup ProtonMail Due to “Technical Problem”
July 2nd, 2014Via: Gigaom: About 6 weeks ago my colleague Barb Darrow covered a new secure email startup called ProtonMail, which was set up by a bunch of MIT, Harvard and CERN researchers who are annoyed with the NSA’s intrusive ways. The team’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign has done pretty well in the last 2 weeks, thus far […]
The Military Is Already Using Facebook to Track Your Mood
July 2nd, 2014Via: Defense One: Critics have targeted a recent study on how emotions spread on the popular social network site Facebook, complaining that some 600,000 Facebook users did not know that they were taking part in an experiment. Somewhat more disturbing, the researchers deliberately manipulated users’ feelings to measure an effect called emotional contagion. Though Cornell […]
McDonald’s Testing Order-Ahead and Payments App
June 30th, 2014See: Seattle Hikes Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour: Cashiers and food service workers: You’re pretty much screwed. … Notice how companies in Seattle have between three and seven years to start paying the $15/hour rate? *wink* Will this be a ready-the-robots phase? I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what happens, […]
