Archive for the 'Technology' Category
The Guardian Launches Small-Run Newspaper in U.S. — Stories Picked by Machine
April 16th, 2014Via: Venture Beat: The Guardian is bringing automated content-curation to U.S. newsstands using some tried and true technology: the print newspaper. The U.K.-based newspaper will launch a monthly print edition in the U.S. on Wednesday dubbed #Open001, filled with stories selected by a proprietary algorithm. The Guardian has already tested the waters with roboticcally compiled […]
FBI Plans to Have 52 Million Photos in its NGI Face Recognition Database by Next Year
April 16th, 2014Via: EFF: New documents released by the FBI show that the Bureau is well on its way toward its goal of a fully operational face recognition database by this summer. EFF received these records in response to our Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for information on Next Generation Identification (NGI)—the FBI’s massive biometric database that […]
Young Children Experiencing Developmental Problems Related to Use of Mobile Devices
April 15th, 2014Via: Telegraph: Rising numbers of infants lack the motor skills needed to play with building blocks because of an “addiction” to tablet computers and smartphones, according to teachers. Many children aged just three or four can “swipe a screen” but have little or no dexterity in their fingers after spending hours glued to iPads, it […]
Google Buys Drone Maker Titan Aerospace
April 14th, 2014Via: CNN: Get ready for Google drones. The technology company announced Monday that it has acquired Titan Aerospace, a start-up founded in 2012 that makes high-altitude, solar-powered drones. The purchase is part of the new push in Silicon Valley to find ways of delivering Internet service to underserved areas, particularly in the developing world. “Titan […]
Goldman Sachs Steals Open Source Code, Jails Coder
April 13th, 2014This is an excerpt from, Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis. Via: Cryptome: He didn’t fully understand how Goldman could think it was okay to benefit so greatly from the work of others and then behave so selfishly toward them. “You don’t create intellectual property,” he said. “You create a program that […]
Advanced Tactics Black Knight Transformer Successfully Completes First Flights
April 12th, 2014Via: Advanced Tactics: Advanced Tactics Inc. announced that it has successfully completed the first flight test of the Black Knight Transformer, a modular and roadable vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. … The patented AT Transformer technology combines the capabilities of a helicopter, such as the ability to take off and land anywhere, with the […]
Bloomberg Sources Claim NSA Exploited Heartbleed Bug for Intelligence for Years
April 12th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: The U.S. National Security Agency knew for at least two years about a flaw in the way that many websites send sensitive information, now dubbed the Heartbleed bug, and regularly used it to gather critical intelligence, two people familiar with the matter said. … Putting the Heartbleed bug in its arsenal, the NSA […]
This Tower Pulls Drinking Water Out of Thin Air
April 11th, 2014Via: Smithsonian Magazine: The invention from Arturo Vittori, an industrial designer, and his colleague Andreas Vogler doesn’t involve complicated gadgetry or feats of engineering, but instead relies on basic elements like shape and material and the ways in which they work together. At first glance, the 30-foot-tall, vase-shaped towers, named after a fig tree native […]
Condoleezza Rice Joins Dropbox’s Board
April 10th, 2014Via: TechCrunch: Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor has joined the board of cloud file storage and syncing firm Dropbox.
U.S. Government Spied on Human Rights Workers
April 9th, 2014Shocker. Via: Guardian: The US has spied on the staff of prominent human rights organisations, Edward Snowden has told the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Europe’s top human rights body. Giving evidence via a videolink from Moscow, Snowden said the National Security Agency – for which he worked as a contractor – had deliberately snooped […]
