Archive for the 'Technology' Category
The OpenWorm Project
December 23rd, 2013Via: Telegraph: An ambitious project to recreate an entire roundworm, cell by cell, in a software model has reached a crucial breakthrough as the digital animal wriggled for the first time. The OpenWorm project brings together scientists and programmers from around the world in the common goal of entirely recreating the structure and behaviour of […]
Google-Owned SCHAFT Robot Won DARPA Robotics Challenge
December 22nd, 2013Via: Slashgear: The Google-owned Japanese robotics company SCHAFT has won the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials by a wide margin. It scored 27 out of 32 points, beating its nearest competitor IHMC Robotics by seven points. Coming up third was Tartan rescue with 18 points, and MIT following that with 16 points. The contest took place […]
Windows XP: Microsoft’s Ticking Time Bomb
December 22nd, 2013I’m surprised by how many of you guys are still using XP. April 8th, 2014 is the date to circle on your calendar. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you’ve done it by then. Via: PC Pro: The final deadline for Windows XP support will act as a starting pistol for hackers, as […]
U.S. Tests Surveillance Balloons on Mexico Border
December 21st, 2013Via: AP: The U.S. Border Patrol will evaluate the use of three helium-filled surveillance balloons along the Texas-Mexico border that were originally used by the Department of Defense in Iraq and Afghanistan. Standing beneath a 52-foot-long tethered balloon on Thursday in Penitas, the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector Chief Rosendo Hinojosa said the blimp-shaped […]
GnuPG: 16 Years of Protecting Privacy
December 21st, 2013I don’t trust anything completely when it comes to computer security, but I trust GnuPG more than anything else. Via: GnuPG: Today marks 16 years since the first release of GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). In that time the project has grown from being a hacker’s hobby into one of the world’s most critical anti-surveillance tools. […]
NSA Had Secret Contract with RSA
December 21st, 2013Via: Reuters: As a key part of a campaign to embed encryption software that it could crack into widely used computer products, the U.S. National Security Agency arranged a secret $10 million contract with RSA, one of the most influential firms in the computer security industry, Reuters has learned. Documents leaked by former NSA contractor […]
Algae to Crude Oil: Million-Year Natural Process Takes Minutes in the Lab
December 19th, 2013Via: U.S. Department of Energy / Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: Engineers have created a continuous chemical process that produces useful crude oil minutes after they pour in harvested algae — a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup. The research by engineers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was reported […]
4096-Bit RSA Broken Using Data Contained in Audio Emissions from Computers
December 19th, 2013Via: ExtremeTech: Security researchers have successfully broken one of the most secure encryption algorithms, 4096-bit RSA, by listening – yes, with a microphone — to a computer as it decrypts some encrypted data. The attack is fairly simple and can be carried out with rudimentary hardware. The repercussions for the average computer user are minimal, […]
Saab Wins Brazil Jet Deal After NSA Spying Sours Boeing Bid
December 18th, 2013Via: Reuters: Brazil awarded a $4.5 billion contract to Saab AB on Wednesday to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets, a surprise coup for the Swedish company after news of U.S. spying on Brazilians helped derail Boeing’s chances for the deal. The contract, negotiated over the course of three presidencies, will supply Brazil’s air […]
Who Owns the World’s Biggest Bitcoin Wallet? The FBI
December 18th, 2013Via: Wired: Who owns the single largest Bitcoin wallet on the internet? The U.S. government. In September, the FBI shut down the Silk Road online drug marketplace, and it started seizing bitcoins belonging to the Dread Pirate Roberts — the operator of the illicit online marketplace, who they say is an American man named Ross […]
