Archive for the 'Technology' Category
The Great Decoupling of the U.S. Economy
December 14th, 2012Via: Andrew McAfee’s Blog: What’s going on? Why have the things that workers care about – jobs and wages – become decoupled from the the other things that economy-watchers care about? So far, explanations for this unhappy phenomenon include tax and policy changes, and the effects of globalization and offshoring. These are clearly powerful forces, […]
Samsung Firmware Flaw Allows ‘Smart’ TVs to Watch You
December 13th, 2012Via: Security Ledger: The company that made headlines in October for publicizing zero day holes in SCADA products now says it has uncovered a remotely exploitable security hole in Samsung Smart TVs. If left unpatched, the vulnerability could allow hackers to make off with owners’ social media credentials and even to spy on those watching […]
Human Operator Taxies X-47B on Flight Deck of Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman
December 12th, 2012Via: U.S. Navy: The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air Systems (UCAS) demonstrator taxies on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Harry S. Truman is the first aircraft carrier to host test operations for an unmanned aircraft.
British Police Use Alternating Current Frequency Fluctuations to Authenticate Audio Recordings
December 12th, 2012Via: BBC: For the last seven years, at the Metropolitan Police forensic lab in south London, audio specialists have been continuously recording the sound of mains electricity. It is an all pervasive hum that we normally cannot hear. But boost it a little, and a metallic and not very pleasant buzz fills the air. … […]
U.S. Air Force X-37B Returns to Orbit
December 12th, 2012Via: NBC: An Atlas 5 rocket sent the Air Force’s X-37B mini-shuttle on its first repeat flight on Tuesday, kicking off a months-long classified mission reportedly aimed at testing advanced spy satellite sensors.
A U.S. Apple Factory May be Robot City
December 9th, 2012Probably the biggest caveat that’s not mentioned about this alleged insourcing boom is that some companies will be looking to gain the benefits of manufacturing in the U.S. but using robotic labor to do it. —The Insourcing Boom Via: Computer World: Apple’s planned investment of $100 million next year in a U.S. manufacturing facility is […]
Newly Released Drone Records Reveal Extensive Military Flights in U.S.
December 8th, 2012Via: Electronic Frontier Foundation: Today EFF posted several thousand pages of new drone license records and a new map that tracks the location of drone flights across the United States. These records, received as a result of EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), come from state and local […]
And Now… ‘Conservation Drones’
December 8th, 2012Via: Mother Jones: First things first: No, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is not using drones to vaporize poachers. But thanks to a five million dollar grant awarded by Google on Tuesday, the organization is expanding its use of unmanned aerial vehicles to track and deter criminals who illegally hunt endangered animal species around the […]
Apple Shifting Some Manufacturing Back to U.S. from China
December 6th, 2012iMacs? Via: Bloomberg: Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to spend more than $100 million next year on building Mac computers in the U.S., shifting a small portion of manufacturing away from China, the country that has handled assembly of its products for years. “Next year we’re going to bring some production to the U.S.,” Chief Executive […]
Robot Completes World Record Pacific Crossing
December 6th, 2012Curious about the propulsion system? It harvests energy from the passing waves. Check this out: Via: Scientific American: Surviving stormy weather and a shark attack, the Wave Glider just entered the record books for the longest autonomous trip ever taken. On his first journey across the Pacific Ocean, Papa Mau was bitten by a shark, […]
