Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Danish Company Develops Eye-Control Software for Phones, Tablets
October 25th, 2012Via: AFP: A Danish company hopes to clinch deals with major mobile phone and tablet makers after developing software that enables users to control their devices by moving their eyes, it said Wednesday. “You can use it for basic control, such as turning to the next page in an e-book, and playing games with your […]
President Romney Can Thank Obama for His Permanent Robotic Death List
October 25th, 2012Via: Wired: It’s a good thing that Mitt Romney endorsed President Obama’s counterterrorism agenda. Should he win the election in two weeks, Romney will inherit an institutionalized, bureaucratic machine for using lethal robots to target and kill suspected terrorists and their allies. Killing Osama bin Laden was a one-time event; this “Disposition Matrix” is Barack […]
DARPA’s Pet-Proto Robot
October 25th, 2012Via: DARPA: In this video, the Pet-Proto, a predecessor to DARPA’s Atlas robot, is confronted with obstacles similar to those robots might face in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). To maneuver over and around the obstacles, the robot exercises capabilities including autonomous decision-making, dismounted mobility and dexterity.
U.N. Calls for ‘Anti-Terror’ Internet Surveillance
October 24th, 2012Via: Cnet: United Nations report calls for Internet surveillance, saying lack of “internationally agreed framework for retention of data” is a problem, as are open Wi-Fi networks in airports, cafes, and libraries. The United Nations is calling for more surveillance of Internet users, saying it would help to investigate and prosecute terrorists. A 148-page report […]
CHAMP – Lights Out
October 24th, 2012In other news, Panetta warns of “cyber Pearl Harbor”. *wink* Via: Boeing: Cruising fast over the Western Utah Desert, a lone missile makes history at the Utah Test and Training Range. The missile, known as CHAMP, or Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project may one day change modern warfare, by defeating electronic targets with little or […]
A Bandwidth Breakthrough
October 24th, 2012This is a big deal. Via: Technology Review: Academic researchers have improved wireless bandwidth by an order of magnitude—not by adding base stations, tapping more spectrum, or cranking up transmitter wattage, but by using algebra to eliminate the network-clogging task of resending dropped packets of data. By providing new ways for mobile devices to solve […]
U.S. Navy: Laser Arsenal Is Just Two Years Away
October 24th, 2012Also, click through for a must-see picture of the BIOSwimmer, which looks like it was invented by SPECTRE. Via: Wired: “On directed energy” — the term for the Navy’s laser cannons, “I’d say two years,” Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, the chief of the Office of Naval Research, told Danger Room in a Monday interview. The […]
DHS Moving X-ray Body Scanners from Large Airports to Smaller Ones
October 24th, 2012Via: CNBC: The Transportation Security Administration is removing full-body, X-ray scanners from major U.S. airports, and shipping them to less busy locations.
Japan: Realtime Translation App for NTT Docomo Users
October 22nd, 2012Via: BBC: An app offering real-time translations is to allow people in Japan to speak to foreigners over the phone with both parties using their native tongue. NTT Docomo – the country’s biggest mobile network – will initially convert Japanese to English, Mandarin and Korean, with other languages to follow. It is the latest in […]
With Windows 8, Microsoft Throws Regular Users ‘Under the Bus’
October 22nd, 2012Via: ComputerWorld: Plenty of people have complained about Windows 8’s interface, which is targeted more at tablets than traditional PCs. And now well-known interface guru Jakob Nielsen has charged that users of traditional PCs are “essentially being thrown under the bus” by Microsoft with the new design.
