Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Autonomous Vehicles Coming to Callfornia
September 26th, 2012Via: Google: California Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. is visiting Google Headquarters today to sign SB1298, a bill that creates a legal framework and operational safety standards for the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles on state roads and highways.
German Neuroscientist: Computer Use by Very Young Children Causes Brain Development Deficits That Are Irreversible
September 24th, 2012Via: WorldCrunch: Dr. Manfred Spitzer knows that people find his arguments provocative. In his first book, he warned parents of the very real dangers of letting their children spend too much time in front of the TV. Now, in a second book called Digitale Demenz [Digital Dementia], he’s telling them that teaching young kids finger-counting […]
New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau Illegally Targeted Kim Dotcom, Bram van der Kolk and Their Families
September 24th, 2012Update: “A High Court judge is “concerned” about how Government spies could have failed to realise the residency status of internet mogul Kim Dotcom. — Via: New Zealand Herald: An inquiry into unlawful bugging by the Government’s foreign intelligence arm relates to intercepted communications by Kim Dotcom himself and his co-accused Bram van der Kolk, […]
Not The Onion: NYPD Urges iPhone 5 Owners to Register Device, Deploys Officers to Stores
September 24th, 2012Oh sure. Via: Reuters: In response to a sharp spike in iPhone thefts from unwitting consumers this year, the New York City Police Department will station officers at Apple Inc. sales locations throughout the city for Friday’s release of the new iPhone 5. The officers will help customers register iPhone serial numbers, or engrave them […]
Riots Break Out at Foxconn Factory in China
September 24th, 2012Via: NBC: Reports early Monday from China suggest that a mass disturbance or riots may have broken out at a Foxconn factory in the Chinese city of Taiyuan. It is still unclear what exactly happened, but posts on China’s popular twitter-like service, Weibo, from users in the area show photographs and video of large numbers […]
Law Enforcement Speech Recognition System Stores Millions of Voices
September 23rd, 2012Made in Russia. Via: Slate: Russia’s Speech Technology Center, which operates under the name SpeechPro in the United States, has invented what it calls “VoiceGrid Nation,” a system that uses advanced algorithms to match identities to voices. The idea is that it enables authorities to build up a huge database containing up to several million […]
Iran Claims Siemens Planted Bombs in Parts Meant for Nuclear Program
September 23rd, 2012Via: AP: Iran on Saturday accused the German technology company Siemens of planting tiny explosives inside equipment Iran bought for its disputed nuclear program, a charge Siemens denied. Aladdin Boroujerdi, a prominent lawmaker, said Iranian security experts discovered the explosives and removed them before detonation. The authorities believe that the booby-trapped equipment was sold to […]
Facebook Wants You To Snitch on Friends Using Pseudonyms
September 22nd, 2012Via: Paul Bernal’s Blog: A story about Facebook went around twitter last night that provoked quite a reaction in privacy advocates like me: Facebook, it seems, is experimenting with getting people to ‘snitch’ on any of their friends who don’t use their real names. Take a look at this…
Working Qubit in Silicon
September 21st, 2012Via: Register: The University of New South Wales’ School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications has created what it says is the world’s first working qubit based on a single atom. Detailed in a new Nature paper, A single-atom electron spin qubit in silicon, the qubit relies on the ability to impart “spin” to an electron […]
OPEC Countries Pouring Billions of Dollars Into Solar Power… To Export More Oil And Gas
September 21st, 2012Via: Wall Street Journal: Middle Eastern members of OPEC are finally diversifying their energy base, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into harnessing that other resource they feature in vast quantities: sunshine. But it isn’t what you think. The Saudis, Abu Dhabi and Iran aren’t racing to burnish their green credentials by reducing their carbon […]
