Archive for the 'Technology' Category
FinFisher Spyware for Smartphones
September 3rd, 2012Via: Bloomberg: FinFisher spyware made by U.K.-based Gamma Group can take control of a range of mobile devices, including Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM)’s BlackBerry, an analysis of presumed samples of the software shows. The program can secretly turn on a device’s microphone, track its location and monitor e-mails, text […]
Simplicity Parenting
September 3rd, 2012Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne with Lisa M. Ross
William Binney Talks About NSA Creating Dossiers on All Americans
September 2nd, 2012Via: New York Times / YouTube: The filmmaker Laura Poitras profiles William Binney, a 32-year veteran of the National Security Agency who helped design a top-secret program he says is broadly collecting Americans’ personal data. Related: The Program Research Credit: alvinroasting
Wal-Mart Tests iPhone App Checkout Feature
September 1st, 2012Wow! Bonus points to Wal-Mart for getting their own employees to test a system that will be used to lay them off. Via: Reuters: Wal-Mart Stores Inc is testing a system that would allow shoppers to scan items using their iPhones and then pay at a self-checkout counter, a move that could trim checkout times […]
Software Meant to Fight Crime Is Used to Spy on Dissidents
August 31st, 2012Via: New York Times: Morgan Marquis-Boire works as a Google engineer and Bill Marczak is earning a Ph.D. in computer science. But this summer, the two men have been moonlighting as detectives, chasing an elusive surveillance tool from Bahrain across five continents. What they found was the widespread use of sophisticated, off-the-shelf computer espionage software […]
Drones Over Britain
August 30th, 2012Via: BBC: This year the US Congress passed legislation giving US airspace regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) until September 2015 to open up its airspace to drones, and Britain is expected to follow suit. The UK’s airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has told BBC Newsnight that large unmanned drones could be flying […]
DHS Will Release ‘Harmless’ Bacteria Into Boston’s Subway Tunnels
August 30th, 2012Via: The Scientist: The Boston subway system will soon host simulated biological weapon attacks as the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) conducts tests of sensors designed to detect the presence of biological agents in metropolitan areas. After temporarily shutting down the transportation system, S&T will release small quantities of harmless and […]
Harvard: Researchers Grow Cyborg Tissues with Embedded Nanoelectronics
August 30th, 2012Via: Harvard Gazette: Harvard scientists have created a type of “cyborg” tissue for the first time by embedding a three-dimensional network of functional, biocompatible, nanoscale wires into engineered human tissues. As described in a paper published Aug. 26 in the journal Nature Materials, a research team led by Charles M. Lieber, the Mark Hyman Jr. […]
IBM Envisions Watson as Supercharged Siri for Businesses
August 28th, 2012Via: Bloomberg: International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) researchers spent four years developing Watson, the computer smart enough to beat the champions of the quiz show “Jeopardy!” Now they’re trying to figure out how to get those capabilities into the phone in your pocket.
Light from Screens Delays Sleep
August 28th, 2012Via: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: A new study from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that a two-hour exposure to electronic devices with self-luminous “backlit” displays causes melatonin suppression, which might lead to delayed bedtimes, especially in teens. The research team, led by Mariana Figueiro, associate professor at Rensselaer and director of […]
