Archive for the 'Technology' Category
British Military to Have Sonic Weapon at Olympics
May 13th, 2012Via: Reuters: Britain’s military will be armed with a sonic device that can be used as a high-volume loudspeaker or a non-lethal weapon to disperse crowds at this summer’s Olympic Games in London, the defence ministry said on Friday. The equipment, which can project a piercing sound over hundreds of metres causing physical pain, has […]
NSA Not Required to Reveal Any Dealings with Google
May 12th, 2012Via: AFP: The top-secret US National Security Agency is not required to reveal any deal it may have with Google to help protect against cyber attacks, an appeals court ruled Friday. The US Court of Appeals in Washington upheld a lower court decision that said the NSA need not confirm or deny any relationship with […]
Chinese Physicists Teleport Photons Over 100 Kilometers
May 12th, 2012Via: MIT Technology Review: So these guys clearly have their eye on the possibility of satellite-based quantum cryptography which would provide ultra secure communications around the world. That’s in stark contrast to the few kilometres that are possible with commercial quantum cryptography gear. Of course, data rates are likely to be slow and the rapidly […]
Bug 33484: Printing Multiple Files from Windows Explorer at Once Makes LibreOffice Unusable
May 12th, 2012This is as Offtopic as it gets, but here goes. With LibreOffice installed, if you try to print multiple documents from the Windows Explorer, you have probably noticed that this behavior doesn’t work. Someone is reporting a similar issue on the Mac as well. The LibreOffice people currently don’t know what’s causing this, but if […]
Backdoors in RuggedCom Networking Equipment
May 11th, 2012Via: Wired: A Canadian company that makes equipment and software for critical industrial control systems planted a backdoor login account in its flagship operating system, according to a security researcher, potentially allowing attackers to access the devices online. The backdoor, which cannot be disabled, is found in all versions of the Rugged Operating System made […]
Microsoft Bans Firefox on ARM-Based Windows
May 10th, 2012Via: Cnet: Raising the specter of last-generation browser battles, Mozilla launches a publicity campaign to seek a place for browsers besides IE on Windows devices using ARM chips. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Microsoft muscles aside other browsers and cements the dominance of Internet Explorer. The browser market, deprived of competition, stagnates. […]
Queen Unveils Draft Internet Super-Snoop Bill
May 9th, 2012Via: Register: The Queen has detailed the government’s upcoming programme of law-making on a grey day darkened by the gloom of a double-dip recession and plans to massively increase surveillance of the internet in the UK. Opening the new session of Parliament, Her Majesty confirmed on Wednesday that “draft clauses” would be introduced to allow […]
Google’s Self-Driving Car Licensed to Hit Nevada Streets
May 9th, 2012Via: PC World: Google’s self-driving car is growing up right in front of our eyes: The fledgling autonomous vehicle program recently passed its driver’s license test in Nevada, the first license of its kind in the United States. Obtaining Nevada’s self-driving car license clears the way for Google to test its technology on public roads […]
Commandos Now Play Digital Brain Games as War Prep
May 8th, 2012Via: Danger Room: U.S. special operations forces carry out some the military’s toughest, most high-stakes missions. To pull them off, the commandos need speed, agility and swift perception skills akin to those of top-tier professional athletes. That might explain why the military’s latest commando training program will rely on a virtual-reality system already employed by […]
U.S. Army Wants Magic 8 Ball Watching Over All of Its Computer Users
May 8th, 2012Via: Army Times: In the wake of the biggest dump of classified information in the history of the Army, the brass is searching for ways to watch what every soldier is doing on his or her Army computer. The Army wants to look at keystrokes, downloads and Web searches on computers that soldiers use. Maj. […]
