Archive for the 'Technology' Category
A New Microchip Knows Just Where You Are, Indoors and Out
April 10th, 2012Via: MIT Technology Review: Broadcom has just rolled out a chip for smart phones that promises to indicate location ultra-precisely, possibly within a few centimeters, vertically and horizontally, indoors and out. The unprecedented accuracy of the Broadcom 4752 chip results from the sheer breadth of sensors from which it can process information. It can receive […]
Military Researchers Zapping Brains to Make Better Snipers
April 8th, 2012Better snipers? *pfft* You’ll need this technology to help you make sense of all the information on your Heads Up Display: Via: The Week: Over the past few years, however, it’s become increasingly clear that applying an electrical current to your head confers similar benefits. U.S. military researchers have had great success using “transcranial direct […]
Two Qubit Quantum Computer Built Inside a Diamond
April 7th, 2012Via: Science Daily: Diamonds are forever — or, at least, the effects of this diamond on quantum computing may be. A team that includes scientists from USC has built a quantum computer in a diamond, the first of its kind to include protection against “decoherence” — noise that prevents the computer from functioning properly. The […]
Scientists Rewrite Rules of Human Reproduction
April 7th, 2012Via: Independent: The first human egg cells that have been grown entirely in the laboratory from stem cells could be fertilised later this year in a development that will revolutionise fertility treatment and might even lead to a reversal of the menopause in older women. Scientists are about to request a licence from the UK […]
Children Perceive Humanoid Robot as Emotional, Moral Being
April 6th, 2012I’m posting this more for its comedic value than because I think it’ll happen anytime soon. My four-year-old son, left to his own devices, would destroy that bot inside of ten minutes. His goal wouldn’t be to destroy it; he just wants to figure out what makes machines go. If he had access to screw […]
5000+ Artists Line Up For a Pirate Bay Promotion
April 6th, 2012“I have even gone so far that I have left my major record label and started up my own. I call it: ‘Do It Yourself Bitch Productions.’” —Soso Via: TorrentFreak: Record labels and Hollywood have described The Pirate Bay as one of the biggest threats to their business, but thousands of artists clearly disagree with […]
Britain: Proposed Law Would Require ISPs and Device Makers to Filter Internet by Default
April 6th, 2012Will VPNs be outlawed? *chortle* Via: PC Pro: A new bill presented to the House of Lords demands both ISPs and device makers filter adult content. The Online Safety Bill, raised in the Lords by Baroness Howe of Ildicote, asks for ISPs and mobile operators to “provide a service that excludes pornographic images” and for […]
Arizona Passes Sweeping Law Criminalizing Internet Speech
April 5th, 2012Via: Jonathan Turley: In one of the most sweeping attacks on free speech in America, the Arizona legislature has passed a draconian bill that would criminalize speech on the Internet (“any electronic or digital device”) that prosecutors consider “obscene, lewd or profane language or . . . suggest[ing] a lewd or lascivious act if done […]
Google Begins Testing Its Augmented-Reality Glasses
April 5th, 2012Here we go… Via: New York Times: If you venture into a coffee shop in the coming months and see someone with a pair of futuristic glasses that look like a prop from “Star Trek,” don’t worry. It’s probably just a Google employee testing the company’s new augmented-reality glasses. On Wednesday, Google gave people a […]
These Are The Prices AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Charge For Cellphone Wiretaps
April 5th, 2012Via: Forbes: If Americans aren’t disturbed by phone carriers’ practices of handing over cell phone users’ personal data to law enforcement en masse–in many cases without a warrant–we might at least be interested to learn just how much that service is costing us in tax dollars: often hundreds or thousands per individual snooped. Earlier this […]
