Archive for the 'Technology' Category
British Government Discusses Riots with Social Media Firms
August 25th, 2011Via: CBC: Executives from Facebook, Twitter and Canadian BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. are meeting the British government and police Thursday in the wake of the riots to discuss how to prevent social networks from being used to plot violence. Police and politicians claim young criminals used Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry’s simple and largely […]
Kevin Slavin: How Algorithms Shape Our World
August 25th, 2011Via: TED: Kevin Slavin argues that we’re living in a world designed for — and increasingly controlled by — algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. And he warns that we are writing code we can’t understand, with implications […]
New York: Judge Says Warrant Required for Cell Phone Location Data
August 24th, 2011Good news? Maybe, a little. It would be better if we had amnesia affecting our knowledge of MAIN CORE, Mark Klein, Russell Tice and official, on-the-record admissions from NSA about position tracking via cell phones. *sigh* Via: Ars Technica: In recent years, the courts have struggled to decide whether the government needs a warrant to […]
New UAV for Police Can Taze People from Above
August 22nd, 2011Via: Singularity Hub: The ShadowHawk is the seven-foot, 50-lb copter that is the toy-sized dealer of destruction from Texas-based Vanguard Defense Industries. The copter is the result of three years of development. If being tased from above sounds frightening to you, I suggest you cease all criminal activities now (simply staying indoors is an option). […]
Government Transparency on Deployment of Body Scanner Technology in Surface Transit Venues and Street-Roving Vans
August 19th, 2011Via: Electronic Privacy Information Center: New documents released by the Department of Homeland Security to EPIC indicate the the agency continues to hide details about body scanners. In November 2010, EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the agency regarding the deployment of body scanners in surface transit and street-roving vans. In its […]
Fake Facebook Identity Used By Military Contractors Plotting To Hack Progressive Organizations
August 19th, 2011Via: ThinkProgress: Earlier this year, ThinkProgress obtained 75,000 private emails from the defense contractor HBGary Federal via the hacktivist group called Anonymous. The emails led to two shocking revelations. First, that an assortment of private military firms collectively called “Team Themis” had been tapped by Bank of America to conduct a cyber war against reporters […]
UK PM’s Internet Censorship Insinuation Receives Praise from China
August 18th, 2011Via: ZeroPaid: You know your internet censorship plans are too strict when China praises you for it. I’ll say this right off the bat, if someone told me one month ago that I would end up writing a headline like that, I would have told them they were insane. I am simply stunned that it […]
Single Seat Electric Vehicle Sets 1,000 Miles-Plus Record on Single Charge
August 17th, 2011Via: PhysOrg: An experimental electric vehicle called “Schluckspecht” (“boozer,” or “tippler” in German) has set the record for achieving the longest drive in a battery-powered vehicle on a single battery charge. Its record-breaking distance was 1,013.8 miles (1,631.5 km). The trip lasted 36 hours and 12 minutes. The Schluckspecht E, as the winning machine is […]
A Clock That Can Run for 10,000 Years Is Being Built Inside a Mountain Owned by Jeff Bezos
August 17th, 2011I’ll note a few bullet points about this 10,000 year clock project that stood out for me. This is not an exhaustive list and I’m sure that people who know more about these topics will uncover other interesting features. First, does anybody know about rituals that involve time and a participant wearing a blue hooded […]
MABEL: University of Michigan Demonstrates Running Bipedal Robot—Sort Of
August 16th, 2011This is from the description of the University of Michigan MABEL video on YouTube: In our opinion, this is the most realistic, human-like running achieved on a robot. Call me old fashioned, but most humans that I’ve seen running don’t require a boom to keep them from toppling over as they run. And they usually […]
