Archive for the 'Technology' Category
The Disturbing Actroid-F Robot
October 28th, 2010Via: Plastic Pals: AIST opened the doors of their lab for a couple of days (October 14th ~ 15th) to show off their robotics development and middleware. On display was the Actroid-F, developed by Kokoro Co. Ltd. and ATR. The operator’s facial expressions and head movements are tracked and replicated by the robot. The android […]
Woman Kills Baby Because He Cried While She Played Farmville (A Game on Facebook)
October 28th, 2010Via: Florida Times Union: A Jacksonville mother charged with shaking her baby to death has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Alexandra V. Tobias, 22, was arrested after the January death of 3-month-old Dylan Lee Edmondson. She told investigators she became angry because the baby was crying while she was playing a computer game called Farmville […]
Failure Shuts Down Squadron of Nuclear Missiles
October 27th, 2010This is an extremely curious situation. I’m not even going to say which previous event this reminds me of. Via: The Atlantic: President Obama was briefed this morning on an engineering power failure at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming that took 50 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), one-ninth of the U.S. missile stockpile, […]
Decommissioned Military Jets to Serve as Satellite Launchers
October 26th, 2010Via: Space.com: Jets under consideration for the NanoLauncher game plan include the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and the McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle, among others. These fighters will take the payload – slung underneath the fuselage on a rocket – several miles up and then fire the rocket to send the stowed satellites to their intended destination […]
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano “Opts Out” of X-Ray Scan
October 23rd, 2010Via: New York Daily News: Airline passengers might want to consider a trip to the gym before heading to the airport now that high-tech body scanners have been unveiled at Kennedy Airport. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday hailed them as an important breakthrough for airport security and the fight against terrorism. Yet […]
$19 Billion Later, Pentagon’s Best Bomb-Detector Is a Dog
October 22nd, 2010Alternate title: The U.S. Military Is Putting the Dog Back in Boondoggle. Via: Wired: Drones, metal detectors, chemical sniffers, and super spycams — forget ‘em. The leader of the Pentagon’s multibillion military task force to stop improvised bombs says there’s nothing in the U.S. arsenal for bomb detection more powerful than a dog’s nose. Despite […]
WikiLeaks Claims to Be Under Attack, Calls Press Conference
October 21st, 2010Here are a few recent tweets, for whatever they’re worth: # Major WikiLeaks press conference in europe coming up; to book [press/NGO only], mail sunshine.booking@mail.be # WikiLeaks communications infrastructure is currently under attack. Project BO move to coms channel S. Activate Reston5. # Now is a good time to mirror this WikiLeaks ‘insurance’ backup http://bit.ly/bRaiYF
Hacking the D.C. Internet Voting Pilot
October 21st, 2010Via: Freedom to Tinker: The District of Columbia is conducting a pilot project to allow overseas and military voters to download and return absentee ballots over the Internet. Before opening the system to real voters, D.C. has been holding a test period in which they’ve invited the public to evaluate the system’s security and usability. […]
DHS Will Work with NSA and Military in Carrying Out Domestic Cyberwar Operations
October 21st, 2010Via: New York Times: The Obama administration has adopted new procedures for using the Defense Department’s vast array of cyberwarfare capabilities in case of an attack on vital computer networks inside the United States, delicately navigating historic rules that restrict military action on American soil. The system would mirror that used when the military is […]
Britain Revives Surveillance Plan, Making Service Providers Responsible for Data Retention
October 21st, 2010Via: Telegraph: Every email, phone call and website visit is to be recorded and stored after the Coalition Government revived controversial Big Brother snooping plans. It will allow security services and the police to spy on the activities of every Briton who uses a phone or the internet. Moves to make every communications provider store […]
