Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction
November 22nd, 2010Via: New York Times: On the eve of a pivotal academic year in Vishal Singh’s life, he faces a stark choice on his bedroom desk: book or computer? By all rights, Vishal, a bright 17-year-old, should already have finished the book, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” his summer reading assignment. But he has managed 43 pages […]
Into the Abyss: The Diving Suit That Turns Men Into Fish
November 21st, 2010I had thought that the liquid breathing system depicted in The Abyss was purely fictional. According to the developer of the system in the piece below, U.S. Navy SEALs were using such a system in the 1980s. Via: Independent: Humans have proven themselves remarkably adept at learning to do what other animals can do naturally. […]
Double Kill Shot Dealt to the Religion of Scientific Materialism
November 18th, 2010This reminded me of the Pioneer anomaly: The Pioneer anomaly or Pioneer effect is the observed deviation from predicted trajectories and velocities of various unmanned spacecraft visiting the outer solar system, most notably Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. Both Pioneer spacecraft are escaping from the solar system, and are slowing down under the influence of […]
For 18 Minutes in April, China Hijacked 15% of the World’s Internet Traffic
November 17th, 2010Via: National Defense Magazine: For 18 minutes in April, China’s state-controlled telecommunications company hijacked 15 percent of the world’s Internet traffic, including data from U.S. military, civilian organizations and those of other U.S. allies. This massive redirection of data has received scant attention in the mainstream media because the mechanics of how the hijacking was […]
Clues Suggest Stuxnet Virus Was Built for Subtle Nuclear Sabotage
November 16th, 2010Via: Wired: New and important evidence found in the sophisticated “Stuxnet” malware targeting industrial control systems provides strong hints that the code was designed to sabotage nuclear plants, and that it employs a subtle sabotage strategy that involves briefly speeding up and slowing down physical machinery at a plant over a span of weeks. “It […]
Man Made Half Million Dollars from Sale of Virtual Space Station in Video Game
November 15th, 2010Via: Forbes: Many people might balk at the idea of paying even a dollar for virtual cow in a game like Farmville. But Jon Jacobs has just sold a virtual space station he’s spent the past five years managing for a whopping $635,000 in total, making over half a million dollars. … In virtual life, […]
Proposal in Sweden to Require ISPs to Archive All Emails, Text Messages for Six Months
November 12th, 2010Via: The Local: Emails and mobile phone text messages would be stored for six months by internet service providers (ISPs), according to a bill presented by the Swedish government on Thursday to bring the country in line with EU data retention rules. Critics have come down hard on the proposal, which would compel telephone and […]
Genetically Altered Mosquitoes Released into the Wild
November 12th, 2010What happens to the bats, dragonflies, bird and other creatures that eat the GM mosquitoes? Via: New Scientist: An outdoor trial of mosquitoes genetically engineered to sabotage Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue fever, has been declared a success by scientists in the field. … Oxitec breeds millions of males carrying an altered gene called […]
HP Mini 5102 Review
November 11th, 2010Becky doesn’t drive. Since she was a teenager, and until we got married, she had lived in some form of student housing and always got by without owning a car. She’s now heavily involved with Playcentre and needs to go to a lot of classes and meetings. Sometimes she and the boys catch rides with […]
And Now… Pills Containing Microchips
November 9th, 2010Via: Reuters: Novartis AG plans to seek regulatory approval within 18 months for a pioneering tablet containing an embedded microchip, bringing the concept of “smart-pill” technology a step closer. The initial program will use one of the Swiss firm’s established drugs taken by transplant patients to avoid organ rejection. But Trevor Mundel, global head of […]
