Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Large Hadron Collider Sabotaging Itself from the Future?
October 21st, 2009Via: Times Online: Explosions, scientists arrested for alleged terrorism, mysterious breakdowns — recently Cern’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has begun to look like the world’s most ill-fated experiment. Is it really nothing more than bad luck or is there something weirder at work? Such speculation generally belongs to the lunatic fringe, but serious scientists have […]
High-Speed Chase Ends When OnStar Halts Stolen SUV
October 20th, 2009Via: AP: When two Visalia, Calif., police officers swung their cruisers behind a sport utility vehicle that had been carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday, they prepared for a dangerous high-speed chase. The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe roared away with officers in pursuit, but shortly after the suspect made a right turn, operators at General Motors Co.’s […]
U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets
October 20th, 2009Via: Wired: America’s spy agencies want to read your blog posts, keep track of your Twitter updates — even check out your book reviews on Amazon. In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA and the wider intelligence community, is putting cash into Visible Technologies, a software firm that specializes in monitoring social media. It’s part […]
MIT Micro UAV Uses Lasers for Autonomous Navigation Indoors
October 18th, 2009False Memories ‘Written’ on Flies’ Brains
October 16th, 2009Via: CBC: Scientists have given fruit flies memories of traumatic experiences that never actually happened by directly manipulating nerve cells in their brains. Researchers in the U.K. and U.S. were able to create an association in the flies’ brains between an odour and an unpleasant experience, akin to an electric shock. The treated flies avoided […]
Windows 7: Open Thread
October 15th, 2009There’s nothing worse than this OS vs. that OS threads, but people are asking me about Windows 7. I’ll be very brief, so my head doesn’t explode: Would I pay to upgrade my Windows XP box to Windows 7? No way. Would I avoid Windows 7 like the plague/Vista? No. If I was buying a […]
Facebook – Coke Zero Facial Profiler
October 15th, 2009Cancer in a can and Twitbook. The zombies will love this. Via: Wikipedia: Facial Profiler is a social experiment [1] created and launched in 2009 by Coca-Cola Zero. Taking the form of a Facebook app, Coke Zero’s Facial Profiler uses facial recognition technology to search a database of Facebook users (who have opted in to […]
Australia: Ban Screens of All Kinds for Children Under Two
October 13th, 2009Via: Telegraph: Children under the age of two should be banned from watching television, according to guidelines prepared for the Australian government. The guidelines warn that exposure to television at such an early age can delay language development, affect the ability of a child to concentrate and lead to obesity. The recommendations also suggest that […]
FBI Doing Facial Recognition Scans on DMV Photo Records
October 13th, 2009Via: AP: In its search for fugitives, the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver’s license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes. The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for […]
FBI Building “Multi-Modal Biometrics” Database
October 13th, 2009Voice scans. You know, in case you use a phone that isn’t registered to you. Via: ComputerWorld: The Federal Bureau of Investigation is expanding beyond its traditional fingerprint-focused collection practices to develop a new biometrics system that will include DNA records, 3-D facial imaging, palm prints and voice scans, blended to create what’s known as […]
