Archive for the 'Outsourced' Category
Meet the Robot Telemarketer Who Denies She’s A Robot
December 13th, 2013Via: Time: The phone call came from a charming woman with a bright, engaging voice to the cell phone of a TIME Washington Bureau Chief Michael Scherer. She wanted to offer a deal on health insurance, but something was fishy. When Scherer asked point blank if she was a real person, or a computer-operated robot […]
Intel Contractors Give Millions to Lawmakers Overseeing Government Surveillance
December 12th, 2013Via: Maplight: In response to documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden, the congressional committees in charge of overseeing the government’s intelligence operations have come to the defense of the surveillance and data collection programs, and the agencies that administer them. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate […]
By 2017 Nearly 45% of All New Servers Will Be Bought by Cloud Providers
December 9th, 2013Via: Computerworld: IT managers want to cut the number of servers they manage, or at least slow the growth, and they may be succeeding, according to new data. IDC expects that anywhere from 25% to 30% of all the servers shipped next year will be delivered to cloud services providers. In three years, 2017, nearly […]
Rise of the Machines – USA
December 6th, 2013Via: Journeyman Pictures:
Google Working on Some Sort of Robotics Project
December 4th, 2013Via: New York Times: In an out-of-the-way Google office, two life-size humanoid robots hang suspended in a corner. If Amazon can imagine delivering books by drones, is it too much to think that Google might be planning to one day have one of the robots hop off an automated Google Car and race to your […]
“Lockup Quotas” Guarantee Profits for the U.S. Private Prison Industry
December 4th, 2013Via: In The Public Interest: Shar Habibi looks at the rise of “lockup quotas” in private prisons; quotas where states guarantee that prisons will be filled at rates of 90 percent or even higher. She argues that these quotas mean that even if communities realize their objective of lower crime rates, taxpayers will see no […]
Mission Acomplished: Afghanistan Opium Harvest at Record High
December 4th, 2013Via: BBC: Afghan opium cultivation has reached a record level, with more than 200,000 hectares planted with the poppy for the first time, the United Nations says. The UNODC report said the harvest was 36% up on last year, and if fully realised would outstrip global demand. Most of the rise was in Helmand province, […]
Amazon Testing Delivery by Drone Aircraft
December 1st, 2013😯 Via: USA Today: Amazon.com is testing delivering packages using drones, CEO Jeff Bezos said on the CBS TV news show 60 Minutes Sunday. The idea would be to deliver packages as quickly as possible using the small, unmanned aircraft, through a service the company is calling Prime Air, the CEO said. Bezos played a […]
Coming Soon, a Night Watchman with Wheels?
November 30th, 2013I liked being a security guard in the early 1990s. haha. I wore a polyester uniform that made me look like like ten pounds of shit in a five pound sack. I think it paid $7 per hour. I had near zero contact with any other human beings the whole night. Now, why was this […]
Britain: Prisons Privatisation Cancelled Amid Serco Probe
November 22nd, 2013Via: BBC: Plans to privatise three prisons have been cancelled because of an ongoing investigation into the leading bidder. The justice secretary said the prison service would remain in charge at Hatfield, Lindholme and Moorland, all in South Yorkshire, while allegations against Serco remained outstanding. The contractor is accused of over-charging the government for electronically […]
