Archive for November, 2013
Motorola Wants You to Tattoo a Smartphone Microphone Onto Your Throat
November 7th, 2013Via: Engadget: Motorola has applied for a patent of a microphone with a tranceiver and power supply that is designed to be tattooed onto your throat. The idea is to capture vibrations directly from your larynx in order to cut out background noise — while eliminating something else you could lose, we imagine.
Oregon: Students Limited to Walking or Running Around a Track at Recess
November 7th, 2013Via: Mail Tribune: Parents and kids of Jacksonville Elementary School say physical fitness shouldn’t be limited to endless circles on the school’s track in order to comply with the state’s physical education mandates. Andy Kranenburg, an orthopedic surgeon with two sons at the school, was one of several parents and grandparents who spoke in defense […]
Google Barges: Places “Where People Can Learn About New Technology”
November 6th, 2013Via: TechCrunch: Google has issued a statement (finally?) about its months-long mystery barge project. The barges, which are anchored in both Portland, Maine and San Francisco, have been the topic of intense interest since multiple reports surfaced last month. A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that the barges are ‘an interactive space’ to teach people about […]
iPads Banned from Cabinet Meetings Over Surveillance Fears
November 6th, 2013Oh yeah, China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan. *wink* In other news: NSA Can Access Data on All Smartphones Via: Telegraph: The securities services fear foreign intelligence agencies have developed the ability to turn mobile devices such as phones and tablets into bugs without the owner’s knowledge, allowing them to eavesdrop on confidential meetings. iPads were […]
Los Angeles: Citywide Gigabit Access for Homes and Businesses
November 5th, 2013People living in shipping containers with fiber optic links to the Metaverse? *chortle* Via: Arstechnica: Los Angeles is about to unleash one of the most ambitious city-led broadband projects to date, with the goal of bringing fiber to all of its 3.5 million residents and all businesses. Next month, the city plans to issue an […]
Mob Illegally Dumped Nuclear and Industrial Waste Around Southern Italy
November 5th, 2013Via: Daily Mail: Toxic nuclear and industrial waste, dumped illegally by the Neapolitan mafia, is responsible for a surge in cancers in southern Italy, it is feared. The Italian Senate is investigating a link between buried pollutants and a rise of almost 50 per cent in tumours found in the inhabitants of several towns around […]
New Mexico Man Stopped by Police for Traffic Violation Subjected to Forced Anal Exams, Enemas, Colonoscopy and Other Medical Procedures
November 5th, 2013Via: KOB4: This 4 On Your Side investigation looks into the actions of police officers and doctors in Southern New Mexico. A review of medical records, police reports and a federal lawsuit show deputies with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, police officers with the City of Deming and medical professionals at the Gila Regional Medical […]
Ecosystems in 66-Foot-Tall Test Tubes
November 5th, 2013Via: Popular Science: The outdoors is a horribly inconsistent place to do science. That’s why many ecologists work in laboratories, where they can exactly replicate an experiment many times over, although with the understanding that their results may not fully reflect what would happen in nature. But on Lake Stechlin in Germany, researchers at the […]
Britain: Face-Scanning Screens That Can Determine Your Age and Gender
November 5th, 2013Via: Vice: Next time you absent-mindedly watch the ads as you’re waiting to pay for a tank of gas, they might be watching you back. Digital advertising company Amscreen (a division of Alan Sugar’s Amshold) has announced a deal with British supermarket giant Tesco to roll out its OptimEyes technology across their 450 petrol forecourts. […]
FBI Seeks Video Recognition Technology to Automatically ID Suspects
November 5th, 2013Via: Nextgov: The FBI is weighing the use of video recognition technology to quickly identify suspects, even if all the camera has captured is a perpetrator’s limp or fraying blue baseball cap. Think of it as automated police lineups for the YouTube generation. While investigators manually scoured video to identify the suspected Boston Marathon bombers, […]
