Archive for January, 2015
The Birth of D Weapons
January 17th, 2015Via: Spiegel: According to top secret documents from the archive of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden seen exclusively by SPIEGEL, they are planning for wars of the future in which the Internet will play a critical role, with the aim of being able to use the net to paralyze computer networks and, by doing so, potentially […]
Robots Roam Hallways of San Francisco’s Newest Hospital
January 16th, 2015Via: cnet: Meet Eve, a short, refrigerator-wide robot. While it doesn’t have arms, or a head, its portly frame can haul heavy loads, dispense supplies and travel long distances. Eve is one of 25 autonomous robots programmed to help the staff of San Francisco’s newest hospital. When the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center […]
Elon Musk Plans to Build Hyperloop Test Track
January 16th, 2015Via: cnet: Billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk is getting more hands-on with the Hyperloop. Musk, who heads up both space transportation outfit SpaceX and electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors, casually announced via Twitter on Thursday that he’s decided to help accelerate development of his vision for near-supersonic tube transportation, first outlined in August 2013. Musk said […]
GM Bolt: Pure EV, 200 Mile Range, $30,000, 2017
January 16th, 2015Via: MIT Technology Review: GM today unveiled an all-electric concept car, called the Bolt, which it says will have a 200-mile range. That’s comparable to the range of Tesla’s electric luxury cars, but the Bolt will cost around $30,000 (while a Tesla will sell for between $70,000 and $94,000). The Bolt, a compact hatchback, will […]
A Cyberattack Has Caused Confirmed Physical Damage for the Second Time Ever
January 16th, 2015Via: Wired: Amid all the noise the Sony hack generated over the holidays, a far more troubling cyber attack was largely lost in the chaos. Unless you follow security news closely, you likely missed it. I’m referring to the revelation, in a German report released just before Christmas (.pdf), that hackers had struck an unnamed […]
Hardware Maintenance
January 16th, 2015This email is notification of planned hardware maintenance Friday morning, 16 January, 2015, between 00:00 hours and 4:00am MDT (UTC/GMT-6), for the server which hosts cryptogon.com. The maintenance will include approximately 45 minutes of downtime for your website while the server is powered down, the hardware changes are made, and the server is powered up […]
U.S. to Send More than 400 Troops to Train “Moderate” Syrian Rebels
January 16th, 2015Via: CBS: The United States will send 400 troops to train moderate Syrian rebels this spring along with hundreds of support personnel. Pentagon spokesperson Maj. James Brindle confirmed the planned deployment to CBS News early Friday morning. The plan was first reported by Defense One on Thursday. Last month, President Obama signed into law a […]
Swiss Franc Soars After SNB Drops Cap on Currency
January 15th, 2015Via: Reuters: The Swiss franc soared nearly 28 percent against the dollar on Thursday after Switzerland’s central bank dumped a three-year-old cap on the franc’s value against the euro, sending shockwaves through currency markets and pummelling traders who had bet against the franc. The euro plunged as much as 30 percent below the 1.20 cap […]
The U.S. Has More Jails Than Colleges
January 13th, 2015Via: Washington Post: There were 2.3 million prisoners in the U.S. as of the 2010 Census. It’s often been remarked that our national incarceration rate of 707 adults per every 100,000 residents is the highest in the world, by a huge margin. We tend to focus less on where we’re putting all those people. But […]
BPA Free Plastic, “Might Itself be More Harmful than BPA”
January 13th, 2015Via: Washington Post: In a groundbreaking study, researchers have shown why a chemical once thought to be a safe alternative to bisphenol-A, which was abandoned by manufacturers of baby bottles and sippy cups after a public outcry, might itself be more harmful than BPA. University of Calgary scientists say they think their research is the […]
