Desktop Version of Google Chrome Now Able to Take Voice Commands
June 3rd, 2013No mic plugged into my PC: Check.
No camera plugged into my PC: Check.
Use Firefox: Check.
GCSB/NSA seeing most of what I do: Oh.
But I’ll tell ya: When I’m out and about with my SamDroid panopticon backorifice personal tracking unit, I do partake of voice search and voice input for emails once in a while and it works pretty well.
Oh, I have to tell you a funny one: My mother in law, who’s from New Zealand, bought an Apple iPhone 4s last year. I tried to teach her to use Siri.
“Ok,” I said, “Tell it to create a reminder for something that you need to do later.”
Off she went. This is how it sounded.
“Remind me to chick the riced at five thirty.”
Siri came back with something like: “Ok, reminder for chicken and rice.”
Now, instead of chicking the riced, an American, for example, might check the roast instead.
I wound up laughing so hard that I had coffee dripping out of my nose and she laughed so hard that it brought on an asthma attack. *chortle* I’d set the iPhone for Australian English, but it pretty much doesn’t work with New Zealanders.
This woman’s accent is much softer than my mother in law’s and watch what happens:
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Via: IT Pro Portal:
At the Google I/O conference last week, the company rolled out “OK, Google,” which is a universal version of the Siri-style of conversational interaction. But instead of being solely on the phone, it will also work on your desktop via Chrome…
I’m still concerned because if the browser can somehow open my microphone with the “OK, Google” command, when else can the browser open the mic?
More: Conversational Search Comes with Chrome Update
Research Credit: almaverdad2 and alvinroasting
May Earnings
June 3rd, 2013Total earnings in May came to $1383.31. That’s a great result.
Near the end of May, I was almost sure that Cryptogon was headed for a wide miss of the earnings goal of $1000. I mentioned this after DE made his generous $100 contribution. By the end of the month, however, you guys really seemed to pull hard with Amazon and these readers came in to show their support:
RT AU$50
Uncle Remus $50
CS GBP20
JS $20
AH $50
GB $50
Windhorse NZ$250 [!!!]
Anon BTC1.025
Thank you all very much.
Any iOS Device Can Be Compromised Within One Minute
June 3rd, 2013Via: BlackHat:
Apple iOS devices are considered by many to be more secure than other mobile offerings. In evaluating this belief, we investigated the extent to which security threats were considered when performing everyday activities such as charging a device. The results were alarming: despite the plethora of defense mechanisms in iOS, we successfully injected arbitrary software into current-generation Apple devices running the latest operating system (OS) software. All users are affected, as our approach requires neither a jailbroken device nor user interaction.
In this presentation, we demonstrate how an iOS device can be compromised within one minute of being plugged into a malicious charger. We first examine Apple’s existing security mechanisms to protect against arbitrary software installation, then describe how USB capabilities can be leveraged to bypass these defense mechanisms. To ensure persistence of the resulting infection, we show how an attacker can hide their software in the same way Apple hides its own built-in applications.
To demonstrate practical application of these vulnerabilities, we built a proof of concept malicious charger, called Mactans, using a BeagleBoard. This hardware was selected to demonstrate the ease with which innocent-looking, malicious USB chargers can be constructed. While Mactans was built with limited amount of time and a small budget, we also briefly consider what more motivated, well-funded adversaries could accomplish. Finally, we recommend ways in which users can protect themselves and suggest security features Apple could implement to make the attacks we describe substantially more difficult to pull off.
Doing the ‘Absolute Opposite’ of So-Called Green Revolution Techniques, Poorest Indian Farmers Growing Record Amounts of Food
June 2nd, 2013Via: Guardian:
What happened in Darveshpura has divided scientists and is exciting governments and development experts. Tests on the soil show it is particularly rich in silicon but the reason for the “super yields” is entirely down to a method of growing crops called System of Rice (or root) Intensification (SRI). It has dramatically increased yields with wheat, potatoes, sugar cane, yams, tomatoes, garlic, aubergine and many other crops and is being hailed as one of the most significant developments of the past 50 years for the world’s 500 million small-scale farmers and the two billion people who depend on them.
Instead of planting three-week-old rice seedlings in clumps of three or four in waterlogged fields, as rice farmers around the world traditionally do, the Darveshpura farmers carefully nurture only half as many seeds, and then transplant the young plants into fields, one by one, when much younger. Additionally, they space them at 25cm intervals in a grid pattern, keep the soil much drier and carefully weed around the plants to allow air to their roots. The premise that “less is more” was taught by Rajiv Kumar, a young Bihar state government extension worker who had been trained in turn by Anil Verma of a small Indian NGO called Pran (Preservation and Proliferation of Rural Resources and Nature), which has introduced the SRI method to hundreds of villages in the past three years.
While the “green revolution” that averted Indian famine in the 1970s relied on improved crop varieties, expensive pesticides and chemical fertilisers, SRI appears to offer a long-term, sustainable future for no extra cost. With more than one in seven of the global population going hungry and demand for rice expected to outstrip supply within 20 years, it appears to offer real hope. Even a 30% increase in the yields of the world’s small farmers would go a long way to alleviating poverty.
“Farmers use less seeds, less water and less chemicals but they get more without having to invest more. This is revolutionary,” said Dr Surendra Chaurassa from Bihar’s agriculture ministry. “I did not believe it to start with, but now I think it can potentially change the way everyone farms. I would want every state to promote it. If we get 30-40% increase in yields, that is more than enough to recommend it.”
The results in Bihar have exceeded Chaurassa’s hopes. Sudama Mahto, an agriculture officer in Nalanda, says a small investment in training a few hundred people to teach SRI methods has resulted in a 45% increase in the region’s yields. Veerapandi Arumugam, the former agriculture minister of Tamil Nadu state, hailed the system as “revolutionising” farming.
…
“It is a set of ideas, the absolute opposite to the first green revolution [of the 60s] which said that you had to change the genes and the soil nutrients to improve yields. That came at a tremendous ecological cost,” says Uphoff. “Agriculture in the 21st century must be practised differently. Land and water resources are becoming scarcer, of poorer quality, or less reliable. Climatic conditions are in many places more adverse. SRI offers millions of disadvantaged households far better opportunities. Nobody is benefiting from this except the farmers; there are no patents, royalties or licensing fees.“
More: Miracle Grow: Indian Farmers Smash Crop Yield Records Without GMOs
Submersible Structures, Habitats, & Sea-Floor Living Spaces
June 2nd, 2013I have just one question: Is a Big Daddy included?
Big Daddy from Bioshock
Via: Hardened Structures of America (.pdf):
Your H2OME comes complete with push-button fish feeders so that you and your guests can feed the fish as well as underwater lights to light up the sea floor for a limited period of time each evening.
Research Credit: Pookie
Graphene Image Sensor 1000X More Sensitive to Light Than Current Sensors
June 2nd, 2013😯
Via: Science Daily:
Cameras fitted with a new revolutionary sensor will soon be able to take clear and sharp photos in dim conditions, thanks to a new image sensor invented at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
The new sensor made from graphene, is believed to be the first to be able to detect broad spectrum light, from the visible to mid-infrared, with high photoresponse or sensitivity. This means it is suitable for use in all types of cameras, including infrared cameras, traffic speed cameras, satellite imaging and more.
Not only is the graphene sensor 1,000 times more sensitive to light than current imaging sensors found in today’s cameras, it also uses 10 times less energy as it operates at lower voltages. When mass produced, graphene sensors are estimated to cost at least five times cheaper.
Russia to Resume Nuclear Submarine Patrols in Southern Seas
June 1st, 2013Via: Reuters:
Russia plans to resume nuclear submarine patrols in the southern seas after a hiatus of more than 20 years following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Saturday, in another example of efforts to revive Moscow’s military.
The plan to send Borei-class submarines, designed to carry 16 long-range nuclear missiles, to the southern hemisphere follows President Vladimir Putin’s decision in March to deploy a naval unit in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis starting this year.
“The revival of nuclear submarine patrols will allow us to fulfill the tasks of strategic deterrence not only across the North Pole but also the South Pole,” state-run Itar-Tass cited an unnamed official in the military General Staff as saying.
The official said the patrols would be phased in over several years. The Yuri Dolgoruky, the first of eight Borei-class submarines that Russia hopes to launch by 2020, entered service this year.
bitNZ: New Zealand Dollar Bitcoin Exchange
June 1st, 2013Disclosure: I have no affiliate relationship with bitNZ and I have not been paid anything to mention them. I am a bitNZ customer.
I’d had enough of paying large wire fees with Mt.Gox, so I tried bitNZ.com instead. bitNZ worked great! NZD withdrawals to any NZ bank account are free.
My only complaint is that liquidity is low on bitNZ right now, so you can see some wide spreads. Of course, if more people start using bitNZ, we can close those spreads right up. If you’re doing deals for NZD/BTC on Mt.Gox, consider moving some of that activity on bitNZ instead. Lets support a New Zealand based bitcoin exchange.
Justice Department Secret Document Details Unconstitutional Surveillance of American Citizens
May 31st, 2013Via: IB Times:
The Justice Department may soon be forced to reveal a classified document that details unconstitutional surveillance of American citizens. The Justice Department has fought to keep the document secret for about a year, but a recent court order demands that they respond to a formal request filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation by next week, June 7, 2013.
In California, Obamacare To Increase Individual Health Insurance Premiums By 64-146%
May 31st, 2013In other news: Maine Doctor Stops Accepting All Forms of Insurance, Cuts Prices for Treatments In Half.
Via: Forbes:
One of the most serious flaws with Obamacare is that its blizzard of regulations and mandates drives up the cost of insurance for people who buy it on their own. This problem will be especially acute when the law’s main provisions kick in on January 1, 2014, leading many to worry about health insurance “rate shock.”
