Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Google signs 60-year lease of Navy dirigible hangar
SAN FRANCISCO — Google has signed a 60-year lease on a former Navy dirigible hangar smack in the middle of Silicon Valley, NASA said.
The Internet company will pay $1.16 billion in rent to the federal government for access to the 350,000 square foot structure, called Hangar One.
First announced on Feb. 10, the deal was finalized on Monday.
Survey: Americans have lost control of their personal info
SAN FRANCISCO - Americans overwhelmingly think they've lost control of how their personal information is collected and used by companies. And a majority say they are concerned about the government's monitoring of phone calls and Internet communication, a survey released Wednesday finds.
‘Personal roller coaster’: Tesla Motors unveils electric Model S that drives itself
Elon Musk unveiled the new zero-emission Tesla Model S sedan that can drive on “autopilot”. The car has a dual motor, the option of smart technology that guides through inclement weather and prevent accidents.
The starting price is $120,170.
The sedan is no slouch doing zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds and features all-wheel drive.
‘Google 2.0’ looking to build cities and airports in the future
Google’s self-driving cars could find themselves carrying passengers through cities custom-built by the same company, if the search giant’s plans for the future ever come to pass.
Not content with investing in state-of-the-art robots and pouring money into alternative energy, Google is reportedly drawing up plans to build model cities and airports, according to a new article in The Information.
Space Net: Elon Musk confirms plans to provide global internet from 100’s of satellites
SpaceX founder Elon Musk says he is working on a program to launch hundreds of lowcost satellites that could provide worldwide WiFi. The project is still in the early stages of development, with Musk promising more information soon.
The billionaire is no stranger to taking technology to new horizons. He revolutionized the auto industry by producing electric cars, while his SpaceX program has already seen him send spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
DARPA’s Atlas robot learns karate
Engineers at Google-owned Boston Dynamics have released a new video of its human-like robot, Atlas, and the machine’s demonstrated ability to maintain a karate stance may someday earn it a black belt in martial arts.
Boston Dynamics isn’t exactly building a ninja robot by any means, but a video released this week of Atlas mimicking the maneuvers made famous by Ralph Macchio in 1984’s blockbuster Karate Kid is quickly raising questions about what sort of capabilities the world can expect from the next generation of automated androids.
Monday, November 10, 2014
CNN International decides to go off air in Russia before New Year
CNN International will stop its broadcast in Russia before December 31, according to a letter the channel’s managing company distributed to Russian cable operators.
The letter from Turner Broadcasting System Europe obtained by TASS news agency and Vedomosti newspaper did not state the reasons for the move.
CISPA’s back: Hacking, online espionage resurrect cybersecurity bill
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection act (CISPA) will be reintroduced before the US House next week following a spate of cyber espionage and hacking attacks. Civil liberties advocates have criticized the bill for violating privacy laws.
The House Intelligence Committee’s Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) will attempt to breathe new life into CISPA on Wednesday.
Half of US cybersecurity breaches caused by staffers’ misconduct
Federal agencies and government contractors in the United States together experienced nearly a quarter of a million cyberattacks during the last year, according to a new analysis from the Associated Press.
What’s more, though, is that the AP says that many of the 228,700 or so cyberincidents suffered by federal agencies and contractors during the last year came not because of advanced intrusion methods employed by attackers, but instead are resulted from routine mistakes and misconduct that can be blamed on the legitimate officials tasked with keeping hackers out.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Navy considers 3D-printing future fleets of drones
Three-dimensional (3D) printers are quickly proving to be capable of creating just about anything out of little more than thin air, and that could be the military’s key to keeping an endless arsenal of drones at its disposal.
Just as 3D-printed organs, pizza and even firearms are being made with the post-modern machinery, the United States military is eyeing the up-and-coming technology as to further their upper-hand on the battlefield. Recently, a decorated member of the US Navy made an argument for adding unmanned aerial vehicles and even munitions to the list of items that can be made with little more than a well-equipped printer and a few clicks of a mouse.
Surveillance drones and Uncle Sam: Hackers take on all at DefCon 21
Around 15,000 hackers and security experts descended on Las Vegas for the twenty-first annual DefCon last week to discuss the latest and greatest exploits and vulnerabilities targeting seemingly anything and everything.
Recreational marijuana may go legal in Alaska, Oregon, DC after today's vote
Legalization of recreational marijuana is on the ballot in the US capital and two West Coast states on Tuesday as voters across the nation go to the polls for the 2014 midterm elections.
In Alaska and Oregon, voters face ballot initiatives that, if passed, would allow regulated sales of marijuana similar to operations allowed in Colorado and Washington state, the first two US states to legalize recreational cannabis for adults even though the federal government still considers marijuana to be a Schedule 1 narcotic, as is heroin.
‘Learning on the fly’: Brain-inspired neuromorphic chip tested in prototype drone
Scientists, backed by the Pentagon’s research agency DARPA, have tested a smart chip mimicking human brain functions in robots. For the trial, the chip designed to learn new skills and one day replace acquire human reasoning was installed on a tiny drone.
HRL Laboratories' Center for Neural and Emergent Systems on behalf of the he Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has just tested a tiny drone with a prototype neuromorphic chip, MIT's Technology Review reports.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Tech Five: Apple Watch may launch next spring
Might consumers see the Apple Watch next spring? Let's look at the technology stocks to watch Monday:
Apple. The tech giant's first jump into the wearable market will make its debut this spring, reports 9to5Mac, citing a transcript of a video to retail employees from Angela Ahrendts, Apple's head of retail and online stores. The smartwatch goes on sale starting at $349.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Wearable tech to hack your brain
The technology sounds simultaneously fake and dangerous: Strap on a headset and send targeted electrical currents into your brain for about 15 minutes to get more energy, improve your focus or calm down.
Brain stimulation is a very real but still unproven area of technology for tinkering with the human brain. For decades, scientists have experimented with sending electrical currents through subjects' skulls to their brains to do everything from treating serious mental disorders like depression to improving memory and learning.
FBI pushing for new domestic and global internet hacking powers
In a move that watchdog groups are calling an unconstitutional power grab, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is reportedly looking to rewrite the espionage rulebook, giving it the authority to hack into computers at home and abroad.
With little public debate and congressional oversight on the issue, the FBI appears set to make the fourth amendment to the Constitution wholly redundant, which protects Americans against “illegal searches and seizures,” The Guardian reported.
Q and A: Improve your TV's picture
A. No, your TV just needs to be adjusted to work better with your home lighting. Right now, it's set to look good in store lighting. As a quick fix, use the suggested settings for your TV model fromTweakTV and then make small adjustments from there to get the look you're after. If you want a more precise way to calibrate your TV for the optimum settings, click here for the step-by-step instructions.
5 tech myths you hear all the time
Humans are great at creating myths. From Marduk and Zeus to unicorns and mermaids, there's no end to what we can imagine. That's even true with technology.
There's old tech advice that no one questions, half-remembered instructions you just keep doing, misunderstood terms and more that you believe to be true.
I'm going to tackle some of these tech myths and set the record straight.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Atlas rocket launch successful day after explosion
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A new Global Positioning System satellite is in orbit after blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Microsoft lays off 3,000, ending latest round of cuts
SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft laid off 3,000 workers Wednesday, finishing a round of 18,000 layoffs that the company announced in July.
"The reductions happening today are spread across many different business units, and many different countries," a Microsoft spokesman said in an emailed statement.
The majority of those who lost their jobs, close to 70%, were former Nokia staffers, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella said in a blog post.
What's new for Android: A sweet Lollipop upgrade
NEW YORK — Google recently unveiled Android 5.0 "Lollipop," the latest version of its popular Android operating system. The 5.0 upgrade is a major one for Android and brings an all-new design to the platform, dubbed "Material Design," as well as new features like a Guest mode and better camera software.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Facebook shares slide off earnings
Another social network is watching its shares plunge in morning trading. Let's look at the tech stocks to watch Wednesday:
Facebook. Shares of the social giant dropped 6.3% in pre-market trading after warning investors of a revenue slowdown in the fourth quarter. Facebook CFO David Wehner said expenses would be "significant" in future quarter as it beefs up investments in existing products and weighs additional acquisitions. This year, Facebook scooped up virtual reality company Oculus VR and messaging service WhatsApp.
Facebook shares down 11% on warning of rising costs
SAN FRANCISCO — First, there was good news. Facebook had topped estimates for the sixth straight quarter fueled by mobile advertising.
Then, came the bad news. Facebook warned that costs would increase dramatically in 2014 and revenue in the fourth quarter would slow.
The revelations spooked the market, causing the stock to plunge as much as 11% in after-hours trading and costing Facebook about a tenth of its market value.
What Facebook got for $22 billion it paid for WhatsApp
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook traded a tenth of its market value for the popular messaging service WhatsApp, which has more than 600 million monthly active users.
AT&T slowed the data speeds of millions of smartphone customers with unlimited data plans
AT&T slowed the data speeds of millions of smartphone customers with unlimited data plans, in some cases by nearly 90%, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The agency filed a complaint Tuesday in federal court charging that the nation's second-largest wireless carrier failed to adequately tell its unlimited-data customers that the company reduces or "throttles" data speeds if they use too much data in a given billing cycle. Such throttling often made many common functions such as Web surfing, GPS directions and streaming video difficult or nearly impossible to use.
"AT&T promised its customers 'unlimited' data, and in many instances, it has failed to deliver on that promise," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. "The issue here is simple: 'Unlimited' means unlimited."
AT&T quit offering unlimited plans for new contracts in June 2010, but customers who had unlimited plans could keep them.
MCX explains why CurrentC retailers can't use Apple Pay
Retailers who opt to use the CurrentC mobile payment system must do so exclusively, dropping access to rival services including Apple Pay, according to a blog post from the creators of CurrentC.
In a statement Wednesday, the Merchant Customer Exchange CEO Dekkers Davidson says retailers "make their own decisions" on selecting CurrentC, and any retailers who choose to back out from the service will not be fined.
"When merchants choose to work with MCX, they choose to do so exclusively and we're proud of the long list of merchants who have partnered with us," said Davidson.
The statement follows a report from The New York Times that retailers cannot accept rival payment systems like Apple Pay and breaking MCX contracts result in steep fines.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Apple, retailers at odds over mobile payments
When retailers CVS and Rite Aid disabled access to Apple Pay over the weekend, the companies kicked a consumer hornet's nest.
Angry customer tweets followed the sudden shutdown Sunday, with some Apple Pay users implying they would stop shopping at the pharmacies. Some analysts feel this brief and perhaps inadvertent exposure to Apple's near-field communications (NFC) payment model may lead to these chains' inevitable acceptance of the new payment system.
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