Network Archives

What Reasonable Person WOULDN’T Avoid the Cops?

"In 2000, the US Supreme Court ruled that warrantless narcotics checkpoints in Indiana were unconstitutional. Police in at least two states have responded by setting up fake checkpoints, and then stopping motorists who seek to avoid them. Police in Mayfield Heights, Ohio are now using the same tactic by placing 'Drug Checkpoint Ahead' signs in the express lanes of Interstate 271. Although such checkpoints are illegal, observes Professor Ric Simmons of Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, lying about one is not, because police 'can lie to anybody.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Reasonable Person WOULDN’T Avoid the Cops?

Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere

"I have been asked by my superiors to give a brief demonstration of the surprising effectiveness of even the simplest techniques of the new-fangled Social Networke Analysis in the pursuit of those who would seek to undermine the liberty enjoyed by His Majesty’s subjects. This is in connection with the discussion of the role of 'metadata' in certain recent events and the assurances of various respectable parties that the government was merely 'sifting through this so-called metadata'. I will show how we can use this 'metadata' to find key persons involved in terrorist groups operating within the Colonies at the present time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUsing Metadata to Find Paul Revere

Estonia tells European Union to rely less on U.S.-based ‘cloud’ storage

"IT hub Estonia on Wednesday urged the European Union to rely less on US firms for 'cloud' data storage, amid tensions over claims of US spying and data surveillance. 'Recent months have proven once again that it’s very important for Europe to have its own data clouds that operate strictly under European legislation,' Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said in a statement. Dubbed E-stonia, the tiny state of just 1.3 million people is known for being a trailblazer in technology and is one of the most connected countries in the world. Tallinn is also home to the NATO cyber-defence centre." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEstonia tells European Union to rely less on U.S.-based ‘cloud’ storage

Apple Powering Nevada Datacenter with Solar Farm

"Apple’s Nevada data center has been in the works for quite some time: a 2,200-acre plot outside of Reno will host a 90,000-square-foot datacenter that, in turn, will support the tech giant’s cloud services. Apple will reportedly spend $1 billion over the next decade on the facilities, in return for significant tax abatements at the city, county and state levels. It will also fund and build a 137-acre solar farm, managed in conjunction with NV Energy, to power the datacenter (it will generate approximately 43.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity). The Reno datacenter will be the third Apple cloud facility in the U.S. that is powered largely or entirely by solar power." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingApple Powering Nevada Datacenter with Solar Farm

France revealed to be spying on its citizens’ phone calls, email and social media

"France’s external intelligence agency spies on the French public’s phone calls, emails and social media activity in France and abroad. It said the DGSE intercepted signals from computers and telephones in France, and between France and other countries, although not the content of phone calls, to create a map of 'who is talking to whom'. It said the activity was illegal. 'All of our communications are spied on,' wrote Le Monde, which based its report on unnamed intelligence sources as well as remarks made publicly by intelligence officials. 'Emails, text messages, telephone records, access to Facebook and Twitter are then stored for years,' it said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance revealed to be spying on its citizens’ phone calls, email and social media

Dates When PRISM Data Collection Began For Each Provider

"It looks like Apple didn't buckle and provide mass data to the USG until after the death of Steve Jobs. Microsoft, which is currently running an advertising campaign with the slogan 'Your privacy is our priority,' appears to be the first to have buckled, in December 2007. It was followed by Yahoo in 2008; Google, Facebook and PalTalk in 2009; YouTube in 2010; Skype and AOL in 2011; and Apple,which joined the program in 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDates When PRISM Data Collection Began For Each Provider

Douglas Engelbart, inventor of computer mouse, dies at 88

"Engelbart arrived at his crowning moment relatively early in his career, on a winter afternoon in 1968, when he delivered an hour-long presentation containing so many far-reaching ideas that it would be referred to decades later as the 'mother of all demos.' Speaking before an audience of 1,000 leading technologists in San Francisco, Engelbart, a computer scientist at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), showed off a cubic device with two rolling discs called an 'X-Y position indicator for a display system.' It was the mouse’s public debut. He never received any royalties for the mouse, which SRI patented and later licensed to Apple." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDouglas Engelbart, inventor of computer mouse, dies at 88

Quantum Teleportation Between Atomic Systems Over Long Distances — New Reliable Technique

"A new milestone has been reached in the development of a practical quantum teleportation system — researchers have for the first time succeeded in the teleportation of information between two separate clouds of gas atoms, over long-distances. And not just once, the method is apparently already extremely reliable — working every single time that it’s been attempted. There are two glass containers, each containing a cloud of billions of caesium gas atoms. Both glass containers are enclosed in a chamber with a magnetic field. Information is teleported from the one glass cloud to the other by means of laser light." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQuantum Teleportation Between Atomic Systems Over Long Distances — New Reliable Technique

How close are we to getting superpowers?

"Next month, at a technology conference in Hong Kong, Dina Katabi, an MIT professor, will present her 'Wi-Vi' device, which uses a low-power wi-fi signal to track people moving behind walls. Last month, it was reported that scientists in Singapore have created a rudimentary invisibility cloak, which they illustrated with a video clearly designed to appeal to muggles as much as wizards – it showed a fluffy kitten entering the 'cloak' and disappearing so conclusively that a butterfly could be seen fluttering behind it. Essentially, if there’s a superpower you can think of, someone’s probably trying to develop it. Just remember: with great power comes great responsibility." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow close are we to getting superpowers?

The first-ever 3D-printed battery is less than 1mm wide

"In order to make a battery so small, the Harvard and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign team used a 3D printer to create tiny stacks of battery electrodes. Each electrode is thinner than a strand of human hair. The battery is of the standard lithium-ion variety, so with it comes all of the faults and benefits of lithium-ion. The custom 3D printer employed by the team uses special inks that are electrochemically active, and harden into cathodes and anodes once extruded from the printer’s nozzle. The anodes and cathodes were printed in a pattern similar to a common comb, then a case and electrolyte solution were added as finishing touches." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe first-ever 3D-printed battery is less than 1mm wide