"More than two dozen goldsmiths toiled for 15 days for lender Datta Phuge, who custom ordered the seven-pound top to wear for New Year's festivities, according to the Pune Mirror. The shirt is crafted from 14,000 22-karat gold rings linked together and comes with six Swarovski crystal buttons and a belt also made of gold. Phuge said he considers the shirt 'an investment which will keep appreciating.'" Continue reading →
"Engineers at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) have used this technique to print out an entire bicycle that only needs added tires and a chain to be fully functional. British researchers, meanwhile, have printed a maneuverable drone with a rear-engine drive. Printed components are also used in Formula 1 racing and at NASA. Dental laboratories use 3-D printers to produce crowns, while doctors experiment with artificial heart tissue. Filmmakers also print animation models and automotive parts suppliers create replacement parts. The printing of electronic components is even in the works." Continue reading →
"According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, 'In the amount of time it takes to get lunch, the government can now collect your DNA and extract a profile that identifies you and your family members' using a device called a Rapid DNA Analyzer, which can 'process DNA in 90 minutes or less.' The EFF says these machines are not the imagination of science fiction writers. Rather, the group says they are 'an operational reality' and are currently being marketed to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies all around the nation. Well, what's the big deal? After you, you haven't done anything wrong - have you?" Continue reading →
"This is a list in progress of color laser printer models that do or do not print yellow tracking dots on their output. We have employed three sources of information. We looked at printer output under a blue light and/or a computer microscope; we consulted press reports about printers (e.g. at Druckerchannel); we relied on printer manuals and other manufacturer statements. We welcome additional statements by manufacturers, resellers, or technicians." Continue reading →
"Google has pushed out an update that blocks an intermediate digital certificate for *.google.com after discovering that a Turkish certificate authority had mistakenly issued intermediate certificates to two organizations that should only have gotten normal SSL certificates. That error gave those two organizations the power to issue certificates that carried the same authority as the CA itself. One of the groups that obtained the intermediate certificate is a Turkish government agency and at least one of the major browser vendors said there was evidence the ceritificates had been used in an active attack." Continue reading →
"Nokia has confirmed reports that its Xpress Browser decrypts data that flows through HTTPS connections – that includes the connections set up for banking sessions, encrypted email and more. However, it insists that there’s no need for users to panic because it would never access customers’ encrypted data." Continue reading →
"Aaron Swartz was facing a potential sentence of dozens of years in prison for allegedly trying to make MIT academic journal articles public. Swartz was dedicated to sharing data and information online. He worked tirelessly to develop and popularize standards for free and open information sharing. Swartz co-founded Demand Progress, which launched the primary campaign against Internet censorship bills (SOPA/PIPA). His work on Reddit enabled millions to share information and news socially (Swartz sold Infogami to Reddit)." Continue reading →
"The Obama Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says no law empowers any judge to stop it from conducting illegal scientific experiments on seniors, children and the sick. That astounding assertion will be tested Friday, when a federal district court in Alexandria decides whether it has jurisdiction to hear claims made by the American Tradition Institute that EPA researchers are exposing unwary and genetically susceptible senior citizens to air pollutants the agency says can cause a variety of serious cardiac and respiratory problems, including sudden death." Continue reading →
"Vice President Joe Biden continues his talks with leaders on both sides of the gun control issue today. But it was what Biden eluded to yesterday that got people talking. The possibility that President Obama might use an Executive Order to regulate firearms. Could it happen?" Continue reading →
"The government will spend the funds on public works, incentives for corporate investment and financial aid for small firms to help the economy emerge from a mild recession triggered by falling exports last year. It expects the stimulus to raise real economic growth by 2 percentage points and create 600,000 jobs. The government will sell around 5 trillion yen more bonds than originally planned for the current fiscal year to fund the stimulus, a government official said. Mr Abe is gambling that a shift to a more expansionary fiscal policy and more monetary easing from the central bank can end years of stop-start growth." Continue reading →