technology

Wyoming teen builds nuclear reactor in dad’s garage, gets kicked out of science fair

"A Wyoming high school student who built a nuclear reactor in his dad's garage was disqualified from the International Science and Engineering Fair this month on a technicality. His crime: competing in too many science fairs. The infraction was reported by the former director of Wyoming State Science Fair, who later did not have her contract renewed. Officials at the University of Wyoming, the fair's sponsor, said the director acted outside her authority." Continue reading →

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Facebook Billionaire Sean Parker Fined $2.5 Million For His $10 Million Wedding

"New government documents show just how over-the-top Sean Parker's extravagant $10 million wedding in the Big Sur forest really was. The state of California actually fined the Facebook billionaire $2.5 million over it. That's because he built a cottage, fake ruins, waterfalls, staircases and a huge dance floor in an ecologically sensitive area near ancient redwoods and a stream with endangered steelhead trout. Parker even created an LLC company, Neraida, to run his wedding, reports The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal. But he didn't get permission from the Coastal Commission, which regulates the area." Continue reading →

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Is This the Future of Bitcoin?

"When it comes to Bitcoin, the fast-growing 'digital currency,' there are good ideas, bad ideas and pie-in-the-sky ideas galore. All of these were on display Thursday night when more than 300 Bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs gathered at Microsoft’s (MSFT) sleek, marble-lined offices in New York City to show off their Bitcoin-based business ideas, munch on free pizza, and ruminate on the future of virtual currency in the company of other enthusiasts. Bitcoin has inspired a range of potential businesses, from physical Bitcoin ATMs to trading platforms, to services that pay videogamers in Bitcoins." Continue reading →

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If Nook goes bust, will your e-books survive?

"This leaves Nook customers with a big problem. If Barnes & Noble stops production on all Nooks, experts says, Nook owners would have a hard time moving their libraries. In fact, customers are already grappling with that very issue on online forums. The reason: Most e-books carry digital rights management software, or DRM, which prevents them from being pirated, passed on to third parties or, in this case, transferred onto another device by the same consumer. Currently, downloading e-books onto one device and even trying to read or access them on another can be a time-consuming and complicated endeavor." Continue reading →

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How long copyright terms make art disappear

"Copyright is a type of censorship—in this case, it suppresses the dissemination of books caught in the copyright 'black hole' as a result of the combination of copyright terms, the orphan works problem (which is a result in part of the lack of a requirement for copyright registration formalities and renewal requirements)." Continue reading →

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IBM Cutting Jobs In U.S. And Globally

"International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), the world’s largest computer-services provider, began cutting U.S. jobs today as part of a global restructuring plan announced in April. The reduction targets employees with a range of seniority, from rank-and-file staff to executives. Some U.S. workers began to receive notifications of the cuts last night, according to Lee Conrad, a coordinator for Alliance@IBM, an employee group. The restructuring will cost $1 billion worldwide, including severance expenses. The company is probably cutting 6,000 to 8,000 jobs globally, based on the $1 billion cost figure." Continue reading →

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The Department of Energy Is About to Mess With Computer Power

"The Energy Department signaled Friday it intends to order new efficiency standards for all computers and servers in the United States, reports The Hill. A pair of documents published in the Federal Register said the DOE has 'tentatively' ruled that a federal law designed to curtail consumer energy use, created in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, also covers computer and servers." Continue reading →

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Microsoft Gave NSA Backdoor Access To Skype, Outlook, and SkyDrive (Default In Windows 8.1)

"The company has reportedly helped the NSA 'understand' certain alias and encryption features in its software, allowed it to intercept chats passing through the Outlook.com servers, and been so helpful that the NSA has described working with the company as a 'team sport.' Access to SkyDrive files is handled via PRISM and NSA documents praise Microsoft for simplifying this process over the past 12 months. This is particularly pertinent given that in Windows 8.1, SkyDrive is a default storage location for files and created documents. Now we know that the NSA has carte blanche to peer into Microsoft's servers virtually at will." Continue reading →

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Small Utah ISP firm stands up to ‘surveillance state’ as corporations cower

"Xmission, an independent company based out of one office in Salt Lake City, Utah, has spent nearly two decades protecting its customers’ privacy as the National Security Agency, Department of Justice, and prosecutors have ramped up pressure on internet service providers (ISPs). Owner Pete Ashdown told RT that every data collection request stops at his desk, since he is the sole proprietor of Xmission. At a larger company, a panel of stockholders would bow to government pressure, he added. 'It’s pretty basic for me. Most of their requests are not constitutional. They’re not proper warrants so I turn them back,' he said." Continue reading →

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Plain Old Money Has Gotten Buggy

"Just today I passed a sign at a local check cashing shop, proudly proclaiming 'Send up to $50 for only $5!' Only a 10% minimum fee for transmitting funds? What a bargain. Credit cards don’t work person to person, checks don’t work at pretty much any retail establishment, cash doesn’t work if the bill’s too big, PayPal shuts down if you look at it funny, and you can just lie about how much gold you have (a thing you pointedly cannot do with cryptographic currencies). Bitcoin isn’t perfect. But it’s certainly not competing with perfection. What if money worked as reliably as the Internet?" Continue reading →

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