Toyota FT-1 sports concept wishes for more reality

Toyota FT-1 concept
Like a lunar eclipse or a good Woody Allen movie, Toyota's sports car passion tends to be a sometimes thing. The deeply impressive Lexus LFA came and went, with no apparent heir. The Scion FR-S ranks as a great value — and yet has seen no major updates since launch.
So when Toyota comes to the Detroit auto show with a closely guarded sports car concept, the automotive world takes notice. And the FT-1 revealed today may be one of the sexier vehicles to wear a Toyota badge in decades. If only there were plans to let it do so outside of Gran Turismo 6.

NSA developing computer to crack privacy codes: report

The U.S. National Security Agency is trying to develop a computer that could ultimately break most encryption programs, whether they are used to protect other nations' spying programs or consumers' bank accounts, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
In its report on Thursday, The Washington Post said that the NSA is trying to develop a so-called "quantum computer" that could be used to break encryption codes used to cloak sensitive information.The report, which the newspaper said was based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, comes amid continuing controversy over the spy agency's program to collect the phone records Internet communications of private citizens.
Such a computer, which would be able to perform several calculations at once instead of in a single stream, could take years to develop, the newspaper said. In addition to being able to break through the cloaks meant to protect private data, such a computer would have implications for such fields as medicine, the newspaper reported.

How the Army’s recent successful laser test could change the future of warfare


In December, the U.S. Army successfully tested a vehicle-mounted laser, destroying more than 90 mortar rounds and several unmanned aerial drones.
And an Army official tells Yahoo News that the test could have broad implications for the future, giving the U.S. an edge in low-cost and high-functioning defense technology.
“Although the laser can only engage one target at a time, we can lock in multiple strikes,” Terry Bauer, Program manager, Army High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD), told Yahoo News during a phone interview.
“The number of available shots is extremely high compared to a conventional system,” Bauer said. “Whatever we aim at is what we hit.”

US ship equipped to destroy Syria's chemical weapons

US ship equipped to destroy Syria's chemical weapons
Aboard the MV Cape Ray (United States) (AFP) - With special machinery installed in the hold of this American cargo ship, the MV Cape Ray is poised to embark on an unprecedented mission to destroy Syria's lethal chemical agents at sea.
"I'm waiting for my sailing orders," said Captain Rick Jordan, clad in overalls and a construction helmet.At a shipyard in Virginia, the 650-foot (197.5-meter) ship from the Maritime Administration's reserve fleet has been outfitted with two portable hydrolysis systems designed to neutralize the most dangerous chemicals in Syria's arsenal.
The US officer told reporters he expects to get the green light to set off "within about two weeks."
Under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States, Syria was supposed to remove its key chemical weapons components by the end of 2013.

Is this the best business card ever?

Move over Patrick "American Psycho" Bateman. Your crisp bone-colored business card with Silian Rail type has nothing on Chen Guangbiao's card.
Photos of Chen's card recently hit Twitter after he reportedly handed it out to American journalists. While it lacks the classy subtlety of Bateman's, Chen's card isn't exactly aiming to fly under the radar.
The card boasts of Chen's many talents. What kind of talents? He is (if his card is to be believed) the most influential person of China, the most prominent philanthropist of China, the most well-known and beloved Chinese role model and China's foremost environmental preservation expert. And the list goes on.

California bill seeks to regulate homemade guns

A homemade fully automatic rifle is displayed at a news conference by State Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, where he unveiled legislation dealing with so called "ghost guns," at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. Under de Leon's proposed legislation, SB808 would allow the manufacture or assembly of homemade weapons, but require the makers to first apply to the state Department of Justice for a serial number that would be given only after the applicants undergo a background check. De Leon plans to amend the bill to also require that guns contain permanent pieces of metal that could be detected by X-ray machines and metal detectors. .(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A state lawmaker proposed Monday that California extend its requirement that gun buyers undergo background checks and register their weapons to anyone who assembles a firearm in their home.
The legislation by state Sen. Kevin de Leon is part of a growing effort across the country to pre-empt the spread of undetectable guns that can be made using 3-D printers. His bill also would apply to anyone who buys parts that can be assembled into a gun.
De Leon said he is trying to address a twin threat from what he called "ghost guns" — plastic guns that can slip through metal detectors and unregistered weapons that can fall into the hands of people who are legally prohibited from owning firearms under state law.

Google Buys Nest -- Maker Of The 'Smart Thermostat' -- For $3.2 Billion

OK, Google: Turn down the temperature in the living room, won’t you?
On Monday afternoon, Google announced via press release that it had agreed to acquire Nest Labs, maker of a critically-acclaimed “smart thermostat” and “smart smoke detector,” for $3.2 billion. The move gives Google ammo in a new battle over home electronics, being waged by several companies both large and small, to reinvent familiar gadgets within the home as smartphone-controlled, Internet-connected devices. (Read more about this fight here.)
The Nest Learning Thermostat — Nest Labs’ first and most well-known product, released in 2011 — was widely praised for its beautiful design, intuitive interface and so-called "smart" features: Programmable via your smartphone, the Nest Learning Thermostat could educate itself about the temperatures you prefer at certain times of day; sense when you weren't at home and shut itself off; and perform other functions designed to save you money and keep you comfortable.

Who's on Hillary Clinton's 'hit list'?

Hillary Clinton Awarded The 2013 Lantos Human Rights Prize
During her 2008 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton's aides kept a meticulous "political hit list" containing the names of members of Congress who had "burned her" by endorsing Barack Obama, an upcoming book on Clinton's political "rebirth" reveals.
“We wanted to have a record of who endorsed us and who didn’t and of those who endorsed us, who went the extra mile and who was just kind of there," a member of Clinton's 2008 campaign team told Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, the authors of "HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton," in an excerpt published by Politico. "And of those who didn’t endorse us, those who understandably didn’t endorse us because they are [Congressional Black Caucus] members or Illinois members. And then, of course, those who endorsed him but really should have been with her.”

Syria’s deadly ‘barrel bombs’: Assad regime uses devastating, makeshift weapon

A child clears damage and debris in the besieged area of Homs
As the Syrian opposition tears itself apart in the country’s rebel-dominated north, the regime of President Bashar Assad is wasting no time pushing for advantage near the capital. On Sunday, the rebel-dominated suburb of Daraya, southwest of Damascus, sustained a prolonged assault with what appeared to be the standard missile and mortar attacks used throughout the war. But at least one corner of Daraya was hit by a more unorthodox weapon that is becoming more common by the day: the so-called barrel bomb. Essentially an improvised bomb made of explosives stuffed into an oil barrel or similar receptacle and pushed out of a helicopter, the weapon’s seemingly Looney Tunes origins conceal one of the most devastating and indiscriminate weapons in Assad’s arsenal. Packed with shrapnel and extra incendiaries like oil, and usually triggered on impact, the large payload all but guarantees widespread destruction.

How YouTube and Twitter Ruined Super Bowl Commercials

The title of this article should probably be "how advertisers ruined Super Bowl commercials." Not sure why they are blaming YouTube and Twitter.
Why has this happened? Because the conventional wisdom in the ad business now insists that Super Bowl ads are no longer just about 30 or 60 seconds of airtime. Instead their impact is engineered to last days, if not weeks, as both anticipation and reaction spool out across social media.

Critical Vulnerability In Wikipedia Found And Fixed

Check Point Software says it has discovered a remote code execution vulnerability in the MediaWiki software used by Wikipedia. [citation needed]
Check Point’s Vulnerability Research Group regularly performs assessments of common software to ensure the security of Internet users worldwide. During a recent assessment, Check Point researchers discovered a critical vulnerability in the MediaWiki Project Web platform. This vulnerability affects all versions of MediaWiki from 1.8 onwards.

How Not To Complain To A Developer

This guy has a few tips on how not to complain to a developer. Is he onto something or just on something? cool
They claim that without the fans, we are nothing. I've often said the same thing at developer conventions around the world, but there's a difference between saying that to emphasize our thankfulness for and dependance upon people who love our games and literally implying we are not worth anything beyond the opinion of somebody on the internet who happened to play a game we made.

More Card-Stealing Malware Found

Just when you thought it might be safe to use your credit card in stores again, this pops up.
The actual bot code is called ChewBacca and was described in detail recently by Kaspersky Lab. As Kaspersky explains, ChewBacca communicates with it's C&C (Command and Control) server over the Tor network, obscuring the IP addresses of parties. According to RSA, this particular botnet has been collecting track 1 and 2 data of payment cards since October 25.

Caterham Electric Bicycle is So Cool in So Many Ways

Caterham Carbon E-BikeBritish automaker Caterham is quite the ambitious outfit. While their track cars are superb, the group is now talking about an SUV, a closed-top coupe, and a few other crazy ideas. But the first to actually take fruition is this electric bike — and it’s so freakin’ cool.

Like the ICON E-Flyer, the Caterhman trio of bicycles feature electric motors alongside standard bicycle pedals. Power comes in the form of a 36v, 250-watt brushless motor with a 36v lithium battery. The Carbon E-Bike (pictured below), also comes with an 8-speed Shinamo Nexus internally geared hub.
PHOTOS: See More of the 2013 Caterham Carbon E-Bike

'Zombie' Bees Surface in the Northeast



Mutant "zombie bees" that act like the ghoulish creatures of horror films have surfaced in the Northeast after first appearing on the West Coast, a bee expert told ABC News on Wednesday.
An amateur beekeeper in Burlington, Vt., last summer found honeybees infested with parasites that cause the insects to act erratically and eventually kill them. It was the first spotting of zombie bees east of South Dakota, according to John Hafernik, a professor of biology at San Francisco State University whose team in October verified the infestation.

IBM's graphene-based circuitry could boost wireless communications

IBM Research built a graphene-based transistor, shown here in purple, into an integrated circuit.
Researchers at Big Blue improved graphene-based radio receiver performance by attaching the fragile form of carbon material at the end of the chipmaking process.
A teensy bit of carbon could make the radio communications components at the heart of mobile phones smaller and less expensive.
IBM has coaxed useful wireless-communications work out of graphene, a form of carbon whose promise in next-generation computer chip has been hobbled by manufacturing difficulties. In an IBM Research paper published Thursday in Nature Communications, Big Blue describes how it has built a graphene-based receiver integrated circuit that successfully extracted the letters "IBM" from a 4.3GHz radio broadcast.
Graphene, which consists of a lattice of carbon atoms interconnected into a layer just a single atom thick, has shown properties useful for replacing today's silicon for electronics transistors. But graphene's fragility means that manufacturing processes that marry graphene with traditional silicon chip circuitry can damage the graphene and undermine its performance.

Hundreds sue makers of Fukushima nuclear plant

TOKYO (AP) — About 1,400 people filed a joint lawsuit Thursday against three companies that manufactured reactors at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, saying they should be financially liable for damage caused by their 2011 meltdowns.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the lawsuit, filed at Tokyo District Court, is a landmark challenge of current regulations that give manufacturers immunity from liability in nuclear accidents. Under Japan's nuclear damage compensation policy, only the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has been held responsible for the accident, which was triggered by a powerful earthquake and tsunami.
The 1,415 plaintiffs, including 38 Fukushima residents and 357 people from outside Japan, said the manufacturers — Toshiba, GE and Hitachi — failed to make needed safety improvements to the four decade-old reactors at the Fukushima plant. They are seeking compensation of 100 yen ($1) each, saying their main goal is to raise awareness of the problem.

Microsoft CEO Could Be Named Next Week

Rumors...schmoomers...I think Microsoft's next CEO should be Bill Gates, at least until they can find a decent replacement. smile
Yes, that rumor has been a running gag after current boss Steve Ballmer announced his impending retirement last year. But now a story published Thursday by Recode points to a possible finale to the saga. Citing "sources close to Microsoft," Recode's Kara Swisher says that the board could name its candidate as soon as next week with the nod going to Microsoft's own Satya Nadella.

Next-gen tablets with Minority Report-like controls in development


Tablets are about to get a serious and overdue upgrade. For years now, you've been able to play 3D games on handheld devices like the Nintendo 3DS. You've been able to flail about haphazardly before your TV playing games through either Kinect and Wii. Now, a new display in development is aiming to marry these two gaming realities into one sleek new interface that's straight out of Minority Report.
The new screen tech is being called "3D Air-Touch". It's a pretty straightforward name for a tech that creates 3D objects in the space before you and lets you physically interact with them. You won't even need Tom Cruise's silly half-gloves to play along. You won't need a controller of any sort, actually — not even a Leap Motion sensor. Instead, all the tech you'll need to interact with your 3D images is built into the screen itself.

Smaller Xbox One sans Blu-ray drive could be on the way


The Xbox One is enormous; it's bigger than the Xbox 360. Its boxy VCR-like design is polarizing*. This is not how technology is supposed to work. Electronics and gadgets are supposed to get smaller, not bigger. Microsoft knows this, and rumor has it the company is working on a smaller Xbox One without a Blu-ray drive.
According to two independent reports, the first one from NeoGAF user "chubigans" and the other from The Verge, Microsoft is testing a version of the Xbox One that eschews an optical disc drive. "Chubigans" suggests the Blu-ray drive-less Xbox One could cost $399, while The Verge says its sources believe the set-top box-style console could launch worldwide by the end of the year.
This isn't the first time we heard of a smaller, digital-only Xbox. Long before the Xbox One was even announced, it was rumored Microsoft was considering a two-console approach for Xbox. One would be a traditional console — Xbox One. The other — a small set-top box aimed at casual gamers. As we all know, Xbox One materialized, and the other vanished into the rumor ether. No mention of Kinect-connectivity in either reports could also suggest a set-top Xbox may not bundle one in; another factor that could keep pricing lower.

Conan producer explains why new sequel is Schwarzenegger's ‘Unforgiven'


It’s hard to believe its been 32 years since Conan the Barbarian was released, which makes plans for a three-decades-later sequel all the more bizarre. But, that’s apparently the point.
Chris Morgan (Wanted, 47 Ronin) is producing the upcoming flick Legend of Conan, which will pick up with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s namesake warrior in real time. Which means, basically, he’ll be a pretty old dude, facing the challenges of an aging warrior king.
Though a Conan movie about an old Schwarzenegger seems like an odd idea, Morgan has the perfect pitch: It’s the Unforgiven of Conan movies, which is a reference to the acclaimed Clint Eastwood western about an aging outlaw who returns to action for one final job. If they can strike that vibe, yeah, this movie could rock.

NASA shows 60 years of climate change in 15 seconds

A new NASA video shows changes to temperature maps of the Earth from 1950 all the way to 2013.

When you put all the data together, it becomes pretty hard to deny that global temperatures are slowly but surely rising.
A new video released by NASA shows just over six decades of global temperatures, making it pretty clear that the world is getting warmer. In fact, according to NASA data, 9 of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since the year 2000 (the other was 1998), with the hottest years being 2010 and 2005.

'Iron Man' on steroids: Step into a working 'Appleseed' Mecha

A working, wearable Japanese exoskeleton gets bulked up, thanks to some inspiration from a popular manga series.

Last year, Japan's Sagawa Electronics released a powered exoskeleton, the Powered Jacket MK3, with the potential to bring lots of our science fiction and anime fantasies to life. But somehow, being able to see the tiny and frail human at the center of the outsized metal skeleton just doesn't seem imposing enough.
Fortunately, another Japanese company -- Dai-Nihon Giken, manufacturer of lots of anime merchandise -- has stepped in to fill that intimidation gap with armor designed to fit on the MK3 modeled on the Landmate power suits from Shirow Masamune's 22nd century manga saga "Appleseed."

'Star Wars' sled strikes back: AT-AT races in Cardboard Classic

In honor of the snowy Hoth battle scene in "The Empire Strikes Back," a homemade Imperial Walker sled competed in the annual Cardboard Classic contest in Lansing, Mich.

Darth Vader himself would approve of the giant AT-AT sled that raced against 50 other entries in the 8th Annual Cardboard Classic last weekend in Lansing, Mich.

Budget battle threatens the A-10 Warthog

Designed for close-air support.

This is not your typical military battle. No weapons will be fired, and no troops deployed. This is a budget battle.

In an effort to trim spending, the Air Force is planning to retire hundreds of Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, better known as the "Warthog," a move that will save the Air Force more than $3.7 billion by 2020. It is all part of a congressional mandate which aims to cut $50 billion from the Air Force budget over the next five years, just a small part of the more than $500 billion in planned cuts to the Pentagon budget over the next 10 years.

Google selling Motorola phone business to Lenovo

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is selling Motorola's smartphone business to Lenovo for $2.9 billion, a price that makes Google's biggest acquisition look like its most expensive mistake.
The deal announced Wednesday will rid Google Inc. of a financial headache that has plagued the Internet company since buying Motorola Mobility for $12.4 billion in 2012. Motorola has lost nearly $2 billion since Google took over, while trimming its workforce from 20,000 to 3,800.
Google had previously recovered some of the money that it spent on Motorola by selling the company's set-top operations last year to Arris Group Inc. for $2.35 billion. Google is also keeping most of the patents that came with the Motorola purchase.
It's unclear if Google will have to absorb a charge to account for the difference between what it paid for Motorola Mobility and what it is getting back. The Mountain View, California, company may address the issue Thursday when it announces its fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes.
Most investors viewed Motorola as an unnecessary drain on Google's profit, a perspective that was reflected by Wall Street's reaction to the sale. Google's stock gained $28.08, or 2.5 percent, to $1,135 in extended trading.

Nintendo Bosses Cut Their Own Pay In Half

Wouldn't it be cool to see more American CEOs follow Nintendo's lead and cut their own pay when the company doesn't perform under their leadership?

The head of Nintendo said Wednesday he would slash his salary in half after announcing a 30 percent dive in nine-month profit on weak demand for its new Wii U console as gamers are enticed by cheap, downloadable games for mobiles. President Satoru Iwata told reporters he would draw a reduced salary for five months to atone for the downturn, while other members of the board will take a pay cut of between 20 and 30 percent.

Google Bringing Faster Free WiFi to 7,000 Starbucks Stores

Google is replacing AT&T WiFi in Starbucks stores as the coffee chain works to increase network speeds for its customers.
Google is giving WiFi systems inside Starbucks stores a big shot of network caffeine by bringing in new high-speed service, which promises to be 10 times faster than the existing AT&T systems it will replace.

The WiFi deal for 7,000 company-owned Starbucks stores in the United States was announced by Kevin Lo, general manager of Google Access, in a July 31 post on the Google Official Blog.

Starbucks stores located in communities that have super-high-speed Google Fiber service will get in-store WiFi connections that are even faster—up to 100 times that of existing speeds, according to Lo's post.

Lenovo to Acquire Motorola from Google For $2.91B

Lenovo and Google today have entered into a definitive agreement under which Lenovo plans to acquire the Motorola Mobility smartphone business. With a strong PC business and a fast-growing smartphone business, this agreement will significantly strengthen Lenovo’s position in the smartphone market. In addition, Lenovo will gain a strong market presence in North America and Latin America, as well as a foothold in Western Europe, to complement its strong, fast-growing smartphone business in emerging markets around the world.

The purchase price is approximately US$2.91 billion (subject to certain adjustments), including US$1.41 billion paid at close, comprised of US$660 million in cash and US$750 million in Lenovo ordinary shares (subject to a share cap/floor). The remaining US$1.5 billion will be paid in the form of a three-year promissory note.

Athletic events of the future will be all about human-driven mechs


We squishy little humans have been dreaming of encasing ourselves in metal bodies for years now. From Ellen Ripley to Tony Stark, the heroes of Sci-Fi often find greatness once they've donned their mechanical exoskeletons. Tech developers the world over, from Sony to the U.S. Army, are hard at work constructing intelligent suits capable of lending people super-human robotic strength. But one group of volunteers wants to turn that relationship upside down.
The folks behind the Prosthesis exoskeleton imagine a world where humans lend their muscles and brain power to robots. Each Prosthesis robot would stand two stories tall on four massive legs. A human pilot, suspended within the robot's chest, would control these limbs with gauntlets affixed to their arms and legs. By swinging their own arms and legs like a skier frantically trying to out-run an avalanche, the pilots would trigger hydraulics powered by a 50KW electric power plant. No computers, just good old-fashioned people power.

Dungeons & Dragons yoga: Stretch and storm the castle

Strap on your plate armor. Sharpen your battle ax. Now, get into a reclining hero pose and hold it.
Dungeons & Dragons yoga pose
At last, Dungeons & Dragons and yoga have joined forces to create an experience so unique it might blow, or at least expand, your mind. It's D&D yoga, combining old and new positions, narrative and meditation, and it could become a regular event.
A group of yoga practitioners and players attended an experimental session on Saturday in Brooklyn, New York, and were given 10-sided dice and character sheets to start their journey. The players held poses like "Sword One," which features an outthrust arm. There is even a special pose for rolling the dice.

Intel's Jarvis is a smarter, faster Siri that works offline


When you ask Siri or Google's voice search a question, no matter how simple it is, they have to think about it for a second or two. As you likely know, those brief moments of tedium are spent sending your question to the mass-consciousness of supercomputers through the Internet and waiting for a reply. Depending on your cell coverage, it could actually take a while for these virtual assistants to get back to you, if they do at all. Intel decided to do something about the matter, developing a new virtual assistant capable of doing its job with or without the Internet.

New pics reveal Nyssa al Ghul and Sara face off on Arrow


Next week, Arrow will pay off one of the season's earliest reveals. Sara has gone from Laurel's naive younger sister to the crime-fighting Canary (Caity Lotz). Where did she acquire all of her skills? It turns out that, like Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman), she spent some time with the League of Assassins. They've hinted at Ra's al Ghul and his daughter so many times that we knew one of them would show up sooner or later.

Snowden Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

Edward Snowden nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize? Raise your hand if you think that's ever going to happen.

Two members of Norway's parliament put forward the nomination, saying Snowden has made "a critical contribution" to restoring the balance between "a country's legitimate need for reliable intelligence to preserve its own security" and "people's individual freedoms."

How This Guy Lost A $50,000 Twitter Username

While what happened to this guy really sucks (pay close attention to what PayPal and GoDaddy did), is a Twitter handle really worth $50k just because you said it was?

I had a rare Twitter username, @N. Yep, just one letter. I’ve been offered as much as $50,000 for it. People have tried to steal it. Password reset instructions are a regular sight in my email inbox. As of today, I no longer control @N. I was extorted into giving it up.

Shoot one bullet, hit target three times


The new Multiple Impact Bullet splits in midair shot to increase your chances of hitting your target. And it's legal, according to the ATF.

State of the Union 'Designated Survivor' Demystified

As President Obama's cabinet files into the House chamber for his State of the Union address Tuesday, an annual mystery will unravel before our eyes.
One member of Obama's inner circle will be conspicuously missing, an absence anticipated but unannounced for the sake of security. Squirreled away far from the Capitol dome, that person will be tasked with a job select few Americans have held: the job of designated survivor.
For one night only, during Obama's speech, the survivor abides with the macabre knowledge that he or she could become president in the event of the unthinkable, a catastrophe that wiped out the nation's senior leaders and the entire line of succession.

The mission and preparations for it have long been shrouded in secrecy since the practice began during the Cold War. But in interviews with ABC News, more than half a dozen former "survivors" from the past 30 years shed new light on the mind-boggling responsibility they bore.
"You think about the cataclysm that would have to occur for you to be president and the situation in the country that would ensue," said Jim Nicholson, former secretary of Veterans Affairs who was the designated survivor during President George W. Bush's 2006 address. "To become the president at that moment would be a really difficult, surreal experience."

Government to Allow Apple to Disclose More Data on Surveillance Requests

nsalogo.png
The United States Department of Justice today reached a tentative deal with Apple and other technology companies on data requests to allow the companies to provide more detailed disclosures on information requests from the NSA Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
As indicated in the Justice Department’s filing with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the administration is acting to allow more detailed disclosures about the number of national security orders and requests issued to communications providers, and the number of customer accounts targeted under those orders and requests including the underlying legal authorities. Through these new reporting methods, communications providers will be permitted to disclose more information than ever before to their customers.
The relaxed restrictions on data disclosures come following a concerted effort by Apple and other technology companies to achieve greater NSA transparency. In July, Apple teamed up with multiple firms to request that the government allow them to offer regular reports on security related requests. Apple CEO Tim Cook also met with President Obama and several other tech executives to discuss NSA surveillance methods in December.

Reporter: Congressman apologized for threatening to 'break' him in half

New York Rep. Michael Grimm apologized Wednesday to a reporter he physically threatened after being asked about a federal investigation into his campaign finances. He also released a statement saying "I was wrong" for his behavior.
Local NY1 reporter Michael Scotto said Grimm called him to apologize for his behavior, explaining that it was "not me" the previous evening.
"He really kind of backtracked from what he said in that statement earlier this morning, in which he really didn't apologize at all," Scotto said during an interview on the network.
The outburst was caught on camera Tuesday night when Scotto spoke to Grimm inside the Capitol just after President Obama delivered his State of the Union address.
Scotto said Grimm did not make any physical contact but the Republican congressman was definitely livid.

Snakebite victim charged $89,000 for 18-hour hospital stay

A snakebite victim who was treated at a North Carolina hospital came away with more than just fang marks when he received an $89,227 bill for an 18-hour stay.
Eric Ferguson, 54, from Mooresville, N.C., got the staggering bill for anti-venom medicine and a short visit at Lake Norman Regional Center, according to the Charlotte Observer, after a snake bit him in the foot while he was taking out the garbage.
According to his bill, the hospital charged a whopping $81,000 for a four-vial dose of the medication.
For comparison, Ferguson and his wife found the same vials online for retail prices as low as $750.
Ferguson, who is insured, said his care was "beyond phenomenal."
"It was just the sticker shock," he said.

NSA Servers Collect Personal Data Sent by iPhone Apps


NSA LogoThe U.S. National Security Agency specifically looks for data sent by mobile apps in order to capture personal data on targets, according to a new report from The New York Times and other news agencies.

Intelligence agencies can grab data as it travels across the Internet, looking specifically for data from smartphone apps including Google Maps -- searches within the app allow Governments to locate users to within a few yards -- and even Angry Birds. Much of the information being sent seems to be related to targeted advertising.
The secret report noted that the profiles vary depending on which of the ad companies — which include Burstly and Google’s ad services, two of the largest online advertising businesses — compiles them. Most profiles contain a string of characters that identifies the phone, along with basic data on the user like age, sex and location. One profile notes whether the user is currently listening to music or making a call, and another has an entry for household income.

‘I will break you in half,’ Republican Congressman threatens to throw reporter off balcony during interview


It started out like dozens of other interviews after Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. But when NY1 reporter Mike Scotto decided to press Rep. Michael Grimm on his personal campaign finances, the Republican congressman abruptly ended the interview.
“This is only about the president’s speech, thank you,” Grimm says before walking off camera.
It’s certainly not the first time a politician has walked out during a live interview. But what happened next is shocking even to the most jaded observer.
After Stotto returns to his report, Rep. Grimm, a former FBI agent and Marine, suddenly storms back into the camera frame, whispering a threat to the reporter.
"I will break you in half," he says, reportedly threatening to throw the journalist over a balcony inside the U.S. Congress.
Although the audio is largely muted, NY1 employees say that Grimm said, "Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this balcony.”
“I just wanted to ask you … it’s a valid question,” Stotto says, clearly taken aback by Grimm’s suddenly confrontational attitude.
“No, no,” Grimm says. “You're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy."

I Need Your Old Computer Hardware!

The last time we built computers to donate to school children, a LOT of you guys wanted to donate to the cause but, at that time, companies like Corsair, Western Digital, ASUS, Thermaltake, NVIDIA, AMD, Kingston, MSI, and XFX had already helped us reach our goal (in record time).

So, this time around, I want to give everyone the opportunity to help by donating their old computer hardware. I know that a lot of upgrades took place over the holidays and that means there is going to be a lot of "old" PC parts lying around collecting dust. Since the parts you and I consider "old" are 100x better than what most people are using now, I figured this would be a great way to put those "old" parts to good use! We are gathering up all the stuff we have around here too but we can use your old hardware too!

We plan on putting together as many computers as possible with all the parts that are donated so that we can give them to those folks that are truly in need. So, with that in mind, I can use every working motherboard, processor, graphics card, memory, hard drive, power supply and optical drive you have. I have plenty of cases here, I just need more hardware to fill em' up!

Send me an e-mail HERE for information on where to send your unused computer hardware.

Microsoft Giving GPU Power A Boost

It looks like Microsoft is freeing up some of the Xbox One's GPU horsepower in order to give the console a bit of a performance boost.

News from gaming insider Pete Doss is that Microsoft is mulling significant changes to the restrictions it places on developers regarding the Xbox One's GPU. Reportedly, some 10% of total GPU horsepower is reserved for the Kinect -- 8% for video and 2% for voice processing. Microsoft is apparently planning changes that would free up that 8% video entirely, leaving just 2% of the system's GPU dedicated to voice input.

ISPs No Longer Have to Block The Pirate Bay

A new ruling from the Court of The Hague says that Dutch ISPs no longer have to block the Pirate Bay. Then again, it's not like it was helping much anyway.

Millions of people in the Netherlands will soon be able to regain access to The Pirate Bay after two local Internet providers won their appeal against the Hollywood-funded anti-piracy group BREIN. The Court of The Hague ruled today that the blockade is disproportionate, ineffective, and hinders the Internet providers’ entrepreneurial freedoms.

War will rage in new, bloody 300: Rise of an Empire TV spot


There’s a brand-new, exciting TV spot up for 300: Rise of an Empire, but be warned: War will rage!
The 30-second trailer features lots of bare bodies, action, fire, and water, lots of water. It also has the ever-wonderful Eva Green (Camelot) as Artemisia. Noam Murro’s follow-up to director Zack Snyder’s 300 also brings back the luminous Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) as Queen Gorgo and Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes.

Looks like we could already be set for Captain America 3


We're still more than two months away from the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it looks like Marvel's already confident in a third installment.
Sources tell Variety that, while the film hasn't been officially greenlit, Marvel Studios has already begun preparations for a third Captain America picture. The story arc is reportedly already being developed, and word is Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo are already set to return for the next flick.

Can smart guns slash gun violence? Silicon Valley says yes

Star investor Ron Conway is among those behind a series of $1 million challenges aimed at using technology to improve gun safety. The key? Find ways to make sure only guns' owners are able to fire them.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gun violence in the US is an all too common occurrence. Almost every day, there's a new school shooting or a report of someone's kid getting shot accidentally. Could technology come to the rescue?
A group spearheaded by angel investing kingpin Ron Conway thinks it can, and it has $4 million that says so.

A Holodeck Videogame Designed to Train Soldiers


If the Army is going to keep up with military readiness pressures while also seeing a reduction in troop size and stagnant budgets, then it’s going to need more cutting-edge videogames.
Last week, the Army Contracting Command issued a Sources Sought notice for companies interested in demonstrating “mature technologies” for military training. Northrop Grumman thinks its Virtual Immersive Portable Environment (VIPE) Holodeck just may be the answer.
Using commercial, off-the-shelf hardware combined with gaming technology, the VIPE Holodeck 360 degree virtual training system provides users with a high-fidelity immersive environment with a variety of mission-centric applications, including simulation and training, mission rehearsal and data visualization. The VIPE Holodeck can support live, virtual and constructive simulation and training exercises including team training, cultural and language training and support for ground, air and remote platform training. Off-the-shelf technology keeps costs down while also making future upgrades and maintenance easy to perform and affordable, says Northrop.

3D printer pumps out items in many materials and hues

Stratasys' Objet500 Connex3 3D printer is capable of creating products in one print job that are rigid, flexible, and come in hundreds of colors.

It seems like the options could be endless with a 3D printer that spewed out products in many colors and materials. And, it appears that's what 3D printer manufacture Stratasys is after with its new Objet500 Connex3.

Dell: How about a MakerBot 3D printer with that pro PC?

3D printing is proving to be a formidable battleground in enterprise hardware. A deal with MakerBot could already push Dell ahead of the rest.

Proving more than just a hot topic at CES a few weeks ago, 3D printing is panning out to be the preeminent battleground for enterprise hardware this year.
The latest piece of evidence for that forecast is the new deal between Dell and an emerging leader in the 3D-printing space, MakerBot.
The PC maker has announced a deal in which it will resell MakerBot's Replicator 3D printers and scanners to small and medium-sized businesses.

iOS in the car could look like this

Apple first teased iOS in your car's dashboard at WWDC 2013, now a noted Apple hacker provides a glimpse at how it might work.

iOS in the Car
We might finally have a clearer idea of how Apple believes iOS should look in your car.
A video put together by noted developer Steven Troughton-Smith places an iPhone and in-car display side by side using what appears to be an iOS simulator that Troughton-Smith says is available in the "public, shipping version of iOS 7."

The Google Glass Redesign

I don't know, if you ask me, I think Google Glass still looks kind of goofy. They always look okay from the front, but the minute you see them at a different angle, straight on, or in person, blech! eek!


Stupid Criminal of the Day

Criminal mastermind of the day just drives off with a pallet of Xbox consoles in his work truck. Best. Thief. Ever! wink

Police extradited a man from Queens, N.Y., on Jan. 24 for the theft of $32,000 in Xbox consoles from CEVA Logistics in North Middleton Township last year. Police obtained a warrant for the arrest of Jean W. Samedi, 35, on Nov. 7, after the Xbox consoles were stolen from CEVA, in the 1500 block of Distribution Avenue, on July 8.

ICANN CEO Sets Off Explosion Of New Internet Names

Set off an explosion of new internet names? Really? Not an avalanche or something like that?

Starting next week, the Internet is going to look very different -- and ICANN Chief Executive Fadi Chehade is the one who'll get both the credit and the blame. Today, Net addresses end with 22 familiar terms -- .com, .net, and .edu -- called generic top-level domains (GTLDs). But starting Feb. 4, the first of hundreds of new GTLDs will begin arriving -- .ninja, .farm, .shoes, .photography, .bike, .pink, and even .wtf.

Is Barack Obama an imperial president?

President Obama’s use of executive action to get around congressional gridlock is unparalleled in modern times, some scholars say. But to liberal activists, he’s not going far enough.

An anti-deportation protester (C) in the audience shouts against U.S. President Barack Obama (L), stopping him temporarily from delivering remarks dur...

Ju Hong's voice rang out loud and clear, interrupting the most powerful man in the world.
  
"You have a power to stop deportation for all undocumented immigrants in this country!" the young South Korean man yelled at President Obama during a speech on immigration reform last November in San Francisco. Waving away security guards, Mr. Obama turned and addressed Mr. Hong, himself undocumented. "Actually, I don't," the president said. "And that's why we're here."
"We've got this Constitution, we've got this whole thing about separation of powers," Obama continued. "So there is no shortcut to politics, and there's no shortcut to democracy."
The reality isn't so simple. Obama, a former constitutional law professor, was once skeptical of the aggressive use of presidential power. During the 2008 campaign, he accused President George W. Bush of regularly circumventing Congress. Yet as president, Obama has grown increasingly bold in his own use of executive action, at times to controversial effect.

Infinity AR: We'll fulfill sci-fi promise of augmented reality

An Israeli startup hopes to bring features like face detection, voice tone detection, coupons based on your interests and location to your smart glasses.
Infinity AR promotional video
Augmented reality has so far been mostly a sci-fi vision that overlays information from the virtual world atop what we see in the real world. An Israeli startup called Infinity Augmented Reality, though, wants to make a business of it.
In three to six months, Infinity AR plans to launch its app, called the Brain, for Google Glass; devices running Android, iOS, and Windows Phone; Microsoft Sync in cars; and perhaps most notably Meta's 3D augmented-reality glasses. The last example is closest to the science fiction vision of AR, where translucent information is merged with your full field of vision; Google Glass uses only a small screen that's above your regular line of sight.

Wealth gap: A guide to what it is, why it matters

WASHINGTON (AP) — From the White House to the Vatican to the business elite in Davos, Switzerland, one issue keeps seizing the agenda: the growing gap between the very wealthy and everyone else.
It's "the defining challenge of our time," says President Barack Obama, who will spotlight the issue in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. A Gallup poll finds two-thirds of Americans are unhappy with the nation's distribution of wealth. Experts say it may be slowing the economy.
Why has the issue suddenly galvanized attention? Here are questions and answers about the wealth gap — what it is and why it matters.
Q. Hasn't there always been a wide gulf between the richest people and the poorest?
A. Yes. What's new is the widening gap between the wealthiest and everyone else. Three decades ago, Americans' income tended to grow at roughly similar rates, no matter how much you made. But since roughly 1980, income has grown most for the top earners. For the poorest 20 percent of families, it's dropped. Incomes for the highest-earning 1 percent of Americans soared 31 percent from 2009 through 2012, after adjusting for inflation, according to data compiled by Emmanuel Saez, an economist at University of California, Berkeley. For the rest of us, it inched up an average of 0.4 percent. In 17 of 22 developed countries, income disparity widened in the past two decades, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Colorado High School Student Sets Self on Fire in Cafeteria

Colorado High School Student Sets Self on Fire in Cafeteria
A student at a suburban Denver high school set himself on fire in the school's cafeteria today and is in critical condition, authorities said.
A female teacher was treated for minor cuts when she broke a pane of glass to access a fire extinguisher and a school custodian used the extinguisher to put the fire out, Westminster Police Investigator Cheri Spottke told ABC News.
The student, who is 16 but otherwise not identified, is in critical condition with severe burns, Spottke said.
The incident happened at 7:12 a.m. in the cafeteria of Standley Lake High School in Westminster, Colo. Police said students were present in the cafeteria at the time, but none were injured.

The new face of food stamps: working-age Americans


WASHINGTON (AP) — In a first, working-age people now make up the majority in U.S. households that rely on food stamps — a switch from a few years ago, when children and the elderly were the main recipients.
Some of the change is due to demographics, such as the trend toward having fewer children. But a slow economic recovery with high unemployment, stagnant wages and an increasing gulf between low-wage and high-skill jobs also plays a big role. It suggests that government spending on the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program — twice what it cost five years ago — may not subside significantly anytime soon.
Food stamp participation since 1980 has grown the fastest among workers with some college training, a sign that the safety net has stretched further to cover America's former middle class, according to an analysis of government data for The Associated Press by economists at the University of Kentucky. Formally called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP, the program now covers 1 in 7 Americans.

‘Dolphin whisperer’ forms close bond with mammals during incredible encounter

Taylor Carty, who works with race horses, also has a way with dolphins
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dolphin whisperer
Captain Larry Hartmann has watched thousands of bottlenose dolphins ride the bow of his 30-foot boat, but until Friday he had never seen the mammals develop such a close bond with one of his passengers.
The accompanying footage shows several dolphins swimming to the outstretched hand of Taylor Carty and looking her in the eye, and taking turns rolling over, as if craving to have their bellies rubbed.

Apple Wins Patent For Solar-Powered MacBook

While not as bad as some of its recent patents, I'm thoroughly convinced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just rubber stamp anything Apple submits.
Apple's U.S. Patent No. 8,638,549 for an "Electronic device display module" describes a two-sided glass laptop display housing which carries the usual screen on its front face. On the rear, however, the module holds photovoltaic cells for solar charging, a secondary display and sensors for touch input.

The Age Of The iPod Is Over

When is the last time you even saw an iPod, let alone used one?
Over the holidays, Apple's iPad and iPhone sold better than they've ever sold before: 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads in a single quarter. The lowly iPod, however, didn't do nearly as well. The company moved just six million of the trademark MP3 players, a 52 percent decline compared to the same period last year.

Quentin Tarantino Sues Gawker Media

I don't know Quentin Tarantino personally, but he seems pretty pissed over this whole deal. eek!
Tarantino states that Gawker Media "has made a business of predatory journalism, violating people's rights to make a buck." However, the company took things too far this time in his view: instead of merely linking out to the news of the leak, Defamer "crossed the journalistic line" by, in addition to soliciting readers for access to the screenplay, promoting itself online as the first official source.

U.S. Army will have its Iron Man suits in four years


When the U.S. Army announced earlier this year that it was going to develop a real life Iron Man suit called TALOS, we were impressed. But now project lead Michael Fieldson is giving us a glimpse at TALOS' deployment timeline. If he gets his way, TALOS suits could be undergoing field tests in only four years.
That's one heck of a short timeline, considering some of the tech that will be going into the TALOS suit. Originally thought to be something soldiers would have to wait until 2032 to get their hands on, TALOS will increase the strength and mobility of its wearer while also keeping them safe from enemy fire.

5 Reasons To Run Windows 8 Instead Of Linux

Oh crap, here we go. eek!
There is no denying that Linux, when well-hidden, has great value. I very quite enjoy all my Android devices as well as my Chromebook. I've been a very happy (well, except when they break down every two years) TiVo user for more than a decade. But there's a difference between using Linux like a random Ford purchaser uses a carburetor (like an embedded part) and using Linux as Linux. First off, Linux fans are crazy.

These U.S. Army blimps will keep an eye on the Northeast


If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that Americans aren’t the biggest fans of being under the constant watch of the government. We’ll go to all sorts of lengths to avoid being watched, which makes me wonder how we’ll handle the following news. For the next three years, two blimps will survey the Northeast (from Raleigh to Boston) from 10,000 feet in the air.
Fear not: there’s nothing sinister about the blimps, which are owned by the United States military and in place to detect any enemy aircraft or cruise missile that might be headed toward the nation’s capital.Called aerostats, the blimp-like aircrafts has been used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they often carry strong cameras as well as radar to track troop and/or insurgent movements on the ground. These guys can detect airborne things as far as 340 miles away, and surface objects from 140 miles away.

RYNO Motorcycles: changing the game one wheel at a time

Anyone who rides a motorcycle will tell you that there’s nothing like the thrill of riding headlong on the open road with the wind in your face and worries at your back. A motorcycle is truly one of man’s best friends. But what if someone changed the formula — a formula, mind you, that’s been relatively unchanged for a over a hundred years.
Chris Hoffmann may just be that man, and his one-wheeled RYNO motorcycle may be the next great invention in the motorcycle world.
But what exactly is a RYNO? First off, it’s a prototype– one that’s been in construction for nearly seven years already. Additionally, it’s a single-wheeled, zero-emissions motorcycle, that uses similar — albeit more advanced — technology to the Segway.
Whiteout conditions caused a massive and deadly pile-up on Interstate 84 in Indiana. Three were killed and 20 were injured. CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports. VIDEO

Probe in California woman's beating death stalled

A picture of Kim Pham is among the items placed at a make-shift memorial Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, for Pham, who was beaten to death in front of The Crosby nightclub in Santa Ana, Calif. Two women were arrested and a third "person of interest" is being sought by police. (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Bruce Chambers) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Police detectives are having trouble unraveling a nightclub brawl that left a 23-year-old woman dead because they can't identify many of the victim's friends and others won't talk to them.
Investigators working the death of Kim Pham, 23, outside a Santa Ana hot spot have only identified one of the eight friends who were with Pham, the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/1aAE3A8 ) reported Sunday.
Her ex-boyfriend — who may have tried to help her — hasn't come forward and the one female friend that police have found won't talk, the paper reported.

Caribbean cruise ended after outbreak of illness

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — The Royal Caribbean cruise line on Sunday ended a ship's 10-day trip in the Caribbean early after hundreds of passengers and crew members were sickened with a gastrointestinal illness.
The Miami-based company made the announcement a few hours after officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the Explorer of the Seas during its U.S. Virgin Islands port call to investigate the illness and evaluate the outbreak response.
"New reports of illness have decreased day-over-day, and many guests are again up and about. Nevertheless, the disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting," Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said in a statement.
The decision to end the trip came after consultation between CDC officials and members of the company's medical team, the company said.

Robots to Replace Troops on the Battlefield

The Pentagon is considering replacing thousands of troops with robots, a military commander said recently, marking the first time a DOD official has publicly acknowledged that humans would be replaced with robots on the battlefield.
Gen. Robert Cone, head of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, made the comment at the Army Aviation symposium on Jan. 15, according to a report in Defense News, a trade publication covering the military. He said that robots would allow for “a smaller, more lethal, deployable and agile force.”
“I’ve got clear guidance to think about what if you could robotically perform some of the tasks in terms of maneuverability, in terms of the future of the force,” Cone said.
DOD did not respond to a request for comment on Cone’s remarks.

The Era of Genetically-Altered Humans Could Begin This Year

If the UK Parliament approves a new form of in-vitro fertilization this summer, it will give the go ahead for the first pre-birth human-DNA modification.
The U.S. is not nearly as close to approving mtDNA replacement as the UK seems poised to do; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will start reviewing the data in earnest in February.

Yahoo Buys Virtual Worlds Gaming Company Cloud Party

Yahoo is back in acquisition mode, recently acquiring Cloud Party, a two year old startup specializing in virtual worlds games play.
Cloud Party appears to be another "acqui-hire" for Yahoo, netting it a talented pool of gaming developers who could improve Yahoo’s own gaming offerings or build new ones.

Judge Reverses Huge Jury Award Over Madden Video Games

Electronic Arts Inc. has dodged a financial bullet with the help of a US District Judge who overturned a jury’s decision to award a programmer approximately $7M for use of his original source code for ‘John Madden Football’.
Last July, a federal court jury agreed with Antonick that the Madden games from 1990 through 1996 were so similar in plays and formations that they must have been based on the programmer's original source code.

Google Fiber: Why You Need to Get Online 100 Times Faster

Every time Google Fiber finishes installing and launching its gigabit Internet in another city, the rest of the nation cringes with jealousy. The city in the nation’s sites this time is Provo, Utah. We all officially hate you. big grin
To fulfill its promise, content will need to catch up. Even Google admitted this to me. "It will be interesting to see if we look upon gigabit Internet 10 years from now like we look upon dial-up today."

Is the Future of the Porn Industry Google Glass?

At the XBIZ 360 Conference in Hollywood, industry leaders met to discuss the future of the adult film industry. A major discussion took place on the role of new technology in the porn industry, primarily Google Glass, and how its use to film, produce and view adult material would change the industry from a personal point of view.
Owners from production companies were able to meet from people all across the world, where many of them agreed that the adult film industry has evolved into a corporate culture.

Walmart Building Distribution Centers to Compete with Amazon

Walmart likes the number one spot in retail and is taking up the challenge to meet Amazon head on using Amazon’s own business model. Walmart is in the process of building regional distribution centers around the US for online orders.
Ashe expects that Walmart will be able to match the range of products and fast shipping times Amazon has currently in the next two years.

Man Runs Into Burning Home To Save His Xbox

You wake up to find your house engulfed in flames. The first thing you do is run out of the building to safety, but then you throw caution to the wind to run back into the flames and smoke to rescue not the dog, not your wife and kids, but your beloved Xbox. big grin
VIDEO

Gmail Is Out, Now It's Up, Down Again

It looks like Gmail was down for some folks today, no need to panic, things are fine now...until it goes out again.

This robo-tank whacks landmines into submission


There are two basic ways to clear a field of deadly landmines. You can tiptoe around poking and prodding for them, then dig them up while trying to avoid setting them off, or you can go around pounding the dirt trying to trigger them deliberately. The Digger D-3 uses this second method, unleashing its own form of whoopass on anything that dares to get in its way.

Furniture made from old Soviet naval mines looks pretty dangerous


What do you do with all of that old Soviet military technology after the Russians pull out of your homeland? For Estonian sculptor Mati Karmin, the obvious answer was to turn it into ultra-cool looking post-apocalyptic furniture.