Today’s Tech Sightings: Floppy Disks Control US Nukes and Missiles? An IBM Series/1 computer introduced in 1976 controls some of the United States’ ballistic missiles and nuclear bombers, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The 40-year-old machine, which sends and receives emergency action alerts, still stores data on nearly-obsolete […]
Floppy Disks Control US Nukes; Microsoft Retracts Malware-like Ploys
Microsoft’s Mobile Dreams Unravel; Foxconn Robots Replace Humans
Today’s Tech Sightings: Microsoft Retreats in Smartphone Battle, 1,850 Jobs Could Go Microsoft’s foray into the mobile smartphone market appears to be at an end. The tech giant’s smartphone business has been in its death throes in recent months. And now, Microsoft just announced it will cut about 1,850 jobs, mostly in Finland, and write […]
Twitter Eases 140-Character Limit; Google Toys With Killing Passwords
Today’s Tech Sightings: Twitter Makes Important Changes to Its 140-character Limit, Ditching ‘@mention’ Twitter is moving forward with changes to its 140-character limit that take links and @replies out of the word count. Pictures and other attachments will no longer count toward the 140-character count. A retweet button will also be added to personal tweets. […]
Foxconn Nabs Nokia Dumbphone Brand; LinkedIn Data Posted for Sale
Today’s Tech Sightings: Why a Taiwanese Company Is Paying $350 Million to Build Nokia Dumbphones Microsoft announced Wednesday it is selling its featurephone Nokia brand to Foxconn, a Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer best known as the manufacturer of iPhones. Old fashioned featurephones, also known as dumbphones, are still very popular around the world and show no […]
Mobile Technology Is Changing Clinical Studies Landscape
Mobile technology is giving experts the tools they need to expand clinical studies and collect a wealth of data for medical research. But this approach faces challenges and is unlikely to supplant traditional clinical research. “Consumer technologies, apps, wearables – all of those things basically are entering into and [are] being accepted into the biomedical […]
Spy Hacking Group Targets Asia; Elderly Find Refuge in Technology
Today’s Tech Sightings: Spy Hacking Group Targeting Asian Governments Spotted Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report says hackers have been spying on Asian governments since 2009. Dubbed PLATINUM, this particular hacking group has carried out a number of cyber espionage campaigns against government and private targets in Asia, according to Tim Rains, security editor of the […]
India Rebuffs Apple; Scientists Seek Gamers to Battle Dementia
Today’s Tech Sightings: Apple Rebuffed as New Delhi Pushes ‘Make in India’ Initiative Indian government officials have rejected Apple’s plan to import refurbished iPhones at a discount, citing rules against importing used electronics. A government spokesman said India “does not encourage dumping or recycling of hazardous materials.” But the development also coincides with New Delhi’s […]
US Teens Addicted to Smartphones; 50 Life-changing Gadgets
Today’s Tech Sightings: Half of US Teens Think They’re Addicted to Smartphones Fifty percent of U.S. teens aged 12-18 feel they are addicted to their smartphones, according to a new poll conducted for Common Sense media, a non-profit organization that helps negotiate media and technology. Up to 59 percent of parents said their teens were […]
Cisco: 12 Million PCs Have Backdoors; IoT’s Privacy Dilemma
Today’s Tech Sightings: Cisco Finds Backdoor Installed on 12 Million PCs Researchers working with U.S. technology firm Cisco have discovered software that installed backdoors on 12 million computers around the world. The software, found by Cisco’s Talos security intelligence and research group, was developed by a French online advertising firm called Tuto4PC that has been under […]