Today’s Tech Sightings: Plans to Censor South Africa’s Internet Called ‘Unconstitutional’ A campaigning group called Right2Know has blasted proposed policies released last week by the South Africa Film & Publication Board to regulate online publications and vet their content. Right2Know said the document gives authorities too much room to infringe on citizens’ constitutional right […]
Internet’s Human Side; Smart Devices Vex Users; 3-D Cool Bricks
Posted March 10th, 2015 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
Today’s Tech Sightings: Internet Offers Help to Homeless Sierra Leone Athlete Whose Family Died of Ebola Jimmy Thoronka, a top athlete from Sierra Leone who went to Britain to participate in the Commonwealth Games, ended up homeless after losing his family in Sierra Leone to the Ebola virus. But as he was being prepared […]
Future of Mobile; Robot Aides; Apple, Google Security Woes
Posted March 4th, 2015 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
Today’s Tech Sightings: Will Robots Help the Bedridden See the World? Seven museums are participating in a beta program to test Suitable Technologies’ Beam telepresence robot. The remotely-controlled, camera-equipped mobile robot can be steered from a laptop to help bedridden people explore museums they are otherwise unable to visit in person. Five Keys to Future of […]
Connectivity vs. Privacy; Huawei Thinks Big; US-EU Digital Gap
Posted March 3rd, 2015 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
Today’s Tech Sightings The Disturbing Consequences of Ultra-Connectivity The meaning of connectivity is taking on a whole new meaning as it extends to everyday gadgets, cars, implants and much more. And that opens up new possibilities for abuse of privacy and security. Mobile World Congress: Huawei Wants to Take on Apple In an interview […]
Ramnit Botnet Busted; Lenovo Hacked; Beijing Drops Apple; Vivec Wadhwa
Posted February 26th, 2015 at 2:48 pm (UTC-4)
Today’s Tech Sightings: ‘State of Connectivity’ Says Most World Population Not Online A new report from Facebook Newsroom said Internet adoption is slowing down, with only 6.6 percent of the population getting connected in 2014, compared to the 2010 record of 14.7 percent. The report estimated that up to 3 billion people will go online […]
Apple’s Car Buzz; Robot Ethics; Impossible Malware?
Posted February 17th, 2015 at 2:38 pm (UTC-4)
Google Exec: Digital Media Could Vanish Remember the LP and the cassette player? Or the Floppy Disk? Looking back, it seems as if these gadgets became obsolete a very long time ago. With the stunning speed of technological progress, though, even newer gadgets are at risk of becoming passé just as quickly. Google’s Vice President, […]
Japan’s Robot Hotel; Mobile Money; Street View Bangladesh
Posted February 5th, 2015 at 2:17 pm (UTC-4)
Can Mobile Banking Revolutionize the Lives of the Poor? Kenya’s mobile payment system, M-PESA, introduced in 2007, enriched the lives of Kenyans and gradually spread to other countries. M-PESA allows cellphone users to save and transfer money and use SMS to exchange funds over the network. But will mobile money actually transform the lives of […]
Wikipedia Denies Purging Feminists; 3-D-Printed Food; the Linux ‘Ghost’
Posted January 28th, 2015 at 2:15 pm (UTC-4)
Today’s Tech Sightings: Wikipedia Denies ‘Purging’ Feminist Editors Over Gamergate Debate Wikipedia has been under fire since The Guardian and others reported last week that five editors opposed to Gamergate were banned from editing gender or sexuality pages. But according to The Verge, a Wikipedia statement today said that “press stories have mistakenly claimed that […]
Cuba’s Secret Internet; Wickr’s Cats; Twitter New Features
Posted January 27th, 2015 at 2:14 pm (UTC-4)
Today’s Tech Sightings: How Sensors and Drones Can Combat Global Hunger Author Shawn DuBravac argues that sensors, which have revolutionized mobile devices and are now empowering wearable technology, could potentially help alleviate world hunger. He suggests equipping food-supply wares and storehouses with sensors that raise the alarm once a shortage begins, rather than having a person […]