US Says It Can Hack Into Foreign-Based Servers Without Warrants A new U.S. Justice Department legal filing says the United States may hack foreign servers without warrant. The filing was made during the prosecution procedures of Ross Ulbricht, who is believed to be the operator behind the Silk Road illicit drug website. Computer Kit Will […]
Tech Sightings, October 7, 2014
Posted October 7th, 2014 at 2:04 pm (UTC-5)
Efficient, Useful Blue-light LED Draws Nobel Prize in Physics Japanese professors Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, and American professor Shuji Nakamura won the 2014 Noble Prize in physics for inventing blue light-emitting diode (LED) technology, currently used for high-speed networking, data storage, water purification and home illumination. Software, Robots Will Take One in Three Jobs […]
Tech Sightings, September 18, 2014
Posted September 18th, 2014 at 2:35 pm (UTC-5)
Make Peace, Not War The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the United Nations Development Program, and Build Up have teamed up to sponsor PEACEapp, a competition intended to showcase the work of game developers who create games to channel cultural dialogue and conflict management. October 15 is the deadline for entries. China’s Signal Hijacks Have […]
Tech Sightings, September 16, 2014
Posted September 16th, 2014 at 2:47 pm (UTC-5)
A Walkway for Slowpokes Staring at Their Smartphones? Getting tired of being stuck behind people walking while perusing their cellphones? China has an answer for that. The city of Chongqing is introducing the world’s first pedestrian slow lane for mobile users. Sensors Let Alzheimer’s Patients Stay Home, Safely Families with Alzheimer patients can now feel […]
Q&A: UNESCO Takes Literacy Fight to Mobile
Posted September 12th, 2014 at 2:46 pm (UTC-5)
Cellphones and mobile devices are opening up new avenues to improve people’s lives, particularly among the illiterate. And the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) has been working to harness that mobile power for its literacy programs. In a chat with TECHtonics, Fengchun Miao, Chief of UNESCO’s ICT Education Unit in Paris […]
Tech Sightings, September 9, 2014
Posted September 9th, 2014 at 2:31 pm (UTC-5)
The Great Internet Slowdown: Tomorrow’s Protest Against the FCC’s New Net Neutrality Rules The first great Internet Slowdown on September 10 is a concerted effort by some of the Web’s largest companies to protest the FCC and the U.S. government’s handling of net neutrality. A spinning, loading wheel will appear on many websites to remind […]
Is the Game Industry Stuck in the Past?
Posted September 5th, 2014 at 2:04 pm (UTC-5)
Did you know that the average gamer is 31 years old? And that the number of gamers age 50 and older increased 32 percent between 2012-2013? The statistics come from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), whose members include an impressive array of major game developers in its membership. David Mullich, Producer at Electric Sheep Game […]
Tech Sightings, September 4, 2014
Posted September 4th, 2014 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
Apple Chastised for Unsafe Working Conditions in Supplier Factory Labor rights and advocacy groups say a Suqian, China factory owned by Catcher Technology was found to be in “serious health and safety, environmental, and human rights violations.” The factory produces iPad and iPhone parts. Singapore Hospital Pilots Telehealth for Heart Patients Singapore’s Changi General Hospital […]
Tech Sightings, September 3, 2014
Posted September 3rd, 2014 at 2:24 pm (UTC-5)
IT jobs’ Big Threat: Robots, automation A brisk conversation is already taking place about the ramifications of immersing robots in the job market. For the IT sector, people with strong interpersonal and collaborative skills will likely keep their jobs as artificial intelligence and automation become more prevalent. But questions about the potential unemployment arising from […]