Techno Today

Anonymous: We’re Stealing Credit Cards, Funds From Banks for Christmas

2011-12-27T19:10:00.000+07:00

By: Fahmida Y. Rashid, eWeek

In an attempt to play Robin Hood, some Anonymous members say they are hacking into banks to buy items such as iPhones, iPads and iPods requested by random people. Hacktivist collective Anonymous has announced a new campaign for the holiday season: to steal from the rich. Dubbed “DestructiveSec,” the collective said it will steal virtual credit cards from banks and give “back to the people who had everything taken,” according to a statement posted on text-sharing site Pastebin on Dec. 12. The statement did not name any targets or provide any details.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Anonymous-Were-Stealing-Credit-Cards-Funds-from-Banks-for-Christmas-620758/

Cloud Computing: Forecasting First Steps of Adoption

2011-12-27T18:50:00.000+07:00

By: Howard M. Cohen, eWeek

Consumers who have been using online services for more than a decade may have become confused when popular software providers such as Microsoft started declaring “to the cloud” in reference to just about every imaginable online service. The typical consumer computer user didn’t realize they were using what is now called cloud services. An August report from The NPD Group found that while only 22 percent of U.S. consumers claimed familiarity with the term “cloud computing,” more than three-quarters were using services that could be characterized as cloud-computing services. Primary among these consumer cloud activities were email, tax preparation, online gaming and photo and video sharing.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Data-Storage/Cloud-Computing-Forecasting-First-Steps-of-Adoption-486021/

Computer Scientists Create Algorithm That Measures Human Pecking Order

2011-12-27T18:30:00.000+07:00

by KFC, Technology Review

Measuring power and influence on the web is a matter of huge interest. Indeed, algorithms that distill rankings from the pattern of links between webpages have made huge fortunes for companies such as Google. One the most famous of these is the Hyper Induced Topic Search or HITS algorithm which hypothesises that important pages fall into two categories–hubs and authorities–and are deemed important if they point to other important pages and if other important pages point to them. This kind of thinking led directly to Google’s search algorithm PageRank. The father of this idea is John Kleinberg, a computer scientist now at Cornell University in Ithaca, who has achieved a kind of cult status through this and other work. It’s fair to say that Kleinberg’s work has shaped the foundations of the online world. Today, Kleinberg and a few pals put forward an entirely different way of measuring power and influence; one that may one day have equally far-reaching consequences. These guys have worked out how to measure power differences between individuals using the patterns of words they speak or write.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27437/?p1=blogs

Touchless smartphones and TVs could be on sale in 2012

2011-12-27T17:30:00.000+07:00

By Katia Moskvitch, BBC

So you’ve lost your TV remote control. Again. Not to worry, says a tiny Israeli start-up company called XTR3D – soon you’ll be able to flick through channels and adjust the volume using only… your hand. You’ll just have to turn your palm towards the screen, and zap away without ever getting off the couch. And no need for under-the-skin electronics or fancy microchips. Instead, the TV – or rather gesture recognition software installed inside – will “read” your moves and execute appropriate commands, without any need for physically pressing any buttons. Based in Tel Aviv, XTR3D is one of the developers of such motion capture technology, and it has just received $8m (£5m) investment bound to give “touchless” tech another push – and according to the firm, bring the first motion control smartphone into the market as early as next year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15970019

IBM Takes Analytics to School

2011-12-27T17:17:00.001+07:00

By: Darryl K. Taft, eWeek

IBM announced a major strategy to deliver business analytics programs to universities around the world.IBM announced that it is working with universities around the world to bring advanced analytics training into the classroom. In a Dec. 21 announcement, IBM said it is expanding its academic initiatives for business analytics with new programs in China, India, Ireland and Scotland, helping students keep pace with the competitive job market by gaining skills in this fast-growing field of technology. IBM said each day, people create the equivalent of 2.5 quintillion bytes of data from sensors, mobile devices, online transactions and social networks—so much that 90 percent of the world’s data has been generated in the past two years. This amounts to more data than organizations can effectively use without applying analytics, IBM said. Thus, the new IBM programs are providing students and faculty members with access to the latest software capabilities and thinking on how advanced analytics can be applied to tackle complex business and societal challenges.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/IBM-Takes-Analytics-to-School-654402/

Windows 8 to feature image sign-on system

2011-12-27T17:13:00.000+07:00

by the BBC

Using Windows 8 devices could involve signing on by tapping, circling or touching images. Microsoft has revealed details of a login system for the next version of Windows based around pictures a user stores on a touchscreen device. Only when parts of an image are tapped or touched in the right order will a user be able to access a device. Experts said it might stop people using weak passwords but could lead to other loopholes that are harder to solve.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16247659

How 3-D Photovoltaics Could Revolutionize Solar Power

2011-12-21T12:30:00.000+07:00

by KFC, Technology Review

The Sun sends some 87 Petawatts of power our way and converting some small fraction of this into usable power is one of the key battlefronts in the fight to free the world from its addiction to oil. One way to capture that power is to turn light into electricity using flat photovoltaic panels. This form of power generation is rapidly expanding all over the world. Marco Bernardi and pals at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge say there is a simple fix that could dramatically increase the performance of photovoltaics. Instead of two dimensional flat panels, Bernadi and co suggest using three dimensional structures. They’ve simulated the performance of various shapes and tested several of these on the roof of a building at MIT. Their results indicate that 3D structures can increase the amount of energy that can be generated by a given footprint by as much as 20 times.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27420/?p1=blogs

Kenya Has Mobile Health App Fever

2011-12-21T12:00:00.000+07:00

by David Talbot, Technology Review

Mobile health platforms are fast emerging in Kenya, where one startup’s newly launched mobile health platform is attracting nearly 1,000 downloads daily, and the dominant telecom, Safaricom, has forged a partnership that will give its 18 million subscribers access to doctors. A World Bank official sees significant promise from such efforts, pointing to the fact that 50 percent of all Kenyan banking is already done on mobile phones—suggesting that the population is ready to go mobile with health care, too.

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/39364/?p1=A1

Best SWTOR Guide

2011-12-21T11:43:00.001+07:00

When Star Wars The Old Republic was first announced, it was greeted with much enthusiasm, which grew exponentially as gameplay videos, stunning landscape images, and resources on SWTOR history and planet systems were released. The game takes place several millenia before Darth Vader's violent rise to power, at a time when tensions between the Empire and the Republic are at their highest. Years before, the peaceful Republic emerged as the victor when faced with a surprise attack by the Empire, but the following years brought war and several painful defeats to the Republic. After many setbacks, including treachery and failed negotiations, the Republic was forced to sign the Treaty of Coruscant, which ended the war but handed over several territories to the Empire.

It is in the midst of such a chaotic time that players enter the game, and are immediately faced with one of the many decisions that will affect their future gameplay - whether they should align themselves with the forces of the Empire or the Republic. Next, players must make the important decision of choosing a class within the side they choose to align with. The Republic offers the classes of Trooper, Smuggler, Jedi Knight, and Jedi Consular, while the Empire has a Bounty Hunter, Sith Warrior, Imperial Agent, and Sith Inquisitor. Each class can have different functions and benefits and should be further researched before a decision is made.

http://YOURCBNAME.swtorsav.hop.clickbank.net/
SWTOR features many never-before-seen implementations, including the much awaited space combat. Traveling in starships that may be unique for each class, players journey through space and face dangers specific to space travel, including enemy fighters and dangerous obstacle courses. Other plants also become accessible and open to exploration with the help of space travel. Additionally, there are numerous questlines to be tackled and companions that can acquired by completing them. Companions can be used as part of a crew that is at the player's command, which can be helpful if the player is occupied elsewhere and needs materials gathered or items crafted in their absence. SWTOR is also rife with PvP options, including several warzones where the Empire faces off against the Republic for various rewards. Team work is very important in PvP and the new flashpoints, which can be very difficult without proper communication and mutual understanding.

The introduction of so much new content can be frustrating for any player, and a guide is a must-have with a game that is as vast and rich in content as Star Wars The Old Republic. Guides can help those who are completely new to the game and those who are already familiar with it because they provide such a wealth of information. For beginners, there is information about how to get started, including class details and leveling tips. For players who have already started their journey or are getting ready for end-game content, SWTOR guides can help by providing guidance for flashpoints and raids. In the event that a player is considering a guide, the best SWTOR guide available is SWTOR Savior, which has all the information Star Wars The Old Republic players could possibly wish for.

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New Camera Captures Light in Motion

2011-12-21T11:30:00.001+07:00

by Tom Simonite, Technology Review
Hollywood has to resort to trickery to show moviegoers laser beams traveling through the air. That’s because the beams move too fast to be captured on film. Now a camera that records frames at a rate of 0.6 trillion every second can truly capture the bouncing path of a laser pulse. The system was developed by researchers led by Ramesh Raskar at MIT’s Media Lab. Currently limited to a tabletop inside the group’s lab, the camera can record what happens when very short pulses of laser light—lasting just 50 femtoseconds (50,000 trillionths of a second) long—hit objects in front of them. The camera captures the pulses bouncing between and reflecting off objects. Raskar says the new camera could be used for novel kinds of medical imaging, tracking light inside body tissue. It could also enable novel kinds of photographic manipulation. In experiments, the camera has captured frames roughly 500 by 600 pixels in size.
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/39329/?p1=A2

Educators Look for Resources, New Programs Amid STEM Push

2011-12-20T20:15:00.000+07:00

By D.A. Barber, THE Journal

Educators are facing mounting pressure to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) instruction across the country. While numerous studies suggest that students need to learn science through hands-on inquiry, classroom teachers are often unable to generate effective lessons because of their own lack of background in science. Worse, teachers are increasingly lacking the time or tools to do the job as school districts face greater financing challenges and mandated initiatives. Recent developments, such as President Obama’s push to prepare 100,000 new STEM educators over the next 10 years, the effort by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to have science standards included in the Common Core State Standards, and the adoption of STEM initiatives in nearly a dozen states, have added to the pressure. But with a little digging, educators can find resources to engage their students in STEM topics without breaking the budget.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/12/13/educators-look-for-resources-new-programs-amid-stem-push.aspx

Google begins to roll out Google+ features for Blogger

2011-12-20T19:56:00.000+07:00

by Drew Olanoff, the Next Web

Back in October, Blogger started letting select users choose to display their Google+ profile with their blog, instead of the original boring Blogger profile. That feature has been made available to all Blogger users today, along with another handy new feature. If you’ve connected Google+ with your Blogger profile, you will now have the option to automatically share each published post to Google+. While it’s not the most exciting feature, it’s a step towards integrating Google’s social product into its most popular social product on the web before Google+, Blogger. The team promises more features in the coming months to join the two service experiences together.

http://thenextweb.com/google/2011/12/12/google-begins-to-roll-out-google-features-for-blogger/

Google Maps now gives you a 45° view on 21 more cities

2011-12-20T19:12:00.000+07:00

Brad McCarty, the Next Web

There’s something lovely about the 45° view on Google Maps. Rather than just seeing things from the top down, the angled view helps you to get a better idea of the surroundings, making the already-useful Google Maps that much more so. According to the Google Lat/Long Blog, 21 more cities have just gotten the angled view, including one of my favorite places in the world, Boulder Colorado.

http://thenextweb.com/2011/12/12/google-maps-now-gives-you-a-45%c2%b0-view-on-21-more-cities/

LunaTik launches a new Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the best stylus pen ever

2011-12-20T18:45:00.000+07:00

by Jon Russell, the Next Web

Touchscreens have become almost standard across so many smartphones and tablets thanks to the intuitive and easy way that they allow us to browse the Internet and use apps. Most of us, however, have had issues with a touchscreen, “fat finger” syndrome — i.e. tapping the wrong part of a screen — being the most common, and boy is it frustrating. But now, there is a new solution that could soon spare us from such touchscreen mishaps, and helps us use the screens more effectively.May we present…the LunaTik Touch Pen. The product is a Kickstarter initiative to build a product that combines the features of a stylus with the ‘offline’ capabilities of a regular biro-type pen.

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2011/12/13/lunatik-launches-a-new-kickstarter-campaign-to-crowdfund-the-best-stylus-pen-ever/

Internet Explorer: Microsoft plans ’silent’ updates

2011-12-20T18:12:00.000+07:00

by the BBC

Once IE is updated, future changes will be applied without a user’s knowledge Continue reading the main story. From January, Internet Explorer (IE) users will be automatically updated to the latest version of the browser. Microsoft said it was starting the project to update millions of machines to improve security online. “The Web overall is better – and safer – when more people run the most up-to-date browser,” wrote Ryan Gavin, Microsoft’s IE boss, in a blogpost explaining the plan.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16214912

Kindle Fire Helps Android Ad Impressions to 50%:

2011-12-20T18:00:00.001+07:00

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

Kindle Fire impressions have grown at an average daily rate of 19 percent since the e-commerce launched the $199 tablet Nov. 15. Millennial said the Kindle Fire is seeing a “monthly run rate of hundreds of millions of impressions,” slightly outpacing impressions from the first iPad’s launch in 2010. “Since its release in mid-November, the Kindle Fire has made an impact on the connected device market right out of the gate with early signs of strong consumer adoption,” Millennial said in its report. “Though the Kindle Fire has been introduced into a more mature tablet market than the market which greeted the original iPad, the integration of Amazon’s robust digital entertainment library and the $199 price point may also have helped drive this early use by consumers.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/Kindle-Fire-Helps-Android-Ad-Impressions-to-50-Millennial-342633/

OneNote for iPad may hint at future pricing of Office for the device

2011-12-20T18:00:00.000+07:00

by Alex Wilhelm, the Next Web

Microsoft released OneNote for the iPad, and as ZDNet noted, its $14.99 price point does seem to line up with what the Daily had previously claimed as the straight dope from Redmond. Let’s assume that Microsoft is building the equivalent of Office Home and Student for the iPad. That edition contains Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Now, we know that OneNote costs some $14.99, so let’s continue that price for each of the individual applications. Naturally, are assuming that Microsoft will release the applications discretely, as Apple has done, and as it has done in the past on the iPad. That means that Office will cost any user roughly $60 for the full set.

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2011/12/12/onenote-for-ipad-may-hint-at-future-pricing-of-office-for-the-device/

Open Data in Europe gets a huge boost from new EU rules

2011-12-20T17:30:00.001+07:00

by Martin Bryant, the Next Web

The Open Data movement has received a significant boost today with the announcement of the European Commission’s Open Data Strategy for Europe. The move, which follows success with opening up public data to be used to create new apps and services in the UK and France, will see the Commission launching a three-pronged Open Data initiative. This will see it opening its own data portal, establishing standards for how open data should be handled across the European Union, and offering €100m in grants over the next two years to fund research that examines better technology for handling data.

http://thenextweb.com/eu/2011/12/12/open-data-in-europe-gets-a-huge-boost-from-new-eu-rules/

Santa shows off technology skills

2011-12-20T17:00:00.001+07:00

by Chris MacNamara, Chicago Tribune

To the hundreds of kids who sent digital wish lists to Santa from Western Springs last week, the fact that St. Nick is adept at instant messaging didn’t faze them. These tykes who huddled around computers in the Lyons Township High School South Campus computer lab were no older than 9. They have grown up as adept with keyboards as pens. So they typed or they dictated, and the Big Guy responded to each request moments later. No need to wait for snail mail to get your Transformers order to the North Pole.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-x-santa-letter-class-1214-20111214,0,3865352.story

School of Thought

2011-12-20T16:30:00.001+07:00

by Dave Thier, Best of New Orleans

4.0 Schools has made a point not to look like it’s in the traditional education field. Located on the second floor of the IP building in the Warehouse District, the company shares its space with tech startups, design firms, freelance videographers and a conveniently located bar. The offices themselves are aiming for a look like a Silicon Valley startup from the height of the tech boom. One room has two drafting stools and a tall table in the center — that one is for working. There’s another one with beanbag chairs — that one is for thinking. In the back, there’s a windowless room they call the “wind tunnel” (narrowly beat out “the grinder”) — that one is for presentation. They’ve ordered a big propeller off eBay to put on the wall.

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/school-of-thought/Content?oid=1923258

The People’s Skype is technology’s answer to the People’s Mic

2011-12-20T16:12:00.001+07:00

by the Next Web

Much has been made of the use of technology in the worldwide protests, from the Occupy Movement in the US, to anti-governmental protests throughout the Middle East, some of it warranted and some a little exaggerated. From Twitter to Facebook, from Bambuser to Red Phone. The latest innovation, The People’s Skype, takes Occupy’s People’s Mic and injects a bit of technology into it, to make it go even further. If you’re not familiar with the People’s Mic – it involves one person speaking, and the crowd around repeating each sentence, to amplify it.

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/12/12/the-peoples-skype-is-technologys-answer-to-the-peoples-mic/

Fbtrainer v3 - The Standard in International "Facebook for Business"

2011-12-20T15:10:00.004+07:00

Fbtrainer is a Comprehensive Business Suite, built for anyone interested in learning and profiting from Facebook. Understanding that there is a few other courses that offer Facebook Training. We have developed a Beginning to End Business Suite, that is unique and not available with anything else. Receive 50% commission on the initial sale and all recurring billing transactions. We now offer Affiliate Live Webinars, please refer to the affiliate page for more details.

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UK Rural broadband stalled, says Countryside Alliance

2011-12-20T15:00:00.000+07:00

By Jane Wakefield, BBC

The Countryside Alliance says plans to bring fast broadband to rural areas have stalled. The government named four pilot areas last year, but local councils have admitted that they have not yet started work on their broadband projects. Freedom of information requests were sent to councils in each area. The responses revealed that none had received any money from the Treasury, chosen a company to build their networks, or started work on them. In October last year George Osborne named Cumbria, Herefordshire, North Yorkshire and the Highlands and Islands, as pilot areas for rural superfast broadband networks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16085823

Google Attacking Amazon With Same-day Product Delivery

2011-12-17T05:21:00.001+07:00

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

No doubt many people have read about and have had time to parse the ramifications of Google allegedly building a rival to Amazon’s Prime two-day shipping service. Aside from denting Amazon’s e-commerce armor, Google could also gain some valuable customer data to target consumers with ads. The crux is that Google Product Search would offer users the option of paying to have goods they find through the comparison engine from retailers shipped to their homes that same day or the next. Participating retailers for this service could include Gap and Macy’s.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Google-Attacking-Amazon-With-Sameday-Product-Delivery-809457/?kc=rss

Facial Recognition Apps Carries Risk of User Privacy

2011-12-16T11:00:00.000+07:00

By: Fahmida Y. Rashid, eWeek

The Federal Trade Commission would take a hard line on companies that violate consumer privacy using facial recognition technology, the agency’s chairman said at a public workshop. Government officials, privacy advocates and technology companies discussed the ethics of facial recognition and the impact on user privacy at a workshop in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8. Facial recognition technology has been integrated in a wide range of products and services, including online social networks, digital billboards and mobile apps, which raises a host of privacy and security concerns, the FTC said.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Facial-Recognition-Apps-Carries-Risk-of-User-Privacy-Violations-FTC-Warns-497289/?kc=rss