House of Rep Allows ISP to Sell Your Online Data

The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to repeal Internet privacy protections that were approved by the Federal Communications Commission in the final days of the Obama administration. The Senate voted along party lines to undo the rules last week. The resolution now goes to Trump's desk. The White House said Tuesday it "strongly supports" the repeal. The rules, which had not yet gone into effect, would have required Internet service providers to get your permission before collecting and sharing your data. The providers have data on your web browsing history, app usage and geo-location. Providers would also have been required to notify customers about the types of information collected and shared.

Representative Michael Burgess, a Republican, described the rules as "duplicative regulation" on the House floor and said the repeal would "level the playing field for an increasingly anti-competitive market." But rather than apply similar protections to more businesses, the Republican-controlled Congress voted to scrap the rules entirely. Democrats and privacy advocates have argued this approach effectively hands over the customer's personal information to the highest bidder. "It totally wipes out privacy protections for consumers on the Internet," Democratic Representative Anna Eshoo said on the floor. "I don't want anyone to take my information and sell it to someone and make a ton of money off of it just because they can get their mitts on it."

Click here to watch a video.

Credits:
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39427026

Go to a restaurant without Interacting with a Waitress

Despite Donald Trump’s promise to create more jobs if elected president, his pick for labor secretary, Andy Puzder, the CEO of the fast-food chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, is keen on the idea of replacing food service workers with robots. Puzder told Business Insider earlier this year that unlike human workers, robots are "always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex, or race discrimination case.”

And while the unsettling contradiction calls into question other campaign promises Trump made in the run-up to Election Day, the truth is that technology that replaces food service workers is already here. Sushi restaurants have been using machines to roll rice in nori for years, an otherwise monotonous and time-consuming task. The company Suzuka has robots that help assemble thousands of pieces of sushi an hour. In Mountain View, Calif., the startup Zume is trying to disrupt pizza with a pie-making machine. In Shanghai, there’s a robot that makes ramen, and some cruise ships now mix drinks with bartending machines. Fast food giants have placed big bets on technology with the aim of getting a competitive edge, with both well-known and upstart restaurants getting in on the action. Bloomberg's Kaitlin Meehan has more.

Click here for a video.

Credits:
https://www.recode.net/2016/12/9/13903264/trump-robots-fast-food-workers-puzder-labor

Lego Machine to Fold and Fly a Paper Airplane

Master Lego builder Arthur Sacek‘s latest creation is an automated paper airplane factory that both folds and shoots its creations. It’s an impressive build by any measure, that refines and builds off of airplane launchers and folders we’ve seen in the past. Electronics supplier Arrow funded the build and published the video on their YouTube channel. A follow-up video that looks behind the scenes of the build is also up on their channel.

Sacek says, "When you have free time because when you get tired you can go home and take a rest, but when you’re on a deadline it’s quite difficult. I know it looks crazy, but I am going to rebuild this machine. Yesterday I finished this first machine. This one is much more powerful. I will have something with a motor so we can have movement. We need to work hard to have all of these things working together. It’s a mix of stress and motivation. There are a lot of things we need to gather, but I think we can do it."

Click here to watch the video of his machine.

Credits:
https://twitter.com/verge/status/840850115153735681?s=09

Senate Passes a Bill to Allow ISPS to Sell your Private Online data

The Senate voted to kill Obama-era online privacy regulations , a first step toward allowing internet providers such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to sell your browsing habits and other personal information as they expand their own online ad businesses. Without those protections, consumer advocates fear that broadband providers will be able to do what they like with people's data. Consumer advocates also point out that it can be hard, in many areas of the country, to dump your cable or phone company for another one if you don't like its practices. Of course, it's also hard to stop using Google or Facebook.

Of course, Google and Facebook already track you. But proponents of the privacy measure argued that the company that sells you your internet connection can see even more about you: every website you visit, every app that sends or receives data, everyone you email and many that you message. Telecom companies argue that companies like Google know far more about users than they do. Undoing the Federal Communications Commission's regulation leaves people's online information in a murky area. Today, you can tell a broadband provider not to use your data. Experts say federal law still requires broadband providers to protect customer information - but it doesn't spell out how or what companies must do. That's what the now endangered rules from the Federal Communications Commission aimed to do. "There's kind of a void," said Perkins Coie telecom attorney Marc Martin.

Credits: 

http://www.fox5ny.com/news/243603344-story

The Entree

In this signature series, Joie Chen, a seasoned journalist, sits down with a diverse cast of KPMG partners and industry luminaries. Set in iconic New York eateries, Chen and her guests explore topics as diverse as the meals themselves, ranging from business transformation and cybersecurity to growth strategy and “higher purpose.”

A Real Rock Band

The question is, clearly, "Why?" I don't have a good answer for this. But it is pretty cool. And now there are DIY instructions, so you can make one. Some of you might ask, "Why would I? " Again, I don't have a compelling answer. But were you to do so, you'd have something few other people on your block would own. Here's all you need: 

Need step-by-step directions? Well here ya go. 

Credits: 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Mechanical-Xylophone/

NASA Finds Missing Lunar Probe Still Orbiting

No one had heard from Chandrayaan-1 since Aug. 29, 2009. That's when the pioneering moon orbiter — the first lunar probe ever launched by the Indian Space Research Organization — abruptly went silent just 312 days into what was supposed to be a two-year mission. The orbiter has been missing ever since. It's no bigger than a refrigerator and difficult for Earth-based telescopes to discern given the moon's nighttime glow, making the craft hard to track down. Plus, the moon's lopsided topography — riddled with mascons, or areas of dense material with higher-than-average gravitational pull — makes satellites' orbits incredibly unpredictable.

But the silent, stealthy Chandrayaan-1 couldn't evade powerful radio telescopes. Scientists at NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California's remote Mojave Desert and at the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia worked together to detect the long-lost orbiter by sending out radio waves in its direction and listening for the echoes that bounced back. The search technique, developed by researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, is a new one. Capitalizing on the fact that Chandrayaan-1's orbit takes it over the moon's north pole, they used Goldstone's largest antenna to direct a powerful beam of microwaves toward the spot they expected the probe to be. The antenna is usually used to communicate with spacecraft much farther away — it's still in touch with the Voyager 1 probe way outside the solar system. But it could also be applied much like a police officer's radar gun.



Credits:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/03/13/nasa-just-found-an-orbiter-thats-been-missing-around-the-moon-for-8-years/?utm_term=.38cf72a5df07

App Evaluates When Women Are Interrupted

There is a centuries-long routine of men interjecting over their female counterparts at work, at home, and—as you’ll see in this video here—on television, during a presidential debate, and while receiving a freaking award as one of the top selling pop artists of all time. The problem is, it appears that many men don’t even know they’re doing it. Blame a culture where boys are entitled to talk when they please and girls are discouraged from speaking up. A pattern that starts when we’re kids in school and continues when we’re adults in the conference room.

Enter the Woman Interrupt app, a stealthy bit of tech that allows you to record a conversation like you’re Gene Hackman in The Conversation but with your smart phone. The app, which launched March 7, then analyzes the audio, and notes the number of times someone butts in while a woman is speaking, and spits out that enlightening information in a handy little chart (Privacy note: the audio is recorded but not stored by the company.) It turns out, if we’re just talking statistics here, men interrupt women nearly 25 percent more than they do other men.Tamping what a woman has to say is a micro-violation of her right to free speech. And a huge loss for the culture. Also, check out the app comments—which reveal exactly why this app is needed.

Credits:
https://www.good.is/articles/mansplaining-politicians-manterruption

Wiki leaks Reveal CIA Can Spyware Using Phone

WikiLeaks published thousands of secret CIA files on Tuesday detailing hacking tools the government employs to break into users’ computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs. Some companies that manufacture smart TVs include Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung. The documents describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features intended to keep the private information of citizens and corporations safe from prying eyes. U.S. government employees, including President Trump, use many of the same products and internet services purportedly compromised by the tools.

CNET reports that if the CIA could break into a phone’s operating system, the agency could potentially access not just encrypted data stored on devices, but also encrypted messages sent through popular services like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram. The approach doesn’t break the encryption, CNET reports, but rather gives hackers the same access to messages that a regular user would have when unlocking their phone.

• Largest publication of confidential documents about the CIA 
• Code-named “Vault7” 
• Part 1 includes 8,761 documents from CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence 
• Reveals direction of global hacking program Information on agency’s malware arsenal 
• Claims that CIA used products like iPhones and smart TVs as covert microphones 
• Claims that the CIA used its Langley HQ and U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany as bases for its hackers 
•  Broad exchanges of tools and information among the CIA, NSA and other U.S. intelligence agencies

Credits:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikileaks-cia-documents-released-cyber-intelligence/

Volkswagen's Angry Toaster

This is Sedric, Volkswagen’s newest concept for the future of autonomous driving. Sedric (as in self-driving car, get it?) is fully autonomous, meaning it has no steering wheel or pedals, and it can be summoned at the push of a button for ride-hailing trips, a la Uber and Lyft. VW claims that Sedric is the first vehicle to be designed for fully autonomous driving “from scratch.” Of course, it’s important to note that Sedric is just a concept, meaning it does not exist anywhere but in the imaginations of a few VW engineers and designers. Which may explain why Sedric looks so angry. Cheer up, Sedric! Maybe someday you’ll be a real car.

VW says Sedric will serve as a “friend and companion” for your family. This appears to be part of a growing trend among automakers to transform the family vehicle into something akin to a pet. At CES earlier this year, Toyota unveiled its Concept-i vehicle, complete with built-in artificial intelligence called “Yui.” Like Sedric, the Concept-i had something approaching a face. Both cars have the ability to “wink” thanks to digitized headlights — which is excellent news for everyone who thinks we need more cars that act like cheesy uncles.

Credits: 

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/6/14832354/volkswagen-sedric-self-driving-van-concept-mobility

Chicago Installs ShotSpotter To Locate Gunshots

Chicago police are using a new technology that can listen for gunshots and help the responding officers pinpoint where they were fired. The technology, called ShotSpotter, relies on an acoustics-based, GPS-equipped system to feed police the location of a gunshot. "Not only do we learn where the shots are being fired but now those officers can actually turn cameras on the location, get actionable intelligence that they can feed to the officers in the field as they're approaching," Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy explained Thursday via an NBC Chicago broadcast.

The newer systems that are supposed to have improved accuracy come just a few years after the city originally questioned the reliability of the technology, which neighboring Gary, Ind., has been using with good results since 2005. Police officials gave the ShotSpotter technology used in Gary a chance before quietly pulling the initiative. The city tried a different system in 2004 in which microphones and cameras were mounted on poles. NBC Chicago reports the newer system comes with a price tag of roughly $100,000 for every 1.5 square miles its used. The technology is currently used in three square miles.



Credits:
http://www.shotspotter.com/news/article/shotspotter-gunshot-listening-technology-comes-to-chicago-police-force

3D Print a home

An on-site house 3D printed in Russia offers a glimpse into what the future of construction might look like. Apis Cotr, 3D printing specialists based in Russia and San Francisco, say the walls of the building were printed and painted in just 24 hours. 3D printing a home usually involves creating the parts off-site and constructing the building later, however, Apis Cotr uses a mobile printer to print their apartments on-site.

“Printing of self-bearing walls, partitions and building envelope were done in less than a day: pure machine time of printing amounted to 24 hours,” the company said. Once the house has been completed, the printer is removed with a crane-manipulator and presumably the roof is then added, followed by the interior fixtures and fittings. Nikita Chen-yun-tai, the inventor of the mobile printer and founder of Apis Cor, explained his desire is “to automate everything”. “When I first thought about creating my machine the world has already knew about the construction 3D printing,” he explained

The Dangers of Tweeting on the Job

One of the biggest goofs in Oscar history might be attributable to a tweet. Brian Cullinan, one of two Pricewaterhouse-Coopers partners responsible for handling the envelopes with the names of the Oscar winners, tweeted a picture of actress Emma Stone on Sunday night. The tweet, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, went out just three minutes before presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway walked on stage and announced the wrong Best Picture winner, one of the biggest Oscar foul-ups ever.

PwC told USA Today that Cullinan accidentally gave Beatty the wrong envelope, a duplicate envelope that said Emma Stone won for her performance in "La La Land." The mix-up caused the presenters to announce "La La Land" as the winner for Best Picture, when in fact "Moonlight" had won. The mistake was only rectified after some of "La La Land's" producers had already begun their acceptance speeches.

Cullinan's tweet read "Best Actress Emma Stone backstage! #PWC," accompanied with a picture of Stone. Cullinhan has since deleted the tweet. CNBC confirmed the tweet was posted through a Google web cache.

Click here for the video

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/arts-video/video-tweeting-accountant-blamed-for-oscar-mix-up/article34158099/

Fly to the moon with Elon Musk

Yesterday, Elon Musk announced a bold new SpaceX mission for 2018, flying two as-yet-unnamed passengers in a full orbit of the Moon. This will be the first entirely private passenger flight that’s ever been attempted, without the benefit of broader government support — an achievement with new possibilities and new dangers. People have paid for the privilege of reaching orbit before — seven of them, in fact. Musk’s passengers will be going farther, slingshotting around the Moon, and they won’t be tagging along on an existing mission, either.

SpaceX is building its own rockets and planning its own missions, beholden to no larger agency or mission. Companies like Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace have ventured in this direction, but they’ve never gone beyond suborbital flights — more of a high-altitude plane than a spacecraft. Outside of crewed missions, lots of fully private space companies have made a good business out of launching equipment and supplies into orbit. But human exploration is essentially uncharted territory for a private company, and for the time being, SpaceX will have the field to itself.

Click here for a video. 

Credits: 

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/28/14762314/space-x-moon-flight-private-tourism-elon-musk