Tag Archives: Technology

Watson supercomputer’s next feat? Taking on cancer

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“Jho Low, the 33-year-old billionaire who is bankrolling the $50 million MD Anderson project with Watson, is part of an influential new movement in scientific research driven by young philanthropists and tech titans who have faith that the chips, software programs, algorithms and big data that powered the information revolution can also be used to understand, upgrade and heal the human body.  But the Watson project and similar initiatives also have raised speculation — and alarm — that companies are seeking to replace the nation’s approximately 900,000 physicians with software that will have access to everyone’s sensitive personal health information.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/06/27/watsons-next-feat-taking-on-cancer/

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Google: Controversial Quantum Computer Really Works

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“Google says it has proof that a controversial machine it bought in 2013 really can use quantum physics to work through a type of math that’s crucial to artificial intelligence much faster than a conventional computer.  Hartmut Neven, leader of Google’s Quantum AI Lab in Los Angeles, said today that his researchers have delivered some firm proof of that. They set up a series of races between the D-Wave computer installed at NASA against a conventional computer with a single processor. ‘For a specific, carefully crafted proof-of-concept problem we achieve a 100-million-fold speed-up,’ said Neven.  Google posted a research paper describing its results online last night.”

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/544276/google-says-it-has-proved-its-controversial-quantum-computer-really-works/

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How Google Inspired Raspberry Pi’s $5 Computer

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“Ten thousand units of the device, about the size of a money clip, were being given away free in the U.K., packaged up with the December issue of The MagPie, Raspberry Pi’s magazine, which hit newsstands Thursday.  The other 20,000 units produced by Sony Corp. in a factory in south Wales were all sold out Thursday by distributors in the U.K. and the U.S. The computer can be used to play games, such as Minecraft and Scratch, a coding tutorial program. It can also be used for many other basic processing purposes, including operating as music players and running robots, as well as having home automation uses, and even for sending tweets from space.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/11/26/raspberry-pi-rolls-out-5-computer/

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IRS: You Can’t Sue Us Unless We Say You Can

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“Department of Justice lawyers claimed Wednesday the IRS cannot be sued for damages by the estimated 330,000 taxpayers victimized by hackers who earlier this year breached the federal tax agency’s computer files.  Plaintiffs Becky Welborn and Wendy Windrich’s claim of damage under the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedures Act cannot be pursued because the doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, which holds the federal government immune to damage claims unless it agrees to such litigation.  Without such an agreement from the IRS, the federal courts have no jurisdiction over the damage claim filed by Welborn and Windrich, according to Justice Department lawyers.”

http://dailycaller.com/2015/11/19/irs-you-cant-sue-us-unless-we-say-you-can/

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Russia’s Finance Ministry Wants to Ban Bitcoin, Not the Blockchain

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“Though bitcoin regulation remains a divisive topic globally, there’s perhaps no country that has kept the international bitcoin community guessing about the digital currency’s future more than Russia.  For more than a year, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the nation’s economic lawmaking body, has been repeatedly and staunchly against allowing its use as an alternative to government-issued money. Just last month, for example, deputy finance minister Alexey Moiseev told CoinDesk that the Ministry was working on a draft law that would seek to punish those converting cryptocurrencies into the ruble with up to four years in prison.”

http://www.coindesk.com/russia-ban-bitcoin-not-blockchain/

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Department of Homeland Security Giving Firms Free Penetration Tests

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“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been quietly launching stealthy cyber attacks against a range of private U.S. companies — mostly banks and energy firms. These digital intrusion attempts, commissioned in advance by the private sector targets themselves, are part of a little-known program at DHS designed to help ‘critical infrastructure’ companies shore up their computer and network defenses against real-world adversaries. And it’s all free of charge (well, on the U.S. taxpayer’s dime).  According to data provided by DHS, the majority of the program’s private sector participation come from the energy and financial services industries.”

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/12/dhs-giving-firms-free-penetration-tests/

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GCHQ admits for the first time to ‘persistent’ hacking in the UK and abroad

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“The UK’s digital spy agency, GCHQ, has admitted for the first time in court that it hacks computers, smartphones, and networks in the UK and abroad.  In evidence published this week, GCHQ says it undertakes ‘persistent’ hacking, leaving monitoring software on targeted devices. GCHQ also admitted that it does not need to seek individual warrants before hacking a target device. Instead, the agency primarily relies on ‘thematic’ or ‘class’ warrants, which give permission to intercept communications from ‘a defined group or network.’  Jaffey stated that this definition is interpreted as broadly as possible, letting, for example, the agency target ‘all mobile phones’ in a given city.”

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/2/9834316/gchq-hacking-international-privacy-tribunal

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Cab medallion owners sue NYC, blame Uber for ruining business

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“A medallion is required to operate a New York City yellow taxicab, the only type of vehicle allowed to accept passengers who hail cabs on the street. Until recently, those medallions could sell for over $1 million. Companies like White & Blue Group, one of the plaintiffs in the case, managed fleets of licensed taxicabs by leasing out the medallions. ‘With companies like Uber operating in the marketplace free of regulatory burdens… licensed taxicab drivers have left the taxicab industry in droves, choosing instead to drive for Uber,’ states the complaint.  Companies like White & Blue ‘have been forced to repeatedly slash daily lease rates to compete,’ it continues.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/cab-medallion-owners-sue-nyc-blame-uber-for-ruining-business/

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Glenn Greenwald: Why the CIA is smearing Edward Snowden after Paris

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“There still is no evidence that the perpetrators in Paris used the Internet to plot their attacks, let alone used encryption technology.  CIA officials simply made that up. It is at least equally likely that the attackers formulated their plans in face-to-face meetings. The central premise of the CIA’s campaign — encryption enabled the attackers to evade our detection — is baseless.  Even if they had used encryption, what would that prove? Are we ready to endorse the precept that no human communication can ever take place without the U.S. government being able to monitor it? The claim that the Paris attackers learned to use encryption from Snowden is even more misleading.”

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1126-greenwald-snowden-paris-encryption-20151126-story.html

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Coinbase Just Debuted the First Bitcoin Debit Card in the US

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“It’s called the Shift Card, and it lets you spend bitcoin at any merchant—both online and off—that accepts an ordinary VISA card. Imagine buying a burrito at your local Mexican joint with bitcoin card, or a television from Amazon.com. The card has been approved for use by anyone living in one of 25 US states, including Texas, Washington, and New Jersey.  The new debit card is available to anyone with a Coinbase account. To sign up, you must verify your identity and pay a $10 insurance fee. After that, when buying from merchants based in the US, you can pay for goods in bitcoin without any additional fees (as with other debit cards and credit cards, the fees are paid by the merchants).”

http://www.wired.com/2015/11/coinbase-unveils-countrys-first-bitcoin-debit-card/

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