Month: September 2013

Education

How tablets are changing the classroom

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As reported on The Verge. By Russell Brandom As part of their education issue, The New York Times Magazine takes a long look at the rise of tablet tech in education, including News Corp’s Amplify project. The programs look to improve education by producing more lessons that adapt to an individual student’s pace and style of learning, also taking advantage of children’s general enthusiasm for gadgetry. It’s a thriving market, given the $17 billion that K-12 schools spend on…

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Hacking

Meet Hacking Team, the company that helps the police hack you

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As reported on The Verge. By Adrianne Jeffries Hacking Team may not have any clients in the US yet, but it’s not for lack of trying    In 2001, a pair of Italian programmers wrote a program called Ettercap, a “comprehensive suite for man-in-the-middle attacks” — in other words, a set of tools for eavesdropping, sniffing passwords, and remotely manipulating someone’s computer. Ettercap was free, open source, and quickly became the weapon of choice for analysts…

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Government Security

NSA Allegedly Spies On International Credit Card Transactions

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As reported on TechCrunch. by MIKE BUTCHER Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper – increasingly joining the NSA revelations train –reports today that the intelligence agency is interested in international credit card transactions and may have found a way to monitor payments processed by companies including Visa. Spiegel alleges it has even set up its own financial database to track money flows. The paper says that in 2011, the NSA possessed 180 million records via its “Follow the Money”…

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Google

Google Glass no longer requires tethering plan for smartphone data sharing

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As reported on Engadget. By Alexis Santos An Explorer Edition of Glass is already a pricey piece of tech, and smartphone tethering plans required to give it a mobile Internet connection have only made ownership that much more expensive. However, there’s good news for Google’s guinea pigs: the latest update to the headgear quietly implemented a way around the additional monthly fees. With XE9 loaded onto headsets, the companion Android apppipes data to and from the hardware, bypassing both the smartphone’s Bluetooth…

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Science Space

Alt-week 09.15.13: Record-breaking glass, nature’s gears, and Hubble’s huge find

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As reported on Engadget. By Joe Pollicino Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. This week’s alternative roundup focuses on exploration, experimentation and discovery — both on land and in space. Here on Earth, Cornell’s stumbled upon a new glass that breaks records and researchers in Europe have discovered an insect with cob wheel-styled gear joints for movement. Meanwhile, above our atmosphere, NASA’s Hubble telescope made…

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Culture Economy Photography

Economic Collapse Seen Through Aerial Photos of Abandoned Mansions

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As seen on Wired. BY LYRA KILSTON Roma Hills homes and foreclosed Obsidian Mountain develpment, Ascaya lots beyond. Henderson, NV 2012. Empty lots in the Lake Las Vegas “guard-gated” community, Marseilles. Henderson, NV 2011. “Monaco” Lake Las Vegas homes on gated Grand Corniche Drive. Henderson, NV 2010. Barcelona homes and Lake Mead recreation area. Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, NV 2011. Barcelona homes and the edge of Lake Mead recreation area. Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, NV 2011.…

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Google

Google founders lose deal to buy cheap government fuel for their private jets

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As reported on The Verge. By Nathan Olivarez-Giles Since 2007, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been gassing up their private jets at deep discounts thanks to the federal government. But according to The Wall Street Journal, the jet-fuel breaks are now over. Thanks to an agreement between NASA and an LLC, called H211 — owned by Page, Brin, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt — the executives were allowed to fuel up at an airfield located within the…

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Entertainment

Ben Affleck to bring fatigue and weariness to Batman role

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As reported on The Verge. By Jeff Blagdon As fans come to grips with the fact that Ben Affleck will be the next Batman, it might provide them some solace to know that he won’t be playing the dynamic young hero portrayed in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Instead, he will be older, grizzled, and burnt out. At an investor meeting on Thursday, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara described Affleck’s Batman as “tired and weary and seasoned and been doing it…

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Apple iPhone

A Photographer’s Take On The iPhone 5S Camera

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As reported on TechCrunch. by MATTHEW PANZARINO The iPhone 5S announcement this week was punctuated with a lot of specs and buzzwords. Much of it centered around the new Touch ID fingerprint scanner and the 64-bit processor. But the most intriguing to me was the camera advancements. Apple has been putting a major focus on the camera in the iPhone for a couple of years now. A recent Apple ad touted that more people take pictures…

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Microsoft Tablet

Microsoft offers $200 credit for used iPads, hopes you’ll become a Surface convert

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As reported on Engadget. By Mariella Moon Microsoft’s new recycle-for-reward initiative doesn’t target one of its own devices — instead, it focuses on another company’s popular gadget: Apple’s iPad. The US trade-in program offers at least $200 in exchange for a “gently used” iPad 2, 3 or 4. You can probably get more than $200 in other places, especially for the newer slates, and you can even get cash instead of the Microsoft Store gift cards Redmond’s giving out. However, outgoing…

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