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Submission + - Ford Builds Solar-Powered Car (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Ford plans to demonstrate its first solar-powered hybrid vehicle at CES next week. The Ford CMAX Solar Energi Concept car will have 1.5 square meters of solar photovoltaic cells on its roof to generate power to charge its battery. By themselves, the PV solar panels generate only 300W of power — not enough to charge the vehicle's battery in one day. Ford, however, said the car will be coupled with a carport that has solar concentrating lens atop it. The magnifying lens, called a Fresnel lens, will concentrate about 10 times the solar energy so the vehicle can be recharged in a single day — the same speed with which is standard hybrid charges using a plug.

Submission + - Relapse of 'cured' HIV patients spurs AIDS science on (orlandosentinel.com)

Submitted by spineas
spineas writes: Though the two 'Boston patients' have relapsed and have had to resume antiretroviral drug treatments to keep the HIV virus at bay, researchers have a wealth of new information from the temporary remission in the two patients which can be applied towards finding a more permanent cure for the disease.

Submission + - China: The Next Space Superpower (ieee.org)

Submitted by the_newsbeagle
the_newsbeagle writes: "As 2014 dawns, China has the most active and ambitious space program in the world," says this article. While it's true that the Chinese space agency is just now reaching milestones that the U.S. and Russia reached 40 years ago (its first lunar rover landed in December), the Chinese government's strong support for space exploration means that it's catching up fast. On the agenda for the next decade: A space station to rival the ISS, a new spaceport, new heavy-lift rockets, a global satellite navigation system to rival GPS, and China's first space science satellites.

Submission + - Western Australian Sharks Send Tweets to Swimmers (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: More shark attacks occur in Western Australia than almost anyplace else on Earth. In order to help protect swimmers and surfers, the state government relies largely on helicopter-based spotters, plus members of the public who report their own sightings. Now, however, the Department of Fisheries has introduced a new system, in which the toothy fishes announce their own presence via Twitter.

Submission + - Google buys eighth robotics company in six months (orlandosentinel.com)

Submitted by spineas
spineas writes: Google recently acquired Boston Dynamics, a robotics company that has had a hand in many advanced defense robotics for the U.S. military, making it the eighth such purchase for the search engine giant in the last six months.

Boston Dynamics is well known for having developed the robot named "Cheetah," capable of running at speeds of 28MPH.

Submission + - London-based company to debut $38 Android 4.0 tablet in the U.S. (orlandosentinel.com)

Submitted by spineas
spineas writes: A tablet that retails for US $38 in India will soon be made available for purchase in the United States. Originally designed to bring the knowledge on the Internet to children in low-income communities, the widespread availability of low-cost, connected tablets can open up a new world for children, the disabled, and even those who just want to use it in their already-connected homes.

Submission + - Android Botnet Sends Stolen SMSes from S. Korea To China (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: For those who still aren't convinced we're living in a cyberpunk novel: researchers have discovered a botnet of compromised Android phones that are surreptitiously emailing potentially sensitive SMS messages to hackers in China. The malware calls itself 'Google Vx' and convinces users to give it full access to the phone by claiming to be an administrative settings tool. No word on why exactly Chinese hackers want South Korean SMSes, but feel free to speculate wildly in the comments.

Submission + - How Human Behavior Affects Malware And Defense Measures (net-security.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Installing computer security software, updating applications regularly and making sure not to open emails from unknown senders are just a few examples of ways to reduce the risk of infection by malware. However, even the most security-conscious users are open to attack through unknown vulnerabilities, and even the best security mechanisms can be circumvented as a result of poor user choices.

Although there has been significant research on the technical aspects, there has been much less on human behavior and how it affects malware and defense measures. As a result, no one at the present time can really say how important these factors are. For example, are users who are older and less computer-savvy more open to infection? It is therefore necessary to take a closer look at the impact that both technological and human factors have on the success or failure of protective mechanisms.

Submission + - Police in Slovenia to have "clandestine entry" rights to install spyware. (monitor.si)

Submitted by Vlado
Vlado writes: There is a law in emergency express discussion that, if and when it passes, will grant police in Slovenia rights to enter private premisses in "a clandestine manner" in order to install "monitoring software" on computer equipment at the point before communication channels are encrypted (link to a local article in Slovenian below). Reasoning by the police is that it is not always possible to remotely install spyware when they want to monitor their targeted subjects.
All standard excuses apply: This will only be used in extreme scenarios. This will only be used for the most serious offences (children, saving, think...?).

The law, if enacted will be very problematic on multiple levels:
In Slovenia, currently private property and especially homes are considered fairly inviolate. Police cannot enter a private home without search warrant, or if they're not in direct pursuit of a suspect who flees through private premises, or if they don't suspect that there's an immediate threat to life. Even with search warrant witnesses are required in order to guarantee some level of oversight.
This law will remove that oversight as otherwise it will probably not be very "clandestine" of the police to enter the home in question.

Also, even though the law stipulates, that the spyware in question should only allow for "monitoring" of communications on the affected equipment and does not give permission for the spyware to actively change any content, it's fairly difficult to assume that this will actually work out like that in practice.

It's an extremely disturbing turn of events, which would give local police unprecedented amount of power with virtually no oversight in their actions.

Submission + - ADA Compliance at the ATM – To be or not to be, that is the question. (afsiatms.com)

Submitted by afsiatms
afsiatms writes: In 2011, an amendment to the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring ATM owners to install audio-based capabilities for easy access of blind and vision impaired customers has caused a debacle in the banking sector. The requirements actually imposed by the Department of Justice on 15 September 2010, took effect in March of 2011, with updates to all ATMs at banks and credit unions required to be in compliance with the ADA guidelines by March 2012.

Submission + - First Hard Evidence for the Process of Cat Domestication (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Cats have been part of human society for nearly 10,000 years, but they weren’t always string-chasers and lap-sitters. Ancient felines hunted crop-destroying rats and mice for early farmers, and in return we provided food and protection. At least that’s what scientists have long speculated. Now, they can back it up. Cat bones unearthed in a 5000-year-old Chinese farming village indicate that the animals consumed rodents and that some may have been cared for by humans. The findings provide the earliest hard evidence of this mutually beneficial relationship between man and cat.

Submission + - JetBlue launches satellite-based inflight Wi-Fi (orlandosentinel.com)

Submitted by spineas
spineas writes: JetBlue is rolling out a new form of inflight Wi-Fi operating from satellites instead of ground-based cell towers. Up to eight times faster than traditional inflight Wi-Fi, it will enable users to stream video whilst in the air, something that is nearly impossible to do with current dial-up speed access in aircraft.

Submission + - Google Nexus Gets Wireless Charger (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by judgecorp
judgecorp writes: Wireless charging has had little success so far (except for toothbrushes) but Google is giving it a good try, with a Nexus Wireless Charger that works with LG's Nexus 4 and 5 as well as the latest version of Google's tablet, the second generation Nexus 7. The charger operates using the Qi standard, which seems to be ahead of rival Powermat.

Submission + - Bionic Eye Implant Available In U.S. Next Month (singularityhub.com)

Submitted by kkleiner
kkleiner writes: Starting next month, Americans suffering from degenerative eye diseases can get excited about the launch of the Argus II, a bionic eye implant to partially restore vision. Designed for those suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, the Argus II is a headset that looks akin to Google Glass but is actually hard wired into the optic nerve to transmit visual information from a 60 electrode array. The device opens the door for similar "humanitarian" implants that both reduce the difficulty in getting government approval and increase the adoption of brain implants.

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