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Submission + - Mobile Wireless Charging Tech Uses RF To Transmit Power Over 15 Feet (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Startup Energous plans to demonstrate at CES a technology it calls WattUp that can send power in a 15-foot radius using radio frequency transmissions. The company, which raised nearly $25M in an IPO earlier this year, is targeting smartphones, tablets and wearables for its product, which sends up to 4W of power at up to a 5-foot distance. The wireless charging router uses software to control what enabled devices it charges. As the distance and number of "authorized" devices increase power from the router dissipates. The far field charging device operates at 5.7 and 5.8 MHz.

Submission + - SanDisk Releases 512GB SD Card (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: SanDisk today announced the world's highest capacity SD card, a 512GB model that represents a 1,000-fold increase over the company's first 512MB card that it shipped a decade ago. The SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I memory card has a max read/write rate of 95MB/s and 90MB/s, respectively. The card is rated to function in temperatures from -13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. The 512GB model retails for $800. The card also comes in 128GB and 256GB capacities.

Submission + - If Tesla Can Its Gigafactory On 100% Renewables, Why Can't Others? (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said his company's Gigafactory battery plant, the world's largest, will be "self contained" and run on solar, wind and geothermal energy. The obvious problem with renewable sources is that they're intermittent at any given location, but on a larger scale they're quite predictable and reliable, according to Tom Lombardo, a professor of engineering and technology. Lombardo points out that Tesla isn't necessarily going off-grid, but using a strategy of "net metering" where the factory will produce more renewable energy than it needs, and receive credits in return from its utility when renewables aren't available. So why can't other manufacturing facilities do the same? What Tesla is doing isn't necessarily transferable to other industries? Sam Jaffe, principal research analyst with Navigant Research, believes Tesla's choice of locations — Reno — and its product is optimal for using renewable and not something that can be reproduced by every industry.

Submission + - First Intel 14nm Broadwell Core M Benchmarks Unveiled (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Intel Execs out at IDF this week in San Francisco have let slip some actual benchmark run results on Intel's just-released Broadwell Core M processor platform. Intel has gone into detail on Broadwell's architecture and features previously and has discussed power consumption and performance expectations. However, now we finally have some cold, hard numbers, rather than just percentage comparisons versus previous generation Intel platforms. Intel was demonstrating a 12.5-inch Broadwell-based, Core M 5Y70-powered Windows tablet live and the benchmark runs look promising, with 3DMark scores in the 50K range. The Cinebench results shown place the CPU on par with full-fledged Core i5 notebook variants in the 15 Watt power envelope, but powered by the new 4.5 Watt Broadwell Y Core M processor that will be employed mostly in 2-in-1 hybrid devices and high end tablets.

Submission + - WD announces 8TB, 10TB helium hard drives (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Western Digital's HGST subsidiary today announced it's shipping its first 8TB and the world's first 10TB helium-filled hard drive. The 3.5-in, 10TB drive also marks HGST's first foray into the use of singled magnetic recording technology, which Seagate announced it began using last year. Unlike standard perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR), where data tracks rest side by side, SMR overlaps the tracks on a platter like shingles on a roof, thereby allowing a higher areal density. Seagate has said SMR technology will allow it to achieve 20TB drives by 2020. That company has yet to use helium, however. HGST said its use of hermetically-sealed helium drives reduces friction among moving drive components and keeps dust out. Both drives use a 7-platter configuration with a 7200 RPM spindle speed. The company said it plans to discontinue its production of air-only drives by 2017, replacing all data center models with helium drives.

Submission + - Islamic State Using Leaked Snowden Info To Evade U.S. Intelligence (washingtontimes.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Evidence continues to accumulate that the leaks of Top Secret intelligence material taken by Edward Snowden have harmed national security, and are being used by terrorists to escape surveillance of their activities. The Washington Post reports that, " Recorded Future, a predictive analytics web intelligence firm, published a persuasive timeline showing that Snowden’s revelations about NSA’s capabilities were followed quickly by a burst of new, robust encryption tools from al-Qaeda and its affiliates...." The Washington Times reports in, Islamic State using leaked Snowden info to evade U.S. intelligence , that "Asked by The Washington Times if the Islamic State has studied Mr. Snowden’s documents and taken action, Mr. Inglis answered, “Clearly.” The top-secret spill has proven ready-made for the Islamic State (also referred to as ISIL or ISIS). It relies heavily on Internet channels to communicate internally and to spread propaganda. Mr. Snowden “went way beyond disclosing things that bore on privacy concerns,” said Mr. Inglis ...“‘ ... Matthew G. Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, noted: “Following the disclosure of the stolen NSA documents, terrorists are changing how they communicate to avoid surveillance. They are moving to more secure communications platforms, using encryption and avoiding electronic communications altogether,” ... “This is a problem for us in many areas where we have limited human collection and depend on intercepted communications to identify and disrupt plots.”" And later, "A former military official said some Islamic State operators have virtually disappeared, giving no hint as to their whereabouts or actions."

Submission + - Tesla Chooses Nevada As Site For Gigafactory (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Nevada beat California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to be the location for Tesla's first $5 billion lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant. Tesla still may open other facilities in other states in the future, but the first plant which will create an estimated 6,500 jobs will rest in the Silver State. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval today tweeted that a "major economic development announcement" will be made at 7 p.m. ET at the Capitol Building in Carson City. Work on the factory has begun at an industrial park outside Reno. The factory is being built in anticipation of the launch of Tesla's mass-market sedan, the Model 3. Unlike its $70,000 Model S sedan, the Model 3 is expected to retail for $35,000 when it's released in 2017 — the same year the Gigafactory is scheduled to open. By Tesla's own estimates, the project to build a battery factory is expected to drive economies of scale so that the per-kilowatt cost of its own lithium-ion batteries by more than 30% in the first year of production.

Feed Google News Sci Tech: Healthcare.gov hacked; no personal data taken - USA TODAY (google.com)

From feed by feedfeeder

MarketWatch
Healthcare.gov hacked; no personal data taken
USA TODAY
The federal insurance site Healthcare.gov was hacked this summer and intruders installed malicious software, but didn't access consumers' personal data, the Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday. A security team from the Centers for...
Hackers break into HealthCare.govWashington Post
Hacker broke into HealthCare.gov website: WSJReuters
Computer Hacker Breaches HealthCare.govWall Street Journal
MarketWatch-The Hill-WPTZ The Champlain Valley
all 19 news articles

Submission + - New Usage-Based Insurance Software Can Track Drivers Using Smartphones

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: A new software platform released by one of the nation's largest insurance roadside services providers will allow insurers to track drivers through smartphone sensors and geolocation services in order to offer good driver incentives or emergency roadside assistance. The tracking software is similar to technology currently offered by State Farm's In-Drive and Progressive's Snapshot program, but the latter uses a hardware collection device that plugs into a vehicle's standard OBDII onboard diagnostics port. The new software platform from Agero travels with the driver in and out of the car, so that if a customer is in an accident emergency services are still contacted.

Submission + - Apple CarPlay Rollout Delayed By Some Carmakers (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Some car makers are delaying the implementation of Apple's CarPlay iPhone interface for vehicle infotainment systems. The delays, which are prompting manufacturers such as Mercedes, Volvo and Honda to push their announcement from 2014 to 2015, appear to be related to a few snags in the integration process or in choosing which model cars should have the middleware. At the same time, many of the automakers rolling out CarPlay are also implementing Android Auto, which will provide a vehicle head unit user interface for Android smartphones. Analysts believe the addition of Android Auto earlier this year may also be adding delays because manufacturers want to be able to announce availability of both platforms in their new model vehicles. According to IHS, adoption of Android Auto is expected to slightly outpace CarPlay with an annual growth rate of 179% compared to 165%. In 2020, for example, 40 million cars will roll off assembly lines with Android Auto versus 37 million with CarPlay.

Submission + - As Ebola death toll rises, scientists work on nanotech cure

Submitted by rlinke
rlinke writes: Scientists at Northeastern University are using nanotechnology to find an effective treatment for the Ebola virus, which has killed more than 1,200 people and sickened even more.

What makes finding a vaccine or cure such a formidable job is that the virus mutates so quickly. How do you pin down and treat something that is continually changing?

Thomas Webster, professor and chairman of bioengineering and chemical engineering at Northeastern, may have an answer to that — nanotechnology.

Submission + - eVisits to the Doctor to Top 75 Million in the U.S., Canada This Year (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Telehealth medicine, or communicating remotely with patients through electronic means, will be used by nearly one in six North Americans this year, according to Deloitte. With an aging Baby Boomer population and a growing shortage of primary care physicians, electronic visits (eVisits) reduce both time and cost in treating common ailments. The overall cost of in-person primary physician visits worldwide is $175 billion. Globally, the number of eVisits will climb to 100 million this year, potentially saving over $5 billion when compared to the cost of in-person doctor visits. Last November, The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) revamped its patient portal, renaming it MyUPMC, and rolling out AnywhereCare, offering patients throughout Pennsylvania eVisits with doctors 24 hoirs a day, seven days a week either over the phone or through video conferencing. The service offers a 30-minute or less wait time and saves the hospital system more than $86 per patient over a traditional visit.

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