Current Events and Links
See also:
TechWeb Encyclopedia
See more recent articles: After December 31, 2015
Google’s new quantum computer is '100 million times faster than your PC'
Dec. 14, 2015 -
Google and Nasa announced they were collaborating on the D-Wave X2 quantum computer, which they say is 100 million times faster than a conventional
computer chip, in 2013. It can answer certain algorithms in seconds rather than years.
- Source: Telegraph - UK
-
The US government wants IBM to build quantum computers for it - Quartz
-
The quantum computing era is coming… fast - The Guardian
- How Quantum Computers Work - How Stuff Works
- Flashback: May, 2011 Dream Machine
A quantum computer could store as many bits of information as there are particles in the universe. - New Yorker - From Annals of Science
Silicon Valley Kingpins Commit $1 Billion to Create Artificial Intelligence Without Profit Motive
Dec. 12, 2015 - Wealthy Silicon Valley investors committed $1 billion to ensure the non-profit development of artificial intelligence, They
will fund a non-profit research firm called OpenAI Inc. to allow the technology to be freely used, shared, and modified.
The announcement follows a string of moves ... to make AI technology available on a noncommercial basis.
Facebook, Google, and International Business Machines recently donated portions of their formerly proprietary AI software through an open source license.
- Source: Wall Street Journal
-
Billion-Dollar Non-Profit AI Research Lab to Open in San Francisco - IEEE
- Tech giants pledge $1bn for 'altruistic AI' venture, OpenAI - BBC
-
Scientists Develop Algorithm That Can Teach Machines To Learn Like Humans - STGist
- Killer robots: Tech experts warn against AI arms race - BBC
-
Why Google’s new quantum computer could launch an artificial intelligence arms race - Google claims the D-Wave 2X is 100 million times faster than any of today’s machines -
Washington Post
Prophetic Significance of Modern Technology
What You Should Know About the New Credit Card Chip Rule
Oct. 1, 2015 - "Smart Cards," which have been used for some time in Europe, are the new standard for credit purchases in the U.S.
Banks and credit companies have been sending consumers new cards, which look like their old cards but are fitted with a small metallic
high-tech chip known as EMV, which stands for Europay, MasterCard, Visa -- the three companies that created the standard.
These cards are more secure because they assign a transaction number to each purchase.
- Source: ABC
- DHS seeks smarter smart cards - FCW
Facebook has a billion users in a single day, says Mark Zuckerberg
8/27/15 -Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that one billion people used Facebook in one day!
The "milestone" was reached on Monday [8/24/15], when "1 in 7 people on Earth used Facebook to connect with their friends and family."
- Source: BBC
Facebook Wants to Own Your Life, Not Imitate Amazon
July 17, 2015 - Facebook is determined to keep visitors engaged, so that they don't need to exit the program to buy what they want.
They already know what you want, based on what you search for.
When something you like pops up, all you have to do is click. The sites may already have your credit card info— you only have to add it once.
- Source: Wired
Senate Lets NSA Spy Program Lapse, at Least Temporarily
June 1, 2015 -
The National Security Agency lost its authority at midnight to collect Americans' phone records in bulk, after GOP Sen.
Rand Paul stood in the way of extending the fiercely contested program in an extraordinary Sunday Senate session.
- Source: NewsMax
Android M Is Here, and So Is Google's Smartphone Future
May 29, 2015 - The next generation of Android smart phones will have the ability to pay for purchases, just like Apple Pay.
The actual card number is never shared with the merchants and can use all major credit cards. Obviously, NFC [Near-Filed Communication] is needed for
you to use this neat-o feature at 700,000 stores across the U.S.
For security, the new Androids will include fingerprint sensor.
- Source: Gizmodo
New York Backs Bitcoin Exchange But It May Not Fly In California
May 8, 2015 - Bitcoin, the controversial electronic currency, has won approval for use in New York's
stock exchange. A charter was approved for the company called itBit.
As The New York Times put it, itBit appeared to be “the winner in a race among bitcoin exchanges to become the first to be fully regulated in the United States.”
The charter provides the legal framework needed to operate in all fifty states. However, some states, like California, may require itBit to win additional licenses
in order to accepted.
- Source: Wired
- Why Bitcoin Could Be Much More Than a Currency
- Technology Review
Facebook's WhatsApp Will Be How the World Makes Phone Calls
Apr. 22, 2015 - A new version of the WhatsApp application allows people with smart phones to not only text people, but actually talk to them.
The application is expected to reach a billion users by the end of this year. It is thought that it may soon allow video calling.
- Source: Wired
Google meets with White House officials once a week on average
Mar. 25, 2015 -
According to visitor logs and emails obtained by The Wall Street Journal, high-ranking Google staffers, including Eric Schmidt, met
with White House officials 230 times across two terms, or roughly once a week in four years.
Google spent $16.8 million in lobbying dollars last year influencing the White House and other policy-makers.
- Source: The Verge
-
Will the left gain control of every Web search? - WND
IBM working on adopting bitcoin tech for major currencies
Mar. 13, 2015 - Reuters reports that IBM is working on a new paradigm for financial transactions. It is based on the underlying
technology behind bitcoin, known as "blockchain". The technology will allow people to transfer cash or make payments instantaneously.
Unlike bitcoin, where the network is decentralized and there is no supervisor, the proposed digital currency system will be controlled by central
banks, the news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying.
- Source: International Business Times
- Where Does Bitcoin Fit into the End Times Scenario? - Ron's Blog
- This is why bitcoin won’t go away anytime soon
- China's craze for bitcoins has been well-documented over the past year - CNBC
- Why March 10 was a big day for bitcoin - Fortune
- China now Controls Bitcoin - Cryptocoinsnews
Time for all Windows users to FREAK out over encryption bug
Mar. 6, 2015 - The FREAK (Factoring attack on RSA-EXPORT Keys) computer bug makes all Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to hackers.
It was already known that the flaw affected Apple's iOS and OS X and Google's Android operating systems. This vulnerability allows criminals to
crack the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption methods that allow safe transactions over the Internet.
- Source: Computerworld
-
How to tell if you're vulnerable - Computerworld
- FREAK - Wikipedia
Google wants to rank websites based on facts not links
Feb. 28, 2015 - Google currently rates websites by the number of links they have from other websites. They are
already judging information according to its trustworthiness, and in the future they plan to demote the websites that have many incorrect facts.
They call this the Knowledge-Based Trust score.
The software works by tapping into the Knowledge Vault, the vast store of facts that Google has pulled off the internet.
- Source: New Scientist
-
Google's fact-checking bots build vast knowledge bank - New Scientist
-
Innovation: How far can you trust an AI assistant [like Siri]? - New Scientist
- Google: The 21st Century’s ‘Ministry of Truth’ - American Free Press
- Knowledge Vault - Wikipedia
-
SEO Vet Bill Slawski On Google’s Knowledge And Answers - WebProNews
-
Why some people are so terrified by the idea of a Google truth machine - Washington Post
FCC readies vote on government takeover of internet
Feb. 26, 2015 -
The Federal Communications Commission will vote today on whether to classify the internet as a "utility" for purposes of regulating
net neutrality. The new regulations will clear the way for government domination of the internet.
- Source: Rick Moran - American Thinker
-
The FCC’s Orwellian Internet policy - Computerworld
US, UK accused in hack of billions of cellphones
Feb. 20, 2015 - Somr of the documents given to journalists by Edward Snowden reveal that security of Gemalto in the Netherlands,
the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phone data chips, has been compromised.
Britain’s electronic spying agency, in cooperation with the U.S. National Security Agency, hacked into the networks of a Dutch company to steal
codes that allow both governments to seamlessly eavesdrop on mobile phones worldwide.
There is no evidence at this time that the agencies spied on people who were not valid intelligence targets, but this overreach by the governmental
spy agencies is sure to cause concern.
- Source: The State - So. Carolina
-
The NSA Has Access to Your Cell Phone's Encryption Key. And Everyone Else's Too - Mother Jones
Samsung’s Smart Televisions May Spy On Viewers
Feb. 9, 2015 - New Samsung televisions with voice recognition feature may share what it "hears" with a third-party.
"Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured
and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.”
- Source: CBS Detroit
Go to: News articles before Jan. 1, 2015
|
Notice: Ads are not necessarily endorsed by Prophecy Central.
|