House Passes CISPA By Huge Margin

CISPA, or the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or ” the worst privacy disaster our country has ever faced ” has just passed through the House of Representatives with an astounding majority of 288 to 127. More »        

View article:
House Passes CISPA By Huge Margin

How the Post Office Sniffs Out Anthrax Before It Hits Your Mailbox

The Amerithrax case of 2001, in which letters harboring Anthrax spores were delivered to media outlets and a pair of US Senators’ offices, killed five people and sickened another 17. In the wake of these attacks, the US Postal Service (USPS) installed a system of electronic noses in mail processing facilities around the country designed to sniff out the deadly bacteria before someone else does. More »        

Read More:
How the Post Office Sniffs Out Anthrax Before It Hits Your Mailbox

Bitfloor, number four Bitcoin-based exchange, shuts down for good

On Wednesday evening, Bitfloor , the number four Bitcoin-based exchange (behind Mt. Gox, BTC-E, and Bitstamp) announced that it is closing its doors “indefinitely.” “Unfortunately, our US bank account is scheduled to be closed and we can no longer provide the same level of [US dollar] deposits and withdrawals as we have in the past,” wrote Roman Shtylman , the exchange’s founder. “As such, I have made the decision to halt operations and return all funds. Over the next days we will be working with all clients to ensure that everyone receives their funds. Please be patient as we process your request.” Ars reached out to Shtylman to find out more details, but he did not immediately respond. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

See the article here:
Bitfloor, number four Bitcoin-based exchange, shuts down for good

HP To Package Leap Motion Sensor Into — Not Just With — Some Devices

cylonlover writes “It hasn’t even been released yet but the Leap Motion could already be considered something of a success – at least with PC manufacturers. Following in the footsteps of Asus, who announced in January that it would bundle the 3D motion controller with some of its PCs, the world’s biggest PC manufacturer has joined the gesture control party. But HP has gone one step further, promising to build the Leap Motion technology into some future HP devices.” (See this video for scenes of users scrabbling with their hands in empty air, and get ready for more of it.) Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View article:
HP To Package Leap Motion Sensor Into — Not Just With — Some Devices

Google Bans Selling or Lending of Glass

If Google thinks any of its new Google Glass owners have been flogging them on eBay or loaning them their to friends it has the right to remotely deactivate the tech spectacles, according to the Ts & Cs in the contract this first wave of buyers have agreed to. More »        

Continued here:
Google Bans Selling or Lending of Glass

Universities inject neuron-sized LEDs to stimulate brains without a burden (video)

Existing methods for controlling brain activity tend to skew the results by their very nature — it’s difficult to behave normally with a wad of optical fibers or electrical wires in your head. The University of Illinois and Washington University have developed a much subtler approach to optogenetics that could lift that weight from the mind in a very literal sense. Their approach inserts an extra-thin ribbon into the brain with LEDs that are about as big as the neurons they target, stimulating deeper parts of the mind with high precision and minimal intrusion; test mice could act as if the ribbon weren’t there. The solution also lets researchers detach the wireless transceiver and power from the ribbon to lighten the load when experiments are over. Practical use of these tiny LEDs is still a long ways off, but it could lead to both gentler testing as well as better treatment for mental conditions that we don’t fully understand today. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Via: Mobile Magazine Source: University of Illinois

Read More:
Universities inject neuron-sized LEDs to stimulate brains without a burden (video)

Google increases Chrome’s security, singles out shady browser extensions

We know Google isn’t afraid to make it rain for the sake of Chrome’s security, but today’s provisions appear to be an inside job. Laying the smack down on toxic browser extensions, the company introduced a new set of security measures that label applications in violation of its safety guidelines as malware. These potential threats try to bypass the browser’s silent installation blockers by manipulating its management settings. Once installed, the malicious software is enabled by default and cannot be removed or disabled from within Chrome. Google cautions that within a week people will begin seeing download alerts when attempting to install an identified threat. In the meantime, we suggest you start making plans to check out your current extensions just to be sure your setup has a clean bill of health. Filed under: Internet , Software , Google Comments Via: The Next Web Source: Google Online Security Blog

Read More:
Google increases Chrome’s security, singles out shady browser extensions

Google to acquire Provo, Utah’s fiber, transform it into Google Fiber

Less than 10 days after announcing that Austin will be Google Fiber’s second city (Kansas City, KS and MO, and surrounding small towns  qualified as Google’s first), the company announced suddenly that Provo, Utah will become the “third Google Fiber City.” Interestingly, Google isn’t laying its own fiber this time, but rather purchasing an existing network. “In order to bring Fiber to Provo, we’ve signed an agreement to purchase iProvo, an existing fiber-optic network owned by the city,” the company wrote in a blog post . “As a part of the acquisition, we would commit to upgrade the network to gigabit technology and finish network construction so that every home along the existing iProvo network would have the opportunity to connect to Google Fiber. Our agreement with Provo isn’t approved yet—it’s pending a vote by the City Council scheduled for next Tuesday, April 23. We intend to begin the network upgrades as soon as the closing conditions are satisfied and the deal is closed.” Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Follow this link:
Google to acquire Provo, Utah’s fiber, transform it into Google Fiber

Photoshop’s Genius Shake Reduction Tool Fixes Blurry Shots Like Magic

Everyone who is not a good photographer is a bad photographer—a condition that’s only made worse because we insist on documenting our lives with abysmal smartphone cameras. And of all of the terrible things that ruin photos, blur from shooting at slow shutter speeds is amongst the most common ailments. Photoshop to the rescue! More »        

Original post:
Photoshop’s Genius Shake Reduction Tool Fixes Blurry Shots Like Magic