ICANN is set to take over the web's domain name system.
On October 1st, the US Government's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will hand over control of the internet's domain name system to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a "multi-stakeholder" nonprofit organization. While the change will be invisible to the billions of internet users out there, starting in October, the US government will no longer control what some call the internet's "phone book."
The domain name system works by associating a web address or URL with a site's IP address, and it is crucial to the way the modern web works. Since 1998, the NTIA and ICANN have had a zero-cost contract in place that gives the US government the authority over the system, although the government's role was largely symbolic. Technically, the Obama administration has agreed not to renew the contract, which expires on September 30th. ICANN, a California-based group made up of representatives from tech giants, foreign governments and other "interested parties," actually began the process of finally taking over the reigns when it detailed its transition plan last year. continued…
first published week of: 08/22/2016
Bitcoin was the start, but as a wise man once said, you ain't seen nothing yet
Last year, Ripple Labs, creator of the virtual currency XRP, was fined $0.7 million (~£540,000) by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for violating regulations concerning money laundering.
Some observers cite this as the moment cryptocurrencies shaved off their startup hipster beards, put on a tie, and went mainstream. Being fined by a regulator means that you’re part of the financial services industry at last.
Given that the first and most famous cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was launched back in 2009, it has taken the wider industry a relatively long time to warm to it. But now suddenly everyone is talking about Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology as a disruptor of potentially massive proportions: Sweden is trialling a new land registry that uses a blockchain, dozens of startups spanning numerous sectors are poking around at possible uses, and importantly policy makers such as the European Parliament have voted in favour of a more hands-off approach towards blockchain tech regulation.
So, what’s the connection between Bitcoins and blockchains? And why the renewed interest in the latter? continued…
first published week of: 11/07/2016
GIZMODO
Apple’s AirPods have been plagued by delays after they were announced alongside the iPhone 7 earlier this year, and now we might finally know exactly why. A new report in the Wall Street Journal says that Apple engineers are still struggling to make the product ready for mass production, citing a sync issue and a microphone issue. The report cites a single anonymous source: a “person familiar with their development” Otherwise, details are thin.
AirPods were Apple’s $160 answer to its latest iPhone missing a headphone jack, and the company originally said they’d ship in late October. Now, Apple hasn’t offered an actual ship date. The Wall Street Journal reports:
A person familiar with the development of the AirPod said the trouble appears to stem from Apple’s effort to chart a new path for wireless headphones. In most other wireless headphones, only one earpiece receives a signal from the phone via wireless Bluetooth technology; it then transmits the signal to the other earpiece.
first published week of: 12/12/2016
Windows 10, Microsoft’s back-to-basics re-embracing of the PC, is brimming with handy new features, and with all the new goodies come a legion of new tweaks and tricks—some of which unlock powerful functionality hidden to everyday users.
Others simply let you mold some of Windows 10’s new features into the shape you see fit. Here are some of the most useful Windows 10 tweaks, tricks, and tips we’ve found, including a spate of fresh finds from August’s massive Anniversary Update.
Be warned: Some of these may break as the operating system evolves, given Microsoft’s new “Windows as a service” mentality. We plan to update this article over time to reflect the OS’s current status. Got any tricks of your own? Share them continued…
first published week of: 08/29/2016
Researchers continue to push power transmission boundaries, but a lot of work remains
A rectenna, wireless power reception antenna, produced by J Space Systems is shown at Ceatec in Japan on Oct. 4, 2016. Martyn Williams
Forget smartphone charging. When it comes to next-generation wireless power, engineers in Japan are working on a system that can send large amounts of electrical power over considerable distances.
Behind several prototypes and projects is a common idea: the ability to send power from the sky to the ground.
The eventual goal of the research is a huge space-based solar array that isn't affected by Earth's weather systems and constantly collects large amounts of energy, which is then sent down to receivers on Earth via microwave.
By that goal, today's prototypes are much more modest but still easily outgun the sort of wireless charging systems that you can buy for smartphones and other gadgets.
At this week's Ceatec electronics show near Tokyo, J Space Systems was showing off some of the antennas it uses to receive the high-power microwave transmissions. Called "rectenna," they are flat antenna tuned to the 5.8GHz frequency used in the tests. continued…
first published week of: 10/10/2016
Trump's national security pick is a cybersecurity hawk
It took nearly 10 years, but authorities have finally targeted and taken down What.cd, which had risen to become the Internet's largest invite-only, music-trading torrent site.
The news was confirmed by the tracker's official Twitter account on Thursday via two posts: "We are not likely to return any time soon in our current form. All site and user data has been destroyed. So long, and thanks for all the fish."
Those posts, whose text was duplicated on the site's official front page, noted "recent events," which is a mild way of describing French authorities apparently seizing the site's full load of servers. French technology news site Zataz reported on Thursday that the nation's National Gendarmerie office nabbed the servers that hosted the site's database, IRC, and trackers. continued…
first published week of: 11/21/2016
Surveillance by machine "doesn't count as spying unless you’re guilty," right?
Imagine a futuristic society in which robots are deployed to everybody's house, fulfilling a mission to scan the inside of each and every residence. Does that mental image look far-off and futuristic? Well, this week's Yahoo e-mail surveillance revelations perhaps prove this intrusive robot scenario has already arrived in the digital world.
Days ago, Reuters cited anonymous sources and reported that Yahoo covertly built a secret "custom software program to search all of its customers' incoming e-mails for specific information." Yahoo, the report noted, "complied with a classified US government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency or FBI."
Reuters then followed up, saying Yahoo acted at the behest of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Not to be outdone, The New York Times reported Yahoo used its system designed to scan for child pornography and spam to search for messages containing an undisclosed "signature." The Times said a FISA judge found probable cause to believe that this digital signature "was uniquely used by a foreign power." The scanning has ceased, the report noted, but neither of the news agencies said how long the search lasted and when it began.
Yahoo denies how the reports portrayed its assistance, saying they are "misleading." Other tech companies have denied participating in such surveillance as it was outlined in those reports. continued…
first published week of: 10/10/2016
Your Own Motion Could One Day Power Your Cell Phone
Looking forward to the day when you don't have to charge your cell phone or activity tracker?
Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a device they've dubbed a nanogenerator that lets motion charge a mobile device or a wearable.
A cell phone using this technology, for instance, would need no battery. Your own motion would provide power.That day might not be as far away as you think. continued…
first published week of: 12/12/2016
The United States’ military is the largest in the world, and it’s long been at the forefront of technological innovation. Consumer tech trends and gadgets — including the internet, GPS, and many basic elements of computing — often evolve from military projects.
Since its inception in 1958, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, commonly referred to as DARPA, has taken on the responsibility of developing breakthrough technology to aid the military. What’s coming next that could eventually trickle down to the civilian world?
Here are 10 incredible tech projects that the military is working on right now. continued…
first published week of: 06/13/2016
From the decade that gave us leg warmers, hair metal and the best Star Wars film ever made, comes some of the most memorable gadgets ever
Come on, let's be honest, the 80s were pretty damn great weren't they? The 1980s delivered great music, great cars, great films and great fashion. Ok, maybe not great fashion.
What the decade of leg warmers, hair metal and Back to the Future also excelled at was producing some top-shelf gadget innovations, with a series of tech releases transforming how we are entertained, communicate and live.9Here are the top 10 gadgets of the 1980s according to T3.com. continued…
first published week of: 04/25/2016