TechEye |  |
- Boffins uses lasers to make fruit flies moonwalk
- Kim Dotcom's party allies with a Maori party
- Canadians allow you to turn your mobile on in flight
- Convicted hacker saved corporations
- Foxconn goes mobile
| Boffins uses lasers to make fruit flies moonwalk Posted: 27 May 2014 02:19 AM PDT Boffins from the Vienna University of Technology and US researchers have hatched out a plan to control fruit flies with lasers. We are not sure of what inspired someone from a university to think "the world would be a better place if we could control fruit flies" and then to think "what would happen if I fried the beggars with a laser". According to RedOrbit, after taking that initial inspiration, that same boffin convinced his chums at the Information Management and Preservation Lab within the Department of Software Technology and Interactive Systems at VUT to develop something called FlyMAD (Fly Mind Altering Device) which targets either light or heat to a specific body region of a fly that is in motion, triggering a response. FlyMAD has allowed the boffins to zero in on two specific neuronal cell types that deal with courtship behaviour of the fruit fly. So when a male fly is just getting his box of chocolates and floral tie ready for his first date he has his neural pathways fried with a laser and made them moonwalk. It also stuffed up their courtship song. FlyMAD, unlike previous techniques used in this field, provides researchers with a much more highly improved temporal resolution of their subject animals. The entire system basically consists of an enclosed box in which the flies are housed. A video camera, can track several flies at once, captures the motion of the flies. The flies are then subjected to targeted irradiation that effectively allows the researchers to alter neural pathways. The results of this study, which could potentially yield new and further insight into the mammalian brain, was published online on May 25 in the journal Nature Methods. Of course it is not clear when scientists will be turning their lasers onto dating humans. We will know when they start to think that moonwalking is a good way to pick up members of the opposite sex.        |
| Kim Dotcom's party allies with a Maori party Posted: 27 May 2014 02:18 AM PDT Kim Dotcom's entry into Kiwi politics has seen him form an alliance with a left wing Maori Party in a bit to win a seat in the country's general election in September. Dotcom's Internet Party and the leftist Mana Party strikes us as an odd alliance. Mana already has a member in the country's parliament and the new internet Mana will put up a combined list of candidates in the election. Dotcom brokered the deal but will not hold any position in the Internet Party. He has the right to vote in New Zealand but cannot stand for election until he becomes a citizen. This will be tricky as the US authorities want to extradite him from New Zealand to face online piracy charges over the now closed file-sharing site Megaupload. Internet Party chief executive Vikram Kumar said the two parties would retain their separate policies, with the Internet Party aiming at young voters with policies of cheaper internet, the creation of high-tech jobs, and the protection of privacy. The Mana Party has pursued policies to help the underprivileged, attracting support from some non-Maori left wing activists. Under New Zealand's proportional voting system, a party must win either an electorate seat or at least five percent of the nationwide vote to get into the 120-seat parliament. However, the five percent barrier would not apply if the current Mana Party Member of Parliament was re-elected, with further members being elected in his slipstream depending on the party's final share of the vote.     |
| Canadians allow you to turn your mobile on in flight Posted: 27 May 2014 02:16 AM PDT Canada has relaxed official restrictions on using mobile devices in flight. The move follows the lead of the United States and the European Union while maintaining a ban on transmitting information. Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said air passengers could now use smartphones, cameras, electronic games, tablets and computers throughout a flight. Under current Canadian rules, all such devices must be shut down during takeoff and landing. Passengers, however, can use their new freedom if the airline they are flying on updates their safety manuals and can guarantee that during takeoff and landings all passengers are able to follow crew instructions. Raitt also said the ban on sending or receiving e-mails and phone calls in flight would remain in place. The US Federal Aviation Administration announced similar measures for users of personal electronic devices last October and the European Union followed in December.     |
| Convicted hacker saved corporations Posted: 27 May 2014 02:15 AM PDT A computer hacker who infiltrated the servers of major corporations defected to the men in suits to avoid a large jail sentence. Hector Xavier Monsegur was arrested by the cops and it was likely he would get more than 20 years porridge under the US government's "lock em up for years for no real purpose" justice system. However Monsegur switched sides and helped the government disrupt hundreds of cyberattacks on Congress, NASA and other sensitive targets. New York prosecutors detailed the cooperation of Monsegur for the first time in court papers while asking a judge to reward him with leniency at his sentencing Tuesday. Monsegur helped them cripple Anonymous and worked around the clock with FBI agents at his side. He provided, in real time, information about then-ongoing computer hacks and vulnerabilities in significant computer systems, prosecutors wrote. The FBI estimates he helped detect at least 300 separate hacks, preventing millions of dollars in losses, they added. It is believed that despite saving the Land of the Fee more than 300 times, he will still face jail. But because of his cooperation, the sentence could be two years or less. However in a 2011 interview with an online magazine, Monsegur said he decided to join forces with Anonymous because he was upset over the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Using the alias Sabu, Monsegur led Lulz Security, or LulzSec, which hacked computer systems of Fox television, Nintendo, PayPal and other businesses, stole private information and then bragged about it online. When arrested Monsegur immediately agreed to cooperate, giving the FBI a tutorial on the inner-workings and participants of LulzSec and Anonymous, prosecutors said. Under their direction, he "convinced LulzSec members to provide him digital evidence of the hacking activities" and "asked seemingly innocuous questions that ... could be used to pinpoint their exact locations and identities," court papers said. Reports that Monsegur was cooperating made him a pariah in the Anonymous movement, prosecutors said. Hackers began posting personal information about him, and he was even approached on the street and threatened, they said. He, and his family were later placed in a witness protection programme     |
| Posted: 27 May 2014 02:00 AM PDT Foxconn is writing a $390 million cheque for the Taiwanese mobile telecoms operator Asia Pacific Telecom as part of a cunning plan to expand into the 4G telecoms market. Foxconn and Asia Pacific are expected to merge fully via a share swap once the small print is worked out by June 20. The world's largest contract manufacturer of electronic goods wants to expand its operations to include software, 4G services and cloud computing. It also has a licence to operate part of Taiwan's 4G spectrum. It will take a jolly long time for Foxconn to make any dosh from 4G. Analysts have done the numbers and think it will take at least seven years for the outfit to make any real profits. Earlier this month, Asia Pacific had said it would soon decide soon on a merger with either Foxconn or Chinese noodles maker Ting Hsin International. We are not sure how many people would opt for 4G Noodles but it looks like they decided Foxconn would be a better bet. Foxconn will buy Asia Pacific under its subsidiary company Ambit Microsystems, the unit responsible for its future 4G deployment, the stock exchange statement said. Ambit will be dissolved and the new company will operate under the name Asia Pacific Telecom.     |
| You are subscribed to email updates from TechEye - Latest technology headlines To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.