Free Republic

Self-driving cars. Delphi, one of the biggest auto parts suppliers in the country, will pilot a self-driving Audi from California to the New York auto show. It's part publicity stunt, part experiment: The vehicle's advanced active safety sensors will collect gigabytes of data about the experience, which Delphi will use to help build parts for autonomous cars of the future. (There will be a driver in the car, on stand-by, in case things go wrong, and to take the wheel when the car crosses into a state that regulates the robots.)

Cables lying on the seafloor bring the internet to the world. They transmit 99 percent of international data, make transoceanic communication possible in an instant, and serve as a loose proxy for the international trade that connects advanced economies.Their importance and proliferation inspired Telegeography to make this vintage-inspired map of the cables that connect the internet. It depicts the 299 cables that are active, under construction, or will be funded by the end of this year. In addition to seeing the cables, you'll find information about "latency" at the bottom of the map (how long it takes for information...

Buckybomb shows potential power of nanoscale explosives Mar 05, 2015 by Lisa Zyga Enlarge Molecular configuration of an exploding buckybomb. Credit: ACS (Phys.org)—Scientists have simulated the explosion of a modified buckminsterfullerene molecule (C60), better known as a buckyball, and shown that the reaction produces a tremendous increase in temperature and pressure within a fraction of a second. The nanoscale explosive, which the scientists nickname a "buckybomb," belongs to the emerging field of high-energy nanomaterials that could have a variety of military and industrial applications. The researchers, Vitaly V. Chaban, Eudes Eterno Fileti, and Oleg V. Prezhdo at the University of...

Once you really solve a problem like direct brain-computer interface ... when brains and computers can interact directly, that's it, that's the end of history, that's the end of biology as we know it. Nobody has a clue what will happen once you solve this. If life can break out of the organic realm into the vastness of the inorganic realm, you cannot even begin to imagine what the consequences will be, because your imagination at present is organic. So if there is a point of Singularity, by definition, we have no way of even starting to imagine what's happening...

The American firm Silent Circle has made its debute of a new phone which is its second highly encrypted handset to come to the market.The BlackPhone 2 is able to place calls, send text messages, and store contacts with complete privacy free of government snooping. This is becoming critical for it is not terrorists they are really after, it is loose change. They will now revoke your passport if they even THINK you have money they are entitled to. The handset, due to be released later this year alongside a larger BlackPhone+ model, can also override data demands from third-party...

It isnÂ’t often that you come across new 3D printers that utilize an entirely new concept which hasnÂ’t been seen within this industry as of yet. With todayÂ’s technology, we are able to 3D print objects in hundreds of different materials, but when it comes to printing with metals, most of these machines are out our price ranges. 3D metal printers are mainly reserved for large corporations, as they come with price tags in excess of $250,000. However, as technology advances, we may one day soon be able to 3D print metal objects from the comfort of our own homes,...

Trigonometry Is Racist! KEVIN D. WILLIAMSON February 27, 2015 An African-American scholar says that emphasis on STEM education is bad for blacks. Earlier today on Sirius XM Urban View, an African-American talk station, the guest was Daryl Scott, president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The conversation turned to STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math — education, and the origins of the ongoing push to encourage institutions and students to focus on those subjects. Can you guess what happened? In 1983, the guest explained, a commission empaneled by the secretary of education issued...

Get prepared for less innovation and a slower Internet with added costs. Oh, and technological innovation? That'll slow down too.All thanks to the government now getting their mitts on the Internet through the so-called "net neutrality" bill. Obamacare didn't bring down healthcare costs and expand coverage; Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley didn't make the financial system safer. And there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that the proposed Cap and Trade legislation would've lowered the earth's temperature. Get wise America. Some of the biggest pieces of legislation past in the last couple of decades don't even pretend to do what's advertised. The Department...

[It would really be great if private entrepreneurs could develop this system! Musk is an innovator. Check out the videos in the article.] “Hyperloop moves closer to becoming reality.” Phil LeBeau@Lebeaucarnews (Hyperloop Transportation Technologies,Inc., says Elon Musk’s vision for the new transportation system is beginning to take hold. CNBC’s Phil LeBeau reports, and talks to Ahlborn about the 5-mile stretch to be tested in the next few years.) The Hyperloop, just an idea in the mind of Elon Musk two years ago, is moving closer to becoming reality. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has signed an agreement with a developer in central...

Editor's note: The following is an adapted transcript from “The Flipside with Michael Loftus,” a new comedy show that’s debuted on TV stations across America.You know what I did? I invented an app for your phone. Now here’s what you do when inventing an app, you look around and try to figure out what everybody needs; so I’m watching the news, turns out everybody’s getting killed by cops. So everybody’s gonna need my new App, “Michael Loftus’ How Not to Get Killed by the Cops.” It’s super easy; you just press a button and it tells you what to do. Let’s...

Just one gram of DNA can store the equivalent of 14,000 Blu-ray discs. But although the potential for DNA as an alternative to hard drives has been known about for years, it is not the most reliable and secure way to keep data safe. The latest breakthrough could be about to change that, however.

In September 2013, Oklahoma passed a bill safeguarding student data, and since then, student and family data privacy issues have received greater attention in state houses, largely because of increased data collection requirements and availability of data. There is also a growing need to provide parents with timely, relevant data to make informed choices regarding schooling options. To successfully navigate data privacy issues, it is important to consider existing policies and safeguards in place at the federal level. These safeguards include several significant and far-reaching policies such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection...

Most of life happens without a central planner. Yet people think we need one. Suppose you'd never seen a skating rink, and I told you that I want to lay down some ice and charge people money to strap sharp blades on their feet. They will zip around on the ice -- young and old, skilled and unskilled. My only rule: Go counter-clockwise. Hillary Clinton would say the rink needs regulation. She calls herself "a government junkie." Government junkies like government plans. Hillary'd probably demand that my rink have an official who tells skaters when to zoom left or right,...

Distraction caused by taking selfies is likely to blame for a plane crash that killed a pilot and his passenger in Colorado in May, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators found an undamaged GoPro video camera near the wreckage and recovered its data card. Video from the card showed the 29-year-old pilot with several passengers on flights the previous day, and one nighttime flight shortly before the fatal trip, taking photos of himself with his cell phone, according to investigators. "The camera's flash was activated and illuminated the cockpit area," the report said. The fatal flight, on May...

Normally I try not to get personal when it comes to columns, but occasionally an issue gets too close to home. In the case of the rampant cries of sexism in the tech industry, it literally got to the point of taking up residence. Before writing anything on conservative politics, I was a code junkie – way back in the 80s. As far as my work is concerned, I've never completely left the tech world, since I still manage a short pile of websites, and an internet radio station. But, the work I did previously involved writing and editing documentation for software....

China has requested all of their foreign tech collaborators who have businesses on its territory to alter their products before releasing them on the Chinese market. The Chinese government has imposed new, stricter legislation for the foreign companies which will make them less secure. The official authorities requested that IT infrastructure providers, such as Cisco, should provide access to their hardware in the form of back-doors leading to their products. Softwares will have to follow the same rules, so ATMs which use Microsoft software will also have all their secrets exposed – going as far as revealing its source code....

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 was a monster flagship, except we’ve been able to put together everything you need to know about Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S6, and it’s shaping up to be the most amazing phone we’ve ever heard of. From a CPU that’s 50% faster, to an incredible quad-HD display, Samsung hit every angle with this year’s flagship phone. It will also have a payment feature which works with magnetic and NFC terminals, incredible cameras, and a gorgeous glass and metal body. This is shaping up to be the Android phone to beat this coming year. We were sent photos from...

January 17, 2015 Money Morning Michael A. Robinson writes: This year, 80% of the chips for new PCs will be produced in Silicon Valley… Taiwan… China‘s Shenzhen Province… South Korea… Wrong on all counts. More and more of today’s chipmakers locating their manufacturing facilities a bit off the beaten path these days – in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies… and a nation that some of you may find controversial. But my job is to take you wherever the biggest innovations are being made so that we can find the biggest opportunities. So, today I’m going to show you exactly...

[I really think it is important to highlight all the great advances in technology and medicine, to show what is good in society and what we can accomplish if we put our minds to it! Even if you don’t have diabetes you should appreciate the advances that can be made—if government regulators and Obama don’t destroy the medical industry first.] This Temporary Tattoo Can Monitor Diabetics' Glucose Levels as Accurately as a Finger Prick “A flexible and easy-to-wear temporary tattoo could help diabetics manage their condition without daily finger pricks.” By FIONA MACDONALD January 15, 2015 Engineers from the University...

The California technology industry has a rare opportunity: An open U.S. Senate seat from the Golden State. Could Silicon Valley put up one of its own? It's a potentially powerful idea. A tech-savvy leader replacing Sen. Barbara Boxer, who announced this week she would not seek re-election in 2016, could use the Senate as a bully pulpit to promote how Silicon Valley innovation can improve people's lives. And with a "Tech Senator," Silicon Valley, which has struggled to gain a footing in national politics, could finally achieve the influence it sees itself deserving. The Senate seat "presents an opportunity to...