Tuesday's letter, however, shows that the tech sector isn't caving—meaning legislation requiring backdoors would have to be passed. In the US, the law in question is the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, known as CALEA. The measure demands that telecommunication companies make their phone networks available to wiretaps. However, that requirement, at least for now, does not apply to phone hardware or most other communication services. … [Read more...] about Tech sector tells Obama encryption backdoors “undermine human rights”
Fsma preventive controls for human food
Losing labs to Hurricane Sandy and animal rights protestors
Negotiators eventually talked them down to leaving with 100, but a number of those carry mutations that leave them immunocompromised or vulnerable to the outside environment. By "rescuing" them, the activists have almost certainly ensured their death. But that wasn't the biggest loss. While in the facility, the intruders moved cages around and swapped labels, ensuring that the researchers couldn't tell which animals were involved in what experiment. The animals may still be alive, but all the neuroscience research that was planned to be done with them won't be able to go forward. … [Read more...] about Losing labs to Hurricane Sandy and animal rights protestors
Boston Dynamics now sells a robot dog to the public, starting at $74,500
Spot is not a toy, and the Boston Dynamics mentions several times that the robot can be dangerous. The site reads, "Spot is not certified safe for in-home use or intended for use near children or others who may not appreciate the hazards associated with its operation. Do not operate Spot in any such environment; our warranty of Spot becomes void upon any such operation." While the robot isn't quite "three-laws safe" yet, the company notes that "all orders will be subject to Boston Dynamics' Terms and Conditions of Sale, which require the beneficial use of its robots." It's your job to not terrorize people with the robot. … [Read more...] about Boston Dynamics now sells a robot dog to the public, starting at $74,500
An autonomous daredevil pushes the limits of flight
Drones, especially those designed for difficult environments or severe weather conditions, could benefit from the same kind of acrobatic proofing. To that end, researchers from the University of Zurich (part of the NCCR Robotics consortium) and Intel have developed a quadcopter that can perform incredible aerial acrobatics autonomously. The lessons learned from the autonomous drone may help pave the way for drones that can more fully exploit their agility and speed while maximizing flight efficiency and battery life. … [Read more...] about An autonomous daredevil pushes the limits of flight
Twitter not liable in Devin Nunes’ beef with cow account, judge rules
Marshall in his ruling observed that Nunes "alleges that Twitter has a bias towards a point of view and that bias is so extreme that it governs its decisions regarding content that is allowed on its internet platform, and that course of conduct makes it a content provider." That distinction is legally incorrect, Marshall noted. Even if Twitter did moderate according to a specific political point of view—which there is no evidence it does—it would be legally allowed to do so. … [Read more...] about Twitter not liable in Devin Nunes’ beef with cow account, judge rules
