tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15381454726539280542024-03-12T17:58:16.071-05:00Where's ChuckChuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-5567592562796803792011-04-12T17:22:00.003-05:002011-04-12T17:25:31.079-05:00Microsoft Patch Tuesday for 12 April 2011 is a Whopper!<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Patch Tuesday is here, and this month is a whopper. Microsoft has <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2011/04/12/april-2011-security-bulletin-release.aspx">unleashed 17 new security bulletins</a>, addressing a total of 64 separate vulnerabilities. Nine bulletins are rated as critical and the remaining eight are rated as important. The vulnerabilities affect Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Visual Studio, .NET Framework and GDI+.<br /></p><p>The full version of the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for April 2011 can be found at <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms11-apr.mspx">http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms11-apr.mspx</a>.<br /></p><p style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">If you have Automatic Update enabled and configured to download and install the latest Microsoft updates in the middle of the night while you're sleeping, it doesn't really matter if there are two security bulletins, or sixty-four. Either way you wake up to a freshly patched--and probably rebooted--system.</p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-6095365531245421072011-04-07T20:34:00.001-05:002011-04-07T20:34:46.432-05:00Spaceship Lands at San Francisco Airport<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'><strong>It looks like the future of space travel and exploration belongs to the commercial sector:<br /></strong></span></p><p><a href='http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/04/spaceship-virgin-terminal/'><span style='font-size:9pt'><strong>spaceship-virgin-terminal</strong></span></a><span style='font-size:9pt'><strong><br /> </strong></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-83807740874451236662011-04-06T19:35:00.002-05:002011-04-06T19:41:52.872-05:00Navy Wants Doc-Bots, Robo-Ambulances<span xmlns=""> <br /><p>Not all of the military's robot research goes into creating unfeeling killing machines. Some of them are here to heal, like the Navy's plan to create a medical robot to treat troops carried by drones. </p><br /><p>The Navy envisions its medic-bot actually diagnosing and managing a number of "medically complex, life-threatening clinical events" for more than six hours — to be done either autonomously or with the remote assistance of a human caregiver. To do some of that critical management, ACCS would come equipped with its own drug kit, including "epinephrine, phenylephrine, dopamine, vasopressin, paralytics" among others. </p><br /><p>The medic-bot will be a tiny little bot. The Navy wants it to be 30 pounds, max, and should be able to fit into helicopters easily. </p><br /><p>But the Navy doesn't just want a robo-doc. It's also looking for an unmanned ambulance — one that flies, preferably. The Office of Naval Research says it expects that "unmanned ground or air vehicles" will be available to carry wounded troops <strong>or disaster victims</strong> in the future and that their medic-bot will "validate effective patient monitoring and control" on them while in transit. </p><br /><p>Read more at <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/04/navy-wants-doc-bots-robo-ambulances/">navy-wants-doc-bots-robo-ambulances</a> </p><br /><p>NOTE: If these military technologies succeed you can bet they will quickly be applied to civilian use, just like medevac helicopters (air ambulances) . Medevac helicopters proved their value in the Korean and Vietnam wars and were then rapidly adopted in community hospitals. </p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-91995281818994017942011-03-28T20:21:00.001-05:002011-03-28T20:21:11.286-05:00Bananas Could Make Cars Leaner, Greener<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Researchers are going bananas in the quest to build cleaner, greener cars.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Brazilian scientists have developed a way of using fibers from bananas, pineapples and other plants to create plastic that is stronger and lighter than the petroleum-based stuff. So-called nanocellulose fibers rival Kevlar in strength but are renewable, and the researchers believe they could be widely used within a couple of years.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>"The properties of these plastics are incredible," Alcides Leão, a researcher at Sao Paulo State University, said in a statement. "They are light, but very strong — 30 percent lighter and three to four times stronger."<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>That could reduce the weight of new vehicles, which would <a href='http://www.wired.com/autopia/tag/fuel-economy/'><span style='color:blue; text-decoration:underline'>increase fuel economy</span></a>. Several automakers are cutting weight in their campaigns to maximize mpg. Ford, for example, hopes to trim 250 to 750 pounds from its vehicles and is <a href='http://www.wired.com/autopia/2008/04/ford-turns-to-n/'><span style='color:blue; text-decoration:underline'>exploring nanotechnology</span></a> to do so.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read more at <a href='http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/03/bananas-could-make-cars-leaner-greener/'>bananas-could-make-cars-leaner-greener</a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-22485883337844292852011-03-01T19:24:00.001-06:002011-03-01T19:24:04.580-06:00GOP's anti-immigrant stance could turn Texas into a blue state<span xmlns=''><p style='background: white'><span style='font-size:9pt'>Not today, to be sure, nor tomorrow. But to read the newly released census data on the Lone Star State is to understand that Texas, the linchpin of any Republican electoral college majority, is turning Latino and, unless the Republicans change their spots, Democratic. <br /></span></p><p style='background: white'><span style='font-size:9pt'>Figures <a target='' href='http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/us/18texas.html?_r=1&ref=jamescjrmckinley'><span style='color:#0c4790; text-decoration:underline'>released last month by the Census Bureau</span></a> show that during the past decade, Texas joined California as a majority-minority state: The percentage of whites in the Texas population declined from 52 percent in 2000 to 45 percent in 2010, while the percentage of Latinos rose from 32 percent to 38 percent. <a target='' href='http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/latinos-key-to-texas-population-growth-116489473.html'><span style='color:#0c4790; text-decoration:underline'>Nearly half of all Texans under 18</span></a> - 48 percent - are Latino. <br /></span></p><p style='background: white'><span style='font-size:9pt'>What these numbers mean is simply that the Republicans have an existential problem. As America becomes increasingly multiracial, the Republicans have elected to become increasingly white. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read the entire article at <a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030105589.html?hpid=opinionsbox1'>Texas-blue</a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-7946811497349059482011-02-28T18:04:00.002-06:002011-02-28T18:07:31.767-06:00Military deploys acupuncture to treat soldiers' concussions<span xmlns=""> <p><span style="font-family:verdana;color:black;">CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — The U.S. military is applying an ancient Chinese healing technique to the top modern battlefield injury for American soldiers, with results that doctors here say are "off the charts."<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:black;">Cdr Stuessi, a military doctor who treats soldiers at the Concussion Restoration Care Center at Camp Leatherneck, </span>describes the results as "phenomenal." </span><span style="font-family:verdana;color:black;">"It's like rewiring a computer; you're hitting certain nerves in the body. So instead of sending up a pain signal to the brain, they send up a signal saying everything's OK. It's almost like faking out the brain," Stuessi said.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read the entire article at </span><a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/02/07/108250/military-deploys-acupuncture-to.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">military-deploys-acupuncture</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">PERSONAL NOTE: I have severe tendonitis in my hands and arthritis in my thumbs caused by 48 years of using computer mice and keyboards. Orthopedic surgeons in VA and TX have told me that an operation MIGHT help so I have resorted to using pain medication when the pain gets severe. A couple of months ago I decided to try acupuncture. Acupuncture hasn't cured the problem but has helped to the extent that I no longer use medication. </span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-67027142538167239022011-02-11T18:38:00.001-06:002011-02-11T18:38:54.019-06:00World’s Total CPU Power: One Human Brain<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>"To put our findings in perspective, the 6.4*10<sup>18</sup> instructions per second that human kind can carry out on its general-purpose computers in 2007 are in the same ballpark area as the maximum number of nerve impulses executed by one human brain per second," <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>It turns out our computers aren't as powerful as we thought…<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read the article at <a href='http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/world-computer-data/'>world-computer-data</a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-12079796383000206952011-02-02T19:34:00.001-06:002011-02-02T19:39:40.671-06:00The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>The City Paper, a small alternative Washington newspaper, published an article detailing dozens of Snyder's inept and unpopular actions as team owner and businessman. It included the 2005 controversy surrounding the removal of more than 130 trees on National Park Service land adjacent to Snyder's home to improve his view of the Potomac River. Afterward Snyder paid a $37,000 fine and planted seedlings to replace the trees. Needless to say it will takes decades for the seedlings to reach the height of the previous trees and meanwhile Mr. Snyder will have an unobstructed view of the river. I remember this well because I lived in Fairfax County Virginia at the time. The episode marked one of the rare times Snyder got crisis PR help. He retained Mike Sitrick, who helped with damage control for the Michael Jackson family after the pop star's death and Paris Hilton after one of her arrests. Mr. Snyder is threatening a lawsuit against the paper and demanding that they fire the author of the article. <br /></span></p><p style='background: white'><span style='color:black; font-size:9pt'>Mr. Robert Danno, the Shenandoah Junction resident and National Park Service employee who reported the tree removal to authorities, hasn't been as lucky as Mr. Snyder. Soon after he made his disclosures, he experienced a variety of administrative actions, including temporary reassignment, investigation, frivolous administrative charges, Board of Inquiry, suspension, isolation, permanent reassignment and criminal charges. He was removed from his position as chief ranger and reassigned for more than two years to the George Washington Memorial Parkway, where he was required to commute to Mt. Vernon from West Virginia, to issue picnic permits.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read the entire article at <a href='http://mirror.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40063/the-cranky-redskins-fans-guide-to-dan-snyder.html'>the-cranky-redskins-fans-guide-to-dan-snyder</a><br /> </span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-3237916310745843952011-01-25T19:48:00.001-06:002011-01-25T19:48:59.127-06:00Darpa Wants Troop Cellphones With Heat Vision<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>There's the shopworn military cliche about every <a href='http://www.army.mil/professionalvideo/movies/sensor.html'><span style='color:blue; text-decoration:underline'>soldier being a sensor</span></a>. And then there's Darpa's out-there project to shrink thermal imaging down to the point where it would fit on a cellphone screen or a rifle sight. The Pentagon's research branch wants personal infrared imaging that's good enough to tell a soldier whether an armed adversary is coming right at him.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read more at <a href='http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/darpa-wants-troop-cellphones-with-heat-vision/'>darpa-wants-troop-cellphones-with-heat-vision</a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-33406912211458497162011-01-08T19:43:00.001-06:002011-01-08T19:43:52.726-06:00‘White House’ eCard Dupes Dot-Gov Geeks<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>A malware-laced e-mail that spoofed seasons greetings from The White House siphoned gigabytes of sensitive documents from dozens of victims over the holidays, including a number of government employees and contractors who work on cybersecurity matters.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>The attack appears to be the latest salvo from ZeuS malware gangs whose <a target='_blank' href='http://www.infowar-monitor.net/2010/09/crime-or-espionage-part-2/'><span style='color:blue; text-decoration:underline'>activities over the past year</span></a> have blurred the boundaries between online financial crime and espionage, by stealing both financial data and documents from victim machines. This activity is unusual because most criminals using ZeuS are interested in money-making activities – such as swiping passwords and creating botnets – whereas the hoovering up of sensitive government documents is activity typically associated with so-called <a target='_blank' href='http://www.mandiant.com/services/advanced_persistent_threat/'><span style='color:blue; text-decoration:underline'>advanced persistent threat</span></a> attacks, or those deployed to gather industrial and military intelligence.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read more at<a href='http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/01/white-house-ecard-dupes-dot-gov-geeks/'>White-House-ecard-dupes-dot-gov-geeks</a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-90358532801210440112011-01-08T19:38:00.001-06:002011-01-08T19:38:07.704-06:00Global spam volumes fall precipitously<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Global spam volumes have fallen precipitously in the past two months, thanks largely to the cessation of junk e-mail from <strong>Rustock</strong> – until recently the world's most active spam botnet. But experts say the hackers behind Rustock have since shifted the botnet's resources toward other money-making activities, such as installing spyware and adware. That's good news or bad news, depending on whether you have a good anti-spyware program. If you don't I recommend Spybot (free) or Systems Mechanic Pro ($49.95). System Mechanic Pro is also a very good PC tunup tool.<br /></span></p><p>Read more at <a href='http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/01/taking-stock-of-rustock/'>Rustock-ceases-operation</a><br /> </p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-18883871298689421422010-12-10T20:00:00.001-06:002010-12-10T20:00:24.945-06:00Déjà vu - Military Bans Removable Disks AGAIN<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>It's too late to stop WikiLeaks from publishing thousands more classified documents, nabbed from the Pentagon's secret network. But the U.S. military is telling its troops to stop using CDs, DVDs, thumb drives and every other form of removable media — or risk a court martial.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>More info is available at <a href='http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/military-bans-disks-threatens-courts-martials-to-stop-new-leaks/'>Military-bans-disks-threatens-courts-martials-to-stop-new-leaks</a><br /> </span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>NOTE: Removable disks were disabled on military computers and networks two years ago. It proved to be impracticable because many military users of imagery and other critical data only have access to low speed networks or no network access at all. In some cases critical operational readiness and project executions were being negatively impacted so the policy was changed. <span style='text-decoration:underline'>Removable media could be temporarily enabled under controlled conditions if documented.</span> So one of three things occurred that allowed the WikiLeaks: (1) the military agency had not implemented the control procedures, (2) the WikiLeaks perpetrator who burned the documents to CDs had the authority to enable removable disks on the classified network, or (3) the WikiLeaks perpetrator convinced someone to enable removable disks on the classified network. <span style='text-decoration:underline'>The bottom line is the WikiLeaks were caused by weak management controls over classified networks and data.</span></span><span style='text-decoration:underline'><br /> </span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-7096607851800643552010-12-04T19:23:00.001-06:002010-12-04T19:23:08.338-06:00ActiveWords – a program you need<span xmlns=''><p>ActiveWords is a simple, intuitive macro-program that allows you to create brief words or shortcuts to substitute text (up to 32kb in size); open programs, files and folders; navigate the Internet; open Windows settings; and execute scripting actions. After using the free trial program for a couple of days I purchased ActiveWords PLUS for $49.95. I have already created several dozen shortcuts. Examples:<br /></p><p> cs + F8 inserts "Charles Stone" wherever the cursor is located<br /></p><p> ad + F8 inserts my address wherever the cursor is located<br /></p><p> w + F8 opens Microsoft Word<br /></p><p> wc + F8 opens the wired.com web site<br /></p><p> cp + F8 opens the Control Panel<br /></p><p> cw + F8 closes the current window<br /></p><p style='text-align: justify'>I prefer my shortcuts to be 1-3 characters in length but you can make them any length you like. For example, you could use Word F8 to open Microsoft Word. <a href='http://www.activewords.com/'>ActiveWords</a> joins my list of MUST HAVE Windows PC productivity applications: <a href='http://www.12noon.com/'>Alarm++</a>, <a href='http://www.asksam.com/'>askSam Free-Form Database</a>, <a href='http://www.bookmarkbuddy.net/'>Bookmark Buddy</a> and <a href='http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/default.asp'>Snagit</a>. Try them – they will simplify your computing life. Trials are available for all of them. </p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-18376037418157212172010-12-02T13:48:00.001-06:002010-12-02T13:48:12.395-06:00Arsenic-munching germ redefines "life as we know it”<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>A strange, salty lake in California has yielded an equally strange bacterium that thrives on arsenic and redefines life as we know it, researchers reported Thursday.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>The bacteria do not merely eat arsenic -- they incorporate the toxic element directly into their DNA, the researchers said.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>The finding shows just how little scientists know about the variety of life forms on Earth, and may greatly expand where they should be looking for life on other planets and moons, the NASA-funded team said.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read more at <a href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101202/sc_nm/us_arsenic_bacteria'>Arsenic_bacteria</a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-35445583071492294012010-12-01T19:27:00.001-06:002010-12-01T19:27:24.772-06:00IBM chip breakthrough may lead to exascale supercomputers<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>IBM researchers have made a breakthrough in using pulses of light to accelerate data transfer between chips, something they say could boost the performance of supercomputers by more than a thousand times. Such supercomputers should dramatically improve weather and climatic predictions by allowing larger parts of the earth to be simultaneously modeled and analyzed.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9pt'>Read more at <a href='http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/120110-ibm-chip-breakthrough-may-lead.html'>IBM Chip Breakthrough</a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-22013786050965191822010-11-08T20:10:00.001-06:002010-11-08T20:10:56.054-06:00Hurricane Forecasts Can Be Made Years in Advance<span xmlns=''><p>The parade of storms that pummels the western fringe of the North Atlantic every year just got a bit more predictable. Scientists say they have developed a way to forecast how many Atlantic hurricanes there will be — not just for the upcoming year, as some groups already do each spring, but for several years out.<br /></p><p>Knowing how hurricane trends could change in the future, he says, will help society prepare for the damage of the kind that Hurricane Tomas recently dealt the Caribbean.<br /></p><p>Read more at <a href='http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/hurricane-forecasts/'>Hurricane Forecasts</a></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-8903539707730442142010-10-29T19:09:00.002-05:002010-10-29T19:10:05.584-05:00Why Your Electric Vehicle 'Fuel' Will Be Free<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p><span style="color:black;">How can EVs become more attractive to consumers price-wise? One of the ways can be from the realistic prospect of free 'fuel.' Imagine this scenario happening in the not so distant future: You get in your EV for a day of errands and your display screen notifies you that your battery is low. A quick scan on the navigation system says there is an available charge spot at a nearby grocery store where, best of all, charging is free to customers. With a few touches to the navigation screen, your vehicle automatically routes you to the location and you're able to refuel while grocery shopping is checked off your list. </span><br /> </p><p><span style=";color:black;" >Pie in the sky you ask? Not at all and here's why: depending on battery size, the cost of the total electricity needed to charge your vehicle should be around $1.00 - $1.50. Retailers will likely see this as good business: spending a $1.00 per customer in exchange for the $100 you'll spend at the grocery store is a high return; especially when considering the amount they normally spend on advertisements and reward programs to get you in the door. Essentially, electricity as fuel will be much more than a commodity—it will be a retailer's bargaining chip.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:black;">Read more at </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/ibm-thoughts-on-a-smarter-planet/">Free Fuel<span style="color:black;"><br /> </span></a></p><p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;color:black;" ><a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/ibm-thoughts-on-a-smarter-planet/"><br /> </a></span><a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/ibm-thoughts-on-a-smarter-planet/"> </a></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-30838929732004684132010-10-22T19:26:00.002-05:002010-10-22T19:30:24.848-05:00Feds Plot ‘Near Human’ Robot Docs, Farmers, Troops<span xmlns=""> <p><span style="color:black;">Robots are already vacuuming our carpets, heading into combat and assisting docs on medical procedures. Get ready for a next generation of "near human" bots that'll do a lot more: independently perform surgeries, harvest our crops and herd our livestock, and even administer drugs from within our own bodies.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:black;">Those are only a few of the suggested applications for robots in a massive new federal research program. The military's blue-sky research arm, Darpa, is pairing up with four other agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Homeland Security, to launch a major push that'd revolutionize robotic capabilities and put bots pretty much everywhere, from hospitals to dude ranches to "explosive atmospheres."<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:black;">Read more at <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/darpa-leads-push-for-near-human-robot-doctors-farmers-troops/"></span>Push-for-near-human-robot-doctors-farmers-troops</p></span></a><br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/darpa-leads-push-for-near-human-robot-doctors-farmers-troops/"></a>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-30889195681507109772010-10-14T18:51:00.002-05:002010-10-14T18:53:22.266-05:00Computerized Grenade Launcher Heads to Afghanistan<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p><span style="color:black;">It looks like a piece of riot-control gear. It's got a computerized in-board targeting system. It can kill someone from 2,300 feet away, while he takes cover. And it's on its way to </span>the 101st Airborne Division and Special Forces units in the <span style="color:black;">Afghanistan war.<br /></span></p><p><span style=";color:black;" >The XM-25 grenade launcher shoots a 25 mm high-explosive round that's basically a "smart" grenade. What makes it smart? Sensors and microchips inside the round talks to the gun's guidance system, known as the Target Acquisition Fire Control unit, to learn where and when to explode, minimizing the likelihood of collateral damage.<br /></span></p><p><span style=";color:black;" >Need to take out an insurgent who's popping out from behind a clay wall? Set the guidance for the distance to the wall and adjust a bit more for his body's position and fire — actually using Plus and Minus buttons on the side of the gun. Watch the round release bursts of shrapnel right over him. You can't do that with a regular mortar tube, even if you were able to shoot the mortar like a gun.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:black;">Read more at </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/men-in-black-computerized-grenade-launcher-heads-to-afghanistan/">Computerized-grenade-launcher-heads-to-afghanistan</a></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-27932068871648434252010-10-12T18:39:00.001-05:002010-10-12T18:39:14.204-05:00Comments on my blog<span xmlns=''><p>You can now comment on my blog posts if you like. I didn't know until recently that Blogspot was changed so that blogs were set to a default of "no comments". To comment on a post click on "comments" at the end. A new window will be opened to allow you to leave comments. You can choose an identity such as your Google Account or just click on "Anonymous".</p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-21102139416290194542010-10-07T19:31:00.002-05:002010-10-07T19:33:17.881-05:00Darpa's Self-Aiming "One Shot" Sniper Rifle Scheduled for Next Year<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p>A sniper crouches near an open window and zooms in on his target, who sits a half-mile away. He peers through a scope and holds his breath, preparing to squeeze the trigger. But it's windy outside, and he can't afford a miss. What to do?<br /></p><p>A new DARPA-funded electro-optical system will calculate the ballistics for him, telling him where to aim and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.militaryaerospace.com/index/display/article-display/0657946308/articles/military-aerospace-electronics/executive-watch-2/2010/10/lockheed-martin_to.html"><span style="text-decoration: underline;color:blue;" >ensuring a perfect shot</span></a>, no matter the weather conditions.<br /></p><p>Read more at <a href="http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/aiming-help-snipers-lockheed-develops-one-shot-solution">Self-Aiming Sniper Rifle</a></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-24293651870745651042010-09-29T19:10:00.003-05:002010-09-29T19:14:56.620-05:00Darpa Moves a Step Closer to Its Flying Humvee<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;" ><span style="color:black;">In the spring, the futurists at Darpa rethought troop transport. Instead of adding armor or changing the shape to deflect bomb blasts, the agency reasoned, why not let it leap into the sky at the first sign of danger or inconvenience? That's exactly what Darpa's "Transformer" project is supposed to be: a mashup of a helicopter, plane and armored truck.<br /><br />Read more at <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/darpa-moves-a-step-closer-to-its-flying-humvee/"></a></span><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/darpa-moves-a-step-closer-to-its-flying-humvee/">Flying Humvee<span style="color:black;"><br /> </span></a></span></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-69396108962756072722010-09-10T20:32:00.002-05:002010-09-10T20:33:39.141-05:00Cyber Thieves Steal Nearly $1,000,000 from University of Virginia College<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p>Cyber crooks stole just shy of $1 million from a satellite campus of <strong style="font-weight: normal;">The University of Virginia</strong> last week, KrebsOnSecurity.com has learned.<br /></p><p>The attackers stole the money from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wise.virginia.edu/">The University of Virginia's College at Wise</a>, a 4-year public liberal arts college located in the town of Wise in southwestern Virginia.<br /></p><p>Read more at <a href="http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/09/cyber-thieves-steal-nearly-1000000-from-university-of-virginia-college/">Cyber Thieves Steal Nearly $1M From University of Virginia College</a></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-74607145110355943302010-09-10T20:22:00.002-05:002010-09-10T20:23:47.769-05:00Attackers Exploiting New Acrobat/Reader Flaw<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p>Adobe warned today that hackers appear to be exploiting a previously unknown security hole in its PDF Reader and Acrobat programs.<br /></p><p>In <a target="_blank" href="http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa10-02.html"><span style="text-decoration: underline;color:blue;" >an advisory</span></a> published Wednesday, Adobe said a critical vulnerability exists in Acrobat and Reader <em>versions 9.3.4</em> and earlier, and that there are reports that this <a target="_blank" href="http://secunia.com/advisories/41340"><span style="text-decoration: underline;color:blue;" >critical</span></a> vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild. The company says its in the process of evaluating the schedule for an update to plug the security hole.<br /></p><p>WARNING: Since the latest Adobe Reader available as of today 10 September 2010 is vulnerable, it is CRITICAL THAT YOUR ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM BE KEPT UP TO DATE.<br /></p><p>Read more at <a href="http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/09/attackers-exploiting-new-acrobatreader-flaw/">New Acrobat/Reader Flaw</a></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538145472653928054.post-44567637699692664682010-09-08T20:14:00.002-05:002010-09-08T20:15:54.976-05:00DHS Cybersecurity Watchdogs Miss Hundreds of Vulnerabilities on Their Own Network<span xmlns="" style="font-size:100%;"><p><span style="color:black;">The federal agency in charge of protecting other agencies from computer intruders was found riddled with hundreds of high-risk security holes on its own systems, according to the results of an audit released Wednesday.<br /><br />Read More </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/09/us-cert/">DHS Network Vulnerabilities<span style="color:black;"><br /> </span></a></p></span>Chuck Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09663260747086602346noreply@blogger.com3