Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report wowed audiences with its futuristic tech: flashy hand-gesture computers, flex-screen displays, holograms, and Lexus-designed auto-piloted vehicles. The sci-fi flick also showed the world a dystopian, draconian picture of a crime-free society: “precogs” predicting murders, eye-scanners dotting the streets and subways, a jet-pack-toting police force, and a public seemingly deprived of any right to privacy. Spielberg envisioned this for 2054, but advances in technology are bringing that future sooner and sooner. Here’s a look at some of our own sci-fi crime fighting tools.
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Category: News and Views
Hacker Spoofs Cell Phone Tower to Intercept Calls | Wired.com
Just turning on the antennas caused two dozen phones in the room to connect to Paget’s tower. He then set it to spoof an AT&T tower to capture calls from customers of that carrier.“As far as your cell phones are concerned, I am now indistinguishable from AT&T,” he said. “Every AT&T cell phone in the room will gradually start handing over to my network.” Read More.
2010’s Best Designed Products | Fast Company
The winners of the 2010 International Design Excellence Awards can help you ride the waves, grill a burger, catch varmints, and save the earth.
Cash for Chocolate? | WSJ.com
Instead of going to a bank or tapping your family and friends, consider some alternative financing options.
Merchants Push Sales Through Social Media – WSJ.com
After learning how to market themselves through tweets and status updates, some small companies are taking the next step: selling directly to consumers via social-networking sites.
Why the Twilight Exit Will Buy You a Steak Dinner If You Close Your Chase Bank Account – Seattle News – The Daily Weekly
He was watching customers pay with cards furnished by the company he felt was trying to screw him, all in the name of keeping a little extra of his money every month. It’s illegal to offer free booze to entice customers.
But free meat? Fair game.
“If someone wants a steak dinner,” he says. “I will feed them.”
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Finding a Good Financial Bill in 2,300 Pages | NYTimes.com
I did something I doubt few people have dared. I took the liberty of a 13-hour flight back from Asia earlier this week to read all 2,300-plus pages of the bill. Yes, all of them.
My law professor verdict: There are many things to applaud in this bill and much in there that will substantially enhance the government’s power to regulate the financial industry. On the whole, if you think that the financial industry needs more supervision and financial regulators more tools, you should be relatively happy. If you are an advocate of big world changing ideas like breaking up the banks, you will be less so.
Apple Becomes Big Brother | TAUW
Seriously, this is nothing that a little duct tape can’t fix:
Sadly, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Apple deleting discussion board threads on topics which are unflattering to Apple’s products. It’s closer to the fiftieth time. In fact, we’ve heard so many reports about this happening that it seems safe to call this standard operating procedure for Apple’s discussion boards. That’s not to say that there are no negative threads on the discussion boards, but the ones that are there are the ones that Apple’s moderators have decided to leave active.
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DOE Announces $30 Million in New Small Business Funding to Help Commercialize Clean Energy Technologies
Department of Energy Office of Public Affairs
For Immediate Release
Washington, DC — U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced yesterday that $30 million in funding from the Recovery Act and FY 2010 budget appropriations will be made available to qualified small businesses to support the commercialization of promising new technologies. Today’s funding announcement builds on the Department’s existing efforts under the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) to develop near-term clean energy technologies and support American small businesses that will play an important role in building the clean energy economy of the future. This is the first time DOE has offered Phase III awards under these small business programs.
“Small businesses are the engine of job creation and innovation, and we need their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to drive a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “By helping America’s small businesses bring these innovative technologies to market, we will spur economic growth and help reduce the country’s energy use.”
Small companies previously awarded Phase II grants through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) or the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) are eligible. Projects that include developed technologies with a strong potential for commercialization and impact on U.S. manufacturing and job creation are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants may receive up to $3 million over three years to research, develop, and deploy new technologies.
Continue reading “DOE Announces $30 Million in New Small Business Funding to Help Commercialize Clean Energy Technologies”
Wine is a family dream for Yorba Linda business | The Orange County Register
These are our clients. The
y rock!
They started their planning with us a little under a year ago and they’re open and thriving.
They are located at 4861 Main St. in Yorba Linda. Check them out.
Dispatches From The Front 