Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have broken through a symbolic mark. Daily measurements of CO2 at the authoritative “Keeling lab” on Hawaii have topped 400 parts per million for the first time. The station, which sits atop the Mauna Loa volcano, has the longest continuous measure of the concentration of the gas, stretching back to 1958. The last time CO2 was regularly above 400ppm was about 3-5 million years ago - before modern humans existed. (via BBC News - Carbon dioxide passes symbolic mark)
Government postpones £11bn rollout of new household gas and electricity meters as suppliers work on ‘smooth’ switchover
A startup believes people will want a photographic record of their lives, taken at 30-second intervals.
Remember that?: Memoto’s clip-on camera has 8 GB of memory.
“We want to provide people with a perfect photographic memory,” says Martin Källström, CEO of Memoto. His startup is creating a tiny clip-on camera that takes a picture every 30 seconds, capturing whatever you are looking at, and then applies algorithms to the resulting mountain of images to find the most interesting ones.
Just 36 by 36 by 9 millimeters, the inconspicuous plastic camera has a lot crammed inside. The most important component is a five-megapixel image sensor originally designed for mobile phones. An ARM 9 processor running Linux powers a program that wakes the device twice a minute; takes a picture and a reading from the GPS sensor, accelerometer, and magnetometer; and promptly puts the device back to sleep.
The two new ‘Centres for Doctoral Training’ will provide the UK with the next generation of researchers and leaders in cyber security, said David Willetts, the Minister for Universities and Science. Jointly funded with £2.5 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of the RCUK Global Uncertainties Programme and £5 million from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as part of its work in the National Cyber Security Programme, the programmes will produce at least 66 new theses.
Do you remember what your first taste looks like? This awesome video was put together for TEDxSydney so you can see what you probably looked like when you had your first taste of a anchovy/orange/lemon/whatever. You know, when you were cute.
$100,000 ‘not to go to university’
$100,000 ‘not to go to university’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/22479007
…and let’s be clear, this is about the cost of a 3 year undergraduate degree in England these days.
Google develops new motion-sensing skydiving simulator ‘Map Diving’
Last year at Google’s I/O developer conference in San Francisco, founder Sergey Brin gave what’s been called the “mother of all demos,” a keynote speech that involved a team of skydivers wearing Google Glass landing on the roof of the conference center as he spoke. For this year’s I/O taking place next week, Google wants to one-up that by putting I/O attendees in virtual parachutes and letting them skydive anywhere on Earth.
If only I were there…
Four years and $100 million later, Bitcoin’s mysterious creator remains anonymous
We still don’t know who invented Bitcoin. But we do know he’s rich
Leadership in networks does not come from above, as there is no top.
Cosmonaut wristwatch, certified for the thermal vacuum of a spacewalk.
Google-owned Motorola Mobility abused its position in Germany’s mobile market when it filed a patent injunction against Apple, EU officials have said. Motorola won an injunction over Apple products that used patents relating to data transmission technology in February 2012. Apple offered to pay Motorola a licence fee for using the patents - but the two companies could not agree on a price. Apple products, including the iPhone, were taken off sale during the dispute. Several models of the smartphone, and the iPad, were removed from sale on Apple’s German website - but were still available in other stores in the country.
China emerges as new force in drone warfare - CBS News
China’s move into large-scale drone deployment displays its military’s growing sophistication and could challenge U.S. military dominance in the Asia-Pacific. It also could elevate the threat to neighbors with territorial disputes with Beijing, including Vietnam, Japan, India and the Philippines. China says its drones are capable of carrying bombs and missiles as well as conducting reconnaissance, potentially turning them into offensive weapons in a border conflict.China’s increased use of drones also adds to concerns about the lack of internationally recognized standards for drone attacks. The United States has widely employed drones as a means of eliminating terror suspects in Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.
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