Category: Technology

Apple’s Strong Stance on Data Protection

Posted by // // Government, Individual & Economic Liberty, Technology.

iphonepicAfter being asked by the court to access data stored on an iPhone as evidence for a case, Apple stated that accessing data on iPhones with the two latest versions of iOS (iOS 8 and 9) would be impossible. Apple is one of many companies that have responded to the growing privacy and security concerns that plague our modern world by increasing its focus on protecting users’ data. The recent versions of iOS require a passcode in order to access data kept on the device; a passcode that Apple does not store and cannot access.

The case Apple was responding to happened to involve an iPhone that was not running either of the iOS versions that include this passcode feature but, interestingly enough, Apple asked

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A New Era for Birdmen

Posted by // // Technology, Uncategorized.

drone1As a child, I loved remote-control toys with complex mechanics. If the toy happened to fly, so much the better. Unlike most kids, I wasn’t too concerned with commandeering them for a role in my latest GI Joe reenactment. I took them apart and attempted to put them back together again, often finding myself in a Humpty-Dumpty situation…“all the king’s horses and all the king’s men….”

Although my RC car days are long gone, the rapidly growing drone market has peaked my interest, as it has with many other people. Drones – long used in warfare for their stealth, maneuverability and often undetectable nature – have become increasingly popular with the masses (looking to be the most popular Christmas gift of 2015). Current drone prices range from under $100 to upwards of $2,000. The majority of drones on the market offer the advantage of aerial pictures and 360° video capability. While these consumer drones are hardly military grade, it seems they pose a challenge for air traffic controllers and a safety hazard for aircraft. Air traffic controllers state that the minimum safe distance for any object to be near an aircraft is 1,000 feet plus.

Your Energy is the Key

Posted by // // Energy, Technology.

green-energyFor Bill Gates, reinventing the wheel is unnecessary. His focus is on changing how the wheel runs. Over the last decade and a half, Gates has been one of the largest proponents of energy research and development. In 2000, he and his wife Melinda founded the world’s greatest transparently-run private venture: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. BMGF concerns itself with the health and welfare of the world’s poorest communities. The foundation’s recent work includes the Omni Processor which aims to convert fecal sludge into pure clean water and a source of energy.

In order to meet basic human needs,

Patent Laws Take a Bite Out of Apple

Posted by // // Business, Economics, Government, Individual & Economic Liberty, Technology.

a-beautiful-woman-eating-an-apple-pv

UPDATE 10/17/15:

The Daily Mail reported the actual cost of the suit to be ruled at $234 Million.

Apple was charged with patent infringement this week, says PC Mag. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, or WARF, is the body behind the charges. WARF manages patents for The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM). The cost of the patent suit they are pursuing against the tech giant could reportedly reach $862 million.

WARF previously settled out of court with Intel, who they also sued over their Core 2 Duo processor back in 2008. In this case, the jury has already ruled that Apple was guilty

The Auto is “On Auto”

Posted by // // Business, Investment, Money & Finance, Technology.

google-driverless_3147440bOver the better part of the last seventy-plus years, passing the driver’s license exam was a rite of passage. Teens longed for the day when they could get behind the wheel of Dad’s old Mustang and leave behind a cloud of dust as they raced towards the horizon. Sitting in the driver’s seat with a parent alongside yelling “Hands 10 and 2… eyes on the road… use your turn signal!” became quite the typical family outing. Eventually, that driver’s license brought you freedom and responsibility – road signs for an ‘Adult Life Ahead’. 

Tech Trifecta

Posted by // // Business, Investment, Technology, Uncategorized.

Investing_moneyThe first question one must ask when looking to invest some money is, where to put it? This is true whether you are hoping to make a lot of money, to do something valuable with the money you have in savings while you’re not using it, or looking to support a business you believe in. It turns out that there may be a way to fulfill each of those three desires simultaneously: a tech trifecta, if you like. Investing in the tech industry might be just the thing for you. There are certainly lots of great technological ideas worth getting behind purely to support, but it’s also common knowledge that there is a lot of money to be made in the industry as well.

Last year, Facebook bought Oculus Rift for $2 billion. Oculus Rift famously raised over $2 million in crowdfunding through a Kickstarter campaign. The tech startup was not a publicly traded company so when they were bought by Facebook,

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