Topic: ROBOT - on December 23, 2013 at 2:50:00 PM CET
Google's Schaft robot wins Darpa rescue challenge
A robot developed by a Japanese start-up recently acquired by Google is the winner of a two-day competition hosted by the Pentagon's research unit Darpa.
Team Schaft's machine carried out all eight rescue-themed tasks to outscore its rivals by a wide margin.
Three of the other 15 teams that took part failed to secure any points at the event near Miami, Florida.
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Topic: SECURITY - on December 23, 2013 at 2:46:00 PM CET
RSA comes out swinging, denies taking NSA's $10m to backdoor its crypto
RSA has hit back at allegations stemming from Edward Snowden's latest whistleblowing – specifically, the claim that it secretly took US$10m from the NSA in exchange for using the deliberately knackered Dual Elliptic Curve Deterministic Random Bit Generator (Dual EC DRBG) in its encryption products.
The EMC-owned security outfit said it started using Dual EC DRBG by default in 2004, sometime before the generator was standardised. By 2007 the algorithm was found to effectively have a backdoor in it that weakened the strength of any encryption that relied on it, making life easier for snoops. In September 2013, RSA told its customers to stop using the algorithm.
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Topic: NASA - on December 23, 2013 at 2:45:00 PM CET
Spacesuit Problems Delay ISS Repair Spacewalk
According to Deutsche Welle, the problem is with how the sublimator (a cooling unit) in Mastracchio's suit operated when entering ISS airlock. NASA said the question is whether water entered the sublimator at that time. 'During repressurization of the station's airlock following the spacewalk, a spacesuit configuration issue put the suit Mastracchio was wearing in question for the next excursion,' NASA said in a statement. Delaying the next steps of the valve replacement from Monday until Tuesday will give NASA time to address the issue. Mastracchio is scheduled to wear a backup suit and needs this time to have it resized.
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Topic: COMPUTER - on December 23, 2013 at 2:43:00 PM CET
Glenn Greenwald to deliver keynote at 30C3 hacker conference
The world's oldest and largest global hacker organization The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) has announced it will open next week's conference, the 30th Chaos Communication Congress (30c3), with a December 27 opening keynote by Glenn Greenwald.
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Topic: FUN - on December 23, 2013 at 2:42:00 PM CET
CERN challenges you to find the Lego it hid in its Google Streetview shoot
If you're not in the mood for board games this Christmas, why not gather around a computer screen instead and take up CERN's challenge to find the Lego minifigures that were hidden around the facility during its Google Streetview shoot?
CERN launched the scavenger hunt earlier this week and has promised that there will be two winners—one from Cern and one from the general public.
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Topic: DRUGS - on December 23, 2013 at 2:40:00 PM CET
Uruguay will keinen Drogen-Tourismus
Benjamín Liberoff, Direktor des Nationalen Amtes für Tourismus, betonte am Samstag (21.), dass Touristen nicht von dem Gesetz der Legalisierung von Marihuana profitieren werden. In einem Interview bekräftigte er, dass die neue Gesetzgebung nur für die uruguayische Bevölkerung gelte. “Unsere Regierung wird einen Drogen-Tourismus wie in den Niederlanden auf keinen Fall dulden”.
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Topic: DOPE HEAD - on December 23, 2013 at 2:39:00 PM CET
The Top Ten Stupid Ways Stoners Got Busted in 2013
Here at the National Cannabis Coalition, we believe marijuana will eventually be legalized nationwide. Until then, cannabis consumers must remain vigilant to avoid the long arm of the law. Nobody’s perfect and bad luck can help police take down even the most cautious tokers. However, in 2013, a few stoners managed to do everything in their power to help police bust them for weed. Here’s our look back at the top ten stupid ways stoners got busted in 2013, with the hope that readers will take these as important lessons in how to avoid a free ride in a cop car.
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Topic: NEWS - on December 23, 2013 at 2:38:00 PM CET
PR-Spezialistin zerstört ihre Karriere mit rassistischem Afrika-Tweet
Mit einem weltweiten Shitstorm hat Justine Sacco, bis Freitag PR-Direktorin bei der amerikanischen Internetfirma Interactive Corp (IAC), wohl nicht gerechnet. Die Kommunikationsspezialistin versetzte die Welt vor ihrem Abflug nach Südafrika mit dem Tweet: "Auf dem Weg nach Afrika. Hoffe, ich bekomme kein AIDS. Nur ein Witz. Ich bin weiß." in Empörung.
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Topic: PHOTO - on December 22, 2013 at 2:54:00 PM CET
2013 National Geographic Photography Contest Winners
The winners have been named in the 2013 National Geographic Photography contest. As a leader in capturing our world through brilliant imagery, National Geographic sets the standard for photographic excellence. Professional photographers and amateur photo enthusiasts from over 150 countries submitted more than 7000 entries. Photographs were entered in three categories: people, places and nature.
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Topic: Space - on December 22, 2013 at 2:53:00 PM CET
Sternschnuppen und Komet leuchten zur Weihnachtszeit
Zwei Naturereignisse bezaubern Himmelsgucker: Der Komet "Lovejoy" und Kaskaden von Sternschnuppen nähern sich der Erde. Am Sonntag sind sie am besten zu beobachten - wenn das Wetter mitspielt.
Der Nachthimmel bietet zur Weihnachtszeit gleich zwei Auftritte. Bei klarer Sicht dürfte der Komet "Lovejoy" am Sonntagmorgen und auch am Sonntagabend am besten zu beobachten sein. In der Nacht zu Montag erreichen zugleich die Sternschnuppen der Ursiden ihr Maximum. "'Lovejoy' ist aber vermutlich nur mit dem Feldstecher zu entdecken", sagte der Vorsitzende der Vereinigung der Sternfreunde (VdS) im hessischen Heppenheim, Otto Guthier.
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Topic: NASA - on December 21, 2013 at 3:32:00 PM CET
NASA Live Steam - EVA to Fix Ammonia Leak On The ISS
Last week, the media exhibited a fair amount of restraint in reporting a technical problem aboard the ISS. The news, that roughly half the ISS had lost its cooling systems, was worrying to say the least; though it might seem like a small issue, in space every problem is serious and pressing. All reporting was quick to note, however, that the crew is in no immediate danger, and the problem is on its way to being fixed.
nasa.gov Expedition 38 Crew To Conduct Spacewalk Saturday To Fix Faulty Pump
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Topic: SECURITY - on December 21, 2013 at 2:33:00 PM CET
Snowden-Vertrauter beklagt Verfolgung durch US-Geheimdienst in Berlin
Der US-Internetaktivist Jacob Appelbaum hat den US-Geheimdiensten vorgeworfen, ihn auch in Berlin zu verfolgen. Der Vertraute des früheren US-Geheimdienstmitarbeiters und Whistleblowers Edward Snowden sagte der Berliner Zeitung, Unbekannte seien in seine Wohnung eingedrungen und hätten sich an seinem Computer zu schaffen gemacht. Die US-Geheimdienste bauten auf eine Taktik der "Zersetzung" wie sie von der Staatssicherheit der DDR her bekannt sei. "Die Überwachung terrorisiert Menschen und unterstützt den noch viel gewaltigeren Terror der Drohnenkriege", sagte Appelbaum.
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