• COMPUTERS
    RFID Is as Important as Computers

    May 26, 2019— The radio frequency identification industry has not done a good job of communicating how important RFID technology is to the future of business. The reason, I believe, is that RFID can do many things, both large and small, and so companies focus on selling products and applications for specific industries. The press and technology analysts haven’t grasped the […]

  • COMPUTERS
    Running LEDs in reverse could cool computers

    The quest to find more efficient methods for cooling computers is almost as high on scientists’ agendas as the desire to discover better battery chemistries. More cooling is crucial for reducing costs. It would also allow for more powerful processing to take place in smaller spaces, where limited processing should be crunching numbers instead of […]

  • COMPUTERS
    INSIDE THE HIGH-STAKES RACE TO MAKE QUANTUM COMPUTERS WORK

    DEEP BENEATH THE Franco-Swiss border, the Large Hadron Collider is sleeping. But it won’t be quiet for long. Over the coming years, the world’s largest particle accelerator will be supercharged, increasing the number of proton collisions per second by a factor of two and a half. Once the work is complete in 2026, researchers hope to […]

  • COMPUTERS
    Chinese Embassy hands over 44 computers to Mveso

    Chief Mandla Mandela and Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Lin Songtian Johannesburg – Schools around former President Nelson Mandela’s birthplace are set to have a major boost. On Monday, the Chinese Embassy in South Africa will hand over 44 computers to the community of Mveso in the Eastern Cape. Up to 22 of the computers […]

  • COMPUTERS
    Are computers finally able to understand the subtleties of language?

    We are more comfortable with the idea of talking to machines than ever before. That is due mainly to the growing popularity of smart speakers and virtual ­assistants, such as Google Home, ­Amazon Echo and Apple’s Siri. Indeed, as they have proven capable of carrying out tasks such as ­playing music and setting alarms, we have been happy to ask them to do so. But […]

  • COMPUTERS
    Computers could write full, and wrong, news stories

    A research group backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights has released a paper showing that technology that can generate realistic news stories from little more than a headline suggestion is poised to advance rapidly in the coming years. OpenAI, the group backed by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, among others, was founded to research how to make […]

  • Alleged hacker who avoided extradition to US seeks return of computers

     Lauri Love was arrested in 2013. He continues to protest his innocence and has not been charged. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images A computer activist who successfully resisted attempts to extradite him to the US over alleged hacking has applied for the return of his confiscated computers, after the National Crime Agency confirmed he is still […]

  • COMPUTERS
    New Malware Targets Apple Mac Computers to Steal and Mine Cryptos

    A recently discovered form of malware steals browser cookies and other information on victims’ Apple Mac computers to steal cryptocurrencies. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks published a report on Thursday, saying that the malware, dubbed “CookieMiner,” intercepts browser cookies related to cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet service providers’ websites visited by the victims. The malicious code […]

  • COMPUTERS
    Computers and authority: Defeatism, enemy of freedom

    Fighting a battle when the odds are against you requires a lot of courage and a strong moral conviction. These attributes perhaps best describe Dr Richard M. Stallman (RMS to fellow programmers) for whom computing freedom is non-negotiable. A pioneer in the field of computing, Stallman could see how computing would be used to control […]

  • COMPUTERS
    Computers and authority

    Computational sovereignty is a concept that applies to governments, especially to countries. A country’s government should be sovereign. It should make decisions about that country in accord with the people that it serves. A legitimate government has to be democratic. If it is not democratic it shouldn’t continue to be the government. But if the […]