Facebook Made a Bunch' of Privacy Mistakes

Facebook has settled with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over charges that it failed to keep privacy promises and deceived its customers.

In a statement put out last night the FTC said that Facebook promised that it would protect its users' information by keeping it private, while "repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public". It added that these actions were unfair and deceptive and violated federal law.

The FTC has given Facebook settlement requirements that include steps to ensure that it does not expose its users' information without giving them prior notice and obtaining their consent.

"Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC. "Facebook's innovation does not have to come at the expense of consumer privacy. The FTC action will ensure it will not."

The FTC has listed a raft of complaints about Facebook, specifically that allegedly it made promises that it did not keep. We reproduce that list here:

• In December 2009, Facebook changed its web site so certain information that users might have designated as private - such as their Friends List - was made public. It didn't warn users that this change was coming, or get their approval in advance.
• Facebook represented that third-party apps that users installed would have access only to user information that they needed to operate. In fact, the apps could access nearly all of users' personal data - data the apps didn't need.
• Facebook told users they could restrict sharing of data to limited audiences - for example with "Friends Only". In fact, selecting "Friends Only" did not prevent their information from being shared with third-party applications their friends used.
• Facebook had a "Verified Apps" program and claimed it certified the security of participating apps. It didn't.
• Facebook promised users that it would not share their personal information with advertisers. It did.
• Facebook claimed that when users deactivated or deleted their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible. But Facebook allowed access to the content, even after users had deactivated or deleted their accounts.
• Facebook claimed that it complied with the US- EU Safe Harbour Framework that governs data transfer between the United States and the European Union. It didn't.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement Facebook is banned from making anymore deceptive claims about the privacy that it does, or does not, offer. It will also have to submit to regular audits every 24 months for the next 20 years, and get its users' approval before it shares their data.

At Facebook, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was contrite and apologised for the mistakes that his firm made, continued to make, or made again.

"I think we have a good history of providing transparency and control over who can see your information. That said, I'm the first to admit that we've made a bunch of mistakes," he said.

He added that in fact Facebook is already doing a lot of things that the FTC has told it to do, and threw up a list of things that the firm has done over the last 18 months to improve user privacy.

"Privacy principles are written very deeply into our code," he added. "Even before the agreement announced by the FTC today, Facebook had already proactively addressed many of the concerns the FTC raised." 

(as seen on www.theinquirer.net)

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Researchers Create Car That Can be Steered by Thought

Photo: Robert S. Donovan/Flickr

The case for outlawing the practice of talking on cell phones while driving got a boost from the latest breakthrough from the innovation labs of Freie Universität Berlin. German scientists working there have installed a car with new technology that can read the driver's brain waves, thus allowing the car to be steered entirely by thought, reports Science Daily. Needless to say, you probably don't want to be distracted while driving this vehicle.

The technology is made possible by commercially available sensors for recording electroencephalograms (EEGs), which are basically the electrical outputs your brain produces while it thinks. Scientists then trained a computer program to distinguish the particular electrical patterns that are produced when a person thinks certain commands, such as "left," "right," "accelerate" or "brake."

Of course, this training couldn't have been done while out on the open road without being a hazard, so the scientists also created a virtual computer program more appropriate for the task. In this program, a person hooked up to the EEG sensors learned to maneauver a virtual cube around a screen using mental commands like those he or she might use when controlling a car.

Once the training was complete, it was time to take it out for a spin in the real world. Aside from being equipped with the brain-reading technology, the "Knight Rider"-esque car was also equipped with video cameras, radar and laser sensors so that it could independently interpret the simple commands given by the driver's thoughts and apply them appropriately.

"In our test runs, a driver equipped with EEG sensors was able to control the car with no problem — there was only a slight delay between the envisaged commands and the response of the car," said Professor Raúl Rojas, who headed the project at Freie Universität Berlin.

In other words, the technology is not quite ready for the open road, where rapid response times would be necessary to avoid perilous road conditions — but it's an impressive first step.

For a closer look at the technology in action, check out this short film assembled by the Freie Universität Berlin researchers:

(as seen on www.mnn.com)

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10 Tech Concepts You Need to Know for 2011

1. Flywheel Energy Storage

If we are going to retool our electric grid to incorporate more renewable energy sources, we need to find better ways of storing energy. One solution that has been talked about for decades is the use of flywheels: large, heavy wheels that store energy by spinning rapidly and release it through a generator that converts it back into electricity. The upshot: A utility can swiftly ramp up supply or taper it off to meet demand. After years of false starts, the first large-scale flywheel plant is set to open in 2011. Beacon Power’s 20-Mw plant in Stephentown, New York, features 200 flywheels, each with a magnetically levitated rotor that spins at up to 16,000 rpm. 

2. white-Space Wireless

The electromagnetic spectrum is a crowded space, what with a world full of wireless signals bumping up against each other.­ And the sliver of spectrum left open for unlicensed use (meaning it can be used by any gadget, including Wi-Fi routers and cordless phones) is tiny. That’s why technology companies are celebrating one side effect of the 2009 switch from analog to digital TV—the FCC ruled last September that the spectrum space once used by TV broadcasters will now be unlicensed. Even better, these so-called white-space wireless bands use short wavelengths that make them better than a typical Wi-Fi signal at traveling long distances and passing through obstacles such as walls and trees. Microsoft’s corporate campus already has a wireless network using the technology, and Google is working with white-space equipment ­maker Spectrum Bridge on a pilot project at a hospital in Ohio, as well as a “smart grid” system for wirelessly managing electricity consumption in some California communities. 

3. Fracking

Thanks to hydraulic fracturing—or fracking, as it’s often called—America’s shale fields are now capable of yielding massive quantities of previously inaccessible natural gas. Last year alone, estimates of unproved shale gas reserves jumped by 30 percent. Here’s how it works: Sand, water and lubricating chemicals are mixed in a slurry blender, then injected into a well at pressures high enough to make cracks form in the surrounding rock, releasing the gas or oil trapped within its pores. Although the method has been used for decades, its use in horizontal shale wells is new—and attracting new controversy.­ Opponents cite the technique’s environmental impact (drinking-water contamination is a particular concern), and studies suggest it may cause minor earthquakes. Energy companies and environmental groups are gearing up for a fight in the coming year. 

4. Medical Isotope Shortages

Radioactive isotopes are used in more than 50,000 medical procedures in the U.S. every day, from bone scans to cancer treatment. But America was left scrambling when the Canadian and Dutch reactors that supply most of the country’s medical isotopes unexpectedly shut down for extended periods in 2009 and 2010. Both reactors are now online again, but shortages will likely return—the reactors are a half-century old and may not last much longer. And then there are the security problems associated with exporting weapons-grade uranium to ­other countries—even friendly ones like Canada—for processing. A bill aimed at promoting domestic isotope production is now making its way through Congress, and the Department of Energy has kicked in millions of dollars to develop new ways to produce isotopes. 

5. Complex-Event Processing

Corporations and governments routinely comb through enormous databases of information and images (such as those pulled from surveillance cameras) in search of patterns. But in today’s data-rich world, an unfavorable signal-to-noise ratio can make it time-consuming and expensive to find anything relevant. A new generation of software is shifting the focus from “data” (a record of what’s happened) to “events” (what’s happening right now). Companies like StreamBase Systems and Tibco offer complex-event processing systems that analyze enormous flows of data in real time using new database and pattern-recognition approaches. This allows them to make instant decisions about whether to make a stock trade, initiate surveillance on a potential terrorist or halt a suspicious credit-card transaction. As the technology matures, we can expect these capabilities to trickle down to consumer devices. This would allow, for example, a GPS-enabled cellphone to sift through a constant stream of location-aware offers and alert users only to ones they would actually be interested in—such as deals on coffee along their morning commute route during the hours when they make the trek. 

6 Optogenetics

Until now, researchers looking to stimulate specific neurons had to rely on bursts of electricity—an imprecise and difficult-to-control technique. That's why the new field of optogenetics is so exciting. By combining fiberoptics and designer viruses, researchers can now stimulate neurons with a high degree of precision. This could allow, for example, the development of implants that can take over the functions of a brain region that might have been damaged by a wound or stroke. First, the brain is injected with a virus that is engineered to activate specific neurons when light hits them. A fiber-optic cable combined with an electrode then sends light into the brain, turning the neurons on and off, on command. Initial experiments used rodents, but researchers have now applied the technique to monkeys, and DARPA recently announced a project aimed at using optogenetics to help injured veterans. 

7 Mechanophores

America's infrastructure needs renewal, but we can't just rebuild everything at once: We need effective ways to figure out which structures are closest to failure. One approach is to integrate tiny wireless sensors into new construction. Another is to incorporate “mechanophores,” a class of materials recently developed at the University of Illinois that change color when they are stressed. Mechanophores could give an engineer a quick visual indication of whether a bridge is at risk and where the trouble lies. The researchers are currently working to tune the reaction so that it can occur at any desired level of stress. They also hope to develop new mechanophores that undergo a self-healing response when they are damaged. 

8 Cellphone Diagnostics

While trained medical care is a rare commodity in the developing world, cellphones are increasingly common. In fact, between 80 and 90 percent of the world's population now lives within range of a cell tower. That makes phones a powerful tool for bringing modern medicine to remote and poor areas. One approach pioneered by MIT spinoffs Sana Mobile and Click­Diagnotics is to have rural health workers transmit X-rays and other medical information via cellphone to far-off experts for diagnosis. Meanwhile, scientists at University of California, Berkeley, and a PM Breakthrough Award–winning researcher at UCLA have combined inexpensive microscope parts with off-the-shelf phones to produce devices that can record and instantly analyze microscopic images, detecting malaria parasites or tuberculosis-causing bacteria. The Berkeley-designed diagnostic tool, called CellScope, will be deployed in field trials in 2011. 

9 Homomorphic Encryption

Researchers at IBM recently cracked a decades-old problem: how to encrypt data so that other people can sort and search it without actually revealing the contents. As cloud computing becomes more pervasive over the next year, this “homomorphic” encryption will allow companies to store sensitive data on remote servers, where it can be kept secret from the server's host, but still be easily accessed and searched. Users will also be able to enter search-engine queries and receive results without the search engine ever knowing or having a record of their ­query. The key breakthrough was a “double-blind” scheme that can check for encryption errors and fix them without revealing the data. Best of all, the researchers ­demonstrated that the technique can be implemented in just a few minutes on a standard PC, not just high-priced super-computers. 

10 100 GBPS Fiberoptics

Thanks to data-hungry devices such as smartphones, the world now has an almost unquenchable thirst for bandwidth. A new generation of fiberoptic cables promises to meet the need, reaching a threshold of 100 gigabits per second—a significant jump from existing 10- and 40-gigabit-per-second cables, and enough to carry 15,000 HDTV channels simultaneously. Because the new cables encode two bits each in the polarization and phase of a light pulse, rather than a single bit in its intensity, they can pack four times as much data into the signal and reduce the impact of microscopic imperfections in the cables. Alcatel-Lucent has installed a 38-mile test link between two German universities and separately tested its 100 gigabit-per-second Ethernet equipment on Verizon's network in Dallas. The higher-speed cable is now available commercially and will likely carry some of the data you use in the coming year. 

(as seen on 10 Tech Concepts for 2011 - Technology Terms - Popular Mechanics )

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Cute Miki Ears

Ear MIKI is a very cute ring that helps you manage your phone and earbuds in one go. Simply pull out the earplugs from one end and hook up to the phone/music device from the line. When not in use, slip the ring around your finger, like a cool accessory. The earbuds retract into the hub and give the Mickey effect. Sweet!

Ear MIKI is a 2011 IDEA Award Winner!

Designers: Jun Hyun Kim, Byeol Shim and Young Jun Kim

(as seen on http://www.yankodesign.com)

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10 Photography Application For iPhone

One of the advantages that made iPhone so popular is the ability of the camera. Even today the term appears to separate the lovers of photography through the iPhone by name iPhonegraphy who has many followers all over the world including Indonesia.


For those of you who already have an iPhone and want to further hone the creativity in taking photos with the iPhone, we chose the following 10 applications of photography that can make photography more fun activities.


1. Instagram

With so many users,a very easy photo sharing features, free status, and its ability to share the photos to the social network makes this application of photography becoming more popular every day.


2. Hipstamatic
Hipstamatic provides several interesting options for your  photography activities. There are several types of film roll options, types of lenses to use flash which each choice can produce color images differently. Photography is more fun with Hipstamatic.

3. Magic Shutter
Magic Shutter is a very useful application for those who want to experiment with the iPhone camera. This application can be used to adjust the shutter speed in capturing images.

4.ProHDR
With this ProHDR application, you can generate HDR photo using your iPhone very easily. When taking photos, the camera takes three photos at three different exposure settings. Then you just process them by adjusting the various options such as brightness, contrast, and so on. ProHDR sold for U.S. $ 1.99 and can be downloaded via the AppStore.

5. Photoshop Express
With Photoshop Express, you can perform image processing such as croping, set the brightness, saturation to give effect to the image through some of the options provided effects. Most importantly, this application is available free on the AppStore.

6. TiltShift Generator
iltShift Generator is an application for creating artificial Depth Of Field (DOF)​​, by adjusting the fuzzy area around the main object only through the touch of your finger.

7. Pano
With Pano you can take up to 16 images horizontally or vertically and then all the images are combined into a single unit with a landscape photo around 800x8600 pixel images that can be printed to serve as a collection in your photo album. Practical and inexpensive. Want to try? Pano can be owned through the AppStore at a price of U.S. $ 1.99.

8. FX Photo Studio
This photographic applications currently provide the most photo filter options. With a relatively affordable price and a very simple and easy to use, FX Photo Studio 187 provides filter options that can be selected to produce images that match your imagination.

9. Camera+

Camera + provides a feature to adjust the exposure and focus as well as several other features that will allow you to take pictures like stabilzer feature to reduce blur caused by shaking your hand, timer to the burst shot that can be used to take continuous photos.

10. Simply B&W
People think black and white photo save a lot of meaning. With Simply B & W, you can set the level of black and white according to the desire and your needs. 6 choice of filters available in black and white with distinct black and white levels to be applied in your photos


(as seen on http://id.spesial.yahoo.com) 

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A Modern Twist On The Vase, No, Microwave

Those mornings of quickly running around trying to grab a bite to eat all the while throwing on some clothes and gathering your necessities for the day are all to familiar to us all. It seems that time to accomplish all things becomes harder to find in today’s world. We are constantly searching for new ways to accomplish more in less time. The Microwave Vase designed by Woo Seokmoon allows for those early morning rushes to become a bit more pleasant. The Vase upon first glance looks just like a normal white vase, however after closer examination, you will see that it has much more function than just a regular vase – It also doubles as a Microwave. That morning cup of coffee tends to get cold quickly as you move around trying to go through your morning routine, so why not place that cup inside the vase, twist the top to the settings you prefer and once the green leaf on top lights up, your coffee is heated up once again and your quickly on your way to an enjoyable morning. When not in use, the Microwave Vase can be left out, sitting on your table as a nice, modern decorative piece for your home.
Designer: Woo Seokmoon

(as seen on http://www.yankodesign.com)

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Aerogel: See-Through, Strong as Steel & Ligher than Air

Despite its incredibly low density, aerogel is one of the most powerful materials on the planet. It can support thousands of times its own weight, block out intense heat, cold and sound – yet it is 1,000 times less dense than glass, nearly as transparent and is composed of %99.8 air. The lowest-density silica-based aerogels are even lighter than air.


Despite its fragility in certain regards and its incredible lack of density, aerogel has amazing thermal, acoustical and electrical insulation properties as illustrated by the images here. A single one-pound block can also support half a ton of weight. NASA continues to find new space-based applications for this incredible material.

An aerogel window one inch thick has the effective insulative capacity of a ten-inch thick glass window system. While it is still expensive and has other limitations, this material – originally developed nearly a century ago but still undergoing experimentation – could prove to be one of the most influential materials of the 21st Century.

Aside from its other capabilities, aerogel also has amazing absorbing abilities. Some speculate it could be the future solution to oil spills. It is also being tested as a possible slow-release drug deliver system for potential human patients.

(as seen on dornob.com)

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SIM Card Circulation Exceeds Population

The development of the mobile telecommunications industry in indonesia has been felt by 97 percent of 240 million indonesia's population. Based on data from Indonesia Cellular Telecommunications Association (ATSI), the number of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards circulating in the community even more than the total population.


"This is a positive aspect to the role of mobile operators, particularly the complete communications of various segments of society," said Chairman of ATSI, Sarwoto Atmosutarno, told Reuters at the Hotel Indonesia Kempinsky.


The main cause of growth in sales of SIM card is not only the  mobile phone sales, but also other electronic devices. For example, consumers who use mobile Internet access such as tablets and cellular modems.

But, Sarwoto regretted that there is a lot of negative effects arising from the ease of obtaining a SIM card in Indonesia. Which were related to cases of fraud and withdrawal pulses via short messages (SMS) premium.

The man who also Telkomsel's chairman said that each operator has its own way to restore the victim's credit. "Each one uses a call center, then checks and automatically returned the customers pulses," he said.

(as seen on yahoo.com) 

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Honey, Can You Print My New Blood Vessels?

This polymer vessel can become an artificial blood vessel. (Credit: Fraunhofer IOF)

If you think that engineering functional human body parts using a printer and laser is a sign of the end of time, you might want to proceed with caution. If you think such a development portends the saving of lives, read on.

Because researchers from an interdisciplinary group of five Fraunhofer institutes in Germany are announcing their successful creation of completely functional blood vessels using 3D printing and intense laser impulses.

First, advances in 3D printing have enabled researchers to print organs inexpensively and quickly using a modified inkjet printer. As in, very modified.

Using special inks, the researchers were able to print a hybrid material containing a mixture of synthetic polymers and biomolecules right from the point of, well, conception. Having biofunctionalized tubes enables living cells to dock onto the material, which is key for the interaction of artificial and natural tissue.

The researchers then applied short, intense laser impulses to the material to stimulate the molecules in such a way as to create an actual network of tiny capillaries.

The end product? Fully functional artificial blood vessels made of polymers and biomolecules that can transport nutrients, which the team will be debuting at the Biotechnica Fair in October. And while they say we are still a long way out from being able to implant 3D-printed organs into live beings, the potential looks increasingly promising.

(as seen on http://news.cnet.com)

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Facts About Nuclear Weapon

We should worry about this deadly pieces of machinary, but this image i hope we can little by little pull back the cloud of mystery that shrouding this "baby"

(as seen on www.imagebath.com)

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Amazing Video: Robotic Swarms That'll Infest Your Home Entertainment Center

What if display technology breaks up into little bits that morph depending on need?

For her grad-thesis at the Art Center College of Design, Julia Yu Tsao created Curious Displays, a pretty amazing vision of what display technology might become, decades down the road.

Curious Displays from Julia Tsao on Vimeo.

Rather than a single screen, she envisions a swarm of autonomous blocks that occasionally join up to form a TV--but which can also disperse to highlight other information, such as what your schedule looks like, or even where your keys are. We all can't wait for the future.

(As seen on www.fastcompany.com) 

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Headphone or Speaker? You choose!

Designed by Lu Chieh Hua, Headphone or Speaker combines the lightweight mobility of headphones with the sound amplification of a speaker into a single unit that makes it possible to both listen to your music privately or share with others. A unique twisting mechanism allows the unit to be propped upright for directing sound and automatically shifts playing modes and volume between operations, transforming it from headphone to speaker in a flash.  

(as seen on http://www.yankodesign.com/)

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Samsung Lights Up New Line of LED Bulbs

Samsung gets its LED on. (Credit: Screenshot by Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Samsung today announced the availability and pricing of a line of seven consumer LED bulbs, some of which have the conventional screw-in bottom. There are spotlights for recessed lighting cans or track lighting, but there is also a bulb-shaped A19 bulb, a "snowcone" style bulb that gives off light in one direction.

"A light bulb is no longer just a light bulb. It's a digital technology made up of LED chips, drivers, and electronics--familiar turf for Samsung," Kevin Dexter, Samsung's senior vice president of home appliances, said in a statement.

Prices start at just under $20 and go up to almost $60 for a bright halogen replacement spot light. Like all LED lights, they are designed to have a life of 30,000 or 40,000 hours, which can be in the range of 20 years depending on usage. Their power consumption is about one-quarter that of incandescent or halogen lights, according to Samsung.

Samsung isn't the only electronics manufacturer getting into LED lighting. Toshiba and Panasonic already make LED lights and Vizio CEO Ken Howe said earlier this year that the company is developing its own line of LED lights at a "Vizio price."

Because they are electronics, LED lighting can be packaged in different ways, such as specialty fixtures that don't have a screw-in connector. But they can also be equipped with networking chips to connect them into a home energy management system.

LED lighting company Lighting Science Group earlier this year demonstrated a networked LED that uses Google's Android at Home software, which lets people manage lighting from an Internet connected device, such as a smartphone.

(as seen on http://news.cnet.com)

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Toyota Plans Nursing Robots For Aging Japan

Credit: Toyota

The Walk Assist Robot is made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic and attaches to the legs of patients who have suffered paralysis to help them walk.

Weighing 7.7 pounds, the device has a position sensor on the thigh area, a pressure sensor on the sole, and a knee actuator that moves the brace based on data from the sensors.

A timing-lock mechanism ensures that the brace doesn't bend when the foot is planted. The device can also be used for physiotherapy when patients are relearning to walk, according to Toyota.

If the Walk Assist Robot looks like part of Cyberdyne's HAL robot suit, then Toyota's Care Assist Robot takes a page from Riken's Riba person mover.

The Care Assist Robot doesn't look like a giant teddy bear, but it's also designed to help reduce the burden on caregivers who have to move bedridden patients.

The wheelchair-like device has a power-assist dolly that can move people to and from a bed, as well as the bathroom and other nearby destinations. As with Riba, a human caregiver is still required to help guide the machine.

The caregiver guides a large arm that supports the patient, taking the weight off his or her back.

"The patient's stress, burden and anxiety is reduced by being gently enveloped in the holding device," Toyota says.

Another device under development is the Balance Practice Assist. It's basically a two-wheeled Segway-like stand that can help people with balance problems.

Users stand on the machine and play sports video games on a screen in front of them while trying to keep their balance. Naturally, a caregiver has to stand by just in case.

Toyota hopes to release the machines in 2013 at the earliest.

(as seen on http://news.cnet.com)

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