Blog Archives

The NSA named one of its top-secret programs Skynet

5/11/2015

Skynet is real. Well, kinda. According to the latest report from Glenn Greenwald's siteThe Intercept, the NSA has (or had) a secret program called Skynet. Unlike theTerminator version, which was a computer system that went rogue and attempted to annihilate humanity, the NSA's Skynet uses metadata to try and identify people with terrorist connections. Specifically, in one recorded case, the program tracked the movements of people within Pakistan from cellphone records and raised a flag when those activities appeared to match the movements of suspected Al Qaeda couriers. By sniffing out couriers, the hope was to catch dangerous Al Qaeda leaders.

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Audi just unveiled a 600-horsepower TT, and it looks incredible

5/10/2015

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Except perhaps in RS trim, Audi's cute little coupe has never really been described as a "beast." But then there's this: the TT Clubsport Turbo Technology Concept Car, which will be shown at next week's Wörthersee Tour — a long-running Volkswagen / Audi get-together in Austria. It's got 600 horsepower and 479 ft-lb. of torque, which doesn't really sound TT-like at all.

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Apple Watch's hidden port can reportedly be used for charging and accessories

5/10/2015

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Slide off the Apple Watch's bottom band, peek into the connection slot, and you'll notice something interesting. It's a hidden port that Apple doesn't acknowledge on its website or in any documentation for the smartwatch. That would suggest it's not something for consumers to mess around with and exists for Apple's own internal use. But one accessory maker claims this six-pin port can in fact be used to charge the device — and it'll apparently charge at a faster rate than plopping Apple Watch onto its inductive charger. Without offering any direct evidence to back the claim, a company behind one upcoming battery strap, the Reserve Strap, says its engineers "have been able to independently confirm that the six-pin diagnostic port underneath the Apple Watch case can be used for charging."

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This is Microsoft Edge, the replacement for Internet Explorer

5/4/2015

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Microsoft first revealed its new browser plans back in January. Known as Project Spartan initially, Microsoft is revealing today that the company will use the Microsoft Edge name for its new browser in Windows 10. The Edge naming won’t surprise many as it’s the same moniker given to the new rendering engine (EdgeHTML) that Microsoft is using for its Windows 10 browser.

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