John Lister

A new generation of Volvo electric vehicles will allow users to recharge from any power outlet and pay for it through their home electricity bills. Among other advantages, this new system will make it easier to take advantage of off-peak discounts. ... The new billing system, called Electric Vehicle Intelligent Infra Structure, or ELVIIS, is the work of Volvo and mobile electronics firm Ericsson. Unlike some older electric vehicles, newer models can recharge from any power outlet, even those at home. Charging is controlled from a touchscreen built into the vehicle, or through a smartphone or ... (view more)

One of the most ambitious computing projects of recent years has now become a reality. The Raspberry Pi, a computer that costs just $35, has been manufactured by a British organization and is now on sale. As reported last May , the aim of this new ... device is to make a computer affordable enough that schools and parents can buy them for children to learn programming and other computing skills. The device is roughly the size of a credit card and, to save money, has no external casing -- which means its circuit board is exposed. Mini PC as Powerful as Desktop PCs 10 Years Ago Despite the small ... (view more)

Two Japanese scientists have designed a device that can disorient a talking person powerfully enough to make them stop. The technique is based on the "echo" feedback we sometimes get when using a telephone. Kazutaka Kurihara and Koji Tsukada created ... the SpeechJammer while investigating the characteristics of speech control. They were particularly interested in "problem" scenarios where loud talkers annoyed unwilling listeners, and where conversations hit a snag because both speakers continued to talk at the same time. For example, if somebody is speaking in a way that ... (view more)

Microsoft is reporting success in its campaign to reduce graymail, which are defined as email messages that fall short of being labeled as 'spam'. Though definitions vary, most sources agree that true spam messages are sent without any permission ... from the recipient. Happily, spam filtering is now keeping spam to only three percent of the messages reaching an average user's inbox, Microsoft reports. (Source: liveside.net ) Legitimate Messages May Be Unwanted However, a lot of other emails, like promotional mailings, still get through. Often, the recipient has either lost interest in the ... (view more)

Facebook has announced it will step up the amount of advertising displayed to users. It plans to include ads within news feeds and, for the first time, on mobile devices. Advertising makes up the vast majority of Facebook's revenue, the remainder ... coming from revenue associated with applications, like Farmville. However, to date Facebook has not followed the traditional model of offering advertisers a variety of different ad sizes and spaces at different prices. Instead, it has concentrated on its ability to target ads at users who meet a specific description set by the advertiser. That's ... (view more)

A British newspaper has accused Facebook of reading its members' text messages. In response, Facebook says the article is misinformed and "completely wrong." Google Android Security Permissions Scrutinized The dispute involves a Sunday Times report ... based on an investigation into Android-based handsets, the results of which may also apply to Apple iPhones. The investigation scrutinized the security permissions system within Android, which breaks into several different categories the information an application may use. For each category, the application must ask for and receive permission from ... (view more)

Microsoft has accused Google of ignoring the privacy settings on browsers. Google says it's all a misunderstanding, but politicians have suggested there could be legal consequences. The dispute centers on web browser cookies, which are small text ... files a website sends to a user's computer, intended to provide information to various sites for customizing the user's online experiences. However, cookies can also be used to track a web user's online activity. To prevent this, most browsers allow users to limit the acceptance of cookies. For Apple's Safari, the default setting accepts cookies only ... (view more)

British business tycoon Richard Branson has prevailed in one of the first high-profile test cases of the new triple-x website address system. A US tribunal ruled that Australian Sean Truman acted in bad faith registering the richardbranson.xxx ... domain name, and ordered it be turned over to Branson immediately. (Source: adrforum.com ) Notably, Branson had not protected his name under the rules governing the new top-level domain. His victory may therefore lead more people challenging similar unwanted registrations. After a lengthy, controversial debate, the red-light domains debuted last year . ... (view more)

A senior US security official has warned that a high-profile international hacker group may currently possess the ability to cause widespread power outages in the United States. However, the hackers themselves have publicly countered that claim, ... saying they would never carry out such an attack. To underline their assertion, the hackers have attacked the newspaper that first published these claims. General Keith Alexander, director of the U.S. National Security Agency, was reported in the Wall Street Journal to have made the comments about Anonymous, a loose collection of hackers who view ... (view more)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the most respected universities in the world, is planning to launch a course that can be taken entirely over the Internet. It's not enough for a degree in itself, but those who pass will earn a ... certificate. The course will be a prototype for online learning at the university. This is the first time such a high-profile institution has offered a course that yields a passing or failing grade, rather than one where students simply access the information and receive a virtual "attendance" certificate. Existing Course Makes Electronic Leap ... (view more)