Carlo Orlando

Do you remember the 2002 movie Minority Report, in which police used a synthesized computer system to predict crimes before they happened? Flash forward 9 years later in the year 2011 and detecting pre-crime is now a reality. Police officers in ... Santa Cruz, California have had tremendous success in combating crime this past month. Their good fortune can be attributed to the launch of a new computer program that is able to predict key locations for criminal activity and deploy officers before any actual wrongdoing occurs. The computer program, which is updated daily, generates predictions about ... (view more)

An exhibitor at this year's Black Hat Security Conference in Las Vegas is warning the public of flaws that could allow an attacker to remotely control insulin pumps and alter the information stored on blood-sugar monitors. Jay Radcliffe experimented ... on his own insulin equipment to establish his findings. The results send out a reminder to the tech world that medical devices synchronized with computer innovations could potentially be life-threatening if left in the wrong hands. In the past, severe attacks have been levied against pacemakers and defibrillators (though these were demonstrated in ... (view more)

For the majority of those who scour the Internet for information, Google's search engine continues to be a favorite tool. But a new report is showing that Google's success rate is slipping, even being surpassed by rivals Yahoo! and Bing. Google ... remained the most popular search engine in July, commanding 66 per cent of all searches for the month. But of those searches, only 68 per cent were deemed successful. In comparison, more than 80 per cent of searches conducted on both Yahoo! and Bing were considered successful. Link Usage Renders Search "Successful" The most obvious question coming out ... (view more)

When an individual is incarcerated after committing a crime against another, their sentence is supposed to offer some peace of mind for the victims. However, in California jails, contraband smartphones are helping criminals keep tabs on their ... victims via social networking sites. This year, California corrections officials have reported receiving hundreds of complaints from victims who have been contacted by inmates from beyond prison walls. The most serious case concerns a convicted child offender who had viewed the Facebook and MySpace pages of his victim several times before mailing the ... (view more)

Just when you thought that innovations could not get any more compact, a new report out of Rice University is claiming that scientists have been able to construct a working battery that is six times thinner in size than a bacterium. The microscopic ... battery measures 150 nanometers in width, meaning that it is literally hundreds of times thinner than a human hair follicle, and more than 60,000 times smaller than a regular AAA battery. Battery / Supercapacitor Hybrid The diminutive power pack is manufactured by the thousands in dense arrays. It is actually a cross between a battery and a ... (view more)

A rather obscure aviation contraption is making headlines this week by cracking secure wireless Internet (WiFi) and a cell phone networks (GSM), and along with it, a host of personal information and sensitive data. The Wireless Aerial Surveillance ... Platform (otherwise known as the WASP) is an unmanned vehicle converted to run on batteries instead of gasoline. It has a 6-foot wingspan, a 6-foot length and weighs in at 14 pounds. WASP stores global positioning system (GPS) information that allows it to fly a predetermined course without the assistance of an operator, only requiring human ... (view more)

Maintaining an active lifestyle remains an ongoing struggle for many people. But a new, hi-tech wristband is looking to keep people motivated to stay fit and make health-conscious decisions throughout the day. Jawbone, a company known for ... manufacturing Bluetooth headsets, has expanded their production to include a lightweight bracelet that monitors an individual's daily physical activity through the use of built-in motion and vibration sensors. Smartphone Pics Reveal Eating Patterns Called "Up," the wrist wear accompanies a smartphone app that enables users to record their eating habits ... (view more)

For years, volunteer doctors and missionaries have worked to test and treat malaria cases in developing countries. The infectious disease continues to run rampant throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and parts of the Americas. Now, a doctoral student ... at the University of California is building an efficient testing and treatment system that will feature Windows Phone 7. In parts of Africa, where 90 per cent of malaria death occurs, health workers test patients with a diagnostic assessment tool that works in a similar manner to that of a home pregnancy test (a blood sample on a small plastic ... (view more)

A recent study suggested that Internet Explorer user IQs are lower than those who do not use Internet Explorer. Now, those responsible for the post are informing the public that everything from the results of the study to the company itself (called ... "AptiQuant") was a hoax. The report went viral in large part due to the attractive headline used to describe the report: "Is Internet Explorer for the Dumb? A New Study Suggests Exactly That." The news should provide some semblance of relief for Microsoft as the results of the fake study claimed that users of the aging Internet Explorer 6 browser ... (view more)

Mass popularity has made Facebook a target of hackers for years now. In an effort to combat this problem, those behind the social network have issued a "bug bounty" program that offers monetary compensation to those who find vulnerabilities on the ... social networking website. Many report problems with Facebook on personal blogs and other public forums anyways, in an effort to gain some semblance of prestige within the hacking community. But discussing these issues in public (and before the company has had a chance to address these concerns) puts even more users at risk. Facebook Recruits White- ... (view more)