Tag Archives: Technology

SMART meters explode in Stockton after accident

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Updated 4/2/2015, 9:49 p.m.

STOCKTON, CA [March 30]— According to CBS 13 in Stockton, California, more than 8,000 customers were left without power when their SMART meters exploded after a truck crashed into a utility pole.

Leigh Martinez reported that residents of South Stockton:

…described it as a large pop, a bomb going off, and strong enough to shake a house.

She said that more than 100 PG&E workers were working to restore power. The amount of time to restore power to a home depended on how bad the meters were damaged.

SMART meter caused fires have been suspected for some time, but utility companies are obviously reticent to reveal just how many. The California Public Utilities Commission has proposed an opt-out plan for customers who do not want the wireless technology. It would require the customer to pay additional charges.

Utility companies are allowed to sell the personal information they gain from SMART meter technology to other companies without your permission. SMART meters collect data on how you use electricity including what appliances and how you use the Internet.

SEE ALSO: Wireless Smart Meters and Potential for Electrical Fires (PDF)

Don’t Text and Drive

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Post by WJBF News Channel 6.

Using communication devices while driving illegal in Coconino County

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(APRIL 2014)

COCONINO COUNTY – In April of this year Coconino County passed an ordinance regulating the use of portable communications devices while driving. Included are all manner of devices such as PDAs, laptops, pagers and other electronic communications devices. That ordinance was amended by the passage of Ordinance No. 2014-09 (PDF).

Although installed and handheld two-way radio devices are not included in the definitions, they are covered in the exemptions to the ordinance. A technical reading of the ordinance would make the use of family radio service (FRS) devices illegal as they do not require a license for use.

The only devices allowed to be used are hands-free mobile phones and GPS units programmed prior to driving. Texting while driving is completely banned.

The ordinance reads:

A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a portable communications device to engage in a call unless that device is configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used exclusively in that manner while driving. Texting and typing while operating a motor vehicle are banned.

Exemptions include:

  • When the driver uses a hands-free mobile device.
  • When the purpose of the call is to communicate an emergency to a police or fire department, a hospital or physician’s office, or an ambulance corps.
  • When operating an authorized law enforcement or emergency vehicle in the performance of official duties.
  • When a driver holds a valid amateur radio operator license issued or any license issued by the Federal Communications Commission or the driver uses a two-way radio, including radios used in the Citizens Band (CB) service.
  • When a person is driving a school bus or transit vehicle that is subject to Arizona Revised Statutes or United State Department of Transportation regulations.
  • When a person is driving a motor vehicle on private property.
  • When a driver has pulled off of the traveled portion of the roadway in a safe and legal location and placed the vehicle in park in order to operate a handheld portable communications device.

Texting while driving has been a known problem for years. Cell phone companies and State departments of transportation have produced ads warning of the dangers.

The fine for the offense is $100 increasing to $250 if you are involved in an accident. Not to mention that the offenders insurance rate may increase. It may, however, extend to a higher cost. A teen in Massachusetts was convicted of vehicular homicide in 2012. He was convicted to the maximum penalty of 2-1/2 years.


(JUNE 6, 2012)

Teens being distracted by other teens while driving may be as much of a problem. An attempt by Arizona to address this situation was defeated a few years ago. The State of Arizona has no current statewide ban on texting or the use of cell phones while driving.

According to the June 4 Williams News, the Williams Police Department has chosen not to enforce the ban because of the difficulty in enforcement.

Your car is a giant computer – and it can be hacked

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“Auto manufacturers are not up to speed,” said Ed Adams, a researcher at Security Innovation, a company that tests the safety of automobiles. “They’re just behind the times. Car software is not built to the same standards as, say, a bank application. Or software coming out of Microsoft.”

By Jose Pagliery, June 2, 2014: 3:33 PM ET

Imagine driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour, when suddenly the wheel turns hard right. You crash. And it was because someone hacked your car.

It’s not far-fetched science fiction. It’s the near-term future today’s hackers are warning about.

Most people aren’t aware their cars are already high-tech computers. And now we’re networking them by giving them wireless connectivity. Yet there’s a danger to turning your car into a smartphone on wheels: It makes them a powerful target for hackers.

Interviews with automakers, suppliers and security advisers reveal a major problem with the new wave of “connected” cars: The inside of your car has ancient technology that presents a security risk.

Read more at CNN Money

Sony Supersizes Data Storage With 185-Terabyte Cassette Tape

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Got Backup?

sony-tapes
The iPod let you put your entire music collection in your pocket. Now Sony has something that could let you put the world’s music collection in your pocket: a cassette tape that holds 185 terabytes of data.

To put that in perspective, the tape can hold about 60 million songs — far more than anyone could listen to in their lifetime (that would be about 17 million, assuming continuous listening for 100 years, even while sleeping, and 3 minutes per song). All of the printed works of the Library of Congress add up to only about 10 terabytes.

Read more at Mashable

County Board of Supervisors Approves Ordinance Regulating Use of Devices While Driving

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text-msgFLAGSTAFF — Culminating multiple years of research and several months of deliberations, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance that aims to curb distracted driving within the County.

On Tuesday, the Board unanimously passed County Ordinance 2014-03: Regulation of Portable Communication Devices and Texting While Operating a Motor Vehicle. During the meeting, members of the public who addressed the Board spoke favorably of the ordinance and urged its passage to increase public safety.

“Our board feels strongly that this is a public health and safety issue that needs to be addressed. Countless studies have shown that distracted drivers are far more likely to be involved in a crash than those who are focused on what’s going on around them,” said Board Chairman Matt Ryan. “On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, I thank the Public Health District Advisory Board, our public health staff and Sheriff’s Office for helping address this critical issue.”

For years, County officials postponed passing its own ordinance, hoping that Arizona lawmakers would enact a statewide law placing restrictions on the use of cellphones and other devices while driving, Supervisor Ryan said.

While many bills have been introduced in the Arizona Legislature in that time, none have become law. Arizona is one of three states without any form of regulation on the use of cellphones and other devices while driving.

“It was important for the safety of our residents that we implement these safety measures in our area,” Supervisor Ryan said. “However, we still urge our lawmakers to consider a similar measure at the state level.”

The ordinance passed Tuesday goes into effect in 30 days on May 22. The ordinance states that “a person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a portable communications device to engage in a call unless that device is configured to allow hand-free listening and talking, and is used exclusively in that manner while driving. Texting and typing are banned while operating a motor vehicle.”
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Hacker hijacks baby monitor

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By Amy Wagner

25310628_BG1Heather Schreck was asleep around midnight in her Hebron home when a voice startled her.

“All of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a man’s voice but I was asleep so I wasn’t sure,” Heather said.

Disoriented and confused, Heather picked up her cell phone to check the camera in her 10-month-old daughter Emma’s room. The camera was moving, but she wasn’t moving it.

“About the time I saw it moving, I also heard a voice again start screaming at my daughter. He was screaming, ‘Wake up baby. Wake up baby.’ Then just screaming at her trying to wake her up.”

That’s when Heather’s husband, Adam, ran into Emma’s room. Adam said the camera then turned from his petrified daughter to point directly at him.

“Then it screamed at me,” Adam said. “Some bad things, some obscenities. So I unplugged the camera.”

But the Schrecks were only beginning to plug into the truth of what had just happened.

“Someone had hacked in from outside,” Heather said.

So how many other times had someone hacked into their camera and watched their baby through their Foscam IP Camera.

“You do kind of feel violated in a way,” Adam said.

Read more at Fox 19

2014 Virtual Urban Farm Tour Contest

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(Click for larger image)

(Click for larger image)

FLAGSTAFF – Attention local urban farmers and gardeners: Flagstaff Liberty Alliance is happy to announce their 2014 Virtual Urban Farm Tour Contest! This contest is open to the public and it is free to enter.

To enter the 2014 Flagstaff virtual urban farm tour, submit pictures of your urban farm including: gardens, fruit trees, chickens/livestock, and harvest/preserves!

Go to flagstafflibertyalliance.com to submit your photos and vote on your favorite entry!

First place winner will receive a $50 gift card to Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed and be featured in the Flagstaff Liberty Alliance 2015 Urban Farm Calendar. Runner up will receive a $25 gift card to Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed.

Entries for the Urban Farm Tour will be accepted through September 15, 2014.

Read more at Flagstaff Liberty Alliance

Google Buys Drone Company Titan Aerospace

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s50_highalt2_4k (1)Jay Yarow – Business Insider

Google has acquired drone maker Titan Aerospace, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Titan is a New Mexico-based company that makes high-flying solar powered drones.

There’s no word on the price Google paid, but Facebook had been in talks to acquire the company earlier this year for a reported $60 million. Presumably, Google paid more than that to keep it away from Facebook.

Read more at Business Insider

Government Lab Reveals It Has Operated Quantum Internet for Over Two Years

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MIT Technology Review, May 6, 2013

QC networkA quantum internet capable of sending perfectly secure messages has been running at Los Alamos National Labs for the last two and a half years, say researchers

One of the dreams for security experts is the creation of a quantum internet that allows perfectly secure communication based on the powerful laws of quantum mechanics.

The basic idea here is that the act of measuring a quantum object, such as a photon, always changes it. So any attempt to eavesdrop on a quantum message cannot fail to leave telltale signs of snooping that the receiver can detect. That allows anybody to send a “one-time pad” over a quantum network which can then be used for secure communication using conventional classical communication.

That sets things up nicely for perfectly secure messaging known as quantum cryptography and this is actually a fairly straightforward technique for any half decent quantum optics lab. Indeed, a company called ID Quantique sells an off-the-shelf system that has begun to attract banks and other organisations interested in perfect security.

These systems have an important limitation, however. The current generation of quantum cryptography systems are point-to-point connections over a single length of fibre, So they can send secure messages from A to B but cannot route this information onwards to C, D, E or F. That’s because the act of routing a message means reading the part of it that indicates where it has to be routed. And this inevitably changes it, at least with conventional routers. This makes a quantum internet impossible with today’s technology

Various teams are racing to develop quantum routers that will fix this problem by steering quantum messages without destroying them. We looked at one of the first last year. But the truth is that these devices are still some way from commercial reality.

Read more at MIT Technology Review