Technology

An entrepreneur says he has a response to the intensifying debate about gun control in the US. He says that by utilizing innovative computer technology, he can ensure that only the rightful owner of a weapon can fire it. The technology requires a ... radio chip in the handle of the gun. The gun's owner would wear a corresponding chip, in the form of a ring or a bracelet. Some observers even suggest the chip could be implanted directly into the gun owner's hand. Robert McNamara, who owns the company TriggerSmart, patented this radio chip technology last spring. Smart Gun Tech Not New Of course, ... (view more)

A US Senate committee has approved the Location Privacy Protection Act. It's a bill that would ban the smartphone tools which allow people to track others without their knowledge. The act, introduced by Senator Al Franken, would force companies ... offering smartphone apps to get a phone user's permission before collecting or passing on data about their location. The new rules would also explicitly ban any application that tracked locations without the phone user's knowledge. (Source: govtrack.us ) According to Franken, such measures are necessary to prevent cases of people secretly installing a ... (view more)

A federal court has ruled that major cellphone carriers must let their smaller rivals use their data networks. This could mean more competitive deals and better coverage for smartphone and tablet owners, as well as those accessing mobile broadband ... on a laptop. The United States Court of Appeals has rejected a challenge by Verizon, thereby upholding an earlier ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The original ruling primarily covered data roaming, the technique by which customers of one cellphone carrier access the data services of another carrier. The FCC had said that ... (view more)

Microsoft is planning to release a number of improved features for its Windows Phone 8 mobile platform. The update could dramatically improve how the system functions. The update carries the codename Apollo Plus. Microsoft promises that it will ... offer fixes and features inspired by consumer feedback. VPNs Add Sense of Security for Windows Phone Users The first new feature in Apollo Plus is the inclusion of support for Virtual Private Networks (VPN). VPNs enable a host computer to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if they were private. Adding this feature to Windows ... (view more)

Verizon says it won't charge customers who live in areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy for service lost during the massive 'superstorm.' On a case-by-case basis, the company will also consider helping people in other locations. The network says the ... fee waiver is part of an ongoing program to help victims and restore cellphone service. Under the program, Verizon will waive fees for customers in ten New York counties and twenty-one New Jersey counties. The deal involves waiving the fees for all domestic calls and texts made by customers in the designated counties between October 29 (when the ... (view more)

Delta and United Airlines are among 100 firms that have been told they are breaking California's privacy laws. The problem: these companies have smartphone and tablet applications that don't give customers adequate information about the way they ... handle personal data. Kamala Harris, California's attorney general, insists companies are breaching the California Online Privacy Protection Act, which says app users must get clear details about the personal data collected and how it will be used. These 100 companies are among many more offenders but happen to own the 100 most popular apps breaching ... (view more)

A prototype car offers self-driving technology with a twist: valet-style parking. The Nissan vehicle, which is codenamed NSC-2015, can also foil thieves by streaming live footage of a potential break-in. This new model was recently shown off by ... Nissan at a tech conference in Tokyo. Several companies are already working on driverless cars. However, in the few locations where their use is or will be allowed, laws say a driver must be inside the vehicle to take over in case of a malfunction. Nissan could circumvent these laws if the feature is used only on private land, such as driveways and ... (view more)

A recent study by Swedish researchers has led to claims that it is possible to erase emotional memories from the human brain. It's an idea that appears to come straight from the 2004 movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." The startling ... assertion is related to a new theory that suggests memories (predominantly those associated with fear) can be turned into benign memories and remain that way for a lifetime. Emotions Altered Before Becoming Long-Term Memory Scientists agree that a long-term memory is formed when individuals learn new information through the process of ... (view more)

Microsoft is in the process of pursuing a new patent that would stop mobile phone rings with a simple "whack". The new technology could save users from embarrassing searches through pockets and purses in order to find and press the 'decline' or 'end ... call' button. The Microsoft patent application is filed under the name "Controlling Audio of a Device." According to the patent description, it covers "a method comprising, in a mobile communications device, receiving information indicative of acceleration of the mobile communications device, determining correlation between the information ... (view more)