WikiLeaks data could have predicted insurgency but the military failed to use it
"For the first time, we have large data sets from places like Facebook and Twitter that we can analyze with high-powered computers and get meaningful results," Paulo Shakarian, a computer scientist at the United States Military Academy at West Point, adds to the Times. "Iraq and Afghanistan are the very first conflicts where we have been collecting as much data as we possibly can."
Background checks may be extended for gun-buyers
Law enforcement leaders want to ensure that criminals and other prohibited purchasers are prevented from obtaining guns. Hubert Williams is President of the Police Foundation. He says guns are taking a greater toll of the men and women in blue, and closing this loophole is necessary to improve their safety and that of the public. “It is time to turn off the spigot that is producing a free flow of guns to criminals.”
Texting overtakes talking in UK, says Ofcom study
People in the UK are now more likely to text than to make a phone call, according to new research from Ofcom.
While 58% of people communicated via texts on a daily basis in 2011, only 47% made a daily mobile call, said the country's communications industry regulator.
It said the shift away from traditional ways of keeping in touch was being led by young people aged 16-24.
The new trends were revealed in its annual communications market report.
The average UK consumer now sends 50 texts per week while fewer calls are being made on both fixed and mobile phones.
For the first time, there was a fall in the volume of mobile calls - by just over 1% - in 2011, while landline calls were down by 10%.
Overall time spent on the phone fell by 5% in 2011.
Concept bandages change color for better wound care
It's time for simple personal bandages for your cuts and scrapes to enter the 21st century. Just covering a wound isn't enough — with today's advances in medicine they should be able to help speed the healing process instead of just getting skanky and falling off in the pool.
The AmoeBAND concept updates wound care by changing color to alert users when a change is needed, and being flexible enough to stay put until it is. It also allows you to check your wound without removing the bandage and exposing it to unnecessary dirt and bacteria. The dressing material covering the cut is sensitive to pH changes in your wound; if the pH is between 6.5 and 8.5, it means infection has been detected and a purple indicator cross alerts the wearer to change the bandage and call your doctor if needed.
JPMorgan Chase Gets $14 Billion Per Year In Government Subsidy
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and his presidential cufflinks do not care for your questions about the bank’s government subsidy.
At least some of the billions of dollars that JPMorgan Chase lost gambling on credit derivatives once belonged to you.
SoundGecko converts online articles into audible MP3s, aims to 'reinvent the radio'
SoundGecko, the product of an Australian startup, is launching this week to bring news articles to life in a new way. Designed as a text-to-audio transcribing service, SoundGecko generates an MP3 from a URL, allowing you to listen to an article from virtually anywhere. "I listen to podcasts and radio, but they aren't always exactly what I want," explains Long Zheng, part of the 121cast Melbourne-based startup behind SoundGecko. After spending hours commuting back and forth to work, Zheng says he wanted to find "a way to listen to exactly what I wanted and when I wanted."
'Weed Dating' Seeks To Spark Romance For Farming Singles
BOISE, Idaho — For one night a year, a neighborhood farm in northwest Boise turns into a respite for singles who are tired of the same old dating scene.
A poster board planted at the entrance of Earthly Delights Farm in late June advertised "Weed Dating," with a heart-stamped arrow guiding visitors to a sign-in table, where they were each assigned a number and invited to sample beer provided by a local brewer.
The farm is among a handful across the country offering an unconventional form of speed dating. Typically, speed daters meet at a bar or restaurant and switch conversational partners every few minutes, in hopes of finding someone compatible. With weed dating, this rapid-fire courtship takes place on the farm, with singles working together in the fields.
FUTURE PRIMATE 