Technology is constantly changing the way businesses operate. And while thats a good thing, it can also be a bit tough for small business owners to keep up. But members of the online small business community know what its like to work with changing technology. Here are some tips theyve shared for keeping up.

Some businesses could benefit from using chatbots for certain functions like customer service. But its important to understand how exactly to use the technology before getting started. Marcia Riefer Johnston shares the how and why in this Content Marketing Institute post.

If you want to make more sales for your business, segmenting your audience using your CRM or similar tools can provide a major boost. In this Kissmetrics post, Anthony Capetola explains why youre missing out if youre not already segmenting your audience to increase conversions.

Protecting your data should be a top priority for pretty much every small business owner. And Virtual Data Rooms offer a unique opportunity to keep data safe in the cloud. Ivan Widjaya elaborates in this SMB CEO post.

Additionally, there are a number of other security methods you should consider to keep both your businesss physical and virtual property protected. Sage Singleton lists some of those methods in this post on the CorpNet blog.

When hiring marketing agencies or professionals for your business, you need to be aware of some of the shams out there so you dont end up wasting valuable time and resources. In this Strella Social Media post, Rachel Strella details some of the most common types of shams. And BizSugar members sharethoughts on the post here.

Machine learning can provide some major benefits to businesses. But it can also complicate things when it comes to SEO. Learn more about using SEO in the machine learning world in this Search Engine Journal post by Dave Davies.

Through all the technological advances in recent years, email remains a powerful way for businesses to communicate with customers and prospects. If youre looking to nurture leads by email, take a look at the examples in this SUCCESS Agency blog post by Mary Blackiston.

With so much data out there for businesses to take in, it can be difficult to know where exactly to start. But having a strong starting point is paramount, as Stephen H. Yu outlines in this Target Marketing post. He also shares some tips for making informed data decisions.

Social media platforms like Pinterest have had a major impact on how people communicate and how businesses market their products and services. For more tips on how you can use Pinterest to gain more traffic to your website or blog, check out this MyBlogU post by Ann Smarty.

Of course, Facebook is another social media platform that is evolving rapidly with new technology. To keep engagement high, check out these tips from Rebekah Radice. Then see what BizSugar members are saying about the post here.

If youd like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: [emailprotected]

Future Tech photo via Shutterstock

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10 Tips for Using New Technology to Benefit Your Business - Small Business Trends

With Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue's new FLIR technology, a person in the water can easily be seen. (KATU Photo)

Firefighters are using new technology designed to save lives in dark and adverse conditions on the water.

The technology by FLIR, a local company, allows rescuers to see in the dark, fog and wintry conditions.

Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue demonstrated the technology to KATU on Friday night from its new boat.

With a swimmer in the water to play the part of a victim, Capt. Jon Voeller explained how the technology works.

This is a grayscale, he said about a monitor showing a black-and-white scene on the river. What happens in the grayscale is any thermal difference anything thats warm is going to show white.

Out of the grayness of the riverbank and the water, the swimmer could be easily seen on the monitor.

Using the boats floodlights to aid in the search would actually hinder the effort. Voeller said they would make the scene in the monitor diffused and unfocused. And he said the floodlights wont work at all in the fog.

(The new technology) works great in the fog, he said. That thermal image will pop right out, right through the fog. This pretty much is a game-changer.

TVF&R paid $10,000 out of its own budget for the technology.

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New technology will help TVF&R rescue victims in the dark - KATU

Defense Secretary James Mattis says he sees a growing role for the technology industry in defending the United States.

The comments suggest a potential untapped market for Amazon and Google, whose hometowns Mattis visited this week on a West Coast swing, and other large companies like Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.

Like the leaders of these tech companies, Mattis is focused on acquiring more expertise in artificial intelligence.

The difference is his goal: getting it into the U.S. military faster, to make it a "more lethal and more effective" fighting force.

"Many of the advances [in AI] are out here in private companies," Mattis told reporters after touring the Mountain View, California, location of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental.

What Mattis referred to as "the DUIX" is a new arm of the Defense Department designed to speed the adoption of new technologies into the military.

Already the unit, whose advisors include Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt, has reportedly had its software deployed in the Middle East for use in on-the-fly targeting of weapons systems, according to a report.

"We'll get better at integrating AI advances out here into the U.S. military," thanks to the unit. Mattis said DUIX will "grow in influence and impact" on the Pentagon.

Schmidt and Raj Shah, the DUIX chief since May 2016, visited Al Udeid, a U.S. military base in Qatar, where the unit's software was installed.

The DUIX unit located near Google will have a staff of 75 by next summer, up from the current 48, according to a presentation given in advance of Mattis' question and answer session.

During his meeting with reporters, Mattis also said the U.S. military was "ready" to respond to the threat from North Korea.

View original post here:

Defense Secretary Mattis predicts bigger defense role for private technology firms - CNBC

Video: Blockchain in 60 seconds

No new technology since the Internet itself has excited so many pundits as blockchain, but the mania has largely settled down, and I have warmed to the third generation ledger technologies carefully researched and developed from the ground up, by R3, Hyperledger and Microsoft, to name a few of the main players in this field.

The latest update of my Constellation ShortList reports identifies the Synchronous Ledger Technology services and platforms recommended for early adopters pursuing digital transformation.

Experience and sharper analysis exposed the inherent limitations of the original blockchain. R&D continues at a frenetic pace on fundamental algorithms, service delivery models, and applications. As the field continues to evolve, one feature is shared by all important blockchain spinoffs: they all help to orchestrate agreement on some property of a complex set of transaction data. Hence, I've suggested the label Synchronous Ledger Technologies, which is more precise than "blockchain" and more accurate than "Distributed Ledger Technology".

As is the case with all emerging technologies, please keep in mind that all of the recommendations below are works in progress. For the majority of businesses today, I recommend selecting SLT services from a shortlist of the following labs and providers:

View the complete Constellation ShortList portfolio here.

Take the Constellation's Digital Transformation Survey before it closes on August 18, 2017. Constellation will send you a summary of the results.

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Synchronous ledger technology (aka blockchain): The companies to watch - ZDNet

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It wasn't that long ago that Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube by Usher. Katy Perry, Macklemore, Psy and Lana Del Rey are others who used this online video platform to get noticed when music industry executives wouldn't pay attention to them. Thanks to this social media platform and mobile technologies, the road to fame has changed and helped many artists, including musicians and voice-over talent, get the attention they deserve while winning a fan base in the process.

Voice-over actors now don't have to rely on jobs coming to them or hoping an agent lines up gigs. Saving time and money on not having to race to various in-person gigs means these talented individuals can locate more voice-over work and carve out a career they define. Previously, they had to depend on agencies and share their earnings in exchange.

The actors are now using available apps much like those used by other types of freelancers for locating work. Voices.com is one example of how digitizing the voice-over industry is removing layers of paperwork and putting the talent in contact with gigs directly. Voicebunny is another site where talent is able to conveniently find work while various types of companies can also be assured they will connect with the talent they seek.

In fact, it has led many in the voice-over industry to create their own at-home recording studios to take these jobs, offering a great new lifestyle that balances work and life while delivering considerably more money.

Related:Lessons Learned inEntertainmentThat Can Benefit Every CEO

Seeing what YouTube has been able to accomplish led to the idea that a special platform could be created that would help aspiring singers make much more polished and professional videos that improve their chances of getting noticed. StarMaker has become the largest online talent network in the world with over 45 million users. The platform works with the major record labels, publishers, agents, and agencies to also connect this talent with those forces in the music industry who can help to make them famous.

Recently, StarMaker partnered with the new season of American Idol, set to launch in 2018 on ABC, to develop a contest that gives 10 talented individuals a front-of-the-line pass to go directly to an audition with the producers of the show. This platform and app company recognizes that this approach not only helps artists get discovered, but it also assists the music industry in finding fresh talent that may otherwise take considerably more resources to uncover.

The platform also has licensed one of the largest collections of songs that talent can use to perform in their videos, adding another unique way of packaging the performance. Of course, singers can also use their own original music to showcase their abilities. The result has been fame for many singers already, which has prompted even more talent to sign up for the platform.

Related:Meet the Business Strategists Behind the Careers of Today's Biggest YouTube Stars

Musicians have also discovered that crowdfunding is something that can work for them so they can independently produce their own music and make it available for sale rather than hoping to convince a music label to sign them. All types of bands have done successful campaigns on sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo among others, building a fan base and giving them direct access.

They also have shared rewards through these campaigns that further publicity like stickers, shirts, hats and more. Bands realized that the viral nature of crowdfunding and the social media used to fuel the campaigns can help them get noticed and finance the start of their fame.

Related:These Are the 18 Most Popular YouTube Stars in the World -- and Some are Making Millions

Even up-in-coming musicians have fans that follow their every move and share their love with their social circles. That's why it's technology like social media platforms that have changed how fans get to interact with their favorite singers and bands. With a shift away from buying records or CDs and toward downloading, there is not the same tangible feel to the music fans access now, which means that the performers have to find other ways to connect with their audiences. Live video streaming and photos with fans as well as the ability to comment and talk to bands or singers through their social media pages are preferred by today's fans that like the accessibility they get to the performers they admire.

Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have shifted the power away from the recording industry and back into the hands of the performers, helping them use these channels to develop their own fan base over using corporate marketing efforts that are not authentic ways of communicating with the audience.

For actors, musicians, and performers, technology will continue to provide a world stage for their talents and give them control over their careers. At the same time, technology will also advance what's possible in the entertainment industry, offering new ways to get noticed and engaged with fans. For performers, that means staying attuned to these shifts so that they can leverage them for even greater success.

Angela Ruth is a freelance writer, journalist, and consultant in Silicon Valley. Member of the YEC and startup aficionado, you can follow her online onTwitterandFacebook.

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How Technology Is Shortening the Road to Fame - Entrepreneur

In 1964 Edward Mukuka Nkoloso, high school teacher and self-appointed director of Zambia's national space program, had the bold ambition of beating the USA and the Soviet Union in the space race, and landing a Zambian on the Moon.

Fortunately Africa's space programs now look much more promising. In fact, in the last decade the continent has entered a space race.

Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and Algeria have taken a renewed interests in their existing programs, with Ghana and Kenya joining the club, launching their own space projects in the last few years.

While no African country is within realistic reach of moon travel yet, Nigeria and South Africa have by far the most advanced space programs on the continent.

If successful, they claim the telescope will enable astronomers to look much deeper into space -- at the sensitivity of many times current telescopes. The first phase will cost approximately $790 million.

"What drove this project was a need for the next generation radio telescope with a preference for the southern hemisphere as then you can view the centre of our galaxy," says Carla Sharpe, Business Manager at SKA.

"When you're studying space with an optical telescope you're only observing the visible light, whereas a radio telescope can observe the electromagnetic spectrum over a number of frequencies," she adds.

However, Sharpe disagrees that there is an African space race per se. Instead, African countries see space programs as an important part of economic development.

"In general African countries accept that developing technology drives growth and that space is a great area for technology development. It's accepted as a new market we can still get into," Sharpe continues.

Although space programs in Africa are frequently criticized for being a waste of money, particularly with the presence of more immediate concerns.

Sharpe responds: "Space science and technology is not just rockets. It's everything from data analytics, data storage and transport and more. There are so many areas of development within the arena which are classed as space science."

South Africa has set its sights on space observation, but what about space travel?

In that field, Nigeria is leading the charge. They're planning to be the first African country to send an astronaut into space.

Nigeria is aiming to create a world-class space industry. "The focus of our space program is economic development," Felix Ale, communications chief of The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASDRA), tells CNN.

Aside from Nigeria and South Africa, there are also a number of interesting developments from other African countries.

Across the continent new programs represent a growing appetite for space technology, but the continent still lags far behind in the global space race. It could be argued that a collaborative effort could help the continent catch up.

But there is no pan-African space program in the works just yet.

It largely fell on deaf ears.

"My personal opinion is that the African Space Policy is a great step forward. The African Space Agency will be beneficial in the long term but is a little premature. I think countries need to develop and grow their own capabilities first," Sharpe says.

An official African Space Agency might be a long way off, but national space programs are looking at ways of working together.

"I think collaboration will be the only the answer for us to develop forward," Sharpe says.

Read more:

Africa leaps forward into space technology - CNN International

Every day, more than 10 Americans suffer amputations on what is by far the most dangerous woodworking tool: the table saw. Regulators in Washington, D.C., are moving closer to adopting a rule that would make new saws so much safer that they could prevent 99 percent of serious accidents.

But even after more than a decade of study, and the existence of a proven technology that all sides agree works astoundingly well to prevent injuries, it's unclear whether the Consumer Product Safety Commission will finally pass a rule requiring all new saws to have an active injury prevention monitoring system built into them.

SawStop founder Steve Gass testifies at a Consumer Product Safety Commission hearing. Chris Arnold/NPR hide caption

SawStop founder Steve Gass testifies at a Consumer Product Safety Commission hearing.

We did our first story on this issue in 2004. I saw a small ad in the back of a woodworking magazine. It read something like "SawStop, the table saw that won't cut off your fingers." That sounded like a pretty good innovation. A table saw has a big, jagged metal blade that spins at 100 mph, and a lot of people get hurt using this type of saw.

I called the company and talked to inventor Steve Gass. He had this amazing story to tell. "I was just out in my shop one day, and I happened to look over at my table saw and thought, 'You know, I wonder, if you ran your hand under the blade, if you could stop it quick enough that you wouldn't get a serious injury,' " Gass said. "And it seemed doable."

Gass is a physicist and he designed a saw that could tell the difference between when it was cutting wood and the instant it started cutting a human finger or hand. The technology is beautiful in its simplicity: Wood doesn't conduct electricity, but you do. Humans are made up mostly of salty water a great conductor.

The SawStop senses an electrical current in the hot dog. Courtesy of SawStop hide caption

The SawStop senses an electrical current in the hot dog.

Gass induced a very weak electrical current onto the blade of the saw. He put an inexpensive little sensing device inside it. And if the saw nicks a finger, within 3/1000ths of a second, it fires a brake that stops the blade. Gass demonstrates this in an epic video using a hot dog in place of a finger. The blade looks like it just vanishes into the table.

There was a big need for this invention. Every year more than 4,000 Americans suffer amputations get their hands mangled using table saws. Upwards of 30,000 people wind up in emergency rooms with lesser injuries. And Gass had figured out a safety brake that could prevent those accidents.

A hot dog with a slight nick. Courtesy of SawStop hide caption

A hot dog with a slight nick.

He called all the major power tool companies telling them about his breakthrough, but none of them wanted to buy his safety brake. He says one company told him "safety doesn't sell."

"I was just shocked," Gass says. "That's crazy."

Gass started his own saw company and proved the technology worked. In 2003, he petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission asking it to require the rest of the industry to make their saws safer, too.

On Wednesday, Steve Gass was back in Washington at a CPSC hearing this time asking: Why haven't you done this yet?

"You commissioners have the power to take one of the most dangerous products ever available to consumers and make it vastly safer," Gass said at the public hearing. "And yet, here we are over 14 years later after this petition was initially filed, still engaged in a glacial process with an uncertain end. There's no time left to waste."

Joshua Ward was injured by a table saw during a high school class in 2013. Mollie Simon/NPR hide caption

Joshua Ward was injured by a table saw during a high school class in 2013.

Earlier this year, the safety commission voted to take a key step toward a new safety rule for table saws. The CPSC staff recommended creating a mandatory standard requiring them to have sensing technology that could stop the blade to prevent injuries. And it has issued a draft of the proposed rule for public comment.

Gass told the commissioners that history has continued to prove his technology effective. To this day the company says SawStop has never been involved in a serious table saw accident and has documented more than 5,000 "finger saves." He estimates his saws are "99 percent" effective at preventing injuries.

The hearing was also a chance for the broader industry and the public to weigh in. Joshua Ward from Oregon wanted to be there. In 2013, Ward was in a wood shop class in high school when a table saw jerked the wood he was cutting in a way that sent his left hand smashing into the spinning blade. Four of his fingers were either cut off or badly mangled.

Beyond the surgeries and the pain, Ward says it has limited his life. His dad's a firefighter and he says he grew up in the firehouse with his dad every day. "It's kind of been a lifelong dream of mine to be a firefighter; it's been in my family forever, and this injury has put that to an end," Ward says.

"As we speak it's about 12:30," Ward says. That means "six people have already had fingers amputated today. And there's going to be another 10 tomorrow. So I come with frustration and I'm really hoping that we adopt this mandatory standard."

Even after all this time, it's unclear whether the CPSC will vote to adopt the rule. The industry for years has had a long list of complaints and concerns about mandating this kind of safety standard. For one, adding the safety technology will add cost to the saws. The industry has said the cost is too onerous. But those cost estimates have ranged over time.

Gass says SawStop is about to come out with a $400 saw with his injury prevention system. The cheapest table saws sell for a bit under $200.

CPSC commissioners in favor of the rule point out that the $200 price difference is dwarfed by the financial cost, and pain and harm caused by 30,000 ER visits and more than 4,000 amputations every year. CPSC's analysis puts the annual cost of table saw accidents at around $4 billion.

Susan Young with the industry group the Power Tool Institute claimed at the hearing that some of the commission's research in this area is flawed. She said the proposed rule needs even more study and "lacks essential data from critical studies currently being conducted and continuing throughout 2017."

CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle said she was also concerned that the rule might force companies to license technology from SawStop, which she said might create a monopoly.

Other commissioners said the rule wouldn't create some kind of unfair monopoly. They said that's not the CSPC's concern anyway which companies win or lose because of a safety rule.

Sally Greenberg, the executive director of the National Consumers League, agrees. "That isn't their job. Their job is to get safer products to the marketplace," she says.

Meanwhile, Congress has thrown up a roadblock against safer saws.

The House Appropriations Committee approved a bill for the 2018 fiscal year that includes a clause prohibiting the CPSC from acting on table saw safety.

"None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used to finalize any rule by the Consumer Product Safety Commission relating to blade-contact injuries on table saws," the rider on the budget bill reads.

Republican Rep. Tom Graves of Georgia, who chairs the Financial Services and General Government subcommittee where the rider originated, was unavailable for an interview.

The Power Tool Institute has already invested tens of thousands of dollars this year to lobby Congress against the CPSC rule.

But the rider has not yet passed in the Senate, where Greenberg, of the National Consumers League, says it may be easier to remove.

With uncertainty about how to move forward, CPSC Commissioner Elliot Kaye had a message for Joshua Ward, who was injured in a wood shop class.

"Mr. Ward, I want to apologize to you personally that we failed you, and that we continue to fail the 10 victims per day that you mentioned earlier," Kaye said. "We should do better. We can do better."

For his part, CPSC Commissioner Robert Adler hopes his agency will push ahead with a final rule requiring safer standards for table saws. "Oh, absolutely I do," Adler said. "These injuries are many, they are ghastly and I believe the technology will eliminate almost all of them."

For now, the CPSC will be analyzing public comments. It might revise its proposed rule after that. Then the commission could vote on whether to make table saws a whole lot safer.

Mollie Simon is the NPR Business Desk intern.

See original here:

Despite Proven Technology, Attempts To Make Table Saws Safer Drag On - NPR

When AWS today became a full-fledged member of the container standards body, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, it represented a significant milestone. By joining Google, IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat and just about every company that matters in the space, AWS has acknowledged that when it comes to container management, standards matter.

AWS has been known to go the proprietary route, after all. When youre that big and powerful, and control vast swaths of market share as AWS does, you can afford to go your own way from time to time. Containers is an area it hasnt controlled, though. That belongs to Kubernetes, the open source container management tool originally developed inside Google.

AWS was smart enough to recognize that Kubernetes is becoming an industry standard in itself, and that when it comes to build versus buy versus going open source, AWS wisely recognized that battle has been fought and won.

Once it recognized Googles dominance in container management, the next logical step was to join the CNCF and adhere to the same container standards the entire industry is using. Sometimes its better to switch than fight, and this was clearly one of those times.

What we have now is aclearer path to containerization, a technology that is all the rage inside large companies for many good reasons. They allow you to break down the application into discrete manageable chunks, making updates a heck of a lot easier, and clearly dividing developer tasks and operations tasks in a DevOps model.

Standards provide a common basis for managing containers. Everyone can build their own tools on top of them. Google already has when it built Kubernetes, Red Hat has OpenShift, Microsoft makes Azure Container Service and so forth and so on.

Companies like standards because they know the technology is going to work a certain way, regardless of who built it. Each vendor provides a similar set of basic services, then differentiates itself based on what it builds on top.

Technology tends to take off once a standard is agreed upon by the majority of the industry. Look at the World Wide Web. It has taken off because there is a standard way of building web sites. When companies agree to the building blocks, everything else seems to fall into place.

A lack of standards has traditionally held back technology. Having common building blocks just make sense. Sometimes a clear market leader doesnt always agree. Today AWS showed why it matters, even to them.

Read more:

AWS just proved why standards drive technology platforms - TechCrunch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is working on technology that it believes can make blockchain-based systems faster and more private, as it looks to speed up use of the distributed database software by enterprises.

The company said on Thursday that it had developed a system called Coco Framework, which connects to different blockchain networks to solve some of the issues that have slowed down their adoption, including speed and privacy concerns.

Coco, whose names stands for Confidential Consortium, will be ready and made open source by 2018, Microsoft said.

It is currently compatible with Ethereum, one of the most popular types of blockchains and can make it roughly 100 times faster, Microsoft said.

"We expect this to be the foundation for blockchain for enterprise," Mark Russinovich, chief technology officer of Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing division, said at a press briefing. "We think blockchain is going to potentially transform every industry."

Large businesses, including many of the worlds biggest banks, have been investing in blockchain in the hopes that it can help simplify and reduce the costs of some of their data-heavy processes.

The technology, which first emerged as the system underpinning cryptocurrency bitcoin, is a shared public record of data that is maintained by a network of computers on the internet. This means every user on a network could potentially have access to all information.

While this makes the technology well-suited at ensuring the information's integrity, it also makes it inadequate for use by big businesses with strict data privacy requirements.

Microsoft's technology would make it easier for firms to control who can see what on a network without making the system slower.

The company plans to offer Coco for free, although it hopes that it will lead to more use of its cloud services.

It is being built in part with Intel Corp (INTC.O) hardware and will be compatible with all types of blockchains.

Planned adopters include Corda, the blockchain of bank consortium R3, Intel's blockchain Sawtooth and Quorum, the blockchain developed by JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N).

While the technology continues to draw interest from large firms, experts and skeptics caution that it is still in its early days and it may take years before its benefits are reaped.

Microsoft's system can process around 1,600 transactions per second. By comparison the network of payment card provider Visa can handle up to 24,000 transactions per second.

Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

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Microsoft unveils technology to speed up blockchain and its adoption - Reuters

In this issue: Autonomous systems for frontline resupply, electric hub-drive technology for armoured vehicles, the F-35s arrival in Europe, how to turn an air force base into a smart base, the future of littoral warfare and more.

Autonomous vehicles, augmented reality systems and advanced wireless networks were among the 50 technologies showcased during a recent US Navy and Marine Corps exercise. With a focus on ship-to-shore manoeuvre, weapons fire support, clearing assault lanes, command and control, and information warfare, we ask what this exercise tells us about the future of littoral combat.

Also in this issue, we take a look at Qinetiqs electric hub-drive technology for armoured vehicles and review the strategic role of the F-35 in Europe now that training is well underway.

Plus, we check in with a US Air Force pilot project testing a smart base concept and look at the UK MoDs efforts to improve the last mile of troop resupply with autonomous technologies by drawing on the rapid progress of innovations such as delivery drones in the private sector.

Revolutionising Vehicle Design A novel electric drive technology from QinetiQ could usher in a fundamental shift in the way armoured vehicles are built in future, as Dr Gareth Evans reports. Read the article.

Autonomy on the Last Mile The UK Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin has challenged industry and academia to design autonomous systems to resupply frontline troops. Claire Apthorp takes a look at the requirements and asks what the MoD hopes to achieve . Read the article.

Reducing Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Armed Forces Britains armed forces routinely battle a largely unseen enemy which, despite being responsible for significant loss of both operational readiness and ultimately even personnel from active service, nevertheless remains essentially unknown and often untreatable. Dr Gareth Evans reports. Read the article.

Up and Away The arrival of F-35 Lightning IIs at RAF Lakenheath at the start of their first ever deployment outside of the US back in April marked a significant milestone for an aircraft which has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Dr Gareth Evans reports. Read the article.

Maxwell: smart base pilot kicks off AT&T has announced it is working with Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, to pilot a more efficient and effective smart base. Claire Apthorp spoke to those involved to find out more about the pilot and talk early results. Read the article.

The Future of Littoral Warfare Autonomous vehicles, augmented reality systems and advanced wireless networks were among over 50 new technologies showcased during a recent US military exercise. Claire Apthorp tuned in as experts from across the industry and military came together to explore new avenues of technological development. Read the article.

The Netherlands annual defence expenditure is forecast to grow from $9.4bn in 2018 to $10.7bn by 2022, propelled mainly by a need to modernise and commitments to reach NATO guidelines to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence. We ask where the money is going and what role the Dutch defence ministry see for itself in the future global defence picture.

Also in the next issue, we check in on progress in the race to perfect missile interception systems, and take a look at a project by the US Air Force and Raytheon to provide secureidentification friend-or-foe equipment in a bid to help safeguard aircraft.

Plus, we speak to lawyers from the University of Exeter about their work on a manual setting out the legalities of warfare in outer space, investigate cyber security concerns surrounding the UKs Trident programme, and hear about the challenges of naval construction logistics.

You can read Global Defence Technology for free on the iPad. Download our app from the App Store to read the latest issue and browse the back issues in our archive.

You can also continue to read the desktop version for free on our web viewer. (Browser compatibility: The web viewer works in the latest two version of Chrome, Firefox and Safari, as well as in Internet Explorer 9 and 10. Some features may not be compatible with older browser versions.)

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Global Defence Technology: Issue 78 - Naval Technology

OMAHA, Ne - Its a yes answer for most students.

Do you guys use technology in the classroom, asked AM Anchor Emily Szink. Yup, computer and iPads, said one fifth grader. We just use it for looking up stuff and homework, said another student.

I know my son in the eighth grade is getting laptops this year, so it's a pretty big change from what it used to be, said LeAnn Welker.

According to statistics about 40 percent of students use computers during instructional time and about 15 percent of schools have an iPad or laptop for each student.

I think it is changing, but it's good for them because that's what everybody does, said one mom.

Most parents welcome the technology transformation.

"We can see how it is going to benefit them because they are starting to use it so much earlier than we did, said another mom.

But, as a parent wonder if you are not up to speed with the times? Andrea Riehl with the Geek Squad says most parents can perform basic computer functions, but if not, there is an easy way to learn.

Just sit side by side with them while they are going through things, see what they're learning. Kind of learn from the student, those kids are generally pros at using technology and having parents sit with them and learning from their student is a great way to go about it, said Riehl.

But, more important than being computer savvy is knowing how to keep your kids safe online. The Geek Squad has some simple suggestions like making sure all your devices and accounts have secure passwords and installing internet security software.

Keep an eye on them. Have an open conversation with them and just really make sure that you give them the tools to be safe to have a good experience online. You want them to understand that their digital footprint lasts forever and that they understand those ramifications, said Riehl.

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Back to school: parents and technology - KMTV - 3 News Now

August 10, 2017

The WINESENSE project has successfully developed a novel extraction process for grape marc, resulting in higher polyphenol content. The consortium is already working on products for the cosmetics industry.

Beyond the fruit itself and the wine that results from its fermentation, grapes, and more particularly their polyphenolic content, holds much value for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry. The WINESENSE (Research on extraction and formulation intensification processes for natural actives of wine) project is hoping to tap into this potential through an improved extraction process based on Solvent Free Microwave Extraction, Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE), and emulsion-Template techniques combining high pressure and antisolvent effects.

Prof Maria Jos Concero Alonso, coordinator of the project, discusses its results ahead of the final project conference that took place in June 2017.

What are the main shortcomings of current extraction processes?

One of the main shortcomings of natural product extraction processes is the degradation of active components under high extraction temperatures and duration. The properties of natural products, for example its antioxidant capacity, natural colour, or flavour, are lost to a great extent.

How is WINESENSE a solution to these problems?

WINESENSE has developed a process intensification to reduce operation time. Our microwave technology allows for obtaining more selective extracts with operation times of a few minutes.

In addition, the process intensification technologies used in our formulation of the final product improve its quality. Emulsion-template techniques combining pressure and antisolvent effects allow for achieving extract formulations of high quality. Formulation of non-water-soluble antioxidants in biopolymers has opened opportunities for the use of non-soluble polyphenols in food and cosmetic applications.

How did you proceed to improve the extraction of polyphenols?

The use of microwave technologies for the extraction of polyphenols from grape marc increases the contained amount of polyphenols, in particular anthocyanins and flavonoids. Anthocyanins are easily degradable polyphenols, and the reduction of extraction time to 2 minutes avoids its degradation.

Furthermore, the decrease in residence time reduces the concentration of sugars from the grape marc in the extract, so that post-treatment sugar fractioning steps are no longer necessary. Microwave extracts have an increased antioxidant capacity, mainly in easily degradable antioxidants.

What would you say were the most important achievements of the project?

The results of the project led to obtaining regional funding (Castilla y Len Equipment Funding) to develop a continuous microwave technology able to extract polyphenols from agricultural sub-products.

The collaboration with Prof Monzo Electrical Engineering Research Group from Cartagena University (Spain) has led to the development of a continuous microwave with an energy absorption efficiency of 98% and excellent heating homogeneity. The extremely high-energy efficiency allows for minimised consumption of microwave electrical power, which will in turn facilitate the commercialisation of microwave extract products.

What kind of products do you foresee for commercialisation? With what benefits?

I can give you two examples for the cosmetics industry. Quercetin booster (quercetin concentration 1800 ppm) encapsulated quercetin is enclosed in micronized liposomes made of natural lecithin. This formulation enhances penetration of the quercetin through the layers of your skin. Only natural compounds are used, and this formulation is produced by emulsion template technologies with pressurised water as an antisolvent. With this technology, we achieve a very efficient encapsulation, and it does not require expensive facilities. So, it could be used for small companies producing natural cosmetics.

Polyphenols extract formulates in food proteins are also undergoing epithelial cell in-vitro studies at the premises of WINSENSE partner IBET in Portugal, to develop new natural cosmetics.

What has been the feedback from industry so far?

Our results will be presented during the WINESENSE School being organised by WINESENSE partner The Matarromera Company in Valbuena de Duero (Spain), on 21-22 June 2017. The event is open to both companies and researchers. Ribera de Duero is one of the best-known vineyards and wineries in Spain.

When do you expect the first commercial products to enter the market?

We are ready for it, now the ball is in the hands of industry!

Explore further: Sustainable skincare range created from waste products of grapes

More information: Project page: cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/110027

University of Leeds spin-out Keracol Limited has teamed up with Marks & Spencer to produce a natural skin care range using the waste products of grapes.

The next time you walk down the produce aisle of your grocery store, you may want to reach for red onions if you are looking to fight off cancer.

In collaboration with its partners, VTT developed tannin extraction from softwood bark as part of an ERA-NET project. At least 130 kg of crude tannin powder can be produced from one tonne of dry wood bark, still leaving 87% ...

It's usually used as livestock feed, but wheat bran's value in human nutrition and medicine may soon reach its full potential with a new sustainable processing method developed by Swedish researchers.

Researchers at the University of Guanajuato (UGTO), in middle Mexico, developed an extraction column which recovers metals companies use in their production processes, thus avoiding environmental pollution and reducing economic ...

Food industry co-streams which could be upgraded to more valuable products than the original ones ending up as animal feed. Scientists developed feasible and gentle methods to make good use of fish filleting residues and ...

Researchers from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Stony Brook University, and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered new effects of an important method for modulating semiconductors. ...

Clinicians today have an arsenal of more than 200 drugs at their disposal for treating a range of cancers68 drugs were approved between 2011 and 2016 alone. But many chemotherapeutic agents pose stubborn challenges: they ...

Scientists working toward the elusive lithium-air battery discovered an unexpected approach to capturing and storing carbon dioxide away from the atmosphere. Using a design intended for a lithium-CO2 battery, researchers ...

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have gained key structural insights into the machinery employed by opportunistic, disease-causing bacteria, which may help chemists design new drugs to inhibit them.

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a new method for very rapidly determining whether infection-causing bacteria are resistant or susceptible to antibiotics. The findings have now been published in the U.S. journal ...

It may not be as catchy as chains and weak links, but physicists and engineers know "a material is only as strong as its weakest grain boundary."

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Microwave technology improves the properties of grape-derived products - Phys.Org

A technician works on a double deployed cubesat in the Clyde Space clean room. Credit: Clyde Space

LOGAN, Utah Scotlands Clyde Space will build buses for three small satellites Silicon Valley startup Audacy plans to send into medium Earth orbit in 2019, according to an agreement announced Aug. 8 at the Small Satellite conference here.

Audacy is seeking to establish a commercial version of NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, which transmits communications from satellites to ground stations. With satellites in medium Earth orbit, Audacy plans to offer simultaneous access to its network for customers operating thousands of satellites, launch vehicles and human spaceflight missions.

Before establishing its operational constellation of satellites weighing hundreds of kilograms, Audacy wants to demonstrate its technology, including customer satellite terminals featuring K-band antennas and software defined radios, on the cubesats built by Clyde Space, James Spicer, Audacy chief engineer, said by email.

Craig Clark, Clyde Space chief executive, said he was delighted to win Audacys order because the firm has an awesome concept and because Audacy conducted an exhaustive review of the market before selecting Clyde Space for its demonstration mission. I really like this win. I wanted to work with them, Clark told SpaceNews.

In addition to building the satellite bus, Clyde Space will bring Audacy personnel into its Glasgow facility to help them design their technology demonstration mission and operate the cubesats, Clark said.

Through the demonstration mission, Audacy will support numerous customer satellites with a range of missions and applications in multiple sectors from agriculture to disaster management, according to the announcement.

Audacy, a company established in 2015 by co-founders who met at Stanford Universitys Graduate School of Business, established its first ground station in San Francisco in 2017 and its second, in Singapore in 2018. As demand grows, the firm plans to build a third ground station in Luxembourg.

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Clyde Space to build cubesats for Audacy technology demonstration - SpaceNews

Mazda

Fresh on the heels of last week's tie-up with Toyota, Mazda announced on Tuesday that it has finally made a breakthrough in gasoline engine technology. Mazda is calling it Skyactive-X; we know it better as homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI. It should mean a 20- to 30-percent boost in efficiency compared to Mazda's current gasoline direct-injection engines, and we may well see it in the next revision to the Mazda 3.

HCCI engines have been one of those "if only" technologies for some time now. Kyle Niemeyer first covered the idea back in 2012 for Ars as part of a deep dive into new engine tech that could help meet looming efficiency requirements for automakers.

In essence, HCCI is an attempt to run a gasoline engine like a diesel instead. Rather than squirt fuel into a cylinderdone directly, at high pressure, in the case of Mazda's current gasoline enginesthen ignite it with a spark, the fuel and air are well-mixed and then compressed to achieve the banginsuck, squeeze, bang, blow.

Because the fuel and air are so well-mixed, combustion should happen simultaneously at multiple points within the cylinder's volume, burning more evenly, at a lower temperature, with fewer particulates or nitrogen oxides in the exhaust than a normal spark-ignited gasoline engine or a diesel engine. Making it work is apparently much harder than describing it; at various times, General Motors, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Honda, and Bosch have all tried their hand at the technology to little avail.

But Mazda is nothing if not stubborn when it comes to eclectic engine technologies; after all, it bravely persevered with the rotary engine for decades. In January,there were signs that it had made real progress with HCCI, and today we have the confirmation as part of a broader announcement from Mazda about its new long-term sustainability plan. Another element of the plangiven the catchy title "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030"is to start introducing EVs and hybrids "in regions that use a high ratio of clean energy for power generation or restrict certain vehicles to reduce air pollution."

The new HCCI engines will still use the good-old spark plug; for some operating conditions, it's better to run it as a conventional spark-ignition engine. Mazda says it has perfected the control issues that let the engine know when to transition between spark ignition and when things can be leaned-out enough to use HCCI, and it's calling it "spark controlled compression ignition."

The engines will also be supercharged, so they will be torquier than the current Mazda gasoline-powered engine range, and they'll be cleaner and more efficient. (Mazda's press release says that, volume for volume, they should be comparable to its current turbodiesel range in that regard.)

Reuters reports that Mazda also plans to keep HCCI to itself, although we wonder if that applies to its new best friend Toyota.

We know there is a vocal population who would like to see OEMs like Mazda give up development of new internal combustion engine technology altogether, focusing instead on fully switching over to battery electric vehicles. These days,national governments are throwing out dates like 2030 and 2040 for banning new fossil-fueled vehicles from sale.

But 2040 is aways off, and if William Gibson has taught us anything, it's that the future is not evenly distributed. Certainly in the mid-term, there will be a use for hydrocarbon-fueled vehicles, particularly outside of dense urban corridors where average journeys are shorter and recharging infrastructure is thicker on the ground. So anything that makes those vehicles cleaner and more efficient ought to be viewed as a good thing.

Continued here:

Mazda says it has made a long-awaited breakthrough in engine technology - Ars Technica

Scientists have invented a breakthrough technology they say willhelpheal wounds, blood vessels, nerves and damaged organs.

The technology, called Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT) uses nanotechnology to turn skin cells into a range of other types of cell that can be used to repair damaged tissues.

The cells are converted by a small microchip,similar in size to a penny,whichinjects genetic code into skin cells, transforming them into other types of cell.

The chip is simply placed onto the skin and can begin to create new specialised cells in less than a second, scientists said.

The researchers, from Ohio State University, turned skin cells from mice and pigs into blood vessel cells and nerve cells. After a week, the new cells formed new blood vessels and nerve tissue.

In one experiment, a badly damaged mouse leg was saved by the technology creating new blood vessels in tissue that had previously been lacking blood flow.

Another test involved injecting new nerve cells into a mouses brain to enable it to recover from a stroke.

This is difficult to imagine, but it is achievable, successfully working about 98 per cent of the time, said Dr. Chandan Sen, one of the joint leaders of the study. With this technology, we can convert skin cells into elements of any organ with just one touch. This process only takes less than a second and is non-invasive, and then you're off. The chip does not stay with you, and the reprogramming of the cell starts.

The technology could see cells grown on a human patients skin and then injected into their body to treat conditions such as Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers, nerve damage and strokes.

It is the bodys own cells that are being converted, sothe immune system does not attack them and thereforethere is no need for immunosuppressant drugs.

Some treatments already involve converting cells in laboratory conditions before injecting them back into the patient, but this is the first time cells have been reprogrammed within the body.

Scientists said the procedure is non-invasive and does not require a laboratory, meaning it could be used in hospitals and GP surgeries. It simply involves the chip being placed on the skin and a light electrical current applied, which patients barely feel.

The research was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

By using our novel nanochip technology, injured or compromised organs can be replaced, said Dr Sen. We have shown that skin is a fertile land where we can grow the elements of any organ that is declining,

Trials to test the technology in humans are being planned for next year.

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'Breakthrough' microchip technology helps heal wounds, nerves and organ damage - The Independent

Image: DXC Technology

DXC Technology has reported its first quarter earnings for fiscal 2018, posting earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $245 million and $173 million in net income on revenue of $5.9 billion.

Global Business Services profit was $282 million on revenue of $2.267 billion, Global Infrastructure Services profit was $290 million on revenue of $2.969 billion, while the company's United States Public Sector segment brought in $77 million in profit off the back of $677 million in revenue.

Overall, income before tax was $185 million in the first quarter, after outlaying $190 million in restructuring costs, $124 million in transaction and integration-related costs, and $120 million from the amortisation of acquired intangibles, the company said in its report.

The results are the first since the formation of DXC Technology in April, which was the result of the merger of Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) and the Enterprise Services arm of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

At the closure of the deal, the new $26 billion IT services giant boasted nearly 6,000 clients in more than 70 countries, with the combined companies claiming only a 15 percent overlap in accounts.

"In the first quarter, DXC Technology delivered on the revenue, profit, and cash flow roadmap that we laid out at our Investor Day," DXC Technology chairman, president, and CEO Mike Lawrie said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We achieved several key merger integration milestones and are executing on our synergy plan. We have implemented the first phase of the plan and are on track to meet our targets of $1 billion of year-one cost savings in fiscal 2018 as well as $1.5 billion of run-rate cost savings exiting the year.

"We continue to lead our clients on their digital transformation journeys, leveraging efficiency gains in traditional IT to reinvest in digital solutions, including our own."

DXC Technology Australia and New Zealand managing director Seelan Nayagam said the market took the company's first quarter results positively, noting DXC's share price rose by $3 at the close of Tuesday.

"I'm guessing they were happy," he said. "The results globally and locally were good, but at the same time, the number of critical go-lives that happened with all of this stuff going on."

During the quarter, Nayagam said the local arm of the global IT giant completed the upgrade of the Australian government's Budget system, which he said despite taking quite a long time, showed him the local teams' resilience to the end-client amid an organisational restructure.

Speaking with ZDNet, Nayagam said the ANZ business grew roughly 3 percent in the first quarter over the same period last year, but noted there were different performances displayed across the many arms of the local business.

He touted the overall business as doing well, with the consulting business in the local market boasting over 1,100 individual consultants.

During the quarter, DXC Technology announced the acquisition of Microsoft Dynamics 365 integrator Tribridge and its affiliate company, Concerto Cloud Services.

Under the acquisition agreement Tribridge was rebranded as Tribridge, a DXC Technology Company, while Concerto Cloud Services, which provides advisory services and fully-managed cloud solutions, is now DXC Concerto.

"The combination of Tribridge with DXC Eclipse significantly strengthens DXC's role as a leading Microsoft Dynamics 365 systems integrator, greatly enhancing our ability to address client needs," Lawrie said last month.

For the 2018 fiscal year, DXC Technology is expecting to report $24-$24.5 billion in revenue.

Link:

DXC Technology posts $245m EBIT in first quarter since merger - ZDNet

SAN FRANCISCO Alphabet Inc.s Google has fired an employee who wrote an internal memo blasting the web companys diversity policies, creating a firestorm across Silicon Valley.

James Damore, the Google engineer who wrote the note, confirmed his dismissal in an email, saying that he had been fired for perpetuating gender stereotypes. He said hes currently exploring all possible legal remedies.

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The imbroglio at Google is the latest in a long string of incidents concerning gender bias and diversity in the tech enclave.Uber Technologies Inc. chief executive Travis Kalanick lost his job in June amid scandals over sexual harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture. Ellen Paos gender-discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2015 also brought the issue to light, and more women are speaking up to say theyve been sidelined in the male-dominated industry, especially in engineering roles.

Earlier on Monday, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai sent a note to employees that said portions of the memo violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace. But he didnt say if the company was taking action against the employee. A Google representative, asked about the dismissal, referred to Pichais memo.

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Damores 10-page memorandum accused Google of silencing conservative political opinions and argued that biological differences play a role in the shortage of women in tech and leadership positions. It circulated widely inside the company and became public over the weekend, causing a furor that amplified the pressure on Google executives to take a more definitive stand.

Googles new head of diversity rejected an internal commentary from an employee who suggested women dont get ahead in tech jobs because of biological differences.

After the controversy swelled, Danielle Brown, Googles new vice president for diversity, integrity, and governance, sent a statement to staff condemning Damores views and reaffirmed the companys stance on diversity. In internal discussion boards, multiple employees said they supported firing the author, and some said they would not choose to work with him, according to postings.

We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company, Brown said in the statement. Well continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul.

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The memo and surrounding debate comes as Google fends off a lawsuit from the US Department of Labor alleging the company systemically discriminates against women. Google has denied the charges, arguing that it doesnt have a gender gap in pay, but has declined to share full salary information with the government. According to the companys most recent demographic report, 69 percent of its workforce and 80 percent of its technical staff are male.

Following the memos publication, multiple executives shared an article from a senior engineer who recently left the company, Yonatan Zunger. In the blog post, Zunger said that based on the context of the memo, he determined that he would not in good conscience assign any employees to work with its author. You have just created a textbook hostile workplace environment, he wrote. He also said in an e-mail, Could you imagine having to work with someone who had just publicly questioned your basic competency to do your job?

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James Damore.

Still, some right-wing websites had already lionized the memos author, and firing him could be seen as confirming some of the claims in the memo itself that the companys culture makes no room for dissenting political opinions. That outcome could galvanize any backlash against Alphabets efforts to make its workforce more diverse.

In her initial response to the memo, Brown, who joined from Intel Corp. in June, suggested that Google was open to all hosting difficult political views, including those in the memo. However, she left open the possibility that Google could penalize the engineer for violating company policies. But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws, she wrote.

The subject of Googles ideological bent came up at the most recent shareholder meeting, in June. A shareholder asked executives whether conservatives would feel welcome at the company. Executives disagreed with the idea that anyone wouldnt.

The company was founded under the principles of freedom of expression, diversity, inclusiveness and science-based thinking, Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt said at the time. Youll also find that all of the other companies in our industry agree with us.

See more here:

Google fires employee who wrote memo about women in technology jobs - The Boston Globe

Photo ops of SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son sometimes show him chatting happily with his company's humanoid robot, the childlike Pepper, or grinning as President Donald Trump heaps praise on him for creating American jobs.

It's clear Son, Japan's richest person, stands out in Japan Inc.

He is no "salaryman" president, those typical executives who rise gradually and quietly through the ranks, Japan-style, in a corporate culture that frowns upon mavericks and tends to squelch self-made ventures.

Since founding SoftBank in 1981, Son, a Japanese of Korean ancestry who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, has won both criticism and accolades as a daring investor who has gathered partners in diverse technology sectors from around the world.

Sometimes those adventures cost him. But often, they have paid off.

SoftBank Group Corp. reported Monday a 98 percent drop in its April-June profit at 5.5 billion yen ($50 million) on losses stemming from investments in the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.

Quarterly sales rose 3 percent to 2.19 trillion yen ($20 billion), while the Tokyo-based company's operating profit, which highlights core operations, logged a 50 percent increase year-on-year as its U.S. mobile carrier Sprint, previously a drain on the bottom line, boosted profitability.

The first telecoms carrier to offer the iPhone in Japan, SoftBank has bought British semiconductor company ARM. Its acquisition of U.S. robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics is awaiting regulatory approval. Recently, it has announced it will invest in Encored, a U.S. company specializing in IoT technology in the energy sector.

Son believes artificial intelligence combined with data gathered by billions of sensors will benefit people more than the 19th Century Industrial Revolution, helping to treat cancer, deliver accident-free driving and grow safer food.

Son also has money to invest: a private fund he set up last year for global investments in the technology sector, called the Vision Fund, with the potential to grow to as much as $100 billion. Trump has praised him for promising to invest $50 billion in U.S. startups to create 50,000 jobs.

Son stressed at a news conference Monday that his company was neither an old-style Japanese "zaibatsu," a business conglomerate with roots dating to the 19th century Meiji Era, nor a venture capital outfit pursuing a quick payback.

SoftBank tries to influence strategy in the businesses it invests in, without exerting outright control or overhauling their management, he said, instead collaborating on a shared vision of what he called the "information revolution."

"We don't try to stamp our color on our group companies," he said. "We feel a brand should be free."

Son's spectacular rags-to-riches story, making one big acquisition after another including an approximately 40 percent stake in Yahoo in the 1990s, has left many skeptical over what appears to be a risky way to run a business, said Satoru Kikuchi, a senior analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Co.

But as he added stakes in one technology powerhouse after the other, names like Microsoft Corp., Novell, Cisco Systems, Ziff-Davis and Comdex, Son has shifted gears when necessary, adjusting his portfolio and often emerging a winner and winning trust from key investors, Kikuchi said.

"His goal is to become the No. 1 company in the world through expanding in the technology area," he said. "He has the ability to gather money and information. He can act, and he can make decisions."

In a recent, nearly three-hour presentation in Tokyo, Son presented some of the ventures he is partnering with, including OneWeb, whose founder and chairman Greg Wyler wants to use satellites instead of underground cables to provide affordable internet access for everyone.

He showed off Spot, a four-legged robot that can climb steps and dance. ARM's chips are found in nearly all smartphones and wearables, he noted. Data gathered from such omnipresent sensors provide far more comprehensive data than what can be gathered through mobile phones or computers, Son said.

"Those who rule chips will rule the entire world. Those who rule data will rule the entire world." Son said. "That's what people of the future will say."

SoftBank also runs a solar power business, which Son plunged into with fervor after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan. His business empire also includes financial-technology, ride-booking services and a baseball team, the Softbank Hawks.

Takenobu Miki, who worked closely with Son in the late 1990s and early 2000s, says Son excels in bringing together partners whom he thinks will be instrumental in the future.

Big Japanese companies often hoard resources like money, facilities and employees. Son doesn't, says Miki, who now has his own business, Japan Flagship Project Co., which provides consulting and project management, among other services.

He says those who criticize Son for chasing quick bucks misjudge him.

"What you don't want is an unprofitable company," said Miki. "And he has a passion, a dream."

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/yuri%20kageyama

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SoftBank adding technology ambitions, with ARM, robotics - ABC News

Back when he was a presidential candidate, in August 2016, Donald Trump promised his followers and the world that he would screen would-be immigrants using extreme vetting, a policy that has remained as ambiguous as it is threatening (his haphazard and arbitrary Muslim ban was the apparent result of that pledge). Today, Homeland Security documents show the American private sector is eager to help build an advanced computer system to make Trumps extreme vetting a reality.

On July 18 and 19, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations division hosted an industry day for technology companies interested in building a new tool for the Homeland Security apparatus. The event was only supposed to take one day at the Crystal City Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, but was expanded to two after what ICE called an overwhelming response from interested companies. According to an ICE document titled Extreme Vetting Initiative provided to potential contractors, the agencys current ability to evaluate an immigrants potential for criminality or terrorism is inadequate, fragmented across mission areas and are both time-consuming and manually labor-intensive due to complexities in the current U.S immigration system. ICE is simply digging around so much, at such a fever pitchunder Trump,that theyve created a hopeless backlog.

So its time for something new and better, says ICE: asystem that will serve as an overarching vetting machine that automates, centralizes, and streamlines the current manual vetting process while simultaneously making determinations via automation if the data retrieved is actionable in order to implement the Presidents various Executive Orders (EOs) that address American immigration and border protection security and interests. In other words, data-mining software that helps ICE agents find human targets faster.

A slide from an ICE presentation made at the agencys Industry Day in July.

ICEs hopeis that this privately developed software will help go far beyond matters of legality to matters of the heart. The system mustdetermine and evaluate an applicants probability of becoming a positively contributing member of society, as well as their ability to contribute to national interests and predict whether an applicant intends to commit criminal or terrorist acts after entering the United States. Using software to this end is certainly in line with Trumps campaign rhetoric during a rally in Phoenix, he described how extreme vetting would make sure the U.S. only accepts the right people, using ideological certification to make sure that those we are admitting to our country share our values and love our people.

Sign-in sheets from the ICE event show a sizable private sector turnout, including representatives from IBM, Booz Allen Hamilton, LexisNexis, SAS, and Deloitte, along with a litany of smaller firms, such asPraescient Analytics, Red Hat, PlanetRisk, and Babel Street (the sign-in sheets can be read below).

The tool, according to ICE documents, will solvethe fact that the agency is dealing with such an enormous volume of people that analyzing them through traditional means is becoming less feasible Homeland Securitys Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit (CTCEU) reviews over 1,000,000 violator leads for derogatory information annually and sends approximately 8,400 cases to HSI field offices for investigation.

Should ICE succeed, the Extreme Vetting Initiative will make analyzing millions of people for potentially threatening traits more manageable. The initiative appears to be chiefly aimed at what ICE calls nonimmigrants, a term for foreign nationals seeking temporary entry to the United States for a specific purpose. Interested contractors were told their system must be capable of scraping not only data in various law enforcement databases and other government agency computer systems (including FALCON, an immigration database created by Palantir) but will extensively exploit anything that can be found on the public internet in order to provide continuous vetting of foreign visitors for the entirety of their stay. Essentially, anything online that doesnt require a password would be fair game under the Extreme Vetting Initiative:

The Contractor shall analyze and apply techniques to exploit publically [sic] available information, such as media, blogs, public hearings, conferences, academic websites, social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, radio, television, press, geospatial sources, internet sites, and specialized publications with intent to extract pertinent information regarding targets, including criminals, fugitives, nonimmigrant violators, and targeted national security threats and their location.

ICE declined to comment for this article, but in a Q&A session with contractors, the agencylamented that its biggest constraint, because we are a vetting/screening operation, is that we are required to work with what is publically [sic] available. That said, ICE told the contractors that as far as what data is ingested into the Extreme Vetting Initiative system, theyre willing to be very flexible:

We are open to anything right now. Wed have to run it thru Privacy but the idea is to be nimble here. We dont want to be restrictive so we dont want to strictly limit it to certain datasets. We recognize things are changing all the time as is our ability to navigate thru new permissions to enhance law enforcements ability to do their job. We expect that to continue in the near term to get the job done.

That same Q&A document includes a pointed question from an unnamed contractor about the potential for the entire plan to be foiled by the American Civil Liberties Union:

Five years ago the FBI tried to accomplish the objectives that are being stated here and the ACLU shut it down. The FBI tried to [do] this type of contract in the past and the ACLU shut them down. Does ICE realize the problems of the past and what happened before?

But ICE doesnt seem particularly worried, explaining that while the FBI has been tripped up when attempting similar data-mining operations against American citizens, an operation focused on non-citizens would be less likely to face such obstacles. The prediction is that in the near future there will be legislation addressing what you can and cant do, the agency answered. We will continue to do it until someone says that we cant.

Documents published with this article:

Go here to see the original:

These Are the Technology Firms Lining Up to Build Trump's Extreme Vetting Program - The Intercept

A South Korean report today revealed a very interesting factoid about the new iPhone 8 if it indeed pans out. According to the report "Samsung Electronics is set to shake markets for Smartphone parts once again. After deciding to apply integrated touch display to its strategic Smartphone that is expected to be released during first half of 2018, it has now decided to use 'SLP (Substrate Like PCB)' as the main board. SLP is a next-generation board that is applied with semiconductor package technology and this is the first time Samsung Electronics is applying SLP to its products. It is likely that this decision will bring enormous amount of impact on entire makers of Smartphone parts and components." It later noted that "It is heard that Apple also decided to use SLP for its new iPhone, which is expected to be released this fall, due to this strength of SLP." ETNews claims that it was confirmed that Samsung Electronics is planning to use SLP starting with Galaxy S9 that will be released in 2018.

The report further noted that "As Apple and Samsung Electronics, which are leading global Smartphone markets, decided to start using SLP for their upcoming Smartphones, main board manufacturers for Smartphones are set to face catastrophic impact." The report went one step further by claiming that "This indicates that businesses that have not secured semiconductor package technologies are likely to fall behind in the future and back-end industries are now in danger of losing businesses "

Another Korean report on the matter added today that "The substrate-like PCB is an advanced version of the current HDI circuit board. The stacked design, among other things, drastically improves space efficiency for battery whose size is getting bigger and bigger for high-end phones."

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Samsung Racing to Match the iPhone's Rumored Semiconductor Packaging Technology for Galaxy S9 - Patently Apple