They say you shouldn’t judge by appearances or even fashion styles. Einstein often looked like someone who couldn’t even dress himself or comb his hair, but he turned out to be pretty smart. The best barbers don’t always have the best haircuts. In North Korea, the best surgeons often wear a chef’s hat when presenting new technology to their leaders. That’s the conclusion that can be drawn by the image above, which was released by the state-controlled news agency describing the new Taesongsan General Hospital being built by the army on orders of Kim Jong Eun. As The Atlantic’s David Graham pointed…

When a headline such as “Broad Powers Seen for Obama in Cyberstrikes” appears on the NY Times, my initial response is a skeptical one. I’ve long viewed the ways that the last two administrations have handled cybersecurity as failures to understand Golidilocks; they are too harsh when it isn’t warranted and lackadaisical in times of the greatest need. Many countries are growing more dangerous in the world of cyberterrorism with China leading the way. They are arguably more advanced than the United States in understanding the realities of cyberwarfare. To my pleasant surprise, the reported…

Put your tin foil hats on. It’s conspiracy theory time. Since 2010, Google has been tracking and releasing their bi-yearly Transparency Report. In it, they give details about the number of requests various governments make to the search giant for personal information. On the surface, this seems to be an excellent way for Google to maintain their position as a company that is fighting for the privacy of its users by informing them and giving them awareness that they should join the fight to keep the internet, our activities, and the data that we put online as private as possible. What if (stay with…

One of the things that Americans take pride in is the way that the country and its people are technologically advanced when compared to the rest of the world. Many of us have smartphones, tablets, computers, cars, and other advanced gadgets and gizmos that keep us occupied and often informed. This does not, however, translate very well in the political arena. A year ago, most would have thought that there was no way that California could possibly vote against Proposition 37. In a state that is generally so liberal and whose people strongly condone healthy eating habits, it wouldn’t be possible…

To those without the technological expertise to fully understand what this all means, it could seem as a harmless measure by a government body to protect copyright materials. To anyone who knows what deep packet inspections, embedded digital watermarks, and trace-back mechanisms are, this is the most dangerous digital path the world has traveled since the internet was first conceived. The United Nations voted yesterday to support internet eavesdropping. Make absolutely no mistake about it – this is the very clear and unavoidable start of full-blown censorship. It is the beginning of the…

As our society becomes increasingly globalized, the ability to speak more than one language becomes increasingly useful. Members of today’s youth population who learn to speak more than one language are likely to have a huge advantage over their monolingual peers in terms of job prospects in the future. Fortunately, technology is making language learning less difficult and more enjoyable for both kids and adults. New apps for tablets and smartphones, in particular, are beginning to break boundaries and revolutionize the way people learn to speak different languages. A Palo Alto-based…

Few places are as big and secretive at the same time as Foxconn, the place where much of the western world’s tech magic is born. On the list of “huge and airtight”, there’s the Pentagon, Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and then Foxconn. It’s where 70% of all iPhones are made, which is why there was excitement when this story from TheNextWeb came across the wire. The video is acutely devoid of anything groundbreaking, but it’s still worth what might be the only look you’ll ever get inside the transplanted heartbeat of world technology. Related articles Watch this: a brief look at Foxconn’s iPhone…

Google announced they intended to purchase Motorola Mobility last August. Nine months, a go-around with China, and $12.5 billion dollars later, the deal has been completed according to a post by CEO Larry Page. “It’s a well known fact that people tend to overestimate the impact technology will have in the short term, but underestimate its significance in the longer term,” Page said. “Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound–as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone.” Along with the handset giant, Google…

Google cleared its last big hurdle, the Great Wall of China. Now, the search giant will be able to move forward with its purchase of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The caveat is a minor one that would have likely been the case anyway, but China wasn’t going to take any chances. As part of the approval, Google must agree to keep Android free and available to other device makes for 5 years. They also joined the US and Europe in voicing the sentiment that Google must make Motorola patents available for fair licensing. “Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed and we look forward…

It’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. At other times, it’s comically easy. Apple and other companies have fallen victim to many counterfeit technology stores and products in China for years, but it seems as if there has been an influx of activity in recent months that’s been making the news. In a land that is growing into its own in pseudo-capitalism but that’s still shrouded by government-induced mystery, it can be extremely lucrative to sell fake merchandise for a little while, knowing that someday it will likely get busted. Until it does, there’s a yuan to make. This graphic from Charlotte…