Hasta La Gadget!

Wi-Vi lets you see what’s behind a wall.

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo.

As part of our Blended Family Friday series, each week we’re spotlighting a different stepfamily to learn how they successfully blended their two families together. Our hope is that by telling their stories, we’ll bring you closer to blended family bliss in your own life!

This week, blogger Ivy Lifton is introducing us to her blended family. Ivy runs a site called Blended Ways where she chronicles her life with her husband and her kids, who range from age 9 to 19. Below, the busy mom — and the kids themselves! — share what they love most about being part of a blended family.

Hey, Ivy! Please introduce us to your family.

Read More…
More on Blended Families

The NSA surveillance story is evolving from one of outrage-by many Americans upon learning that their government has, to cut to the chase, been spying on them, and by many in the political establishment because a mid-level contractor has told this to the world, to one of bad comedy. The story is now one of the US trying to figure out where Snowden is, what flights he did or did not board and what countries are going to sympathize with the US and turn Snowden over to the American authorities. It feels like a global game of where’s Edward with the US cast as the incompetent detective.

This entire episode has been bad for the US for several reasons, but one that has been largely overlooked it the extent to which it makes the US look weak. Spying on citizens, tracking their phone calls and other communications is what one expects from vulnerable authoritarian regimes, not from governments claiming to be the leaders of the free world. Strong countries have a functioning modern state that can assure secrecy and do not seek to cut fiscal corners by contracting out key functions to private companies who often enjoy useful ties to current and former government officials. Again, this kind of incompetence and weak state is not what the most powerful country in the world should be projecting.

If a similar thing had occurred in another country, particularly one that was not on good terms with the US, the news about surveillance would be described by the US government and most of the American media as prima facie evidence of a non-democratic regime in that country. The role played by private contractors would be presented as evidence of a weak state, low accountability and a degree of cronyism or corruption. It is not surprising that the US media has not focused on these issues with regards to Snowden, but these points are not lost on the rest of the world.

Read More…
More on China

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is spending more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to buy Russian-made helicopters and other aircraft for an Afghan aviation unit that lacks the troops and expertise to operate and maintain the equipment, a government watchdog warned.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in a report Friday these shortcomings mean the helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft destined for the Afghan Special Mission Wing “could be left sitting on runways in Afghanistan, rather than supporting critical missions, resulting in waste of U.S. funds.” The report recommended putting the purchases on hold until the Afghans develop the capacity to support the aircraft.

Read More…
More on Afghanistan

With the goal of capturing frequent snapshots that show the planet’s changes in real-time without breaking bank, California company Planet Labs has revealed its plan to launch 28 teensy satellites called “Doves” to space. Existing imaging satellites are extremely expensive to make and usually capture huge pictures that take days to send back. Each Dove, however, consists of relatively affordable 10-centimeter-wide Lego-like building blocks called CubeSats and will quickly beam back mid-res photos. The firm has yet to mention how many CubeSats will go into each Dove, but the two test satellites launched in April (see sample images they took at the source below) had three pieces each. If everything goes off without a hitch, the fleet could be orbiting the Earth at a low altitude as soon as December. Once operational, we can use the pictures they send to update online maps and monitor melting ice caps, deforestation, or even traffic jams.

[Image credit: NASA]

Filed under: Misc, Alt

Comments

Via: Technology Review

Source: Planet Labs