Silicon Valley’s Contract-Worker Problem


Silicon Valley’s Contract-Worker Problem
The freelance model is being abused, with workers being treated as if they were on payroll without getting any of the benefits afforded to payrolled employees. Some Silicon Valley insiders are beginning to worry that start-ups’ overreliance on contract workers could come back to haunt them if they run afoul of longstanding labor rules.

September 18, 2014 at 04:29PM
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Middle School Dropout Codes Chat Program That Foils NSA Spying


Middle School Dropout Codes Chat Program That Foils NSA Spying
The National Security Agency has some of the brightest minds working on its sophisticated surveillance programs, including its metadata collection efforts. But a new chat program designed by a middle-school dropout in his spare time may turn out to be one of the best solutions to thwart those efforts.

September 18, 2014 at 04:29PM
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My post-coma struggle to understand the Internet


My post-coma struggle to understand the Internet
On June 14, 2001, during the summer between my junior and senior years of college, I was hit by a car. Now, it’s ironic to me that, according to witness testimony, the person who hit me was using a cellphone. So technology threw me into isolation, and after it did, I had to relearn how to use it.

September 18, 2014 at 03:22PM
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Ask The Decoder: Stalked by Socks


Ask The Decoder: Stalked by Socks
What all of us — myself included — see when we get that creepy stalker feeling are retargeted advertisements. Retargeted ads are designed to capture the attention of the browser-window shoppers of the internet. While we continue our research around the web, they are tailored to redirect us back to just the right pair of socks.

September 18, 2014 at 02:15PM
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NASA JPL’s Sculpture Is A Conversation With Space


NASA JPL’s Sculpture Is A Conversation With Space
This sculpture reacts to real-time communications between 30+ interplanetary spacecraft missions and the Deep Space Network. Communication sent to a spacecraft triggers streams of light upward. Information sent back to Earth triggers lights downward. The more activity in the lights, the more data is being transmitted.

September 18, 2014 at 12:59PM
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Researchers try to pull back curtain on surveillance efforts in Washington


Researchers try to pull back curtain on surveillance efforts in Washington
For years, researchers have warned of the growing prevalence of the equipment, and Aaron Turner, CEO of mobile security company Integricell, says that spygear is rife throughout the Washington area.

September 18, 2014 at 12:13PM
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