Technology

The Toyota Prius, seen here at the New York International Auto Show in March, was one of the cars security experts Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller showed to be susceptible to attacks by hackers.

With Smarter Cars, The Doors Are Open To Hacking Dangers

7:46am July 30, 2013

by Steve Henn

Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller have been hacking into products for a long time. But they don't steal stuff or mess with people; instead, their purpose is to pressure companies into making their products more secure. Their recent research on hacking cars has shown just how dangerous these kinds of attacks could be.

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Echolocation is second nature to animals such as bats and dolphins. Can humans also find their way using sound as a tool?

'Batman' Style: How We Can See With Sound, Too

11:30am July 29, 2013

by NPR Staff

Echolocation: Birds do it, bats do it, and now even educated people do it. A team of researchers has devised an algorithm that could give the rest of us a way to discover our surroundings without using our eyes.

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National

The Reply To Email Overload? Prioritize — Or Turn It Off

7:33am July 26, 2013

by Elise Hu

In this age of digital overload, we're forced to pay "continuous partial attention" to the world around us. The problem of too much email is so prevalent that a Wall Street titan is using it as his legal defense. Experts offer tips on dealing with the email onslaught.

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Saltaire is one of the vacation villages on New York's Fire Island where Verizon has replaced copper landlines with home wireless connections.

National

Residents Forced To Live Without Landlines

9:02pm July 22, 2013

by Dan Bobkoff

Verizon has taken the first step to replace copper lines with a home cellular connection in coastal areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. But many customers don't like the new phone connection, saying the new technology is inferior to traditional landlines.

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World News

U.K. Cracking Down On Porn, Blocking It Unless Users Opt In

9:02pm July 22, 2013

The British prime minister says a plan to outlaw "violent" porn and block certain search terms is designed to protect children. Will a crackdown result in less child abuse?

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Anthony Townsend is a research director at the Institute for the Future and a senior research fellow at NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management.

Books
Arts

Tech-Savvy Cities May Be 'Smart,' But Are They Wise?

4:52pm July 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Around the world, cities like Rio de Janeiro are using new technologies to solve their problems. And while there's great promise in many of these "smart" city programs, urban planner Anthony Townsend is wary of putting so much power in the hands of tech companies.

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Stephen Balaban has re-engineered his Google Glass to allow for facial recognition.

National

Clever Hacks Give Google Glass Many Unintended Powers

8:55pm July 17, 2013

by Steve Henn

Whether it's facial recognition or snapping photos with a wink of an eye, hackers are proving it's possible to re-engineer Google Glass in a number of creative ways.

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It's easier — and cheaper — than you'd expect to hack a cellphone, say a team of white hat hackers.

How Hackers Tapped Into My Cellphone For Less Than $300

8:57am July 15, 2013

by Laura Sydell

A group of good guy hackers showed us how they can listen in on phone conversations and read text messages of Verizon customers simply by using inexpensive store bought technology.

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Iranians surf the web at an Internet cafe in Tehran on April 28, 2013. The recently elected president, Hasan Rowhani, has suggested that he may loosen restrictions on the Internet.

World News

Iran's New President Hints At Easing Internet Controls

5:10am July 15, 2013

by Peter Kenyon

Iran's President-elect Hasan Rowhani says his country should be more engaged with the world. While analysts are not expecting radical change, they say Rowhani could tackle pragmatic issues like increasing Internet broadband speed.

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Filmmaker Chris Barrett wearing his Google Glass. He is among the first 1,000 nondeveloper testers of the product.

National

Arrest Caught On Google Glass Reignites Privacy Debate

12:36pm July 09, 2013

by Elise Hu

The wearable technology, which is being tested by a select group of users, was used to record an arrest on the Jersey Shore. The incident raises questions about citizen journalism and the limits of privacy in public.

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