Entry #4 - September 23rd

Apple Touch ID fingerprint tech 'broken', hackers say

BBC

September 23rd

A hacking group from Germany claims it has "successfully bypassed the bio metric security of Apple's Touch ID using everyday means".  Chaos Computer club has been able to unlock the iPhone 5S by photographing a fingerprint left on a glass surface, and creating a fake finger they were able to unlock the phone.  on Apple's website they state that there is a one in 50,000 chance of two separate finger prints being alike and the technology provides "a very high level of security".  Apple does not suggest that Touch ID is a total replacement for conventional pass code unlocking, just a more convenient way of unlocking. Karsten Nohl, chief scientist at SRLabs, a German hacking think tank, says that Apple's bio metric device is no different from any other bio metric program.  Mr Nohl says that five digit pass codes are safer than the bio metrics unlocking device.

Mr Nohl seems like a very smart man.  I think that he has an opinion that would make you question him, why? Well when someone questions Apple it's like questioning a bunch of really smart people so others will think you are crazy for going against Apple. I agree with mister Nohl in that Apple should have marketed the Touch ID for convenience rather than for security where as it is lacking in that department.  I think that Apple should market for ease of access and as a cool feature not "a very high level of security".

Entry #3 - September 19th 2013

Bumblebee flight inspires 'bad weather robot' design

BBC

18 September

Dr Sridhar Ravi, from Harvard University, records the flight of bumblebees in a wind tunnel.  This allows Dr. Ravi to control the airflow the bees have to contend with.  The researchers said in a paper, they studied bumblebees because they were "all-weather foragers". "The best micro air vehicles today, with a wingspan of less than 25cm long, struggle to fly stable even when in a light breeze."  They recorded the bees with high-speed cameras to capture how the bees reacted and adjusted their flight to the airflow in slow motion.  The tapes show the bees slow down in unsteady winds to allow more energy to be expended on re-correcting and adjusting flight paths.  The scientists said that a better understanding of how natural flyers contend with turbulent wind would help "immensely" in the design of micro-air flyers that flew in adverse weather.

I think that it is very interesting that these scientists are trying to figure out how to get a micro air robot to be able to fly like a natural 'flyer'. I think that because this not only means we will have small tough flying robots but will also mean we have figured out the algorithm to flying like a bumblebee. This will also help in the future to unlocking other techniques of flight, not the conventional thrust and airflow over the wings, for example flapping.

Entry #2 - September 17th

Navy Yard: Aaron Alexis 'treated for mental health'

The 34 year old, Aaron Alexis, was working at a Navy Yard in Washington D.C.  On Monday he came to work and started open firing in a hallway and off of a balcony down at other co-workers in an atrium.  Alexis had a record that was heavy, he was also discharged from the navy.  Alexis was employee of an I.T. contractor which allowed him to have access to the building even after having several encounters with police.  He was reportedly armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun he took from an officer at the scene.  The police chief Cathy Lanier told reporters the gunman was "engaged in shooting with the police" when he died. "there is no question he would have kept shooting,"

I think that it is absurd that they would allow a man with this record to have clearance to the building.  I also think that it is awful that he could purchase the weapons from the weapons dealer even after having mental health issues.  I think that Aaron Alexis should not have had access to the federal building in the first place because it was a Navy Yard, and he was discharged "under a cloud".

Entry 1 - September 11 2013

Syria crisis: Barrack Obama puts military strike on hold

September 11th, 2013BBC News

This article is mainly about how Barrack Obama has decided to hold all US military strikes against Syria.  The Syrian Prime minister Bashar al-Assad has admitted to having chemical weapons, the attack involving chemical weapons on august 21st of this year, and has agreed to abide by a Russian plan to hand them over.

I think that Obama has made the right decision by holding on military action because the prime minister of Syria has been co-operating with Russia's plans.  Why the Syrian's would be manufacturing chemical weapons is very intimidating because the UN has passed a law that no country is allowed to develop chemical weapons because of the severity. This is intimidating because of what has happened to people and soldiers in the past from these arsenals.