Stories about Technology from May, 2015
The Biggest Source of Plastic Trash You've Never Heard of
From acres of sheeting to miles of twine, farms use billions of pounds of plastic each year. What can we do to reduce the impact?
New Messaging App by Iran's Basij Militia Gives State Access to All Conversations
The app will use servers owned and controlled by the Basij, thus allowing easy access to and monitoring of all user conversations by the paramilitary group and intelligence agents.
Robot Commenters Accidentally Expose Themselves on China's Weibo Platform
Patrick Wong contributed to this post. Chinese netizens are having a good laugh over the mechanized missteps of government-controlled robot commenters, who have been criticizing messages sent by their own masters. A few weeks ago, a group of robots seized upon a congratulatory message posted on Weibo over a year...
In Bangladesh, It's So Long to Cyber Cafés
Cyber cafés in Bangladesh are shutting down because of easy Internet access on mobile phones. In the past five years, more than 40 percent have closed shop.
Amateur Cartoonist Lands Radioactive Drone on Japanese Prime Minister's House
Yasuo Yamamoto's drone carried a small amount of radioactive soil from Fukushima. Japanese netizens quickly discovered that he maintained a blog and published original manga of an unsettling nature.
Russia Launches ‘Predictive System’ for Monitoring Protest Activity Online
The new Russian software will allegedly be able to spot preparations for protests online long before they happen, and could supply that information to law enforcement, academics and state officials.
The Media Is the Message: E-Diplomacy in Egypt
Egyptian authorities today must figure out how to communicate effectively in the wake of four years of constant regime change.
Online Platform Alerts People in Mexico's Jalisco State to Organized Crime Violence
After several attacks from a powerful Mexican cartel, the Jalisco government hopes that technology can keep citizens informed about clashes and "narcobloqueos."
Under a Shaky Ceasefire, Yemenis Struggle to Stay Connected to the World
Frequent electricity cuts, bombings and a dire humanitarian situation could exacerbate and completely isolate Yemen should internet and telecommunications services be cut.
In Japan, a Social Network Dedicated Entirely to Weather News
Like weather? Interested in citizen journalism? A Japan-fan to boot? SoLive24 may be the social network for you.
Amid “Intelligent” Censorship Discussions, Iran Affirms Facebook Will Remain Blocked
Discussions regarding the implementation of “intelligent” filtering have proliferated Internet policy discussions within Iran. “Intelligent” filtering is a process whereby they filter select content on a social media platform, rather than the entire site. Our recent research covered the extent of this program on Instagram. In response to “intelligent’ filtering...
Khamenei's #Letter4U Bots Still Active Four Months After Its Launch
On January 21, during the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei penned an open letter to the 'youth in Europe and North America' defending Islam, and the Western world's skewed reception of the religion. He also started tweeting the sentiments of the letter on his @khamenei_ir twitter account, starting the hashtag #Letter4U. A closer look of this hashtag indicates it remains active through bots, which are still crawling through Twitter four months after the launch of the campaign.
Venezuela Creates the Joint Staff for Cyber Defense
#SepaQue Ministerio de la Defensa crea la Dirección Conjunta de Ciberdefensa ● http://t.co/7JdVlgdDuE pic.twitter.com/ua82tGbO9d — Efecto Cocuyo (@EfectoCocuyo) May 8, 2015 #YouMustKnow Venezuelan Defense Ministry creates the Joint Staff for Cyber Defense. The Cocuyo Effect website reported that the Defense Ministry of Venezuela created the Joint Staff for Cyber Defense...
Can Electronic Games Accelerate Ghana's Development?
Join Accra Technology salon that will take place on May 26th, 2015. The theme of the salon is Games for Ghana’s Development: Electronic games are a two trillion dollar global industry. Game development in Ghana is growing rapidly, fueled by the popularity of mobile phones and climbing Internet usage rates....
Angani: First Operational Cloud Service in East Africa
Last month, Angani launched first operational cloud service in East Africa: Angani, the first fully automated cloud infrastructure company in the region, today officially launched their cloud and hosting services. Angani also announced their partnership with local data center operators that will make it safe and cost effective to provision...
Who Says Desert Climates Can’t Rock Agriculture? Check Out the Gulf Nations at EXPO 2015
Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE participate in Milan's Expo 2015 with well designed pavilions to introduce the world to their agrarian and food culture.
Keeping Minors Safe Online Is Everyone's Responsibility
We live in an age in which dizzying technological advances sometimes put minors in danger. In a post on blog Mujeres Construyendo (Women Building), Gloria Serrato delves into society's responsibility to protect them and teach them the appropriate use of new technologies: Diferentes organismos han emitido iniciativas para defender a los menores de...
Hong Kong Civic Groups Demand Legal Protections Against Mobile App Surveillance
Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates fear that police have been monitoring instant messages and chat apps with no government oversight.
Private Initiatives Take the Helm in Solving Europe's Shipwreck Crisis
"With this project, we want to draw attention to the fact that it shouldn't be our aim - but that of the EU."