A round-up of the latest technology news from around the globe.
PATTERNWARE: Forget keyloggers and ID theft, the next generation of malware may be after your behaviour patterns. Malware could spread itself using a 'behavioral pattern attack' and so escape detection. What's more, your patterns of relationships and behaviour could class
you as more or less worthy of attack. Isolation suits this way. More at TechnologyReview.
SEE THROUGH OPACITY: French scientists have found a way to reconstruct light after it's scattered by an opaque object. Their finding could allow them to see inside things and people, without resorting to X-rays or ultrasound. The technique uses a green laser, a light modulator, a CCD and software to process the scatter pattern. Hmmm, the un-invisibility cloak. More at DiscoveryNews.
REALITY FILM: New software from Germany lets movie makers quickly change the apparent shape and size of actors. 3D scans of 120 men and women of varying size and shape were combined to create a single model that serves as the basis for a desired effect. Height, weight and muscularity can all be modified across frames of the movie. What you see is not what you get. More at Gizmodo.
WOOD CHIPS: Trees in the Amazon are being microchipped as a way to authenticate that they were logged sustainably. Data from the chip tells where the tree was grown and which sawmill processed the lumber. Engineers give each tree its own ID card containing a chip. Just like ear tags on cows, really. More at Reuters.
BACK TO NATURE: PlanIT Valley is a new eco-city being planned in Portugal. The city will collect data from a network of sensors, in the way the human nervous system works. An urban data centre 'brain' will control and recycle waste, water and power. Each building will also have its own computer as a failsafe. Natural features are deliberately
used to play a part in the recycling system. This is definitely one to
watch. Details at NewScientist.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
