These pages are a modest attempt to provide up-to-date news that is relevant to the areas of mathematics, education, computer science or information technology. Reader should keep in mind that old links often disappear.
Get as an RSS feed xml file
Google  
News     Comer's Site    

10/25/13
TechNews for the week: Oct 25; Oct 23; Oct 21;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Drone strikes kill more civilians than U.S. admits; Secret memos reveal explicit nature of U.S., Pakistan agreement on drones;
Al-Qaeda strikes fear in Iraq’s government-backed Sunni militia;
Afghan war’s end may help close Guantanamo Bay; Bribery scandal rocks Navy;
China and India agree border pact; Chinese newspaper takes on the police;
Officials alert foreign services that Snowden has documents on their cooperation with US; NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders after US official handed over contacts;
U.S. Reportedly Spied on Mexican President’s E-mail Account; Why the NSA spies on France and Germany; German leader calls Obama on alleged cellphone tapping;
Why Healthcare.gov Failed; Tech Contractors Reject Blame For Healthcare.gov Mess; CGI Federal, the company behind the botched launch of HealthCare.gov;
Officials say Experts working to fix HealthCare.gov site; exchange site needs total overhaul;
Ohio agrees to expand Medicaid;
Republican Civil War Over Shutdown Drama; McConnell’s deal-making riles up conservatives back home;
Paul seeks hold on Yellen nomination;
The 37 House Republicans Who Could Lose Their Jobs For Shutting Down The Government;
North Carolina GOP Official Who Called Blacks 'Lazy' In Daily Show Voter ID Interview Resigns;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Edward Snowden: Zero chance Russia, China nabbed files; Edward Snowden is no traitor; Code Names for NSA Exploit Tools;
White House Releases Draft Cybersecurity Standards; The Trajectories of Government and Corporate Surveillance;
Dry Ice Bombs at LAX;
Court Says ‘Hacker’ Label Indicates Bad Intentions;
Math and science
Why are there more runners in D.C.? Proof That Running a Marathon Is Not Likely to Kill You;
Web and Computing issues
Free diagnostic tools for website response and performance issues; Five apps for screen capture in Windows; Streaming Video Magic With Chromecast;
ICANN Announces Delegation of Four New Domains;
Patent Reform Bill Targeting Trolls Introduced;
SC Politics
The Agenda: Is DeMint's Heritage extreme?; S.C. mayor's "queer" comments; Attempt to stop I-526 quashed Sen. Grooms gets item off agenda;
S.C.'s legislative delegation on the shutdown;
Sanford weighs GOP fallout from shutdown saga; Mark Sanford’s fiancee, Maria Belen Chapur, breaks silence on their relationship;
Nancy Mace: Term limits are the only way to stop the ruling elitists;

Finance and Economics
U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in September; unemployment rate at 7.2 percent; Japanese inflation nears 5-year high;
Most Americans accumulating debt faster than retirement savings; North Dakota: Trouble in boomtown;
JPMorgan Chase nears $13 billion deal with Justice Dept.; Bank of America is found liable for Countrywide fraud;
Illinois Online Tax Law Ruled Unconstitutional; Online Sales Tax Issue May End Up at Supreme Court;
Healthcare.gov: Latest Victim Of Federal Acquisition Problems?;
DuPont to spin off performance chemicals unit;

Other news
The most dangerous states in America;
Dick Cheney feared assassination by heart-device hack; The secrets of Glenn Beck's persistent popularity;
How to get a discount on nearly everything you buy online;

Education:
Study: Despite Tuition Hikes, College’s Actual Costs Stable; Tuition Increases Slow Down, but There's More to College Affordability;
Group says Too Many Colleges Let Students Down on Quality of Education; 5 Things You Don’t Have the Guts to Tell Your Students;
A top Republican Senator Questions Value of NEH Grants; CFPB Report Highlights Private Student Loan Payment Processing Pitfalls;
U. of Alaska at Anchorage Moves to Rank Its Programs; University of Phoenix parent to lay off 500 workers on declining enrollment;
'Flipping' Classrooms May Not Make Much Difference; 'What Is Open Access?' An Explanatory Video;
Middle School Students Launch Homemade Rockets;
NCAA says Athletes' Graduation Rates Continue to Rise;
U. of Miami Gets 3-Year NCAA Probation but Avoids Additional Bowl Ban;

10/18/13
TechNews for the week: Oct 18; Oct 16;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Shutdown ends; Obama signs deal; Women Are the Only Adults Left in Washington; Debt-ceiling breach would push economy into free fall;
Senate passes bill to reopen government, raise debt limit; Gov't reopens after Congress ends 16-day shutdown; House employee escorted off floor after rant;
U.S. Senator Cruz blocks confirmation of new FCC chairman;
Republicans' Secret Ally Against Obamacare; House Republicans divided over latest debt limit, funding plan;
U.S. losing patience as deadline for Afghan deal nears; In Syria, al-Qaeda-linked groups show signs of digging in;
Iran pushes for end to nuclear crisis as talks get underway; Iran, world powers set new nuclear talks;
Bracing for defense cuts, Hagel decries ‘fiscal uncertainty’; How the US Army wasted $5 billion on clothes;
Documents reveal NSA’s role in targeted killing program; Push underway to declassify FISC document;
What's More Important: Border Security Or Protecting Immigrant Workers? If illegal border crossings are falling, why are so many immigrants jailed?
New charges against ex-Blackwater guards in Iraq shooting;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
October Crypto-Gram Newsletter, NSA news and more;
NSA reportedly collecting millions of email address books and IM contact lists worldwide; Harvesting Contact Lists; NSA Hack Attacks: Good Value For Money?
Fingerprinting Burner Phones; Identifying Cell Phones Through Sensor Imperfections;
Security Researcher Finds Backdoor in D-Link Routers; D-Link Router Backdoor;
New Secure Smart Phone App; An open-source whistleblower support system;
Why "A Court Order Is an Insider Attack";
Math and science
What archaeology tells us about the Bible; Rare sea creature found off California coast;
MIT Professor Finds Strength In Flaws;
Technology That Allows Users To Feel 3D Objects On Flat Screen;
Tips for athletes on going gluten-free;
Web and Computing issues
10 Essential Web Design Strategies;
3D Printing Costs a Pretty Penny, but Options Abound; Square Cash: You've Got Mail (And Money);
Top 15 Android tablet apps for work and play; Five best email apps for Android tablets; Five utilities for a better Google Earth;
A first look at Android 4.4; How to upgrade to Windows 8.1 from any version of Windows;

Finance and Economics
What The National Debt Means To You;
World Bank loans to China may have killed U.S. jobs;
JPMorgan loss caps bad year for Jamie Dimon; JPMorgan to pay $100 million to CFTC over trading losses;
Ireland to End Tax Arrangement That Saved Apple $40B; How Boeing Got a Sweetheart Deal From the U.S. Army;
Innovation In Renewable Energy Is Booming Worldwide; US oil boom faces costs pressure;
Cloud, 3D Printing Make Gartner's Key Technologies List; Voxeljet IPO jumps on 3D printing bandwagon;
3D printing service launched at Asda Monks Cross store; Supermarket Prints 3D Mini Me;

Other news
10 signs it's time to let an employee go;
'Facts' about Americans' online video habits;

Education:
Higher Education’s Reform-Industrial Complex; Sky-rocketing cost of higher education: Administrators Ate My Tuition;
Spending Rules for Endowments Change More Often Than Thought; If Enrollment Falls Short, Cutting or Adding Programs Is No Quick Fix;
College Rankings May Matter More to Prospective Students Than You’d Think; Traditional Education Beats Online in Key Areas;
Common App Has a Wild Day, and a Competitor Adds a Big Name; Common App Announces Fixes, Admissions Offices Preach Calm;
Report by Faculty Group Questions Savings From MOOCs; Ohio State U. Lets MOOC Students Grade Peer-Graders;
Helping Professors Use Technology Is Top Concern in Computing Survey; Why Management Training Doesn’t Work;
Governor Asks Alabama State U. to Halt Presidential Search and Deal With Audit;
Scientific American Deletes a Blog Post, and Debate Erupts Over Race and Gender;
Midshipman facing court-martial asks judge to step in;

10/11/13
TechNews for the week: Oct 11; Oct 9; Oct 7;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
China and Japan warn US on shutdown; Parties slow to budge on strategies to overcome shutdown;
14th Amendment remains off table despite Treasury warning; Obama Does Not Rule Out Taking Action On The Debt Ceiling By Himself;
Boehner: U.S. Republicans will not pass 'clean' debt-limit increase; House GOP to offer short-term debt deal; Obama Rejects short-term Debt-Limit Proposal;
In the Polls: Republican Popularity Falls as Blame Rises; Tea Party unmoved by US default threat; For some tea party congressmen, backlash at home;
Chemical weapons inspectors begin destroying Syrian stockpile; Netanyahu warns UK on Iran ties; U.S. expected to curb military aid to Egypt;
Kerry insists U.S. not abandoning Asia; Libya demands explanation for 'kidnapping' of citizen by US forces; Afghans: U.S. ‘forcibly’ snatched Pakistan Taliban leader ;
Snowden Leaks To Reveal NSA's 'Central Role In The US Assassination Program'; Four Americans meet with Edward Snowden in Moscow;
After leaks, NSA struggles for trust; Dual-leadership role at NSA, Cyber Command stirs debate;
Pentagon recalls defense civilians on furlough;
Obamacare a different law in red states; Officials warned of Obamacare glitches before Web site launch; Government admits to design flaws in healthcare.gov;
State laws offer varying degrees of debt protection;
Pivotal campaign finance case on U.S. high court docket;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
The NSA's New Risk Analysis;
Report: NSA targets Tor network that protects user anonymity; How the NSA Attacks Tor/Firefox Users With QUANTUM and FOXACID;
Justice Dept. seeks delay in NSA surveillance case, citing gov't shutdown; NSA Lawsuit Proceeding, Despite Government Shutdown;
Seven Surprising Reasons Why Cyber-Crime Costs Keep Rising; Annual Cost of Cybercrime Increases 26% in U.S.;
Microsoft Pays Hacking Expert, Updates Explorer;
New Low in Election Fraud;
Setting up Air Gaps;
Math and science
600 ways that 3D printing is changing the world; 'Terminator'-style cube robots swarm and self-assemble;
Higgs boson theory nets Nobel for pair of physicists; Einstein Papers Go Digital;
Abraham Nemeth, 94, developer of Braille math code, dies;
Web and Computing issues
10 best new features in Excel 2013; Five free tools to aid in graphic design; 8 Apps to improve your Android smartphone or tablet's battery life;
How to edit posts and comments on Facebook for Android;
Ubuntu 13.10 Review: A great Linux desktop gets better;
Intel Lays Out Road Map for Internet of Things;
SC Politics
SC Gov. Haley to pay state for campaign expenses; SC senators not sold on independent ethics panel;
Database: SC Lawmaker Campaign Expenditures;

Finance and Economics
3 Little-Known Facts About Social Security; Animosity Towards Affordable Health Care is Hard to Fathom;
SEC Taking No Action Against Apple Over Tax Policies; SEC charges former Akamai executive whose tips went to Rajaratnam;
3D printing: Supply chain gains but IP, bioprinting risks loom;

Other news
Fox News mistakenly airs parody of Obama; PBS hopes for Internet hit with ‘Peg + Cat’;
How to deal with the brilliant, but problematic employee;

Education:
Earnings Gap Narrows, but College Education Still Pays; The 10 Most Useless Graduate Degrees; Dump Exam Scores and High Schools Grades;
Report predicts U.S. Will Be Fastest-Growing Foreign-Student Destination; Israeli Higher Education Deteriorates and Brain Drain Worsens;
The Biggest Lesson From the Flipped Classroom; Rutgers Graduate Faculty Opposes Pearson eCollege Deal;
U.S. Agencies Revamp Standards for Cybersecurity Program;
Louisiana’s Public Universities Let Millions Go Unused for Endowed Chairs; Federal Judge Says Maryland Failed to Desegregate Its Public Colleges;
Purdue's Mitch Daniels Says He Erred in Giving Conservative Talk;
The Hottest Math Professors In America;
Moody’s Says Big-Time Sports Pose Increasing Risks for Universities; Proposal Calls for Antitrust Exemption for NCAA ;
New Documentary Film Explores Inequities in College Sports; Georgetown U. Coach Resigns After Investigation Into Player Complaints;
Football Season May Screech To A Halt For America's Military Academies;

10/4/13
TechNews for the week: Oct 4; Oct 2; Sept 30;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Frozen by shutdown, US Treasury warns of 'catastrophic' default; Economists fearful of fallout from government shutdown; US takes ‘extraordinary’ measures to pay bills;
Republicans to stage piecemeal budget votes; threaten to take debt limit fight to the brink; 4 Apolitical Reasons Federal Websites Went Dark;
Next GOP Move: Impeach Obama;
Kentucky promotes health insurance law; Government continues streamlining new health exchanges Web sites;
Military review exposes US-South Korea tensions; U.S., S. Korea can’t agree on who should command troops;
US Military Will Use Drones to Spy on North Korea; Agreement will allow U.S. to fly surveillance drones from base in Japan;
Map: Is Your State a No-Drone Zone?
Officials say: US nuclear commander suspended over gambling; 2 generals forced to retire for Afghan breach;
Justice Department to sue North Carolina over voting law; GOP-led states moving aggressively on voting rules;
Netanyahu urges Obama to keep Iran sanctions in place; Iran's cyberwarfare czar is allegedly assassinated;
Clashes erupt at pro-Morsi demonstrations in Egypt;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Senator Feinstein Admits the NSA Taps the Internet Backbone; NSA employee spied on nine women without detection, internal file shows;
How NSA snooping secures profits for famed privacy pro; NSA ran secret test on tracking Americans' cell phones;
NSA maps some Americans' social connections; NSA Storing Internet Data, Social Networking Data, on Pretty Much Everybody;
Verizon: 'No comment' on FISA court challenge, as Foursquare, WordPress join anti-secrecy fight; Snowden’s E-mail Provider Received Search Warrant;
On Secrecy; Analysis of the hacker group Anonymous; Silk Road bust hints at FBI's new cybercrime powers;
Microsoft Yet to Patch Internet Explorer Vulnerability; IE Zero-Day Flaw Exposure Widens;
Government Shutdown: What Are IT Systems Risks? Online Health Exchanges: How Secure?
Iran Hacked Navy Computers;
How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley;
Math and science
CERN's Large Hadron Collider Gets Google Maps Treatment;
NASA's Voyager 1 Spacecraft, Launched in 1977, Continues Explorations; Strange Super-Earth Planet Has 'Plasma' Water Atmosphere;
New Island Spewing Flammable Gas;
Pitt researcher taking printing to the next dimension with 4-D; 3D-printed toothbrush scrubs chompers in 6 seconds;
3D Printing: If You Can Imagine It, You Can Make It; 3D Printing Is Going to Change Business, Society and the World;
Teenager Makes Battery-Free Flashlight; Developments in Microphone Technology;
Web and Computing issues
How the Internet of Things Will Change the Way We Work and reshape IT;
No, Gmail’s ad-targeting isn’t wiretapping;
Microsoft Creating New Office Touch Apps; Five free cataloging applications;
Ten reasons not to fix computers for free;
SC Politics
S.C. Governor Again Draws Criticism for a University-Board Appointment ;
S.C. Department of Education wants to eliminate classroom size restrictions;
Senior Center Debate Getting Old;

Finance and Economics
SEC throws spoke into derivatives shake-up; Wells Fargo to pay $869m in Freddie deal;
Catastrophe models give insurers insight into disasters;
The 50 States of Obamacare;

Other news
Boy Scouts Attend STEM Camp In Indiana;
A Machiavellian Guide to Destroying Public Universities in 12 Easy Steps;

Education:
Caltech Retains Top Position in Latest World University Rankings; Some Education and Research Web Sites Go Dark Amid Shutdown;
U.S. Officials Say Colleges May Keep Race-Conscious Admissions 'With Care';
Education cuts hit America’s poor; Default Rate on Federal Student Loans Climbs Again;
Colleges Engaging In Renewed Debate Over Requirements For General Education; Advanced Academics Updates 18 Courses for Common Core;
5 Tips for Explaining Common Core to Parents; Report: Most Important Factor for Common Core Success Is Teacher Support;
Chicago Public Schools Adds Flipped Professional Development for Lowest-Performing Schools; Bill Gates: MOOCs Could Help 2-Year Colleges and Their Students;
Penn State Offers a Bonus to Employees Who Participate in Wellness Program;
Critics Say Sting on Open-Access Journals Misses Larger Point; N.J. Institute of Technology Strips a Professor of Tenure and Fires Him;
Student bias: Demagogues and Prophets;
We Already Pay College Athletes;
Ole Miss Apologizes After Football Players’ Reported Use of Antigay Slurs; Former Tutor to Chapel Hill Athletes Faces Charges of Aiding Sports Agents;