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The Ukrainian military hopes it can keep more of its soldiers alive when its new unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) hits the battlefield. This is the Phantom. It’s designed to help minimize the number of soldiers required to fight against the heavily-armed rebels backed by Russia in the Dombass region, where a nearly three-year civil war has claimed the lives of more than 3,100 Ukrainian troops. One of the key features of the Phantom is its anti-tank missile system, called Barrier, and its 12.7 mm caliber machine gun. The machine gun and Barrier are capable of engaging light and heavily-armored targets from 100 to 5,000 meters, according to  Ukroboronprom , the Ukrainian company that makes the Phantom. Besides its offensive power, the Phantom can drive on sand, thanks to its hybrid all-wheel drive engine, hydraulic brake system and independent suspension. And if you’re thinking about the Phantom being hacked somehow, it is fitted with a secure radio channel. I reached out to Ukraine...

For nearly the past two years, various alternatives to Bitcoin Core have attempted to increase Bitcoin’s  block  size limit via  hard-forking changes  to the codebase run by nodes on the network. While manageable capacity increases are desired by many Bitcoin users, the complications associated with hard forks have left the network unwilling to adopt an increase to the block size limit. A hard fork requires every economically-relevant Bitcoin full node (or at least nearly all of them) to upgrade to a new network, while a  soft-forking change  is backwards compatible. As illustrated by  Ethereum’s hard fork to bailout DAO token holders , contentious hard forks can be difficult to pull off. Of course, a sufficiently contentious soft fork could also lead to users hard forking away from the current group of miners in an effort to opt-out of that particular version of Bitcoin, which could potentially lead to two different versions of Bitcoi...

Facebook collects a lot of your data, but you might never get to see what they really learn about you. Data Selfie aims to give you a glimpse by letting you analyze your own Facebook usage. While there’s no way to know exactly how Facebook analyzes your data without working for the company, Data Selfie gives you a rough approximation. Once you add it to Chrome, the extension tracks your activity on Facebook. Everything from what you click on to what you type. Data Selfie stores that information locally and doesn’t share it with anyone (though obviously Facebook is tracking it). After a while of usage, you can generate a report that will let you explore what someone could learn about from your activity. It shows simple things like the pages and people you spend the most time with, as well as complex thoughts like how you lean politically, or whether you’re more relaxed or emotional. If you’ve never paid attention to how simple things like your Facebook activity...

Previously, before the People’s Bank of China requested local bitcoin exchanges to implement a trading fee system, the vast majority of traders and investors believed that the Chinese market controlled over 90% of the global bitcoin exchange market. While the Chinese market certainly did demonstrate dominance over the global bitcoin market in the past, the emergence and development of major US and Japanese bitcoin exchanges including Kraken, Bitfinex, and Bitflyer allowed the two countries to takeover and outpace China. Naturally, the PBoC’s involvement and statements on bitcoin showed diminishing impact on the value of bitcoin and the global bitcoin market has become less dependent on China, its government and exchange market. The weakening authority of the PBoC over the bitcoin exchange market allowed the digital currency to r eecover relatively quickly  amidst substantial declines in value and demonstrate a higher level of resilience towards the PBOC and regul...

The  Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ , Japan’s largest bank, has chosen blockchain technology as the core infrastructure toward testing the digitization of checks using Singapore’s Fintech-friendly regulatory sandbox installed by the country’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. First  announced  [PDF] last year, the Proof of Concept (PoC) testing is the result of a joint endeavor between the bank and major Japanese conglomerate Hitachi. The two companies developed a blockchain-based infrastructure to issue, transfer and collect electronic checks. With the PoC testing, the bank issued and settled checks while the Hitachi Group’s companies in Singapore received the electronic checks and then deposited the funds. “The project is to digitalize entire check processing – from issuing checks to clearing checks,”  stated Hirofumi Aihara, general manager at MUFG’s Asian Systems Office, recently. What is commonly s...

The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is a great mid-range device. Samsung hasn’t managed to avoid all faults with this phone but it without a doubt includes a range of functions and features that definitely play in its favor. Here are 5 reasons to opt for the Galaxy A3 (2017). Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) review: the mid-range phone that thinks it's a flagship Has Samsung found the perfect recipe for success with the A series? Before revealing the strengths of this device, it’s important to acknowledge its weaknesses. This way you can ensure that, as a potential buyer, your final decision is based on all the facts from both sides of the coin. The phone was released with Android 6.0.1, an Android interface that has now been available for several months. Samsung didn’t consider it necessary to install Android Nougat on the device, which reflects the  fragmentation problem  that affects the various Android versions. Some also criticize the device’s ...

As there is no centralized entity controlling the ecosystem. Nigerian banks are contemplating to legalize bitcoin, which would give the popular cryptocurrency a significant boost, to say the least. NIGERIA HAS PLANS WITH BITCOIN It is not the first time someone brings up the concept of Nigerian banks legalizing bitcoin. The same idea was  proposed  several months ago. Albert no one saw this as a hint of what the future could hold, it would appear various Nigerian banks are thinking along the same lines. This development caught quite a few people by surprise, even though it makes a lot of sense. An article appeared in The Inquirer, which talks about how the Nigerian Bankers Committee is studying blockchain technology. That is anything but surprising, as nearly every bank around the world is well aware of what distributed ledgers bring to the table. However, there has not been any major product to come forth from this interest so far. Experts predict a few of...

It might not matter what you think about  how the Pixel looks  — it worked for the company and it hasn’t deterred demand. The process of getting to the Pixel’s look was profiled by  CNET  last week and Krishna Kumar, Product Lead for the Pixel, decided to take the opportunity to throw some food for thought to the Pixel User Community. The forum has been a discussion center for fellow owners to discuss issues like  image corruptions  and  broken speakers , but it also inadvertently played hub to what people wanted from  a Pixel 2 . “What do you like about the design? What do you hate about it? What did we get right?,” Kumar asked.  “What would you like to see us improve?” Well, that’s a sequel confirmed, right? The discussion took turns supporting more buttons, fewer buttons, stereo speakers, wireless charging here,  waterproofing there  and a lot more. Storage and RAM upgrades were requested with better overall specs and biometri...

There are plenty of things to get excited about when thinking of this year’s new iPhone 8, many of them never before seen on an Apple smartphone. The handset is expected to feature a brand new design with a display that occupies much more of the phone’s face — the home button is going away, and the bezels will be reduced significantly so that a bigger screen can be mounted inside a phone that’ll be about as big as the 4.7-inch iPhone 7. Rumors also indicate the phone might have curved edges, a fingerprint sensor embedded in the display, a stainless steel chassis sandwiched between glass panels, and a 3D facial recognition scanner. The battery, meanwhile, is expected to be bigger than before, and the iPhone 8 is tipped to feature wireless charging. But a new report suggests the Galaxy Note 7’s battery problems might prevent Apple from rolling out wireless charging this year. Don't Miss:   It’s not just Jet Black iPhone 7 mode...

I can imagine quite a few horror scenarios onboard an airplane. Looking outside your window and seeing fighter jets is definitely at the very top of that list. That was the reality this week for passengers aboard an Indian Jet Airways flight bound for London that lost contact with air traffic controllers in Cologne, Germany, leading German Air Force  Eurofighter Typhoons  to scramble and intercept the plane. Video of the incident was captured by a trailing British Airways plane, which comes to us from the Facebook page of  CirrusPilot : That’s something you don’t see every day. The  Times of India  reports the plane, a Boeing 777-300ER flying from Mumbai to London, did not respond to air traffic control in Cologne due to some kind of communications failure. Luckily, Typhoons scrambled to intercept the plane were able to reestablish communications between it and air traffic control, and once that happened it safely continued its flight to London, the newspape...

Transatlantic bond 'strongest bulwark' against instability: Mattis Munich, Germany The bond between Europe and America is the "strongest bulwark" against instability and violence, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday as he tried to calm jittery allies seeking clarity from Donald Trump's White House. International partners remain deeply troubled after Trump's campaign rhetoric questioned long-established alliances, and they worry about a growing scandal over possible ties between some of Trump's staff and Moscow. "The transatlantic bond remains our strongest bulwark against instability and violence," Mattis told the Munich Security Conference. "I am confident that we will strengthen our partnerships, confronting those who choose to attack innocent people or our democratic processes and freedoms." Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general who spent years working with international partners, has often taken a divergent tone fr...

On Jan. 19, the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released 49 documents recovered in Osama bin Laden’s compound. To date, only a few hundred documents from bin Laden’s massive cache have been declassified. Still, the files that have been posted online reveal new details about al Qaeda’s complex international network. For instance, one  newly released missive  discusses Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) support for Boko Haram. The letter was written by Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, an AQIM commander who was subsequently killed in Mali in 2013. It was authored in Aug. 2009 and is addressed to AQIM’s emir, Abdelmalek Droukdel (also known as Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud). Boko Haram’s men sought AQIM’s assistance “Imam Abubakar Shekau, who assumed power of the Nigeria group after the death of Imam Muhammad Yusuf, sent three brothers to us,” Abou Zeid wrote at the beginning of his letter. Shekau (seen on the right) is the notorious leader of the organization commonly...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches a Dragon cargo mission for NASA from the historic Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Feb. 19, 2017.  Original Image Credit: SpaceX CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —  SpaceX has launched the first private rocket from the same historic site that saw some of NASA's greatest space missions, then landed a booster nearby in a resounding success. The California-based company's  Falcon 9 rocket launched a robotic Dragon cargo capsule  toward the International Space Station today (Feb. 19) at 9:39 a.m. EST (1439 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center — the same pad that once hosted Apollo moon missions and space shuttle launches. "Liftoff of the Falcon 9 to the space station on the first commercial launch from Kennedy Space Center's historic Pad 39a!" said NASA commentator George Diller. [ In Photos: SpaceX's 1st Launch from NASA's Historic Pad 39A ] A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocke...

As the huge company that it is, Google tends to have a way of seeping into things through means you aren’t aware of. Yes, even into (or out of) Tizen OS. The  Korean Fair Trade Commission , though, is aware of a couple of stipulations between the firm and Samsung and is investigating some antitrust concerns it has. Specifically, it is looking into the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement and the anti-fragmentation agreement signed. The first agreement basically ensures that manufacturers  pre-load Google Mobile Services apps  like YouTube, Drive and Gmail onto their devices and also mandates  Google’s search engine as the default  — leaving competitors feeling edged out and regulators mad. Why? Unlike  minimum hardware requirements  that ensure an impressibly decent experience, dictating which web services a manufacturer’s phone must have as an irrevocable default allegedly deprives users of choice for such things ...

American   troops descend from a helicopter onto a green field peppered by palm-like tees. A fog hangs over the area and all the soldiers are faceless. Masks, mirrored goggles and technological doodads cover their features. Indistinct chatter fills the air as the soldiers move forward, their weapons raised. They’re ready for war. Fade into gunfire. The mirrored glasses of an American soldier pumping round after round into an unseen enemy. An armed robot outfitted with a sniper rifle moves along the outskirts of the soldiers, picking them off one by one. A dexterous commando rolls forward, unslings his sidearm and fires. It has no effect. Two ground combat drones encircle the soldiers, slaughtering them where they stand. The U.S. soldiers die, the drones prevail and Iran stops an American invasion. This isn’t the opening moment of a new Hollywood summer blockbuster, but a sample scene from an Iranian animated movie. In  The Battle of Persian Gulf 2 , Tehran kick...

U.S. FinTech investments in 2016 reached  $4.27 billion  illustrating that the financial technology sector in the country is continuing to grow at a significant pace. However, with this amount of FinTech investment you would naturally assume that the U.S. is one country where the topic of regulation is not an issue, reports  Tech Crunch . And yet, that’s not the case. According to a report from  Reuters  in 2016, investments declined by around 30 percent in the U.S. even if the nation did still manage to bring in over $4 billion. However, while the U.S. is producing FinTech companies that are lucrative to investors, a report undertaken by the Treasury of the U.K. [ PDF ] found that the U.S. ranked last and second-to-last when it came to regulatory regimes, government programs, and taxation. When mentioning regulators, the report references The Department of Business Oversight in California and the Department of Financial Services in New York and...