| NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Identified, and Interviewed Posted: 09 Jun 2013 04:19 PM PDT 
Edward Snowden gives his side of the story. The source of the NSA leaks have finally been identified, and 29 year old Edward Snowden has come forward as the man responsible. Snowden went on record during an interview with The Guardian, and he answered several questions to help us understand his motivation behind the leaks, and what he hopes it will accomplish. Snowden describes himself as a classic whistleblower, motivated only by a sense of civic duty. "I think the sense of outrage that has been expressed is justified," Snowden told The Guardian. "It has given me hope that, no matter what happens to me, the outcome will be positive for America. I do not expect to see home again, though that is what I want." Perhaps the most shocking part of the interview was his assessment of how the NSA handles electronic surveillance. Snowden claims that "the NSA specifically targets the communications of everyone. It ingests them by default." Snowden's confession comes after ten years of government service, and a record that is difficult to discredit. When asked what he thinks will come of making his identity public he responded simply "nothing good". "I could be rendered by the CIA. I could have people come after me. Or any of the third-party partners. They work closely with a number of other nations. Or they could pay off the Triads. Any of their agents or assets." Follow Justin on Twitter or on Google+ |
| Lenovo Officially Starts Up Its First U.S. PC Manufacturing Line in North Carolina Posted: 09 Jun 2013 10:41 AM PDT 
Lenovo is finally pumping out machines made in the USA. Lenovo has been on a roll these days. While the PC industry on a whole continues to suffer, they have continually taken market share and have prospered against the odds. Normally when a company has a recipe for success they continue to iterate, but last year they announced the reversal of a longstanding trend. Rather than continue adding production capacity in low cost labor markets, the company would build a brand new state-of-the-art PC manufacturing line in North Carolina. Late last week Lenovo announced it has made good on its promise, and machines are finally rolling off the line. "Lenovo has achieved record growth and market share in the U.S. PC market, and the Whitsett manufacturing facility will enable us to further expand our presence here," said Yuanqing Yang, chairman and CEO of Lenovo. "The facility is a demonstration of our commitment to and confidence in the North American market, and we see tremendous opportunities for the continued growth and development of our manufacturing footprint here in the United States." The company claims the new line adds 115 manufacturing jobs to the facility, and will increase the state output by more than $1 billion. "I am proud that Lenovo is continuing to invest in North Carolina, bringing needed jobs to the Greensboro area and providing a foundation for future economic growth in our state," said North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. "Lenovo has been producing innovative and exciting products around the world and now they are in North Carolina's backyard and we're fortunate to have them." |
| Epic Announces Support for Oculus Rift in Unreal Engine 4 as Part of its Integrated Partners Program Posted: 09 Jun 2013 09:27 AM PDT 
This Kickstarter success story just keeps getting better. Oculus Rift is still little more than a really promising virtual reality development kit, but that promise gets more real everyday as industry heavyweights throw in behind the scrappy little startup. Epic Games has always been an Oculus partner, but late last week the company finally announced native support for the VR headset in Unreal Engine 4. The announcement was buried in a press release where Epic also unveiled its Integrated Partners Program, an initiative that adds support for several middleware companies as well. In theory this should make it easier for developers to add on to the game engine, and add technologies such as Oculus or PhysX without too much difficulty. Native support for such a popular next generation game engine is a major achievement for the Oculus team, and it should be a huge help when it comes time to finally ship a consumer friendly product. Individual developers won't be forced to support the Oculus, but removing barriers can only help. |
