Cloud computing under scrutiny after NSA PRISM leaks – an annotated graphic

The Cloud. 10 years ago, no one talked about the Cloud, much less gave it that elevated sense of Title Case Importance. Now we’re all putting vast swathes of our lives up in the Cloud – sometimes without realising it or without much of a choice in the matter.

Naturally, wherever there is a vast amount of intriguing personal data swimming about, you’ll find nefarious and paranoid types doing the backstroke in it, splashing about and generally creating unnecessary waves. Neither the revelation that (a) the US government has been quietly intercepting and monitoring all cloud traffic since 2007, nor that (b) its PRISM data analysis structure has itself subsequently sprung a data leak should come as a surprise to us any more.

The thorny issue of IT security – or rather IT insecurity, as we could just as easily call it – makes regular appearances in E&T‘s daily news stream, as well as being the star of its very own Special Report, a compendium of E&T‘s IT security news and features in recent years.

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PRISM leaks

Airbus A350 XWB set to take on Boeing 787 Dreamliner – an annotated graphic

Given Boeing’s ongoing woes with its Dreamliner passenger airplane, there couldn’t be a better time in commercially competitive terms for rivals Airbus to stick the knife in by preparing the first flight of its Airbus A350 XWB. The Airbus is a little bigger all round, so what does this mean for the Dreamliner? Game on, wing-masters!

E&T news regularly follows the latest airline developments such as this. Also, check out our dynamically updated page dedicated to Boeing Dreamliner news. We can’t promise it will make comfortable reading for Boeing executives.

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Airbus A350

Apple unveils iOS7 – an annotated graphic

Apple iOS7 – another mish-mash of vowels, consonants and numbers that has come to mean so much to so many people in the 21st century.

The fine detail of this new iPhone operating system is of course already being discussed to death all over the interwebs, following its announcement by Apple on Monday evening. We here at E&T strive to remain at all times as supple as a reed and not rigid as a cedar, so we’re happy to go with the trending flow and throw this infographic out there for folk to pore over. OK, let the poring commence!

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Apple unveils iOS 7 design

China’s Shenzhou-10 mission sends astronauts to Tiangong-1 space lab – an annotated graphic

China’s latest manned space flight blasted off from the Gobi desert this morning, carrying three astronauts on a 15-day mission to an experimental space lab.

The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft launched from the remote Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu Province in China’s far west at 5:38pm (9.38am GMT), after the launch was announced by Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China’s manned space programme at a televised briefing yesterday.

E&T news covered China’s latest space adventures in detail earlier today. We keep a close eye on all space activity, including the latest from Japan on the innovative launch vehicle that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been developing.

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China’s Shenzhou-10 mission

Wind turbines: new helium design floats higher for more power – an annotated graphic

Wind turbines – always a contentious topic, as the NIMBYs of the world vociferously protest their siting anywhere within a hundred miles of their lounge windows. Personally, your correspondent finds the average wind turbine a tranquil, attractive technology, calmly rotating like a Flensted mobile writ large on the landscape. Mmm… rotaty.

Anyway, the latest thinking for wind turbines is this floating, air-borne, helium-filled concept. Faintly reminiscent of the barrage balloons of WWII, the design has been cited as a solution for cheap renewable energy power generation in remote areas and disaster zones. Looks like a good idea on paper.

Naturally, E&T magazine is all over wind turbines in our news pages. A wee search on “wind turbines” there will shower you with 288 results, at time of writing. Check us out for your regular fill of engineering and technology news.

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#Everest conquered 60 years ago by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay – an annotated graphic

We’re a little bit late with this one, but we’ve just found it down the back of our virtual sofa and it seems too good to waste, so here’s a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the conquest of Everest.

A remarkable achievement (conquering Everest, not us finding this infographic), it seems surprising in retrospect that it took until May 29 1953 before man – or rather two men, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay – finally scaled the peak of the world’s highest mountain. It had been standing there  for millions of years, after all.

At the time of Hillary, of course, climbing equipment and technology was considerably more primitive than it is today. Which, naturally, makes the 1953 achievement all the more remarkable.

E&T interviewed one of the 3,000 or so climbers that over the years have followed in Hillary’s footsteps, David Hempleman-Adams. Read his story online.

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#RaspberryPi mini computer goes from strength to strength – an annotated graphic

With a million Raspberry Pi computers sold in the first year, will this seed a new generation of top young British computer coders and programmers?

The credit card-sized computer continues to surprise and delight as enthusiasts come up with increasingly innovative uses for the device. Most recently, the Zoological Society of London won the Google Global Impact Challenge with its plan to combat rhino poachers in Kenya, using hidden cameras powered by Raspberry Pi computers to capture images and track the movements of rhinos and poachers.

E&T magazine had a special issue dedicated to the diminutive computer in March 2013. Check it out online, as we look at uses for the Raspberry Pi in education and also for more everyday “grown up” applications and novel solutions.

Earlier in the year, we also reported on the Tweeting chicken that deters dieters from sneaking snacks, a sentinel for the larder powered by a Raspberry Pi. Cheep and cheerful!

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Raspberry Pi

Hawkeye goal-line technology for the football Premier League – an annotated graphic

With the England football team not entirely embarrassing themselves in Rio against Brazil at the weekend – partly because the Brazil football team are fairly underwhelming these days, a big name trading on the legend of past glories, like, say, the Rolling Stones or Sony – we thought now was a good time to share this graphic explaining how the Hawkeye goal-line technology will work when it is introduced to the Premier League next season.

E&T has, of course, been following the Hawkeye technology for some time. Your eyeballs could do worse than point themselves at this Hawkeye video and this football feature in the latest issue of the magazine, which also includes a list of the most hotly contested goals-that-never-were in the pre-Hawkeye football era. Referee!

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Hawkeye in action

History of video games from #Atari to #Xbox – an annotated graphic

With the gaming world apparently in equal parts excited, confused and meh about Microsoft’s recently announced XBox One, we thought we’d share this joyfully nostalgic infographic about the history of video games to remind us all of the simple fun we used to have. As clever as new consoles get, it’s still hard to deny the addictive pleasure in assisting a simple eight-bit 2D character run, jump, bash or shoot his way out of trouble. What are your favourite gaming memories?

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History of video game consoles

Underwater #drones to be deployed in the Gulf – an annotated graphic

Drones: now officially everywhere. We’re not talking about the use of sustained tanpura tones underpinning an Indian raga performance here, no sirree bob – we’re talking about them sneaky unmanned vehicles, surreptitiously gliding about the place. Land-based drones, aerial drones and now underwater drones. Land, air and sea – drones.

The latest news from Drones Central is the deployment of Seafox UUV (cute name, eh?) underwater unmanned vehicle drones in the Gulf, sent on a search and destroy mission to hunt for mines bobbing in the ocean in order to keep strategic sea lanes open.

Up to 40 nations will take part in the exercise to deter mine-laying in strategic Gulf sea lanes, amid continuing tensions between the west and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The drones will be deployed to keep potential choke points in the Strait of Hormuz free of mines.

Far be it for us to underplay the enormity of what is at stake here, but the job of the remote operator looks like a larf, doesn’t it? We will confidently lay actual folding money down to bet that the operator quietly enjoys his or her work. Knocks your Xbox One in to a cocked hat.

E&T regularly covers drone news, so if drones are your thing you might like to come on over to our news place and search for “drones”.

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Seafox underwater drones