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Arquivo para September, 2013

E-voting experiment in Norway

18 Sep

Norway held parliamentary elections this week and had the opportunity to EVotinghold its second pilot project for e-voting (electronic voting online).

The pilot follows the previous evaluation, which was done during the local elections in 2011.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the ministry responsible for running elections in Norway, participation and voting rights has increased significantly compared to 2011.

In this year’s election, 28 percent of all voters voted municipalities trial via the Internet, up from 16 percent in the 2011 pilot.
To prove both the reliability and transparency of the pilot project, the source code of the e-voting system this year was placed in the public domain, allowing citizens to download and study.

Electronic voting mechanism used a public key (encryption) for delivery.

Also the Italian province of Salento held this year its e-voting experiment, and evaluation has been published in various media

The repercussion also led prof. Marco Mancarella, as head of international research project “Salento eVoting“, the constituency of North America, invited by Mr. Fuchsia Nissoli to report on electronic voting under the “Seminar on Reforms District abroad,” organized by House of Representatives, on July 4th, 2013, moderated by Dr. John Lattanzio of the Association of “Dialogues”.

 

Portuguese writer and brazilian faire

17 Sep

The international book fair of Ponta Grossa is an important event that is outside theGonçaloTavares traditional axis Rio-São Paulo, completed in 9/15 and some new features to stand out.

According to Efe Agency, one of them was the writer Portuguese, Angolan born, Gonçalo Tavares writes from 20 years, and says his challenge is the visual language, and literature for it is a way to “trace what can not see. ”

He sees in the literary field of new technologies, which is not the central theme of this art, for he sees that technologies do not “reinvent reading.”

The author of the acclaimed book “Jerusalem”, which is the ranking of Europe’s “1001 books to read before you die”, says having a sacred rhythm to write and takes refuge in his studio which for him is “a space of the 21st century where there is no connection with the world, with only the thoughts. ”

But there is another good story “Learning to pray in the age of technology” but speaks neither technology nor prayer, but something chilling to the limits of human experience, mapping the current era and then the disintegration of a man in we might call “demonic”, and showing us how it should learn to adapt in a world he can no longer dominate (hear a snippet of himself).

Saramago regarded him as the greatest of his generation, Tavarez is 43 years old today.

 

Software transforms 2D in 3D

14 Sep

It is very easy for humans to identify the presence of 3D objects in 2D scenes, but building extraction algorithms for this transformation is more complicated.

A new system was developed by the Interdisciplinary Center development at the University of Tel Aviv with the aim to simplify this process by using a technique to draw 3D shapes from photos and regular objects in 2D.

The system is simple enough to be understood and used by anyone, the user must trace the outline of the object and set its three dimensions, ie define axes or dimensions that should be placed in the third dimension, then the software automatically adjusts the object.

But the sweep in the third dimension not just to draw three-dimensional objects, the resulting model Objetos3Dcan be manipulated and edited and even reinserted back into photos or 3D scenes, and this makes the software a good news.

“Our biggest goal is still to help novice users to do this,” said researcher Chen Tao to Wired. “It took us some time to figure how to make October a very convenient user interface to generate this stuff.”

The paper 3-Sweep: Extracting Editable Objects from a Single Photo EIA was published in SIGGRAPH, 2013.

 

EDX platform becomes EAD global

14 Sep

Founded in 2012 by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the distance learning platform EDX, announced last Tuesday (10/09) a partnership with the search giant Google.

The Moorc.org, provide a tool for universities, teachers, governments as well as corporate environments to host his own courses and offers them to the general public.

The site should be launched in the first half of 2014 and will be operated by EDX Open, being made open source by Google and will be worked EDX, Harvard and MIT.

The platform will compete with the more educational environment that is currently used MOODLE (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment), created in 2001 by educator and computer scientist Martin Dougiamas.

MOODLE uses a Web server with PHP support (can be Apache or IIS).

The EDX uses the concept of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) which is a more current developmentVerduca in the area of ​​distance education because it embodies the ideals of open education suggested by OER (Open Educational recourses) which is incorporated concepts of open dissemination of educational resources .

Not to be confused with the MOOC DE is an experience-oriented and collaborative knowledge building, done in Portuguese.

The University of São Paulo and the portal Veduca launch this week, the first Mooc (virtual courses, free and top level) of Latin America.

 

Intelligent Driver Car

13 Sep

The construction company Daimler, which produces Mercedes-Benz, said yes, and presented at the MotorSemMotorista Show in Frankfurt its model experimental S500 Intelligent Driver.

With police permit, of course, the vehicle has traveled 100 km in Augusts in the region Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany, without any human intervention, and having found the way traffic signals, roundabouts, pedestrian and even trams.

The construction company Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz is proud to be at the forefront of so-called autonomous cars. His experimental vehicle S500 Intelligent Drive, which occupies a prominent place in your booth, ran 100 km in August in the region of Baden-Württemberg, southwest of the country, without human intervention, by the way finding signs, roundabouts, including pedestrians and trams .

The company’s research chief, Thomas Weber, said: “My predictions, taking into account what we get, will it be possible to travel in a Mercedes autonomous in 2020,” but the car company’s S models allow the driver to leave the pedals less than 30 km / h.

At the fair, there also appears to autonomous Valley Park4U French and American Ford, working on a command by smartphone where the driver leaves the car in the driveway of a parking lot and determines the position and can also expect the car back when

 

Announcement of the iPhone 5S and 5C

12 Sep

Apple officially announced in the U.S. on Tuesday (09/10) its new iPhone models, Comparaçãothe 5C and 5S, which should be on the market from September 20 in countries like United States, Canada and Germany, but in over 100 countries including Brazil should arrive in December for Christmas sales.

The unlocked versions of the iPhone 5C options in 16 GB and 32 GB out, respectively, for U $ 549 and U $ $ 649 (the amount of R $ 1,284 and R $ 1,518 brazilian money), without fees of course.

Already a 5S version of 16 GB without a contract will be released in the U.S. for $ 649 U.S. dollars, has the option to leave 32 GB for $ 749, and 64 GB for $ 849, would be in real 2,300 (16 GB ) to 2,900 reais (64 GB of storage capacity).

The versions that work with 4G Brazilian, being sold only in France, Germany, the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore.

The idea should be to compete with Google’s smartphone, the Moto X must leave by 1799 real unlocked, and arrives in Brazil in November.

The site Adrenaline makes a comparison of these devices, making the Nokia 820 also in contention.

 

Curiosities the IFA 2013th

11 Sep

The fair that ends this end of week in Berlin, the IFA 2013 presented several novelties, one of them is noteSamsunga camera Sony Cyber​​-shot QX10 or QX100 whose lenses-camera, that can be used connected to smartphones with iOS or Android via Wi-Fi.

Another novelty of Samsung was the Galaxy Note 3, the size went from 5,5 to 5.7 inches, but when using the device during few seconds can-if notice the difference in image quality given pel the native resolution of 1920×1080 pixels.

The Samsung reinvented the way the pen S Pen acts in daily use transforming it into a phablet, that gives ability to provide quick access to functions most useful of the appliance in the system christened as Air Command.

Num radial menu there are five customization options: Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Capture, S Finder and Pen Window

Action memo is a notepad, Scrapbook is a system that makes a kind screen capture, a little different than Screen Capture, S Finder enables that you ache easily the contents present in the handset and Pen Window: simply draw a rectangle and arises the menú of the appliance.

 

UN urges privacy standards

10 Sep

The high human rights commission of the UN, called yesterday (9/9) for countriesHumanRights to adopt standards for protecting the privacy of citizens, but the press and media continue, intentionally or not, mingling with the dispute security Governments .

Pillay, however is clear, the violation of communication involving citizens of the world are a “a dramatic intrusion” of national security, ie, it is made precisely in the name of “security” that serves the interests of militaristic and imperial.

The request was made in the opening 24. Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where Pillay cited a series of human rights violations recorded in the world, especially the Middle East.

On Syria, the UN High Commissioner urged that there be a “readily tradable”, opposed to foreign military intervention and the continued supply of arms to the warring parties, remember also the worsening crises in Iraq, Bahrain, and Turkey Palestine.

 

Digital devices in the Brazilian book Biennial

09 Sep

According declared Marcus Antônio Parise, responsible for the content of Iba, a company specializing in e-books: “The digital market in Brazil had a forecast of a boom in 2013, which did not happen. But digital has grown in an organized and conscious . and that’s good for publishers, players and consumers. ”

The giant market e-books Amazon will also be at the fair, but its new e-reader (see our post) is only in the domestic market in November.

Another company will present the canadian Kobo, its director Samuel Vissoto, says the domesticBienalRio market varies 2-4% compared to the U.S.A., which now has a share of 26% of all books sold, Vissoto said: “We have a long way to go. has space for everyone to make money, grow and consumers enjoy the digital book market. travels and takes you a thousand books with you. ”

The provisions of these companies begin to have more affordable prices to the Brazilian public, ranging from R$ 289 to R$ 699.

The International Book Fair, ended on Sunday in RioCentro, West Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

 

Say no to violence in Syria

07 Sep

Warned on 12 May last year (see our post), that Syria was on the verge of a civil war, while attendingPazSiria the West, there are even those who defend the dictator.

Now we are in the midst of this war, and we see the possibility of internationalization of the war, with the entry of the United States and its allies on one side, Russia allies of the regime on the other, now only people who defend peace and justice can stop a war .

Only part of the region is already problematic, Israel and allies on one side, and most of the other Arab countries, is a huge powder keg ready to explode.

Those who have faith, pray for such peace, those who believe in justice and common sense promote demonstrations and acts against all kinds of violence in the region, no matter what side or the reason, more violence will only make the powder keg explodes.

Peace and conflict mediation can bring light to the region, the violence will only bring more war.