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Authorities deactivate transit pass implanted in biohacker's hand
Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow couldn't just toss away his New South Wales transit pass even after he found out that it got deactivated while he was on a trip to the US. See, Meow-Meow (yes, that is his legal name) cut the chip out of the travel card, encased it in biocompatible plastic and had it implanted under the skin on his left hand. The biohacker now plans to file a lawsuit against New South Wales' transport authorities, not just to fight the decision, but also to help create laws around body-hacking tech. In addition to the transit pass chip, Meow-Meow has two other implanted electronic components in his body, including one that can store his important documents.
Australia puts traffic lights in the ground to alert phone addicts
The German city of Augsburg has already tried putting traffic lights in the ground to keep cellphone-obsessed pedestrians from walking on to train tracks, but the Australian state of New South Wales wants to take things one step further. It tells Mashable that it's going to install ground-based traffic lights at key crosswalks in Sydney (likely in its central business district) as part of a trial starting in December. The aim, unsurprisingly, is to prevent an unpleasant encounter with a car while you're busy texting your friends.
'Little Ripper' drones take flight to find sharks and save lives
After playing host to fourteen shark attacks last year, the Australian state of New South Wales has been eyeing up drones for help. The state government's new "shark strategy" calls for tiny aircraft to monitor the waters around southeast Australia, and that's what a $250,000 remote-controlled drone — affectionately named Little Ripper — will do for a six-month trial period.
3D printing files for guns are illegal in an Australian state
The Australian state of New South Wales has made it illegal to possess the blueprints necessary to make your own projectile weapons. Lawmakers have passed an amendment to the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 that makes it a crime to own information necessary to produce guns, like the Liberator. If a person is found to have "digital blueprints," they could face a prison term of up to 14 years. This goes beyond 3D printers, too, as the law also includes "electronic milling machines" should anyone want to get creative with their nearest CNC.
iPads help Aussie police issue traffic tickets
If you get stopped for a traffic violation near Sydney, Australia, don't be surprised to see the officer pull out an iPad mini. According to the Australian tech site Delimiter, the New South Wales police force has adopted the iPads as part of a four-week trial. The devices are running an app called "Mobile Notices," developed by Gridstone. It will help traffic officers retrieve driver history, photos, vehicle specifics and license information from police computer systems. The 4G/WiFi-ready iPads are locked down and can be wiped if any unauthorized access is attempted. If a citation is issued, the driver can opt to receive a PDF of the ticket via email or text, delivered right then and there (provided that the officer is within range of a compatible network). Lembit Pikkat, director of Grindstone, notes that no information gathered by the remote officers is stored on their iPads. Instead, it's all sent to the central police database for secure storage. "If the trial is a success and the app fully deployed, it will give NSW Police the opportunity to spend more time on frontline policing and less on administrative tasks back at the station -- which will have a positive impact on both road safety and officer effectiveness," according to Superintendent Karen McCarthy. The idea for Mobile Notices was proposed and developed in part by frontline officers. Apple's profile of the Redlands Police Department is an example of the device's increasing popularity among law enforcement. In some cases, it has replaced the wired terminals in police cars, and has given other officers an electronic version of the Miranda warning to use during an arrest.
First light wave quantum teleportation achieved, opens door to ultra fast data transmission
Mark this day, folks, because the brainiacs have finally made a breakthrough in quantum teleportation: a team of scientists from Australia and Japan have successfully transferred a complex set of quantum data in light form. You see, previously researchers had struggled with slow performance or loss of information, but with full transmission integrity achieved -- as in blocks of qubits being destroyed in one place but instantaneously resurrected in another, without affecting their superpositions -- we're now one huge step closer to secure, high-speed quantum communication. Needless to say, this will also be a big boost for the development of powerful quantum computing, and combine that with a more bedroom friendly version of the above teleporter, we'll eventually have ourselves the best LAN party ever.
Laser pointers banned in New South Wales after rash of attacks on pilots
Here's a tip: you should probably leave that handy-dandy laser pointer at home when heading off to vacation in New South Wales. As of today, the Australian state has placed high-powered hand lasers, including the infamous "star pointers," on the list of prohibited weapons, and anyone caught carrying such a device without a permit could face up to 14 years in the slammer. The move comes after an outbreak of laser pointer attacks on airplane pilots, which have left them temporarily blinded and could have caused some pretty catastrophic consequences. Looks like those Aussie kids will have to find some other gizmos to carry out their high school hijinks, huh?[Via Switched]
