Tech Briefs Insider » 2008 » May

Do you plan to buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle?

TechBriefs — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:23:19 +0000

Since last week’s question attracted more than 500 responses, we’re going to stick with the energy theme for another week. This week’s question concerns transportation. As a result of high energy prices and/or increased awareness about the effects of global warming, do you plan to buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle?

Vote here.

Should oil drilling be allowed in Alaska’s Arctic Wildlife Refuge?

TechBriefs — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:05:54 +0000

This week’s question concerns America’s energy crisis. The cost of oil continues to rise at an unprecedented rate. Last week the price topped $125.00 per barrel and some experts predict that within two years it could go as high as $200 a barrel. Combined with other factors, the high cost of energy is having a devastating impact on the US economy, reopening the debate about whether or not to allow drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where it is believed significant deposits of crude oil exist. Environmentalists argue that tapping those deposits could cause irreparable damage to the environment. What do you think? Should oil drilling be allowed in Alaska’s Arctic Wildlife Refuge?

Vote here.

Are computers vulnerable to attacks by hardware hackers?

TechBriefs — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:42:48 +0000

This week’s question concerns the possibility of hackers infecting computers through their hardware. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign recently demonstrated that they could gain control of a computer by adding malicious circuits to a field-programmable gate array emulating the Leon 3 open source processor. When they hooked the FPGA up to another computer, they were able to steal passwords stored in its memory and install malicious software that would gain control of the computer’s operating system. Although malicious hardware is considered more difficult to install than a software virus, some scientists worry that increasing chip complexity will make it easier for hackers to infiltrate computers. What do you think? Are computers vulnerable to attacks by hardware hackers? Yes or no?

Vote here.