Singapore has enjoyed 45 years of National Service and is looking forward to celebrate 48 years of sovereignty Are there signs that Singaporeans are beginning to take security for granted? U.S. is indulging in cyberwarfare and a good portion of its work is done by outsourced providers. While this can be an easy solution to the a new battlefront, there are many pitfalls that await the world superpower. Moving to more personal domains, find ways to stay on the cutting edge of devices and services while ensuring that your pocket is not burnt. Google glass has launched and here’s a short read on the key issues from a first person’s perspective. Lastly, SimCity introduced casual gamers to more than just city building. It opened up concepts in quantitative urbanism.
#1: Hard Truths about Singapore’s Defence
Singapore’s national defence strategies have always been two pronged – diplomacy and deterrence We’re a small country looking to cement our place on the global stage in a peaceful manner. History shows that these strategies have largely worked well. Singapore has emerged from dicey situations unscathed and ties with other countries have been positive. Does this mean that our citizen base might get lulled into a false sense of security? [via AsiaOne]
#2: U.S. Cyberwar Strategies Stokes Fear of Blowback
Even as the U.S. government confronts rival powers over widespread Internet espionage, it has become the biggest buyer in a burgeoning gray market where hackers and security firms sell tools for breaking into computers. The strategy is spurring concern in the technology industry and intelligence community that Washington is in effect encouraging hacking and failing to disclose to software companies and customers the vulnerabilities exploited by the purchased hacks. This will be nasty if it backfires. [via Reuters]
#3: Top 10 Ways to Save Money on Tech
Tech geeks have a problem. Money. We want the latest and the greatest but most of us aren’t printing cash. There’s still a way around this. In fact, here are ten ways to save money while keeping on the cutting edge. Start by seeing these products and services as momentary toys. [via Lifehacker]
#4: Wear Google Glass like a Pro
Google Glass has been handed out to developers and media folks in the past month and most of them have been eager to share this experience. How will putting on a small LCD screen at the top corner of your right eye feel like? How does society actually respond to such folks? Find out in first person in this short report and video. [via CNet]
#5: SimCity in Real Life: Quantitative Urbanism
I love SimCity basically because it does in some ways mirror real life urban planning pretty well. After spending a few hours in the game, your mind moves on to optimizing every move both in terms of space and time management. The dynamics of the city can sometimes be broken down into mathematical optimization problems. Here’s a short look at the casual link of optimization to city building in ensuring that urban space is maximized quantitatively. [via Tested]