house

The White House today delivered a formal veto threat against a controversial data-sharing bill called CISPA that would allow intelligence agencies to collect personal information about Americans from private companies.

In a statement this afternoon, President Obama's aides said they "would recommend that he veto the bill," which is scheduled for a House of Representatives floor vote this week.

A House committee approved CISPA last week without four key privacy amendments. Sought by CISPA opponents, the amendments would have curbed the National Security Agency's ability to collect confidential data. (See CNET's CISPA FAQ.)

The White … Read more

There's long been speculation and research about algae's potential as a power source. The fast-growing plants waste three-quarters of the sunlight they absorb, so what if that energy could be captured and converted?

That's the premise behind BIQ House, designed by architectural firm Splitterwerk. It's a new algae-powered building that's opening on April 25 as part of the International Building Exhibition (IBA) in Hamburg, Germany. The building's east and south facades are covered in a system of louvres. Filled with microalgae, these louvres form 200 square meters of panels to power the building. … Read more

Like most homeowners, I've got furnace filters to replace, smoke-alarm batteries to check, a central air conditioner to maintain, and so on. I also have a septic tank and water softener that need occasional attention.

Unfortunately, I'm terrible at tracking this stuff, meaning important tasks often get overlooked or neglected -- sometimes at their peril (and my expense).

BrightNest for iOS lets me schedule these and other home maintenance jobs, thereby ensuring they don't get forgotten.

The app does require you to create an account (because it syncs with the BrightNest Web service), though you can also … Read more

Another day, another House Intelligence Committee session held in secret, under the rather convenient excuse that "classified information" might be revealed.

As was the case last year when members of the committee amended the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) the first time around -- the bill, dubbed a "privacy killer" by online activists and privacy groups, will once again be amended in a veil of secrecy.

According to the committee's spokesperson, Susan Phalen, (via The Hill), these secret hearings are not uncommon and "sometimes they'll need to bounce into classified information … Read more

Police going undercover on social media to catch gangsters and murderers is one thing, but posing as punk rockers to catch bands playing illegal house parties?

That's just what Boston police are allegedly doing, according to Slate.

After a nuisance control ordinance (PDF) passed last year, the city has been working to squelch local punk and indie rock parties featuring loud bands. And to find out where these raucous festivities are taking place -- in order to break them up before they get started -- the police are supposedly sleuthing out party addresses via e-mail and social media.

Acting … Read more

Late next year, as we're glued to our screens watching Netflix's newest original TV series, will the online-movie powerhouse somehow be tapping our bodies' electrical energy and selling it to evil machines?

If the credentials of the show's creators are any indication, that's a distinct possibility.

"Sense8," a sci-fi show Netflix describes as a "global tale of minds linked and souls hunted," is the brainchild of the Wachowskis -- aka sibling duo Andy and Lana Wachowski, the masterminds behind "The Matrix" movies. The 10-episode first season of "Sense8" will be available for streaming in late 2014, Netflix announced today.… Read more

After a several months-long lull, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's old house is back on the market.

The six bedroom, seven bathroom, Los Gatos, Calif., home, which Wozniak built in 1986 though sold off years ago, is back on sale for slightly lower $4.395 million. It's even having an open house this weekend, notes the house's real estate agent over at the San Francisco Chronicle, which spotted the listing on real estate site Redfin.

This is the latest sale attempt of the house, which last changed hands in 2009. Records show that the house originally sold back … Read more

The sheer number of small games available for Mac makes choosing one difficult. While enjoyable for a short period of time, Cursed House for Mac is not worth the additional download required or its full version price.

Cursed House is available as a free trial version with a one-hour gameplay limit; the full version costs $6.99. After downloading an initial file, the user is forced to separately install a proprietary game store where other gaming options are available in order to obtain the game program. This store also required acknowledgement of a detailed end user agreement. Once it was … Read more

Silicon Valley firms are presenting a rare united front in an effort to end a political logjam that has blocked high-tech immigration reform.

In an unusual show of support that underscores how important the topic has become, executives from Facebook, Google, eBay and other major tech companies sent a letter today to President Obama and congressional leaders asking them to fix immigration law by the end of 2013. The current system is broken, they say, blaming visa shortages, long waits for green cards, and difficulties bringing spouses and children to the United States.

"Because our current immigration system is … Read more