Thought Process

Turns out the "explosion-proof" computer that's been making the rounds on the gizmo circuit may be safe to use at the gas pump, but it won't do you any good to sit on it while cruising Karbala.

The Ruffneck Zone 1 Computer can be used for virtually any application, in the harshest of environments by the most careless and abusive operators, according to Computer Dynamics. It has a 15-inch touch screen that's readable in any light condition (including direct sunlight), is impact-resistant and can be operated by gloved hands. But no, it's not bomb-proof.… Read more

The FBI is replacing the Microsoft Access software it uses to track National Security Letter (NSL) wiretap cases with a new, automated, database management system sporting a Java Enterprise Edition application server using Oracle software.

The agency wants to eliminate manual entry of "cumbersome and error-prone" data on its eavesdropping cases. The way it stands now, the databases are not even connected to each other. Instead, an employee must manually enter every NSL lead sent to the Office of General Counsel (OGC)--a process that could take up to a dozen fields including a 15-digit alphanumeric identifier. The … Read more

Three words you don't want to hear around the Simbex's new shock measuring helmet. "Wait! Wear this."

The U.S. Army has awarded $932,000 to Lebanon, N.H.-based Simbex for 20 Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System-equipped helmets to be used to "measure the shock from explosive devices." The Army wants to determine the amount of head trauma soldiers receive while in combat.

"There has been tremendous interest in better understanding the biomechanics of brain injury following both blunt trauma and blast events," Simbex founder Richard Greenwald said. The technology is … Read more

A new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office charges that the Department of Homeland Security used biased methods to enhance performance results in tests on a new generation of radiation detectors meant to protect U.S. ports.

At stake are $1.2 billion in contracts to produce advanced spectroscopic portal (ASP) monitors and thousands of lives should they fail to work.

Experts from four national laboratories were consulted prior to publication of the report (PDF) by the GAO, the nonpartisan audit and investigative arm of Congress, which was released yesterday.

The agency found that the DHS' Domestic Nuclear Detection Office &… Read more

A collaboration between military R&D and industrial designers is bringing state-of-the-art PDA technology to Joe Snuffy out on the battlefield.

The Soldier Flex PDA (SFPDA) introduced by Inhand Electronics features flexible display technology with input from industrial design firm Artisent, display technology firm E-Ink and the U.S. Army Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University.

The PDA offers InHand's PXA270-based Fingertip4 CPU board, along with Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth and keypad interfaces all in a "ruggedized" glass-free package that weighs less than a pound. Best of all, the unique low-power characteristics of electronic paper displays … Read more

Aerospace giant European Aeronautic Defence and Space has introduced a "hacker-proof" encryption technology that it claims will revolutionize Internet security and bring "cryptography into the 21st century."

The system, called "Ectocryp," was developed for military and business applications by researchers and engineers at EADS' Defence and Security Systems division in Newport, South Wales. The team relied on technology developed by the U.K.'s Government Communications Headquarters, sister agency to the NSA and formerly known as Government Code and Cypher School, of German Enigma fame.

The system owes its success to the "lightning … Read more

Camp Pendleton, home of push-ups and pugil sticks, will now offer a three-dimensional, virtual-reality immersion training course complete with smoke, explosions and the wail of the Muezzin to give U.S. Marines a taste of what they're in for.

Known as "FlatWorld," the course is an in-depth blend of stagecraft and high tech created by the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies. Choosing the bureaucratic vernacular of the Pentagon, the Marines call it the "Infantry Immersive Trainer." Whatever the name, it's designed to replicate the chaos and confusion of close-quarter battle … Read more

From Bavaria here's a new, "ruggedized" military-spec notebook PC with a keyboard that converts to a touch-screen, tablet PC in seconds by flipping the display 180 degrees and pressing down.

The magnesium alloy housing (4.85 pounds with battery) is completely sealed making it splash-proof, according to Acturion Datasys. (Even the integrated speaker is waterproof.) Since there are no fans, processor heat is distributed directly to the housing, which doubles as radiator.

Two models are available--the Victum-Note V10 (10.4-inch XGA display) and the Victum-Note V12 (WXGA 12.1-inch). Both come with sunlight-readable displays and work … Read more

Mark Rutherford has no business relationships, affiliations, investments or conflicts of interest that bear on the subjects he covers in the Military Technology blog on CNET.