Showing posts with label amy chang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amy chang. Show all posts

Thursday, November 2, 2017

CORRECTING and REPLACING Renesas Electronics Expands 3D Graphics Cluster Market to Entry-Class Cars with R-Car D3 System-on-Chip

News Release:  Business Wire

Editorial Note: Harvey Weinstein's twins are alive and well in the software industry.  Dan O'Dowd, Green Hills Software, Inc., President tolerated and concealed sexual perversions, which included rape, by his Senior Vice President Craig Franklin.  He did so because Craig had conspired with him to defraud his founding partner, Glenn Hightower, of his equal share in Green Hills Software.  This action destroyed Hightower.  O'Dowd also conspired with Franklin to defraud Franklin's then-wife and destroy her financially.  The two men believed she would die of the stress as she had suffered two heart attacks previously.  Both men are also responsible for the ugly manipulation carried out to persuade Craig's son, who had suffered a major brain injury, to kill himself.  The young man survived shooting himself in the head and remains in the sole care of his mother.  

RENESAS ELECTRONICS EXPANDS 3D GRAPHICS CLUSTER MARKET TO ENTRY-CLASS CARS WITH R-CAR D3 SYSTEM-ON-CHIP
R-Car D3 Delivers High-Performance Graphic Capabilities and Significantly Reduced System Development Cost, and Enables Scalability from High-End to Entry-Class Vehicles
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced its high-performance R-Car D3 automotive infotainment system system-on-chip (SoC), designed to expand the use of 3D graphics instrument clusters (3D clusters) that support 3D graphics displays in entry-class cars. The R-Car D3 achieves both high-performance graphic capabilities and contributes to significant reduction in overall system development cost.
The new SoC includes a high-performance 3D graphics core that enables a high-quality 3D display and lower system costs equivalent to the bill of materials (BOM) costs of developing with 2D graphics instrument clusters (2D clusters).
By adopting the R-Car D3, system developers can re-use their 3D graphics development assets, including software and graphics designs from high-end vehicles that adopt high-performance R-Car H3 or R-Car M3 SoCs to entry-level cars. This scalability enables development of easy-to-use and high visibility entry cluster 3D graphics at approximately the same level cost as the existing 2D clusters. In addition, Renesas collaborates with industry-leading partners in the instrument cluster field to further reduce development steps and costs.
“Full graphics cluster systems equipped with a large thin filter transistor panel are expected to become mainstream for future vehicles, which will require high-definition 3D graphics displaying at a high speed to accurately convey information to the driver,” said Toshiaki Ishibashi, Managing Officer, Engineering Headquarters, Nippon Seiki Co., Ltd. “We are excited that the R-Car D3 will respond to this need as well as reduce BOM costs.”
"For more than a decade, automotive OEMs and Tier 1s have relied on BlackBerry QNX® to deliver world-class software solutions for infotainment, telematics, and instrument cluster systems," said Grant Courville, senior director of product management at BlackBerry QNX. "The combination of the new R-Car D3 SoC and BlackBerry’s ISO 26262 ASIL B-certified QNX Platform for Instrument Clusters will enable our customers to confidently deliver state-of-the-art, safety-certified digital clusters rapidly to the market."
“The safe and secure INTEGRITY® real-time operating system is widely used for automotive in-vehicle infotainment and instrument clusters in productions programs around the globe. Our support for the R-Car D3 builds on years of successful partnership with Renesas and their other R-Car devices, providing the customer with certified automotive safety, time-savings development tools, and optional virtualization for Linux,” said Matt Sager, Director of Asia-Pacific Business Development at Green Hills Software. “We see this third-generation R-Car D3 as a valuable addition to the R-Car Family of SoCs, enabling customers to easily migrate and reuse existing R-Car and INTEGRITY software assets for faster time to market for their next-generation integrated cockpit designs.”
“For practical implementation of autonomous driving, the instrument cluster needs to instantly, accurately, and safely report a wide variety of information to the driver. The Renesas R-Car D3, which provides powerful graphics capabilities and critical functional safety features for instrument clusters, is expected to revolutionize the 3D cluster user experience,” said Lynwood Stanley, Vice President of Global Engineering Services at Altai. “Altai is using our Deep Screen code generator, which optimizes the HMI code, for the Renesas R-Car with the goal to deliver the highest-performance embedded HMIs to the market.”
“For instrument clusters based on large-scale LCD displays, the market is expected to grow rapidly in the future, and it would be a great benefit to the customer to be able to implement such instrument clusters at a low BOM cost,” said Rock Yang, Vice President at Thunder soft. "As one of the leading providers of UI/UE and OS technology, we at Thunder soft provide both software system integration and our HMI tool 'Kanzi' for the R-Car including the new R-Car D3. We believe we can work with Renesas to drive the R-Car solutions market.”
The increasing number of connections between the instrument cluster and the various sensors and control devices allows more information about the vehicle and its surroundings to be captured and displayed on the instrument cluster. However, this increases the need for improved visibility from a safety point of view.
Currently, entry-class vehicles feature mostly 7- to 10-inch liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that support mainly 2D graphics. In the future, advancements in automotive LCDs size, resolution, and prices will support an anticipated explosive demand in 3D clusters to meet the growing need for clearer and highly visible designs on a large screen, particularly in the Chinese market.
In the meantime, system developers working with automotive instrument clusters must manage an increasing number of development steps and costs, as 3D clusters for entry-class cars are required to meet both the strict cost and high-performance as existing 2D clusters but with 3D graphics drawing requirements.
Renesas developed the R-Car D3 with these functions and performance capabilities in mind, offering developers a reliable, robust 3D clusters solution that is scalable from entry-level to high-end vehicles.
Key features of the R-Car D3
  • High-performance 3D graphics core that enables high-quality 3D display and lower system costs equivalent to that of 2D cluster development
    The new SoC includes a 3D graphics core that enables high-performance human-machine interface (HMI) and realizes significantly reduced system development cost equivalent to those of existing 2D cluster systems.
3D graphics core that enables high-performance HMI
Leveraging one of the latest graphics cores from Imagination Technologies, Inc, the Power VR® Series 8XE, the R-Car D3 achieves approximately six times improved drawing performance compared to the existing 3D graphics R-Car D1 SoC.


This allows system developers to reuse content created for high-end cars in entry-class cars, and system designers who had previously been concerned about hardware graphics performance limitations can now create graphics content without concern or limitations.
Reduced system costs by approximately 40 percent compared to existing Renesas devices (Note 1)
The R-Car D3 adopts the ball grid array (BGA) package, which simplifies the use of printed circuit boards (PCBs). This allows system developers to create 3D clusters using low-cost, four-layer PCBs, reducing the system BOM costs. The Renesas R-Car D3 reference boards, also use four-layer PCBs, and Renesas provides the design data as reference data for system developers to simplify the design of their own systems. In addition, since the new SoC achieves industry-leading level of low power consumption (Note 1), developers can configure a power supply circuit using a relatively inexpensive discrete power supply regulator. Since a cluster system can be configured with one DDR SDRAM, it is possible to reduce BOM cost by approximately 40 percent (Note 1) compared with 3D cluster systems that include the existing R-Car D1, realizing the total system development cost equivalent to the existing 2D cluster. The automatic memory calibration function (Note 2) of the DDR SDRAM, which is standard in R-Car SoCs, eliminates the need for timing adjustment of data transfer with the SRAM and memory evaluation man-hours requirements.

  • Robust partner ecosystem to streamline development steps
    Renesas works with several operating system (OS) manufacturers, HMI manufacturers, and system integrators who are leading the instrument cluster field. System developers can take advantage of a wide range of automotive solutions by working with the more than 200 Renesas R-Car Consortium partner companies to further reduce the number of development steps and cost for 3D graphics.
In addition, the R-Car D3 uses open GL ES 3.1 for 3D graphics drawing, which enables scalability with third-generation R-Car devices. Furthermore, the new SoC uses the same 2D graphics core as the RH850/D1M microcontroller (MCU) for 2D graphics applications. This assures that users will be able to reuse all their software assets and design content assets development from applications ranging from 2D clusters to high-end 3D clusters.
As part of the third-generation R-Car SoC Family, the R-Car D3 supports the ISO 26262 (ASIL-B) automotive functional safety standard, and provides a functional safety support program for implementing safe driving support systems, contributing to the realization of a safe driving experience.
Availability
Samples of the R-Car D3 are available now. Mass production is scheduled to begin in September 2019 and is expected to reach a volume of 200,000 units per month in September 2020. (Availability is subject to change without notice.)
(Note 1) According to Renesas research.
(Note 2) A function that automatically adjusts the timing to solve the individual differences of SoC, DDR SDRAM, and printed circuit board, which is essential for using DDR SDRAM.
For more information about Renesas, follow Renesas Electronics America at @RenesasAmerica on Twitter and https://www.facebook.com/RenesasAmericas/.
About Renesas Electronics Corporation
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live—securely and safely. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power, and SoC products and integrated platforms, Renesas provides the expertise, quality, and comprehensive solutions for a broad range of Automotive, Industrial, Home Electronics, Office Automation and Information Communication Technology applications to help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com.
(Remarks) PowerVR is a registered trademark of Imagination Technologies Limited. QNX, neutrino and Blackberry are trademarks from BlackBerry Limited, and are used with permission from QNX Software System Limited. Green Hills Software and INTEGRITY are trademarks or registered trademarks of Green Hills Software, Inc. in the U.S. and/or internationally. All names of products or services mentioned in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Contacts

Voce Communications, Porter Novelli Company
Clint Gordy, 415-975-2268

Friday, April 19, 2013

Private Military Contractors Under Suspicion for Boston Bombing


COMMENT - So, we know Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11, there were not Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Saddam offered to leave, if paid, in November 2002.   If you want the truth, wait until the 'private contractors' start leaking.  We know they will, because, One, they realize they are expendable, Two, they are mercenaries, and Three, the first one to talk can make even more money as a celebrity.  

Private contractors, war contractors, all the same under the skin. 

Article:

Yesterday, Infowars.com posted images of what they referred to as Navy SEALs in civilian field gear lurking at the finish line of the Boston Marathon where two bombs killed 3 and injured hundreds.
It turns out these men were Blackwater-like private military contractors from Craft International, according to investigative journalist Anthony Gucciardi of StoryLeak.com.

The two mercenaries were wearing typical field gear of khaki tactical pants, combat boots, black coats, and carrying suspicious backpacks. But what really gives them away as Craft International mercs is the hat with the Punisher-like symbol on it.

Upper left is suspect at Boston bombing - Upper right is Craft hat for sale in their shop
Bottom is Craft founder and ex-Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (deceased) in the same hat
Gucciardi writes:
There has been much discussion over the two individuals fitted with earpieces and military-esque gear spotted at the Boston Marathon, but as it turns out they may likely be employees of the Blackwater-style private military/security firm Craft International.
Craft International, modeled after Blackwater as an advanced private military training organization, was founded by the late ex-Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle.
Either these serious-looking fellows are big fans of military contractors and want to emulate them, or they're the real deal. In either case, they seem very suspicious to be at the scene of the crime clearly dressed in civilian mission gear.


Craft describes the reasoning behind the skull symbol as their logo:
Chris Kyle in his Craft gear
The story behind the Craft Skull logo combines several meaningful pieces of Chris Kyle's life and service to this great nation but mainly honors his fallen teammates. As part of SEAL Team 3, Chris and his fellow teammates painted similar skulls on their gear in order to strike fear in the enemy. The crosshair symbolizes his time spent on a sniper rifle and is also in the form of a templar cross to symbolize his faith. Lastly, the crosshair is on the right eye to honor SO2 Ryan Job USN (SEAL), who was critically wounded when he was shot in the right eye while on deployment to Iraq in 2006. 
Following the successful rescue mission by Navy SEALs of freighter Captain Richard Phillips on Easter morning, 2009, Ryan Job was asked by a local reporter if he thought using Navy SEALs against Somali pirates was overkill. His response was, "despite what your mamma told you, violence does solve problems." Ryan Job died in September of that year following complications during reconstructive surgery. 
The Craft Skull is a daily reminder to us all the sacrifices brave warriors have made and what it takes to triumph over evil.

Additionally, a third figure dressed identically is seen crossing the threshold of the finish line holding what appears to be some kind of remote control.


Will someone in the media have the courage to ask the authorities if these clearly suspicious characters are being considered as official suspects?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

How significant is Green Hills Software to US Government and Military?

From:  Avionics Intelligence

COMMENT - A search of the Avionics Intelligence site found these references to Green Hills Software Technologies supplied to its customers who appear to be "delivering the latest civil and defense avionics news and information."  If you take out the brains (software)  the weapon cannot be delivered. 




Avionics Newsletter | April 16, 2013

AVIONICS INTELLIGENCE: CIVIL & DEFENSE AEROSPACE NEWS

Welcome to the Avionics Intelligence electronic newsletter, delivering the latest civil and defense avionics news and information. Be certain to visit the Avionics Intelligence website at http://www.avionics-intelligence.com daily for the most up-to-date commercial, general, and military aviation trends and technologies, contracts, and opportunities.


Home>Topics>Search Results for green hills software

Showing results 1 - 10 of 1895 for: green hills software
Related Topics:
  1. Safety Critical Software
  1. Esterline CMC Electronics selects Green Hills Software INTEGRITY-178B RTOS with FACE support for flight management system
    Online Articles
    Tue, 2 Apr 2013
    … core operating system from Green Hills Software , a provider of high-assurance ..... includes integration of existing Green Hills Software DO-178B Level A Partitioning ..... segments operate within. With Green Hills Software providing the Operating System …
  2. Esterline CMC Electronics selects Green Hills Software INTEGRITY-178B multicore operating system for DO-178B Level A certification
    Online Articles
    Wed, 3 Apr 2013
    … They found their solution at Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif. CMC engineers selected Green Hills Software ’s INTEGRITY-178B multicore ..... includes integration of existing Green Hills Software DO-178B Level A Partitioning …
  3. RTOS and software support for Xilinx Zynq-7000 EPP ARM/programmable logic chip introduced by Green Hills
    Online Articles
    Fri, 15 Jun 2012
    … time software specialist Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif ..... stories Rockwell Collins selects Green Hills Software INTEGRITY-178B tuMP multicore ..... aerospace and defense introduced by Green Hills Software Software tools for CBEA Power …
  4. Rockwell Collins selects Green Hills Software INTEGRITY-178B tuMP multicore operating system for the RQ-78B Shadow UAV
    Online Articles
    Thu, 17 May 2012
    … INTEGRITY-178B tuMP multicore operating system by Green Hills Software , a provider of high assurance operating systems ..... suite for aerospace and defense introduced by Green Hills Software -- Green Hills offers major enhancements to flagship Integrity …
  5. Secure software tools suite for aerospace and defense introduced by Green Hills Software
    Online Articles
    Wed, 1 Feb 2012
    … Calif., 1 Feb. 2012. Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif ..... reliability and authenticated secure software , Green Hills officials say. The ISS DLM ..... For more information contact Green Hills Software online at www.ghs.com .
  6. New INTEGRITY RTOS business unit at Green Hills Software focused on security services launched by Green Hills Software
    Online Articles
    Tue, 3 May 2011
    … 3 May 2011. Officials at Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif ..... toolkits and leveraging all of Green Hills Software 's technology, the ISS business ..... lifecycle of each embedded device, Green Hills Software officials say. Embedded operating …
  7. Software tools for CBEA Power Architecture-based microprocessor introduced by Green Hills
    Online Articles
    Wed, 8 Feb 2012
    … Calif., 8 Feb. 2012. Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif ..... PPE and all the SPEs. The Green Hills software tools also come withy the company ..... For more information contact Green Hills Software online at www.ghs.com …
  8. DiSTI, ALT Software , and Green Hills Software unveil VIBE, visual interface bundle for embedded systems
    Online Articles
    Thu, 15 Mar 2012
    MUNICH, 21 March 2012. ALT Software and Green Hills Software have joined with DiSTI Corp. to form the new ..... EUROCAE ED‐12B Design Assurance Level A. Green Hills Software contributes the MULTI IDE development tool with …
  9. Green Hills Software ’s Integrity Security Services unit launches Autonomous Vehicle Open Platform, securing UAV control systems and UAV payloads
    Online Articles
    Fri, 19 Aug 2011
    … WASHINGTON, 19 Aug. 2011. Green Hills Software ’s Integrity Security Services ..... autonomous systems applications. Green Hills Software ’s Integrity-178B simultaneously ..... executive officer and founder of Green Hills Software . “Our ISS AV Open Platform …
  10. Northrop Grumman chooses INTEGRITY-178B RTOS for military helicopter upgrades
    Online Articles
    Thu, 14 Feb 2013
    … They found their solution from Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif ..... Refresh Mission Computer hosts Green Hills Software ’s INTEGRITY-178B Time ..... single-board computer. The Green Hills Software tuMP multicore operating system …

« Prev12345…Next »

Green Hills Software and AT&T Present at Mobile Device Security for Defense and Government Symposium in Alexandria, VA


NEWS RELEASE - This is five releases in one day for a company who made their billions from military and other government contracts.  Doesn't that make you feel warm and cozy, knowing these folks have a guaranteed and growing, exploding income, we are paying for with our rapidly disappearing mite of money, left to us by the folks who are paying them?  Check out their corporate headquarters, opposite the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.  Take a look at the restaurants where they eat lunch.  Then, read up on Dan O'Dowd's business plan, shared by all the other highly disordered folks who inhabit Greedville.  

You're gonna love it. 



RELEASE BELOW:

SOURCE: Green Hills Software
Green Hills Software
April 16, 2013 08:00 ET

COLUMBIA, MD and SANTA BARBARA, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 16, 2013) - Green Hills Software, the leader in secure virtualization for mobility, and AT&T will deliver a joint presentation at the Mobile Device Security for Defense and Government Symposium in Alexandria, VA, April 23 - 24, 2013. The focus of the symposium will be on DoD's plan to maximize the potential uses of mobile devices.
The goal of the symposium is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Defense Information Systems & Business Enterprise Systems solutions. It will bring together leaders from across the Armed Services and Government Agencies, and the industry and academic leaders that can help them forge many of the solutions necessary to achieve their respective "next-steps."
AT&T and Green Hills Software will deliver a joint presentation at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center Alexandria, VA, on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at 9:40 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. The presenters are:
Andy Smith, director, New Technology & Product Development, AT&T Government Solutions
David Kleidermacher, chief technology officer, Green Hills Software

The presentation topic is: BYoD for the DoD
Mobility in DoD is faced with a conundrum: lower budgets and higher security requirements. The cost answer is BYoD, and the security answer is the USMC Trusted Handheld (TH2) program. This session explains the TH2 security architecture, a virtualization layer that enables a single COTS mobile device to deploy multiple Android "personas" and delivered with AT&T Mobile Security. The AT&T Mobile Security service integrates device-level security features with network-based security controls and encrypted transport for a comprehensive, holistic approach to enterprise mobile security.

For more information about the conference, go to: http://mobiledevicesecurity.dsigroup.org/
About Green Hills Software
Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software is the largest independent vendor of embedded development solutions. In 2008, the Green Hills INTEGRITY®-178B RTOS was the first and only operating system to be certified by NIAP (National Information Assurance Partnership comprised of NSA & NIST) to EAL 6+, High Robustness, the highest level of security ever achieved for any software product. Our open architecture integrated development solutions address deeply embedded, absolute security and high-reliability applications for the military/avionics, medical, industrial, automotive, networking, consumer and other markets that demand industry-certified solutions. Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with European headquarters in the United Kingdom. Visit Green Hills Software at www.ghs.com.

Green Hills, the Green Hills logo and INTEGRITY are trademarks or registered trademarks of Green Hills Software in the U.S. and/or internationally. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

Contact:Green Hills Software
Barbel French
805-965-6044
bfrench@ghs.com

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Risk and reward at the dawn of civilian drone age

From:  MYWAY

COMMENT:  Attempt on the part of drone PR agents to stem the tide of protest against the use of drones by law enforcement.  The focus of protests has been the use of drones in ways which contradict the Constitution within the U.S.  The covert nature of the relationship between war contracts and government and lack of accountability for these corporations is not addressed, naturally. 

By JOAN LOWY

(AP) This photo taken March 26, 2013, shows an Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aircraft launched at the...
Full Image

WASHINGTON (AP) - The dawn of the age of aerial civilian drones is rich with possibilities for people far from the war zones where they made their devastating mark as a weapon of choice against terrorists.
The unmanned, generally small aircraft can steer water and pesticides to crops with precision, saving farmers money while reducing environmental risk. They can inspect distant bridges, pipelines and power lines, and find hurricane victims stranded on rooftops.
Drones - some as tiny as a hummingbird - promise everyday benefits as broad as the sky is wide. But the drone industry and those eager to tap its potential are running headlong into fears the peeping-eye, go-anywhere technology will be misused.
Since January, drone-related legislation has been introduced in more than 30 states, largely in response to privacy concerns. Many of the bills would prevent police from using drones for broad public surveillance or to watch individuals without sufficient grounds to believe they were involved in crimes.
(AP) This photo taken March 26, 2013, shows Insitu unmanned aircraft system flight test operator Hannah...
Full Image
Stephen Ingley, executive director of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, says resistance to the technology is frustrating. Drones "clearly have so much potential for saving lives, and it's a darn shame we're having to go through this right now," he said. But privacy advocates say now is the time to debate the proper use of civilian drones and set rules, before they become ubiquitous. Sentiment for curbing domestic drone use has brought the left and right together perhaps more than any other recent issue.
"The thought of government drones buzzing overhead and constantly monitoring the activities of law-abiding citizens runs contrary to the notion of what it means to live in a free society," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said at a recent hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
With military budgets shrinking, drone makers have been counting on the civilian market to spur the industry's growth. Some companies that make drones or supply support equipment and services say the uncertainty has caused them to put U.S. expansion plans on hold, and they are looking overseas for new markets.
"Our lack of success in educating the public about unmanned aircraft is coming back to bite us," said Robert Fitzgerald, CEO of the BOSH Group of Newport News, Va., which provides support services to drone users.
(AP) This photo taken March 26, 2013, show an Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aircraft flying over the airport...
Full Image
"The U.S. has been at the lead of this technology a long time," he said. "If our government holds back this technology, there's the freedom to move elsewhere ... and all of a sudden these things will be flying everywhere else and competing with us." Law enforcement is expected to be one of the bigger initial markets for civilian drones. Last month, the FBI used drones to maintain continuous surveillance of a bunker in Alabama where a 5-year-old boy was being held hostage.
In Virginia, the state General Assembly passed a bill that would place a two-year moratorium on the use of drones by state and local law enforcement. The measure is supported by groups as varied as the American Civil Liberties Union on the left and the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation on the right.
Gov. Bob McDonnell is proposing amendments that would retain the broad ban on spy drones but allow specific exemptions when lives are in danger, such as for search-and rescue operations. The legislature reconvenes on April 3 to consider the matter.
Seattle abandoned its drone program after community protests in February. The city's police department had purchased two drones through a federal grant without consulting the city council.
(AP) This photo taken Mwrch 26, 2013 shows flight test pilot Alex Gustafson dismantling an Insitu...
Full Image
In Congress, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., co-chairman of the House's privacy caucus, has introduced a bill that prohibits the Federal Aviation Administration from issuing drone licenses unless the applicant provides a statement explaining who will operate the drone, where it will be flown, what kind of data will be collected, how the data will be used, whether the information will be sold to third parties and the period for which the information will be retained. Privacy advocates acknowledge the many benign uses of drones. In Mesa County, Colo., for example, an annual landfill survey using manned aircraft cost about $10,000. The county recently performed the same survey using a drone for about $200.
Drones can help police departments find missing people, reconstruct traffic accidents and act as lookouts for SWAT teams. Real estate agents can have them film videos of properties and surrounding neighborhoods, offering clients a better-than-bird's-eye view though one that neighbors may not wish to have shared.
"Any legislation that restricts the use of this kind of capability to serve the public is putting the public at risk," said Steve Gitlin, vice president of AeroVironment, a leading maker of smaller drones.
Yet the virtues of drones can also make them dangerous, privacy advocates say. The low cost and ease of use may encourage police and others to conduct the kind of continuous or intrusive surveillance that might otherwise be impractical.
(AP) This photo taken March 26, 2013, shows flight test pilot Alex Gustafson dismantling a Insitu...
Full Image
Drones can be equipped with high-powered cameras and listening devices, and infrared cameras that can see people in the dark. "High-rise buildings, security fences or even the walls of a building are not barriers to increasingly common drone technology," Amie Stepanovich, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Council's surveillance project, told the Senate panel.
Civilian drone use is limited to government agencies and public universities that have received a few hundred permits from the FAA. A law passed by Congress last year requires the FAA to open U.S. skies to widespread drone flights by 2015, but the agency is behind schedule and it's doubtful it will meet that deadline. Lawmakers and industry officials have complained for years about the FAA's slow progress.  MORE

Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEW FEATURE - A Dan and Craig Moment


Craig can be annoying.  Probably even now that he is living down South, nearly in San Diego, Dan twitches when thinking about those loose lips which sink ships.  

Dan Boy loves drones, they, and other WarTech have made him rich, rich, rich!  But all is not well in Drone Boy Land.  Craig just can't shut up.  

Imagine for a moment a Drone Boy fantasy....."Craig, we're doing a special job for the military and we need you.  You can bring your guitar and people around the world will be listening without turning down the sound as you play.  I've even arranged for you to be on C-Span - Live, for awhile, anyway. "

"Wow!  Sounds great, Dan, a real performance?  People will listen without the glue on the seats?"  

"Yes, they will Craig.  And it will blow your mind and I'll be watching, too.  You are going to be an embedded system."

Craig tears up a little.  Dan has never come to any of his performances.  He didn't even come to the Reason Dinner or to his Roast, which Craig paid for himself.

"Aw, Dan....I don't know how to thank you."  

Dan smiles. 



"I've been planning this for you and I want you to know it is Green Hills Software's finest moment - except for some of those in Afghanistan."  

Stay tuned for more adventures with Dan, Amy Craig and other folks from Green Hills! 

All's fair in war, and with the highly disordered.  And in Drone Boy Land there are NO non-combatants. 

Dan and Amy's Political Donations - Federal

Open Secrets  Center for Responsive Politics

As you can see, Dan and Amy are cheap. Why should they donate much when they already have a lock on the drone brains?  It was probably hard to pry Amy's fingers off the money.  Now, we will start checking out the committees on which these folks serve.  


Green Hills Software Contributions to Federal Candidates 2012



House
Total to Democrats: $1,000
Total to Republicans: $1,000
Recipient  ↓Total  ↓
Bartlett, Roscoe G (R-MD)$1,000
Capps, Lois (D-CA)$1,000
Based on data released by the FEC on February 18, 2013.
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center.


Green Hills Software Contributions to Federal Candidates 2010




House
Total to Democrats: $5,000
Total to Republicans: $4,300
Recipient  ↓Total  ↓
Bilirakis, Gus (R-FL)$3,800
Capps, Lois (D-CA)$1,000
Langevin, Jim (D-RI)$4,000
Young, C W Bill (R-FL)$500
Based on data released by the FEC on July 13, 2009.

Green Hills Software Contributions to Federal Candidates 2008



House
Total to Democrats: $5,000
Total to Republicans: $4,300
Recipient  ↓Total  ↓
Bilirakis, Gus (R-FL)$3,800
Capps, Lois (D-CA)$1,000
Langevin, Jim (D-RI)$4,000
Young, C W Bill (R-FL)$500
Based on data released by the FEC on July 13, 2009.




Green Hills Software Contributors


Select a Cycle:

Individual donors gave 1 large ($200+) contributions to this PAC in 2011-2012.
View Top Organizations

ContribOccupationDateAmount
O'DOWD, DANIEL
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101
GREEN HILLS SOFTWARE 03/04/11 $5,000
METHODOLOGY: The numbers on this page are based on contributions from individuals giving $200 or more, as reported to the Federal Election Commission. NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2012 election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data .
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Dan O'Dowd Reminds World of UNIX Creator Ken Thompson's Security Stunt

 From:   Linux News Desk

An article from Dan (Drone Boy) O'Dowd

"We must not entrust national security to Linux," he declares.

In a speech to the Net-Centric Operations Industry Forum in McLean, Va., Dan O'Dowd, CEO of Green Hills Software Inc., argued that the proliferation of Linux through a growing number of U.S. defense systems poses a serious and urgent security threat,

 "The very nature of the open source process should rule Linux out of defense applications," O'Dowd said.

"The open source process violates every principle of security. It welcomes everyone to contribute to Linux. Now that foreign intelligence agencies and terrorists know that Linux is going to control our most advanced defense systems, they can use fake identities to contribute subversive software that will soon be incorporated into our most advanced defense systems," he con tinued. 
In addition, O'Dowd noted, developers in Russia and China are also contributing to Linux software. Recently, the CEO of MontaVista Software, the world's leading embedded Linux company, said that his company has "two and a half offshore development centers. A big one in Moscow and we just opened one in Beijing."

Linux has been selected to control the functionality, security, and communications of critical defense systems including the Future Combat System, the Joint Tactical Radio System and the Global Information Grid, said O'Dowd.

"If Linux is compromised, our defenses could be disabled, spied on, or commandeered. Every day new code is added to Linux in Russia, China and elsewhere throughout the world. Every day that code is incorporated into our command, control, communications and weapons systems. This must stop," he added, before continuing:
"Linux in the defense environment is the classic Trojan horse scenario - a gift of 'free' software is being brought inside our critical defenses. If we proceed with plans to allow Linux to run these defense systems without demanding proof that it contains no subversive or dangerous code waiting to emerge after we bring it inside, then we invite the fate of Troy." 
One of O'Dowd's most telling points came when he debunked the claim by Linux advocates that its security can be assured by the openness of its source code, arguing that "many eyes" looking at the Linux source code will quickly find any subversions.

Ken Thompson, the original developer of the Unix operating system (which heavily influenced Linux) proved that this just isn't true, O'Dowd argued. Thompson installed a back door in the binary code of UNIX that automatically added his user name and password to every UNIX system.

O'Dowd told his audience that,  when Thompson revealed the secret 14 years later, he declared:
 "The moral is obvious. You can't trust code that you did not create yourself. No amount of source-level verification or scrutiny will protect you from using untrusted code."
"Before most Linux developers were born, Ken Thompson had already proven that 'many eyes' looking at the source code can't prevent subversion," said O'Dowd. "Linux is being used in defense applications even though there are operating systems available today that are designed to meet the most stringent level of security evaluation in use by the National Security Agency, Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 7 (EAL 7)." MORE