Danh bạ website hay: tháng 4 2013

Thứ Năm, 25 tháng 4, 2013

Russian arms dealers go big at massive LAAD defense show in Rio

FoxNews.com / Allison Barrie
FoxNews.com / Allison Barrie
FoxNews.com / Allison Barrie

From Russia, with love?

Russian arms dealers with missile systems, tanks and jets pitched an enormous national pavilion three times larger than their last one at the massive South American defense and security show LAAD 2013, which runs April 9 – 12 in Rio de Janeiro.

State-owned defense firm Rosoboronexport announced that it alone would bring 200 samples of Russian armaments and military hardware for army, navy and air power.

Estimates put the Russian arms industry at over $15 billion in global exports -- a record high. The buzz from potential buyers on the floor is that Russian equipment costs less and is easier to maintain than equipment from other nations. Even the U.S. Department of Defense said last week it needs to get around a Congressional ban to purchase more than half a billion in Russian defense equipment.

Anti-tank firepower and more
On display at LAAD 2013, the Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missile systems are designed to defeat battle tanks like the American Abrams.

Easily portable at about 60 pounds, the modern Kornet has a greater range than older models, can engage air targets and can be easily carried and operated by one or two soldiers.

Kornet is attractive to those looking to defeat advanced tanks like those in the U.S. inventory because it can defeat explosive armor with shaped-charge dual warheads. Explosive armor protects personnel inside a tank by exploding its own charges to force heat away from those inside. Kornet first attacks and disables the explosive armor layer to then allow a second warhead to penetrate the tank.

A massive Russian space-focused pavilion – as in outer space – was truly enormous and two floors high. From a giant floating globe through to beautiful fresh flower arrangements, the Russians succeeded in setting themselves apart. With heaps of space innovation showcased, the message is clear that Russia is committed to being a major player in the space race.

Air defense weapons were also prominently on display.

KBP Instrument Design Bureau’s Pantsyr-S1 is designed to engage light-armored ground targets as well as a wide range of air threats such as helicopters, UAVs and ballistic and cruise missiles.

Almaz-Antey’s Tor-M2E is designed to defeat helicopters, UAVs, fixed wing aircraft and guided missiles. Advances include better fire control radar coverage and twice as many targets can now be engaged at the same time. The modernized 17 ton vehicle can travel at 50 miles an hour.

At sea, on the ground, and in the air
Russian companies also made a big push on sales to maritime. Patrol ships, frigates and diesel-electric submarines are all getting the hard sell.

Rosoboronexport said Latin America is one of their most promising markets, representing 18 percent of total exports last year, a 4 percent growth from 2011.

Russian armored vehicles like the always-popular, multi-purpose Tigr made by MIC further established Russia’s big presence. Tigr carries up to nine soldiers and travels over 90 miles an hour.

The Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet has also been creating buzz. These fighter jets have been participating in Brazilian and Korean tenders for several years. The modern version of a Russian classic, Su-35 is the export version of the Su-27. The updated fighter jet has an improved airframe and significantly longer service life.

Brazil bought twelve Mi-35M attack helicopters in 2008 and put one on display here at the LAAD 2013 show. A big crowd pleaser, the helicopter has been a hot spot for attendees to have photos of themselves taken with the equipment.

Russian helicopters have been increasingly popular in Latin America and even in the United States.

US to Buy Russian Helicopters
The Russian strong showing in Latin America is on the heels of last week’s announcement by the DoD that it planned to purchase Russian equipment.

Last year, Congress approved the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. The act includes an amendment prohibiting financial contracts between the United States and Rosoboronexport. An exception can only be made when Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel takes the view it is in the interest of national security.

To support the Afghanistan National Security Forces Special Mission Wing, the plan is to purchase 30 additional Mi-17 rotary-wing from the banned Russian company, a contract worth about $690 million.

With U.S. troops reduction in Afghanistan, Afghan forces will be taking on increasing responsibility. The local forces have already been trained to operate the Russian aircraft and training them for a different helicopter could cause delays of at least three years.

Opposition against this acquisition has been strong and included allegations that the Russian company supported atrocities committed against Syrian civilians by equipping the Syrian government with tools like sniper rifles and refurbished attack helicopters. A bipartisan Congressional group wrote in protest to Hagel.

Russia has insisted that the deliveries are legal under international law and that it is not supplying Syria with offensive weapons.

Ballet dancer turned defense specialist Allison Barrie has traveled around the world covering the military, terrorism, weapons advancements and life on the front line. You can reach her at wargames@foxnews.com or follow her on Twitter @Allison_Barrie.

Allison Barrie

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Sandia Labs SpinDX tech to warn of ricin attacks

Sandia system engineers have developed a portable bioterror detection device called SpinDx.Sandia National Labs
Greg Sommer studies a sample in the SpinDX system.Sandia National Labs

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The ricin attack this week on President Obama and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., were thwarted by advances in detection technology -- but can similar tech protect ordinary folk from this sort of attack?

Sandia National Laboratories has been quietly working to extend detection tech to the everyday arena in our nation’s defense against bioterrorism.

"We're not just going to wait for the next anthrax letter incident to happen for our devices to be used and tested,” said Sandia's biological science and technology group senior manager Anup Singh.

His team developed a new tech called SpinDx to quickly identify dangerous bioweapons: a portable device that allows first responders, your local doctor’s office and hospitals to quickly run tests for them.

SpinDx is sort of like a lab in an inches-long, 2-pound plastic cube. Combatting both man-made attacks and threats that erupt from nature, it will be able to rapidly identify a range of biothreats including ricin, shiga, botulinum and SEB toxin from just a single drop of blood.

With a four year funding grant of $4 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (part of the National Institutes of Health), the team will advance this research and take it to the next level.

“We want [SpinDx] to be useful for other things as well, like infectious diseases," Anup said.

How does it work?

SpinDX works sort of like a CD player: It spins a disposable plastic disc containing the test reagents. The discs allow the first responder to test for a wide suite of threats in as little as 15 minutes. Ordinary testing for toxic substances can take days and dollars, and requires highly skilled personnel.

What if terrorists targeted water or food supplies? This very same tech can be used to quickly work out whether food or water has been contaminated with toxins, viruses or bacteria.

Once approved by the Food and Drug Administration and made available to the public, SpinDX could be a key tool in emergency rooms.

Allison Barrie

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Thứ Tư, 24 tháng 4, 2013

Harvard snoops through professors' email, teaches new lessons in privacy

Even some of the smartest people can be really dumb about technology. To wit, the recent hubbub at Harvard University over the scandalous, surreptitious searching of academia's finest's e-mails.

It all stemmed from another event that besmirched the reputation of the Ivy League school (isn't that always the way). Late last summer it came to light that almost half of a class on government at the university cheated on a final exam. While some may joke about the situation -- it was, after all, a class about how the Congress works -- the university didn't take it lightly. An e-mail was sent to resident deans from the administration suggesting how they should advise accused students. That e-mail was leaked to the press.

Words such as 'creepy' and 'dishonorable' have been used to describe the secret searches. Most employees in corporate America would probably have a different reaction: Duh!

Proving the rule that it's not the crime but the cover-up that always gets people in trouble, the administration decided to search the resident deans' e-mails to find out how the leak happened. They didn't reveal the search (except to one individual), until this fact came to light last week thanks to The Boston Globe.

In blogs and postings by current and former Harvard faculty, words such as "creepy" and "dishonorable" have been used to describe the secret searches. Most employees in corporate America would probably have a different reaction, however: Duh!

Not even in the days of CompuServe and 1,200-baud modems did most of us consider our business e-mails private. The IT department stored them -- often looked at them, many people have told me -- and the company paid for the service and the employees' computers. So it was no surprise that managers might check up on employees.

It turns out, however, that the degree of privacy afforded your e-mails -- even those from your company account -- varies, depending on what you signed as part of your terms of employment.

"It depends on what the policy is that governs the employer and employee relationship," says Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. According to Fakhoury, most employees give consent to companies to look at their business e-mail when they sign an employment agreement. (It does not give them access to your personal Yahoo and Gmail accounts, however.)

One can think of many situations in which one might be sympathetic to employers who want to look at e-mail messages: What if corporate secrets are being given to the competition or if one employee is harassing another? However, without consent being given, the only exception for searching e-mails is when the provider (your employer's IT department) needs to access e-mails for technical reasons, such as checking a spam filter or to maintain server capacity.

In the Harvard case, the administration is claiming it did not look at the contents of any e-mails, only the subject lines. Furthermore, they claim they were actually trying to protect student privacy since one leaked message recounted confidential discussions about the cheating scandal. But humans being human, it strains the limits of credulity to think that once one has opened the e-mail Pandora's box that no one is ever going to look inside.

Were the faculty at Harvard technologically naive? No question. Was the administration also naive? Yup. Thanks to that pesky "forward" button, the scarlet e-mail was passed along and that's how it eventually became public.

The moral of the story: You need to be more circumspect when using the company e-mail account, whether you're at Harvard or at Hewlett-Packard.

"And you need to know what your employment policy is," reminds the EFF's Fakhoury. "If you have the luxury and freedom, you may even want to negotiate" how e-mail is handled before you accept a job.

Unfortunately, in this job market, few of us enjoy such luxury.

Follow John R. Quain on Twitter @jqontech or find more tech coverage at J-Q.com.

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Apple 'iRadio' service set for summer release, rumors suggest

One of a series of early advertisements for Apple's iPod points to the company's deep connections to the music industry -- but will Apple be able to sell a new digital radio service?Apple

Turning Apple into cider is a popular sport these days. And Apple is certainly experiencing a lacuna in innovative product introductions (where's the Apple television? where's the Apple watch, when is Apple going to make a better-than-Samsung phone?). Now, the rumor mill is heralding the introduction of Apple radio this summer -- but it may be too little, too late.

Streaming music services are an odd beast in the digital world. Depending on the week, they are the savior of the music business, the devil that will put musicians in the poor house, or they're about to all go bankrupt. Be that as it may, streaming music seems to be the future, from Pandora to Rara, Spotify to Rdio, Rhapsody to Slacker. Also in the music marketplace are services like TuneIn, which gather online feeds from traditional radio stations and Internet-only channels into electronic program guides that let you listen to Tokyo rap or Nigerian classic rock.

'Apple has a lot of catching up to do.'

- TuneIn CEO John Donham

So unlike when iTunes launched more than a dozen years ago, there's competition aplenty. And since the success of iTunes didn't translate into success for the music companies and artists -- revenues are roughly half of what they were in the 90s -- music execs (and artists) are a lot more skittish about making deals with Apple today.

Still, while disc sales continue to fall -- down 13 percent last year according to Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS -- and digital track sales are up -- just over 5 percent compared to the previous year -- more of us are relying on streaming services to rock on. Revenues from subscription and ad-supported streaming services grew 59 percent last year from $360 million to $571 million.

Part of the leaked information on Apple's iRadio is that the company wants to play less than everybody else to play: 6 cents per 100 song feeds, versus a rumored 12 cents that Pandora pays and 35 cents than Spotify pays. However, this is comparing Apples to oranges; not every one pays the same people. Some pay artists, others pay labels, for example. And of course, these various leaks are all designed to influence negotiations currently underway, so the truth is far from clear.

What is clear is that any deal that is seen as unnecessarily favorable to Apple would launch a thousand lawyers in music business ships directed at renewed negotiations. Pandora, which has a different arrangement from other music services that deliver specific songs on demand, would surely argue that the rates that it pays through SoundExchange are too high compared to Apple (or more pointedly compared to what Sirius XM pays).

More directly related to Apple's bottom line is the fact that creating another "free" service that relies on advertising would be difficult. It could cannibalize the company's own iTunes song sales faster than you can say Nicki Minaj. And a for-pay subscription service while helping to balance the books is still a niche play. Rhapsody has something on the order of one-sixtieth of Pandora's listeners (depending on how you count them). Most of us still prefer free to subscriptions.

There are also other major players coming to market. Google is said to be working on its own service, and since the company now can brag that it has the world's most popular smart phone platform, it has an obvious advantage in the mobile marketplace. (Incidentally, Android tablets are also projected to surpass iPad shipments this year.)

Aside from cutting deals with record labels, the biggest hurdle Apple faces is reaching listeners. And it cannot do that on its own. It's not about computers and iPods, it's about cars.

"Fifty percent of all radio listening is in the car today," notes TuneIn CEO John Donham. Furthermore, nearly every automaker in the world has connected its cars to online streaming music services, from Aha to Pandora, Porsche to Ford. Getting a music app into a car, however, is not an easy feat.

"The fragmentation in automotive platforms is the largest barrier to entry for tech companies to develop in cars," says Jake Sigal, CEO of Livio, which helps music services and other apps make the connection to automobiles. "Pandora has set the bar since 2008 working with auto companies across multiple mobile devices and automotive platforms," he notes.

So any company that wants to reach car listeners -- or for that matter people listening on smart TVs or Internet connected stereo equipment -- is going to have to cooperate with scores of different manufacturers (including telling them when a new cable connector is going to appear). Playing well with others is not a hallmark of Apple.

On the other hand, there's a new sheriff at Apple and the company has made a lot of smart moves that don't always follow conventional wisdom, such as recently apologizing to Chinese consumers about the company's warranty policies (this was a very intelligent move). And it's impossible to judge an iRadio service until we listen to it. Is it better at making recommendations? Is the sound quality better? Does it have more songs?

TuneIn's Donham, who sees an Apple entry as competing more with the likes of Pandora and Spotify than traditional radio, thinks it could be "potentially a great thing." It will increase consumer awareness of streaming digital music in general and spur adoption. "But Apple has a lot of catching up to do. So it's a story that's going to play out over the next 5 to 7 years," he says.

Follow John R. Quain on Twitter @jqontech or find more tech coverage at J-Q.com.

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Get the strike fighter experience in Latin America at the LAAD 2013 defense show

A Boeing Super Hornet in transit to Denmark in 2009, flying with the Royal Danish Air Force.The Boeing Company

Want to know what it feels like to fly a U.S. strike fighter in aerial combat? Then Rio de Janeiro is the place for you -- well, it was, anyway.

With the U.S. military suffering under sequestration, American defense giants and their fellows from around the world converged on Rio de Janeiro to win business from the ever-growing Latin American military budgets at the biannual LAAD 2013 defense show, which ran April 9 - 12.

Want to fly a U.S. strike fighter?
Boeing played it very smart and made the Super Hornet experience available to potential buyers and mere attendees of the show. A finalist in Brazil’s F-X2 fighter competition, the Super Hornet is in service with the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force.

While Boeing also brought unmanned systems, it was the company’s Super Hornet simulator that demonstrated both single-seat E and two-seat F model capabilities that made a big splash.

Potential buyers could jump in and hone their takeoff and landing skills not just on a runway, but also an aircraft carrier.

The simulator included a front and rear cockpit where you could even have a go at air-to-ground targeting and aerial combat.

Robots
Robots are always crowd-pleasers, and Northrop Grumman featured robots big and small at the show.

On the larger side, Northrop also brought the mid-sized vehicle CaMeL, short for Carry-all Mechanized Equipment Landrover, essentially an unmanned ground vehicle.

Capable of carrying 1,000 pound of equipment, CaMeL is used for a range of tasks from lightening a dismounted soldier’s load to mine clearing and casualty evacuations.

This clever CaMeL can also be used as a retransmission platform, a robotic weapon system or for ammo, food and water resupply.

It runs on both a battery and diesel and can travel at speeds of 5 mph over varied terrain. Power efficient, this robot can provide about 20 hours of continuous operations on 3.5 gallons of fuel.

On the other hand, the tiny, 23-inch high Titus -- one of the company’s new unmanned ground vehicles -- can be controlled with a something similar to a gaming console. Particularly handy for those hard to reach places, it can navigate narrow 16-inch pathways and move at a speed of 7.5 mph.

Location, location, location
Impossible to miss smack dab in the entry to the most bustling hall, BAE Systems secured prime real estate at LAAD 2013. It was one of the more convivial stands, which is hardly surprising given BAE’s ongoing wins with Brazilian armed forces.

Successes like the armored personnel carrier M113, acquired by the Brazilian Army, were prominently featured. Designed for rough terrain, high-speeds on roads and even amphibious operations, the M113 can carry thirteen including the driver.

A popular combat vehicle, there are more than 80,000 internationally with more than 44 countries.

Wolves, Hurricanes and more
A wide range of Israeli companies performed very well at LAAD, but it was Hatehof’s massive vehicles that were spotlight stealers.

Hatehof recently won domestic contracts with the Israeli police and Ministry of the Interior and featured a suite including the Wolf, Navigator and Hurricane.

Wolf was developed for the Israel Defense Forces for use in urban and challenging terrain missions. The 9 ton, armored four-by-four can carry up to nine soldiers.

The Navigator, a massive MRAP, weighs about 18.5 tons and carries up to 13 soldiers. It has a high level of protection of up to 14 kg for underbelly mines.

Navigator is designed to defend soldiers from IEDs and RPGs. It has STANAG Level 3 protection and can be upgraded to Level 4.

On the lighter side at 9 tons, Hurricane is a more lightly armoured, lighter in weight vehicle with more maneuverability.

It can carry up to seven soldiers and also has a STANAG protection Level 3 with the potential to increase to Level 4.

Hatehof's Riot Control Vehicles have a pick and mix of configurations and add-ons including armored cabins, jamming systems and day and night cameras.

With these vehicles designed to defeat riots, a customer can also choose from an array of non-lethals such as water, dye, skunk, gas and foam.

Sky Nets and Battlefield Tactical Radar
Thales is dominating in Latin America sky nets - with 140 operational radars, 250 Navaids and 26 TopSky-ATC deployed in air traffic control and surveillance – they already cover more than half of the airspace.

France-based Thales has been building relationships with Latin America for more than four decades.

Focusing on combining radar and non-radar tech to optimize surveillance coverage, state of the art tech to improve safety was showcased including TopSky-Safety Nets for airspace and TopSky-Tower for the ground.

The joint-venture between Raytheon and Thales, ThalesRaytheonSystems, did a Latin reveal on their air defense tech the Ground Master 400.

The mobile long-range air defense 3-D radar with adaptable towers detects the full range of very high to very low altitudes. It is designed to track tough targets like drones, cruise missiles and aircraft flying at only several hundred feet above ground.

With more than 600 systems in service internationally, the company says it is the world leader in battlefield tactical radars.

New to the party
Turkey and UAE are two recent additions to the largest defense exhibition in Latin America. This year UAE presence grew bringing fifteen companies at this year’s national pavilion including Tawazun, Sofia Trading, Emirates Advanced Investments Group and Advanced Integrated System.

Turkey brought ten defense companies across the spectrum from shipbuilding through to ammunition.

And then there was Pakistan
Pakistan made its debut this year at LAAD.

The largest state-owned defense conglomerate, Global Industrial & Defence Solutions, brought a range of unmanned aerial vehicles or “drones.” Remote controlled or self-controlled, these drones are designed for surveillance monitoring and other purposes.

They also featured their ANZA-MK II surface to air missiles, Baktar Shikan anti-tank guided missiles.

Allison Barrie

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Cars that squeal (on you)

March 27, 2013: Ford cars are among those on display at the New York International Auto Show, in New York's Javits Center.AP Photo/Richard Drew

Just when you thought it was safe behind the wheel of your large automobile, government attorneys are trying again to monitor your movements.

Back in 2011, the Supreme Court ruled against the Justice Department stating that warrantless GPS tracking by government authorities amounted to unreasonable search and was thus protected by the constitution. The case involved police that had monitored the location of a suspect's SUV, a modern-day version of GPS eavesdropping.

However, yesterday, a U.S. Assistant District Attorney at an appeals court hearing on a different case in Philadelphia argued that planting a GPS device on a suspect's vehicle -- without a warrant -- followed relevant legal precedents.

Disturbing as many motorists may find the idea of a GPS device sending authorities messages about their every movement without any judicial oversight, this particular case is just the tip of the potential iceberg.

A flood of data about drivers is about to be unleashed, and there are few if any laws protecting privacy in this area.

A veritable flood of data about drivers -- every turn of the wheel, every application of the brakes -- is about to be unleashed into the open market. (Some privacy advocates argue that it's already out there, thanks to smartphones.) And at the moment, there are few if any laws protecting privacy in this area or specifying how or for what purposes such information can be used.

To give you an inkling of what's to come, today at the New York International Auto Show, Ford officially launched a new experimental program that will allow researchers to access not just basic car diagnostic data, but also details about driver behavior that was until now restricted to, well, just to the car. The idea is to help developers create innovative safety, fuel economy, and personalization features. You could be alerted that there's black ice ahead, for example, based on the information sent from other vehicles ahead of you on the road. Or a dashboard device could tell you ways to improve fuel economy (slow down and avoid traffic ahead).

No final products will come of the Ford program without the automaker's approval (a separate arrangement with the company will have to be made before any product hits the real world). However, the open source initiative -- the first of its kind -- offers a glimpse at a future in which information such as aggressive braking, rapid steering wheel turns, and wiper blade activity are all shared among commercial app developers and companies.

Drivers are very sensitive when it comes to sharing such information. There's something very personal about the American automobile, and even small perceived violations of that status are met with opprobrium. Witness the reaction from owners when GM decided to change its OnStar terms and conditions with amendments that would allow it to sell driving data to outside companies.

The reaction of GM owners was vociferous, to say the least, and GM ended up backtracking. Ford is well aware of GM's public relations missteps, and Ford representatives emphasize that the company is sensitive to these concerns. It wants to focus on safety and fuel economy, offering for example, driving tips (you didn't come to a full stop at that sign) and advice (you're accelerating too hard and wasting gas).

While the private market may be sensitive to consumer's concerns -- and any possible backlash -- government authorities need not be as receptive. They want to be able to use all available technology to thwart crime. Already, cameras in many cities and towns, such as Tiburon, California, record, track, and check every license plate that enters their municipalities. LPR or license plate readers are common, so why stop there? GPS tracking may seem relatively innocuous by comparison.

Stopping criminal activity is no doubt a laudable goal, but randomly searching every residence is not allowed. So too should the warrantless use of such digital tools to monitor our movements be illegal.

The Supreme Court decision on this issue hinged partly on people's expectation of privacy (citing an article by this reporter on the topic). We clearly do things behind the wheel (singing off-key to an Adele song or swearing like a truck driver) that we would not do in public. Conversely, the 20-something crowd that's grown up with Web cams and smart phones that record our movements and messages seems less worried about privacy. So if more people expect less privacy, could this right evaporate?

There are some bills before Congress intended to prevent just anyone, such as a private detective or security firm, from tracking you with a GPS device. The Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act (H.R. 1312), introduced in the House by Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and in the Senate by Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), would restrict such use and require warrants. It's particularly important in light of the fact that soon every car will be built with a black box that could contain a wealth of such information.

But even without legislation or court rulings, criminals will soon catch on and adopt measures to stymie police monitoring. GPS jammers are illegal but cheap and readily available, for example. So anyone with bad intent could still evade the authorities. Meanwhile, the rest of us would still be followed along the open road.

Follow John R. Quain on Twitter @jqontech or find more tech coverage at J-Q.com.

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Romney Must Block Huntsman, Keep GOP Field Divided

As Mitt Romney moves into official campaign mode, he might be excused for wondering what’s so great about being a frontrunner anyway.

In a tumultuous Republican field, Romney is as close as the party has to an actual frontrunner. He has the staff, organization and cash that come with the title. Most polls do show him in the lead, but narrowly and often neck and neck with folks who aren’t running like Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani.

And what does he get for a 15 percent share of a five or six way race? A big target painted on his back as the “establishment candidate.” Since the Republican establishment has been a dying elephant for a long time, the brand is almost all downside. It lets your primary opponents beat you up and doesn’t add much electoral weight in early primaries.

History shows a considerable advantage for establishment candidates. The last four Republican presidential nominees have been products of the institutional GOP. But an informal survey of the professional political class in Washington doesn’t suggest that Romney has the same kind of lock-step support that his predecessors enjoyed.

It may be the nasty fight in the 2008 primaries. Unlike McCain’s 2000 upstart campaign, Romney chased the frontrunner deep into the primary calendar and traded a lot of body blows with not only McCain but Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani.

So Romney gets branded as the inside man, even though he isn’t. Not fun.

Romney’s natural advantages beyond his money and organization relate to geography (the former Massachusetts governor owns a home in New Hampshire), his resume as a successful businessman (many Republicans wondered how much better than McCain Romney might have fared against Barack Obama during an election overshadowed by a financial panic) and his appeal to a more moderate wing of the party (the hybrid of social conservatism and libertarianism in the Tea Party movement has been unsettling to many rock-ribbed Republicans).

Romney’s biggest advantage, though, has been what all of his frontrunner forbearers had going for them: inevitability. Romney’s team makes a convincing case that while Republican voters may not be swooning, their candidate is the only one who can go the distance. The scenario they paint is that Romney will come out of the early primaries with wins in New Hampshire, Nevada and Florida and be ready to outgun and outlast whoever wins the other two key early contests in Iowa and South Carolina.

And if that comes to pass, there’s no doubt that Romney would be in a good position to grind out a hard-fought win. By April 2012, Republicans would start closing ranks and helping the frontrunner to fend off attacks from the more conservative members of the field.

But for that inevitability strategy to work, Romney needs to head off two serious threats now forming.

The first is from former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, fresh from his stint as Obama’s ambassador to China. As Huntsman is testing the waters for a run, he has paid particular attention to New Hampshire and Florida. They’re both must-win states for Romney precisely because they are places where a well-financed moderate can succeed. Huntsman’s support for gay civil unions and global warming fees might be deadly in Iowa and South Carolina, but not disqualifying in New Hampshire and Florida.

Huntsman’s family fortune is larger than Romney’s personal wealth and he doesn’t have to lug around a health care law that helped lay the groundwork for Obama’s national plan. Huntsman may be little known, but he also gets to start with fewer negative perceptions.

There is also the issue of their shared Mormon faith. Romney, who is devout, has struggled with how to explain and defend his beliefs to evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics who are skeptical of the Utah-based faith. Huntsman, meanwhile, told Time magazine that it was “tough to define” whether he was still a member of the faith and described himself as “very spiritual.” Romney may get credit for constancy, but it’s still not a topic on which he wants to spend much time.

Romney’s first task will be to scuttle Huntsman’s ambitions. Ideally for Romney, Huntsman would opt against a run. But if he does mount a campaign, stopping the attack from the left in New Hampshire and Florida has to become job number one for Romney.

The second threat to Romney’s inevitability strategy is an alternative candidate emerging too soon. The best scenario for Romney is that the rest of the field remains unsettled for as long as possible and that when it finally does take shape, the electorate’s divided loyalties continue to let him lead with a relatively small share of support.

A troubling scenario for Romney would be that another candidate, most likely former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty or Texas Gov. Rick Perry, starts rounding up key endorsements this fall. Romney would not like to see Pawlenty rallying with governors Chris Christie and Jeb Bush or Perry hand in hand with Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee.

If Romney can make it into March without a single rival emerging, it will probably be too late for anyone to bring him down. If the various blocs of the party start looking past the long shots and marshalling their forces behind the big names in the race in August or September, Romney could see the air go out of his inevitability balloon very quickly.

Chris Stirewalt is FOX News’ digital politics editor. His political note, Power Play, is available every weekday morning at FOXNEWS.COM.

Chris Stirewalt

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Where to buy aircraft carriers, missiles and Glocks in Rio

April 9, 2013: A Taurus Tracker .357 magnum gun and bullets are displayed at the Defence and Security International Exhibition Latin America Aero and Defence (LAAD) trade show in Rio de Janeiro.REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
April 9, 2013: A man holds a Galil ACE 31 assault rifle at the Defence and Security International Exhibition Latin America Aero and Defence (LAAD) trade show in Rio de Janeiro.REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
April 9, 2013: People check the Maverick, an internal security vehicle, at the Defence and Security International Exhibition Latin America Aero and Defence (LAAD) trade show in Rio de Janeiro .REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
April 12, 2011: A woman holds a SUS-RB57 virtual gunnery simulator as she participates in a simulation training during the Latin America Aero and Defence (LAAD) trade show in Rio de Janeiro.REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
April 9, 2013: A woman at her Emirates Advanced Research and Technology Holdings LCC (EARTH) booth smiles during the Defence and Security International Exhibition Latin America Aero and Defence (LAAD) trade show in Rio de Janeiro.REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

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More than 720 companies from Russia, Israel, South Korea and all over the world have come to Rio to flog their guns, ammo, aerospace tech, corporate security and more at the largest defense and security tech show in South America.

Held every other year in Brazil, the mammoth LAAD Defence and Security International Exhibition runs April 9 to 12 and has wall-to-wall equipment, services and technology for armed forces, police and special forces.

And it’s a surprisingly entertaining show.

Compared to other big events on the international defense show circuit, LAAD is less stuffy and more Rio: By 5 p.m. on day one, many of the defense giants had already cracked open the hospitality spreads. From champagne, wine and beer through to drinks with national signature liquors, it was the place to shop for the latest in defense and security tech -- if you like to do business Don Draper-style, that is.

Opening later in the morning than most big international weapons shows (we’re looking at you, SHOT Show), it means those buying and selling can make the most of the hospitality before doing deals in Rio’s most glamorous hotspots, the beaches of Copacabana or Ipanema.

As you may expect from a country that churns out international supermodels, even the staff manning the security checkpoints and information desks look like they came the books of modeling agencies.

Firearms are not permitted inside LAAD, as you might expect at a massive defense show. As you enter the outer security perimeter, you hand your guns and ammunition to women who look like Victoria's Secret Angels, who arrange for their safekeeping.

Inside the show, LAAD’s sprawling layout incorporates the outdoors far more seamlessly than other shows, and transitioning from one area to another involves a stroll outdoors, with a dramatic backdrop of the mountains.

The big business of defense

While the atmosphere may be less uptight and stuffy, big business is still being done. Defense and security companies from all over the world use this show to woo commanders, commissioners and police chiefs, those particularly from Brazil and Latin America.

While countries like the United States and Great Britain may be focused on downsizing, the Latin market is still hungry to buy big.

Brazil in particular has two very high-profile events coming up: soccer’s World Cup and the Summer Olympics, which bring with them tough security challenges.

Latin American armed forces uniforms abound at the show, with active duty personnel dominating the space. Brazilian ministers, senior government staff and military working on defense procurement are all walking the floor.

For countries in the market to amp up their defense and security tech, the number of options has grown considerably since the last LAAD. In a mere five years, the LAAD show has grown fivefold in size. Business is so big that it has required an additional four halls to provide enough space for defense companies to showcase their tech.

More than 720 companies are represented, up from the 663 exhibitors at LAAD’s last show. For those who came to sell, this year’s potential buyer line-up also far outstripped the last show. In 2011, there were 63 official delegations from 61 countries and nearly 26,000 visitors from 54 countries walking the floors.

Attendees have increased about 20 percent with more than 30,000 visitors expected and 65 official delegations from Brazil, Latin America and other countries.

Many countries have chosen to participate with national pavilions.

China, Russia, Israel, India, France, Germany, Turkey, South Africa, Australia, South Korea and the UK have the largest of these national pavilions this year. Home country Brazil also has a very big presence including separate areas for each armed force.

Newer countries tapping the Latin market through LAAD include UAE, China, Pakistan, Belarus and Singapore. From the Middle East, Pakistan and Israel have the biggest presence.

In addition to home country Brazil, Latin countries Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Uruguay have also shown up in full force looking to sell and to shop.

Allison Barrie

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Copyright Alert System lets content providers monitor your traffic, penalize illegal file sharers

Apple's "1984" commercial depicted Windows-based computer makers as Big Brother. But a new copyright-control law may be turning your ISP into Big Brother instead.Apple

I know people who do it. You probably know people who do it. And we're not talking about falling in love.

File sharing, the euphemism for copying and sharing copyrighted material without paying, was one of the early hallmarks of the digital, anything-goes-on-the-Internet age. Names like Napster became synonymous with killing the music industry. And there were countless lawsuits against groups and individuals aimed at curbing illegal sharing -- but nothing seemed to work.

Now, the concern is that the same fate will befall the movie business. With higher speed networks, it's nearly as easy to share "Argo" as it is to share Adele. And everything is connect to the Web, from phones to TVs, so the movie and TV companies and individual content creators are worried.

So a new industry initiative has been launched that may turn your Internet service provider (ISP) into the unofficial Web police, curbing access for perceived abusers and forcing offenders to take remedial courses in copyright rules.

A new industry initiative may turn your ISP into unofficial Web police, curbing access for perceived abusers and forcing offenders to take remedial courses in copyright rules.

Last week, the Copyright Alert System was officially launched. Created by the recording and film industry, it essentially deputizes copyright holders who stealthily monitor peer-to-peer networks for illegal sharing of movies, TV shows, and music. When they notice material is being illegally shared, they contact the crook's ISP, which in turn will send a warning message to the subscriber. After six strikes, the ISP will do more than spam you; it can choose to slow your access speed, temporarily downgrade you to a lower-tier service, or automatically direct you to a special landing page until you contact them or complete an online education program.

How can participating ISPs, which include AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon, be sure you're doing something illegal? The Center for Copyright Infringement says it has a “rigorous process” to make sure the content is illegal and they have a process for appealing alleged violations. But it will cost you $35, and there's no rule about how long an appeal will take (although you will get the money back if you win).

If this all sounds like something digital vilgilantism, it is.

Proponents, which include the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, say its not about prosecution or persecution, it's about educating consumers. However, the Copyright Alert System seems like its waving a red flag in front of attorneys. Can you say, lawsuit?

Furthermore, the Alert system isn't likely to catch the big pirates and peer-to-peer provocateurs. Those people are sophisticated enough to use software that defeats online traces (or at least makes it incredibly difficult). Indeed, free programs like Tor that were created to protect political protesters and dissidents from persecution are often used by people looking to disguise their identities. In fact, Tor has become so popular with other criminal elements online that security firms today routinely tag such Tor traffic as spreading malware.

Perhaps a better solution to prevent illegal sharing would be to make it easier for consumers to rent or buy movies and shows. It has become easier, with services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, but it's still a fragmented market with wild price changes, confusion about digital purchases, and the persistence of “windows,” the term used in the business to describe staggered release dates (you can buy the DVD, but you can't rent it ... until later).

In fact, make it easier to follow the law, and people will generally give up the hassle of managing peer-to-peer networks and surreptitious downloads. At least, that seems to be the lesson learned in the music business.

Music revenues are up for the first time since 1999. A meager 0.3 percent in 2012 over the previous year to $16.5 billion, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, but it seems to show that the tide is turning. According to the NDP Group, the easy access of streaming services and readily available files for sale has meant that illegal sharing is down about 20 percent. Granted, no one in the music business is going to start partying like it's 1999. We're no where near sales like that, which amounted to $27.8 billion that year.

Sorting out the digital movie business is going to take time. Meanwhile, there's the Copyright Alert System. Well, at least they won't be suing moms for sharing copies of “Happy Birthday” online.

Follow John R. Quain on Twitter @jqontech or find more tech coverage at J-Q.com.

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Backpack creates instant maps for dangerous missions

A map automatically generated by the EMAPS system of a ship. The red line marks the path travelled on the ship, and the colors show radiation levels on board.The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
An Johns Hopkins engineer uses EMAPS aboard a ship to generate a map.The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

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Some missions require U.S. operators to enter dangerous environments where they don’t know the layout and can’t access GPS. Fortunately, a small cube may instantly give them a 3D map of what lies ahead.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency charged Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory engineers with creating the Enhanced Mapping and Positioning System (EMAPS).

Weighing in at less than 4 pounds, the basic EMAPS is a cube about 6 inches across.

The portable mapping system is so compact and lightweight it can be carried in a backpack. As a warfighter walks, it instantly captures an area floor plan with a 270-degree laser scanner that measures both features particular to the environment and the distances to walls.

Using lasers and sensors, the tech also takes 360-degree photos and sensor readings.

Suppose you’ve boarded an enemy ship suspected to be carrying WMDs. GPS may not be available, but this little piece of tech will create an instant map to assist the team navigating the ship’s corridors with you.

What if you’ve been tasked to search for a terrorist hiding deep underground in a cave? GPS won’t be available, but this new system will automatically create annotated maps showing you every nook ahead.

How does it work?
EMAPS takes algorithms that were originally developed for robots and applies them to a system for humans.

Using LIDAR (light, detection and ranging sensors), it works while operators walk through an area carrying the tech in a backpack. The algorithms also importantly correlate threats like radiation levels and useful information such as how weak or strong a signal levels may be, with locations in its mapping.

"EMAPS virtually takes pictures with every step,” explained Johns Hopkins engineer Jason Stipes. “Using this technology, we can map almost every nook and cranny of targeted locations, capture that intelligence, and store it."

To georegister the data, EMAPS can be connected to a GPS receiver in some environments. The information is relayed and an onboard computer stores and processes data as the warfighter is mapping.

In 2010 the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Army Research Office funded a reconnoitering the University of California, Berkeley. This team developed a laser backpack for 3-D mapping of difficult interior terrain.

Greatly improving upon the very time-consuming laborious stop/start approach to collecting data, the UC Berkeley system also collects data while the operator is walking,

Smithsonian to ship engine rooms
Open areas and environments, like long hallways, have proven a challenge to map. The research team’s new algorithms mean they too can also be successfully captured.

From office buildings to complex ship engine rooms, corridors several miles long can now be mapped with their system.

EMAPS has collected more than 100 hours of GPS-denied environments. Their mapping feats include Army training areas, ships and underground storage facilities – and the infamously labyrinth-like Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

While the Smithsonian may not have the underground maze popularized in fiction, it does have tunnels connecting the buildings and even a very narrow one between the Castle and Museum of Natural History.

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Android, iPhone? Nope. The new battle is to be number 3

By John R. Quain

Personal Tech

Published February 26, 2013

FoxNews.com

Remember when the high-tech hype came from trade shows focused on consumer electronics and computers? Today, it's shifted to mobile phones and wireless devices, and Mobile World Congress currently underway in Barcelona.

And some of the most interesting new introductions are aimed not at well-heeled techno-geeks but at regular folks with budgets and responsibilities.

Just last year, analysts and reviewers were ridiculing the new wave of phablets or super phones being announced at the 2012 Mobile World Congress. Those are the oversized, big-screen smartphones that were even mocked on Nickelodeon's teen sitcom "iCarly." Samsung proved the critics wrong, ushering in an era of phones with 4.5-, 4.7-, and even 5-inch screens.

The company recognized that since we rarely use phones to make phone calls any more, larger screens are better for surfing the Web, posting to Facebook, and finding your way to the nearest Starbucks.

However, this year the big news is the fight not to be number one in the market or even number two. Google and Apple have already nailed down those positions. No, the battle over the next 12 months is going to be for the number three spot.

Blackberry has already announced its touch-screen BlackBerry Z10 model, which will launch in the U.S. in a few weeks. But while the company still has a foothold with some business users, the Z10 is expected to be priced at around $200, with a contract commitment. That's in the same pricing wheelhouse as high-end Android and iOS handsets; tough competition indeed. Those prices may also subvert BlackBerry's goals as other companies rush to cut prices.

For example, another former star of the cell phone galaxy, Nokia, is introducing an inexpensive Windows Phone 8 at the show. The snazzy Lumia 520 will cost roughly €140 in Europe, without any subsidies. So that means when it rolls out in the U.S. later this year on T-Mobile it will be probably be free -- with a contract, of course.

And then there's the Chinese firm Huawei, which is rolling out its own inexpensive Windows Phone 8 model, the Ascend W1. Priced at €120 without a contract, it will doubtless be subsidized as a free phone in the U.S. (The company will try to burnish its brand with a high-end model, too, that supports the LTE Cat 4 high-speed wireless standard with a theoretical download speed of 150Mbps -- depending on the network.)

Can you get cheaper than free? Maybe.

Web browser killer, Mozilla, announced in Barcelona that it will introduce a slew of Firefox OS-based handsets around the world this year. Firefox is already the number two browser behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer; now it's taking aim at the smartphone market.

In its announcement, Firefox said more than a dozen companies have promised to support the new OS, including Sprint Nextel in the U.S. and Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile USA. LG and Huawei plan to make Firefox OS phones, and an early Alcatel model looked sleek and simple. Companies like Twitter have already outlined their plans to make specific apps for the phone.

Mozilla is a non-profit company. And the apps for Firefox OS will be based on HTML 5, the Web language that promises to break open Apple's App store and enable a new generation of software. It could also mean lower costs for developers and the rapid introduction of supporting apps.

A non-profit company competing in the smartphone space?! After the Firefox announcement, I'm betting people at Microsoft were spewing a stream of expletives. How can they compete for the third spot against a(nother) company that essentially gives away its software for free. They must be thinking, "What kind of a &%#@ business is this?"

It's a mature business, that's what it is. That means Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 may be too late. There are already a billion smartphones in use around the world. The competition now is how to put the technology into the hands of the next billion users. Price is likely to be the major factor.

Some analysts may see this trend as a familiar phenomena in mature electronics and technology markets: the race toward the bottom. But that's a good thing for consumers. You'll no longer have to pony up hundreds of dollars for a smartphone that's obsolete in six months.

Now if only the major carriers would lower their prices, too.

Follow John R. Quain on Twitter @jqontech or find more tech coverage at J-Q.com.

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Grapevine: MSNBC pulling back on Trayvon Martin coverage?

And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine...

Change of Tune

MSNBC is being accused of backing off of its coverage of the Trayvon Martin case after new evidence favorable to George Zimmerman -- the man charged with second degree murder in the case -- came to light.

The network spent hours, even full shows, covering the shooting for days after it happened.

But, according to Mediaite, last week after the new evidence about Zimmerman emerged there was not a single mention of the case on MSNBC's prime time programming...not one.

Even Reverend Al Sharpton who had taken his show on the road to cover the Martin case didn't mention it.

Instead, the network's evening programs turned their focus to the possibility of an ad connecting President Obama to Reverend Jeremiah Wright from an alleged pro-Romney group.

Making the Grade

A public elementary school in Manhattan will be the first to require students to study Arabic.

All second through fifth graders will have Arabic lessons twice a week.

The class teacher said it's important for children to learn Arabic because it will soon be a global language like Spanish or French.

So far, the parents association has been largely supportive of the measure. The school is a so-called "choice school" so no students are forced to attend.

Unwelcome Addition

There's quite a stir over a Harvard alumni directory updated ahead of the 50th class reunion.

Among the entries is "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski who is, of course, locked up at the federal supermax prison in Colorado for killing three people and injuring 23 others during a bombing spree,

Kaczynski lists his current occupation as "prisoner" and says his awards are "eight life sentences."

The Harvard Alumni Association regrets publishing the update and issued the following statement -- quote -- "While all members of the class who submit entries are included, we regret publishing Kaczynski's references to his convictions and apologize for any distress that it may have caused others."

A Harvard spokesman says the update was indeed submitted by Kaczynski, but wouldn't say how that was confirmed.

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George Bush says brother Jeb best man for the White House

Former President George W. Bush, left, and Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush.Reuters/AP
The George W. Bush Presidential Center is built on the campus of Southern Methodist University.AP Photo

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Since leaving office in 2009, former President George W. Bush has offered few political insights. But when it comes to his brother, Bush has a firm opinion: Jeb Bush is the best man to be president.

“Yeah, he’d be the best candidate,” Bush tells Parade Magazine in an exclusive interview published today. “I told him he ought to run, and he didn’t answer me. No, he’d be great.

“He’s got a proven track record. He was a governor of a big state. He’s very articulate. He could deliver a convention speech in Spanish. In my judgment, he’s right on the issues, [but] whether he runs or not, I have no idea.”

Bush made his remarks about his brother, former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush, on the proverbial eve of the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, located on the campus of Southern Methodist University, where his wife, Laura Bush once studied.

On April 25, the 43rd president will welcome President Obama, and his three living predecessors — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Bush's father, George H. W. Bush — to the official dedication ceremony.

He and former First Lady Laura Bush offered their opinions – and thoughts – on a wide range of topics for Parade Magazine, including being grandparents, whether the U.S. is safer since Sept. 11, 2001 and the future of Iraq.

Asked whether he believes the world is safer since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, Bush said, “I think it is, because there’s a recognition that there are people who are willing to murder the innocent to achieve their objectives,” Bush reportedly said. “And as a result, our country went on the offense and hardened our defenses.

“You know, prior to 9/11, it seemed like we predicted that oceans could protect us from harm, but it didn’t work.

“And so, yes,” Bush added, “my administration and President Obama’s administration have gone on the offense against people who would do us harm. The ultimate way for there to be peace, however, is for freedom to take root, democracy to take root, where governments are decided by the will of the people. And that’s beginning to happen as a result of the Arab Spring.

“It’s going to take a long time for the process to evolve. But I am optimistic and hopeful that the beginnings of true peace are now being laid in a part of the world in which we better hope there is peace.”

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Fox News Poll: 70 percent say build the Keystone XL Pipeline

Fox News Poll: Majority for building Keystone XL Pipeline

A Fox News poll finds most American voters support building the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. In addition, just over half blame the Obama administration for the recent increase in gas prices.

By a wide 70-23 percent margin, voters support building the pipeline that would transport oil from Canada to refineries in the United States.

Support for the pipeline is mostly unchanged from last year, when 67 percent favored building it and 25 percent were opposed (February 2012).

The three percentage-point uptick in support comes from Democrats: 57 percent say build it, up from 50 percent a year ago. At the same time, support among Republicans holds steady at 87 percent.

Sixty-six percent of independents back the pipeline, down from 69 percent in 2012.

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On Friday, the State Department issued an environmental impact statement for the Keystone pipeline and ultimately concluded there would be “no significant impacts.” It’s unclear how the Obama administration will rule on the pipeline given the competing constituencies -- environmentalists who oppose the pipeline and unions who want the jobs it would bring.

The poll, released Monday, also finds 51 percent of voters think the Obama administration is at least somewhat responsible for the recent increase in gas prices. That includes 24 percent who say the White House is “very” responsible. Some 44 percent don’t think Obama is to blame for their pain at the pump.

Republicans (66 percent) are more likely than independents (44 percent) and Democrats (41 percent) to blame Obama for high prices at the pump.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.78 -- the highest February price on record.

No wonder gas prices topped a list of gripes. The 84 percent of voters who say they are “fed up” with high gas prices, exceeds the number who feel that way about the growing federal budget deficit (81 percent) and gridlock in Washington (78 percent). And to really put it in perspective, it’s almost twice as many as say they are fed up with people having loud cell phone conversations (43 percent).

The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,010 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from February 25 to February 27. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

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