Monthly Archives: April 2017

The missile used in North Korea's latest launch didn't fly very far, but it may have been the second test of a technology that worries experts.

The launch Wednesday into waters off North Korea's east coast came shortly before President Trump's first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week, raising speculation that it might have been timed to get their attention.

Initial U.S. and South Korean assessments indicate that it was a KN-15 medium-range missile, whose first known test by North Korea was in February.

The KN-15, known as "Pukguksong-2" in North Korea, uses pre-loaded solid fuel, which shortens launch preparation times, boosts the missiles mobility and makes it harder for outsiders to detect ahead of liftoff. Most North Korean missiles use liquid propellant, which generally must be added to the missile on the launch pad before firing.

The South Korean military said the missile was fired from land near the east coast city of Sinpo and flew about 40 miles. The earlier one in February flew about 310 miles. Analysts were trying to determine if the shorter distance meant Wednesday's launch was a failure.

One expert said it could have been a test of a new missile intended as a stepping stone toward developing a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the U.S. mainland. Kim Dong-yub, an analyst at Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, questioned why North Korea would do a shorter launch of the KN-15.

"There's absolutely no reason for North Korea to fire the KN-15 again this way; the launch measurements show something similar to when developing missiles are flight-tested for the first time for data-gathering purposes," he said.

The KN-15 is believed to be an upgraded version of the submarine-launched "Pukguksong" launched last summer. Many experts say a "Pukguksong-2" missile would be a greater security threat, because it can be launched anywhere from a mobile vehicle. Though submarines are a stealthy way to do that, North Korea doesn't have enough of them.

Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank in Honolulu, said he was expecting North Korea would do something to coincide with the Trump-Xi summit, perhaps conduct a nuclear test. The missile launch may be a precursor, with more to come as the summit starts Thursday, he said.

"I've joked before that they don't mind being hated but they definitely hate to be ignored," Cossa said.

Recent satellite imagery shows possible preparations for a test at North Korea's main nuclear test site, including the laying of communication cables used to initiate a test and collect data.

North Korea's state media have said the world will soon witness what they called "eventful successes" in the country's space development. The United States, South Korea and others call North Korea's space program a cover for its long-range-missile development program.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry called the North's latest missile launch a "reckless provocation" that posed a threat to international peace, while Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said his country lodged a strong protest over the launch.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged the launch in a brief statement but said the U.S. had spoken enough about North Korea and would not comment further.

Trump has said China must do more to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear program. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday that all sides needed to be involved.

"If we are serious about solving this issue, we need to tackle the root of it," she said at a regular news briefing. "We need to balance the interest of each side. China wants to make efforts with all sides involved, to make denuclearization a reality and ensure peace in the region."

Analysts say North Korea might time nuclear and long-range rocket tests to the April 15 birthday of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un.

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North Korea is pushing hard to upgrade its weapons systems to cope with what it calls U.S. hostility. Many weapons experts say the North could have a functioning nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the continental U.S. within a few years. North Korea carried out two nuclear tests last year.

The North's latest missile launch also came during annual military drills between the United States and South Korea. North Korea sees the drills as an invasion rehearsal.

Two weeks ago, the South Korean and U.S. militaries said they had detected a failed North Korean ballistic missile launch. Earlier in March, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that flew about 620 miles, with three of them landing in waters that Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone.

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North Korea may have tested new technology in latest missile - Los Angeles Times

Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) have surged over 30% in 2017, thanks mostly to a favorable pricing environment that helped it post stellar second-quarter numbers. The maker of memory chips is riding the wave of tight supply and strong demand for DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and NAND chips, and it won't be running out of fuel anytime soon, if its latest outlook is any indication.

Micron's third-quarter revenue could jump 86% year over year at the midpoint of its revenue guidance range of $5.2 billion to $5.6 billion, which seems achievable thanks to booming memory demand and robust pricing. In fact, the memory specialist's DRAM pricing shot up 21% last quarter, while NAND sales jumped 18%.

Image source: Getty Images.

Micron's favorable market dynamics should last beyond 2017, as it is gaining traction in fast-growing areas such as specialty and server DRAM, while supply will remain tight. Additionally, the company is on track to take advantage of the booming 3D NAND market, which could help sustain its impressive momentum.

Micron gets close to two-thirds of its revenue from DRAM chips, with server and specialty DRAM accounting for almost 45% of this segment. These two subsegments could substantially boost its sales in the long run, as they cater to fast-growing markets.

Server DRAM, for instance, plays a critical role in helping data centers process large data volumes at fast speeds, allowing servers to take on more workloads and reduce operational costs. This is great news for Micron's server DRAM business, since server workloads will increase in leaps and bounds as data traffic grows.

Cisco forecasts a sevenfold increase in mobile data traffic until 2021, so data centers need to be upgraded using the modular approach for faster processing to tackle the growing volume. Modular data centers help bring additional capacity in small amounts, and can also be deployed in far-flung areas where permanent structures are not needed.

MarketsandMarkets estimates that modular data-center demand and related equipment sales could triple by 2020 as compared to 2015, indicating that server DRAM demand will increase. On the other hand, Micron's specialty DRAM segment should also accelerate thanks to fast-growing markets such as gaming and automotive.

In fact, Micron is already supplying its GDDR5X DRAM to NVIDIA for the latest GTX 1080Ti graphics card. This could be a big deal, as the latter company leads the booming graphics processing unit (GPU) market, which could double by the end of the decade. Not surprisingly, Micron believes that DRAM demand will grow at an annual pace of 20% to 25% until 2019.

Meanwhile, Micron's NAND flash business -- which is 30% of total revenue -- has a terrific catalyst in the form of 3D NAND. Allied Market Research forecasts that the 3D NAND space is set to grow at an annual pace of 33.7% until 2022, to $39 billion, as smartphone storage capacities increase. As a result, Micron is going to invest $1.7 billion on 3D NAND technology this year to ramp up output, as it doesn't want to miss the gravy train.

Micron's rivals Samsung and SK Hynix halted DRAM production in mid-2016 owing to an inventory glut, which led to a sharp price jump because they controlled almost 75% of the market. Micron used this time to improve its competitive position in DRAM by transitioning to a more efficient 18-nanometer node. As research company Market Realist points out, Samsung and SK Hynix will start moving to this platform in the second half of the year.

Micron's technology lead has given it an advantage over rivals; waiting times for the new equipment needed to make DRAM chips are pretty long, indicating that it can capture more market share. NAND supply, on the other hand, will also remain weaker than demand this year due to a 6% increment in wafer capacity, even as 3D NAND demand picks up pace.

Tighter supply means that Micron's favorable pricing environment will continue in both the DRAM and NAND segments, with IC Insights estimating that memory shipments and prices will increase 5.6% and 1.8% every year until 2021. This will push the market to a size of $110 billion from $77 billion in 2016, paving the way for Micron Technology's growth as it tries to grab a bigger slice of the memory market.

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Why Micron Technology Isn't Done Growing Yet - Motley Fool

T. Rowe Price Group has opened a technology development center in New York City as the Baltimore money manager looks to expand the role of technology in its investment strategies.

The center will employ between 50 and 60 workers, including technical architects, data scientists, software engineers and software developers.

The center will work with other T. Rowe technology groups in Baltimore and London to develop new ideas for how machine learning and advanced analytics can be used to improve the firm's investment and distribution capabilities, said Nigel Faulkner, T. Rowe's chief technology officer, in a statement. It also will work on improving client experience, he said.

"As the firm continues to evolve, with a focus on continuing to meet the needs of our clients, we are investing heavily in technology and putting a strong emphasis on innovation," Faulkner said in a statement. "Broadening our technology skills base will enable us to better use technology to augment our proven investment capabilities, enhancing our ability to sustain our outstanding investment results."

Faulkner described the new technology development center as one of many strategic moves T. Rowe is making as it embarks on "a bold and exciting technology strategy."

Jordan Vinarub, who has 15-years experience in software engineering and development operations, has joined T. Rowe to lead the technology center.

Vinarub most recently worked as a software development manager for Connecticut-based investment management firm Bridgewater Associates.

The center is temporarily based in the financial district and will move this fall to 233 Park Ave. in Midtown South.

sarah.gantz@baltsun.com

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T. Rowe Price opens technology development center in NYC - Baltimore Sun

Militants have been using drones as deadly weapons in Middle East war zones, raising concerns that terrorists could use drones to launch an attack on U.S.

Bryan Llenas reported on "America's Newsroom" today about the "counter-drone industry," as American companies develop technology to face the growing threat of weaponized drones.

He said that dozens of companies are offering anti-drone "guns" thatdisable a drone's signals, forcing it to land or return to its starting point.

The DroneGun, from the company DroneShield, is reportedly effective from as far as 1.2 miles away.

Llenas said that the company Department 13, on the other hand, is offering software to detect unwanted drones and take full control of them.

He said that so far, the biggest customer for counter-drone technology is the Department of Defense.

"The military continues to put out calls for new methods to stop drones," Llenas reported. "Particularly of concern is the ability to stop a swarm of hundreds of drones."

He added that it's not just the military, though, as prisons, stadiums and airports have expressed interest in this technology.

"The problem is regulations," Llenas said. "About the only people that are able to ... use this technology to shoot down or take control of a drone is the federal government."

Watch Llenas' report above, and check out these Louisiana deputies using a drone and thermal imaging to track teen runaways.

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Companies Developing Technology to Counter Weaponized Drones - Fox News Insider

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Transcranial electrical stimulation was one of many technologies put forward by former President Obamas Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, in July of last year, as part of the Defense Innovation Unit (Experimental) initiative, also known as DIUx. Earlier this year, Naval Special Warfare units, working with DIUx, began a specific cognitive enhancement project with a small group of volunteers to test and evaluate achieving higher performance through the use of neuro-stimulation technology, Capt. Jason Salata toldMilitary.com. SEAL Team Six was reportedly one of the units involved in the testing.

The technology, created by Halo Neuroscience, uses a headset that looks similar to headphones. The technology does not technically result in cognitive enhancement, according to Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Brett Wingeier, but neuro-priming, which stimulates the brain to enter a state of hyper-elasticity, allowing users to learn better and more efficiently.

According to Salata, early results of the technology in the military show promising signs. Rear Admiral Tim Szymanski explained the improvements shown in an experiment involving people watching screens over a long period of time:

In experiments, people who were watching these screens their ability to concentrate would fall off in about 20 minutes But they did studies whereby a little bit of electrical stimulation was applied, and they were able to maintain the same peak performance for 20 hours Theyre training at this amazingly high level, and the amount they can train is actually limited by things like physical recovery They want to be able to maintain those incredible physical standards as efficiently as possible. That helps them avoid injury. If I was to sum it up, its kind of all about just training a little bit smarter.

However, Szymanski also made sure to highlight that while he was interested in more performance-enhancing technologies, he was aware of the possible dangers that may be entailed in future research:

Im always anxious, because Im in a community of risk-takers Guys may want to try experimenting on their own, which is against policy and has to be completely drug-tested and those types of things. So Id want to do that in a very systematic kind of way.

Jack Hadfield is a student at the University of Warwick and a regular contributor to Breitbart Tech. You can like his page on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @ToryBastard_ or on Gab @JH.

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Navy SEALs Testing Electrical Brain Stimulation Technology - Breitbart News