Daily Archives: March 30, 2025

Scientists May Have Discovered How To Extract Power From the Earth’s Rotation

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No more burning fossil fuels, playing with fissile material, damming rivers, erecting wind mills, or making solar panels. All of our energy needs could potentially be supplied by the angular kinetic energy of the Earth — and because of the mass of the planet, doing so would slow its rotation down by a mere 7ms per century. [Which is similar to speed changes caused by natural phenomena such as the Moon’s pull and changing dynamics inside the planet’s core.”]

Normally this would be considered impossible as the Earth’s large and uniform field does not induce a current in conductors, but researchers believe that a hollow cylinder of manganese, zinc and iron can alter the interaction with our planetary magnetic field and allow the extraction of energy from it. So far, the results are positive but still below the level where they cannot be explained by multiple possible causes of experimental error. Further research is required to confirm the effect.
“The effect was identified only in a carefully crafted device and generated just 17 microvolts,” reports Scientific American, “a fraction of the voltage released when a single neuron fires — making it hard to verify that some other effect isn’t causing the observations.”

But if another group can verify the results, the experiment’s lead says the next logical step is trying to scale up the device to generate a useful amount of energy.

Source: Scientists May Have Discovered How To Extract Power From the Earth’s Rotation

Over a million private photos from MAD Mobile dating apps exposed online

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Researchers have discovered nearly 1.5 million pictures from specialist dating apps – many of which are explicit – being stored online without password protection, leaving them vulnerable to hackers and extortionists.

Anyone with the link was able to view the private photos from five platforms developed by M.A.D Mobile: kink sites BDSM People and Chica, and LGBT apps Pink, Brish and Translove.

These services are used by an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 people.

M.A.D Mobile was first warned about the security flaw on 20 January but didn’t take action until the BBC emailed on Friday.

They have since fixed it but not said how it happened or why they failed to protect the sensitive images.

woman in red bondage outfit
This is one of the photos that anyone could have accessed. We have cropped the face and blurred it to enhance privacy

Ethical hacker Aras Nazarovas from Cybernews first alerted the firm about the security hole after finding the location of the online storage used by the apps by analysing the code that powers the services.

He was shocked that he could access the unencrypted and unprotected photos without any password.

[…]

In an email M.A.D Mobile said it was grateful to the researcher for uncovering the vulnerability in the apps to prevent a data breach from occurring.

But there’s no guarantee that Mr Nazarovas was the only hacker to have found the image stash.

“We appreciate their work and have already taken the necessary steps to address the issue,” a M.A.D Mobile spokesperson said. “An additional update for the apps will be released on the App Store in the coming days.”

The company did not respond to further questions about where the company is based and why it took months to address the issue after multiple warnings from researchers.

Usually security researchers wait until a vulnerability is fixed before publishing an online report, in case it puts users at further risk of attack.

But Mr Nazarovas and his team decided to raise the alarm on Thursday while the issue was still live as they were concerned the company was not doing anything to fix it.

[…]

In 2015 malicious hackers stole a large amount of customer data about users of Ashley Madison, a dating website for married people who wish to cheat on their spouse.

Source: Over a million private photos from dating apps exposed online

Meniscus injuries may soon be treated by customizable hydrogel

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Meniscus tears are common knee injuries that have long frustrated patients and doctors due to limited repair options.A new 3D-printed hydrogel made from cow meniscus could transform how these injuries heal, according to results of a pre-clinical study published in Bioactive Materials. from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The meniscus is a complex structure that serves as a critical shock absorber in the knee. and one-size-fits-all treatments aren’t always effective. Through creating a treatment adaptable to the different needs of patients, the researchers believe they may have unlocked a better fix no matter where the injury occurs in a meniscus.

“We developed a hydrogel that can be adjusted based on the patient’s age and the stiffness requirements of the injured tissue, which is important because the meniscus has different biochemical and biomechanical properties that vary depending upon the location in the tissue,” said the study’s senior author, Su Chin Heo, PhD, an assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the McKay Orthopaedic Research Lab at Penn. “Current treatments, including graft-base methods, do not fully recreate these complex differences, leading to poor healing.”

[…]

“In our animal studies, we’ve seen the hydrogel integrate well with the surrounding tissue, potentially offering patients a more complete recovery,” said the study’s first author Se-Hwan Lee, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in the McKay Lab. “It’s a more precise, biologically matched solution. We believe this could outperform current treatments.”

The team is now transitioning from small mammal studies to large animal models.

“Our first clinical goal will be to treat smaller, localized meniscus tears,” Heo said. “Once we have success there, I believe we could expand to more complex injuries in the meniscus.”

[…]

Source: Meniscus injuries may soon be treated by customizable hydrogel | ScienceDaily

Your TV is watching you watch and selling that data

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[…]Your TV wants your data

The TV business traditionally included three distinct entities. There’s the hardware, namely the TV itself; the entertainment, like movies and shows; and the ads, usually just commercials that interrupt your movies and shows. In the streaming era, tech companies want to control all three, a setup also known as vertical integration. If, say, Roku makes the TV, supplies the content, and sells the ads, then it stands to control the experience, set the rates, and make the most money. That’s business!

Roku has done this very well. Although it was founded in 2002, Roku broke into the market in 2008 after Netflix invested $6 million in the company to make a set-top box that enabled any TV to stream Netflix content. It was literally called the Netflix Player by Roku. Over the course of the next 15 years, Roku would grow its hardware business to include streaming sticks, which are basically just smaller set-top-boxes; wireless soundbars, speakers, and subwoofers; and after licensing its operating system to third-party TV makers, its own affordable, Roku-branded smart TVs

[…]

The shift toward ad-supported everything has been happening across the TV landscape. People buy new TVs less frequently these days, so TV makers want to make money off the TVs they’ve already sold. Samsung has Samsung Ads, LG has LG Ad Solutions, Vizio has Vizio Ads, and so on and so forth. Tech companies, notably Amazon and Google, have gotten into the mix too, not only making software and hardware for TVs but also leveraging the massive amount of data they have on their users to sell ads on their TV platforms. These companies also sell data to advertisers and data brokers, all in the interest of knowing as much about you as possible in the interest of targeting you more effectively. It could even be used to train AI.

[…]

Is it possible to escape the ads?

Breaking free from this ad prison is tough. Most TVs on the market today come with a technology called automatic content recognition (ACR) built in. This is basically Shazam for TV — Shazam itself helped popularize the tech — and gives smart TV platforms the ability to monitor what you’re watching by either taking screenshots or capturing audio snippets while you’re watching. (This happens at the signal level, not from actual microphone recordings from the TV.)

Advertisers and TV companies use ACR tech to collect data about your habits that are otherwise hard to track, like if you watch live TV with an antenna. They use that data to build out a profile of you in order to better target ads. ACR also works with devices, like gaming consoles, that you plug into your TV through HDMI cables.

Yash Vekaria, a PhD candidate at UC Davis, called the HDMI spying “the most egregious thing we found” in his research for a paper published last year on how ACR technology works. And I have to admit that I had not heard of ACR until I came across Vekaria’s research.

[…]

Unfortunately, you don’t have much of a choice when it comes to ACR on your TV. You probably enabled the technology when you first set up your TV and accepted its privacy policy. If you refuse to do this, a lot of the functions on your TV won’t work. You can also accept the policy and then disable ACR on your TV’s settings, but that could disable certain features too. In 2017, Vizio settled a class-action lawsuit for tracking users by default. If you want to turn off this tracking technology, here’s a good guide from Consumer Reports that explains how for most types of smart TVs.

[…]

it does bug me, just on principle, that I have to let a tech company wiretap my TV in order to enjoy all of the device’s features.

[…]

Source: Roku’s Moana 2 controversy is part of a bigger ad problem | Vox

Are Vehicle Infotainment Screens Headed for the Scrap Heap?

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[…] As much as carmakers seem to love infotainment screens, consumers are less enthusiastic about them. Just 15% of drivers in 2024 said they would want a full-width infotainment display. Windshield base displays with less functionality are slightly more popular but still appeal to just 18% of those planning on buying a new car.

The growing pushback against vehicle touch screens is ultimately a matter of safety and convenience. While having all your controls in one place sounds useful, navigating between menus to find the right settings can be frustrating, slow, and unsafe if done while driving. It also means basic car functions may be at the mercy of software glitches and lag.

In 2021, Tesla had to recall vehicles because an issue with the flash memory in Tesla infotainment systems made the rearview camera unviewable and took defrost and turn signal functions offline. More recently, a class-action lawsuit against Stellantis alleges that defective infotainment screens led to backup camera failures and distracting audio glitches.

Those same shortcomings, alongside the obvious distracting features of an iPad in your center console, pose safety concerns, too. Navigating between menus takes focus off the road, especially when adjusting a setting takes more steps than it used to. Given that 6,000 pedestrians a year already die in traffic accidents, anything that takes a driver’s eyes off the road isn’t ideal.

Some car brands have started responding to these concerns by toning down the “screenification” of their vehicles. Volkswagen announced it will bring back physical buttons after backlash against its more screen-heavy models. VW CEO Thomas Schäfer said the reliance on touch screens “did a lot of damage” to the brand’s reputation among frustrated drivers.

When VW pivoted to a touch screen-centric interface, Capital One’s Auto Navigator called the controls “aggravating,” as did many other reviewers. Yahoo Autos called it the worst infotainment system they had ever come across. In light of these responses, it’s easy to see why VW would want to move back to physical buttons.

Given this growing push against infotainment touch screens, automakers will likely respond. However, how they choose to balance demands for safety and convenience with new tech is less certain.

Some companies think the solution is to keep digital displays but change how they operate. BMW unveiled a new heads-up display (HUD) at CES 2025 that puts more information along the bottom of the windshield instead of keeping it on the dash. As BMW board member Frank Weber explained, this system means “the driver decides themselves which information they want to display in their own field of vision.” Infotainment-style customization remains present, but it stays within the line of sight while looking at the road.

BMW’s new HUD also lets drivers control these settings through physical buttons on the steering wheel, not just a touch screen. That way, hands can remain on the wheel and eyes can remain forward. Hyundai and Kia have followed a similar approach, giving users a choice between touch or analog controls.

Voice commands have emerged as another alternative. Mercedes introduced ChatGPT-backed voice controls in 2023, and Apple gave CarPlay voice functionality with iOS 18. These don’t make screens go away, but they do offer a way to use them that doesn’t require taking your hands off the wheel or eyes off the road.

As the industry explores these voice-activated solutions, it’s clear that the evolution of infotainment systems is far from over. Growing attention on common issues should kick-start some much-needed changes.

Source: Are Vehicle Infotainment Screens Headed for the Scrap Heap?

Voice commands are spotty at best and incredibly frustrating to use. BMW decided to go buttonless only last year and is sadly sticking to its’ guns whilst the rest of the world is moving on.

Bring back the buttons!