Author: Robin Edgar

Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft

A New Jailbreak for John Deere Tractors wants Right-to-Repair insecure and outdated tech in them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

farmers around the world have turned to tractor hacking so they can bypass the digital locks that manufacturers impose on their vehicles. Like insulin pump “looping” and iPhone jailbreaking, this allows farmers to modify and repair the expensive equipment that’s vital to their work, the way they could with analog tractors. At the DefCon security Read more about A New Jailbreak for John Deere Tractors wants Right-to-Repair insecure and outdated tech in them[…]

Stiff, achy knees? Lab-made cartilage gel outperforms the real thing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Writing in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, a Duke University-led team says they have created the first gel-based cartilage substitute that is even stronger and more durable than the real thing. Mechanical testing reveals that the Duke team’s hydrogel—a material made of water-absorbing polymers—can be pressed and pulled with more force than natural cartilage, Read more about Stiff, achy knees? Lab-made cartilage gel outperforms the real thing[…]

A new method boosts wind farms’ energy output, without new equipment

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Virtually all wind turbines, which produce more than 5 percent of the world’s electricity, are controlled as if they were individual, free-standing units. In fact, the vast majority are part of larger wind farm installations involving dozens or even hundreds of turbines, whose wakes can affect each other. Now, engineers at MIT and elsewhere have Read more about A new method boosts wind farms’ energy output, without new equipment[…]

Hubble sees supergiant Betelgeuse slowly recovering after blowing its top

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Following the titanic mass ejection of a large piece of its visible surface. The escaping material cooled to form a cloud of dust that temporarily made the star look dimmer, as seen from Earth. This unprecedented stellar convulsion disrupted the monster star’s 400-day-long oscillation period that astronomers had measured for more than 200 years. The Read more about Hubble sees supergiant Betelgeuse slowly recovering after blowing its top[…]

Researchers find way to shrink a 3D holographic VR headset down to normal glasses size using pancake lenses and a waveguide

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers from Stanford University and Nvidia have teamed up to help develop VR glasses that look a lot more like regular spectacles. Okay, they are rather silly looking due to the ribbons extended from either eye, but they’re much, much flatter and compact than your usual goggle-like virtual reality headsets today. “A major barrier to Read more about Researchers find way to shrink a 3D holographic VR headset down to normal glasses size using pancake lenses and a waveguide[…]

Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework released

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework is an open-source project, delivering an extensible framework for developing schemas, along with a vendor-agnostic core security schema. Vendors and other data producers can adopt and extend the schema for their specific domains. Data engineers can map differing schemas to help security teams simplify data ingestion and normalization, so that Read more about Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework released[…]

Math error: A new study overturns 100-year-old understanding of color perception

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new study corrects an important error in the 3D mathematical space developed by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger and others, and used by scientists and industry for more than 100 years to describe how your eye distinguishes one color from another. The research has the potential to boost scientific data visualizations, improve TVs Read more about Math error: A new study overturns 100-year-old understanding of color perception[…]

AI ethics: we haven’t thought about including non-human animals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The ethical implications of AI have sparked concern from governments, the public, and even companies.Footnote 1 According to some meta-studies on AI ethics guidelines, the most frequently discussed themes include fairness, privacy, accountability, transparency, and robustness [1,2,3]. Less commonly broached, but not entirely absent, are issues relating to the rights of potentially sentient or Read more about AI ethics: we haven’t thought about including non-human animals[…]

Subsurface water on Mars defy expectations: Physics connects seismic data to properties of rocks and sediments

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new analysis of seismic data from NASA’s Mars InSight mission has revealed a couple of surprises. The first surprise: the top 300 meters of the subsurface beneath the landing site near the Martian equator contains little or no ice. “We find that Mars’ crust is weak and porous. The sediments are not well-cemented. And Read more about Subsurface water on Mars defy expectations: Physics connects seismic data to properties of rocks and sediments[…]

Chinese tickers scam ($HKD and more!) for collateral already down 92%: from $.5 Trillion to $43B

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This is a follow up to the big chinese ticker scam, which became the highest by-market-crap-on-the-books crime in human history, as well as another recent ticker scam. Firstly, good job for staying away from these. MSM did try hard to call them ‘mEmE StOcKs’. MSM tried even harder to push innocent investors like you and Read more about Chinese tickers scam ($HKD and more!) for collateral already down 92%: from $.5 Trillion to $43B[…]

Some Epson Printers Programmed to Eventually Self-Brick

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[…] Haven recently took to Twitter to share a frustrating experience with their wife’s “very expensive @EpsonAmerica printer” which, seemingly out of the blue, displayed a warning message stating that “it had reached the end of its service life.” It then simply stopped working, requiring either a servicing to bring it back from the dead, Read more about Some Epson Printers Programmed to Eventually Self-Brick[…]

SW186 antibody neutralizes SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 (all variants) by binding to a conserved spike epitope outside the receptor binding motif

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Here, we used the LIBRA-seq technology, which identified SARS-CoV-2 specific B cells via DNA-barcoding and subsequently single cell sequenced BCRs, to identify an antibody, SW186, which could neutralize major SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including Beta, Delta, and Omicron, as well as SARS-CoV-1. The cryo-EM structure of SW186 bound to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of Read more about SW186 antibody neutralizes SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 (all variants) by binding to a conserved spike epitope outside the receptor binding motif[…]

Physicist pranks with James Webb Space Telescope photo of a chorizo sausage – some people really have no sense of humor any more

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] On July 31st, Étienne Klein, the director of France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, shared an image he claimed the JWST captured of Proxima Centauri, the nearest-known star to the sun. “It was taken by the James Webb Space Telescope,” Klein told his more than 91,000 Twitter followers. “This level of detail… A Read more about Physicist pranks with James Webb Space Telescope photo of a chorizo sausage – some people really have no sense of humor any more[…]

Apple tells suppliers to use ‘Taiwan, China’ on labels

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple, which celebrates its self-professed commitment to free expression and human rights, has reportedly told its suppliers in Taiwan to label their components so they describe Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). According to Japanese financial publication Nikkei, Apple on Friday warned its suppliers that China has ramped up enforcement Read more about Apple tells suppliers to use ‘Taiwan, China’ on labels[…]

‘Switchblade’ Flying car with foldable wings and a retractable tail gets FAA approval, fits in your garage

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A flying car called “Switchblade” can now be sold in the US market. This three-wheeler can fly at a height of 16,000 feet (4.8 km)in the sky. It runs on premium gasoline and has a maximum air speed of 200 mph (321 km/h) A flying sports car named Switchblade recently passed the safety tests of Read more about ‘Switchblade’ Flying car with foldable wings and a retractable tail gets FAA approval, fits in your garage[…]

Cryptocurrency firm Nomad offers 10% bounty to hackers who stole $190 million

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Hackers recently stole $190 million from cryptocurrency cross-chain token platform Nomad, and now the company says it will pay a bounty to the thieves if they return those assets. Nomad says it will pay the hackers an amount that is worth up to 10% of the stolen funds and call off its lawyers after the Read more about Cryptocurrency firm Nomad offers 10% bounty to hackers who stole $190 million[…]

Roomba Maker iRobot sells out to Amazon for $1.7 Billion cash – now your vacuum will be spying on you too

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.73% is buying Roomba maker iRobot Corp. IRBT +19.23% for $1.7 billion, giving the online retailer another connected-home product that deepens its ties to consumers’ homes. Amazon agreed to pay $61 a share for iRobot in an all-cash deal. The price, which includes a small amount of debt, represents a 22% premium Read more about Roomba Maker iRobot sells out to Amazon for $1.7 Billion cash – now your vacuum will be spying on you too[…]

SpaceX shows that it too can shower the Earth with debris

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Australian media has reported that space debris found in New South Wales was indeed junk from a SpaceX mission, including one piece measuring nearly three meters in length. The black shard, found sticking out of the ground, is presumed to be Elon Musk’s take on 2001’s Monolith. The Register asked SpaceX to clarify, but we Read more about SpaceX shows that it too can shower the Earth with debris[…]

Visa, Mastercard Cancel Ad Pornhub Payments Amid Lawsuit – suspicion is enough apparently

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Visa and Mastercard, two of the world’s largest payment processors, said Thursday that they will suspend payments for ad purchases on Pornhub. The move comes on the heels of a judge allowing a lawsuit to proceed that accuses Visa of knowingly facilitating the spread of child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Read more about Visa, Mastercard Cancel Ad Pornhub Payments Amid Lawsuit – suspicion is enough apparently[…]

Riot Blockchain Made More in Power Credits Than Mining Bitcoin

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At least one big bitcoin mining operation in Texas that was not actually mining much bitcoin during this season’s record-breaking heat netted millions of dollars in profits—more than they would have if they just kept on mining without any shutdowns. It’s thanks to power purchase agreements signed with the local grid, allowing them to sell Read more about Riot Blockchain Made More in Power Credits Than Mining Bitcoin[…]

The Environmental Impact of Solar Panels

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Switch to solar panels to help save the planet,” they say. And they’re (mostly) right. Solar panels are a great source of clean energy because, unlike fossil fuels, solar energy doesn’t produce harmful carbon emissions while creating electricity. But how “clean” is the process of creating solar panels? Ironically enough, solar panel production is reliant Read more about The Environmental Impact of Solar Panels[…]

Pull jet fuel from thin air? We can do that, say scientists

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The aviation industry’s attempts to go green are getting a boost from an unlikely place: carbon-neutral jet fuel pulled from thin air. That may seem far-fetched, but it’s a concept that engineers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) have not only proved experimentally, but apparently proven again at scale. Even better, the fuel Read more about Pull jet fuel from thin air? We can do that, say scientists[…]

EU Digital Markets App (DMA) approved for new rules for fair competition online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] New rules for gatekeepers The DMA defines new rules for large online platforms (“gatekeepers”). They now have to: ensure that unsubscribing from core platform services is just as easy as subscribing ensure that the basic functionalities of instant messaging services are interoperable, i.e. enable users to exchange messages, send voice messages or files across Read more about EU Digital Markets App (DMA) approved for new rules for fair competition online[…]