Author: Robin Edgar

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

Adidas now stands for All Day I’m Disconnecting All Servers as owners of ‘smart’ Libra scales furious over bricked kit – don’t trust stuff that needs cloud

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In 2015, German sportswear manufacturer Adidas acquired a plucky Austrian IoT startup called Runtastic, which, among other things, manufactured a $129.99 “smart” scale called Libra. Now that product is being discontinued, preventing owners from synchronising their data or even downloading the app required to use it. In a post published yesterday, Adidas announced the discontinuation Read more about Adidas now stands for All Day I’m Disconnecting All Servers as owners of ‘smart’ Libra scales furious over bricked kit – don’t trust stuff that needs cloud[…]

Microservices guru says think serverless, not Kubernetes: You don’t want to manage ‘a towering edifice of stuff’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Sam Newman, a consultant and author specialising in microservices, told a virtual crowd at dev conference GOTOpia Europe that serverless, not Kubernetes, is the best abstraction for deploying software. Newman is an advocate for cloud. “We are so much in love with the idea of owning our own stuff,” he told attendees. “We end up Read more about Microservices guru says think serverless, not Kubernetes: You don’t want to manage ‘a towering edifice of stuff’[…]

Village Traces 18 Months of Internet Outages to Old TV Set

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A rural village in Wales has been suffering through internet outages and slowdowns for 18 months. The situation baffled technicians until they realized that turning off one man’s TV solved everything. On Tuesday, U.K.-based broadband provider Openreach explained in a release that every morning, around 7 a.m., residents of the Aberhosan village found themselves experiencing Read more about Village Traces 18 Months of Internet Outages to Old TV Set[…]

Amazon Restricts How Rival Device Makers Buy Ads on Its Site

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Some makers of smart speakers, video doorbells and other hardware hit roadblocks buying key ads in search results on Amazon; gadgets made by e-commerce giant get edge. From a report: Amazon.com is limiting the ability of some competitors to promote their rival smart speakers, video doorbells and other devices on its dominant e-commerce platform, according Read more about Amazon Restricts How Rival Device Makers Buy Ads on Its Site[…]

Facebook Fights Climate Change by Mass Banning of Climate Groups

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Just last week, Facebook launched an initiative to uplift climate science. It was wildly misguided, yes, but the company was trying to show it’s down for the cause or something. Now, the company is proving just how devoted to climate activism it is by, um, booting environmental justice organizers from the platform. Tight! Hundreds of Read more about Facebook Fights Climate Change by Mass Banning of Climate Groups[…]

The Nvidia RTX 3080 eBay Debacle Exposed a Scalper Bot Civil War

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, RTX 3080 scalpers pissed off a lot of Nvidia GPU fans by buying up all the graphics cards and attempting to resell them for hundreds of dollars more than the actual MSRP. Unfortunately, this is a common scalper tactic: Buy up as many items of a single product as possible, create a false Read more about The Nvidia RTX 3080 eBay Debacle Exposed a Scalper Bot Civil War[…]

OpenAI Sells out to Microsoft: exclusive license for mega-brain GPT-3 for anything and everything

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft has bagged exclusive rights to use OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology, allowing the Windows giant to embed the powerful text-generating machine-learning model into its own products. “Today, I’m very excited to announce that Microsoft is teaming up with OpenAI to exclusively license GPT-3, allowing us to leverage its technical innovations to develop and deliver advanced AI Read more about OpenAI Sells out to Microsoft: exclusive license for mega-brain GPT-3 for anything and everything[…]

Another body for the Google graveyard: Chrome Web Store payments, citing alternatives – unlike Apple. Costs were 5%, also unlike Apple’s 30%.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google has decided to shut down the Chrome Web Store payments API permanently after what was supposed to be a temporary closure at the start of the year. In January, the internet advertising biz halted the publication of Chrome apps, extensions, and themes in the Chrome Web Store that were either paid-for or took in-app Read more about Another body for the Google graveyard: Chrome Web Store payments, citing alternatives – unlike Apple. Costs were 5%, also unlike Apple’s 30%.[…]

Facebook says it may quit Europe over ban on sharing data with US

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has warned that it may pull out of Europe if the Irish data protection commissioner enforces a ban on sharing data with the US, after a landmark ruling by the European court of justice found in July that there were insufficient safeguards against snooping by US intelligence agencies. In a court filing in Dublin, Read more about Facebook says it may quit Europe over ban on sharing data with US[…]

COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Are a Public Health Threat

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Public health crises have spawned conspiracy theories as far back as when the Black Death ravaged Europe in the 1300s, as people desperately try to make sense of the chaotic forces disrupting their lives. While modern science offers a better understanding of how diseases infect people and how to contain them, COVID-19 conspiracy theories are Read more about COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Are a Public Health Threat[…]

Some managed Netgear switches suddenly need a cloud account to use its full UI. Also may not update security. Time to change vendor.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Netgear has decided that users of some of its managed network switches don’t need access to the equipment’s full user interface – unless they register their details with Netgear first. For instance, owners of its 64W Power-over-Ethernet eight-port managed gigabit switch GC108P, and its 126W variant GC108PP, need to hand over information about themselves to Read more about Some managed Netgear switches suddenly need a cloud account to use its full UI. Also may not update security. Time to change vendor.[…]

Trump Pushes to Reap Extensive Biometric Data From Immigrants, Americans, never delete them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Six million would-be U.S. immigrants face expanded collection of their biometric data, including iris scans, palm-, and voice-prints, facial recognition images, and DNA, under a proposed federal rule. The Department of Homeland Security also for the first time would gather that data from American citizens sponsoring or benefiting from a visa application. Years in the Read more about Trump Pushes to Reap Extensive Biometric Data From Immigrants, Americans, never delete them[…]

Microsoft Sysmon now logs data copied to the Windows Clipboard

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft has released Sysmon 12, and it comes with a useful feature that logs and captures any data added to the Windows Clipboard. This feature can help system administrators and incident responders track the activities of malicious actors who compromised a system. Those not familiar with Sysmon, otherwise known as System Monitor, it is a Read more about Microsoft Sysmon now logs data copied to the Windows Clipboard[…]

The Air Force Has Already Flown a Secret Plane That Could Be Its Next Fighter

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The U.S. Air Force has quietly built and flown a brand-new aircraft prototype that could become its next-generation fighter, the service’s top acquisition official announced Tuesday. Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, revealed during the virtual 2020 Air, Space and Cyber conference that the new aircraft is Read more about The Air Force Has Already Flown a Secret Plane That Could Be Its Next Fighter[…]

All you need to know about FinCEN documents leak

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Leaked documents involving about $2tn of transactions have revealed how some of the world’s biggest banks have allowed criminals to move dirty money around the world. They also show how Russian oligarchs have used banks to avoid sanctions that were supposed to stop them getting their money into the West. It’s the latest in a Read more about All you need to know about FinCEN documents leak[…]

The Hype Machine by Sinan Aral: how does social media form our decisions

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Drawing on two decades of his own research and business experience, Aral goes under the hood of the biggest, most powerful social networks to tackle the critical question of just how much social media actually shapes our choices, for better or worse. Aral shows how the tech behind social media offers the same set of behavior-influencing levers to both Russian hackers and brand marketers—to Read more about The Hype Machine by Sinan Aral: how does social media form our decisions[…]

In A Complete Fluke, A Euro/Jap Spacecraft Is About To Fly Past Venus – And Could Look For Signs Of Life

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Earlier this week, scientists announced the discovery of phosphine on Venus, a potential signature of life. Now, in an amazing coincidence, a European and Japanese spacecraft is about to fly past the planet – and could confirm the discovery. On Monday, September 14, a team of scientists said they had found evidence for phosphine in Read more about In A Complete Fluke, A Euro/Jap Spacecraft Is About To Fly Past Venus – And Could Look For Signs Of Life[…]

Epic’s new filing claims Apple lied about Fortnite’s popularity: Apple used Google Trends data!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There’s a new development in the high-profile game of chicken between Apple and Epic. The Fortnite developer’s latest legal filing claims that Apple “cherry-picked” Google data in its own legal filing earlier this week to support its narrative that Fortnite’s declining popularity is the impetus behind all this drama. Apple has repeatedly argued that Epic Read more about Epic’s new filing claims Apple lied about Fortnite’s popularity: Apple used Google Trends data![…]

The F-35 Lightning II can’t fly in lightning once again

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The most widely used variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is currently unable to fly in thunderstorms after the discovery of damage to one of the systems it uses to protect itself from lightning, its prime contractor Lockheed Martin said Wednesday. To safely fly in conditions where lightning is present, the F-35 relies on Read more about The F-35 Lightning II can’t fly in lightning once again[…]

Facebook Accused of Watching Instagram Users Through Cameras. FB claims “bug”

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook is again being sued for allegedly spying on Instagram users, this time through the unauthorized use of their mobile phone cameras. Bloomberg reports: The lawsuit springs from media reports in July that the photo-sharing app appeared to be accessing iPhone cameras even when they weren’t actively being used. Facebook denied the reports and blamed Read more about Facebook Accused of Watching Instagram Users Through Cameras. FB claims “bug”[…]

Iranian Hackers Beat Encrypted Apps like Telegram, WhatsApp – since 2014

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Iranian hackers, most likely employees or affiliates of the government, have been running a vast cyberespionage operation equipped with surveillance tools that can outsmart encrypted messaging systems — a capability Iran was not previously known to possess, according to two digital security reports released Friday. The operation not only targets domestic dissidents, religious and ethnic Read more about Iranian Hackers Beat Encrypted Apps like Telegram, WhatsApp – since 2014[…]

Estée Lauder products will launch to space. NASA astronauts will fllm them floating around the ISS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The International Space Station has served as the world’s most unique laboratory for two decades, hosting hundreds of scientific experiments, crews of astronauts and even the occasional slime. But now, NASA, one of the space station’s primary operators, is preparing to oversee the largest push of business activity aboard the ISS. Later this month, up Read more about Estée Lauder products will launch to space. NASA astronauts will fllm them floating around the ISS[…]

Google bans stalkerware apps from Android store. Which is cool but… why were they allowed in the first place?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In an update to its Android Developer Program Policy, Google on Wednesday said stalkerware apps in its app store can no longer be used to stalk non-consenting adults. Stalkerware, which the web giant defines as “code that transmits personal information off the device without adequate notice or consent and doesn’t display a persistent notification that Read more about Google bans stalkerware apps from Android store. Which is cool but… why were they allowed in the first place?[…]