Author: Robin Edgar

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

The Big Tesla Hack: A hacker gained control over the entire fleet, but fortunately he’s a good guy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In July 2017, Tesla CEO Elon Musk got on stage at the National Governors Association in Rhode Island and confirmed that a “fleet-wide hack” is one of Tesla’s biggest concerns as the automaker moves to autonomous vehicles. He even presented a strange scenario that could happen in an autonomous future: “In principle, if someone was able Read more about The Big Tesla Hack: A hacker gained control over the entire fleet, but fortunately he’s a good guy[…]

Academic Study Says Open Source Has Peaked: But Why?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Open source runs the world. That’s for supercomputers, where Linux powers all of the top 500 machines in the world, for smartphones, where Android has a global market share of around 75%, and for everything in between, as Wired points out: When you stream the latest Netflix show, you fire up servers on Amazon Web Read more about Academic Study Says Open Source Has Peaked: But Why?[…]

Private Intel Firm Buys Location Data to Track People to their ‘Doorstep’ sourced from innocuous seeming apps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A threat intelligence firm called HYAS, a private company that tries to prevent or investigates hacks against its clients, is buying location data harvested from ordinary apps installed on peoples’ phones around the world, and using it to unmask hackers. The company is a business, not a law enforcement agency, and claims to be able Read more about Private Intel Firm Buys Location Data to Track People to their ‘Doorstep’ sourced from innocuous seeming apps[…]

Amazon Prime Air drone delivery fleet gets FAA approval

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon received federal approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday, a milestone that allows the company to expand unmanned package delivery. The approval will give Amazon broad privileges to “safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers,” the agency said. The certification comes under Part 135 of FAA Read more about Amazon Prime Air drone delivery fleet gets FAA approval[…]

How Face Shields and Valve Masks Fail to Stop Infectious Droplets, as Shown by Lasers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new study using lasers suggests that face shields and masks outfitted with an exhaust valve aren’t particularly great at protecting others from tiny respiratory droplets containing contagious germs like the coronavirus that causes covid-19. These aerosols can spill through and around these types of face equipment, the study found, weakening their potential to keep Read more about How Face Shields and Valve Masks Fail to Stop Infectious Droplets, as Shown by Lasers[…]

Engineers Have Figured Out How to Make Interactive Paper

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Engineers at Purdue University have created a printing process by which you can coat paper or cardboard with “highly fluorinated molecules.” This then makes the coated paper dust, oil, and water-repellent, meaning you can then print multiple circuit layers onto the paper without smudging the ink. According to a paper the engineers published in Nano Read more about Engineers Have Figured Out How to Make Interactive Paper[…]

COVID-19 tracing without an app? Google and Apple will ram it down your throat

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google and Apple have updated their COVID-19 contact-tracing tool to make it possible to notify users of potential exposures to the novel coronavirus without an app. The new Exposure Notifications Express spec is baked into iOS 13.7, which emerged this week and will appear in an Android update due later this month. This is not, Read more about COVID-19 tracing without an app? Google and Apple will ram it down your throat[…]

Philips Hue Bridge updates actually kills your old Bridge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Wow, I really really hate that this is a possibility. You spent money on hardware – not some monthly subscription service – where it’s really nice that they add more than just security updates but then: BANG! They kill the hardware, rendering it little more than scrappable junk. Suddenly, it won’t do any of the Read more about Philips Hue Bridge updates actually kills your old Bridge[…]

Brain-Computer Interfaces: U.S. Military Applications and Implications, An Initial Assessment

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has invested in the development of technologies that allow the human brain to communicate directly with machines, including the development of implantable neural interfaces able to transfer data between the human brain and the digital world. This technology, known as brain-computer interface (BCI), may eventually be used to monitor Read more about Brain-Computer Interfaces: U.S. Military Applications and Implications, An Initial Assessment[…]

Cory Doctorow’s New Book Explains ‘How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Blogger/science fiction writer Cory Doctorow (also a former EFF staffer and activist) has just published How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism — a new book which he’s publishing free online. In a world swamped with misinformation and monopolies, Doctorow says he’s knows what’s missing from our proposed solutions: If we’re going to break Big Tech’s death Read more about Cory Doctorow’s New Book Explains ‘How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism’[…]

Cloudflare Blames CenturyLink for Sunday’s Internet Blackout – again

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Widespread internet outages knocked down Cloudflare, the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Amazon, Hulu, and a slew of other sites on Sunday morning, and it’s apparently all because of a single internet service provider: CenturyLink. Given that Cloudflare’s online security services are designed to keep websites up and running, when it went down, so did dozens Read more about Cloudflare Blames CenturyLink for Sunday’s Internet Blackout – again[…]

Xiaomi’s under display camera tech is coming to phones next year

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Under-display cameras do a neat trick, allowing manufacturers to build all-screen phones without complex pop-up selfie cameras. Now, Xiaomi has unveiled its third-generation of under-display cameras and promised that the technology will be coming to the mass market “next year.” Cameras that live under the screen present two problems: creating a dark “hole” on the Read more about Xiaomi’s under display camera tech is coming to phones next year[…]

Visa Unveils More Powerful AI Tool That Approves or Denies Card Transactions

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Visa Inc. said Wednesday it has developed a more advanced artificial intelligence system that can approve or decline credit and debit transactions on behalf of banks whose own networks are down. The decision to approve or deny a transaction typically is made by the bank. But bank networks can crash because of natural disasters, buggy Read more about Visa Unveils More Powerful AI Tool That Approves or Denies Card Transactions[…]

Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore: ‘We must take a stand’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Powell’s Books says it won’t sell on Amazon anymore, declaring that the online retail giant undermines communities by siphoning business from the real world and replacing it with internet commerce. “For too long, we have watched the detrimental impact of Amazon’s business on our communities and the independent bookselling world,” CEO Emily Powell wrote in Read more about Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore: ‘We must take a stand’[…]

Intel, HP, Tesla, etc protest to US monopoly watchdog: FTC vs Qualcomm case overturned to the surprise of all

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Intel, HP, Tesla and a host of other tech giants have written to America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging it to appeal Qualcomm’s legal win against the watchdog in a row over patent fees. The FTC had successfully sued Qualcomm, arguing the corporation rode roughshod over antitrust laws, only for that victory to be overturned Read more about Intel, HP, Tesla, etc protest to US monopoly watchdog: FTC vs Qualcomm case overturned to the surprise of all[…]

This Guy is Suing the Patent Office for Deciding an AI Can’t Invent Things

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A computer scientist who created an artificial intelligence system capable of generating original inventions is suing the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) over its decision earlier this year to reject two patent applications which list the algorithmic system, known as DABUS, as the inventor. The lawsuit is the latest step in an effort by Read more about This Guy is Suing the Patent Office for Deciding an AI Can’t Invent Things[…]

Um, almost the entire Scots Wikipedia was written by someone with no idea of the language – 10,000s of articles

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In an extraordinary and somewhat devastating discovery, it turns out virtually the entire Scots version of Wikipedia, comprising more than 57,000 articles, was written, edited or overseen by a netizen who clearly had nae the slightest idea about the language. The user is not only a prolific contributor, they are an administrator of sco.wikipedia.org, having Read more about Um, almost the entire Scots Wikipedia was written by someone with no idea of the language – 10,000s of articles[…]

Apple Has Finally Gotten Too Big for Its Britches – and even Kinja group is pissed off now

Posted on by Robin Edgar

What started out as a battle between Apple and Epic over direct in-app purchases in Fortnite has evolved into an ill-advised, petty revenge scheme. On Sunday, Epic filed a new motion to bar Apple from revoking iOS and macOS support for its Unreal Engine while its other beef is ongoing. To back up a bit, Read more about Apple Has Finally Gotten Too Big for Its Britches – and even Kinja group is pissed off now[…]

Apple apologises to WordPress for forcing in-app purchases and U-turns

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple has clarified the situation with the WordPress iOS app, apologizing for the mistake of blocking developer updates to the app until they added in-app purchases, despite the app not including any functionality involving payments. On Friday, it was reported the lack of app updates for the WordPress app were due to it being “locked” Read more about Apple apologises to WordPress for forcing in-app purchases and U-turns[…]

Epic move: Judge says Apple can’t revoke Unreal Engine dev tools, asks ‘Where does the 30 per cent come from?’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Federal US judge questioned why Apple takes a 30 per cent slice of developer revenues as she ruled that while Apple cannot cut off Epic’s access to iOS Unreal Engine development tools, she would not order the company to allow Fortnite to return to the App Store. In the eight-page order [PDF], Yvonne Gonzalez Read more about Epic move: Judge says Apple can’t revoke Unreal Engine dev tools, asks ‘Where does the 30 per cent come from?’[…]

US Border Patrol Says They Can Create Central Repository Of Traveler Emails, calendar, etc, Keep Them For 75 Years

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The U.S. government has taken the opportunity during the global pandemic, when people aren’t traveling out of the country much, to roll out a new platform for storing information they believe they are entitled to take from people crossing the border. A new filing reveals how the U.S. Border Patrol will store data from traveler Read more about US Border Patrol Says They Can Create Central Repository Of Traveler Emails, calendar, etc, Keep Them For 75 Years[…]

Microsoft sides with Epic over Apple developer ban, supports motion for temporary restraining order

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft’s Kevin Gammill, general manager of Gaming Developer Experiences, called Epic’s Unreal Engine “critical technology” in a filing at the weekend [PDF] in support of Epic’s motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Apple from terminating its developer account. Referring to the statement, Xbox supremo Phil Spencer tweeted yesterday to say “ensuring that Epic Read more about Microsoft sides with Epic over Apple developer ban, supports motion for temporary restraining order[…]

Solar Panels Are Starting to Die, Leaving Behind Toxic Trash

Posted on by Robin Edgar

By 2050, the International Renewable Energy Agency projects that up to 78 million metric tons of solar panels will have reached the end of their life, and that the world will be generating about 6 million metric tons of new solar e-waste annually. While the latter number is a small fraction of the total e-waste Read more about Solar Panels Are Starting to Die, Leaving Behind Toxic Trash[…]

Epic Games start Free Fortnite cup time with awesome prizes incl a rotten apple skin

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As PC Gamer’s Fortnite guy, I’ve written many a guide to Epic’s various tournaments, cash cups, and special events, but few have ever been as weird as this one. On Thursday evening, Epic announced the #FreeFortnite Cup, a new tournament seemingly designed to continue Epic’s campaign against Apple and Google. Barring a legal miracle, it’s Read more about Epic Games start Free Fortnite cup time with awesome prizes incl a rotten apple skin[…]

Apple cut off updates to completely free WordPress app until it adds in app purchases because it wants 30 percent

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WordPress, the iOS app, lets you build and manage a website right from your iPhone or iPad, for free. Separately, WordPress.com also happens to sell domain names and fancier website packages. Now, WordPress founding developer Matt Mullenweg is accusing Apple of cutting off the ability to update that app — until or unless he adds Read more about Apple cut off updates to completely free WordPress app until it adds in app purchases because it wants 30 percent[…]