Even Volkswagen Is Doing Horsepower Subscriptions Now

[…] we’re used to hearing about subscriptions for improved performance and creature comforts on luxury cars, but VW’s trialing BMW and Mercedes-Benz’s greatest hits of consumer-hostile policies and gating an additional 27 horsepower behind a $22.30 monthly payment on the ID.3. Alternatively, owners can shell out $878 to unlock that power permanently, for the life Read more about Even Volkswagen Is Doing Horsepower Subscriptions Now[…]

EU Chat Control Plan Gains Support Again, Threatens Encryption, mass surveillance, age verification

A controversial European Union proposal dubbed “Chat Control” is regaining momentum, with 19 out of 27 EU member states reportedly backing the measure. The plan would mandate that messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, must scan every message, photo and video sent by users starting in October, even if end-to-end encryption is in place, Read more about EU Chat Control Plan Gains Support Again, Threatens Encryption, mass surveillance, age verification[…]

New electrolyte highway enables low-temperature hydrogen fuel cells

[…]Researchers at Kyushu University in Japan have developed a new type of solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that operates at 300℃ (500°F) , a notable reduction from typical operating temperatures. “The team expects that their new findings will lead to the development of low-cost, low-temperature SOFCs and greatly accelerate the practical application of these devices,” said Read more about New electrolyte highway enables low-temperature hydrogen fuel cells[…]

You Can Now Tell Google Which Websites You Prefer in Search Results

[…]If you frequently test features with Google Labs, you might remember trying this one out: Preferred Sources, as the name implies, lets you tell Google which websites you prefer to read news from. The goal, then, is to see pages from those sites in future Google searches about news stories, assuming those sites publish content Read more about You Can Now Tell Google Which Websites You Prefer in Search Results[…]

Israel is reportedly storing millions of Palestinian phone calls on Microsoft servers in the Netherlands and Ireland

Israel has allegedly been recording and storing millions of phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank as part of a large surveillance effort dating back to 2022, according to reporting by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call. The report suggests that the country has been shuttling these recordings to Microsoft Read more about Israel is reportedly storing millions of Palestinian phone calls on Microsoft servers in the Netherlands and Ireland[…]

Should Lyft and Uber Charge More if Your Battery Is Low? California May Soon Ban That

It’s late at night, and you badly need a ride. Your cellphone’s battery is dangerously low. Should a ridehailing company such as Uber or Lyft be able to charge you more because its artificial intelligence programming thinks you’re desperate since it knows your phone is about to die? Not if Hayward Democratic Sen. Aisha Wahab Read more about Should Lyft and Uber Charge More if Your Battery Is Low? California May Soon Ban That[…]

Meta eavesdropped on period-tracker app’s users, SF jury rules

Meta lost a major privacy trial on Friday, with a jury in San Francisco ruling that the Menlo Park giant had eavesdropped on the users of the popular period-tracking app Flo. The plaintiff’s lawyers who sued Meta are calling this a “landmark” victory — the tech company contends that the jury got it all wrong. The case Read more about Meta eavesdropped on period-tracker app’s users, SF jury rules[…]

Meet Meschers, MIT’s Tool for Building Paradoxical Digital Objects

Meet “impossibagel,” a physically impossible bagel that mathematicians use to resolve intricate geometry problems. But impossibagel—and other “impossible objects” in mathematics—is notoriously difficult to replicate, and researchers haven’t been able to fully tap into their mathematical potential. That may no longer be a problem, thanks to a new tool. On Monday, researchers at MIT’s Computer Read more about Meet Meschers, MIT’s Tool for Building Paradoxical Digital Objects[…]

KLM, Air France latest major orgs to have data looted

European airline giants Air France and KLM say they are the latest in a string of major organizations to have their customers’ data stolen by way of a break-in at a third party org. The airlines, which share a parent company, Air France-KLM Group, said in a joint statement that they “detected unusual activity on Read more about KLM, Air France latest major orgs to have data looted[…]

This vaccine uses dental floss instead of needles

Researchers have demonstrated a novel vaccine delivery method in an animal model, using dental floss to introduce vaccine via the tissue between the teeth and gums. The testing found that the new technique stimulates the production of antibodies in mucosal surfaces, such as the lining of the nose and lungs. “Mucosal surfaces are important, because Read more about This vaccine uses dental floss instead of needles[…]

Didn’t Take Long To Reveal The UK’s Online Safety Act Is Exactly The Privacy-Crushing Failure Everyone Warned About

[…]the real kicker is what content is now being gatekept behind invasive age verification systems. Users in the UK now need to submit a selfie or government ID to access: Reddit communities about stopping drinking and smoking, periods, craft beers, and sexual assault support, not to mention documentation of war Spotify for music videos tagged Read more about Didn’t Take Long To Reveal The UK’s Online Safety Act Is Exactly The Privacy-Crushing Failure Everyone Warned About[…]

Project Hyperion | interstellar generation ship design competition winners

Project Hyperion explores the feasibility of crewed interstellar travel via generation ships, using current and near-future technologies. A generation ship is a hypothetical spacecraft designed for long-duration interstellar travel, where the journey may take centuries to complete. The idea behind a generation ship is that the initial crew would live, reproduce, and die on the Read more about Project Hyperion | interstellar generation ship design competition winners[…]

Microsoft Recall can still nab credit cards, passwords, info and share them remotely

Microsoft Recall, the AI app that takes screenshots of what you do on your PC so you can search for it later, has a filter that’s supposed to prevent it from screenshotting sensitive info like credit card numbers. But a The Register test shows that it still fails in many cases, creating a potential treasure Read more about Microsoft Recall can still nab credit cards, passwords, info and share them remotely[…]

Belgium Targets Internet Archive’s ‘Open Library’ in Sweeping Site Blocking Order

The Business Court in Brussels, Belgium, has issued a broad site-blocking order that aims to restrict access to shadow libraries including Anna’s Archive, Libgen, OceanofPDF, Z-Library, and the Internet Archive’s Open Library. In addition to ISP blocks, the order also directs search engines, DNS resolvers, advertisers, domain name services, CDNs and hosting companies to take Read more about Belgium Targets Internet Archive’s ‘Open Library’ in Sweeping Site Blocking Order[…]

Google had just two weeks to begin cracking open Android Play Store, it admits in emergency filing, manages to stay to three weeks

Yesterday, when Epic won its Google antitrust lawsuit for a second time, it wasn’t quite clear how soon Google would need to start dismantling its affirmed illegal monopoly. Today, Google admitted the answer was: 14 days. Google had just 14 days to enact major changes to its Google Play app store, and the way it Read more about Google had just two weeks to begin cracking open Android Play Store, it admits in emergency filing, manages to stay to three weeks[…]

A Premium Luggage Service’s Web Bugs Exposed the Travel Plans of Every User—Including Diplomats

[…] Airportr, a UK-based luggage service that partners with airlines to let its largely UK- and Europe-based users pay to have their bags picked up, checked, and delivered to their destination. Researchers at the firm CyberX9 found that simple bugs in Airportr’s website allowed them to access virtually all of those users’ personal information, including Read more about A Premium Luggage Service’s Web Bugs Exposed the Travel Plans of Every User—Including Diplomats[…]

Ore Energy makes history with first grid-connected iron-air battery system

“Rust battery” now operational in the Netherlands; first multi-day long-term energy storage system, designed to be implemented using exclusively European production and materials Ore Energy , the Dutch iron-air long-term energy storage startup, today announced that it has successfully connected its flagship iron-air battery to the Delft electricity grid – the world’s first known fully Read more about Ore Energy makes history with first grid-connected iron-air battery system[…]

Lying increases trust in science – because people are taught that science is infallible, instead of that it can (and is) improved with time and knowledge

This study begins by outlining the transparency paradox: that trust in science requires transparency, but being transparent about science, medicine and government reduces trust in science. A solution to the paradox is then advanced here: it is argued that, rather than just thinking in terms of transparency and opacity, it is important to think about Read more about Lying increases trust in science – because people are taught that science is infallible, instead of that it can (and is) improved with time and knowledge[…]

Public ChatGPT Queries Are Getting Indexed By Google and Other Search Engines (update: fixed!)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: It’s a strange glimpse into the human mind: If you filter search results on Google, Bing, and other search engines to only include URLs from the domain “https://chatgpt.com/share,” you can find strangers’ conversations with ChatGPT. Sometimes, these shared conversation links are pretty dull — people ask for Read more about Public ChatGPT Queries Are Getting Indexed By Google and Other Search Engines (update: fixed!)[…]

Mastercard Denies Pressuring Steam To Censor ‘NSFW’ Games… except it does.

Mastercard has broken its silence after being thrust into the middle of a gaming culture war between anti-porn advocates and anti-censorship activists. While Valve previously laid blame for a recent purge of adult sex games from Steam at the feet of “payment processors and their related card networks and banks,” Mastercard released a statement on Read more about Mastercard Denies Pressuring Steam To Censor ‘NSFW’ Games… except it does.[…]

Posted in Sex

UK’s most tattooed man blocked from accessing porn online by new rules

Britain’s most tattooed man has a lot more time on his hands and not a lot else thanks to new porn laws. The King of Ink says facial recognition tech has made it harder to chat to webcam girls, after sites started mistaking his tattooed face for a mask. The new rules came into force Read more about UK’s most tattooed man blocked from accessing porn online by new rules[…]

Tiny, fast spectrometer

[…]”Spectrometers are critical tools for helping us understand the chemical and physical properties of various materials based on how light changes when it interacts with those materials,” says Brendan O’Connor, corresponding author of a paper on the work and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. “They are used in Read more about Tiny, fast spectrometer[…]

Scientists finally solve the mystery of what triggers lightning

In the study published on July 28 in the Journal of Geophysical Research, the authors described how they determined strong electric fields in thunderclouds accelerate electrons that crash into molecules like nitrogen and oxygen, producing X-rays and initiating a deluge of additional electrons and high-energy photons — the perfect storm from which lightning bolts are Read more about Scientists finally solve the mystery of what triggers lightning[…]

Futurehome Breaks IoT Devices Unless A New Subscription Is Paid For

[…]It’s bad enough when a company goes fully kablooey, has to shut down all their backend servers and gear, and renders their products useless. That sucks, there are ways around it, and it shouldn’t be allowed, but it’s quite different than perfectly healthy companies selling a product that has features and capabilities out of the Read more about Futurehome Breaks IoT Devices Unless A New Subscription Is Paid For[…]

French city of Lyon ditching Microsoft for FOSS

The République’s third-largest city and second-largest economic hub on Tuesday cited a desire to reduce dependence on American software, extend the lifespan of its hardware and therefore reduce its environmental impact, and strengthen the technological sovereignty of its public service. Achieving those goals will see Lyon’s government, which serves over a million people, replace Office Read more about French city of Lyon ditching Microsoft for FOSS[…]