Author: Robin Edgar

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

China launches HDMI and DisplayPort alternative — GPMI boasts up to 192 Gbps bandwidth, 480W power delivery

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Shenzhen 8K UHD Video Industry Cooperation Alliance, a group made up of more than 50 Chinese companies, just released a new wired media communication standard called the General Purpose Media Interface or GPMI. This standard was developed to support 8K and reduce the number of cables required to stream data and power from one Read more about China launches HDMI and DisplayPort alternative — GPMI boasts up to 192 Gbps bandwidth, 480W power delivery[…]

Meta gets caught gaming AI benchmarks with Llama 4

Posted on by Robin Edgar

tl;dr – Meta did a VW by using a special version of their AI which was optimised to score higher on the most important metric for AI performance. Over the weekend, Meta dropped two new Llama 4 models: a smaller model named Scout, and Maverick, a mid-size model that the company claims can beat GPT-4o Read more about Meta gets caught gaming AI benchmarks with Llama 4[…]

Don’t open that file in WhatsApp for Windows just yet – there is no check if it’s not just a renamed .exe

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A bug in WhatsApp for Windows can be exploited to execute malicious code by anyone crafty enough to persuade a user to open a rigged attachment – and, to be fair, it doesn’t take much craft to pull that off. The spoofing flaw, tracked as CVE-2025-30401, affects all versions of WhatsApp Desktop for Windows prior Read more about Don’t open that file in WhatsApp for Windows just yet – there is no check if it’s not just a renamed .exe[…]

Boeing 787 radio software patch didn’t work, says Qatar, it still turns itself off and changes frequencies by itself.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Boeing issued a software safety patch for the VHF radio systems used on its 787 aircraft, and the update turned out to be ineffective, Qatar Airways has complained. In February, the US Department of Transportation issued an advisory [PDF] about a problem with the aircraft’s electronics that was causing VHF radio traffic to unexpectedly switch Read more about Boeing 787 radio software patch didn’t work, says Qatar, it still turns itself off and changes frequencies by itself.[…]

Speech now streaming from brains in real-time, code open sourced

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Described in a paper published in Nature Neuroscience this week, the neuroprosthesis is intended to allow patients with severe paralysis and anarthria – loss of speech – to communicate by turning brain signals into synthesized words. “Our streaming approach brings the same rapid speech decoding capacity of devices like Alexa and Siri to neuroprostheses,” said Read more about Speech now streaming from brains in real-time, code open sourced[…]

Unique Study Is Latest to Show Shingles Vaccine Can Help Prevent Dementia

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Scientists at Stanford University led the research, published in Nature. They compared people born before and after they were eligible to take the shingles vaccine in a certain part of the UK, finding that vaccinated people were 20% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over a seven year period. More research is needed to Read more about Unique Study Is Latest to Show Shingles Vaccine Can Help Prevent Dementia[…]

Using the Earth’s atmosphere as a global sensor shows promise

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AtmoSense, which began in late 2020, set out to understand the fundamentals of energy propagation from the Earth’s surface to the ionosphere to determine whether the atmosphere can be used as a sensor. A fundamental science effort, AtmoSense aimed to measure acoustic and electromagnetic waves propagating through the atmosphere to see if they could provide Read more about Using the Earth’s atmosphere as a global sensor shows promise[…]

EU: These are scary times – let’s backdoor encryption and make everyone unsafe!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The EU has shared its plans to ostensibly keep the continent’s denizens secure – and among the pages of bureaucratese are a few worrying sections that indicate the political union wants to backdoor encryption by 2026, or even sooner. While the superstate has made noises about backdooring encryption before, the ProtectEU plan [PDF], launched on Read more about EU: These are scary times – let’s backdoor encryption and make everyone unsafe![…]

T-Mobile SyncUP Bug Reveals Names, Images, and Locations of Random Children

Posted on by Robin Edgar

T-Mobile sells a little-known GPS service called SyncUP, which allows users who are parents to monitor the locations of their children. This week, an apparent glitch in the service’s system obscured the locations of users’ own children while sending them detailed information and the locations of other, random children. 404 Media first reported on the Read more about T-Mobile SyncUP Bug Reveals Names, Images, and Locations of Random Children[…]

Wealthy Americans have death rates on par with poor Europeans

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It’s well-established that, on the whole, Americans die younger than people in most other high-income countries. For instance, an analysis from 2022 found that the average life expectancy of someone born in Switzerland or Spain in 2019 was 84 years. Meanwhile, the average US life expectancy was 78.8, lower than nearly all other high-income countries, Read more about Wealthy Americans have death rates on par with poor Europeans[…]

NSA warns about “fast flux” – cycling IP addresses quickly lets attackers keep attacking

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[…] fast flux. It allows decentralized networks operated by threat actors to hide their infrastructure and survive takedown attempts that would otherwise succeed. Fast flux works by cycling through a range of IP addresses and domain names that these botnets use to connect to the Internet. In some cases, IPs and domain names change every Read more about NSA warns about “fast flux” – cycling IP addresses quickly lets attackers keep attacking[…]

Scientists pioneer method to tackle PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Rice University researchers have developed an innovative solution to a pressing environmental challenge: removing and destroying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly called “forever chemicals.” A study led byJames Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and nanoengineering, and graduate student Phelecia Scotland unveils a method that not Read more about Scientists pioneer method to tackle PFAS ‘forever chemicals’[…]

Indiana security prof and wife vanish after FBI raid

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A tenured computer security professor at Indiana University and his university-employed wife have not been seen publicly since federal agents raided their homes late last week. On Friday, the FBI with help from the cops searched two properties in Bloomington and Carmel, Indiana, belonging to Xiaofeng Wang, a professor at the Indiana Luddy School of Read more about Indiana security prof and wife vanish after FBI raid[…]

Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft is no longer playing around when it comes to requiring every Windows 11 device be set up with an internet-connected account. In its latest Windows 11 Insider Preview, the company says it will take out a well-known bypass script that let end users skip the requirement of connecting to the internet and logging in Read more about Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account[…]

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

Posted on by Robin Edgar

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 Read more about 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

Posted on by Robin Edgar

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, Read more about Over a million private photos from MAD Mobile 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. Read more about Meniscus injuries may soon be treated by customizable hydrogel[…]

Your TV is watching you watch and selling that data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]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 Read more about Your TV is watching you watch and selling that data[…]

Are Vehicle Infotainment Screens Headed for the Scrap Heap?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] 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 Read more about Are Vehicle Infotainment Screens Headed for the Scrap Heap?[…]

Turkish F-16s Are Using Tablets To Control Locally Made Weapons

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Turkey has begun using tablet computers in the cockpits of its F-16 fighters to help with the rapid integration of new locally-developed weapons. This has interesting parallels with Ukraine’s use of such devices to allow its Soviet-era jets to employ Western air-to-ground weapons — something you can read more about here. The tablet can be Read more about Turkish F-16s Are Using Tablets To Control Locally Made Weapons[…]

Yes, let’s “Make it Fair” – by recognising that copyright has failed to reward creators properly

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A few weeks ago, the UK’s regional and national daily news titles ran similar front covers, exhorting the government there to “Make it Fair”. The campaign Web site explained: Tech companies use creative content, such as news articles, books, music, film, photography, visual art, and all kinds of creative work, to train their generative AI Read more about Yes, let’s “Make it Fair” – by recognising that copyright has failed to reward creators properly[…]

I won’t connect my dishwasher to your stupid cloud – why not just use buttons? Also planned obsolesence is a bitch

Posted on by Robin Edgar

I bought a Bosch 500 series because that’s what Consumer Reports recommended, and more importantly, I could find one in stock. After my dad and I got it installed, I went to run a rinse cycle, only to find that that, along with features like delayed start and eco mode, require an app. Not only Read more about I won’t connect my dishwasher to your stupid cloud – why not just use buttons? Also planned obsolesence is a bitch[…]

Turns out that sharks do actually make sounds

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Elasmobranchs are an evolutionarily ancient group of cartilaginous fishes that can hear underwater sounds but are not historically viewed as active sound producers. Three recent reports of several species of rays producing clicks in response to approaching divers have cast doubt on this long prevailing view and resulted in calls for more research into sound Read more about Turns out that sharks do actually make sounds[…]

How much foreign aid is spent domestically rather than overseas?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Much of foreign aid is spent on goods that are shipped overseas: food supplies, medicines, or humanitarian assistance in emergency situations.1 But a surprising amount of what’s reported as foreign aid is not sent abroad; it’s spent domestically. Foreign aid budgets in rich countries can include the costs of hosting refugees, some scholarships to foreign Read more about How much foreign aid is spent domestically rather than overseas?[…]