Linking ideas with the world
The company’s mistakes — the sloppy privacy practices that dropped tens of millions of users’ data into a political consulting firm’s lap; the slow response to Russian agents, violent rhetoric and fake news; and the unbounded drive to capture ever more of our time and attention — dominate the headlines. It’s been 15 years since Read more about Facebook co-founder pleading to break it up in long letter to NYT[…]
The CIA and the U.S. military have been using a new type of missile during some drone strikes in recent years, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. What makes this new missile unique? It doesn’t explode and instead deploys sharp blades, hitting targets “like a speeding anvil” from the sky. The new Read more about CIA’s Solution to Killing Too Many Civilians: Knife Bomb[…]
A recent parachute test of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule “was not satisfactory,” a NASA official said during a House subcommittee hearing yesterday. Few details were disclosed, but it’s now looking even less likely that NASA will have the capability to fly astronauts to space anytime soon. The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held Read more about Failed SpaceX Parachute Test Is Yet Another Setback for NASA’s Crew Program[…]
At Google I/O in Mountain View, Google quietly let slip that “all devices [Chromebook] launched this year will be Linux-ready right out of the box.” Wait. What? In case you’ve missed it, last year, Google started making it possible to run desktop Linux on Chrome OS. Since then, more Chromebook devices are able to run Read more about All Chromebooks will also be Linux laptops going forward – the catch: on top of Chrome OS in a VM container. So not really a linux laptop then.[…]
When Amazon launched its kid’s version of the Echo Dot smart speaker a year ago, we hoped it would be a technological blessing, rather than a curse. But as further proof that private information is no longer sacred, a complaint filed yesterday with the Federal Trade Commission alleges that the devices are unlawfully storing kids’ Read more about Your Kid’s Echo Dot May Be Storing Data Even After You ‘Delete’ It[…]
All matter particles have a corresponding antimatter particle, which shares most of the same properties but is a mirror image of the particle and has the opposite charge. Decades ago, scientists determined that when regular-matter particles pass through a pair of parallel slits, they create an interference pattern as if they were waves. The new Read more about Scientists Recreate Hallmark Quantum Physics Slit Experiment Using Antimatter[…]
DARPA, the US military research arm, has launched a program to train fighter jets to engage in aerial battle autonomously with the help of AI algorithms. The Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program seeks to create military planes that are capable of performing combat maneuvers for dogfighting without the help of human pilots. Vehicles won’t be Read more about DARPA wants to develop AI fighter program to augment human pilots[…]
Former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who was being detained for refusing to testify before a grand jury, was released on Thursday and immediately summoned to appear before a new grand jury next week, her lawyers said. […] Manning was released after the term expired for the previous grand jury in Virginia that was Read more about Manning immediately ordered to appear before new U.S. grand jury as she is freed from jail[…]
There is a deep underlying assumption, however, that we can learn from them because it’s their personal characteristics–such as talent, skill, mental toughness, hard work, tenacity, optimism, growth mindset, and emotional intelligence– that got them where they are today. […] But is this assumption correct? I have spent my entire career studying the psychological characteristics Read more about The Role of Luck in Life Success Is Far Greater Than We Realized – Scientific American Blog Network[…]
Human Rights Watch got their hands on an app used by Chinese authorities in the western Xinjiang region to surveil, track and categorize the entire local population – particularly the 13 million or so Turkic Muslims subject to heightened scrutiny, of which around one million are thought to live in cultural ‘reeducation’ camps. By “reverse engineering” the Read more about China’s Mass Surveillance App Hacked; Code Reveals Specific Criteria For Illegal Oppression of specific minorities[…]
These marketing statistics have been divided across seven key trends, both in the infographic below and in the list that follows it, helping you zero in on your primary marketing channel of interest. On the other hand, like most modern marketers, if your campaign strategy involves multiple channels, this division should help you update your Read more about 7 Trends You Must Know For a Successful Digital Marketing Campaign – loads of statistics infographic[…]
Google I/O Google, the largest handler of web cookies, plans to change the way its Chrome browser deals with the tokens, ostensibly to promote greater privacy, following similar steps taken by rival browser makers Apple, Brave, and Mozilla. At Google I/O 2019 on Tuesday, Google’s web platform director Ben Galbraith announced the plan, which has Read more about Google gives Chrome 3rd party cookie control – which allows it to track you better, but rivals to not be able to do so[…]
Columbia Engineering researchers design new desalination method for hypersaline brines that is low-cost, efficient, and effective; could address the growing water challenges across the globe About the Study The study is titled “Membrane-less and Non-evaporative Desalination of Hypersaline Brines by Temperature Swing Solvent Extraction.” A New Paradigm for Desalination New York, NY—May 6, 2019—Hypersaline brines—water Read more about Radical Desalination Approach May Disrupt the Water Industry[…]
The obvious drawback of solar panels is that they require sunlight to generate electricity. Some have observed that for a device on Earth facing space, which has a frigid temperature, the chilling outflow of energy from the device can be harvested using the same kind of optoelectronic physics we have used to harness solar energy. Read more about Experimental device generates electricity from the coldness of the universe, good for night time[…]
Cryptocurrency trading hub Binance, one of the world’s largest, has confirmed it lost about 7,000 Bitcoins (around $40 million) to hackers after its so-called “hot wallet,” i.e. one connected to the internet and used to process transactions, was breached, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The hot wallet in question contained about two percent of Binance’s holdings Read more about One of the World’s Largest Crypto Exchanges, Binance, Hacked to the Tune of $40 Million[…]
March 11, a Vice President at Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud computing behemoth, published a blog post announcing the release of its own version of Elasticsearch, a powerful open-source software search engine tool. Elastic is a public company founded in 2012 that is currently worth over $5 billion; the vast majority of its revenue is Read more about Amazon Has Gone From Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor, Say Open Source Developers[…]
The hacker, who goes by the name L&M, told Motherboard he hacked into more than 7,000 iTrack accounts and more than 20,000 ProTrack accounts, two apps that companies use to monitor and manage fleets of vehicles through GPS tracking devices. The hacker was able to track vehicles in a handful of countries around the world, Read more about Hacker Finds He Can Remotely Kill Car Engines, take location and personal data After Breaking Into Fleet GPS Tracking Apps, because default account password is 123456[…]
The European Parliament has voted by a significant margin to streamline its systems for managing everything from travel to border security by amassing an enormous information database that will include biometric data and facial images—an issue that has raised significant alarm among privacy advocates. This system, called the Common Identity Repository (CIR), streamlines a number Read more about EU Votes to Amass a Giant Centralised Database of Biometric Data with 350m people in it[…]
An Amazon.com Inc. team auditing Alexa users’ commands has access to location data and can, in some cases, easily find a customer’s home address, according to five employees familiar with the program. The team, spread across three continents, transcribes, annotates and analyzes a portion of the voice recordings picked up by Alexa. The program, whose Read more about Is Alexa Listening? Amazon Employees Can Access Home Addresses, telephone numbers, contacts[…]
Scientists have developed a brain implant that can read people’s minds and turn their thoughts to speech. […] They add that their findings, published in the journal Nature, could help people when disease robs them of their ability to talk. […] The mind-reading technology works in two stages. First an electrode is implanted in the Read more about brain implant turns thoughts to speech[…]
March 11, a Vice President at Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud computing behemoth, published a blog post announcing the release of its own version of Elasticsearch, a powerful open-source software search engine tool. Elastic is a public company founded in 2012 that is currently worth over $5 billion; the vast majority of its revenue is Read more about Amazon behaving as a monopoly is really affecting open source development and their income models, leading to changes in open sourcing (finally, but in the wrong way). An example from Elasticsearch which Amazon calls a kettle.[…]
Last night, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney tweeted that his company would end its controversial exclusivity agreements if Steam raised its revenue cut for developers. It’s a strong statement, even if there are reasons to be skeptical of Sweeney’s position. “If Steam committed to a permanent 88% revenue share for all developers and publishers without Read more about Epic Games Boss Says They’ll Stop Doing Exclusives If Steam Gives Developers More Money because some people seem to be happy to live with a Steam monopoly[…]
In a series of ground-breaking flight trials that took place in the skies above north-west Wales, the MAGMA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrated two innovative flow control technologies which could revolutionise future aircraft design. MAGMA, designed and developed by researchers at The University of Manchester in collaboration with engineers from BAE Systems, successfully trialled the Read more about BAE Systems uses MAGMA demonstrator to roll and pitch jet aircraft without using moving surfaces[…]
A person’s “right to repair” their own equipment may well become a US election issue, with presidential candidate Bernie Sanders making it a main talking point during his tour of Iowa. “Are you ready for something truly insane?” the veteran politician’s account tweeted on Sunday, “Farmers aren’t allowed to repair their own tractors without paying Read more about Tractors, not phones, will (maybe) get America a right-to-repair law at this rate: Bernie slams ‘truly insane’ situation[…]
Japan can finally include itself among the ranks of countries with successful private spaceflight outfits. Interstellar Technologies has successfully launched its MOMO-3 sounding rocket into space, with the vehicle easily crossing the Kármán line (62 miles in altitude) before splashing into the Pacific. It’s a modest start — the rocket only stayed aloft for 8 Read more about First private Japanese rocket reaches space[…]