Linking ideas with the world
At least one big bitcoin mining operation in Texas that was not actually mining much bitcoin during this season’s record-breaking heat netted millions of dollars in profits—more than they would have if they just kept on mining without any shutdowns. It’s thanks to power purchase agreements signed with the local grid, allowing them to sell Read more about Riot Blockchain Made More in Power Credits Than Mining Bitcoin[…]
“Switch to solar panels to help save the planet,” they say. And they’re (mostly) right. Solar panels are a great source of clean energy because, unlike fossil fuels, solar energy doesn’t produce harmful carbon emissions while creating electricity. But how “clean” is the process of creating solar panels? Ironically enough, solar panel production is reliant Read more about The Environmental Impact of Solar Panels[…]
The aviation industry’s attempts to go green are getting a boost from an unlikely place: carbon-neutral jet fuel pulled from thin air. That may seem far-fetched, but it’s a concept that engineers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) have not only proved experimentally, but apparently proven again at scale. Even better, the fuel Read more about Pull jet fuel from thin air? We can do that, say scientists[…]
[…] New rules for gatekeepers The DMA defines new rules for large online platforms (“gatekeepers”). They now have to: ensure that unsubscribing from core platform services is just as easy as subscribing ensure that the basic functionalities of instant messaging services are interoperable, i.e. enable users to exchange messages, send voice messages or files across Read more about EU Digital Markets App (DMA) approved for new rules for fair competition online[…]
HKD, a spinoff IPO with 51 employees within the space of a few days had a stock price explosion up to around $2555 per stock from around $75 starting on 28th July. No buy button was disabled (as was the case with Gamestop / $GME) and within a few days the rug was pulled on Read more about AMTD Digital / $HKD massive pump and dump squeeze, Reddit shocked but figuring out who dun it[…]
Wave Swell Energy’s remarkable UniWave 200 is a sea platform that uses an artificial blowhole formation to create air pressure changes that drive a turbine and feed energy back to shore. After a year of testing, the company reports excellent results. New Atlas reports: As we’ve discussed before, the UniWave system is a floating device Read more about Wave Swell Blowhole Wave Energy Generator Exceeds Expectations In 12-Month Test[…]
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (“Toyota”) and its subsidiary, Woven Planet Holdings, Inc. (“Woven Planet”), have developed a working prototype of its portable hydrogen cartridge. This cartridge design will facilitate the everyday transport and supply of hydrogen energy to power a broad range of daily life applications in and outside of the home. Toyota and Woven Planet Read more about Toyota and Woven Planet Have Developed a New Portable Hydrogen Cartridge Prototype[…]
An unknown actor has drained over 8,000 internet-connected wallets in an ongoing attack on the Solana blockchain ecosystem. According to Blockchain auditor OtterSec, the attacks were still ongoing when it posted an update in the evening of August 2nd and that they had affected multiple wallets, including Phantom, Slope, Solflare and TrustWallet, across a wide Read more about Solana ‘hot’ wallets are being drained in multi-million dollar attack[…]
Will Cathcart, who has been at parent company Meta for more than 12 years and head of WhatsApp since 2019, told the BBC that the popular communications service wouldn’t downgrade or bypass its end-to-end encryption (EE2E) just for British snoops, saying it would be “foolish” to do so and that WhatsApp needs to offer a Read more about WhatsApp boss says no to AI filters policing encrypted chat[…]
As evidenced by its namesake, apparently there wasn’t much security stopping a hoard of wandering strangers from breaking into the Nomad DeFi project’s token bridge, allowing hundreds of unknown hackers and some users to walk away with over $190 million crypto, leaving behind a bare pittance in the project’s wallet. Late on Monday, users started Read more about Nomad Bridge Hack Allowed ‘Mob’ to Drain $190m in Crypto[…]
As more private astronauts venture out into space, NASA is seeking to better regulate their journeys to Earth orbit. The space agency recently announced some updates to the set of rules required for upcoming private astronaut missions, including the stipulation that all future missions be led by a former NASA astronaut. NASA released the list Read more about NASA Is Changing Its Rules for Private Astronauts[…]
America urgently needs to rewrite its patent laws to recognize modern artificial intelligence technologies, business and IP leaders have said. This sentiment emerged from a series of hearings organized by the US Chamber of Commerce, during which experts from academia, industry, and government were invited to speak. The meetings, held last month, raised important questions Read more about AI-friendly patent law needed for ‘national security’ argued in US Chamber of Commerce[…]
VMware has fixed a critical authentication bypass vulnerability that hits 9.8 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale and is present in multiple products. That flaw is tracked as CVE-2022-31656, and affects VMware’s Workspace ONE Access, Identity Manager, and vRealize Automation. It was addressed along with nine other security holes in this patch batch, Read more about VMware patches critical admin authentication bypass bug[…]
According to cyber security firm Volexity, the threat research team has found the North Korean ‘SharpTongue’ group, which appears to be part of, or related to, the Kimsuky advanced persistent threat group, deploying malware called SHARPEXT that doesn’t need your Gmail login credentials at all. Instead, it “directly inspects and exfiltrates data” from a Gmail Read more about New Gmail Attack Bypasses Passwords And 2FA To Read All Email in browser extension[…]
This map shows you how far you can travel from each station in Europe in less than 5 hours. It is inspired by the great Direkt Bahn Guru. The data is based off of this site, which sources it from the Deutsch Bahn. Hover your mouse over a station to see the isochrones from that Read more about map: How far can you go by train in 5h?[…]
[…] In a paper appearing today in Science, the engineers present the design for a new ultrasound sticker — a stamp-sized device that sticks to skin and can provide continuous ultrasound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours. The researchers applied the stickers to volunteers and showed the devices produced live, high-resolution images of major Read more about MIT engineers develop stickers that can see inside the body for 48 hours[…]
When activated, repair mode prevents a range of behaviors – from casual snooping to outright lifting of personal data – by blocking access to photos, messages, and account information. The mode provides technicians with the access they require to make a fix, including the apps a user employs. But repairers won’t see user data in Read more about Samsung adds ‘repair mode’ to smartphone[…]
Over the weekend, the Indonesian government began the task of blocking any website or service that had failed to register as part of new “internet control” laws. That ended up being a lot, including everything from Steam to the Epic Games Store to Nintendo Online to EA and Ubisoft’s platforms. Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Read more about Indonesian Government Blocks Steam, Epic, Ubisoft, Nintendo and more for 270 million people[…]
Hackers had access to dashboards used to remotely manage and control thousands of credit card payment terminals manufactured by digital payments giant Wiseasy, a cybersecurity startup told TechCrunch. Wiseasy is a brand you might not have heard of, but it’s a popular Android-based payment terminal maker used in restaurants, hotels, retail outlets and schools across Read more about Hackers stole passwords for accessing 140,000 Wiseasy payment terminals[…]
In a setback for Visa in a case alleging the payment processor is liable for the distribution of child pornography on Pornhub and other sites operated by parent company MindGeek, a federal judge ruled that it was reasonable to conclude that Visa knowingly facilitated the criminal activity. On Friday, July 29, U.S. District Judge Cormac Read more about Visa Funded Alleged Pornhub / MindGeek Child Porn, Rules Judge[…]
Babel Finance, the Hong Kong-based crypto lender, apparently had other designs when its worldwide user base handed over their crypto to the company than just borrowing and lending. It seems to have been doing what everyone else does with crypto, rapidly speculating and trying to make “line go up.” Of course, all that changed when Read more about Babel Finance Traded $280 Million of Users’ Crypto, Lost it All. Line not go up any more.[…]
[…] Built by Sony AI, a research lab launched by the company in 2020, Gran Turismo Sophy is a computer program trained to control racing cars inside the world of Gran Turismo, a video game known for its super-realistic simulations of real vehicles and tracks. In a series of events held behind closed doors last Read more about Sony’s racing car AI just destroyed its human competitors—by being fast – and having etiquette rules[…]
Twitter has published its 20th transparency report, and the details still aren’t reassuring to those concerned about abuses of personal info. The social network saw “record highs” in the number of account data requests during the July-December 2021 reporting period, with 47,572 legal demands on 198,931 accounts. The media in particular faced much more pressure. Read more about Twitter warns of ‘record highs’ in account data requests[…]
Wang, X. et. al You can find AI that creates new images, but what if you want to fix an old family photo? You might have a no-charge option. Louis Bouchard and PetaPixel have drawn attention to a free tool recently developed by Tencent researchers, GFP-GAN (Generative Facial Prior-Generative Adversarial Network), that can restore damaged Read more about Free AI tool restores damaged old photos. Might see a “slight change of identity”. Looks very cool though.[…]
Energy, mass, velocity. These three variables make up Einstein’s iconic equation E=MC2. But how did Einstein know about these concepts in the first place? A precursor step to understanding physics is identifying relevant variables. Without the concept of energy, mass, and velocity, not even Einstein could discover relativity. But can such variables be discovered automatically? Read more about Roboticists discover alternative physics using different variables[…]