Archive for the 'Technology' Category
VW’s Spending Plan for Batteries Exceeds Tesla’s Orders by More Than 40%
March 13th, 2018Via: Bloomberg: Volkswagen AG secured 20 billion euros ($25 billion) in battery supplies to underpin an aggressive push into electric cars in the coming years, ramping up pressure on Tesla Inc. as it struggles with production issues for the mainstream Model 3. The world’s largest carmaker will equip 16 factories to produce electric vehicles by […]
TSA Laptop and Phone Searches on Domestic Flights
March 12th, 2018Via: Guardian: There are a growing number of reports of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) searching the electronic devices of passengers on domestic flights in the US, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has sued the federal agency for records. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a lawsuit against the TSA […]
Palantir Wins $876 Million U.S. Army Contract
March 11th, 2018Via: Bloomberg: Billionaire investor Peter Thiel got a fresh victory in Washington. His data-mining startup, Palantir Technologies Inc., won a much-contested contract to provide software to the U.S. Army. Palantir will work with Raytheon Co. to replace the troubled Distributed Common Ground System now in effect. They beat out seven other proposals for a decade-long, […]
The Massive Prize Luring Miners to the Stars
March 11th, 2018The sci-fi fan in me decided to post this one, but, no, this isn’t going to solve peak cobalt, or peak-whatever anytime soon. Via: Bloomberg: Sending a spacecraft to the far reaches of our solar system to mine asteroids might seem like an improbable ambition best left to science fiction. But it’s inching closer to […]
Self-Driving Cars Attacked by Angry Californians
March 9th, 2018Via: Guardian: Two of the six collisions involving autonomous vehicles in California so far this year involved humans colliding with self-driving cars, apparently on purpose, according to incident reports collected by the California department of motor vehicles. On 10 January, a pedestrian in San Francisco’s Mission District ran across the street to confront a GM […]
FBI Used Geek Squad Technicians as Informants
March 8th, 2018Via: EFF: After the prosecution of a California doctor revealed the FBI’s ties to a Best Buy Geek Squad computer repair facility in Kentucky, new documents released to EFF show that the relationship goes back years. The records also confirm that the FBI has paid Geek Squad employees as informants. EFF filed a Freedom of […]
Google’s AI Is Being Used by U.S. Military Drone Program
March 8th, 2018“For non-offensive uses only.” *snort* Via: Guardian: Google’s artificial intelligence technologies are being used by the US military for one of its drone projects, causing controversy both inside and outside the company. Google’s TensorFlow AI systems are being used by the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Project Maven, which was established in July last year […]
Self Driving Uber Trucks Start Shuttling Goods Across Arizona
March 6th, 2018Via: USA Today: Uber has been sending self-driving trucks on delivery runs across Arizona since November, the first step in what promises to be a freight transportation revolution that could radically reshape the jobs of long-haul truckers. After testing its technology earlier in 2017, Uber began contracting with trucking companies to use its own autonomous […]
Is Google Going Underground With Hypersonic Tech?
March 6th, 2018Via: IEEE: Google is carrying out research on hypersonics, probably for new technologies to slash the cost of geothermal energy and tunneling. It could also be acquiring a Washington-based startup called HyperSciences that has already built prototype devices. … The technology being developed by HyperSciences should make it cheaper to reach much higher temperatures even […]
YOUTUBE DELETES ENTIRE HEALTH RANGER VIDEO CHANNEL
March 4th, 2018The Health Ranger YouTube channel is currently returning: “This account has been terminated for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.” Well, I went through being added to Google’s shit list over a decade ago. So… I have no idea why people who deal with alternative information continue to rely on Google’s platforms, given the company’s long history […]
