Archive for the 'Technology' Category
My First Solar Customer to Ditch the Grid
September 29th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — I just sold my first off grid system to a customer with grid power available at his house. He’s going pretty small (2 kW array, 4x 230AH 12V AGM batteries, 4kW/48V pure sine wave inverter), but he said he’s fed up with dealing with electricity […]
AI Legion of Doom: Facebook, Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft Form AI Partnership
September 28th, 2016Via: Tech Crunch: The world’s largest technology companies hold the keys to some of the largest databases on our planet. Much like goods and coins before it, data is becoming an important currency for the modern world. The data’s value is rooted in its applications to artificial intelligence. Whichever company owns the data, effectively owns […]
Elon Musk: Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species
September 28th, 2016Via: Space: At a conference in Mexico today (Sept. 27), the SpaceX founder and CEO unveiled the company’s Interplanetary Transport System (ITS), which will combine the most powerful rocket ever built with a spaceship designed to carry at least 100 people to the Red Planet per flight. If all goes according to plan, the reusable […]
The Internet Is No Place for Public Elections
September 26th, 2016Via: MIT Technology Review: Despite what your local election officials may tell you, you can’t trust the Internet with your vote. This election year we’ve seen foreign hackers infiltrate the Democratic National Committee’s e-mail system as well as voter databases in Arizona and Illinois. These attacks have reinforced what political scientists and technical experts alike […]
Self-Driving Trucks Threaten One of America’s Top Blue-Collar Jobs
September 25th, 2016Via: Los Angeles Times: Carmaking giants and ride-sharing upstarts racing to put autonomous vehicles on the road are dead set on replacing drivers, and that includes truckers. Trucks without human hands at the wheel could be on American roads within a decade, say analysts and industry executives. At risk is one of the most common […]
Monkeys to Operate Robots
September 24th, 2016Via: IEEE: As if quantum computing wasn’t mind-bending enough, one of D-Wave Systems’ founders is now pursuing another futuristic idea: using artificial intelligence and high-tech exoskeleton suits to allow humans—and, at least according to one description of the technology, monkeys, too—to control and train an army of intelligent robots. Geordie Rose is a co-founder and […]
Real Headline: “Get Ready for Freeways That Ban Human Drivers”
September 22nd, 2016Sure, they lead with the safety argument, but what you’re going to wind up with is something like this: Didn’t pay taxes? “Driving disabled. Would you like to pay overdue taxes, penalties, fees and interest now?” Didn’t pay parking fine? “Driving disabled. Would you like to pay your fine now?” Children not vaccinated? “Limited destinations. […]
Researchers Hack Tesla Model S with Remote Attack
September 20th, 2016Via: PC World: Tesla Motors is considered one of the most cybersecurity-conscious car manufacturers in the world—among other things, it has a bug bounty program. But that doesn’t mean the software in its cars is free of security flaws. Researchers from Chinese technology company Tencent found a series of vulnerabilities that, when combined, allowed them […]
Abu Dhabi: Solar Power at 2.42 Cents a Kilowatt-Hour
September 20th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. Via: Bloomberg: Two companies offered to build the cheapest solar power plant on record in Abu Dhabi, reflecting declining costs for photovoltaic cells and cheaper financing for clean-energy projects. Government-owned Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority received a record-low bid of 2.42 cents a kilowatt-hour for […]
U.S. Government Will Release Policy on Autonomous Vehicles Today
September 20th, 2016Via: Cnet: On Tuesday, the government will issue federal policy, comprising a four-section package to help facilitate the “responsible” testing and deployment of self-driving vehicles. The policy will include a 15-point “Safety Assessment,” which the government has asked automakers to sign and submit when an autonomous car is believed to be ready for public roads. […]
