Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Mercedes Coming for Tesla: First of Four Pure EV Models Available in 2018
February 24th, 2016This Mercedes news was from December 2015. I just spotted it because Korean firm SK Innovation was recently selected by Mercedes to supply the lithium ion cells for the vehicles. Via: Car Magazine: Mercedes-Benz will launch the first of four electric cars in 2018, as it begins an all-out assault on Tesla. CAR magazine revealed […]
Atlas, The Next Generation
February 24th, 2016Via: Boston Dynamics (aka Google, aka Alphabet Inc): A new version of Atlas, designed to operate outdoors and inside buildings. It is specialized for mobile manipulation. It is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance and LIDAR and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess […]
Ground Delivery Drones Ready to Roll in England
February 23rd, 2016Via: USA Today: “Ground drone” delivery robots that could easily be mistaken for toilet bowls on wheels are about to start rolling through London. Starship Technologies CEO Ahti Heinla says the company’s fleet of “small, safe, practical, free from CO2 emissions, and best of all, earthbound” robots can deliver packages and groceries at a fraction […]
Virtual Reality and Zuckerberg’s, “Rictus Grin”
February 22nd, 2016Har! Via: The Verge: The image above looks like concept art for a new dystopian sci-fi film. A billionaire superman with a rictus grin, striding straight past human drones, tethered to machines and blinded to reality by blinking plastic masks. Golden light shines down on the man as he strides past his subjects, cast in […]
Israeli Researchers Find Mobile Phones Cause Male Fertility Problems
February 22nd, 2016Via: Daily Mail: Men who carry their mobile phone in a trouser pocket or talk on it for just an hour a day risk suffering with fertility problems, scientists warn. Research shows that sperm count can also be reduced by talking on a phone that is charging, or even keeping it close by on a […]
‘See Something Suspicious Online? Homeland Security Wants to Know About It’
February 18th, 2016Via: NextGov: The Department of Homeland Security wants an extra $1 million next year to develop a public-service campaign designed to increase awareness of online threats. The new initiative will be modeled on the “If You See Something, Say Something” effort rolled out after the Sept. 11 attacks. The new cyber PSA “will look to […]
Hawaii Getting 52-Megawatt-Hour Tesla Powerpack System (Hint: That’s a Very BIG Battery)
February 17th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Wow! As far as I can tell, Japan’s Hokkaido Battery Storage Project is the largest battery bank in the world. This new one in Hawaii will be #2. Via: Pacific Business News: Tesla Energy, a division of California serial entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors, will […]
DARPA: ‘Stentrode’ Obtains Neuron Signals from Inside Blood Vessels Near Brain
February 17th, 2016Via: SlashGear: Under DARPA’s Reliable Neural-Interface Technology program, a team from the University of Melbourne has created a new device called a ‘stentrode’ that, when implanted near one’s brain, is able to read signals from neurons. The work was done as part of a DARPA project, and it is said to be safer than implants […]
FBI Wants Apple to Create Software to Assist with Brute Forcing Password on iPhone
February 17th, 2016Via: TechDirt: Apple’s reasonable technical assistance shall accomplish the following three important functions: (1) it will bypass or disable the auto-erase function whether or not it has been enabled; (2) it will enable the FBI to submit passcodes to the SUBJECT DEVICE for testing electronically via the physical device port, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other protocol […]
The NSA’s SKYNET Program May be Killing Thousands of Innocent People
February 16th, 2016Via: Ars Technica: In 2014, the former director of both the CIA and NSA proclaimed that “we kill people based on metadata.” Now, a new examination of previously published Snowden documents suggests that many of those people may have been innocent. Last year, The Intercept published documents detailing the NSA’s SKYNET programme. According to the […]
