Archive for June, 2017
Taiwan’s Foxconn, Assembler of iPhones, Considering Wisconsin Plant
June 14th, 2017I wonder if they’ll use the suicide prevention nets on the buildings? Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip your waitress. On a more serious note, my guess is that the plant will be centered around robotic manufacturing and the thousands of workers thing is being thrown out there […]
U.S.-Led Coalition Has Used White Phosphorus In Fight For Mosul, General Says
June 14th, 2017Via: NPR: In Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition has admitted — for the first time — to using white phosphorous during operations in the Iraqi city of Mosul. “We have utilized white phosphorous to screen areas within west Mosul to get civilians out safely,” New Zealand Brig. Gen. Hugh McAslan tells NPR. He estimates that around […]
Gunman Shoots Congressman, Police at Virginia Baseball Practice
June 14th, 2017Via: Reuters: A gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice near Washington early on Wednesday, wounding several people including House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise before being taken into custody, police and media reports said. The shooter appeared to be a white male, “a little bit on the chubby […]
The Machine of Tomorrow Today: Quantum Computing on the Verge
June 14th, 2017Via: Bloomberg: These are early days, to be sure. As of late May, the number of quantum computers in the world that clearly, unequivocally do something faster or better than a classical computer remains zero, according to Scott Aaronson, a professor of computer science and director of the Quantum Information Center at the University of […]
Spectacular Drop in Renewable Energy Costs Leads to Record Global Boost
June 13th, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — From Trump Pulls U.S. Out of Paris Climate Agreement: Petrofascism is alive and well in the U.S., but it’s too late to stop solar and wind. Trump’s energy policy is going up against the mathematical certainty that the costs associated with solar and wind energy […]
Tim Cook Says Apple Is Focusing on an Autonomous Car System
June 13th, 2017Via: Bloomberg: After years toiling away in secret on its car project, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has for the first time laid out exactly what the company is up to in the automotive market: It’s concentrating on self-driving technology. “We’re focusing on autonomous systems,” Cook said in a June 5 interview on […]
China’s Clean Energy Ambition Floats on Abandoned Coal Mine
June 12th, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: Bloomberg: China’s ambitions to dominate new energy technologies are unfolding at the site of an abandoned coal mine about 300 miles (483 kilometers) northwest of Shanghai. There, in Anhui province, Sungrow Power Supply Co. has built the world’s largest floating solar farm with 166,000 panels […]
Chinese Style Internet Censorship… in Britain?
June 10th, 2017Via: Independent: Theresa May has refused to rule out censoring the internet like China. The prime minister has looked to introduce sweeping and deep changes to the way the internet works, in what she claims is a necessary move to prevent terror. Those have included restricting the kinds of things people can post online and […]
SoftBank Agrees to Buy Robot Maker Boston Dynamics
June 8th, 2017Via: Bloomberg: SoftBank Group Corp. is taking over Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s robot dreams, buying Boston Dynamics to pursue a future when more machines intermingle with humans. As part of the transaction with Alphabet, SoftBank also agreed to buy Japanese bipedal robotics company Schaft. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
SpaceX Wins Contract to Launch Secret Air Force Space Plane
June 7th, 2017Via: CNN: A major shift in power is underway in the commercial space industry. SpaceX has won an Air Force contract to launch a secretive, unmanned X-37B space plane later this year. The upstart rocket outfit edged out United Launch Alliance — a joint venture between Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) — that until […]
