Pentagon Kills Microsoft’s $10B JEDI Cloud Contract
July 7th, 2021Via: Ars Technica:
Following years of controversy and intrigue, the Pentagon canceled its JEDI cloud computing contract with Microsoft today.
Microsoft was awarded the contract in October 2019, but work stalled as Amazon, the other finalist, mounted a legal challenge. Now, the Department of Defense has scrapped the entire project, saying that it’s out of date.
“The Department has determined that, due to evolving requirements, increased cloud conversancy, and industry advances, the JEDI Cloud contract no longer meets its needs,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement.
The deal, which was to be worth up to $10 billion over 10 years, was a significant though contested win for Microsoft that would have given its cloud division a healthy boost in revenue and market share. Late last year, Microsoft Azure held 20 percent of the market, trailing Amazon’s AWS’ 31 percent.
In JEDI’s place, the Pentagon said it will be soliciting proposals for a new contract, the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability, from both Microsoft and Amazon. Oracle, IBM, and Google submitted JEDI bids as well, though Google withdrew its bid under pressure from employees. The Pentagon says it will continue its research to see whether other companies can compete, but it insists that only Microsoft and Amazon are sophisticated enough to meet its requirements.
How Many Robots Does It Take To Run a Grocery Store?
July 6th, 2021How does it handle fruits and vegetables?
Via: Tom Scott:
Research Credit: BVegas
Supermarkets Are Stockpiling Inventory as Food Costs Rise
July 6th, 2021Via: Wall Street Journal:
Supermarkets are stocking up on everything from sugar to frozen meat before they get more pricey, girding for what some executives anticipate will be some of the highest price increases in recent memory.
Spain Drafts Legislation to, “Mobilize All Adults in Times of Crisis”
July 6th, 2021Via: El País:
All adults will be required to provide “personal services” to the state if a crisis is ever declared in Spain, according to the reform of the National Security Law being prepared by the government.
The draft legislation – which incorporates lessons learned during the coronavirus pandemic – indicates that all citizens, without exception, must follow the orders and instructions of the relevant authorities if a state of crisis – or “situation of interest to national security” as it is termed in the document – is declared.
The reform also states that authorities can temporarily requisition all types of assets, take over or temporarily occupy those that are needed and suspend all activity. Citizens who are economically harmed by these actions have the right to compensation, according to the document. In its preliminary version, the bill does not include compensation for people whose services are required by the state.
The wording of the draft bill does not specifically mention Spanish citizens, but rather everyone who has reached the age of majority.
Windows 11 Laptops Will Require Front Facing Camera in 2023
July 6th, 2021Via: TweakTown:
Starting in 2023, all new laptops will require front-facing webcams for Windows 11 — so we expect tape sales to increase by then.
Looters Ransack Bagram Airbase After U.S. Sneaks Out In Middle Of Night
July 6th, 2021Via: ZeroHedge:
The United States has wound down its ‘forever war’ in Afghanistan by essentially sneaking off from its largest base there in the middle of the night, reportedly without so much as informing the local Afghan commander.
The somewhat shocking method of departure which immediately left Bagram a “ghost base” – as some are already calling it – was bluntly described by Associated Press as follows: “The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said.”
UK: People Who Have Been Vaccinated Represent Half of Recent COVID Deaths
July 6th, 2021It’s working great. It’s fine. Everything is fine.
Northern hemisphere winter is going to be interesting.
Via: Wall Street Journal:
As the Delta variant of the coronavirus surges through the U.K., almost half of the country’s recent Covid-19 deaths are of people who have been vaccinated. But doctors and scientists aren’t sounding the alarm about the apparently high proportion of deaths among the vaccinated population.
On the contrary, they say the figures so far offer reassurance that vaccines offer substantial protection against the variant, particularly after two doses.
Elon Musk Admits Self-Driving Is Harder Than He Thought As Tesla Owners Troll Him Over Missed Deadlines
July 5th, 2021Via: Electrek:
Elon Musk is admitting that self-driving is a harder problem than he originally thought as some Tesla owners are trolling him over yet another missed deadline for Tesla’s self-driving program.
Musk has a long history of failed predictions regarding Tesla bringing a true self-driving system to market.
It was first supposed to happen in 2018, then 2019, and in more recent years Musk has been more careful about the way he talks about full self-driving and now instead refers to a “feature-complete” system that would still rely on the driver’s attention but could lead to true autonomy with data proving that it’s safer than humans.
Related:
California Places Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ Under Review
Automakers Are Rethinking the Timetable for Fully Autonomous Cars
Biden Tells Americans Getting Vaccinated Is “The Most Patriotic Thing You Can Do”
July 5th, 2021Mmm hmm. You tell’em, Joe.
Via: Summit News:
After failing to reach his previously stated benchmark for vaccinations, Joe Biden desperately tweeted a plea for Americans to do “the most patriotic thing you can do” and take the COVID shot.
The tweet came on the heels of an Independence Day speech yesterday at The White House when Biden urged “My fellow Americans, that’s the most patriotic thing you can do, so, please, if you haven’t got vaccinated, do it now: for yourself, for your family, for your community and for your country.”
The administration’s goal was to fully immunize 160 million Americans and to ensure 70% of adults get at least one shot by the Fourth of July.
That goal is far from being achieved, but Biden went ahead with a ‘celebration’ anyway, bandying around the slogan “America’s Back Together.”
“Advertisers Seek to Plug Into Our Dreams”
July 5th, 2021Via: Guardian:
When brewing giant Coors launched a new advertising campaign earlier this year, the format came as a surprise to many. The company was planning to infiltrate people’s dreams to get them to buy, and presumably drink, Coors beer.
Coors encouraged people to watch a short online video before bed, then play an eight-hour “soundscape” through the night. If successful, this “targeted dream incubation” would trigger “refreshing dreams” of Coors, according to the company.
It’s unclear how many people took part in the dream manipulation – the top Google search result for “Coors dreams” is currently the song Dreams, performed by the Irish pop-rock band the Corrs – but experts warn that the Coors campaign is not just a gimmick, and may have opened a door to a troubling future.
“They’re trying to push an addictive drug on people who are naive to what’s being done to them. I don’t know if it can get much worse than that,” Bob Stickgold, a cognitive neuroscientist and professor of psychiatry at Harvard medical school, said of Coors’ efforts, which he believed could potentially be replicated by other companies.
“Anything you could imagine an advertising campaign for, at all, could arguably be enhanced by weaponizing sleep,” Stickgold said.
Stickgold was one of the co-authors of a recent open letter which sounded the alarm over companies using targeted dream incubation in June. The letter was signed by 35 sleep and dream researchers from around the world.
