Month: January 2025

Researchers make comfortable materials that generate power when worn

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers have demonstrated new wearable technologies that both generate electricity from human movement and improve the comfort of the technology for the people wearing them. The work stems from an advanced understanding of materials that increase comfort in textiles and produce electricity when they rub against another surface. At issue are molecules called amphiphiles, which Read more about Researchers make comfortable materials that generate power when worn[…]

EU is ‘losing the narrative battle’ over AI Act to US fake news, says UN adviser

Posted on by Robin Edgar

European companies are believing the “absolute lie” that the EU AI Act is killing innovation, Carme Artigas, co-chair of the United Nations advisory board on artificial intelligence, has warned. “We are losing the battle of the narrative,” Artigas said last week at the Europe Startup Nations Alliance forum.  As Spain’s AI minister, Artigas led negotiations Read more about EU is ‘losing the narrative battle’ over AI Act to US fake news, says UN adviser[…]

Venezuela’s Internet Censorship Sparks Surge in VPN Demand

Posted on by Robin Edgar

What’s Important to Know: Venezuela’s Supreme Court fined TikTok USD$10 million for failing to prevent viral video challenges that resulted in the deaths of three Venezuelan children. TikTok faced temporary blockades by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Venezuela for not paying the fine. ISPs used IP, HTTP, and DNS blocks to restrict access to TikTok Read more about Venezuela’s Internet Censorship Sparks Surge in VPN Demand[…]

VPN Demand Surge in Florida after Adult Sites Age Restriction Kicks In

Posted on by Robin Edgar

What’s important to know: On March 25, 2024 Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law requiring age verification for accessing pornographic sites. This law, known as House Bill 3 (HB3), passed with bipartisan support and has caused quite a stir in the online community. HB3 was set to come into effect on January 1, 2025. Read more about VPN Demand Surge in Florida after Adult Sites Age Restriction Kicks In[…]

Billion-pound lawsuit against Apple over App Store opens in UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The complaint, filed in May 2021, accuses Apple of breaching European and UK competition laws by “its exclusion of any other app stores from iOS devices” like iPhones and iPads. It claims that some 20 million Apple users may have been overcharged by the company “due to its ban on rival app store platforms”. The Read more about Billion-pound lawsuit against Apple over App Store opens in UK[…]

Meta’s right-wing surrender to Trump also includes an end to DEI programs and trans Messenger themes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta isn’t stopping at moderation changes. According to both Axios and The New York Times, the company is also pulling the plug on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. That includes removing diversity hiring goals, eliminating the chief diversity officer position and no longer prioritizing minority-owned businesses as vendors, per The Times‘ reporting. When asked to Read more about Meta’s right-wing surrender to Trump also includes an end to DEI programs and trans Messenger themes[…]

Google brings back digital fingerprinting to track users for advertising

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is tracking your online behavior in the name of advertising, reintroducing a data collection process that ingests all of your online signals (from IP address to complex browser information) and pinpoints unique users or devices, also known as “digital fingerprinting.” The company’s updated platform program policies include relaxed restrictions on advertisers and personalized ad Read more about Google brings back digital fingerprinting to track users for advertising[…]

Bad Likert Judge: A Novel Multi-Turn Technique to Jailbreak LLMs by Misusing Their Evaluation Capability

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Text-generation large language models (LLMs) have safety measures designed to prevent them from responding to requests with harmful and malicious responses. Research into methods that can bypass these guardrails, such as Bad Likert Judge, can help defenders prepare for potential attacks. The technique asks the target LLM to act as a judge scoring the harmfulness Read more about Bad Likert Judge: A Novel Multi-Turn Technique to Jailbreak LLMs by Misusing Their Evaluation Capability[…]

Google Pixel 4a’s update kills its battery life on purpose

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google’s Pixel 4a has long been considered a great smartphone for those on a budget, but it just received a software update that calls that into question. The update lowers the reported battery life. This isn’t a side-effect of some new software. This is the actual intent of the refresh. Wait, what? Google says the Read more about Google Pixel 4a’s update kills its battery life on purpose[…]

Brelyon’s immersive display is a monitor that is much bigger on the inside than the outside

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Billed as the world’s first commercial multi-focal monitor, the Ultra Reality Extend merges the ease-of-use and simplicity of a traditional desktop display with the kind of spatial depth you can normally only get from VR headset. Granted, the max simulated depth the Extend delivers is only 2.5 meters, which isn’t nearly as far as you’d Read more about Brelyon’s immersive display is a monitor that is much bigger on the inside than the outside[…]

Japan’s wooden satellite leaves International Space Station • The Register

Posted on by Robin Edgar

LignoSat was sent to the ISS in November 2024 on a mission to demonstrate that wood could be a viable material from which to build spacecraft. The goal of the satellite includes studying how the selected wood reacts when exposed to the environment of space and its resistance to cosmic radiation. Researchers will also monitor Read more about Japan’s wooden satellite leaves International Space Station • The Register[…]

Telegram hands over data on 2253 users last year (up from 108 in 2023) to US law enforcement alone after arrest of boss

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Telegram reveals that the communications platform has fulfilled 900 U.S. government requests, sharing the phone number or IP address information of 2,253 users with law enforcement. This number is a steep increase from previous years, with most requests processed after the platform’s policy shift on sharing user data, announced in September 2024. While Telegram has long Read more about Telegram hands over data on 2253 users last year (up from 108 in 2023) to US law enforcement alone after arrest of boss[…]

Google goes to court for collecting data on users who opted out… again…

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A federal judge this week rejected Google’s motion to throw out a class-action lawsuit alleging that it invaded the privacy of users who opted out of functionality that records a users’ web and app activities. A jury trial is scheduled for August 2025 in US District Court in San Francisco. The lawsuit concerns Google’s Web Read more about Google goes to court for collecting data on users who opted out… again…[…]

Meta to get rid of fact-checkers, turn Facebook into a kind of X for Trump

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta is abandoning the use of independent fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with X-style “community notes” where commenting on the accuracy of posts is left to users. In a video posted alongside a blog post by the company on Tuesday, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said third-party moderators were “too politically biased” and Read more about Meta to get rid of fact-checkers, turn Facebook into a kind of X for Trump[…]

Scientists find ‘spooky’ quantum entanglement within individual protons

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists have used high-energy particle collisions to peer inside protons, the particles that sit inside the nuclei of all atoms. This has revealed for the first time that quarks and gluons, the building blocks of protons, experience the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. […] despite Einstein’s skepticism about entanglement, this “spooky” phenomenon has been verified over Read more about Scientists find ‘spooky’ quantum entanglement within individual protons[…]

The carbon emissions of writing and illustrating are lower for AI than for humans

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] In this article, we present a comparative analysis of the carbon emissions associated with AI systems (ChatGPT, BLOOM, DALL-E2, Midjourney) and human individuals performing equivalent writing and illustrating tasks. Our findings reveal that AI systems emit between 130 and 1500 times less CO2e per page of text generated compared to human writers, while AI Read more about The carbon emissions of writing and illustrating are lower for AI than for humans[…]

Neural Lab’s AirTouch brings gesture control to Windows and Android devices with just a webcam. Unfortunately charges huge subscription, dooming it to failure.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Some of the best tech we see at CES feels pulled straight from sci-fi. Yesterday at CES 2025, I tested out Neural Lab’s AirTouch technology, which lets you interact with a display using hand gestures alone, exactly what movies like Minority Report and Iron Man promised. […] Neural Lab’s software is compatible with tablets, computers Read more about Neural Lab’s AirTouch brings gesture control to Windows and Android devices with just a webcam. Unfortunately charges huge subscription, dooming it to failure.[…]

HDMI 2.2 debuts, but not really, with an ‘Ultra96’ cable and not very impressive specs

Posted on by Robin Edgar

About seven years after the HDMI 2.1 specification was introduced, the HDMI Forum has announced the next generation: HDMI 2.2, which will require new cables to take advantage of its most high-performance features. It will not require a new connector, though, thankfully. Though the HDMI Forum is officially calling the new specification HDMI 2.2, the Read more about HDMI 2.2 debuts, but not really, with an ‘Ultra96’ cable and not very impressive specs[…]

The Real Reason People Don’t Trust in Science: They buy propaganda lies

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] contemplating November’s annual Pew Research Center survey of public confidence in science. The Pew survey found 76 percent of respondents voicing “a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests.” That’s up a bit from last year, but still down from prepandemic measures, to suggest that Read more about The Real Reason People Don’t Trust in Science: They buy propaganda lies[…]

FPV Flying In Mixed Reality Is Easier Than You’d Think | Hackaday

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Flying a first-person view (FPV) remote controlled aircraft with goggles is an immersive experience that makes you feel as if you’re really sitting in the cockpit of the plane or quadcopter. Unfortunately, while your wearing the goggles, you’re also completely blind to the world around you. That’s why you’re supposed to have a spotter nearby Read more about FPV Flying In Mixed Reality Is Easier Than You’d Think | Hackaday[…]

Volkswagen data leak exposed the precise locations of 800,000 EV owners

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Volkswagen software subsidiary called Cariad experienced a massive data leak that left 800,000 EV owners exposed, according to reporting by the German publication Spiegel Netzwelt. The leak allowed personal information to be left online for months, including movement data and contact information. This included precise location data for 460,000 vehicles made by VW, Seat Read more about Volkswagen data leak exposed the precise locations of 800,000 EV owners[…]

Air taxi Volocopter latest to file for bankruptcy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

German electric air taxi company Volocopter has filed for bankruptcy protection, the latest in a string of similar startups to hit financial turbulence. The company plans to keep operating while it searches for new investors. “We are ahead of our industry peers in our technological, flight test, and certification progress. That makes us an attractive Read more about Air taxi Volocopter latest to file for bankruptcy[…]

Siri “unintentionally” recorded private convos on phone, watch, then sold them to advertisers; yes those ads are very targeted Apple agrees to pay $95M, laughs to the bank

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that were then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads. In the proposed class-action settlement—which comes after five years of litigation—Apple admitted to no wrongdoing. Instead, the settlement refers to “unintentional” Siri Read more about Siri “unintentionally” recorded private convos on phone, watch, then sold them to advertisers; yes those ads are very targeted Apple agrees to pay $95M, laughs to the bank[…]

Xiaomi changes bootloader unlock policy to wait and one device per year. Who owns the device you bought?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]A year after introducing waiting periods and a cumbersome community participation and request system, it’s slashed bootloader unlock allowances to just one device per user, per year[…] Historically, manufacturers have let buyers unlock that access and customize what software their phones run. Notable exceptions in the US have, for the most part, only included carrier-specific Read more about Xiaomi changes bootloader unlock policy to wait and one device per year. Who owns the device you bought?[…]