Author: Robin Edgar

Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft

DARPA’s New X-Plane Aims To Maneuver With Nothing But Bursts Of Air

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has moved into the next phase of its Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors program, or CRANE. The project is centered on an experimental uncrewed aircraft, which Aurora Flight Sciences is developing, that does not have traditional moving surfaces to control the aircraft in flight. Aurora Flight Sciences’ Read more about DARPA’s New X-Plane Aims To Maneuver With Nothing But Bursts Of Air[…]

This man used AI to write and illustrate a children’s book in one weekend. He wasn’t prepared for the backlash.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ammaar Reshi wrote and illustrated a children’s book in 72 hours using ChatGPT and Midjourney. The book went viral on Twitter after it was met with intense backlash from artists. Reshi said he respected the artists’ concerns but felt some of the anger was misdirected. Ammaar Reshi was reading a bedtime story to his friend’s Read more about This man used AI to write and illustrate a children’s book in one weekend. He wasn’t prepared for the backlash.[…]

High-powered lasers can be used to steer lightning strikes

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[…] European researchers have successfully tested a system that uses terawatt-level laser pulses to steer lighting toward a 26-foot rod. It’s not limited by its physical height, and can cover much wider areas — in this case, 590 feet — while penetrating clouds and fog. The design ionizes nitrogen and oxygen molecules, releasing electrons and Read more about High-powered lasers can be used to steer lightning strikes[…]

Quantum Dots / NanoLED Is the Next-Generation Display Technology

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[…] Nanosys, a company whose quantum dot technology is in millions of TVs, offered to show me a top-secret prototype of a next-generation display. Not just any next-gen display, but one I’ve been writing about for years and which has the potential to dethrone OLED as the king of displays. […] Electroluminescent quantum dots. These are Read more about Quantum Dots / NanoLED Is the Next-Generation Display Technology[…]

Contrails Cause 57% of a Plane’s Climate Impact. Can That Be Changed?

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Contrails — the wispy ice clouds trailing behind flying jets — “are surprisingly bad for the environment,” reports CNN: A study that looked at aviation’s contribution to climate change between 2000 and 2018 concluded that contrails create 57% of the sector’s warming impact, significantly more than the CO2 emissions from burning fuel. They do so Read more about Contrails Cause 57% of a Plane’s Climate Impact. Can That Be Changed?[…]

Meta sues surveillance company for allegedly scraping more than 600,000 accounts – pots and kettles

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta has filed a lawsuit against Voyager Labs, which it has accused of creating tens of thousands of fake accounts to scrape data from more than 600,000 Facebook users’ profiles. It says the surveillance company pulled information such as posts, likes, friend lists, photos, and comments, along with other details from groups and pages. Meta Read more about Meta sues surveillance company for allegedly scraping more than 600,000 accounts – pots and kettles[…]

YouTube may fix controversial policy to demonetize videos with swearing – wait why can’t you swear on YouTube? US prudish sensibilities suck ass

Posted on by Robin Edgar

YouTube is rethinking its approach to colorful language after an uproar. In a statement to The Verge, the Google brand says it’s “making some adjustments” to a profanity policy it unveiled in November after receiving blowback from creators. The rule limits or removes ads on videos where someone swears within the first 15 seconds or Read more about YouTube may fix controversial policy to demonetize videos with swearing – wait why can’t you swear on YouTube? US prudish sensibilities suck ass[…]

Posted in Art

AI discovers new nanostructures, reduces experiment time from months to hours

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated that autonomous methods can discover new materials. The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technique led to the discovery of three new nanostructures, including a first-of-its-kind nanoscale “ladder.” The research was published today in Science Advances.. The newly discovered structures were formed by a Read more about AI discovers new nanostructures, reduces experiment time from months to hours[…]

A team of physicists devise a model that maps a star’s surprising orbit about a supermassive black hole

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Hundreds of millions of light-years away in a distant galaxy, a star orbiting a supermassive black hole is being violently ripped apart under the black hole’s immense gravitational pull. As the star is shredded, its remnants are transformed into a stream of debris that rains back down onto the black hole to form a very Read more about A team of physicists devise a model that maps a star’s surprising orbit about a supermassive black hole[…]

D&D Publisher In All kinds of trouble Over Controversial License changes – unsubscribes caused server crash, PR statement made

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After a week of silence amid intense backlash, Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast (WoTC) has finally addressed its community’s concerns about changes to the open gaming license. The open gaming license (OGL) has existed since 2000 and has made it possible for a diverse ecosystem of third-party creators to publish virtual tabletop Read more about D&D Publisher In All kinds of trouble Over Controversial License changes – unsubscribes caused server crash, PR statement made[…]

Rape survivor secretly recorded her abuser’s confession – despite audio + written confessions, jury verdict not unanimous

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A woman who released audio of her rapist’s confession said she wanted to show how “manipulative” abusers can be. Ellie Wilson, 25, secretly captured Daniel McFarlane admitting to his crimes by setting her phone to record in her handbag. McFarlane was found guilty of two rape charges and sentenced to five years in prison in Read more about Rape survivor secretly recorded her abuser’s confession – despite audio + written confessions, jury verdict not unanimous[…]

We Exist Inside a Giant Space Bubble, And Scientists Have Finally Mapped the magnetic field around it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

You may not realize it in your day-to-day life, but we are all enveloped by a giant “superbubble” that was blown into space by the explosive deaths of a dozen-odd stars. Known as the Local Bubble, this structure extends for about 1,000 light years around the solar system, and is one of countless similar bubbles Read more about We Exist Inside a Giant Space Bubble, And Scientists Have Finally Mapped the magnetic field around it[…]

BMW Further Embraces Making Basic Features A Costly Subscription Service – now it’s remote starting

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last year BMW took ample heat for its plans to turn heated seats into a costly $18 per month subscription in numerous countries. As we noted at the time, BMW is already including the hardware in new cars and adjusting the sale price accordingly. So it’s effectively charging users a new, recurring fee to enable Read more about BMW Further Embraces Making Basic Features A Costly Subscription Service – now it’s remote starting[…]

Moderna CEO: 400% price hike on COVID vaccine “consistent with the value”, Pfizer-BioNTech thinks so too

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Moderna is considering raising the price of its COVID-19 vaccine by over 400 percent—from $26 per dose to between $110 and $130 per dose—according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Ars has reached out to Moderna for comment but has not yet received a response. The plan, if realized, would match the previously Read more about Moderna CEO: 400% price hike on COVID vaccine “consistent with the value”, Pfizer-BioNTech thinks so too[…]

Kids Are Being Exposed to Lead From Aircraft at Airports using AVGAS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

People living near airports that service piston-engine aircraft are disproportionately exposed to lead, a dangerous neurotoxin. A study published this week in PNAS Nexus found that children living near the Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County, California, had elevated blood lead levels. They’ve pinpointed piston-engine aircrafts at airports like the one in California as a Read more about Kids Are Being Exposed to Lead From Aircraft at Airports using AVGAS[…]

Corrupt NOTAM database file and backup led to the FAA ground stoppage.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Officials are still trying to figure out exactly what led to the Federal Aviation Administration system outage on Wednesday but have traced it to a corrupt file, which was first reported by CNN. In a statement late Wednesday, the FAA said it was continuing to investigate the outage and “take all needed steps to prevent Read more about Corrupt NOTAM database file and backup led to the FAA ground stoppage.[…]

3 Native Americans ask Apache foundation to change name, hope to cancel a culture bigger than Native Americans have ever been

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Natives in Tech, a US-based non-profit organization, has called upon the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) to change its name, out of respect for indigenous American peoples and to live up to its own code of conduct. In a blog post, Natives in Tech members Adam Recvlohe, Holly Grimm, and Desiree Kane have accused the ASF Read more about 3 Native Americans ask Apache foundation to change name, hope to cancel a culture bigger than Native Americans have ever been[…]

CNET Is Quietly Publishing Articles Generated By AI, curated by journalists

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] CNET, a massively popular tech news outlet, has been quietly employing the help of “automation technology” — a stylistic euphemism for AI — on a new wave of financial explainer articles, seemingly starting around November of last year. In the absence of any formal announcement or coverage, it appears that this was first spotted Read more about CNET Is Quietly Publishing Articles Generated By AI, curated by journalists[…]

Microsoft’s new AI can simulate anyone’s voice with 3 seconds of audi

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Thursday, Microsoft researchers announced a new text-to-speech AI model called VALL-E that can closely simulate a person’s voice when given a three-second audio sample. Once it learns a specific voice, VALL-E can synthesize audio of that person saying anything—and do it in a way that attempts to preserve the speaker’s emotional tone. Further Reading Read more about Microsoft’s new AI can simulate anyone’s voice with 3 seconds of audi[…]

Astronomers Find the Edge of Our Galaxy, 1.04m light years away

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(Andromeda Galaxy) In the quest to find the outer limits of our galaxy, astronomers have discovered over 200 stars that form the Milky Way’s edge, the most distant of which is over one million light-years away—nearly halfway to the Andromeda galaxy. The 208 stars the researchers identified are known as RR Lyrae stars, which are Read more about Astronomers Find the Edge of Our Galaxy, 1.04m light years away[…]

Hydrogen masers (jets at 500 km/s) reveal new secrets of a massive star

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While using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the masers around oddball star MWC 349A scientists discovered something unexpected: a previously unseen jet of material launching from the star’s gas disk at impossibly high speeds. What’s more, they believe the jet is caused by strong magnetic forces surrounding the star. The discovery could Read more about Hydrogen masers (jets at 500 km/s) reveal new secrets of a massive star[…]

Citizen’s volunteer ‘safety’ app accidentally doxxes singer Billie Eilish

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Citizen, the provocative crime-reporting app formerly known as Vigilante, is in the news again for all the wrong reasons. On Thursday evening, it doxxed singer Billie Eilish, publishing her address to thousands of people after an alleged burglary at her home. Shortly after the break-in, the app notified users of a break-in in Los Angeles’ Read more about Citizen’s volunteer ‘safety’ app accidentally doxxes singer Billie Eilish[…]

Google will pay $9.5 million to settle Washington DC AG’s location-tracking lawsuit

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google has agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine, who accused the company earlier this year of “deceiving users and invading their privacy.” Google has also agreed to change some of its practices, primarily concerning how it informs users about collecting, storing and using their Read more about Google will pay $9.5 million to settle Washington DC AG’s location-tracking lawsuit[…]

Spy Tech Palantir’s Covid-era UK health contract extended without public consultation or competition

Posted on by Robin Edgar

NHS England has extended its contract with US spy-tech biz Palantir for the system built at the height of the pandemic to give it time to resolve the twice-delayed procurement of a data platform to support health service reorganization and tackle the massive care backlog. The contract has already been subject to the threat of Read more about Spy Tech Palantir’s Covid-era UK health contract extended without public consultation or competition[…]

LG allows you to choose picture mode by comparing pictures

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Setting up a new TV? Ask any videophile or home theater nerd and they’ll probably tell you to set your picture mode to the movie/cinema option (or whatever’s closest on your particular TV) and leave it there. Traditionally, this has been the most color accurate option and leans toward a pleasant, warm white balance instead Read more about LG allows you to choose picture mode by comparing pictures[…]