Author: Robin Edgar

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

Swiss lab’s rooftop demo makes fuel from sunlight and air

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] the pilot system demonstrates an important possible source of carbon-neutral fuel for industries struggling to decarbonise, such as aviation and shipping, which currently contribute around 8 per cent of total carbon dioxide emissions attributed to human activity. But, producing 32 millilitres of methanol in a typical seven-hour-day run, the current proof of concept will Read more about Swiss lab’s rooftop demo makes fuel from sunlight and air[…]

Fifth Circuit Says Man Can’t Sue Federal Agencies For Allegedly Targeting and Tormenting Him After He Refused To Be An FBI Informant

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The secrecy surrounding all things national security-related continues to thwart lawsuits alleging rights violations. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has just dumped a complaint brought by Abdulaziz Ghedi, a naturalized American citizen who takes frequent trips to Somalia, the country he was born in. According to Ghedi’s complaint, rejecting the advances of one federal Read more about Fifth Circuit Says Man Can’t Sue Federal Agencies For Allegedly Targeting and Tormenting Him After He Refused To Be An FBI Informant[…]

EU Plans to Ban Trading Practice That Helps Fuel GameStop Value Surge – or retail traders actually trade

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European Commission is planning to ban payment for order flow, paralleling potential U.S. moves to stem a practice that hit the headlines during the meme-stock mania. A forthcoming review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive will include a ban amid other measures to increase transparency, such as a consolidated tape of information about Read more about EU Plans to Ban Trading Practice That Helps Fuel GameStop Value Surge – or retail traders actually trade[…]

Researchers develop program to read any genome sequence and decipher its genetic code – shows underlying evolutionary forces

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Yekaterina “Kate” Shulgina was a first year student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, looking for a short computational biology project so she could check the requirement off her program in systems biology. She wondered how genetic code, once thought to be universal, could evolve and change. That was 2016 and today Shulgina Read more about Researchers develop program to read any genome sequence and decipher its genetic code – shows underlying evolutionary forces[…]

How to Stop Chrome From Sharing Your Motion Data on Android

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Mysk, a duo of app developers and security researchers, recently exposed Chrome’s shadiness on Twitter. In the tweet, Mysk brings to light that, by default, Chrome is sharing your phone’s motion data with the websites you visit. This is not cool. Why you don’t want third parties accessing your motion data To start with, Read more about How to Stop Chrome From Sharing Your Motion Data on Android[…]

Got Anything To Talk About? These Dutch Hackers Want You To Say It To Them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As we head into another Northern Hemisphere pandemic winter and hope that things won’t be quite as bad this year, next summer seems an extremely long time away in the future. But it will be upon us sooner than we might think, and along with it will we hope come a resumption of full-scale hacker Read more about Got Anything To Talk About? These Dutch Hackers Want You To Say It To Them[…]

Microsoft will now snitch on you at work like never before

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[…] this news again comes courtesy of Microsoft’s roadmap service, where Redmond prepares you for the joys to come. This time, there are a couple of joys. The first is headlined: “Microsoft 365 compliance center: Insider risk management — Increased visibility on browsers.” It all sounded wonderful until you those last four words, didn’t it? Read more about Microsoft will now snitch on you at work like never before[…]

Robinhood Hack Compromises Millions of Customer Email Addresses

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Someone recently hacked and attempted to extort Robinhood, the popular investment and trading platform, gaining access to millions of customers’ email addresses and full names in the process. The platform revealed the security incident in a blog post published Monday, assuring users that nobody had lost any money as a result of the incident. “An Read more about Robinhood Hack Compromises Millions of Customer Email Addresses[…]

Star System With Right-Angled Planets Surprises Astronomers

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this report from the New York Times about a “particularly unusual” star about 150 light-years away that’s orbited by three planets: What’s unusual is the inclinations of the outer two planets, HD 3167 c and d. Whereas in our solar system all the planets orbit in the same flat plane around the sun, these two Read more about Star System With Right-Angled Planets Surprises Astronomers[…]

No toilet for returning SpaceX crew, stuck using diapers – had just eaten chilli and tacos

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The astronauts who will depart the International Space Station on Sunday will be stuck using diapers on the way home because of their capsule’s broken toilet. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur described the situation Friday as “suboptimal” but manageable. She and her three crewmates will spend 20 hours in their SpaceX capsule, from the time the Read more about No toilet for returning SpaceX crew, stuck using diapers – had just eaten chilli and tacos[…]

Alfa Romeo will debut an all-electric Giulia sedan in 2024

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Alfa Romeo Italian automaker Alfa Romeo is developing an all-electric version of its four-door Giulia sedan. In an interview with Auto Express, Jean-Philippe Imparato, the company’s CEO, said Alfa Romeo would debut the EV sometime in 2024. Additionally, he revealed the car will be built on the STLA Large platform from its parent company Stellantis. Read more about Alfa Romeo will debut an all-electric Giulia sedan in 2024[…]

Reg reader ditches Samsung smart TV after seeing huge UI ads everywhere

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A Register reader triggered a kerfuffle for Samsung after asking the electronics biz if he could disable large and intrusive adverts splattered across his new smart TV’s programme guide. Ross McKillop bought the telly from UK retailer John Lewis but felt distinctly undersold when he turned it on to find the internet-connected device displaying advertising Read more about Reg reader ditches Samsung smart TV after seeing huge UI ads everywhere[…]

Kleiman v. Wright: $65 Billion Bitcoin Case Has Started

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The civil trial of Ira Kleiman vs. Craig Wright started on Monday in Miami. The estate of David Kleiman is suing Craig Wright, the self declared inventor of bitcoin, for 50% ownership of 1.1 million bitcoins. The estate claims Kleiman was in a partnership with Wright to mine the coins but after Kleiman died in Read more about Kleiman v. Wright: $65 Billion Bitcoin Case Has Started[…]

Code compiled to WASM may lack standard security defenses

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[…] In a paper titled, The Security Risk of Lacking Compiler Protection in WebAssembly, distributed via ArXiv, the technical trio say that when a C program is compiled to WASM, it may lack anti-exploit defenses that the programmer takes for granted on native architectures. The reason for this, they explain, is that security protections available Read more about Code compiled to WASM may lack standard security defenses[…]

Likely Drone Attack On U.S. Power Grid Revealed In New Intelligence Report

Posted on by Robin Edgar

U.S. officials believe that a DJI Mavic 2, a small quadcopter-type drone, with a thick copper wire attached underneath it via nylon cords was likely at the center of an attempted attack on a power substation in Pennsylvania last year. An internal U.S. government report that was issued last month says that this is the Read more about Likely Drone Attack On U.S. Power Grid Revealed In New Intelligence Report[…]

US bans trade with security firm NSO Group over Pegasus spyware

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Surveillance software developer NSO Group may have a very tough road ahead. The US Commerce Department has added NSO to its Entity List, effectively banning trade with the firm. The move bars American companies from doing business with NSO unless they receive explicit permission. That’s unlikely, too, when the rule doesn’t allow license exceptions for Read more about US bans trade with security firm NSO Group over Pegasus spyware[…]

UK Schools Normalizing Biometric Collection By Using Facial Recognition For Meal Payments

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Subjecting students to surveillance tech is nothing new. Most schools have had cameras installed for years. Moving students from desks to laptops allows schools to monitor internet use, even when students aren’t on campus. Bringing police officers into schools to participate in disciplinary problems allows law enforcement agencies to utilize the same tech and analytics Read more about UK Schools Normalizing Biometric Collection By Using Facial Recognition For Meal Payments[…]

Nintendo Killed Emulation Sites Then Released Garbage N64 Games For The Switch

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] You will recall that a couple of years back, Nintendo opened up a new front on its constant IP wars by going after ROM and emulation sites. That caused plenty of sites to simply shut themselves down, but Nintendo also made a point of getting some scalps to hang on its belt, most famously Read more about Nintendo Killed Emulation Sites Then Released Garbage N64 Games For The Switch[…]

NFI decrypts Tesla’s hidden driving data

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[…] The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) said it discovered a wealth of information about Tesla’s Autopilot, along with data around speed, accelerator pedal positions, steering wheel angle and more. The findings will allow the government to “request more targeted data” to help determine the cause of accidents, the investigators said. The researchers already knew that Read more about NFI decrypts Tesla’s hidden driving data[…]

Commercial and Military Applications and Timelines for Quantum Technology | RAND

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This report provides an overview of the current state of quantum technology and its potential commercial and military applications. The author discusses each of the three major categories of quantum technology: quantum sensing, quantum communication, and quantum computing. He also considers the likely commercial outlook over the next few years, the major international players, and Read more about Commercial and Military Applications and Timelines for Quantum Technology | RAND[…]

Google pays fines to Russia over banned content – because fine is paltry

Posted on by Robin Edgar

 U.S. tech giant Google has paid Russia more than 32 million roubles ($455,079) in fines for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal, the company and a Russian lawmaker said after talks on Monday. […] In 2020, Google’s compliance with requests to delete content was 96.2%, Pancini said, and in the first half of this Read more about Google pays fines to Russia over banned content – because fine is paltry[…]

5 notable Facebook fuckups in the recent relevations

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Facebook Papers are based on leaks from former Facebook staffer Frances Haugen and other inside sources. Haugen has appeared before US Congress, British Parliament, and given prominent television interviews. Among the allegations raised are that Facebook: Knows that its algorithms lead users to extreme content and that it employs too few staff or contractors Read more about 5 notable Facebook fuckups in the recent relevations[…]