Linking ideas with the world
You might be surprised to learn that the first laptop with built-in solar panels is nearly 15 years old. But to me, the bigger shock is that with all the recent advancements in photovoltaic cells, manufacturers haven’t revisited this idea more often. But at MWC 2025, Lenovo is changing that with its Yoga Solar PC Read more about The Lenovo Solar PC Concept feels like a device whose time has come[…]
Machine learning has become more and more powerful, to the point where a bad actor can take a photo and a voice recording of someone you know, and forge a complete video recording. See the “OmniHuman-1” model developed by ByteDance: discussion on X ByteDance’s paper Bad actors can now digitally impersonate someone you love, Read more about PeerAuth – easy way to authenticate a real person[…]
Blue Ghost, a NASA-funded lunar lander built and operated by the private U.S. company Firefly Aerospace, has successfully touched down on the moon. After 45 days in space—and a pulse-pounding semi-autonomous hour-long descent to its landing site—at 3:35 A.M. EST three of the boxy, car-sized spacecraft’s four footpad-tipped legs crunched into the surface of Mare Read more about Blue Ghost, a Private U.S. Spacecraft, Successfully Lands on the Moon[…]
Reddit post detailing how someone took a 27-year-old visual basic EXE file, fed it to Claude 3.7, and watched as it reverse-engineered the program and rewrote it in Python. It was an old Visual Basic 4 program they had written in 1997. Running a VB4 exe in 2024 can be a real yak-shaving compatibility nightmare, Read more about 27-Year-Old VB4 EXE turned into Python in minutes (with Claude) – AI-Assisted reverse engineering[…]
The best treatment for a hard knock on the head might someday involve a quick sniff of a nasal spray. Researchers have found early evidence in mice that an antibody-based treatment delivered up the nose can reduce the brain damage caused by concussions and more serious traumatic injuries. Scientists at Mass General Brigham conducted the Read more about A Nasal Spray for Concussions Shows Early Promise[…]
In today’s “futuristic tech you can get for $5”, [RealCorebb] shows us a gesture sensor, one of the sci-fi kind. He was doing a desktop clock build, and wanted to add gesture control to it – without any holes that a typical optical sensor needs. After some searching, he’s found Microchip’s MGC3130, a gesture sensing Read more about This Gesture Sensor Is Precise, Cheap, Well-Hidden[…]
On Wednesday we shared that we’re introducing a new Terms of Use (TOU) and Privacy Notice for Firefox. Since then, we’ve been listening to some of our community’s concerns with parts of the TOU, specifically about licensing. Our intent was just to be as clear as possible about how we make Firefox work, but in Read more about Mozilla updates updated TOS for Firefox and is now more confusing but does not look private[…]
If you use the uBlock Origin extension in Google Chrome or Edge, you should probably start looking for alternative browsers or extensions—either way. A few days ago, users noticed that Google had begun disabling uBlock Origin and other Manifest V2-based extensions as part of the migration to Manifest V3. Now, Microsoft Edge appears to be Read more about Microsoft begins turning off uBlock Origin and other extensions in Edge[…]
[…] This work reports a bio-integrated gustatory interface, “e-Taste,” to address the underrepresented chemical dimension in current VR/AR technologies. This system facilitates remote perception and replication of taste sensations through the coupling of physically separated sensors and actuators with wireless communication modules. By using chemicals representing five basic tastes […] Gustation, an essential component of Read more about e-taste allows you to send flavours in VR[…]
The UK is full of unhappy workers that are unable to manage their payday cash amid online service outages at a host of major banks. Downdetector indicates trouble at Lloyds Bank, Halifax, TSB, Nationwide, First Direct, Bank of Scotland, and Barclays, although the latter’s woes appear to have been resolved since the surge of complaints Read more about Payday from hell as several Brit banks report major outages[…]
Citigroup credited a client’s account with $81tn when it meant to send only $280, an error that could hinder the bank’s attempt to persuade regulators that it has fixed long-standing operational issues. The erroneous internal transfer, which occurred last April and has not been previously reported, was missed by both a payments employee and a Read more about Citigroup erroneously credited client account with $81tn in ‘near miss’ due to really atrocious UI[…]
What if your electronic devices could adapt on the fly to temperature, pressure, or impact? Thanks to a new breakthrough in downsizing quantum materials, that idea is becoming a reality. In an article published this month in Applied Physics Express, a multi-institutional research team led by Osaka University announced that they have successfully synthesized an Read more about Ultrathin films are revolutionizing electrical conductivity[…]
As explained by the researchers in a blog post, they have essentially found a way to turn any device such as a phone or laptop into an AirTag “without the owner ever realizing it.” After that, hackers could remotely track the location of that device. […] Although AirTag was designed to change its Bluetooth address Read more about Apple’s Find My exploit lets hackers track any Bluetooth device[…]
[…]EA’s announced that it’s releasing the source code for a bunch of old C&C games and—here’s the bit where I, as a man who enjoys modding but is also very lazy, gets excited—adding Steam Workshop support to a few more. The games getting a source code release are Command & Conquer (Tiberian Dawn), Red Alert, Read more about EA just released source code for a bunch of old Command and Conquer games, and added Steam Workshop support to some more[…]
The measles outbreak in Texas has now turned deadly. Texas and federal health officials have just reported the first deaths attributed to the still-growing outbreak, which has sickened over a hundred people. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported the tragic death of an unvaccinated “school-aged” child Wednesday morning. In the first cabinet meeting Read more about Measles Outbreak in Texas Turns Deadly so dumbass anti vax Parents Scramble for Shots[…]
Warner Bros Discovery recently shut down a trio of game studios, including the well-regarded Monolith Productions. This has put one of the coolest game mechanics of the 2010s in limbo. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’s excellent Nemesis system is locked behind a patent owned by Warner Bros all the way until 2036, according to reporting by Read more about Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system is locked behind a patent until 2036 – you can patent that an enemy remembers you and your fights with him, apparently[…]
In a recent blog post titled “It is no longer safe to move our governments and societies to US clouds,” Bert Hubert, an entrepreneur, software developer, and part-time technical advisor to the Dutch Electoral Council, articulated such concerns. “We now have the bizarre situation that anyone with any sense can see that America is no Read more about After Snowden and now Trump, Europe Finally begins to worry about US-controlled clouds[…]
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Andrew Ferguson urging the FTC to require that companies admit when you’re not really buying an ebook or video game. Wyden’s letter, shared with The Verge, requests guidance to “ensure that consumers who purchase or license digital goods can make informed Read more about Ron Wyden asks for rules about knowing whether you own your digital purchases[…]
This week, Amazon is eliminating the “Download & Transfer via USB” option for Kindle users. If you own a vast library and hope to take your reading elsewhere, this may be your last opportunity. Amazon has stated in a note on users’ library management page that, starting Wednesday, Feb. 26, it was eliminating “Download & Read more about You Should Download Your Kindle E-Books Now, Before It’s Too Late[…]
What does one do when frustrated at the lack of affordable, open source portable trackers? If you’re [OG-star-tech], you design your own and give it modular features that rival commercial offerings while you’re at it. What’s a star tracker? It’s a method of determining position based on visible stars, but when it comes to astrophotography the Read more about DIY Open-Source Star Tracker Gets You Those Great Night Shots can also be bought[…]
Google’s purge of Manifest v2-based extensions from its Chrome browser is underway, as many users over the past few days may have noticed. Popular content-blocking add-on (v2-based) uBlock Origin is now automatically disabled for many in the ubiquitous browser as it continues the V3 rollout. […] According to the company, Google’s decision to shift to Read more about Google pulls plug on Ad blockers such as uBlock Origin by killing Manifest v2[…]
In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, the integration of generative AI has become a pivotal point of discussion. To delve deeper into this groundbreaking technology and its impact on cybersecurity, we turn to renowned cybersecurity expert Jeremiah Fowler. In this exclusive Q&A session with vpnMentor, Fowler sheds light on the critical role that generative AI Read more about Generative AI’s Impact on Cybersecurity – Q&A With an Expert[…]
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has experienced $1.46 billion worth of “suspicious outflows,” according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. The wallet in question appears to have sent 401,346 ETH ($1.1 billion) as well as several other iterations of staked ether (stETH) to a fresh wallet, which is now liquidating mETH and stETH on decentralized exchanges, etherscan shows. The Read more about Bybit Loses $1.5B in Hack of single cold wallet[…]
Good work, Britain. Owners of Apple devices in the United Kingdom will be a little less safe moving forward as the company pulls its most secure end-to-end (E2E) encryption from the country. The move is in response to government demands there that Apple build a backdoor into its iCloud encryption feature that would allow law Read more about Apple Says ‘No’ to UK Backdoor Order, Will Just Disable E2E Cloud Encryption Instead[…]
Lithium (Li) ions are central to the energy storing functionality of rechargeable batteries1. Present technology relies on sophisticated Li-inclusive electrode materials to provide Li ions and exactingly protect them to ensure a decent lifetime2. Li-deficient materials are thus excluded from battery design, and the battery fails when active Li ions are consumed3. Our study breaks Read more about External Li supply reshapes Li deficiency and lifetime limit of batteries[…]