Sign of the times

[ekim68]

LidarPhone attack converts smart vacuums into microphones

A team of academics has detailed this week novel research that converted a smart vacuum cleaner into a microphone capable of recording nearby conversations.

Named LidarPhone, the technique works by taking the vacuum's built-in LiDAR laser-based navigational component and converting it into a laser microphone.

 

[ekim68]

US Emissions to Drop 9% in 2020, Putting Country Back on Track for Paris Commitment

The U.S. economy is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 9 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, BloombergNEF reported Thursday.

It's a sign of the impact that COVID-19 shutdowns and the ensuing recession have had on life in the U.S. When workers stayed home and the streets emptied out, it reduced emissions from transportation, which accounted for the largest decline at 4 percent of economywide emissions. The power sector drove another 2.8 percent decline, while reduced industrial activity lowered emissions by another 1.6 percent.

 

[ekim68]

This flight map shows a shocking amount of Thanksgiving travel, despite CDC advice

Flightradar24 data reveals that more flights are in the air today than on the same travel day two years ago, even though the CDC has recommended against traveling for the holiday.

 

[Cookiegal]

Steppenwolf,

I've deleted the last two posts you made here and given you a warning with the loss of 1 point for trying to incite debate in a Random Discussion thread.

There's no reason to quote a post that's almost 1-1/2 years old to try to incite controversy. This is not the Controversial Topics forum. You've been around long enough to know the difference yet you continuously post inappropriate content helter skelter. You've also been warned about this in the past so if you continue to ignore the guidelines for posting in the various forums then we'll have to ask you to refrain from posting at all.

 

[ekim68]

EU says it could be self-sufficient in electric vehicle batteries by 2025

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union could produce enough batteries by 2025 to power its fast-growing fleet of electric vehicles without relying on imported cells, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday.

 

[ekim68]

Amazon's ad-hoc Ring, Echo mesh network can mooch off your neighbors' Wi-Fi if needed – and it's opt-out

Amazon is close to launching Sidewalk – its ad-hoc wireless network for smart-home devices that taps into people's Wi-Fi – and it is pretty much an opt-out affair.

The gist of Sidewalk is this: nearby Amazon gadgets, regardless of who owns them, can automatically organize themselves into their own private wireless network mesh, communicating primarily using Bluetooth Low Energy over short distances, and 900MHz LoRa over longer ranges.

 

[ekim68]

1% of farms operate 70% of world's farmland

One per cent of the world’s farms operate 70% of crop fields, ranches and orchards, according to a report that highlights the impact of land inequality on the climate and nature crises.

Since the 1980s, researchers found control over the land has become far more concentrated both directly through ownership and indirectly through contract farming, which results in more destructive monocultures and fewer carefully tended smallholdings.

 

[ekim68]

As ‘Doonesbury’ turns 50, Garry Trudeau picks his 10 defining strips

In the beginning, while still in college, Garry Trudeau thought he might commit to his syndicated strip “for a year or two.” Now, he has reached a rare perch: His “Doonesbury” is one of the few newspaper comics ever to hit the half-century mark as the creation of a single mind.

 

[ekim68]

Pushed by Pandemic, Amazon Goes on a Hiring Spree Without Equal

The company has added 427,300 employees in 10 months, bringing its global work force to more than 1.2 million.

 

[ekim68]

Tasmania declares itself 100 per cent powered by renewable electricity

The Tasmania government has declared that it has become the first Australian state, and one of just a handful of jurisdictions worldwide, to be powered entirely by renewable electricity.

In a statement released on Friday, Tasmanian energy minister Guy Barnett said that state had effectively become entirely self-sufficient for supplies of renewable electricity, supplied by the state’s wind and hydroelectricity projects.

 

[ekim68]

Tesla owners are going to be able to remotely view what their Autopilot cameras can see

Tesla’s Sentry Mode is about to bring things to a whole new level by enabling Tesla owners to remotely see what their cars can see through Autopilot cameras.

 

[ekim68]

AutoX rolls out first fully autonomous taxi fleet in China

After joining forces with Alibaba's Amap to pilot robo-taxi ride-hailing services in April, and then opening the service to the Shanghai public, AutoX has now launched the first fully driverless fleet in China's Shenzhen megacity.

As with other autonomous vehicle ride-hailing projects around the world, AutoX RoboTaxis in China have so far had safety drivers ready to take over control of the vehicles should a problem arise. After conducting "driverless stress tests" using 25 vehicles for the last six months or so, the company has now deployed a completely autonomous fleet in downtown Shenzhen.

 

[ekim68]

China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun' (Update)

China successfully powered up its "artificial sun" nuclear fusion reactor for the first time, state media reported Friday, marking a great advance in the country's nuclear power research capabilities.

The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China's largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device, and scientists hope that the device can potentially unlock a powerful clean energy source.

 

[ekim68]

Divers discover Nazi WW2 enigma machine in Baltic Sea

German divers searching the Baltic Sea for discarded fishing nets have stumbled upon a rare Enigma cipher machine used by the Nazi military during World War Two which they believe was thrown overboard from a scuttled submarine.

 

[ekim68]

One in Six Cadillac Dealers Opt to Close Instead of Selling Electric Cars: Report

General Motors knows all too well that a fully electric future is coming. As a company, GM wants to have 30 EVs for sale by 2025 and Cadillac will reportedly be leading the Detroit automaker's electric charge in the United States. Recently, it was reported that GM told dealerships to invest in the future or get out of the way. Cadillac has 880 dealerships nationwide, and now, citing sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that 150 of them have taken a $300,000 to $1,000,000 buyout to cease operations instead of investing $200,000 in charging infrastructure and other updates to their facilities to support the brand's electric future.