Archive for June, 2018
U.S. Prosecutors Pull Encrypted Messages from Phones Seized in Cohen Raids
June 15th, 2018With regard to any application that claims to provide privacy: “The simple fact is that the platforms on which it runs are compromised from the operating systems down to the silicon.” I’m not saying to not encrypt. Encryption can prevent your data from falling into the hands of thieves, Google and maybe the local police. […]
White House Announces 25 Percent Tariff on Chinese Tech Goods
June 15th, 2018Via: The Verge: Today, President Trump announced an aggressive new set of tariffs against China, setting a 25 percent import tax on $50 billion worth of “industrially significant technologies” imported from China. In previous discussions, China has threatened to retaliate against such tariffs, stoking fears of a far-reaching and unpredictable trade war between the countries. […]
Elon Musk’s Boring Co. Asked to Build Chicago High-Speed Transit Between O’Hare and Downtown
June 14th, 2018Via: USA Today: Elon Musk has been tapped to build a futuristic transportation system using high-powered electric “skates” to carry passengers between O’Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will formally announce Thursday that his administration is entering one-on-one negotiations with Musk’s Boring Company to build the high-speed system that will utilize […]
Microsoft Takes Aim at Amazon with Push for Checkout-Free Retail
June 14th, 2018Via: Reuters: Microsoft Corp is working on technology that would eliminate cashiers and checkout lines from stores, in a nascent challenge to Amazon.com Inc’s automated grocery shop, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is developing systems that track what shoppers add to their carts, the people say. Microsoft […]
One in Three Americans Take Meds with Depressive Side Effects
June 12th, 2018Via: AFP: One third of Americans are taking prescription and over-the-counter drugs, such as birth control pills, antacids and common heart medications, that may raise the risk of depression, researchers warned on Tuesday. Since the drugs are so common, people may be unaware of their potential depressive effects, said the report in the Journal of […]
AT&T Buys Time Warner for $85 Billion
June 12th, 2018Insane, anticompetitive, Soviet-style vertical integration. So it goes… Via: Los Angeles Times: In the aftermath of a federal judge’s approval Tuesday of the mega-merger between AT&T and Time Warner, you’ll be reading about how this deal will vastly remake the entertainment and information landscape, most likely at consumers’ expense. That take is absolutely true. What’s […]
U.S. Intelligence Exploring Polymers for Future of Data Storage
June 12th, 2018Via: Nextgov: The U.S. intelligence community wants to unlock more efficient ways to store the trove of data humans generate every day, and it believes our DNA holds the key. The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity last month issued a broad agency announcement seeking research teams for the agency’s Molecular Information Storage program, which aims […]
Solar Has Overtaken Gas and Wind as Biggest Source of New U.S. Power
June 12th, 2018Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: Bloomberg: Despite tariffs that President Trump imposed on imported panels, the U.S. installed more solar energy than any other source of electricity in the first quarter. Developers installed 2.5 gigawatts of solar in the first quarter, up 13 percent from a year earlier, according […]
Two Quantum Computing Bills Are Coming to Congress
June 12th, 2018Disclosure: I am long Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL). — Via: Gizmodo: Quantum computing has made it to the United States Congress. If this field of quantum information is the new space race, the US doesn’t want to fall behind. After all, China has funded a National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences, set to open in […]
Sweden Tries to Halt Its March to Total Cashlessness
June 12th, 2018Via: Bloomberg: A key committee of Swedish lawmakers wants to force the country’s biggest banks to handle cash in an effort to halt the nation’s march toward complete cashlessness. … The move is a response to Sweden’s rapid transformation as it becomes one of the most cashless societies in the world. That’s led to concerns […]
