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#1  Case Closed : iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra............

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@tech      By Losantana16x4      2 hours ago


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#2 Is humanity about to get fu#ked over by its own ambitions in technology ? Maybe.

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@tech      By DocSkyWalker      3 days ago

YT


Fun fact: This is from 7 years ago.

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#3 Mercedes Hires Humanoid Robots to Work at Its Factories

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@tech      By thetfd      3 days ago





Apptronik's Apollo robots are 5'8 in height and will complete manual labor tasks like bringing parts to the Mercedes-Benz a*sembly line.

Mercedes-Benz is adding Apptronik's Apollo humanoid robots to its factories to complete physically intensive and "low-skill" tasks, the car manufacturer and robotics firm announced Friday.

"Mercedes plans to use robotics and Apollo for automating some low skill, physically challenging, manual labor—a model use case which we'll see other organizations replicate in the months and years to come," said Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas in a statement.

Apollo is 5'8 in height, weighs 160 pounds, can lift up to 55 pounds, and can currently run for four hours on a single battery pack, according to the company's website. The general purpose robot has arms and legs as well as eyes with LED lights and a screen on its chest that can display different types of information. Instead of a moving mouth, Apollo's mouth is another screen of sorts that can display a slight smile, a wrench icon, or its battery charge status.

Apollo doesn't have a plug-in option like an electric vehicle to charge. Instead, the humanoid robot has battery packs that must be removed and swapped when it runs out of juice. The robot also doesn't have to use its legs if its tasks are stationary, as its torso can be mounted to a metal post if desired.

When a moving object or person is detected within the "impact zone" close to a walking Apollo, the robot will stop moving for safety reasons. Apollo also comes with software that can remotely control its operations, and the company's website shows that it can even be controlled from a game controller-like device.

The announcement suggests Mercedes may use Apollo to inspect vehicle parts, bring parts to the a*sembly line for human workers to a*semble, and deliver kitted parts, to name a few potential use cases.


 https://www.pcmag.com/new .. Et4KzbHZoM0%3D

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#4 Waymo's Robotaxi Service Expands Into Los Angeles, Offering Free Rides

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@tech      By 00010111      4 days ago

Robotaxis will begin cruising the streets of Los Angeles on Thursday when Google spinoff Waymo starts offering free rides to some of the roughly 50,000 people who have signed up for its driverless ride-hailing service.

Waymo is expanding into Los Angeles, the second largest U.S. city, seven months after California regulators authorized its robotaxis to begin charging for around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco. That came despite objections from local officials who a*serted the driverless vehicles posed unacceptable risks to public safety.

Although Waymo isn't charging for rides in its robotaxis in Los Angeles to start, the company said in a blog post announcing the expansion that it will eventually collect fares from passengers there too. Waymo also hopes to begin commercial operations in Austin, Texas, later this year, a goal that makes its robotaxi service available in four major U.S. cities 15 years after it began as a secret project within Google. Waymo's robotaxis have been charging for rides in Phoenix since 2020.

For now, Waymo's free rides in Los Angeles will cover a 63-square-mile area spanning from Santa Monica to downtown.

Waymo is launching operations in Los Angeles two weeks after the California Public Utilities Commission approved the expansion in a decision that once again overrode the concerns of city transportation officials about robotaxis coming to sudden stops that block roads and the potential for driverless vehicles to malfunction in more serious ways that could jeopardize lives.

The worst fears about robotaxis were realized in San Francisco last October when a vehicle operated by Cruise, a driverless ride-hailing service owned by General Motors, dragged a pedestrian who was hit by another car operated by a human for 20 feet (6 meters) while traveling at roughly 7 mph (11 kph) before coming to a stop. The incident resulted in California regulators suspending Cruise's state license and triggered a massive shakeup at that service.

Waymo's robotaxis so far haven't been involved in any major accidents.


 https://www.inc.com/assoc .. s-of-city.html

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#5  Figure 1 - OpenAi robot update

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@tech      By Timberwolves      4 days ago


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#6 Skynet Is About To Activate And Deactivate All Of Our Jobs

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@tech      By Jago      4 days ago


Scary hours
emoji

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#7  Introducing Devin, the first AI software engineer

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@tech      By TheWatcher      6 days ago

YT

Quote:

Introducing Devin, the groundbreaking AI software engineer that's revolutionizing the field of coding and problem-solving. Devin is the new state-of-the-art on the SWE-Bench coding benchmark, showcasing its unparalleled ability to tackle real-world engineering challenges.

What sets Devin apart? This cutting-edge AI has successfully passed practical engineering interviews from top AI companies and has even completed real jobs on Upwork. Devin is a fully autonomous agent, equipped with its own shell, code editor, and web browser, enabling it to solve complex engineering tasks without human a*sistance.

But the true test of Devin's capabilities lies in the SWE-Bench benchmark, which evaluates an AI's ability to resolve GitHub issues found in real-world open-source projects. Devin's performance is nothing short of remarkable, correctly resolving an astonishing 13.86% of the issues unassisted. This far exceeds the previous state-of-the-art model performance of 1.96% unassisted and 4.80% a*sisted, setting a new standard in the field of AI software engineering.!

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#8  Is the Samsung S24 Ultra the King of Cellphones???

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@tech      By Losantana16x4      1 week ago


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#9  NVIDIA CEO says the future of coding as a career DEAD 😵 🤞 🛜

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+52
  @tech      By Kahlua      1 week ago



At the recent World Government Summit in Dubai, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made a counterintuitive break with what he thinks is a long tradition of tech CEOs advising youngsters to learn how to code. Huang argued that, even at this early stage of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, programming is no longer a vital skill. With coding taken care of by AI, humans can instead focus on more valuable expertise like biology, education, manufacturing, or farming, reasoned the Nvidia head.
egg


After COVID I got no trust for these billionaires, you gotta do the opposite of what they tell you.

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#10  Literally the ONLY Apple Vision Pro Review You Need.

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@tech      By PsyOp      1 week ago


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#11 These Video Doorbells Have Terrible Security. Amazon Sells Them Anyway.

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@tech      By 00010111      2 weeks ago

On a recent Thursday afternoon, a Consumer Reports journalist received an email containing a grainy image of herself waving at a doorbell camera sheÂ’d set up at her back door.

If the message came from a complete stranger, it would have been alarming. Instead, it was sent by Steve Blair, a CR privacy and security test engineer who had hacked into the doorbell from 2,923 miles away.

Blair had pulled similar images from connected doorbells at other CR employeesÂ’ homes and from a device in our Yonkers, N.Y., testing lab. While we expected him to gain access to these devices, it was still a bit shocking to see photos of the journalistÂ’s deck and backyard. After all, video doorbells are supposed to help you keep an eye on strangers at the door, not let other people watch you.

Blair was able to capture those images because he and fellow test engineer David Della Rocca had found serious security flaws in this doorbell, along with others sold under different brands but apparently made by the same manufacturer. The doorbells also lack a visible ID issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) thatÂ’s required by the agencyÂ’s regulations, making them illegal to distribute in the U.S.

Thousands of these video doorbells are sold each month on Amazon and other online marketplaces, including Walmart, Sears, and the globally popular marketplaces Shein and Temu. Experts say theyÂ’re just a drop in the flood of cheap, insecure electronics from Chinese manufacturers being sold in the U.S.

Previously, regulators have a*serted that thousands of unsafe products, including potentially dangerous childrenÂ’s sleepwear, carbon monoxide detectors, and dietary supplements, have been widely available on Amazon.

"Big e-commerce platforms like Amazon need to take more responsibility for the harms generated by the products they sell,” says Justin Brookman, director of technology policy for CR. “There is more they could be doing to vet sellers and respond to complaints. Instead, it seems like they’re coasting on their reputation and saddling unknowing consumers with broken products."


The video doorbells we evaluated have slightly different packaging and plastic casings, but you can tell they're virtually identical, thanks to the placement of their cameras lenses, motion sensors, and doorbell buttons.

Blair and Della Rocca discovered the problems while evaluating a number of video doorbells for our regular ratings program. They were sold under two brand names, Eken and Tuck.

The two devices stood out not just because of the security problems but also because they appeared to be identical, right down to the plain white box they came in, despite having different brand names. Online searches quickly revealed at least 10 more seemingly identical video doorbells being sold under a range of brand names, all controlled through the same mobile app, called Aiwit, which is owned by Eken.

We bought two of these products, sold under the Fishbot and Rakeblue brands, and found the same vulnerabilities.

The security issues are serious. People who face threats from a stalker or estranged abusive partner are sometimes spied on through their phones, online platforms, and connected smartphone devices. The vulnerabilities CR found could allow a dangerous person to take control of the video doorbell on their targetÂ’s home, watching when they and their family members come and go.

"Products like these, by failing to prioritize trust and safety, put domestic violence victims at risk. Without question, the one place a victim needs to be safe is in their home,” says Adam Dodge, CEO of EndTAB, a nonprofit that provides information on how to combat technology-enabled abuse. “Devices designed to make someone feel safe at home, while actually doing the opposite, shouldn’t be allowed on the market."

CR tried to reach company officials at Eken and Tuck, to warn them of the problems, hoping to have the issues fixed before reporting on them publicly. We have not received responses.

First, these doorbells expose your home IP address and WiFi network name to the internet without encryption, potentially opening your home network to online criminals. Security experts worry there could be more problems, including poor security on the company servers where videos are being stored.

“The fact that they aren’t using encryption is egregious,” says Beau Woods, a digital security researcher with the cybersecurity advocacy group I Am The Cavalry. “It indicates there may be a whole host of bad practices.”

The video doorbells pose a special threat to individuals who are in danger from people who know where they live.

Anyone who can physically access one of the doorbells can take over the device—no tools or fancy hacking skills needed. Let’s imagine that an abusive ex-boyfriend wants to watch the comings and goings of his former partner and her children. He’d simply need to create an account on the Aiwit smartphone app, then go to his target’s home and hold down the doorbell button to put it into pairing mode. He could then connect the doorbell to a WiFi hotspot and take control of the device.

As the new "owner" of the device, he could now watch who comes and goes, and when.

And he can see the deviceÂ’s serial number. ThatÂ’s dangerous because of the companyÂ’s poor security systems.

When the stalker pairs the device to his phone, the original owner will get an email saying she no longer has access to the device. That might seem like a small technological glitch she can solve by simply re-pairing the device with her own phone, taking back control.

But once the stalker has the serial number, he can continue to remotely access still images from the video feed. (The CR journalist provided the serial number to Blair to allow him to remotely access her camera.) No password is needed, or even an account with the company, and no notification is sent to the doorbellÂ’s owner.

In our scenario, the dangerous actor will continue to see time-stamped photos of everyone who comes and goes. And if he chooses to share that serial number with other individuals, or even post it online, all those people will be able to monitor the images, too.

"Unencrypted personal data in network traffic is unfortunately not uncommon with connected devices, but I was shocked to find such a gaping security hole allowing complete strangers to freely harvest private video thumbnails,” Blair says. “The lack of basic access controls contradicts basic information security principles. It’s alarming."

Eken, Tuck, and the other brands we saw aren’t the biggest names in the video doorbell market, but they are strong sellers. The doorbells appeared in multiple listings on Amazon—we found eight for the Eken video doorbell and three for the Tuck version of the product. Those listings generated more than 4,200 sales in January 2024 alone.

We also found these doorbells for sale at walmart.com, sears.com, and on the global marketplaces Shein and Temu. And seemingly identical video doorbells are available from even more brands. Walmart.com, for example, is selling them under the names Andoe, Gemee, and Luckwolf.

“The large variety of brands, devices, versions, and sellers can make it extremely hard for buyers” to find safe, reliable products, Woods says. “It also increases the difficulty level for those trying to get unsafe or illegal devices out of these marketplaces.”

In addition to contacting Eken and Tuck, Consumer Reports also told Amazon, Walmart, Sears, Shein, and Temu what weÂ’d found.

If you own one of these doorbells, Consumer Reports recommends that you disconnect it from your home WiFi and remove it from your door. CR has evaluated video doorbells with much better security from brands including Logitech, SimpliSafe, and Ring—which is actually owned by Amazon.

More broadly, donÂ’t a*sume that large online retail platforms have evaluated the safety of all the products they sell. Federal agencies and journalists have reported a variety of dangerous or illegal products for sale on Amazon over the years.

If you bought flawed items from a local store, it might be liable for damages or fines, but in previous legal proceedings Amazon has claimed that it’s not responsible for items sold by third parties on its platform, because for those sellers it’s just acting as a logistics company. The Consumer Product Safety Commission disagrees and has tussled with Amazon over this issue in the past. It is considering an order that would officially classify the marketplace as a “distributor of goods” with the responsibilities of conventional retailers, according to reporting in The Wall Street Journal. If such an order goes through, similar rulings could affect other online marketplaces.

 https://www.consumerrepor .. s-a2579288796/

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#12  Elon Musk Was Cappin (Emails Leaked)

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@tech      By lars      2 weeks ago

OpenAI publishes Elon Musk’s emails. ‘We’re sad that it’s come to this’

OpenAI fired back at Elon Musk, who sued the ChatGPT company last week for chasing profit and diverging from its original, nonprofit mission. Tuesday night, OpenAI published several of Musk’s emails from the early days of the company that appear to show Musk acknowledging OpenAI needed to make a ton of money to fund the incredible computing resources needed to power its AI ambitions.

In the emails, parts of which have been redacted, Musk argues that the company stood virtually no chance of building a successful generative AI platform by raising cash alone, and the company needed to find alternate sources of revenue to survive.

In a November 22, 2015, email to CEO Sam Altman, Musk, an OpenAI co-founder, said the company needed to raise much more than $100 million to “avoid sounding hopeless.” Musk suggested a $1 billion funding commitment and promised that he would cover whatever did not get raised.

OpenAI in a blog post Tuesday night said Musk never followed through on his promise, committing $45 million in funding for OpenAI, while other donors raised $90 million. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Musk, in a February 1, 2018, email, told company executives that the only path forward for OpenAI was for Tesla, his electric car company, to buy it. The company refused, and Musk left OpenAI later that year.

In December 2018, Musk emailed Altman and other executives that OpenAI would not be relevant “without a dramatic change in execution and resources.”

“This needs billions per year immediately or forget it,” Musk emailed. “I really hope I’m wrong.”

OpenAI executives agreed. In 2019, they formed OpenAI LP, a for-profit entity that exists within the larger company’s structure. That for-profit company took OpenAI from effectively worthless to a valuation of $90 billion in just a few years — and Altman is largely credited as the mastermind of that plan and the key to the company’s success.

Microsoft has since committed $13 billion in a close partnership with OpenAI.

Musk’s complaint, filed last week in California state court, said that company and its partnership with Microsoft violated OpenAI’s founding charter, representing a breach of contract. Musk is asking for a jury trial and for the company, Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman to pay back the profit they received from the business.

OpenAI was founded as a check on what the founders believed is a serious threat that artificial generative intelligence, or AGI, posed to humanity. The company created a board of overseers to review any product the company created, and its products’ code was made public.

The company said in its blog post that it has not diverged from its mission, and it would move to dismiss all of Musk’s claims. It said its technology is broadly available and improves people’s lives, while the company continues to commit to the safety of its products.

“We’re sad that it’s come to this with someone whom we’ve deeply admired—someone who inspired us to aim higher, then told us we would fail, started a competitor, and then sued us when we started making meaningful progress towards OpenAI’s mission without him,” the company said in its blog post.


 https://www.cnn.com/2024/ .. ils/index.html


Leaked emails:


[1]
From: Elon Musk <>
To: Greg Brockman <>
CC: Sam Altman <>
Date: Sun, Nov 22, 2015 at 7:48 PM
Subject: follow up from call
Blog sounds good, a*suming adjustments for neutrality vs being YC-centric.

I'd favor positioning the blog to appeal a bit more to the general public -- there is a lot of value to having the public root for us to succeed -- and then having a longer, more detailed and inside-baseball version for recruiting, with a link to it at the end of the general public version.

We need to go with a much bigger number than $100M to avoid sounding hopeless relative to what Google or Facebook are spending. I think we should say that we are starting with a $1B funding commitment. This is real. I will cover whatever anyone else doesn't provide.

Template seems fine, apart from shifting to a vesting cash bonus as default, which can optionally be turned into YC or potentially SpaceX (need to understand how much this will be) stock.
[2]
From: Elon Musk <>
To: Ilya Sutskever <>, Greg Brockman <>
Date: Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 3:52 AM
Subject: Fwd: Top AI institutions today
is exactly right. We may wish it otherwise, but, in my and ’s opinion, Tesla is the only path that could even hope to hold a candle to Google. Even then, the probability of being a counterweight to Google is small. It just isn't zero.
Begin forwarded message:
From: <>
To: Elon Musk <>
Date: January 31, 2018 at 11:54:30 PM PST
Subject: Re: Top AI institutions today
Working at the cutting edge of AI is unfortunately expensive. For example,In addition to DeepMind, Google also has Google Brain, Research, and Cloud. And TensorFlow, TPUs, and they own about a third of all research (in fact, they hold their own AI conferences).

I also strongly suspect that compute horsepower will be necessary (and possibly even sufficient) to reach AGI. If historical trends are any indication, progress in AI is primarily driven by systems - compute, data, infrastructure. The core algorithms we use today have remained largely unchanged from the ~90s. Not only that, but any algorithmic advances published in a paper somewhere can be almost immediately re-implemented and incorporated. Conversely, algorithmic advances alone are inert without the scale to also make them scary.

It seems to me that OpenAI today is burning cash and that the funding model cannot reach the scale to seriously compete with Google (an 800B company). If you can't seriously compete but continue to do research in open, you might in fact be making things worse and helping them out “for free”, because any advances are fairly easy for them to copy and immediately incorporate, at scale.

A for-profit pivot might create a more sustainable revenue stream over time and would, with the current team, likely bring in a lot of investment. However, building out a product from scratch would steal focus from AI research, it would take a long time and it's unclear if a company could “catch up” to Google scale, and the investors might exert too much pressure in the wrong directions.The most promising option I can think of, as I mentioned earlier, would be for OpenAI to attach to Tesla as its cash cow. I believe attachments to other large suspects (e.g. Apple? Amazon?) would fail due to an incompatible company DNA. Using a rocket analogy, Tesla already built the “first stage” of the rocket with the whole supply chain of Model 3 and its onboard computer and a persistent internet connection. The “second stage” would be a full self driving solution based on large-scale neural network training, which OpenAI expertise could significantly help accelerate. With a functioning full self-driving solution in ~2-3 years we could sell a lot of cars/trucks. If we do this really well, the transportation industry is large enough that we could increase Tesla's market cap to high O(~100K), and use that revenue to fund the AI work at the appropriate scale.

I cannot see anything else that has the potential to reach sustainable Google-scale capital within a decade.

More at openAi blog site:

 https://openai.com/blog/openai-elon-musk



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#13  $100 Test may save your life. Stay healthy.

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+45
  @tech      By shooter      2 weeks ago


Request your CT Calcium Score next time you go for a checkup.


Big predictor of heart attack or cardiovascular risk.

Can someone in the medical field confirm/shed some light on this?

US isn't good at preventive healthcare where there's less profit, so take your health into your own hands.

IG

YT

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#14  If this type video isn't regulated ASAP, we're screwed

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+21
  @tech      By shooter      2 weeks ago


YT

Alibaba (Chinese tech Co) showing off their ability to make ai images speak, rap and sing in English.

We are a few weeks away from a wild AI Biden or Trump video.

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#15  MKBHD: Reviewing EVERY Samsung Galaxy S Ever

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@tech      By NBA Brawler      2 weeks ago


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#16  From Science Fiction to Reality: UVC will be at the Front of Mars Colonization - Covspect

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@tech      By SmoothCheese      3 weeks ago

Humanity's quest to eventually colonize Mars faces numerous challenges, chief among them being the unforgiving conditions of the Martian environment. From extreme temperatures to low atmospheric pressure and intense radiation, survival on the red planet demands intensely innovative solutions. The Martian frontier's most well-known advocate, Elon Musk said it best, "If we do not become interplanetary and go beyond our solar system, annihilation of all life on Earth is a certainty", Musk said. "It could be as little as half a billion years; that's only 10% longer than Earth has been around at all”. [11]

In this post, we explore how ultraviolet light (UV-C) radiation, known for its sterilization properties, could play a pivotal role in overcoming some of the hurdles to colonizing Mars. Mars beckons us with its rusty rouge landscape, and the possibility of harboring life, both past and present. But for humans to eventually call the Red Planet home, we face a formidable force: the harsh environment. One tool in humanityÂ’s Mars colonization arsenal is ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation, a powerful tool for sterilization and sanitation.

Enter UVC: The Shining Space Savior

UVC radiation, with wavelengths between 200 and 280 nanometers, falls within the germicidal spectrum. It effectively disrupts the DNA and RNA of microorganisms, preventing them from reproducing and essentially rendering them unable to reproduce and form colonies. This makes UVC ideal for sterilization and decontamination in various settings, including hospitals, manufacturing, laboratories, schools, vertical farming, and food processing facilities.

On Mars, UVC can be deployed in numerous ways to safeguard human health and protect the Martian environment:

Habitat Sterilization: Before MarÂ’s colonists arrive, UVC can be used to thoroughly sterilize habitats and equipment, eliminating any hitchhiking microbes from Earth. This ensures a clean slate for human occupancy and minimizes the risk of introducing contaminants.

Water Purification: UVC can be integrated into water treatment systems to eliminate bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, ensuring safe and clean drinking water for MarsÂ’s future inhabitants.

Waste Management: Human waste treatment is crucial for any sustainable colony. UVC can be used to disinfect waste before processing or disposal, preventing the spread of pathogens and protecting both human health and the Martian environment.

Vertical Farming/Controlled Environmental Agriculture: Growing food on Mars is essential for long-term self-sufficiency. UVC can be used to sterilize the air and surfaces found in vertical farms, preventing the growth of harmful molds and bacteria on crops, and ensuring a safe and healthy food supply. It can also be used to treat common plant diseases like Powdery Mildew and Botrytis. Not only can crops be grown in inhospitable environments, but it also provides shelf-sufficiency and diversification of supplies. For the colonists in space, controlled environmental agriculture (CEA) also will provide a taste of home and a change from the algae-dominated diet they probably have to eat to survive. [14]

Medical Applications: Just like on Earth, UVC can be used in medical facilities on Mars for sterilizing air, and medical instruments, and even treating infections and wounds with 222nm far UV-C, providing essential healthcare for MarsÂ’s inhabitants.

Surface Disinfection: To disinfect surfaces and equipment, potentially reducing the risk of infections. [15]

Air Disinfection: Studies have shown that UVGI can be effective in controlling various harmful microorganisms indoors, including harmful bacteria and viruses. [16]

Seed Treatments: The reaction with UVC initiates a Harber-Weiss-like reaction to propagate antimicrobial hydroxyl-radicals. The process supports pathogen reduction and enhances seed germination rates and sprout yield. [14]

Deactivating Microbes in HVAC Systems

Imagine a fully closed indoor life like a Martian habitat. Recycled air circulates through the HVAC, carrying not just oxygen and warmth, but also potential microbial threats:

Menacing earth-borne microbes: Microbes from Earth could contaminate MarsÂ’ environment, jeopardizing scientific research and potentially introducing harmful pathogens.

Martian microbes (if present): Though the Martian landscape may seem sterile, the possibility of indigenous life, even microscopic, exists. UVC can help prevent the spread of any unknown Martian microbes within the habitat.

Dust and allergens: Dust, rich in minerals and potentially allergens, can pose respiratory problems for colonists. UVC can help break down allergens and reduce dust particles in the air.

How UVC will Help:

UVC, with its germicidal properties, shines a light of hope for those looking to inhabit Mars. When integrated into HVAC systems, it can:

Continuously disinfect circulating air: As air passes through dedicated UVC chambers, its DNA and RNA are disrupted, rendering microbes harmless. This continuous disinfection ensures a cleaner, safer environment for future Mars colonists.

Target high-risk areas: UVC units can be strategically placed near high-risk areas like waste disposal or medical facilities for targeted disinfection, preventing the spread of pathogens.

Supplement traditional filters: While traditional HEPA filters capture dust and particles, UVC can tackle the microscopic threats they miss, providing an extra layer of protection.

Beyond Disinfection: UVC's Alternative Potential Benefits

The benefits of UVC extend beyond just disinfection:

Reduced reliance on toxic chemical cleaners: UVC offers an eco-friendly non-chemical alternative to toxic disinfectants that are harmful to human health, reducing the need for hazardous materials and simplifying waste management on Mars.

Improved air quality: By breaking down allergens and dust particles, UVC can contribute to cleaner, healthier air for colonists, reducing respiratory issues and allergies.

Modular and adaptable: UVC technology can be adapted to different scales and needs, making it suitable for various habitats and applications on Mars.

Challenges and Considerations: Navigating the Martian Landscape

Despite its promise, UVC deployment on Mars comes with challenges:

Power consumption: Operating UVC lamps requires a reliable energy source, which might be scarce on Mars. Integrating renewable energy solutions will be crucial.

Dosage control: Overexposure to UVC can be harmful to human health and damage materials. Precise control and monitoring of UVC dosage are essential to ensure safety and effectiveness. 222nm far UV-C should be considered for in-room applications where human exposure is inevitable and no more than 8 hours of direct exposure to 222nm is advised.

Maintenance and repair: UVC lamps have a typical life span of 1 - 3.5 years and require regular maintenance. Developing robust and efficient repair protocols for the Martian environment will be necessary.

The aspirational dream of colonizing the Red Planet has ignited a global Mars space race, with several countries and organizations vying for supremacy in the cosmic quest for MarsÂ’ future colonization. We know itÂ’s just a matter of when, not if, so, who exactly is looking to pave the way for life on Mars? Let's look closer at the leading nations in this sci-fi-esque race seeking to establish a human presence on Mars.

1. United States (NASA and SpaceX)

At the forefront of the Mars colonization effort is the United States, represented by both NASA and SpaceX. NASA, with its unparalleled expertise in space exploration, has been laying the groundwork for Martian missions for decades. Meanwhile, SpaceX has been making waves with its ambitious plans to colonize Mars through its Starship program [3].

2. China

China has emerged as a formidable contender in the Mars colonization race, with its China National Space Administration (CNSA) spearheading ambitious Martian exploration missions. With successful endeavors such as the Tianwen-1 mission, which includes an orbiter, lander, and rover, China is positioning itself as a key player in the quest for Martian colonization [5].

3. United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United Arab Emirates has made significant strides in Mars exploration with its Emirates Mars Mission, also known as the Hope Probe. This groundbreaking mission aims to study the Martian atmosphere and climate, laying the groundwork for future colonization efforts. The UAE's foray into Martian exploration marks a significant milestone for the region and showcases its commitment to space exploration [6].

4. Russia

Russia remains a prominent player in the Mars colonization race. With a rich history in space exploration, Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, continues to pursue Martian exploration missions and collaborations with international partners. While facing setbacks due to Vladimir PutinÂ’s illegal and ongoing war with Ukraine, Russia's expertise and experience in space travel position it as a key contributor to future Martian endeavors [5].

5. European Union (ESA)

The European Space Agency (ESA), representing a coalition of European nations, is actively engaged in Martian exploration and colonization efforts. Through collaborative missions such as the ExoMars program, which aims to search for signs of past life on Mars, the ESA is playing a crucial role in advancing our understanding of the Red Planet and paving the way for future colonization endeavors [4].

While Mars might seem desolate, it's not entirely devoid of microbial life. The question of whether this life is native or hitchhiked from Earth remains unanswered. However, the presence of any life, even microscopic, poses a significant challenge for future colonists. Introducing Earth microbes could contaminate the Martian ecosystem, jeopardizing potential native life and muddying scientific research. Additionally, Earth-borne pathogens could pose a health risk to colonists.

UVC is Already in Space

NASA has been planning for space agriculture since its early days. Growing plants in zero gravity necessitated the invention of an ethylene scrubber that spawned several lines of air purifiers, but the agency hopes to one day grow food to feed astronauts on other planetary bodies. “Because we spend so much time indoors, and many of these contaminants pass through conventional HVAC filters, you want to be able to address those issues,” said Aaron Engel, Vice President of Fresh-Aire UV. “Filters address one-third of contaminants in the air – dust and dander. The other two-thirds, such as microbes and VOCs, pass through a filter like sand through a tennis racket. Our systems address those two-thirds.”Fresh-Aire UV, a leader in air treatment systems, has significantly contributed to space technology. Adopting Photo-Catalytic Oxidation (PCO) a decade ago, Fresh-Aire UV addressed rising levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in modern indoor spaces, including spacecraft via NASA. Their commitment to enhancing indoor air quality aligns with NASA's stringent standards for astronaut well-being [12].

AquiSense Technologies, specializing in mercury-free UV LED water treatment technology, has actively participated in multiple aerospace projects with NASA, showcasing its expertise in ensuring water safety for astronauts. AquiSense Technologies’ patent-protected UV-C LED Decontamination Module plays a crucial role in inactivating bacteria and maintaining water quality during space missions. Jennifer Pagan PhD, CTO of AquiSense Technologies, said: “It is literally an engineer’s dream to be able to apply their work to something as technically advanced as the space station. I am thrilled that our water disinfection technology will be used to help keep the astronauts safe.” [13].

Fresh-Aire UV of Jupiter, Florida, developed a line of air purifiers that break down organic contaminants with a process called photocatalytic oxidation (PCO). The company gets its nanoparticulate titania suspension, one of the key ingredients for PCO, from a company that developed it under the researcher who invented PCO with NASA funding in the 1990s. Photo credit: NASA. [12]

The Final Frontier Awaits

UVC, with its germicidal impact, promises to be a vital tool for safeguarding the health of future Mars colonists. From sterilizing indoor habitats to treating the water that will be consumed by settlers, UV-C stands as a beacon of hope in the vast expanse of the Martian frontier. As we gaze towards the crimson horizon, let us not forget the transformative power of UVC radiation. With its sterilizing touch and protective powers, UV-C paves the way for a brighter, safer future on the red planet. By understanding its limitations and implementing it responsibly, we can harness its power to create clean, healthy, and sustainable indoor living environments on Mars. As humanity embarks on this extraordinary journey, UVC will be a silent but critical technology, ensuring that the air we breathe on Mars is clean and fresh. The race to colonize Mars is a testament to humanity's insatiable thirst for exploration, survival, and discovery. With nations and organizations around the world banding together to unlock the secrets of the Red Planet, the dream of establishing a human presence on Mars is closer than ever before. UVC radiation presents a multifaceted approach to addressing various challenges a*sociated with indoor life on Mars. From sterilization and microbial control to resource purification, surface, water, and air treatment, and even scientific research, harnessing the power of UVC can significantly contribute to the sustainability and success of future Mars endeavors. So, let us embrace this cosmic ally and journey forth toward a new era of safe, UVC-enabled Mars colonization.

 https://covspect.com/blog .. s-colonization

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#17 White House urges developers to dump C and C++

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+17
  @tech      By 00010111      3 weeks ago


The White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), in a report released Monday, called on developers to reduce the risk of cyberattacks by using programming languages that don’t have memory safety vulnerabilities. Technology companies “can prevent entire classes of vulnerabilities from entering the digital ecosystem” by adopting memory-safe programming languages, the White House said in a news release.

Memory-safe programming languages are protected from software bugs and vulnerabilities related to memory access, including buffer overflows, out-of-bounds reads, and memory leaks. Recent studies from Microsoft and Google have found that about 70 percent of all security vulnerabilities are caused by memory safety issues.

“We, as a nation, have the ability—and the responsibility—to reduce the attack surface in cyberspace and prevent entire classes of security bugs from entering the digital ecosystem but that means we need to tackle the hard problem of moving to memory safe programming languages,” National Cyber Director Harry Coker said in the White House news release.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also urged developers to use memory-safe programming languages in a September blog post. CISA, the FBI, the US National Security Agency, and agencies from allied countries also published the report, “The Case for Memory Safe Roadmaps,” in December.

The new 19-page report from ONCD gave C and C++ as two examples of programming languages with memory safety vulnerabilities, and it named Rust as an example of a programming language it considers safe. In addition, an NSA cybersecurity information sheet from November 2022 listed C#, Go, Java, Ruby, and Swift, in addition to Rust, as programming languages it considers to be memory-safe.

About 22 percent of all software programmers used C++, and 19 percent used C as of 2023, according to Statista, making them less popular than JavaScript, Python, Java and a few others. But the TIOBE Programming Community index ranks only Python as more popular, followed by C, C++, and Java.

One goal of the new report is to shift the responsibility of cybersecurity away from individuals and small businesses and onto large organizations, technology companies, and the US government, which are “more capable of managing the ever-evolving threat,” the White House news release said.

ONCD worked with the private sector, including technology companies, the academic community, and other organizations to develop the recommendations in the report, it said. ONCD issued a request for public input on the topic in August. It also gathered comments in support of the initiative from several technology companies, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Accenture, and Palantir. Other software security experts also praised the report.

The ONCD report is helpful and timely, said Dan Grossman, a computer science professor at the University of Washington. While “dangers of C and C++ have been well-known for decades,” this is a good time for the White House to push for memory safety because practical and mature alternatives are now available, he said.

At the same time, changes are needed because of “the sophistication of threats from adversaries that exploit memory safety violations,” he said.

Discussions about memory safety involving the government, industry, and academic can lead to meaningful change, he added. “Naturally, many branches of the federal government are key creators and vendors for software and they can use this perspective in deciding their priority for upcoming changes to systems or new systems.”

However, a move away from C and C++ won’t happen overnight, especially in embedded systems, Grossman said. “But the use of other languages for systems software, notably Rust, has already grown significantly, and I think many people anticipate that sort of evolution accelerating rather than C and C++ development simply stopping, which still seems unimaginable in its entirety.”

Moving away from C and C++ will be a “long and difficult process,” added Josh Aas, executive director and co-founder of the Internet Security Research Group. “It takes a sustained effort to change the way people think about things, and communications like this help keep the issue of safety fresh in peoples’ minds.”

For the change to happen, the government and the private sector need to work together to make secure code a priority, Aas said.

“Ultimately, we need to write and deploy new code, but in order to get there, we need resources and we need leaders at all levels, from government to the private sector, to make it a priority,” he added. “Relevant leaders need to be made aware of the problem, and they need to know that they are going to be supported if they make solving this problem a priority.”


 https://www.infoworld.com .. p-c-and-c.html

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#18 Bumble cuts ~350 employees as dating apps face a reckoning

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@tech      By 00010111      3 weeks ago

Bumble, a once-powerful force in online dating, is facing a reckoning.

The company posted weak Q4 2023 results today showing a $32 million net loss and $273.6 million in revenue. While up from the same period a year ago, earnings came in below Wall Street expectations and were paired with a disappointing Q1 2024 forecast — sending Bumble’s stock tumbling ~10% in after-hours trading.

BumbleÂ’s taking drastic action to stem the bleeding.

CEO Lidiane Jones (pictured above) announced that 30% of BumbleÂ’s workforce, or about 350 employees, would be let go, and that Bumble would embark on an app overhaul targeted at reviving growth. The near-term product roadmap will focus on AI and enhanced safety measures, Jones said, as well as features designed to appeal to younger audiences.

“We believe these actions will strengthen our foundational capabilities and enable us to continue delivering new and engaging user experiences that create healthy and equitable relationships,” Jones said during a call on today’s earnings. “We have a lot of users today that love the paradigm of the online dating — swiping and discovery and searching — but there’s also a set of users that want more flexibility to be able to experience and discover people in a more organic and natural way.”

Bumble is facing challenges on multiple fronts as its main rival, Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge and Match among other dating apps, goes after Gen Z users with increasingly aggressive marketing tactics.

BumbleÂ’s payer growth has been slowing since late 2021, and many of the capabilities introduced in BumbleÂ’s apps in the past 18 months havenÂ’t resonated with the user base, Jones said during the call.

Bumble has also had to contend with internal organizational shifts in the wake of founder Whitney Wolfe Herd stepping down as CEO last November and transitioning into the role of executive chair. Jones, who joined from Slack in January, appointed four new C-suite executives at Bumble in the last week alone.

Slower growth isn’t unique to Bumble. Dating apps generally — including Match Group’s — have seen declining revenue from users reluctant to fork over cash for premium add-ons. According to a 2023 Pew Research study, while 41% of users age 30 or older have paid for dating apps, just 22% of users under 30 — the demographic seen as most desirable — have done the same.

Platforms have attempted to combat the decline in various ways. Tinder is pivoting to focus on long-term relationships — a top priority for Gen Z, which polls show are less interested in casual relationships and hookups. Hinge, among others, meanwhile, is embracing the move to IRL meetups, launching a fund and promotions to sponsor singles events.

 https://techcrunch.com/20 .. /?guccounter=1

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#19 Apple cancels Apple Car project after more than a decade

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@tech      By 00010111      3 weeks ago

Bloomberg reports that Apple has officially canceled its effort to build an electric car. The move was announced internally by Apple COO Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, who had been leading the Apple Car project since 2021.

“Apple’s most senior executives finalized the decision in recent weeks,” the report says. The project had reached a “make-or-break point” inside Apple, with Tim Cook also facing pressure from shareholders to make a decision.

According to the story, there are over 2,000 people working on the Apple Car – or Project Titan – team. As part of this decision to shutter the project, some employees will move to Apple’s AI team led by John Giannandrea.

But that offer won’t be extended to everyone working on the Apple Car project. Some employees might be able to “apply for jobs on other Apple teams,” but there “will be layoffs,” Bloomberg says. It’s not explicitly clear how many lay-offs will happen.

Quote:

Apple made the disclosure internally Tuesday, surprising the nearly 2,000 employees working on the project, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the announcement wasnÂ’t public. The decision was shared by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the effort, according to the people.
Apple has been working on an electric car of some sort since 2014. The project has ebbed and flowed quite a bit over the years. Most recently, it was reported that Apple was targeting a 2028 release date for its electric car with a price at around $100,000. The companyÂ’s initial goal was to ship a car that was fully autonomous, without steering wheels or pedals. Those ambitions, were dramatically scaled back in recent years.

In terms of leadership, the Apple Car project was led by Doug Field. Tesla originally hired Field away from Apple in 2013 to help lead the production ramp for the Model 3. Field landed back at Apple in 2018 to help lead the Apple Car project, before departing for Ford in September 2021.

Elon Musk responded to todayÂ’s news in a post on Twitter with a saluting emoji. Musk promised that his company would ship a vehicle without a steering wheel by 2021, but that obviously (shockingly) did not come to fruition.


 https://9to5mac.com/2024/ .. e-ai-projects/

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#20  Motorola's Bendy Phone

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@tech      By thetfd      3 weeks ago









Motorola brought its adaptive display concept device to Mobile World Congress and I got to take a look at it. This flexible phone, announced last year at Lenovo Tech World, can fit around your wrist more like a cuff than a bracelet. Does it make any sense?

This thing is really quite crazy. Flexible displays have been around for quite a few years now, but few bend as much as this one does. When laid out flat, the concept has a large 6.9-inch display and the device runs a normal Android operating system. It's a full HD pOLED panel that can form a semicircle when fully bent. The rear of the device, which has a cloth covering, features numerous segments that move much like a mechanical snake would.

You can bend it fairly far into a tight C-shape. The segments are rather clunky when they bend, but the effect is real.

Motorola developed a self-standing mode for the device wherein it acts like its own stand. In this configuration, the display fills a 4.6-inch space and still runs the full Android OS. You can even use the camera to take selfies.

 https://www.pcmag.com/new .. Et4KzbHZoM0%3D

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