Free Republic

Why it matters: Ultra-high-purity quartz is an essential component to semiconductor chips, and the only places in the world that can meet this need are two mines in a small North Carolina town. The mines' owner, Sibelco, is investing $700 million to expand capacity, but is that enough to keep up with AI-fueled chip demand? Spruce Pine is a small town about two hours drive northwest of Charlotte, NC. You can get to the general area via a number of ways, depending on your point of origin, but for the last stretch of the trip, you need to travel down...

A team of scientists from the University of Tokyo has revealed a major breakthrough that allows them to create realistic 3D holographic displays using an ordinary iPhone screen. While conventional approaches to holography involve complex and expensive laser emitters that have limited their practical use, the researchers behind this novel approach say their work could lead to dramatic improvements in holographic displays for virtual reality applications, including gaming, training, and even advanced military applications. 3D HOLOGRAPHIC DISPLAYS LIMITED BY COST AND COMPLEXITY In science fiction, holograms are used for anything from basic communications to advanced military weaponry. In the real...

Has anyone else noticed that Youtube is at it again, trying to block users who use an adblocker? The past several days have been hit and miss. About the only way I've been able to get around it is one of two ways: 1. to save videos to Watch Later, close the browser, then reopen the browser to view them, or 2. delete all cookies and cache and then log back in. But either of these two fixes are temporary because it happens almost every day now. Has anyone seen this, and have a newer fix for this? Thanks.

Researchers report the development of a new concept for a new DC power converter capable of greater efficiency at lower cost and requiring less maintenance than existing electrical systems. Developed by a team at Kobe University in Hyōgo, Japan, the direct current voltage boost converter could revolutionize the development and use of electric power generation in various applications. Boost converters, which are also known as step-up converters, are a variety of switched -mode power supply devices that increase voltage while also reducing current in the conversion of direct current (DC) from the device’s input to its output. Most power converters...

Operator Yum! Brands says about 45% of sales are digitalYum! Brands, the operator of KFC, Pizza Hit, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill restaurants, is embracing technology with plans for "AI-powered" fast food, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The company has been increasing investment in technology and automation, with about 45%, or $30 billion, of sales being digital – nearly twice what it was in 2019 – Yum's chief digital and technology manager Joe Park told the newspaper. That is roughly double the level of 2019. "Our vision of [quick-service restaurants] is that an AI-first mentality works...

https://www.perplexity.ai/ I have been using Bing search for 5 years. It is almost as good as google but less politicized. When you use Bing search, you are pushed into using their AI search that is called Copilot. Which I liked, but this dumbass robot started to refuse certain searches that libs find controversial So now I use >>>>> this AI https://www.perplexity.ai/

Clown World ™ 🤡 @ClownWorld_ In New Zealand, police are on the lookout for three suspects caught on video painting over a rainbow crossing in Auckland. They've issued a search warrant and are treating the act as a hate crime. https://twitter.com/ClownWorld_/status/1774233573111087246

One of the nation's most prominent get-out-the-vote groups – which Taylor Swift endorsed – is experiencing a mass exodus of staff as it faces a fiscal and leadership crisis in the middle of a presidential election year, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal. Vote.org, which began the year with up to 20 paid positions, has lost nearly half its staff since February, when the communications director quit while expressing frustration with management, insiders tell DailyMail.com. The chief operating officer resigned in early March and late last week five employees were let go including the vice president of development, director of partnerships, program...

FBI agents told an Oklahoma woman that the agency spends "every day, all day long" questioning people about their social media posts when they arrived at her house to ask about posts she made online. Rolla Abdeljawad, of Stillwater, was told by FBI agents who showed up at her home on Wednesday that Facebook had handed over screenshots of her posts. Abdeljawad told the agents she did not want to talk and asked them to show their badges on camera, but the agents refused, video posted to the social media platform X by her lawyer, Hassan Shibly, shows. The woman...

The way Google has been stepping up its data collection game, it has prompted many people to opt for privacy-focused web browsers that respect their privacy by providing a secure browsing experience.Floorp is one such web browser that I recently came across that claims to be “the most Advanced and Fastest Firefox derivative” around.So, join me as I check out this browser.Floorp: Overview ⭐Being a fork of the popular Firefox browser, Floorp was built keeping privacy and user freedom in mind. It is a cross-platform web browser that prides itself in being completely open-source and not collecting any kind of...

The previous-generation iPhone is still a firm favorite, but it hasn’t dropped much in price since the launch of the iPhone 15 for that very reason. Thankfully, various mobile carriers offer deals, including packages that’ll land you an iPhone 14 for free. Here are all the carriers offering deals that get you the Apple flagship for no extra charge. Where can you get a free iPhone 14? The only way to get a free iPhone 14 is via a carrier plan — no one is handing them out with no strings attached. These plans will have a minimum monthly subscription...

In the realm of artificial intelligence, a groundbreaking study by the Allen Institute for AI casts a stark light on a troubling issue: commercial AI chatbots, including the renowned GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 by OpenAI, harbor covert racial prejudices against speakers of African American English (AAE). At first glance, these AI models seem to espouse positive views towards African Americans. Yet, when interacting with text in AAE, they reveal a darker underbelly, associating AAE speakers with negative stereotypes such as being 'suspicious', 'aggressive', and 'ignorant'. This phenomenon isn't just a technical glitch; it's a mirror reflecting the deep-seated biases ingrained in...

How much energy AI really needs. And why that's not its main problem. | 8:05Sabine Hossenfelder | 1.19M subscribers | 171,326 views | March 25, 2024

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 states is calling on the Biden administration to terminate a taxpayer-funded tax filing preparation program, characterizing it as wasteful, unnecessary and flawed. In a letter Monday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel, 21 top financial officials from 18 states said the costs of the IRS Direct File program "far outweigh any potential benefits" and will create new issues for taxpayers and states, alike. In May 2023, Yellen ordered the IRS to move forward with the first-of-its-kind program, which is funded by the...

Hundreds of employees at Wyoming’s largest ski resort had finagled a way to park for free (regular rates $35 - $45 per day) until a popular Jackson cartoonist accidentally exposed the hack. Now the free ride is over and so too, perhaps, the love affair with the artist. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Parking lots at Teton Village fill up fast even at $35-$45 dollars a day. Because Jackson Hole Mountain Resort workers are required to pay for parking, they've been exploiting a hack to park free — until a local cartoonist outed the hack. (Seejh.com) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A popular content creator in Jackson touched...

A groundbreaking project has emerged in Heidelberg, Germany, which has welded architecture and technology together to create something that has never been done before. The nation has built Europe's largest 3D-printed building known as the Wave House, according to COBOD. The new structure is reportedly a data center. The report mentioned that data centers are the backbone of today's digital world, but the buildings are often reduced to windowless buildings for security and operational reasons. However, the push to bring these infrastructures into urban areas has forced designers to rethink their design approach. And it took COBOD just 140 hours...

Some home sales make a big splash, while others happen with little fanfare. A recent one, involving a property that's been linked to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was of the latter variety. According to a report from the Real Deal, the four-bedroom, 3.5-bath mansion on about 3.5 acres in Woodside, CA, passed from one limited liability corporation to another in a $29.6 million deal a couple of weeks ago. Zuckerberg didn't keep the Woodside place for very long. An entity linked to his name shows that he purchased the 4,800-square-foot home, which is about 30 miles south of San Francisco,...

A.I. is rigged. When looking up any question susceptible of a liberal bias, A.I. appears to provide a biased answer. Today I asked my A.I. “copilot,” “How long does it take to re-fuel a gas-powered car?” Even without being asked, my copilot insisted on comparing fueling time for gas-powered cars to charging times for E.V.s, concluding that “in summary, while gas refueling is faster in the worst-case scenario, considering overall monthly time spent, E.V.s are more efficient in terms of charging time.” I didn’t even ask about charging time for E.V.s, but A.I. insisted on comparing E.V.s with gas-powered cars...

Google was the chief promulgator of the Donald Trump "bloodbath" hoax over the weekend, flooding its search results with articles that deceptively framed the former president's comment. Trump predicted that re-electing Joe Biden would stir an economic "bloodbath," while specifically referencing the automotive industry at a rally last weekend. Yet nearly every headline Google generated on the topic led users to an article skimping over the context, suggesting Trump warned of his plans to provoke a civil war. Google understands it can no longer lead users to such deceptive headlines. Most Americans know what Trump said by now. Therefore, Google...

A Manhattan judge slammed Michael Cohen’s former lawyer Wednesday for citing fake cases generated by AI in court, the New York Post reported. A federal judge criticized Cohen’s former lawyer for a major mistake that involved using fake, AI-generated legal cases in court papers, according to the New York Post. Despite the major blunder, Judge Jesse Furman decided not to punish Cohen’s lawyer, David Schwartz. “His citation to non-existent cases is embarrassing and certainly negligent, perhaps even grossly negligent,” Furman said, according to the New York Post. “But the Court cannot find that it was done in bad faith.” Cohen,...