Free Republic

An alien species is headed for planet Earth and we have no reason to believe it will be friendly. Some experts predict it will get here within 30 years, while others insist it will arrive far sooner. Nobody knows what it will look like, but it will share two key traits with us humans – it will be intelligent and self-aware. No, this alien will not come from a distant planet – it will be born right here on Earth, hatched in a research lab at a major university or large corporation. I am referring to the first artificial general...

Vast regions of Japan’s digital universe are stuck in the early aughts. Online banking, airline booking, major newspapers, you name it: Services that have been streamlined by the digital revolution in much of the world are, in Japan, still plagued by convoluted drop-down menus that lead to dead ends, and detailed forms that need to be printed, filled out by pen, and even returned by fax. In a country that justifiably prides itself on excellent customer service, something happens when it comes to relaying information through a user interface displayed on a flat screen. Japan’s high-quality, mostly physical public infrastructure...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has approved Uganda’s plan to build East Africa’s first nuclear power station. Next step: getting $100 billion… China enters the chat… A statement from the government of Uganda said Aline des Cloizeaux, the IAEA’s director for Africa, had told Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni of the approval on Monday. Des Cloizeaux is reported to have said: “We have concluded that Uganda is ready for the plant. We in the agency are ready for all the support through training so that the project becomes reality.” An International IAEA team of experts conducted an eight-day mission to...

youtube video on graphene batteries. Hat tip to bellflower Follow the link above for the video.

The Biden administration has proposed a technical—but critical—change to U.S. patent policy that could have been drafted in Beijing. In fact, a Chinese front organization has formally endorsed the proposal, which will gut protection for an especially important type of American patents. Last December, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, along with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, issued the Draft Policy Statement on Licensing Negotiations and Remedies for Standards-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary F/RAND Commitments. The Draft Policy, according to the Justice Department, would lead to "widespread and efficient...

House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff are refusing to upload the contents of Hunter Biden’s recovered laptop in a searchable format into the congressional record, according to a new report. Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) first moved to enter the laptop — which the younger Biden allegedly left with a Delaware repair shop — during a March 29 hearing. Though the committee chairman, Representative Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.), initially planned to object to the request, he allowed the laptop to be entered into the record. Now, staffers appointed by Nadler are saying they cannot upload the laptop due to technological limitations,...

Were the Romans close to an Industrial Revolution? (Part 1) | February 25, 2022 | toldinstone

The war in Ukraine has threatened to worsen an already concerning shortage in semiconductor chips. "Three of the major companies in the world [for neon] are based between Mariupol, which has been ravaged by the war, and there’s two, I believe, in Odesa," Dusin Carmack, research fellow for cybersecurity, intelligence and emerging technologies at the Heritage Foundation, told FOX Business. "It’s going to be maybe three to six months before you see major impact … but if this is an extended war, this is going to cause supply chain issues." The U.S. has suffered a semiconductor shortage that has contributed...

DALLAS — Yes, those 7-foot-tall machines at Dallas Love Field are watching you. They want to make sure you’re wearing a mask if you’re boarding a flight or not parking too long at the curb if you’re picking up a returning traveler. Love Field is testing out two Security Control Observation Towers at the airport, one near baggage claim and another near security checkpoints, to figure out whether robotic assistants can both help customers get around and warn passengers who are breaking rules. The robots can also contact airport security and operations in case more help is needed. While not...

The Roman Gadget Archaeologists Can't Figure Out | March 29, 2022 | Sideprojects

The Sunshine State is the new Silicon Valley. Florida solidified its standing as a national tech hub last year — adding more new companies in the sector than any other state. According to a report from the trade group CompTIA, Florida added 2,715 tech businesses last year — ahead of both Texas and California. Florida had the second-highest number of tech jobs added last year at 10,522 — second to Texas which gained 10,851 positions. Much of Florida’s tech growth was concentrated in Miami, which added 2,072 positions in the field last year. New York — which still ranks third...

Russian tech giant Yandex has blamed one of its employees for the hacking and subsequent leak of data from Yandex Food, a popular food delivery service in Russia. Among the many users affected are serving agents of Russia’s security services and military, who in several cases even ordered food to their places of work using their official email addresses. This leak includes user emails, a large number of phone numbers, addresses, and orders made on the platform. Russia’s state media watchdog Roskomnadzor has strongly attempted to block its proliferation. Some investigators have already uncovered leads for investigations into corruption from...

The unit was started by young university-educated Ukrainians who had been part of the 2014 Maidan uprising and volunteered to use their technical skills in the resistance against the first Russian invasion in Crimea and the Donbas region. Its founder, Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach, was an investment banker who was killed in action in 2015 in Donbas – a reminder of the high risks involved. The Russians can latch on to the drone’s electronic signature and quickly strike with mortars, so the Aerorozvidka teams have to launch and run. Honchar is an ex-soldier turned IT marketing consultant, who returned to the army...

SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County leaders will study whether Elon Musk's Boring Co. can drill a 9-mile tunnel where automated Teslas would ferry people between the airport and downtown. Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) board members voted Wednesday to negotiate a project plan with the billionaire's company. "The board has continually sought innovative ways to finance transportation projects to ensure a bright future for the community in a way that bridges technology and accelerates the delivery of needed projects," chairman Mike Lynd said in a statement. "Today's board action is the first of many discussions," he added. Musk's company already...

Wow! The Wall Street Journal in 2016: The Clinton Foundation, State and Kremlin Connections. Why did Hillary’s State Department urge U.S. investors to fund Russian research for military uses? A program overseen by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of the "reset" with Russia wound up enhancing Russia's military technology and funneling millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation. Both the U.S. Army and the FBI found that the program, intended to support Russia's version of Silicon Valley, was exploited to improve Russia's military capability. The FBI warned several American technology companies in 2014 that the city of...

Soaring battery metal costs are leading to a renewed interest in ithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Manufacturers are looking to cut cobalt use as they are looking to cut costs and improve their ESG profile. Tesla is making the switch to LFP mandatory in all its markets after a positive reception in the U.S. In the vast majority of cases, technological innovation leads to newer, cheaper, and more efficient designs than their predecessors. But every once in a while, technological progress goes into reverse gear when progress turns out to be turbocharged regress. ... During an investor presentation last year,...

I want to dump Verizon. Does anyone have experience with Patriot Mobile? Is the coverage and 4G comparable to the big, leftist outfits? I’m sick of spending my dollars supporting a company that doesn’t support my beliefs.

The Reality Is…There are threats that face the Christian Church, and the cause of those threats is sin. Sin affects every member of the Christian faith, no matter the status. Sin causes us to stumble and sets us back in our cause for Christ. Ultimately, it should remind us how desperate we need the forgiveness and guidance of God.But which sin seems to set us back the most? What are we glossing over, pushing under the rug, and pretending isn’t there? That, my friends, is sexual sin. In 2016, Josh McDowell told CBN News, “pornography is probably the greatest threat...

This illustration provided by the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory depicts a target pellet inside a hohlraum capsule with laser beams entering through openings on either end. The beams compress and heat the target to the necessary conditions for nuclear fusion to occur. Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via AP ============================================================================== With 192 lasers and temperatures more than three times hotter than the center of the sun, scientists hit—at least for a fraction of a second—a key milestone on the long road toward nearly pollution-free fusion energy. Researchers at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence...

In a world where many of us are glued to our smartphones, Dulcie Cowling is something of an anomaly - she has ditched hers. The 36-year-old decided at the end of last year that getting rid of her handset would improve her mental health. So, over Christmas she told her family and friends that she was switching to an old Nokia phone that could only make and receive calls and text messages. She recalls that one of the pivotal moments that led to her decision was a day at the park with her two boys, aged six and three: "I...