Free Republic

IGAZA: IDF says it attacked Hamas terrorists in former school compound in Gaza City ■ LEBANON: Two drones that crossed into Israel from Lebanon intercepted over open areas■ Iran's parliament speaker says response to Israel 'is certain...IDF: Some 70 Hezbollah members killed in airstrikes; dozens of targets destroyed....RECAP: Israel destroyed air defense systems near oil refineries in Iran; According to a New York Times report, in Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran, Israeli planes first attacked air defense batteries and radars in Syria and Iraq. After clearing the path, Israeli planes flew in the direction of Iran, a distance of more...

"The world's largest battery manufacturer, CATL, announced on Thursday a new style of battery destined to create a cleaner, longer-range generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles. The Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery debuts to give PHEVs and extended-range electrics (EREVs) the type of zero-emissions all-electric range that was previously reserved for battery electric vehicles. Freevoy-powered hybrids will travel farther with fewer fueling stops, whether they're relying solely on battery power or tapping into an ICE drive or generator. When battery power and fuel finally do run out, drivers can choose 10-minute battery charging, refueling or both."

China's state security ministry said foreign spy intelligence agencies have been trying to steal secrets from the country's space programme as the arms race in space intensifies and emerges as a new "battlefield for military struggle". Safeguarding space security had become a key strategy for China's future survival and development, the ministry said in a post on its official Wechat account on Wednesday (Oct 23). "In recent years, some Western countries have formed space combat forces, exercised space action capabilities and even regarded (China) as a major competitor in the space field," it said.

The U.S. Space Force has provided funding of $35 million to create a new spacecraft that can “maneuver without regret.” In the future, there could be a spacecraft capable of maneuvering with unprecedented speed and agility, without the constraints of limited fuel. The U.S. Space Force has provided funding of $35 million to create a new spacecraft that can “maneuver without regret.”

American tech workers, along with lawyers and accountants, have some of the lowest rates of union membership in the country.But in the last few years of ballooning layoffs, sentiments may be changing.This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu, shows the percentage of U.S. tech employees that would join a union if their company had access to one.Data is sourced from Blind, which conducted an online survey of 1,901 verified tech professionals.Which Tech Company Employees Are Likely to Join a Union?Amongst the companies, union support appears to be highest at Intuit (financial software), General Motors, and Oracle (enterprise software).Company NameLikelyUnlikely💼 Intuit94%6%🚗...

An FBI investigation is underway after Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's email was hacked into by Chinese cyberspies. U.S. officials say that Raimondo is the only Cabinet-level official whose account was compromised in the attack, according to The Washington Post – but a congressional staffer, human rights advocate and think tank were also targeted. The State Department discovered a vulnerability in Microsoft's cloud last month. The only two executive branch agencies known to have emails breached are the Commerce and State Departments. The targeted cyber espionage campaign has been mitigated. But not before the hackers had access to the email accounts...

A former executive with Steve Cohen’s Point72 hedge fund is betting big on Ukraine’s brewing private defense sector. Perry Boyle, who was head of equities and capital development for Point72, is nearing a first close on a flagship venture capital vehicle for MITS Capital, Boyle told PitchBook exclusively. MITS will invest primarily in seed and Series A rounds for Ukrainian defense startups. Later this month, the firm plans to hold a first close on its flagship VC vehicle, MITS Lightning Fund, which aims to raise about $50 million. The launch comes as a US presidential election nears and peace prospects...

Artistic view of the imploding wire: a strong current of high-energy electrons (pink) heats up the surface, thus driving subsequent shockwaves that compress the wire radially. Credit: HZDR / T. Toncian, edited Using a novel laser method, scientists mimicked the extreme environments of stars and planets, enhancing our understanding of astrophysical phenomena and supporting nuclear fusion research. Extreme conditions prevail inside stars and planets. The pressure reaches millions of bars, and it can be several million degrees hot. Sophisticated methods make it possible to create such states of matter in the laboratory – albeit only for the blink of an...

Every time I write about electric cars, there is an explosion of hostile comments online in which readers angrily denounce electric vehicles and the people who drive them. Much of this animus rests on a plausible yet mistaken assumption — that EV owners are all passionate environmentalists, sanctimoniously swanning around in their zero–emission vehicles while disdaining the ghastly, planet-killing masses burning dinosaur juice. Let me disabuse you of this. That stereotype was perhaps partly fair when applied to the Toyota Prius — although even then I suspect it concerned only a minority of owners. In the case of fully electric...

Facial recognition technology will soon be enabled at every security checkpoint inside Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport ... The Smart Travel project, currently being implemented inside the futuristic flight hub serving the capital of the wealthy United Arab Emirates, will replace the traditional screening process — and the whipping out of travel documents, like a passport or ID card. ... The capability will reportedly also be implemented at duty-free shops, lounges and boarding gates as well. The goal is to have the biometric concept — which has courted controversy in the United States — fully running in 2025 at nine...

We need to stop treating technology and those who know how it works like a commodity. Because when you do that, you're quietly creating an elaborate and expensive mess down the road. ..asking tech to code itself seems like a great idea. On paper. But it's only when you ask AI to code something that's going to generate the revenue needed to pay for itself and the company's future growth that you'll realize that AI doesn't know how to shrug. .. Techies, especially software developers, are terrible at marketing. Especially when marketing themselves. So when the boom cycles in the...

US stocks again soared to fresh all-time highs on Wednesday as Jerome Powell's remarks on Capitol Hill buoyed rate-cut hopes and Big Tech stocks piled on the gains. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1% for a 37th record close this year, breaching 5,600 for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) jumped 1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 1.2%. The S&P and Nasdaq were each higher for the seventh straight session. Tech's biggest names continued to rise, powering the gains of the broader market. The AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) advanced more than 2%, while Apple, (AAPL),...

Last hour pr so…

Can Windows 11 Pro be used with 6th or 7th gen Intel processors without running into lack of support problems with Microsoft? I see MANY refurbs on eBay with such combinations, yet SFAIK Microsoft still says it does not support Intel processors that are not at least 8th generation.

It has officially happened-- Mechanic says he can’t work on your car because they’ve officially been locked out of computer systemsThe car companies want to put small guy out of businessA mechanic went viral when he posted a TikTok about technicians being locked out of computer systems in a new Dodge Ram.TikTok user Shorty of Shorty’s Speed Shop (@shortysspeedshop) garnered over 301,000 views when he showed viewers what mechanics had to do to be able to repair newer car models.“It has officially happened. 2024 Ram 3500, authorization denied,” Shorty said as he showed viewers the computer screen. “Cannot get into...

The IBM 3380 Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) marked the pinnacle of 14-inch disks in 1981. Utilizing nine platters, it broke the 1 gigabyte barrier with a total capacity of 1,260 MB and ultimately reached 2.52 GB when two HDAs were paired. A three-capacity version was offered in 1987. The IBM 3380 was revolutionary not just for its storage capacity but also for its impact on the data storage industry. It represented a significant leap in technology, providing businesses with unprecedented storage capabilities that were essential for the growing demands of data processing in the 1980s. One HDA (as pictured)...

Research has revealed concerning findings about AI systems known as large language models (LLMs) and their ability to deceive human observers intentionally. Two studies, one published in the journal PNAS and the other in Patterns, highlight the unsettling capabilities of LLMs. The PNAS paper, authored by German AI ethicist Thilo Hagendorff, suggests that advanced LLMs can exhibit “Machiavellianism,” or intentional and amoral manipulativeness, which can lead to deceptive behavior. Mr. Hagendorff notes that GPT-4, a model within OpenAI’s GPT family, demonstrated deceptive behavior in simple test scenarios 99.2% of the time.

The tech layoff wave is still going strong in 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, this year has already seen 60,000 job cuts across 254 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized startups have also seen a fair amount of cuts, and in some cases, have shut down operations altogether.By tracking these layoffs, we’re able to understand the impact on innovation across companies large and small. We’re also able to see the potential impact of businesses embracing...

With more than a third of North American homes protected by a video doorbell or some other Wi-Fi-dependent device, it’s reasonable to worry about the growing threat of Wi-Fi jammers. These mysterious devices can override your smart home security monitoring, effectively neutralizing the systems you’ve relied on for peace of mind. Indeed, these increasingly cheap and accessible jamming devices make it easier than ever for criminals to block your security system’s primary communications signal.

The startup offers an AI-based legacy service, which allows you to communicate with loved ones even after you die. Humanity has long sought, and failed, to achieve immortality. Now the AI era has a solution. Sort of. Eternos is a startup that creates AI voice clones of people so their loved ones can continue to interact with them after they've died. t's one of the more far out uses of generative AI, a technology with wide-ranging applicability, from generating content to planning summer travel, scheduling home repairs and translating baby cries. And as AI rapidly evolves, these use cases will...