Gigafactory Berlin: Staatsminister weist Teslas Bürokratie-Kritik zurück

Der für Bürokratieabbau zuständige Staatsminister kann mit Teslas Forderung nach schnelleren Verfahren nichts anfangen: Es gehe doch alles schnell. (Gigafactory Berlin, GreenIT)

Der für Bürokratieabbau zuständige Staatsminister kann mit Teslas Forderung nach schnelleren Verfahren nichts anfangen: Es gehe doch alles schnell. (Gigafactory Berlin, GreenIT)

Anhörung zu Uploadfiltern: Verleger wollen Bagatellgrenzen komplett streichen

Im Bundestag haben Experten viel an der geplanten Urheberrechtsreform auszusetzen. Bei Bagatellschranken und Direktvergütung liegen die Meinungen weit auseinander. Ein Bericht von Friedhelm Greis (Uploadfilter, Urheberrecht)

Im Bundestag haben Experten viel an der geplanten Urheberrechtsreform auszusetzen. Bei Bagatellschranken und Direktvergütung liegen die Meinungen weit auseinander. Ein Bericht von Friedhelm Greis (Uploadfilter, Urheberrecht)

New wooden satellite is part advertising, part student project

A cube sat with plywood sides is planned for a Rocketlab launch.

Artist's conception of the satellite in orbit.

Enlarge (credit: WISA WOODSAT)

Late last year, we were extremely skeptical of reports regarding a plan for wooden satellites that seemed confused about what could be gained from using the natural material. But a wooden satellite looks like it might get to orbit later this year, via a project we can fully endorse. It's a bit of silly advertising by a plywood manufacturer that will ensure that a student project gets sent to space.

The project, based in Finland, is called the WISA WOODSAT, and it has taken a bit of an indirect route to orbit. The design is based on cubesat format called Kitsat, which is intended for student projects. If the goal is simply to expose students to what it takes to make a compact satellite (the design is a 10 cm/side cube), the satellite can be built using cheap, easy-to-obtain hardware. But it can also be made using space-rated materials and sent to orbit.

The WOODSAT started out as more of the former, with students around the country contributing different parts to a cubesat that was then taken aloft by a balloon. But now, with an opportunity to go to orbit, another version is getting an upgrade to survive the harsh environment.

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Report: Apple plans Apple TV/HomePod and iPad/HomePod hybrid products

Also: Mini LED display supply might make the new iPad Pro hard to find.

RIP HomePod, 2021.

Enlarge / RIP HomePod, 2021. (credit: Jeff Dunn)

Apple is working on multiple new products to replace the recently discontinued HomePod and to bring Siri and Apple services into living rooms, according to a new report from Bloomberg's Debby Wu and Mark Gurman.

One of those products would be a device that combines the TV streaming box and gaming features of the Apple TV 4K with a HomePod-like smart speaker, as well as a camera.

The device would allow users to stream TV shows, videos, music, and films using the same apps that are already available on the Apple TV. It would also act as a Siri-enabled smart speaker, and it would enable video conferencing on the connected TV.

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"Manche suchen Zuflucht in vereinfachten Weltbildern"

Der Autor Fabian Scheidler über die Corona-Pandemie als Teil einer umfassenderen Krise, die Rolle unseres Wirtschaftssystems und falsche Heilslehren

Der Autor Fabian Scheidler über die Corona-Pandemie als Teil einer umfassenderen Krise, die Rolle unseres Wirtschaftssystems und falsche Heilslehren

Der Stoff, aus dem wir sind

Über die Krise des Lebens auf der Erde und die Geburt der technokratischen Weltsicht

Über die Krise des Lebens auf der Erde und die Geburt der technokratischen Weltsicht

Free Software Foundation and RMS issue statements on Stallman’s return

Today, Stallman and the FSF board issued joint statements concerning his return.

RMS at LibrePlanet 2019, approximately six months before his resignation from the FSF's Board of Directors.

Enlarge / RMS at LibrePlanet 2019, approximately six months before his resignation from the FSF's Board of Directors. (credit: Ruben Rodriguez)

The Free Software Foundation's board of directors issued a statement today regarding the controversial return of Richard M. Stallman (RMS) to its ranks, alongside a statement of Stallman's own.

The controversy in brief

RMS has never been known for personal tact or diplomacy, but his 2019 decision to defend MIT computer science Professor Marvin Minsky was the beam which broke the camel's back. Minsky was a sometime associate of notorious pedophile and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein; Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre stated under deposition that she had been directed to sleep with Minsky when she was 17.

In the attempt to defend Minsky, RMS declared it "morally absurd" to call statutory rape "rape," and he spun an elaborate scenario regarding the likelihood that Giuffre—whom RMS had never met—would have "appeared entirely willing" to Minsky.

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Lilbits: Apple leaks, NVIDIA’s ARM CPUs, and PC shipments are (way) up

Every quarter a handful of analysts release reports letting us know if shipments of devices like PCs, smartphones, tablets, and smart home devices are rising, falling, or flat. Sometimes this data gives us a good idea of current and future trends. Thi…

Every quarter a handful of analysts release reports letting us know if shipments of devices like PCs, smartphones, tablets, and smart home devices are rising, falling, or flat. Sometimes this data gives us a good idea of current and future trends. This year, I’m not really so sure what it tells us. With that in […]

The post Lilbits: Apple leaks, NVIDIA’s ARM CPUs, and PC shipments are (way) up appeared first on Liliputing.

Lilbits: Apple leaks, NVIDIA’s ARM CPUs, and PC shipments are (way) up

Every quarter a handful of analysts release reports letting us know if shipments of devices like PCs, smartphones, tablets, and smart home devices are rising, falling, or flat. Sometimes this data gives us a good idea of current and future trends. Thi…

Every quarter a handful of analysts release reports letting us know if shipments of devices like PCs, smartphones, tablets, and smart home devices are rising, falling, or flat. Sometimes this data gives us a good idea of current and future trends. This year, I’m not really so sure what it tells us. With that in […]

The post Lilbits: Apple leaks, NVIDIA’s ARM CPUs, and PC shipments are (way) up appeared first on Liliputing.

It’s too late for vaccines to save Michigan, CDC director explains

Vaccines take weeks to work; distancing and other health measures work immediately.

A woman adjusts her face mask while sitting in front of a microphone.

Enlarge / Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adjusts her protective mask during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

Highly effective COVID-19 vaccines are simply too slow to stop surges like the one underway in Michigan, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday.

Dr. Walensky’s explanation during the White House COVID-19 press briefing comes amid mounting requests and calls for federal authorities to flood Michigan with vaccine supply. The state has seen a 400 percent spike in cases since March 5, when state officials eased restrictions on residential gatherings and occupancy limits for bars, restaurants, venues, and stores. Since then, the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant has also increased in prevalence. Now, the state’s seven-day average for new daily cases is over 7,377, and hospitals are filling up.

On March 30, when the surge was already in full swing, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appealed to the White House for additional vaccine shipments. However, the White House declined, opting to stick to its largely population-based strategy for dolling out vaccine supply to each state and jurisdiction.

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