Month: May 2024

Nasa und Isro: Mehr Wasservorkommen auf dem Mond als erwartet

Unter der Eisoberfläche an den Polen des Mondes soll es fünf- bis achtmal mehr Wassereis geben als an der Oberfläche. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommen zwei Forschungsteams unter Beteiligung der Raumfahrtbehörden Nasa und Isro. Ein Bericht von Patrick Klapetz …

Unter der Eisoberfläche an den Polen des Mondes soll es fünf- bis achtmal mehr Wassereis geben als an der Oberfläche. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommen zwei Forschungsteams unter Beteiligung der Raumfahrtbehörden Nasa und Isro. Ein Bericht von Patrick Klapetz (Mond, Astronomie)

Anzeige: Sicherer Datenaustausch durch moderne Authentifizierung

Authentifizierungstechnologien wie PKI, Fido und Webauthn sind unersetzlich bei der Sicherung sensibler Daten in digitalen Transaktionen. Die Golem Karrierewelt bietet spezialisierte Workshops zur Vertiefung der Methoden. (Golem Karrierewelt, Server-Ap…

Authentifizierungstechnologien wie PKI, Fido und Webauthn sind unersetzlich bei der Sicherung sensibler Daten in digitalen Transaktionen. Die Golem Karrierewelt bietet spezialisierte Workshops zur Vertiefung der Methoden. (Golem Karrierewelt, Server-Applikationen)

The 2025 Aston Martin Vantage gets a bold new body and big power boost

It features modern tech, a better interior, and an extra 150 hp on the old model.

An orange Aston Martin Vantage in the Spanish countryside

Enlarge / First revealed in 2017, the current Aston Martin Vantage has just had a styling and engineering overhaul. (credit: Aston Martin)

It's high time Aston Martin had a winner on its hands. Last year it updated the DB12 with smart new face, plenty of power, and the sort of infotainment you'd hope for from a luxury GT. The Vantage, the firm's 'entry-level' car, has been given similar treatment in the hopes that it can peel a few more people away from Porsche dealerships.

Aston's looking not only to make better cars, but to shift its image—it's aiming to be seen as more luxurious than before, as well as throwing as much power at the cars as possible. At first glance, it looks like Aston's cooked up something truly delightful.

The new car is more than 150 hp (112 kW) more powerful than the one it replaces, with 656 hp (490 kW) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) from a wonderfully appointed turbocharged 4.0 L V8. 0-60 mph is quoted at 3.4 seconds, and Aston reckons that if you have enough space (and no speed limits) you'll see the far side of 200 mph (321 km/h). It is not slow.

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Lilbits: Cake wants to turn your Apple Watch into a phone, Dillo returns from the dead, and removing ads from Windows 11

Smartphones may be incredibly useful gadgets that let you do everything from banking to gaming to keeping up with friends. But they’re also incredibly distracting devices that can eat up way more of your time than you’d like, which is why …

Smartphones may be incredibly useful gadgets that let you do everything from banking to gaming to keeping up with friends. But they’re also incredibly distracting devices that can eat up way more of your time than you’d like, which is why we’ve seen a growing number of attempts to bring back “dumb phones” that just […]

The post Lilbits: Cake wants to turn your Apple Watch into a phone, Dillo returns from the dead, and removing ads from Windows 11 appeared first on Liliputing.

Telegram Reportedly “Ready to Fight Piracy” According to Govt. Official

At various times, most social media platforms have received criticism for alleged failure to prevent distribution of copyright-infringing content. Few, however, have been threatened with widespread blocking more often than Telegram. In a row that seemed ready to boil over last year, Telegram was given an ultimatum by the Malaysian government; come to the negotiating table or face the consequences. A Malaysian minister now says that Telegram is ready to fight piracy.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

telegram -2-2024Following a rightsholder complaint about copyright infringement taking place on Telegram, a judge in Spain issued a controversial order for ISPs to block Telegram in its entirety, across the whole country.

As soon as the order was made public, nationwide and then international uproar led to the judge reconsidering whether the order really was a “necessary” and “proportional” response. After concluding that preventing around eight million Spaniards from accessing Telegram was probably a bit much after all, the decision was suspended.

While this is clearly a stand-out example, there’s something about the way Telegram conducts business, at times interpreted as a complete lack of interest, that frustrates courts, rightsholders, even some governments. Russia famously ordered the blocking of Telegram in 2018 but ended up blocking 1.8 million Google and Amazon IP addresses instead.

Telegram appeared unflustered throughout and emerged completely unscathed.

Frustrations at the Ministry of Communications

In its role as a harm prevention agency in Malaysia, the government’s Ministry of Communications (MCMC) regularly calls out user-generated content platforms and social media sites when it believes they need to do more to reign in bad behavior. Telegram in particular has received mounting criticism.

In 2020, MCMC said it was working closely with the Royal Malaysian Police and had even involved Interpol to tackle obscene images of citizens made available on Telegram. Then came alleged failures to tackle what the government described as a wave of fake news.

Last March, Minister Fahmi Fadzil, head of the Ministry for Communications and Digital (KKD), said his department would contact Telegram to discuss the problem of scammers undermining Malaysian citizens’ security. He said that although he appreciated that Telegram provided a useful service, utilized by Malaysia’s National Security Council, among others, something had to be done to clean up the platform.

“Telegram is indeed seen as a bit problematic, all kinds of information is entered there and there are also many scammer activities but at the same time, we know that it is a channel to convey information to the public,” he said.

“So the matter needs to be looked into and we will call Telegram to discuss helping the authorities to take appropriate action.”

Patience Running Out

Among the scam victims was a former Malaysian prime minister, so when Telegram failed to respond to an invitation to discuss solutions to the issues, which began at piracy and got worse from there, patience began to wear thin.

“Compared to other platforms, we do not see the seriousness of Telegram to cooperate. “I have asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to examine what appropriate actions need to be taken,” Fadzil said.

telegram-malaysiaWhat followed was a meeting between the minister and Telegram founder Pavel Durov in Dubai. Durov said he’d like Telegram to expand its Malaysia operations and the minister invited him to continue discussions in Malaysia.

In May 2023, progress appeared to be going in the wrong direction. Telegram was reportedly refusing to cooperate with the Ministry of Communications and Digital on the basis it did not wish to participate in any form of politically-related censorship.

Malaysia Warns of Action Against Telegram

In a statement issued in early June, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said it was still considering limited action against Telegram after the platform failed to cooperate.

“So if it is decided that cooperation from Telegram’s side is not very positive, then we will ensure that any action to be taken will not affect users too much,” the statement added.

Within days, communications with Telegram improved and since then, commentary from the government has been much more positive. This week Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil offered assurances that Telegram is now prepared to work with the government to curtail piracy on the platform.

Rampant Piracy Will Be Tackled

After a local director found his latest movie being made available on Telegram for free recently, once again piracy was pushed to the forefront of the Telegram controversy. However, this week Minister Fadzil said that Telegram is now ready to tackle the problem after several meetings in April.

“We see [piracy] happening on several platforms, especially Telegram. We received complaints, including from [local broadcaster] Astro, about pirated films that are distributed on the platform,” he told reporters.

“This requires the cooperation of the distributors, and copyright owners, as well as supervisory bodies like the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and I hope we can ensure other platforms will also fight digital piracy.

“Maybe people don’t quite understand the law in Malaysia, so the MCMC has held several discussions (with those involved) about the copyright issue. Hopefully this problem can be handled better soon,” he said.

With no obviously public comment from Telegram on the matter, it’s hard to say how the social platform views its end of what appears to be an informal agreement.

Telegram will be acutely aware, however, that whatever it gives, others will demand too. That may ultimately limit Telegram’s response, whatever it may be, whenever it arrives – if it even arrives at all.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

In the race for space metals, companies hope to cash in

Mining asteroids could reduce the burden on Earth’s resources. Will it live up to its promise?

An illustration depicts a NASA spacecraft approaching the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. Though there are no plans to mine Psyche, such asteroids are being eyed for their valuable resources

Enlarge / An illustration depicts a NASA spacecraft approaching the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. Though there are no plans to mine Psyche, such asteroids are being eyed for their valuable resources (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)

In April 2023, a satellite the size of a microwave launched to space. Its goal: to get ready to mine asteroids. While the mission, courtesy of a company called AstroForge, ran into problems, it’s part of a new wave of would-be asteroid miners hoping to cash in on cosmic resources.

Potential applications of space-mined material abound: Asteroids contain metals like platinum and cobalt, which are used in electronics and electric vehicle batteries, respectively. Although there are plenty of these materials on Earth, they can be more concentrated on asteroids than mountainsides, making them easier to scrape out. And scraping in space, advocates say, could cut down on the damaging impacts that mining has on this planet. Space-resource advocates also want to explore the potential of other substances. What if space ice could be used for spacecraft and rocket propellant? Space dirt for housing structures for astronauts and radiation shielding?

Previous companies have rocketed toward similar goals before but went bust about a half-decade ago. In the years since that first cohort left the stage, though, “the field has exploded in interest,” said Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Center for Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines.

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Forget aerobars: Ars tries out an entire aerobike

Taking to the road in a modern, high-speed version of a 40-year-old dream.

Image of a aerodynamic recumbent bicycle parked in front of a pickup truck.

Enlarge / The Velomobile Bülk, with its hood in place. Note the hood has an anti-fog covering on the visor (which is flipped up). The two bumps near the front of the hood are there to improve clearance for the cyclist's knees. (credit: JOHN TIMMER)

My brain registered that I was clearly cycling. My feet were clipped in to pedals, my legs were turning crank arms, and the arms were linked via a chain to one of the wheels. But pretty much everything else about the experience felt wrong on a fundamental, almost disturbing level.

I could produce a long list of everything my mind was struggling to deal with, but two things stand out as I think back on the experience. The first is that, with the exception of my face, I didn't feel the air flow over me as the machine surged forward down a slight slope. The second, related to the first, is that there was no indication that the surge would ever tail off if I didn't hit the brakes.

Living the dream

My visit with a velomobile was, in some ways, a chance to reconnect with a childhood dream. I've always had a fascination with vehicles that don't require fuel, like bicycles and sailboats. And during my childhood, the popular press was filled with stories about people setting human-powered speed records by putting aerodynamic fiberglass shells on recumbent bicycles. In the wake of the 1970s oil crises, I imagined a time when the roads might be filled with people cycling these pods for their commutes or covering long distances thanks to a cooler filled with drinks and snacks tucked in the back of the shell.

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