Chip shortage should last until mid-2023.
Low-end smartphones and PCs to get more expensive because of chip prices.
Circa 2006
MIT researchers are putting a tiny gas-turbine engine inside a silicon chip about the size of a quarter. The resulting device could run 10 times longer than a battery of the same weight can, powering laptops, cell phones, radios and other electronic devices.
It could also dramatically lighten the load for people who can’t connect to a power grid, including soldiers who now must carry many pounds of batteries for a three-day mission — all at a reasonable price.
Continue reading “Engine on a chip promises to best the battery” »
A new interpretation of quantum mechanics sees agents as playing an active role in the creation of reality. Blake Stacey outlines the case for QBism and its radical potential.
The pandemic shut down our university when I was in the middle of giving a lecture. We had been anticipating the possibility for a few days, but it was still impeccable timing. I finished my spiel, out came the phones, and suddenly we weren’t going to see each other post-spring break after all. For the rest of the term, I did what so many teachers found themselves doing: gamely trying to soldier on. I scrounged and borrowed a whiteboard, easel and webcam, set myself up in the nicest light the house had to offer, and did my best to convey graduate-level physics to an audience of tiny rectangles. And like so many other teachers, I learned there’s nothing like a radical change of circumstances for driving one to re-evaluate what the essential ideas of a subject must be.
Apple and Tesla have a lot in common, but there’s much to be desired — oddly enough — when it comes to how their products work together.
Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. have a lot in common, but there’s much to be desired — oddly enough — when it comes to how their products work together.
Both companies are known for design, advanced technology and a controlling approach to their ecosystems. Tesla’s cars use a giant iPad-like screen instead of physical controls, and customers can use a smartphone as their key. It’s also steadily moving toward autonomous driving. That’s led people to call Tesla the Apple of carmakers. Elon Musk even tried to sell Tesla to Apple, and consumers frequently say that a Tesla is an “iPhone on wheels.”
2021 Cryonics Institute Annual General Meeting SUNDAY — SEPT 12 2021.
ZOOM Virtual Meeting CI will be live-streaming the meeting on Zoom.
Registration is free:
Today, wireless charging is little more than a gimmick for high-end smartphones or pricey electric toothbrushes. But a new approach that can charge devices anywhere in a room could one day allow untethered factories where machinery is powered without cables. As the number of gadgets we use has steadily grown, so too has the number of cables and chargers cluttering up our living spaces. This has spurred growing interest in wireless charging systems, but the distances they work over are very short, and they still have to be plugged into an outlet. So, ultimately, they make little difference.
This is only a prototype though, and considering the dramatic increase in efficiency between the first and second versions, this efficiency gap could be closed. A more pressing concern might be the cost and complexity of retrofitting buildings with massive aluminum plates in the walls.
Continue reading “This Room Can Wirelessly Charge Devices Anywhere Within Its Walls” »
Earlier this year, researchers found a deposit of rare-earth minerals off the coast of Japan that could supply the world for centuries, according to a study.
The study, published in the journal Nature in April 2,018 says the deposit contains 16 million tons of the valuable metals.
Rare-earth minerals are used in everything from smartphone batteries to electric vehicles. By definition, these minerals contain one or more of 17 metallic rare-earth elements (for those familiar with the periodic table, those are on the second row from the bottom).
Arizona, and Georgia will introduce the system first, with Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah also signed up.
The “first locations” to use the system will be airport security checkpoints run by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Apple says.
Americans usually need some form of state ID only to travel by air domestically, unlike other countries, in which a passport is widely used.
Continue reading “US states to accept driver’s licence on iPhones” »
Eight states will roll out a feature allowing users to add driver’s license and state IDs to Apple Wallet for iPhone and Apple Watch to use at security at participating airports, Apple announced Wednesday.
Arizona and Georgia are the first states to adopt the feature and Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Utah will follow, though the company did not specify a timeline.
The news comes just months after Apple said at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June that it was working on the feature with the Transportation Security Administration. The update is a crucial step in Apple’s plan to replace physical wallets and will offer more convenience to travelers looking for a touchless airport experience, the company said.
As the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) continues to expand, Congress, academics, and advocacy organizations have all highlighted the importance of developing a comprehensive understanding of how it is used by federal agencies.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has surveyed 24 federal agencies about their use of FRT. The performance audit ran from April2020through August 2021. 16 of the 24 agencies reported using it for digital access or cybersecurity, such as allowing employees to unlock agency smartphones with it, six agencies reported using it to generate leads in criminal investigations, five reported using FRT for physical security, such as controlling access to a building or facility, and 10 agencies said they planned to expand its use through fiscal year 2023.
In addition, both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State reported using FRT to identify or verify travelers within or seeking admission to the United States, identifying or verifying the identity of non-U.S. citizens already in the United States, and to research agency information about non-U.S. citizens seeking admission to the United States. For example, DHS’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection used its Traveler Verification Service at ports of entry to assist with verifying travelers’ identities. The Traveler Verification Service uses FRT to compare a photo taken of the traveler at a port of entry with existing photos in DHS holdings, which include photographs from U.S. passports, U.S. visas, and other travel documents, as well as photographs from previous DHS encounters.
