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Jul 2, 2022

US Pursues Next-gen Exascale Systems with 5-10x the Performance of Frontier

Posted by in categories: Ray Kurzweil, supercomputing

Ranjan KC shared a link to the group: Ray Kurzweil.


With the Linpack exaflops milestone achieved by the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the United States is turning its attention to the next crop of exascale machines, some 5-10x more performant than Frontier. At least one such system is being planned for the 2025–2030 timeline, and the DOE is soliciting input from the vendor community to inform the design and procurement process.


A request for information (RFI) was issued today by the Department of Energy, seeking feedback from computing hardware and software vendors, system integrators, and other entities to assist the DOE National Laboratories in planning for next-gen exascale systems. The RFI says responses will “inform one or more DOE system acquisition RFPs, which will describe requirements for system deliveries in the 2025–2030 timeframe.” This could include the successor to Frontier (aka OLCF-6), the successor to Aurora (aka ALCF-5), the successor to Crossroads (aka ATS-5), the successor to El Capitan (aka ATS-6) as well as a future NERSC system (possibly NERSC-11). Note that of the “predecessor systems,” only Frontier has been installed so far.

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Jul 2, 2022

Computer Scientists Prove Why Bigger Neural Networks Do Better

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Two researchers show that for neural networks to be able to remember better, they need far more parameters than previously thought.

Jul 2, 2022

Google blocked dozens of domains used by hack-for-hire groups

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, surveillance

Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has blocked dozens of malicious domains and websites used by hack-for-hire groups in attacks targeting high-risk targets worldwide.

Unlike commercial surveillance vendors whose tools are deployed in attacks by clients, hack-for-hire operators are directly involved in attacks and are usually employed by a firm offering such services. In some cases, they can also be “freelance” threat actors.

They’re hired for their hacking skills by clients who lack them or who want to conceal their identity if the attacks are detected and investigated.

Jul 2, 2022

Toll fraud malware disables your WiFi to force premium subscriptions

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, internet, robotics/AI

Microsoft is warning that toll fraud malware is one of the most prevalent threats on Android and that it is evolving with features that allow automatic subscription to premium services.

Toll fraud is a subset of billing fraud, where the threat actor tricks victims into calling or sending an SMS to a premium number.

The difference is that toll fraud does not work over WiFi and forces the devices to connect to the mobile operator’s network.

Jul 2, 2022

CISA orders agencies to patch Windows LSA bug exploited in the wild

Posted by in category: cybercrime/malcode

CISA has re-added a security bug affecting Windows devices to its list of bugs exploited in the wild after removing it in May due to Active Directory (AD) certificate authentication issues caused by Microsoft’s May 2022 updates.

The flaw is an actively exploited Windows LSA (Local Security Authority) spoofing vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022–26925 and confirmed to be a new PetitPotam Windows NTLM Relay attack vector.

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this bug to force domain controllers to authenticate them remotely via the Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM) security protocol and, likely, take over the entire Windows domain.

Jul 2, 2022

FCC authorizes SpaceX to provide mobile Starlink internet service to boats, planes and trucks

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, internet, satellites

The Federal Communications Commission authorized SpaceX to provide Starlink satellite internet to vehicles in motion, a key step for Elon Musk’s company to further expand the service.

“Authorizing a new class of [customer] terminals for SpaceX’s satellite system will expand the range of broadband capabilities to meet the growing user demands that now require connectivity while on the move, whether driving an RV across the country, moving a freighter from Europe to a U.S. port, or while on a domestic or international flight,” FCC international bureau chief Tom Sullivan wrote in the authorization posted Thursday.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the FCC decision.

Jul 2, 2022

A Week At The Most Secretive Conference On Aging

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

One of the events hosted by the GRC this year was the conference called ‘Systemic Processes, Omics Approaches, and Biomarkers in Aging.” It was the inaugural Systems Aging Gordon Research Conference. Held in Newry, Maine, this event is not easy to get to. Many of the scientists on the East Coast of the US needed to spend half a day or more just to get there. There is a reason for this. Often, conferences that are organized in large metropolitan areas with easy access do not have the same level of “pressure cooking” and interactive networking just because many senior scientists tend to be distracted and often leave prematurely. But when they are put together in a remote location, it is not easy to leave and they have no choice but to interact with each other, share knowledge, and come up with new ideas and collaborations.

The level and impact of scientific conferences is often evaluated by the number and quality of the sponsors. And the GRC conference on Aging sported a number of high-profile sponsors including GRC itself, Carl Storm International Diversity Fellowship Program, National Institute on Aging, IOMICS Intelligent Analytics, Zymo Research, Kinexum, Insilico Medicine, Illumina, Aging journal, Impetus Grants, Infinita Life Science and VitaDAO.

With Vadim Gladyshev serving as chairman and Steve Horvath as vice-chairman, the conference set the stage for the field, paving the way for the development of interventions to delay and reverse aging. Vadim is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of Redox Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, while Steve is a professor of human genetics and biostatistics at the University of California — Los Angeles, and a senior scientist at Altos Labs. Both are world-renowned researchers, and spoke and led the discussions at the conference.

Jul 1, 2022

Another Primary Webb Space Telescope Instrument Gets the “Go for Science”

Posted by in categories: government, science, space

Recently, NIRISS, one of NASA

Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is “To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity.” Its core values are “safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion.”

Jul 1, 2022

Stock version of the Lucid Air Grand Touring wins fastest production car at Goodwood 2022

Posted by in category: transportation

During this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Lucid Motors not only publicly debuted its Air Grand Touring Performance for the first time, but raced up the famed hill … quickly. Manned by professional driver Ben Collins, the Lucid Air Grand Touring recorded a time in the Goodwood Hillclimb Timed Shootout fast enough to claim the crown as fastest production car.

The Air is the first EV to debut under the Lucid marque, which began last fall with the Dream Edition model. In 2022, deliveries of the second model – the Air Grand Touring – began. According to Lucid Motors’ Q1 report for 2022, it had delivered 360 EVs, but it is unclear how many of them were Grand Tourings.

Even among supply chain constraints that have continued to plague the American automaker’s output goals for 2022, Lucid has maintained excitement around its Air sedan. In April, Lucid announced a new Performance version of the Air Grand Touring with 1,050 horsepower and 446 miles of range.

Jul 1, 2022

Objective Reality May Not Exist at All, Quantum Physicists Say

Posted by in categories: neuroscience, particle physics, quantum physics

If objective reality doesn’t exist, where does that leave us? Does reality emerge into physicality directly from nothing, or could it be that conceptual reality is just as real as the physical universe? If that is the case, then physical matter is just a product of conception, and consciousness is its backdrop.


Does reality exist, or does it take shape when an observer measures it? Akin to the age-old conundrum of whether a tree makes a sound if it falls in a forest with no one around to hear it, the above question remains one of the most tantalizing in the field of quantum mechanics, the branch of science dealing with the behavior of subatomic particles on the microscopic level.

In a field where intriguing, almost mysterious phenomena like “quantum superposition” prevail—a situation where one particle can be in two or even “all” possible places at the same time—some experts say reality exists outside of your own awareness, and there’s nothing you can do to change it. Others insist “quantum reality” might be some form of Play-Doh you mold into different shapes with your own actions. Now, scientists from the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) in the São Paulo metropolitan area in Brazil are adding fuel to the suggestion that reality might be “in the eye of the observer.”

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