Geeky international news on technology, business and culture.
Grok chatbot trains on X user data in ‘very likely’ breach of EU law
26 July 2024 @ 3:37 pm
Elon Musk could have yet another problem with the European Union. Musk’s X has enabled the Grok chatbot to be trained on data from any user. This feature is now on by default, which may breach EU rules. Deep within the settings of X, users unearthed evidence of the data harvesting. Besides a check box that was already ticked, they spotted the following text: “Allow your posts as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok to be used for training and fine-tuning.” This approach could violate the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The law restricts companies from…Grindr disables location features in Olympic village to protect LGBTQ+ athletes
26 July 2024 @ 3:24 pm
Popular LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr has disabled location-based features for users within the Olympic village of the Paris Games, which kicked off today. The measures are not designed to stop athletes hooking up between sprints, swims, or shot puts — they’re a safety precaution. “If an athlete is not out or comes from a country where being LGBTQ+ is dangerous or illegal, using Grindr can put them at risk of being outed by curious individuals who may try to identify and expose them on the app,” said Grindr. Grindr has disabled features like “Roam” or “Explore,” which allow users to…Paris Olympics app ‘prime target for cybercriminals’
26 July 2024 @ 1:20 pm
The Paris Olympics 2024 kicked off today. But as the City of Light opens its gates to millions of spectators, officials are bracing themselves for a cyber war. Analysts predict that there could be as many as four billion cyber attacks at this year’s Games. The official Paris Olympics 2024 app is particularly vulnerable. “This app handles vast amounts of personal and transactional data, making it a prime target for cybercriminals,” said Sakthi Mohan, cloud security lead at California-based Synopsys Software Integrity Group. The Paris Olympics app has already been downloaded over 10 million times on Google Play. It allows…After 15 years, the maintainer of Homebrew plans to make a living
26 July 2024 @ 12:41 pm
Installing and updating applications and other dependencies on a computer really should be a solved problem by now. Yet almost every major desktop operating system provides multiple options, with no real clear answer to “which is best.” Linux, despite long-established package managers such as apt, deb, and rpm, just to name a few, still suffers from confusion and inconsistency between open source vs proprietary instals, as well as between developer tools and more user-focussed tools. Additionally, many package developers don’t even distribute to any package managers, or the versions you find in them are outdated. Windows isn’t much better, with…Airbus backs space gym to jump-start astronaut health
25 July 2024 @ 3:37 pm
An exercise machine for astronauts has entered an Airbus accelerator. Built by UK startup Physical Mind London, the device mitigates the impacts of zero gravity, which can be brutal. After six months in space, astronauts can lose up to 20% of their bone mass. Their muscles can also shrink dramatically. On short flights, they can suffer muscle loss of 20%. If no countermeasures are applied, this can rise to 50%. Physical Mind London wants to provide those countermeasures. The company’s flagship product is the HIFIm (High Frequency Impulses for Microgravity machine). HIFIm provides a workout based on one special exercise: jumping.…Electric plane startup Heart Aerospace races to decarbonise short-haul flights
25 July 2024 @ 2:43 pm
Inside a hangar on the outskirts of Gothenburg, Sweden, lies the sleek metal frame of an electric plane poised to change the way we fly forever. The hangar belongs to Heart Aerospace. The Swedish startup is building a hybrid-electric 30-passenger airliner called the ES-30. It could offer a cleaner, cheaper alternative to short-haul flights on routes across the world. Unlike other battery-powered planes — like flying cars or air taxis — the ES-30 looks, for lack of a better word, pretty normal. “A lot of companies obsess over how an electric aircraft will look. We are thinking about how an…Addionics secures $39M for 3D ‘current collectors’ that boost EV range, charging
25 July 2024 @ 11:00 am
London-based Addionics has raised $39mn in funding as it eyes commercialisation of its 3D ‘current collectors’ that can boost the performance of any battery, regardless of its chemistry. The venture capital arm of General Motors and Israeli VC fund Deep Insight led the round, with participation from Swedish truck-maker Scania. The startup has developed a 3D-structured ultra-thin copper foil that can simply “drop in” to existing battery architectures. The so-called current collector minimises internal resistance within a battery, allowing energy to flow more efficiently. This improves capacity, charging time, and battery life. While these benefits apply to all batteries, Addionics…Revolut wins UK banking license as neobanks take on the establishment
25 July 2024 @ 9:29 am
Revolut has finally won a UK banking licence, intensifying the neobank threat to traditional finance. The breakthrough ends a painful wait for Europe’s most valuable fintech firm, which first applied for a licence in January 2021. Regulators were reportedly concerned about Revolut’s accounts, but politicians offered vocal support. Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, called the company a “shining example from our world-beating fintech sector.” With the new license, Revolut can push that sector further into mainstream finance. But first, the company must complete a “mobilisation stage,” designed for testing systems before a full launch. According to the Bank of England, this…Tyre-dust magnet looks to capture microplastic pollution from EVs in London
25 July 2024 @ 4:00 am
A UK startup is installing electrostatic tyre-dust collecting machines on a fleet of EV delivery vans in London, as it looks to make a dent in the world’s second-largest source of microplastic pollution. When cars drive, friction between the tyre and the road surface causes tiny rubber particles to break off, where they disperse into the air, water, and even our bodies. Tyres contain a number of toxic chemicals, exposure to which has been linked to cancer, lung disease, and even mass die out of river salmon. “We’re all well aware about exhaust emissions from cars, but the enormity of…UK unicorn Improbable finally makes profit after pivot to venture building
24 July 2024 @ 2:25 pm
After 12 years in business and several strategic pivots, British unicorn Improbable has achieved profitability for the first time. Improbable credited the milestone to yet another business shift. After numerous attempts to create virtual worlds, the company has reinvented itself as a venture builder. “Venture building has proven to be the optimal model for both Improbable and the metaverse, as experimenting with various use cases is key to achieving adoption,” said Herman Narula, Improbable’s founder and CEO. A new financial report substantiates his claim. In 2023, Improbable’s revenues increased by 37% to reach £66mn. With a total profit of £11…
While it's great to get a full gym workout, most people don't have the space or the money to put all that equipment in their home. The GymPad Bench is the latest product to offer a solution to that problem, by packing multiple exercise machines into one compact package.Continue ReadingCategory: Health & Wellbeing, LifestyleTags: Home Gym, 
A remarkable semi-submersible ecotourism concept that takes passengers above and below the water has just received a zero-emission boost thanks to a new partnership between Platypus Craft and electric outboard manufacturer Evoy.Continue ReadingCategory: Marine, TransportTags: 
Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses recently completed a new model named the Bandelier. Though it only has a modest length of just 28 ft (8.5 m), the tiny home is cleverly designed to offer a comfortable interior for two – plus guests – that has a well-proportioned living area, and even a bathtub.Continue ReadingCategory: Tiny Houses, LifestyleTags: 
For the first time, the fully mechanical heart made by BiVACOR, which uses the same technology as high-speed rail lines, has been implanted inside a human being. The feat marks a major step in keeping people alive as they wait for heart transplants.Continue ReadingCategory: Medical, ScienceTags: Artificial organs, 
The official definition of a “planet” could be set to change again soon. Last time that happened, Pluto was kicked out of the club, but the new proposed definition is designed to be more inclusive.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, ScienceTags: Planet, Dwarf planet, Pluto
Ocean Energy has deployed its 826-tonne wave energy converter buoy OE-35 at the US Navy's Wave Energy Test Site off the coast of the island of Oahu ahead of it being hooked up to Hawaii's electricity grid.Continue ReadingCategory: Energy, ScienceTags: Wave Power, US Marines, 
The recognition of same-sex marriage across the European Union has had a negative impact on the US economy, causing the number of highly skilled foreign workers seeking visas to drop by about 21%, according to a new study.Continue ReadingCategory: LifestyleTags: Washington State University
MIT scientists have discovered an intriguing new way to produce hydrogen fuel, using just soda cans, seawater and coffee grounds. The team says the chemical reaction could be put to work powering engines or fuel cells in marine vehicles that suck in seawater.Continue ReadingCategory: Energy, ScienceTags: Hydrogen, 
Speaking a language with different words for different color shades allows the brain to perceive those shades quicker than using a language with only one word for that color, according to new research. The findings highlight the important interaction between language and perception.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: Language, 
People may joke about tight jeans being "spray-on pants," but Swiss brand On's new Cloudboom Strike LS is a spray-on running shoe … sort of. Its LightSpray production process is said to be much faster and greener than traditional methods, resulting in an ultra-lightweight finished product.Continue ReadingCategory: Good Thinking, LifestyleTags: 
Secure boot is disabled, and this can be seen in msinfo32:
Secure boot - off. However, in BIOS, the CSM is turned off, and secure boot is set to UEFI.
With early computers, you didn't boot up to a fancy schmancy desktop, or a screen full of apps you could easily poke and prod with your finger. No, those computers booted up to the command
On an
Websites have gotten a lot
Mysterious hooded computer guys doing mysterious hooded computer guy .. things! Who knows what kind of naughty digital mischief they might be up to?
Unfortunately, we now live in a world where this kind of digital mischief is literally rewriting the world's history. For proof
Can Sauron tempt anyone with the power of a ring? We, and all of Middle-earth, are about to find out.
Thomas Matthew Crooks wasn't part of some Manchurian Candidate-like plot, according to the spy agency.
Leading up to Google's August 13 hardware event, a leak has surfaced showing of the upcoming Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold's design in it's full glory.
The bottles were unopened, in a chance find that's been sitting on the bottom of the sea for 170 years.
We'll finally learn a bit more about that unseen but ever-present documentary crew as part of the vampire comedy's final season.
Chris Evan describes his surprise Marvel return as "pretty easy" in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly.
SpaceX's workhorse launch vehicle has been cleared to fly following an investigation into the July 11 incident, which resulted in the loss of 20 Starlink satellites.
The CEO of Sonos released a statement apologizing for the app's performance and vowing to do better.
io9 brings you the best fan-created costumes celebrating comics, pop culture, and more at SDCC!
New research finds that people given the Shingrix vaccine were significantly less likely to develop dementia over a six-year-period.
ProWritingAid VS Grammarly:
Are you searching for an