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hubie writes:

Some state laws allow incentives to turn plastics into fuels as well as other plastics:

In the US, people are asking their elected leaders to reduce plastic pollution.

To that end, environmental advocates are seeking policies to reduce the use of single-use plastics such as beverage bottles and snack bags. They point out that less than 10% of plastic used in the US ends up recycled.

Meanwhile, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the major trade group for the chemical industry, is offering another plan—policies to promote chemically recycling plastics by breaking them down into molecular building blocks for reuse. [...]

"Policy makers are very interested" in advanced recycling, says Craig Cookson, senior director of plastics sustainability for the ACC. "Their constituents are coming to them and saying they want to see greater amounts and more types of plastics recycled in their communities."

[...] Industry effort to promote the new state laws "is all about public relations," says Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, a group that seeks to end single-use plastic pollution through the reduction and reuse of the material. Producers are trying to acknowledge that plastic pollution is a problem while preserving business, she says.

Instead of working to generate less plastic waste, companies are seeking a technical fix that will let them keep producing—and reaping huge profits from—plastic, says Renée Sharp, the strategic adviser for Safer States, an alliance of health and safety advocates that tracks environmental legislation in states.

"We're seeing legislators who think that they're actually doing something that's good for the environment, but they have bought the industry line. They don't really understand what these technologies are," Sharp tells C&EN. Backers of the state bills include Democrats and Republicans alike.

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://hackaday.com/2022/05/16/can-you-hear-me-now-lunar-edition/

Despite what it looks like in the movies, it is hard to communicate with astronauts from Earth. There are delays, and space vehicles don't usually have a lot of excess power. Plus everything is moving and Doppler shifting and Faraday rotating. Even today, it is tricky. But how did Apollo manage to send back TV, telemetry, and voice back in 1969? [Ken Shirriff] and friends tell us part of the story in a recent post where he looks at the Apollo premodulation processor.

[...] [Ken] takes us through each module. The voice and data detector module extracted voice on a 30 kHz FM subcarrier. There's also a bi-phase modulator, voice clipping, and a relay module to pass signals from the lunar module back to Earth.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

An interesting, and very brief, history of the Zilog Z80 microprocessor from the IEEE Computer Society's IEEE Micro magazine:

[...] At the beginning [1974], Faggin intended to develop a single-chip computer (microcontroller), but soon realized that it is difficult to compete in the microcontroller market with a company who has its own semiconductor fabrication facility. [...] Faggin came up with an idea of developing a 5-V microprocessor, which was machine core compatible with then popular Intel 8080, and adding most of the functionalities available in Motorola 6800, so that they could pinch both markets. [...]

Zilog managed to introduce the first working prototype of Z80 on March 9, 1976, created by an 11-member team, exactly on the scheduled date. [...] The developed Z80 microprocessor had an 8-bit data bus and a 16-bit address bus with the capability of running all 78 instructions of Intel 8080 and additional instructions. It had 20 × 8-bit registers and 4 × 16-bit registers and could handle up to 64k bytes of memory.

[...] Z80 was very popular as a microprocessor not only in PC applications, but also in industrial embedded applications, and some of the big manufacturers have Z80 core inside their ASIC chips still today or use enhanced versions of Z80 in consumer electronic devices. [...] To this day, Zilog produces a range of Z80-based microprocessors and intelligent peripheral controllers, and they are available from reputed electronics component suppliers. This microprocessor is one of the longest living microprocessors of all time.

Not too shabby for the first product out of a new company. These days it would probably be developed as a Kickstarter.

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/05/new-bluetooth-hack-can-unlock-your-tesla-and-all-kinds-of-other-devices/

When you use your phone to unlock a Tesla, the device and the car use Bluetooth signals to measure their proximity to each other. Move close to the car with the phone in hand, and the door automatically unlocks. Move away, and it locks. This proximity authentication works on the assumption that the key stored on the phone can only be transmitted when the locked device is within Bluetooth range.

Now, a researcher has devised a hack that allows him to unlock millions of Teslas—and countless other devices—even when the authenticating phone or key fob is hundreds of yards or miles away. The hack, which exploits weaknesses in the Bluetooth Low Energy standard adhered to by thousands of device makers, can be used to unlock doors, open and operate vehicles, and gain unauthorized access to a host of laptops and other security-sensitive devices.
[...]
This class of hack is known as a relay attack, a close cousin of the person-in-the-middle attack. In its simplest form, a relay attack requires two attackers.
[...]
Here's a simplified attack diagram, taken from the above-linked Wikipedia article, followed by a video demonstration of Khan unlocking a Tesla and driving away with it, even though the authorized phone isn't anywhere nearby.

Original Submission

slashnot writes:

Bloomberg and other outlets are reporting Verizon Communications Inc. will raise prices on its wireless bills for the first time in two years as the largest US wireless carrier grapples with higher costs.

Millions of consumers will see a $1.35 increase in administrative charges for each voice line starting in their June phone bill. And business customers will see a new "economic adjustment charge" beginning June 16, with mobile phone data plans increasing by $2.20 a month and basic service plans going up by 98 cents, according to Verizon representatives.

New York City-based Verizon started notifying customers Monday and has been contacting some of its larger corporate clients in recent days to tell them of the coming increases.

The move rallied Verizon's shares, vaulting them ahead of the broader market to their highest close in three weeks. At 4 p.m. in New York, Verizon rose 1.8% to end the regular session at $49.04, while the S&P 500 declined 0.4%.

Original Submission

DannyB writes:

SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to launch record-breaking communications satellite

A report on the latest in a long line of SpaceX launches significantly delayed by customer payload readiness has been updated to confirm that the satellite in question will launch on Falcon Heavy, not Falcon 9.

Woo Hoo! I've been waiting to see another Falcon Heavy launch!

Hughes revealed that it had selected SpaceX to launch its Maxar-built Jupiter-3 geostationary communications satellite during an industry conference on March 21st, 2022. [....] Just six weeks later, manufacturer Maxar reported that the completion of Jupiter 3 – like many other Maxar spacecraft – had been delayed, pushing its launch to no earlier than (NET) "early 2023."

At the same time, Maxar revealed that Jupiter 3 – also known as Echostar 24 – was expected to weigh around 9.2 metric tons (~20,300 lb) at liftoff when that launch finally happens. That figure immediately raised some questions about which SpaceX rocket Hughes or Maxar had chosen to launch the immense satellite.

[....] At 9.2 tons, Jupiter 3 will leapfrog the world record for the largest commercial geostationary satellite ever launched by 30%. Barring the possibility of secret military spacecraft, it will likely be the heaviest spacecraft of any kind to reach geostationary orbit 35,785 km (22,236 miles) above Earth's surface.

[....] With its exceptional heft, a recoverable Falcon 9 launch may have only been able to loft Jupiter 3 around half the way to GTO from low Earth orbit (LEO). It was little surprise, then, to learn that Hughes and Maxar had actually selected SpaceX's far more capable Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the satellite. Even with full recovery of all three Falcon Heavy first-stage boosters, there's a good chance that the rocket would be able to launch Jupiter 3 most of or all the way to a nominal geostationary transfer orbit. If the center core is expended and the side boosters land at sea, Falcon Heavy would likely be able to launch Jupiter 3 to a highly supersynchronous GTO, meaning that the spacecraft's apogee would end up well above GEO.

[....] Falcon Heavy's Jupiter 3 mission won't beat the record for total payload to GTO in a single launch, held by Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket after a 2021 mission to GTO launched two communications satellites weighing 10.27t, but it will be just one ton shy.

Looking at SpaceFlightNow.com's Launch Schedule it appears there will be several Falcon Heavy launches yet this year.

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://hackaday.com/2022/05/17/book-teaches-gaming-math/

If we knew how much math goes into writing a video game, we might have paid more attention in math class. If you need a refresher, [Fletcher Dunn] and [Ian Parbery] have their book "3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development" available free online. The book was originally a paper book from 2011 with a 2002 first edition but those are out of print now. However, math is math, so regardless of the age of the book, it is worth a look. For now, the online version is a bunch of web pages, but we hear a PDF or E-reader version is forthcoming

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/05/netflix-speeds-up-plan-for-ad-supported-tier-says-it-may-debut-this-year/

Netflix has reportedly told employees it plans to roll out an ad-supported tier by the end of this year, sooner than expected. Additionally, Netflix's plan for an extra fee to fight password-sharing would roll out around the same time.

In a note to employees, "Netflix executives said that they were aiming to introduce the ad tier in the final three months of the year," according to a New York Times report on Tuesday. The memo "also said that they were planning to begin cracking down on password sharing among its subscriber base around the same time."

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings last month said the company plans to launch a lower-priced subscription tier with ads and will continue offering ad-free options. Hastings didn't seem to think the ad-supported tier would roll out in 2022, saying it is something "we're trying to figure out over the next year or two."

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

Machine-learning systems require a huge number of correctly-labeled information samples to start getting good at prediction. What happens when the information is manipulated to poison the data?

For the past decade, artificial intelligence has been used to recognize faces, rate creditworthiness and predict the weather. At the same time, increasingly sophisticated hacks using stealthier methods have escalated. The combination of AI and cybersecurity was inevitable as both fields sought better tools and new uses for their technology. But there's a massive problem that threatens to undermine these efforts and could allow adversaries to bypass digital defenses undetected.

The danger is data poisoning: manipulating the information used to train machines offers a virtually untraceable method to get around AI-powered defenses. Many companies may not be ready to deal with escalating challenges. The global market for AI cybersecurity is already expected to triple by 2028 to $35 billion. Security providers and their clients may have to patch together multiple strategies to keep threats at bay.

[...] In a presentation at the HITCon security conference in Taipei last year, researchers Cheng Shin-ming and Tseng Ming-huei showed that backdoor code could fully bypass defenses by poisoning less than 0.7% of the data submitted to the machine-learning system. Not only does it mean that only a few malicious samples are needed, but it indicates that a machine-learning system can be rendered vulnerable even if it uses only a small amount of unverified open-source data.

[...] To stay safe, companies need to ensure their data is clean, but that means training their systems with fewer examples than they'd get with open source offerings. In machine learning, sample size matters.

Perhaps poisoning is something users do intentionally in an attempt to keep themselves safe?

Originally spotted on The Eponymous Pickle.

Previously
How to Stealthily Poison Neural Network Chips in the Supply Chain

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

ZDNet:

Amazon has announced that its two Australian-based solar farms are now up and running and delivering clean energy to the Australian grid.

The solar farms, which are based in regional New South Wales -- one in Gunnedah and the other in Suntop -- are expected to generate 392,000 MWh of renewable energy each year, which according to Amazon is equivalent to the annual usage of 63,000 Australian homes.

The company is also building a wind farm in the regional Victorian town of Hawkesdale. Amazon said once it is operational, the wind farm will boost the company's combined yearly renewable energy generation to 717,000 MWh -- or enough to power 115,000 Australian homes.

Does the path to sustainable energy lead through companies like Amazon supplying their own green sources?

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

Billions of years ago, a series of volcanic eruptions broke loose on the moon, blanketing hundreds of thousands of square miles of the orb's surface in hot lava. Over the eons, that lava created the dark blotches, or maria, that give the face of the moon its familiar appearance today.

Now, new research from CU Boulder suggests that volcanoes may have left another lasting impact on the lunar surface: sheets of ice that dot the moon's poles and, in some places, could measure dozens or even hundreds of feet thick.
...
It's a potential bounty for future moon explorers who will need water to drink and process into rocket fuel, said study co-author Paul Hayne.

"It's possible that 5 or 10 meters below the surface, you have big sheets of ice," said Hayne, assistant professor in APS and LASP.

Is it better to drink the water there, or burn it?

Journal Reference:
Andrew X. Wilcoski et al, Polar Ice Accumulation from Volcanically Induced Transient Atmospheres on the Moon, The Planetary Science Journal (2022). DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/ac649c

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

For years China's censors have relied on a trusted tool kit to control the country's internet. They have deleted posts, suspended accounts, blocked keywords, and arrested the most outspoken.

Now they are trying a new trick: displaying social media users' locations beneath posts:

Authorities say the location tags, which are displayed automatically, will help unearth overseas disinformation campaigns intended to destabilize China. In practice, they have offered new fuel for pitched online battles that increasingly link Chinese citizens' locations with their national loyalty. Chinese people posting from overseas, and even from provinces deemed insufficiently patriotic, are now easily targeted by nationalist influencers, whose fans harass them or report their accounts.

The tags, based on a user's Internet Protocol, or I.P., address that can reveal where a person is located, were first applied to posts that mentioned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a topic authorities said was being manipulated with foreign propaganda. Now they are being expanded to most social media content, further chilling speech on a Chinese internet dominated by censorship and isolated from the world.

The move marks a new step in a decade-long push by Chinese officials to end anonymity online and exert a more perfect control over China's digital town squares.

[...] Those who appear to be getting online from abroad, even if they're just using a virtual private network or VPN that cloaks their location in China, are treated as foreign agitators and spies. After being reported by the trolls, some accounts are deleted by the platforms for violating "community regulations."

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

MIT Technology Review:

Solar panels are basically synonymous with silicon. The material is used in about 95% of the panels in today's market. But silicon solar cells are limited in how much energy they can harness from the sun, and they are still relatively expensive to make.

For many, compounds called perovskites have long held promise as potentially cheaper, lighter, more efficient solar materials. But despite the excitement—and a flurry of startups to commercialize the technology—some experts caution that perovskite-based solar cells could still be nearly a decade away from having a significant commercial impact, if it ever happens.

[...] But despite the hype, there are a couple of key reasons why your next rooftop solar installation probably won't be powered by perovskites. At the top of the list: they're too fragile.

Perovskites are cheaper to make, but not nearly durable as silicon. Whoever can bridge that gap will change the world.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Nonprogrammers are building more of the world's software: A computer scientist explains 'no-code':

Traditional computer programming has a steep learning curve that requires learning a programming language, for example C/C++, Java or Python, just to build a simple application such as a calculator or Tic-tac-toe game. Programming also requires substantial debugging skills, which easily frustrates new learners. The study time, effort and experience needed often stop nonprogrammers from making software from scratch.

No-code is a way to program websites, mobile apps and games without using codes or scripts, or sets of commands. People readily learn from visual cues, which led to the development of "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) document and multimedia editors as early as the 1970s. WYSIWYG editors allow you to work in a document as it appears in finished form. The concept was extended to software development in the 1990s.

There are many no-code development platforms that allow both programmers and nonprogrammers to create software through drag-and-drop graphical user interfaces instead of traditional line-by-line coding. For example, a user can drag a label and drop it to a website. The no-code platform will show how the label looks and create the corresponding HTML code. No-code development platforms generally offer templates or modules that allow anyone to build apps.

[...] There are many current no-code website-building platforms such as Bubble, Wix, WordPress and GoogleSites that overcome the shortcomings of the early no-code website builders. Bubble allows users to design the interface by defining a workflow. A workflow is a series of actions triggered by an event. For instance, when a user clicks on the save button (the event), the current game status is saved to a file (the series of actions).

Netflix Cuts 150 US-based Jobs After Losing Subscribers

Phoenix666 writes:

BBC:

Netflix has laid off about 150 staff, just a month after the entertainment giant said it was losing subscribers for the first time in a decade.

The redundancies, announced by the streaming service on Tuesday, will mainly affect its US office in California. They account for about 2% of its North American workforce.

Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company's revenue.

The streaming service is battling an exodus of viewers this year.

Is Netflix losing subscribers to increased competition in streaming, to customers cutting costs in hard economic times, or to customer saturation and/or discontent with Netflix's library?