tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60615885462932158702022-05-16T00:31:20.035+02:00MasterTechScience & Technology News from Around the WorldUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger347120tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-81800196313217514022022-05-16T00:25:00.000+02:002022-05-16T00:30:48.230+02:00Super Blood Red Flower Moon<div dir="ltr"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXzjb68Aj3fvetEt3KWt59tHeDNsE2GvnJbEvhzYmlG-FK9_HS8qM7l2NsFnEdzvMn1sO4LLoBAHnLAOpSTPFQ7fjw-cszLd6xFV_tgllz9ItKdR2UrxQ7XmtcFavnlTryvjjCg7L6Qgd-5ouck-9eyUb7UPAZ5CtymTg1QsxiFE2nKa26YbYg4-JsA/s592/0ADA18CF-7267-4C6C-AB05-D2C701B6267C.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="508" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXzjb68Aj3fvetEt3KWt59tHeDNsE2GvnJbEvhzYmlG-FK9_HS8qM7l2NsFnEdzvMn1sO4LLoBAHnLAOpSTPFQ7fjw-cszLd6xFV_tgllz9ItKdR2UrxQ7XmtcFavnlTryvjjCg7L6Qgd-5ouck-9eyUb7UPAZ5CtymTg1QsxiFE2nKa26YbYg4-JsA/s320/0ADA18CF-7267-4C6C-AB05-D2C701B6267C.jpeg" width="275" /></span></a></div><h1><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It will be blood red from all of Earth's sunrises and sunsets reflected on to the Moon's surface.</span></span></h1></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In the <b>year's only full lunar eclipse</b>, Earth will come between the Sun and the Moon.</span></div> <div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Falling fully into Earth's shadow, the Moon will slowly darken before turning dusky red. </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>The only sunlight reaching the Moon during the full eclipse will be passing through the Earth's atmosphere.</b><br /></span></div> <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjHO5EaW_9y0iyWwEn3zsjXlkJ7d050DT_eFJTXrYaXlvVbarg6WxYhGE17N1QkTG60ylnggpXvfFcgpb8rV5_3g0MDxkW0Z40K_VnYVoftw4UAsKdHzKAhJb8DXhGxgUOcKFfvkFN7Y9ZUD2jaPFDe1m9Mf6jQ314DuQ99YwL2cox7zK360I9gx6fw/s1280/EC5D4C68-D80B-4B6C-8AF3-C53DFA70DEA1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="1280" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjHO5EaW_9y0iyWwEn3zsjXlkJ7d050DT_eFJTXrYaXlvVbarg6WxYhGE17N1QkTG60ylnggpXvfFcgpb8rV5_3g0MDxkW0Z40K_VnYVoftw4UAsKdHzKAhJb8DXhGxgUOcKFfvkFN7Y9ZUD2jaPFDe1m9Mf6jQ314DuQ99YwL2cox7zK360I9gx6fw/s320/EC5D4C68-D80B-4B6C-8AF3-C53DFA70DEA1.png" width="320" /></a></div></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This <b><i>light will be blood red, from all Earth's sunrises and sunsets reflected on to the Moon's surface</i></b>, explains Dr Gregory Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"<i>You'll actually be seeing every sunrise and every sunset occurring around the Earth at once. All of that light will be projected on to the Moon</i>," he told BBC News.</span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">See the full story on BBC News here: </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61423765">https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61423765</a><br /></span></div> </div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: helvetica;">___________________</span><div><a href="http://bit.ly/MasterTech"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">bit.ly/MasterTech</span></a></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-22949741450326033762022-02-01T20:38:00.000+01:002022-02-01T20:38:10.408+01:00On The Horizon For #Solar: A Vertical #Software Decacorn<div><header id="article-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 32px; width: 660px;"><div id="title-collapse" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="vertical-center-outer" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="vertical-center-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><img alt="Solar Software Market Tailwinds" height="221" src="https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/61f18a3ba936840be911a111/Solar-Software-Market-Tailwinds/960x0.png?fit=bounds&format=png&width=960" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; display: block; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="400" /><h1 id="title-holder" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.417; margin: 0px 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: normal;">Climate software entrepreneurs are serving far larger markets than most investors expect. Billion dollar software companies serving the renewable energy markets are here now. The $10 billion software company focused on renewables and sustainability is coming!<br /></i></span></h1><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><span style="font-size: 1.5em;"><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;">On The Horizon For Solar: A Vertical Software Decacorn</span></span></span></h2></div></div></div></header><div id="content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 24px 16px;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><img alt="John Tough" height="64" src="https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/400x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F5f696710d23a4fb535ed24e9%2F960x0.jpg%3FcropX1%3D0%26cropX2%3D294%26cropY1%3D0%26cropY2%3D294" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="64" /><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">I cover the digital transformation of energy & sustainability</span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The year is 2015. You are a climate software entrepreneur focused on a sustainable technology vertical like solar, wind, batteries, energy efficiency, carbon removal or some other newfangled industry that a venture capitalist likely hasn’t heard of before. You put on a brave face, package up your pitch deck and trek down Sand Hill Road…only to return without a single venture dollar to fund your company.</p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Fast forward to 2022. Venture capitalists today have awoken to the potential of climate technology. More than <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.pwc.com/climatetech" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title="https://www.pwc.com/climatetech">$87 billion</a> flowed into climate tech last year alone. The barriers investors cited several years ago – limited market size, fragmented “long-tail” customer base, crowded competitive vendor landscape, and well-funded software R&D efforts by corporate incumbents, to name a few – are now being derailed by emergent climate software companies.</p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">At Energize, we are especially bullish on vertical climate software. As Larry Fink of BlackRock said in his <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter">annual letter</a>, the next 1,000 unicorns will be green energy companies. To take it a step further, we believe <strong dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box;">in the next five years a decacorn will emerge in vertical solar software</strong>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">The vertical software playbook</strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">History provides precedence of vertical software pioneers that scale to $10B+ in enterprise value and hundreds of million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Veeva Systems is the exemplar in vertical software. Veeva is a $30B+ vertical software behemoth addressing the traditionally sleepy life sciences industry. Veeva’s first product, Commercial Cloud, was a pharmaceutical industry customer relationship management system. Veeva leveraged its life sciences data and distribution strength to launch a second product, Vault, to help pharmaceutical companies with content management.</p><figure style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img alt="TAM in Today" height="209" src="https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/61f188b92eedc7a37811a111/TAM-in-Today/960x0.png?fit=bounds&format=png&width=960" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="417" /><figcaption dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-size: 0.857rem; line-height: 1.667; margin-bottom: 1rem; opacity: 0.8;">The total addressable market is scaling TAM IN TODAY</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Veeva projects $3 billion in annual revenue and $1 billion of operating cash flow by 2025 - an incredible amount of scale for a vertical software company built methodically over 15 years – yet still only at a 25 percent market share if Veeva’s own total addressable market (TAM) estimate is true.</p><div dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box;">MORE FROM<span dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box;">FORBES ADVISOR</span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The playbook?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">· Target a new or underserved market, outcompete incumbents and “rip and replace” customer-built software. The best vertical software accelerates a customer’s own revenue and profit.</p><img alt="Walmart’s New Store Design Sends Another Department Store ‘Wake-Up’ Call" height="235" src="https://img.connatix.com/e8869d3f-0f3e-474a-a43d-be85f87597b4/91f13c7b-80cb-46c7-9166-5b33538f4125.jpg?crop=418:235,smart&width=418&height=235&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="418" /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">· Cement a product-led competitive advantage to create customer distribution leverage and a data moat.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">· Launch new products leveraging that data moat to address new users within your customers, thus driving account expansion and further stickiness.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">· Finally, by offering multiple products, build a revenue “layer cake” with superior lifetime-value (LTV) and customer acquisition cost (CAC) dynamics.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A successful vertical software business is a high-margin, capital-efficient, cash flow machine that can utilize operating cash flows to pursue additional growth avenues, such as M&A, data monetization, fintech offerings and more.</p><figure style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Product exapnsion flywheel" height="285" src="https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/61f1894ece2697a1b60777f1/Product-exapnsion-flywheel/960x0.png?fit=bounds&format=png&width=960" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="417" /><figcaption dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-size: 0.857rem; line-height: 1.667; margin-bottom: 1rem; opacity: 0.8;">How solar software will expand its' approach VEEVA INVESTOR PRESENTATION, 2020 WITH SLIGHT EDITS</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Solar + vertical software: A seismic match</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">As of 2020, <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.bvp.com/atlas/ten-lessons-from-a-decade-of-vertical-software-investing" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title="https://www.bvp.com/atlas/ten-lessons-from-a-decade-of-vertical-software-investing">Bessemer Venture Partners</a> identifies a 10x increase in vertical software market capitalization over the past decade to an aggregate of $653 billion. Traditional, less sexy industries have largely contributed to that growth – companies like Procore, a construction company and Service Titan, a home maintenance services provider are two prime examples, both vertical software giants of $10B+ enterprise value.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">But vertical software is only scratching the surface of its potential to create value for entirely new, emergent industries. Solar, wind, batteries, electric vehicle charging, building electrification, power grid management, agriculture, construction, carbon removal and carbon markets all represent sustainable industries literally being built from the ground up. At Energize, we see strong potential to build a vertical software winner (or winners!) in each of these target markets, and we’re particularly bullish on the solar market’s near-term likelihood to produce a decacorn.</p><figure style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Growth of Public Vertical Software" height="272" src="https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/61f189d8f31ebda4306115af/Growth-of-Public-Vertical-Software/960x0.png?fit=bounds&format=png&width=960" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="418" /><figcaption dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-size: 0.857rem; line-height: 1.667; margin-bottom: 1rem; opacity: 0.8;">The vertical software companies are growing larger than most expected BESSEMER VENTURES PARTNERS</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The solar industry demonstrates several promising characteristics that are harbingers of vertical software success. Bessemer Venture Partner’s <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.bvp.com/atlas/ten-lessons-from-a-decade-of-vertical-software-investing#Lesson-10-Great-vertical-software-companies-are-powerful-tools-for-their-customers-The-very-best-are-platforms-for-an-entire-industry" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title="https://www.bvp.com/atlas/ten-lessons-from-a-decade-of-vertical-software-investing#Lesson-10-Great-vertical-software-companies-are-powerful-tools-for-their-customers-The-very-best-are-platforms-for-an-entire-industry">“Ten lessons from a decade of vertical software investing”</a> provides an excellent primer for the conditions aspiring vertical software entrepreneurs should identify when evaluating target industries. We’ve identified seven tailwinds bolstering the case for solar vertical software to soar in the coming decade:</p><figure style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Solar Software Market Tailwinds" height="221" src="https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/61f18a3ba936840be911a111/Solar-Software-Market-Tailwinds/960x0.png?fit=bounds&format=png&width=960" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="400" /><figcaption dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-size: 0.857rem; line-height: 1.667; margin-bottom: 1rem; opacity: 0.8;">The solar tailwinds will propel their market another 30%+ per year, minimum ENERGIZE VENTURES</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Capital is rushing into solar software. By our tally, solar software or software-enabled private companies raised more than $1 billion of venture and growth equity funding in the past two years. Market consolidation is accelerating, with nearly $1.5 billion of solar software M&A transactions in the past 24 months. Why? The financial opportunity in solar software is far greater than most realize.</p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Solar software is a $3 billion TAM in the U.S. and $19 billion internationally by 2025. In the next three years, the U.S. solar industry is expected to generate total revenue between $20 and 30 billion across residential, commercial and utility-scale solar. The U.S. will employ 343,000 solar workers and globally, more than six million solar jobs represent a <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Oct/IRENA_RE_Jobs_2021.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Oct/IRENA_RE_Jobs_2021.pdf">robust pool of potential users</a> that would immensely benefit from dedicated vertical software tools.</p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In fast-growing, technology-forward industries, <a dir="ltr" href="https://resources.flexera.com/web/pdf/report-slo-state-of-tech-spend-2021.pdf?elqTrackId=767c1c192940494cb213a42a953c4bdd&elqaid=6490&elqat=2" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title="https://resources.flexera.com/web/pdf/report-slo-state-of-tech-spend-2021.pdf?elqTrackId=767c1c192940494cb213a42a953c4bdd&elqaid=6490&elqat=2">software spend as a percent of revenue</a> ranges from 10 to 15 percent on average. Our experience is that solar is no different. We estimate that private standalone solar software companies will generate $250 million in annual recurring revenue in 2022, with most revenue concentrated in North America. The near-term potential of accelerated solar software adoption is immense!</p><figure style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Solar Software TAM" height="255" src="https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/61f18ad7c252fc1a686115af/Solar-Software-TAM/960x0.png?fit=bounds&format=png&width=960" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="418" /><figcaption dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-size: 0.857rem; line-height: 1.667; margin-bottom: 1rem; opacity: 0.8;">The market is $250M today and growing to nearly $20 billion by 2025 ENERGIZE VENTURES</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Do the math, and it’s inevitable that a solar software decacorn is on the near horizon. A singular solar software firm with five percent market share could attain $1 billion in annual recurring revenue over time. Valued conservatively at an enterprise value multiple 10x, a standalone solar software company exceeding $10 billion of enterprise value not only possible, but probable. In a market ripe with competitive software firms, the question is not if, not when, but who!</p><div dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Follow me on </span><a dir="ltr" href="https://www.twitter.com/@johnjtough" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Twitter</a> or <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntough/2022/01/26/on-the-horizon-for-solar-a-vertical-software-decacorn/linkedin.com/in/johnjtough" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;">LinkedIn</a>. <span dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Check out </span>my <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.johntough.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box;">website</a>. </div><img alt="John Tough" height="44" src="https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/400x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F5f696710d23a4fb535ed24e9%2F960x0.jpg%3FcropX1%3D0%26cropX2%3D294%26cropY1%3D0%26cropY2%3D294" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="44" /></div></div></div><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntough/2022/01/26/on-the-horizon-for-solar-a-vertical-software-decacorn/#.YfmKqOso2_Q.blogger">On The Horizon For Solar: A Vertical Software Decacorn</a>: <div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>DJ Petrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10651092125556436734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-2485562701389828542022-01-04T18:12:00.000+01:002022-04-20T21:03:47.870+02:00RIP Your #BlackBerry Dies Today: The End of an Era <div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/your-blackberry-dies-today-end-of-an-era-for-iconic-handset?sref=VxHCy32x"></base><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>Your BlackBerry Dies Today: End of an Era for Iconic Handset - Bloomberg</title><div class="original-url"><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><b><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GQT6k4CUMS0/YdSAHBR8HpI/AAAAAAAATCk/LdL1y5GOQ4QJbdvILWnc5mfdJBtvM9TXwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image0-780687.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_7049400174832787090" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GQT6k4CUMS0/YdSAHBR8HpI/AAAAAAAATCk/LdL1y5GOQ4QJbdvILWnc5mfdJBtvM9TXwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image0-780687.jpeg" /></a></i></b></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><b><i>BlackBerry devices running the original operating system and services will no longer be supported after Jan. 4</i></b>, marking the end of an era for the storied device that catapulted work into the mobile era. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dr8mfQ_Lick/YdSAHU9f_-I/AAAAAAAATCs/xCRSJMpoxpcU9m6sfXEvjvpmiZkn10-WwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image5-781715.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_7049400180115767266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dr8mfQ_Lick/YdSAHU9f_-I/AAAAAAAATCs/xCRSJMpoxpcU9m6sfXEvjvpmiZkn10-WwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image5-781715.jpeg" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sfVpgMHedfg/YdSAHhNSktI/AAAAAAAATC0/zpGaZxSz6HE3zIwtru7o7JuMt8TOLqSngCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image6-782593.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_7049400183403221714" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sfVpgMHedfg/YdSAHhNSktI/AAAAAAAATC0/zpGaZxSz6HE3zIwtru7o7JuMt8TOLqSngCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image6-782593.jpeg" /></a><br /></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><b><i>Handsets running its in-house software "will no longer be expected to reliably function" after Tuesday</i></b>, according to its end-of-life <a href="https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/support/devices/end-of-life" rel="noopener" style="color: #4981fe; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank" title="BlackBerry OS end of life">page</a>.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SJtLblLC_gA/YdSAH2P6orI/AAAAAAAATC8/BddhzlecndEJUmN7R2Vmd5oi12uemMWNwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image7-783453.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_7049400189051380402" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SJtLblLC_gA/YdSAH2P6orI/AAAAAAAATC8/BddhzlecndEJUmN7R2Vmd5oi12uemMWNwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image7-783453.jpeg" /></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">From Bloomberg: </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 1.95552em; font-weight: bold;">Your BlackBerry Dies Today: End of an Era for Iconic Handset</span></p></div><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="-webkit-locale: "en"; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="metadata" style="display: block; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.75em; max-width: 100%; text-align: start;"><a class="byline" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AUMmWB97hBs/vlad-savov" rel="author" style="color: #416ed2; display: inline; font-size: 1em; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Vlad Savov</a><span class="delimiter" style="content: ""; display: block; font-size: 1em; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.07em 0.45em 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;"></span><time class="date" data-locale="en" datetime="2022-01-04T05:37:22.973Z" itemprop="datePublished" style="display: inline; font-size: 1em; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;">January 4, 2022, 12:37 AM EST</time></div><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">BlackBerry devices running the original operating system and services will no longer be supported after Jan. 4, marking the end of an era for the storied device that catapulted work into the mobile era.</p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">Waterloo, Ontario-based <a href="/quote/BB:US" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" title="Company Overview">BlackBerry Ltd.</a>, the company formerly known as Research In Motion whose signature handset in the 1990s came to embody working on the move, said handsets running its in-house software "will no longer be expected to reliably function" after Tuesday, according to its end-of-life <a href="https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/support/devices/end-of-life" rel="noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" title="BlackBerry OS end of life">page</a>.</p><figure data-align="center" data-id="382521931" data-image-size="full" data-image-type="photo" data-type="image" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><div aria-label="Open image in viewer" role="button" style="max-width: 100%;" tabindex="0"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><img alt="Day Two Of Mobile World Congress 2015" data-img-type="photo" data-native-src="https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iOaZxSfPN7ug/v0/-1x-1.jpg" data-unique-identifier="" src="https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iOaZxSfPN7ug/v0/-1x-1.jpg" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.5em auto; max-width: 100%;" /></div></div><figcaption style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size: 0.75rem; margin-top: 0.8em; max-width: 100%; width: 100%;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-top: 0.4em; max-width: 100%;">A BlackBerry Classic smartphone.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-top: 0.4em; max-width: 100%;">Photographer: Pau Barrena/Bloomberg</p></figcaption></figure><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">The move, first announced in 2020, effectively kills off a line-up that remains popular to this day in parts of the world for its reliability and security. BlackBerry devices and their physical keyboards were once the go-to mobile device both for professionals keeping up with email and younger people messaging on its proprietary platform. The company's appeal waned as <a href="/quote/AAPL:US" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" title="Company Overview">Apple Inc.</a>'s iPhone and a slew of Android handsets with larger displays, better graphics and wider app offerings took over the market during the past decade.</p> <p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">The Canadian company stopped making its own smartphones in 2016, shifting to a software-only business and licensing its brand and services to <a href="/quote/1888917D:HK" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" title="Company Overview">TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd.</a>, which continued to release devices until its deal <a href="https://twitter.com/BBMobile/status/1224331849201258496/photo/1" rel="noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" title="BlackBerry Mobile tweet">ran out</a> in 2020. The TCL devices were powered by <a href="/quote/GOOGL:US" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" title="Company Overview">Alphabet Inc.</a>'s Android OS and will be supported until August. </p> <p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">Yet nostalgia for the BlackBerry name made it one of the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-25/reddit-s-rocket-ship-stock-picks-like-gamestop-blast-off-again" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" title="Reddit's Rocket-Ship Stock Picks Like BlackBerry Soar Again (1)">meme stocks of 2021</a>, triggering a massive spike in its share price in January before a similarly steep decline. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-0bj9jRvps/YdSAIMHRvMI/AAAAAAAATDE/wWF2-MnhR9AfSC4RMAV90Sq7I-n-Z3-qQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image9-784282.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_7049400194920725698" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-0bj9jRvps/YdSAIMHRvMI/AAAAAAAATDE/wWF2-MnhR9AfSC4RMAV90Sq7I-n-Z3-qQCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image9-784282.jpeg" /></a></p> <p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><i>"These <b>devices will lack the ability to receive over the air provisioning updates and as such, this functionality will no longer be expected to reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1</b> functionality," the company wrote. "<b>Applications will also have limited functionality</b>."</i></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><em style="max-width: 100%;">— With assistance by Alex Millson</em></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; max-width: 100%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size: 25px; font-style: normal;">See the whole story here: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/your-blackberry-dies-today-end-of-an-era-for-iconic-handset?sref=VxHCy32x">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/your-blackberry-dies-today-end-of-an-era-for-iconic-handset?sref=VxHCy32x</a></span></font></p></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-42455504909432888242021-06-21T14:38:00.001+02:002021-06-21T14:38:42.680+02:00Typical #DataCenter uses ~3-5MM gallons of water/day— same as a city of 30-50,000 people!<div dir="ltr"><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem;"><b><i><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c4VbqxJkYTs/YNCIU6MqY2I/AAAAAAAAS2E/MMzML1_X2rkJKsVx3-cwLRAK8bMrdSXAgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image0-722747.jpeg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c4VbqxJkYTs/YNCIU6MqY2I/AAAAAAAAS2E/MMzML1_X2rkJKsVx3-cwLRAK8bMrdSXAgCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image0-722747.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6976225715598025570" /></a></i></b></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem;"><b><i>Drought-stricken communities push back against data centers</i></b></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem;"><a href="https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/microsoft-amazon-and-google-account-for-over-half-of-todays-600-hyperscale-data-centers" target="_blank" style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Helvetica; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(48, 97, 255); outline: none; text-decoration: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">According to the Synergy Research Group</a><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Helvetica; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, <b>there were about 600 "hyperscale" data centers, </b><i>massive operations designed and operated by a single company that then rents access to cloud services,</i><b> globally by the end of 2020.</b> That's <b>double the number there were in 2015</b>. Almost <b><i>40 percent of them are in the United States, and </i></b></span><b><i><a href="https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/microsoft-amazon-and-google-account-for-over-half-of-todays-600-hyperscale-data-centers" target="_blank" style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Helvetica; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(48, 97, 255); outline: none; text-decoration: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Amazon, Google and Microsoft account for more than half of the total</a><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Helvetica; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></i></b></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem;">"The <b>typical data center uses about 3-5 million gallons of water per day -- the same amount of water as a city of 30,000-50,000 people,</b>" said Venkatesh Uddameri, professor and director of the Water Resources Center at Texas Tech University.</p><div class="ad tc tl-m ad-container boxinlineAd dn-print" data-test="ad__container" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; text-align: center;"><div data-enigma="true" data-slot="boxinline" data-sizes="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-render-on-view="true" data-targeting="{}" data-active-tab="true" data-offset-viewport="100" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div id="div-mps-ad-boxinline-6" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><i>Although these data centers have become <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/data-centers-not-devouring-planet-electricity-yet/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(48, 97, 255); outline: none; text-decoration: none;">much more energy and water efficient over the last decade</a>,</i> and don't use as much water as other industries such as agriculture, <b>this level of water use can still create potential competition with local communities over the water supply in areas where water is scarce</b>, he added.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0nWiLN2RuL0/YNCIVDN5S0I/AAAAAAAAS2M/hsiBXj84soMhGakzVJnZzMi4qfeCfpFlgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image1-723984.jpeg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0nWiLN2RuL0/YNCIVDN5S0I/AAAAAAAAS2M/hsiBXj84soMhGakzVJnZzMi4qfeCfpFlgCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image1-723984.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6976225718019115842" /></a><i style="font-family: Helvetica; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">System used to cool servers inside the Apple Data Center in Mesa, Ariz.</i></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">But some tech companies like Google say they are trying to address their water use.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">"As part of our water stewardship efforts, <b>we're working to utilize water more efficiently and exploring ways to incorporate circularity," said Gary Demasi, senior director of energy and location operations at Google.</b> "We have a site-specific approach where <b>we work within the constraints of the local hydrological environment to find the best solutions</b>."</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">He added that "<b>many arid environments provide an abundant supply of carbon-free solar and wind energy,</b>" which explains why data centers are drawn to those areas.</p><div class="ad tc tl-m ad-container boxinlineAd dn-print" data-test="ad__container" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; text-align: center;"><div data-enigma="true" data-slot="boxinline" data-sizes="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-render-on-view="true" data-targeting="{}" data-active-tab="true" data-offset-viewport="100" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div id="div-mps-ad-boxinline-7" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">Sergio Loureiro, vice president of core operations for <b>Microsoft, said that the company <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/09/21/microsoft-will-replenish-more-water-than-it-consumes-by-2030/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(48, 97, 255); outline: none; text-decoration: none;">has pledged to be "water positive" by 2030</a>, which means it plans to replenish more water than it consumes globally. </b>This includes reducing the company's water use and investing in community replenishment and conservation projects near where it builds facilities.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.</p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/drought-stricken-communities-push-back-against-data-centers-n1271344#anchor-Localconcerns" id="anchor-Localconcerns" class="scrollLink" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; outline: none; text-decoration: none;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></a>See the whole story here: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/drought-stricken-communities-push-back-against-data-centers-n1271344">https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/drought-stricken-communities-push-back-against-data-centers-n1271344</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://bit.ly/MasterTech">bit.ly/MasterTech</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-14469777276059522432021-05-31T16:48:00.001+02:002021-06-11T02:56:22.526+02:00#CrossChain #DeFi #Blockchain Infrastructure’s Next Generation Is Here<div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><base href="https://cryptonews.com/news/the-next-generation-of-blockchain-infrastructure-is-here-10233.htm"></base><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>The Next Generation of Blockchain Infrastructure is Here</title></span><div class="original-url"><h3 data-param="2" id="cross-chain-defi-is-ramping-up" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: inherit; margin: 20px 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ILJ7CdF2SDc/YLT3Ng4F9HI/AAAAAAAASxE/9mUFAZMv0Lk5rk5_ssBMIsXWHk31aysaACK4BGAYYCw/w400-h250/8e92b3347e-701724.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><i>Cross-Chain DeFi is Ramping Up</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Times; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The dramatic growth in </span>DeFi<span style="font-weight: 400;"> has been largely catalyzed by </span>a wave of innovation and rapid iteration of novel protocols and tools that allow users to do more with their assets. <span style="font-weight: 400;">Nonetheless, while DeFi is still very much in its earliest days, a new generation of DeFi products is beginning </span></i></span><i style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: 400;">to paint a clear picture of where the industry is going.</i></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-weight: 400; max-width: 100%;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><i><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">From </span><a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/the-next-generation-of-blockchain-infrastructure-is-here-10233.htm" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 25px;">cryptonews.com</a></i><p></p><p></p><p style="font-family: Times; max-width: 100%;"></p></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); color: #212121; font-size: 1.95552em; letter-spacing: -0.4px;">The Next Generation of Blockchain Infrastructure is Here</span> </span></h3></div><div class="uiserif exported" id="article" role="article" style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="metadata singleline" style="display: block; font-size: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.75em; max-width: 100%; text-align: start;"><time class="date" datetime="2021-05-09T13:00:00+03:00" style="display: inline; font-size: 1em; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">May 09, 2021</span></time></div> <figure style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><figcaption style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size: 0.75rem; margin-top: 0.8em; max-width: 100%; width: 100%;"></figcaption></figure> <p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Today, decentralized finance is widely regarded as one of the most popular use cases for blockchain technology — with over $76 billion locked up in DeFi protocols on the Ethereum network alone. </span></p> <p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The dramatic growth in DeFi seen in recent months has been largely catalyzed by a wave of innovation and the rapid iteration of novel protocols and tools that allow users to do more with their assets. Nonetheless, while DeFi is still very much in its earliest days, a new generation of DeFi products is beginning <span></span></span></p><!--more--><span style="font-family: helvetica;">to paint a clear picture of where the industry is going.</span><p></p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"></p> <h3 data-param="2" style="font-size: 1.25em; font-weight: bold; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Cross-Chain DeFi is Ramping Up</span></h3> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 25px;"><b>Polkadot</b>, an infrastructure platform designed to act as a base layer for all other blockchains, has exploded in popularity in recent months — largely due to its potential to make cross-chain DeFi a reality.</span></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 25px;">Though Polkadot launched its mainnet one year ago, several major features are not yet available to use, including its bridges or parachains, which are still yet to be launched. Nonetheless, there are dozens of promising projects building on the technology, many of which will form Polkadot's DeFi hub.</span></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 25px;"><a href="https://www.parastate.io/" rel="noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u style="max-width: 100%;"><b>Parastate</b></u></a> is one such <i>platform vying to become the basis for DeFi in the Polkadot ecosystem</i>. As a substrate-based platform, <i>Parastate benefits from impressive throughput and compute performance</i> — two key features necessary when producing decentralized applications designed for mass adoption.</span></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://twitter.com/Polkadot/status/1389240793668390917" rel="noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u style="font-size: 25px; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">https://twitter.com/Polkadot/status/1389240793668390917</span></u></a></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 25px;">But most importantly, it <i>offers an array of built-in DeFi features, such as lending protocols, stablecoins, oracles, and more — many of which are ported directly from Ethereum</i> thanks to its Ewasm VM, which can directly run Ethereum code with zero changes.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 25px;">See the whole story here: <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/the-next-generation-of-blockchain-infrastructure-is-here-10233.htm">https://cryptonews.com/news/the-next-generation-of-blockchain-infrastructure-is-here-10233.htm</a></span></p> <p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://bit.ly/MasterTech"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">bit.ly/MasterTech</span></a></p></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-20691041486826337212021-05-25T00:59:00.001+02:002021-06-11T02:59:10.027+02:00#Google #StreetView’s image of your house can predict your risk of a car accident | MIT Technology Review<div dir="ltr"><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="content-type"></meta><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/04/30/135556/how-a-google-street-view-image-of-your-house-predicts-your-risk-of-a-car-accident/"></base><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>How a Google Street View image of your house predicts your risk of a car accident | MIT Technology Review</title><div class="original-url"><img alt="Street view of houses in Poland" data-unique-identifier="" src="https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/street-view-house-images.png?sw=700&cx=0&cy=0&cw=2315&ch=1302" style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); display: block; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 20.7px; height: auto; margin: 0.5em auto; max-width: 100%;" /><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Incorporating Google Street View data has the potential to significantly improve the prediction rates for car accidents, new study showed. Researchers say its accuracy could be improved using larger data sets and better data analysis.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>But the other issue that the study presents us with is that of</span><span> "</span><b><i>Informed consent</i></b><span>"</span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The researchers' approach </span><b><u>raises a number of important questions about how personal data should be used. </u></b><i>Policyholders in Poland might be startled to learn that their home addresses had been fed into Google Street View to obtain and analyze an image of their residence.</i></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An interesting question is <i><b>whether they gave informed consent to this activity and whether an insurance company can use data in this way</b></i>, given Europe's strict data privacy laws. "The <u><i>consent given by the clients to the company to store their addresses does not necessarily mean a consent to store information about the appearance of their houses</i></u>,"</span></p></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <!--This node will contain a number of div.page.--> <div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word;"><h1 class="title" style="display: block; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2141em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">How a Google Street View image of your house predicts your risk of a car accident</span></h1><h2 class="subhead" style="color: rgba(27, 27, 27, 0.65); display: block; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.27275em; margin-top: -0.35em; max-width: 100%; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Insurance companies, banks, and health-care organizations can dramatically improve their risk models by analyzing images of policyholders' houses, say researchers.</span></h2><div class="metadata singleline" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.7em; max-width: 100%; text-align: start;"><a class="byline" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/author/emerging-technology-from-the-arxiv/" style="color: #416ed2; display: inline; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="display: inline; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"></span><span style="display: inline; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;">Emerging Technology from the arXiv</span></span></a></div><figure style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="Street view of houses in Poland" data-unique-identifier="" src="https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/street-view-house-images.png?sw=700&cx=0&cy=0&cw=2315&ch=1302" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.5em auto; max-width: 100%;" /></figure><div style="max-width: 100%;"><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Google Street View has become a surprisingly useful way to learn about the world without stepping into it. People use it to plan journeys, to explore holiday destinations, and to virtually stalk friends and enemies alike.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But researchers have found more insidious uses. In 2017 a team of researchers used the images to study the distribution of car types in the US and then used that data <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603779/how-google-street-view-images-reveal-the-demographic-makeup-of-the-us/" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">to determine the demographic makeup of the country</a>. It turns out that the car you drive is a surprisingly reliable proxy for your income level, your education, your occupation, and even the way you vote in elections.</span></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now a different group has gone even further. Łukasz Kidziński at Stanford University in California and Kinga Kita-Wojciechowska at the University of Warsaw in Poland have used Street View images of people's houses to determine how likely they are to be involved in a car accident. That's valuable information that an insurance company could use to set premiums.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The result raises important questions about the way personal information can leak from seemingly innocent data sets and whether organizations should be able to use it for commercial purposes.</span></p></div><h3 style="font-weight: bold; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Insurance data</span></h3><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The researchers' method is straightforward. They began with a data set of 20,000 records of people who had taken out car insurance in Poland between 2013 and 2015. These were randomly selected from the database of an undisclosed insurance company.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Each record included the address of the policyholder and the number of damage claims he or she made during the 2013–'15 period. The insurer also shared its own prediction of future claims, calculated using its state-of-the-art risk model that takes into account the policyholder's zip code and the driver's age, sex, claim history, and so on.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The question that Kidziński and Kita-Wojciechowska investigated is whether they could make a more accurate prediction using a Google Street View image of the policyholder's house.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To find out, the researchers entered each policyholder's address into Google Street View and downloaded an image of the residence. They classified this dwelling according to its type (detached house, terraced house, block of flats, etc.), its age, and its condition. Finally, the researchers number-crunched this data set to see how it correlated with the likelihood that a policyholder would make a claim.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The results are something of a surprise. It turns out that a policyholder's residence is a surprisingly good predictor of the likelihood that he or she will make a claim. "We found that features visible on a picture of a house can be predictive of car accident risk, independently from classically used variables such as age or zip code," say Kidziński and Kita-Wojciechowska.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When these factors are added to the insurer's state-of-the-art risk model, <b>they improve its predictive power by 2%</b>. <i>To put that in perspective, the insurer's model is better than a null model by only 8% and is based on a much larger data set that includes variables such as age, sex, and claim history</i>.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So the Google Street View technique has the potential to significantly improve the prediction. And the current work is merely a proof of principle. The researchers say its accuracy could be improved using larger data sets and better data analysis.</span></p><h3 style="font-weight: bold; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Informed consent</span></h3><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The researchers' approach raises a number of important questions about how personal data should be used. Policyholders in Poland might be startled to learn that their home addresses had been fed into Google Street View to obtain and analyze an image of their residence.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An interesting question is whether they gave informed consent to this activity and whether an insurance company can use data in this way, given Europe's strict data privacy laws. "The consent given by the clients to the company to store their addresses does not necessarily mean a consent to store information about the appearance of their houses," say Kidziński and Kita-Wojciechowska.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the approach could open a Pandora's box of data analytics. If insurance companies can benefit, why not other businesses? "The insurance industry could be quickly followed by the banks, as there is a proven correlation between insurance risk models and credit-risk scoring," say Kidziński and Kita-Wojciechowska.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The ability to collect, analyze, and exploit information has increased dramatically in recent years. This ability has outstripped most people's understanding of what is possible with their data, and it has certainly outstripped the speed at which legislation can be passed to control it.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, Google is not the only company to collect street-level images. "Such practice, however, raises concerns about the privacy of data stored in publicly available Google Street View, Microsoft's Bing Maps Streetside, Mapillary, or equivalent privately held data sets like CycloMedia," say Kidziński and Kita-Wojciechowska.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This kind of work is likely to raise the question of whether these companies should be able to collect and store these images at all. In Germany, where privacy is an important issue of public debate, Google is already banned from collecting Street View images. It may not be the last place to introduce such a ban.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ref: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.05270" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">arxiv.org/abs/1904.05270</a>: Google Street View Image of a House Predicts Car Accident Risk of Its Resident </span></p></div></div></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">See the article on MIT Technology Review here: <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/04/30/135556/how-a-google-street-view-image-of-your-house-predicts-your-risk-of-a-car-accident/">https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/04/30/135556/how-a-google-street-view-image-of-your-house-predicts-your-risk-of-a-car-accident/</a></span></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-69490340455075236572021-03-26T00:50:00.002+01:002021-03-26T00:50:28.493+01:00#Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals in latest #CyberAttack<div><b style="font-family: helvetica;">The hackers’ methods were unsophisticated: they gained access to Verkada through a “Super Admin” account, allowing them to peer into the cameras of all of its customers. Kottmann says they found a user name and password for an administrator account publicly exposed on the internet.</b></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-09/hackers-expose-tesla-jails-in-breach-of-150-000-security-cams?cmpid=BBD031021_OUS&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=210310&utm_campaign=openamericas">www.bloomberg.com /news/articles/2021-03-09/hackers-expose-tesla-jails-in-breach-of-150-000-security-cams</a><br />Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals<br />William Turton<br />10-12 minutes<br /><br /><br />A group of hackers say they breached a massive trove of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/1539911D:US">Verkada Inc.</a>, gaining access to live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside hospitals, companies, police departments, prisons and schools.<br /><br />Companies whose footage was exposed include carmaker <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TSLA:US">Tesla Inc.</a> and software provider <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/NET:US">Cloudflare Inc.</a> In addition, hackers were able to view video from inside women’s health clinics, psychiatric hospitals and the offices of Verkada itself. Some of the cameras, including in hospitals, use facial-recognition technology to identify and categorize people captured on the footage. The hackers say they also have access to the full video archive of all Verkada customers.<br /><br />In a video seen by Bloomberg, a Verkada camera inside Florida hospital Halifax Health showed what appeared to be eight hospital staffers tackling a man and pinning him to a bed. Halifax Health is featured on Verkada’s public-facing website in a <a href="https://www.verkada.com/customers/halifax-health/">case study</a> entitled: “How a Florida Healthcare Provider Easily Updated and Deployed a Scalable HIPAA Compliant Security System.”<br /><br />Another video, shot inside a Tesla warehouse in Shanghai, shows workers on an assembly line. The hackers said they obtained access to 222 cameras in Tesla factories and warehouses.<br /><br />The data breach was carried out by an international hacker collective and intended to show the pervasiveness of video surveillance and the ease with which systems could be broken into, said Tillie Kottmann, one of the hackers who claimed credit for breaching San Mateo, California-based Verkada. Kottmann, who uses they/them pronouns, previously claimed credit for hacking chipmaker <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/INTC:US">Intel Corp.</a> and carmaker <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/7201:JP">Nissan Motor Co.</a> Kottmann said their reasons for hacking are “lots of curiosity, fighting for freedom of information and against intellectual property, a huge dose of anti-capitalism, a hint of anarchism -- and it’s also just too much fun not to do it.”<br /><br /><br /><img height="348" src="https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/ieDyzTwYNMVo/v0/-1x-1.png" width="640" /><br /><br />A Tesla facility seen through a Verkada camera.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br /><br />Tillie Kottmann<br /><br />“We have disabled all internal administrator accounts to prevent any unauthorized access,” a Verkada spokesperson said in a statement. “Our internal security team and external security firm are investigating the scale and scope of this issue, and we have notified law enforcement.”<br /><br />A person with knowledge of the matter said Verkada’s chief information security officer, an internal team and an external security firm are investigating the incident. The company is working to notify customers and set up a support line to address questions, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.<br /><br />“This afternoon we were alerted that the Verkada security camera system that monitors main entry points and main thoroughfares in a handful of Cloudflare offices may have been compromised,” San Francisco-based Cloudflare said in a statement. “The cameras were located in a handful of offices that have been officially closed for several months.” The company said it disabled the cameras and disconnected them from office networks.<br /><br />Tesla said that, “based on our current understanding, the cameras being hacked are only installed in one of our suppliers, and the product is not being used by our Shanghai factory, or any of our Tesla stores or services centers. Our data collected from Shanghai factories and other places mentioned are stored on local servers.”<br /><br />Other companies identified in this story didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives of the jails, hospitals and schools named in this article either declined to comment or didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.<br /><br />A video seen by Bloomberg shows officers in a police station in Stoughton, Massachusetts, questioning a man in handcuffs. The hackers say they also gained access to the security cameras of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed more than 20 people in 2012.<br /><br />Also available to the hackers were 330 security cameras inside the Madison County Jail in Huntsville, Alabama. Verkada offers a feature called “People Analytics,” which lets a customer “search and filter based on many different attributes, including gender traits, clothing color, and even a person’s face,” according to a <a href="https://www.verkada.com/blog/introducing-people-analytics/">Verkada blog post</a>. Images seen by Bloomberg show that the cameras inside the jail, some of which are hidden inside vents, thermostats and defibrillators, track inmates and correctional staff using the facial-recognition technology. The hackers say they were able to access live feeds and archived video, in some cases including audio, of interviews between police officers and criminal suspects, all in the high-definition resolution known as 4K.<br /><br /><br /><img height="480" src="https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i_jr7UcL_A1k/v0/-1x-1.png" width="640" /><br /><br />Madison County Jail seen through a Verkada camera.<br /><br />Tillie Kottmann<br /><br />Kottmann said their group was able to obtain “root” access on the cameras, meaning they could use the cameras to execute their own code. That access could, in some instances, allow them to pivot and obtain access to the broader corporate network of Verkada’s customers, or hijack the cameras and use them as a platform to launch future hacks. Obtaining this degree of access to the camera didn’t require any additional hacking, as it was a built-in feature, Kottmann said.<br /><br />The <b>hackers’ methods were unsophisticated: they gained access to Verkada through a “Super Admin” account, allowing them to peer into the cameras of all of its customers. Kottmann says they found a user name and password for an administrator account publicly exposed on the internet.</b> After Bloomberg contacted Verkada, the hackers lost access to the video feeds and archives, Kottmann said.<br /><br />The hackers say they were able to peer into multiple locations of the luxury gym chain Equinox. At Wadley Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Texarkana, Texas, hackers say they looked through Verkada cameras pointed at nine ICU beds. Hackers also say they watched cameras at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, in Arizona, and were also able to see a detailed record of who used Verkada access control cards to open certain doors, and when they did so. A representative of Wadley declined to comment.<br /><br />The hack “exposes just how broadly we’re being surveilled, and how little care is put into at least securing the platforms used to do so, pursuing nothing but profit,” Kottmann said. “It’s just wild how I can just see the things we always knew are happening, but we never got to see.” Kottman said they gained access to Verkada’s system on Monday morning.<br /><br />Verkada, founded in 2016, sells security cameras that customers can access and manage through the web. In January 2020, it <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/verkada-raises-80m-at-1-6b-valuation-enters-7b-access-control-market-300995567.html">raised</a> $80 million in venture capital funding, valuing the company at $1.6 billion. Among the investors was Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s oldest firms.<br /><br />Kottmann calls the hacking collective “Advanced Persistent Threat 69420,” a light-hearted reference to the designations cybersecurity firms give to state sponsored hacking groups and criminal cybergangs.<br /><br />In October 2020, Verkada fired three employees after <a href="https://ipvm.com/reports/verkada-culture">reports</a> surfaced that workers had used its cameras to take pictures of female colleagues inside the Verkada office and make sexually explicit jokes about them. Verkada CEO Filip Kaliszan said in a <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdyqm/surveillance-startup-used-own-cameras-to-harass-coworkers">statement to Vice</a> at the time that the company “terminated the three individuals who instigated this incident, engaged in egregious behavior targeting coworkers, or neglected to report the behavior despite their obligations as managers.”<br />Jails, Homes, Offices<br /><br />Kottmann said they were able to download the entire list of thousands of Verkada customers, as well as the company’s balance sheet, which lists assets and liabilities. As a closely held company, Verkada does not publish its financial statements. Kottman said hackers watched through the camera of a Verkada employee who had set one of the cameras up inside his home. One of the saved clips from the camera shows the employee completing a puzzle with his family.<br /><br />“If you are a company who has purchased this network of cameras and you are putting them in sensitive places, you may not have the expectation that in addition to being watched by your security team that there is some admin at the camera company who is also watching,” said Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who was briefed on the breach by Bloomberg.<br /><br />Inside Arizona’s Graham County detention facility, which has 17 cameras, videos are given titles by the center’s staff and saved to a Verkada account. One video, filmed in the “Commons Area,” is titled “ROUNDHOUSE KICK OOPSIE.” A video filed inside the “Rear Cell Block” is called “SELLERS SNIFFING/KISSING WILLARD???” Another video, filmed inside “Drunk Tank Exterior” is titled “AUTUMN BUMPS HIS OWN HEAD.” Two videos filmed from “Back Cell” are titled “STARE OFF - DONT BLINK!” and “LANCASTER LOSES BLANKET.”<br /><br />The hackers also obtained access to Verkada cameras in Cloudflare offices in San Francisco, Austin, London and New York. The cameras at Cloudflare’s headquarters rely on facial recognition, according to images seen by Bloomberg. “While facial recognition is a beta feature that Verkada makes available to its customers, we have never actively used it nor do we plan to,” Cloudflare said in its statement.<br /><br />Security cameras and facial-recognition technology are often used inside corporate offices and factories to protect proprietary information and guard against an insider threat, said the EFF’s Galperin.<br /><br />“There are many legitimate reasons to have surveillance inside of a company,” Galperin added. “The most important part is to have the informed consent of your employees. Usually this is done inside the employee handbook, which no one reads.”<br /><br />— With assistance by Allison McCartney<br /><br />(Updates with comment from Tesla in ninth paragraph.)<br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals</a>: <br /><br /><br />A group of hackers say they breached a massive trove of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada Inc., gaining access to live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside hospitals, companies, police departments, prisons and schools.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>DJ Petrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10651092125556436734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-18863532206043322742021-03-26T00:33:00.001+01:002021-03-26T00:46:37.170+01:00What it will take to colonize the #Moon and #Mars @NASA<base class=""></base><div class="Apple-Mail-URLShareUserContentTopClass" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMEuPOpRuR4/YF0d3OgNsoI/AAAAAAAASt8/fJuepzfBw6U_m_CeotASvim3I9pX3_CjwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/32dd8500-419d-11e9-bfd6-d1d678fe047a-728222.jpeg"><img border="0" height="346" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6943739035098395266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMEuPOpRuR4/YF0d3OgNsoI/AAAAAAAASt8/fJuepzfBw6U_m_CeotASvim3I9pX3_CjwCK4BGAYYCw/w640-h346/32dd8500-419d-11e9-bfd6-d1d678fe047a-728222.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="Apple-Mail-URLShareWrapperClass"><blockquote style="border-left-style: none; color: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;" type="cite"><div><div class="original-url"><br /><br /></div><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <!--This node will contain a number of div.page.--> <div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><h1 class="title" style="font-size: 1.95552em; line-height: 1.2141em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%;">What it will take for humans to colonize the Moon and Mars</h1><div class="singleline metadata" style="margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.75em; max-width: 100%;"><a class="byline" data-rapid_p="7" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="elm:author;slk:Andrew Tarantola" href="https://www.yahoo.com/author/andrew-tarantola" style="color: #416ed2; display: inline; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="">Andrew Tarantola</a><span class="delimiter" style="display: inline; font-size: 1em; margin: 0.07em 0.45em 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;"></span><time class="date" datetime="2021-03-25T16:00:26.000Z" style="display: inline; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;">Thu, March 25, 2021, 5:00 PM</time></div><p style="max-width: 100%;"><a data-rapid_p="8" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:NASA's Artemis program" href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">NASA's Artemis program</a> will mark a significant milestone in US space flight history when it lifts off in late 2024. Not only will it be the first time that American astronauts have travelled further than LEO since the 1970s, and not only will it be the first opportunity for a female astronaut to step foot on the moon. The Artemis mission will perform the crucial groundwork needed for humanity to further explore and potentially colonize our nearest celestial neighbor as well as eventually serve as a jumping-off point in our quest to reach Mars. Given <a data-rapid_p="9" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:how inhospitable space is to human physiology and psychology" href="https://www.engadget.com/2019-07-19-nasa-astronaut-health-deep-space-missions.html" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;">how inhospitable space is to human physiology and psychology</a>, however, NASA and its partners will face a significant challenge in keeping their lunar colonists alive and well.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Back in the Apollo mission era, the notion of constructing even a semi-permanent presence on the surface of the moon was laughable — largely because the numerous lunar <a data-rapid_p="10" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:regolith" href="https://www.engadget.com/regolith-cities-141549899.html" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;">regolith</a> samples collected and returned to Earth during that period were "found to be dry as a bone," Rob Mueller, Senior Technologist in Advanced Projects Development at NASA said during a SXSW 2021 panel. "That was the common wisdom, there is no water on the moon, and so for many years that was the assumption held in the [aerospace] community."</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">It wasn't until the late '90s that a neutron spectrometer aboard NASA's <a data-rapid_p="11" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:Lunar Prospector mission" href="https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/14apr_moonwater.html" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">Lunar Prospector mission</a> found telltale evidence of hydrogen atoms <a data-rapid_p="12" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:located at the moon's poles" href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/lro-lunar-hydrogen" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">located at the moon's poles</a>, suggesting the potential presence of water ice. And it wasn't until last October that <a data-rapid_p="13" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:the SOPHIA mission" href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-water-on-sunlit-surface-of-moon" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">the SOPHIA mission</a> detected water on the sunlit surface of the moon, rather than only squirrelled away in deep, dark lunar craters.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><b>"We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon,"</b> Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, <a data-rapid_p="14" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:said at the time" href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-water-on-sunlit-surface-of-moon" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">said at the time</a>. <b><i>"Now we know it is there.</i></b> This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration."</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Based on this new evidence, Mueller estimates that there should be enough water ice available to "launch a vehicle like the space shuttle every day for 2,000 years. So <b>there's a lot of water on the moon. The trick is, is we have to find it, access it, and mine it, and then economically use it.</b>"</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>The revelation that the moon holds a cache of water — which can be used to both quench an astronaut's thirst and power their rocket — could set off a resource grab the likes of which we haven't seen since the days of the forty-niner, Pete Carrato, Senior Consulting Engineer at the Bechtel Corporation, noted during the same panel discussion. "So, the next gold rush to me is to the south pole of the Moon, and it's a harsh environment."<p></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">This is because <b>the larger accumulations of water are located in permanently shadowed regions where the sun's warming rays cannot reach the ice and vaporize it off the Moon's surface. <i>Problem is, the temperature in these regions hovers around a brisk 40 degrees Kelvin, which is colder than liquid nitrogen</i>.</b> That's so cold that even modern mining rigs built for the Earth's most extreme environments would have a hard time operating there. <b>"You get metal parts down that cold, they become almost like glass," </b>Carrato declared.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">"It's also a hard vacuum on the moon, so you're going to have some really strange problems like cold welding of metals," Mueller added. "If two metal surfaces are exposed to each other, they can actually bond in a hard vacuum and we've seen that before in space. It's a well known problem."</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><b>The ubiquitous, razor-sharp, <a data-rapid_p="16" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:potentially DNA-damaging" href="https://www.livescience.com/62590-moon-dust-bad-lungs-brain.html" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">potentially DNA-damaging</a>, electrostatic dust found on the moon also poses a danger to colonists — <i>one that NASA has been grappling with since Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt came down with the first case of "lunar hay fever." </i>This dust not only clings to rovers and spacesuits, the miniscule particles worm their way into sensitive electronics, clog filters, jam zippers and freeze joints</b>. NASA has <a data-rapid_p="17" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:developed a destaticfying coating" href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-s-coating-technology-could-help-resolve-lunar-dust-challenge" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">developed a destaticfying coating</a> to counter the dust's electrical attraction but its effectiveness at scale remains to be seen. The micrometeorites themselves, whose impacts with the surface create this dangerous dust, will also have to be taken into account when designing lunar habitats.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">But unlike the Apollo era, which helped usher in the Cold War, <b>this time the American government is not going it alone. The Artemis program is deeply coordinating its efforts alongside a host of <a data-rapid_p="18" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:international" href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;" target="_blank">international</a> and commercial partners such as SpaceX</b>, which is tasked with <a data-rapid_p="19" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:delivering pieces of the Lunar Gateway" href="https://www.engadget.com/spacex-lunar-gateway-launch-contract-231142514.html" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%;">delivering pieces of the Lunar Gateway</a> into orbit around the moon (for a cool $331.8 million) in 2024.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><b>"This will let us do it for a reasonable cost with arguably a return on investment but we can't do it as NASA.</b> NASA is a government agency, the role of the government is to facilitate industry," Mueller explained. "And so <b>we're setting up the framework, the infrastructure, and all the processes, the legal framework, communications, launch sites. This is all necessary, and then private industry can come in and do what they know how to do, which is make some money and create an economically efficient system.</b>"</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">While partnering with other nations in this endeavor is a great way to spread the up-front costs around, it could lead to <b>conflicts as to which member nation will get access and rights to which resources</b>. <b><i>Currently, such matters are governed by the UN's Outer Space Treaty of 1967, however its language is not entirely clear, leaving the rules open to different readings.</i></b> "The US interpretation is that we will not claim the land and or claim sovereignty, but we do have the right to use resources and the commercial industry has the right to use the resources," Mueller said. What's more, the Outer Space Treaty lacks specific enforcement mechanisms and has yet to be ratified by any signatory nations, making its rules more like suggestions. The Artemis Accords similarly are guidelines rather than directives, though if enough nations sign onto it and act within its framework, he continued, "over time it becomes de facto law."</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Mars poses many of the same challenges in exploration and eventual colonization that the Moon does, such as deadly radiation, micrometeorite impacts and clinging dust particles — not to mention the six month trip needed just to get to the former, compared to a measly three days for the latter. That vast distance also strains our ability to remotely control rovers and other teleoperated robotic systems we send to the Red Planet due to the minutes-long communication lag.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Prospective explorers and colonists will also have to contend with the wide temperature ranges that exist at each destination. On the Moon for example, the sun-ward side can be as hot as 125 Celsius while the shadowed side can drop to -175 Celsius, causing intense thermal stress on objects moving between them. Protection from galactic and solar radiation will also have to factor heavily into any decisions regarding where to settle on the surface. Shaded valleys and cliffside locations offer a higher degree of natural protection so we'll have to carefully consider the local topography when picking settlement sites. One potential solution to the radiation problem would be to ensconce our artificial habitats with a 3D-printed shell made from the Martian soil itself, Xavier De Kestelier, Head of Design Technology and Innovation at Hassell, noted during the panel.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Maintaining the crew's physical and mental health on these increasingly long-duration missions will be of paramount importance and will have to be accomplished without help from home. The further we travel from Earth, "the medical models that we might need and the psychological pressures on the crew will be different," Beth Healey, Head of Emergency Clinic at Hôpital Du Valais, said. Each member of the crew will be called upon to serve in multiple roles beyond their individual specialties during the mission.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Should we manage to surmount these challenges, however, the rewards will be substantial. "It's very difficult to live in space," Mueller said in a separate panel discussion at SXSW 2021. "The good news is that there are a lot of resources in our solar system and beyond, there's almost an infinite amount of resources compared to what we have on Earth." These include everything from water, atmospheric gases, volatiles and rare metals to the crews' own trash waste to energy. "If you have sunlight, then you have access to energy," he continued. Humanity has already shown that it's capable of inhabiting some of the most inhospitable areas of the Earth, such Concordia Station in Antarctica. With continued diligence, research and international cooperation, the stars themselves could soon come within our reach.</p></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border-left-style: none; color: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;" type="cite"><div><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><p style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-it-will-take-for-humans-to-colonize-the-moon-and-mars-160026478.html">https://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-it-will-take-for-humans-to-colonize-the-moon-and-mars-160026478.html</a></p></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br /><div> <div style="-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">______________________________<br /><a href="https://bit.ly/MasterTech">MasterTech</a><br /><a href="https://www.twitter.com/masterfeed">@MasterFeed</a></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-88292276156544586142021-03-25T20:11:00.001+01:002021-03-25T20:11:47.807+01:00Once hailed as unhackable, #Blockchains are now getting #Hacked #Ethereum <div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/02/19/239592/once-hailed-as-unhackable-blockchains-are-now-getting-hacked/"><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>Once hailed as unhackable, blockchains are now getting hacked | MIT Technology Review</title><div class="original-url"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ommp5cj4iBg/YFzgdNw1E7I/AAAAAAAAStw/OKLQyCYkdKwCFoqXvQOIyJAAjnBPtNWmQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image0-707873.jpeg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ommp5cj4iBg/YFzgdNw1E7I/AAAAAAAAStw/OKLQyCYkdKwCFoqXvQOIyJAAjnBPtNWmQCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image0-707873.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6943671518013756338" /></a><br><br></div><div id="article" role="article" style="font-family: ui-serif; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class="uiserif exported"> <!-- This node will contain a number of div.page. --> <div class="page" style="text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word; max-width: 100%;"><h1 class="title" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.95552em; line-height: 1.2141em; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-align: start; display: block; max-width: 100%;">Once hailed as unhackable, #blockchains are now getting #hacked</h1><h2 class="subhead" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start; display: block; color: rgba(27, 27, 27, 0.65); font-size: 1.46664em; margin-top: -0.35em; line-height: 1.27275em; max-width: 100%;">More and more security holes are appearing in cryptocurrency and smart contract platforms, and some are fundamental to the way they were built.</h2><div class="metadata singleline" style="text-align: start; display: block; margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.7em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/author/mike-orcutt/" class="byline" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline; font-size: 1em !important; font-weight: normal !important; font-style: normal !important; display: inline !important;"><font color="#416ed2" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline; font-size: 1em !important; font-weight: normal !important; font-style: normal !important; display: inline !important;"><span style="margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; font-size: 1em !important; font-weight: normal !important; font-style: normal !important; display: inline !important;"></span></font><span style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline; font-size: 1em !important; font-weight: normal !important; font-style: normal !important; display: inline !important;">Mike Orcutt</span></a></div><div class="metadata singleline" style="text-align: start; display: block; margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.7em; max-width: 100%;">MIT Technology Review</div><div style="max-width: 100%;"><p style="max-width: 100%;">Early last month, the security team at Coinbase noticed something strange going on in Ethereum Classic, one of the cryptocurrencies people can buy and sell using Coinbase's popular exchange platform. Its <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610833/explainer-what-is-a-blockchain/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">blockchain, the history of all its transactions</a>, was under attack.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><b>An attacker had somehow gained control of more than half of the network's computing power and was using it to rewrite the transaction history.</b> That made it possible to spend the same cryptocurrency more than once—known as "double spends." The <b><i>attacker was spotted pulling this off <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/612728/hackers-just-stole-1-million-from-the-ethereum-classic-blockchain-in-a-rare-51/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">to the tune of $1.1 million</a>.</i></b> <b>Coinbase claims that no currency was actually stolen from any of its accounts. But a second popular exchange, Gate.io, <a href="https://www.gate.io/article/16735" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">has admitted</a> it wasn't so lucky,</b> losing around $200,000 to the attacker (who, strangely, <a href="https://www.gateio.io/article/16740" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">returned half of it</a> days later).</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Just a year ago, this nightmare scenario was mostly theoretical. But <b>the so-called 51% attack against Ethereum Classic was just the latest in a series of recent attacks on blockchains</b> that have heightened the stakes for the nascent industry.</p></div><p style="max-width: 100%;">In total, <b>hackers have stolen nearly $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency since the beginning of 2017, mostly from exchanges, [<i><u>Ed. It's important to note that these were hacks into exchanges and not the blockchain itself.</u></i>] </b>and that's just what has been revealed publicly. These are not just opportunistic lone attackers, either. Sophisticated cybercrime organizations are now doing it too: analytics firm Chainalysis recently said that just two groups, both of which are apparently still active, may have stolen a combined $1 billion from exchanges.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">We shouldn't be surprised. Blockchains are particularly attractive to thieves because fraudulent transactions can't be reversed as they often can be in the traditional financial system. Besides that, we've long known that just as blockchains have unique security features, they have unique vulnerabilities. Marketing slogans and headlines that called the technology "unhackable" were dead wrong.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">That's been understood, at least in theory, since Bitcoin emerged a decade ago. But in the past year, amidst a Cambrian explosion of new cryptocurrency projects, we've started to see what this means in practice—and what these inherent weaknesses could mean for the future of blockchains and digital assets.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><strong style="max-width: 100%;">How do you hack a blockchain?</strong></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Before we go any further, let's get a few terms straight.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">A <strong style="max-width: 100%;">blockchain</strong> is a cryptographic database maintained by a network of computers, each of which stores a copy of the most up-to-date version. A blockchain <strong style="max-width: 100%;">protocol</strong> is a set of rules that dictate how the computers in the network, called <strong style="max-width: 100%;">nodes</strong>, should verify new transactions and add them to the database. The protocol employs cryptography, game theory, and economics to create incentives for the nodes to work toward securing the network instead of attacking it for personal gain. If set up correctly, this system can make it extremely difficult and expensive to add false transactions but relatively easy to verify valid ones.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">That's what's made the technology so appealing to many industries, beginning with finance. <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612687/in-2019-blockchains-will-start-to-become-boring/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Soon-to-launch services from big-name institutions</a> like Fidelity Investments and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, will start to enmesh blockchains in the existing financial system. Even <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612573/at-least-15-central-banks-are-serious-about-getting-into-digital-currency/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">central banks are now looking into</a> using them for new digital forms of national currency.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">But <b>the more complex a blockchain system is, the more ways there are to make mistakes while setting it up.</b> Earlier this month, the company in charge of Zcash—a cryptocurrency that uses extremely complicated math to let users transact in private—revealed that it had secretly fixed a "<a href="https://z.cash/blog/zcash-counterfeiting-vulnerability-successfully-remediated" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">subtle cryptographic flaw</a>" accidentally baked into the protocol. An attacker could have exploited it to make unlimited counterfeit Zcash. Fortunately, no one seems to have actually done that.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">The protocol isn't the only thing that has to be secure. To trade cryptocurrency on your own, or run a node, you have to run a software <strong style="max-width: 100%;">client</strong>, which can also contain vulnerabilities. In September, developers of Bitcoin's main client, called Bitcoin Core, had to scramble to fix a bug (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/the-latest-bitcoin-bug-was-so-bad-developers-kept-its-full-details-a-secret" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">also in secret</a>) that could have let attackers mint more bitcoins than the system is supposed to allow.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Still, most of the recent headline-grabbing hacks weren't attacks on the blockchains themselves, but on <strong style="max-width: 100%;">exchanges</strong>, the websites where people can buy, trade, and hold cryptocurrencies. And many of those heists could be blamed on poor basic security practices. That changed in January with the 51% attack against Ethereum Classic.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><strong style="max-width: 100%;">The 51% rule</strong></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Susceptibility to 51% attacks is inherent to most cryptocurrencies. That's because most are based on blockchains that use <strong style="max-width: 100%;">proof of work</strong> as their protocol for verifying transactions. In this process, also known as <strong style="max-width: 100%;">mining</strong>, nodes spend vast amounts of computing power to prove themselves trustworthy enough to add information about new transactions to the database. A miner who somehow gains control of a majority of the network's mining power can defraud other users by sending them payments and then creating an alternative version of the blockchain in which the payments never happened. This new version is called a <strong style="max-width: 100%;">fork</strong>. The attacker, who controls most of the mining power, can make the fork the authoritative version of the chain and proceed to spend the same cryptocurrency again.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">For popular blockchains, attempting this sort of heist is likely to be extremely expensive. According to the website <a href="https://www.crypto51.app/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Crypto51</a>, renting enough mining power to attack Bitcoin would currently cost more than $260,000 per hour. But it gets much cheaper quickly as you move down the list of the more than 1,500 cryptocurrencies out there. Slumping coin prices make it even less expensive, since they cause miners to turn off their machines, leaving networks with less protection.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Toward the middle of 2018, attackers <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/611238/self-serving-cryptocurrency-miners-are-attacking-small-blockchain-networks/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">began springing </a>51% attacks on a series of relatively small, lightly traded coins including Verge, Monacoin, and Bitcoin Gold, stealing an estimated $20 million in total. In the fall, hackers stole around $100,000 using <a href="https://breakermag.com/51-attack-vertcoins-strength-fatal-flaw/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">a series of attacks</a> on a currency called Vertcoin. The hit against Ethereum Classic, which netted more than $1 million, was the first against a top-20 currency.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">David Vorick, cofounder of the blockchain-based file storage platform Sia, <a href="https://blog.sia.tech/fundamentals-of-proof-of-work-beaa68093d2bv" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">predicts that</a> 51% attacks will continue to grow in frequency and severity, and that exchanges will take the brunt of the damage caused by double-spends. One thing driving this trend, he says, has been the rise of so-called hashrate marketplaces, which attackers can use to rent computing power for attacks. "Exchanges will ultimately need to be much more restrictive when selecting which cryptocurrencies to support," Vorick wrote after the Ethereum Classic hack.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><strong style="max-width: 100%;">A whole new can of worms bugs</strong></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Aside from 51% attacks, there is whole new level of blockchain security weaknesses whose implications researchers are just beginning to explore: smart-contract bugs. Coincidentally, Ethereum Classic—specifically, the story behind its origin—is a good starting point for understanding them, too.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">A <strong style="max-width: 100%;">smart contract</strong> is a computer program that runs on a blockchain network. It can be used to automate the movement of cryptocurrency according to prescribed rules and conditions. This has many potential uses, such as <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612748/hate-lawyers-cant-afford-one-blockchain-smart-contracts-are-here-to-help/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">facilitating real legal contracts</a> or complicated financial transactions. Another use—the case of interest here—is to create a voting mechanism by which all the investors in a venture capital fund can collectively decide how to allocate the money.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Just such a fund, called the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), was set up in 2016 using the blockchain system called Ethereum. Shortly thereafter, an attacker stole more than $60 million worth of cryptocurrency by exploiting an unforeseen flaw in a smart contract that governed the DAO. In essence, the flaw allowed the hacker to keep requesting money from accounts without the system registering that the money had already been withdrawn.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">As the hack illustrated, a bug in a live smart contract can create a unique sort of emergency. In traditional software, a bug can be fixed with a patch. In the blockchain world, it's not so simple. Because transactions on a blockchain cannot be undone, deploying a smart contract is a bit like launching a rocket, says Petar Tsankov, a research scientist at ETH Zurich and cofounder of a smart-contract security startup called <a href="https://chainsecurity.com/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">ChainSecurity</a>. "The software cannot make a mistake."</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">There are fixes, of a sort. Though they can't be patched, some contracts can be "upgraded" by deploying additional smart contracts to interact with them. Developers can also build centralized kill switches into a network to stop all activity once a hack is detected. But for users whose money has already been stolen, it will be too late.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">The only way to retrieve the money is, effectively, to rewrite history—to go back to the point on the blockchain before the attack happened, create a fork to a new blockchain, and have everyone on the network agree to use that one instead. That's what Ethereum's developers chose to do. Most, but not all, of the community switched to the new chain, which we now know as Ethereum. A smaller group of holdouts stuck with the original chain, which became Ethereum Classic.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Last month, Tsankov's team at ChainSecurity saved Ethereum from a possible repeat of the DAO catastrophe. Just a day before a major planned software upgrade, the company told Ethereum's lead developers that it would have the unintended consequence of leaving some contracts on the blockchain newly vulnerable to the same kind of bug that led to the DAO hack. The developers promptly postponed the upgrade and will give it another go later this month.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Nevertheless, hundreds of valuable Ethereum smart contracts were already vulnerable to this so-called reentrancy bug, according to Victor Fang, cofounder and CEO of blockchain security firm AnChain.ai. Tens of thousands of contracts <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610392/ethereums-smart-contracts-are-full-of-holes/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">may contain some other kind of vulnerability</a>, according to research conducted last year. And the very nature of public blockchains means that if a smart-contract bug exists, hackers will find it, since the source code is often visible on the blockchain. "This is very different than traditional cybersecurity," says Fang, who previously worked for the cybersecurity firm FireEye.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Buggy contracts, especially those holding thousands or millions of dollars, have attracted hackers just as advanced as the kind who attack banks or governments. In August, AnChain identified five Ethereum addresses behind an extremely sophisticated attack that exploited a contract flaw in a popular gambling game to steal $4 million.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><strong style="max-width: 100%;">Can the hackers be defeated?</strong></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">AnChain.ai is one of several recent startups created to address the blockchain hacking threat. It uses artificial intelligence to monitor transactions and detect suspicious activity, and it can scan smart-contract code for known vulnerabilities.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Other companies, including Tsankov's ChainSecurity, are developing auditing services based on an established computer science technique called formal verification. The goal is to prove mathematically that a contract's code will actually do what its creators intended. These auditing tools, which have begun to emerge in the past year or so, have allowed smart-contract creators to eliminate many of the bugs that had been "low-hanging fruit," says Tsankov. But the process can be expensive and time consuming.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">It may also be possible to use additional smart contracts to set up blockchain-based "bug bounties." These would encourage people to report flaws in return for a cryptocurrency reward, says <a href="http://pdaian.com/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Philip Daian</a>, a researcher at Cornell University's Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">But making sure code is clean will only go so far. A blockchain, after all, is a complex economic system that depends on the unpredictable behavior of humans, and people will always be angling for new ways to game it. Daian and his colleagues have shown how attackers have already figured out how <a href="http://hackingdistributed.com/2017/08/13/cost-of-decent/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">to profit by gaming popular Ethereum smart contracts</a>, for instance.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">In short, while blockchain technology has been long touted for its security, under certain conditions it can be quite vulnerable. Sometimes shoddy execution can be blamed, or unintentional software bugs. Other times it's more of a gray area—the complicated result of interactions between the code, the economics of the blockchain, and human greed. That's been known in theory since the technology's beginning. Now that so many blockchains are out in the world, we are learning what it actually means—often the hard way.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">See the article online here: <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/02/19/239592/once-hailed-as-unhackable-blockchains-are-now-getting-hacked/">https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/02/19/239592/once-hailed-as-unhackable-blockchains-are-now-getting-hacked/</a></p></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-size: 13pt;">________________________</span></div><div></div><div><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/02/19/239592/once-hailed-as-unhackable-blockchains-are-now-getting-hacked/">https://bit.ly/MasterTech</a></div><div><br></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-174769442112182112021-02-25T23:38:00.000+01:002021-02-25T23:39:05.815+01:00.@NASA’s #Juno will Continue Exploring #Jupiter & its Galilean moons. Self-Destruction Scrubbed til 2025 <div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/02/23/suicide-of-14-billion-spacecraft-at-jupiter-scrubbed-by-nasa-as-it-returns-more-jaw-dropping-images/?sh=6cb37bd57870&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_content=4519700631&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesScience"><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>Self-Destruction Of $1.4 Billion Spacecraft At Jupiter Scrubbed By NASA As It Returns More Stunning Images</title><div class="original-url"><img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6012b6924901179c7860c429/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="A scale model of NASA's Juno Spacecraft before its launch in 2016. It's just been given a new lease of life and an extended mission to study some of Jupiter's moons. " data-height="3280" data-width="4928" class="" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 0.75em; max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></div><div id="article" role="article" style="font-family: ui-serif; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class="uiserif exported"><div class="page" style="text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word; max-width: 100%;"><main style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><figure role="presentation" class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; clear: both; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"> <figcaption style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.8em; width: 100%; font-size: 0.75rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);"> <fbs-accordion current="-1" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"> <p aria-expanded="false" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.4em; margin-bottom: 0.4em;">A scale model of NASA's Juno Spacecraft before its launch in 2016. It's just been given a new lease <span data-ga-track="caption expand" style="max-width: 100%;">... [+]</span></p> </fbs-accordion> <small style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;">AFP via Getty Images</small> </figcaption> </figure> <div class="original-url" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px;"><span style="font-size: 1.95552em; font-weight: bold; font-family: ui-serif;">Self-Destruction Of $1.4 Billion Spacecraft At Jupiter Scrubbed By NASA As It Returns More Stunning Images</span></div><div id="article" role="article" class="uiserif exported" style="text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="page" style="word-wrap: break-word; max-width: 100%;"><div class="metadata singleline" style="margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.75em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/" data-ga-track="contrib block byline" class="byline" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; font-size: 1em !important; display: inline !important;">Jamie Carter</a><span class="delimiter" style="margin: 0.07em 0.45em 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em !important; display: inline !important;"></span><time class="date" style="margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; font-size: 1em !important; display: inline !important;">10:00pm EST</time></div><main style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="applewebdata://570E5DE4-2E68-4B99-94A3-948069251E55/science" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%;">Science</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></main></div></div><p style="max-width: 100%;">Three of Jupiter's largest moons—Io, Europa and Ganymede—will be visited by NASA's Juno probe currently in the Jupiter system after its imminent "death dive" was postponed for four years. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Last week it was <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2021/02/16/something-crashed-into-jupiter-last-yearand-a-nasa-spacecraft-saw-it-happen" target="_self" title="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2021/02/16/something-crashed-into-jupiter-last-yearand-a-nasa-spacecraft-saw-it-happen" data-ga-track="InternalLink:https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2021/02/16/something-crashed-into-jupiter-last-yearand-a-nasa-spacecraft-saw-it-happen" aria-label="reported" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">reported</a> that Juno witnessed an asteroid or comet slam into Jupiter and disintegrate in its atmosphere. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Previously planned to plunge into Jupiter's clouds after completing its 35th and final orbit on July 30, 2021, Juno's extended mission will see it perform close flybys of the three moons through 2025. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">In orbit of Jupiter since July 4, 2016, the 66 x 15 ft. spacecraft has just completed its 32nd <em style="max-width: 100%;">perijove</em> (close flyby) of the giant planet and returned <a href="https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing?source=junocam&phases[]=PERIJOVE+32" target="_blank" title="https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing?source=junocam&phases[]=PERIJOVE+32" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing?source=junocam&phases[]=PERIJOVE+32" aria-label="a stack of incredible new images" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">a stack of incredible new images</a>. </p> <p class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; clear: both;"> <fbs-embedly iframe-src="https://embedly.forbes.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/_theseaning/status/1364325168093528070&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fabs.twimg.com%252Ferrors%252Flogo46x38.png%26key%3D3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935" style="max-width: 100%;"></fbs-embedly> </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Juno's extended mission will see it orbit Jupiter a further 42 times, during which it will perform close flybys of Jupiter's north polar cyclones, Ganymede, Europa and Io.</p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">It will also conduct the first extensive exploration of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Jupiter" target="_blank" title="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Jupiter" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Jupiter" aria-label="the faint rings encircling Jupiter" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">the faint rings encircling Jupiter</a>. Photographed by <a href="https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images-voyager-took/jupiter/" target="_blank" title="https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images-voyager-took/jupiter/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images-voyager-took/jupiter/" aria-label="Voyager 1" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Voyager 1 </a>in 1979 and by the <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/overview/" target="_blank" title="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/overview/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/overview/" aria-label="Galileo" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Galileo</a> orbiter in the 1990s, the Jovian ring system largely dust from two of its smaller moons, Amalthea and Thebe.</p> <figure role="presentation" class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; clear: both; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"> <div style="max-width: 100%;"> <img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6013c60f7cba7d5dd7d4bbc4/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Data from the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003 later confirmed that these rings were created by meteoroid impacts on small nearby moons." data-height="730" data-width="1370" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""> </div> <figcaption style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.8em; width: 100%; font-size: 0.75rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);"> <fbs-accordion current="-1" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"> <p aria-expanded="false" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.4em; margin-bottom: 0.4em;">Data from the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003 later confirmed that these <span data-ga-track="caption expand" style="max-width: 100%;">... [+]</span></p> </fbs-accordion> <small style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;">NASA, JPL, Galileo Project, (NOAO), J. Burns (Cornell) et al.</small> </figcaption> </figure> <p style="max-width: 100%;">"Since its first orbit in 2016, Juno has delivered one revelation after another about the inner workings of this massive gas giant," said principal investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "With the extended mission, we will answer fundamental questions that arose during Juno's prime mission while reaching beyond the planet to explore Jupiter's ring system and Galilean satellites."</p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Part of NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-sized planetary science spacecraft, Juno is a flagship mission that will now move from a mission focused on studying the giant planet's gravity and magnetic fields to a full system-explorer. </p> <figure role="presentation" class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; clear: both; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"> <div style="max-width: 100%;"> <img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f5cb97b11840349139d74ef/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="This composite includes the four largest moons of Jupiter which are known as the Galilean satellites. Shown from left to right in order of increasing distance from Jupiter, Io is closest, followed by Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Galileo." data-height="1615" data-width="5100" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""> </div> <figcaption style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.8em; width: 100%; font-size: 0.75rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);"> <fbs-accordion current="-1" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"> <p aria-expanded="false" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.4em; margin-bottom: 0.4em;">This composite includes the four largest moons of Jupiter which are known as the Galilean <span data-ga-track="caption expand" style="max-width: 100%;">... [+]</span></p> </fbs-accordion> <small style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;">Universal Images Group via Getty Images</small> </figcaption> </figure> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Here's what Juno is going to do and when during its extended mission phase: </p> <ul style="max-width: 100%;"> <li style="max-width: 100%;">Flyby of Ganymede within 600 miles/1,000 km—June 7, 2021.</li> <li style="max-width: 100%;">Flyby of Europa within 200 miles/320 km—September 29, 2022. </li> <li style="max-width: 100%;">Flybys of Io within 900 miles/1,500 km—December 30, 2023 and February 3, 2024.</li> <li style="max-width: 100%;">End of mission—September 2025.</li> </ul> <p class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; clear: both;"> <fbs-embedly iframe-src="https://embedly.forbes.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=cfc0fb0733504c77aa4a6ac07caaffc7&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/kevinmgill/status/1364009879866732547&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fabs.twimg.com%252Ferrors%252Flogo46x38.png%26key%3D8804248494c144f5b4765c41f66c6ed5" style="max-width: 100%;"></fbs-embedly> </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">"The mission designers have done an amazing job crafting an extended mission that conserves the mission's single most valuable onboard resource—fuel," said Ed Hirst, the Juno project manager at JPL. "Gravity assists from multiple satellite flybys steer our spacecraft through the Jovian system while providing a wealth of science opportunities." </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">However, Juno will only escape death for so long. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Come September 2025—with nowhere near enough fuel to escape Jupiter's gravity and so continue on a journey through the cosmos—its orbit will rapidly decay until it enters Jupiter's upper atmosphere, heats-up and burns. </p> <figure role="presentation" class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; clear: both; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"> <div style="max-width: 100%;"> <img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5fe73612d6395e00c752947e/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="NASA scientists made a bunch of new discoveries in 2020 using data from its Juno spacecraft at Jupiter. " data-height="2231" data-width="2295" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""> </div> <figcaption style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.8em; width: 100%; font-size: 0.75rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);"> <fbs-accordion current="-1" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"> <p aria-expanded="false" style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.4em; margin-bottom: 0.4em;">NASA scientists made a bunch of new discoveries in 2020 using data from its Juno spacecraft at <span data-ga-track="caption expand" style="max-width: 100%;">... [+]</span></p> </fbs-accordion> <small style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em;">Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill</small> </figcaption> </figure> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Such a "death plunge" is necessary because an off-course Juno could theoretically crash into one of Jupiter's moons and contaminate it with the environment with microbes from Earth.</p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Those moons are precisely what Juno's extended mission is designed to study. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">The data Juno collects during its extended mission will also help NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) plan their next two (and possibly three) missions to Jupiter and its moons: </p> <ul style="max-width: 100%;"> <li style="max-width: 100%;">NASA's <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/europa-clipper/" target="_blank" title="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/europa-clipper/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/europa-clipper/" aria-label="Europa Clipper" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Europa Clipper</a> mission (scheduled to launch in 2024)</li> <li style="max-width: 100%;">ESA (European Space Agency) <a href="https://sci.esa.int/web/juice" target="_blank" title="https://sci.esa.int/web/juice" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://sci.esa.int/web/juice" aria-label="JUpiter ICy moons Explorer" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">JUpiter ICy moons Explorer</a> (JUICE) mission (scheduled to launch in 2022)</li> <li style="max-width: 100%;">NASA's to-be-confirmed <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2020/08/15/revealed-daring-nasa-mission-to-explore-an-ocean-of-lava-on-jupiters-volcanic-moon" target="_self" title="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2020/08/15/revealed-daring-nasa-mission-to-explore-an-ocean-of-lava-on-jupiters-volcanic-moon" data-ga-track="InternalLink:https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2020/08/15/revealed-daring-nasa-mission-to-explore-an-ocean-of-lava-on-jupiters-volcanic-moon" aria-label="Io Volcano Observer (IVO)" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Io Volcano Observer (IVO)</a> mission (possible launch in 2026-2028)</li> </ul> <p style="max-width: 100%;">China has also been discussing <a href="https://www.planetary.org/articles/jupiter-mission-callisto-landing" target="_blank" title="https://www.planetary.org/articles/jupiter-mission-callisto-landing" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.planetary.org/articles/jupiter-mission-callisto-landing" aria-label="two missions to the Jovian system" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">two missions to the Jovian system</a>— a Jupiter Callisto Orbiter (JCO) and a Jupiter System Observer (JSO), one of which could launch in 2030 and arrive in 2036. It could include a landing on Jupiter's small moon Callisto. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><em style="max-width: 100%;">Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes. </em></p> </div><div style="font-style: italic; max-width: 100%;"><span style="max-width: 100%;">Follow me on </span><a href="https://www.twitter.com/@jamieacarter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieacarter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">LinkedIn</a>. <span style="max-width: 100%;">Check out </span>my <a href="http://whenisthenexteclipse.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">website</a> or some of my other work <a href="https://www.amazon.com/When-Next-Eclipse-eclipses-2018-2030-ebook/dp/B07467RRLS" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">here</a>. </div><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><p style="max-width: 100%;">I'm an experienced science, technology and travel journalist and stargazer writing about exploring the night sky, solar and lunar eclipses, moon-gazing, astro-travel,<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/02/23/suicide-of-14-billion-spacecraft-at-jupiter-scrubbed-by-nasa-as-it-returns-more-jaw-dropping-images/?sh=6cb37bd57870&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_content=4519700631&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesScience" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px;"> https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/02/23/suicide-of-14-billion-spacecraft-at-jupiter-scrubbed-by-nasa-as-it-returns-more-jaw-dropping-images/?sh=6cb37bd57870&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_content=4519700631&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesScience</a></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://bit.ly/MasterTech">https://bit.ly/MasterTech</a></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><br></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></main></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br></span></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-35253699574821499962021-02-18T13:35:00.002+01:002021-02-18T13:35:30.530+01:007 Minutes to #Mars: #NASA's #Perseverance Rover Attempts Most Dangerous Landing <iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/M4tdMR5HLtg" width="480"></iframe><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">NASA’s Perseverance rover is racing toward Mars for a daring high-speed plunge into the Red Planet’s atmosphere Thursday, <b>ready to use a heat shield, a supersonic parachute, and braking rockets for a pinpoint touchdown on a dried-up river delta that may harbor clues about the potential for past life.</b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px;"><span face=""Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4tdMR5HLtg&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4tdMR5HLtg&feature=youtu.be</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 21px;"><a href="https://bit.ly/MasterTech">bit.ly/MasterTech</a></div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>MasterMetalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13444357604214785370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-80146794195754020812021-02-16T16:12:00.001+01:002021-02-16T16:12:22.242+01:00Latest #Starlink Satellites Launch by @SpaceX <div dir="ltr"><p class="animate" style="margin: 15px 0px; line-height: 1.6; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; visibility: inherit; opacity: 1; z-index: 0; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px);"><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-style: normal; font-size: 17px;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvOLAbW8dPQ/YCvg1iCOzPI/AAAAAAAASrQ/2o_3FVZfXZA77xPH-w_GW52uoAktURS1gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image0-742271.jpeg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvOLAbW8dPQ/YCvg1iCOzPI/AAAAAAAASrQ/2o_3FVZfXZA77xPH-w_GW52uoAktURS1gCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image0-742271.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6929879661913492722" /></a></span></font></p><p class="animate" style="margin: 15px 0px; line-height: 1.6; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; visibility: inherit; opacity: 1; z-index: 0; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">On February 15, 10:59 p.m. EST (February 16, 03:59 GMT), the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"> </span><b style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">19th batch of @Starlink internet satellites was launched. </b><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-style: normal; font-size: 19px;"><b>SpaceX launched 60 <a href="https://www.spacex.com/static/images/patches/Starlink_FINALpng.png" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: 24px; transition: color 1s cubic-bezier(0.25, 1, 0.25, 1), background-color 1s cubic-bezier(0.25, 1, 0.25, 1);">Starlink</a> satellites </b>from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.</span></font><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 17px;"> </span><b style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i>There are now 1,145 Starlink satellites in the Earth's orbit</i></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">. </span></p><div dir="ltr"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: normal; font-size: 20px;"><font face="Helvetica">This was the <b>sixth launch of this Falcon 9 booster,</b> which previously supported Dragon's 19th and 20th cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station, SAOCOM 1B, NROL-108, and a Starlink mission. </font></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 20px;"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">See a replay of the launch here:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://youtu.be/L0dkyV09Zso">https://youtu.be/L0dkyV09Zso</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 25px;">Starlink-19 Mission</span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 1rem; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">On February 15, 10:59 p.m. EST (February 16, 03:59 GMT), the <b>19th batch of Starlink internet satellites was launched. <i>There are now 1,145 Starlink satellites in the Earth's orbit</i></b>.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 1rem; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Starlink is in limited public beta, but a wider release beta is expected to start in about three months. The <b>internet network currently covers only higher latitudes — between 44 and 52 degrees. However, <i>SpaceX only needs 24 launches in total for global coverage. </i></b>Considering SpaceX's current production and launch rate, <b>Starlink will have global coverage by the middle of 2021.</b>This forecast, though, doesn't include the poles.</span></p><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">The venture of the completed Starlink project is expected to profit $30-50 billion annually. This profit will mainly finance SpaceX's ambitious</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </span><a href="https://spacex.com/vehicles/starship/" style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;">Starship</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">program and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </span><a href="https://marsbasealpha.com/" style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;">Mars Base Alpha</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/">https://www.spacex.com/launches/</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none;"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://bit.ly/MasterTech">https://bit.ly/MasterTech</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Helvetica;"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-style: normal; font-size: 17px;"><br></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br></span></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-19718639857655902272021-02-06T23:19:00.001+01:002021-02-06T23:19:37.611+01:00#TenCent Hits the Jackpot Once More As #Kuaishou, A #TikTok rival, Hits $160BN Valuation On #IPO <div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.ft.com/content/05686da9-60f8-4a3a-a5c5-95155bd01ffe?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content"><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>TikTok rival Kuaishou hits $160bn valuation as shares surge after IPO | Financial Times</title><div id="article" role="article" style="text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class="system exported"><div class="page" style="text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word; max-width: 100%;"><figure style="font-size: 0.75em; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"><img src="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fa797a4a1-afcd-454a-9557-95030bcb14a7.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700" data-id="https://api.ft.com/content/a797a4a1-afcd-454a-9557-95030bcb14a7" data-image-type="image" data-original-image-width="2400" data-original-image-height="1350" aria-hidden="true" alt="" srcset="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fa797a4a1-afcd-454a-9557-95030bcb14a7.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700 700w, https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fa797a4a1-afcd-454a-9557-95030bcb14a7.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=500 500w, https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fa797a4a1-afcd-454a-9557-95030bcb14a7.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=300 300w" sizes="(min-width: 76.25em) 700px, (min-width: 61.25em) 620px, (min-width: 46.25em) 700px, calc(100vw - 20px)" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""> <figcaption style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.8em; width: 100%; font-size: 0.75rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);"> More than 262m Chinese users check the Kuaishou app an average of 10 times a day © Bloomberg </figcaption> </figure> <h2 class="subhead" style="font-size: 1.46664em; font-weight: normal; color: rgba(27, 27, 27, 0.65); margin-top: -0.35em; line-height: 1.27275em; max-width: 100%;">Chinese video app's market debut is biggest in tech sector since Uber offering in 2019</h2><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">February 5, 2021 </span></p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><b>Shares in Kuaishou nearly tripled on their first day of trading in Hong Kong</b>, <b>propelling the valuation of the Chinese viral video app to $160bn</b>, close to that of ByteDance, the owner of its chief rival TikTok.</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">The <b>company's stock gained as much as 194 per cent on Friday after it raised about $5.4bn in its <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7a6aa329-aadf-4075-ada9-ea2e41327f96" data-trackable="link" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">initial public offering</a>, the biggest in the tech industry since Uber raised more than $8bn in 2019. They closed about 160 per cent higher.</b></p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">ByteDance last raised money at a $180bn valuation, and is also considering a Hong Kong listing this year for some of its China businesses, according to people close to the company. </p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">"For a sizeable IPO like this one I can't recall any . . . reaching this sort of extraordinary performance" on day one, said Ronald Wan, chief executive and founder of Hong Kong investment firm Partners Capital.</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">The <i><b>first-day pop boosted the value of Kuaishou chief executive Su Hua's 11.8 per cent stake in the group to almost $19bn. The 9.2 per cent stake held by Cheng Yixiao, the company's founder and chief of product, is also worth nearly $15bn</b>. The two men effectively control the company through a special class of stock with 10 times the voting power of ordinary shares.</i></p> <p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><b><i>Early stage backer 5Y Capital holds a 13.7 per cent stake worth $21.8bn. <u>Its initial $1.3m investment alone is now worth $13.8bn — a 1,045,925 per cent gain that makes it one of the best venture capital bets of all time. </u></i></b></p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">DCM Ventures, Kuaishou's second outside investor, put in $50m over several financing rounds for a stake now worth $12bn.</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">"We thought short video would be big in China, but Kuaishou has exceeded our expectations and hence we're in a happy place now," said partner David Chao. </p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">…</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">More than 262m Chinese users check the Kuaishou app an average of 10 times a day, spending an average of 86 minutes watching videos and chatting with the creators who make them.</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">These interactions produce the app's main revenue stream, as Kuaishou takes a cut of the tips viewers shower on content creators. These include virtual gifts such as stickers that can cost up to Rmb1,400 ($216) each. Such tips contributed 62 per cent of Kuaishou's revenue in the nine months to September last year.</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">Total revenue in the period rose 49 per cent from a year earlier to Rmb41bn as it reported a Rmb9bn operating loss.</p><div class="clear" style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%; clear: both;"><figure style="max-width: 100%; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"><picture style="max-width: 100%;"><source media="screen and (max-width: 490px)" srcset="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd6c748xw2pzm8.cloudfront.net%2Fprod%2Fe90dc530-63e0-11eb-ba36-dfebcc60197b-mobile.png?dpr=1&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&source=next&width=490" data-id="https://api.ft.com/content/66207128-b0f8-4cc3-a04d-2eb01e67b5e4" data-original-image-width="480" data-original-image-height="640" src="" style="max-width: 100%;"><img src="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd6c748xw2pzm8.cloudfront.net%2Fprod%2Fe90dc530-63e0-11eb-ba36-dfebcc60197b-standard.png?dpr=1&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&source=next&width=700" data-id="https://api.ft.com/content/bab51a1f-6a64-42cf-80cd-27fad7ff91a7" data-image-type="graphic" data-original-image-width="1120" data-original-image-height="800" alt="Column chart of Revenue (Rmb bn) showing Kuaishou diversifies its revenue streams" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></picture></figure></div><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">Kuaishou's buoyant debut could pave the way for its much larger rival ByteDance to move quickly towards its own listing. <i>ByteDance's Douyin app had 602m average monthly users in China last year, versus Kuaishou's 460m</i>, according to Analysys. </p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">…</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;">Kuaishou is one of many tech groups to benefit from the backing of Chinese internet group Tencent, which holds a 17.8 per cent stake.</p><p style="font-size: 1.2em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n2AK4sy6vD8/YB8V-WgKlRI/AAAAAAAASp4/w9MuzevnuVMwNlFEHrQkV4ypgaIDH-RzQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image0-777639.jpeg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n2AK4sy6vD8/YB8V-WgKlRI/AAAAAAAASp4/w9MuzevnuVMwNlFEHrQkV4ypgaIDH-RzQCK4BGAYYCw/s320/image0-777639.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6926278912855676178" /></a><br></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 26px;">See the whole piece here: <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/05686da9-60f8-4a3a-a5c5-95155bd01ffe?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content">https://www.ft.com/content/05686da9-60f8-4a3a-a5c5-95155bd01ffe?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content</a></span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">bit.ly/MasterTech</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><br></p> </div></div></div><div dir="ltr"></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-5646974053450901352021-01-25T14:18:00.003+01:002021-01-25T14:18:24.443+01:00#SpaceX smashes record with launch of 143 small #satellites – Some as small as 10 centimetres!<div><header id="article-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 32px; width: 660px;"><div id="title-collapse" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="vertical-center-outer" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="vertical-center-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h1 id="title-holder" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.417; margin: 0px 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img height="427" src="https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/transporter1stack_1.jpg" width="640" />SpaceX smashes record with launch of 143 small satellites – Spaceflight Now</h1></div></div></div></header><div id="content" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 24px 16px;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><figure style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" height="452" src="https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/50871053696_c10bdb0884_3k.jpg" srcset="https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/50871053696_c10bdb0884_3k.jpg 1200w, https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/50871053696_c10bdb0884_3k-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/50871053696_c10bdb0884_3k-768x512.jpg 768w, https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/50871053696_c10bdb0884_3k-678x452.jpg 678w" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="678" /><figcaption dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-size: 0.857rem; line-height: 1.667; margin-bottom: 1rem; opacity: 0.8;">A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Sunday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: SpaceX</figcaption></figure><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday from Cape Canaveral with 143 small satellites, a record number of spacecraft on a single mission, giving a boost to startup space companies and stressing the U.S. military’s tracking network charged with sorting out the locations of all objects in orbit.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The 143 small spacecraft, part of SpaceX’s “Transporter-1” rideshare mission, took off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), a day after thick cloud cover prevented the rocket from leaving Earth.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket soared toward the southeast from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, then vectored its thrust to fly on a coast-hugging trajectory toward South Florida, before flying over Cuba, the Caribbean Sea, and Central America.</p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The unusual trajectory was similar to the track followed by a <a dir="ltr" href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/08/31/spacex-launches-first-polar-orbit-mission-from-florida-in-decades/" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Falcon 9 launch in August 2020</a>, which was the first launch since the 1960s from Florida’s Space Coast to head into a polar orbit.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Falcon 9’s reusable first stage booster — flying for the fifth time — landed on SpaceX’s “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Miami nearly 10 minutes after liftoff. SpaceX said it also retrieved the rocket’s payload fairing halves after they parachuted back to Earth in the Atlantic.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The rocket’s second stage powered into orbit with its 143 satellite passengers, flew over Antarctica, then briefly reignited its engine while heading north over the Indian Ocean.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The <b>launch Sunday carried payloads for Planet, Swarm Technologies, Kepler Communications, Spire, Capella Space, ICEYE, NASA, and a host of other customers from 11 countries. The payloads ranged in size from CubeSats to microsatellites weighing several hundred pounds</b>.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Falcon 9 rocket will also delivered 10 more of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites into space, the first Starlink craft to head for a polar orbit.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>SpaceX aimed to placed the satellites into an orbit roughly 326 miles (525 kilometers) in altitude, with an inclination of 97.5 degrees to the equator. The company confirmed an on-target orbital injection after the second burn of the Falcon 9’s upper stage engine, setting the stage for a carefully-choreographed payload deployment sequence that took more than a half-hour to complete.<p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The mission Sunday broke the record number of satellites on a single launch, exceeding the 104 spacecraft launched on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in 2017.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Record rideshare launch challenges tracking capabilities, raises questions for regulators</i></b></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">U.S. military radars and optical sensors scattered around the world were ready to detect and track all 143 satellites after separation from the Falcon 9 rocket.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">That data will be fed to the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, where sophisticated computers and military personnel will generate datasets, or orbital elements, for each object and add them to the catalog of more than 27,000 human-made objects tracked in orbit.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Space Force is responsible for maintaining the catalog of artificial space objects, and screening for potential collisions between satellites and space debris, which could generate even more junk in orbit.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We’re in the business of space domain awareness,” said Lt. Col. Justin Sorice, commander of the 18th Sapce Control Squadron, in an interview with Spaceflight Now last year. “That means we want to understand what’s going on in the domain so that we can be responsible and we can alert owner-operators.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We’re kind of like the lighthouse,” Sorice said. “We’re not the air traffic controllers, so I can’t tell other owner-operators from either the U.S. or other countries to move their satellites. But what we can do is give them plenty of warning.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">But it could take some time to sort identify each of the 143 satellites, along with debris generated from the Transporter-1 launch.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Releasing so many objects on the same launch presents a huge challenge for the people that are tasked to track and identify those objects,” said Brian Weeden, director of program planning and technical advisor for the Secure World Foundation. “It’s really difficult for them to do that unless they have a lot of advance knowledge about how many payloads there are, when are they going to be deployed, what orbit are they deployed in, how are they going to be deployed? There are a lot of little nuances there that can help, but they have to know that information.”</p><figure style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" height="452" src="https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/transporter1stack_1.jpg" srcset="https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/transporter1stack_1.jpg 1200w, https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/transporter1stack_1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/transporter1stack_1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/transporter1stack_1-678x452.jpg 678w" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.6rem auto 0.4rem; max-width: 100%;" width="678" /><figcaption dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-size: 0.857rem; line-height: 1.667; margin-bottom: 1rem; opacity: 0.8;">This photo shows the stack of 143 small satellites aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-1 mission before encapsulation inside the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload shroud. Credit: SpaceX</figcaption></figure><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">SpaceX is “generally pretty good” about providing the Space Force with information about the orbits targeted by its missions, Weeden said. That helps radars and optical sensors know when and where to look to detect the new satellites.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Imagine you’re the 18th Space Control Squadron, and you now see, let’s say, 100 things that are all roughly 10-centimeter cubes?” Weeden said. “How the heck do you know which is which?”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Falcon 9 launches carrying batches of 60 Starlink satellites at a time have become the norm, and SpaceX typically releases its orbital targets and deployment times. The process is more simple for a Starlink launch, where SpaceX owns all the satellites, than for a rideshare mission with numerous customers.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“If the satellite operator knows where it is, and can contact their satellite quickly after launch, this is not a huge problem,” Weeden said. “But if they can’t contact quickly after launch, and then they turn to the military for help in trying to find their satellites so they can talk to it, that’s where it becomes a real problem.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.143rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">SpaceX provided predicted orbital information to the space traffic management community before the Transporter-1 mission, but only for satellites and support hardware that would separate directly from the Falcon 9 upper stage, not the payloads riding on carrier vehicles, or space tugs, designed to deploy small satellites hours or days later.</p></div></div></div><div>See the whole article here: <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/24/spacex-launches-record-setting-rideshare-mission-with-143-small-satellites/#.YA7D4yD7_u4.blogger">SpaceX smashes record with launch of 143 small satellites – Spaceflight Now</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>DJ Petrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10651092125556436734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-28346402600814066922021-01-24T23:32:00.000+01:002021-01-24T23:33:03.619+01:00#Serendipity: Being passed over for the top job at Texas Instruments, led this senior exec to build the most strategically important company you may’ve never heard of…@SahilBloom #TSMC<div dir="ltr"><base href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1353369463190560773.html"><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>Thread by @SahilBloom on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App</title><div class="original-url"><div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369463190560773" dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 27.600000381469727px; max-width: 100%;"><span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsgeyJMVEAA8J02.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(73, 129, 254); max-width: 100%;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsgeyJMVEAA8J02.jpg" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 27.600000381469727px; max-width: 100%;"> Morris Chang by <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/user/SahilBloom" style="font-size: 1.2em; color: rgb(73, 129, 254); max-width: 100%;">Sahil Bloom</a></p></div><div id="article" role="article" style="text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class="system exported"><div class="page" style="text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word; max-width: 100%;"> <p style="max-width: 100%;"><span data-controller="stats" data-tweet="1353369463190560773" style="max-width: 100%;">142 views</span></p> <div style="max-width: 100%;"> <div style="max-width: 100%;"> <div style="max-width: 100%;"> <div style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://twitter.com/SahilBloom/status/1353369463190560773" data-time="1611503399" title="Read on Twitter" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">6h</a>, 22 tweets, 8 min read </div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369463190560773" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> In 1983, a 52-year-old senior executive at Texas Instruments was passed over for the company's top job.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He would go on to found and build the most strategically important company in the world.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Who's up for a story?<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> 👇👇👇 <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsgeyJMVEAA8J02.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsgeyJMVEAA8J02.jpg" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">1/ </span> Morris Chang was born into a middle-class family on July 10, 1931 in Ningbo, Chekiang, China.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> The early years of his life were set against a backdrop of hardship.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Wars and widespread poverty had overwhelmed the country, exposing him to this suffering at a young age. </p><p class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; clear: both;"><ins data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3755072543989337" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="max-width: 100%;"><ins tabindex="0" title="Advertisement" aria-label="Advertisement" style="max-width: 100%;"><ins style="max-width: 100%;"></ins></ins></ins></p> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369468924137472" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">2/ </span> His father - an official in the local government - encouraged Morris to focus on school.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Fleeing the violence of the ongoing wars, Morris and his mother moved frequently.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> His studies became his respite.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> In 1948, at the height of the Civil War, they moved to Hong Kong. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esgfoj3VkAMDfm0.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esgfoj3VkAMDfm0.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369471860129793" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">3/ </span> In 1949, Morris Chang was accepted to Harvard University.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He moved to America.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> After just one year at Harvard, he transferred to The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study engineering.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He graduated in 1953 with a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsgfvVcUwAIbhQf.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsgfvVcUwAIbhQf.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">4/ </span> While he had originally intended to continue his studies and get a PhD, he failed his qualifying exam, so was forced to enter the job market.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He took an entry-level job with Sylvania Semiconductor, but quickly realized the company wasn't forward-thinking enough for his style. </p><p class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; clear: both;"><ins data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3755072543989337" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="max-width: 100%;"><ins tabindex="0" title="Advertisement" aria-label="Advertisement" style="max-width: 100%;"><ins style="max-width: 100%;"></ins></ins></ins></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">5/ </span> After just three years, he left Sylvania and accepted an engineering supervisor role at Texas Instruments, a growing technology company in Dallas, Texas.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> It all clicked for Morris Chang at TI.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> By 1961, he was managing a full department.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He was on the fast track. </p> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369476603867137" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">6/ </span> Seeing his potential, TI offered to sponsor him for a PhD, even agreeing to continue paying his full salary while he was pursuing the degree.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> This was an offer he was unable to pass up.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He passed his qualifying exam (the second time was the charm!) and enrolled at Stanford. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsggBDpVoAEZMWS.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsggBDpVoAEZMWS.jpg" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsggBDpVoAEZMWS.jpg" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369479460253696" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">7/ </span> Completing the degree in 1964, he returned to TI and continued to climb the corporate ladder.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> By 1967, he became the GM of the most important semiconductor department at the company.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> A few years later, he was promoted to Vice President of its entire semiconductor business. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsggIkdVkAAR1Y3.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsggIkdVkAAR1Y3.jpg" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsggIkdVkAAR1Y3.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div><p class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; clear: both;"><ins data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3755072543989337" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="max-width: 100%;"><ins tabindex="0" title="Advertisement" aria-label="Advertisement" style="max-width: 100%;"><ins style="max-width: 100%;"></ins></ins></ins></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">8/ </span> After 6 years running the semiconductor business, and seemingly on the fast track to the C-suite, Morris Chang's career took an unexpected turn.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He was transferred to lead the struggling consumer business, then to a staff role.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> In his own words, he was "put out to pasture." </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">9/ </span> There is a lot of speculation about why - some believe he was passed over due to being of Chinese origin - but Morris Chang had clearly been snubbed.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> He resigned from TI in 1983.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Now 52, an age where most careers are winding down, Morris Chang's journey was just beginning. </p> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369487270047744" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">10/ </span> Shortly after his departure from TI (and after a short stint at its competitor, General Instrument), the government of Taiwan called on Morris Chang.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Their proposal: come to Taiwan and help the country modernize its technology complex by creating a semiconductor industry. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esggn2FVcAA6oZY.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esggn2FVcAA6oZY.jpg" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esggn2FVcAA6oZY.jpg" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">11/ </span> Before accepting the task, he examined the current state of affairs of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> What he found was not encouraging - no R&D, no design capabilities, and no IP.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> The only strength that existed was in some semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">12/ </span> Interestingly, this manufacturing capability aligned well with an observation he had during his days at TI:<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Chip designers often wanted to start their own companies.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> But at the time, it was believed that success required integrated chip design and manufacturing. </p> <p style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">13/ </span> Given the incredibly high expense associated with building chip manufacturing capabilities, these chip designers were unable to raise enough money to leave and start their own companies.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Morris Chang believed that this constrained innovation in the semiconductor industry. </p> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369494849130496" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">14/ </span> So in 1987, Morris Chang founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a pure-play chip manufacturer.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> In the same way that <a href="https://twitter.com/tobi" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">@tobi</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Shopify" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">@Shopify</a> have enabled independent players to sell online, TSMC enabled independent chip designers to start their own companies. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghF6uUwAYE7qi.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghF6uUwAYE7qi.jpg" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghF6uUwAYE7qi.jpg" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div><p class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; clear: both;"><ins data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3755072543989337" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="max-width: 100%;"><ins style="max-width: 100%;"><ins style="max-width: 100%;"></ins></ins></ins></p> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369498070388741" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">15/ </span> An entire ecosystem of "fabless" (i.e. design-only) chip companies quickly sprouted up.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> The flywheel effects for TSMC were powerful - as the market grew, so did its revenues, which allowed TSMC to reinvest in advancing its capabilities, which drove further growth. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghQVWUYAAHsl7.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghQVWUYAAHsl7.jpg" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghQVWUYAAHsl7.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369501044072451" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">16/ </span> Today, TSMC is the world's largest contract manufacturer of chips, with annual revenues approaching ~$50 billion.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Its manufacturing capabilities are second-to-none.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> In an industry where technological advantages are extremely difficult to overcome, TSMC appears unstoppable. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghVSyUcAEmPgG.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghVSyUcAEmPgG.jpg" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsghVSyUcAEmPgG.jpg" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369502444969986" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">17/ </span> As <a href="https://twitter.com/benthompson" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">@benthompson</a> points out in this article, TSMC is also a company with massive strategic importance - arguably the most important company in the world.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> This is a developing story that will undoubtedly be front and center in the decade to come. </div> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369505120968705" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">18/ </span> Morris Chang retired from the CEO role in 2018, but remains TSMC's chairman. <br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> His net worth is >$3 billion. <br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> So that was the tale of Morris Chang, the man who was "put out to pasture" but went on to build one of the most important, influential companies of the modern era. <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esgh48RU0AE1pRm.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Image" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esgh48RU0AE1pRm.jpg" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Esgh48RU0AE1pRm.jpg" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></span> </div> <div data-controller="thread" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-screenname="SahilBloom" data-tweet="1353369506421202947" dir="auto" style="max-width: 100%;"> <span style="max-width: 100%;">19/ </span> For more on Morris Chang, the semiconductor industry, or TSMC, I recommend the below.<br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Morris Chang by <a href="https://twitter.com/horwitzjosh" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">@horwitzjosh</a>: <a data-preview="true" href="https://qz.com/1294385/morris-chang-retires-from-taiwans-tsmc-as-computer-chips-godfather/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">qz.com/1294385/morris…</a><br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> Intel Problems by <a href="https://twitter.com/benthompson" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">@benthompson</a>: <a data-preview="true" href="https://stratechery.com/2021/intel-problems/" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">stratechery.com/2021/intel-pro…</a><br style="max-width: 100%;"> <br style="max-width: 100%;"> All About Semiconductors by <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">@ShaneAParrish</a>: <span style="max-width: 100%;"><div class="iframe-wrapper" style="height: 540.931640625px; width: 100%; max-width: 100%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r6NUO_bymuA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" style="height: 100%; width: 834px; max-width: 100%;"></iframe></div></span></div> <p style="max-width: 100%;">• • •</p> <div style="max-width: 100%;">Read the full thread here: <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1353369463190560773.html" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 23px;">https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1353369463190560773.html</a></div><div style="max-width: 100%;"><br></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-68933339378970171202020-11-24T10:47:00.001+01:002020-11-24T12:12:01.853+01:00#BlueRaman: @Google’s Plan to Connect #India to #Saudi Arabia via #Israel with #FiberOptic Network for First Time<div dir="ltr"><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EP2_b2Yi3Wc/X7zWvG_21pI/AAAAAAAARLI/e-pHbAJe1Y8VvQMgfotpmtUorVYHLckcwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image0-759740.jpeg"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6898624834045400722" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EP2_b2Yi3Wc/X7zWvG_21pI/AAAAAAAARLI/e-pHbAJe1Y8VvQMgfotpmtUorVYHLckcwCK4BGAYYCw/s16000/image0-759740.jpeg" /></a></p><p>The project linking India to Europe is Google's latest globe-crossing internet construction effort. The Alphabet Inc. subsidiary is vying with Facebook Inc. to build more network capacity to support its surging user demand for videos, search results and other products. Expanded connectivity between Europe and India would also help Google roll out data centers globally and catch up to rivals Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. in the business of on-demand cloud-computing. </p><p>See the full story on The Wall Street Journal: </p> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-plans-fiber-optic-network-to-connect-via-saudi-arabia-and-israel-for-first-time-11606143590?st=mefiadrq1hn4ve3&reflink=article_email_share"><p style="font-family: Georgia; font-weight: bold;">Google Plans Fiber-Optic Network to Connect Via Saudi Arabia, Israel for First Time</p></a><p></p> <p></p><p><br /></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-74020341462259876612020-08-25T11:34:00.001+02:002020-08-25T11:41:46.861+02:00#Nvidia, The New King Wants All The Chips<div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.ft.com/content/cd2dc1e5-06f6-4afb-86c7-0aac1d2f9e2d"></base><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>Nvidia flexes its muscles as the new king of chips | Financial Times</title><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word;"><figure style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span style="height: auto; margin: 0.5em auto;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" data-image-type="image" data-original-image-height="1302" data-original-image-width="2314" data-unique-identifier="" sizes="(min-width: 76.25em) 700px, (min-width: 61.25em) 620px, (min-width: 46.25em) 700px, calc(100vw - 20px)" src="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fda578213-d8ba-41e5-8ba5-2f7bf2d22420.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700" srcset="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fda578213-d8ba-41e5-8ba5-2f7bf2d22420.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700 700w, https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fda578213-d8ba-41e5-8ba5-2f7bf2d22420.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=500 500w, https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fda578213-d8ba-41e5-8ba5-2f7bf2d22420.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=300 300w" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.5em auto; max-width: 100%;" /></span> <figcaption style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size: 0.75rem; margin-top: 0.8em; max-width: 100%; width: 100%;"><div class="original-url" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 23px;"><span face="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 48, 46); color: #33302e; font-family: helvetica; word-spacing: 1px;">A potential deal for ARM "highlights the value of foundational intellectual property in chips. Owning all the IP for the silicon that powers huge data centres would give Nvidia a competitive advantage even Intel couldn't match."</span></div><div class="original-url" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 23px;"><span face="" style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div class="original-url" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 23px;"><span face="" style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Nvidia flexes its muscles as the new king of chips</b></span></div><div class="original-url" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 23px;"><span face="" style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; word-wrap: break-word;"><h2 class="subhead" style="color: rgba(27, 27, 27, 0.65); font-size: 1.46664em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.27275em; margin-top: -0.35em; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">With its attempt to buy SoftBank-owned Arm, the US firm is consolidating its position at the top of global chipmaking</span></h2><div class="metadata singleline" style="margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.7em; max-width: 100%;"><time aria-label="August 21 2020" class="date" data-o-component="o-date" data-o-date-js="" datetime="2020-08-21T03:00:12Z" style="display: inline; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="August 21 2020 5:00 am"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">August 21 2020</span></time></div></div></div></figcaption><figcaption style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); margin-top: 0.8em; max-width: 100%; width: 100%;"><font face="helvetica" size="4"> Nvidia, founded and led by Jensen Huang, reported blowout earnings this week © Rick Wilking/Reuters</font></figcaption> </figure> <p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">There was a stark study in contrasts at the top of the chip industry this week. <b>Nvidia, which recently <a data-trackable="link" href="https://www.ft.com/content/fb2ee190-b1ec-44c0-b10f-8eb185d0fcf1" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">overtook Intel </a>to become the world's most valuable chipmaker,</b> reported blowout earnings. Jensen Huang, its founder and chief executive, used the moment to lay out his vision for what comes next.</span></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">...</span></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Over the past 21 years, the Californian company has taken its graphical processing units, or GPUs, from their original market in gaming PCs to data centres, where<b> their parallel processing capabilities have made them the main engines for the data-intensive task of training AI systems</b>. <b>With its <a data-trackable="link" href="https://www.ft.com/content/4ed67726-1a56-4ce2-9d62-a5ec2a8f35b5" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">attempt to buy Arm</a>, </b>the SoftBank-owned chip design firm<b>, it is now trying to consolidate that position, <i>while also getting its first toehold in some of the biggest current and future markets for silicon</i>.</b></span></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a data-trackable="link" href="https://www.ft.com/content/b4649576-9541-4857-b3a4-5b4ccb847642" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Data centres</a>, according to Mr Huang, are the new "computing unit"...Nvidia already has the GPUs and networking technology to fulfil much of this: what it lacks is a base in CPUs, or central processing units, the core of Intel's business. </span></p> <figure style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"> <img alt="" aria-hidden="true" data-image-type="image" data-original-image-height="1600" data-original-image-width="2400" data-unique-identifier="" sizes="(min-width: 76.25em) 700px, (min-width: 61.25em) 620px, (min-width: 46.25em) 700px, calc(100vw - 20px)" src="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F5fc074e1-f60a-4a8d-9889-84a8bf283384.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700" srcset="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F5fc074e1-f60a-4a8d-9889-84a8bf283384.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700 700w, https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F5fc074e1-f60a-4a8d-9889-84a8bf283384.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=500 500w, https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F5fc074e1-f60a-4a8d-9889-84a8bf283384.jpg?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=300 300w" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.5em auto; max-width: 100%;" /> <figcaption style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); margin-top: 0.8em; max-width: 100%; width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> © Tyrone Siu/Reuters</span></figcaption></figure><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">A deal would leave Nvidia in the position of not only selling its own silicon, but also licensing foundational IP that other companies — some of them Nvidia's competitors — need to create their own chips.</span></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">...</span></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system-font; max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The pursuit of Arm may be motivated mainly by Nvidia's ambitions in data centres, but it also opens up a broader landscape. </span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><font><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">Read The Whole article on the FT here:</span></font></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><font><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cd2dc1e5-06f6-4afb-86c7-0aac1d2f9e2d">https://www.ft.com/content/cd2dc1e5-06f6-4afb-86c7-0aac1d2f9e2d</a></span></font></p></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-73935907323517711912020-06-30T03:53:00.001+02:002020-06-30T04:15:49.108+02:00People Around The World Are Already Being Judged Based On Their #SocialMedia Data— AND THEY DON’T EVEN REALIZE IT. <div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YqNa_z9OW3s/XvqbBI2r7qI/AAAAAAAAOIY/8IEbsmCU0RINdaBtsrC9uqN_ztUi21BPgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/image0-787984.png"><font face="helvetica"><img border="0" height="229" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6843953027601919650" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YqNa_z9OW3s/XvqbBI2r7qI/AAAAAAAAOIY/8IEbsmCU0RINdaBtsrC9uqN_ztUi21BPgCK4BGAYYCw/w400-h229/image0-787984.png" width="400" /></font></a></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="helvetica">PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ARE ALREADY BEING JUDGED AND DENIED ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES BECAUSE OF THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA DATA — AND THEY DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT.</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="helvetica">Kaspersky surveyed more than 10,000 people from 21 countries and found that 18 percent of those polled had issues accessing financial services because of assessments of their social media data. </font></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><b><font face="helvetica" size="5">Social Credit Scores Are Already Here </font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/social-engineering/social-credit-scores-are-already-here/" target="_blank"><font face="helvetica">https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/social-engineering/social-credit-scores-are-already-here/</font></a></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://bit.ly/TheMasterTech"><font face="helvetica">bit.ly/TheMasterTech</font></a></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-78436154613632664322020-05-14T10:22:00.002+02:002020-05-14T10:22:57.062+02:00#Bitcoin Third #Halving Embedded Message #QEInfinity<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Third Halving manifesto:<br><br>NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Fed's Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescue<br><br>bitcoin-cli getblock 0000000000000000000d656be18bb095db1b23bd797266b0ac3ba720b1962b1e 0 | xxd -r -p | hexyl -n 256 <a href="https://t.co/EQx8fywYGQ">pic.twitter.com/EQx8fywYGQ</a></p>— Clark Moody (@clarkmoody) <a href="https://twitter.com/clarkmoody/status/1259975423695261697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><div><!--AddThis Button BEGIN--><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style" title="data:post.title" url="data:post.url"><a class="addthis_button_compact" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=masterblog">Share</a><span class="addthis_separator">|</span><a addthis:url="https://feeds.feedburner.com/TheMasterTechBlog" class="addthis_button_rss_follow"></a><a addthis:userid="masterfeed" class="addthis_button_twitter_follow"></a><a class="addthis_button_stumbleupon"></a><a class="addthis_button_blogger"></a><a class="addthis_button_delicious"></a><a class="addthis_button_facebook"></a><a class="addthis_button_google"></a><a class="addthis_button_print"></a><a class="addthis_button_email"></a><a class="addthis_button_favorites"></a></div><script type="text/javascript">var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "MasterTech" } </script><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=masterblog" type="text/javascript"></script><!--AddThis Button END--> </div>_______________________________________ <div> Check it out on <a href="https://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">MasterTech</a> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>MasterMetalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13444357604214785370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061588546293215870.post-41589216965240465582020-03-28T23:11:00.001+01:002020-08-25T11:43:37.448+02:00#Zoom's iOS App is sending your #PrivateData nonconsensually to Facebook — even if you don’t have a Facebook account.<div dir="ltr"><base href="https://thenextweb.com/security/2020/03/27/zooms-ios-app-is-sending-your-data-to-facebook-because-privacy-is-a-myth/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2BTheNextWeb%2B%28The%2BNext%2BWeb%2BAll%2BStories%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner"></base><style id="print"> @media print { body { margin: 2mm 9mm; } .original-url { display: none; } #article .float.left { float: left !important; } #article .float.right { float: right !important; } #article .float { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } } </style><title>Zoom's iOS app is sending your data to Facebook, because privacy is a myth</title><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><div class="page" style="max-width: 100%; text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="leading-image" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.15em; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="Zoom iOS App" data-unique-identifier="" src="https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/03/Zoom-iOS-App-796x417.jpg" style="clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></div> <div class="original-url"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zoom's iOS app is sending your data to Facebook, because privacy is a myth</span></div><div class="original-url"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div class="system exported" id="article" role="article" style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><div class="page" style="font-size: 27.600000381469727px; max-width: 100%; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="metadata singleline" style="margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.75em; max-width: 100%;"><a class="byline" data-event-action="Author - Ivan Mehta" data-event-category="Article" data-event-label="Profile" data-event-non-interaction="true" href="https://thenextweb.com/author/ivanmehta/" style="color: #416ed2; display: inline; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;">Ivan Mehta</a><span class="delimiter" style="display: inline; margin: 0.07em 0.45em 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;"></span><time class="date" data-full-date="Mar 27, 2020 - 07:45" datetime="2020-03-27T06:45:26+00:00" style="display: inline; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;">1 day ago</time></div></div></div><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="max-width: 100%;">Zoom's video conferencing app has grown more popular than ever lately, while people are staying home to flatten the curve. But you should know that there's a major privacy concern with the service.</span></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Last night, Vice reported that <b>Zoom's <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/k7e599/zoom-ios-app-sends-data-to-facebook-even-if-you-dont-have-a-facebook-account" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">iOS app is nonconsensually sending data to Facebook</a> — even if you don't have a Facebook account.</b></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">What's more shocking is that the company's privacy policy makes no mention of it. Plus, the <b>app doesn't make it clear anywhere that it's sending your data to the social network</b>.</p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Joseph Cox noted in his report for Vice that <b>every time you open the app, it sends your data to Facebook including your device's model, network provider, time zone, city, and <a href="https://konsole.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013349668-Identify-Android-AdIDs-Apple-IDFAs-and-Safari-IDs" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">a unique device identifier</a> that advertisers can use to send you targeted ads.</b></p> <figure style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" data-lazy="true" data-unique-identifier="" height="585" sizes="(max-width: 1040px) 100vw, 1040px" src="https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/03/zoom.png" srcset="https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/03/zoom.png 1040w, https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/03/zoom-280x158.png 280w, https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/03/zoom-480x270.png 480w, https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/03/zoom-240x135.png 240w, https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/03/zoom-796x448.png 796w" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0.5em auto; max-width: 100%;" width="1040" /></figure> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Facebook's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/legal/technology_terms" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">policy about using its SDK (Software Development Kit) and tracking Pixels</a> is quite clear: A website or app using it has to explicitly mention that your data is being shared with third-parties, including Facebook. Plus, it has to provide an option to opt-out of tracking. Zoom doesn't address these points at all.</p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Last week, digital rights non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) pointed out <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/03/what-you-should-know-about-online-tools-during-covid-19-crisis" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #416ed2; max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">some of the privacy risks</a> in using Zoom's products. The report said IT admins of your company can access a bunch of information about you during a meeting including your device information, IP address, and operating system. Plus, the app has an attention tracking feature, which is off by default, that allows hosts to <span style="max-width: 100%;">check if a participant's Zoom app window is active or not on their desktops.</span></p> <p style="max-width: 100%;">Continue Reading the whole story here: <a href="https://thenextweb.com/security/2020/03/27/zooms-ios-app-is-sending-your-data-to-facebook-because-privacy-is-a-myth/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2BTheNextWeb%2B%28The%2BNext%2BWeb%2BAll%2BStories%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner" style="font-family: uictfonttextstyletallbody; font-size: 23px;">https://thenextweb.com/security/2020/03/27/zooms-ios-app-is-sending-your-data-to-facebook-because-privacy-is-a-myth/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2BTheNextWeb%2B%28The%2BNext%2BWeb%2BAll%2BStories%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner</a></p><br style="font-family: uictfonttextstyletallbody; font-size: 23px;" /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read it all on <a href="http://TheMasterTechBlog.blogspot.com/">The MasterTech Blog</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com