FaceDatabase
❝ quietly building a massive facial recognition database consisting of faces acquired from the giant social network, YouTube and countless other websites. Privacy activists are suitably alarmed.
. . .
Concerns have been raised over just how Terrogence has grabbed all those faces from Facebook and other online sources. What's apparent, though, is that Terrogence is yet another company that's been able to clandestinely take advantage of Facebook's openness``` https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/04/16/huge-facebook-facial-recognition-database-built-by-ex-israeli-spies/amp/
Great interview with Eugen Rochko @Gargron - founder and lead developer of the Mastodon social network software we use at #OERu. I encourage #LiDA102 learners to listen and consider how these themes relate to digital citizenship: https://www.softwaredaily.com/post/5acf3c9f018c5e0004415a55
» water reservoir built into the turbine. wind farm in Gaildorf is based on a totally new power plant concept – the water battery – innovation that is setting new industry standards. power generation from renewable energy is combined with a modern pumped-storage power plant. This storage concept uses the foundation of the wind turbine as a water reservoir, which results in a 40-meter increase in the height of the turbine. increases the annual energy yield by 0.5 to 1%.
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just received an automated phone call from "the IRS" -- I owe money, I must call back IMMEDIATELY!! Ha!
>> Be careful out there. That's the word from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as the tax agency reminds taxpayers about continuing aggressive phone scams. Those phone scams are "a major threat to taxpayers" and as such, continued to hold down a top spot on the IRS "Dirty Dozen" list of tax scams for the 2018 filing season.
» Tesla’s solar energy product producing electricity over a year after being unveiled in LA. Producing 5 kW and feeding 300 watts to the house while also charging the Tesla Powerwall at a rate of 4.7 kW.
Tesla told Electrek last week that the system is rated at 9.85 kW at full capacity.
The owner shared a screenshot on Twitter showing the system producing 6.2 kW and since the Powerwall was now charged, it started feeding electricity from the solar roof into the grid.
https://electrek.co/2018/04/02/tesla-solar-roof-customer-installation-working/
❝ China customs officials have taken down smugglers who used drones to carry iPhones from Hong Kong into Shenzhen. They managed to transport 500 million yuan ($79.8 million) worth of refurbished iPhones before the operation was busted, according to Reuters.
The smugglers could move up to 15,000 iPhones each night, so they managed to get things running pretty efficiently.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/30/17180088/china-busts-iphone-drone-smugglers
❝ Report: Apple engineer who died in Tesla crash had warned about autopilot errors
Apple engineer Walter Huang died on Friday after his new Tesla Model X he was driving crashed into a barrier in Mountain View, California. Though investigations into what caused the crash are ongoing, ABC7 News is reporting that Huang had previously complained to the dealer he bought the Tesla from that the car's autopilot software veered toward that same barrier on multiple occasions.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40551516/apple-engineer-who-died-in-tesla-crash-had-warned-about-auto-pilot-errors
Docker Founder, dotcloud, Solomon Hykes:
❝ Today I’m announcing my departure from Docker, the company I helped create ten years ago and have been building ever since. A founder’s departure is usually seen as a dramatic event. Sadly, I must report that reality is far less exciting in this case.
❝ it can text jaywalkers the second they offend.
China is using AI and facial recognition to fine jaywalkers via text.
Traffic authorities in the Chinese city of Shenzhen have teamed up with an AI firm named Intellifusion to carry out the rather dystopian policing.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40550856/china-is-using-ai-and-facial-recognition-to-fine-jaywalkers-via-text
😕 Lidar maker confused by fatal Uber crash
❝Velodyne has put out a statement concerning the fatal accident between an Uber autonomous vehicle and a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, last week. Velodyne president Marta Thoma Hall told Bloomberg, "We are as baffled as anyone else. Certainly, our lidar is capable of clearly imaging Elaine and her bicycle in this situation. However, our lidar doesn't make the decision to put on the brakes or get out of her way."
https://www.autoblog.com/2018/03/26/lidar-maker-velodyne-fatal-uber-crash/
DARPA’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program / obstacle-course flight tests. Quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicles. Advancing technology to enable small unmanned quadcopters to fly autonomously through cluttered buildings and obstacle-strewn environments at fast speeds and smart algorithms to self-navigate.
MIT cheetah robot lands the running jump (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_luhn7TLfWU
In a leap for robotic development, the MIT researchers who built a robotic cheetah have now trained it to see and jump over hurdles as it runs — making this the first four-legged robot to run and jump over obstacles autonomously. (Learn more: http://bit.ly/1JYy1bD)
Pretty amazing speed, control, and tech in this drone racing vid. Too long and dizzying to watch end to end in one sitting, but fun to skim through.
Nice! 3d models - you can view/rotate these in your browser:
https://sketchfab.com/models/popular
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Sketchfab is empowering a new era of creativity by making it easy for anyone to publish, share, and discover 3D content on web, mobile, AR, and VR. With a community of over 1 million creators who have published over 1.5 million models, we are the world’s largest platform for immersive and interactive 3D.
Medjool dates: Incredibly sweet, delicious -- can't eat more than 3 without feeling like you'll die from a sugar overdose.
Started buying these from the grocery store recently.
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From the article:
Packed full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, the health benefits are remarkable. These edible sweet fruits of the date palm tree make great natural sweeteners and sugar alternatives, but they’re not just delicious...
