The randsomeware attacks, including the one on the NHS, that occurred last week are a direct result of nation states hoarding vulnerabilities to use against adversaries, instead of working together to make us all safer.
Computing has come a long way
TRS-80 with 16K of RAM. You would need over 2 million of them to equal the computing power of a single iPhone 7. pic.twitter.com/rf0cQPNZys
— Flashback Daily (@FlashbackDaily) October 17, 2016
Elon Musk and the Interplanetary Transport System
On September 27th at the International Astronomical Congress, Elon Musk the CEO and founder of SpaceX announced his vision for making humanity a multi-planetary species and the Interplanetary Transport System that would make it a reality.
The audacity and scale of his proposal is almost impossible to overstate. The end goal is nothing less than to have a million people colonising mars. There are obviously massive technical problems to solve if this is ever going to happen; life support, food, water, waste disposal, radiation, to name but a few. Musk did not shy away from admitting as much during his speech. There are also social questions, such as; is it wise to fracture humanity onto two different planets, at a time when we are already so divided? Would that make things better or worse for us? Would we be better off working on our problems here first, before we journey to other worlds? Or should we go whatever the cost here on earth?
Or indeed, is it possible that it would help bring us together, being able to see ourselves through the lens of such a fantastic project, an ideal so big and so bold.
What ever the answers to these questions and the many more this project raises, I am personally amazed and uplifted that someone has the vision and the courage to try to make colonising another planet a reality in my lifetime. It is easy to sit and be sceptical, even if scepticism is a necessary step in scientific progress. It is far harder to actually try to make such a massive change a reality. And it demonstrates the very best of what humanity is capable of; coming together to solve what was once thought impossible!
Link to speech: http://www.spacex.com/mars
Avoiding BlackBerry’s fate – Marco.org
Avoiding BlackBerry’s fate – Marco.org
Today, Amazon, Facebook, and Google are placing large bets on advanced AI, ubiquitous assistants, and voice interfaces, hoping that these will become the next thing that our devices are for.
If they’re right — and that’s a big “if” — I’m worried for Apple.
A very astute piece from Marco. In my opinion Google is right in their position on Artificial Intelligence but wrong in their stance on privacy. Apple is also notoriously secretive and so may well be working on similar technologies behind the scenes, indeed they have hinted at that in the past. At the end of the day though, I just don’t see Apple being blindsided by AI in the same way Blackberry was by the iPhone.
Elon Musk on Twitter
This photograph, (posted by Elon Musk) of the JCSat 14 launch, helps illustrates that getting to orbit is about speed not just about how high up you go. Note how the trail veers sharply to the right, it doesn’t just go straight up.
Apple releases new iTunes version with slightly improved design.
In my opinion, overall, this layout is simpler, it’s easier for people to find what they’re looking for. It comes at the expense of some sticking points, such as replacing the individual buttons for media selection with a drop down menu and some options being moved to the menu bar. But design, as life is a series of compromises. Visually, I slightly prefer the previous version, however this one is easier to navigate, thus addressing one of the key concerns of new users.