What was the main reason Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was hauled before three committees of Congress, asks Daniel Henninger in the WSJ. The Russians. Did the Russian bots exploit the personal Facebook data obtained by Cambridge Analytica to help win Donald Trump the White House? The live Zuckerberg testimony was torture, forcing anyone interested to hear innumerable senators […]
In Germany, Solar and Wind will Compete with Each Other
For the first time, Germany has opened a tender for electric power in which solar and wind providers will both compete against one another for the lowest bid. Renewablesnow.com reports: Germany’s Federal Network Agency on Monday announced the start of the first tender in which both onshore wind and solar will compete to offer the […]
The Godzilla of Submarine Cables
Data hungry tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are laying their own submarine cables in order to keep up with an explosion of demand. TeleGeography, a market research firm, predicts that $9.2bn will be spent on these cable projects between 2016-2018. It is estimated that Google alone needs to double its transmission capacity every […]
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
One of my takeaways from the book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance, is Musk’s ability to stay focused on his long-term goal of putting humans on Mars. At his rocket company, SpaceX, there was some grumbling from employees about when the company would file for an […]
Bezos and Musk Ignite The American Rocket Revolution
If you’re near Oshkosh, Wisconsin from the 24th to the 30th, you’ll have an opportunity to check out Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and astronaut space capsule at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 65th annual fly-in convention. Blue Origin, funded by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, calls the New Shepard “fully reusable,” explaining: The New Shepard system is a […]
Space X Will Launch the Air Force’s Secret Space Plane into Orbit
The Air Force’s secretive X-37B will soon be launched into orbit by Elon Musk’s Space X rockets. According to Bloomberg, Musk’s venture was able to beat the established launch company, United Launch Alliance (a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin) by offering lower prices. Musk promises to launch for $61 million, a bargain compared […]
Google Readies the Guillotine for Annoying Ads
The user experience on the Internet of late has taken on the feeling of 1980s Times Square, a bit sleazy and advertising everywhere. Google is about to clean up many of the most annoying ads. Auto-played video ads with sounds, ads that make you wait for content, certain pop-ups, and more. Google will put technology in […]
Google’s Project Wing Heads to Federal Testing Ground
Now that the U.S. government has given commercial drone flights its stamp of approval, there are many bugs that need to be worked out. The most pressing concern rules about line-of-sight piloting. If you want to successfully deliver products, you can’t be forced to watch your drone as it drops each parcel. So Google (now […]
An American Treasure: Richard Feynman
If you’re a fan of the late physicist Richard Feynman then you’re in luck. Over the weekend I visited Bill Gates’ website: gatesnotes.com and found an absolute treasure: Thirty years ago I went on vacation and fell for Richard Feynman. A friend and I were planning a trip together and wanted to mix a little […]
Blue Origin Perfectly Lands New Shepherd Rocket
The beauty of private enterprise!