Spherical Solar Cells Soak Up Scattered Sunlight

An anonymous reader quotes a report from IEEE Spectrum: Flat solar panels still face big limitations when it comes to making the most of the available sunlight each day. A new spherical solar cell design aims to boost solar power harvesting potential from nearly every angle without requiring expensive moving parts to keep tracking the sun’s apparent movement across the sky….

Translation From VC-Backed PR Jargon To English of Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz’s Statement That He’s ‘Stepping Down’

From a company-wide memo sent by Rony Abovitz, the founder of Magic Leap, which has raised nearly $3 billion from high-profile investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Google, AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, JP Morgan, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers: As we’ve shared over the last several weeks, in order to set Magic Leap on a course for success,…

AG Barr Seeks ‘Legislative Solution’ To Make Companies Unlock Phones

stikves shares a report from Engadget: Last December, a Saudi Arabian cadet training with the U.S. military opened fire at Naval Air Station Pensacola, killing three soldiers and wounding eight others. The FBI recovered two iPhones, and after failing to access their data, asked Apple to unlock them. The company refused, but eventually the FBI unlocked at least one of them…

WhatsApp: Israeli Firm ‘Deeply Involved’ In Hacking Our Users

WhatsApp has alleged in new court filings that an Israeli spyware company used US-based servers and was “deeply involved” in carrying out mobile phone hacks of 1,400 WhatsApp users, including senior government officials, journalists, and human rights activists. The Guardian reports: The new claims about NSO Group allege that the Israeli company bears responsibility in serious human rights violations, including the…

Internet Governance Body RIPE Opposes China’s Internet Protocols Upgrade Plan

EU-based Internet governance body RIPE is opposing a proposal to remodel core internet protocols, a proposal backed by the Chinese government, Chinese telecoms, and Chinese networking equipment vendor Huawei. From a report: Named “New IP,” this proposal consists of a revamped version of the TCP/IP standards to accommodate new technologies, a “shutoff protocol” to cut off misbehaving parts of the internet,…

Twitter Removes 9,000 Accounts Pushing Coronavirus Propaganda Praising the United Arab Emirates

An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: On April 2, Twitter took down a pro-United Arab Emirates network of accounts that was pushing propaganda about the coronavirus pandemic and criticizing Turkey’s military intervention in Libya. Previously tied to marketing firms in the region, parts of this network were removed by Facebook and Twitter last year. The network was made…

Coronavirus Cases Soar in Italy and Iran; 48 Countries Now Report Infections

The fight to contain the coronavirus entered an alarming new phase on Thursday as caseloads soared in Europe and the Middle East, and health officials in the United States and Germany dealt with patients with no known connection to others with the infection. From a report: The German and American cases raised the possibility that the virus could have begun to…

Google Redraws the Borders On Maps Depending On Who’s Looking

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Washington Post: For more than 70 years, India and Pakistan have waged sporadic and deadly skirmishes over control of the mountainous region of Kashmir. Tens of thousands have died in the conflict, including three just this month. Both sides claim the Himalayan outpost as their own, but web surfers in India could be…

Facebook’s Twitter Account Gets Breached

The Saudi-based group OurMine took over Facebook’s Twitter account on Friday, then pointed Facebook’s 13.4 million followers to their own web site, reports NBC News: “Well even Facebook is hackable but at least their security is better than Twitter,” the hackers tweeted just before 7 p.m. They said businesses interested in improving online security should visit OurMine’s website. The tweet was…

UK To Host Spyware Firm Accused of Aiding Human Rights Abuses

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The British government is helping a controversial Israeli spyware company to market its surveillance technologies at a secretive trade fair visited by repressive regimes, the Guardian can reveal. The government will host the NSO Group, which sells technology that has allegedly been used by autocratic regimes to spy on the private messages…