• Category Archives Computers

  • Imagine a life with no computers……ahhhh……bliss…..

  • Tesla wins the bid

    Posted on by beno Comment

    We blogged about this back on March 15th;
    https://thebaldgeek.net/index.php/2017/03/15/add-batteries-stabilize-grid/

    The bidding war is over and Tesla won.
    https://electrek.co/2017/07/07/tesla-win-contract-powerpack-system-battery-australia/

    Earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared a national energy emergency as parts of the country were under prolonged power outages over the last year due to its unstable grid. South Australia got it worst with a state-wide blackout in September.

    They set out to stabilize their grid by adding a large amount of energy storage and started a bidding process to install over 100 MWh of energy capacity. Tesla CEO Musk made the company’s bid very public and even promised that Tesla could deliver over 100 MWh of energy storage in 100 days or it would be free.

    Today, it was announced that Tesla won the contract.

    Not only that, they increased the capacity of the system. The energy capacity is 29 MWh higher than expected, but the power output is even more impressive. Tesla wrote in a blog post:

    “This week, through a competitive bidding process, Tesla was selected to provide a 100 MW/129 MWh Powerpack system to be paired with global renewable energy provider Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm near Jamestown, South Australia. Tesla was awarded the entire energy storage system component of the project.”

    It’s 3 times the power capacity of the next largest system in the world.

    That pretty much sums it up.
    Not sure I have too much more to add.
    Just a matter of waiting now and see how it all works out when the next storm hits.


    Computers 📎and tagged

  • Driverless kangaroos

    Posted on by beno Comment

    Yeah, I can see how this would need some special software.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-24/driverless-cars-in-australia-face-challenge-of-roo-problem/8574816

    Driverless car makers are discovering a unique problem as they begin to test the vehicles in Australia.

    It turns out the unusual way that kangaroos move completely throws off the car’s animal detection system.

    “We’ve noticed with the kangaroo being in mid-flight … when it’s in the air it actually looks like it’s further away, then it lands and it looks closer,” Volvo Australia’s technical manager David Pickett said.

    Because the cars use the ground as a reference point, they become confused by a hopping kangaroo, unable to determine how far away it is.

    But Mr Pickett said it was even more complicated than that.

    “First we have to start identifying the roo,” he said.

    “We identify what a human looks like by how a human walks, because it’s not only the one type of human — you’ve got short people, tall people, people wearing coats. The same applies to a roo.

    “If you look at a roo sitting at the side of a road, standing at the side of a road, in motion, all these shapes are actually different.”
    The company nailed down their large animal detection software, first tested on moose in Sweden. But the research team, who were sent to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve in Canberra 18 months ago to study roos, are still solving the Australian problem.

    “It’s quite interesting for them,” Mr Pickett said.

    Sorry for the long block quote, but it was too well written (goodonya ABC) to ignore.
    Just fascinating how much this software has to take into account.
    I guess what we are going to end up with is country (region?) specific software versions. I mean there is no point in having kangaroo code running in a Swedish car, right? And same in Australia, why would you need moose code floating around in your cars firmware….? When was the last time any of you Aussie readers had to swerve to miss a moose?

    It boggles (my) the mind to think about all this code running in real time driving a car down the road. I just hope that I get to experience it at some stage in my life, but sadly, I think it is going to be out of my reach…. Just like an electric car (that said, saw a pretty sweet little electric Smart Car that was in my price range, but only if I sold Martty). But hey, that does not stop me blogging about it.


    Computers Smart Car

  • Wannacry red light cameras

    Posted on by beno 1 Comment

    Really? Red light cameras run Windows?

    https://www.cnet.com/news/wannacry-hits-traffic-cameras-in-australia/#ftag=CAD590a51e

    The latest big thing in malware, WannaCry, has been spotted wreaking its havoc in Australia, Victoria Police has confirmed. The ransomware has infected 55 red light cameras and speed cameras in the state of Victoria via private camera operator Redflex.

    “Our advice at this stage is that a software virus has been detected however the camera system has not been compromised,” the police said in a statement. “We will look into all incidents detected by the speed and red light cameras during the time in question as a matter of course. The integrity of the camera system has not been affected.”

    Read that again.
    First paragraph, they say the computer virus has got into the cameras, second paragraph, they say it hasn’t…. Or am I not reading what it says and what I want it to say?

    Either way, keep your PC’s updated folks. Even your red light cameras.


    Computers 📎and tagged

  • Australia calls for weaker encryption

    Posted on by beno Comment

    Hear that? That’s the sound of my head hitting the desk. (Lucky, no brain, so no pain).

    Only a few weeks ago, we blogged about how the UK wanted to make the net work the way it wanted.
    https://thebaldgeek.net/index.php/2017/06/09/make-internet-work-want/
    Now, Australia has jumped into the same pool.

    https://www.cnet.com/news/australia-pushes-for-weaker-messaging-encryption-national-security-five-eyes-summit/#ftag=CAD590a51e

    The world’s biggest tech companies could soon be compelled to weaken encryption in the name of national security if Australia gets its way.

    Australia is making the calls ahead of a summit of the Five Eyes, the intelligence alliance it operates under with the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand. Leaders and officials from the five countries are descending on Ottawa this week to discuss the threat of terrorism and the growing need for security in a digital world.

    And when it comes to terrorists in “cyberspace,” Australia wants a crackdown.

    On the eve of the conference, Australian Attorney-General George Brandis said tech companies need to play a part in foiling terrorist communications, and that could mean a weakening of encryption.

    “The use by terrorists of cyberspace is an issue of critical concern to intelligence and law enforcement agencies,” said Brandis in a statement ahead of the conference.

    “Australia will lead the discussion of ways to address this issue; in particular the involvement of industry in thwarting the encryption of terrorist messaging.”

    Long story short, they want the cake, they want to eat it, and they want to dictate what sort of icing it has.

    Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull added his voice to a growing chorus of international leaders over the weekend, calling for a crackdown on “ungoverned spaces” online, pointing to US tech companies.

    “We cannot continue to allow terrorists and extremists to use the internet and the big social media and messaging platforms — most of which are hosted in the United States I should say — to spread their poison,” the prime minister said.

    “The rule of law must prevail everywhere online was well as it does today in the analogue, offline world.”

    It’s just a little bit scary how misguided and broken this thinking is.. and coming from our leaders… all the more so.
    Thing is, it seems to make so much sense to them, it’s like daylight, they can clearly see what they want and so it seems unreasonable to them that anyone should say no……. I mean it’s just there, I can see it, I want to touch it…. How dare you say no to me….

    Sorry, but that really is the sort of childish thinking that they are using.
    The bad guys use encryption, so duh, turn off encryption.
    Once again, a clear case of “Im right, your wrong, now, lets talk about it”.

    Ok, I need to stop, this is going to get ugly and non-tech related.


    Computers

  • Location based price

    Posted on by beno 1 Comment

    I’m not ok with this.

    It’s not something I do very often, but see others do it ‘all the time’….
    When shopping in a brick and mortar store, you scan the barcode of the thing you are interested in buying and see if you can find it cheaper some other place – probably on-line and probably from Amazon.
    Sometimes (not very often) the store will price match, it’s becoming far more common that they will do this, often the price match is only given very reluctantly and you get a fair bit of bad blood flowing getting it done.

    Amazon has got some tech to mess with this process.
    https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/15/amazon-online-shopping-control-in-stores/

    It’s super simple, first, they look at the wi-fi you are joined to, if nothing obvious there, they check your GPS from the photo you took (most people do not turn that off). Depending on your location, they will mess with the price you see.

    The patent, ominously titled “Physical Store Online Shopping Control,” is for technology that examines what a person is searching for when connected to a retail WiFi network — that is, a WiFi network provided by and located within a store, such as an Amazon bricks-and-mortar location. The technology can actually determine whether you’re searching for a competitor’s item online and take subsequent action.

    I’m not Ok with this…. And I am a huge Amazon fan / customer.


    Computers Life in the USA