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Comment Re:"far too small to generate any lift"?? (Score 1) 39

You should never, ever see the Emergency Power Turbine deployed; if you do it means that Something Really Bad® has happened and the airplane is very likely in the process of crashing.

And yes, Bloomberg absolutely implied that it generates lift, which is the exact opposite of what they do; EPTs actually create A LOT of drag which is bad for any plane that's in a situation where they have to deploy it.

It's a double-edged sword in that it may bring vital systems back online but at the same time it reduces airspeed and you really need airspeed to stay away from the ground.

Submission + - "lost" Apollo 11 footage online? (youtube.com) 1

Submitted by Stephen Samuel
Stephen Samuel writes: Back around 2024, Redit user tantabus posted a question about accessing 'Ampex 1" Video Tapes with Apollo 11 footage'. He later upscaled and posted some of the video from the tapes on his youtube account.

Having viewed his video of Armstrong's first walk, I'm convinced that these videos are from the 'missing' tapes from the Parkes Observatory in Australia that have long been presumed destroyed. This is certainly, by far, the best quality video of Armstrong's moon walk that I've ever seen. View for yourself and comment.

Submission + - The Trump WH K-12 AI Skills Crisis is The New Obama WH K-12 CS Skills Crisis

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Last week, the Trump White House declared a K-12 AI skills crisis, announcing that 60+ organizations — including tech giants Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Apple, as well as the tech-backed-and-directed nonprofit Code.org (now aka TeachAI) — had signed a White House pledge to support America’s youth and invest in AI education.

The move evokes memories of when the Obama White House in 2016 declared a K-12 CS skills crisis, announcing that 50+ organizations — including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Code.org — were making commitments to expand K-12 CS nationally.

Microsoft recently announced big K-12 AI and Copilot wins in the Los Angeles Unified School District (409,000 students) and Broward County Public Schools (247,000 students), while Google is bringing its AI chatbots to 105,000 high school students at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Interestingly, all three school districts are currently or were formerly led by school superintendents who are Code.org Board members — Albert M. Carvalho (currently L.A., formerly Miami) and Robert Runcie (formerly Broward). Their fellow Code.org members include Microsoft CTO & EVP of AI Kevin Scott, Microsoft Developer Division President Julia ('using AI is no longer optional') Liuson, Google VP Parisa Tabriz, and Sequoia's Alfred Lin (who bet early on OpenAI).

Submission + - Ingram Micro admits ransomware attack is disrupting orders and systems (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: Ingram Micro is facing a serious disruption after discovering ransomware on parts of its internal systems. The tech distributor confirmed the cyberattack today and says itâ(TM)s working to restore operations as quickly as possible.

Here is the full statement issued by the company:

âoeIngram Micro recently identified ransomware on certain of its internal systems. Promptly after learning of the issue, the Company took steps to secure the relevant environment, including proactively taking certain systems offline and implementing other mitigation measures. The Company also launched an investigation with the assistance of leading cybersecurity experts and notified law enforcement.

Ingram Micro is working diligently to restore the affected systems so that it can process and ship orders, and the Company apologizes for any disruption this issue is causing its customers, vendor partners, and others.â
At the moment, Ingram Micro has not disclosed who is behind the attack or whether any customer or partner data was exposed. But by taking systems offline, the company is clearly prioritizing containment and recovery over speed.

Ransomware incidents like this continue to plague the tech industry, and for a company like Ingram Micro that plays a key role in global supply chains, even temporary outages can have wide-reaching effects.

If you rely on Ingram Micro for products or services, expect delays while the company works to get its systems back online.

Submission + - Southern Ocean current reverses, signalling risk of climate system collapse (intellinews.com) 1

Submitted by OtisSnerd
OtisSnerd writes: From the news story: "A major ocean current in the Southern Hemisphere has reversed direction for the first time in recorded history, in what climatologists are calling a “catastrophic” tipping point in the global climate system."

This could impact the slowing of the Gulf Stream, which keeps Northern Europe warm.

Submission + - New IQ research shows why smarter people make better decisions (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Smarter people don’t just crunch numbers better—they actually see the future more clearly. Examining thousands of over-50s, Bath researchers found the brightest minds made life-expectancy forecasts more than twice as accurate as those with the lowest IQs. By tying cognitive tests and genetic markers to real-world predictions, the study shows how sharp probability skills translate into wiser decisions about everything from crossing the road to planning retirement—and hints that clearer risk information could help everyone close the gap.

Submission + - The terrifying truth about why Tesla's cars keep crashing (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Alain Williams
Alain Williams writes: Elon Musk is obsessive about the design of his supercars, right down to the disappearing door handles. But a series of shocking incidents – from drivers trapped in burning vehicles to dramatic stops on the highway – have led to questions about the safety of the brand. Why won’t Tesla give any answers?

Submission + - Qantas hit by cyberattack (abc.net.au)

Submitted by dnrck
dnrck writes: Qantas has confirmed a significant cyber incident affecting one of its contact centres, where a cybercriminal gained access to a third-party customer service platform containing data on approximately six million customers.
The breach exposed customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and frequent flyer numbers, but did not compromise credit card details, personal financial information, passport details, or account passwords and PINs. Qantas responded by immediately containing the breach, notifying impacted customers, and working with government cyber agencies and law enforcement. The airlineâ(TM)s operations and safety were not affected, and additional security measures, including enhanced monitoring and support lines, have been implemented while investigations continue. Qantas has also warned customers to be vigilant against potential scams following the incident.
The company and other researchers have posited that this is likely the work of having group Scattered Spider.

Comment Re:Depends on EV Use (Score 1) 217

Sure for vacation/road trips I need the fast charger but that is like ones a year?

Yes it is only once or twice a year but it's not something I'd be willing to give up so it's an important once or twice a year and it's the main reason I'd not replace the vehicle we use for such trips with an EV at the moment. Even a fast charger takes 30-60 minutes to charge you vehicle which will reduce your driving time by 1-2 hours assuming ~2 rechargers/day unless you are willing to run it down to almost zero and have a town with a charger in exactly the right location.

I'm sure the technology will improve - it's already come on by leaps and bounds in terms of charging speed from a few years ago - but until it does long distance road trips in an EV are much more hassle than in a ICE.

Comment Equal Representative Democracy (Score 1) 52

by Roger W Moore (#65497636) Attached to: A Majority of Companies Are Already Feeling the Climate Heat

Billionaires should not be in the equation of who is elected and what laws are passed in a Representative Democracy.

No, billionaires should not have any increased say over elections and laws due to their wealth than any other person. However, they should still be allowed the same voice as everyone else in supporting or opposing ideas although in practice holding them to that is going to be extremely hard to do.

Submission + - World's first nuclear microreactor test bed launches at Idaho National Lab (interestingengineering.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The race to dominate next-gen nuclear power just hit ignition at Idaho’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments.

The Department of Energy has conditionally selected Westinghouse and Radiant to conduct the first fueled experiments at the DOME, a new test bed at Idaho National Laboratory.

Slated to launch as early as spring 2026, the experiments mark a global first—offering U.S. developers a high-stakes proving ground to accelerate the commercialization of advanced microreactors.

Submission + - 1.5M sq km of sea ice is missing near Antarctica. All climate models were wrong (joannenova.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Something huge is happening around Antarctica and the experts didn’t see it coming

More than a million square kilometers of ice has gone:

Since 2015, the continent has shed sea ice equivalent to the area of Greenland. Researchers call it the largest environmental shift detected anywhere on Earth in recent decades. –– Earth dot com

Everything about Antarctica has defied the experts. For years Antarctic sea ice expanded when it wasn’t supposed to. Then, suddenly in 2016 the sea ice around Antarctica dramatically started to shrink, and that wasn’t supposed to happen either. Scientists wondered at the time if it was just a temporary blip, but then it got even smaller. Holes in the sea ice “as big as Switzerland” have started to appear for the first time since the mid 1970s.

To explain this mystery (that was rarely mentioned) a new paper suggests the salinity of surface waters has changed. We’re not just talking about a small piece of ocean, this is everything south of 50. For decades, the surface of the polar Southern Ocean was getting less salty — an “expected response to a warming climate” they said that started in about 1980, “however, this trend reversed abruptly after 2015”.

So as news seeps out this week that there is a “dangerous feedback loop” where shrinking ice is warming the ocean, bear in mind that the experts also admit this is “completely unexpected” which is their way of saying “the models were wrong”. Carbon dioxide was not supposed to do this.

Submission + - UK Scientists Achieve First Commercial Tritium Production (interestingengineering.com)

Submitted by fahrbot-bot
fahrbot-bot writes: Interesting Engineering is reporting that Astral Systems, a UK-based private commercial fusion company, in collaboration with the University of Bristol, has claimed to have become the first firm to successfully breed tritium, a vital fusion fuel, using its own operational fusion reactor.

The milestone came during a 55-hour Deuterium-Deuterium (DD) fusion irradiation campaign conducted in March. Scientists from Astral Systems and the University of Bristol produced and detected tritium in real-time from an experimental lithium breeder blanket within Astral’s multi-state fusion reactors.

“There’s a global race to find new ways to develop more tritium than what exists in today’s world [currently about 20kg] – a huge barrier is bringing fusion energy to reality,” said Talmon Firestone, CEO and co-founder of Astral Systems.

Astral Systems’ approach uses its Multi-State Fusion (MSF) technology. The company states this will commercialize fusion power with better performance, efficiency, and lower costs than traditional reactors.

A core innovation is lattice confinement fusion (LCF), a concept first discovered by NASA in 2020. This allows Astral’s reactor to achieve solid-state fuel densities 400 million times higher than those in plasma.

The company’s reactors are designed to induce two distinct fusion reactions simultaneously from a single power input, with fusion occurring in both plasma and a solid-state lattice.

The reactor core also features an electron-screened environment. This design reduces the energy needed to overcome the Coulomb barrier between particles, which lowers required fusion temperatures by several million degrees and allows for higher performance in a compact size.

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