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Submission + - President Trump Wants US To Win 5G Through Real Competition (bbc.com)

Submitted by hackingbear
hackingbear writes: In a tweet, Mr Trump said he wanted "5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind." While he did not specifically mention China's Huawei, though many interpreted the comments as Mr Trump taking a softer stance on the firm. The US has been pressuring allies to block out the Chinese telecom giant from their future 5G mobile networks, but the tactic meets considerable resistance. "Mr. President. I cannot agree with you more. Our company is always ready to help build the real 5G network in the US, through competition," Huawei President Ken Hu replied in a tweet, mocking Trump's frequent usages of the word "real." Huawei is the second most 5G patent holder after Samsung and the top contributor to the 5G standard, and is setting its sight on 6G.

Submission + - Tumblr Blocked Archivists Just Before Starting the NSFW Content Purge (techdirt.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: By now, of course, you're aware that the Verizon-owned Tumblr (which was bought by Yahoo, which was bought by Verizon and merged into "Oath" with AOL and other no longer relevant properties) has suddenly decided that nothing sexy is allowed on its servers. This took many by surprise because apparently a huge percentage of Tumblr was used by people to post somewhat racy content. Knowing that a bunch of content was about to disappear, the famed Archive Team sprung into action — as they've done many times in the past. They set out to archive as much of the content on Tumblr that was set to be disappeared down the memory hole as possible... and it turns out that Verizon decided as a final "fuck you" to cut them off. Jason Scott, the mastermind behind the Archive Team announced over the weekend that Verizon appeared to be blocking their IPs.

Submission + - Massive Collaborative Effort "Cragne Manor" Has Been Released

Submitted by Feneric
Feneric writes: Cragne Manor , a 20th anniversary tribute to the classic work of horror interactive fiction Anchorhead by Michael Gentry, is now available for free public download. It was written by a collaboration of over 80 authors and programmers organized by Ryan Veeder and Jenni Polodna. Each author worked on a room in isolation, not knowing the details of other authors' assignments. The result is a sprawling, puzzle-dense game that will at turns delight, confound, amuse, and horrify. More announcements are available here and here, and an early review is also online.

Submission + - A Chinese Startup May Have Productized Solid-state Lithium Batteries (engadget.com)

Submitted by hackingbear
hackingbear writes: Solid-state batteries have long been heralded as The Next Big Thing after lithium-ion, with companies from all quarters racing to get them into high-volume production. Dyson, BMW and car manufacturer Fisker are just a few names that have been working on the tech for the last few years, but now, reports suggest a Chinese start-up Qing Tao Energy Development Co found by researchers from Tsinghua University might be the first to have developed and deployed a solid-state battery production line, located in Kunshan, East China, which has a capacity of 100MWh per year — which is planned to increase to 700MWh by 2020 — and that the company has achieved an energy density of more than 400Wh/kg, compared to new generation lithium-ion batteries that boast a capacity of around 250-300Wh/kg. olid-state batteries use both solid electrodes and solid electrolytes, instead of the liquid or polymer electrolytes found in Lithium-ion or Lithium polymer batteries, with an idea that they are safer, smaller, higher-capacity and cheaper than those found in today's smartphones, laptops and tablets. "Getting rid of liquid electrolytes can ensure the battery is not flammable or combustible and can even be produced in flexible packs," company co-founder and Tsinghua Ph.D. graduate Nan Cewen said.

Submission + - First Ever Plane With No Moving Parts Takes Flight (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The first ever “solid state” plane, with no moving parts in its propulsion system, has successfully flown for a distance of 60 meters, proving that heavier-than-air flight is possible without jets or propellers. The flight represents a breakthrough in “ionic wind” technology, which uses a powerful electric field to generate charged nitrogen ions, which are then expelled from the back of the aircraft, generating thrust. Steven Barrett, an aeronautics professor at MIT and the lead author of the study published in the journal Nature, said the inspiration for the project came straight from the science fiction of his childhood. “I was a big fan of Star Trek, and at that point I thought that the future looked like it should be planes that fly silently, with no moving parts – and maybe have a blue glow. But certainly no propellers or turbines or anything like that. So I started looking into what physics might make flight with no moving parts possible, and came across a concept known as the ionic wind, with was first investigated in the 1920s.

In the prototype plane, wires at the leading edge of the wing have 600 watts of electrical power pumped through them at 40,000 volts. This is enough to induce “electron cascades”, ultimately charging air molecules near the wire. Those charged molecules then flow along the electrical field towards a second wire at the back of the wing, bumping into neutral air molecules on the way, and imparting energy to them. Those neutral air molecules then stream out of the back of the plane, providing thrust. The end result is a propulsion system that is entirely electrically powered, almost silent, and with a thrust-to-power ratio comparable to that achieved by conventional systems such as jet engines.

Submission + - Is Facebook becomming a scammers haven?

Submitted by pcjunky
pcjunky writes: Several months ago I clicked on a Facebook ad purporting to sell a robot vacuum cleaner at a fraction of what they normally sell for. The site was complete with detailed photos of the product as well as videos showing it in operation. I also ordered a Light Sabre from another ad with similar detail and video. A month later what came in the mail in no way resembled what the site showed. The robot vacuum was cheap piece of plastic powered by two AA batteries and didn't even have wheels. I reported this cam to Facebook via their reporting option. Nothing changed, I continued to see the ad for at least two more months. I am still seeing very similar ads for other product that purport to sell items (Cubiio Laser engraver for $35) normally selling for several hundred. Obvious scams. Has anyone else encountered these ads? Does Facebook vet advertisers in any way?

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