177072611submissionShakes Fist writes:
Research by ORG found that fraudulent adverts offering fake identity documents are still being run on Facebook. This is despite Meta claiming it had stamped out the problem after previous media coverage exposed the issue months ago.
Now ORG has discovered that these scams have not gone away. Mr_Blank writes:
A multiple-Tesla owner in Northern California is suing the automaker, claiming the odometers incorrectly measures mileage using a faulty algorithm which ups the supposed miles driven from 15% to 117%. The lawsuit alleges Tesla does this to close out warranties early on their products. The lawsuit, however, stands on a filed patent which may or may not be in use in Tesla vehicles.In the instance of their Model Y,Hinton says they drove 6,086 miles but the Tesla recorded 13,228 miles. The lawsuit is based on a patent that Tesla filed for a seemingly tricky form of recording mileage. The patent calls for a "miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor" that would take in factors like charging behavior and road conditions into the calculation of miles traveled instead of a direct recording of miles traveled.The lawsuit alleges Tesla is using this technology instead of mechanical or electrical systems that faithfully record miles traveled, in order to shorten warranties based on miles-driven in the cars. cusco writes:
Hatsushima station serves the town of Arida of about 25,000, and around 530 passengers a day board there. Because the population is shrinking when it came time to replace the aging wooden shelter the new structure could be smaller, presenting West Japan Railway with the opportunity to try something new. The company commissioned a new 3D printed shelter from Serendix, who printed the structure in four parts over seven days. The parts were shipped by rail to Hatsushima and a crew assembled them in around six hours, finishing before the first train of the morning at 5:45.
The structure itself is made of mortar, layered like dull-green frosting by a 3D-printing nozzle, reinforced by steel and framed at its edges by concrete. The result is a building that has "earthquake resistance similar to that of reinforced concrete houses," according to West Japan Railway (JR West), and costing about half of what the shelter would cost to build with traditional reinforced concrete. It also has a mandarin orange and scabbardfish [local products] embossed into its sides.
simpz writes:
VFX company JangaFX has posted a very interesting article on the poor stare of Linux Binary Compatibility and how containerization isn't helping them with with this. They go on to discuss what could be done with GLIBC to help.Link to Original Source schwit1 writes:
Kei-class trucks and minivans from Japan are finding US buyers who want pickups that fit the urban environment. Some DMVs and safety regulators have other ideas. hackingbear writes:
Chinese corporations have begun to improve the long working hours culture represented by the so-called "996" (working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week). As the Chinese government asks them to address inefficient "internal competition," corporations that already needed management efficiency have started to eliminate overtime. DJI, the world's largest drone maker, has been implementing a "no overtime" policy since the 27th of last month. Accordingly, employees must leave the office after 9 p.m. [without requiring workrs starting at 9 a.m.] The company also eliminated transportation expenses paid for overtime and closed down facilities such as the gym, swimming pool, and badminton court, while also reducing team expenses, in order to foster an early leaving environment. Chinese appliance manufacturer Midea began enforcing a mandatory leaving policy at 6:20 p.m. for office workers. Midea has also initiated the simplification of work methods this year, implementing a "strict prohibition on meetings and formal overtime after hours," and has taken a step further with this policy. Another appliance manufacturer, Haier, mandated two days of rest on weekends starting last month and decided to allow a maximum of 3 hours of overtime during the week. The 996 practice is particularly prominent in large corporations and the internet industry. In 2021, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, one of China's largest e-commerce corporations, stated, "Being able to work 996 is a great blessing" and asked, "If you don't do 996 when you're young, when will you?" China's legislature, the National People's Congress, issued, for the first time, a call to comprehensively [reduce] "internal competition" broadly including chaotic expansion of production capacity, price wars, and zero-sum games. However, reactions from workers regarding these measures by corporations are mixed with some complaint these measures amount to wage cut as overtime pay disappears as well. theodp writes:
While Doge.gov still vows to get to the bottom of an Elon Musk tweet claiming that "there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security," the AP and others are reporting that Musk's reports of social security payments being made to dead people are greatly exaggerated.
"The Trump administration is falsely claiming that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments," reports the AP. "It is true that improper payments have been made, including some to dead people. But the numbers thrown out by Musk and the White House are overstated and misrepresent Social Security data. [...] A series of reports from the Social Security Administration’s inspector general in March 2023 and July 2024 state that the agency has not established a new system to properly annotate death information in its database, which included roughly 18.9 million Social Security numbers of people born in 1920 or earlier but were not marked as deceased. This does not mean, however, that these individuals were receiving benefits. The agency decided not to update the database because of the cost to do so, which would run upward of $9 million."
"Know Thy Data," AnnMaria De Mars wrote in a 2016 blog post, "[is] the most important commandment in statistics. [...] It is crucial to understand how your data are coded before you go making stupid statements like the average mother is 3 months old." While it was offered for the likes of her epidemiology students, De Mars' advice would also be well-heeded by the richest person in the world as plays data scientist with the nation's data. theweatherelectric writes:
Tesla, the most valuable automaker in the world valued at over $1 trillion, did not pay any federal income tax last year. Tesla’s annual financial report, released this morning, shows the company enjoyed $2.3 billion of U.S. income in 2024 on which it reports precisely zero current federal income tax. Over the past three years, the Elon Musk-led company reports $10.8 billion of U.S. income on which its current federal tax was just $48 million. That comes to a three-year federal tax rate of just 0.4 percent – more than 50 times less than the statutory corporate tax rate of 21 percent. hackingbear writes:
China has made a major technological breakthrough that will have Australia sweating as we head into the new year. One of Beijing’s most respected engineers developed a groundbreaking process known as flash ironmaking which could see the nation become far less reliant on importing Australian iron ore. By injecting finely ground iron ore into an ultra-hot furnace using a stick known as a “vortex lance”, a rapid “explosive chemical reaction” occurs, producing high-purity liquid iron droplets that can be used directly in steelmaking. The method “can complete the ironmaking process in just three to six seconds, [a 3,600-fold productivity boost] compared to the five to six hours required by traditional blast furnaces”, wrote the project team led by Professor Zhang Wenhai in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nonferrous Metals. In 2022, Australia shipped 736 million tonnes – more than 80 per cent of iron ore exports – to China which steel production capacity is already more than the combined output of all other nations. Caught between the US-China geopolitical rivalry, Canberra's prior pro-US administration leveraged China's dependency on Aussie iron to play hard balls with China, though Canberra has recently recalibrated the relationship under Anthony Albanese. With this new patented method, China would not have to pay big bucks for the high quality ores from Australia, Brazil and Africa, because the method is particularly effective with low- or medium-yield iron ores that are abundant in China. On top of that, the new technology improves energy efficiency by over 30 per cent and eliminates [Australian steel-friendly] coal use [entirely], significantly reducing carbon emissions — which is a major long-term goal of Beijing’s. A reactor equipped with three lances, each capable of injecting 450 tonnes of iron ore particles per hour, can produce 7.11 million tonnes of iron annually. According to the paper, the lance “has already entered commercial production”. It’s not the first time Professor Zhang has made waves in China. He revolutionised copper production with a similar flash smelting technique he applied to the metal in the 1970s, boosting China's copper production to 60% of total world outputs. FallOutBoyTonto writes:
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday he has selected Jared Isaacman, a billionaire businessman and space enthusiast who twice flew to orbit with SpaceX, to become the next NASA administrator.
"I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)," Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. "Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in space science, technology, and exploration."
In a post on X, Isaacman said he was "honored" to receive Trump's nomination.
"Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history," Isaacman wrote. "On my last mission to space, my crew and I traveled farther from Earth than anyone in over half a century. I can confidently say this second space age has only just begun." theweatherelectric writes:
Fred Lambert of Electrek writes, "For the better part of the year, we have been reporting that Tesla can’t achieve its promise of full self-driving on HW3, and it needs to come clean about it. CEO Elon Musk finally took a first step in that direction during the conference call following the release of Tesla’s Q3 2024 financial results. The CEO said when asked about Tesla achieving its promised unsupervised self-driving on HW3 vehicles:
We are not 100% sure. HW4 has several times the capability of HW3. It’s easier to get things to work on HW4 and it takes a lot of efforts to squeeze that into HW3. There is some chance that HW3 does not achieve the safety level that allows for unsupervised FSD.
This is the first time that Musk admitted that HW3 could potentially not support unsupervised self-driving." evil_aaronm writes:
With the recent storm, Helene, and others sure to follow, impacted areas commonly lose communications with the outside world due to downed telecoms and power line poles. How can local communities, in 2024, keep in touch with outside aid providers to coordinate rescue and aid operations? Are there radio rigs we "concerned citizens" can use to help these communities keep in touch? Things to consider are portability, including power, and operator licensing. For example, how useful are those systems that anyone can buy advertising ranges of 15 or more miles? Would those be on a band that local authorities can receive? Or do we need something more sophisticated? SpzToid writes:
The bike-sharing program rewards users who help redistribute bikes around New York City. A few riders have figured out how to turn that into profit.
Alternative link.
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It was the perfect New York hustle, a scam of subtle perfection. And for three years, it helped Mark Epperson pay his rent.
The hustle, in its simplest form: Borrow a Citi Bike. Ride it one block. Wait 15 minutes, then ride it back.
Earn $6,000 a month (under ideal conditions, and with lots of work). shilly writes:
The dramatic decline in the price of solar panels is driving a massive reshaping of developing world economies. In Pakistan, they've imported solar equivalent to 30% of the country's entire generating capacity in six months. In Namibia, rooftop solar is now 11% of total capacity; in Eswatini, it's 15% and in South Africa it's 9%. Solar offers cheaper running costs, no local air pollution, and security of supply, which is hugely valuable in parts of the world where grid operators frequently resort to load shedding. And large amounts of this growth is happening behind-the-meter, too. This will change the economies of the developing world permanently, as well as improving health and life expectancy, as diesel generators get used less and less in years to come.Link to Original Source votsalo writes:
From the article:
“We do around four installations a day across Cyprus,” says Mihali. “And each takes little more than two hours at most because, like the system itself, it’s all so easy.”
Cyprus has outstripped all other EU member states in embracing hot-water solar systems, with an estimated 93.5 % of households exploiting the alternative energy form for domestic needs.
All you need are solar panels, a tank and copper pipes. Ever since, it’s been a wonderful solution to the hot water needs of households here.” 