After a lengthy beta, OS X 10.10 Yosemite is finally ready for prime time. It’s the 11th version of Apple’s OS X, and represents the biggest overhaul of the operating system’s visuals since its introduction in 2001. While you’re waiting for the update to download, let’s take the opportunity to see exactly what’s changed over the past 13 years. Read more…
Lockheed Martin says it’s made a big advance in nuclear fusion
This week, Lockheed Martin joined a long line of companies claiming to be hot on the trail of nuclear fusion, the long-promised saviour of our energy economy. Unlike the atom-splitting fission reactions that run our submarines and nuclear power plants, fusion smashes atoms together at high temperatures, creating new particles in a reaction that emits massive amounts of emission-less, radiation-less energy. Read more…
A closer look at BMW’s i8 production plant
From Henry Ford’s industrial production model to the introduction of robots in the late 20th century, there has been significant change in the way mass-market cars are made. However, the rapid ascent of automation, alongside new environmental standards, in the auto industry has demanded an even greater level of innovation in the way cars are manufactured. Read more…
Batteries that can be 70% recharged in just two minutes
Scientists have developed a new battery that can be recharged up to 70% in only two minutes. The battery will also have a longer lifespan of over 20 years. Expected to be the next big thing in battery technology, this breakthrough has a wide-ranging impact on many industries, especially for electric vehicles, which are currently inhibited by long recharge times of over four hours and the limited lifespan of batteries. Read more…
Why Apple didn’t talk about its extraordinary new Sim for the iPad
Apple’s new, thinner-than-a-pencil iPad Air 2 boasts a powerful processor, faster graphics and a better camera — all enhancements to the same features that have always existed. Yet in the one hour and 20 minute presentation that CEO Tim Cook gave today with other executives, there was no mention of the most important update of all to the Apple’s new mobile device lineup: the Apple Sim. Read more…
Android Lollipop’s ‘kill switch’ could discourage smartphone theft — but it still needs work
Smartphone thieves may now think twice about snatching your Android phone, but they won’t be completely deterred yet. Google released Android 5.0 Lollipop last Wednesday, and for the first time, it lets users to enable a “kill switch” on their phones. The feature, dubbed “factory reset protection”, requires a Google ID and password before a phone can be reset, and only works when a phone passcode is enabled. Read more…
Maybe better you don’t read this story on public Wi-Fi
We took a hacker to a café and, in 20 minutes, he knew where everyone else was born, what schools they attended, and the last five things they searched for. Read more…
How computer chips work
A modern microprocessor is a tremendously complicated entity, and it has taken decades of work by thousands of people to get it where it is today. It’s nearly impossible to cover all the bases, but I’m going to try anyway. And get a bucket of popcorn ready — because this is going to be long. Read more…
Tesla’s autopilot isn’t special (but it’s still cool)
“We’ve been able to accelerate autopilot and bring it to market faster than originally anticipated,” Elon Musk said to a gathered throng at Hawthorne Airport last week, the ex-Northrop facility in Southern California that both Tesla and sister company SpaceX call home. “It’s actually in production. In fact, every car coming off the line at Tesla at the factory has the autopilot hardware.” Read more…
Meet the Internet’s nasty new ‘Poodle’ attack
A vicious new bug on the Internet has an innocuous name but a nasty potential bite. Meet the Poodle attack, which exploits yet another vulnerability in one of the Internet’s basic security protocols that could theoretically give an attacker access to your sensitive online accounts. Read more…
