These are the articles, research reports and more that caught the attention of TechCentral’s editorial team in the past 24 hours.
- The arrest of Pavel Durov is a reminder that Telegram is not encrypted: The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov underscores a critical flaw: the app’s default chats are not end-to-end encrypted. Despite its reputation for privacy, only secret chats offer this level of encryption. This incident serves as a reminder that without using secret chats, your communications on Telegram may not be as secure as you think. Read more on Gizmodo. DM
- Elon Musk’s hard turn to politics, in 300 000 of his own words: Elon Musk has now turned his daily tweets (sorry, posts) into a full-blown political campaign for Donald Trump. From dodging politics to spewing them 24/7, Musk’s feed now reads like a fever dream of memes, conspiracies and anti-woke rants. Read more in the Wall Street Journal (hard paywall). DM
- The history of carbon dioxide emissions: Carbon dioxide emissions have skyrocketed since the Industrial Revolution, with global emissions now 182 times higher than in 1850. While emissions fell briefly during the Covid pandemic, they quickly rebounded. Today, a small group of countries is responsible for 76% of global carbon emissions, with China leading and the US having the highest per capita emissions. Read more from the World Resources Institute. DM
- Lotus-inspired reactor turns carbon emissions into useful chemicals, fuel: Researchers at the University of Central Florida in the US have taken inspiration from the lotus plant’s hydrophobic or water-repelling nature to make a highly efficient device that can convert carbon dioxide into useful products. The technology aims to reduce humans’ carbon footprint while also sustainably producing more energy. More on Interesting Engineering. TS
- Nokia connects largest underserved region in galaxy – the moon: In space, soon everybody will be able to hear you call. Nokia is extending its 4G capabilities to the moon. The vendor is partnering with Axiom Space to incorporate cellular network capabilities into lunar spacesuits. These suits will be part of a Nasa-crewed mission to the moon’s south pole. Read more on Fierce Network. TS
- Microsoft backtracks on deprecating the 39-year-old Windows Control Panel: In a recent TechCentral Bookmarks entry, it was said that Microsoft was doing away with the Windows Control Panel, but the company seems to have removed the note about the Control Panel being deprecated in its support document recently. This is according to Ars Technica. Sigh. TS
- What’s happening to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot? The solar system’s largest storm could finally disappear: Jupiter’s Red Spot is the largest storm in our solar system and one of its most distinguishing features. Researchers have discovered that it might be singing its swan song. With no road signs in the solar system, how will ET give his alien buddies directions to Earth when the Red Spot has disappeared? Read more on SciTechDaily. NN
- How much more water and power does AI computing demand? Tech firms don’t want you to know: Generative AI workloads are exponentially more compute intensive than any other tasks data centres have had to handle previously. The ramp-up in processing demands has a knock-on effect on the energy required to power these AI chips, as well as the water needed to cool them. Read more about the environmental impact of this in the LA Times. NN
Top stories on TechCentral in the last 24 hours
- Little or no load shedding expected this summer
- Fixing load shedding was just the start: Mteto Nyati
- How giant batteries can speed up South Africa’s energy transition
- Macron says no political motive behind Telegram CEO arrest
- Suspected Eastern Cape meteorite has scientists enthralled
Bookmarks is a new daily feature on TechCentral and published Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
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