After Spectre and Meltdown, … there’s SWAPS

 Bitdefender SWAPGS Attack Mitigations Solution … :

Bitdefender researchers have identified and demonstrated a new side-channel attack. The attack builds on previous research which led to the Spectre and Meltdown attacks. This newly disclosed attack bypasses all known mitigation mechanisms implemented in response to Spectre and Meltdown. Bitdefender Hypervisor Introspection renders Windows systems impervious to this new attack. The SWAPGS Attack affects newer Intel CPUs that use speculative execution.

Hydrogen – the next hoax, after nuclear energy

I’ve been telling this story since the nineties, but the players don’t listen, because they don’t want to. Hydrogen and fuel cells are one way of driving electric cars, but far from the best. There may be some aspects that are helpful, but the downsides are way too big. But – and that is why it is being pushed – you need a monoplists’ industry behind it – that is what drives the wet dreams of leaders in tech – and which I don’t understand. Not at all.

 The Hydrogen Hoax – The New Atlantis … :

The New Energy Charlatans

The idea of hydrogen as the fuel of the future dates back to Jules Verne, and by the 1930s was a staple of science fiction. With the advent of nuclear energy after World War II, technologists expected that atomic power would provide electricity “too cheap to meter” — electricity that could be used to produce pure hydrogen at low cost, which could then be used as a fuel. By the 1970s, however, it was apparent that nuclear energy, while potentially competitive with conventional power, did not usher in a new golden age of cheap electricity. Still, researchers devoted to the idea of the “hydrogen economy” soldiered on, and with increased public concern about carbon dioxide emissions in the 1990s and about America’s dependence on foreign oil after 9/11, the pro-hydrogen crowd seized a new opportunity to make their pitch. Incredibly, the Bush administration swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker. As a result, over the past six years, billions of dollars have been dished out to national labs, auto companies, fuel-cell firms, and other beneficiaries of government largesse on hydrogen show projects that have no practical application.

I like the Spiegel’s title image on BJ in UK.

‘Something resembling hell’: how does the rest of the world view the UK? | Politics | The Guardian

“I learned a lot since then – not just about Britain, but also our blindspots as reporters. I saw parallels to Brexit not just in Donald Trump’s election victory later that year, but also in the rise of Alternative für Deutschland at the 2017 elections in Germany. All three raise questions of social inequality that we have failed to address until now. The problem is that we are still looking for ways to resolve them. People are more disillusioned about politics than ever, and yet we are nowhere nearer to cleaning up the mess.” (Khuê Pham, editor, Zeit magazine)

A device called “beauty camera” – if that is not science fiction…

Livestream Glitch Reveals Young Chinese Vlogger Was Actually a 58-Year-Old Woman | Technology News

Local media reports indicate that she has now started taking advertisements for beauty camera, like the one used by her to create the “cute goddess” persona. Her follower count has now risen from 50,000 for 673,000. She is also said to be launching a music album.

(via Fefe)

Ein wunderbarer Einstieg in eine Youtube-Nylonpunk-Session …

Donnerstag, Feierabend, noch ein halber Tag bis zum Wochenende. Das WLAN im ICE sitzt, und dank der Taz von heute bin ich auf die Eimer gestoßen. Seitdem läuft Youtube Autoplay und ich habe soo viele neue Begriffe gelernt, zum Beispiel “Nylon Punk”. Allerdings auch so manche nicht jugendfreie Sache wie etwa Schnipo Schrankes “Pisse” oder so…

Acht Eimer Hühnerherzen – Kerosin” (Official Video) – YouTube 

Faber – Wem du´s heute kannst besorgen – YouTube 

Schnipo Schranke – Pisse – YouTube

Die Aeronauten – Ottos kleine Hardcore Band (Videoclip) – YouTube … : 

Gut dazu passt diese Band aus Regensburg; Skavaria – Tanz um Dein Leben – YouTube … (auch wenn das eher zeigt, das Regensburg schon Balkan ist.) 

Faber – Sei ein Faber im Wind (Lyric Video) – YouTube … 

Von Wegen Lisbeth – Lang lebe die Störung im Betriebsablauf (Offizielles Musikvideo) – YouTube … 

Und noch ein Uraltklassiker: kettcar – Landungsbrücken raus (Offizielles Video) – YouTube 

Wie viele Menschen packt die Erde?

Reality update: taz.de – taz.de … :

TAZ.DE „Wie viele Menschen verträgt die Erde?“ Ein Anthropologe antwortete: „Wenn alle 6 Milliarden auf dem Lebensstandard eines Menschen in Los Angeles leben würden, etwa 1,5 Milliarden – allerdings nur kurzfristig. Auf dem Niveau eines Regenwaldbewohners am Amazonas – über 30 Milliarden, aber dauerhaft“

In diesem Kontext emfpehle ich: Stephen Emmot, Ten Billion. Hier eine Rezension: Sachbuch – Ein Notfall planetarischen Ausmaßes (Archiv) … : 

Der Brite Stephen Emmott, 1960 geboren, ist Klimaforscher, Oxford-Professor für Computerwissenschaften und Leiter eines Microsoft-Labors. 2012 gelang ihm mit seinem Bühnenstück “Ten Billion” (Zehn Milliarden) ein Sensationserfolg in London. In seinem gleichnamigen Buch zeichnet er ein düsteres Bild der Zukunft des Menschen: Emmott glaubt, dass die Erde und ihre Bewohner nicht zu retten sind.

Und hier ein TED-Vortrag von ihm als Video: Prof. Stephen Emmott: We need a new kind of science. – YouTube … :

His talk is a wake-up-call about the need for a new type of science, one that specifically tackles the ever greater demands of a growing population and limited planetary resource.

Diet Coke anybody?

New research casts doubts on safety of world’s most popular artificial sweetener : Press releases : … : News : University of Sussex … :

The new study points out the EFSA panel discounted the results of every single one of 73 studies that indicated that aspartame could be harmful while treating 84% of studies providing no prima facie evidence of harm as unproblematically reliable. Since 1974, studies and scientists have warned of the risks of brain damage, liver and lung cancer, brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders from consuming Nutrasweet, which is found in thousands of products around the world including diet soft drinks.