New year, and time for links. I took a break and a bunch of stories happened. I’m not going to recriminate myself. I needed it. Anywhoo, this is also a bit of a tab clearing edition, so hold on.
Reason first.
New European rules have pretty much enshrined USB-C. I like USB-C. I think it’s a great technology. I hate it being forced down everyone’s throats at the point of Europe’s guns. I also hate that this will make it harder for new charging technology to be brought forward.
Based on their track record last time around, and looking at a recent ruling, the US Supreme Court is not going to be a rubber stamp for Trump.
Last week was the ten year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre – and Reason has a thinkpiece on the cowardice of the leadership class to blame freedom of speech than murderers. Fanatical murderers are the ultimate heckler’s veto, and the cowardice of institutions to admit that has been a growing embarrassment.
Coverage of Meta’s decision to eliminate “fact-checkers” among other changes. There’s been talk that Zuck is not only trying to ingratiate himself with the incoming administration, but finally feels the environment is strong enough for him to push back against the “hostage-takers” among his staff. Both of which are kind of pathetic reasons when you think about it. It still gets me a result I want, considering FB is normally how I distribute the blog.
The feds jailed a Montana rancher for – checks notes – cloning a sheep.
Ohio is going to charge people to get access to body cam videos. I’m actually going against Reason on this one. Since fees are capped at $750, it may be reasonable. However, considering governments generally are horrible at timely providing information, I can sympathize with organizations worried it’s just another speed bump in transparency.
Reason examining Biden’s decision to block the sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel.
On to other news stories.
The Free Press is covering the current scandal in the UK about the plight of girls being raped and authorities ignoring it. Plus the anger of the politicos at Elon for shining a light on their disgrace instead of their underlings for not handling the issue.
NYT covers the new congesting pricing implemented for entering Manhattan. Congestion pricing is one of those ideas I like in concept, but don’t trust the government to implement. For example, all the fees from this new tax are supposed to go to a public transit system already overfunded and incompetent with no demand for improvement in the system.
Headline from the Economist – “Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation.”
WaPo on the shadow war between India and Pakistan.
Bloomberg on the power demands of new AI datacenters and it’s probable impact on the grid. This might be the needed kick in the pants to decentralize and modernize the nation’s power grid. And get more nukes.
From Reuters, Apple is to pay $95 million to settle a privacy case because of Siri. First, that’s a blow to Apple’s self-image of being the best in privacy. Second, I assume all the personal assistants are always listening.
Also from Reuters, US court stops last minute implementation of net-neutrality rules. As much as I hope that’s the nail in the coffin for that particular gambit, people still want to implement communism.
Wired has a think piece on why families should establish secret passwords.
Tampa Bay Times reports on the death of a Scientologist spokesperson turned vociferous critic. Cancer sucks.
With CES, we have some neat new tech.
The Verge discusses BMW’s new iDrive. The idea of a Heads-Up Display for the car intrigued me, and the limited one on the BMW that The Wife and I rented last summer was nifty.
Also from The Verge, LG has a new “AeroCatTower” which will purify the air while your cat sits – and weighs them. Depending on the cost, one of these may show up at Ward Manor. It’s just too nifty.
From CNET, a tiny kitty that sits on your cup and blows on hot beverages to cool them.
Engadget has a couple of articles on new power devices – Ecoflow’s new solar hat and Anker’s new solar umbrella.
A light item.
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