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Feb 1, 2022

Former Valve economist calls Facebook’s metaverse ‘a Steam-like digital economy’ with Zuckerberg as its ‘techno-lord’

Posted by in categories: blockchains, economics, finance, surveillance

Yanis Varoufakis also discussed “pay-to-earn” and the blockchain’s long-term consequences.


Former Greek Finance Minister and one-time in-house economist at Valve, Yanis Varoufakis, gave a long and freewheeling interview to the website, the Crypto Syllabus, focusing on the blockchain, its potential and disappointments, and where it sits in the larger context of politics, surveillance, and economics.

Of particular note to PC Gamer readers is his description of his time with Valve. Varoufakis had access to Valve’s data on Steam’s nascent player-to-player marketplace in the early 2010s, which he used to advise the company and his own economics research. Describing Valve’s initial pitch to him, Varoufakis said:

Continue reading “Former Valve economist calls Facebook’s metaverse ‘a Steam-like digital economy’ with Zuckerberg as its ‘techno-lord’” »

Feb 1, 2022

Abandoned Coal Mines Could Be Transformed Into Geothermal Greenhouses

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

“They’re almost perfect,” she said.

Because the farms are not dependent upon the seasons they can acheive up to 10 crop cycles per year as opposed to 1 to 2 cycles in normal agriculture, producing up to 80 tons of food annually.

Because of this, one indoor acre is equivalent to 4–6 outdoor acres, Riffat says.

Feb 1, 2022

Elon Musk’s teen tormentor now exposing private jet movements of other billionaires after refusing his offer of $5k to quit

Posted by in category: Elon Musk

In an interview with Bloomberg, he said: “Companies in flight tracking have millions in revenue per year. Just a small cut of what they make would be good revenue for me.”

Musk reached out to the teen in November last year and offered $5k for him to stop the tracking of his private jet. Mr Sweeney said: “The amount of time and dedication I have put into it is cool — like, 5K isn’t enough to drop it.”

He added: “You know, it’s kinda strange, he wants it down and seems like he’s really mad.”

Feb 1, 2022

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is an Absolute Disaster, Neuralink former employees say

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, Elon Musk, policy, robotics/AI

Elon Musk has always said that Neuralink, the company he created in 2016 to build brain-computer interfaces, would do amazing things: Eventually, he says, it aims to allow humans to interact seamlessly with advanced artificial intelligence through thought alone. Along the way, it would help to cure people with spinal cord injuries and brain disorders ranging from Parkinson’s to schizophrenia.

Now the company is approaching a key test: a human clinical trial of its brain-computer interface (BCI). In December, Musk told a conference audience that “we hope to have this in our first humans” in 2022. In January, the company posted a job listing for a clinical trial director, an indication that it may be on track to meet Musk’s suggested timeline.

Musk has put the startup under unrelenting pressure to meet unrealistic timelines, these former employees say. “There was this top-down dissatisfaction with the pace of progress even though we were moving at unprecedented speeds,” says one former member of Neuralink’s technical staff, who worked at the company in 2019. “Still Elon was not satisfied.” Multiple staffers say company policy, dictated by Musk, forbade employees from faulting outside suppliers or vendors for a delay; the person who managed that relationship had to take responsibility for missed deadlines, even those outside their control.

Feb 1, 2022

Cargo ships used to carry up to 12 passengers on no-frills international voyages. Now, fans of the minimalist travel option are hoping it will start up again soon

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The pandemic disrupted a niche mode of travel where passengers could book spartan rooms on commercial vessels for about $100 to $150 per day.


Edit blurry, old, damaged pictures. Improve and restore quality.

Continue reading “Cargo ships used to carry up to 12 passengers on no-frills international voyages. Now, fans of the minimalist travel option are hoping it will start up again soon” »

Feb 1, 2022

Remini — AI Photo Enhancer

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Edit blurry, old, damaged pictures. Improve and restore quality.

Feb 1, 2022

Next-Gen 3D Chip/Packaging Race Begins

Posted by in category: computing

Hybrid bonding opens up whole new level of performance in packaging, but it’s not the only improvement.

The first wave of chips is hitting the market using a technology called hybrid bonding, setting the stage for a new and competitive era of 3D-based chip products and advanced packages.

AMD is the first vendor to unveil chips using copper hybrid bonding, an advanced die-stacking technology that enables next-generation 3D-like devices and packages. Hybrid bonding stacks and connects chips using tiny copper-to-copper interconnects, providing higher density and bandwidth than existing chip-stacking interconnect schemes.

Feb 1, 2022

Adventures in Technophilosophy: On the Reality of Virtual Worlds

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, education, food

When I was ten years old, I discovered computers. My first machine was a PDP-10 mainframe system at the medical center where my father worked. I taught myself to write simple programs in the BASIC computer language. Like any ten-year-old, I was especially pleased to discover games on the computer. One game was simply labeled “ADVENT.” I opened it and saw:

You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building. Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and down a gully.

I figured out that I could move around with commands like “go north” and “go south.” I entered the building and got food, water, keys, a lamp. I wandered outside and descended through a grate into a system of underground caves. Soon I was battling snakes, gathering treasures, and throwing axes at pesky attackers. The game used text only, no graphics, but it was easy to imagine the cave system stretching out below ground. I played for months, roaming farther and deeper, gradually mapping out the world.

Feb 1, 2022

Aspirin recall: There’s a poisoning risk with these recalled meds, so check your home now

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Geri-Care issued a recall for some aspirin and acetaminophen bottles that are not child-resistant, posing a poisoning risk.


Aspirin and acetaminophen are over-the-counter drugs that countless people have in their medicine cabinets. Many people use them to alleviate pain and reduce fevers, and these drugs might be the first course of action when exhibiting such symptoms. That’s what makes them popular purchases with consumers. And that’s why buyers should pay extra close attention to recalls that involve aspirin and acetaminophen products.

A new recall action involves bottles of Geri-Care Pharmaceuticals aspirin and acetaminophen, as they pose a risk of poisoning to children who might get their hands on these common drugs.

Continue reading “Aspirin recall: There’s a poisoning risk with these recalled meds, so check your home now” »

Feb 1, 2022

How biohackers use fasting, sleep monitoring, and low-meat diets to ‘turn back’ their biological clock

Posted by in categories: biological, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies

Biohackers follow a trend originating in the US, using “hacks” to try and turn back their biological clocks.


Proposals in Wyoming and Arizona to accept tax payments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would undermine the dollar’s unique status.