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A Light-powered Catalyst Could Be Key For Hydrogen Economy Published on November 27, 2022 at 04:32AM "Rice University researchers have engineered a key light-activated nanomaterial for the hydrogen economy," the University announced this week. "Using only inexpensive raw materials, a team from Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc. and Princeton University's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment created a scalable catalyst that needs only the power of light to convert ammonia into clean-burning hydrogen fuel...." The research follows government and industry investment to create infrastructure and markets for carbon-free liquid ammonia fuel that will not contribute to greenhouse warming. Liquid ammonia is easy to transport and packs a lot of energy, with one nitrogen and three hydrogen atoms per molecule. The new catalyst breaks those molecules into hydrogen gas, a clean-burning fuel, and nitrogen gas, the largest component of...

Telnet Gets Stubborn Sony Camera Under Control Published on November 27, 2022 at 03:21AM Hackaday writes According to [Venn Stone], technical producer over at Linux GameCast, the Sony a5000 is still a solid option for those looking to shoot 1080p video despite being released back in 2014. But while the camera is lightweight and affordable, it does have some annoying quirks — namely an overlay on the HDMI output (as seen in the image above) that can't be turned off using the camera's normal configuration menu. But as it so happens, using some open source tools and the venerable telnet, you can actually log into the camera's operating system and fiddle with its settings directly. A grassroots tool for unlocking Sony cameras apparently also unlocks developer options — including a telnet server on its WiFi interface. (There's a video of the whole procedure on Linux Gamecast Weekly's web site.) Venn Stone (the podcast's technical producer/engineer) is apparently al...

SpaceX Launches Dragon Cargo Ship (and Lands Falcon 9 Rocket) For ISS Resupply Mission Published on November 27, 2022 at 02:09AM About an hour ago SpaceX began tweeting video highlights of their latest launch — a NASA-commissioned resupply mission for the International Space Station. - "Liftoff!" - "Falcon 9's first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship" - "Dragon separation confirmed; autonomous docking to the Space Station on Sunday, November 27 at ~7:30 a.m. ET" You can watch the whole launch on SpaceX's web site. But CNN explains that SpaceX "has launched more than two dozen resupply missions to the space station over the past decade as part of a multibillion-dollar deal with NASA. This launch comes amid SpaceX's busiest year to date, with more than 50 operations so far, including two astronaut missions." And yet this one carries something unique. (And it's not just the Thanksgiving-themed treats and s...

Violent Revolt at World's Largest iPhone Factory in China Could Strain iPhone Supply Published on November 27, 2022 at 01:04AM "A violent workers' revolt at the world's largest iPhone factory this week in central China is further scrambling Apple's strained supply," reports CNN, adding that the revolt is also "highlighting how the country's stringent zero-Covid policy is hurting global technology firms." The troubles started last month when workers left the factory campus in Zhengzhou, the capital of the central province of Henan, due to Covid fears. Short on staff, bonuses were offered to workers to return. But protests broke out this week when the newly hired staff said management had reneged on their promises. The workers, who clashed with security officers wearing hazmat suits, were eventually offered cash to quit and leave. Analysts said the woes facing Taiwan contract manufacturing firm Foxconn, a top Apple supplier which owns the facilit...

Why the Internet Invented a Fake Martin Scorsese Film Called 'Goncharov' Published on November 27, 2022 at 12:04AM "People just seem to really enjoy coming together to pretend fake things are real," writes the Guardian. "Thousands of Tumblr users have been making posters, soundtracks, drawings and fan fiction for a 1973 Scorsese film starring Robert De Niro — but it never existed." Released in 1973, the little-seen Scorsese flick starred Robert De Niro as Goncharov, "a former discotheque owner who comes to Naples after the fall of the Soviet Union" with the goal of becoming a mob boss. Harvey Keitel plays the eye-patched Andrey (or Andrei) "The Banker" Daddano; Gene Hackman plays Valery Michailov; Al Pacino appears as Mario Ambrosini and Cybill Shepherd plays Goncharov's wife, Katya. Apparently, it was really good and was added to the Criterion Collection. And you've never heard of it because it doesn't actually exist.... A ...

EU Allows Smartphones During Flights Published on November 26, 2022 at 08:30AM Within the European Union, airlines will be able to install the latest 5G technology on their aircraft, allowing passengers to use their smartphones and other connected devices just as they do on the ground. From a report: The European Commission has adapted the legislation on mobile communications to the most modern standards. As a result, 5G coverage can also be made available on aircraft. "The sky is no longer the limit when it comes to high-speed, high-capacity connections," said EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton. "5G will enable innovative services for people and growth opportunities for European companies." The 5G coverage will be made possible by installing a so-called "pico-cell" in the aircraft. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Engineer Says Lossless Isn't the Be-all And End-all of Audio Quality Published on November 26, 2022 at 05:31AM Despite Apple Music supporting lossless streaming, wireless AirPods only support lossy Bluetooth codecs. Apple engineer Esge Andersen tells WhatHiFi that's not really an issue: "We want to push the sound quality forward, and we can do that with a lot of other elements. We don't think that the codec currently is the limitation of audio quality on Bluetooth products." Read more of this story at Slashdot.