20 Persons are tagged with #technology

Shaun Griffith
Shaun Griffith
shaungriffith1964@pluspora.com
#scifi #humor #language #math #technology

#technology

danie10@squeet.me
Danie

Who needs a roof when you can use balcony solar for apartments

The photograph shows a woman standing on a balcony, holding a cup. The balcony is attached to a building with old-style architecture, featuring decorative moulding above the windows and a mix of light beige and dark teal colours on the façade. In the foreground is a black solar panel that looks almost like a privacy screen that extends the length of the balcony. Plants are visible in pots both on the balcony and in the background growing along the building's exterior wall.
Lots of people, especially city dwellers and renters, don’t have rooftops where they can install solar panels to generate some of the electricity they use in their daily lives. Community solar offers a partial solution for some, but it is not available everywhere. In Germany, more than 1.5 million people have installed Balkonkraftwerke, which translates as “balcony power plants.” Almost every apartment has a balcony with a railing to keep folks from tumbling into the street below. If it gets any sun exposure during the day, balcony solar panels can be mounted to those railings to make electricity that helps power a home.

It may not be as much power as a rooftop system but is still around 300 W which does offset electricity costs a bit, and there is a battery to also store excess energy.

What is different from a rooftop system is that it is easily portable, so you can take it with if you move, or even if you go off camping. If you live in an area subject to hail, then these are easy to take inside when you need to. It usually also does not require professional electricians to install it.

And as far as the electricity grid goes, in Germany there are already more than 500,000 of these installations, so that adds up to quite a saving anyway on the grid side.

See cleantechnica.com/2024/12/21/g…
#Blog, #balconysolar, #environment, #solarenergy, #technology

danie10@squeet.me
Danie

This USB-C cable can rotate 360 degrees for optimal cable management

The image shows a workspace scene with a laptop computer connected to a power adapter via a cable. In the foreground is a power strip with multiple outlets, a white power adapter, and a laptop. The background includes a gray wall, hinting at a modern, minimalist workspace. The overall setting suggests a home office or a clean, organized work area. The cable shows a 90-degree bend where it protrudes from the laptop's socket.
USB-C was a great step forward, removing the awkward “try to plug in the cable, doesn’t fit, rotate 180 degrees, still doesn’t fit” dance, but cable management is still a pain. If you wish your cables didn’t stick out at awkward angles and could rotate to fit your needs best, one Japanese company has your back—with a catch.

So whilst it will deliver 240W of charging power, actual data transfer rates are stuck at USB 2.0 rates. I can see that data throughput is going to be more sensitive than power delivery. And right now it is only available from their website.

Still, let’s hope this idea takes off and improvements can be made.

See xda-developers.com/usb-c-cable…
#Blog, #technology, #USB

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danie10@squeet.me
Danie

10 Awesome Games You Can Play Right Now In Your Browser Without Installing Anything

The image shows a computer screen displaying multiple video game windows arranged in a grid-like fashion. In the foreground are various game interfaces, including a chessboard, a hexagonal tile game resembling Settlers of Catan, a Wordle word puzzle, and what appears to be a first person shooter. The background is dominated by the vibrant colours and designs of the games themselves, creating a visually stimulating and dynamic scene.
Sometimes you have the urge to play some video games, but you don’t have the right hardware with you. Perhaps you’re stuck at work or school, or you have a basic device like a Chromebook. The good news is that there are a lot of games out there where you need nothing more than a web browser to play.

See howtogeek.com/awesome-games-yo…
#Blog, #gaming, #technology

danie10@squeet.me
Danie

After market office chair wheels can be a worthy and cheap upgrade

The image shows a close-up view of four StealthO caster wheels against a stark white background. The foreground is dominated by the teal-colored polyurethane wheels, each exhibiting a distinct design with visible spokes and a central hub. The background is simple and uncluttered, further emphasizing the product. The wheels have a sleek and modern aesthetic, suggesting high quality and perhaps a professional application.
For some reason, even the most expensive office chairs come with pretty plain plastic wheels. They don’t roll so well, often need a floor protector, and worse they make a bit of noise, especially on harder surfaces.

Most chairs though will take generic wheels stems: 7/16″ (11 mm), stem length: 7/8″ (22 mm).

Generally, the polyurethane wheel material is more abrasion resistant and quieter to use. STEALTHO for example uses elastic polyurethane, which is the safest material for your hardwood floor or carpet (so they say). These are not available locally in South Africa, though, but can be found on the Amazon US store.

I see there are also Slipstick CB690 Floor Protecting Rubber Office Chair Caster Wheels, which are available in SA on Amazon SA (and US). But I’m going to take a chance first on some much cheaper ones I found on Takealot in SA, which are advertised as the Officeway brand.

Yes, some wheels glow in the dark, but that is not a necessity for most people. In my case I’m looking to reduce the noise a bit as my wife records videos with a very high sensitivity level for audio.
#Blog, #officechair, #technology, #wheels

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danie10@squeet.me
Danie

Where to Watch New Year’s Eve Celebrations From Around the World

The image shows a vibrant fireworks display over a canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In the foreground, there are houseboats and the calm waters of the canal reflecting the colorful lights of the fireworks. The background is filled with the stunning spectacle of fireworks exploding in the night sky, with the city's buildings and trees lining the canal visible amidst the bursts of light. The city lights illuminate the buildings along the canal, creating a warm, inviting atmosphere against the dark night sky.
Links to live streams for various cities around the world. Why celebrate once when you can celebrate on the hour all day long!

Not all are pointing directly at the celebrations though, e.g. Cape Town’s cam is pointing towards the mountain, and not towards the Waterfront where the fireworks are going off. So for Cape Town maybe try this one at earthtv.com/en/webcam/cape-tow… or this one further away especially for the fireworks at capetown-webcam.com/category/u….

See lifehacker.com/entertainment/l…
#Blog, #newyear, #technology, #webcam

danie10@squeet.me
Danie

Home Assistant’s new hardware voice assistant answers to ‘Hey Jarvis’ and can work offline

The image shows a small, square device, possibly a smart home gadget, resting on a surface. The background is a gradient of soft blue and orange hues, creating a calm and modern atmosphere. In the foreground, the device is the primary focus, with its sleek, white design and subtle glowing circle on the top drawing the viewer's attention. A thin cable is connected to the device, suggesting it is powered or connected to a network.
There’s a new voice assistant in town, and this one can work locally in your home without phoning home to its corporate overloads. This week, the popular hobbyist smart home platform Home Assistant officially launched its first voice assistant hardware — Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition.

Built for the open-source smart home platform, Voice PE costs $59 and brings a locally controlled, privacy-focused voice assistant to Home Assistant in a plug-and-play package. Once connected to Home Assistant, you can use voice to control any connected device, with commands such as “Turn on the living room lights,” “Lock all the doors,” “Create a timer for 5 minutes,” and many more.

There have been other solutions before, but they were not so reliable, and of course the Google or Amazon based ones require the cloud access of these companies, and many do not like to have that channel open.

This is a hardware device (that does look pretty good) and seems to be pretty versatile. I think it could be well worth it, as long as it will get ongoing updates and not be replaced with some new model in the short term. Despite that, seeing it works fully offline, you should at least find it won’t ever be bricked or turned into a paper weight.

See theverge.com/2024/12/19/243251…
#Blog, #homeassistant, #privacy, #technology

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esa@social.gibberfish.org
European Space (unofficial)

Producing fuel on Mars using astronaut wastewater

image

Turning astronaut waste into fuel on Mars

In future missions to Mars, astronauts will need to maximise the use of all resources available on site to produce essential supplies like oxygen, water and fuel. A team from Spanish technological centre Tekniker and the University of Cantabria is developing a system that uses sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and wastewater into methane, which can be used as fuel.

#engineering #technology #space #science #esa #europeanspaceagency
posted by pod_feeder_v2

Producing fuel on Mars using astronaut wastewater

In future missions to Mars, astronauts will need to maximise the use of all resources available on site to produce essential supplies like oxygen, water and fuel. A team from Spanish technological centre Tekniker and the University of Cantabria is...

danie10@squeet.me
Danie

Oasis Security Research Team Discovers Microsoft Azure MFA Bypass: We Expect More From An Enterprise Provider Though

The image shows a dark, cracked earth in the foreground, suggesting a sense of vulnerability or fragility. In the background, there's a dark blue gradient that fills the space, punctuated by a grid of small plus symbols at the top and bottom, adding a technological or digital feel. A central element is a rectangular box with the word "AuthQuake" in a salmon-pink color, indicating a possible security breach. The box is connected by a dotted line to an arrow, implying movement or an ongoing process. The gradient background subtly transitions from dark to slightly lighter, creating depth.
Oasis Security’s research team uncovered a critical vulnerability in Microsoft’s Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) implementation, allowing attackers to bypass it and gain unauthorized access to the user’s account, including Outlook emails, OneDrive files, Teams chats, Azure Cloud, and more. Microsoft has more than 400 million paid Office 365 seats, making the consequences of this vulnerability far-reaching.

The bypass was simple: it took around an hour to execute, required no user interaction, and did not generate any notification or provide the account holder with any indication of trouble.

The news surfaced now in the last week, so Microsoft has addressed the issue already. For me, though, the real news is that a global enterprise level IT company should not have had such basic guardrails missing. It appears really that Microsoft had knowingly relaxed some measures around its 2FA to allow for convenience. But surely a lack of attack rate limiting is just unforgivable. One of the basics I always employ on my servers and blog, is attack rate limiting with lengthy blocks in place. If anyone has to guess a password or 2FA more than 3 times, there is something wrong.

Microsoft has had so many security fumbles over time that it is quite amazing that their monopoly in the workplace goes unchallenged. It seems Microsoft has very little care about their customers, as long as the money is rolling in, and if that eases, they just change the licensing parameters a bit. The recent Microsoft Recall feature was just another example of completely not appreciating their customers’ privacy, and that was also only addressed after a major outcry.

Microsoft probably has too much inertia, but actually there are some pretty good alternatives around if one takes a little trouble to rise out of the deep rut. The combination of pretty admin tools, AI, and cloud services has unfortunately made many admins way too lazy today. I think the quality of our admins on the edge, is a lot weaker than it used to be two decades back. All this usually means an even greater reliance on Microsoft where it is used in a corporate environment.

Security is about keeping it simple, and having a reasonable depth of knowledge about what is being managed.

See oasis.security/resources/blog/…
#Blog, #2fa, #security, #technology

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