Tesla May Be Launching a Mysterious Startup For “Materials Recycling”

A recent filing reveals that some of Tesla's executives are involved with a venture startup that will recycle materials for manufacturing. Could the California-based firm Redwood Materials be another Tesla project?
Elon Musk has been hitting the headlines lately because of two companies he recently started up: his Boring Company and his brain-hacking venture Neuralink. The serial entrepreneur has been very busy lately, what with SpaceX’s recent accomplishments and the latest developments in Tesla. And speaking of Tesla, rumor has it that there’s another new venture in the works.

Evidence about this new initiative comes from an SEC filing which revealed a $2 million investment in a recently incorporated firm called Redwood Materials. According to a write-up by CB Insights, this supposed new company doesn’t involve Musk directly, just some of Tesla’s executives: CTO JB Straubel and Special Projects head Andrew Stevenson. Both Straubel and Stevenson are listed as executives of Redwood Materials, with the latter as CFO.

The Califronia-based firm describes itself as focused on “advanced technology and process development for materials recycling, remanufacturing, and reuse.” Could Redwood Materials be Tesla’s entry into the recycling industry, as part of its efforts to make manufacturing greener?

Until Tesla official says anything about it, we can only surmise what connections it has — if any — to Redwood Materials. It’s possible though, especially since Stevenson once mentioned in a speech that “re-thinking the materials supply chain” is an area of innovation for Tesla. Recycling materials could well be useful for Tesla’s vehicle and solar technologies.

SOURCES: Futurism, TechCrunch, CB Insights, Redwood Materials

The Next Generation of Robots Will Be Remarkably Human-Like

IN BRIEF

Humans may sometimes take all they can do with their hands for granted. An appreciation for that dexterity is inspiring robotics innovators to develop ways of improving hand function in robots.

HANDY BOTS

It’s quite common for humans – especially those who work in manufacturing – to tie a knot, strip the casing off a cable, insert a pin in a hole or use a hand tool such as a drill. They may seem like simple tasks, but are really very complex and involve extremely fine finger and hand motions. The Conversation

Though robots are getting more and more involved in factory work and in a wide range of other types of jobs – including in the service industry and health care – their dexterity is not nearly as impressive. Since people first brought them to work in automotive factories more than 50 years ago, we have built robots that can weld, paint and assemble parts quite well. Today’s best robotic hands can pick up familiar objects and move them to other places – such as taking products from warehouse bins and putting them in boxes.

Among today’s best robotic movements.

But robots can’t orient a hand tool properly – say, lining up a Phillips head screwdriver with the grooves on a screw, or aiming a hammer at a nail. And they definitely can’t use two hands together in detailed ways, like replacing the batteries in a remote control.

A NASA Valkyrie robot picks up an item in a test in our lab.
Human hands are excellent at those tasks and much more. To even come close to rivaling what our hands are easily capable of, robot hands need better agility, reliability and strength – and they need to be able to sense more accurately and move even more finely than they do now, to figure out what they’re holding and how to grip it best. For robots to be able to work alongside humans, we’ll have to figure out how to make robots that can literally lend us a hand when our own two are not enough.

My research group at Northeastern University is working on doing just this, in particular for humanoid robots like NASA’s Valkyrie, which has three fingers and a thumb on each hand. Each digit has knuckle-like joints, and each hand has a wrist that can rotate easily. We’re working on creating motions – combinations of arm, wrist, finger and thumb movements that collectively accomplish a task, like moving a wrench in a circle to tighten a bolt, or pulling a cart from one place to another.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HANDS

Rather than making each robot a custom machine tailored for a very specific task, we need to design multi-use robots, or even such capable machines that they might be called “general purpose” – good for almost any task. One key to the success of these types of robots will be excellent hands.

Our work focuses on designing a new class of adaptable robot hands capable of precise fine movements and autonomous grasping. When robots are able to hammer in nails, change batteries and make other similar movements – basic for humans but very complex for robots – we’ll be well on our way to human-like dexterity in robotic hands.

Achieving this goal also involves inventing new designs that incorporate hard and soft elements – the way human bone gives strength to a grip, with skin spreading the pressure so a wine glass doesn’t shatter.

FASTER DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING

Modern technological improvements are making the development process easier. With 3D printing, we can make prototypes very quickly. We can even make low-cost disposable components to try different arrangements of mechanisms, like two- or three-fingered grippers for simple pick-and-place tasks or anthropomorphic robot hands for more delicate operations.

These abilities are already second nature to humans through vision and proprioception (the ability to sense the relative positions of body parts without looking or thinking about it). Once we’re able to achieve them in robots, they’ll be able to do things like detect if a grasp is too strong and is squeezing an object too hard.As electronic cameras and sensors get smaller, we’re able to incorporate them in new ways. For instance, if we put pressure sensors and cameras in a robotic hand, they can give feedback to the robot controller (whether human or automated) when a grip is secure, or if something starts to slip. One day they may be able to sense which direction the slipping object is moving, so the robot can catch it.

PLANNING COORDINATED MOVEMENTS

Another milestone will be developing methods for robots to figure out what motions they need to make in real time, including sensing what’s going on in their hands at each moment. If a robot hand can detect changes in objects it is handling, or manipulate items while holding them, they could help with those common manual tasks like knot-tying and wire-stripping.

Working with two hands together is even farther into the future, though it would provide a significant boost, particularly for manufacturing. A robot that can operate a drill with two hands or pass machine parts from one hand to the other would be big improvements, allowing factories to automate even more steps in their processes.

Is this the robot of the future? NASA

We humans haven’t developed these systems yet. Achieving human-like autonomous robot dexterity will keep robotics researchers, technologists and innovators busy in the foreseeable future. It won’t slow down the ongoing robotics revolution in manufacturing, because current processes still have lots of room for automation to improve safety, speed and quality. But as we make robots even better, they’ll be able to give us a hand.


Taskin Padir, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University

SOURCE: Futurism

Sally Can Create and Serve 1,000 Different Meals, but This Chef’s Not Human

IN BRIEF

Sally the Salad Robot can make about 1,000 different salads in about one minute each, and by the end of 2017, 125 of the machines could be dispensing healthy meals to workers in the San Francisco area.

MEET SALLY

Sally can make 1,000 different types of salads using 21 ingredients that change depending on what’s seasonally available. She can create a salad in just about a minute and doesn’t require a living wage because, well, she’s not living.

Created by robotics startup Chowbotics, Sally the Salad Robot is destined for popularity as it provides hungry patrons with a wealth of healthy options. Chef Charlie Ayers, the first executive chef at Google, created a number of signature salads that customers can choose to order, but if they are not interested in a pre-planned option, they can customize their meal from the different ingredients offered.

CEO Deepak Sekar hopes to provide quick, healthy meals to busy professionals, at least in part replacing greasy fast food options. Sally’s capabilities will soon be put to the test as Sekar hopes to have 125 of the robots in tech offices in the San Francisco area by the end of 2017.

Image Credit: Chowbotics

THE AGE OF AUTOMATION

Sally is a testament to the age of automation. It’s sign that, in the very near future, we might be interacting with far more robots and far fewer people. Sally confirms that even the preparation of a chef-curated signature meal can be completed by a machine.

Now, Sally does still need humans to help it operate. The robot gets its ingredients from canisters that need to be loaded and reloaded by hand. But, even though humans are needed to keep the machine up and running, the difference between two humans interacting about a lunch order and the interaction between a human and Sally is monumentally different.

How automation will lead to job loss is a frequently discussed topic, and it is a major issue that we will have to find creative solutions to manage. But less talked about is how we, as humans, will change. If your daily interactions started to feature progressively fewer and fewer people, how might it affect you?
SOURCE: Futurism, Business Insider, Chowbotics

F.E.D.O.R Robot Revealed: Rise of the (Russian) Terminator?

The Russian space agency has revealed that their new robotic humanoid, named Fedor, is capable of firing guns and can drive.

RUSSIA REVEALS ROBOT CAPABLE OF FIRING WEAPONS

The robot, who stands 6 feet tall and weighs in at around 235lbs, can fire two handguns simultaneously, do press ups and even use tools such as drills and soldering irons, although the team behind it have even bigger plans for the future. They claim that within five years the robot will be in use on the moon and performing many of the tasks now performed by astronauts on the international space station.

The program is being overseen by Deputy prime minister and head of the state defence industry Dmitry Rogozin, who has made several statements about the progress of the robot on Twitter.

"The robot of the F.E.D.O.R. Platform showed skills of firing using both arms. Currently, the work on fine motor skills and decision algorithms is underway."

After receiving a lot of international media interest in the footage of the robot firing weapons he later added:

"Shooting exercises is a method of teaching the robot to set priorities and make instant decisions. We are creating AI, not Terminator"

Fedor was previously known as 'Avatar' and was initially designed to retrieve people trapped in collapsed buildings. The new moniker actually stands for: Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research.

Aside from not needing a space suit, the robot offers numerous other benefits for use in space over astronauts. Firstly it requires no food, oxygen or even gravity to function, only a power source, meaning that potentially they can stay in space indefinitely.

Secondly, comparatively, to astronauts, the robots will eventually become inexpensive since they require no training and will if eventually mass produced, become relatively cheap to manufacture. Cosmonauts require extensive training and are of course more expensive to fly into space and to maintain and keep alive once they are there.

The Russian space agency has stated that the Fedor program is part of a larger project to build a permanent base on the moon, mainly for the purposes of mineral extraction and will initially house 11 cosmonauts and several robots.

Given that the robot has been programmed to fire weapons, something currently not needed in space, the military applications of the project are also potentially huge Although Russia isn't the only country developing military robots. The United States, China, Japan and a handful of other countries are all developing similar robots capable of firing weapons, albeit most are keeping their progress under wraps for the time being.

VIDEO FOOTAGE OF FEDOR IN ACTION

SOURCE: Disclose.tv

'Doomsday' Library Joins Seed Vault in Arctic Norway

The so-called doomsday seed vault located underground on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean has gained a neighbor, and the new vault, opened March 27, will act as a digital archive for the world's data.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located underground on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, is the world's largest security storage for seeds.
Credit: Heiko Junge/NTB scanpix/Zuma

The underground Svalbard Global Seed Vault was built in 2008, about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the North Pole. The frozen-storage facility houses the world's most important crop seeds, acting as a backup for gene banks around the world and protecting the valuable genetic material from natural disasters, equipment malfunctions, war and other problems, according to Cary Fowler, a scientist, conservationist and biodiversity advocate who first envisioned the vault . Thus, the moniker "doomsday vault."

This new vault shares the same mountain as the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, and will do for the world's digital heritage what the Global Seed Vault has done for plants, according to Piql, the Norwegian tech company leading the new vault project.

Known as the Arctic World Archive, the vault will act as a library of sorts, a storage option for governments and scientific institutions, as well as companies and private individuals, to keep their data safe. Though the vault's security is high-tech, the medium for the new data archive is analog — photosensitive film. (Whereas digital data is stored as discrete 1s and 0s, analog data refers to a continuous recording of physical signals, like a record player's needle translating bumps and dips into music.)

"It's digital data preserved, written onto photosensitive film," Piql founder Rune Bjerkestrand told Live Science. "So we write data as basically big QR codes on films."

Piql was founded in 2002 as a company that converted films from digital to analog. Now, the company is using their analog storage technique to take on data preservation for the world. Bjerkestrand explained that the data to be preserved would be sent to the film writers in the same way data is sent to an office printer, using a secure IT infrastructure (i.e., internet, VPN, or other data-transfer system). Once printed, the physical rolls of film cannot be edited, nor are they at risk of remote attacks (as digital data might be). According to Bjerkestrand, the films' data is like "carved in stone."

Films also allow for long-term preservation. The data Piql has tested would be preserved for at least 500 years, according to Norway's national broadcaster NRK. The company claims it could be preserved for up to 1,000 years.

So far, the National Archives of Brazil and Mexico have sent data to be stored in the underground vault, Bjerkestrand said.

"In their case, [the deposit] is documents, different kinds of documents from their national histories, like, for example, the Brazilian Constitution," Bjerkestrand said. "For Mexico, it's important documents, even from the Inca period, which is a very important historical memory."

But Bjerkestrand said the deposit could be any kind of data, from meteorological observations to manufacturing plans to classical literature.

SOURCE: http://www.livescience.com/58497-second-doomsday-vault-opens-for-data.html

Beer as Medicine?

The bitter-tasting chemical found in hops could be used in treating diabetes, inflammation and some types of cancer. ->

Hops give beer its pungent flavor, but a substance derived from hops may do more than make your favorite beer taste great.
New research finds there's potential for incorporating humulones - the bitter-tasting chemical compound found in hops - into drugs. But, before you get too excited, this isn't an excuse to crack open that 2-4 pack daily.

"Excessive beer consumption cannot be recommended to propagate good health," the authors said in a press release. "Isolated humulones and their derivatives can be prescribed with documented health benefits."

Potential new drugs could be used to treat diabetes, inflammation and some types of cancer, the researchers wrote in the study published this month in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition and funded by a Seattle pharmaceutical firm.

The researchers discovered the configuration of humulones with a process called X-ray crystallography, a technique developed in the early 20th century. The molecules are rearranged during the brewing process to contain a ring with five carbon atoms instead of six.

By mapping out the process, the researchers were able to determine which molecule matches the bitter taste of beer - and should help determine which arrangement of atoms is most effective in treating specific illnesses. That's important because some of the compounds have been shown to affect specific illnesses, while slightly different arrangements have been ineffective.

"Now that we have the right results, what happens to the bitter hops in the beer-brewing process makes a lot more sense," said Werner Kaminsky, a University of Washington research associate professor of chemistry.

Researchers could use the results to figure out how to combine the molecules with other chemicals to develop a diabetes-fighting drug, for example. Such medicines, however, are still a ways off.
Photo: Corbis
SOURCE: https://www.seeker.com/beer-as-medicine-1766427936.html

Strange, Small Cell Towers Are Popping Up: 5G and the Future of Harmful Frequencies

In Sydney, Australia, difficult to identify small towers (apparently cell towers) with spherical tops have been popping up recently. When one of these pops up in the neighborhood, people in the area aren’t really told about it.

We took pictures of them. They were located in parks, along roads, and directly behind people’s houses.

Finding out what these towers are and exactly what frequencies they actively release and can potentially release is essential to ensuring the basic health and safety of a community.

We haven’t identified what these are, but if you have any information please leave it in the comments below.

However, we can expand our understanding of what cell towers really are: in this article we will examine who builds towers and is in control of them, and who has a stake in their creation.

In the US and many countries, governments are colluding with telecommunication corporations to build cell towers and infrastructure.

In the US, an agency supposed to be regulating them, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is deeply in bed with the related telecommunications corporations (as the FDA is in with big pharma).

(Image credit: EMR Aware)

The Australian mirror image of the FCC is a government agency called the Department of Communication and the Arts. It is engaged in a program with the corporation Telstra to construct towers and “improve mobile coverage.”

According to a statement on the Australian Department of Communication and the Arts website:

“The Australian Government has committed $220 million to the Mobile Black Spot Program to invest in telecommunications infrastructure to improve mobile coverage along major regional transport routes, in small communities and in locations prone to natural disasters.”

We must ask: why do governments take interest in developing this kind of infrastructure? Could they use the towers they place for warfare, for profit, for control, or for a benevolent campaign to make sure everyone can have cell phone signal?

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considered a suspect agency that may be turned on dissidents or people who don’t comply with government in the United States. As suspect as they are, last year AT&T and the DHS struck a contract. An article from Era of Wisdom is titled “DHS and AT&T Collude With 39 Million Dollar Contract For “Emergency Communications”.”

A smaller type of cell tower being used all over the world in the past several years is suspect in the eyes of many people.

These are covering Australia as they cover the United States. Schools are being paid to place them on rooftops at the expense of children’s health, and many are asking what they are:

These are mistakenly called “GWEN Towers,” giving skeptics of EMF danger easy ammo.

“GWEN” Towers were apparently abandoned by the US military, but it could be more complex than it appears. According to Wikipedia: “The Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) was a command and control communications system intended for use by the United States government to facilitate military communications before, during and after a nuclear war.”

“GWEN” Towers looked like this.

(Image credit: Wiki)

The alleged GWEN towers are indeed cell towers used by telecommunication giants such as AT&T and Verizon in the US, and in Australia, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are among corporations that build and use them.

Other entities that few know of construct the towers. In the US, corporations such as American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA Communications build them.

The health effects of cell towers, cell phones in general, WiFi, and all of the related technology is extensively talked about by people who are more sensitive to the frequencies. Some people experience serious symptoms from them, and others experience few symptoms but may end up with something like brain cancer. A little bit of research can yield plenty of info on the topic.

This video from Take Back Your Power is a great starting point when it comes to learning about EMF danger (and 5G).

People call “Stingray” surveillance devices that are abused by law enforcement “fake cell towers.” This seems misleading because a Stingray looks like this. Fake cell towers may exist, but a Stingray is not a tower.

The now prevalent cell towers may not be technically called “GWEN Towers,” but it’s not crazy to think the government would weaponize cell towers and blast us with frequencies.

You’d have to neglect the entire history of mad science and the military industrial complex to find that an improbable scenario. Take into consideration how deeply in bed with government corporations like AT&T, GE, and others are.

Read the book “IBM and the Holocaust: Nazi Germany and America’s Most Powerful Corporation” for free here  and you’ll start to understand the dynamic.

This concept of weaponized cell towers blasting a population with frequencies that harm or even kill can only be improbable if we actively pay attention to towers that are installed around us, and learn exactly what their frequency range and potential is, to determine if it’s possible that they are weaponized or not.

And another thing: 5G technology is coming, and it’s being heavily pushed by the FCC. It’s about using a greater number of smaller cell towers that use “experimental” frequencies (probably closer to our heads if they are smaller). Well summarized by Waking Times:

“The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is pushing to streamline the approval of 5G cell towers, overriding the little regulation that exists to legalize use of experimental high frequencies without extensive safety testing. Untested frequencies in the range of 28 gigahertz to 100 Ghz or more are set to be deployed all around us without our consent, emanating from an even greater number of new, smaller cell towers.

“To make this work, the 5G buildout is going to be very infrastructure intensive, requiring massive deployment of small cells.” ~Tom Wheeler, Former FCC Chairman and corporate lobbyist

Some are talking about using even higher frequencies, in the terahertz range, much higher than previous networks.”

It was not easy to research the info for this article: it was exceptionally difficult to research compared to most topics. If it’s this difficult to research and find out what cell towers are, it can’t possibly be good.

So this is our contribution to staying mindful: we’re asking you, do you have any info about these thin towers with spherical things at the top? If you have any info, please comment below.

Please share this with as many people as possible.

SOURCE: http://themindunleashed.com/2017/03/strange-small-cell-towers-popping-5g-future-harmful-frequencies.html

This House Was 3d-Printed in Under 24 Hours

In the last few years, 3D printing has been subject to the rollercoaster effect, having gone from being relatively unknown to suddenly being touted as a revolutionary technology, and then fading from the spotlight as the current technological limitations became more widely understood.

But that may soon change, especially given the recent news that a company managed to 3D print an entire house in a mere 24 hours. The home in Russia measures 400-square feet and cost just over $10,000 t0 construct.

The company behind the home, Apis Cor, consists of 3D printing specialists based in Russia and San Francisco. The team built the house using a mobile printer on-site. The company noted that the walls of the building were printed and painted in a day.

Such news is likely enticing to people who want to build a home without spending a fortune in both time and money. Such an innovation makes it possible for homes to be built in remarkably short notice, and in places once unimaginable.

Apis’ approach to 3D printing is especially unique because, unlike the usual process where parts are created off-site and constructed later, Apis Cor uses a mobile printer to print their apartments on-site. For example, the world’s first 3-D printed apartment building was constructed in China, but the building was printed off-site.

As if the process seems hassle free as is, the Apis technique eliminates the need to transfer the printed blocks, making it even more revolutionary than 3-D printing a home itself.

“Printing of self-bearing walls, partitions and building envelope were done in less than a day: pure machine time of printing amounted to 24 hours,” explained the company.

To print the house — everything from the walls, partitions, and building envelope — a concrete mixture is used. Once the house is finished, they remove the printer with a crane-manipulator and add on the roof, then the interior fixtures and furnishings, and finally a layer of paint to the exterior of the house.

The house, which Apis Cor claims can last up to 175 years, is complete with a hallway, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. The structure resides in one of Apis Cor’s facilities in Russia.

“When I first thought about creating my machine the world has already knew about the construction 3D printing,” Nikita Chen-yun-tai, the inventor of the mobile printer and founder of Apis Cor, explained. “But all printers created before shared one thing in common – they were portal type. I am sure that such a design doesn’t; have a future due to its bulkiness. So I took care of this limitation and decided to upgrade a construction crane design.”

“We want to help people around the world to improve their living conditions. That’s why the construction process needs to become fast, efficient and high-quality as well. For this to happen we need to delegate all the hard work to smart machines.”

The company says it is the first one to have created a 3D printer that can print entire buildings on-site, which could certainly be a game changer in the hype surrounding 3D printing. Though the technology is still very new, there is promise that Apis Cor and its competitors will change the face of real estate from costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, to making cheap and accessible homes for millions.

SOURCE: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/03/09/this-house-was-3d-printed-in-under-24-hours/

These Cutting-Edge Solar Panels Roll Up Like Wrapping Paper

Credits: Randy Montoya

Get ready for tough, foldable paper-like solar panels covered in "solar glitter."


This solar panel certainly doesn't look like one at all. Instead of the classic rigid panel, the flexible solar material created by Albuquerque-based mPower Technology Inc. seems like a cross between metallic wrapping paper and one of those reflective sun shades for car windshields.

The clever mesh design means this solar panel is lightweight, foldable and highly efficient. Microsystems-enabled photovoltaics technology has actually been in development for several years, but it took a big step forward recently, when mPower Technology signed a licensing agreement with Sandia National Laboratories.

Called Dragon SCALES, mPower Technology's product is actually covered in miniature solar cells known as "solar glitter." The SCALES part stands for semi-conductor active layer embedded solar, FastCo.Exist reported. If one cell stops working or becomes shaded, the rest of the cells continue working.

"The key limitation to silicon is that if you bend and flex it, it will crack and shatter," mPower Technology's founder and CEO Murat Okandan said in a press statement. "Our technology makes it virtually unbreakable while keeping all the benefits of high efficiency, high reliability silicon PV."

Okandan envisions the company's tough and bendy solar panels going into satellites and drones as well as biomedical devices and consumer products. Imagine unfurling sheets on rooftops to install photovoltaics in record time or stuffing a roll in your backpack. Hey, is that a yoga mat? Nope, it's my portable solar.

I really thought that with all the technological advancements happening in the last decade-plus, we'd be able to buy rolls of photovoltaics at the hardware store by now. Blending flexibility with efficiency has been an enormous challenge, though. Okandan and his team had to get the microdesign and microfabrication techniques just right.

Prior to starting mPower Technology in 2015, Okandan worked on microsystems-enabled photovoltaics for Sandia as an employee. He launched the company through Sandia's Entrepreneurial Separation to Transfer Technology program, which supports spinoffs.

The new license between mPower Technology and Sandia is expected to help speed up the commercialization of solar glitter. I'm eager to see how it goes, not least because we could use more glitter in general.

SOURCE: http://www.seeker.com/tough-flexible-solar-panels-roll-up-like-wrapping-paper-2263884986.html

Hackers Threaten To Wipe Millions Of iPhones If Apple Don’t Pay Ransom

A mysterious group of hackers is allegedly extorting Apple, demanding a huge ransom over a large cache of iCloud and other Apple email accounts.

In other words, the hackers are threatening to wipe over 300,000 iPhones’ data if Apple don’t pay $75,000 in Bitcoin – or, bizarrely, $100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards.


The hackers – otherwise known as the Turkish Crime Family – are threatening to reset a number of the iCloud accounts and remotely destroy data from victim’s Apple devices on April 7, unless Apple hands over the requested amount, reports Motherboard.

They claim to have access to hundreds of millions of users’ accounts, and they also claim to have already accessed an elderly lady’s account and published a personal video belonging to the victim to YouTube as proof of their capabilities and their commitment to the threat.

One of the hackers told Motherboard:

I just want my money and thought this would be an interesting report that a lot of Apple customers would be interested in reading and hearing.

Motherboard was given access to the communications between the hackers and an alleged Apple team member, who said archived messages will be sent to the authorities.

Beyond the evidence shown to Motherboard, which constitutes little more than screenshots of emails, there’s little proof the Turkish Crime Family can or will do what they are threatening.

However, British computer security expert Graham Cluley wrote on Bitdefender’s Hot for Security blog, saying:

If it’s true that the hackers are attempting to engage with the media in an attempt to increase their chances of a substantial payout then that would be in line with an increasingly common technique deployed by extortionists. 

What we don’t know is whether the email exchanges between the hackers and Apple are real or faked, and – indeed – whether the so-called ‘Turkish Crime Gang’ really has access to a large number of Apple users’ credentials.

This type of cyber crime and extortion is becoming increasingly common but it is unusual for a tech giant such as Apple Inc. to be targeted on such a grand scale.

Regardless, I think I’ll finally back up my data… Just in case.

SOURCE: http://www.unilad.co.uk/technology/hackers-threaten-to-wipe-millions-of-iphones-if-apple-dont-pay-ransom/

Rare camera could become most valuable in the world

The rare Leica II Luxus camera, which is to be sold at auction Photo: BONHAMS

One of the rarest cameras in the world, which is one of just four ever made, is to be sold at auction. 

The gold plated Leica Luxus II camera is the only surviving model found and is the first time the camera and its distinctive crocodile skin case has ever been seen. 

It is valued at between £500,000 and £800,000 but experts believe because of the trend for the Leica brand, it is likely to reach more than £1m at auction and could become the most expensive camera ever sold. 

The camera was given to its late owner, a keen amateur photographer, after the end of World War Two. He used it throughout the 1940s and 1950s and is unlikely to have been aware of how valuable it was to become. 

Marc Allum, antiques expert and a presenter on Antiques Roadshow, discovered the camera on the programme 12 years ago and said it has the potential to be the “most valuable find ever” for the BBC show. 

“Leicas are the best cameras, the 35mm film was developed by Leica,” he said. 

“They used to make specialist editions and one-offs. This is one of four ever made, it’s probably one of the rarest Leicas in the world. 

“The whereabouts of the other three are unknown. It might be the only one that has survived. 

“I found it on the roadshow 12 years ago and it’s been languishing, ready to resurface and it’s taken a long time. 

“It was a strange experience at the time. It was put in front of me and I looked at it in complete disbelief. I never expected to see a camera like that. 

“At the time it wasn’t worth anywhere near as much as it is now. It’s just that the market has moved so quickly.” 

Experts believe the camera may have been specially made for a wealthy owner, due to its gold plating and crocodile skin case. 

Mr Allum, who wrote The Antiques Magpie, added: “It’s the only example of a camera in this distinctive case. 

“It’s a fantastic thing and could be the most expensive thing to ever come from Antiques Roadshow. It’s the rarest camera I’ve ever handled. 

“I’ve been literally shaking with anticipation.” 

The story of the discovery is due to feature on the Christmas show of Antiques Roadshow. 

Jon Baddeley, managing director of Bonhams which is hosting the sale in Hong Kong, said: “We valued another Leica camera at £625,000, and that was one of 95. 

“The one we are putting up is one of only four to come off the production line. That makes it about 25 times more rare. It’s hard to put a price on it. 

“From a collectors point of view I would be disappointed if it didn’t go for more than £1m. 

“It’s a very, very limited run. There might be more, but I’ve never seen them and only three more can ever be found.” 

Mr Baddeley said he believes the camera was given to its late owner by a family friend after the war. He added “He wasn’t a collector. He was given it because he was a keen amateur photographer.” 

A Leica 0 series camera, which was believed to be one of 25 produced in 1923 as test pieces for the 35mm film market, became the most expensive camera ever sold when it was bought for £1.7m at an auction in Vienna last year. 

Two special presentation Leica II’s were made with one presented to Professor August Piccard, one of the pioneers of the exploration of the stratosphere and another to Dr Leon Frobenius, a leading explorer of Central America. 

The Leica Luxus II camera will be on display at Bonhams until October 30 before it is shipped to Hong Kong for auction on November 22. 

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To Be Shared With NSA Are Apple iPhone 5s Fingerprint Database

Tech-heads are eager to get their hands on the new Apple iPhone 5S next month and evidently Apple feels the same. This is due to the fact that their latest model comes equipped with fingerprint recognition technology as an added security feature. 

Privacy has become a major concern in today’s technologically dominated society. Individuals keeping up with all the latest gadgets also run the risk of becoming exposed to unresolved bugs that could leave the user open to breaches in their personal security. 

Apple’s official spokespeople have maintained a vague stance on the potential of sharing their fingerprint database with the NSA. Fortunately, after hours of phone calls I was finally able to speak with an employe that could answer some of my questions. 

“Absolutely the databases will be merged. This whole ‘fingerprint scan’ idea originated from someone in our Government. They just didn’t expect to be outed by Snowden, you know.” Said Tim Richardson, District Manager of Apple’s North America Marketing Department. He went onto explain that the NSA and FBI have been compiling a special database for over a year now to use with the new Apple technology. Fingerprints from all over the nation. Cold cases. Fugitives of the law. Missing persons. 

The Apple iPhone 5s has back-up power so the device never completely shuts down. Coupled with the phone’s built-in GPS these features will allow police officers to pin-point the criminal so they can be detained quickly and efficiently. Officials expect to apprehend hundreds of suspects within the first months or so of the act. 

When asked for a response to individual’s concerns about privacy Mr. Richardson told us: 

“Frankly, if a person is foolish enough to allow something as specific and criminally implicit as their fingerprints to be cataloged by faceless corporations and Government officials… Well, you can’t exactly blame us for capitalizing upon it, can you? Personally, I believe this effort will support a greater good. Some of the folks they’re hoping to apprehend are quite dangerous. Besides, it’s not like this is covered in the Constitution.” 

Richardson was indeed correct in his latter statement; We looked over the Constitution and couldn’t find a single mention of using fingerprints against a public that willfully submitted them. 

While Apple and the NSA may be completely within their rights to use information volunteered by it’s customers, some consumers are sour over the idea. 

“I’m old. I’m not good at remembering passwords.” Said one Apple user we spoke with. “I like the idea of easily being able to unlock my Apple device with a fingerprint. But I also shouldn’t have to worry about being tied to a string of murders I commuted in the 70′s… That’s not America and that’s not freedom…” 

Programers have been working day and nights to have the Apple 5S ready for its release in late September. They claim the software is 90% accurate and while there are still some technical issues to iron out, they believe it’s unlikely any mishaps will occur.” 

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