BGDon 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 👨‍💻

NASA is gearing up to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on August 30 sending the spacecraft 1 million miles from Earth to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Roman will investigate and answer questions about dark matter, dark energy, cosmology, exoplanets and astrophysics, by capture panoramic images about 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/14/NASAs-Roman-Space-Telescope-set-to-unlock-the-universes-biggest-mysteries/4941784068962/ #NASA #Astronomy #Space #SpaceTelescope #RomanSpaceTelescope #OuterSpace #Research #Universe #Astrophysics #DarkMatter #Exoplanets #Hubble #Cosmology #SpaceExploration

SpaceX Starship 13 failed to launch today. Looks like an issue with igniting the 33 Raptor engines in the lower stage booster. #spacex #starship #space

Breaking up is hard to do!

National regulations in China took effect Wed aimed at curbing the risk of emotional dependency on artificial intelligence boyfriends and girlfriends.

AI providers removed custom agent and companion features - AI tools with human-like personalities and communication styles.

That sparked an outpouring of grief on social media, with users archiving chat histories and sharing last conversations.

Services that "do not involve ongoing emotional interaction", such as customer service, work assistants or study aids, are not subject to the measures.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/like-my-lover-chinese-users-bid-farewell-to-ai-companions/articleshow/132408811.cms #AI #China #AICompanion #AIAgents #Companion #DigitalCompanion #SocialMedia #Anthropomorphic

Researchers @ Cambridge dug into the cost to launch stuff into space and they predict the cost of getting into earth orbit will more than halve between now and the end of the decade, and fall around 93% by 2040.

They analyzed a data set of rocket launches spanning > 4,400 launches between 1960 and 2025 to project future trends. Cost to get a kilogram into orbit has dropped from $87,023 USD in 1960 to $3,868 in 2025.

The analysis showed the cost of getting a kilogram of payload into low Earth orbit will go from ~ $3,868 USD in 2025 to ~ $1,569 (58% less) by 2030, and could reach as little as $273 by 2040.

Read the summary, or DL the paper in PDF here: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/7/pgag217/8732400 #Space #SpaceCosts #SpaceEconomics SpaceLaunchCosts #RocketLaunches #spaceEconomy #Cambridge

Whoa! This could become a BIG deal .....

German court ruled Google Is liable for false statements generated by AI overviews presented in AI powered search results.

The ruling indicates that when an AI generates new statements that do not appear directly in its original sources, the company that designs, trains, operates, and manages the system must assume legal liability for any damages caused by those statements.

Further the Court held, correcting misinformation is not the responsibility of third parties. Google is the only entity with the ability to modify the technology underpinning its AI-generated summaries and, therefore, “must be held accountable.”

https://www.wired.com/story/a-court-has-ruled-that-google-is-liable-for-false-statements-generated-by-ai-overviews/ #AI #Google #AISearch #Internet #Liability #Falsehoods #FalseStatements #LLMs #AITraining #LegalPrecendent #ChatBots #Lawsuit #AISummaries #Law

RE: @BrentD@techhub.social

Update: The UK formally announces social media ban for under 16's to begin in early 2027, covering Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. It is unclear if WhatsApp and Signal will be included. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqdny4l3jdo #SocialMedia #Ban #UK

Lasers in Space!

Artemis II is testing an upgraded laser-based communications system called O2O >> Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System designed to send data down to Earth at up to 260 megabits per second.

O2O is about the size of a house cat and it uses more or less standard issue infrared lasers, Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, and receivers used in the fiber telecom industry. O2O develops approx. one watt of optical power.

Artemis II also uses traditional Microwave tech as its core communications system.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-artemis-ii-laser-communications-system-is-beaming-4k-video-from-the/ #NASA #Communications #Microwave #GigaHertz #OpticalCommunications #Laser #ArtemisII #Space #Moon #MoonMission #Orion #DarkSideoftheMoon

European Commission opens formal investigations into whether AWS and Azure should be regulated as digital gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The investigations will examine anti-competitive practices, lock-in effects, and barriers that make it difficult for smaller competitors to gain traction and will likely take 12 months to complete.

AWS and Azure together command roughly 50-60% of the cloud market in the EU. Vendors could face new demanding obligations around interoperability, data portability, and and fair access for competitors. https://cryptobriefing.com/microsoft-aws-eu-cloud-probe/ #EU #AWS #Azure #Microsoft #Cloud #CloudServices #DataPortability #Competition #Lock-in #DMA #Regulation #Amazon

VISA initiates a "beta" release of "VISA Stablecoin Platform" (VSP) an expansion of its stablecoin infrastructure to support its network of ~ 15,000 financial institutions ~ 200M merchants.

Participating institutions can mint, burn, hold, redeem, and transfer the OUSD stabelcoin to enable them to embed stablecoin capabilities into treasury, liquidity, and payment operations.

Further, clients can use Visa’s Wallet-as-a-Service infrastructure or connect existing wallets while linking bank accounts and establishing internal approval policies.

VISA clams the platform includes dual-control authorization, audit logging, secure passkeys and transfer allow lists designed to satisfy institutional governance and security requirements. https://news.bitcoin.com/visa-stablecoin-platform-pushes-institutional-payments-onchain-with-open-usd/ #VISA #Crypto #Stablecoins #OUSD #CryptoCurrencies #Blockchain #FinancialServices #CryptoWallets #VSP #Security #Treasury #Liquidity #Banking #Credit

Weekend Reading via TechAptitude!

As noted last time - here is post 2 of 2 In which we detail Quantum Computing hardware designs from some of the biggest players in the space including IBM, IONQ, and D-Wave. Enjoy https://techaptitude.substack.com/p/quantum-technologies-hardware-designs
#Quantum #Quantumcomputing #QuantumHardware #TechAptitude #IBM #NightHawk #IONQ #TEMPO #D-Wave #Advantage2

RE: @BrentD@techhub.social

Update on Starship 13 launch abort.

SPaceX reports the failure to launch Starship 13 was due "a post-ignition anomaly" where 4 Raptor engines failed to ignite.

Further they report 2 engines will need to be replaced (not sure why just 2) before attempting liftoff again. This will take some time - my guess 2 weeks before they try again. #Space #SpaceX #StarShip #Launch #LaunchAbort #Raptor

Launch of SpaceX Starship (13) is still a go for today @6@techhub.social:45pm EDT, 9:45 GMT.

You can watch LiveStreams on SpaceX.com, Space.com, and YouTube. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-starship-flight-13-starlink-v3-satellites #Space #SpaceX #Starship #Launch #Artemis

Some deep dark black holes are too steep to escape or is this an example of no one willing to tell the boss - hey, that baby really IS UGLY!

Snap pitches its gynormous goggles, aka "Specs" , as a way to “help people connect more deeply with one another,” .... really, that is the pitch? Fire your CMO now, do it NOW! https://futurism.com/future-society/snap-lampooned-gigantic-ar-glasses

I've commented on this stuff over time on TechAptitude here: https://techaptitude.substack.com/p/virtual-reality-is-destined-to-be #Snap #Specs #AR #VR #Goggles #SmartGlasses #ARGlasses #Fail #DoA #TechAptitude

SpaceX ain't the only game in town!

Ariane 6 heavy lift space launch system get its heaviest payload ever into orbit on June 17.

The rocket was topped with 36 Amazon Leo broadband satellites, which together weigh ~ 45,900 pounds (20,820 kg).

Ariane 6 flew with 4 new solid-propellant P160C boosters. This was the eighth successful launch of the Ariane 6. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/ariane-6-rocket-record-breaking-launch-amazon-leo-le-03 #Space #Ariane6 #Rocket #ArianeSpace #RocketLaunch #HeavyLiftRocket #Amazon #Leo #Satellites

74 year tradition is going away - a sad day in the land of Canuk. Say good bye to Hockey Night in Canada. 😂

Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), the national broadcaster, will no longer air NHL hockey games as broadcast deal expires.

Saturday night @8@techhub.social:00pm EST had most every TV in Canada tuned to the CBC for the NHL game. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/cbc-nhl-hockey-night-in-canada-ends-9.7236977 #Canada #Canuk #NHL #Hockey #CBC #HockeyNghtinCanada #Sports

Satellite YAM-9, built by Loft Orbital, deployed a Vision-Language Model (VLM) in orbit with the ability to analyze imagery - researchers asked the model to classify sensor data to identify infrastructure around railway hubs — and it did it successfully - the VLM identified areas of interest in response to natural language queries.

The software - NAVI-Orbital - was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) leveraging Google DeepMind’s Gemma 3 VLM. https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/15/a-satellite-just-learned-to-find-things-on-its-own-heres-what-that-means/ #VLMs #Satellites #NASA #JPL #VisionAnalysis #Google #DeepMind #VisionLanguageModel #SpaceCraft #Space #YAM9 #NAVIOrbital #SensorData

Good Read on the circular borrowing and self-issued token by Trump family’s World Liberty Financial and the potential of a death spiral for World Liberty's $WLFI token. https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-104/

#Crypto #CryptoCurrencies #Stablecoins #Dolomite #$WLFI #WorldLibertyFinancial #USD1 #USDC #CitationNeeded #Memecoin #Scam

Even grifters don't like getting duped in a Ponzi scheme! Grifter Boffin J. Sun rails against World Liberty Finance (WLFI) for:

1) secretly implementing a one-signature freeze function, used to blacklist his wallet

2) WFLI posted ~ $5B WLFI token on Dolomite as collateral to borrow $250 million in Stablecoins > classic circular financing move

Lawsuits are likely! https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/04/13/justin-sun-claims-wlfi-has-a-one-signature-wallet-freeze-power/ #WLFI #Crypto #CryptoCurrencies #BlockChain #StableCoins #Tron #TRXTokens #Grift #Grifters #PonziScheme #Lawsuit #SEC #MemeCoins

Good read: OpenAI = the next Netscape?

Side question: How many of the users on techhub.social were even born when NetScape was about the rule the world? 😜
+++++++
Agree the Netscape story is a "warning label"... to my eye what is happening now is two fold:

1) a solitary focus on building giant frontier (do it all) LLMs by US based providers is likely a path to doom.

2) what is also needed are smaller/agile/cheaper to operate "build for purpose" LLMs tailored to ... USE cases users actually CARE about.

The big gun LLM builders better figure out the desired uses cases FAST - or risk having China eat their lunch, cuz China is more focused on putting AI models to work solving real problems vs. building the biggest most bad-ass model.

The "layers of power" is a good angle to consider. It is not a given that NVIDIA can be successful moving "up the stack" and the examples here leave out a core wild card in this mix - China as noted above. www.techradar.com/pro/why-openai-could-become-the-next-netscape #AI #China #USA #LLMs #FrontierLLMs #Netscape #Microsoft #Nvidia #OpenAI #Internet #Browser

AST SpaceMobile re-calibrates its space based cellular (Direct-to-Device) roll out into 2027 after impacts by rocket launch failures, satellite loss, and subsequent shift to using SpaceX Falcon 9 launch systems for its next 3 satellites - BlueBird 11,12,13 with target launch dates in Aug 2026. https://satnews.com/2026/07/16/ast-spacemobile-defers-commercial-direct-to-device-timeline-to-early-2027/ #ASTSpaceMobile #Space #Satellites #DirecttoDevice #D2D #SpaceX #Falcon9 #NewGlenn #BlueBird

Lord Stanley's Cup can pull a TV audience!

The 6th game of the NHL Stanley Cup Final series on Sunday drew 5.9M viewers, the most for a Stanley Cup Final game since 2019.

The six-game series averaged 5.2M viewers, also the highest since 2019. The 2025 finals drew an avg. of 2.55M viewers. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/2026-nhl-stanley-cup-final-tv-ratings-1236623752/ #NHL #Hockey #Playoffs #StanleyCup #StanleyCupFinals #VGK #CarolinaHurricanes #TV #ABC

If the FBI knocks on your door and asks about Grandma's digital picture frame - you might have some explaining to do!

China-manufactured TV streaming "super boxes" and digital picture frames sold by Walmart and Amazon come pre-loaded with malware to create a residential internet proxy that routes bad actor's internet traffic through the household connection, making criminal activity appear to originate from an ordinary home address rather than a suspicious data-center server.

There are an estimated 20M of such compromised devices currently active in the U.S.

Innocent consumers have faced serious scrutiny, and in some cases law enforcement action, simply because their compromised device was the last visible node in a criminal operation.
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318598/20260618/smart-home-devices-amazon-walmart-arrive-pre-wired-crime-20-million-risk.htm #Internet #Malware #ResidentialProxy #BotNet #CyberCriminals #CyberCrime #Criminals

Prediction Markets are moving beyond just taking individuals' "bets" and are attempting to woo institutions such as hedge funds and brokerages to execute big-ticket "trading" like hedging against specific business risks. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/business/dealbook/hedging-prediction-markets-kalshi.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rFA.L6RD.G_CozRXwosjn&smid=url-share

#Predictions #PredictionMarkets #Kalshi #PolyMarket #WallStreet #Hedging #Brokerages #HedgeFunds #Risk #RiskMitigation #Securities #CFTC #CryptoCurrencies #Insurance

File this under who gives a Furry Rat's Ass - OR - Fun Fact.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. - the artist known as SpaceX went IPO on June 12 with 18,712 BTC, (worth ~ $1.19B billion) on its balance sheet.

SPCX acquired Bitcoin (initially 28K BTC) in early 2021, when it was trading ~ $40K. https://finbold.com/spacex-launches-record-75b-ipo-with-this-cryptocurrency/ #SpaceX #Crypto #BitCoin #BTC #IPO #Investing #Cryptocurrencies #SPCX

Battle of the Titans Brewing in the Satellite Direct 2 Device (D2D) Market

Research Boffins @ mobility market trade associations are calling bullshit on SpaceX predictions of a Total Addressable Market (TAM) reaching $740B for its Starlink Mobile direct-to-device division, countering that the true TAM is more like $15B.

Further, they are flagging that US mobile operators are forming a joint satellite venture to reduce reliance on external providers (SpaceX) and retake gain control over the satellite layer, and at the same time move towards neutral-host, shared infrastructure models. Stay tuned to the space! https://satnews.com/2026/07/06/the-big-three-unite-to-blunt-starlinks-reach-as-spacex-ipo-reshapes-direct-to-device-landscape/ #SpaceX #StarLink #Direct2Device #Space #SpaceInternet #Mobile #Satellites #Networks #Internet #NetworkInfrastructure #Neutral_Host_Model

Latest example of China flexing its export control muscles as it orders Meta to unwind its $2B acquisition of Manus.

Manus founders are seeking to raise $1B from outside investors with the founders potentially contributing personal funds as well to fund the buyback. https://qz.com/meta-manus-acquisition-unwind-china-beijing-061226

China is formalizing its approach for similar transactions with new outbound investment rules taking effect July 1 that give Chinese regulators the tools to block or reverse cross-border deals involving technology, talent, or data.

We can expect a similar approach by China to Quantum Technologies - see this TechAptitude post for more: https://techaptitude.substack.com/p/quantum-technologies-and-geo-politics #AI #China #Meta #Manus #ExportControls #Regulations #AIRegulation #Quantum #QuantumTechnologies #QuantumComputing #Capital #Investing #DealReversal #Competition #GeoPolitics #NationalSecurity

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calls purveyors of automated vehicles aka RoboTaxis to report to the Principle's office!

"To state it bluntly: An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public."

Letter from NHTSA Administroier Morrison to the companies "We expect you to prioritize first responder interactions and will schedule meetings with driverless automated driving system developers by month's end to hear your solutions".

You can DL the letter (PDF) here: https://link.axios.com/click/46607192.2529/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmh0c2EuZ292L3NpdGVzL25odHNhLmdvdi9maWxlcy8yMDI2LTA3L0FEUy1kZXZlbG9wZXJzLWxldHRlci1qdWx5LTIwMjYucGRmP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1uZXdzbGV0dGVyX2F4aW9zbG9jYWxfYXVzdGluJnN0cmVhbT10b3A/62a265b9d0b643162a0b506cB26cbf66d #Waymo #Tesla #RoboTaxi #DriverlessCars #AutonomousVehicles #FSD #NHTSA #AutomatedVehicles #AVs #Regulations #Safety #FirstResponders

AGREE COMPLETELY. This stuff will go down as one of the greatest Tech Red Herrings EVER! Humanoid robots will be a complete and utter commercial failure!

Morgan Stanley predicts that there will be 1 billion humanoid robots in use by 2050 >> that is a CAGR of 69% for 25 years!!!!

Goldman Sachs estimates the total addressable market for humanoid robots will reach $38 billion by 2035.

Can you say TOTAL bull shit!

However, Industrial Robots (ones with no "eyes" arms, hands and legs) are already generating $Billions in ROI. Industrial robot installations in the U.S. rose 11% year over year in 2025. https://www.profgmedia.com/p/why-tech-is-irrationally-obsessed #Robots #Humanoid #Humanoid_Robots #Industrial_Robots #RedHerring #Fail #TechFail #Robotics #Prototype #ROI #Dangerous #RoboButler #ProFGMedia

File this under - ok ya, it is not surprising!

OpenAI has cut a deal with Kalshi to show its prediction market data in ChatGPT responses.

Interesting - both side are being pretty quiet about this. OpenAI updated ChatGPT Help page with users “cannot place bets through ChatGPT, and is suggesting that Kalshi data in ChatGPT is limited (related to the World Cup), and is for informational purposes only.

Kalshi and OpenAI are NOT promoting it - the only sign of the tie up is a small notice in the bottom left corner stating, “Source: Kalshi.” https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-deal-kalshi-prediction-markets #AI #OpenAI #ChatGPT #Kalshi #PredictionMarkets #Gambling #Betting #Predictions #InsiderTrading #WorldCup

Say what? Microsoft leveraging competitor AWS cloud to host GitHub.

Surges in development activity on GitHub tied to AI coding tools require Microsoft to quickly add capacity. Commits on GitHub are on pace to reach 14B in 2026, compared with 1B in 2025. The longer term plan is to migrate Github to Azure cloud by 2027 https://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/news/microsoft-aws-github-capacity-azure-lawsuit/ #Microsoft #AWS #Azure #Cloud #GitHub #Coders #Software #Developers #Repo #AI #AICoding #Competition