The Supreme court in a 7-1 decision found that consumers can do what they want with the printers they buy, despite Lexmark forcing buyers to “sign” a “post-sale restriction” contract that the buyer won’t tamper with their patented product after they buy it. The case is “Impression v Lexmark.” Lexmark makes two similar types of … Read more
China protested when the investors service lowered its credit rating 1 notch because of China’s rising debt load (which could be difficult to service) and slowing growth. It is the first time in the 30 years since the end of the devastation caused by Mao and the Cultural Revolution that China’s credit rating has been … Read more
Volkswagen was in hot water for the same earlier this year. The Justice Department filed suit against Fiat-Chrysler, alleging they used special software to get around the tests. Fiat-Chrysler denies wrongdoing. Read more
Musk announced this week via Twitter that his solar roofs were now for sale globally, and Tesla would start delivering them probably at the end of this year in the States and overseas next year. And on the Tesla website there was information about the warranty for the roof tiles: “Glass solar tiles are so … Read more
Microsoft issued a large Windows update days after the WannaCry malware pandemic infected thousands of computers and led to a huge wave of Windows users updating their OSs to close the SMBv1 exploit left open by Windows until March when a leak of NSA intel made the vulnerability, as well as the NSAs exploit tool, … Read more
2017 marks the first offshore windfarm in the U.S. The wind farm, located off Block Island, isn’t providing all of the island’s power, but whereas before the island’s grid was isolated from the mainland, the windfarm allowed Block to be connected to the New England power grid for the first time, and therefore the island’s … Read more
China, the world’s biggest solar power market, added 21.4b kilowatt-hours in the three months before March 31, compared with a year earlier, according to the NEA. It’s total installed capacity is now 85gw. Their increase is despite an unused capacity (congested transmission infrastructure) worth 2.3b kilowatt-hours in the first quarter. Read more
Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest local TV station operator, is ready to buy Tribute Media, a rival, for $3.9b. If Sinclair gets regulatory approval for the buy, they will have over 200 stations. Read more
During a rollover, side airbags and seatbelts may not work properly due to a defect in the truck’s software so far blamed for one death. The vehicles being recalled are the 2013-16 Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups, and the 2014-16 Ram 3500. Fiat Chrysler said the recall covered 1m vehicles in the United States and … Read more
A piece of the world’s second-largest diamond, found 2 years ago by Vancouver’s Lucara Diamond company, just sold for $17.5m. The big rock in question is the 1,109-carat “Lesedi La Rona.” They wanted $70m for it at the auction, but no one bid higher than $60m so they still have it. The $17.5m diamond is … Read more
Microsoft President Brad Smith complained that various governments “stockpile vulnerabilities.” In other words, governments and agencies find weaknesses in technology and then keep that information to themselves in case they want to use it. Smith said the current WannaCry malware event was a very rare one, combining a piece of very sophisticated software (to do … Read more
The President’s new TV and online campaign touts the accomplishments of his first 100 days in office, including tax cuts, approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, and the appointment of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Read more