Month: August 2024
Rocket Report: A ULA sale tidbit; Polaris Dawn mission is on deck
“The idea is to learn as much as we possibly can about this suit.”
Enlarge / India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle launched for the third time this week. (credit: ISRO)
Welcome to Edition 7.08 of the Rocket Report! Lots of news as always, but what I’m most interested in is the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission. If all goes as planned, the flight will break all sorts of ground for commercial spaceflight, including the first-ever private spacewalk. Best of luck to Jared Isaacman and his crew on their adventurous mission.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
RFA One blows up a booster. The first stage of Rocket Factory Augsburg’s first orbital launcher was destroyed in a fireball during a test-firing Monday evening at a spaceport in Scotland, Ars reports. It’s a notable event for the European commercial space industry as the German launch startup aimed to send its first rocket into space later this year, and appeared to be running ahead of several competitors in Europe’s commercial launch industry that are also developing rockets to deploy small satellites in orbit. BBC obtained video of the fiery explosion.
How ‘Alien: Romulus’ Could Revitalize the ‘Alien’ Franchise
Here’s what the future of the Alien film series could look like.
Here’s what the future of the Alien film series could look like.
Instagram Gains Myspace-Style ‘Song on Profile’ Feature
Instagram has announced a new feature that allows users to add a song to their profile, an update that harks back to Myspace in the early 2000s.
Added music appears in the bio area of a user’s profile. Unlike Myspace, the songs don’t autoplay when someone visits a user’s profile. Visitors can play and pause the song – or song sample, since the duration of the music is capped at 30 seconds.
“We’re excited to announce that you can now add a song to your profile, giving you more ways to express yourself through music,” Instagram said in a post from its creators account. “Your profile song selection will be live until you swap out the song.”
To add a song, users need to go to the “edit profile” page and select “Add music to your profile,” where they can search for and select a track from Instagram’s library of licensed music (the same music that can be used in Reels or posts).
The new feature is being launched in collaboration with singer Sabrina Carpenter, whose profile features a teaser of her new song, “Taste,” ahead of its official release later this week. Tag: InstagramThis article, “Instagram Gains Myspace-Style ‘Song on Profile’ Feature” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Instagram has announced a new feature that allows users to add a song to their profile, an update that harks back to Myspace in the early 2000s.
Added music appears in the bio area of a user’s profile. Unlike Myspace, the songs don’t autoplay when someone visits a user’s profile. Visitors can play and pause the song – or song sample, since the duration of the music is capped at 30 seconds.
“We’re excited to announce that you can now add a song to your profile, giving you more ways to express yourself through music,” Instagram said in a post from its creators account. “Your profile song selection will be live until you swap out the song.”
To add a song, users need to go to the “edit profile” page and select “Add music to your profile,” where they can search for and select a track from Instagram’s library of licensed music (the same music that can be used in Reels or posts).
The new feature is being launched in collaboration with singer Sabrina Carpenter, whose profile features a teaser of her new song, “Taste,” ahead of its official release later this week.
This article, “Instagram Gains Myspace-Style ‘Song on Profile’ Feature” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
The Scientific Reasons Behind Why You Get So Many Mosquito Bites
Blood type, smell, clothing color and other factors can impact why you may be more prone to mosquito bites.
Blood type, smell, clothing color and other factors can impact why you may be more prone to mosquito bites.
Keen to get macOS Sequoia? You may not have long to wait – the OS could arrive in just a few weeks
Apple’s macOS 15 will, however, be missing a key feature for a while, namely Apple Intelligence.
Those keen to get their hands on the next incarnation of macOS will be pleased to learn that Sequoia is almost with us, apparently.
Typically we expect a new macOS to turn up at any point between September and November, but MacRumors claims that it’s going to be the early end of that timeframe.
Sources have told the website that macOS 15 is going to launch in mid-September (add your own skepticism, as ever), which means we’re going to see Sequoia in just a few weeks’ time.
That theory is backed up with a complementary nugget of info here, namely that iOS 18 is widely expected to be introduced in mid-September (as every version of the mobile OS has been, for a long time), and Apple wants to debut macOS Sequoia at the same time due to their shared features.
We are, of course, talking about the big iPhone Mirroring functionality for macOS 15, and given that, it makes sense for both new operating systems to debut simultaneously, with that ability fully up and running, showing off these fresh cross-platform powers.
The most likely date for this double reveal is September 10, by the way, based on past reveals from Apple.
Analysis: Lining up the pieces
We learned earlier this week that the latest iOS 18 beta is going to be the final one, and if MacRumors is right in its assertion here, macOS Sequoia must be in its final stages of testing too. Mind you, we haven’t heard rumors to that effect elsewhere – yet – and furthermore, does it really feel like macOS 15 is about to turn the corner to release?
We’re not sure, but if this really is playing out as stated, we’ll know soon enough. In fairness to MacRumors, it certainly makes sense in terms of Apple lining up its OS puzzle pieces for iPhone Mirroring.
There is, of course, another chunky puzzle piece and this one won’t be coming with either the initial release of iOS 18 or macOS 15, namely Apple Intelligence.
These AI features are being tested in a separate macOS beta (15.1, for developers), and the expectation is that they’ll come in a later update – mostly likely in October, MacRumors theorizes. And equally likely, Apple Intelligence will arrive alongside new MacBook Pro M4 models (and other Macs besides), doubtless with an illustration of how well the M4 SoC runs the AI capabilities.
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Chinese firms are gaining access to top US technology and AI via AWS
The US has restricted certain exports of advanced technologies to China, but the country is simply renting them instead.
State-linked Chinese entities are leveraging cloud services from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its competitors in order to access advanced US chips and AI capabilities that have been restricted in the nation.
By accessing overseas technologies via cloud computing services, Chinese organizations can circumvent US export controls to obtain advanced technology.
The news comes after around two years of US government efforts to impose strict regulations to limit the export of high-end AI chips to China in an effort to hinder the country’s military’s technological advancements.
China is still accessing banned US tech
Anti-China regulations imposed by the US do not prevent the country from accessing such technology through cloud services, but rather the direct export or transfer of tangible goods, software or technology, therefore the country can maintain its access.
A Reuters investigation of more than 50 tender documents posted to Chinese public database over the past year found that at least 11 Chinese entities sought access to restricted US technologies or cloud services – four of which named AWS as their cloud service provider, although they accessed the service through local intermediaries.
One such example is Shenzhen University’s 200,000 yuan ($28,000) payment to access cloud servers powered by Nvidia A100 and H100 chips, which have been banned for export to China.
AWS, which accounts for around one-third of the global cloud market, or the same as Microsoft and Google combined, states that it complies with all applicable US laws.
Consequentially, the US government appears to be increasingly worried about the loophole, with legislators proposing new measures to regulate remote access to US technologies via cloud services. The effectiveness of current export restrictions is also under fire.
TechRadar Pro has contacted Amazon for comment.
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