Month: August 2024
Farmers rely on connectivity and data to support a growing population
In an increasingly interconnected world, where every industry relies on data and connectivity, agriculture is no exception.
For most people, a dropped Wi-Fi connection can be frustrating, but it doesn’t typically equate to anything more than a minor inconvenience. For many farmers, who use mobile technology to monitor their work and plan their operations, a lack of connection can have a significant impact. It can affect an entire year’s work, the profitability of the operation, and how much food they produce for you and I. And while connectivity is so important, most of the farms producing food for our world are in rural areas, where connectivity is the most challenged.
Why is this so important? Consider this: One U.S. farm feeds about 166 people worldwide each year. With the global population expected to surge to nearly 10 billion by 2050, the weight on a farmer’s shoulder will only grow heavier. At the same time, they are working against numerous challenges like labor shortages, weather variability, and narrow time windows to get jobs done. Farmers need every advantage they can get, and leveraging technology enabled by connectivity is one of those advantages.
How data is used on the farm today
Data is used in two ways on the farm. The first way is to use the agronomic and operational data from one growing season to improve the outcomes in the next growing season. Think about this: the average farmer in the northern hemisphere plants and harvests a crop about 40 times in their career. So they have about 40 chances over their lifetime to identify ways to optimize their operations to improve their outcomes. Data is core to this as it allows farmers to monitor and analyze their results over time and use those insights to make more informed decisions.
Farmers have always leveraged data. But what once lived in a paper notebook now finds its home in digital databases, accessible by mobile applications. And with that transition, farmers are able to get more information from that data by overlapping jobs, years, and comparing results based on weather and inputs. Quite simply, digitization has allowed farmers to use the data they collect in a meaningful way that can impact their bottom line and make them more productive year-over-year.
For example, during harvest the yield (amount of grain produced) data provides insights into how the season went for farmers. They learn how much money their business will earn, and the results of their past decisions. Think of it like a report card. And now that farmers know the results of all their decisions, they can analyze how different combinations of fields, seeds, soils, and fertilizers performed. They’ll use all of this data over the next several months to help inform their plans for the next season.
A second way that data is used on the farm is in “real time”. Farms are complex operations with a lot of moving machines, trucks, and people, particularly during planting and harvest times. These operations are also spread out across broad areas of land with fields and farms sometimes 10, 20, or more miles apart. Managing the operations of the farm is made significantly more efficient when the farmer knows where every piece of equipment and all the farm labor is located and can communicate with both the machines and the people helping make the operation run. In an environment where connectivity isn’t available, the farmer is challenged to make this happen. Connectivity can mean the difference between spending 2 hours driving to a field to talk to an operator or spending 5 minutes to wirelessly send the operator and the machine working instructions. The impact of connectivity on a farm operation for real-time communication and operational decisions is immense.
For example, imagine being a farmer working in a rural field miles away from any technicians if something on their machine goes wrong. In agriculture, time is money and any minute of downtime can hurt a farmer’s bottom line. When connected, farmers can take advantage of remote diagnostic technology whereby the dealer can essentially screen share with the farmer and provide immediate assistance.
At the same time, the farmer can connect to other machines in their fleet and make any adjustments needed – no matter where they are. But, it’s not just about farmers talking to their machines. It’s about each of their machines also talking to each other. For example, during spraying, it’s common to have multiple machines operating simultaneously within the same field. It’s challenging for a farmer to visibly distinguish which areas have already been sprayed, so the ability for those machines to know where the others have already been is critical so work isn’t duplicated, time isn’t wasted, and excess product – which cost money – isn’t sprayed. This coordination is facilitated by connectivity, enabling seamless communication between machines.
Real-time data collection helps farmers do more with less
Farmers need connectivity to reap the benefits of data and remote management. It’s crucial for their businesses. And it’s crucial for all of us, who rely on farmers to provide the food, fuel, and fiber for our growing global population. Let’s support farmers, and provide them with the technology – and connectivity – they need to provide for all of us.
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Telegram founder’s arrest, and who’s using acqui-hires to tip-toe around antitrust
On today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Devin Coldeway kicked off our Deals of the Week rundown with Piramidal, a startup that offers a foundational model for analyzing brain scan data and just raised $6 million. The premise behind the company is fascinating — its technology aims to help complement the work of nurses and doctors
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
On today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Devin Coldeway kicked off our Deals of the Week rundown with Piramidal, a startup that offers a foundational model for analyzing brain scan data and just raised $6 million. The premise behind the company is fascinating — its technology aims to help complement the work of nurses and doctors […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Character.AI lays off at least 5% of its workforce to refocus on personalized AI
Chatbot startup Character.AI has laid off at least 5% of its workforce has laid off around 5% of its workforce, according to a report from The Information. This decision is part of a broader effort by the company to streamline operations
The post Character.AI lays off at least 5% of its workforce to refocus on personalized AI first appeared on Tech Startups.
Chatbot startup Character.AI has laid off at least 5% of its workforce has laid off around 5% of its workforce, according to a report from The Information. This decision is part of a broader effort by the company to streamline operations […]
The post Character.AI lays off at least 5% of its workforce to refocus on personalized AI first appeared on Tech Startups.
This malware pretends to be a real VPN service to lure in victims
Criminals are impersonating Palo Alto tools to drop malware to large enterprises in the Middle East.
Hackers have been found impersonating legitimate, enterprise-grade VPN tools in an attempt to compromise large organizations, deploy additional malware, and possibly exfiltrate sensitive information.
A new report from cybersecurity researchers at Trend Micro spotted a fake Palo Alto GlobalProtect program being distributed online.
Palo Alto GlobalProtect is a security solution that provides secure remote access to an organization’s network. It is designed to ensure that users, whether they are working remotely or on-site, can securely access company resources while maintaining a high level of security. Its key features include a VPN, endpoint security, and threat prevention.
Flying under the radar
Trend Micro isn’t certain how the enterprises ended up downloading and installing the wrong application. They suspect it is being distributed via phishing, but it is also likely that there is some SEO poisoning going on, and that employees are being contacted via instant messaging, too.
In any case, when the users run the ‘GlobalProtect.exe’ file, they get a window that looks like a normal installation, in order not to raise any suspicion. However, in the background, the malware is being loaded, too. It first analyzes the target endpoint to see if it’s running in a sandbox, and if that’s not the case, it runs its primary code.
After that, it profiles the device, and sends the information back to its C2 server, encrypted.
Trend Micro says this malware goes the extra mile to fly under the radar. For example, the C2 address is newly registered, and contains “sharjahconnect” strong, to make it appear as if it’s coming from Palo Alto’s offices in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Furthermore, the malware communicates with the C2 via periodically sent beacons through Interactsh, an open-source tool commonly used by pentesters.
Analyzing the malware, the researchers said it is capable of executing PowerShell scripts, downloading and uploading files, and more.
Via BleepingComputer
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TikTok is adding new ways to fine-tune your For You Page algorithm
Image: The Verge
TikTok is giving users a way to more precisely shape what kind of content they see on their feeds — or at least signal to the algorithm what they’re interested in.
Under Content preferences > Manage topics (which can be found in “Settings and Privacy”), users can adjust sliders to signal they want more or less of certain topics in their For You Page. Topics include “creative arts,” “current affairs,” “humor” and more. Sliders are set to a default middle ground at first, and users can tweak it from there.
TikTok’s hyper-targeted For You Page is famously a bit of a black box, built on a trove of user data that sometimes makes it feel like the algorithm is reading your mind. This new slider feature gives us a peak behind the curtain, especially regarding how TikTok categorizes content. It’s interesting, for example, that “dance” is its own distinct topic separate from other arts — not totally surprising given TikTok’s early role as the kids dance app.
Image: TikTok
Over the years, TikTok has rolled out different features to give users a sense of control over their own algorithm. The “not interested” button on videos is meant to signal to the system that you want to see less of something, and users can also block certain keywords or hashtags from their feeds entirely. Last year, TikTok also began testing a way to reset your For You Page to start fresh.
It’s not yet clear how effective adjusting the sliders will be — historically this kind of tool isn’t necessarily a hard and fast rule for what kind of content recommendation systems return. Prior research into YouTube’s “dislike” button, for example, has found that the algorithm kept recommending similar content regardless.
Image: The Verge
TikTok is giving users a way to more precisely shape what kind of content they see on their feeds — or at least signal to the algorithm what they’re interested in.
Under Content preferences > Manage topics (which can be found in “Settings and Privacy”), users can adjust sliders to signal they want more or less of certain topics in their For You Page. Topics include “creative arts,” “current affairs,” “humor” and more. Sliders are set to a default middle ground at first, and users can tweak it from there.
TikTok’s hyper-targeted For You Page is famously a bit of a black box, built on a trove of user data that sometimes makes it feel like the algorithm is reading your mind. This new slider feature gives us a peak behind the curtain, especially regarding how TikTok categorizes content. It’s interesting, for example, that “dance” is its own distinct topic separate from other arts — not totally surprising given TikTok’s early role as the kids dance app.
Image: TikTok
Over the years, TikTok has rolled out different features to give users a sense of control over their own algorithm. The “not interested” button on videos is meant to signal to the system that you want to see less of something, and users can also block certain keywords or hashtags from their feeds entirely. Last year, TikTok also began testing a way to reset your For You Page to start fresh.
It’s not yet clear how effective adjusting the sliders will be — historically this kind of tool isn’t necessarily a hard and fast rule for what kind of content recommendation systems return. Prior research into YouTube’s “dislike” button, for example, has found that the algorithm kept recommending similar content regardless.
7 new movies and TV shows to watch on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (August 30)
From the return of popular shows to the arrival of critically acclaimed new movies, here’s what’s worth watching this weekend.
Just like every week before it, there are plenty of new movies and shows to catch on the world’s biggest streamers this time around – but there’s one hit series that’ll hope to rule them all this weekend.
That’s right, The Rings of Power, the most successful Amazon TV Original of all-time, is back for its highly anticipated second season. Based on what our reviewer said, it sounds like it’s worth catching the high fantasy series’ sophomore season, too, but you’ll need to read on to find out why that’s the case.
Nonplussed about Prime Video‘s take on The Lord of the Rings? Six other absorbing TV series and films are set to make their debuts (or have already done so) on the world’s best streaming services before Sunday evening arrives. So, hop to it, dear reader!
The Rings of Power season 2 (Prime Video)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I liked The Rings of Power season 1. It wasn’t perfect, but Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel show was a fantastical feast for the eyes, with melodrama, horror-imbued moments, high-stakes action, and reams of fantasy to be captivated by.
Ever since The Rings of Power season 2 was first announced, then, I’ve been eager for one of the best Prime Video shows‘ return. Thankfully, the near-two-year wait has been worth it, with The Rings of Power‘s second season being the thrilling and faithful TV adaptation I’ve wanted all along (and I suspect many Tolkien fanatics have, too).
I’ve been covering the series extensively in recent time, so check out our Rings of Power tag page for exclusive insights from its showrunners and cast. I’ll continue to write about it for, well, as long as I’m allowed to, so stick with TechRadar for all of your Middle-earth needs.
Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter
Only Murders in the Building season 4 (Hulu/Disney Plus)
Only Murders in the Building is back and seemingly bigger than ever, with the hit Hulu show’s newest installment (it’s also available on Disney Plus internationally) already earning an impressive 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
This time, the unlikely and much-loved trio of Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short) are back to try and figure out who killed their beloved friend and Charles’ long-time stunt double Sazz, so season 4’s story could arguably be their most personal case yet. They’re also jetting off to Los Angeles because someone’s keen to turn their podcast into a movie, which means we’ll be reunited with Meryl Streep’s Loretta Durkin, too. Huzzah! So, make sure you tune back into one of the best Hulu shows and best Disney Plus shows, especially if you’re a true crime connoisseur.
Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer
Terminator Zero (Netflix)
Judgment Day is finally upon us, which means that you can now stream Terminator Zero on Netflix. If you’re fan of James Cameron’s cyborg assassin sci-fi saga – and let’s be honest, why wouldn’t you be – then you’re in for a treat, because the new show goes back to the original movie’s horror roots. In fact, its creator Matt Tomlin reveals that it’s “a faithful adaptation” to the sci-fi franchise after digging into the original source material.
Indeed, you won’t see any Arnold Schwarzenegger-type characters with leather jackets and Harley Davidsons in this adaptation, and Sarah Connor won’t be back either. Instead, in this R-rated animated series, when Skynet goes rogue and starts to unleash Armageddon, humanity looks to a lone female freedom fighter called Eiko to save the scientist Malcolm Lee. Swapping out LA for Tokyo, Terminator Zero has the potential to not only be one of the best Netflix anime, but also one of the best Netflix shows.
Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor
Kinds of Kindness (Disney Plus / Hulu)
Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the biggest directors flying the Greek Weird Wave – a film movement described by Collider as examining authoritarian power structures in weird and wonderful ways – flag high. And, after watching his most recent collaboration with Emma Stone in Poor Things, which was a colorful, whirlwind odyssey delight, I’m very excited to see what they’ve got in store next. The pair had also worked together on The Favourite, which just so happens to also be joining Hulu in September, so you’ve got two more great movies to stream after you’re done with Kinds of Kindness.
Speaking of Lanthimos’ latest endeavor, it wouldn’t make our best Hulu movies and best Disney Plus movies lists because of its 72% Rotten Tomatoes score, meaning it just falls short of criteria for inclusions. That won’t stop me from streaming it this weekend, though. I’m a fan of anthologies as a tool for storytelling because of how it can piece together a complex theme or sparse narrative, and the triptych fable about a man without choice, a woman’s search for a prodigious spiritual leader, and a policeman’s missing wife at the centre of Kinds of Kindness sounds perfect for it.
Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor
Kaos (Netflix)
Kaos is a dark comedy series that puts a contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology. In it, three humans start to discover their connections with each other and an ancient prophecy, all while they grapple with corrupt Greek gods.
The ever-so-charming Jeff Goldblum playing an emotionally unstable Zeus, the Greek God of Thunder? Sign me up! Although I don’t know much about Greek mythology, this sounds like an enjoyable twist on the subject. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn something new and it’ll become one of the best Netflix shows.
Grace Morris, entertainment writer
The Watchers (Max)
The Watchers, a new supernatural horror, is ready to stream on Max, so fans of the genre will be eating good this weekend. It’s the directorial debut from Ishana Night Shyamalan, who is following in her father’s footsteps to deliver scares. Whether or not she’s inherited his love of insane twists and turns is a mystery, and you’ll have to watch (no pun intended) to find out more and see if it’s worthy of our best horror movies list.
The movie follows Mina (Dakota Fanning), a 28-year-old artist who becomes trapped in a vast, untouched forest in Ireland. While there, she is stuck with three strangers who are stalked by mysterious creatures every night, i.e. the titular “Watchers”, who she must keep herself safe from. Taking plenty of inspiration from folklore, this is one to watch if you like your horrors rural and ominous. Keep an eye out to see if it joins our best Max movies guide shortly.
Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer
K-Pop Idols (Apple TV Plus)
Apple TV Plus is giving us a backstage pass into the world of K-Pop stardom with their new docuseries K-Pop Idols. The six-part documentary offers a close look at the intense reality of being in an industry that demands perfection with much-loved artists Jessi, CRAVITY and BLACKSWAN.
While I don’t listen to K-Pop music, I’m aware of the talent, craft, and determination the performers put into their show-stopping performances. It’s an interesting world that I’m keen to learn about and I’m looking forward to being mesmerized by the idols’ gift on putting on a stunning show on Apple’s streaming platform. We’ll have to wait and see if it makes it onto our best Apple TV Plus shows list.
Grace Morris, entertainment writer
For more streaming recommendations, read our guides on the best Paramount Plus shows, best Prime Video movies, best Paramount Plus movies, and best Apple TV Plus movies.
Sonos made a public Trello board to track its broken app fixes
The Sonos app is broken, and it’s been causing not just customers, but also dealers and installers so many problems over the past few months. Now, it’s documenting the app issues it has already fixed in a public Trello board that you can view and browse yourself. The company’s Social & Community manager, Keith Nieves, has announced the Trello board on Reddit, describing it as a way for people to keep updated about its “progress on the path to a normal core app.” While this is the first time Sonos has taken this approach, this isn’t a new idea for the tech industry: Fortnite maintains a Trello board packed with information on bugs plaguing different aspects of the game.
Issues with the Sonos app started popping up after the company pushed a major app redesign back in April. The refreshed app was supposed to make it easier to play different kinds of content and was supposed to introduce more new features. Instead, users discovered that the application was lacking basic features like the ability to set alarms. It was also riddled with performance and reliability issues, such as those that prevented them from rearranging speakers, kept speakers from working altogether and made it difficult for them to add new devices to their home setup.
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence acknowledged that people were experiencing “significant problems” with the company’s new app in a post published in July. He said that Sonos had released updates that improved the app’s performance since May and laid out a timeline for other fixes, including improving alarm consistency and restoring edit mode for playlists, which are rolling out in the next couple of months.
Nieves is maintaining the Trello board by himself for now, and so far, it contains release notes from previous fixes, as well as a list of patches coming out soon. He said that the cards in the board were sourced from various posts and release notes communications, and he admitted that the board is “not an exhaustive list of every item on [Sonos’] internal roadmap, nor is it a complete view of all known issues.” He seemed to be open to collaboration with users, though, and is asking users to PM him if they are experiencing issues not noted on a card. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/sonos-made-a-public-trello-board-to-track-its-broken-app-fixes-140013331.html?src=rss
The Sonos app is broken, and it’s been causing not just customers, but also dealers and installers so many problems over the past few months. Now, it’s documenting the app issues it has already fixed in a public Trello board that you can view and browse yourself. The company’s Social & Community manager, Keith Nieves, has announced the Trello board on Reddit, describing it as a way for people to keep updated about its “progress on the path to a normal core app.” While this is the first time Sonos has taken this approach, this isn’t a new idea for the tech industry: Fortnite maintains a Trello board packed with information on bugs plaguing different aspects of the game.
Issues with the Sonos app started popping up after the company pushed a major app redesign back in April. The refreshed app was supposed to make it easier to play different kinds of content and was supposed to introduce more new features. Instead, users discovered that the application was lacking basic features like the ability to set alarms. It was also riddled with performance and reliability issues, such as those that prevented them from rearranging speakers, kept speakers from working altogether and made it difficult for them to add new devices to their home setup.
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence acknowledged that people were experiencing “significant problems” with the company’s new app in a post published in July. He said that Sonos had released updates that improved the app’s performance since May and laid out a timeline for other fixes, including improving alarm consistency and restoring edit mode for playlists, which are rolling out in the next couple of months.
Nieves is maintaining the Trello board by himself for now, and so far, it contains release notes from previous fixes, as well as a list of patches coming out soon. He said that the cards in the board were sourced from various posts and release notes communications, and he admitted that the board is “not an exhaustive list of every item on [Sonos’] internal roadmap, nor is it a complete view of all known issues.” He seemed to be open to collaboration with users, though, and is asking users to PM him if they are experiencing issues not noted on a card.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/sonos-made-a-public-trello-board-to-track-its-broken-app-fixes-140013331.html?src=rss