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Today's Topics:
1. China Made a Spy Camera That Can See Faces from Space
(Antony Barry)
2. OpenAI?s ChatGPT now reaching 400 million weekly users
(Antony Barry)
3. Windows 11 24H2 preview build includes removal of the
Location History API. (Stephen Loosley)
4. US administration threatens tariffs for any nation taxing Big
Tech (Stephen Loosley)
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2025 14:10:37 +1100
From: Antony Barry <[email protected]>
To: Link list <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] China Made a Spy Camera That Can See Faces from Space
Message-ID:
<caecotwwwxhrskyfjqyty8buphm4c3fxsjr2ypizsl39u7ss...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Source:
https://petapixel.com/2025/02/20/china-made-a-spy-camera-that-can-see-faces-from-space/?lctg=1980929&utm_source=digitaltrends&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:1980929&utm_campaign=DTDaily20250221
Chinese scientists have built a surveillance camera with unprecedented
resolving capabilities. The powerful laser-based delivered millimeter-level
resolution from 100 kilometers (62 miles) away, an achievement previously
thought impossible.
The scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences? Aerospace Information
Research Institute tested the new camera system at Qinghai Lake in remote
northwest China, *South China Morning Post* reports
<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3299346/chinese-scientists-build-worlds-most-powerful-spy-camera>.
During the test, the synthetic aperture LIDAR (SAL) system looked at a
target 101.8 kilometers away across the large lake and could decipher
details just 1.7 millimeters across (1/16 inch). The SAL measured the
distance to the objects within a margin of 15.6 millimeters (0.6 inches).
*SCMP* describes this impressive performance as ?100 times? better than
leading spy cameras and lens-based telescopes.
LIDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging, captures images by
striking an object with a very precise laser and then measuring the time it
takes for the reflected light to return to a receiver. Often used to make
high-resolution maps, laser-based imaging has an existing basis in military
surveillance technology. However, prior attempts have been relatively
lackluster compared to the new SAL camera.
In 2011, Lockheed Martin achieved an azimuth resolution of two centimeters
(0.8 inches) from 1.6 kilometers (one mile) away with a LIDAR camera.
Chinese scientists later achieved a five-centimeter (1.97-inch) resolution
from 6.9 kilometers (4.3 miles), *SCMP* reports. The move from these
results to SAL?s performance is incredible.
The significant advancements are possible thanks to a powerful 103-watt
laser, advanced real-time data processing, adaptive algorithms that reduce
the noise of the laser?s light, and a very large optical aperture all play
key roles.
?This isn?t just about seeing a satellite ? it?s about reading its serial
numbers,? a researcher not involved in the study told *SCMP* under the
condition of anonymity. ?At these resolutions, you could detect
micrometeoroid damage on solar panels or identify specific sensor payloads.?
While the breakthrough results are impressive, there are significant
limitations to laser-based camera systems. The test was performed during
perfectly clear weather for a reason ? atmospheric conditions can
significantly hamper a LIDAR camera. SAL cannot track a moving target in
its current form, so that?s another hurdle.
Nonetheless, SAL breaking records from 100 kilometers away is a huge deal ?
that?s how far the boundary between the atmosphere and space is from
Earth?s surface, also known as the K?rm?n Line.
PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; if you buy something
through such a link, PetaPixel may earn a commission.
--
Mob:04 3365 2400 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2025 14:12:41 +1100
From: Antony Barry <[email protected]>
To: Link list <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] OpenAI?s ChatGPT now reaching 400 million weekly users
Message-ID:
<caecotwwk6a3msw95ptrg_81h19kpl37zifyhrytmfk_9bdr...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
OpenAI?s ChatGPT tool now has 400 million weekly active users, marking an
increase of 100 million since December, the Microsoft-backed company revealed
on Thursday
<https://click.digitaltrends.com/ga/click/2-1980929-11-1062-2633-0-6d2cc5821f-fu960e88fd?l=1-c93dc9ee70-https%3A%2F%2Fx%2Ecom%2Fbradlightcap%2Fstatus%2F1892579908179882057%3Flctg%3D1980929>.
It also has around 2 million business users engaging with the technology
for work, double that of five months ago. The rapid growth comes amid
increased competition from Google?s Gemini, xAI?s Grok, and China?s
DeepSeek, among others ...
https://www.eweek.com/news/chatgpt-hits-400m-weekly-active-users/?lctg=1980929&utm_source=digitaltrends&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:1980929&utm_campaign=DTDaily20250221
--
Mob:04 3365 2400 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2025 22:30:51 +1030
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] Windows 11 24H2 preview build includes removal of the
Location History API.
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Microsoft declutters Windows 11 File Explorer in the name of Euro privacy
Also hammers another nail into Cortana's coffin with the end of Location History
By Richard Speed Wed 19 Feb 2025 // 10:28 UTC
https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/19/windows_11_24h2_preview/
Microsoft had a Valentine's Day gift for Windows Insiders, firing another arrow
into the heart of Cortana while also attempting to soothe European privacy
concerns.
The Windows 11 24H2 preview build, 26120.3281, was released to the Dev and Beta
channels and included the removal of the Location History API.
Announced as deprecated a few days earlier, the API allowed Cortana ?
Microsoft's attempt at an assistant before everything became Copilot ? to
access 24 hours of device history if location was enabled.
Cortana is no more, and now neither is the API. According to Microsoft: "With
the removal of the Location History feature, location data will no longer be
saved locally, and the corresponding settings are also being removed from
Settings > Privacy & security > Location page."
We asked Microsoft if that meant location data would still be saved remotely,
but the company has yet to respond.
The other change, aimed at meeting European privacy rules, is to disable
account-based content in File Explorer. The change applies to Entra IDs in the
European Economic Area (EEA) and will affect Recent, Favorites, Details Pane,
and Recommended content.
Other news:
February's Patch Tuesday sees Microsoft offer just 63 fixes
Microsoft makes sweet, sweet music with Windows MIDI Services
Copilot+ PCs? Customers just aren't buying it ? yet
Remember it'll cost ya to keep the lights on for Windows 10
The change is logical. The sections require user data to show content, be it
recently used files or recommendations based on user activity. While there is
an argument that poking around user data to provide this information improves
workflows, there is also the risk that sensitive data might be exposed, and the
requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) stomped over.
And so, for Entra ID accounts in the EEA, these features have been removed from
File Explorer, with the side effect of a decluttered interface and a possible,
albeit slight, performance boost since File Explorer no longer has to gather
data to display.
Along with the usual raft of fixes, Microsoft is also rolling out functionality
that allows users to resume OneDrive files from a phone to a PC with a single
click. And it warned that an imminent update to Recall will delete a user's
existing snapshots - all of them. The company said: "This important update will
improve your experience."
There is no indication if or when these updates will make it to the generally
available version of Windows 11. While Microsoft releases Windows 11 24H2
previews for Dev and Beta channels, users can switch channels. However, it is
essential to remember that there is no guarantee of stability, even in the Beta
channel.
--
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2025 22:50:43 +1030
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] US administration threatens tariffs for any nation
taxing Big Tech
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Trump administration threatens tariffs for any nation that dares to tax Big Tech
Digital services taxes, network build levies, touted as violations of US
sovereignty
By Simon Sharwood Mon 24 Feb 2025
https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/24/trump_administration_dst_countertariffs/
United States president Donald Trump last Friday issued a memorandum that
suggests imposition of tariffs on nations that dare to tax big tech companies.
The memorandum mentions the digital services taxes (DSTs) were introduced to
capture profits from revenue that tech companies generate in one country but
collect in another.
Netflix is often cited as an example of why such taxes are needed, because many
of its customers around the world paid their subscriptions to an entity in The
Netherlands.
Governments argued that was inappropriate because Netflix was selling to their
citizens, who consumed the vid-streamer?s services in their territory, and that
a Netflix subscription therefore represented economic activity in their
jurisdictions that should be taxed like any other.
Another reason DSTs were considered was that Netflix?s Netherlands scheme, like
many other structures used by Big Tech companies, are legal-but-cynical tax
efforts at reducing their tax bills to levels well below those local companies
pay.
The OECD developed measures to prevent multinational companies using such
tactics, and they have been widely adopted without stopping all of Big Tech?s
tax tricks. DSTS were pitched as necessary ? perhaps temporarily ? while the
OECD approach was developed, and adopted.
Other news:
Trump can't quickly or easily kill the CHIPS Act, but he can fire the
workers funded by it
Trump?s DoD CISO pick previously faced security clearance suspension
Trump teases 25% semiconductor tariffs that will go ?substantially higher?
Cisco says it?s already dug in to protect itself ? and customers ? if trade
war breaks out
Trump?s opposition to DSTs is not new: the Biden administration felt they
disproportionately targeted US businesses and threatened 25 percent tariffs if
they were not removed. The UK and Europe dropped some of the taxes, as did
India.
Tariffs are now back on the agenda for remaining digital services taxes.
As outlined in a Friday memorandum, Trump stated: ?My Administration will not
allow American companies and workers and American economic and national
security interests to be compromised by one-sided, anti-competitive policies
and practices of foreign governments. American businesses will no longer prop
up failed foreign economies through extortive fines and taxes.?
?All of these measures violate American sovereignty and offshore American jobs,
limit American companies? global competitiveness, and increase American
operational costs while exposing our sensitive information to potentially
hostile foreign regulators,? the Memorandum adds.
The document also calls for US authorities to consider DSTs in its report on
the OECD tax measures mentioned above, which Trump also feels unjustly penalize
American businesses.
The Memorandum instructs the US Trade Representative to ?identify tools the
United States can use to secure among trading partners a permanent moratorium
on customs duties on electronic transmissions.? Just when those tools will be
identified, and implemented, is unknown.
However the administration?s intent is clear: Big Tech should not be taxed by
any nation other than the US, which itself struggles to tax its top tech
companies thanks to the tax minimization schemes the OECD deal was designed to
dent. ?
--
------------------------------
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