Technicalities

Techies, unite! Briefs from the world of clouds, servers, and the IoT.  Microsoft investing big in IoT. Microsoft announced April 4 that it will invest an additional $5 billion towards the Internet of Things. The money is expected to be spread evenly over the next four years into the IoT sector. As part of company restructuring, the […]

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Southwest Searching for Answers

Inspections, metal durability, structural flaws all concerns after accident Metal fatigue and inspection oversight are coming into focus as the causal identities for a harrowing accident aboard a Southwest Airlines flight Tuesday that left one passenger dead and traumatized 148 others in a required emergency landing. Preliminary concerns are focusing on the aircraft’s engine, specifically […]

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Generating Buzz

Energy milestone reached in United Kingdom Official figures produced March 29 by the United Kingdom’s governmental publishing service show an energy milestone was reached in 2017. They show that wind farms and solar panels produced more electricity than the country’s eight nuclear power stations for the first time. Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions also continued to […]

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Nestle Pumps Up

The company just won a highly opposed decision in Michigan. In a state that has become a referendum on water equity, an important decision was made this week. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has approved Nestlé’s plan to boost the amount of water it takes from the state. Michigan citizens were outspoken against the […]

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Hack Attack

Cyberattacks target FERC, U.S. energy infrastructure The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is among the targets of alleged Iranian hackers indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on March 23. Nine members of an Iran-based company stole data from hundreds of universities and dozens of companies around the world, the DOJ said, acting in many cases on […]

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Garbage Time

Massive patch in the Pacific is way larger than we thought Ok, you don’t like EPA regulations. Sure, “people are too dramatic about pollution.” You’re convinced that climate change is a hoax. Maybe there’s no point in getting worked up about the environment. Maybe we should all accept that increased pollution is an inevitability, generated […]

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Self-Driving Fatality

Accident in Tempe forces Uber to suspend program The vaunted technology of self-driving vehicles saw its first major failure on the evening of March 19, when one of the cars caused a fatality in Tempe, Arizona. A 39-year old pedestrian was the victim. The tragic accident prompted Uber, the company responsible, to suspend all driverless […]

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Manufacturing Defense

NEMA testifies to Congress subcommittee about electroindustry concerns National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Vice President of Government Relations Kyle Pitsor testified in front of the Energy Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday at a hearing on improving the cyber and physical security of the electric grid. Pitsor contended that while NEMA is […]

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Energy Grid on Alert

Technical Alert issued by DHS and FBI along with Russian sanctions As part of a major salvo of sanctions announced Thursday, the White House warned the public that Russian malware is targeting the U.S. energy grid in an attempt to sabotage its systems, according to multiple reports. Political implications aside, the attempted sabotage is a […]

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RVs Lost in Blaze

Motor shop also burned at Paul Evert’s RV outlet (Fresno, Calif.) A popular California RV site caught fire February 21, resulting in nearly $3 million in vehicle damages and the loss of an on-site repair shop. The Fresno location of Paul Evert’s RV Country, which has nine locations in five states along the West Coast, […]

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