About: blatcho

The wireless, noise-canceling EAH-A800 boast a premium feel, great sound, and more battery than you’ll likely ever need. But they’re not perfect.

Conti Leaks Reveal the Ransomware Group’s Links to Russia

Members of the Conti ransomware group may act in Russia’s interest, but their links to the FSB and Cozy Bear hackers appear ad hoc.

Big Pharma’s Ethical Dilemma: Should They Keep Selling to Russia?

Sanctions and boycotts following the invasion of Ukraine have curtailed the export of nearly every product—except medicines. That’s up to drugmakers.

Microsoft Edge now automatically generates image labels for screen readers on Windows, macOS, and Linux, improving the experience for blind and low vision users (Tom Warren/The Verge)

Tom Warren / The Verge: Microsoft Edge now automatically generates image labels for screen readers on Windows, macOS, and Linux, improving the experience for blind and low vision users — Ideal for blind or low vision web users — More than half of the images on the web are missing alt text, according to Microsoft.

Russia’s disconnection from Western online services raises fears of a “splinternet”, networks with incompatible protocols diverging from today’s global internet (James Ball/MIT Technology Review)

James Ball / MIT Technology Review: Russia’s disconnection from Western online services raises fears of a “splinternet”, networks with incompatible protocols diverging from today’s global internet — If Russia disconnects from—or is booted from— the internet’s governing bodies, the internet may never be the same again for any of us.

Avive, which is building a connected, data-sharing response service for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest emergencies, raises a $22M Series A (FinSMEs)

FinSMEs: Avive, which is building a connected, data-sharing response service for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest emergencies, raises a $22M Series A — Avive Solutions, Inc., a San Francisco, CA-based developer of an intelligent AED and connected response platform for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest …

James Webb Space Telescope takes highest resolution infrared image

The James Webb Space Telescope has sent back its clearest image yet

‘BirdBot’ has robotic legs more efficient than more complex devices

Robotic legs with an unconventional design inspired by flightless birds can run 300 per cent more efficiently than the same device would if designed traditionally

Online Safety Bill: Will UK’s new law protect people from harm online?

The final draft of legislation designed to protect people from “harmful content” online goes before Parliament today, but critics warn it is likely to have unintended negative consequences

Russia’s Killer Drone in Ukraine Raises Fears About AI in Warfare

The maker of the lethal drone claims that it can identify targets using artificial intelligence.

The Amazon Warehouse Walkout Is Just the Latest Push

Amazonians United has coordinated its first multistate walkout for better pay after racking up wins across the nation for the past three years.

Deepfake Zelensky Was Quickly Defeated. The Next One May Not Be

The response to a video impersonating the Ukrainian president gives a blueprint for how to stop more sophisticated attempts.

PayPal expands its services to allow users to send money into Ukraine and temporarily waives fees for customers sending funds to Ukrainian PayPal accounts (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch: PayPal expands its services to allow users to send money into Ukraine and temporarily waives fees for customers sending funds to Ukrainian PayPal accounts — PayPal is expanding its services to allow its users to send money to Ukrainians, the company announced on Thursday.

New York-based online insurance marketplace Policygenius raises a $125M Series E, bringing its total funding to $225M (PYMNTS.com)

PYMNTS.com: New York-based online insurance marketplace Policygenius raises a $125M Series E, bringing its total funding to $225M — Policygenius has raised $125 million in new growth capital, the InsurTech firm announced in a news release Thursday (March 17). — The company, based in New York City …

Bored Ape Yacht Club’s $APE token hit a peak of $39.40 per token during its airdrop, but later sank as low as $7.50 (Andrew Hayward/Decrypt)

Andrew Hayward / Decrypt: Bored Ape Yacht Club’s $APE token hit a peak of $39.40 per token during its airdrop, but later sank as low as $7.50 — ApeCoin, the Ethereum token built for the expanding Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT ecosystem, launched this morning and rapidly rose in value before shedding much of its […]

Q&A: Climate Grand Challenges finalists on accelerating reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions

This is the second article in a four-part interview series highlighting the work of the 27 MIT Climate Grand Challenges finalists, which received a total of $2.7 million in startup funding to advance their projects. In April, the Institute will name a subset of the finalists as multiyear flagship projects. Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel […]

Physicists find direct evidence of strong electron correlation in a 2D material for the first time

In recent years, physicists have discovered materials that are able to switch their electrical character from a metal to an insulator, and even to a superconductor, which is a material in a friction-free state that allows electrons to flow with zero resistance. These materials, which include “magic-angle” graphene and other synthesized two-dimensional materials, can shift […]

Investing in a stronger MIT

MIT plans to make significant investments in the next fiscal year to support the Institute community, strengthen its research enterprise, and enhance its digital and physical infrastructure. The Institute announced in October that its pooled investments recorded a return of 55.5 percent — the strongest annual performance in more than 20 years — bringing the […]

The Path to a Carbon-Neutral Future Through Digital Technology and Platform Innovation – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM ALIBABA GROUP

Sponsor content from Alibaba Group.

Research: To Excel, Diverse Teams Need Psychological Safety

Findings from a study of 62 drug-development teams.

How the War in Ukraine Is Further Disrupting Global Supply Chains

It may accelerate a shift to regional suppliers.

NASA Finally Rolls Out Its Massive SLS Rocket, With Much at Stake

The agency’s long-awaited, costly Space Launch System is finally ready for a practice countdown before the first Artemis mission this spring.

Death of the Password? FIDO Alliance Reveals Its New Plan

After a decade of work, the FIDO Alliance says it’s found the missing piece in the bridge to a password-free future.

Eufy’s Video Doorbell Dual Keeps One Eye on Your Packages

This smart doorbell uses two cameras to help keep porch pirates at bay.

Grocery delivery app Getir raises a $768M Series E at an $11.8B valuation led by Mubadala with Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, and others participating (Dan Taylor/Tech.eu)

Dan Taylor / Tech.eu: Grocery delivery app Getir raises a $768M Series E at an $11.8B valuation led by Mubadala with Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, and others participating — Confirming earlier rumours, Getir has reined in $768 million at a decacorn valuation of $11.8 billion.

Tokyo-based mobile banking app Kyash raises a $41M Series D from Block, Greyhound, and others; report says it is Block’s first investment in Asia (Kate Park/TechCrunch)

Kate Park / TechCrunch: Tokyo-based mobile banking app Kyash raises a $41M Series D from Block, Greyhound, and others; report says it is Block’s first investment in Asia — Kyash, a Tokyo-based mobile financial app, has raised $41.2 million (4.9 billion JPY) Series D funding. — The round comes from a number …

Sources: Alibaba and Tencent are planning to cut tens of thousands of jobs combined this year as companies try to cope with China’s regulatory crackdown (Reuters)

Reuters: Sources: Alibaba and Tencent are planning to cut tens of thousands of jobs combined this year as companies try to cope with China’s regulatory crackdown — Alibaba Group (9988.HK) and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) are preparing to cut tens of thousands of jobs combined this year …

Watch emu-inspired robot legs that use less energy to run

Robotic legs that mimic flightless running birds like emus and use just two motors per leg can run more efficiently than more complex devices

Sensors inspired by dandelion seeds can record signs of climate change

Tiny sensors that can drift in the breeze like dandelion seeds can help record environmental signals across a wide area

7 Great Deals to Get You Through the Workweek

If you’re anything like me, you’re looking for every way to stay focused until Friday. Noise-canceling headphones (and other gadgets) just might help.

The End of Infinite Data Storage Can Set You Free

The belief that we could save endlessly online turned us all into information hoarders. What society needs instead is better systems for preserving public knowledge.

How to Back Up Your Digital Life

Backups are boring, but they’ll save your bacon. Here’s how to make sure your data lives on, even when your PC doesn’t.

French cloud service OVHcloud files an antitrust complaint about Microsoft with the European Commission; sources say complaint focuses on Microsoft’s licensing (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal: French cloud service OVHcloud files an antitrust complaint about Microsoft with the European Commission; sources say complaint focuses on Microsoft’s licensing — France’s OVHcloud has filed a complaint that Microsoft is abusing its position to hurt competition

Sources: Yandex is in negotiations to sell its media unit, including Yandex News and personal recommendations site Yandex Zen, possibly to social network VK (TechCrunch)

TechCrunch: Sources: Yandex is in negotiations to sell its media unit, including Yandex News and personal recommendations site Yandex Zen, possibly to social network VK — Sources say the company is seeking a media exit as top exec hit with sanctions over propaganda charge

Bored Ape Yacht Club launches ApeCoin, or the $APE token, with 1B in total supply, and forms the ApeCoin DAO, whose founding members include Alexis Ohanian (Lucas Matney/TechCrunch)

Lucas Matney / TechCrunch: Bored Ape Yacht Club launches ApeCoin, or the $APE token, with 1B in total supply, and forms the ApeCoin DAO, whose founding members include Alexis Ohanian — Even among the fastest-growing crypto startups, Yuga Labs has had a particularly explosive year. — The startup is behind …

A possible new Covid-19 vaccine could be accessible for more of the world

While many people in wealthier countries have been vaccinated against Covid-19, there is still a need for vaccination in much of the world. A new vaccine developed at MIT and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center may aid in those efforts, offering an inexpensive, easy-to-store, and effective alternative to RNA vaccines. In a new paper, the […]

A fabric that “hears” your heartbeat

Having trouble hearing? Just turn up your shirt. That’s the idea behind a new “acoustic fabric” developed by engineers at MIT and collaborators at Rhode Island School of Design. The team has designed a fabric that works like a microphone, converting sound first into mechanical vibrations, then into electrical signals, similarly to how our ears […]

Fixing Data Overload in Health Care

A five-step approach to get the right data into the right hands at the right time.

5 Key Trends Leaders Need to Understand to Get Hybrid Right

New research from Microsoft.

What Great Hybrid Cultures Do Differently

It only works when all employees are treated like they’re remote.

Apple’s New iPhone SE Could Have Been Great

The cheapest iPhone has the same processor as the most expensive iPhone. But it doesn’t feel very special.

The War in Ukraine Is a Reproductive Health Crisis for Millions

Russia’s invasion is making it harder to deliver babies and provide birth control, abortion services, and other essential care.

The Workaday Life of the World’s Most Dangerous Ransomware Gang

A Ukrainian researcher leaked 60,000 messages from inside the Conti ransomware group. This is what they reveal.

Wasoko, formerly Sokowatch, a Kenya-based B2B marketplace that offers a BNPL service to retailers, raises a $125M Series B, source says at a $625M valuation (Tage Kene-Okafor/TechCrunch)

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch: Wasoko, formerly Sokowatch, a Kenya-based B2B marketplace that offers a BNPL service to retailers, raises a $125M Series B, source says at a $625M valuation — Informal retail is king in Africa, with hundreds of billions of dollars of consumer goods are sold through its channels yearly.

Treehouse, which provides DeFi data analytics, raises an $18M seed led by an “undisclosed large fintech investor”, with Binance and others participating (Jamie Crawley/CoinDesk)

Jamie Crawley / CoinDesk: Treehouse, which provides DeFi data analytics, raises an $18M seed led by an “undisclosed large fintech investor”, with Binance and others participating — Treehouse aims to provide retail investors the infrastructure needed for them to make informed decisions on their DeFi positions

SpaceFill, which helps companies build flexible logistics networks in Europe by offering warehouse space and a SaaS monitoring tool, raises $27M led by NGP (Romain Dillet/TechCrunch)

Romain Dillet / TechCrunch: SpaceFill, which helps companies build flexible logistics networks in Europe by offering warehouse space and a SaaS monitoring tool, raises $27M led by NGP — French startup SpaceFill has raised a $27 million funding round (€25 million) led by NGP Capital with Maersk Growth …

The Lapsus$ Hacking Group Is Off to a Chaotic Start