2018-10-29

The Library of Congress and the Copyright Office ruled on new exemptions to DMCA section 1201, which makes it illegal to circumvent anti-tinkering/repair locks on cell phones, cars, and software. Kyle Wiens' recap gives both the good (you and your third-party supplier can now legally unlock your phone, jailbreak your Alexa, and modify the software on your car or tractor) and the bad (you still can't repair your game console, boat, or airplane) in the ruling. Cory Doctorow explains a larger problem: While one-off "use exemptions" were granted, "tool exemptions" were not; this means that it's still illegal for "an expert to make a tool for disabling DRM so that you can make the uses they've permitted you to make."
... and Meanwhile, Motorola partnered with iFixit to sell manufacturer-approved replacement parts and repair kits for "all of its recent phones."
“Nothing is on schedule" at GM's Cruise.
IBM is buying Red Hat, makers of the eponymous Linux distro, for $34B.
Consolidation in the medical implants field: Stryker acquired K2M; J&J acquired Emerging Implant Technologies.

Andrew is looking to chat with a food engineer for advice about producing custom 3d pasta shapes.
On Congolese "artisanally-mined" (i.e. dug literally by hand) cobalt, a critical part of the supply chain for lithium ion batteries. "It isn’t easy for global manufacturers to trace cobalt’s source in Congo, because it passes through multiple companies and countries. Some mining operations mix industrially produced and creuseur-dug cobalt, say mining executives who have worked in the country." See also my favorite link from 2018-08-27, a piece from Logic Magazine on why supply chain transparency is so hard.
How laser printers work. The paper is given one charge and a drum of toner (which is basically colored plastic) is selectively given the opposite charge. When the toner touches the paper (sometimes through intermediate transfer drums), toner clings to the paper; it's then pressed onto the paper with a hot roller.
A nice little mini-Instagram-documentary on making olive oil. I love the tree shaker in particular :)
A clever little electric motor whose windings are just traces on a PCB.
Chris Denney on The Amp Hour, talking about how to run a PCBA shop.
A good, down to earth, and pretty descriptive video of orthodontic aligners being made.

A good piece on how to deal with high winds when you've got a tower crane on your jobsite. "Since some tower cranes can be disassembled in just a few days it is possible to have the cranes dismounted and out of harm’s way in time [before the storm hits]. Of course, it’s expensive to disassemble a crane like this and then put it back up, especially in the event that a storm changes path and doesn’t hit the construction site at all, but it’s likely less expensive than dealing with an uncontrolled tower collapse."
With Chinese government blocking vast quantities of US cardboard waste, Chinese firms are buying up shuttered US recycling plants and will be directing much of their product (recycled plastic pellets; recycled paper products) for export.

JD is apparently exploring underground delivery logistics systems.
A rather whimsical concept for replacing elevators with what are essentially bikes mounted to the sides of buildings. I recommend, however, this 2009 Slate piece on the factors that affect elevator energy efficiency.
US bicycle commuting is down double digit percentages since 2014.

The DOD Defense Innovation Board's guide to detecting when someone is bullshitting about how agile they are.
A pretty nice video demo of schlieren optics, which use collimated (parallel beam) light to visualize density variations in the fluid (air, etc) in the field of view.
The European X-ray free electron laser produced its first scientific paper, on the 3D structures of protein microcrystals. EuXFEL will be the largest X-ray laser until it's surpassed by a new equipment being built by SLAC.

"Here Are Some Weird Facts About Airbags."
Horace Dediu on the history of company towns and the current state of corporate campuses.
On how a 13th century Scotish drainage ditch is regulated. "Among all the thunder and fury of constitutional rammies and increasingly partisan rows, shouldn't we find it reassuring that this kind of work can still quietly go on - and on a consensual, cross-party basis?"

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Love, Spencer.

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