Tag: Elon Musk

Tech This Week – November 5, 2022

You already know what time it is! It’s time for Exhibit’s weekly tech roundup, Tech This Week. Similar to every week until now, There are of course new and exciting things happening in the world of tech! And we’re here to serve them to you in a plate full of delights. So without further ado let’s begin! 

WhatsApp new features 

Whatsapp has been adding new features under its kitty and this week the messaging app announced three new features. Now, users can add up to 1024 members in a group chat! That sounds like a village! However, there are also new changes in the video call feature where now 32 members can be added up to a call. Whatsapp will also be soon rolling out the option where users will able to text themselves. 

Big changes to Twitter 

We were surely excited when Elon Musk took over the command of Twitter. But things went sour quickly when the hip CEO announced that users will have to pay a monthly fee of $8 in order to stay verified on the platform. It was also noted that the use of racist slurs on Twitter like the N-Word had grown exponentially by 500% after Musk took command. Twitter employees were also seen sleeping in the office in order to meet the tight deadlines by Musk. It is to be seen whether this change in Twitter will lead it to become a better platform or lead to its eventual irrelevance. 

Google’s language AI model 

Google is one of the pioneers in AI technology and has now announced a single AI model that will support around 1K of the most spoken languages in the world! Google believes that by creating a model of this size, it will make it easier to bring various AI functionalities to languages that are poorly represented in the online space. 

iPhone 14 production affected 

China’s Foxconn area in Zhengzhou went into a lockdown in recent times which made major headlines. However, the lockdown did not stop Foxconn from halting production of the iPhone 14 as it ordered workers to live in the factory complex and work on the production during an active covid outbreak. However, many workers were then seen fleeing the area, climbing fences, and walking around the Foxconn vicinity which has led to the iPhone 14 production getting affected. 

Netflix is now cheaper than before! 

The OTT giant Netflix has now launched its basic ad-supported platform in several countries. Under this plan, users will be able to stream 720P content that will be limited to a single device support only. Netflix states that users will get 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour of content. However, the ad-supported plan has not been introduced yet in India. 

Amazon Founder Sued

Amazon owner and billionaire – Jeff Bezos was sued by a former housekeeper who claims that she was subjected to racial discrimination by his staff. The former housekeeper also accused that they were forced to work 10 to 14 hours a day in unsanitary conditions without rest or meal breaks. The former housekeeper now seeks back pay and benefits as well as monetary damages. 

iPhone India users to get 5G from next week 

Apple will soon be rolling out the much-awaited software upgrade for the 5G network in India next week. The service will be made available with the iOS 16 beta software update. With this update, users of iPhone 14, 13, 12, and SE will be able to experience 5G. 

Windows 11 Moment 2 update

Microsoft recently released new features on Windows 11 with the Moment 1 update. The company has decided to move away from major updates and focus on smaller updates over shorter periods of time. The rumor mill has it that the Moment 2 update is just around the corner. 

AMD Radeon RX 7000 GPUs

Finally, AMD officially announced its next-gen Radeon RX GPUs today. The rumors about this new lineup of GPUs were making rounds on the internet for a long time. The first two Radeon RX 7000 GPUs are called Radeon RX 7900 XTX and the Radeon RX 7900 XT. The latest series will be using AMD’s latest RDNA 3 Graphical architecture. With the support of DisplayPort 2.1, the GPUs will support higher refresh rates on even 4K and 8K resolutions! 

Elon Musk proposes $8 per month for Twitter blue tick

The new owner of Twitter is ready to shake up how the app works from the ground above. Elon Musk recently took control of Twitter after completing his $44 billion acquisition the past week. A lot has happened ever since Musk took command of Twitter, be it him walking into the headquarters with a sink in his hands or key staff members and the board of directors being shown the front door. While it was expected that Musk will make radical changes to the platform, people were not expecting that there will be a change in how accounts are verified with the blue tick. It looks like users will now have to pay a monthly fee in order to keep their verified status on Twitter!

$8 for blue tick on Twitter

Musk had some strong views to share on Twitter’s verification policy. He described the current system as a ‘lords & peasants system calling it ‘bullshit’. Elon wants to bring a change in the Twitter verification system with it being available only to Twitter Blue subscribers at the price of $8 per month.

A verified tick is not the only feature as Blue members will also get more benefits with the $8 price tag. Twitter won’t be an entirely ad-free experience for Blue users but they will see ‘Half as many ads’. Additionally, Blue members will also get priority in tweet replies, mentions, and search. Another feature catering to creators on the internet is the ability to be able to post longer video and audio content. Twitter Blue will also come with a paywall bypass feature that will directly work with publishers that collab with the platform. According to the Twitter boss, Blue subscription will be differently adjusted by country. Twitter Blue has not been introduced yet in India and it will be interesting to see at what price the subscription is introduced here.

Naturally, the decision has faced a lot of backlash on the platform. Many blue tick verified users have expressed their disappointment over the new rule. However, Elon Musk won’t be backing down from his decision.

 

 

Elon Musk’s Starship could finally make us Interplanetary Species

Despite technological advances, we as human species have managed to travel only a little over 4 lakh kilometres to the dark side of our moon. Why have we not explored further? The answer is simple – The lack of powerful rockets capable of transporting humans and their bare necessities any further. We’ve been sling shooting satellites beyond immeasurable distances across our solar system’s circumference for years at this moment in time. Speaking of which, Elon Musk, his SpaceX organisation and their latest Starship in its third iteration powered by innovative new boosters might just be the tools required to make the human species an interplanetary species.

Elon Musk and SpaceX showcased their new plans with their newest Starship in Texas on 10th February 2022. This new Starship is 50m in height/length, 9m in diameter, has a propellant capacity of 1200t with a thrust capacity of 1500tf and a loading capacity of 100-150t based on the orbit trajectory. The Starship is SpaceX’s main vessel that shall transport humans, materials, tools and much more from planet Earth to destined planet Mars. This being the third generation Starship, it has improved from the ones shown two years ago and has larger dimensions and relatively powerful yet efficient boosters named Raptor V2.

This new propulsion system is said to be smaller, efficient, have fewer parts and produce more thrust power than its predecessor, Raptor V1. One of the critical components of the mix is their new Raptor engine configuration, which beautifully aligns 33 propulsion nozzles with achieving optimal thrust levels. There’s something unique about the launch and catch towers designed for Starship and the Super Heavy (yeah, that’s a name) booster vessel. The Starship vessel shall be thrust into the earth’s orbit by Super Heavy, a 69m long, 9m in diameter just as the Starship, has a propellant capacity of 3400t and a whopping thrust capacity of 7590tf. The Super Heavy booster can thrust one Starship into orbit, return and land on its pod, all in six minutes!

SpaceX plans to make and launch 50 of these Starships and Super Heavy thrusters before the end of 2022. Why so many, you ask? As Elon Musk explained on stage, the human race will eventually need to become an interplanetary species as the sun’s radiation destroys our solar system in the next million years. This is humanity’s first viable step towards carrying life beyond our planet and dwelling through the multi-verse. Elon Musk also spoke about the plan to colonise planet Mars. The new Starships’ ambitious production and life cycle will have SpaceX making one whole Starship each month. This is necessary as the Starships with payload will be refilled with fuel in Earth’s orbit by another fuel filling Starship. We are already fuelling flying jets and planes via other planes on a harsh gravitational pull, so doing this in space shall be relatively more straightforward or challenging considering the sheer size of the Starships.

Fuelling the Starships is necessary to carry the payload to Mars and back. Elon Musk claims that with time, they will be able to produce one Starship and its booster each month and bring that close to making each unit in about three days. Coupled with the announcements of making 7 Raptor V2 engines per week, SpaceX is all in to make Starship the vessel of transportation from Earth to Mars. While SpaceX waits for approvals from Federal Aviation Administration in the USA, the first orbital flight of the Starship could be seen as soon as the first half of 2022. Subsequently, the first trials of orbital fuel filling shall commence as soon as 2023-24. Being super optimistic on stage, Elon Musk announced that the boosters could be refilled and reused in less than an hour while the Starships can do the same in 6-8 hours. If managed well, we could see three Starship launches a day in the future of time.

The ISRU is working closely with SpaceX and scientists to plan this Mars invasion of humans powered by massive Starships. The first few Starships will have no humans and carry essential goods required to set up an infrastructure for human colonisation. Plus, the first people to land on Mars could be groups of crucial workers and experts who will build a habitable infrastructure on the red planet. That said, each Starship can be configured to take about 100 humans and a payload each flight. The first trip of Starship shall be reserved for artists worldwide to witness a round trip around the moon. It took us years to achieve these advancements in space travel. Elon Musk is confident that SpaceX’s Starship, Super Heavy boosters, launch and catch towers and the new Raptor V2 engines will propel humanity towards becoming a multi-planetary species. We sure hope this becomes real in our lifetimes.

Tesla’s Humanoid Robot is Coming Next Year

The divorce of Elon Musk and technology is not possible. It is not easy to stop such a man. And, now this man has announced that he wants to bring a humanoid robot. This announcement is no less than a leap giant after excelling in the electric vehicle and satellite communication domain. The declaration seems to be a bit utopian for many. However, the sense of ‘but’ always comes. Let’s know more about this development. Take a sneak into this Exhibit blog.

How did this news come out?

In the latest Tesla AI event, Elon Musk presented the prototype of a humanoid robot. This robot can help people like you in your boring, repetitive, or dangerous tasks. With this, Elon Musk showed a PowerPoint presentation to showcase the functionalities of this bot. This humanoid robot is precisely a dancer. The height of this bot is 5 feet and 8 inches (somewhere around 1.7m), whereas its weight is 56 kg. 

How does a humanoid robot work?

A bot has to be a proper mesh of hardware and software. It’s true. On the hardware front, you will need sensors, actuators, and other essential instruments to replace almost every crucial function of a normal human being (obviously, there will be no digestive system). On the software front, the codes must have a proper arrangement through which they can perform their niche smoothly. The software helps send signals between the master controller and that hardware equipment to work accordingly.   

Applications of Robot

Trust me, but robots will gain their outreach in the future. You talk about any domain, and you will find them in the next few years. Especially in European countries, you may find that these robots are working in agricultural fields. Or if your relative who is physically challenged can get proper assistance in doing daily activities. The Tokyo Olympics has already paved the path of what a robot, along with technology, can do. Hence, the usage of robots will be countless for sure.

Final Remarks on the Tesla Bot

Bringing a proper humanoid robot with such a huge functionality within the next year is a bit difficult to digest. But is it possible to have such features in one bot? Honestly, as of now, from what we all have witnessed, it may be a bit of a tough task. Why? Check out the videos of robots used in the Olympics. You will know the reason. These robots have very limited errands, like translating a language is one of them. Hence, commenting on what Mr. Tusk is pretty looking like coming out in a virtual world.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Buys Satellite Connectivity Startup Swarm Technologies

SpaceX is in the process of acquiring a satellite connectivity startup. According to a report by SpaceNews, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has acquired Swarm Technologies, a startup known for powering IoT services.  

Both the companies involved did not shy away from declaring how the acquisition will help them in the long run. It will give Swarm – a much younger company, the resources it needs to take on other smallsat operators, along with “synergies” that come with the company dealing in the design and launch of satellites.  

A company of only 30 employees launched a commercial mini-satellite network in February and had enough funding to roll out an array of 150 satellites.  

The deal would transfer Swarm’s control of ground and space licenses to SpaceX, as well as additional rights pending before the commission, making the startup a “direct wholly-owned subsidiary” of the larger company.  

Reports suggest that the deal was reached between the two companies on July 16, although FCC did not disclose any financial details of the transaction.  

“Swarm’s services will benefit from the better capitalization and access to resources available to SpaceX, as well as the synergies associated with acquisition by a provider of satellite design, manufacture, and launch services,” the companies said in the filing. 

“For SpaceX’s part, the company will “similarly benefit from access to the intellectual property and expertise developed by the Swarm team, as well as from adding this resourceful and effective team to SpaceX,” it further added.

 Swarm gained some attention back in 2018 when it faced a $900,000 fine from the FCC for launching its mini-satellites without any approval from the agency. The company operates more than 100 satellites for two-way, slow-speed communications for energy, transportation, and agriculture markets. 

 There’s a lot of jostling in the satellite industry, whether Orbcomm’s pending acquisition by the GI Partners or Amazon’s recent acquisition of Facebook’s satellite team. 

 However, it is unclear what acquisition of  Swarm by SpaceX means for Starlink Satellite network, which is a part of SpaceX. In the short term, Swarm CEO Sara Spangelo told TechCrunch last month that the company is “still marching” toward its goal of operating a 150-satellite constellation.

 

SpaceX’s Satellite Internet Network Starlink Is Expected To Hit 5,00,000 Users By August 2022

Dogefather Elon Musk, who is popular for making daring statements and optimistic assurances, hit again with another statement linked to SpaceX’s Starlink internet service while speaking virtually at the Mobile World Congress trade show held in Barcelona, Spain.

Currently, SpaceX’s satellite internet network Starlink has close to 70,000 active users, and the service is available in 12 countries at the moment. While speaking at the event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he’s expecting massive growth in the next 12 months as the service is about to hit globally in August, and soon it will clock about 5 lakh users globally for his ambitious satellite internet network Starlink, which indicates Starlink has to sign about 430,000 users by the end of August 2022.

Starlink is one of his most ambitious projects, which builds an interconnected internet network with thousands of satellites, known in the space industry as a constellation, which typically means stars and these satellites designed to deliver high-speed internet to consumers anywhere around the globe. Elon Musk is expected to launch all 72 orbital planes that will provide worldwide coverage, except for the polar regions.

Starlink is a satellite internet network under Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Currently, it is the world’s largest satellite constellation, with above 1,500 Starlink satellites launched to orbit to date. The satellite internet network is routed through low-Earth orbit satellites and is expected to provide download speeds of 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps. 

The subscription fee prices for the service are set to $99 per month, along with a $499 Starlink kit containing a dish and the WiFi router, which means it will cost around ₹7,000 per month and is expected to reach India by 2022. While talking about the hefty kit prices, Elon said the company is looking to lower the prices in future with next-gen terminals. Furthermore, he added that SpaceX would launch version two of the satellite next year, which will be more capable and updated.

A trip to Crypto

The power of a tweet has grown immensely. Elon Musk could take the Dogecoin down by 25 % and affect the robust BITCOIN to go down by 18% with just a tweet. The second tweet was his realization that crypto mining affects the environment and contributes to global warming. If this environmental tweet would have been done by Donal Trump or even Warren Buffet, for that matter, it’s still understandable. But coming from someone the ilk of Musk who has more tech in his DNA than red blood cells? That’s something new. Paypal, SpaceX, Tesla, if he did not get in the first instance that mining crypto has environmental issues, then it’s a severe problem.

Quite vocally, he announced his investments in Crypto, making it mainstream and making it fashionable for people everywhere to invest their disposable income and play with it. No one wants to be sitting ten years hence and miss the rocket of crypto, which can either explode or take you to Mars, where Elon’s colony is being made. It seems to be a safer bet to have a holiday home on Mars with the viruses around!

The Crypto industry is volatile and confusing. It’s not for everyone and is radically different from investment in mutual funds and equity, which comes with a disclaimer: Investments are subjected to market risks. Crypto Investments are sometimes subjected to powerful mens’ tweets, mood, temperament, and global warming. Sure, there are opportunities, and I genuinely believe in blockchain. The next issue is coming up with a unique story on Crypto Billionaires.

I remember six years ago, we had organized a conference on Crypto where we invited gentlemen from France, the Netherlands, and other parts of Europe. Still, the laws of the land were so confusing that we had to keep its profile low. For now, investing in crypto is not illegal. Still, there are very grey areas that we have to be careful about, for no bank and politicians worldwide would like to cede control on financial markets. That might just be a significant deterrent to the rocketship called Crypto. Till we duck the second wave, stay home, stay safe.

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Dogefather Elon Musk’s SpaceX Accepts Dogecoin, Names DOGE-1 As Upcoming Satellite

When CEO and founder of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, appeared and hosted an episode of a television show Saturday Night Live last weekend, he joked about various things, from his son’s name to his strange tweets, but the one thing that affected the most to the world was his anticipation of the cryptocurrency, as he joked about Dogecoin being a hustle. Due to one short segment, the cryptocurrency crashed overnight and everybody owning a crypto investment got worried, but within 24 hours, Musk tweeted SpaceX launching a Dogecoin-funded satellite to the Moon, and now, everybody is in awe.

Elon Musk, who holds a history of strange tweets, has been tweeting about the SpaceX mission and Dogecoin, but most people considered and treated it as a meme, and now for the first time, he mentioned the commercial rocket company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin as payment.

The mastermind behind the design of SpaceX said the satellite DOGE-1 would be the first crypto and the first meme in space. The DOGE-1 is a CubeSat intended to acquire ‘Lunar-spatial intelligence’ using onboard cameras and sensors. It’s being sent and paid for by a Geometric Energy Corporation company, and it’ll fly beyond the earth on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2022.

Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started off as a goofy meme, is invented by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who determined to create a payment system that is fun and free from traditional banking fees.

Elon Musk-led Electric carmaker Tesla Inc bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in February and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its electric cars. After vouching for Bitcoin, Elon Musk now supports Dogecoin cryptocurrency, and he’s been tweeting about Dogecoin memes and referring to himself as the Dogefather.

Earlier, right after Musk describes Dogecoin as a hustle in Saturday Night Live show, the value of Dogecoin crashed severely, but when he tweeted late on Sunday about SpaceX is now accepting the cryptocurrency Dogecoin to launch an upcoming satellite named DOGE-1 to the Moon, caused the price of Dogecoin to grow by more than 30 percent immediately. Previously this year, Elon Musk tweeted ‘a literal dogecoin on the literal moon’, which also created a buzz and the price shoot up briefly.

Other details on the DOGE-1 mission, including exactly what it will do in lunar orbit, have not yet been released. However, about the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, what started as a joke is now anything but nearly 113 billion mined coins.

Driving NASA to Space – Elon Musk’s SpaceX

While you all were thinking of all the controversies and downfall that Elon Musk must’ve seen in the last two years, he launched yet another milestone, literally. SpaceX successfully launched NASA astronauts into space! 

Elon Musk and the team have been working on this dream for the last 18 years and on 30th May of 2020, the automobile tycoon’s SpaceX launched astronauts beyond the skies. The Falcon 9 rocket left Launch Complex 39A carrying two astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. This marked history for Elon Musk as SpaceX became the very first private company to have launched astronauts for NASA. 

With all of this, if all goes well, SpaceX will also begin launching astronauts not only for NASA but other space agencies and private companies. The first operational Crew Dragon mission, called Crew-1, is expected to launch to the ISS on or around Aug. 30, with 3 NASA astronauts and 1 astronaut from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. 

A test dummy named Ripley was onboard Demo-1 that was launched previously in March 2019 with no real astronauts on board. This was for a week-long test. Elon Musk has been extremely overwhelmed with emotion and when someone’s hard work does pay off, it definitely is a victory worth all the emotions and celebrations. 

While the return is more important than entry, Musk and team are geared up to ensure that the reentry is safe and only then will he consider it to be a true victory. Elon Musk has earned quite a reputation over the years. Tesla fans are many and now SpaceX is all set to create a wave of new fandom. He has shown remarkable resilience even during tough times and his crisis management skills have proven to be unparalleled. After all, courage is the true virtue that one must live by. 

Amidst all the Coronavirus chaos that the world has been hit really hard with, there’s consolation here in this huge achievement that showcases what all a human being can do. It is all about setting goals and following through to achieve them. Elon Musk has set an example for all to follow. 

Leaving you with a positive note by Adidas – ‘Impossible is nothing’. 

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