2022

Volkswagen ID. Buzz (Electric) Microbus

Announced back in 2017, Volkswagen has released in Europe the long awaited electric version of the classic VW Type 2 or Bus. A US version will be released sometime in 2023. The primary (and at this time known) differences between the European and US versions of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz Microbus are primarily the wheelbase length and seating configuration. The European version is more of compact SUV with two rows of passenger seating and a (small) cargo area in the rear. The US version will be more like the original Type 2 or Bus with a longer wheel base allowing…

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Intel shows off 80Gbps Thunderbolt

With the forthcoming USB 4 2.0 spec being announced earlier this month Thunderbolt users were wondering if Intel would followed suit. The answer appears to be yes  with a prototype 80Gbps Thunderbolt demo shown in Intel’s Israel facility. Intel is the key developer of Thunderbolt, which was co-developed with Apple. The I/O specification is the foundation of a small but growing ecosystem of Thunderbolt docks, which connect to a USB-C/Thunderbolt port on a PC and use the I/O bandwidth to connect to various peripherals, including displays and storage. Displays, not surprisingly, suck up the most bandwidth. The current Thunderbolt specification, known as…

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iPhone 14 Battery Replacement $99

While the future iPhone 14 does not include a charging brick and the battery replacement is going to run you $99 ($30 more than previous generations) at least you battery is replaceable. Most Android phones after 2010 switched to a non-removable battery mainly to make the phones thinner (by not having a removable back cover). Despite the name, non-removable batteries are removable, but not very easily. Most consumers will need to purchase specials tools or take their device to a repair shop.. However, many Android owners may not be aware of this or don’t want to bother with the hassle and…

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Your Search Data is Being Leaked to Advertisers

Ever notice how when you search for something on one site, you suddenly start seeing advertisements for that ‘something’ following you around wherever you go on the Internet? May be you don’t even really pay attention anymore because it is so common. Indeed it is very common: Security researchers have found that roughly eight out of ten websites featuring a search bar will leak their visitor’s search terms to online advertisers like Google. This practice has the implication of breaching the users’ privacy and leaking sensitive information to a massive network of third parties who can then use this data…

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The Big Problem with Electric Vehicles

During the first half of 2022 there has been lots of talk about pushing the folks in the US from our internal combustion engine (ICE) cars to Electric Vehicles (EV). California (and several other states who blindly follow California) have recently decided by 2035 no new gas cars can be sold in the state. This is not an out-right ban on ICE cars and not to say residents can’t purchase from a neighboring state that still sells ICE cards. General Motor’s wants their Buick brand to be EV only by 2030. GM is offering to buy-out dealers who don’t want…

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No SIM Tray on US Apple iPhone 14/14 Pro

Apple has removed the ability to use a physical SIM card in their soon to be released iPhone 14/iPhone 14 Pro with the removal of the SIM Tray. This means existing iPhone users will not be able to pop-up out their SIM card and use it in their shiny new iPhone 14. This also means for people who travel internationally who opt to buy and use local physical SIM cards to avoid data roaming fees won’t be able to do so via this method (though they can use an eSIM option instead). Apple added plenty of new features to its…

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Tik Tok: We were NOT Hacked

TikTok the short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese company ByteDance is strongly denying claims it has been hacked. TikTok is denying reports that it was breached after a hacking group posted images of what they claim is a TikTok database that contains the platform’s source code and user information (via Bleeping Computer). In response to these allegations, TikTok said its team “found no evidence of a security breach.” “We have confirmed that the data samples in question are all publicly accessible and are not due to any compromise of TikTok systems, networks, or databases,” TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said in…

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Brazil to Apple: You Can Not Sell The iPhone without a Charger

Almost two-year ago (October 23, 2020) Apple released the iPhone 12. The first iPhone not come packaged standard with ear buds and a charging brick. Apple’s justification for excluding these was for environmental reasons. Without these accessories Apple could use a smaller packaging with less of a carbon footprint. Sounds logical, especially since they also wouldn’t be manufacturing as many of the charging bricks and ear buds as well. However, you could say this would be the same as selling Electric Vehicles (EV) and not including the charging cable in the MSRP. Seems silly right…oh wait Tesla already did that…

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Windows Defender Throwing False Win32/Hive.ZY Alert

Windows users world wide are in a panic today as Windows Defender is throwing a false Win32/Hive.ZY Alert when certain popular apps (including Microsoft’s own Edge browser) are opened. A bad Microsoft Defender signature update mistakenly detects Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Discord, and other Electron apps as ‘Win32/Hive.ZY’ each time the apps are opened in Windows. The issue started Sunday morning when Microsoft pushed out Defender signature update 1.373.1508.0 to include two new threat detections, including Behavior:Win32/Hive.ZY. Microsoft is aware of the issue and is pushing out new security intelligence updates. To check for new security intelligence updates Search for and open Windows…

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A ‘Physical’ DDOoS Attack

Typically when you hear about DDoS Attacks, you think of websites being brought down or crawling under the weight of superfluous requests. The hacktivist group Anonymous performed a ‘physicals’ DDoS attack of sorts on September 1st. They performed said ‘attack’ by exploiting the Russian ride-hailing app, Yandex Taxi tp summon dozens of taxis to Kutuzov Prospect in Moscow. “On the morning of September 1, Yandex.Taxi encountered an attempt by attackers to disrupt the service — several dozen drivers received bulk orders to the Fili region,” Yandex Taxi said in a statement to the Russian state-owned outlet TASS. The ride-hailing service, which is owned…

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