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Showing posts from May, 2020

SpaceX's new 'Endeavour' spaceship just made history by docking to the International Space Station with 2 NASA astronauts inside

* SpaceX on Saturday launched its first humans into space: veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. * On Sunday morning, the astronauts caught up to the International Space Station inside their Endeavour spaceship — their new name for SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft — and docked it there. * The docking marks a big milestone in the Demo-2 mission, as it's called; Behnken and Hurley can now stay and work in space for up to 110 days before having to return home. * The docking is also the first time a crewed private spaceship has linked up to the $150 billion orbiting laboratory. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have once again helped make history for SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, by docking to a football field-size laboratory in space. After careening into space on Saturday atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the astronauts' spaceship — a Crew Dragon capsule they later named "En...

Inside the fight between my small Iowa hometown and a $12 billion utility over smart meters and the radiation that some residents call 'poison'

* Many residents in Fairfield, Iowa, home to thousands of disciples of a deceased Indian guru, claim that radiation emitted by cell phones and other devices is harmful to human health.  * Those beliefs created a problem for a local utility that began deploying radiation-emitting smart meters in 2017. * Through administrative proceedings, Fairfield residents fought back against the utility's smart meter program — and, for the most part, won.  * At its core, the fight wasn't about the health effects of smart meters. It was about the freedom to exercise a set of beliefs, as unusual as they may be. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. FAIRFIELD, IOWA — I was standing outside my childhood home on an unseasonably warm spring day when I saw my neighbor approaching from across the street.  It was May, and I had been staying with my parents months after escaping New York City. In their home, more than 80 miles away from the nearest airport, the threat of a pa...

Meet Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, 2 'badass' astronauts, engineers, and dads poised to make history for SpaceX, NASA, and the world

* SpaceX is about to launch two people to space in its first human mission since Elon Musk founded the rocket company 18 years ago. * SpaceX's new Crew Dragon spaceship will be piloted by NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley during the test flight, called Demo-2. * Both men are military test pilots, engineers, members of the same NASA astronaut class, and flew on two space-shuttle missions. They each also married astronauts and have a son. * Fellow astronauts describe Behnken and Hurley as deceptively intelligent and say they'd fly with either or both of them in a moment. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Update: SpaceX launched astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley into orbit around Earth on Saturday. They are expected to reach the International Space Station at 10:27 a.m. ET on Sunday. The ways NASA's astronaut office picks a crew from the members of its esteemed corps is something of a mystery. But with the space agency's 2018...

The $153,000 Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 is an incredibly luxurious large SUV that has a 603-horsepower engine and enough luxury to trounce lesser rivals

* I tested a $153,000 Mercedes-AMG GLS 63, a high-performance luxury SUV that's quite large and  extremely powerful. * The 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 has a 603-horsepower, twin-turbo V8 engine and can haul its impressive bulk to 60 mph in about four seconds. * My test vehicle was outfitted like a limo, raising the question of whether anyone who employs a chauffeur really needs the AMG treatment for their SUV. * I couldn't answer that question, but the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 captivated me with its power, grace, and style. It was among the most difficult vehicles to sum up that I've ever driven. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Some vehicles defy description. The Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 is such a vehicle. I spent days cycling through all the usual clichés one might muster to characterize the brute charm and blunt capabilities of an immense and powerful automobile. Fathomless wells of torque vied against a crashing wave of gigantic surf met with freight ...

Here are the top companies helping businesses make sure the computer networks are secure and reliable, according to IT professionals (CSCO)

* Making sure a computer network is secure and reliable has become a priority for businesses in the digital age. * This has led to the rise of network traffic analysis tools that help businesses constantly monitor their computer networks and flag threats or other issues. * IT Central Station, where IT professionals can weigh in on software tools they use, recently conducted a survey on network traffic analysis. * Here are the 8 top NTA companies according to a May survey. * Click here for more BI Prime stories. Keeping watch over a network is increasingly important for any business in the digital age. All kinds of companies, from small businesses to big corporations, need to make sure their networks are secure and that they can quickly respond to problems, from a hacking attack or glitches that are slowing down traffic. This has led to the rise of network traffic analysis (NTA) technologies that enable businesses to continuously monitor the state of their computer networks. NT...

Why an MIT economist is teaming up with TikTok influencers to gather data on a potential COVID-19 symptom

* CancelCovid is a new initiative focused on tracking one possible symptom of the novel coronavirus: the loss of one's sense of smell (known as anosmia or hyposmia). * The all-volunteer organization is tapping TikTok influencers to spread awareness about anosmia and encourage social-media users to share data on whether or not they've lost their sense of smell. * The nonprofit group, which is led by an MIT economist, medical doctors, marketers, and other businesses with skill sets relevant to the initiative, hopes it can eventually offer data to public health experts on previously unreported incidences of anosmia. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Some influencers have come under fire in recent weeks for not adhering to social-distancing measures and other public health guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. But now a team of academics, medical doctors, and marketers are asking them to join a campaign to help stop the virus' spread. The ini...

Google Chrome is getting a new feature that blocks misleading and intrusive website notifications (GOOG, GOOGL)

* Google is cracking down on malicious and misleading website notifications in Chrome. * The browser will soon block such alerts and warn users when a website may be trying to trick them into enabling notifications. * Google is focusing on two specific notification types: those that trick you into enabling alerts, and those that use notifications to spread malware or pose as fake messages or system prompts. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Google is cracking down on websites that abuse notification privileges in Chrome. The search giant said it will automatically block misleading and abusive notifications in Chrome and issue a warning to users when a website may be attempting to trick them into allowing alerts. The update will be coming in an upcoming version of Chrome that will be released in July, Google said on Thursday. The company is focusing on two types of notifications with this update: those that attempt to trick users into allowing alerts, and...

Twitter's ex-CEO stepped up the Silicon Valley beef and attacked Facebook for being a hotbed of anti-vaxxer Bill Gates conspiracy theories

* There's a big spat between Twitter and Facebook right now over the nature of free speech and censorship online. * Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Fox News on Thursday to say Facebook won't apply fact-checks to political figures like Trump, following Twitter's decision to fact-check two of the president's tweets about mail-in voting. * Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo attacked Facebook late on Thursday saying it is a hotbed for anti-vaxxer coronavirus conspiracy theories. * He cited a survey, in which 50% of Fox News viewers responded they believe the conspiracy that Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates wants to distribute coronavirus vaccines as a way of tracking people. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. There's an ongoing spat between Twitter and Facebook right now over whether social media platforms should fact-check politicians, after Twitter slapped warning and fact-check labels on President Trump's recent tweets. The lat...

How to delete your Instagram account permanently, or temporarily deactivate it

* It's possible to delete your Instagram account, but it's important to note that deleted accounts cannot be recovered or reactivated in future.  * Deleted Instagram accounts permanently lose all followers, likes, comments, and posts. * If you think you might return to Instagram, you can choose to temporarily disable your account instead of deleting it altogether. * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Instagram is one of the most popular and successful social media platforms. However, sometimes all that endless scrolling can be too much of a distraction or simply undesirable anymore, in which case, you can always delete your Instagram account.  It should be noted that you have two options when it comes to taking an Instagram hiatus. If you believe your break is only temporary, you might choose to simply deactivate your account for a time. However, if you're sure you're leaving it behind permanently, you'll want to delete your...

20 things that were invented much earlier than you probably thought

* Some products, especially those that use technology, seem like they were invented recently. * However, many pieces of today's technology have been in development for decades. * Vaccines seem like a relatively new medical innovation, but they have actually been around for over 200 years. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Though modern science and medicine have made great advancements in recent decades, many of their predecessors date back far earlier. Vaccines, for example, have been around for hundreds of years — the first one was created to treat smallpox. Today, vaccines help control a number of infectious diseases, and have become the single greatest tool in eradicating them. Take a look at all the products that were invented earlier than you'd think. Chris Weller contributed to a previous version of this post. FOLLOW US: Business Insider is on Facebook Vaccines were first developed in 1796 by Edward Jenner, who was searching for a way ...

Elon Musk said he spent 3 to 4 years working on SpaceX's new spacesuits, and hopes the design gets kids 'fired up' about astronauts

* SpaceX designed new spacesuits for NASA astronauts to wear on the rocket company's Crew Dragon spaceship. * The company's first crewed launch was originally scheduled for Wednesday but has been pushed back to Saturday. It will be the first time an American spacecraft has carried astronauts since 2011. * Elon Musk said on Wednesday that he personally worked on the the suits for "three or four years." * The suits are customized to fit the individual astronauts, and they plug into the Crew Dragon's seats. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Although NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley weren't able to launch on Wednesday due to poor weather, they did get a chance to show the world SpaceX's sleek new spacesuits. The rocket company's first crewed launch, which has been pushed back to Saturday, will mark the first time NASA astronauts have launched in an American spacecraft since 2011. It will also be the first time peop...

This Twitter employee is now at the center of Trump's pushback against the platform because he criticized Trump in past tweets (TWTR)

* A Twitter employee has come under fire from President Donald Trump's allies and top advisers after old tweets surfaced Wednesday in which the employee was critical of Trump. * Twitter's head of site integrity, Yoel Roth, tweeted that Trump was a "racist tangerine" and decried "ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE" in 2016 and 2017. Trump allies widely circulated the tweets Wednesday, purportedly as evidence of Twitter's anti-conservative bias. * Roth is now at the center of Trump's ire over Twitter's decision to add fact-checking labels to some of his tweets that contain false statements. * "Fact check: there is someone ultimately accountable for our actions as a company, and that's me," Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted on Wednesday night. "Please leave our employees out of this." * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump had a vitriolic reaction Wednesday morning to Twitter's de...

Sen. Josh Hawley criticizes Google over deletion of certain comments critical toward China (GOOGL)

* Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to Google on Wednesday about the company's deletion of some comments critical of China.  * Comments using the phrases "communist bandit" or "50-cent party" in Chinese characters were deleted almost instantly from YouTube, though their English equivalents are not.  * Hawley called the deletions "censorship" and asked Google to explain how the problem came about and when it knew about the deletions.  * Google says the deletions are accidental and that it rolled out a fix to the problem.  * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Sen. Josh Hawley is demanding answers from Google about the company's deletion of certain comments critical of the Chinese government.  In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday, Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, called the deletions "censorship at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party," though Google has said the actions are accidental ...

Trump threatens to shut down social-media platforms after Twitter put a fact-check warning on his false tweets

* President Donald Trump has threatened to close down social-media platforms that "silence" conservative voices. * He made the threat Wednesday, the morning after Twitter tagged some of his tweets with a fact-check warning. * The platform had been under pressure to take action after Trump leveled a groundless conspiracy theory against the MSNBC cohost Joe Scarborough. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump threatened to close down social media platforms if they censor conservative voices, after Twitter on Tuesday tagged some of his messages with a fact check warning.  "Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016," tweeted the president. Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly r...