Leap

With real uncertainty clouding the world's supply of lithium, alternative battery chemistries will be crucial as we continue our uptake of electric vehicles and mobile devices. One exciting candidate in this space is sodium-ion, and a research team in Russia has developed a novel battery of this ilk that boasts some impressive energy density, and may also be resistant to low temperatures.Sodium-ion batteries are gaining attention as a more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion, owing to the relative abundance and…

Hayley Kiyoko has had a meandering journey to her second album. Starting out in 2007 as part of the pop-R&B group the Stunners, who supported Justin Bieber on his debut tour in 2010, she went on to star in a series of teen TV movies, crowdfund a solo EP in 2013 and eventually release her debut album, Expectations, in 2018. Establishing her as one of the few openly queer female artists in pop, Expectations had the air of a landmark release, playfully referencing Kiyoko’s sexuality on the earworming, club-ready Kehlani…

US Census BureauThe pandemic brought about unprecedented challenges to companies around the world, forcing many businesses to shut down or lay off their employees. Shopify experienced growth instead, but even so, the e-commerce platform is now laying off nearly 10% of its workforce, CEO Tobias Lütke said in a letter published online Tuesday. That's about 1,000 employees – the company had a workforce of around 10,000 as of December.   Shopify grew its staff during the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom, betting that the…

In her hit song, Cher sang, "If I could turn back time." For her, that would be a good thing. But in the computing world, Meta, formerly Facebook, believes it would be a very bad thing indeed. In fact, Meta wants to get rid of leap seconds, which keep computing time in sync with Earth's rotational time. Meta's not the only one that feels that way. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), its French equivalent (the Bureau International de Poids et Mesures or BIPM), Amazon, Google, and Microsoft all…

Since 1972 there have been 27 leap seconds: additional seconds added to the world’s common clock — Coordinated Universal Time or UTC — to account for changes in the Earth’s rate of rotation. Historically, our concept of time is defined as a fraction of the length of the solar day, but as the Earth’s rate of spin is somewhat irregular (slowing and speeding based on various factors) it means solar time and universal time tend to drift apart. So, in order to compensate, we add leap seconds. And this really confuses…

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 Big Tech wants to kill the leap second The extra time has triggered internet outages and disturbances, they claim. (CNET)2 QAnon ideology is thriving in the primariesBut savvy Republicans are avoiding explicitly outing themselves as believers. (NYT $)+ Donald Trump refused to read lines condemning the Capitol rioters during a speech. (Reuters)+ Pennsylvania's Democratic candidate’s social media game is…

Meta is putting its considerable weight behind the tech industry's push to do away with the leap second. In a post on the company's engineering blog, Meta production engineer Oleg Obleukhov and research scientist Ahmad Byagowi talked about how a leap second can wreak havoc on a network, along with the solution Meta implements to prevent outages and any issues it could cause.  The leap second was introduced back in 1972 as a way to adjust Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and make up for the difference between the…

https://madcavestudios.com/Ahh summer. School’s out, the sun is shining, the beaches are packed. But what would summer be without a world-ending comic event? The Distinguished Competition has already kicked their summer off with the shocking deaths of the Squadron Supreme Justice League, so it’s high time for Marvel to threaten to kill their heroes too. A.X.E.: Judgment Day #1 dropped this week, the first in a six part event destined to change the fate of the Marvel Universe. Though the first issue in an…

Around this time last year, Xiaomi began testing the waters of the ultra-premium smartphone segment with the Mi 10 5G. It was a solid offering that got most things right, however it was quickly overshadowed by the OnePlus 8 Pro. Xiaomi went on to launch more affordable models in the same series, the latest one being the Mi 10i, which has reportedly done wonders for the company. Xiaomi continues to have great success in the budget and mainstream segments, but this year, it's aiming to disrupt the flagship segment too.The…

Magic Leap 2 finally has a concrete date for its commercial availability. The business-focused headset first made its way to a limited number of users last year as part of the company's early adopter program. Starting on September 30th, though, anybody who wants to get the headset in the US can buy one. Magic Leap 2 will be available in three editions, the cheapest of which is the Base headset meant for professionals and developers who just want access to the augmented reality platform. The edition can be used for full…