#Reliable Data Infrastructure

[lighthousecommunicationsinc]

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[rebuiltzine]

Maryland Pays, Virginia Plays: How an Energy Project Is Sacrificing Maryland Land for Northern Virginia’s Big Tech Boom

When Joanne Frederick first saw the survey stakes hammered into the edge of her family’s Frederick County farm, she thought it was a mistake.Nobody had asked permission.Nobody had warned her.And nobody told her the electricity would be flowing out of Maryland — not in. “They told us it was about reliability,” she said. “What they didn’t tell us was who it was for.” The Maryland Piedmont…

[audio-visual-technology01]

The Importance of Reliable Data Center Infrastructure Services for Modern Enterprises

In today’s digital-driven world, businesses rely heavily on seamless data management and storage solutions. Reliable Data Center Infrastructure Services ensure high availability, scalability, and security for enterprise operations. Without a robust IT infrastructure, organizations risk downtime, data loss, and inefficient performance.

To keep up with the ever-evolving technological landscape, companies must invest in top-tier Enterprise Servers and Storage Experts. These professionals design and implement cutting-edge storage solutions that guarantee optimal performance. By leveraging expert services, businesses can ensure data redundancy, swift recovery, and minimal operational disruptions.

With the increasing complexity of IT environments, organizations need guidance from Advanced IT Infrastructure Consultants. These consultants analyze business requirements, recommend suitable IT solutions, and oversee implementation for maximum efficiency. A well-structured data center infrastructure significantly improves business agility and operational resilience.

Reliable Data Center Infrastructure Services encompass various aspects, from cloud computing to on-premise storage solutions. Whether businesses opt for private, public, or hybrid cloud models, the right infrastructure services can optimize storage capacity and enhance security. Having a dependable data center infrastructure prevents system failures and ensures continuous access to critical data.

The role of Enterprise Servers and Storage Experts is crucial in maintaining smooth business operations. They help in designing and managing scalable server environments that support growing workloads. Additionally, their expertise ensures data protection through encrypted backups and disaster recovery plans.

To stay ahead in the competitive market, companies must collaborate with Advanced IT Infrastructure Consultants. These specialists provide insights on the latest technology trends, recommend cost-effective solutions, and streamline IT operations. Their strategic approach enables businesses to scale efficiently while minimizing risks.

[bookishscrolls]

Technical Aspects and Infrastructure for Running a Community Radio Station

Behind every captivating broadcast from a Community Radio Station (CRS) lies a complex and well-maintained technical setup. It’s not just about having the right equipment; it’s about creating a cohesive infrastructure that keeps your station running smoothly and your community engaged. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to upgrade your setup, this guide will walk you through the…

[vivencyglobal]

IT Networking Solutions by Vivency Technology LLC

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Partner with Vivency Technology LLC to experience cutting-edge IT networking solutions that empower your organization to stay connected in the digital age. Visit our website for more information or to request a consultation.

[radiantindia]

Importance of Reliable IT Infrastructure Solutions

Discover why reliable IT infrastructure solutions are crucial for businesses. Learn about Radiant Info Solutions' expertise in delivering scalable and secure IT services in India.

[chloedecker0]

Optimizing Connectivity: The Role of Edge Colocation in Today’s Digital Landscape

Edge Colocation is a rising trend in the data centre industry, representing a shift towards decentralized infrastructure to meet the demands of emerging technologies. As the market evolves, companies are increasingly adopting edge colocation solutions to enhance their IT capabilities and address the challenges posed by latency-sensitive applications.

Edge colocation refers to the deployment of data centre facilities at the edge of the network, closer to end-users and devices. This approach aims to reduce latency, enhance performance, and accommodate the growing volume of data generated by IoT devices, 5G networks, and other edge computing applications.

The emergence of edge colocation is driven by the need for faster data processing and reduced latency, critical factors in industries like gaming, healthcare, and autonomous vehicles. Traditional centralized data centres face limitations in delivering real-time responses for these applications, making edge colocation an attractive solution.

Why Companies are Adopting Edge Colocation

Reduced Latency

Edge colocation minimizes data travel distances, leading to lower latency and improved application performance. This is crucial for applications requiring real-time interactions, such as online gaming and autonomous vehicles.

Scalability

Edge colocation allows companies to scale their IT infrastructure more efficiently by distributing resources across multiple edge locations. This flexibility is beneficial for businesses experiencing unpredictable growth or seasonal spikes in demand.

Enhanced Reliability

By decentralizing data centres, companies can enhance the reliability of their services. Redundant edge locations provide backup support, reducing the risk of downtime in the event of a localized failure.

Compliance and Data Sovereignty

Edge colocation helps address regulatory and compliance requirements by allowing companies to store and process data within specific geographic regions. This is particularly important in industries with strict data sovereignty regulations.

Download the sample report of Market Share: Edge Colocation

Market Intelligence Reports

Quadrant Knowledge Solutions provides valuable insights into the edge colocation market through two key reports:

Market Share: Edge Colocation, 2022, Worldwide

This report outlines the market landscape, identifying key players and their respective market shares. Understanding the competitive landscape is crucial for businesses looking to make informed decisions about their edge colocation providers.

Market Forecast: Edge Colocation, 2022–2027, Worldwide

The forecast report provides insights into the future trends and growth opportunities in the edge colocation market. This information is invaluable for companies planning their long-term IT strategies and investments in edge infrastructure.

The Significance of Market Research Reports for Edge Colocation

In the rapidly evolving landscape of edge computing, companies are increasingly turning to market research reports to navigate the complexities of edge colocation. Here’s why these reports are crucial:

Industry Insight and Trends

- Market research reports provide in-depth insights into the current state of the edge colocation market, offering a comprehensive overview of emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities.

- Understanding industry dynamics allows companies to make informed decisions about their edge computing strategies, ensuring they align with market trends.

Competitive Landscape

- Reports delve into the competitive landscape, identifying key players, their market share, and strategic initiatives.

- Companies can use this information to benchmark themselves against competitors, assess market saturation, and identify potential collaboration or differentiation opportunities.

Market Size and Forecast

- Accurate market sizing and forecasting enable businesses to gauge the growth potential of edge colocation services.

- These insights assist in strategic planning, resource allocation, and market positioning, ensuring companies are well-prepared for the future trajectory of the edge computing industry.

Risk Mitigation

- Market research reports highlight potential risks and challenges associated with edge colocation, allowing companies to proactively address issues and build resilient strategies.

- Understanding market risks helps organizations develop contingency plans, ensuring they can navigate uncertainties effectively.

Customer Insights

- Reports often include customer preferences, requirements, and satisfaction levels, providing valuable insights into the demands of end-users.

- This customer-centric data aids companies in tailoring their edge colocation services to meet the specific needs and expectations of their target audience.

Download the sample report of Market Forecast: Edge Colocation

Why Choose Quadrant Knowledge Solutions

Quadrant Knowledge Solutions stands out as a reliable source for market intelligence, and here’s why companies should turn to them for insights into edge colocation:

Expertise and Credibility

- Quadrant Knowledge Solutions is known for its industry expertise and credibility. Their reports are crafted by seasoned analysts who thoroughly understand the nuances of the market.

- The firm’s reputation for delivering accurate and insightful analyses enhances the reliability of the information presented in their reports.

Comprehensive Coverage

- Quadrant’s reports provide comprehensive coverage, offering a detailed examination of various aspects of the edge colocation market, including market share, growth drivers, challenges, and future forecasts.

- This comprehensive approach ensures that companies receive a holistic view of the market, enabling well-informed decision-making.

Timely and Relevant Information

- In the fast-paced tech industry, timeliness is crucial. Quadrant Knowledge Solutions delivers reports that are timely, ensuring that businesses receive the most up-to-date information to inform their strategies.

Customized Solutions

- Quadrant understands that one size doesn’t fit all. Their reports often include insights and recommendations tailored to different business sizes, industries, and geographies, providing companies with actionable intelligence aligned with their unique requirements.

Talk To Analyst: https://quadrant-solutions.com/talk-to-analyst

In conclusion, the rise of edge colocation signifies a paradigm shift in data centre strategies, driven by the need for low-latency, scalable, and reliable infrastructure. As companies increasingly recognize the benefits of edge computing, market intelligence reports play a pivotal role in guiding businesses toward optimal edge colocation solutions. Market research reports, particularly those offered by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, serve as indispensable tools for companies venturing into the edge colocation space. By leveraging these reports, businesses can gain a competitive edge, mitigate risks, and strategically position themselves in the dynamic landscape of edge computing.

[syngrowc]

Ensuring a future-ready and resilient tech ecosystem. 🌟 Stay with us as we journey toward a seamless digital tomorrow!

visit us at - www.syngrowconsulting.com Email us at - contact@syngrowconsulting.com Call us at - +1 (917) 764 5482

[damlahayal]

RABİSU - PLATİN (2)

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VPS UK

When it comes to vps uk hosting, Rabisu stands out for its unmatched performance and reliability. Our virtual private servers are meticulously designed to cater to businesses that require a scalable and secure hosting environment without compromising on speed or up-time.

With Rabisu, you leverage cutting-edge technology that guarantees exceptional performance, allowing your applications to run smoothly even under high traffic conditions. Our VPS solutions come with full root access, enabling you to customize your environment to meet specific needs.

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With 24/7 customer support, you can rest assured knowing our expert team is always available to assist you with any issues or questions you may have. Choosing Rabisu means choosing peace of mind when it comes to managing your digital infrastructure.

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Hosting

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Our hosting provides you with dedicated resources, allowing you to customize your server environment according to your unique specifications. This means you have better control over your website's performance, allowing for faster load times and a superior experience for your users.

Rabisu is committed to delivering top-tier security features with our hosting services. We implement advanced security protocols to protect your data, ensuring peace of mind while you focus on growing your business.

Furthermore, our customer support team is always available, ready to assist you 24/7. Whether you're facing a technical challenge or have questions about configuring your server, our experts are just a call or message away, guaranteeing that you are never left in the dark.

In choosing Rabisu for your VPS UK hosting needs, you are opting for reliability, flexibility, and unparalleled support; what more could you ask for? Take your website to new heights with our outstanding hosting solutions today!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Autoenshittification

Forget F1: the only car race that matters now is the race to turn your car into a digital extraction machine, a high-speed inkjet printer on wheels, stealing your private data as it picks your pocket. Your car’s digital infrastructure is a costly, dangerous nightmare — but for automakers in pursuit of postcapitalist utopia, it’s a dream they can’t give up on.

Your car is stuffed full of microchips, a fact the world came to appreciate after the pandemic struck and auto production ground to a halt due to chip shortages. Of course, that wasn’t the whole story: when the pandemic started, the automakers panicked and canceled their chip orders, only to immediately regret that decision and place new orders.

But it was too late: semiconductor production had taken a serious body-blow, and when Big Car placed its new chip orders, it went to the back of a long, slow-moving line. It was a catastrophic bungle: microchips are so integral to car production that a car is basically a computer network on wheels that you stick your fragile human body into and pray.

The car manufacturers got so desperate for chips that they started buying up washing machines for the microchips in them, extracting the chips and discarding the washing machines like some absurdo-dystopian cyberpunk walnut-shelling machine:

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/desperate-times-companies-buy-washing-machines-just-to-rip-out-the-chips-187033.html

These digital systems are a huge problem for the car companies. They are the underlying cause of a precipitous decline in car quality. From touch-based digital door-locks to networked sensors and cameras, every digital system in your car is a source of endless repair nightmares, costly recalls and cybersecurity vulnerabilities:

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/quality-new-vehicles-us-declining-more-tech-use-study-shows-2023-06-22/

What’s more, drivers hate all the digital bullshit, from the janky touchscreens to the shitty, wildly insecure apps. Digital systems are drivers’ most significant point of dissatisfaction with the automakers’ products:

https://www.theverge.com/23801545/car-infotainment-customer-satisifaction-survey-jd-power

Even the automakers sorta-kinda admit that this is a problem. Back in 2020 when Massachusetts was having a Right-to-Repair ballot initiative, Big Car ran these unfuckingbelievable scare ads that basically said, “Your car spies on you so comprehensively that giving anyone else access to its systems will let murderers stalk you to your home and kill you:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/03/rip-david-graeber/#rolling-surveillance-platforms

But even amid all the complaining about cars getting stuck in the Internet of Shit, there’s still not much discussion of why the car-makers are making their products less attractive, less reliable, less safe, and less resilient by stuffing them full of microchips. Are car execs just the latest generation of rubes who’ve been suckered by Silicon Valley bullshit and convinced that apps are a magic path to profitability?

Nope. Car execs are sophisticated businesspeople, and they’re surfing capitalism’s latest — and last — hot trend: dismantling capitalism itself.

Now, leftists have been predicting the death of capitalism since The Communist Manifesto, but even Marx and Engels warned us not to get too frisky: capitalism, they wrote, is endlessly creative, constantly reinventing itself, re-emerging from each crisis in a new form that is perfectly adapted to the post-crisis reality:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/books/review/a-spectre-haunting-china-mieville.html

But capitalism has finally run out of gas. In his forthcoming book, Techno Feudalism: What Killed Capitalism, Yanis Varoufakis proposes that capitalism has died — but it wasn’t replaced by socialism. Rather, capitalism has given way to feudalism:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/451795/technofeudalism-by-varoufakis-yanis/9781847927279

Under capitalism, capital is the prime mover. The people who own and mobilize capital — the capitalists — organize the economy and take the lion’s share of its returns. But it wasn’t always this way: for hundreds of years, European civilization was dominated by rents, not markets.

A “rent” is income that you get from owning something that other people need to produce value. Think of renting out a house you own: not only do you get paid when someone pays you to live there, you also get the benefit of rising property values, which are the result of the work that all the other homeowners, business owners, and residents do to make the neighborhood more valuable.

The first capitalists hated rent. They wanted to replace the “passive income” that landowners got from taxing their serfs’ harvest with active income from enclosing those lands and grazing sheep in order to get wool to feed to the new textile mills. They wanted active income — and lots of it.

Capitalist philosophers railed against rent. The “free market” of Adam Smith wasn’t a market that was free from regulation — it was a market free from rents. The reason Smith railed against monopolists is because he (correctly) understood that once a monopoly emerged, it would become a chokepoint through which a rentier could cream off the profits he considered the capitalist’s due:

https://locusmag.com/2021/03/cory-doctorow-free-markets/

Today, we live in a rentier’s paradise. People don’t aspire to create value — they aspire to capture it. In Survival of the Richest, Doug Rushkoff calls this “going meta”: don’t provide a service, just figure out a way to interpose yourself between the provider and the customer:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/13/collapse-porn/#collapse-porn

Don’t drive a cab, create Uber and extract value from every driver and rider. Better still: don’t found Uber, invest in Uber options and extract value from the people who invest in Uber. Even better, invest in derivatives of Uber options and extract value from people extracting value from people investing in Uber, who extract value from drivers and riders. Go meta.

This is your brain on the four-hour-work-week, passive income mind-virus. In Techno Feudalism, Varoufakis deftly describes how the new “Cloud Capital” has created a new generation of rentiers, and how they have become the richest, most powerful people in human history.

Shopping at Amazon is like visiting a bustling city center full of stores — but each of those stores’ owners has to pay the majority of every sale to a feudal landlord, Emperor Jeff Bezos, who also decides which goods they can sell and where they must appear on the shelves. Amazon is full of capitalists, but it is not a capitalist enterprise. It’s a feudal one:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

This is the reason that automakers are willing to enshittify their products so comprehensively: they were one of the first industries to decouple rents from profits. Recall that the reason that Big Car needed billions in bailouts in 2008 is that they’d reinvented themselves as loan-sharks who incidentally made cars, lending money to car-buyers and then “securitizing” the loans so they could be traded in the capital markets.

Even though this strategy brought the car companies to the brink of ruin, it paid off in the long run. The car makers got billions in public money, paid their execs massive bonuses, gave billions to shareholders in buybacks and dividends, smashed their unions, fucked their pensioned workers, and shipped jobs anywhere they could pollute and murder their workforce with impunity.

Car companies are on the forefront of postcapitalism, and they understand that digital is the key to rent-extraction. Remember when BMW announced that it was going to rent you the seatwarmer in your own fucking car?

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#beemers

Not to be outdone, Mercedes announced that they were going to rent you your car’s accelerator pedal, charging an extra $1200/year to unlock a fully functional acceleration curve:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/23/23474969/mercedes-car-subscription-faster-acceleration-feature-price

This is the urinary tract infection business model: without digitization, all your car’s value flowed in a healthy stream. But once the car-makers add semiconductors, each one of those features comes out in a painful, burning dribble, with every button on that fakakta touchscreen wired directly into your credit-card.

But it’s just for starters. Computers are malleable. The only computer we know how to make is the Turing Complete Von Neumann Machine, which can run every program we know how to write. Once they add networked computers to your car, the Car Lords can endlessly twiddle the knobs on the back end, finding new ways to extract value from you:

https://doctorow.medium.com/twiddler-1b5c9690cce6

That means that your car can track your every movement, and sell your location data to anyone and everyone, from marketers to bounty-hunters looking to collect fees for tracking down people who travel out of state for abortions to cops to foreign spies:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7enex/tool-shows-if-car-selling-data-privacy4cars-vehicle-privacy-report

Digitization supercharges financialization. It lets car-makers offer subprime auto-loans to desperate, poor people and then killswitch their cars if they miss a payment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U2eDJnwz_s

Subprime lending for cars would be a terrible business without computers, but digitization makes it a great source of feudal rents. Car dealers can originate loans to people with teaser rates that quickly blow up into payments the dealer knows their customer can’t afford. Then they repo the car and sell it to another desperate person, and another, and another:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/27/boricua/#looking-for-the-joke-with-a-microscope

Digitization also opens up more exotic options. Some subprime cars have secondary control systems wired into their entertainment system: miss a payment and your car radio flips to full volume and bellows an unstoppable, unmutable stream of threats. Tesla does one better: your car will lock and immobilize itself, then blare its horn and back out of its parking spot when the repo man arrives:

https://tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tesla-allegedly-remotely-unlocks-model-3-owners-car-uses-smart-summon-to-help-repo-agent/

Digital feudalism hasn’t stopped innovating — it’s just stopped innovating good things. The digital device is an endless source of sadistic novelties, like the cellphones that disable your most-used app the first day you’re late on a payment, then work their way down the other apps you rely on for every day you’re late:

https://restofworld.org/2021/loans-that-hijack-your-phone-are-coming-to-india/

Usurers have always relied on this kind of imaginative intimidation. The loan-shark’s arm-breaker knows you’re never going to get off the hook; his goal is in intimidating you into paying his boss first, liquidating your house and your kid’s college fund and your wedding ring before you default and he throws you off a building.

Thanks to the malleability of computerized systems, digital arm-breakers have an endless array of options they can deploy to motivate you into paying them first, no matter what it costs you:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/02/innovation-unlocks-markets/#digital-arm-breakers

Car-makers are trailblazers in imaginative rent-extraction. Take VIN-locking: this is the practice of adding cheap microchips to engine components that communicate with the car’s overall network. After a new part is installed in your car, your car’s computer does a complex cryptographic handshake with the part that requires an unlock code provided by an authorized technician. If the code isn’t entered, the car refuses to use that part.

VIN-locking has exploded in popularity. It’s in your iPhone, preventing you from using refurb or third-party replacement parts:

https://doctorow.medium.com/apples-cement-overshoes-329856288d13

It’s in fuckin’ ventilators, which was a nightmare during lockdown as hospital techs nursed their precious ventilators along by swapping parts from dead systems into serviceable ones:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3azv9b/why-repair-techs-are-hacking-ventilators-with-diy-dongles-from-poland

And of course, it’s in tractors, along with other forms of remote killswitch. Remember that feelgood story about John Deere bricking the looted Ukrainian tractors whose snitch-chips showed they’d been relocated to Russia?

https://doctorow.medium.com/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors-bc93f471b9c8

That wasn’t a happy story — it was a cautionary tale. After all, John Deere now controls the majority of the world’s agricultural future, and they’ve boobytrapped those ubiquitous tractors with killswitches that can be activated by anyone who hacks, takes over, or suborns Deere or its dealerships.

Control over repair isn’t limited to gouging customers on parts and service. When a company gets to decide whether your device can be fixed, it can fuck you over in all kinds of ways. Back in 2019, Tim Apple told his shareholders to expect lower revenues because people were opting to fix their phones rather than replace them:

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/01/letter-from-tim-cook-to-apple-investors/

By usurping your right to decide who fixes your phone, Apple gets to decide whether you can fix it, or whether you must replace it. Problem solved — and not just for Apple, but for car makers, tractor makers, ventilator makers and more. Apple leads on this, even ahead of Big Car, pioneering a “recycling” program that sees trade-in phones shredded so they can’t possibly be diverted from an e-waste dump and mined for parts:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

John Deere isn’t sleeping on this. They’ve come up with a valuable treasure they extract when they win the Right-to-Repair: Deere singles out farmers who complain about its policies and refuses to repair their tractors, stranding them with six-figure, two-ton paperweight:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/31/dealers-choice/#be-a-shame-if-something-were-to-happen-to-it

The repair wars are just a skirmish in a vast, invisible fight that’s been waged for decades: the War On General-Purpose Computing, where tech companies use the law to make it illegal for you to reconfigure your devices so they serve you, rather than their shareholders:

https://memex.craphound.com/2012/01/10/lockdown-the-coming-war-on-general-purpose-computing/

The force behind this army is vast and grows larger every day. General purpose computers are antithetical to technofeudalism — all the rents extracted by technofeudalists would go away if others (tinkereres, co-ops, even capitalists!) were allowed to reconfigure our devices so they serve us.

You’ve probably noticed the skirmishes with inkjet printer makers, who can only force you to buy their ink at 20,000% markups if they can stop you from deciding how your printer is configured:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/07/inky-wretches/#epson-salty But we’re also fighting against insulin pump makers, who want to turn people with diabetes into walking inkjet printers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/10/loopers/#hp-ification

And companies that make powered wheelchairs:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/08/chair-ish/#r2r

These companies start with people who have the least agency and social power and wreck their lives, then work their way up the privilege gradient, coming for everyone else. It’s called the “shitty technology adoption curve”:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/great-taylors-ghost/#solidarity-or-bust

Technofeudalism is the public-private-partnership from hell, emerging from a combination of state and private action. On the one hand, bailing out bankers and big business (rather than workers) after the 2008 crash and the covid lockdown decoupled income from profits. Companies spent billions more than they earned were still wildly profitable, thanks to those public funds.

But there’s also a policy dimension here. Some of those rentiers’ billions were mobilized to both deconstruct antitrust law (allowing bigger and bigger companies and cartels) and to expand “IP” law, turning “IP” into a toolsuite for controlling the conduct of a firm’s competitors, critics and customers:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

IP is key to understanding the rise of technofeudalism. The same malleability that allows companies to “twiddle” the knobs on their services and keep us on the hook as they reel us in would hypothetically allow us to countertwiddle, seizing the means of computation:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

The thing that stands between you and an alternative app store, an interoperable social media network that you can escape to while continuing to message the friends you left behind, or a car that anyone can fix or unlock features for is IP, not technology. Under capitalism, that technology would already exist, because capitalists have no loyalty to one another and view each other’s margins as their own opportunities.

But under technofeudalism, control comes from rents (owning things), not profits (selling things). The capitalist who wants to participate in your iPhone’s “ecosystem” has to make apps and submit them to Apple, along with 30% of their lifetime revenues — they don’t get to sell you jailbreaking kit that lets you choose their app store.

Rent-seeking technology has a holy grail: control over “ring zero” — the ability to compel you to configure your computer to a feudalist’s specifications, and to verify that you haven’t altered your computer after it came into your possession:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/30/ring-minus-one/#drm-political-economy

For more than two decades, various would-be feudal lords and their court sorcerers have been pitching ways of doing this, of varying degrees of outlandishness.

At core, here’s what they envision: inside your computer, they will nest another computer, one that is designed to run a very simple set of programs, none of which can be altered once it leaves the factory. This computer — either a whole separate chip called a “Trusted Platform Module” or a region of your main processor called a secure enclave — can tally observations about your computer: which operating system, modules and programs it’s running.

Then it can cryptographically “sign” these observations, proving that they were made by a secure chip and not by something you could have modified. Then you can send this signed “attestation” to someone else, who can use it to determine how your computer is configured and thus whether to trust it. This is called “remote attestation.”

There are some cool things you can do with remote attestation: for example, two strangers playing a networked video game together can use attestations to make sure neither is running any cheat modules. Or you could require your cloud computing provider to use attestations that they aren’t stealing your data from the server you’re renting. Or if you suspect that your computer has been infected with malware, you can connect to someone else and send them an attestation that they can use to figure out whether you should trust it.

Today, there’s a cool remote attestation technology called “PrivacyPass” that replaces CAPTCHAs by having you prove to your own device that you are a human. When a server wants to make sure you’re a person, it sends a random number to your device, which signs that number along with its promise that it is acting on behalf of a human being, and sends it back. CAPTCHAs are all kinds of bad — bad for accessibility and privacy — and this is really great.

But the billions that have been thrown at remote attestation over the decades is only incidentally about solving CAPTCHAs or verifying your cloud server. The holy grail here is being able to make sure that you’re not running an ad-blocker. It’s being able to remotely verify that you haven’t disabled the bossware your employer requires. It’s the power to block someone from opening an Office365 doc with LibreOffice. It’s your boss’s ability to ensure that you haven’t modified your messaging client to disable disappearing messages before he sends you an auto-destructing memo ordering you to break the law.

And there’s a new remote attestation technology making the rounds: Google’s Web Environment Integrity, which will leverage Google’s dominance over browsers to allow websites to block users who run ad-blockers:

https://github.com/RupertBenWiser/Web-Environment-Integrity

There’s plenty else WEI can do (it would make detecting ad-fraud much easier), but for every legitimate use, there are a hundred ways this could be abused. It’s a technology purpose-built to allow rent extraction by stripping us of our right to technological self-determination.

Releasing a technology like this into a world where companies are willing to make their products less reliable, less attractive, less safe and less resilient in pursuit of rents is incredibly reckless and shortsighted. You want unauthorized bread? This is how you get Unauthorized Bread:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/amp/

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

[Image ID: The interior of a luxury car. There is a dagger protruding from the steering wheel. The entertainment console has been replaced by the text 'You wouldn't download a car,' in MPAA scare-ad font. Outside of the windscreen looms the Matrix waterfall effect. Visible in the rear- and side-view mirror is the driver: the figure from Munch's 'Scream.' The screen behind the steering-wheel has been replaced by the menacing red eye of HAL9000 from Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.']

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[reasonsforhope]

Scientists have developed a new solar-powered system to convert saltwater into fresh drinking water which they say could help reduce dangerous the risk of waterborne diseases like cholera.

Via tests in rural communities, they showed that the process is more than 20% cheaper than traditional methods and can be deployed in rural locations around the globe.

Building on existing processes that convert saline groundwater to freshwater, the researchers from King’s College London, in collaboration with MIT and the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energy Systems, created a new system that produced consistent levels of water using solar power, and reported it in a paper published recently in Nature Water.

It works through a process called electrodialysis which separates the salt using a set of specialized membranes that channel salt ions into a stream of brine, leaving the water fresh and drinkable. By flexibly adjusting the voltage and the rate at which salt water flowed through the system, the researchers developed a system that adjusts to variable sunshine while not compromising on the amount of fresh drinking water produced.

Using data first gathered in the village of Chelleru near Hyderabad in India, and then recreating these conditions of the village in New Mexico, the team successfully converted up to 10 cubic meters, or several bathtubs worth of fresh drinking water. This was enough for 3,000 people a day with the process continuing to run regardless of variable solar power caused by cloud coverage and rain.

[Note: Not sure what metric they're using to calculate daily water needs here. Presumably this is drinking water only.]

Dr. Wei He from the Department of Engineering at King’s College London believes the new technology could bring massive benefits to rural communities, not only increasing the supply of drinking water but also bringing health benefits.

“By offering a cheap, eco-friendly alternative that can be operated off the grid, our technology enables communities to tap into alternative water sources (such as deep aquifers or saline water) to address water scarcity and contamination in traditional water supplies,” said He.

“This technology can expand water sources available to communities beyond traditional ones and by providing water from uncontaminated saline sources, may help combat water scarcity or unexpected emergencies when conventional water supplies are disrupted, for example like the recent cholera outbreaks in Zambia.”

In the global rural population, 1.6 billion people face water scarcity, many of whom are reliant on stressed reserves of groundwater lying beneath the Earth’s surface.

However, worldwide 56% of groundwater is saline and unsuitable for consumption. This issue is particularly prevalent in India, where 60% of the land harbors undrinkable saline water. Consequently, there is a pressing need for efficient desalination methods to create fresh drinking water cheaply, and at scale.

Traditional desalination technology has relied either on costly batteries in off-grid systems or a grid system to supply the energy necessary to remove salt from the water. In developing countries’ rural areas, however, grid infrastructure can be unreliable and is largely reliant on fossil fuels...

“By removing the need for a grid system entirely and cutting reliance on battery tech by 92%, our system can provide reliable access to safe drinking water, entirely emission-free, onsite, and at a discount of roughly 22% to the people who need it compared to traditional methods,” He said.

The system also has the potential to be used outside of developing areas, particularly in agriculture where climate change is leading to unstable reserves of fresh water for irrigation.

The team plans to scale up the availability of the technology across India through collaboration with local partners. Beyond this, a team from MIT also plans to create a start-up to commercialize and fund the technology.

“While the US and UK have more stable, diversified grids than most countries, they still rely on fossil fuels. By removing fossil fuels from the equation for energy-hungry sectors like agriculture, we can help accelerate the transition to Net Zero,” He said.

-via Good News Network, April 2, 2024

[rebuiltzine]

Maryland Pays, Virginia Plays: How an Energy Project Is Sacrificing Maryland Land for Northern Virginia’s Big Tech Boom

When Joanne Frederick first saw the survey stakes hammered into the edge of her family’s Frederick County farm, she thought it was a mistake.Nobody had asked permission.Nobody had warned her.And nobody told her the electricity would be flowing out of Maryland — not in. “They told us it was about reliability,” she said. “What they didn’t tell us was who it was for.” The Maryland Piedmont…

[avnnetwork]

Connecting the World: Telecommunications Satellites Enhance Global Communication Networks

In an increasingly interconnected world, the role of telecommunications has never been more critical. The rapid growth of digital communication technologies has significantly transformed the way we live, work, and interact with one another. At the heart of this transformation lies a technology that orbits high above us – telecommunications satellites. These sophisticated machines play a pivotal role in bridging gaps across continents, bringing people closer, and enabling the seamless exchange of information on a global scale.

Telecommunications satellites are the backbone of modern communication networks. These satellites are designed to transmit signals across vast distances, overcoming the limitations of terrestrial infrastructure. By relaying signals from one point on the Earth's surface to another, they enable instant communication, regardless of geographical barriers. This capability has revolutionized various sectors, from media broadcasting to internet services, emergency communications, and more.

The Evolution of Telecommunications Satellites

The journey of telecommunications satellites began in the mid-20th century. Early experiments with satellite communication laid the groundwork for what would become a global network. The launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in 1957 marked the dawn of the space age. However, it wasn't until the launch of the first geostationary satellite in 1965 that the true potential of satellite communication was realized. This satellite, positioned in a fixed location relative to the Earth's surface, could provide continuous coverage to a specific region, paving the way for real-time communication across the globe.

Since then, telecommunications satellites have evolved dramatically. Advances in technology have led to the development of more sophisticated satellites with greater capacity, reliability, and efficiency. Modern satellites are equipped with high-powered transponders, enabling them to handle large volumes of data transmission. These advancements have expanded the capabilities of satellite communication, making it an indispensable part of the global communication network.

How Telecommunications Satellites Work

The operation of telecommunications satellites is based on the principles of radio frequency transmission. These satellites receive signals from ground-based stations, amplify them, and retransmit them back to other ground stations. The process involves several key components:

Uplink: The transmission of signals from a ground station to the satellite. This is typically done using high-frequency radio waves.

Transponder: The component within the satellite that receives the uplink signal, amplifies it, and changes its frequency for retransmission.

Downlink: The transmission of signals from the satellite back to a ground station. This completes the communication loop, allowing the original signal to reach its intended destination.

Satellites are positioned in different orbits depending on their specific functions. Geostationary satellites, which orbit at approximately 35,786 kilometers above the equator, provide continuous coverage to specific regions. Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, positioned much closer to the Earth's surface, offer lower latency and are often used for services requiring real-time data transmission, such as internet connectivity.

Impact on Global Communication Networks

The impact of telecommunications satellites on global communication networks is profound. They have enabled a level of connectivity that was previously unimaginable, facilitating the seamless exchange of information across vast distances. Here are some key areas where their impact is most evident:

Media and Broadcasting

Telecommunications satellites have revolutionized the media and broadcasting industry. They enable the transmission of television and radio signals to remote and underserved areas, ensuring that people worldwide have access to information and entertainment. Live broadcasts of major events, such as sports competitions and political speeches, are made possible through satellite technology, allowing audiences to experience these moments in real time.

Internet Connectivity

In many parts of the world, terrestrial internet infrastructure is either insufficient or nonexistent. Telecommunications satellites provide a vital solution to this problem by offering internet connectivity to remote and rural areas. Satellite internet services have become increasingly popular, providing reliable and high-speed internet access to communities that were previously disconnected.

Emergency Communications

During natural disasters and emergencies, terrestrial communication networks are often disrupted. Telecommunications satellites play a crucial role in providing emergency communication services, ensuring that rescue and relief operations can be coordinated effectively. Satellite phones and portable satellite communication devices are essential tools for first responders and humanitarian organizations, enabling them to maintain communication in even the most challenging conditions.

Global Navigation Systems

Telecommunications satellites are also integral to global navigation systems. They provide the precise timing and positioning data required for navigation and location-based services. These systems are essential for various applications, including aviation, maritime, and land transportation, as well as for personal navigation devices used by millions of people worldwide.

Future Trends and Developments

The field of telecommunications satellites is continually evolving, driven by advancements in technology and increasing demand for connectivity. Several trends and developments are shaping the future of this industry:

High Throughput Satellites (HTS)

High throughput satellites represent a significant advancement in satellite technology. These satellites offer substantially increased data transmission capacity, enabling faster and more reliable communication services. HTS technology is particularly beneficial for providing broadband internet access to remote and underserved areas, helping to bridge the digital divide.

Constellations of LEO Satellites

One of the most exciting developments in satellite communication is the deployment of constellations of low Earth orbit satellites. These constellations consist of hundreds or even thousands of small satellites working together to provide global coverage. LEO constellations offer lower latency and higher data transfer rates compared to traditional geostationary satellites, making them ideal for applications such as internet of things (IoT) connectivity and real-time data services.

Advances in Satellite Manufacturing

Advances in satellite manufacturing are making it possible to produce smaller, more cost-effective satellites. These miniaturized satellites, often referred to as smallsats or cubesats, can be launched in large numbers, providing flexible and scalable communication solutions. The reduced cost of manufacturing and launching these satellites is driving innovation and enabling new players to enter the market.

Integration with Terrestrial Networks

The integration of satellite communication with terrestrial networks is another key trend. Hybrid networks that combine satellite and terrestrial technologies can offer seamless connectivity, ensuring that users have access to reliable communication services regardless of their location. This integration is particularly important for providing consistent internet coverage in areas with challenging terrain or sparse infrastructure.

Challenges and Considerations

While telecommunications satellites offer numerous benefits, there are also challenges and considerations to address. One of the primary challenges is the cost associated with launching and maintaining satellites. The development, launch, and operation of satellites require significant investment, which can be a barrier for some organizations.

Additionally, the increasing number of satellites in orbit raises concerns about space debris and collision risks. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities requires careful management of satellite operations and the implementation of measures to mitigate the risk of space debris.

Conclusion

Telecommunications satellites have fundamentally transformed global communication networks, enabling instant connectivity and information exchange across vast distances. From media broadcasting and internet connectivity to emergency communications and global navigation, the impact of these satellites is far-reaching and profound.

As technology continues to advance, the future of telecommunications satellites looks promising. High throughput satellites, LEO constellations, and advancements in satellite manufacturing are set to further enhance the capabilities of satellite communication. By overcoming challenges and embracing innovation, telecommunications satellites will continue to play a crucial role in connecting the world, bridging gaps, and enabling a more connected and informed global community.

In a world where connectivity is essential, telecommunications satellites stand as a testament to human ingenuity and the relentless pursuit of progress. They embody the spirit of exploration and innovation, bringing people closer together and fostering a sense of global unity. As we look to the future, the continued evolution of telecommunications satellites promises to unlock new possibilities and drive the next wave of communication advancements.

[political-us]

The current U.S. power grid is not fully prepared to handle the rising demand from AI, EVs, and crypto without significant upgrades. While the grid is evolving, challenges include aging infrastructure, transmission bottlenecks, and the need for more renewable energy integration. Here’s a breakdown of key factors:

1. Capacity vs. Demand Growth

• The grid has enough total generation capacity today, but localized demand spikes (like AI data centers or EV clusters) can strain certain regions.

• By 2035, electricity demand could rise by 15-25%, requiring hundreds of gigawatts (GW) of new capacity.

• Many utilities are already struggling to build out transmission lines fast enough to keep up with demand.

2. Grid Reliability & Stress Points

• AI & Data Centers: Large data centers are being built in regions where power supply is already constrained (e.g., Northern Virginia, Texas).

• EV Charging Peaks: If too many EVs charge at the same time, local grids could experience voltage drops or blackouts.

• Extreme Weather: The grid is already vulnerable to extreme heat, storms, and wildfires, which could worsen with climate change.

3. Solutions & Grid Upgrades

• Transmission Expansion: The U.S. needs to build more high-voltage transmission lines to move power from wind/solar farms to urban areas.

• Battery Storage & AI for Grid Management: Advanced battery storage can smooth out supply-demand mismatches, and AI can optimize grid operations.

• Decentralized Energy: Microgrids, rooftop solar, and community battery projects can reduce strain on the centralized grid.

• Smart Charging for EVs: Managed charging (incentivizing off-peak charging) can help distribute demand more evenly.

Can the Grid Handle It?

• Short-term (2025-2030): The grid will face localized stress, especially in high-demand regions. Rolling blackouts or infrastructure failures could occur if upgrades don’t keep pace.

• Mid- to Long-term (2030+): If investments in transmission, renewables, and smart grid technology accelerate, the grid can handle these changes, but delays in modernization could lead to reliability issues.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Health

Health - a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 2019).

This definition has been subject to controversy, as it may have limited value for implementation.

Generally, the context in which we live our lives is critical for our health and quality of life.

It is increasingly recognized that health is maintained and improved not only through the advancement and application of health science, but also through intelligent lifestyle choices and efforts of the individual, as well as larger society.

Main Determinants of Health According to WHO

Social environment

Economic environment

Physical environment

Individual characteristics and behavior

Global Indicators of Health

Health indicators - quantifiable characteristics of a population which researchers use for describing the health of a population.

Adopting a standard system with reliable measures for defining health is important for global monitoring of changes in health.

Researchers using data collected from around the world look for patterns in identifying, preventing, and treating disease.

There are 3 common global health indicators identified by The World Health Organization (WHO) that directly and indirectly measure and monitor global health:

Life expectancy

Infant mortality

Subjective well-being

These 3 indicators serve as standard measures to assist health professionals working in both developed and developing countries. 

LIFE EXPECTANCY

A statistical measure of the average time an organism (in our case human) is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, its current age and other demographic factors including gender.

There are great variations in life expectancy between different parts of the world, mostly caused by differences in public health, medical care, and diet.

Comparing life expectancies from birth across countries can be problematic.

There are differing definitions of live birth versus stillbirth even among more developed countries, and less developed countries often have poor reporting.

INFANT MORTALITY

Refers to the the death of young children under the age of 1.

Infant mortality rate (IMR) - the number of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births.

IMR - is used to standardize infant deaths for global comparisons (WHO, 2019).

Premature birth is the largest contributor to the IMR.

Other leading causes of infant mortality are birth asphyxia, pneumonia, congenital malformations, diseases and malnutrition.

Many factors contribute to infant mortality, such as the mother’s level of education, environmental conditions, and political and medical infrastructure.

Improving sanitation, access to clean drinking water, immunization against infectious diseases, and other public health measures can help reduce high rates of infant mortality.

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Is the scientific term for happiness and life satisfaction—thinking and feeling that your life is going well, rather than badly.

Levels of subjective well-being are influenced by both internal factors, such as personality and outlook, and external factors, such as the society in which they live.

Some of the major determinants of SWB are:

A person’s inborn temperament, the quality of their social relationships, the societies they live in, and their ability to meet their basic needs.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Heated:

Energy experts warned only a few years ago that the world had to stop building new fossil fuel projects to preserve a livable climate.

Now, artificial intelligence is driving a rapid expansion of methane gas infrastructure—pipelines and power plants—that experts say could have devastating climate consequences if fully realized.

As large language models like ChatGPT become more sophisticated, experts predict that the nation’s energy demands will grow by a “shocking” 16 percent in the next five years. Tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet have increasingly turned to nuclear power plants or large renewable energy projects to power data centers that use as much energy as a small town.

But those cleaner energy sources will not be enough to meet the voracious energy demands of AI, analysts say. To bridge the gap, tech giants and fossil fuel companies are planning to build new gas power plants and pipelines that directly supply data centers. And they increasingly propose keeping those projects separate from the grid, fast tracking gas infrastructure at a speed that can’t be matched by renewables or nuclear.

The growth of AI has been called the “savior” of the gas industry. In Virginia alone, the data center capital of the world, a new state report found that AI demand could add a new 1.5 gigawatt gas plant every two years for 15 consecutive years.

And now, as energy demand for AI rises, oil corporations are planning to build gas plants that specifically serve data centers. Last week, Exxon announced that it is building a large gas plant that will directly supply power to data centers within the next five years. The company claims the gas plant will use technology that captures polluting emissions—despite the fact that the technology has never been used at a commercial scale before.

Chevron also announced that the company is preparing to sell gas to an undisclosed number of data centers. “We're doing some work right now with a number of different people that's not quite ready for prime time, looking at possible solutions to build large-scale power generation,” said CEO Mike Wirth at an Atlantic Council event. The opportunity to sell power to data centers is so promising that even private equity firms are investing billions in building energy infrastructure.

But the companies that will benefit the most from an AI gas boom, according to S&P Global, are pipeline companies. This year, several major U.S. pipeline companies told investors that they were already in talks to connect their sprawling pipeline networks directly to on-site gas power plants at data centers.

“We, frankly, are kind of overwhelmed with the number of requests that we’re dealing with, ” Williams CEO Alan Armstrong said on a call with analysts. The pipeline company, which owns the 10,000 mile Transco system, is expanding its existing pipeline network from Virginia to Alabama partly to “provide reliable power where data center growth is expected,” according to Williams.