Security camera warning

Security camera warning: Hackers found two security flaws in PTZOptics’ livestreaming cameras, used primarily in business, industrial and health care settings. Once inside, hackers can fully control the cameras, install malware, interrupt the feeds or use a camera as a gateway to other devices on the network. Have one? Contact your vendor to confirm its firmware is up to date.

Tags: cameras, firmware, hackers, livestreaming, malware, PTZOptics, security flaws


Ready to play (again)?

Netflix dropped an early Christmas gift — the trailer for “Squid Game” season 2. The first season was the most-watched series of all time on the platform. I liked it, despite all the blood. New season drops Dec. 26. How festive.

130-year record

Mount Fuji has never been snowless this late in the year. The peaks are usually white by Oct. 2. Blame unusually high temperatures. My Mount Fuji pun isn’t just funny — it’s hill areas. (Oh, was that a groan I heard, or are you hungry?)

Boston Dynamics' Atlas goes hands-on

Atlas doesn’t need lunch breaks: Boston Dynamics just dropped new footage of its humanoid robot Atlas. The bot does factory work, like moving engine covers between supplier containers and a mobile sequencing dolly — complete with full-motion bending and turning. The big deal is that no human needs to tell the bot what to do after training.

275 million accounts

Using Meta’s Threads, the rival to X. Zuckerberg says it’s on track to be their next major social app, with over 1 million people signing up each day. I think it’s kinda lame …

25% of Google’s code

Is now generated by AI — and it’s working. Just look at their cloud business stats: Third-quarter earnings totaled $11.4 billion, a 35% increase from the same stretch last year. I wonder how many developers making over $500,000 a year are getting the boot.

80 times the going rate

What the Air Force paid for soap dispensers on its C-17 aircraft — almost $150,000. They also overpaid by nearly $1 million for a dozen different spare parts. Why? Contracting officials failed to review invoices. If you’re reading this with any government pull, I can provide a daily newsletter 80 times the going rate. Oh … that’d still be free.

$29.9 million in profits

For Reddit in the third quarter. What’s the big deal? It’s the first time the company has been profitable in its nearly 20-year existence. The number of users jumped almost 50%, too, and they’re making millions letting AI companies use posts and comments for training.

$20 decillion (34 zeros!)

How much a Russian court wants Google to cough up. The crime? Blocking their TV channels on YouTube. The amount is doubling every week. For the record, Google can’t pay it; their parent company is only worth $2 trillion (12 zeros).

693 square feet

Size of the largest communication satellites that just unfolded in space. AST SpaceMobile wants to create the first space-based direct-to-smartphone broadband network. Bad news for astronomers: These things outshine everything in the night sky.

'Mind-reading' headphones track user's brain signals

Jedi mind tricks: Neurable is creating mind-reading headphones. The sensors pick up tiny electrical impulses from your skull, which you can view in an app to see how intensely you’re focusing. Telepathy might be next. In one of their gamified exercises, the more you focus, the faster you make a rocket accelerate.