ENGGtalks Newsroom

02 Sep 23

The Fairphone 5 revives the dream of a smartphone that lasts for 10 years

Computer & Information Technology

Our phones have lamentably short lives. Batteries die before they’re old, compatibility is transient, software support expires, and minor upgrades soon arrive that are presented as must-haves. It’s an insidious model — and one that Fairphone is upending. The Dutch startup this week released a handset that sets new standards…

02 Sep 23

Taking the Measure of the Earthquake That Destroyed Tokyo

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

At 11:58 am on Saturday, 1 September 1923, the Kanto region of Japan started to shake. The earthquake began with a violent horizontal back-and-forth motion, followed by two vertical jolts, and then another horizontal shock even stronger than the first. The intensity of the tremor damaged the seismometer that took…

01 Sep 23

President’s Note: Forging Partnerships will Sharpen IEEE’s Edge

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

As I shared in the March column, my goal as IEEE president is to work with all members—particularly students, young professionals, and affinity group members—to make IEEE a more successful and resilient global technical organization. I also want the organization to be globally recognized as a force for change. To…

01 Sep 23

Video Friday: Squishable Bugbot

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.IROS 2023: 1–5 October 2023, DETROITCLAWAR 2023: 2–4 October 2023, FLORIANOPOLIS,…

01 Sep 23

African Hydropower Confronts Cheap Solar and Wind

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

As of this writing, the 74 cubic-kilometer reservoir for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) continues to fill, a process that will last into the second half of this decade. Perhaps Africa’s highest-profile hydro projectever, GERD will produce more than 6 GW of electricity when it’s all done.GERD is far…

01 Sep 23

College Admissions: Should AI Apply?

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

A new school year is dawning for the Northern Hemisphere, which means a new crop of high school seniors are staring down the dreaded college admissions process. To secure their place at the institution of higher learning of their choice, many of these students will need to write personal essays…

01 Sep 23

Rented electric scooters removed from Paris as ban enters into force

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Electric scooter operators have removed all their 15,000 vehicles from the streets of Paris following a controversial public vote. Five years after it become the first city in Europe to open to the e-scooter market, the French capital has also become the first to end the experiment after residents voted…

01 Sep 23

Bankrupt ebike startup VanMoof finds buyer in F1’s McLaren Applied

Computer & Information Technology

VanMoofers, rejoice — the ebike gods have not abandoned you. Yesterday, McLaren Applied and its escooter department Lavoie announced they had agreed to purchase the bankrupt ebike startup. The details of the deal have not been made public. However, the F1 engineering and technology company stated that it would invest…

01 Sep 23

Microsoft succumbs to EU pressure, will unbundle Teams from Office in Europe

Computer & Information Technology

In a bid to allay EU antitrust concerns, Microsoft will start unbundling Teams from the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites in European markets. Microsoft announced the move on Thursday. The company said the software will be split in the European Economic Area, which unites the EU member states with…

01 Sep 23

Paris bids au revoir to rental e-scooters as ban comes into effect

Computer & Information Technology

Today, Paris became one of the first European cities to implement an outright ban on rented e-scooters, after residents previously voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion. During a referendum in April, voters were given two choices: “for” or “against” a city-wide ban on shared e-scooters. Almost 90% voted in…