Tech

Senator posts cryptocurrency bill on GitHub, chaos ensues

Published

3 days ago

June 24, 2022

On Wednesday, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) found a surprising way to develop her upcoming cryptocurrency regulation bill: she put it on GitHub.

“As promised, you can now contribute comments on my bill establishing a framework for digital assets with [Sen. Gillibrand],” Lummis wrote in a tweet sharing the news. “Civil comments and criticisms welcome. Please share widely. We want to get this right. Help us iterate publicly on policy.”

Best known as a repository for open-source code, GitHub includes a number of tools for that could be useful in developing public proposals — particularly the ability to publicly comment on, revise, and fork the text into different versions.

As of press time, Github users have commented on 24 issues in the bill and made eight pull requests – some of which have proposed meaningful additions to the bill. One user asked the senators to “increase the value of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies with a tax on mining.” Another thread raised concerns about algorithmic backing of stablecoins.

However, the more common response has been trolling. One flagged issue is titled, “You Know You Can Find Someone To Do Findom Using Google, Right.” Another is titled only with the eggplant emoji.

In a related thread, a user commented, “Feds are not looking post floppa,” accompanied by a picture of a popular Russian caracal who has gained an internet following under the name “Big Floppa.”

The trolling also extends to commit requests, where one user proposed replacing the bill with the source code of the popular first-person shooter Doom. “This bill would do far more to benefit everyday Americans if its text was replaced with the source code of Doom,” reads a comment responding to the request. “Devs should merge asap.”

Introduced earlier this month by Lummis and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the Responsible Financial Innovation Act would create a framework for regulators to determine whether a certain digital asset should be considered a commodity or security while implementing new stablecoin provisions. Notably, the bill would put much of the regulatory authority over cryptocurrency in the hands of the Commodities Future Trading Authority (CFTC), significantly expanding the agency’s budget and authority.

The bill is still in its early stages, and would need to be approved by several Senate committees before it could see a full floor vote and pass into law. Nonetheless, it’s one of Congress’s most comprehensive attempts so far to bring regulatory clarity to the controversial and often confusing world of cryptocurrency.

“Digital assets, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have experienced tremendous growth in the past few years and offer substantial potential benefits if harnessed correctly,” Gillibrand said in a June 7th statement. “It is critical that the United States play a leading role in developing policy to regulate new financial products, while also encouraging innovation and protecting consumers.”

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Tech

LG buys its way into the EV charging business

Published

59 mins ago

June 27, 2022

Urban Moolah

LG is jumping into the EV charging business with the acquisition of a South Korean EV battery charger developer called AppleMango, it announced. The move will allow it to create “fully-featured” charging stations with a user-friendly interface and real-time control and management, it said. In particular, it will be able to leverage its “sturdy, dust- and water-proof” outdoor digital display tech.

LG is well-established in electric mobility, developing batteries, screens and sensors for electric cars. It recently joined forces with Magna International to develop e-motors, inverters and onboard chargers for automakers. The acquisition will expand that, allowing it to marry the new charger capabilities with its current in-house EV charging management systems. It’ll also allow LG to “create synergy” with its current EV battery business and products like energy storage and energy management systems.

AppleMango was established three years ago in 2019 and has developed proprietary tech like a slim and fast EV charger. LG will also work with partners GS Energy, which operates EV charging stations and IT provider GS Neotek to develop the necessary infrastructure. LG took a 60 percent stake in AppleMango, GS Energy a 34 percent stake and GS Neotek a 6 percent share, according to TechCrunch.

LG plans to install an EV charger production line at LG Digital Park in South Korea by the end of 2022. The goal is to supply a variety of customers with custom EV charging solutions, including private residences, shopping malls, hotels and public buildings.

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Apple’s entry-level MacBook Pro M2 has slower SSD speeds than its M1 counterpart

Published

2 hours ago

June 27, 2022

Urban Moolah

Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 base model appears to have slower SSD speeds than its M1 predecessor. MacRumors reports that YouTubers Max Tech and Created Tech have both tested the 256GB base M2 model and discovered the SSD’s read speeds are around 50 precent slower than the M1 MacBook Pro with 256GB of storage. Write speeds are reportedly around 30 percent slower.

Testing was completed using Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test app, and Max Tech even disassembled the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro and found that Apple is only using a single NAND flash storage chip. The M1 MacBook Pro uses two 128GB NAND chips, and multiple chips can enable faster SSD speeds in parallel.

Other 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro models with larger SSD storage don’t appear to suffer from slower SSD speeds. Another YouTuber with a 512GB M2 model ran tests and found similar speeds to the M1 version, and most reviewers were seeded with fast 1TB models and didn’t find any speed issues.

If SSD speeds are an issue for you on the base 13-inch MacBook Pro, you’ll need to stump up an extra $200 for the faster 512GB model. But if you’re willing to do that, you might want to wait and see what’s inside the new MacBook Air. The base model will also be priced slightly less at $1,199, but if it has slower SSD speeds then there’s an identically-priced $1,499 512GB model that will presumably have the two NAND chips. Unlike the M2 MacBook Pro, the M2 MacBook Air also gets a big redesign — including new colors, a larger display, a 1080p webcam, and MagSafe charging.

We’ve reached out to Apple to comment on the SSD changes in the MacBook Pro, and we’ll update you accordingly if we ever hear back.

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Apple’s entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 may have slower SSD speeds than the M1 model

Published

3 hours ago

June 27, 2022

Urban Moolah

Apple’s 13-inch 256GB MacBook Pro M2 may have worse SSD performance than the equivalent M1 model, according to testing by YouTube sites Max Tech and Created Tech seen by MacRumors. The $1,300 base model showed around 50 percent slower read speeds (1,446 MB/s compared to 2,900 MB/s) with write speeds 30 percent lower.

Max Tech opened up the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 and found that it only had a single 256GB NAND flash storage chip instead of two 128GB chips like the previous M1 model. That would mean the drive can only use two lanes in parallel, so performance is restricted to the speed of a single lane.

The higher-end 512GB and 1TB models don’t appear to suffer from the issue, and many review units (like our own) shipped in a 1TB configuration. The slower disk speeds on the 256GB model could affect app loading times, file transfers and data fetching. Overall performance could also take a hit as the virtual memory (used when RAM is full) will be slower, and the base model only has 8GB of RAM.

It’s not clear why Apple changed the configuration on this model, though the global chip shortage may be a factor. In any case, it’s something to consider if you’re looking at buying the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2.

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