(Telecompaper) Canadian operator Telus has introduced download and upload speeds of 1.5 Gbps and 1.0 Gbps, respectively, in Ontario and Quebec, backed by its PureFibre Internet service...

(Telecompaper) Peru's transport and communications ministry (MTC) said country's Fibre Optic Backbone Network (RDNFO) has increased contracted capacity by 195...

(Telecompaper) Italian wholesale-only operator Open Fiber said it has completed the cabling of its FTTH infrastructure in the town of Valdilana in Piedmont's Biella province...

Refinance rates were mixed, but one key rate declined. Experts expect refi activity to go up as rates drop.

It's normal for your eyes to change as you age, but these four expert-approved tips can help improve your eye health.

It's not just you. Concert tickets have gone up -- a lot -- the last few years. Here are seven tips for saving money on them.

This year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the first title in the series to be available on phones the same day as PC and consoles.

If you don't cook for crowds often, heed the advice of a seasoned chef de soirée. Here are six ways to make that holiday feast manageable.

Use Apple's Find My app to keep tabs on your device whether it's powered on.

1. Ex-Warrior Klay Thompson awash in adoration in return to Chase Center  San Francisco Chronicle
2. Captain's hats, shimmy mark Klay's 'surreal' return  ESPN
3. ‘It was surreal’: Klay Thompson, Steph Curry reflect on epic homecoming for Warriors icon  East Bay Times
4. Emotional Klay Thompson gets cheers, heartfelt tribute in Bay Area return  NBA.com
5. Kurtenbach: ‘It’ll always be weird.’ What Klay Thompson’s return to the Bay really meant to him, the Warriors  The Mercury News

1. Democrat Dave Min keeps Katie Porter’s House seat blue  POLITICO
2. Democrat wins California House seat to replace Porter  The Hill
3. In California’s 47th congressional district, former Republican Assemblyman Scott Baugh concedes to Democrat Dave Min  The Mercury News

This report provides insights into usage of customer service apps from telecom providers. We report on the service apps for the following brands: Ziggo, Vodafone, hollandsnieuwe, KPN, Simyo, Odido, Simpel and Ben. Data is from August 2024.

Electric scooter and bike sales in India surged 85 percent year on year (YoY) to 1,39,000 units in October, and mainstream brands such as TVS, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp, with combined sales of 65,489, sold 4,428 more EVs than the other top electric two-wheeler startup brands.

1. TVS, Bajaj, Hero EV sales crosses 65,000 mark in October
2. Top 10 e2W makers had a combined 44 percent market share

Legacy brands registered their best-ever monthly retail sales in October. TVS Motor Co sold 29,930 iQube scooters, regaining its lead over a hard-charging Bajaj Auto (it retailed 28,245 Chetak units), which had outsold TVS in September. Hero MotoCorp sold 7,314 Vida e-scooters. Together, these three companies clocked 65,489 units in sales. On the other hand, India’s top 10 e-two-wheeler startups managed 61,061 units.

Of the total e-two-wheelers sold in October, TVS (21 percent market share), Bajaj Auto (20 percent), and Hero MotoCorp (5 percent) grabbed 47 percent of the market, while the top 10 e2W OEMs had 44 percent. The remaining 9 percent was being fought for by the rest of the field – 196 players. In October, Vahan retail sales data reflected all 209 e-wheeler manufacturers in India.

Ola Electric, which had a torrid August and September, remains the No. 1 e2W OEM. It bounced back with 41,664 units in October, its third-highest monthly score after the 53,640 units in March and 41,794 units in July. With a 30 percent market share, the company accounts for the bulk of the top 10 startups’ sales. Bengaluru-based Ather Energy, which clocked its best-ever monthly retail sales of 16,000 units in October, has an 11.50 percent market share. The remaining eight startups – Bounce, Revolt Motors, River Mobility, Pur Energy, Simple Energy, Okinawa Autotech and Oben Electric – account for 3,397 units and a 5.56 percent market share. Revolt Motors (949 e-motorcycles) and Simple Energy (324 e-scooters) both registered their best-ever monthly sales.

Not very long ago, it was felt that EV startups, with their perceived absence of legacy issues, IT technology prowess, venture capital investments and the ability to burn cash to get a foothold in the market, would stamp their dominance in this segment of zero-emission mobility. However, TVS, Bajaj and Hero MotoCorp, the three legacy ICE OEMs that have diversified and plugged into e-mobility, are proving to be a resilient lot and giving the two-wheeler startup world a run for its money and more.

These three, with their strong R&D setup and component supplier base, are clearly benefiting from their growing localisation levels, the introduction of new variants, brand power and the marketing strength that comes from a large dealer network across the country.

Also see:

Hero Xpulse 421 concept sketch showcased at EICMA 2024

Hero to enter Europe, UK with Vida Z electric scooter

New TVS electric two-wheeler launch by March 2025

Indian Army tents, truck tarps, and dhurries and upcycled into bags and decor accessories

Integrating energy-efficient appliances at home can promote a cost-effective lifestyle and reduce the carbon footprint of households

In 2020, Honda rolled out the BS6-compliant Activa ‘6G’, which came with a silent starter and an external fuel filler

The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 features cartridge-free printing with supersized ink tanks and wireless connectivity. This all-in-one printer delivers exceptional value with up to two years of ink included in the box. Reasons to Buy What Makes It Stand Out The ET-2800 revolutionizes home printing with its refillable ink tank system. The included ink equivalent to about 90 […]

Summary: The overhead of performing even simple tasks online is getting larger and larger. I question the security of almost all these supposedly "secure" messaging systems. And I'm tired of the 'Utopia of Rules' mindset pervasive in every organization. It's exhausting how they expect customers to constantly adapt to their needs.

I don't know if you recall the game Kerplunk. It's a classic children's game that has been around for decades. I remember playing it with my sister. The basic setup involves a transparent plastic tube, a number of sticks, and marbles. The sticks are threaded through the tube to form a web or nest at the bottom on which the marbles rest. We'd take turns removing a stick at a time, trying not to let any marbles fall through the web and out of the tube. At some point, the remaining sticks can't hold the marbles and everything falls down.

The modern web reminds me more and more of a big Kerplunk game and I think the marbles are about to fall. What started out as an easier way to do things like shop, bank, and get health care information has become increasingly complex over time. More and more of the email I receive seems to be simply directing me to log into some bespoke system to retrieve a message or engage in some workflow. And even with a password manager, the act of logging in is often a chore with different user interfaces, custom MFA requirements, and weird rules for passwords. Once you're on the system, session time-outs induce their own form of anxiety since stepping away for a few minutes to attend to something else might require going through the whole Kafkaesque process all over again. The modern web has turned into a dystopian theater of the absurd where even reading a simple appointment reminder from your doctor requires several minutes of stress-inducing interaction with baroque systems and processes.

And it's not just doctors, of course, banks, government agencies, hospitals, ecommerce sites, and customer service systems all adopt these special purpose messaging systems. If you ask these organizations why they use bespoke messaging systems, they'll list things like "timely and improved communication," "convenience," and "privacy and security." But the real reason is that it's more convenient for them because these systems are integrated with their backends and make their processes more manageable. There's certainly nothing about them that's more convenient, timely, or better than email for their customers¹.

I also question the privacy and security premise. Email can be insecure. And your email provider can see the contents of your emails. But the messaging system run by your doctor or bank is likely less secure than the email systems run by Apple, Google, and the others. And achieving privacy by making everything incompatible so that you have to use a different system for each correspondent is like chopping off your finger to prevent hangnails.

How did we get here? Bureaucracy. Not just government bureaucracy, but bureaucracy of all kinds. In Utopia of Rules², David Graeber talks about how power imbalances force the less powerful group to perform what he calls interpretive labor, the work of understanding and implementing what's better or more convenient for the more powerful partner. People are not equal participants in online interactions. We don't have the tools to be fully embodied online³. Because of this we are forced to play by the rules organizations online who are digitally embodied with servers, identity systems, customer management systems, and so on. And part of that is being forced to use their inconvenient and anemic messaging systems.

What's the answer? People need tools. I think digital wallets (a bad name for an important tool), autonomic (peer) identifiers with strong cryptography, and verifiable credentials are a huge step forward. These tools provide the means for people to be peers online rather that mere ghosts in someone else's machine. That's why I insist on using the term self-sovereign rather than decentralized to describe these systems. Cogito Ergo Sum.

Notes

1. For a deeper dive into why one-off messaging systems are never as good as email, see Rich Sharing and Personal Channels. Email and other useful messaging systems exhibit a property called rich sharing that makes them much more robust that the simple idea of "sharing a message" would bring to mind.
2. If you're interested in power imbalances and how they come about, I can't recommend Graeber's book highly enough. He had such a keen understanding of this problem and wrote about it in a way that's both informative and entertaining.
3. I talk about this in more detail in Chapter 17 of Learning Digital Identity when I discuss authentic digital relationships.

Photo Credit: Playing Kerplunk from DALL-E (public domain) Prompt: Draw a picture of a boy and girl playing kerplunk that's 1200x500 pixels

Tags: web identity authentication authorization verifiable+credentials

Summary: People aren't digitally embodied. As a result, their online relationships are anemic. As we think about the kinds of digital identity systems that will help people live authentic online lives, we must build identity systems that give people tools to operationalize rich digital relationships.

Identity is the ability to recognize, remember, and react to people, organizations, systems, and things. In the current web, companies employ many ponderous technological systems to perform those functions. In these systems, we are like ghosts in the machines. We have "accounts" in companies' systems, but no good way to recognize, remember, and react to them or anyone else. We are not digital embodied.

One of the great benefits of embodiment is the ability to form and operationalize rich digital relationships. I've written a lot about the nature of digital relationships.

• Relationships and Identity
• Authentic Digital Relationships
• Ephemeral Relationships
• Operationalizing Digital Relationships
• Relationships in the Self-Sovereign Internet of Things
• The Architecture of Identity Systems
• Are Transactional Relationships Enough?
• Fluid Multi-Pseudonymity

One of the discussions at VRM Day caused me to think about a feature of digital relationships I hadn't considered before. Someone said that if you think about a graph with people (or things, organizations, and so on) as the nodes, the relationships are the edges, like so¹:

In this figure Alice and Bob have a bi-directional relationship. This is how I've normally thought about it and how I'd have drawn it. But in today's discussion, someone said that the relationship is shared and that Alice and Bob both control it. But I realized that viewpoint is too simple. Specifically, Alice and Bob each have a different perspective of that relationship and will use it separately.

For example, imagine that Alice is the cashier at a grocery store and Bob is a customer. Alice gives great service, so Bob seeks her out when he shops. Alice on the other hand has no particular recollection of Bob from encounter to encounter. For Alice, the relationship is ephemeral, but for Bob, it's longer term. The nature of each relationship is different. So, we might look at it like this:

But after discussing it some more, I realized that these relationships aren't independent. They're entangled like this:

In the example I gave above, as Bob seeks out Alice more and more, Alice might come to recognize him and call him by name, changing the nature of her relationship with Bob. And that may influence the nature of Bob's relationship with Alice. Over time, these interactions influence both relationships. So, while Alice and Bob both have control over their relationship with the other, actions by one influence the other.

I frequently say that we don't build identity systems to manage identities, but rather to manage relationships. The problem with contemporary identity systems is that they are all one sided, controlled by one party—almost always a company. As I've said before, people are not digitally embodied and thus have no good way to manage their online relationships. As we strive to build better digital identity systems, I think it's paramount that we build systems that provide people with tools that embody them and provide them with the ability to operationalize their online relationships. These are more than decentralized; they are self-sovereign.

Notes

1. Peer decentralized identifiers (DIDs) are a great technology for creating bi-directional relationships.

Tags: identity relationships

경기도 산하 공공기관에 대한 도의회의 행정사무감사가 진행되면서 기관마다 부적절한 처신이 잇따라 드러나고 있다. 13일 도의회에 따르면 전날 도의회 문화체육관광위원회에선 350여명 직원을 둔 경기아트센터의 인권침해 논란이 화두가 됐다. 아트센터는 지난 7월 출장지에서 GPS로 위치를 보고하는 근태 관리 시스템을 도입했는데, 노조는 사실상 직원들의 위치를

Paul Sawers, TechCrunch, Nov 13, 2024

According to this article, "Meta has launched a new partnership with a slew of universities in the U.S. and U.K., as it looks to ingrain VR across the education system." I guess it's a big deal (per Mixed, Upload, Social Media Today, Technopedia, ReadWrite, etc etc) but it's hard for me to stifle a yawn. It's not simply that I was here for the Second Life hype, it's that their product is a "digital twin" of the university - "environments that directly replicate their real-world campus counterparts" - the least imaginative use of any media ever. I think there's a lot of room for VR in education, but this announcement isn't it.

The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat) announces their new RSS news feed. It is a noteworthy model for other governmental agencies to emulate.

A member of Utah's RSS project team asked this week, "what can I read to get up to speed about RSS?" The answer is visit RSS Winterfest! The two-day RSS Winterfest webcast takes place this coming Wednesday and Thursday, January 21-22. It offers a number of programs having direct application to governments planning RSS syndication projects.

Read to the end to see a cat who is definitely asleep and not up to ANYTHING suspicious… In today’s edition: Cheers to the WordPress Plugin Review Team for digging themselves out of one hell of a backlog. HeroPress celebrates folks who have used WordPress to make the world a better place, and we’re here […]

We published our report on the world’s top selling EV models yesterday. Now, let’s look at which auto brands and auto groups sold the most plugin vehicles and the most BEVs in September. Top Selling Brands In September, #1 BYD, now deep into pricing out the competition (fossil fueled and electric…) didn’t ... [continued]

The post World EV Sales Report — Top Selling Auto Brands & Groups appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Halloween is still more than a month away, but it’s never too early to start getting ready for the spooky season. If you’re in the mood for some new DIY projects, Aurelie Erikson’s Instagram page is a great source of inspiration, and she’ll help you get ready for the spookiest holiday of the year. Erikson […]

Six-hundred-twenty in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days. The core Windows apps Notepad and Paint are getting more AI features. Some of them are reserved for Copilot+ PCs, others are available for all Windows 11 devices. As always, if I've missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email. Discounts this week The following list is… [Continue Reading]

Humans are generally the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, so training and awareness are essential alongside technology to keep organizations safe. With the launch of its AI Scenario Generator, Immersive Labs enables organizations to seamlessly generate threat scenarios for crisis simulations to ensure their workforces are ready for the latest threats. By inputting a few short prompts, customers can use the AI Scenario Generator to rapidly generate and launch customized cyber exercises to prove and improve individual and team cyber skills against various attack types, such as ransomware and supply chain threats. Organizations can automatically tailor content by attack… [Continue Reading]

Building a social media presence is perhaps the most common advice given to brands that have just begun building their online presence, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Social media has become so ingrained in our culture that it touches every corner of our lives, both personal and professional. Even those who don’t consider themselves […]

The post Five Tips for Creating a Hot-Shot Social Media Strategy From Scratch appeared first on The Design Inspiration.

  Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword; it has become a crucial consideration as consumers grow increasingly eco-conscious. For businesses in the travel industry, embracing sustainability offers immense advantages, such as expanding the customer base, securing government incentives, and enhancing brand reputation. Incorporating eco-friendly practices is an excellent starting point, but to make a […]

The post Actionable Branding Tips For Sustainable Businesses appeared first on The Design Inspiration.

A cluttered kitchen is an eyesore, and often becomes a source of stress. Even if you are...

One of the most important things to consider when planning a wedding is the invitation. How the...

This EMF Radiation Blocking Hoodie from Bon Charge looks like it’s just the ticket for these warm winter nights. And when we say warm, you know we’re not just referring to the temperature, right? According to some very sensible people, over exposure to high levels of electromagnetic radiation can be a very not good thing. Now before we all head off and find a deep bunker somewhere, it’s not just the levels, but also the type of radiation that matters....

The post EMF Radiation Blocking Hoodie Keeps You Safe. Maybe. appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Dr Gordon Moore, one of the three co-founders of Intel Corporation has passed away in Hawaii at the age of 94.  I had the privilege of interviewing him in London in March 1997, and he came across as a genuinely humble man, typical of the genuine ‘boffin’ type of the time. The thing I remember mostly from the interview was his professed love for antiques. Apparently he and his wife, Betty, spent a lot of their free time browsing for...

The post Gordon Moore RIP – Goodbye Mr Chips appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Mads Singers has a passion for management and for helping companies increase their revenue exponentially by tweaking and improving their business practices.  This Danish entrepreneur travels the world, speaking publicly and consulting privately with businesses and individuals to help them…

The post How Mads Singers Helps Companies 5x Their Business While Working Less appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Gen Z is well known for being social media savvy. But not all platforms are created equal, and with new trends emerging it can be hard to keep track of where Gen Z is spending its time. In this blog, we’ll walk through the apps where you’re most likely to find this cohort scrolling, liking, and viewing, covering the following topics: 

• What social media app has the highest reach among Gen Z? 
• What social media app has grown the fastest among Gen Z?
• How does Gen Z’s social media usage compare to the general population? 
• How does Gen Z’s social media usage compare to other age groups? 

Does God have feelings? Can we influence how he feels? Fr. Stephen looks carefully at the theology of grace and the idea of the psychology of God.

Is the me in my head, the voice that rattles on, the same thing as my soul? What is my identity in Christ?

The post Strategies to Maintain Blogging Momentum Through Life’s Ups and Downs appeared first on ProBlogger.

This week at ProBlogger, we’re diving deep into a topic close to every blogger’s heart: how to keep the momentum going, no matter what life throws your way. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned pro, maintaining your blog’s momentum is key to its success. Last week, we ...more

The post Strategies to Maintain Blogging Momentum Through Life’s Ups and Downs appeared first on ProBlogger.

The post Mastering Blog Post Creation: 10 Essential Steps to Enhance Your Writing Process appeared first on ProBlogger.

It hits you like a TON of BRICKS! It’s an idea for that KILLER blog post that is just bound to bring you all the traffic that you’ve ever dreamed of. With the idea fresh in your mind you sit down at your keyboard and BANG it out – desperate ...more

The post Mastering Blog Post Creation: 10 Essential Steps to Enhance Your Writing Process appeared first on ProBlogger.

The post 8 Steps to Become a More Confident Writer appeared first on ProBlogger.

Whatever you want to achieve by blogging – money, a fully-fledged business, recognition in your field, a creative outlet, or sharing your message with the world – you need to write. There’s no way around it. Blogging is writing. Your platform, your means of communication, involves putting words onto a ...more

The post 8 Steps to Become a More Confident Writer appeared first on ProBlogger.

The post How to Approach Influencers in Your Niche: Twelve Crucial Tips appeared first on ProBlogger.

Do you want to connect with influencers in your niche? Most bloggers do. But many of them go about it the wrong way. Forming relationships with influencers is something you really want to get right. Done well, it’s one of the best ways to grow your audience and brand. And hopefully ...more

The post How to Approach Influencers in Your Niche: Twelve Crucial Tips appeared first on ProBlogger.

Ancient Faith Radio and Bill Marianes were honored to be present at the recent meeting of the Assembly of Bishops. This week, here Bill's interviews with Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Archdiocese, Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America, Serbian Orthodox Bishop Irinej of Eastern America, Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, Archbishop Daniel of the Ukranian Orthodox Church of the USA, and Metropolitan Savas of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh