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There are plenty of Lego sets that feature astronauts, but now there are Lego bricks made out of the stuff that astronauts find out there in the void. The Danish brickmaker has teamed up with the European Space Agency (ESA) to make Lego pieces from actual meteorite dust. Pretty cool, right? They are on display at several Lego store locations until September 20, including the big 5th Avenue branch in Manhattan. This project isnt just for giggles, though it is pretty fun. Its a proof of concept to show how astronauts could use moondust to build lunar structures. Consider the sheer amount of energy and money required to haul up building materials from Earth to the Moon. It would be a game changer to, instead, build everything from pre-existing lunar materials. There's a layer of rock and mineral deposits at the surface of the Moon, which is called lunar regolith. Its long been thought that regolith of some kind would be required to build our first off-world colonies. Its readily available and there are several prospective methods to transform it into building materials. After all, humans have been making structures out of dirt, soil and sand for thousands of years. Lego However, there isnt too much lunar regolith here on Earth for folks to experiment with. ESA scientists made their own regolith by grinding up a really old meteorite. The dust from this meteorite was turned into a mixture that was used to 3D print the Lego pieces. Voila. Moon bricks. They click together just like regular Lego bricks, though they only come in one color (space gray obviously.) Lego "Nobody has built a structure on the Moon, so it was great to have the flexibility to try out all kinds of designs and building techniques with our space bricks. It was both fun and useful in scientifically understanding the boundaries of these techniques, said ESA Science Officer Aidan Cowley. Humanity is actually getting closer than ever before to our first real lunar base. NASA has teamed up with the Italian Space Agency and the Thales Alenia Space Corporation to build the first permanent human outpost on the Moon, though it wont happen until at least the 2030s. Recent designs for lunar habitats have ranged from something resembling a mobile home to full-fledged inflatable villages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lego-made-bricks-out-of-meteorite-dust-and-theyre-on-display-at-select-stores-161440194.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
It's safe to say Apple and the European Commission aren't exactly bosom buddies. The two sides have been at loggerheads over Apple's compliance or alleged lack thereof with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a law designed to rein in the power of major tech companies. Apple said last week it would delay the rollout of certain features in the European Union, including Apple Intelligence AI tools, over concerns "that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security." As it turns out, the EU is not exactly happy about that decision. The call to push back the rollout of Apple Intelligence in the EU is a "stunning, open declaration that they know 100 percent that this is another way of disabling competition where they have a stronghold already, EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said at a Forum Europa event, according to Euractiv. Vestager added that the short version of the DMA means companies have to be open for competition to keep operating in the region. Not to leap to the defense of Apple here, but these comments are sure to raise an eyebrow or two, especially after Vestager also said she "was personally quite relieved that I would not get an AI-updated service on my iPhone." Apple does intend to bring Apple Intelligence to Europe more broadly, but it's taking a cautious approach with the tech in that region due to "regulatory uncertainties" and ensuring it won't have to compromise on user safety. As it stands, the European Commission is carrying out multiple investigations into the company over possible violations of the DMA. This week, it accused Apple of violating the law's anti-steering provisions by blocking app developers from freely informing users about alternate payment options outside of the company's ecosystem. If it's found guilty, Apple could be on the hook for a fine of up to 10 percent of its global annual revenue. Based on its 2023 sales, that could be a penalty of up to $38 billion. The percentage of the fine can double for repeated violations. Earlier this year, before the DMA came into force, the European Commission fined Apple 1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) over a violation of previous anti-steering rules. According to the Commission, Apple prevented rival music streaming apps from telling users that they could pay less for subscriptions if they sign up outside of iOS apps. Apple has challenged the fine.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/eu-competition-chief-jabs-at-apple-from-both-sides-over-ai-delay-140022585.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Learn how to integrate AI into your demand generation process with these seven practical steps that ensure scalable and repeatable results. Read more. Read the full article at MarketingProfs
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Marketing and Advertising
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