The subversive bacchanal for San Franciscoβs eccentric underground is ageing out amid an influx of the super-rich
Burning Man, the infamous arts festival in the Nevada desert, turned 40 this year, and itβs showing some distinct signs of middle age.
Itβs not just the tech billionaires who show up to party, the chartered flights straight to the desert or the HBO documentary about behind-the-scenes power struggles. The tens of thousands of people who assemble each year to create a tent city in the wilderness appear to be growing older, and it doesnβt seem that theyβre being replaced by as many younger βburnersβ, as festival participants are called.
A cada atualizaΓ§Γ£o anual do macOS, uma escolha da Apple em particular gera quase tanta curiosidade quanto as mudanΓ§as e os novos recursos do seu sistema operacional: o nome que acompanharΓ‘ o update.
Antes disso β no perΓodo do Mac OS Classic, que abrange os sistemas dos Macintoshes lanΓ§ados entre 1984 e 2001 β, os nomes dos sistemas da Apple eram usados quase exclusivamente de forma interna. Publicamente, as versΓ΅es recebiam denominaΓ§Γ΅es bastante protocolares, mas, nos bastidores, praticamente todas carregavam codinomes.
Essa sΓ³ se tornou uma tradiΓ§Γ£o marqueteira a partir do Mac OS X 10.2, quando Steve Jobs apresentou a nova versΓ£o do sistema operacional como Mac OS X Jaguar, levando um codinome ao pΓΊblico pela primeira vez β antes do Jaguar, a Apple utilizou os codinomes Kodiak para a versΓ£o beta, Cheetah para a 10.0 e Puma para a 10.1 β, inaugurando a era de nomes de grandes felinos.
O primeiro destino geogrΓ‘fico escolhido pela Apple remete a uma regiΓ£o litorΓ’nea conhecida pelas altas ondas, propΓcias para a cena local do surfe. O papel de parede do OS X 10.9 dava destaque Γ curvatura de uma grande onda em tons de azul e turquesa, com clara inspiraΓ§Γ£o na localizaΓ§Γ£o que deu nome ao update.
Pouco mais de quatro horas adiante (ou 314km, para ser mais exato), encontramos o Parque Nacional de Yosemite. A Γ‘rea jΓ‘ era considerada tΓ£o importante para a preservaΓ§Γ£o ambiental que Abraham Lincoln autorizou sua proteΓ§Γ£o e uso pΓΊblico em 1864, anos antes da criaΓ§Γ£o de Yellowstone, reconhecido como o primeiro parque nacional do mundo. Outro grande entusiasta de Yosemite foi Theodore Roosevelt, que ajudou a consolidar a sua importΓ’ncia dentro do sistema de parques americanos.
Inicialmente, a novidade englobava apenas o AirDrop, as chamadas telefΓ΄nicas, o app Mensagens, o Handoff e o Instant Hotspot. Ainda assim, ela inaugurou um nΓvel de interoperabilidade que ajudou a redefinir a forma como o mercado de tecnologia passou a enxergar ecossistemas compostos por diferentes produtos de uma mesma marca.
Cerca de 338km depois (aproximadamente quatro horas e meia) de Yosemite, passando pela cordilheira de Sierra Nevada (situada no leste da CalifΓ³rnia, a oeste do Mount Whitney), temos o Lone Pine Peak, cenΓ‘rio da montanha que aparece no wallpaper do sistema.
Quando falamos do sistema, aos moldes do prΓ³prio El Capitan e do Snow Leopard, o macOS High Sierra 10.13 focou muito mais no aprimoramento interno do macOS do que em novos recursos, mas vale mencionar a inclusΓ£o do novo sistema de arquivos da MaΓ§Γ£ (o Apple File System, ou APFS), do suporte aos formatos audiovisuais HEVC e HEIF, bem como a chegada da segunda geraΓ§Γ£o da tecnologia de desempenho grΓ‘fico Metal.
Essa atualizaΓ§Γ£o marcou o fim do iTunes, que foi segmentado em um catΓ‘logo de aplicativos separados (Apple TV, MΓΊsica, Apple Podcasts), mas sua adiΓ§Γ£o mais relevante muito possivelmente foi o recurso Sidecar, que possibilita o uso do iPad como um monitor externo do Mac.
Sobre o sistema, a versΓ£o marcou a transiΓ§Γ£o dos processadores da Intel para o Apple Silicon com o lanΓ§amento do M1, trazendo novos Γcones, materiais translΓΊcidos, um novo Dock, Central de Controle e de NotificaΓ§Γ΅es.
Ainda na costa de Big Sur, o macOS Monterey 12 marcou a quebra de uma tradiΓ§Γ£o: pela primeira vez em anos, a Apple optou por nΓ£o incluir um registro fotogrΓ‘fico como possΓvel papel de parede ou tela de descanso, mantendo apenas temas dinΓ’micos para ilustrar o sistema dos Macs naquela ocasiΓ£o.
Por volta de 450km de distΓ’ncia (quatro horas e meia de trajeto) depois, temos o Condado de Ventura, que inspirou essa versΓ£o do macOS. Emancipado do Condado de Santa BΓ‘rbara em 1873, ele abriga o pΓer mais antigo do estado da CalifΓ³rnia. Mais uma vez, a Apple optou por nΓ£o incluir um papel de parede fotogrΓ‘fico.
Quanto aos seus recursos, o macOS Ventura 13 se destacou pela adiΓ§Γ£o do recurso Organizador Visual (Stage Manager) e melhorias no Spotlight, Safari, entre outros aplicativos nativos do sistema que ganharam reformulaΓ§Γ΅es.
Saindo de Sonoma, nosso prΓ³ximo destino estΓ‘ localizado a quase sete horas de distΓ’ncia (mais ao sul da CalifΓ³rnia, a exatos 547km de distΓ’ncia); trata-se do Parque Nacional da Sequoia, que abriga algumas das maiores Γ‘rvores do planeta em termos de volume.
In the latest example, the Energy Department will convert a shuttered Cold War-era uranium enrichment facility into a data center campus and gas plants.
President Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright during a White House event last week in which 200 companies vowed to prevent A.I. data centers from driving up power costs.
In the latest example, the Energy Department will convert a shuttered Cold War-era uranium enrichment facility into a data center campus and gas plants.
A massive wildfire that scorched the Nevada desert near the U.S. Air Forceβs classified Area 51 facility over the weekend has now exceeded 2,000 acres.
The fire, which began on Friday, continued spreading through Lincoln County, Nevada, according to officials with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), one of the agencies working to control the blaze.
βThis is a restricted area, closed to the public, always, regardless of fire activity,β BLM officials said in a statement, adding that there are presently no additional closures in effect in the area.
Dubbed the Quail Springs fire, crews continued battling against heavy smoke and flames within the Nevada Test and Training Range throughout the weekend.
One of two military training areas located within the Nellis Air Force Base Complex in Nevada, the classified site is home to a simulated Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) and features close to 1,200 targets and other military assets frequently used in training operations.
With its storied history involving the development and testing of some of Americaβs most secretive aircraft, Area 51 has long remained an item of public fascination. Presently, there is no indication that the fire could impact operations at the facility.
Additionally, while BLM officials say there are no residences or other structures currently being threatened, the fire reportedly still has zero containment, according to information available on the Nevada Wildfire Information Dashboard.
βWarm, dry weather with afternoon breezes is expected through Tuesday,β read a portion of a statement that appeared on the BLM website. βFire activity is expected to increase during the afternoon burning period before moderating overnight as temperatures cool and humidity recovers.β
Presently, the BLM says there are no significant weather changes expected, although some isolated thunderstorms are possible in the area over the next several days. While the presence of moisture would seemingly be hoped for under such conditions, BLM officials said that such storms could also introduce βpotentially gusty and erratic winds,β which may βcontribute to fire spread.β
Lightning associated with such isolated storms is often a key trigger for such fires during the otherwise arid summer months. Presently, BLM officials believe a lightning strike had likely triggered this weekendβs fire, as well.
βThe fire will continue to be monitored closely,β the BLM statement read.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached atΒ micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on XΒ @MicahHanks, and atΒ micahhanks.com.
From Nevada to Manchester, developers are trialling innovative solutions to clean energyβs biggest challenge
In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.
The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.
The Upper Colorado River on the Grand Canyon last month. About 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of cropland depend on the Colorado for drinking water and irrigation.
From left, Dan Denham of the San Diego County Water Authority; Scott Cameron of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Tom Buschatzke of the Arizona Department of Water Resources; and Colby Pellegrino of the Southern Nevada Water Authority toasted the agreement at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant in California on Wednesday.