Editor Blogs

October 2019

Sure, why not?

Tesla's Pickup Truck is...uh...Something

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

This is either the coolest thing I’ve ever seen or the biggest eyesore since the carriage went horseless. One thing’s certain – Tesla’s pickup truck commands your attention. And really, would you expect any less from celebrity mogul Elon Musk? This is the guy who said we could make Mars livable by nuking the poles and considered a roller coas

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10/27/2019

The GivePower "solar water farms"

Using Solar Power to Provide Clean Drinking Water

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

I love stories like this. Our industry’s perspective is often tethered to the circuit board, but this is a great reminder that every technical innovation has satisfied end-users – like underprivileged Kenyans who lack access to clean water. And it’s definitely a serious problem – about ¼ of the wo

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10/21/2019

Founder and CEO Sir James Dyson recently put the kibosh on his company's electric vehicle plans.

Dyson Abandons the Electric Car, Calls EVs "Unprofitable"

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Well, that’s discouraging. Not that creating an electric car division from thin air isn’t difficult. It is. Tremendously so. But if one of the world’s consumer juggernauts says that EVs aren’t profitable – regardless of prior experience – that’s a gut punch. Dyson found its niche with premium vacuum cle

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10/14/2019

A small sample of the wildfires that hit Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in 2017

California Utility Shuts Down Power to Prevent Wldfires

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Sometimes (well, most of the time), power is fundamental to everything – case in point, hundreds of thousands of Californians recently lost it in an attempt by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to avoid sparking wildfires. “Diablo winds” are the culprit, here. According to PG&E meteorologist Scott Str

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10/10/2019

iOS "Optimized Battery Charging" Could Frustrate you Daily

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Close. So very, very close. Apple's latest iOS battery-saver is well-intentioned, but it's just as likely to frustrate as illuminate. iOS 13 implements something called "Optimized Battery Charging," which is designed to extend the life of your battery by calculating exactly when to fully c

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10/09/2019

U.S. Grants UPS Permission to run Drone Fleet

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Amazon Prime Air might’ve run into a brick wall of regulation, but UPS has beaten them to the punch – United Parcel Service just won the U.S. government’s full approval to operate a drone airline. Their first full approval. The FAA’s Standard Part 135 certification grants the holder full access, wi

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10/06/2019

UK's Bristol Airport Powered by 100% Renewable Electricity

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

With nearly 9 million annual passengers, Bristol Airport is the ninth-busiest airport in the UK and a prime candidate for a green overhaul. They’ll get that courtesy of the Danish energy provider, Ørsted, and 100% renewable electricity sources. The Bristol Airport – formerly an RAF airfield – recently

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10/04/2019

Tesla's new Battery Could Last a Million Miles

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

It seems impossible, but apparently, the science is sound – Tesla will soon present a battery with a lifespan in the seven digits. Researchers at Dalhousie University published a paper in The Journal of the Electromechanical Society, and over the course of three years, they concluded that “cells of this type

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10/04/2019

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Amazon to buy 100,000 Electric Vans

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

As Amazon plows forward with its plans for world domination expansion, they’ve committed to buying 100,000 electric vans and eliminating fossil fuels altogether. EV leader Rivian will provide the vans, with a $400 million investment from Amazon, and the e-commerce juggernaut announced an ambitious plan t

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Date:

10/04/2019