Tesla Model 3 event (video) – update 2

● rear wheel drive standard
● optional Dual motors for 4 wheel drive

● Tesla signature strong acceleration – base model 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds – “We don't make slow cars.”

● EPA rating at least 215 miles in the smaller of 2 battery packs
● 15" information screen in landscape orientation
● Autopilot hardware in all cars
● Autopilot safety features in all cars
● “Seats 5 adults comfortably.”
● Frunk

● “More interior room than any internal combustion car of the same external dimensions.”

● Supercharger access standard
● fixed glass, openable glass, & metal roof options
● predominantly steel construction, some aluminium
● common parts with Model S – “Almost none.”

“These are minimum numbers, we hope to exceed them.”

Short version (3:20)


Tesla's own coverage (22:43)


Update 11 April 2017 – Unfortunately, the informative discussion between the driver & passengers in the video originally below was replaced with music. Check this:



Notice the oval steering wheel & lack of instruments in front of the driver in the demonstration vehicle. Hopefully, there will be something more ergonomic in production.

Update 11 April 2017 – it’s become obvious that there won't be an instrument cluster in front of the driver. With the benefit of hindsight, the engineer driving in the video above, was pushing the advantages of the centre screen hard. Notice too, the speed display in the top corner of the centre display places it conveniently for the driver.

All of which leaves only one question: Why haven't you paid your deposit yet? / live streaming Tesla Model 3 unveil event on Tesla.com beginning at 8.30pm PDT March 31st reservations Model 3 worldwide two ways to make a reservation queue visit your local Tesla make a reservation online Tesla.com live unveil starts 8:30pm PDT March 31st 8:30 pm PDT 31 March 2016 3:30 am Friday 01 April 2016 GMT Tesla model 3 III electric car mass market car electric vehicle EV /

Tesla store, Sydney Australia, 7 am

Credit: HH

Reservations for the Tesla Model 3 began in Tesla stores at start of business Thursday 31 March 2016. That meant that the first stores, world wide, to accept reservations were on the East Coast of Australia at 08:00 am local time (21:00 GMT (aka Zulu, UTC, UT1, etc,) the previous day) on Thursday 31 March.

As you can see, quite a few people arrived early. The line ran around the corner. Number 11 in the queue was a hire car driver, who arrived in a black Model S. Around an hour before the opening, he received a phone call, said, “I have a customer,” & left. Good luck for most of the queue – everyone behind him moved up a place.

How can you reserve a Tesla Model 3? Reservations begin in Tesla stores at the local time indicated above, in your time zone, so you can reserve a car any time after that. Alternatively, you can make a reservation online at Tesla.com when the live unveil starts at 8:30pm PDT 31 March. That's 3:30 am Friday 01 April 2016 GMT. / live streaming Tesla Model 3 unveil event on Tesla.com beginning at 8.30pm PDT March 31st reservations Model 3 worldwide two ways to make a reservation queue visit your local Tesla make a reservation online Tesla.com live unveil starts 8:30pm PDT March 31st 8:30 pm PDT 31 March 2016 3:30 am Friday 01 April 2016 GMT Tesla model 3 III electric car mass market car electric vehicle EV /

Apple’s new challenge – Learning how the FBI cracked its iPhone

Subtext of the Apple vs FBI case was: “No one, not even the FBI can can decrypt an iPhone.”

Now that the FBI’s has found someone, (just who, they refuse to disclose) who can decrypt it, Apple will want to restore the reputation of its devices.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/technology/apples-new-challenge-learning-how-the-us-cracked-its-iphone.html?mabReward=A1&moduleDetail=recommendations-0&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion®ion=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article

What does this mean for iPhone owners?

● rule of thumb for the security of any device, computing system, or premises – any sufficiently determined & resourced attacker will eventually overcome any security system

● if your iPhone has attracted the interest of an organisation as well resourced as the FBI, its security is under threat

● all other cases, assuming you have taken the appropriate measures, you device is secure, at least for now

● in time, Apple will upgrade iPhone security, but since the FBI isn’t saying how the San Bernardino shooter’s phone was decrypted, it is hard to see how it can ever be certain that this particular security hole has been closed

Caveat to the above: the iPhone in Apple vs FBI was a 5c – more recent devices may not be susceptible to the same hack.

View from Yahoo:
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/who-are-the-winners-and-losers-in-the-apple-v-fbi-192703478.html / United States government cracked open iPhone gunman San Bernardino California mass shooting Apple’s help tech company under pressure find fix flaw cases security vulnerabilities cropped up Apple higher set of hurdles repairing iPhone government hacked challenges start method law enforcement authorities third party break into iPhone Syed Rizwan Farook attacker San Bernardino rampage last year federal officials identify person organization helped crack the device declined specify procedure unlock decrypt hack open iPhone Apple obtain device reverse engineer hacking situations trickier Apple’s security operation in flux operation reorganized late last year manager responsible handling government’s data extraction requests left the team work in a different part of the company four current former Apple employees spoke on the condition of anonymity not authorized speak publicly changes employees tasks included hack Apple’s own products left the company cat-and-mouse game Apple engaged in with hackers hacking hacker United States government predicament for the company Apple business earn trust of its customers Jay Kaplan chief executive tech security company Synack former National Security Agency analyst fix this vulnerability as soon as possible Apple statement government filed to drop case demanding company help open Mr. Farook’s iPhone continue increase security our products threats attacks our data more frequent sophisticated Apple increase security devices company’s chief executive Timothy D. Cook Apple’s road map roadmap encrypt everything stored devices services information stored Apple’s cloud service iCloud customers back up data mobile devices Apple engineers begun developing new security measures tougher government open locked iPhone information flaw Farook’s iPhone 5C runs Apple’s iOS 9 operating system security experts how government broke into smartphone forensics experts government attacked Apple’s system method extract information protected area phone removing chip mechanism blocks password guessing user’s password unlock data authorities procedure mirrors phone’s storage chip NAND chip copied another chip NAND-mirroring F.B.I. FBI replace original NAND chip copy content tried 10 passcodes unlock phone failed generate a new copy phone’s content try another password guess restoring saved game Jonathan Zdziarski iOS forensics expert newer iPhone models less susceptible NAND-mirroring upgraded chip A7 security processor Secure Enclave unique numerical key not known essential secure securing information stored in the phone security vulnerabilities Apple products hackers mobile devices attacking Apple’s hardware software security teams Apple two main security teams group called Core OS Security Engineering product security team product security team privacy group examined data properly encrypted anonymized functions former Apple employees product security team reacted to vulnerabilities found people outside Apple proactive team RedTeam actively hack Apple products product security team broken up privacy group reporting to a new manager former employees product security proactive and reactive pieces absorbed Core OS Security Engineering team leader Core OS Security Engineering team Dallas DeAtley left security division Apple Mr. DeAtley employees government requests to extract data from iPhones Apple acquired a handful of security outfits LegbaCore found and fixed flaws for Apple departures market forces security professionals most sought-after engineers technology sector Apple’s security operation obtain information government hacked Mr. Farook’s iPhone proprietary to the company that helped the F.B.I. Stewart A. Baker lawyer at Steptoe & Johnson Department of Homeland Security’s security community researchers professionals Apple little debate everyone’s best interest Apple find out about this vulnerability Alex Rice CTO chief technology officer HackerOne security company San Francisco helps coordinate vulnerability disclosure corporations /

Tesla has removed 70 kWh battery from Model X option list

Tesla Model X
Credit: automobilemag.com

You may have seen evidence on these pages that Tesla is about to release a 100 kWh battery. One more data point is removal of the 70 kWh option from the Model X options list.

http://gas2.org/2016/03/28/tesla-drops-70-kwh-battery-model-x/

http://www.teslarati.com/tesla-removes-model-x-70-kwh-option-website/ / Telsa Model X SUV choices option list dual motor version 70 kWh battery 70D dual motor version 90 kWh battery 90D high performance dual motor version P90D P90D Tesla removed all reference 70D 90D website Teslarati all wheel drive version car no reference to battery size Tesla Tesla Motors Club forum 7% of Model X customers ordered 70 kWh battery cars manufactured make economic sense offer version few people want Tesla Model 3 rumored 60 kWh battery 200 miles of range Tesla hacker new 100 kWh battery buried deep inside the software Model S 70 kWh 90 kWh battery build stock 60 70 90 100 kWh batteries new top level battery 100 kWh unit Model X 70 kWh option new lineup 60 80 100 kWh options Tesla Model 3 battery slightly less powerful larger more profitable Model S same performance considerably less money later Model S 80 kWh battery basic option entry level Model 3 list for $35,000 rear wheel drive only dual motor all wheel drive version option buyers option choice larger battery 60 kWh entry level battery 70 kWh unit currently available in the Model S optional battery 80 kWh price increase Model S new 100 kWh battery announced new entry level battery part of the price increase price of the Model S base battery 60 kWh 70 kWh 80 kWh battery standard base Model S /

Electric vehicles are even more environmentally friendly than you thought – update

You’re probably aware of many of the environmental advantages of electric vehicles (EVs) – reduced carbon footprint, reduced air pollution etc.

But you may not have heard of their reduced heat island effect.

Heat island effect? – human activities are concentrated in urban areas. Almost all human activities produce heat – some obviously – such as household heating, some less obviously – such as household cooling. (Have you ever walked past the outside outlet of an air conditioner?) Heat released by human activity in an urban area raises the local temperature – creating a heat island.

NASA explains the heat island effect


Heat island effect leads to more air-conditioner use in hot weather – which further contributes to the heat island effect.

What internal combustion engines do best, is make heat. In practice, only about 20% of the energy in fossil fuel powers the vehicle. The remaining 80% escapes directly as heat – in urban areas, contributing to the heat island effect.

Electric motors are many times more efficient than internal combustion engines, releasing only 20% of the heat energy.

Canbing Li et. al. have shown that in Beijing, “The replacement of CVs [conventional vehicles] by EVs in 2012 could have mitigated the summer heat island intensity (HII) by about 0.94°C, reduced the amount of electricity consumed daily by air conditioners in buildings by 14.44 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), & reduced daily CO2 emissions by 10,686 tonnes.”¹

Obviously, the same principle applies to other cities too.

https://research.msu.edu/electric-vehicles-emit-significantly-less-heat/
__________

¹ Canbing Li et. al: “Hidden Benefits of Electric Vehicles for Addressing Climate Change”, published in Nature, https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09213

/ electric cars electric vehicle EV environmentally friendly benefits electric vehicle EV diminished carbon footprint less air pollution more subtle benefits as well new research Michigan State University research EVs emit less heat urban heat island effect reduced large-scale adoption of EVs phasing out heat-spewing gas-powered vehicles hot cities summer hotter global warming reduced improving livability reducing cooling bills energy use petrol gas powered vehicles switch to electrics big picture electric cars global warming study Jianguo Liu Rachel Carson Chair Sustainability Michigan State University director Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability heat waves kill climate change one degree research Professor Canbing Li Hunan University Changsha China visiting scholar conventional vehicles air conditioners biggest contributors heat island effect intensity difference between urban temperatures cooler temperatures rural areas electric vehicles are cooler 20% of the heat a gas vehicle emits researchers Beijing summer of 2012 calculate switching vehicles gas electricity reduce heat island intensity 1 degree Celsius saved Beijing 14.4 million kilowatt hours slashed carbon dioxide emissions 11,779 tons per day paper Hidden Benefits of Electric Vehicles for Addressing Climate Change effects aerosol pollution heat island intensity potential factor research new findings recently published journal Scientific Reports /

Dyson is developing an electric car

Dyson, the vacuum cleaner manufacturer, is developing an electric car – very few details are available, except:

● a single paragraph (since withdrawn) in a UK government document, saying that the government will provide some funding

● Dyson bought Sakti3, a company which has developed battery technology James Dyson described as, “breakthrough” – new battery technologies are announced every week,¹ but almost none of them are bought up by an established, engineering driven, international company

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/24/11299802/dyson-electric-car-vacuum-UK-government

http://jalopnik.com/expensive-vacuum-maker-dyson-is-developing-an-electric-1766856309?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=Jalopnik_twitter

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/23/dyson-developing-electric-car-government-documents
__________

¹ “Elon Musk is sick of inventors pitching him the next big thing in batteries”, http://qz.com/400314/elon-musk-is-sick-of-inventors-pitching-him-the-next-big-thing-in-batteries/ / expensive vacuum cleaner maker manufacturer Dyson developing electric car electric vehicle EV battery electric vehicle BEV National Infrastructure and Delivery Plan UK United Kingdom Great Britain Infrastructure and Project’s Authority vacuum maker Dyson building car government funding Dyson develop new battery electric vehicle headquarters Malmesbury, Wiltshire secure £174m investment creating over 500 jobs engineering Dyson developing new battery electric vehicle help from public money Dyson all British developed electric vehicle Dyson developing electric car great history designing products innovative take risks decades experience designing building advanced efficient electric motors bought Sakti3 battery maker radical technology James Dyson breakthrough development /

FBI finds another organisation to unlock San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone – postpones court hearing

So the FBI postponed a court hearing in its ongoing case to force Apple to unlock an iPhone. Story is that the FBI found another organisation to unlock the phone.

A few things remain unexplained:
• the purpose of this case was widely believed to be the FBI selecting the best case to establish a precedent for forcing a tech company to decrypt a phone
• Cellebrite, the company believed to have been engaged to decrypt the iPhone, has a long standing association with the FBI – why did it take them so long to think of using Cellebrite again?

Unexplained, unless the FBI expected to lose in court.

Plus, the subtext of this case has been, “Nobody but Apple can decrypt an iPhone & they won’t do it.” And now the FBI claims it’s found someone who can & will.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/03/the-company-helping-unlock-the-san-bernardino-iphone-has-a-long-history-of-selling-gear-to-us-police/

http://fortune.com/2016/03/26/apple-fbi-tim-cook/ / company helping unlock San Bernardino iPhone long history selling gear US Police company helping FBI access San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone data USA data-extraction tools Cellebrite has been helping US law enforcement arsenal surveillance gear FBI postponed hearing yesterday force Apple write software decrypt unlock weaken security San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone unidentified outside third party solution Apple’s help Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth outside party Cellebrite forensics firm specialises getting data off mobile devices unconfirmed report not able to comment identity outside party FBI spokesperson Cellebrite cosy relationship US law enforcement Intercept catalogue government surveillance gear ACLU staff attorney Nathan Wessler Cellebrite device favourite of police departments everywhere Cellebrite making millions FBI contracts Motherboard reports
public records Cellebrite’s US subsidiary $2 million worth of purchase orders FBI purchase order agency software renewals Apple hearing was order Chicago San Bernardino FBI Cellebrite US federal contracts Drug Enforcement Agency Patent and Trademark Office US Immigrations Custom Enforcement Transportation Security Administration State Department Cellebrite’s gear high-profile terrorism cases federal agencies state local law enforcement equipment get data off mobile devices Universal Forensics Extraction Device investigative tool sophisticated surveillance technology Cellebrite gear potential abused abuse Michigan State Police Cellebrite technology access smartphone data getting a warrant ACLU records Cellebrite device usage Freedom of Information Act retrieving records cost hundreds thousands of dollars ACLU has not received records prohibitive cost Cellebrite salvage data San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone law enforcement let Apple off the hook Cellebrite a ton of positive publicity FBI avoid embarrassing precedent-setting loss in court FBI set a precedent forcing tech companies assist in investigations Pyrrhic victory for the Bureau Cellebrite company’s technology Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI frequent customer /