Facebook denounces detention of its exec in Brazil, calls it an ‘extreme and disproportionate measure’

REUTERS/RICARDO MORAES

Facebook isn’t happy with how a Brazilian court handled a case dealing with its messaging service, WhatsApp. The company finds its Vice President for Latin America Diego Dzodan arrested because the company supposedly failed to cooperate with judicial orders related to a secretive drug-trafficking investigation. Facebook, or WhatsApp more specifically, was demanded by a court to provide data to aid in the investigation. The arrest was issued after a fine of 1 million reais (about $340,000 CAD) was issued to compel Facebook to help. However, it might be difficult to obtain that data. According to Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union, WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption technology in 2014 that prevents them from monitoring messages that travel across its network.

Dzodan is currently held in Sao Paulo state for questioning. The arrest comes in the time when social media, Internet, and tech companies are facing mounting pressure from governments to help them spy on their users and filter content. According to an emailed statement from the company, “Facebook has always been and will be available to address any questions Brazilian authorities may have.”

Source: Reuters (1) + Reuters (2)

Faraday Future creates its own inverter, patents it in the U.S.

Following the debut of its FFZERO1 concept car, Faraday Future is working towards bringing its vehicles into production and they’re doing it piece by piece. The supposed Tesla rival has invented and patented a power converter designed for efficiency. Called the FF Echelon Inverter, it’s said to achieve 20 to 30 percent more power density, which means it can transform energy more efficiently. It also reduces the chance of a current to be shared across parallel components, meaning it lessens the likelihood of failure due to undue stress on the inverter.

According to Silva Hiti, senior director of Electric Drive at FF, “Condensing the number of transistors and other complex components enhances the inverter’s overall stability and dependability, allowing us to accomplish far more, with fewer materials.” Its sleek design is also said to help reduce manufacturing costs and will let them focus on rider comfort and safety instead of having to house a sizable power inverter.

Source: Faraday Future | Via: The Next Web

New charging cable can top up your Android smartphone and iPhone

via GIPHY

A new Kickstarter project just might be the answer to all your cross platform woes. The LMcable is a charging cable that works for both Lightning and microUSB ports, which the iPhone and Android phones use, respectively. It has a reversible male end that has two differently designed sides. One of the sides connects to the iPhone’s Lightning port and the other connects to the microUSB port of Android devices. And then its other end is a standard USB male connector. It’s a rather stylish-looking cable as it’s wrapped in leather and comes with a brass buckle to make storing it away a bit easier. It also comes in four different colors: white, brown, black, and blue. Unfortunately, it won’t do data transfers so make sure to hold on to your respective Lightning cables and microUSB cables. 

The Kickstarter goal has already surpassed its $5,000 AUD goal over tenfold in 10 days. Currently the pre-orders you can still back include $21 AUD (about $20 CAD) for one LMcable, $45 (about $43) for three cables, and $1,400 (about $1,350) for the distributor pack which has 100 pieces. It’s expected to ship in April.

Source: Mashable

First Look: Nespresso's Prodigio is a connected coffee lover's dream device

By Sonya Davidson

It was during our travels in Europe that we had first discovered Nespresso. We had tried the various flavours (aka Grand Crus) then and knew that it was something that we would be willing to invest in. We have always enjoyed espresso drinks but finding an at-home machine that didn't take up much space wasn't easy at that time. When we returned home we did our research and decided that Nespresso was for us. It not only offered convenience but it also offered high quality roasts and flavours that suited our tastes. We've had our machine for probably 8 years now and it's still going strong. 

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