BMW

On Wednesday at the Auto China 2018 show in Beijing, BMW gave the world a preview of its newest electric vehicle. It's called the iX3, and it will be the first long-range battery EV from the German automaker. Based on the current X3 crossover, the iX3 will ditch that car's internal combustion engines for a 200kW (270hp) electric motor-generator unit (MGU), coupled to a 70kWh lithium-ion battery. That should be sufficient for a range of 250 miles (400km) according to BMW, although that's according to the WLTP cycle; the EPA testing cycle is closer to real-world performance and is therefore more conservative. Additionally, it will be able to charge at 150kW.

There are a number of notable things about the iX3. First, it will use the fifth-generation of BMW's eDrive powertrain, which now groups the MGU, the transmission, and the control electronics into a single unit. What's more, BMW says that the MGU does not use any rare Earth elements in its production, presumably indicating it's an induction and not brushless design. The availability of these minerals is of increasing concern to automakers given China's control of these resources, and in the past couple of years we've seen both Honda and Toyota develop MGUs with a reduced need for some rare Earth elements. Tesla has also been using rare Earth-free AC-induction MGUs in the Model S and Model X EVs, but that company has switched to a brushless design for the Model 3.

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Web scrubber accused of ignoring obligation to mitigate misuse of its code

Netsweeper, a maker of online-content-filtering software in Canada, has been called out for allowing its tools to aid internet censorship.…

'Laura' worked as a content reviewer for Facebook. She describes some of the terrible things she saw.

The customised robot is part of a study looking at how technology can help those in rural areas.

Enlarge (credit: Lisa Brewster / Flickr)

Malicious hackers wasted no time exploiting a critical bug in the Drupal content management system that allows them to execute malicious code on website servers. Just hours after maintainers of the open-source program disclosed the vulnerability, it came under active attack, they said.

So far, the attackers are using proof-of-concept attack code published online that shows one method of exploiting the critical flaw, Drupal maintainer Greg Knaddison told Ars. The code has not yet been automated in a way that can target large numbers of sites, in large part because successful exploits require permissions and configuration settings that differ from site to site. So far, Drupal maintainers aren't aware of any successful site take-overs resulting from the vulnerability.

"We have definitely seen proof of concept exploits published online," Knaddison wrote in an e-mail. "It's safe to assume that proof of concept (or others like it) are being used maliciously against individual sites by people who are willing to slowly attack a high value target. It's not yet automated in a way that would let an attacker try it against hundreds of sites."

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

The company is committed to increasing profit margins by focusing on more popular trucks and SUVs going forward.

The company sees a reversal of losses from a year ago, with a strong number of new prepaid customers. And its DirecTV Now service is gaining momentum. Earnings, however, missed expectations.

Enlarge / A fan dressed as President Donald Trump keeps his fingers moving on his iPhone during the Carolina Panthers against Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (credit: Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer/TNS via Getty Images)

Two congressional Democrats have sent a formal letter to top White House and law enforcement officials, seeking more information about the president’s use of an unsecured cell phone.

The letter, which was sent Wednesday by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), comes after recent media reports that Donald Trump is making "increased use" of his personal phone.

Last year, Trump reportedly had an iPhone with just one app on it: Twitter.

Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

The social network takes its first steps to send video using a new technology that can cut your data use, improve quality, and deliver videos faster.

A company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, makes artisan wood cases that aren't cheap. But they are unique.

Three-day outage sparked by bungled software rollout for data-center gear

A botched network switch firmware update caused school IT systems to fall over in the US state of Washington, it is claimed.…

After a controversy over disturbing clips on the child-focused app, Google-owned YouTube says it's rolling out new safety options.

Mark Zuckerberg’s social network is going through the biggest crisis of its existence. But it’s still making gobs of money.

Amid a fan backlash for supporting conservative voices, West makes his bromance with the president official on Twitter -- and even manages to rope in Silicon Valley.

The first vehicle from the new brand is an electric crossover that appears to be based on the HR-V.

The firm reports a near 50% revenue rise and says it is taking a broader review of its responsibilities.

Alaska and California moving forward, Colorado not so much

Efforts to impose net neutrality protections before federal rules are repealed are taking place across the US, but are currently very hit-and-miss as the big ISPs swing lobbying dollars against them.…

Kanye West’s return to Twitter after nearly a year away has taken a very unexpected turn.

Open letter throws heavy shade on social network's research initiative

Facebook’s API lock-down will hurt legitimate researchers and damage scrutiny of social networks, a group of boffins have warned.…

Winds of Winter won't be out this year, but a massive Targaryen history will hit bookstores before the end of 2018.