Facebook Plans ‘Community Notes’; Samsung’s Z Fold 8 is Sold Out Temporarily; Amazon Data Center Might Be Worst US Polluter; Europe-Free Sat Service Eases Tracking Wildfires

It’s been a feature…albeit a dubious one…on X for a while, and now Facebook appears poised to roll out Community Notes. I got a notice for this over the weekend and clicked on their waitlist. Facebook positions it as a way to ‘allow people across a diverse range of perspectives to decide when posts are potentially misleading or need more context.’ That’s all well and good, but if things work out like on X, a lot of the notes may contest actual facts, and present what a former Trump administration Press Secretary called ‘alternative facts.’ As long as we have them, check with Associated Press, Reuters, and other legitimate news sources if you are in doubt about the factuality of a topic. Snopes is always pretty good as well. 

After just putting along for years…no doubt a lot of that is due to the high price tags…folding phones are picking up steam. According to androidpolice.com, Samsung’s new Z Fold 8 is sold out for now. You can still order one through Amazon, although you get no estimated delivery date now for the $1900 buck handset.. You will get a $350 gift card though, useable at any Amazon retailer. It is expected that Apple will roll out their first folder in September, so expect the market to heat up on these high dollar phones with the nice big screen inside when unfolded. 

Amazon is installing 35 natural gas turbines to power a giant West Texas data center. Theverge.com notes that this gas-burning monster plant could become the largest single producer of greenhouse gas in the US. The GW Ranch secured a permit from Texas allowing emissions of up to 33 million tons of CO2…more than even the largest coal burning plant in the country! A number of huge data centers, after being rebuffed due to strain on the grid and the associated jacking up of electrical rates for rate payers…that’s us…are now looking to natural gas, coal, and other non-renewables. Alternatively, China is using more wind and solar power for their data centers. So much for the US being a leader in clean energy and protecting the climate. 

Having had a number of wildfires nearby, this sounds pretty interesting. Arstechnica.com is reporting that you can use the Copernicus Browser and get the latest satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel satellites to monitor wildfires. The resolution is as tight as 10 meters…or 32 feet. The images are only updated every few days, but the resolution is amazing…another tool to keep track of and fight wildfires. With climate change, this is becoming more and more of an issue.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.