Microsoft finally agreed to comply with the right to repair

A new material upgraded modern construction by combining CO2 with recycled concrete, NASA has awarded two firms $250 million to develop electric passenger jets by 2035 Oct 08, 2021 # Good morning. Ask anyone, and they'll probably tell you we should have the freedom to repair our own stuff with impunity. Instead, we’ve been forced for decades to waste money on black-box devices, and stuff landfills with harmful elements. But today, after years of conflict and months of negotiations, Microsoft finally seems to agree. Also, in today’s issue, NASA has announced a $250-million grant for two companies to develop short-haul electric passenger planes by 2035, accelerating sustainable initiatives. But what about the runways? Can they “go green" too? It’s even better: researchers have developed a novel method that can upgrade not only the runways, but the entire construction industry. This is The Blueprint. Happy reading. INNOVATION [NASA Has Awarded Two Firms $250 Million to Develop Electric Passenger Jets by 2035]( [NASA's illustration of an advanced subsonic electric aircraft.]( NASA is diving into the all-electric future of transportation: [The space agency has awarded contracts totaling $250 million]( to two firms to develop new electric propulsion technologies for short-range regional passenger aircraft in the United States. The roadmap. NASA has chosen GE Aviation in Cincinnati and MagniX in Redmond as part of its Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) Program. The deal breaks two ways: $170 million for GE Aviation, and $74.3 million for MagniX, both of which will carry out at least two flight demonstrations as part of their contractual obligations. - It will take the two companies five years to finish ground and flight demonstrations for NASA, with which the firms will cooperate on other projects, data analysis, and [flight test instrumentation](. How? GE Aviation and MagniX will conduct integrated megawatt-class powertrain system ground and flight demonstrations to validate their concepts, and project benefits for future Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) aircraft configurations. These demonstrations will identify and retire technical barriers and integration risks. It will also help inform the development of standards and regulations for future EAP systems. In short. NASA wants to pave the way toward an ultimate transition to new aviation technology for [future operational systems and aircraft](. By taking these concepts to flight, NASA and its partners aim to accelerate the transition of EAP technologies into commercial products and act as a catalyst for economic growth. [Read More]( CULTURE [Microsoft Has Finally Agreed to Comply With the Right to Repair]( [Microsoft's French headquarters, and a man repairing devices.]( Over the years, our laptops, phones, or cars have become more error- and damage-prone, prompting the rise of the right-to-repair movement, which pushes for legislation that demands the right to fix the stuff we buy. And with Microsoft’s new commitment, it turns out we can resist planned obsolescence, after all. - It's finally happening: Microsoft [has pledged to allow customers]( to repair the products it sells. Incredibly, the company will also investigate the environmental implications of enabling right-to-repair, with plans to act on the findings by the end of 2022. Why is this significant? It marks the first time a U.S. manufacturer has explicitly promised to alter its repair policies in response to investor and public pressure. And there might be more in store for the right-to-repair frontlines. Human progress in a tech world. People feel rightly entitled to fix their own devices, and we're finally seeing firms and politicians respond to this demand. Several critical victories for the right-to-repair movement have happened in the last year: the European Union, for example, [attempted to standardize phone chargers](. Additionally, the [FTC officially declared]( that people should have the right to fix their own things. These and other advancements have the potential to fundamentally alter our relationship with current hardware and software technology, which is typically a “black box” for customers, and we can only hope that this trend gains traction. [Read More]( INNOVATION [A New Material Upgraded Modern Construction by Combining C02 With Recycled Concrete]( [Recycling concrete and construction waste from demolition.]( Did you know that [concrete is the most widely used material]( on the planet after water? In fact, concrete's primary component, cement, accounted for more than 8% of worldwide CO2 emissions in 2018. This is mainly because the calcium used in cement production is typically obtained by burning limestone. Today, a new type of concrete has the potential to drastically cut construction-related emissions: Researchers at the University of Tokyo [have created a novel calcium carbonate concrete]( by mixing leftover concrete with carbon dioxide sourced with carbon capture technology. Notably, the novel method was inspired by the fossilization of some aquatic lifeforms. How? In the new approach, the researchers acquired calcium from discarded concrete that would otherwise be thrown away. Then, they mixed it with CO2 from industrial exhaust or [captured from the air](. The best part is that this process occurs at significantly lower temperatures than those now employed to extract calcium from limestone. So, is it viable? The researchers' calcium carbonate concrete is not only more sustainable than ordinary concrete, but also highly stable, so it has great potential as a construction material. One downside is that it isn't as strong as concrete, making it unsuitable for anything other than minor construction projects in its current state. Nonetheless, the researchers are determined to overcome this challenge and believe that it might one day be mass-produced for widespread use. [Read More]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “ The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the destruction of our race. ” Rachel Carson, in her April 1952 acceptance speech for the John Burroughs medal [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [How 1-Million-Pound Planes Manage to Fly]( [How 1-Million-Pound Planes Manage to Fly]( AND ANOTHER THING... - With a cargo that's worth over $10 billion, things are bound to get tricky: NASA’s James Webb space telescope is finally completed, but [scientists are afraid pirates may capture it for ransom]( as it’s shipped to the launch site via boat. (The Atlantic) - There is a global effort to catalog, map, and understand brain cells. These huge and ambitious projects are little by little explaining the [networks that drive how we think and behave](. (Nature) - Prof. Nick Bostrom's "singleton hypothesis" states that intelligent life on Earth will eventually merge into a "singleton." Is that good or bad? [It depends](. - [Can dogs actually learn words]( A new experiment has brought us one step closer to answering the question. (Inverse) - A 100,000-year-old forest revealed that sea levels [have been dozens of feet higher]( than they are now. This serves to warn us how much they may rise with climate change. (National Geographic) - Writer Bradley Iger got the chance to take the upcoming Lucid Air Dream Edition Range for a spin around the block. Can [a 10-minute stint]( determine whether it can compete with Tesla? (The Drive) - A catastrophic disaster destroyed schools and killed more than 5,335 students during the 7.9-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China. [This is why](. - An energy expert explained why offshore oil spills keep happening. But will they ever stop? Vox's daily explainer podcast Today, Explained, [tries to answer](. Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? 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