Techlife News #502

Startup commercial electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors says it may not be in business a year from now as it tries to secure funding to start full production of an electric pickup truck. In a quarterly regulatory filing Tuesday, Lordstown said the $587 million it had on hand as of March 31 isn’t enough to start commercial production and begin selling the full-size pickup, called the Endurance. “These conditions raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least one year,” the company said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares of the company, which is set up in a now-closed General Motors plant east of Cleveland, fell 16.2% to close Tuesday at $11.22. The lost another 3% in after-hours trading. On May…

A plump robin wearing a tiny metal backpack with an antenna hops around a suburban yard in Takoma Park, then plucks a cicada from the ground for a snack. Ecologist Emily Williams watches through binoculars from behind a bush. On this clear spring day, she’s snooping on his dating life. “Now I’m watching to see whether he’s found a mate,” she said, scrutinizing his interactions with another robin in a nearby tree. Once the bird moves on at season’s end, she’ll rely on the backpack to beam frequent location data to the Argos satellite, then back to Williams’ laptop, to track it. The goal is to unravel why some American robins migrate long distances, but others do not. With more precise information about nesting success and conditions in breeding and wintering grounds, “we…

Small businesses that survived the COVID-19 pandemic still face a long road to recovery, but some of the innovations business owners adopted last year may outlast the pandemic itself. “If you make it through this, you ask, you learn, you adapt, and I think it only makes you stronger,” says Keith Hall, president and CEO of the National Association for the Self-Employed. Here are four ways small businesses adapted in response to the pandemic that may have long-lasting effects on future operations, according to industry experts and business owners themselves. 1. CREATIVE BUSINESS MODELS The pandemic forced businesses to find new ways to serve their customers — and quickly, says Meghan Cruz, director of grassroots advocacy at the National Retail Federation. Now, that small-business owners have built out new infrastructure, like curbside pickup and e-commerce…

Luxury sports carmaker Ferrari has tapped Benedetto Vigna, an Italian executive at Europe’s largest semiconductor chipmaker, as its new CEO, the company announced this week. Vigna, 52, will join Ferrari in September from Geneva-based STMicroelectronics, where he has worked for 26 years, most recently running the most profitable operating business, its analog, micro-electromechanical systems and sensors group. The appointment signals Ferrari’s focus on new technologies shaping an automotive world in transition, as the importance of electric powertrains, autonomous driving technologies and in-car connectivity is growing. Ferrari has announced that its first fully electric supercar will be launched in 2025. Ferrari said Vigna’s knowledge of the semiconductor industry “will accelerate Ferrari’s ability to pioneer the application of next-generation technologies.” Vigna will be the third CEO at the company in three years, following the resignation in…

Germany on Thursday started rolling out a digital vaccination pass that can be used across Europe as the continent gets ready for the key summer travel season. The country’s health minister said starting this week vaccination centers, doctors practices and pharmacies will gradually start giving out digital passes to fully vaccinated people. The CovPass will let users download proof of their coronavirus vaccination status onto a smartphone app, allowing them easy access to restaurants, museums or other venues that require proof of immunization. The vaccination passport should be available to everyone in Germany who is fully vaccinated by the end of this month, Health Minister Jens Spahn said. “The goal is that this certificate can also be used in Helsinki, Amsterdam or Mallorca,” Spahn told reporters in Berlin. People who have already been fully vaccinated…

A nationwide search is underway for an administrator to guide New Mexico’s expansion of high-speed internet, with an appointment expected in July. Details of the talent search are part of a progress report by state information technology officials, scheduled for discussion Thursday at a legislative hearing. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham expanded the search for a state director of broadband internet after vetting six candidates and holding a pair of interviews. She has tasked a retired Boeing engineer with outlining a statewide technology strategy for the future. The Legislature and governor recently approved $133 million in spending to expand high-speed internet access during the coming fiscal year that starts July 1. They also called for the creation of a new state office dedicated to improving internet access, attached to the Department of…