Flipboard 4 months ago

Ford says it's cracked the code on cheap EVs, thanks to more streamlined manufacturing processes and lithium iron phosphate batteries that the company says are more durable, faster charging and more affordable than what it currently uses. There will be more use of automation and robots, but the company declined to specify how this compares to current manufacturing. Ford announced a "family" of low-cost vehicles that will be made in Kentucky, starting with a four-door mid-sized pickup that will arrive in 2027 and will cost $30,000. Here's more from [@theverge](

Flipboard

The Verge (@theverge) on Flipboard

Every day, The Verge asks how technology is changing the way we live and seeks out the most important ideas, people, events, and objects that might...

).

The Verge

Ford reveals breakthrough process for lower priced EVs

The assembly process will require more automation and fewer workers.

#ElectricVehicles #EVs #Ford #Automotive #Robots #Automation

Flipboard 4 months ago

Local newspapers are going out of business across the world — but when Illinois-based News Media Corporation closed last week, shuttering dozens of publications across the midwest, some communities fought back. WyoFile reports on the Wyoming towns where journalists are continuing to report as they seek backing to keep their papers alive, while their community members and neighbors raise money to ensure they keep getting paid. "We’ve got big city issues in small towns. So this is really very tragic timing,” says Marie Hamilton, managing editor of the Platte County Record-Times.

WyoFile

Wyoming newspaper owners, staffers race to rescue community news - WyoFile

A deal is in the works to keep news online and in print in Wheatland, Torrington and Lusk as communities chip in to support newsroom staff fired wi...

#Media #Journalism #News #UnitedStates #Midwest #Wyoming

Flipboard 4 months ago

@npub14j85...pjuf's latest piece for @npub147jw...vdzj is an absolute must-read if you're interested in democracy, technology, and the possibility of a better future. "The solution isn’t building better platforms — it’s making platforms an obsolete concept. Platforms concentrate power; protocols distribute it. Platforms extract value from users; protocols enable users to create value for themselves. Most importantly: platforms can be captured by bad actors, but protocols resist capture by design."

Techdirt

Take Back Our Digital Infrastructure To Save Democracy

Watch the tech oligarchs who lined up behind Donald Trump at his inauguration, and you’ll see the most important story of our time: the fasci...

#Technology #PeopleNotPlatforms #Fediverse #ActivityPub #Bluesky #ATProto #OpenSocial #OpenSocialWeb

Flipboard 4 months ago

🗳️ Voting is open for #SXSW Cast your vote to bring @Mike McCue and Blacksky founder Rudy Fraser to SXSW! They’ll discuss what it takes to build inclusive, sustainable social platforms — and what the open social web means for creators, communities and the future of connection.

Community Voting

#SXSW2026 #SouthBySouthWest #Communities #Blacksky #SocialWeb #OpenSocial #BlackMastodon #Creator #Community #OnlineCommunities @npub1e4zk...xz2t

Flipboard 4 months ago

How do you measure editorial independence in 2025? The advocacy group Free Press has created a Media Capitulation Index, ranking commercial media and tech companies on a scale from one to five chickens, and giving a star to just a couple of organizations. Here's Nieman Lab's story; find the full ranking at the second link. “These corporations exist because of public policy,” Tim Karr, the author of a supplementary report on the ranking, told journalist Margaret Sullivan. “There is a genuine popular movement to create a more democratic media system. People should get engaged in this debate.”