https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_Data

Maybe not the best place to place a half shit post advocating for a bit of prepping.... It is technically technology related though!

....Now that I think about it, this all comes off as kinda "sponsored product" like. Oops.

You can get these cheap USB solar panels off sites like AliExpress, TEMU, etc, for fairly cheap. The ones I got output in the ~500mW to 2W range. That's enough to charge a small power bank over the course of a clear day, allowing you to keep your phone somewhat charged for the incoming rolling blackouts and stuff.

The most valuable equipment in a SHTF scenario is your phone!

A few months back TEMU had listings of packs of 2-3 of the small USB panels for.... I think it was ~$10-$15 USD? It was a fairly good bargain tbh. For being bottom of the barrel "junk" with reject solar panel wafers, they're good panels! Wired all four of mine in parallel so if I only plug one USB device in it'll have more current. (To an extent. Photovoltaics have a LOT of electrical engineering going on behind the scenes! They don't behave like batteries!)

TEMU is, however, an incredibly irritating e-commerce platform to use due to the whole platform being "gambling" focused, and the notifications are extremely scummy.

They also have some sort of bizarre issue in their customer database stack as someone's "Jesus loves you" wrist band got my address slapped on their package instead of theirs. Feel bad for them tbh, missing packages SUCK!

No idea if the cheap panel bundle listings are still on there. It has been a few months after all!

AliExpress.... Well, I enjoy how utilitarian their platform is. Second and third largest panels in the photo came off of there and they do the job.

Unless you're putting it inside a car (so using it for its intended purpose) I don't recommend Harbor Freight's 7 watt panel. Mine is succumbing to water ingress and I don't have it permanently installed. I take it back inside whenever it rains! Other then that and being overpriced it's otherwise a nice panel. I have a soft spot for amorphous solar panels!

They're cheap and "nasty". And I really like cheap and nasty "junk"!

Infodump aside, China has useful solar panels for the under ~$20 USD for my "fellow Americans". For everyone outside the United States..... You could probably get the same stuff for about $5-$10 USD in the equivalent of your own currency? Even when "splurging" these things are hilariously cheap.

These things are "cheap insurance" and I do highly recommend people getting at least one of these. Even in countries that are fairly energy independent like the United States I can guarantee rolling blackouts/not being able to pay electric bills will come.

Also not having to plug the phone into the wall to charge it is really fun lol.

didn't see anything offensively wrong here, so for people with general math education might be interesting to see a little bit inside of neural networks logic

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8710448

China now produces two out of every three electric vehicles sold worldwide. How did this transformation in the global auto industry happen so fast, and what does it mean for once-dominant European carmakers? Is it an unfair advantage or simply smart strategizing?

Jen Copestake presents "Shocking the System: Why China is winning the EV race," a documentary that takes you inside China's EV revolution.

We explore the supply chain dominance that's slashed production costs, and the "Corner Overtaking" strategy that has helped Chinese automakers leapfrog their global competitors.

Originally released in March 2025, this documentary explores the forces driving China's EV transformation.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8709399

China's advances in the low-altitude economy became manifest as its first domestically developed engine specifically for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft rolled off the production line.

In December 2025, China quietly plugged something else into the grid.

Chaotan One is the world's first commercial supercritical CO2 power generator. It uses carbon dioxide — pressurised into a state that's neither liquid nor gas, to produce 50% more electricity from the same heat source, in a machine half the size of a steam turbine.

But is this really the end of the steam age? Or is it just a very expensive pilot project dressed up as a revolution?

Energy security is being redefined. For decades, it meant securing reliable supplies of oil and natural gas at affordable prices. But according to Bloomberg climate journalist Akshat Rathi, recent geopolitical shocks are pushing Asian countries toward a very different strategy: electrification, renewable energy, batteries, and reduced dependence on imported fuels.

In this interview, we discuss how countries like China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia are responding to energy insecurity, why clean energy technologies are becoming central to national energy strategies, and what this could mean for future global demand for oil and gas.

SpaceX will soon go public, in an offering that will value the company at over a trillion dollars.

Anthropic and OpenAI are Artificial Intelligence companies, who also plan megacap IPO's for later in the year.

Recent changes to indexing rules will compel massive share buys into these companies by retirement and pension plans, and by passive ETF's and mutual funds.

In the past, new companies were required to wait until insiders sold most of the shares after the lockup periods before being added to investment indices. Companies also needed to show a strong history of growth and sound financial practices.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8700475

The real surprise from the OECD’s subsidy numbers is that it cost China less than $18bn in sectoral support over 15 years to build an industry that can now provide more clean power than the world can readily absorb.

If industrial policy in the west had delivered this kind of bang for its buck, we would be patting ourselves on the back.