Hendrik Rood

Hendrik Rood

@hrood.bsky.social

Internet, Telecom & Datacenters since 1990 Economics of Infrastructures Hacktivism, Cybersecurity & Cyberwarfare @HendrikRood@mastodon.social

183 followers105 following839 posts

Hendrik Rood reposted

Matt Steinglass
@mattsteinglass.bsky.social

Note: limiting Starlink to 160kph doesn’t affect strikes on refineries. Those are inside Russia where Starlink doesn’t work. So there isn’t even a wrong theory under which it lowers diesel prices. It just stops drone strikes against Russian forces in Ukraine, so Ukraine can’t defend itself.

economist.comAs America turns against Ukraine, Europe stands aloneBut Europeans cannot fully replace American support, and they face trouble at home

Hendrik Rood reposted

Eliot Higgins
@eliothiggins.bsky.social

For all this talk of Russian bots being defeated by the Yandex strikes I'm still getting the usual Matryoshka emails with the same fake news posts and purchased bot engagement. Seems more like wishful thinking based on misinterpreted data than reality.

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

Tsjonge: 'Is ook de VVD aan het einde van haar levenscyclus?' ⤵️

Betrouwbare Bronnen@betrouwbarebronnen.bsky.social

Betrouwbare Bronnen 615 👉Wat is er aan de hand met de VVD? 🇳🇱 All time low in peilingen, nog maar weinig vertrouwen in de leider 🔸 Hoe de VVD afscheid nam van Ruttes koers, maar de weg omhoog niet terugvond 🔸 In de partijtop schuurt het 🔸 Dreigt het lot der Duitse liberalen? 🇳🇱 omny.fm/shows/betrou...

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

Hmm. A writer at @economist.com needs a crash course on the global electricity consumption by Netflix (168 GWh, 2025). A century ago water was used to cool LW-radio transmitters, but today in fixed and mobile telecom networks' buildings and outside plant huts & cabinets? @mattsteinglass.bsky.social

The Economist@economist.com

There is a respectable argument for slowing down AI research, but it rests on the danger to all humanity of the technology being abused or going rogue—not the local harms of data centres

bit.lyThe moral panic over data centres is foolishA backlash fuelled by misinformation and misunderstanding
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

Some actual data on electricity consumption. Until the end of 2025 both OpenAI and Anthropic mainly operated renting capacity from AWS, Microsoft and Google data centers and to a limited extent CoreWeave. xAI's data centers in Memphis, TN, while attracting a lot of attention, consumed a few TWh.

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

There are only a few countries and the two utilities (Dominion and NOVEC) in Virginia, who report actual metered electricity use. The UK National grid used a 'finger in the wind' 7.400 TWh for 2023 in their 2025 electricity forecast model a year earlier they had 5.000 TWh. They don't measure.

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

@histoftech.bsky.social A biparitsan call for a state-wide moratorium on new data center construction in Virginia. Microsoft power & water 2025: Boydton: 3.11 TWh, 362 ML Ashburn: 829 GWh, 263 ML Manassas: 40 GWh, 11 ML Avg VA household: 12 MWh, 0.25 ML www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/virg...

datacenterdynamics.comVirginia state senators call for review into data center groundwater strain and potential state-wide moratoriumBipartisan movement calls on state governor to act immediately
View full thread
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

To understand those levels: Microsoft uses about 3 liters water per inhabitant per year in Ireland (6 mln) as well as in the Netherlands (18 mln). That's 1.5 six-pack beer per inhabitant per year.

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

Early this month I accounted the amount of water consumed by Microsoft's large datacenters in Ireland and the Netherlands in six-packs per inhabitant. I didn't see this coming ...: 😉 "𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚" www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Oh...

youtube.comLiquid Death x Garage Beer x Jason Kelce Want Your PeeYouTube video by Liquid Death

Hendrik Rood reposted

Mar Hicks
@histoftech.bsky.social

“A public coalition… has formally urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to block prediction market platforms from offering bets on destructive wildfires, raising alarms over public safety, potential arson, and the ethics of profiting from natural disasters” www.kptv.com/2026/08/04/o...

kptv.comOregon senators warn prediction markets allowing betting on wildfires could incentivize arsonA public report urges the CFTC to ban prediction market contracts on destructive wildfires, raising concerns over public safety and potential arson.
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

@histoftech.bsky.social A biparitsan call for a state-wide moratorium on new data center construction in Virginia. Microsoft power & water 2025: Boydton: 3.11 TWh, 362 ML Ashburn: 829 GWh, 263 ML Manassas: 40 GWh, 11 ML Avg VA household: 12 MWh, 0.25 ML www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/virg...

datacenterdynamics.comVirginia state senators call for review into data center groundwater strain and potential state-wide moratoriumBipartisan movement calls on state governor to act immediately
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

The Boydton, VA data center is Microsoft's largest. Microsoft's global power usage is 37 TWh. It's owned data centers consume 16 TWh. Rented collocation ca. 19.5 TWh Offices 1.5 TWh Striking is the much lower water use in Europe Dublin, IE - 1.31 TWh, 18 ML Hollands Kroon, NL - 1.29 TWh, 46 ML

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

Amazon was quite intransparent up to last year. But with their figures released yesterday they opened up and their electricity footprint for AWS could be calculated. 54.1 TWh in 2024 implies AWS' electricity consumption was more than 5 TWh larger than "Google's data centers + Meta's data centers".

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

In the mid-2000s people "misheard" foreign language lyrics. But now it's the AI-subtitles interpreter.😊 @garymarcus.bsky.social

pig'slaundry@pigslaundry.bsky.social

Do not watch Sesame Street on Tubi with the subtitles on 😭. I swear, I didn't edit or add anything. Is it hilarious? Yes, but also, they need to fix this immediately. Absolutely incomprehensible and bad

Hendrik Rood reposted

The New York Times
@nytimes.com

Elon Musk took the stand on Thursday for his third day of testimony in a blockbuster trial that could help determine the future of companies racing to dominate artificial intelligence. He is being cross-examind by lawyers from OpenAI and Microsoft. Follow live updates.

nyti.msElon Musk Faces Contentious Questions at OpenAI Trial: Live UpdatesOn his third day of testimony, Elon Musk is being cross-examined by lawyers from OpenAI and Microsoft. His answers on the stand grew testy on Wednesday.
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

The US state Maine is poised to follow in the footsteps of the City State of Singapore, the Republic of Ireland and the Republic of Amsterdam with a data center development moratorium.⤵️ @histoftech.bsky.social

Athena Coalition@athenaforall.bsky.social

Proof that data center development isn't inevitable! Maine is poised to enact a moratorium on data center construction through 2027 while they assess the industry's impacts on the environment and electrical grid. www.wsj.com/us-news/main...

wsj.comMaine Is About to Become the First State to Ban New Data CentersLegislation that could be enacted this spring would pause construction of large new data centers until November 2027.

Hendrik Rood reposted

Julf Helsingius
@daland.bsky.social

"At one point, it was unthinkable that we could operate without the American GPS system. Today, every phone and every smartwatch also uses the EU Galileo satellite system, and Galileo is now the best satellite navigation system in the world. It only cost €15 billion!" berthub.eu/articles/pos...

berthub.euBut how to get to that European cloud? - Bert HubertThe very short version: It has now become clear that European governments can no longer rely on American clouds, and that we lack good and comprehensive alternatives. Market forces have failed to deli...

Hendrik Rood reposted

ChrisO_wiki
@chriso-wiki.bsky.social

1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️

Hendrik Rood reposted

Council of Europe
@coe.int

5 May 1949: Europe said never again. The Council of Europe was born – to defend human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Watch the video & hear Ernest Bevin’s powerful opening words. Happy Birthday, Council of Europe. Let’s keep moving forward.

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

THE on new proposed Dutxh university screening policies. @pgkroegerbb.bsky.social

Times Higher Education (THE)@timeshighered.bsky.social

Dutch plans to screen all researchers and master’s students before they can work on “sensitive knowledge or technology” have been described as “disproportionate” by sector leaders, who warn the measures could make the Netherlands less attractive to talented international scientists #AcademicSky

timeshighereducation.com‘Excessive’ research vetting plan ‘damages Dutch competitiveness’Bill proposing screening of all scholars working on ‘sensitive areas’ will create ‘huge administrative burden’, leaders warn
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

While commercialism has traditionally shaped the restructuring of large corporations, it's now more likely that major tech companies will face forced restructuring along national or regional lines, writes Paul Budde. independentaustralia.net/business/bus...

independentaustralia.netEmerging trend driving the looming breakup of Big TechWhile commercialism has traditionally shaped the restructuring of large corporations, it's now more likely that major tech companies will face forced restructuring along national or regional lines....

Hendrik Rood reposted

Tim Verheyden
@timverheyden.bsky.social

@jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social: “Shortly after we published a story about a massive Trump-administration security breach, a reporter asked […] Hegseth why he had shared plans about a forthcoming attack on Signal. He answered, “Nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that.” So👇🏼

Damon Beres@damonberes.com

theatlantic.comHere Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on SignalThe administration has downplayed the importance of the text messages inadvertently sent to The Atlantic’s editor in chief.
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

Phased array antennas and special ICs for Starlink are manufactured by STMicroelectronics N.V. (statutory seat: NL), HQ in Geneva, manufacturing in France, Italy, Singapore. SpaceX risking an export stop?@anneapplebaum.bsky.social @radek-sikorski.bsky.social www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starl...

businessinsider.comSpaceX may shell out billions to outsource Starlink satellite-dish production, an industry insider says — and lose up to $2,000 on each one it sellsThe Elon Musk-founded company appears to have contracted a Swiss electronics giant to build user terminals for about $2,400 a pop.
Radosław Sikorski@radek-sikorski.bsky.social

Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the Polish Digitization Ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year. The ethics of threatening the victim of aggression apart, if SpaceX proves to be an unreliable provider we will be forced to look for other suppliers.

Hendrik Rood reposted

Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
@berthubert.bsky.social

Lots of European hosters/cloud companies tell us to "just use their cloud!". But the cloud shops here can't be compared to Google/AWS/Azure. Our local places are selling wood. Yet cloud customers want furniture. And until we are honest about that gap, things won't improve berthub.eu/articles/pos...

berthub.euDear hosters, you are selling wood, not furniture - Bert HubertEarlier, I wrote that there isn’t just one type of cloud; it ranges from renting out servers to fully managed office software as a service. One relevant type of cloud is what’s informally called “clou...
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

While @alexwinter.com is going strong promoting #TeslaTakedown picket lines in the USA, now in the Financial Times a strong recommendation to sell it's stock.

Matt Steinglass@mattsteinglass.bsky.social

Tesla stock is down 29.5% YTD: “That is the magic formula for Chinese industrial policy — constant iteration at scale keeps productivity up and costs down. State subsidies in areas such as electric vehicles support expansion. But post-Biden, the US has no industrial policy in clean technology.”

on.ft.comWhat Tesla’s tarnish tells us about America IncElon Musk’s company, like the US itself, seems like a sell

Hendrik Rood reposted

Julf Helsingius
@daland.bsky.social

"We have the world’s best people working on the best software, you bought mediocre stuff that is broken. You don’t even have to buy it, you can just download it. And yet it’s not on the desktop of any civil servant today." netzpolitik.org/2025/open-so...

netzpolitik.orgOpen source funding on the brink: „Delivering what’s needed to make Europe sovereign“The EU is paying a fortune for broken commercial software, criticizes Michiel Leenaars of the Dutch NLnet Foundation in an interview with netzpolitik.org. Together with his team, he supports open-sour...
Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

Interesting. A Republican member of the @FEC left for a position in the White House on january 20, 2025. Now the FEC consists of 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans and a vacancy. Trump tries to fire the Democrat chair, without the required Democrat-replacement instead of filling the Republican vacancy.

Ellen L. Weintraub@ellenlweintraub.bsky.social

Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner and Chair of the FEC. There's a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn't it. I've been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That's not changing anytime soon.

Hendrik Rood reposted

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A teen DOGE staffer recently given access to government systems worked at a startup known for hiring convicted hackers. Someone using a Telegram handle associated with him also solicited a cyberattack-for-hire service in 2022. All raising questions about his vetting. www.wired.com/story/edward...

wired.comDOGE Teen Owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC’ and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted HackersExperts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems.

Hendrik Rood reposted

Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

I linked DOGE staffer Marko Elez to a deleted X account that advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act, backed a “eugenic immigration policy,” and wrote, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity." He just resigned. www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...

wsj.comDOGE Staffer Resigns Over Racist PostsA staffer for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency whose access to U.S. Treasury payment systems was approved by a federal judge on Thursday has links to a deleted social-media account that...

Hendrik Rood reposted

Internet Archive
@archive.org

Latest update on the DDOS attack from Brewster Kahle (Oct 11 @ 10:22am PT): "The data is safe. Services are offline as we examine and strengthen them. Sorry, but needed. @internetarchive staff is working hard. Estimated Timeline: days, not weeks. Thank you for the offers of pizza (we are set)."

Hendrik Rood
@hrood.bsky.social

HT @berthubert.bsky.social Dutch security and intelligence service AIVD: ------------------------------------------------- EU "Chatcontrol" #CSAM proposal is too big a risk for our cyber resilience. Repostin by those who can reach out to other EU governments and politicians is welcome.

Hendrik Rood reposted

Lisa Westerveld 🌱
@lisawesterveld.bsky.social

Bewust én onbewust worden mensen met een beperking in hun dagelijks leven belemmerd en buitengesloten. Ook politiek Den Haag vergeet hen vaak. Met grote gevolgen. Hoog tijd voor bewustwording! Tot het Kamerdebat deel ik hieronder echte verhalen over #AlledaagsValidisme🌻 🧶 /1