Linus Torvalds Has ‘Robust Exchanges’ Over Filesystem Suggestion on Linux Kernel Mailing List
Linus Torvalds had “some robust exchanges” on the Linux kernel mailing list with a contributor from Google. The subject was inodes, notes the Register, “which as Red Hat puts it are each ‘a unique identifier for a specific piece of metadata on a given filesystem.’”

Inodes have been the subj … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Should You Flush With Toilet Lid Up Or Down? Study Says It Doesn’t Matter
doc1623 shares a report from Ars Technica: Scientists at the University of Arizona decided to investigate whether closing the toilet lid before flushing reduces cross-contamination of bathroom surfaces by airborne bacterial and viral particles via “toilet plumes.” The bad news is that putting a lid on it doesn’t result in any s … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Amazon Prime Video Ads Start From Today - Up To 3.5 Mins Per Hour
An anonymous reader shares a report: Amazon Prime Video has been a free perk for those who subscribe to the ecommerce giant’s free shipping service, but if you’re a US Prime subscriber, things change from today. We first learned of the planned change back in September of last year, with the implementation date announced in an email to customers in De … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Google Chrome Gains AI Features Including a Writing Helper
Google is adding new AI features to Chrome, including tools to organize browser tabs, customize themes, and assist users with writing online content such as reviews and forum posts.

The writing helper is similar to an AI-powered feature already offered in Google’s experimental search experience, SGE, which helps users draft emails in various tones and lengths. W … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Now Musicians’ Union Threatens Possible Strike Over AI, Streaming Media
“After a year in which both actors and writers hit the picket lines, another Hollywood strike may be on the horizon,” reports CNN:

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), a union representing musicians across the entertainment industry, will begin negotiations Monday on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Hans Reiser Sends a Letter From Prison
In 2003, Hans Reiser answered questions from Slashdot’s readers…

Today Wikipedia describes Hans Reiser as “a computer programmer, entrepreneur, and convicted murderer… Prior to his incarceration, Reiser created the ReiserFS computer file system, which may be used by the Linux kernel but which is now scheduled for removal in 2025, as well as its attempted successor, Reiser4.”

This week alanw ( … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Plex To Launch a Store For Movies and TV Shows
Jay Peters reports via The Verge: Plex, known for its media server software and as a place to watch ad-supported content, is going to launch a store for to buy and rent movies and TV shows in early February, executives told Lowpass’ Janko Roettgers. “Most studios” are lined up for the store’s launch, and there are “plans to complete the catalog soon after,” Roettgers says. … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

LG Washing Machine Found Sending 3.7 GB of Data a Day
An LG washing machine owner discovered that his smart home appliance was uploading an average of 3.66GB of data daily. “Concerned about the washer’s internet addiction, Johnie forced the device to go cold turkey and blocked it using his router UI,” reports Tom’s Hardware. From the report: Johnie’s initial screenshot showed that on a chosen day, the device uploaded 3. … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Here’s my conclusion on crypto social networks: At the end of the day, if users want to pay, I think they’d choose a social app that has one click payment and single click log in.

That is, without all the hoops and loops of creating wallets, buying crypto, paying in crypto, and logging in with wallets. That’s a lot of hassle for nothing.

Not to mention how ridiculously slow some of these crypto apps are. The webpage loading times are atrocious.

If you’re a hobbyist like Jack Dorsey, or rich, and you have enough money to throw away at random apps, then crypto scams may seem like the right place for you.

The entire basis for crypto social apps is to enable users to monetize their content. But my question is, who the hell wants to pay me to read my crap? Anyone? Is there anyone who would want to pay me for just posting my random thoughts online?
Because that’s what it is, isn’t it? Random thoughts.
They could be the smartest and wisest words any man has ever read, but are they worth paying for?

⤋ Read More

Chrome Updates Incognito Warning To Admit Google Tracks Users In ‘Private’ Mode
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google is updating the warning on Chrome’s Incognito mode to make it clear that Google and websites run by other companies can still collect your data in the web browser’s semi-private mode. The change is being made as Google prepares to settle a class-action lawsui … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

OpenAI Quietly Deletes Ban On Using ChatGPT For ‘Military and Warfare’
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Intercept: OpenAI this week quietly deleted language expressly prohibiting the use of its technology for military purposes from its usage policy, which seeks to dictate how powerful and immensely popular tools like ChatGPT can be used. Up until January 10, OpenAI’s “usage policies” page includ … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Startup Debuts Pocket AI Companion, Sells Out 10,000 In One Day
A startup called Rabbit sold out of its first batch of pocket AI companions a day after it was debuted at CES 2024. The company announced on X that it sold 10,000 units in just a day. “When we started building r1, we said internally that we’d be happy if we sold 500 devices on launch day,” Rabbit writes. “In 24 hours, we already beat that by 20x!” … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Big win today!

I’ve only been exposed to using Kusto Query Language (KQL) at work for a month and a half, but I was able to edit a query to include a datatable (essentially a table that’s created in memory when you run the query and is only used for that query) to replace any IDs listed in it with the proper name of the service!

Baby steps :)

⤋ Read More

Luciole - A typeface for visual impairment

Word massing, spacing, the structure of the letters: the concept for Luciole adheres to a dozen specific design criteria to provide the best possible reading experience for the visually impaired.

⤋ Read More

ChatGPT Exploit Finds 24 Email Addresses, Amid Warnings of ‘AI Silo’
The New York Times reports:

Last month, I received an alarming email from someone I did not know: Rui Zhu, a Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University Bloomington. Mr. Zhu had my email address, he explained, because GPT-3.5 Turbo, one of the latest and most robust large language models (L.L.M.) from OpenAI, had delivered it to him. My contact i … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Microsoft Ending Support For Windows 10 Could Send 240 Million PCs To Landfills, Study Finds
According to Canalys Research, Microsoft’s plan to end support for Windows 10 could result in about 240 million computers being sent to landfills. “The electronic waste from these PCs could weigh an estimated 480 million kilograms, equivalent to 320,000 cars,” adds Reuters. From the report: W … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Risk of Penile Fractures Rises at Christmas, Doctors Find
An anonymous reader shares a report: It may be the season of loving and giving, but doctors have warned against embracing this spirit too enthusiastically – at least where sexual relations are concerned. They have discovered that the Christmas period is associated with a significantly increased risk of penile fractures – a medical emergency in which the er … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Banks Use Your Deposits To Loan Money To Fossil-Fuel, Emissions-Heavy Firms
Banks lend your deposits to carbon-heavy industries, fueling climate change; savings of $1,000 create emissions equal to a New York-Seattle flight, reveals a new analysis. Wired: By switching to a climate-conscious bank, you could reduce those emissions by about 75 percent, the study found. In fact, if you moved $8,000 dollars – … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

Meet Ashley, the World’s First AI-Powered Political Campaign Caller
An artificial intelligence campaign volunteer named Ashley is being used to call thousands of Pennsylvania voters on behalf of Democrat Shamaine Daniels, “ushering in a new era of political campaigning in which candidates use technology to engage with voters in ways increasingly difficult to track,” reports Reuters. From the report: Like … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

NetDrive: access remote disk images in DOS
NetDrive is a DOS device driver that allows you to access a remote disk image hosted by another machine as though it was a local device with an assigned drive letter. The remote disk image can be a floppy disk image or a hard drive image. ↫ Michael B. Brutman An incredibly useful tool for modern-day DOS work. ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More

I’ll have to disappoint you, not properly joining the Christmas profile picture thing, for the second year in the row.

This year in fact countering it, with a profile picture wearing sunglasses. Hopefully at least the Australian users, have my back with this one.

Image

⤋ Read More

“If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing”
But it’s worse than that. When a tech company designs a device for remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrades, they invite both external and internal parties to demand those downgrades. Like Pavel Chekov says, a phaser on the bridge in Act I is going to go off by Act III. Selling a product that can be remotely, irreversibly, nonconsensually downgraded inevitably results in the worst person at the product-planning meeting proposing to do … ⌘ Read more

⤋ Read More