Links für 2024 KW 49¶
Meine To-Read Liste, Zusammengefasst von LlongOrca.
The article appears to be incomplete, but it is about the GWBASIC User’s Manual. GWBASIC is a version of BASIC programming language developed by Microsoft. The manual provides guidance and instructions for users on how to use this particular programming language effectively.
the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014:
The article, „The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats“, discusses the issue of rising inequality in the United States and the potential consequences for the wealthy. Nick Hanauer, a Seattle-based entrepreneur, argues that the current level of inequality is unsustainable and could lead to social unrest or even revolution if not addressed through policy changes. He suggests adjusting policies similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s approach during the Great Depression, such as raising the minimum wage and supporting the middle class, in order to promote economic growth and prevent the pitchforks from coming for the wealthy.
The article appears to be incomplete or not available. Please provide a more detailed description of the content you would like me to summarize, or provide a link to the original article for assistance.
reparieren-statt-kaufen-so-schlagen-sich-werkstaetten-in-der-krise:
The article discusses the challenging situation for vehicle maintenance and repair businesses in Germany, as they are struggling to survive amidst a drop in demand for new and used vehicles. With the end of electric car subsidies at the end of 2023, there has been an increase in car purchases and a decrease in the number of repairs needed. The maintenance sector is also affected by the growing number of self-driving cars and fewer accidents requiring repair services.
The article mentions that while Kfz workshops saw a 2.5% real increase in sales from January to September 2024 compared to the previous year, the overall pre-tax sales of vehicle maintenance and repairs decreased by 1.6%. The decrease in sales is due to customers choosing to buy new vehicles instead of repairing their existing ones.
However, it also points out that there has been an increase in the sales of car parts and accessories, with a real growth of 3.1% compared to 2019. This indicates that some consumers are still willing to spend on their cars but might prefer investing in new items rather than repairs.
In conclusion, Kfz workshops are facing a challenging market due to a combination of factors, including the end of electric car subsidies, a decrease in demand for repair services, and an increase in sales of car parts and accessories. This situation could lead to a potential decrease in workshop revenues and job opportunities in the industry.
Revealed: the tech bosses who poured $394.1m into US election - and how they compared to Elon Musk:
Silicon Valley donated over $394.1m to the US presidential election, with Elon Musk contributing around $243m to Donald Trump’s campaign. The tech industry has increasingly influenced US elections through advocates of cryptocurrency, who have invested in political campaigns and key congressional races to avoid regulation. Other major donors include Dustin Moskovitz, Marc Andreessen, and Jan Koum. Advocates for cryptocurrency were particularly active during this election, as the industry has yet to see significant government scrutiny or regulation.
How Much Do I Need to Change My Face to Avoid Facial Recognition?:
The article discusses the potential to avoid facial recognition systems by changing one’s appearance. Cynthia Rudin, a computer science professor at Duke University, believes that it is nearly impossible to change one’s face enough to fool facial recognition algorithms. Walter Scheirer of the University of Notre Dame suggests that evading 1-to-1 mode facial recognition in controlled settings is difficult and advises avoiding areas where facial recognition is deployed. Xiaoming Liu, an engineering professor at Michigan State University, proposes proactive measures such as physical adversarial attacks or changing one’s appearance with makeup or a high-cost facial mask. Kevin W. Bowyer of the University of Notre Dame emphasizes that the effectiveness of avoiding facial recognition depends on factors like the type of algorithm used and the threshold values chosen by the system.
The £25,000 Tom Evans Pre-Amp Repair And A Copyright Strike:
Tom Evans filed a copyright claim against Mark’s repair video on his YouTube channel, resulting in the takedown of both the video and Mark’s commentary. In response, Mark created a new video that summarized the repair without using any actual footage of the pre-amp. The cause of the issue was a bad tantalum capacitor affecting one channel, and the pre-amplifier’s interior resembles an artistic interpretation of a Jenga tower made from PCBs. This copyright strike case is unusual as there are no special circuits or filtering in the audiophile-level pre-amplifier; it only uses carefully matched opamps.
The deep roots of Americans’ hatred of their health care system:
The shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked a debate about the American health care system, with many people online viewing it as symptomatic of wider issues within the industry. The US health care system is often criticized for being costly in both money and human life, with insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals becoming popular villains. While there are individual problems within each sector, the issue at hand goes beyond single entities; instead, it involves the entire medical system as a whole. There is a collective failure of US health care, which can only be addressed by looking at the entire system as a whole and finding ways to make it economically viable while also providing necessary care for all who need it.
Defusing AGPL-3 With Batch Processing:
The article discusses the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL-3.0) and its potential side effects, especially for web applications. AGPL-3 aims to make copyleft apply to Web Apps by requiring source code distribution when network interaction occurs. The article raises concerns over AGPL-3’s asymmetric restrictions for projects where commercial entities have full copyright control and how it can potentially hinder user experience. It also mentions the use of iText, a dual-licensed library that is used in many PDF-generating services and argues that its AGPL-3 license may not be as relevant as it seems. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of choosing an appropriate license for software projects.
Making it easy to contribute (code):
The article discusses ways for open-source projects to make it easier for big corporations, such as Google, to contribute code. This includes having a license, properly crediting contributors in an AUTHORS file, and ensuring that the project is hosted on platforms like GitHub or GitLab. The author also mentions the importance of making sure contributions follow certain licensing guidelines and are not from banned software licenses. By following these steps, open-source projects can make it easier for corporate employees to contribute code while still maintaining control over the project’s direction.
changedetection.io/Dockerfile at master · dgtlmoon/changedetection.io:
TODO
Frist zu EU-weiter Produkthaftung für Hard- und Software beginnt:
The reformed Product Liability Directive comes into force, creating a framework for damage claims due to defective products in the IT sector. The revised directive provides a broad basis for compensation claims for damages resulting from faulty products, ranging from traditional household items and electronics to more complex technologies like robots and smart-home systems. The new rules must be implemented into national law within two years by EU member states. The legislators responded to the increase in global online shopping, the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, and the ongoing shift towards a circular economy. Under the directive, manufacturers must now always designate an economic operator within the EU from which consumers can seek compensation for damages caused by unsafe products. This rule also applies to online-distributed products.
There are some exceptions for open source developers. For specifically mentioned computer programs, whether installed on a device or provided as a service via the cloud, it is irrelevant. If faults occur in embedded software, not only the end manufacturer but also suppliers of components can be held liable. Including services like voice assistants may fall under this category. A sector exemption exists - similarly to the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) - for open source: developers of free and open-source software that is not part of a commercial activity, nor commercially offered, are exempt from liability.
A new element is that as long as a manufacturer can provide software updates, they exercise control over the situation and may be held responsible for any breaches of legitimate security expectations. An extended liability period of 25 years applies in cases where symptoms slowly emerge. Initially, EU lawmakers wanted up to 30 years but eventually settled on 25 years. The European Commission, which introduced the directive in 2020, ensures that „the directive provides fair and predictable rules for both businesses and consumers.“ They also plan to establish a publicly accessible EU database of court rulings related to product liability cases to better inform consumers about the application of new guidelines and the development of case law.
fishaudio/fish-speech-1.5 · Hugging Face:
Fish Speech V1.5 is a leading text-to-speech (TTS) model trained on over 1 million hours of audio data in multiple languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Dutch, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and others. This advanced multilingual TTS synthesis model is available for demo on the Fish Audio website. The model is licensed under the BY-CC-NC-SA-4.0 license and can be cited as follows: @misc{fish-speech-v1.4, …}.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Gesundheitsminister fernab der Wissenschaft:
The article discusses Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist who is expected to become the US Health Secretary in January 2023. Kennedy has been known for spreading false information on various medical topics, particularly regarding vaccines. He promotes misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, claiming they are the deadliest vaccine ever made and that they were developed to target specific ethnic groups.
In addition to vaccines, Kennedy also questions other health practices such as fluoride in drinking water being linked to lower IQ in children and psychopharmacological drugs leading to school shootings. He has been associated with the anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense (CHD), of which he is a co-founder and chairman, and was involved in an anti-vaccination rally in Berlin during the pandemic.
If confirmed as Health Secretary, Kennedy will oversee US health policy, including vaccines and public health measures, despite his history of promoting false information on these topics.
Arctic has released a new server cooling fan, the S12038-4K and -8K. The unique design features seven additional fan blades in its center, offering class-leading static pressure. The S12038 offers lower power consumption at max load compared to competitors and generates high levels of airflow and static pressure. The dual ball bearing design allows for cooling the shaft and doubling the fan’s effective lifespan. However, it is 11mm taller than standard PC cooling fans and may generate higher noise levels in non-server settings. Arctic has not heavily advertised this product.
Lower-cost sodium-ion batteries are finally having their moment:
The article discusses the benefits of sodium-ion batteries compared to lithium-ion batteries, specifically in extreme cold temperatures and lower risk of fire. However, sodium-ion batteries have a disadvantage in terms of energy density, meaning EVs running on them will go fewer miles per charge than those with lithium-ion batteries. The article also mentions the five-year timeline for national laboratories‘ initiative to develop sodium-ion batteries with energy densities that match or exceed today’s iron phosphate-based lithium-ion batteries, as well as the ongoing work to improve other battery types. Currently, global production of lithium-ion batteries is around 1,500 gigawatt-hours compared to 11 gigawatt-hours for sodium-ion batteries, or less than 1% of total production.
The Internet Archive, through its web crawls, discovers and captures web pages for archival purposes. Multiple crawls run simultaneously, some continuously for months and others on a daily basis or longer. Users can access the web archive via the Wayback Machine. Hacker News Crawl 0 is an example of a collection containing links from Hacker News.
The article discusses the Start-Up Trap, where young programmers often fall prey to thinking that their situation is different and that rules don’t apply during the startup phase. It emphasizes that disciplines such as Test-Driven Development (TDD) are crucial for successful software development at any stage of a company’s growth. The article argues that neglecting TDD will result in slower progress due to code rot and more bugs, ultimately slowing down the development process. It advises programmers to follow their disciplines, write tests, refactor code, and maintain clean, simple designs for the best chance of success.
The momentum of the solar energy transition - Nature Communications:
In this study, we present the results of a global, data-driven energy-technology-economy simulation model (E3ME-FTT) that suggests that solar energy is likely to become the dominant power source by mid-century without any additional policies supporting renewables. This is due to its rapid and exponential diffusion trajectory and comparatively high learning rate. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar energy, including system storage costs, continues to decrease despite increasing storage needs. Solar PV + system storage is already among the cheapest forms of electricity in many regions. However, there are several barriers that could slow down this transition, including grid resilience issues, access to finance, and supply chain challenges due to high demand for critical minerals. Political resistance from declining industries may also impact the transition. To overcome these barriers and achieve zero-carbon power systems, policies should focus on addressing these systemic problems, rather than relying solely on carbon pricing.
Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike… - HTMHell:
The article discusses the importance of creating accessible buttons in HTML and how ChatGPT’s response to the question was not entirely accurate due to its training on a wide range of web content. It should have provided an example using the <button> element without additional attributes like aria-label. An accessible button should use a clear, visible text label within the element itself and be easily accessible for keyboard navigation.
Release 7.0.0 · Mathics3/mathics-core:
This article discusses the latest updates in the Mathics3 project, which focus on improvements such as lazy loading of built-in functions, modernizing Python code, and fixing various bugs. Notable additions include support for $MaxLengthIntStringConversion, new section „Expression Structure“, and compatibility with Python 3.11 and SymPy 1.12. Additionally, the article highlights updated features such as improved support for Quantity expressions, better numeric comparisons against strings, and fixes to various functions like Defintions, Graphics, and Derivative evaluation.
The article introduces an invisible desktop application called Interview.Coder, designed to help users pass technical interviews by providing assistance during coding sessions. The app is undetectable in various recording environments and offers features such as AI-powered analysis, solution generation, real-time debugging, and window management. Users need to set up Node.js and OpenAI API keys before getting started.
The 6 Mistakes You’re Going to Make as a New Manager:
This article highlights the challenges and lessons learned during a transition from an individual contributor (IC) to a manager in the tech industry. Key points include overcoming reluctance to delegate, finding satisfaction outside of direct work, focusing on team growth instead of size, achieving the right balance of engagement, managing perception, and dealing with impostor syndrome. The author emphasizes that becoming a skilled manager requires time, continuous learning, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.
Research reveals how fructose in diet enhances tumor growth:
Research from Washington University in St. Louis has found that fructose, a common sugar found in processed foods and ultra-processed beverages, promotes tumor growth in animal models of melanoma, breast cancer, and cervical cancer. The study, published in the journal Nature, demonstrated that dietary fructose does not directly fuel tumors but instead is converted by the liver into usable nutrients for cancer cells, opening up new avenues for treating various types of cancer. The researchers believe this could lead to targeting healthy cell metabolism as an approach to treat cancer in addition to direct treatment of disease cells.
Debian opens a can of username worms:
The Debian project is facing challenges in handling usernames properly across multiple applications, as two user-creation utilities disagreed on which names are allowable. A plan is in place to sort this out before the release of Debian 13 (trixie) next year. Handling usernames correctly requires agreement among applications about which characters should be allowed and disallowed, a difficult task given the number of apps involved.
65% Of Employees Bypass Cybersecurity Measures, New Study Finds:
As businesses increasingly rely on digital tools and cloud-based workflows, employees are bypassing security measures to meet productivity goals, creating significant cybersecurity risks. A recent survey reveals that 65% of office workers admit to circumventing company security policies in the name of efficiency. The tension between security and productivity underscores a key challenge for organizations today: enforcing compliance without stifling workflow. Modern businesses deploy solutions to protect sensitive data, but employees often reuse passwords, share credentials, access work applications from unsecured personal devices, and use personal devices that lack security controls. To address these issues, organizations must recognize the human element in cybersecurity and ensure everyone understands their role in protecting the digital ecosystem.
This article discusses how modern friendship has evolved from a rare, precious, and hard-won relationship in ancient times to the ubiquitous phenomenon it is today. The rise of Facebook and other social media platforms have accelerated this fragmentation of consciousness, turning friendships into virtual connections rather than deep, meaningful bonds. The article argues that we may pride ourselves on our aptitude for friendship, but it’s not clear that we still know what it means in a world dominated by technology and social networking sites.
Why Is Printer Ink So Expensive?:
This article discusses the practice of printer firmware updates that limit your ability to use third-party ink, often due to security concerns. HP has faced multiple class action lawsuits over this issue. The article suggests looking for alternatives to expensive „first-party“ ink and supports the right to repair legislation, which would require manufacturers to make parts and materials available for various devices. Currently, around a dozen states have passed right to repair laws, while many others are expected to follow suit in the near future.
Study: Intuitive introverts lead the most successful teams | Spotlight:
Researchers at the University of Delaware are attempting to detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier using a $3.9M grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The study will examine changes in arteries and brain tissue in midlife adults, aged 50-60, with the aim of identifying early mechanisms linking vascular aging to loss of brain tissue integrity. This could lead to new targets for interventions aimed at preventing age-related cognitive impairment. The researchers will be using high-resolution magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) to determine where brain damage occurs and what specific brain structures may be affected.
Install Docker natively on Android Phone and use it as a Home Server:
This article provides a guide on how to install Docker natively on an Android phone, specifically using a OnePlus 6T with postmarketOS. The process involves enabling Developer Mode and USB Debugging, installing Fastboot on the PC, downloading PostmarketOS boot and img files for the specific phone model, entering Fastboot mode, flashing PostmarketOS, initial setup and SSH activation, connecting to the phone via SSH on the PC, installing Docker, and running Docker containers. The article also highlights downsides of using OnePlus 6T as a home server, such as no Ethernet support and no external drive support.
Verbraucherschützer warnt: Klarna analysiert Kontoauszüge seiner Nutzer:
Klarna, ein schwedischer Zahlungsanbieter, scheint Zugang zu den letzten 30 Tagen der Transaktionsdaten seiner Kunden zu haben und weiterzugeben. Oliver Buttler von der Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg warnte davor, dass dies auf eine „Blackbox“ hindeutet. Der Service kann Informationen wie Miete, Netflix-Abonnements und Schwimmbadbesuche abfragen. Klarna behauptete, keine Kundendaten weiterzugeben.
Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned?:
The article discusses the concept of success and how it often appears when least expected. It highlights instances where great things happened by accident, such as the invention of the microwave oven and penicillin. The author encourages readers not to obsess over plans and suggests keeping an open mind for happy accidents while still putting in the required work.
Chocolate intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort studies:
The article „Chocolate consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: a pooled analysis of three prospective cohort studies“ by Binkai Liu, Geng Zong, Lu Zhu, et al. (BMJ 2024;387:e078386) aimed to investigate the association between chocolate consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in three large prospective cohort studies: the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). The study involved a total of 192,208 participants (63,798 women in NHS, 88,383 women in NHSII, and 40,027 men in HPFS) for the analysis of total chocolate intake and 111,654 participants (39,400 women in NHS, 58,187 women in NHSII, and 14,067 men in HPFS) for the analyses of chocolate subtypes. The findings suggest that higher consumption of dark, but not milk, chocolate is associated with a lower risk of T2D. Additionally, increased total chocolate intake was associated with more weight gain, primarily driven by milk chocolate consumption.
The study’s primary outcome measure was self-reported incident T2D, confirmed through a validated supplementary questionnaire. Chocolate consumption data were collected using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire that assessed participants’ average frequency of consumption for standard food portion sizes over the past year. Nutrient intakes and flavan-3-ols content were calculated based on the US Department of Agriculture food composition database.
The study found that consumption of ≥5 servings/week of dark chocolate was significantly associated with a lower risk of T2D compared to those who never or rarely consumed it (a significant 21% reduction in risk). In contrast, no significant associations were found for milk chocolate intake and the risk of T2D. The association between total chocolate consumption and risk of T2D appeared to be non-linear, while the dose-response association between dark chocolate intake and risk of T2D was linear (P for linearity=0.003).
Furthermore, increased milk chocolate but not dark chocolate intake was associated with more weight gain over four-year periods, with a stronger association observed in individuals with obesity at baseline compared to those with normal BMI. These findings were robust in multiple sensitivity analyses and stratified analyses, although statistically significant heterogeneity was noted among cohorts.
In summary, the study provides evidence that higher consumption of dark chocolate may be associated with a lower risk of T2D and less weight gain, while increased milk chocolate intake is associated with more weight gain. These findings highlight the potential health benefits of incorporating dark chocolate into one’s diet but also caution against excessive consumption of milk chocolate due to its potential contribution to weight gain.
The correct amount of ads is zero – Manu:
The Verge has introduced a paywalled version of its site, which includes a subscription option and fewer ads for subscribers. This move towards freemium is seen as potentially sustainable for websites, but the author opposes paying to get fewer ads. They argue that advertisers should not be allowed to double dip by selling user data and earning more money from ads. The article highlights the return of full-text RSS feeds for subscribers as a positive change.
The 70% problem: Hard truths about AI-assisted coding:
AI-assisted development tools like Cursor, Copilot, and v0 have led to rapid prototyping and increased productivity for developers. However, the actual software quality has not significantly improved due to a lack of engineering discipline among users who rely solely on AI’s suggestions. The author emphasizes that while AI can accelerate coding processes, it is crucial to maintain human judgment and expertise in guiding and shaping the generated code. The key to success with AI-assisted development lies in using these tools wisely as a supplement to good software practices, rather than replacing them entirely.
Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf challenge their in-house broadcaster ProSieben to another contest. In this episode, they face off against Vanessa Mai, Janin Ullmann, and the editorial staff of ProSieben. The contestants compete for 15 minutes of live broadcasting time.
Pandoc is a versatile tool for converting files from one markup format to another, supporting various formats such as Markdown, reStructuredText, AsciiDoc, HTML, and EPUB. It also allows users to create citations and bibliographies using CSL styles and supports custom readers and writers in Lua. Pandoc is free software licensed under the GPL.
Bei Krebsmedikamenten sind weiter hohe Zusatzgewinne möglich:
Over a year ago, Germany’s Health Minister Lauterbach announced changes to the system but nothing has changed yet. Apothecaries can still make large additional profits with cancer infusions. Legal health insurance companies in Germany could save over 500 million euros annually if they paid pharmacists only the actual purchase prices for cancer medications, according to a study by NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung. The study was made possible by an informant who benefited from the system: Pharmacist Robert Herold of Falkenstein, Saxony. Herold collected over ten years‘ worth of non-public price lists from pharmaceutical wholesalers, showing that the purchase prices were much lower than what health insurance companies reimbursed to pharmacists for cancer infusions. The differences are so significant that some pharmacists could secretly earn up to 1000 euros per infusion - a procedure that typically takes just one beaker of liquid medicine. Health Minister Lauterbach stated, „this is not a sustainable situation.“ Since then, little has changed, and the law for pharmacies remains unaltered.
Certificate Authorities and the Fragility of Internet Safety:
The article discusses the importance of Certificate Authorities (CAs) in ensuring internet security and the risks associated with trusting them. CAs are responsible for verifying websites‘ ownership and issuing certificates, allowing browsers to validate public keys. However, there have been instances where CAs made mistakes or were compromised, which could lead to attacks on users‘ accounts. The article also mentions Certificate Transparency Logs as a way to detect rogue CAs more quickly. The article concludes by stating that the strength of trust stores lies in the weakest CA and highlights the need for individuals and businesses to understand these risks.
Das Gigabit-Grundbuch ist ein zentrales Zugangsportal für Informationen zur Planung des Infrastrukturausbaus und der aktuellen und künftigen Versorgungsgrade in der Telekommunikation. Es bündelt bestehende Geoinformationssysteme in einem Portalauftritt, um Daten, Karten und weiterführendes Informationsmaterial für alle Nutzer zentral an einem Ort bereitzustellen. Die Mission ist es, eine gute Datengrundlage für den effizienten Ausbau der digitalen Infrastrukturen zu schaffen, mit deren Hilfe Investitionsentscheidungen vorbereitet und Mitnutzungspotenziale identifiziert werden können. Die Vision sieht die Weiterentwicklung der bestehenden Geoinformationssysteme für die Integration weiterer Datenbestände und Funktionalitäten vor. Die Transparenz für am Breitbandausbau Beteiligte soll in Zukunft weiter erhöht werden, um politische Entscheidungsträgerinnen und Entscheidungsträger aller Ebenen zu unterstützen.
Message order in Matrix: right now, we are deliberately inconsistent | Andy Balaam’s Blog:
The article discusses the issue of message order in Matrix, which is important for clients to display a consistent and logical view of the conversation history. It explains that the current APIs do not guarantee a consistent order, leading to inconsistencies between clients or even within a single client over time. The author suggests changing the /messages and other APIs to return messages in a consistent order, based on their arrival at the homeserver. Additionally, they propose allowing homeservers to send „deny“ items to clients to remove events from the timeline when needed.
UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurance conglomerate in the US, has been found to be using algorithms to identify providers and patients it deems as providing or receiving too much mental healthcare. The insurer’s strategies have resulted in therapists facing pressure from United for seeing high-risk patients twice a week. Despite being found illegal in three states, the company is continuing its practices of policing mental health care with arbitrary thresholds and cost-driven targets, putting countless patients at risk of losing mental health coverage. The flaw in the US regulatory structure has been highlighted, as United’s subsidiary Optum is taking aim at those who give or get „unwarranted“ treatment, flagging patients who receive more than 30 sessions within eight months.
Speeding up Ruby by rewriting C… in Ruby:
The recent language comparison repo has been getting shared a lot. In it, CRuby was the third slowest option, only beating out R and Python. The repo author created a fun visualization of each language’s performance. CRuby’s performance can be improved by using YJIT (Yet Another JIT compiler), which enables Ruby to run faster in benchmark tests. However, there is still room for further optimizations as the majority of CRuby consists of C code, with only a small portion written in pure Ruby.
Nearly half of teenagers globally cannot read with comprehension:
The article discusses the importance of data quality and collaboration in contributing to a more accurate understanding of the world. The author’s company works with hundreds of datasets from various sources, using in-house tools to identify unusual patterns and flag potential errors. By doing this, they help improve data quality by catching issues and providing feedback for improvement. The article emphasizes that improving data quality is a collaborative effort involving statisticians, data providers, and others involved in creating and maintaining datasets.
The article discusses a security breach at the Brandenburg State Criminal Office where personal data was accessed, potentially due to inadequate protective measures. As a result of this incident, there is concern about the consequences and potential for future threats to privacy.
The Booze of Monkey Island is an unofficial fan game created by enthusiasts of the famous series. Guybrush finds himself stranded on Booty Island, and his bartender friend will only help him fix his ship if he brings new customers for drinks. The mini pirate adventure features a point-and-click interface, exploration of an island, animated 2D graphics, clever puzzles, and music inspired by the classic Monkey Island series. The game is available in Italian, English, German, and Spanish languages and seeks community members to translate it into their native languages.
Zipcar outage a warning against total app reliance:
Zipcar experienced technical issues on November 29, causing problems with its app and website. This led to long wait times for customer support and difficulties in making reservations. The company attributed the issue to increased site traffic due to Black Friday promotions and SMS/MMS network constraints. To address the outage, Zipcar offered refunds, driving credits for future trips, and refunds for alternate transportation, but some affected users reported issues with receiving compensation.
In this article, Dan McKinley discusses the challenges of engineering and organization dynamics at various companies. He highlights some common mistakes, such as creating new role types and dividing work into specialized teams. McKinley emphasizes the importance of collaboration, cross-functional teamwork, and allowing people to learn from each other, rather than focusing on specific roles or domains.
The Porsche Macan Electric Is Being Recalled Because Its Headlights Are Too Bright:
Porsche is recalling certain Macan Electric models in the United States due to headlights that are too bright. The issue can be resolved by reprogramming the headlight control unit software at a Porsche service center, which cannot be done via an over-the-air update. Affected vehicles were built between March 15 and November 4, 2024, and 2,941 units are impacted by this recall. The fix is free of charge, and owners will be notified in January 2025.
TODO
The article discusses the development of a particle physics course for high-school students, which is based on thorough review of educational theory, empirical research, and years of experience in particle physics education. Key messages are used throughout the course to provide testable concept knowledge for quiz questions. The structure of the course gradually introduces new terms and concepts to avoid overwhelming students. It focuses on conveying the idea that the use of models is essential in science, particularly in particle physics. Linguistic accuracy is emphasized, with careful definitions of key terms and the rephrasing or avoidance of misleading terms. Visual illustrations are utilized to communicate scientific ideas effectively. The core curriculum covers central models of particle physics that allow students to learn about modern particle physics research and the research conducted at CERN.
The article discusses the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCCRP), which is a non-governmental organization funded by the US government. It has an annual budget of 20 million euros and a staff of 200, contributing to numerous investigative journalism projects based on data leaks. The article suggests that OCCRP’s reporting mainly focuses on countries that Washington perceives as enemies, such as Russia and Venezuela. It also mentions the NDR, a German public broadcaster, withdrawing its report on the investigation into OCCRP after facing pressure from the organization.
TODO
Ein innovatives mehrsprachiges KI-Modell für die EU:
Das EU-geförderte Forschungsprojekt OpenGPT-X hat sein großes Sprachmodell Teuken-7B veröffentlicht, ein 7-Milliarden-Parameter-Modell, das alle 24 offiziellen Sprachen der Europäischen Union unterstützt. Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen großen Sprachmodellen, die hauptsächlich auf Englisch trainiert wurden, wurde Teuken-7B von Grund auf multilingual entwickelt und beruht auf nicht-englischen europäischen Sprachen für etwa die Hälfte der Trainingsdaten. Das Modell ist unter der Apache-2.0-Lizenz verfügbar und kann sowohl in der Forschung als auch kommerziell genutzt werden. Die Integration in die Gaia-X-Infrastruktur gewährleistet die Einhaltung europäischer Datenschutzstandards.
Crunchyroll will soon paywall most of One Piece:
Sony has announced that starting soon, free users on Crunchyroll will no longer be able to access past episodes of the anime series „One Piece“. The company plans to implement a tiered rollout which blocks free members from most of the anime, beginning with the Water 7 to Fishman Island story arcs on December 23. This decision has drawn criticism from fans as it follows the purchase of Crunchyroll for over $1 billion by Sony in 2014.
Xerox, Nokia, BofA, Morgan Stanley’s employees data dumped:
A major data breach has impacted hundreds of thousands of employees from several major corporations, including Xerox, Nokia, Koch, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. This breach is linked to last year’s attacks on the file transfer tool MOVEit, which was exploited by a Russia-linked ransomware crew called Cl0p. The data from this breach has been leaked by an entity using the handle „Nam3L3ss“ and includes personal information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, job titles, and usernames for hundreds of thousands of employees. Atlas Privacy, a company specializing in data removal, confirmed that the leaked data is authentic. The breach poses significant risks for social engineering attacks against affected companies.
Tip pressure might work in the moment, but customers are less likely to return:
The rise of digital tipping systems, such as point-of-sale devices or countertop screens that display tips, is changing the dynamics of tipping and making customers feel more scrutinized. A study analyzed 36,000 transactions and four controlled experiments with over 1,100 participants to understand how customers respond to this kind of „tip surveillance.“ The results showed that high levels of surveillance are bad for business, leading to reduced loyalty and resentment among customers. Tipping setups with privacy, such as using countertop payment systems or apps that disclose tips only after service, were found to make customers feel more generous and in control of their decisions. To create a positive experience for customers and ensure a fair system of tipping, businesses should provide privacy during the tipping process while paying employees fairly.
What is Software Anyways? Where Does it Exist?:
The article explores the nature of software, questioning what kind of thing it is and how it differs from hardware. It discusses Nurbay Irmak’s view that software should be considered as an abstract artifact rather than a physical entity. The author also considers Leibniz’s law when comparing different aspects of software such as the disk, bytes, executions, text, and algorithms. They suggest that software can change yet remain the same, but does not fit into concrete categories like hardware or other abstract objects like music. Finally, they mention Irmak’s four criteria for when a program ceases to exist: author death, destruction of all copies, no further performance or execution, and no memory of it.
Blizzard’s pulling of Warcraft I & II tests GOG’s new Preservation Program:
TODO
Briefpapier Weihnachten Bilder - Kostenloser Download auf Freepik:
This article showcases various free Christmas-themed images, vectors, and templates, including gold frames for social media banners, empty festive rectangular backgrounds, a blank sheet of paper with a holiday theme, hand-drawn Christmas card templates, and more. These resources can be used to create unique designs and decorations for the holiday season.
Spielideen für Neugeborene: So kannst du dich mit deinem 0-3 Monate alten Baby beschäftigen:
TODO
Musk will Gemeinnützigkeit von OpenAI per Gericht erzwingen:
OpenAI’s attorneys have requested a preliminary injunction forcing the AI company to work not solely for profit. This is also about Elon Musk’s own project, xAI. In a California district court, OpenAI’s lawyers sought an interim order ensuring that the former nonprofit status of chatbot maker OpenAI is preserved. The company had completed a new funding round in October 2024, largely giving up its previous „non-profit“ status. Since 2015, the AI startup founded by Sam Altman operated with a capped profit distribution to its investors, which new investors like Nvidia and again Microsoft did not want to bear any longer.
Since March 2024, Elon Musk has been suing OpenAI with several attempts, now seeming too slow for him. TechCrunch quotes from the complaint: „A temporary injunction to preserve the remainder of OpenAI’s nonprofit character, free of self-dealing, is the only appropriate remedy. Otherwise, the promised OpenAI will have long since disappeared by the time the court decides this matter.“
Musk was one of OpenAI’s founders in 2015, but stepped down three years before its major success with services like ChatGPT. Musk accused OpenAI of violating its founding agreement and raised issues about breach of fiduciary duties and unfair competition.
Last financial round for OpenAI Musk complained that investors were not allowed to invest in other AI companies [5] , including his own AI startup, xAI. This is supposed to receive a Grok chatbot app for smartphones soon - something that competitors like Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI already offer. In response to TechCrunch, OpenAI rejected the allegations as „grandiose and unfounded“. The company is confident of defending against this latest attack by Elon Musk.
(Never [7])
Vertragsverletzungsverfahren: EU macht Druck wegen NIS 2 und Kritis-Gesetz:
The European Commission is putting pressure on EU member states to implement security guidelines, with 26 countries still not having fully implemented two EU directives in digital economy and migration, internal affairs, and security union areas. These include the NIS-2 directive for higher cybersecurity levels and the CER regulation for resilience of critical infrastructure. The implementation deadline was October 17, 2024, but Germany has a legislative proposal for both directives under discussion in the Bundestag. Greens call for quick agreement on laws before the federal election to increase Germany’s resilience against external threats. If the procedure does not succeed, the Commission can turn to the European Court of Justice and demand financial sanctions from the country.
Category Theory in Programming:
The article introduces Category Theory in Programming, a journey into the conceptual world where mathematics meets software development. It offers insights into how familiar programming concepts can be reinterpreted through the lens of category theory and even directly borrows from category theory using programming language constructs to describe abstract concepts. The tutorial is designed for Racket programmers who are curious about the mathematical ideas underlying computational systems. Through this journey, readers will explore core concepts of category theory and how these can be represented and utilized within the Racket programming language. The goal is not to exhaustively cover category theory or transform you into a category theorist but instead to provide a foundation that readers can build upon and apply in their work.
Handwriting, but not typewriting, leads to widespread brain connectivity, according to a high-density EEG study. The study involved 36 university students handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typing the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses showed that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were more elaborate than when typewriting, with widespread theta/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. These connectivity patterns are crucial for memory formation and encoding new information, which is beneficial for learning. The findings suggest that handwriting activities contribute extensively to the brain’s connectivity patterns promoting learning; therefore, children should be exposed to handwriting at an early age in school. However, it is also important to maintain handwriting practice while being aware of the best learning effects in different contexts and adapting to technological advances.
This article provides strategies for studying college-level mathematics, focusing on the differences between high school and college math, understanding definitions and theorems, fitting subjects together, making sense of proofs, developing technique, and final suggestions. It emphasizes the importance of precise definitions, logical structure, memorization, and understanding concepts to excel in mathematics.
The article discusses challenges faced in software modeling, particularly when dealing with distributed microservices. It emphasizes the importance of domain modeling and the Actor Model to address issues such as state management, concurrency, data consistency, contention, database performance, fault tolerance, and observability. Virtual Actors are presented as a solution that simplifies distributed systems by encapsulating state, processing messages sequentially, and scaling naturally.
This article explains how git tracks submodules and provides a step-by-step guide on how to manage them, including initializing and updating submodules. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding the differences between regular files and submodules in order to work with them effectively.