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A Quilt's Story: Deconstructing the Myths of Clothing Quality

2025-03-26

A Quilt's Story: Deconstructing the Myths of Clothing Quality

This article recounts the creation of a patchwork quilt using worn textiles from friends and family, sparking a reflection on the quality of mass-produced clothing. The author argues that garment quality isn't solely determined by origin or maker, but by brands' control over costs and production processes. Low-quality fast fashion reflects brand choices to cut costs, not the skill of the workers. The piece challenges stereotypes about East Asian women's sewing abilities, advocating for a focus on brand and supply chain responsibility instead.

(ruthtillman.com)

Design fast fashion textile production

23andMe's Financial Troubles: Californians Can Delete Their Genetic Data

2025-03-22

23andMe's Financial Troubles: Californians Can Delete Their Genetic Data

Facing financial distress, genetic testing company 23andMe has prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta to remind Californians of their rights under the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to delete their genetic data and destroy samples. Users can delete their accounts and personal information through 23andMe's website, following steps to download data, permanently delete it, and destroy samples.

(oag.ca.gov)

Tech genetic privacy

MRubyD: A C#-based mruby VM for Seamless Game Engine Integration

2025-03-24

MRubyD: A C#-based mruby VM for Seamless Game Engine Integration

MRubyD is a new mruby virtual machine implemented in pure C#, designed for seamless integration with C#-based game engines. Leveraging modern C# features, it boasts high performance and extensibility, prioritizing Ruby API compatibility. Currently in preview, some features like built-in types and methods, as well as private/protected visibility, are under development. Install via `dotnet add package MRubyD` and explore its capabilities through the provided examples. It requires the native mruby compiler for compiling .rb source code into .mrb bytecode.

(github.com)

Development

Recovering from Accidental Deletion of /lib on Linux

2025-03-22

This post details how to recover a Linux system after accidentally deleting the crucial `/lib` directory. The author explores several methods, from leveraging existing tools like a static busybox to creating and transferring a minimal, statically compiled C program to replace essential files. The step-by-step guide covers techniques using bash built-ins and network transfers, providing a solution to avoid reinstalling the OS.

(tinyhack.com)

Development system recovery troubleshooting

Trump Admin's JFK Files Release Doxes Hundreds, Sparking Lawsuits

2025-03-22

Trump Admin's JFK Files Release Doxes Hundreds, Sparking Lawsuits

In its rush to release unredacted JFK assassination files, the Trump administration inadvertently published the Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information of potentially hundreds of former congressional staffers and others. At least one, former Justice Department official Joseph diGenova, plans to sue the National Archives for violating the Privacy Act. The released information stemmed from his involvement in the 1970s Church Committee investigation into CIA and other intelligence agency misconduct. The National Archives posted thousands of pages without a searchable format, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the breach. National security lawyer Mark Zaid confirmed the release impacted hundreds, many still alive, calling the action unnecessary and unhelpful to understanding the assassination. While DiGenova blames the Archives' sloppy review process, he doesn't fault Trump for the release itself.

(www.usatoday.com)

Tech Privacy Violation

arXivLabs: Experimenting with Community Collaboration

2025-03-19

arXivLabs is a framework for collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the website. Individuals and organizations working with arXivLabs uphold arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only partners with those who share them. Have an idea to improve the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

Cord-Cutting in Canada Accelerates as Streaming Soars

2025-03-25

Cord-Cutting in Canada Accelerates as Streaming Soars

The Canadian streaming market is booming, with a significant decline in traditional TV subscriptions. Convergence Research reports that an estimated 46% of Canadian households canceled their cable, satellite, or telecom TV subscriptions in 2024, a 4% increase from 2023, and projected to reach 54% by 2027. Streaming subscription revenue surged 15% to $4.2 billion, while linear TV revenue dropped 5%. Canadians subscribe to an average of 2.6 streaming platforms per household, but the majority of revenue flows to US companies, prompting the CRTC's "Online Streaming Act" requiring foreign streamers to invest 5% of Canadian revenue in local content. This act has faced pushback from US streamers.

(mobilesyrup.com)

Tech cord-cutting

Linnaeus's Note-Taking: The Organizational Genius Behind Taxonomic Revolution

2025-03-23

Linnaeus's Note-Taking: The Organizational Genius Behind Taxonomic Revolution

This article explores the contributions of 18th-century naturalist Carl Linnaeus, highlighting not only his creation of binomial nomenclature but also his revolutionary note-taking system. Linnaeus amassed over 13,000 plant specimens, innovatively using an expandable card system instead of bound books for organization, enabling efficient and flexible categorization. He even added blank pages to books for immediate recording of new discoveries, influencing subsequent reading and research methods. Linnaeus's success stems from both his scientific talent and his unique organizational and recording practices, offering valuable lessons for us today.

(jillianhess.substack.com)

Tech Linnaeus

argp: A Powerful GNU-Standard Command-Line Argument Parser in Go

2025-03-23

argp: A Powerful GNU-Standard Command-Line Argument Parser in Go

argp is a Go library providing a robust command-line argument parser adhering to GNU standards. It boasts features like built-in help, struct field scanning, support for composite types (arrays, slices, structs), and nested subcommands. argp follows GNU argument rules, handling short and long options, option values, multiple values, and option combinations. It also offers configuration loading, counting, appending, and support for custom data sources, such as MySQL databases. Developers can leverage argp to create powerful command-line tools efficiently.

(github.com)

Development command-line arguments GNU standard

Homeworld 2's Stunning Background: A Vertex Color Gradient Masterpiece

2025-03-23

This article unveils the secret behind the stunning background art of Homeworld 2. By analyzing game data, the author discovered that the backgrounds aren't created using textures, but rather a clever implementation of vertex color gradients. This bold solution not only avoids texture compression artifacts but also subtly controls detail, keeping the background where it belongs and preventing it from overpowering the foreground. This technique mirrors the 2.5D tree approach in Diablo 3, showcasing a perfect blend of technology and artistry.

(simonschreibt.de)

Game vertex coloring

Standardizing AI Preferences: Addressing Copyright Concerns in AI Training Data

2025-03-22

Standardizing AI Preferences: Addressing Copyright Concerns in AI Training Data

To address copyright concerns arising from the use of internet content for training AI models, the IETF's newly formed AI Preferences Working Group (AIPREF) is working to standardize building blocks for expressing preferences on how content is collected and processed. Currently, AI vendors use a confusing array of non-standard signals (like robots.txt) to guide crawling and training, leading to a lack of confidence among authors and publishers that their preferences will be respected. AIPREF will define a common vocabulary to express authors' and publishers' preferences, methods for attaching this vocabulary to internet content, and a standard mechanism for reconciling multiple preference expressions. The working group's first meeting will be held during IETF 122 in Bangkok.

(www.ietf.org)

AI

Google Moves All Android Development In-House

2025-03-26

Google Moves All Android Development In-House

Google has confirmed it's moving all Android development to its internal branches, meaning the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) will no longer reflect Google's complete work. This aims to streamline development and prevent merge conflicts, but doesn't change Android's open-source nature. New versions and maintenance releases will be pushed to AOSP. End users and app developers will likely see little impact; the main change is less premature exposure of unconfirmed internal information via AOSP leaks.

(9to5google.com)

Development

Pentagon Axes $280M AI Project, Prioritizes 'Lethal' AI Over 'Equitable' AI

2025-03-24

Pentagon Axes $280M AI Project, Prioritizes 'Lethal' AI Over 'Equitable' AI

The Pentagon has canceled its troubled Defense Civilian Human Resources Management System (DCHRMS) project, which ran eight years over budget at $280 million. Along with DCHRMS, over $360 million in grants focused on DEI, climate change, and social programs were also cut. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth explained that the department needs "lethal" AI, not "equitable" AI, and will replan the HR system modernization. This is part of the Pentagon's Department of Government Efficiency initiative to eliminate wasteful spending.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech Defense Budget AI Project Defense budget

Germany Updates US Travel Advice After Citizens' Detainment

2025-03-21

Germany Updates US Travel Advice After Citizens' Detainment

The German foreign ministry updated its travel advice for the US after three German citizens were denied entry and detained. The updated advice warns that even with an ESTA, entry isn't guaranteed, and minor visa overstays or false information can lead to arrest and deportation. While the ministry insists it's not a travel warning, the cases – including a US green card holder who was subjected to harsh interrogation and detention – highlight potential risks. One detainee, a tattoo artist, was held for over six weeks and allegedly placed in solitary confinement. The incidents serve as a cautionary tale for German travelers to the US, emphasizing the importance of accurate information and adherence to visa regulations.

(www.euronews.com)

Tech US entry travel advice visa

Fake CDC Website Spreads Vaccine Misinformation, Raising Legal Concerns

2025-03-23

Fake CDC Website Spreads Vaccine Misinformation, Raising Legal Concerns

A website mimicking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is spreading false and misleading claims about vaccines, using CDC logos, social media links, and authoritative language. Hosted by an NGO whose leader was the HHS Secretary until December 2024, the site raises serious legal concerns under federal impersonation statutes. It uses parental testimonials and selectively cited scientific arguments to support its claims, potentially misleading the public and undermining trust. The HHS Secretary's awareness and response to this apparent conflict of interest and potential violation of federal law remain unclear.

(infoepi.substack.com)

Tech vaccine misinformation

Trump Admin Halts Coordinated Effort Against Russian Hybrid Warfare

2025-03-23

Trump Admin Halts Coordinated Effort Against Russian Hybrid Warfare

The Biden administration established cross-agency working groups to counter Russia's hybrid warfare campaign, collaborating with European allies. However, following Trump's inauguration, this effort largely ceased. This raises concerns that the Trump administration is de-prioritizing the threat, leaving the US vulnerable to future attacks and potentially emboldening Russia. The pause coincides with a significant shift in US-Europe relations and potentially has profound implications for the Ukraine conflict.

(www.yahoo.com)

Tech intelligence cooperation

Landrun: A Lightweight, Kernel-Level Secure Sandbox for Linux

2025-03-22

Landrun: A Lightweight, Kernel-Level Secure Sandbox for Linux

Landrun is a lightweight Linux sandbox utilizing the Landlock LSM, boasting kernel-level security and minimal overhead. It offers fine-grained access control for directories, supporting read and write paths with optional execution permissions. TCP network access control (binding and connecting) is also included. Requiring Linux kernel 5.13+ with Landlock LSM enabled (kernel 6.8+ for network restrictions), Landrun provides a command-line interface for easily configuring sandbox permissions, including read-only, read-write, execution, and specific TCP port binding and connection allowances. A best-effort mode ensures graceful degradation on older kernels. This makes it ideal for securely running untrusted or potentially malicious code.

(github.com)

Development kernel security

Hinge's $550M Secret: Selling Hope, Not Matches

2025-03-23

Hinge's $550M Secret: Selling Hope, Not Matches

Dating app Hinge's success isn't about better matches; it's about masterful branding. Its tagline, "Designed to be deleted," positions it as the app that helps users find love and move on. This contrasts sharply with competitors focused on short-term engagement. In 2024, Hinge raked in $550 million in revenue with 1.5 million paying subscribers. Its story proves emotional marketing, building brand loyalty by selling hope, trumps purely functional features in driving business success.

(www.dikshaupadhyay.com)

Startup emotional marketing

Google Unveils Gemini 2.5: A Giant Leap in AI Reasoning

2025-03-25

Google Unveils Gemini 2.5: A Giant Leap in AI Reasoning

Google has introduced Gemini 2.5, its most intelligent AI model yet. The experimental 2.5 Pro version boasts top performance across various benchmarks, achieving the #1 spot on LMArena by a considerable margin. Gemini 2.5 models are 'thinking' models, capable of reasoning through their responses, leading to enhanced accuracy and performance. This reasoning extends beyond simple classification and prediction, encompassing information analysis, logical conclusions, contextual understanding, and informed decision-making. Building on prior work with reinforcement learning and chain-of-thought prompting, Gemini 2.5 represents a significant leap forward, combining a vastly improved base model with enhanced post-training. Google plans to integrate these thinking capabilities into all future models, enabling them to tackle more complex problems and support more sophisticated agents.

(blog.google)

AI

Supercharge Your Shell: The Ultimate Guide to fzf/skim and zsh History Search

2025-03-26

The author, a heavy Unix terminal user, noticed vast differences in shell efficiency among users. By combining the Ctrl-r shortcut with the fuzzy-finding tools fzf/skim, command search efficiency was dramatically improved. The article details configuring zsh and skim to enhance history command display, replacing meaningless integers with timestamps and customizing the display format (e.g., using "1d", "2d" for command execution time) for more intuitive command selection. Ultimately, the author's shell efficiency doubled, encouraging readers to improve their shell usage habits for increased productivity.

(tratt.net)

Development Shell efficiency

Overprovisioning Fiber: Better Safe Than Sorry

2025-03-25

When planning fiber cabling between rooms or buildings, err on the side of caution and install more fiber than you initially need. Future expansion, bandwidth upgrades, and new protocols all demand extra capacity. Furthermore, fiber failures do happen—sometimes inexplicably—and having spare pairs allows for quick recovery. While single-mode and multi-mode fibers have different applications, having sufficient redundancy is crucial for minimizing downtime and costs.

(utcc.utoronto.ca)

Hardware fiber cabling network infrastructure redundancy

Boosting Safari's Privacy: A Practical Guide

2025-03-23

Boosting Safari's Privacy: A Practical Guide

This post details the author's setup for enhancing Safari's privacy. It leverages iCloud Private Relay to mask IP addresses and encrypt DNS queries, alongside three extensions: Wipr (ad blocker), StopTheMadness Pro (anti-tracking), and Hush (cookie and popup blocker). Testing reveals strong protection against web tracking, though fingerprint uniqueness remains an area for improvement. Comparisons with Firefox and Brave configurations are included, ultimately showcasing the author's satisfaction with their chosen Safari setup.

(matanabudy.com)

Development Browser Extensions

Wearables and the Medical Revolution: A Fiber Electronics Breakthrough

2025-03-23

Wearables and the Medical Revolution: A Fiber Electronics Breakthrough

Recent years have witnessed remarkable advancements in the application of wearable devices in healthcare. Researchers are utilizing advanced materials and processes, such as thermal drawing, to create multifunctional fibers integrating sensors, batteries, and even computing units. These fibers can be woven into smart textiles for real-time physiological monitoring, disease diagnosis, and even treatment delivery. From simple ECG monitoring to sophisticated neural interfaces, fiber electronics are paving the way for personalized and continuous healthcare. This technological breakthrough promises to revolutionize the medical industry, ushering in a true medical revolution.

(www.nature.com)

Tech wearable devices fiber electronics

Chrono Trigger at 30: A Timeless RPG Masterpiece

2025-03-25

Chrono Trigger at 30: A Timeless RPG Masterpiece

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Chrono Trigger remains a landmark RPG. This article reflects on the game's legendary development, bringing together top talent from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The SNES classic's innovative time travel mechanics, stunning pixel art, unforgettable soundtrack, and captivating story continue to resonate with players. The piece delves into the gameplay, narrative, and characters, exploring its unique charm and the reasons behind its enduring legacy, likening it to Citizen Kane and Rosebud in the gaming world.

(kotaku.com)

Game role-playing game classic game

Samsung Co-CEO Jong-hee Han Dies Suddenly

2025-03-25

Samsung Co-CEO Jong-hee Han Dies Suddenly

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and Co-CEO Jong-hee Han died suddenly of a heart attack at age 63, according to Reuters and CNBC. Han joined Samsung in 1988, leading the visual display R&D in 2011 before heading the TV business. In 2021, he took the helm of Samsung DX, encompassing mobile and consumer electronics, and became Co-CEO in 2022. Despite lacking mobile experience, he oversaw 15 years of global TV sales leadership. Just a week before his death, he apologized at the shareholder meeting for poor stock performance and the company's inadequate response to the AI semiconductor market, acknowledging regulatory hurdles in semiconductor M&A but promising tangible results this year. Following his passing, his co-CEO, Young-Hyun Jun, is now Samsung's sole CEO.

(www.engadget.com)

Tech

AlexNet Source Code Released: The Dawn of the Deep Learning Revolution

2025-03-25

AlexNet Source Code Released: The Dawn of the Deep Learning Revolution

In 2012, Alex Krizhevsky, Ilya Sutskever, and Geoffrey Hinton's AlexNet demonstrated, for the first time, the massive potential of deep neural networks for image recognition, ushering in the era of deep learning. Recently, the source code for AlexNet was open-sourced, a collaboration between the Computer History Museum and Google. AlexNet's success stemmed from its scale—a large convolutional neural network trained using immense computing power and the ImageNet dataset, overcoming previous limitations of deep learning. This breakthrough fueled decades of innovation in AI, leading to companies like OpenAI and applications like ChatGPT, transforming the world.

(www.zdnet.com)

AI

Half-Life and Steam's DRM Journey: It Started with a Nephew's CD Burner

2025-03-24

Half-Life and Steam's DRM Journey: It Started with a Nephew's CD Burner

In 1998, Valve co-founder Monica Harrington's nephew used money intended for school supplies to buy a CD burner, then copied and shared games, prompting her to realize the threat of game piracy enabled by this technology. This led Valve to implement a simple CD key verification system in Half-Life. While initially met with complaints, it effectively combated piracy and laid the groundwork for the eventual rise of Steam as a dominant DRM platform.

(arstechnica.com)

Game

Global Rural Population Estimates May Be Seriously Undercounted

2025-03-23

Global Rural Population Estimates May Be Seriously Undercounted

New research suggests that global rural population estimates may be significantly underestimated, with the actual number potentially exceeding current figures by at least half. Researchers, analyzing data from 307 dam projects, found substantial discrepancies between existing data and actual populations, with an average undercount of 53%. This finding sparks debate regarding global population totals and public service planning. While some demographers question the findings, arguing the undercount's impact on national or global totals is limited, researchers emphasize the importance of improving rural censuses and recalibrating population models to ensure rural communities aren't disadvantaged.

(www.newscientist.com)

Tech rural population data bias

Improved Crosscoder Unveils Secrets of LLM Fine-tuning

2025-03-23

Improved Crosscoder Unveils Secrets of LLM Fine-tuning

Researchers introduce a novel method, the 'tied crosscoder,' for comparing the base and fine-tuned chat models of large language models (LLMs). Unlike traditional crosscoders, the tied crosscoder allows the same latent factors to fire at different times for the base and chat models, leading to more effective identification of novel features in the chat model. Experiments demonstrate this approach provides clearer explanations of how chat behavior emerges from base model capabilities and yields more monosemantic latents. This research offers new insights into the fine-tuning process of LLMs and guides future model improvements.

(www.lesswrong.com)

AI crosscoder model fine-tuning

arXivLabs: Experimenting with Community Collaboration

2025-03-21

arXivLabs is a framework enabling collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the website. Individuals and organizations involved uphold arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these principles and only partners with those who share them. Have an idea to enhance the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

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