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A Philosopher's Year with Lab Mice: Challenging Assumptions About Animal Intelligence

2025-04-22

A Philosopher's Year with Lab Mice: Challenging Assumptions About Animal Intelligence

A philosopher's account of living with 25 ex-laboratory mice challenges the simplistic view of mice as mere experimental subjects. Through detailed observation, the author reveals a complex social life, intricate communication, and profound acts of care among the mice. They build elaborate nests, groom each other, nurse the sick, and even collectively bury their dead. This intimate portrait highlights the social intelligence and capacity for compassion in these often-overlooked creatures, leading to a deeper reflection on life, death, and interspecies relationships.

(nautil.us)

Misc animal ethics lab animals interspecies relationships

A Catalog of Novel Operating Systems: Reimagining the Future of Computing

2025-05-17

A Catalog of Novel Operating Systems: Reimagining the Future of Computing

Following the LLM hype, a wave of new operating system creations has emerged. This article catalogs several such projects, including the UXN/Varvara personal computing stack, the web-research oriented Nette.io OS, and Lisp-based systems like Interim and ChrysaLisp. These projects demonstrate innovative approaches to OS design, such as DesktopNeo's reimagining of the desktop interface and MercuryOS's intention-based OS. These efforts represent bold explorations into the future of computing, reigniting passion for OS innovation.

(github.com)

Development

Cyc: The $200M AI That Never Was

2025-04-08

Cyc: The $200M AI That Never Was

This essay details the 40-year history of Cyc, Douglas Lenat's ambitious project to build artificial general intelligence (AGI) by scaling symbolic logic. Despite a $200 million investment and 2000 person-years of effort, Cyc failed to achieve intellectual maturity. The article unveils its secretive history, highlighting the project's insularity and rejection of alternative AI approaches as key factors contributing to its failure. Cyc's long, slow demise serves as a powerful indictment against the symbolic-logic approach to AGI.

(yuxi-liu-wired.github.io)

AI Symbolic AI

Secret DHS DNA Collection Program Exposed: A Surveillance State in the Making?

2025-09-24

Secret DHS DNA Collection Program Exposed: A Surveillance State in the Making?

A secret DNA collection program run by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since 2020 has been exposed, raising serious privacy concerns. Leveraging legal loopholes and technological advancements, CBP has amassed a vast database of DNA from immigrants, travelers, and even US citizens, feeding the data into the national CODIS system. This program lacks transparency and legal safeguards, with even children's DNA being collected and potentially used in future criminal investigations. Oversight bodies and lawmakers have voiced strong opposition, highlighting the program's transformation into a sweeping genetic surveillance regime. Lawsuits are underway to compel CBP to release more information.

(www.wired.com)

Tech genetic surveillance

Deputy: A Clojure-Hosted Dependently-Typed Language

2025-05-20

Deputy is an experimental dependently-typed programming language embedded in Clojure, featuring inductive datatypes. It explores the implications of a Lisp-based REPL-driven workflow for both programming and type checking. Implemented as a Clojure library, it allows programmers to leverage the host language while working at the type level. This enables type-level computations that depend on values, unlocking powerful programming patterns. Importantly, despite the rich dynamic semantics of types, type checking remains a purely compile-time operation.

(zenodo.org)

Development

Heavy Metals Found in Fire Retardant Used in California Wildfires

2025-04-06

Heavy Metals Found in Fire Retardant Used in California Wildfires

Following recent California wildfires, LAist partnered with USC researchers to test samples of MVP-FX, a fire retardant used in the Palisades and Eaton fires. The tests revealed the presence of toxic heavy metals including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium. While the manufacturer, Perimeter Solutions, claims the levels are below EPA limits and naturally occurring, their safety data sheet omits this information. Cal Fire and the US Forest Service dismissed the findings, citing potential contamination of the field samples. This investigation raises concerns about the safety and transparency of fire retardants, highlighting potential health risks to firefighters and the public, as well as long-term environmental impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

(laist.com)

Tech fire retardant environmental safety

Exploiting a Google Account Recovery Flaw: Brute-forcing Phone Numbers with IPv6 and BotGuard Tokens

2025-06-09

Exploiting a Google Account Recovery Flaw: Brute-forcing Phone Numbers with IPv6 and BotGuard Tokens

A security researcher discovered a vulnerability in Google's account recovery process, allowing attackers to brute-force phone numbers to gain access to user accounts. The vulnerability exploited the fact that the account recovery form still worked with JavaScript disabled, bypassing Google's rate limiting and CAPTCHAs using IPv6 IP rotation and BotGuard tokens. Attackers first obtain the target's name via Looker Studio, then use the password reset flow to get the phone number suffix. A custom program then uses proxies for brute-forcing, revealing the full phone number. Google has since patched the vulnerability.

(brutecat.com)

Tech account security

iOS 26 FaceTime's Surprise: Auto-Freezing Nudity in Video Calls

2025-07-06

iOS 26 FaceTime's Surprise: Auto-Freezing Nudity in Video Calls

An unexpected feature in the iOS 26 beta has surfaced: FaceTime automatically freezes video and audio when nudity is detected, displaying a warning message with options to resume or end the call. Initially intended for child account communication safety, this function seems to be active for adult accounts as well. While Apple emphasizes on-device machine learning, preventing content upload, this unintended application raises privacy concerns.

(9to5mac.com)

Tech

Google's Gemini: Chrome's New AI Copilot

2025-05-21

Google's Gemini: Chrome's New AI Copilot

Google quietly launched Gemini, its AI assistant for Chrome, mirroring Microsoft's Copilot in Edge. Initially, Gemini summarizes web pages, answers questions, and creates personalized quizzes based on webpage content. Future plans include multi-tab support, website navigation, and task automation. Currently, access is limited to Google AI Pro and Google Ultra subscribers, with early access for Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary users.

(www.pcworld.com)

AI

LLMs Unleash a Flood of Sophisticated Spam: The Moderator's Nightmare

2025-06-01

A veteran content moderator recounts two decades of battling spam, highlighting the transformative impact of Large Language Models (LLMs). LLMs have drastically lowered the barrier to entry for spammers, generating realistic, context-aware comments and summaries that are increasingly difficult to detect. This evolution encompasses not just text-based spam but also voice scams, raising serious concerns about future misuse. The author expresses alarm over the escalating challenge, urging attention to this growing problem and the need for innovative solutions to protect online spaces from the relentless tide of AI-generated misinformation.

(aphyr.com)

Development

Manhattan's Century-Old Steam System: A City's Thermal Legacy

2025-03-13

Since 1882, Manhattan has relied on a vast steam system to heat its buildings, from the Waldorf Astoria to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. This article delves into the history of this remarkable infrastructure, tracing its evolution from a solution to the heating challenges of a densely populated city to its continued role in supplying heat to much of Manhattan. The article also compares steam systems with modern hot water systems, exploring the role of district heating in the future of urban development.

(worksinprogress.co)

Tech urban infrastructure energy systems

India's IT Giants Face Slowest Growth in Years Amid Global Uncertainty

2025-04-17

India's IT Giants Face Slowest Growth in Years Amid Global Uncertainty

India's three largest IT services companies, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Wipro, are experiencing their steepest growth slowdown in years. Global economic uncertainty and geopolitical challenges have led corporations to curtail large technology projects, resulting in disappointing performance from all three firms. Infosys projected 0-3% revenue growth for FY26, significantly below analyst expectations. Wipro anticipates a 1.5-3.5% sequential revenue decline in Q1, and TCS also missed fourth-quarter earnings estimates. While companies highlight strengths in AI, cloud, and digital technologies, macroeconomic headwinds and AI-driven pricing pressures threaten to constrain medium-term industry growth to a modest 4-5%, with little prospect of acceleration.

(indiadispatch.com)

Tech Indian IT economic slowdown growth deceleration

Zed Code Editor Shifts AI Pricing to Token-Based Model

2025-09-24

Zed Code Editor Shifts AI Pricing to Token-Based Model

Code editor Zed is changing its AI pricing from prompt-based to token-based, better reflecting the actual cost of AI services. This allows Zed to sustainably invest in editor features and enterprise offerings. The new pricing includes more AI models like GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5, and offers users flexibility with options like bringing their own API keys or using local models. Existing users have a three-month transition period with support. The change also simplifies pricing and reduces costs.

(zed.dev)

Development

50 Years of Open Source Software Supply Chain Security: From Multics to the xz Attack

2025-04-07

This article explores the challenges of open source software supply chain security over the past five decades. From potential backdoors identified in a 1974 Multics security evaluation to the 2024 xz compression library backdoor attack, the problem persists. Russ Cox, a core developer of the Go programming language, draws on personal experience and industry examples to discuss definitions of supply chain attacks and vulnerabilities, the complexity of software supply chains, and methods for strengthening defenses. These include software authentication, reproducible builds, rapid vulnerability discovery and patching, and vulnerability prevention strategies. The article highlights the underfunding of open source software, leaving projects vulnerable to malicious actors, illustrated by the xz attack. Ultimately, the author calls for increased funding and improved security practices in open source to address evolving threats.

(queue.acm.org)

Tech Vulnerabilities

Facebook Marketplace: Connection or Transaction?

2025-04-12

Facebook Marketplace: Connection or Transaction?

The rise of Facebook Marketplace is surprising. It's a massive virtual flea market, rough around the edges yet surpassing eBay in user base. The pandemic and inflation fueled its growth, attracting younger users. The author found that excessive Facebook use increased spending, but distancing from the platform eliminated the temptation of its targeted ads. The article explores Facebook's core nature: does it connect people or facilitate transactions? The rise of Buy Nothing groups, a mutual aid gifting model, suggests a different answer: genuine connection isn't built on transactions.

(www.theatlantic.com)

Misc

Holographic 3D Printing: Seconds-Long Fabrication Achieved

2025-03-02

Holographic 3D Printing: Seconds-Long Fabrication Achieved

European researchers have developed HoloVAM, a groundbreaking holographic 3D printing technique that dramatically reduces printing time to mere seconds. Unlike traditional layer-by-layer methods, HoloVAM uses a 3D hologram to project light patterns into liquid resin, creating entire objects in a single shot. This significantly improves light efficiency, overcoming limitations of conventional volumetric additive manufacturing (TVAM) like low efficiency and poor resolution. HoloVAM achieves high-precision, rapid printing of millimeter-scale objects and shows promise for bioprinting cell-laden hydrogels. This breakthrough is poised to revolutionize biomedical applications.

(3dprintingindustry.com)

Tech holographic projection bioprinting

Locating RFI Sources Using Near-Field Corrections: A Study for 21cm Cosmology During the Epoch of Reionization

2025-02-27

Researchers have developed a novel method to locate radio frequency interference (RFI) sources, particularly those from near-field objects like airplanes, using near-field corrections. This method combines far-field phasing, near-field corrections, and beamforming to precisely pinpoint the 3D location of RFI emitters by maximizing the coherence of curved near-field signals. This is more efficient than traditional flagging, preserving more usable data and enhancing the chances of detecting the 21cm signal during the Epoch of Reionization. Results demonstrate effective altitude estimation of RFI emitters, revealing performance differences under varying observational conditions, laying the groundwork for more precise RFI removal in the future.

(www.cambridge.org)

Tech Radio Frequency Interference 21cm Cosmology Epoch of Reionization

Airbnb's Transformation: From Occasional Stays to a Super Platform

2025-05-14

Airbnb's Transformation: From Occasional Stays to a Super Platform

Airbnb is evolving from a platform for occasional travel accommodations to a more frequently used comprehensive platform. Its redesigned app features intuitive icons guiding users to three key sections: stays, services, and experiences. To enhance user trust, Airbnb rigorously vets new service providers (chefs, masseuses, etc.), conducting background checks and professional photography. Future plans include developing user profiles into primary internet IDs and enhancing messaging functions to create a community platform for travelers, while avoiding advertising. This transformation is driven by CEO Brian Chesky's admiration for Apple's design philosophy and his collaboration with former Apple designer Jony Ive.

(www.wired.com)

Startup Platform Transformation

MYGA: Make YouTube Great Again

2025-03-15

MYGA: Make YouTube Great Again

MYGA is a clean and minimal YouTube frontend, stripping away ads and unnecessary features. Powered by yt-dlp for downloading videos and optionally your local AI model for summarizing video content, it offers a local, efficient, concise, and ad-free YouTube experience. Features include channel management, subscriptions, background playback, offline playback, and more. It's dependency-free (except nano-spawn), using only HTML/CSS; no JS frameworks on the client or server. Host it on your home network for playback on all your devices.

(github.com)

Development local

arXivLabs: Experimenting with Community Collaboration

2025-05-30

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

(arxiv.org)

Development

Medieval African Gold Purification: A Recycled Glass Secret

2025-06-06

Medieval African Gold Purification: A Recycled Glass Secret

The discovery of 11th-century gold coin molds in Mali revealed a sophisticated gold purification technique used by medieval West Africans. Unlike the cupellation method used by Europeans, these artisans ingeniously employed recycled glass and local materials. By melting the impure gold with glass, the impurities dissolved while the inert gold remained, resulting in highly refined metal. Scientists have replicated this process, highlighting the ingenuity and advanced metallurgical knowledge of medieval African craftsmen.

(www.atlasobscura.com)

Tech metallurgy

.NET 10's DATAS GC: Prepare for Takeoff!

2025-09-24

.NET 10's DATAS GC: Prepare for Takeoff!

.NET 10 defaults to Dynamic Adaptation of Heap Size (DATAS), a significant GC change impacting memory usage and requiring user attention unlike previous updates. This post explains DATAS's adaptive behavior: adjusting heap size based on Live Data Size (LDS), minimizing memory while maintaining performance. It details scenarios where DATAS isn't ideal (e.g., high-throughput demands, critical startup performance, primarily Gen2 GCs). Two case studies illustrate tuning DATAS via configuration parameters for optimal results.

(maoni0.medium.com)

Development

DIY Nissan LEAF Battery Widget: A Clever Hack Using GitHub Actions and IFTTT

2025-04-14

DIY Nissan LEAF Battery Widget: A Clever Hack Using GitHub Actions and IFTTT

Frustrated by the lack of a battery status widget in Nissan's official app and the unavailability of third-party alternatives, the author devised a clever workaround. By ingeniously combining GitHub Actions, IFTTT, and Apple Shortcuts, they created a free solution. A scheduled GitHub Actions workflow retrieves data, sends an email, and IFTTT transforms the email content into an iPhone home screen widget displaying the LEAF's battery level. While not perfect, this successful hack avoids the cost of additional hardware or subscriptions, showcasing the author's creativity and technical prowess.

(kevintechnology.com)

Development

The Humble Safety Pin: A History From Homer to Punk Rock

2025-05-14

This article traces the evolution of the safety pin from antiquity to the modern day. From jeweled pins mentioned in Homer's Odyssey and the ancient Roman fibula, to Walter Hunt's 1849 invention of the modern safety pin – a design that has remained virtually unchanged for centuries. The safety pin's journey continues, becoming a punk rock symbol, a crucial tool in sports, and an everyday necessity worldwide. Its simple elegance and cultural significance make it more than just a utilitarian object; in some cultures, it's even believed to ward off evil or bring good luck.

(museumofeverydaylife.org)

Misc safety pin

Verizon CEO on 5G ROI, Network Building, and the Future

2025-04-21

Verizon CEO on 5G ROI, Network Building, and the Future

Verizon Consumer CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath sits down with The Verge to discuss Verizon’s 5G investments, network operations, and future strategies. He details the actual return on investment from 5G, highlighting the importance of network capacity and 5G’s role in handling the explosion of mobile data. He also touches on Verizon’s attempts and lessons learned in content and application integration, and his views on net neutrality and government regulation. Sampath shares his unique decision-making framework and Verizon’s strategies for addressing market changes and customer needs, such as the three-year price lock plan. The conversation also covers the fiber network Fios’s construction plans, OpenRAN technology, and the outlook for future 5G applications.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech Network Infrastructure

From AI Hype to Markov Chains: A Return to Basics

2025-09-24

From AI Hype to Markov Chains: A Return to Basics

The author recounts their journey through four stages of the AI hype cycle concerning large language models: initial amazement, subsequent frustration, persistent confusion, and ultimate boredom. Tired of the constant stream of new models, the author decided to return to fundamentals and explore Markov chains. The article details how to build text autocompletion using Markov chains, covering the construction of transition matrices, probability calculations, and application to text generation. This piece not only explores the principles of Markov chains but also reflects the author's reflections on the current state of AI development and their desire to explore more foundational technologies.

(elijahpotter.dev)

AI

Hidden Webshell: Identical MD5 Hash PHP Files

2025-09-24

Hidden Webshell: Identical MD5 Hash PHP Files

Two PHP files share the same MD5 hash, but one is a webshell. This technique allows attackers to bypass cached webshell detection. A hexdump reveals subtle differences between the files, resulting in identical MD5 hashes despite vastly different functionality. This highlights the insufficiency of relying solely on MD5 hashing for security checks; a more comprehensive security strategy is needed.

(github.com)

Development MD5 collision security detection

Hacker News: C64 Audio/Video Cable Swap Demo

2025-04-20

At Revision 2025, a demo called "Signal Carnival" showcased a groundbreaking feat: swapping the audio and video cables of a Commodore 64 and still producing meaningful audio and video. This isn't a simple miswiring; it cleverly uses the C64's VIC and SID chips, driving audio with the video signal and vice versa. The demo even plays audio during loading, featuring a custom loader with on-the-fly GCR decoding. This demonstrates the unexpected potential of the C64 and impressive programming skills.

(www.quiss.org)

Game

Miyawaki Method Fights Urban Heat Island Effect in Mexican City

2025-05-17

Miyawaki Method Fights Urban Heat Island Effect in Mexican City

Nezahualcóyotl, a municipality in Mexico State, is combating its severe urban heat island effect using the Miyawaki method. A 600-square-meter plot at the Technological University now hosts a new forest featuring 1,500 plants from 25 native species. This high-density planting technique rapidly creates biodiverse forests, improving the urban environment by lowering temperatures and increasing rainwater infiltration. While not a complete solution, this initiative symbolizes the community's and students' commitment to addressing environmental challenges, offering a significant step forward.

(english.elpais.com)

Tech Miyawaki Method Urban Heat Island Effect Environmental Restoration

Abracadabra Finance Suffers $13M Crypto Hack; Tornado Cash Connection?

2025-04-08

Abracadabra Finance Suffers $13M Crypto Hack; Tornado Cash Connection?

Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Abracadabra Finance was hit with a hack resulting in the loss of approximately $13 million in cryptocurrency. The attack targeted the platform's isolated lending markets, known as "cauldrons." The exploit went undetected until the attacker executed multiple transactions. Abracadabra Finance is investigating with security firms and is offering a 20% bounty on the stolen funds. Some security firms link the attack to decentralized exchange GMX, though GMX denies involvement. Investigators suspect the funds used in the attack originated from Tornado Cash, recently desanctioned by the US Treasury.

(therecord.media)

Tech

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