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$800 Emotional Support Robot for Kids Bricked, No Refunds

2024-12-12

$800 Emotional Support Robot for Kids Bricked, No Refunds

Embodied, the maker of the $800 Moxie robot for kids, is shutting down, leaving thousands of children without their robotic companions. The company blamed a failed funding round for its closure, and announced that Moxie's cloud connectivity will be severed, rendering the robots inoperable. While Embodied expressed some willingness to refund recent purchases, they offer no guarantees, leaving many parents facing significant financial losses alongside their children's emotional distress. This incident highlights concerns about the lack of long-term support for smart devices and the potential for significant consumer disappointment.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech robot children refund

Backward-Incompatible GRUB2 Change Causes BIOS Boot Loop

2024-12-16

Backward-Incompatible GRUB2 Change Causes BIOS Boot Loop

The author's Debian and Kali Linux systems experienced boot loops after a GRUB2 update added the command `fwsetup --is-supported`. Older GRUB versions didn't recognize this parameter. The issue stemmed from an older `efifwsetup.mod` module, leftover from a system backup restoration, causing a conflict between the new GRUB configuration and the old module. Installing the `grub-efi-amd64-bin` package resolved the problem. This highlights the importance of backward compatibility in software updates and the need to consider potential side effects when making partial changes in complex software like GRUB2.

(op-co.de)

Development boot loop

Vibe Coding: Build Apps Without Writing Code

2025-03-01

Vibe Coding: Build Apps Without Writing Code

Say goodbye to complex programming languages! This article explores 'vibe coding,' a revolutionary approach to software development powered by AI. Creators with minimal technical skills can build functional apps, websites, and tools in hours, not months. By simply describing the desired app, AI tools generate the code, debug issues, and iterate based on feedback. The article compares traditional coding, low-code platforms, and vibe coding, detailing the process and showcasing successful examples. Several AI-powered platforms are reviewed, along with limitations and strategies to overcome them. The article concludes by emphasizing the potential for creators to transform their businesses by building and selling tools directly to their audience.

(alitu.com)

Development no-code development

Odysseus: A Landmark Live-Action Role-Playing Game

2025-03-19

Odysseus: A Landmark Live-Action Role-Playing Game

Odysseus, a €190,000, 50-hour non-stop sci-fi LARP (live-action role-playing game), has become a landmark achievement in the field. Over 200 volunteers transformed an elementary school into a sprawling spaceship, utilizing custom open-source software, RFID scanners, and intricate character relationships involving 300+ NPCs. Its innovative 'clockwork' gameplay and immersive experience have sparked discussion on the commercial viability of LARPs, prompting its creators to explore sustainable business models for this previously non-profit endeavor.

(mssv.net)

Game immersive experience

Puck v0.18 Released: New Drag-and-Drop Engine with CSS Grid & Flexbox Support

2025-01-25

Puck v0.18 Released: New Drag-and-Drop Engine with CSS Grid & Flexbox Support

The open-source visual page builder Puck has released v0.18, featuring a brand-new drag-and-drop engine with full CSS Grid and Flexbox support for advanced layouts. This release also includes dynamic DropZone height adjustment, an interactive hotkey, a parent selector, and removes restrictive styling for easier embedding. Improvements and deprecations to components and properties are also included; see the changelog for details.

(github.com)

Development Page Builder Drag-and-drop Engine

Stop Calling Kin Work 'Emotional Labor': It's 'F*cking Work'

2025-02-03

Stop Calling Kin Work 'Emotional Labor': It's 'F*cking Work'

The author challenges the common practice of labeling the work of maintaining family relationships, particularly that disproportionately done by women, as "emotional labor." She argues this term obscures the crucial importance of this work, which she calls "kin work." This isn't simply emotional management; it's essential labor for maintaining human social networks, ensuring survival and support. Dismissing it as "emotional labor" undervalues its significance and ignores its continued necessity in modern society. The author calls for shared responsibility in maintaining family connections, rather than viewing it as a solely female burden.

(thefuturefeeling.substack.com)

Misc family relationships gender equality

XiangShan: An Open-Source High-Performance RISC-V Processor

2025-01-02

XiangShan: An Open-Source High-Performance RISC-V Processor

XiangShan is an open-source, high-performance RISC-V processor project jointly developed by the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Peng Cheng Laboratory. Multiple stable versions have been released, along with comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and micro-architecture overviews. The latest Kunminghu version is under development and supports various simulation tools and IDEs. XiangShan aims to advance RISC-V processor technology, employing an agile development methodology, and its work has been published in peer-reviewed papers, receiving international recognition.

(github.com)

Hardware Open-Source Processor

A Global Collection of Modern Literary Novels

2025-01-31

This website celebrates the modern literary novel worldwide since the early 20th century, categorized by nationality. It's a personal yet extensive survey of literary fiction since 1900, constantly expanding. Discover over 1700 authors writing in or translated into English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish. Each entry includes biography, bibliography, and selected book reviews. Created by a translator, this is a personal collection aimed at providing a valuable resource for literature enthusiasts. As Mia Couto says, "Books are never written. When we read them, we write them."

(www.themodernnovel.org)

Misc modern literature literary fiction world literature

AI Chatbots in the Workplace: Adoption and Impact

2025-02-25

AI Chatbots in the Workplace: Adoption and Impact

A survey reveals that only a small percentage of workers regularly use AI chatbots, with younger (18-29) and postgraduate-educated individuals showing higher adoption rates. Common uses include research, content editing, and report writing. While 40% of users find AI chatbots highly efficient, a majority (69%) have never used them, citing lack of need or interest. Employer attitudes are largely neutral, with encouragement limited to certain sectors like information technology and finance.

(www.pewresearch.org)

Tech AI chatbots workplace adoption

Your iPhone Replaced $3000 of 1991 Radio Shack Tech

2025-09-07

The author unearthed a 1991 Radio Shack ad from a stack of old Buffalo News papers, showcasing 15 electronic gadgets. Remarkably, almost all of these items' functions are now handled by a single iPhone. Comparing the then-$3000+ (roughly $5100 today) cost of the listed items to the capabilities of a modern smartphone highlights the incredible technological leap. Only a radar detector and large speaker system remain truly irreplaceable. This piece vividly illustrates the speed of technological advancement and its impact on daily life.

(www.trendingbuffalo.com)

Tech

Real-time Claude Code Token Usage Monitor: Track and Predict Your Consumption

2025-06-19

Real-time Claude Code Token Usage Monitor: Track and Predict Your Consumption

This terminal monitoring tool, Claude Code Usage Monitor, provides real-time tracking of your Claude AI token usage. It features visual progress bars for tokens and time remaining, burn rate calculations, and predictions of when you'll run out of tokens. Supporting Pro, Max5, Max20, and custom max plans, it automatically switches to custom_max when Pro limits are exceeded and includes alerts and customizable reset times. The clean interface enhances user experience.

(github.com)

Development

Eki Bright: A Case for DIY Train Routing

2025-01-24

Eki Bright: A Case for DIY Train Routing

Eki Bright, a Tokyo train timetable app, champions a unique 'DIY routing' approach. Instead of automated route suggestions, users manually input each train segment, specifying departure and arrival stations. This empowers power users familiar with their routes, offering real-time updates and easy sharing. The author argues for DIY routing's benefits: precise departure time control, accurate transfer timing, and a streamlined UI free from map clutter. Limitations are also discussed, focusing on its suitability for users with route familiarity and highlighting scenarios where automated routing might be preferable.

(twocentstudios.com)

Development iOS app route planning train timetable

Remaking Daft Punk's "Something About Us" in Ableton Live 12: A Deep Dive

2025-04-05

Remaking Daft Punk's

The author remade Daft Punk's classic track "Something About Us" using Ableton Live 12 and shares the entire production process. The article details the creation of each track, including instrument choices, effects, and techniques. It delves into the origins and characteristics of the "French Touch" music style and the challenges and solutions encountered during the remake. The author completes the project and gives high praise to Ableton Live 12, calling it their DAW of choice.

(thoughts-and-things.ghost.io)

Game French Touch

Clear as Crystal: Tips for Mathematically Sound Handwriting

2025-02-08

This blog post offers essential tips for improving the clarity of your mathematical handwriting. The author stresses the importance of distinguishing between similar-looking letters and symbols, providing specific examples and illustrations on how to write lowercase and uppercase Roman letters, digits, and Greek letters to avoid ambiguity. Techniques include differentiating lowercase 'l' from '1', 'p' from rho, 'q' from 9, and 'u' from 'v', among others. The guide also includes detailed advice on writing Greek letters to prevent confusion with Roman letters or other Greek symbols. This post is invaluable for students and professionals alike who want to ensure their mathematical writing is easily understood.

(johnkerl.org)

Development mathematical handwriting clarity disambiguation

The Academic Great Gatsby Curve: How Much of Academic Success Is Inherited?

2024-12-21

The Academic Great Gatsby Curve: How Much of Academic Success Is Inherited?

A new study reveals that academic success mirrors the inheritance of wealth and social status. Analyzing data from over 245,000 mentor-mentee pairs, researchers found that the more unequal the citation distribution within a discipline, the more likely a mentee's citation ranking reflects their mentor's. This suggests academic success is shaped by structural forces similar to those governing social mobility, where the advantage of a top mentor creates a self-reinforcing cycle of success. While acknowledging the benefits of top mentorship, the study cautions against relying solely on citation metrics, advocating for greater academic equity and equal opportunity.

(blogs.lse.ac.uk)

AI academic success mentor-mentee relationships academic inequality

The Art of Communication: How Well-Intentioned Advice Can Backfire

2025-02-27

The Art of Communication: How Well-Intentioned Advice Can Backfire

The author recounts a workplace communication mishap: his honest assessment of the team's shortcomings, intended as encouragement for improvement, unintentionally offended colleagues and potentially caused negative consequences. This led to a realization that even with good intentions, individual perspectives and communication styles can lead to misunderstandings. The article emphasizes the importance of avoiding direct personal criticism when advocating for improvement, focusing instead on the team as a whole, using a collective opportunity-oriented approach, respecting others' feelings, and carefully choosing the timing and method of communication.

(cutlefish.substack.com)

Misc

Missile Strike Confirmed as Cause of Azerbaijan E190 Crash

2024-12-28

Missile Strike Confirmed as Cause of Azerbaijan E190 Crash

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190 passenger plane crashed on Christmas Day, killing 38 people. The Azerbaijani government confirmed that a Russian Pantir-S1 surface-to-air missile caused the crash. The aircraft was attempting an emergency landing when it went down. Russian air defense forces were engaged in shooting down Ukrainian drones in the area, but civilian airspace wasn't closed. Despite pilot requests for an emergency landing, the plane was denied access to Russian airports and crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan.

(aeroxplorer.com)

Misc missile strike international incident

2024 Database Wars: Open Source Battles, Big Tech Acquisitions

2025-01-01

2024 witnessed a tumultuous year in the database world, marked by licensing disputes and fierce competition among tech giants. Redis and Elasticsearch faced significant community backlash after altering their licenses, ultimately reverting to open-source models. The Databricks-Snowflake rivalry extended beyond performance benchmarks, encompassing LLMs and data catalogs, driving innovation. DuckDB's ease of use and portability made it a go-to choice for analytical queries, leading to its integration into various systems. The year also saw releases like Aurora DSQL, CedarDB, and SQL-enabled Google Bigtable, alongside acquisitions of prominent players such as Alteryx and MariaDB. The article concludes with a narrative on Larry Ellison's 80th birthday, highlighting the immense wealth and intense competition within the database industry.

(www.cs.cmu.edu)

Tech databases competition

Absurd Math Error: Earth's Radius Only 4333 Feet?

2025-01-11

Absurd Math Error: Earth's Radius Only 4333 Feet?

A blogger discovered an unbelievable mathematical error in an image posted by a design and construction company. The image incorrectly calculated the Earth's radius when computing the lengths of two circular arcs at different altitudes, resulting in a radius of only 4333 feet, far less than the actual value. The blogger detailed the error in the calculation and pointed out the huge discrepancy between the actual Earth's radius and the calculated result. This erroneous calculation raises questions about the authenticity of information and highlights the importance of carefully verifying information in the information age.

(www.charlespetzold.com)

Misc Mathematical error Earth's radius Information authenticity

HP Firmware Update Bricking Laser Printers (Even with HP Toner)

2025-03-10

HP Firmware Update Bricking Laser Printers (Even with HP Toner)

HP's firmware update 20250209 for LaserJet MFP M232-M237 printers has caused widespread printing failures, even when using genuine HP toner. Users report Error Code 11 and a flashing toner light, despite cleaning contacts and reinstalling toner cartridges. The update, released March 4th, claimed security and general improvements, but users suspect it intentionally restricts functionality, causing significant frustration and financial losses for small businesses relying on these printers.

(arstechnica.com)

Hardware Printer Firmware Update

Hidden Morse Code Discovered in Tubular Bells!

2025-01-23

During the 1973 recording of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells at The Manor Studio, a hidden Morse code signal from the Rugby Radio Station, 37 miles away, was inadvertently captured. The station, used for communication within the British Empire, transmitted at a frequency audible to humans. Analysis confirmed the signal, decoding to 'VVV GBR', the callsign of the Rugby station. This discovery unexpectedly connects Tubular Bells, Alan Turing (codebreaker), and a Scottish radio listening station, creating a fascinating historical mystery.

(madpsy.uk)

Misc Morse code audio analysis hidden message

Deep Earth Life: More Diverse Than We Thought

2025-01-20

Deep Earth Life: More Diverse Than We Thought

New research is reshaping our understanding of life's distribution on Earth. Scientists have discovered that the diversity of microbes deep beneath the surface rivals, and sometimes surpasses, that of rainforests and coral reefs. These microbes thrive in extremely low-energy environments, flourishing even at depths where energy supply is far lower than for surface organisms. Researchers suggest subsurface ecosystems may host more than half of all microbial cells. This finding not only deepens our understanding of Earth's life forms but also offers new perspectives on the search for extraterrestrial life.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech deep life microbial diversity

Securely Deploying to On-Prem IIS: Azure Pipelines in Action (Part III)

2025-03-08

Securely Deploying to On-Prem IIS: Azure Pipelines in Action (Part III)

This post details a secure deployment flow from Azure DevOps to an on-premises IIS server without requiring administrator privileges. The author tackles challenges like permission minimization and application pool manipulation, achieving automated deployments. The focus is on secure remote management using PowerShell and Just Enough Administration (JEA), with a complete YAML pipeline template and PowerShell scripts provided for a quick and secure setup.

(rewiring.bearblog.dev)

Development IIS Deployment Secure Deployment

AI Tools and Critical Thinking: A Study on Cognitive Offloading

2025-01-13

AI Tools and Critical Thinking: A Study on Cognitive Offloading

A mixed-methods study of 666 participants reveals a significant negative correlation between frequent AI tool use and critical thinking skills, mediated by cognitive offloading. Younger participants showed higher AI tool dependence and lower critical thinking scores compared to older participants. The study highlights the potential cognitive costs of relying on AI, offering recommendations for educational strategies to mitigate its negative effects on critical thinking.

(www.mdpi.com)

AI Critical Thinking Cognitive Offloading

Rayhunter: Open-Source IMSI Catcher Catcher for Orbic Hotspot

2025-03-06

Rayhunter: Open-Source IMSI Catcher Catcher for Orbic Hotspot

Rayhunter is an open-source IMSI catcher catcher designed for the Orbic mobile hotspot (RC400L). Installation scripts are provided for Linux and macOS, with detailed manual instructions including Windows support. A web UI accessible via Wi-Fi or USB allows for recording control, capture downloads, and heuristic analysis. The project is explicitly labeled as proof-of-concept, unsuitable for high-stakes situations, and includes a disclaimer addressing potential legal liabilities.

(github.com)

Development IMSI catcher

Massive Fire at World's Largest Battery Plant Forces Evacuations in California

2025-01-17

Massive Fire at World's Largest Battery Plant Forces Evacuations in California

A massive fire erupted at one of the world's largest battery storage plants in Moss Landing, California, forcing hundreds to evacuate and prompting the closure of a section of Highway 1. The blaze, which started Thursday afternoon, sent plumes of black smoke into the air. While firefighters worked to contain the flames, the fire was still burning Friday morning. This is the third fire at the Vistra Energy plant in three years, raising concerns about the safety of large-scale battery storage.

(www.gpb.org)

Tech battery storage fire

Eventual Consistency: Challenges and Patterns in Distributed Systems

2024-12-13

Eventual Consistency: Challenges and Patterns in Distributed Systems

Eventual consistency is unavoidable in distributed systems. This article explores four common patterns for handling eventual consistency: event-based eventual consistency, background sync eventual consistency, saga-based eventual consistency, and CQRS-based eventual consistency. Each pattern has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, the event-based pattern emphasizes loose coupling and scalability, but consistency takes time; while the saga-based pattern is suitable for complex, long-running transactions, ensuring consistency through compensating transactions. The choice of pattern depends on the specific needs and trade-offs of the system.

(newsletter.systemdesigncodex.com)

Development eventual consistency distributed systems architectural patterns

Negotiating with Infringers: A Better Option for Creative Professionals

2024-12-16

Negotiating with Infringers: A Better Option for Creative Professionals

When a creative professional's copyright is infringed, litigation isn't the only option. This article's author, a lawyer, suggests considering negotiation with the infringer. Negotiation is quicker and cheaper than litigation and may yield benefits beyond monetary compensation, such as promotion and collaboration opportunities. The author points out that most infringements are not malicious but due to negligence. Through negotiation, adversaries can be transformed into collaborators, leading to long-term success. Of course, if negotiations fail, litigation remains a last resort.

(www.thelegalartist.com)

Startup intellectual property copyright infringement negotiation

Y2K Panic: A Real Crisis?

2025-01-07

Y2K Panic: A Real Crisis?

A former IBM Y2K test manager recounts the tense period, refuting claims that the Y2K problem was overhyped. He uses firsthand experience to demonstrate that significant date-processing issues existed, and inaction would have had catastrophic consequences for the financial industry. The article contrasts practical experiences with academic perspectives, highlighting the gap in understanding between practitioners and theorists, and the challenges faced by technical staff under pressure. The author emphasizes the need for early problem identification and resolution, sharing how his team ensured system stability through risk assessment and multi-stage testing.

(clarotesting.wordpress.com)

Tech

Backup: Beyond a Simple Copy

2025-07-20

Backup: Beyond a Simple Copy

The importance of data backup is often underestimated. This article, based on the author's experiences, recounts various data loss scenarios, emphasizing that backup is more than just a simple copy; it requires a comprehensive plan and strategy. It explores the pros and cons of full disk versus individual file backups and the crucial role of snapshots in ensuring data consistency. The author also shares their preference for a centralized backup server architecture and guiding principles for an efficient backup system, previewing subsequent articles detailing their FreeBSD-powered backup server setup.

(it-notes.dragas.net)

Development

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