175412451
submission
BishopBerkeley writes:
What's your opinion of the hyperreal, hypersexed, hyperdesigned and hypercheesy AI generated videos flooding youtube? Here are a few examples, in case you need them:
[spam URL stripped]
[spam URL stripped]
[spam URL stripped]
Choices:
1. I can't stand them
2. I'm so addicted, they are burned into my retina
3. They turn me on
4. Other (PLEASE explain in comments)
5. Meh
6. I'm dying for Cowboy Neal's ultimate fantasy to hit
175304945
submission
BishopBerkeley writes:
I want to have this poll on slashdot:
Windows on ARM is poised to take off. Who is going to be the ARM CPU supplier of choice for Windows?
1. Qualcomm
2. Mediatek
3. Samsung
4. Broadcom
5. Other (state in comments)
6. Cowboy Neal's Chips R Us (or your preferred Cowboy Neal reference)
Thank you!
173152166
submission
BishopBerkeley writes:
Though it does not come as much of a surprise, a new study highlighted in IEEE Spectrum, https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fspectrum.ieee.org%2Ftran..., delves into how corporate profit motives are preventing the upgrading and the expansion of the US electrical grid. The full report can be downloaded here from the source, https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nber.org%2Fpapers%2Fw3..., and its conclusions are reflected in the very high dividend yield of nearly 5% for Edison International, https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Ffinance.... Besides opening up the market to competition, utilities don't want to lose control over regional infrastructure. "Fourth, interregional lines threaten utility companies’ dominance over the nation’s power supply. In the power industry, asset ownership provides control over rules that govern energy markets and transmission service and expansion. When upstart entities build power plants and transmission lines, they may be able to dilute utility companies’ control over power-industry rules and prevent utilities from dictating decisions about transmission expansion."
The analysis is fascinating and alarming. The issues beg questions of antitrust because utilities were established to provide cheap energy but now they are using their monopolies to gouge customers.
173017804
submission
BishopBerkeley writes:
The jury took little time to determine that Michale Mann had been defamed by conservative writers who likened him to a pedophile. He has received a $1 M judgment against the writers. This was likely because scrutiny of his data showed no malfeasance or misuse of data, but the "conservative" writers' accusations continued, nevertheless. From the article:
"Mann’s research was investigated after his and other scientists’ emails were leaked in 2009 in an incident known as “Climategate” that brought further scrutiny of the “hockey stick” graph, with skeptics claiming Mann manipulated data. Investigations by Penn State and others, including The Associated Press’ examination of the emails, found no misuse of data by Mann, but his work continued to draw attacks, particularly from conservatives.
“Mann could be said to be the Jerry Sandusky of climate science, except for instead of molesting children, he has molested and tortured data,” Simberg wrote. Another writer, Mark Steyn, later referenced Simberg’s article in his own piece in National Review, calling Mann’s research “fraudulent.” "
172769829
submission
BishopBerkeley writes:
The ambient light sensors present in most mobile devices can be accessed by software without any special permissions, unlike permissions required for accessing the microphone or the cameras. When properly interrogated, the data from the light sensor can reveal much about the user.
"While that may not seem to provide much detailed information, researchers have already shown these sensors can detect light intensity changes that can be used to infer what kind of TV programs someone is watching (https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdl.acm.org%2Fdoi%2F10.1145%2F2660267.2660358), what websites they are browsing (https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.semanticscholar.org%2Fpaper%2FLightSpy%253A-Optical-eavesdropping-on-displays-using-Chakraborty-Ouyang%2F13ffdf3a54709ffa69efb9a21723fa9299925791) or even keypad entries on a touchscreen. (https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdl.acm.org%2Fdoi%2F10.1145%2F2666620.2666622)
Now, Liu and colleagues have shown in a paper in Science Advances (https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.science.org%2Fdoi%2F10.1126%2Fsciadv.adj3608) that by cross-referencing data from the ambient light sensor on a tablet with specially tailored videos displayed on the tablet’s screen, it’s possible to generate images of a user’s hands as they interact with the tablet. While the images are low-resolution and currently take impractically long to capture, he says this kind of approach could allow a determined attacker to infer how someone is using the touchscreen on their device."
Previously covered in slashdot: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstor...
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstor...
172326777
submission
BishopBerkeley writes:
Varjo follows a completely different model from Apple and Meta. Computing is done on a connected (via a cable) computer. The tradeoff is that the headset can use the extra computing power of the host computer to drive ultrahigh resolution displays that are far more pixel dense than Apple's Vision Pro. The net result is that the headset is truly useful for demanding applications like professional flight simulators, where $10,000 for a headset is a sensible investment. Furthermore, the headset has a longer life span because its PC resident hardware and software are upgradeable. This is probably a better model than the direct to consumer model that Apple and Meta are pursuing because it follows the same trajectory as the PC itself: from business to the consumer. Business, after all, is where the money is. Business is also, more importantly, where the need is.
137037482
submission
BishopBerkeley writes:
In another first, the editors of the NEJM endorse Joe Biden by stating that the current government needs to be fired. Although they don't mention any names, the editors of the NEJM state in shockingly forceful and accusatory language that the current administration is totally incompetent and does not deserve to keep its job. The editorial, somberly titled "Dying in a Leadership Vacuum" bases its opinion on some dispiriting statistics:
"The magnitude of this failure is astonishing. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering,1 the United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases and in deaths due to the disease, far exceeding the numbers in much larger countries, such as China. The death rate in this country is more than double that of Canada, exceeds that of Japan, a country with a vulnerable and elderly population, by a factor of almost 50, and even dwarfs the rates in lower-middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, by a factor of almost 2000. Covid-19 is an overwhelming challenge, and many factors contribute to its severity. But the one we can control is how we behave. And in the United States we have consistently behaved poorly."
The Administration's extreme rhetoric and extreme actions are earning extreme reactions.
