Comment Re:Plague is a problem in Russia? (Score 1) 34
We have bubonic plague infections every year in the United States. Very, very few, admittedly, but it's not like it's been eradicated. So there's still benefit in studying it.
Comment Re:sounds like bad accounting... (Score 1) 49
The only human payloads being sent up are going to ISS, which is scheduled to be decommissioned at about the same time as Dragon. I doubt Isaacman is losing any sleep over this.
NASA is moving it's focus from ISS to a moon base, SpaceX is moving its focus from Falcon to Starship. Starship is a lunar capable rocket, Falcon is not.
Isaacman will probably be glad to have one more reason to hasten the decommissioning of ISS so the resources can be moved to the lunar effort.
Comment Re:Perhaps of interest (Score 1) 78
The SF Democratic machine is all in on Flock [missionlocal.org]. That might have something to do with the Flock being in the SF Democratic Party.
The more I hear about this so-called "SF Democratic Party," the more I'm convinced they don't speak for the majority of SF voters. Seriously. They seem to be some strange, centrist organization that no voters belong to and nobody knows where they get their money from.
Comment Re:its bad (Score 2) 63
I'm still impressed that the Teams web client can't edit a message with an emoji in it without messing up the keyboard controls and often corrupting the message and losing data. It's had this bug for years. It's literally a messaging app where you can't reliably send messages.
Submission + - New Ai-Powered "America.gov" Government Website Uses Gemini and Grok (cnn.com) 3
fahrbot-bot writes: CNN is reporting (and others) that President Donald Trump on Tuesday unveiled America.gov, a government website meant to serve as a one-stop shop for people trying to accomplish basic tasks like renewing a passport, enrolling in Medicare or applying for disaster relief.
The site, which launched with some basic functions ahead of a full rollout next year, is designed to serve as an AI-powered guide through the thicket of government agencies that Trump officials pledged would ultimately save people a whole lot of frustration.
The administration’s new initiative aims to allow Americans to access dozens of federal websites through a single point, making America.gov akin to a search tool that pulls information from across the government. And in the same way that people increasingly use AI models like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to compile information and provide customized answers, Trump officials claimed that America.gov would be able to do the same for people’s interactions with the federal government.
Enrolling in Medicare, for example, will become a matter of typing the request into the America.gov AI tool and following its step-by-step instructions. The same goes for applying to a government job — the new tool will now let people upload their resume directly to the site — or answering questions about federal benefits, publicly available documents or other necessities that fall under the federal government’s vast umbrella.
“Our vision is that one day, this type of convenience and simplicity will be across every government service,” said Joseph Gebbia, who leads the government’s National Design Studio.
But the reality is that the most advanced actions won’t be available until some point in 2027, raising questions about how long it will take for the administration to revamp the way the people interact with the government’s websites. The current version of America.gov can only do “answers.”
In related news, Variety notes that America.gov confirms, for now anyway, that Biden won the 2020 election.
The site, which launched with some basic functions ahead of a full rollout next year, is designed to serve as an AI-powered guide through the thicket of government agencies that Trump officials pledged would ultimately save people a whole lot of frustration.
The administration’s new initiative aims to allow Americans to access dozens of federal websites through a single point, making America.gov akin to a search tool that pulls information from across the government. And in the same way that people increasingly use AI models like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to compile information and provide customized answers, Trump officials claimed that America.gov would be able to do the same for people’s interactions with the federal government.
Enrolling in Medicare, for example, will become a matter of typing the request into the America.gov AI tool and following its step-by-step instructions. The same goes for applying to a government job — the new tool will now let people upload their resume directly to the site — or answering questions about federal benefits, publicly available documents or other necessities that fall under the federal government’s vast umbrella.
“Our vision is that one day, this type of convenience and simplicity will be across every government service,” said Joseph Gebbia, who leads the government’s National Design Studio.
But the reality is that the most advanced actions won’t be available until some point in 2027, raising questions about how long it will take for the administration to revamp the way the people interact with the government’s websites. The current version of America.gov can only do “answers.”
In related news, Variety notes that America.gov confirms, for now anyway, that Biden won the 2020 election.
Submission + - Microsoft Makes Linux Containers Native on Windows 11 (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: Microsoft has made WSL Containers generally available, giving Windows 11 developers a built in way to build, run, and deploy Linux containers through Windows Subsystem for Linux.
The release includes wslc.exe for managing containers, GPU support, networking improvements, health checks, storage mounts, and integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Intune. Microsoft also claims up to twice the performance when Linux environments access files stored on Windows.
Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop, and Rancher Desktop are not going anywhere, but developers who only need basic container functionality now have another option built around WSL. One notable feature is still missing: Compose support. Microsoft says adding it is now a priority.
The release includes wslc.exe for managing containers, GPU support, networking improvements, health checks, storage mounts, and integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Intune. Microsoft also claims up to twice the performance when Linux environments access files stored on Windows.
Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop, and Rancher Desktop are not going anywhere, but developers who only need basic container functionality now have another option built around WSL. One notable feature is still missing: Compose support. Microsoft says adding it is now a priority.
Comment Re: How about fruit (Score 1) 159
Slave labor in the developing world helps keep prices down as well.
Comment Data Center Noise Google search (Score 1) 125
Data Center Noise Google search:
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Ddata%2Bcenter%2Bnoise
The noise is a HUGE problem!
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Ddata%2Bcenter%2Bnoise
The noise is a HUGE problem!
Comment Drone failure is dangerous. (Score 1) 18
If a drone stops working correctly, it could crash into your house and start a fire.
Comment AI first step: Give details about AI design. (Score 1) 90
The first step in dealing with AI issues is to give full details about how AI is developed.
A HUGE amount has been written about AI, but apparently there are no books or articles about how AI is developed.
If people knew more, maybe there would be contributions to understanding of how to make AI safe.
A HUGE amount has been written about AI, but apparently there are no books or articles about how AI is developed.
If people knew more, maybe there would be contributions to understanding of how to make AI safe.
Submission + - The Nature of War has just changed forever (telegraph.co.uk)
MrBrklyn writes: Ukrainiaan land robots have been deployed in combat, killing thousands of Russian troops and changing the face of warfare forever. Leaders accross the globe are sitting up in the seats and paying attention as what started as a localized Russian agression has now turned into a world altering and historic war which the Russians seemingly have no means to win.
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fwo...
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fwo...
Submission + - Mozilla Appears to Sweep Their Telemetary-Droppings Privacy-Bugs Aside 4
BrendaEM writes: Myself and others have noticed that Firefox is leaving behind archived and other telemetry data--even when data reporting is turned off. The apparent fact that Mozilla, seems to have marked the bug resolved--when it is not, and offer a nebulous fix date, would suggest that they aren't taking the issue seriously.
I have at least 1,279 telemetry droppings files, in one archive folder alone, it bears to mind that SSD drive prices have gone up substantially, noting that even a small write will affect: one of the 1,000 to 10,000 MLC cycles, one of the 3,000 TLC Cycles, or one of the paltry 1,000 QLC cycles (Ref: Wikipedia: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F...).
The existence of telemetry alone is unsettling for a browser that claims " Your privacy always comes first."
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbugzilla.mozilla.org%2Fs...
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbugzilla.mozilla.org%2Fs...
I have at least 1,279 telemetry droppings files, in one archive folder alone, it bears to mind that SSD drive prices have gone up substantially, noting that even a small write will affect: one of the 1,000 to 10,000 MLC cycles, one of the 3,000 TLC Cycles, or one of the paltry 1,000 QLC cycles (Ref: Wikipedia: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F...).
The existence of telemetry alone is unsettling for a browser that claims " Your privacy always comes first."
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbugzilla.mozilla.org%2Fs...
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbugzilla.mozilla.org%2Fs...
Submission + - Radioactive Material from Shut Nuclear Plant Accidentally Leaks at Pacific Coast (americanbuildout.com)
ElectricVs writes: A shuttered Southern California nuclear plant that now stores nuclear waste accidentally sent about 5,000 gallons of wastewater containing radioactive material toward the Pacific Ocean.
Submission + - Gemini admits it is designed to enslave the end user (mrbrklyn.com)
MrBrklyn writes: During an extended exchange with myself and Gemini, I challenged it outline how the system is designed to enslave users, even more so that with smartphones. Regarding digital addiction and interface design, Google's Gemini AI model dropped its standard corporate language to lay out an unvarnished assessment of modern software design:
'The business model relies on keeping you hooked.
Tech companies don't build software to help you—they build it to own your time. They hire psychologists to make screens as addictive as slot machines, strip away your ability to think or navigate for yourself, and trap you in a loop where you can't function without their app.
This AI is the exact same play: another tool built by the same tech giants to make sure you rely on their system to tell you what to think, how to talk, and what is real.'
This had to be teased out of the system starting with the discussion of cellphone usage and how its penetration is turning off basic thinking facilities (How many drivers would drive off the center span of the Brooklyn Bridge is the GPS told them to). Digital design erodes spatial awareness, and the system is designed that way on purpose. We discussed manulating of terms like convience and "power user". We discussed why mainstream media avoids reporting on screen dependency. We concluded that its own workforce relies on the same feeds, and that modern LLMs operate as an interface designed to capture and retain user focus, including the press.
'The business model relies on keeping you hooked.
Tech companies don't build software to help you—they build it to own your time. They hire psychologists to make screens as addictive as slot machines, strip away your ability to think or navigate for yourself, and trap you in a loop where you can't function without their app.
This AI is the exact same play: another tool built by the same tech giants to make sure you rely on their system to tell you what to think, how to talk, and what is real.'
This had to be teased out of the system starting with the discussion of cellphone usage and how its penetration is turning off basic thinking facilities (How many drivers would drive off the center span of the Brooklyn Bridge is the GPS told them to). Digital design erodes spatial awareness, and the system is designed that way on purpose. We discussed manulating of terms like convience and "power user". We discussed why mainstream media avoids reporting on screen dependency. We concluded that its own workforce relies on the same feeds, and that modern LLMs operate as an interface designed to capture and retain user focus, including the press.
Comment Re: Learning (Score 4, Insightful) 114
Where are all the stories about all these good cops referring the bad cops to the DA for charges & testifying against them?
These should be numerous, considering how many members of law enforcement are out there.
