Comment Looking Like Never (Score 1) 48
Because it's a lot harder than anyone thinks and it's sure looking like we're going to trash our planet and, as a result, our civilization well before we ever get there...
Comment Re:Cannot wait... (Score 5, Interesting) 159
Or a few days?
From this post on Masto: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudisland.nz%2F%40daisy%2F...
Some guy on Twitter doing some grade a FAFO:
my saas was built with Cursor, zero hand written code
Al is no longer just an assistant, it's also the builder
Now, you can continue to whine about it or start building.
P.S. Yes, people pay for it
4:34 am 15 Mar 2025 52.2K Views
leo &
@leojr94_
guys, i'm under attack
ever since I started to share how I built my Saas using Cursor
random thing are happening, maxed out usage on api keys, people bypassing the subscription, creating random shit on db
as you know, I'm not technical so this is taking me longer that usual to figure out
for now, I will stop sharing what I do publicly on X
there are just some weird ppl out there
9:04 am 17 Mar 2025 53.6K Views
From this post on Masto: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudisland.nz%2F%40daisy%2F...
Some guy on Twitter doing some grade a FAFO:
my saas was built with Cursor, zero hand written code
Al is no longer just an assistant, it's also the builder
Now, you can continue to whine about it or start building.
P.S. Yes, people pay for it
4:34 am 15 Mar 2025 52.2K Views
leo &
@leojr94_
guys, i'm under attack
ever since I started to share how I built my Saas using Cursor
random thing are happening, maxed out usage on api keys, people bypassing the subscription, creating random shit on db
as you know, I'm not technical so this is taking me longer that usual to figure out
for now, I will stop sharing what I do publicly on X
there are just some weird ppl out there
9:04 am 17 Mar 2025 53.6K Views
Submission + - Scientists One Step Closer to "De-Extincting" the Wooly Mammoth (metro.co.uk) 1
EmagGeek writes: Woolly mammoths are a step closer to roaming the world again after scientists engineered a ‘woolly mouse’.
It may be on a much smaller scale, but they are hailing it as evidence they can tweak the necessary genes to bring back the ancient ancester of modern elephants.
‘De-extinction’ company Colossal Biosciences previously set out their ambition to return three animals long gone from the planet.
They said they hoped to see the first mammoth calf born to an elephant mother in 2028, and now they’ve hit a milestone on the way.
The ‘woolly mouse’ has been engineered to have faster growing, thicker hair than its normal cousin. Photos of it held next to a standard grey mouse show that this is certainly the case, with the new version sporting a luscious mane that could be in a hair ad.
My Editorial: One has to wonder why it is necessary or even a great idea to bring back species that nature long ago determined were a failure.
It may be on a much smaller scale, but they are hailing it as evidence they can tweak the necessary genes to bring back the ancient ancester of modern elephants.
‘De-extinction’ company Colossal Biosciences previously set out their ambition to return three animals long gone from the planet.
They said they hoped to see the first mammoth calf born to an elephant mother in 2028, and now they’ve hit a milestone on the way.
The ‘woolly mouse’ has been engineered to have faster growing, thicker hair than its normal cousin. Photos of it held next to a standard grey mouse show that this is certainly the case, with the new version sporting a luscious mane that could be in a hair ad.
My Editorial: One has to wonder why it is necessary or even a great idea to bring back species that nature long ago determined were a failure.
Submission + - Scientists scorn EPA push to say climate change isn't a danger (apnews.com)
ZipNada writes: Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin has privately pushed the White House for a rewrite of the agency’s finding that planet-warming greenhouse gases put the public in danger. The original 52-page decision in 2009 is used to justify and apply regulations and decisions on heat-trapping emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.
“Carbon dioxide is the very essence of a dangerous air pollutant. The health evidence was overwhelming back in 2009 when EPA reached its endangerment finding, and that evidence has only grown since then,” said University of Washington public health professor Dr. Howard Frumkin, who headed the National Center for Environmental Health at the time. “CO2 pollution is driving catastrophic heat waves and storms, infectious disease spread, mental distress, and numerous other causes of human suffering and preventable death.”
That 2009 science-based assessment cited climate change harming air quality, food production, forests, water quality and supplies, sea level rise, energy issues, basic infrastructure, homes and wildlife. ...
It’s these indirect effects on human health that are “far-reaching, comprehensive and devastating,” said Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech and chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. She said rising carbon dioxide levels in the air even “ affect our ability to think and process information.”
Scientists said the Trump administration will be hard-pressed to find scientific justification — or legitimate scientists — to show how greenhouse gases are not a threat to people.
“This one of those cases where they can’t contest the science and they’re going to have a legal way around,” Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said.
“Carbon dioxide is the very essence of a dangerous air pollutant. The health evidence was overwhelming back in 2009 when EPA reached its endangerment finding, and that evidence has only grown since then,” said University of Washington public health professor Dr. Howard Frumkin, who headed the National Center for Environmental Health at the time. “CO2 pollution is driving catastrophic heat waves and storms, infectious disease spread, mental distress, and numerous other causes of human suffering and preventable death.”
That 2009 science-based assessment cited climate change harming air quality, food production, forests, water quality and supplies, sea level rise, energy issues, basic infrastructure, homes and wildlife.
It’s these indirect effects on human health that are “far-reaching, comprehensive and devastating,” said Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech and chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. She said rising carbon dioxide levels in the air even “ affect our ability to think and process information.”
Scientists said the Trump administration will be hard-pressed to find scientific justification — or legitimate scientists — to show how greenhouse gases are not a threat to people.
“This one of those cases where they can’t contest the science and they’re going to have a legal way around,” Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said.
Submission + - Mice Give First Aid (thetimes.com)
databasecowgirl writes: The Times is reporting an interesting study published in Science in which mice demonstrated doing first aid. In the replicated study, an anaesthetised mouse is exposed to another mouse who recognises the distress and clears airway to revive the unconscious mouse.
The mice had never seen an unconscious animal before, so the behaviour is thought to be instinctive.
The mice had never seen an unconscious animal before, so the behaviour is thought to be instinctive.
Submission + - 9th Circuit says Terms of Service forced arbitration has a loophole
schwit1 writes: You know those terms of service that nobody reads when you get an online account? Well, turns out if you lie (like we all do) and say you've "read" them—but weren't forced to actually view their text—that's different than the website forcing you to scroll through them before you lie. So says the Ninth Circuit (over a dissent), ruling a California woman, and her class, doesn't have to go to arbitration over the automatic renewal of her gym subscription and therefore "eludes the Gordian knot that Ross Geller and Chandler Bing struggled against."
Submission + - COSMIC Desktop Alpha 6 Releases (linuxiac.com)
TronNerd82 writes: I'm not sure if this has already been reported on here on Slashdot, but here you go anyway.
Linuxiac reports that the 6th alpha release of the COSMIC desktop environment has released. They report that the new alpha release includes zooming, desktop icon management, some new scaling options, and improved accessibility features. Also included in the release are a number of bug fixes. These include, but are not limited to:
Linuxiac reports that the 6th alpha release of the COSMIC desktop environment has released. They report that the new alpha release includes zooming, desktop icon management, some new scaling options, and improved accessibility features. Also included in the release are a number of bug fixes. These include, but are not limited to:
- Fixing a crash issue in Steam, and fixing certain issues for Radeon RX GPUs
- Fixing a bug that prevented icons from appearing in screenshots
- Adding a layer of polish to the COSMIC Files application by adding folder size metadata and preventing crashes
Also of note are a number of memory usage reductions across the board. COSMIC alpha 6 also replaces the default font from Fira Sans to Open Sans, with Noto Sans Mono as the default monospace font.
A number of additional changes can also be found on System76's official announcement.
Submission + - DeepSeek iOS app sends data unencrypted to ByteDance-controlled servers (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: On Thursday, mobile security company NowSecure reported that the app sends sensitive data over unencrypted channels, making the data readable to anyone who can monitor the traffic. More sophisticated attackers could also tamper with the data while it's in transit. Apple strongly encourages iPhone and iPad developers to enforce encryption of data sent over the wire using ATS (App Transport Security). For unknown reasons, that protection is globally disabled in the app, NowSecure said.
The app is “not equipped or willing to provide basic security protections of your data and identity,” NowSecure co-founder Andrew Hoog told Ars. “There are fundamental security practices that are not being observed, either intentionally or unintentionally. In the end, it puts your and your company’s data and identity at risk.”
This data, along with a mix of other encrypted information, is sent to DeepSeek over infrastructure provided by Volcengine a cloud platform developed by ByteDance. While the IP address the app connects to geo-locates to the US and is owned by US-based telecom Level 3 Communications, the DeepSeek privacy policy makes clear that the company "store[s] the data we collect in secure servers located in the People's Republic of China."
US lawmakers began pushing to immediately ban DeepSeek from all government devices, citing national security concerns that the Chinese Communist Party may have built a backdoor into the service to access Americans' sensitive private data. If passed, DeepSeek could be banned within 60 days.
The app is “not equipped or willing to provide basic security protections of your data and identity,” NowSecure co-founder Andrew Hoog told Ars. “There are fundamental security practices that are not being observed, either intentionally or unintentionally. In the end, it puts your and your company’s data and identity at risk.”
This data, along with a mix of other encrypted information, is sent to DeepSeek over infrastructure provided by Volcengine a cloud platform developed by ByteDance. While the IP address the app connects to geo-locates to the US and is owned by US-based telecom Level 3 Communications, the DeepSeek privacy policy makes clear that the company "store[s] the data we collect in secure servers located in the People's Republic of China."
US lawmakers began pushing to immediately ban DeepSeek from all government devices, citing national security concerns that the Chinese Communist Party may have built a backdoor into the service to access Americans' sensitive private data. If passed, DeepSeek could be banned within 60 days.
Submission + - US Immigration is Gaming Google to Create A Mirage of Mass Deportations (theguardian.com)
jIyajbe writes: News of mass immigration arrests has swept across the US over the past couple of weeks. Reports from Massachusetts to Idaho have described agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) spreading through communities and rounding people up. Quick Google searches for Ice operations, raids and arrests return a deluge of government press releases. Headlines include “ICE arrests 85 during 4-day Colorado operation”, “New Orleans focuses targeted operations on 123 criminal noncitizens” and, in Wisconsin, “ICE arrests 83 criminal aliens”.
But a closer look at these Ice reports tells a different story.
That four-day operation in Colorado? It happened in November 2010. The 123 people targeted in New Orleans? That was February of last year. Wisconsin? September 2018. There are thousands of examples of this throughout all 50 states – Ice press releases that have reached the first page of Google search results, making it seem like enforcement actions just happened, when in actuality they occurred months or years ago. Some, such as the arrest of “44 absconders” in Nebraska, go back as far as 2008.
All the archived Ice press releases soaring to the top of Google search results were marked with the same timestamp and read: “Updated: 01/24/2025”.
But a closer look at these Ice reports tells a different story.
That four-day operation in Colorado? It happened in November 2010. The 123 people targeted in New Orleans? That was February of last year. Wisconsin? September 2018. There are thousands of examples of this throughout all 50 states – Ice press releases that have reached the first page of Google search results, making it seem like enforcement actions just happened, when in actuality they occurred months or years ago. Some, such as the arrest of “44 absconders” in Nebraska, go back as far as 2008.
All the archived Ice press releases soaring to the top of Google search results were marked with the same timestamp and read: “Updated: 01/24/2025”.
Submission + - Ransomware Payments Dropped 35% In 2024 (therecord.media)
An anonymous reader writes: Ransomware payments saw a dramatic 35% drop last year compared to 2023, even as the overall frequency of ransomware attacks increased, according to a new report released by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. The considerable decline in extortion payments is somewhat surprising, given that other cybersecurity firms have claimed that 2024 saw the most ransomware activity to date. Chainalysis itself warned in its mid-year report that 2024’s activity was on pace to reach new heights, but attacks in the second half of the year tailed off. The total amount in payments that Chainalysis tracked in 2024 was $812.55 million, down from 2023’s mark of $1.25 billion.
The disruption of major ransomware groups, such as LockBit and ALPHV/BlackCat, were key to the reduction in ransomware payments. Operations spearheaded by agencies like the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) caused significant declines in LockBit activity, while ALPHV/BlackCat essentially rug-pulled its affiliates and disappeared after its attack on Change Healthcare. [...] Additionally, [Chainalysis] says more organizations have become stronger against attacks, with many choosing not to pay a ransom and instead using better cybersecurity practices and backups to recover from these incidents. [...]
The disruption of major ransomware groups, such as LockBit and ALPHV/BlackCat, were key to the reduction in ransomware payments. Operations spearheaded by agencies like the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) caused significant declines in LockBit activity, while ALPHV/BlackCat essentially rug-pulled its affiliates and disappeared after its attack on Change Healthcare. [...] Additionally, [Chainalysis] says more organizations have become stronger against attacks, with many choosing not to pay a ransom and instead using better cybersecurity practices and backups to recover from these incidents. [...]
Submission + - How to make any AMD Zen CPU always generate 4 as a random number (theregister.com)
headlessbrick writes: Google researchers have discovered a way to bypass AMD's security, enabling them to load unofficial microcode into its processors and modify the silicon’s behaviour at will. To demonstrate this, they created a microcode patch that forces the chips to always return 4 when asked for a random number.
Beyond simply allowing Google and others to customize AMD chips for both beneficial and potentially malicious purposes, this capability also undermines AMD’s secure encrypted virtualization and root-of-trust security mechanisms.
Beyond simply allowing Google and others to customize AMD chips for both beneficial and potentially malicious purposes, this capability also undermines AMD’s secure encrypted virtualization and root-of-trust security mechanisms.
Submission + - Google joins firms dropping diversity recruitment goals (bbc.co.uk)
Alain Williams writes: Google has become the latest big US firm to scrap its goals to recruit more workers from underrepresented groups, BBC News understands.
The decision to abandon the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) recruitment targets comes after the company carried out an annual review of its corporate policies.
The technology giant is also reviewing some of its other DEI programmes.
The decision to abandon the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) recruitment targets comes after the company carried out an annual review of its corporate policies.
The technology giant is also reviewing some of its other DEI programmes.
Submission + - AI-Generated Slop Is Already In Your Public Library (404media.co)
An anonymous reader writes: Low quality books that appear to be AI generated are making their way into public libraries via their digital catalogs, forcing librarians who are already understaffed to either sort through a functionally infinite number of books to determine what is written by humans and what is generated by AI, or to spend taxpayer dollars to provide patrons with information they don’t realize is AI-generated.
Public libraries primarily use two companies to manage and lend ebooks: Hoopla and OverDrive, the latter of which people may know from its borrowing app, Libby. Both companies have a variety of payment options for libraries, but generally libraries get access to the companies’ catalog of books and pay for customers to be able to borrow that book, with different books having different licenses and prices. A key difference is that with OverDrive, librarians can pick and choose which books in OverDrive’s catalog they want to give their customers the option of borrowing. With Hoopla, librarians have to opt into Hoopla’s entire catalog, then pay for whatever their customers choose to borrow from that catalog. The only way librarians can limit what Hoopla books their customers can borrow is by setting a limit on the price of books. For example, a library can use Hoopla but make it so their customers can only borrow books that cost the library $5 per use.
On one hand, Hoopla’s gigantic catalog, which includes ebooks, audio books, and movies, is a selling point because it gives librarians access to more for cheaper price. On the other hand, making librarians buy into the entire catalog means that a customer looking for a book about how to diet for a healthier liver might end up borrowing Fatty Liver Diet Cookbook: 2000 Days of Simple and Flavorful Recipes for a Revitalized Liver. The book was authored by Magda Tangy, who has no online footprint, and who has an AI-generated profile picture on Amazon, where her books are also for sale. Note the earring that is only on one ear and seems slightly deformed. A spokesperson for deepfake detection company Reality Defender said that according to their platform, the headshot is 85 percent likely to be AI-generated. [...] It is impossible to say exactly how many AI-generated books are included in Hoopla’s catalog, but books that appeared to be AI-generated were not hard to find for most of the search terms I tried on the platform.
Public libraries primarily use two companies to manage and lend ebooks: Hoopla and OverDrive, the latter of which people may know from its borrowing app, Libby. Both companies have a variety of payment options for libraries, but generally libraries get access to the companies’ catalog of books and pay for customers to be able to borrow that book, with different books having different licenses and prices. A key difference is that with OverDrive, librarians can pick and choose which books in OverDrive’s catalog they want to give their customers the option of borrowing. With Hoopla, librarians have to opt into Hoopla’s entire catalog, then pay for whatever their customers choose to borrow from that catalog. The only way librarians can limit what Hoopla books their customers can borrow is by setting a limit on the price of books. For example, a library can use Hoopla but make it so their customers can only borrow books that cost the library $5 per use.
On one hand, Hoopla’s gigantic catalog, which includes ebooks, audio books, and movies, is a selling point because it gives librarians access to more for cheaper price. On the other hand, making librarians buy into the entire catalog means that a customer looking for a book about how to diet for a healthier liver might end up borrowing Fatty Liver Diet Cookbook: 2000 Days of Simple and Flavorful Recipes for a Revitalized Liver. The book was authored by Magda Tangy, who has no online footprint, and who has an AI-generated profile picture on Amazon, where her books are also for sale. Note the earring that is only on one ear and seems slightly deformed. A spokesperson for deepfake detection company Reality Defender said that according to their platform, the headshot is 85 percent likely to be AI-generated. [...] It is impossible to say exactly how many AI-generated books are included in Hoopla’s catalog, but books that appeared to be AI-generated were not hard to find for most of the search terms I tried on the platform.
Submission + - Musk says he 'deleted' IRS easy filing team (rawstory.com)
echo123 writes: Musk says he 'deleted' IRS easy filing team that let Americans file taxes for free online
= = = = =
In a post on X, unelected government official Elon Musk revealed that he has cut the staff of the Internal Revenue Service that oversaw the system that allows Americans to file their taxes for free easily on its website.
A right-wing MAGA influencer called the "direct file" tax program a "far left government wide computer office" that was "built by Elizabeth Warren."
He claimed, "Direct file puts the government in charge of preparing people's tax returns for them," he claimed.
Musk responded by saying, "That group has been deleted."
Thus far, the website remains active.
The Treasury Department said on its website, "Direct File is a historic new IRS service that allows eligible taxpayers to prepare and file their tax return online, for free, including access to help from dedicated IRS Direct File customer support representatives."
It was available in both Spanish and English and wasn't a mandatory program for anyone. Those who didn't trust the system could still fill out their taxes by hand and mail them.
= = = = =
In a post on X, unelected government official Elon Musk revealed that he has cut the staff of the Internal Revenue Service that oversaw the system that allows Americans to file their taxes for free easily on its website.
A right-wing MAGA influencer called the "direct file" tax program a "far left government wide computer office" that was "built by Elizabeth Warren."
He claimed, "Direct file puts the government in charge of preparing people's tax returns for them," he claimed.
Musk responded by saying, "That group has been deleted."
Thus far, the website remains active.
The Treasury Department said on its website, "Direct File is a historic new IRS service that allows eligible taxpayers to prepare and file their tax return online, for free, including access to help from dedicated IRS Direct File customer support representatives."
It was available in both Spanish and English and wasn't a mandatory program for anyone. Those who didn't trust the system could still fill out their taxes by hand and mail them.
Submission + - CDC orders massive retraction of scientific papers on political grounds (substack.com) 2
Mr. Dollar Ton writes: The CDC has apparently instructed its scientists to retract or pause the publication of any research manuscript being considered by any medical or scientific journal, not merely its own internal periodicals. The move aims to ensure that no “forbidden terms” appear in the work.
The policy includes manuscripts that are in the revision stages at journal (but not officially accepted) and those already accepted for publication but not yet live.
In the order, CDC researchers were instructed to remove references to or mentions of a list of forbidden terms: “Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female,” according to an email sent to CDC employees (see below).”
If true, Lisenko would give fat thumbs up to the new administration.
The policy includes manuscripts that are in the revision stages at journal (but not officially accepted) and those already accepted for publication but not yet live.
In the order, CDC researchers were instructed to remove references to or mentions of a list of forbidden terms: “Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female,” according to an email sent to CDC employees (see below).”
If true, Lisenko would give fat thumbs up to the new administration.
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It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.
