Links 23/10/2023: Layoffs at PlayStation's Visual Arts, More Strike Actions
Contents
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Leftovers
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Hardware
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Dan Langille ☛ Moving 4x storage devices into a new home
Yesterday I did some scavenging of some servers which I’m going to dispose of. I managed to put together 4 x 1TB storage devices: 2 x NVMe sticks and 2 x SSDs. I also pulled a riser card from an R730 and relocated it to another host.
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CNX Software ☛ Review of MaTouch ESP32-S3 Rotary IPS Display with a 2.1-inch round touchscreen display
The product we are reviewing today is the “MaTouch ESP32-S3 Rotary IPS Display with Touch 2.1” ST7701″ from Makerfabs which offers an alternative to the MaTouch_ESP32-S3 4-inch Display Demo Kit that we reviewed a few months ago.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel Core Ultra 7 155H Underwhelms in PassMark Database Appearance
Benchmark runs of Intel Meteor Lake systems are increasingly commonplace, but we still aren’t yet seeing the performance numbers we want.
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Mobile Pixels Duex Max Portable Monitor Review: Improved design vs Trio & Ideal For Working When Travelling
I previously reviewed the Mobile Pixels Trio portable monitor for laptops, which was a 12.5″ monitor that magnetically attaches to the back of your laptop display and then slides out. I liked the concept behind it. You don’t need a monitor stand, so you can get a dual-screen laptop display in cramped environments.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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YLE ☛ Food delivery robots gear up for first winter season
Cars aren't the only things getting outfitted with winter tyres, as food delivery robots swap out their summer treads for something more robust.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Top China beermaker Tsingtao opens probe after vid of worker urinating into ingredients
One of China’s biggest beermakers said it had opened an investigation after a video appearing to show a factory employee urinating on raw ingredients went viral this week.
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Science Alert ☛ Strength Training: This Exercise Routine Can Keep You Fit As You Age
How to grow muscle and stay healthy.
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Science Alert ☛ The Brain Cells That Give You Motion Sickness May Have Been Identified
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Science Alert ☛ The Way You Speak Can Reveal Whether You Have Type 2 Diabetes
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Defence/Aggression
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The Strategist ☛ AUKUS’s three pillars of uncertainty: sovereignty, strategy and costs
At think tank gatherings over the past few months in Washington, I asked foreign and security policy analysts about their thoughts on AUKUS.
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JURIST ☛ Slovenia and Italy reinstate border controls, citing security concerns
Slovenia announced temporary border controls with Croatia and Hungary on Saturday, citing increased security concerns, as reported by Slovenia’s state media organization STA. The border controls are set to be in effect for at least 10 days. The measure follows Italy’s decision to do the same at its border with Slovenia.
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JURIST ☛ UN Security Council continues sanctions and arms embargo on Haiti for another year
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution renewing sanctions, an arms embargo, a travel ban and an asset freeze on Haiti. These measures were initially adopted in October 2022 to address the increasing gang violence, criminal activity and deteriorating political, economic, human rights and humanitarian situation in the country.
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The Straits Times ☛ Four killed in clashes between Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga - security sources
Two Iraqi soldiers and two fighters of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces were killed on Sunday as the two sides clashed in a mountainous northern area, Iraqi and Kurdish security sources said.
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Federal News Network ☛ Egypt’s border crossing opens to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into besieged Gaza
The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory. This was the first aid allowed in since Israel sealed Gaza off in the wake of Hamas’ bloody rampage two weeks ago. Only 20 trucks were allowed in Saturday and aid workers say that’s not enough. Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a summit in Cairo that Hamas’ “reprehensible assault” on Israel “can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
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New York Times ☛ Israelis and Gazans Flee Amid Warnings of Wider Regional War
Violence on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and strikes in Syria and the West Bank, sent shock waves through the Middle East.
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teleSUR ☛ Israeli Strike on Damascus and Aleppo Airports
Simultaneous airstrikes hit the airports in both cities on October 12, according to Syrian authorities both were knocked out of service at the time.
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New York Times ☛ Israel Strikes West Bank Mosque, Killing At Least 2
The Israeli military carried out a rare airstrike in the occupied West Bank, hitting a mosque in the Jenin refugee camp. Palestinian officials called the attack a “dangerous escalation.”
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RFERL ☛ Armenian, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers To Meet October 23 In Tehran With Regional Counterparts
Iran will host on October 23 a meeting of foreign ministers from Russia, Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan to discuss regional issues including the dispute between Yerevan and Baku over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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France24 ☛ Several killed in overnight Russian strikes on Kharkiv region mail depot
Russian missile strikes killed at least six postal workers and wounded 16 others Saturday, when they hit a mail depot in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said.
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JURIST ☛ Ukraine parliament adopts ban on religious organizations linked to Russia
The Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, announced on Thursday their adoption of decision number 8371, which bans religious organizations who have colluded with armed aggressors from operating within the state. This appears to be aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of collaborating with Russia.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Raises Casualty Toll To 23 In Russian Strike On Postal Station Near Kharkiv
Ukraine says the casualty toll in a Russian missile strike that hit a postal distribution center in Kharkiv has risen to 23, including six dead.
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RFERL ☛ Czech Parliament Speaker Reaffirms Support For Ukraine
The head of the lower chamber of the Czech parliament, Marketa Pekarova Adamova, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that Ukraine "must win the war" and reestablish control over the Black Sea region of Crimea, which Russia occupied in 2014.
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RFERL ☛ Biden Says Success Of Ukraine, Israel 'Vital' To U.S. National Security
U.S. President Joe Biden wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the success of Ukraine and Israel in their current wars is “vital to our national security.”
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New York Times ☛ Inside the Commando Raids Unnerving Russia in Crimea
The lightning assaults are part of a larger campaign using drones and missiles to degrade Russian forces and demoralize the public.
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New York Times ☛ Russian Missile Kills Six at Ukraine Postal Depot
The facility, on the outskirts of the eastern city of Kharkiv, was far from the front line but only about 20 miles from Russia’s border.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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YLE ☛ Solar panels gain popularity in Finland
Housing companies and commercial buildings are adding solar panels mostly due to the advantageous rebate billing model, which can reduce electricity bills.
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Finance
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EuroGamer ☛ PlayStation's Visual Arts is the latest games company hit by layoffs
PlayStation's Visual Arts is the latest gaming company to have been hit by layoffs.
As spotted by VGC, a number of developers from Visual Arts Service Group have taken to social media to announce their redundancies and seek out new opportunities.
"Unfortunately, following a wave of layoffs, last week was my last at Playstation," senior level designer Daniel Bellemere – who's worked on blockbuster games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Immortals Fenyx Rising – wrote on LinkedIn.
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JURIST ☛ UK government announces plans for minimum service levels to limit teacher strikes
The UK Department of Education announced on Friday that it was introducing minimum service levels for schools to limit the amount of teacher strikes. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said that she invited the National Education Union (NEU) to discuss a mutual agreement regarding the minimum service levels.
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University of Michigan ☛ How the SAG-AFTRA strike has changed the fabric of our social media feeds
If you’ve been paying attention to current events recently, it’s likely you’ve heard a thing or two about the Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes, both of which began over the summer and have been ongoing for the last several months.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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The Straits Times ☛ Disco and despots: Filipino-Americans grapple with the breakthroughs and perils of Here Lies Love
Critics warn the Broadway musical risks contributing to historical revisionism of the Marcos Sr dictatorship.
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New York Times ☛ A President, a Billionaire and Questions About Access and National Security
Anthony Pratt, one of Australia’s wealthiest men, made his way into Donald Trump’s inner circle with money and flattery. What he heard there has become of interest to federal prosecutors.
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YLE ☛ Sanna Marin changes residency from Tampere to Helsinki, resigns from local council
Finland's former prime minister has been a long-standing member of the Tampere City Council and previously served as its chair.
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RFA ☛ Will Hong Kong’s star shine again?
It depends on which way China’s political winds blow, experts say.
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New York Times ☛ Anthony Albanese to Visit Xi Jinping as China-Australia Tensions Ease
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would visit China and meet with Xi Jinping, another sign of a thaw in the countries’ once-icy relations.
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JURIST ☛ Brazil police arrest two intelligence officials for using phone hacking tools without judicial authorization
The Federal Police of Brazil announced on Friday that they arrested two intelligence agency officials as part of an action called “Operation Last Mile,” which aims investigate the abuse of geolocation systems for mobile devices without judicial authorization by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin).
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Federal News Network ☛ Australian prime minister announces China visit hours before leaving for US to meet Biden
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China in early November, his office says. It also said Sunday that China agreed to review the crippling tariffs it placed on Australian wine that have effectively blocked trade with the winemakers’ biggest export market since 2020. Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai from Nov. 4-7. He will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Albanese is visiting Washington, D.C., to meet President Joe Biden this week.
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France24 ☛ Philippines, China trade blame over collisions in disputed South China sea
Beijing and Manila traded blame for two collisions Sunday between Chinese vessels and Philippine boats on a resupply mission to Filipino troops on a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Philippines says Chinese coastguard vessel collided with resupply boat in disputed South China Sea
Manila, Philippines The Philippines accused a Chinese coastguard vessel of colliding on Sunday with a Philippine resupply boat as it travelled to a tiny garrison in the disputed South China Sea.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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JURIST ☛ Delhi court orders release of journalists’ devices, citing press freedom impact of year-long seizure
A Delhi Sessions Court observed on Wednesday that continuous seizure of editors’ and journalists’ electronic devices not only causes ‘undue hardship’ to them but “impinges upon their fundamental right of freedom of profession and speech,” according to The Wire.
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JURIST ☛ Iran court sentences two journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini protests to prison
The Tehran Revolutionary Court in Iran sentenced two female journalists who covered the Mahsa Amini protests in 2022 to prison Sunday, according to Mizan News Agency, the judiciary’s media agency. The journalists, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, were charged with collaboration with the US government as well as acting against national security.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Zimbabwe ☛ TelOne announces some network performance improvements for Fiber and ADSL subscribers
TelOne is very much known for being the most reasonably priced ISP in Zimbabwe making it the most favored choice for home internet. However, for a long time, the performance of TelOne’s internet has been the biggest factor pushing its subscribers away towards more expensive but better-performing providers.
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s 5G future in choppy waters as geopolitics, commercial interests collide
Major telcos are jostling over a second network while the Prime Minister backs Huawei to be equipment provider.
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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Chapter 1: So it begins
Like many tales of adventure, this one begins in the modest confines of a little tavern nestled within the quaint town of Idarington. As Ingol Robinson goes to request another round from the barkeep, he overhears the conversation of two weary guardsmen. Their discussion is over the disturbance brewing at the distant abbey situated on the far side of the Verdant Vale.
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🔤SpellBinding: BDINOYU Wordo: HARDY
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Random thoughts on the next generations
I was thinking how odd it is that many Millennials and GenZers are embracing far-right and Christian Nationalist ideologies but then I realized that their parents are also conservatives and they tend to have far higher birthrates than the progressives, not to mention these children of conservatives were more likely to be homeschooled or educated in parochial or Christian schools.
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Technology and Free Software
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Upgrade for the MNT Reform
The MNT Reform is a surprising machine, and I kind of like it. However, it is collecting dust, mainly because the keyboard does not fit my finger habits well. So I did some upgrades in the hope to make it more useful.
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Experimental RKNPU2 backend for GGML/llama.cpp
This weekend, after a night of partying with my friend and somehow ending up hanging out at a near by McDonald. Back to home, I picked up my old work of running LLMs on the Rockchip RK3588's NPU. Last time I hacked around directly withing GGML and running the RWKV model. That was quite a failure, slow, etc.. I have drafted a blog post about it, but never got motivated to finish. That project ended up as a tech talk at SkyMizer, and you can find the slide in the following link. Armed with the experience and a quarter bottle of Vodka in my system, I started my mad hacking to get LLaMA 2 running on the RK3588's NPU.
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ActivityPub
Winter's good post about ActivityPub now officially an option for WordPress Sites
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* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.