Links 24/10/2023: Many Layoffs Again and Rejections of 'Smart' Phones or Social Control Media
Contents
- Distributions and Operating Systems
- Leftovers
- Gemini* and Gopher
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Distributions and Operating Systems
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Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications
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Bloomberg ☛ Nokia, Snake and the Sad Reign of a Mobile Phone King [Ed: Well, Microsoft killed Nokia]
Throughout the US Justice Department’s antitrust suit against Google, lawyers and high-profile witnesses from the tech industry have sparred over decades of disruption. In the process, the speakers name-checked a sad list of once-mighty tech companies whose glory had faded. Among them: BlackBerry, LG, Motorola, AOL and Yahoo. The one with perhaps the hardest fall was Nokia.
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Leftovers
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Ruben Schade ☛ Metonymy of objects and places
I was listening to an old Whole Wheat Radio stream this morning (rest in peace, Jim), and I was reminded of this strange feature of English.
We routinely reference a subset of something to refer to the whole. We might refer to a bicycle as a new set of wheels, even though it’s clearly more than that. We still refer to graphics cards as GPUs, and some people even still call desktop towers CPUs, despite there being far more components involved. The technically accurate crowd blanch at such use, but it’s common linguistic shorthand.
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Science
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J Pieper ☛ moteus with velocity=NaN
When commanding a moteus controller, many of the registers defined in the reference documentation give explicit semantics when the values is passed as either a floating point NaN value or the “maximally negative integer” for integer encodings. Those that do not specify a meaning for NaN are “undefined” and anything can happen.
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Education
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Hardware
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Computers Are Bad ☛ 2023-10-22 cooler screens
Audible even over the squeal of an HVAC blower with a suffering belt, the whine of small, high velocity fans pervades the grocery side of this Walgreens. Were they always this loud? I'm not sure; some of the fans sound distinctly unhealthy. Still, it's a familiar kind of noise to anyone who regularly works around kilowatt quantities of commercial IT equipment. Usually, though, it's a racket set aside for equipment rooms and IDF closets---not the refrigerator aisle.
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CubicleNate ☛ Ender3 Stuck at Heating Extruder
I have been having this frustrating occurrence with my Ender3 where the machine will get stuck at Extruder Heating, before it begins the printing process and just sit there.
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Jonathan Dowland ☛ Jonathan Dowland: cherished
If I think back to technology I've used and really cherished, quite often they're audio-related: Minidisc players, Walkmans, MP3 players, headphones. These pieces of technology served as vessels to access music, which of course I often have fond emotional connection to. And so I think the tech has benefited from that, and in some way the fondness or emotional connection to music has somewhat transferred or rubbed-off on the technology to access it.
Put another way, no matter how well engineered it was, how easy it was to use or how well it did the job, I doubt I'd have fond memories, years later, of a toilet brush.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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The Next Web ☛ Should we be working at 85% capacity? The pros and cons of ‘sustainable’ effort
Should we be working at 85% capacity? The pros and cons of ‘sustainable’ effort
Perfectionism and productivity are uneasy bedfellows.
The pandemic, job insecurity, and mass layoffs that followed have exacerbated over-performance burnout, leading to a new thought pattern in employee welfare; one that nobody dared utter out loud until now.
What if we only gave 85% of ourselves to our jobs?
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DaemonFC (Ryan Farmer) ☛ TIL: The FDA Tried to Prevent Having to Turn Over Safety Data it Already Had for COVID Shots for 76 Years. Pfizer Layoffs.
The FDA fights everyone because it wants to sit on data that it knows would be damaging, if it got outside the agency.
And this is very basic information. Right? What made you decide that these “vaccines” were effective and safe?
So if there’s no scandal, why do they want to make us wait 76 years?
[...]
Our experience with the shots wasn’t very good and it led me to conclude that the risk from the shots just isn’t worth it. I don’t think we say any benefit.
[...]
782,913 people sought medical attention after getting a COVID shot.
Isn’t overwhelming the hospitals and doctor’s offices what we were trying to avoid with the shots?
[...]
Also worth noting, that the media has switched from calling the Biden-era mass layoffs a “savings plan”, rather than layoffs.
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University of Michigan ☛ Failing focus
A few weeks ago, I deleted TikTok. I didn’t make this choice because I was worried about the app stealing my data or how much time I was spending on it (although it was a lot).
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Kev Quirk ☛ I’m Too Addicted to My iPhone
According to my iPhone Screen Time, I'm way under the average in terms of usage, but I still think I use my phone too much.
There's been a number of times lately where I've realised I'm spending too much time on my phone. Well, actually I don't realise; it's usually my wife shouting "GET OFF THAT BLOODY PHONE!"
I decided to do some research to see if I am using it too much and to try and be a bit more cognisant of my phone usage.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Bezos-backed freight firm Convoy shuts down after slashing hundreds of jobs. Read the CEO’s memo to employees
Digital freight broker Convoy told employees Thursday that it’s shutting down operations due to a “massive freight recession.” The move comes just one week after supply chain software startup Flexport said it will lay off about 20% of its own workforce.
Seattle-based Convoy was founded to disrupt the fragmented, low-tech freight brokerage business, in which truckers and customers connected by phone and fax. Before this week, the company had about 500 employees.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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JURIST ☛ Iran teenage girl said to be brain dead after alleged subway encounter with police officers while not wearing hijab [Ed: Surveillance does not save lives. In many case it actually kills people. It just helps the state, typically some theocracy, decide who lives and who dies.]
Armita Geravand, a teenage girl who was seen unconscious after allegedly encountering police officers on a train without wearing hijab on October 1, is said to be “brain dead,” according to an Iranian semi-state media report published Sunday.
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Defence/Aggression
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Rolling Stone ☛ Bob Lee’s Murder Shook San Francisco. What Really Happened?
San Francisco is a Chicago where the murderer uses the correct pronoun before killing you in broad daylight https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/bob-lee-murder-cash-app-what-happened-1234852853/
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Defence Web ☛ SANDF recovers millions of Rands worth of stolen vehicles, drugs and cigarettes
South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers on Operation Corona border patrol have in one week recovered millions of Rands worth of stolen vehicles along with drugs and cigarettes that were being smuggled across the border.
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The Strategist ☛ Policy, Guns and Money: Geopolitics in Southeast Asia and Australia–Indonesia relations
In this episode, ASPI’s Gatra Priyandita speaks to Thomas Parks from the Asia Foundation about geopolitics in Southeast Asia.
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RFERL ☛ Azerbaijan Hosts Military Drills With Turkey Near Armenia As Foreign Ministers Meet In Tehran
Azerbaijan said it had begun joint military exercises with its ally Turkey near the border with Armenia as foreign ministers from the three countries are meeting their Iranian and Russian counterparts in Tehran to discuss a number of issues, including the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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RFA ☛ N Korea calls for condemnation of US over Israel conflict
Pyongyang’s appeal coincides with Moscow reaching out to form a ‘united front’ against Washington.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Atlantic Council ☛ Lend-Lease Act expiration will not affect current US aid to Ukraine
A Lend-Lease Act introduced by the US in spring 2022 to support Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression has now expired, but it may be worth renewing as a tool to bypass possible political obstacles to aid, writes Olivia Yanchik.
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LRT ☛ Russia demolishes monument to Lithuanian, Ukrainian victims of Soviet repressions
A memorial to victims of Soviet repressions was demolished at a cemetery in Vladimir, western Russia, according to local media Dovod. The memorial included plaques dedicated to Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Polish nationals.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Unleashes Fresh Wave Of Drone And Missile Strikes On Civilian Targets In Ukraine
Russia struck several civilian areas of Ukraine in a fresh wave of drone and missile strikes, causing victims among civilians and infrastructure damage, the Ukrainian military and regional officials said on October 23.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Claims Russia Has Committed 2,500 Environmental Crimes During Full-Scale Invasion
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Russia has committed some “2,500 environmental crimes” since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
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YLE ☛ Finland donates rescue vehicles to Ukraine
Finland's support for Ukraine is coordinated through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism together with the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre ERCC.
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New York Times ☛ Developing World Sees Double Standard in West’s Actions in Gaza and Ukraine
Resentments are complicating calls by the Biden administration to rally the world against efforts to “annihilate” democracies.
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CS Monitor ☛ Winter is coming. But this year, Ukrainians are better prepared.
Last winter, Ukrainians had to learn to survive without electricity after nearly half the country’s energy capacity was affected by Russian strikes. They are expecting the same, if not worse, conditions this year, but Ukrainians have spent months preparing.
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New York Times ☛ Kill and Be Killed: Ukraine’s Bloody Battlefield Equation
The dynamics of Europe’s deadliest war in generations remain exceedingly violent and increasingly complicated by factors far from the battlefield.
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New York Times ☛ Israel and Ukraine Need the Same Three Weapons From the U.S.
Ukraine and Israel are fighting different kinds of wars, but some weapons systems could soon be in short supply if the fighting continues for months.
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Latvia ☛ Russian, Chinese ships being investigated over Balticconnector damage
This week, the investigation by Finnish and Estonian authorities into damaged infrastructure in the Baltic Sea continued with experts concluding that the damage was most likely caused by human activity – potentially, sabotage.
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LRT ☛ Vilnius asks for sanctions as wine flows to Russia via Lithuania
New sanctions would resolve the Russian wine export problem, Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrine Armonaitė said following media reports that Lithuania had become the main supplier of wine to Russia this year, surpassing Italy and Spain.
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LRT ☛ Russian ice dancer appeals decision to strip her of Lithuanian citizenship
Russian ice dancer Margarita Drobiazko announced on Sunday that she has appealed against the decision to strip her of Lithuanian citizenship.
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YLE ☛ China calls on Finland to probe gas pipeline damage "fairly and professionally"
China and Russia both issued statements on Monday regarding the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline, according to news agency Reuters.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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Atlantic Council ☛ Atoms for Peace 2.0: The case for a stronger US-Japan nuclear power alliance
Against the backdrop of Russian and Chinese-induced geopolitical instability, Tokyo and Washington should redouble commitments to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
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Finance
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong Policy Address: What might be among this year’s measures? [Ed: Stop blaming "COVID" for the economy being so broken]
Ahead of Chief Executive John Lee’s second Policy Address on Wednesday, when he will lay out measures for the years ahead, local media has been busy reporting on what it might contain.
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University of Michigan ☛ University HR focuses on new framework for today’s work world
U-M is working to develop clear descriptions of workplace expectations and support for current and prospective employees amid changes prompted by the public health landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Federal News Network ☛ The yield on a 10-year Treasury reached 5% for the 1st time since 2007. Here’s why that matters
The yield on the 10-year Treasury has reached 5% for the first time since 2007. That matters for everyone, not just Wall Street. Treasury yields have been climbing rapidly, with the 10-year yield rallying from less than 3.50% during the spring and from just 0.50% early in the pandemic. The jump means the U.S. government must pay more to borrow money from investors to cover its spending. It also directly affects people around the world, because the 10-year Treasury yield is the centerpiece of the global financial system and helps set prices for all kinds of other loans and investments.
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"Wave of layoffs" at PlayStation reported by developer of unannounced game
2023's mass eradication of the games industry continues with reports of layoffs at Sony Interactive Entertainment and PlayStation Studios. It's unclear how extensive these losses are - Sony have yet to provide comment, at the time of writing - but they appear to include staff at PlayStation's Visual Arts studio, based in San Diego, which supports developers like The Last of Us creators Naughty Dog and Spider-Man 2 creators Insomniac.
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Newsweek ☛ Too Much Value Concentrated in Seven US Stocks [Ed: Wrong. It's not value. It is a fake valuation. It's a bubble, a Ponzi scheme.]
Recently, the UK chip design firm ARM (NASD: ARM) had a successful IPO on the Nasdaq. It could possibly join the seven stocks that compose most of the value of the US stock market. Jim Cramer of CNBC used to call the tech stocks who led the market FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), but now he has a new group.
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TechCrunch ☛ After years of explosive growth, the French tech ecosystem is at a turning point
Last week, La French Tech celebrated its 10 year anniversary — this government-backed initiative has been in charge of promoting and fostering the startup community in France. When you compare the metrics of the French tech ecosystem between now and then, it’s true that things have changed drastically with some impressive success stories.
And yet, the celebration at the Ministry of Economics and Finance may have been a bit too self-congratulatory for the entrepreneurs in the room. Just like many tech ecosystems, the French tech ecosystem is currently going through a rough patch and facing layoffs, down rounds, fire sales and even bankruptcies. So let’s use this opportunity to check in with the French tech ecosystem.
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Bankrupt Cyxtera Looks to Sell Data Centers to Brookfield
Bankrupt Cyxtera Technologies Inc. is in advanced talks to sell a large swath of its data centers to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, according to people familiar with the situation.
As part of its Chapter 11 filing, Cyxtera has been looking at two possible tracks, either recapitalizing itself, with lenders taking control of the firm, or selling itself. Cxytera's and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's negotiations are continuing and could still fall apart, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
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TechCrunch ☛ What’s behind the fresh round of tech layoffs?
In January, nearly 90,000 tech workers were laid off. By September, that number had dipped to under 5,000, suggesting that perhaps massive layoffs were mercifully over, and we could look ahead to a brighter 2024 with improving economic conditions. Then came October with a fresh wave of layoffs from companies large and small.
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CTV News ☛ Bank layoffs in Canada: Here's what it could mean, according to experts
Job layoffs across the banking industry have been making headlines in recent weeks, but what exactly is driving the cuts, and where are things headed?
Just last week, Desjardins laid off nearly 400 employees and Scotiabank announced it would cut three per cent of its global workforce, or around 2,700 staff.
In September, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) made a round of job cuts in its capital market operations, with plans to cut two per cent of its full-time equivalent staff in the coming quarter. The bank had 93,753 employees as of July 31.
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A myth in danger: Nokia lays off 14,000 workers
Despite losing its mobile division, Nokia remained a powerhouse in another domain: patents. The company played a pivotal role in shaping mobile telephony in the 90s and boasts nine Nobel laureates among its former employees. As a result, Nokia holds thousands of essential mobile patents, earning billions from almost all manufacturers.
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Head Topics ☛ Why Bay Street and Wall Street financial giants are slashing jobs
A number of major Canadian and U.S. banks have announced job cuts in recent weeks, with some warning of more layoffs to come as financial institutions deal with a challenging economic environment.
“The current economic context (volatility, inflation, slowdown, etc.) adds an additional pressure that leads us to have a healthy and prudent management,” Desjardins spokesperson Jean-Benoît Turcotti said.
The job cuts tend to focus on capital markets divisions, which typically have a higher portion of variable compensation, D’Souza said. “(However,) it’s hard to say exactly where we’ll see those reductions going forward,” D’Souza added, saying he wouldn’t be surprised to see a headcount reduction continue across the banks. headtopics.com
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Press Gazette ☛ Israel-Gaza war: 23 journalists killed in conflict so far
The conflict is the deadliest for journalists since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Court Orders RFE/RL Journalist Held In Custody Pending Trial
A Russian court has accepted a request by prosecutors to extend the detention of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva after she was picked up last week by police on charges of failing to register as a "foreign agent."
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Civil Rights/Policing
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New York Times ☛ Aleksei Navalny Forcibly Removed From Jail Cell After Protest
The Russian opposition leader had refused to leave his cell in protest after prison authorities took his writing tools, allies say.
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France24 ☛ Belarusian exiles: No passports and no chance of return
Around 100,000 people are thought to have fled Belarus amid a violent crackdown on dissidents by strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, with many heading to neighbouring Poland. Now, Lukashenko is attempting to shut them out for good by making it impossible to renew their passports without returning home, where rights groups say they could face arbitrary arrest and torture.
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New York Times ☛ Women in Iceland to ‘Take the Day Off’ in Protest of Gender Inequality
The one-day strike on Tuesday is expected to be the largest walkout by women in the Nordic nation since 1975. Even the prime minister said she would take part.
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New York Times ☛ Nonunion Workers Are Playing a Big Role in the Autoworkers’ Strike
The three U.S. automakers say they are already at a disadvantage to nonunion rivals while labor leaders hope that big gains in negotiations will inspire workers in Southern states to unionize.
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New York Times ☛ U.A.W. Expands Strike to a Ram Plant in Michigan
The United Automobile Workers union called on 6,800 workers to walk off the job at a large factory that makes one of Stellantis’s most profitable vehicles.
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Federal News Network ☛ UAW’s confrontational leader makes gains in strike talks, but some wonder: Has he reached too far?
Throughout its 5-week-old strikes against Detroit’s automakers, the United Auto Workers union has cast an emphatically combative stance, reflecting the style of its pugnacious leader, Shawn Fain. Armed with a list of what even Fain has called “audacious” demands for better pay and benefits, the UAW leader has embodied the exasperation of workers who say they’ve struggled for years while the automakers have enjoyed billions in profits. Yet as the strikes have dragged on, analysts and even some striking workers have begun to raise a pivotal question: Does Fain have an endgame to bring the strikes to a close?
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Ruben Schade ☛ Dave Winer on “thinking out loud”
He nails it, emphasis added:
It’s weird that people have the idea that thinking out loud is a new idea for blogging. That’s because when journalists first heard about blogging they decided that it’s what they do. People who write publicly for money, mostly without any principle other than getting paid for writing, or perhaps “building a brand.”
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APNIC ☛ Results of Community Consultation process on increasing availability of critical APNIC services
Understanding of community needs and desires pertaining to critical APNIC service availability.
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APNIC ☛ The challenges ahead for HTTP/3
Guest Post: Although HTTP/3 and QUIC have been developed to overcome the weaknesses of their predecessors, HTTP/2 and TCP, some hold concerns regarding its origins.
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Monopolies
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Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ NexGen semiconductor controller patent challenged
On October 20, 2023, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 8,278,855 owned and asserted by NexGen Control Systems, LLC, an NPE.
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Recent Indian Case Law on Standard Essential Patents
An earlier post on case law on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in India looked at decisions published until 2021. This very comment updates the analysis by covering more recent cases occurred in the latest two years, specifically focusing on the availability of interim injunctive relief for SEP owners and FRAND terms.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ One Patent’s ‘Processor’ is Another’s ‘Means for Processing’: Dueling Claim Constructions at the Federal Circuit
WDTX District Court Judge Alan Albright sided with the accused infringer in this case — holding that the asserted claims were invalid as indefinite. The setup here is a common scene: means plus function (MPF) claim limitations without adequate support in the specification.
Most commonly patentees draft claims that cover the physical structure of an invention or the particular steps taken in a process. However, the Patent Act also permits a patentee to claim the elements of an invention as “means for” accomplishing a specified function without actually claiming the structural components. Although a “means for holding hot coffee” appears potentially broader than claiming a “ceramic mug,” the statute itself places key limits on the scope of these so-called “means plus function” claims.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ Kira-Khanh McCarthy: "The Curtain Falls on the RAPUNZEL Opposition: Law Professor Is Not Entitled to a Statutory Cause of Action"
The latest issue of the American Bar Association's Landslide Magazine includes an article by Wolf Greenfield's own Kira-Khanh McCarthy: "The Curtain Falls on the RAPUNZEL Opposition: Law Professor Is Not Entitled to a Statutory Cause of Action." You will recall that Law Professor Rebecca Curtin filed an opposition to registration of the mark RAPUNZEL for dolls. Applicant United Trademark Holdings, Inc., moved to dismiss the opposition for lack of "standing" on the ground that Professor Curtin is merely a consumer and not a toy manufacturer or competitor. Ms. McCarthy's article tells what happened at the TTAB and offers her insights as to the ramifications of the
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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🔤SpellBinding: AYHOSWD Wordo: SPUNK
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Autism From The Inside
Paul is someone who discovered his autism at age 30. His videos offer insight into what it's like to be autistic, the challenges that people with autism face because of the way society treats us, myths, misconceptions, and how to live well with autism.
If you asked me what the best resources are for educating oneself about autism, I would direct you to Autism From The Inside. Paul's explanations are the best resource I've found, hands down. Paul doesn't just talk about the science, but shares his real, day-to-day lived experience as an autistic person.
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Technology and Free Software
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Run your own Syncthing discovery server on OpenBSD
In a previous article, I covered the software Syncthing and mentioned a specific feature named "discovery server".
The discovery server is used to allow clients to connect each other through NATs to help connect each other, this is NOT a relay server (which is a different service) that serves as a proxy between clients.
A motivation to run your own discovery server(s) would be for security, privacy or performance reasons.
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Of Python, Alternity 2018, and Cosmic Voyage
One sure way to wrap your mind around the rules for creating a character in a roleplaying system, is to try to automate it!
A couple days ago, I fired up IDLE and started coding up the process for making an Alternity character. Since during the day I've been spending time with the family, the coding took place mainly at night. But I've made progress!
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Experimenting with flake.nix
I have read a lot recently about Nix (the OS, the package manager and the language). The reproducibility promise looks promising, so I am giving it a try.
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Journal Update 25
Received generous financial support[1]. Thanks everyone who has donated. I was not expecting so much help!
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Internet/Gemini
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Sweet Gemini On My Mind
Way back when the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis caused some stir, a claim that the language used influences how one views the world. Loglan (thence lojban) was created in part by a desire to test this hypothesis. Also there were these new computer things at the time, how would we interface with those? The strong version of the hypothesis is generally held in low regard, though there are various effects, little leaky abstractions that filter into your perception depending on your language. One recent study involves perception; English speakers tend to noun a picture, as the noun comes first, so we need a noun to lead with. Verb first other languages do, so speakers of those "look around" more to identify an action. And then there are languages with totally free word order, and the speakers of those look all over the place to figure out what is what.
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Videos for the advancedment of the free internet!
Hola! Happy Hacking to all hackers, DIY, Creators and tinkers out there. - Sorry Hackers today I will post in my native tong :) I will post something similar in English at the end.
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Gemini to Markdown converter now more accessible
Some time ago I published a nice tool for converting Gemini text to Markdown. It goes to some trouble to get the spacing around blocks of links or preformatted text right. There are alternatives, including a very short sed script.
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* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.