Linking ideas with the world
In this article I take a look at AI Slop and how it is effecting the current internet. I also look at what exactly the internet of today looks like – it is hugely centralised. This centralisation creates a focused trashcan for the AI generated slop. This is exactly the opportunity that curated content creators Read more about AI Slop Is Great For Internet (Re-)Decentralisation[…]
Last year, Google lost an antitrust case to Biden’s DoJ. The DoJ lawyers beat Google like a drum, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Google had deliberately sought to create and maintain a monopoly over search, and that they’d used that monopoly to make search materially worse, while locking competitors out of the Read more about The worst possible antitrust outcome – unless you are Google[…]
Back in 2022, Walled Culture wrote about a legal case involving ad blockers. These are hugely popular programs: according to recent statistics, around one billion people use ad blockers when they are online. That’s a testament to the importance many people attach to being in control of their browser experience, and to a wide dislike Read more about Top German court says maybe the Web should be more like television in order to protect copyright and intrusive business models[…]
Since I fell in love reviewing the ReMarkable 2 in 2020, I’ve had one wish for the Norwegian whizz kids behind this state-of-the-art e-ink tablet: Make one like this but smaller, please. Why? Because while it’s nice to write on a super-slim, silver, LED-free “magic legal pad from the future,” as I still call it, Read more about ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: e-ink notepad gets nice and small (7.8″)[…]
So the judge says that because things changed in the search space (AI / GPT searching) that changes the advertising space (which the GPTs don’t really do much of – yet) which is what the case was about. The anti-competitive facts of the case were before GPTs came along and are not relevant to the Read more about Judge who ruled Google is a monopoly says no need for punishment.[…]
There’s a new player in the AI race, and it’s a whole country. Switzerland has just released Apertus, its open-source national Large Language Model (LLM) that it hopes would be an alternative to models offered by companies like OpenAI. Apertus, Latin for the world “open,” was developed by the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne Read more about Switzerland launches its own open-source AI model[…]
Insomnia patients taking cannabis-based medical products reported better quality sleep after up to 18 months of treatment, according to a study published August 27 in the open-access journal PLOS Mental Health by Arushika Aggarwal from Imperial College London, U.K., and colleagues. About one out of every three people has some trouble getting a good night’s Read more about Study finds cannabis improves sleep where other drugs fail[…]
Palo Alto Networks is writing to customers that may have had commercially sensitive data exposed after criminals used stolen OAuth credentials lifted from the Salesloft Drift break-in to gain entry to its Salesforce instance. Marc Benoit, chief information security officer at PAN, confirmed in a note to clients – seen by The Register – that Read more about Stolen Salesforce Drift OAuth tokens expose Palo Alto customer data[…]
Spotify wants to be yet another messaging platform, but its new DM system has a quirk that makes me hesitant to recommend it. Spotify used to be a non-identity based platform, but things changed once it added messaging. Now, the Spotify DM system is attaching account information to song links and putting it in front Read more about So Spotify Public Links Now Show Your Personal Information. You Need to Disable Spotify DMs To Get Rid Of It.[…]
The phone ecosystem these days is horribly boring compared to the innovation of a couple decades back. Your options include flat rectangles, and flat rectangles that fold in half and then break. [Marcin Plaza] wanted to think outside the slab, without reinventing the wheel. In an inspired bout of hacking, he flipped a broken Samsung Read more about Phonenstien Flips Broken Samsung Into QWERTY Slider but won’t share how[…]
BRUSSELS — EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič on Monday made an 11th-hour intervention to stop the European Commission from issuing a penalty against American tech giant Google for its search advertising practices, amid continued trade threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Late last week, Google was given a heads up to expect a decision on Read more about EU Google antitrust penalty halted by low level commissioner amid Trump’s tariff threats[…]
A new report suggests that the UK’s age verification measures may be having unforeseen knock-on effects on web traffic, with the real winners being sites that flout the law entirely. […] Sure, there are ways around this if you’d rather not feed your personal data to a platform’s third-party age verification vendor. However, sites are Read more about Age verification legislation is tanking traffic to sites that comply, and rewarding those that don’t[…]
While some American officials continue to attack strong encryption as an enabler of child abuse and other crimes, a key European court has upheld it as fundamental to the basic right to privacy. […] While some American officials continue to attack strong encryption as an enabler of child abuse and other crimes, a key European Read more about Europol wants to keep all data forever for law enforcement, says unnamed(!) official. E.U. Court of Human Rights backed encryption as basic to privacy rights in 2024 and now Big Brother Chat Control is on the agenda again (EU consultation feedback link at end)[…]
An alarmed Register reader got in touch after receiving warnings from Azure’s automated systems that they had significantly exceeded their budgets, and a glance at Microsoft’s support forums indicates their issue was not isolated. The problem was that costs had suddenly ramped up. One user, with a budget threshold of £63 ($85), received an automated Read more about MS Azure mistake erroneously hikes costs 3x during internal migration, then tries to delete evidence from customer support portal[…]
William Gibson famously said that “Cyberpunk was a warning, not a suggestion.” But for every tech leader fantasizing about lobotomizing their enemies with Black Ice, there are ten who wish they could be Darth Vader, force-choking you while grating out, “I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.” I call this business Read more about Pluralistic: Darth Android – Altering Terms After the Fact[…]
The EU wants to save all your data, or as much as possible for as long as possible. To insult the victims of crime, they say that they want to do this to fight crime. How do you feel about the EU being turned into a surveillance society? Leave your voice in the link below. Read more about The EU wants to know what you think about it keeping all your data for *cough* crime stuff.[…]
Smart home device maker Futurehome is forcing its customers’ hands by suddenly requiring a subscription for basic functionality of its products. Launched in 2016, Futurehome’s Smarthub is marketed as a central hub for controlling Internet-connected devices in smart homes. For years, the Norwegian company sold its products, which also include smart thermostats, smart lighting, and Read more about Futurehome smart hub owners must pay new $117 subscription or lose access. Or use a different app (link on bottom) […]
Credit reporting giant TransUnion has disclosed a data breach affecting more than 4.4 million customers’ personal information. In a filing with Maine’s attorney general’s office on Thursday, TransUnion attributed the July 28 breach to unauthorized access of a third-party application storing customers’ personal data for its U.S. consumer support operations. TransUnion claimed “no credit information Read more about TransUnion says hackers stole 4.4 million customers’ personal information (breached AGAIN!!!)[…]
A new paper in the journal Nature catalogs how several “abrupt changes,” like the precipitous loss of sea ice over the last decade, are unfolding in Antarctica and its surrounding waters, reinforcing one another and threatening to send the continent past the point of no return—and flood coastal cities everywhere as the sea rises several Read more about Antarctica Is Unraveling[…]
China’s Salt Typhoon cyberspies hoovered up information belonging to millions of people in the United States over the course of the years-long intrusion into telecommunications networks, according to a top FBI cyber official. “There’s a good chance this espionage campaign has stolen information from nearly every American,” Michael Machtinger, deputy assistant director for the FBI’s Read more about FBI cyber cop: Salt Typhoon pwned ‘nearly every American’[…]
The collapse of a critical Atlantic current can no longer be considered a low-likelihood event, a study has concluded, making deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions even more urgent to avoid the catastrophic impact. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc) is a major part of the global climate system. It brings sun-warmed tropical water to Read more about Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds[…]
As first reported by TorrentFreak, Apple is preventing downloads of the iTorrent app on iPhones in the EU. Developer Daniil “XITRIX” Vinogradov’s app was a popular BitTorrent client available from AltStore PAL, which is among the most popular third-party iOS app stores overseas. The company revoked the app developer’s ability to distribute apps on such Read more about Apple pulls torrenting app from a third-party store (one that it should not be able to control!) in the EU[…]
Today’s electric vehicle boom is tomorrow’s mountain of electronic waste. And while myriad efforts are underway to improve battery recycling, many EV batteries still end up in landfills. A research team from MIT wants to help change that with a new kind of self-assembling battery material that quickly breaks apart when submerged in a simple Read more about New self-assembling material could be the key to recyclable EV batteries[…]
“The Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic, at yesterday’s press conference, accused the opposition of upheld the proposal of a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the establishment of rules for the prevention and combating sexual abuse of children COM (2022) 209, which is (unpopularly referred to as ‘chat Read more about Croatians suddenly realise that EU CSAM rules include hidden pervasive chat control surveillance, turning the EU into Big Brother – dissaprove massively.[…]
Tizen OS is on track to lose full support by the end of 2025, Samsung has announced, marking the end of an era that began in 2018 with the original Galaxy Watch. And right now, Samsung is offering up to $100 in trade-in credit for your Tizen Galaxy Watch. This includes the Galaxy Watch 3, Read more about Samsung turns Tizen OS smartwatches into junk and won’t allow you to download the apps anymore soon.[…]