Distributions and Operating Systems

• BSD

  • DragonFly BSD Digest ☛ Lazy Reading for 2024/03/03

    I had Covid in February, which made me sit still long enough to find all these links way ahead of time.

Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ A Better Use For The AGP Slot, Decades Later

  For a while around a quarter century ago PC motherboards came with a special slot, a little shorter than the PCI slots which ruled the roost back then, and offset from them further into the case. This was the Accelerated Graphics Port, or AGP, a standard created to more quickly serve the 3D graphics cards which were then taking the world by storm. It was everywhere for a few years, then in the mid-2000s it was replaced by PCI Express and faded into obscurity. [Peter] has a Socket 7-based NAS with an AGP slot, and was left wondering whether the unused port could be put to a worthwhile purpose.

• Hackaday ☛ What’s A Transfluxor?

  In the 1967 movie The Graduate, a wise older man gives some advice to the title character: plastics. Indeed, plastics would become big business. In 1962, though, a computer-savvy character might have offered a different word: transfluxor. What’s a transfluxor? Well, according to computer history sleuth [Ken Shirriff], it was the heart of a 20-pound transistor computer from Arma. Of course, plastics turned out to be a better bet, but in 1962, the transfluxor seemed to be the wave of the future.

• New York Times ☛ Cuban Artist Ana Mendieta’s Family Fights to Tell Her Story

  The Cuban artist Ana Mendieta fell from a window of her 34th-floor apartment in 1985. Her family members have been fighting for control of her legacy ever since.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Moon Lander Transmits a Poignant Farewell as Death Approaches

    Is this the end?

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Photo Captures Strange Circular Phenomenon in The Sky

    Like someone punched a hole in the sky.

• Education

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Contract negotiations continue between St. Paul teachers and school district

    The district said in a news release Sunday that the bargaining teams "continued to make meaningful progress" with the help of a state mediator as a strike deadline looms on March 11.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Building Your Own 4G LTE Base Station

    We’ve seen quite a few DIY 2G networks over the years, but the 4G field has been relatively barren. Turns out, there’s an open source suite called srsRAN that lets you use an SDR for setting up an LTE network, and recently, we’ve found a blog post from [MaFrance351] (Google Translate) that teaches you everything you could need to know if you ever wanted to launch a LTE network for your personal research purposes.

  • Hackaday ☛ Outdated HP Microserver Gets A New Brain

    What to do if you have a really cool old HP MicroServer that just can’t keep up with the demands of today? [jacksonliam] decided to restomod it by installing a mini PC into the drive bay.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to start legal action against doctors over walkout

    The government said it would take steps to suspend the medical licences of some 7,000 trainee doctors.

  • JURIST ☛ South Korea police raid medical association as doctors strike over government move to increase medical student numbers

    South Korean police raided offices of the Korean Medical Association (KMA) on Friday. The raids come as walkouts by junior doctors in Seoul have continued despite backlash from the South Korean government.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea moves to suspend licenses of 7,000 doctors, health official says

    South Korea's government will take steps to suspend the medical licenses of some 7,000 trainee doctors who have walked off the job and ignored a back-to-work order, a vice health minister said on Monday.

  • New Yorker ☛ The Fight Over I.V.F. Is Only Beginning

    The fertility treatment has wide support, even among Republican voters, but it is at odds with key elements in the pro-life movement.

  • Science Alert ☛ Unexpected Finding Links Losing Weight With Increased Cancer Risk

    But this could make perfect sense.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ OpenAI leadership rejects Elon Musk lawsuit – memo seen by reporters rebuts three main claims point by point

    Senior Proprietary Chaffbot Company executives have circulated memos discussing the lawsuit Elon Musk’s lawyers filed in California on Thursday. One of the memos hints that the lawsuit may have been sparked by ‘Elon’s regrets’ in distancing himself from Proprietary Chaffbot Company a few years previously.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The AGI Lawsuit: Elon Musk vs. Proprietary Chaffbot Company and the Quest for Artificial General Intelligence that Benefits Humanity

    Elon Musk was instrumental in the initial creation of Proprietary Chaffbot Company as a nonprofit with the vision of responsibly developing artificial intelligence (AI) to benefit humanity and to prevent monopolistic control over the technology.

  • dwaves.de ☛ why privacy matters – another example of how ai is used for evil – deep fakes getting better – a harm to democracy and journalists

    ok this picture is a easy to spot fake, because of it’s quality, but the quality of fakes (pictures AND videos) is getting better and better and better: This is scary shit, because what this means: NO-ONE can effectively believe [...]

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea, US troops kick off annual drills over North threats

    March 04, 2024 10:05 AM
    
    

    Freedom Shield will involve twice the number of troops from both sides compared with 2023.

  • New York Times ☛ Monday Briefing: Fears of Anarchy Grow in Gaza

    Also, Pakistan’s newly elected prime minister and a bard of China’s rust belt

  • RFA ☛ US-based dissident conference seeks plan for a democratic China

    The conference aims to improve on the current US system, and comes ahead of Beijing's rubber-stamp parliament.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Stop harassing us, Philippine foreign minister urges China

    He also defended Manila's policy of publicising Chinese manoeuvres in contested maritime territory.

  • YLE ☛ Finland joins first Nato collective defence drill

    The exercise marks Finland's first collective defence drill as a Nato member.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia welcomes South-east Asia leaders with fresh maritime security funding

    March 04, 2024 7:49 AM
    
    

    Canberra would invest A$64 million (S$56 million) over 4 years, including A$40 million in new funding.

  • RFA ☛ Economy, security, party drama: What to expect at China’s ‘two sessions’

    All eyes on fiscal stimulus and growth drivers under Pooh-tin Jinping’s push for ‘high-grade’ development.

  • New York Times ☛ Inmates Escape After Attacks on 2 Prisons in Haiti’s Capital

    The assault on prisons is the latest in a wave of violent episodes in the past few days staged by gangs who have vowed to oust the prime minister.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ Moscow Blocks Site Of Project Opposing Putin Reelection

      Russia’s Roskomnadzor media-monitoring agency has blocked the website of an initiative to express opposition to President Vladimir Putin during the March 15-17 presidential election.

    • RFERL ☛ Leaked Recording Of German Military Call On Taurus Missiles Is Part Of Putin's 'Information War,' Says Minister

      Berlin accused Russia on March 3 of trying to sow disunity following the leak of a confidential conference call between high-ranking German military staff discussing the possible use of German-made Taurus missiles by Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Wagner Mercenary Charged With Raping Woman After Returning From War In Ukraine

      A Russian mercenary who fought with the private military company Wagner in Ukraine has been arrested in Kirov in connection with the rape of a 22-year-old woman.

    • France24 ☛ Putin seeks to 'destablise' Germany with wiretap leak, defence minister says

      Germany on Sunday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to sow disunity with the wiretap leak of a confidential German army discussion on the Ukraine war, at a time when Berlin is under pressure to supply the Taurus missile to Kyiv.

    • NYPost ☛ Why Putin’s going big with nuke threats — and why we need to be ready

      Russian President Vladimir Putin lies. With abandon, ecstatically.  “There are no Russian troops in Crimea!” he said as spetsnaz units were occupying the peninsula in March 2014. “Russia will never start a war on Ukraine!” he repeated virtually up to the invasion two years ago. Putin’s annual state-of-Russia address last week was no different.

    • France24 ☛ 'We must win this war': Zelensky vows victory as death toll from Odesa strike rises to at least 12

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called for the world to help Kyiv defeat "Russian evil" as the death toll from a Russian drone strike on Odesa rose to 12, including five children.

    • LRT ☛ How Baltics became the whisky hookup for sanction-hit Russia

      Amid sanctions related to the war in Ukraine, Latvia has become Russia’s primary whisky supplier. This booming trade relationship has a complex web of diplomatic tightropes with economic and geopolitical nuances.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Calls On World To Help Ukraine Defeat 'Russian Evil' As Death Toll From Strike On Odesa Climbs To 12

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on March 3 for the world to help Kyiv defeat "Russian evil" as the death toll from a Russian drone strike on Odesa rose to 12, including several children.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Awaiting 'Concrete Proposals' As Syrskiy Completes Tour Of Front

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he is expecting a “detailed report and concrete proposals” from Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy, who was named chief of the General Staff on February 9, early in the coming week.

    • Meduza ☛ Two infants and toddler among dead after Russian strike on Ukraine’s Odesa — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia says Kyiv has agreed to accept bodies of Ukrainian POWs allegedly killed in Belgorod plane crash — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Strike’s Toll Rises to 12 as Zelensky Blames Air Defense Delay

      President Volodymyr Zelensky did not refer to the United States, but his words appeared to reflect frustration over a stalled American aid package.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Officials Say 6 Gunmen Killed In Ingushetia Shoot-Out

      Six gunmen were killed in a shoot-out with police in the town of Karabulak in the Russian North Caucasus region of Ingushetia on March 2, law enforcement officials reported.

    • New York Times ☛ Kremlin Seeks to Suppress Navalny’s Influence, in Death as in Life

      The Russian authorities vilified the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny with a viciousness that suggested he was more influential than Moscow would admit. Little has changed since he died.

    • Meduza ☛ At least 16,500 people came to Navalny’s funeral and burial, says crowd monitoring organization — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Flowers Pile Up At Navalny's Gravesite As Mourners Line Up To Pay Respects For Third Straight Day

      Hundreds of mourners lined up on March 3 to pay their respects to opposition politician Aleksei Navalny for the third day in a row at Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow, where a mound of flowers has formed at the gravesite of the anti-corruption campaigner.

    • France24 ☛ Hundreds of Navalny supporters pay tribute at his grave

      Hundreds of Alexei Navalny supporters queued to lay flowers and pay tribute to the deceased opposition leader on Sunday, in a significant show of support for the anti-corruption campaigner, who died last month in an Arctic prison colony.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ The Rubymar Carried Fertilizer That Threatens Red Sea, U.S. Says

    The U.S. Central Command said the 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer presented “an environmental risk,” while the vessel posed an “impact risk.”

  • France24 ☛ Cargo ship sunk by Houthi strike poses environmental risk, says US military

    A fertilizer-laden cargo ship, which sank in the Gulf of Aden after it was damaged by missiles from Yemen's Huthi rebels, poses an environmental risk, the US military warned Saturday.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • RFERL ☛ OPEC+ Members Extend Oil Output Cuts Into Second Quarter

      OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on March 3 to extend voluntary oil output cuts into the second quarter.

    • France24 ☛ Several countries extend oil output cuts to boost prices amid economic uncertainty

      Moscow, Riyadh and several other OPEC+ members on Sunday announced extensions to oil production cuts first announced in 2023 as part of an agreement among oil producers to boost prices following economic uncertainty.

    • The Strategist ☛ South Korea’s demand for critical minerals

      In December 2021 the then president of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in, made a largely unexpected working visit to Australia, at the end of his term, and at unusually short notice.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Science Alert ☛ The Snake Is The Spearhead of Reptile Evolution, But Why?

      The serpent's tale can finally be told.

  • Overpopulation

    • Science Alert ☛ Risk of Preterm Birth Is Dramatically Rising as The World Gets Hotter

      Huge implications for millions of children.

    • Science Alert ☛ Pivotal Moment For Humanity as Disasters Threaten to Converge

      The stakes could not be higher.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Marriages in South Korea fall by 40% within a decade

      Another report showed shifting social norms were behind the drop.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Over 50% Hong Kong subdivided flat dwellers ‘uncertain’ about waste tax scheme, survey finds

    Almost 57 per cent of people living in subdivided flats have said they were “uncertain” about the details of a new pay-as-you-throw waste tax, a survey conducted by a Hong Kong NGO has found as it urged authorities to further postpone the citywide roll out of the rubbish levy.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • JURIST ☛ Canada announces new measures for reviewing foreign investments in digital media sector

    Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne and Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge announced in a statement Friday additional measures aimed at strengthening guidelines on foreign investments in the interactive digital media sector. The two ministers hope to clarify and improve the application of the Investment Canada Act, which governs foreign investments.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • YLE ☛ Two female prison guards dismissed over suspected inmate relationships

    One of the women is suspected of smuggling a phone and drugs into prison.

  • YLE ☛ Upset over restrictions, hunting associations quit deals to help police

    Some local hunting associations say they will no longer euthanise large predators.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • UPC already in infringement of article 6 ECHR ?

    The Unified Patent Court, UPC, is a brand-new judicial court that opened its doors in June 2023 to deal with European patent infringement. The Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) instituting this court explains that it should be devised to ensure expeditious and high-quality decisions, following its the 6th considering of the UPCA. The quality, and the highest one, is also referred to as for the selection of judges that compose this court following article 15(1) of the UPCA.

    Nonetheless, despite the checked quality of the selected and appointed judges, the aim of expeditious decision seems to have gain the upper hand over legal standard: with less than a dozen of decisions issued by the internal Court of Appeal of the UPC, this Court of Appeal already appears to have failed to follow the rule of law for the composition of the Court of Appeal’s panels.

    August & Debouzy's patent litigation team together with its European Law Brussels’ Office have analyzed the legal situation at stake.

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • 🔤SpellBinding: GIULNRK Wordo: COPSE

  • Technology and Free Software

    • New Week

      Think I wrote 4 posts last week, but I didn't share any of them because they all had the same theme.

      I dropped my Steam Deck, and broke the joystick on it, ordered replacement parts and fixed it. Happy to have that ability, and it is a good reminder to purchase things from companies that let you repair them, instead of companies that fight hard to prevent you from repairing their products. (Hi Apple)

      Except the problem was I didn't fix it. I bought a replacement set of hall effect joysticks on Amazon, and the package they sent me had already been sent out to someone else before. That person replaced their left joystick because it was drifting, and returned the set it for a refund. So when I put it in my system I got their drifting joystick.

    • [Repeat] [Old] Programs

      I use Homebrew to get a lot of random small programs that I otherwise never would have bothered to get. However, the output of `brew list | wc -l` is currently up to the mid-200s, and a lot of these are mere dependencies of things I actually care about.