Leftovers

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ How We Got The Scanning Electron Microscope

    According to [Asianometry], no one believed in the scanning electron microscope. No one, that is, except [Charles Oatley].The video below tells the whole story.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ US revokes export licenses that allowed defective chip maker Intel and Qualcomm to sell chips to Huawei

    The U.S. Commerce Department has reportedly revoked export licenses that allowed defective chip maker Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. to sell chips to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. The Financial Times and Bloomberg reported the development today, citing sources familiar with the move.

  • IT Wire ☛ Small green shoots seen in global tablet market in 1Q24

    Global tablet shipments grew by 1% year-on-year in the first three months of 2024, the technology analyst firm Canalys says, with another tech analyst company, IDC, reporting a rise of 0.5%.

  • IT Wire ☛ US revoking licences for Intel, Qualcomm chip exports to Huawei: report

    The newspaper said the commerce department had confirmed the revoking of certain licences to Huawei without being specific.

    A department spokesperson was quoted as saying: “We continuously assess how our controls can best protect our national security and foreign policy interests, taking into consideration a constantly changing threat environment and technological landscape.

    {loadposition sam08}“As part of this process, as we have done in the past, we sometimes revoke export licences.”

    Intel, Qualcomm and Huawei did not respond to requests from the FT for comment, the newspaper noted.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel issues revenue warning after US revokes Huawei export licenses — further efforts to restrict China's access to Hey Hi (AI) chips

    The U.S. government has revoked export licenses for select processors for PCs and smartphones — defective chip maker Intel and Qualcomm can no longer ship to Huawei.

  • Hackaday ☛ ArdEEG Lowers The Cost Of Brain-Computer Interfaces

    Considering the incredible potential offered by brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), it’s no wonder there are so many companies scrambling to make their mark in the field. Some see it as an assistive technology, while others imagine it as the future of interactive entertainment. Regardless of the application, the technology has yet to make much inroads with the DIY crowd — largely due to the complexity and cost of the hardware involved.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Thailand Prime Minister Seeks to Criminalize Weed in Reversal

    Thailand had decriminalized marijuana in 2022, but the country’s new government is pushing for stricter drug laws.

  • Science Alert ☛ AstraZeneca's COVID Vaccine Withdrawn – But Let's Untangle The Facts From The Fiction

    'The anti-vaccine lobby had a field day'.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ The end of the AstraZeneca vaccine

    Melissa Davey reported in The Guardian:

    In a statement, AstraZeneca said the decision was made because there is now a variety of newer vaccines available that have been adapted to target Covid-19 variants.

  • teleSUR ☛ AstraZeneca To Withdraw COVID Vaccine Worldwide

    The company has previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ MN Supreme Court denies new trial for man convicted in fatal St. Paul fender-bender shooting

    He argued his constitutional rights were violated because a witness was unavailable to testify after exposure to COVID.

  • YLE ☛ AstraZeneca withdraws its Covid vaccine from market

    Finland stopped offering the company's jab to people under 65 in 2021.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Xbox quietly kills off one of its few exclusives for good

    It’s been quite the week in the video games industry. And by that we mean it’s been brutal.

    As more studios are shut down, it saddens us to say that Xbox has quietly killed off an exclusive that deserved to live longer than this.

    A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Bethesda had been affected by Microsoft layoffs, however, we didn’t quite know the extent of it.

  • Additional Xbox layoffs are reportedly on the horizon as the company aims to reduce expenses

    Amidst a week filled with intense competition between Microsoft and Sony, it seems that the Xbox platform holder is still facing some aftermath, as it recently revealed the closure of several internal studios. New reporting from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier suggests that Microsoft’s gaming division is facing more challenges as it strives to reduce costs.

  • Xbox Reportedly Set for More Job Cuts as Focus Shifts to Major Titles

    Recent reports reveal that Xbox is poised for further reductions, following substantial layoffs and studio closures. Notably impacted are Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, both actively developing new titles before their untimely shutdowns.

  • Phil Spencer’s Fallout 76 Camp Nuked as Calls Grow for Him to Resign

    Disgruntled players have nuked Xbox boss Phil Spencer‘s Fallout 76 camp amid increasing calls for him to resign. The move came a day after Microsoft gutted Bethesda in a second round of mass layoffs across its gaming division, with reports emerging that more Xbox cuts are on the way.

  • After Studio Closures, Former Xbox Executive Defends Phil Spencer; Fans Criticize Him [Ed: Microsoft tries to save him from a semi-forced resignation]

  • Rumor: ABK Has Not Protected MS Gaming, More Layoffs Expected As They Argue On COD in Game Pass

    Xbox. Introduced in 2001 by Bill Gates, as a way to challenge Sony’s position in the entertainment space, and carve out their own niche in it. While it seemed contradictory to make a console when Microsoft already had an open gaming platform, they proved they could bring innovation in it that forced other companies to follow them.

  • Microsoft’s Upcoming Perfect Dark Reboot Is Allegedly On Thin Ice As Well [Ed: More layoffs and closures lined up already]

    Xbox’s troubles seemingly aren’t stopping with the recent shutting down of multiple first-party studios, as according to Jeff Grubb on his Giant Bombcast, the Perfect Dark reboot is also falling apart behind the scenes and is far from release. The reboot was announced in 2020 for PC and Xbox Series X|S and is undergoing developmental issues.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: Xbox closing multiple studios, Canadians affected

    Xbox, the popular gaming brand owned by Microsoft, is reportedly shuttering several studios — including Alpha Dog Games in Canada.

    According to Reuters, the closures will help the company invest deeply into its portfolio of games and new intellectual property.

    Xbox refused to disclose the exact number of employees impacted by the restructuring.

    The development comes just months after Microsoft eliminated approximately nine per cent of its gaming division — affecting hundreds of positions.

  • Here Are the Bethesda Companies Affected by the Microsoft Layoffs and Their IP

    On the 7th of May 2024, the newest hit of company layoffs at videogame companies arrived once again, and this time, it came to the beloved Microsoft-acquired Bethesda. In an attempt to refocus and reprioritise their approach to videogame development, IP advancement, new IP creation, and continuing to grow their ongoing titles like Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online, Microsoft has made the decision to close four studios, with some of the employees being integrated whilst other jobs being made redundant.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Reason ☛ No Second Amendment or Privacy Right Problem with California Laws Disclosing Firearms Purchaser Information to Certain Researchers

      From today's decision in Doe v. Bonta, written by Judge Mary Schroeder and joined by Judges Patrick Bumatay and Salvandor Mendoza: California's DOJ maintains two databases relevant to this case. The first database relates to purchasers of firearms and applicants for CCWs. It is called the Automated Firearm System ["AFS"].

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Top spy official releases principles on intel agency use of info bought from data brokers

      But it falls short on a very key point, says a lawmaker who has been heavily scrutinizing spy agency purchase of commercial bulk data.

• Defence/Aggression

  • CS Monitor ☛ En garde! Fencing draws Nairobi youngsters away from guns.

    A fencing club in Nairobi, Kenya, is expanding the sport’s reach and trying to send athletes to the Olympics.

  • New York Times ☛ Pro-Trump PAC Joins Fentanylware (TikTok) Amid Fight Over Its Chinese Ownership

    President Biden, whose presidential campaign uses the app, signed a law in April that would force a sale of Fentanylware (TikTok) by ByteDance.

  • New Yorker ☛ A Fentanylware (TikTok) Ban Won’t Fix Social Media [Ed: That's a straw man argument]

    You can take the platform away from American users, but it is far too late to contain the habits that it has unleashed.

  • teleSUR ☛ TikTok Sues US Government to Block Potential Ban [Ed: Kremlin stands with TikTok]

    The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is unconstitutional, said TikTok.

  • Reason ☛ TikTok Asks Court To Declare Ban Unconstitutional [Ed: The Koch brothers also defend TikTok, conflating China's own censorship (and much worse) with "freedom"]

    Congress is "silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate," the company argues.

  • France24 ☛ Stormy Daniels describes sexual encounter with Trump at hush-money trial

    Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush-money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential election 10 years later.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Court Keeps Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov In Detention

      A Moscow court rejected an appeal on May 8 by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov against his pretrial detention.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Flooding in Southern Brazil: Images of Rio Grande do Sul Underwater

    Torrential rains have caused one of Brazil’s worst floods in modern history, leaving more than 100 dead and nearly an entire state submerged.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • DeSmog ☛ New Report ‘Ringing the Alarm Bell’ for Climate Advocacy Conflict of Interest

    • DeSmog ☛ BP and Shell ‘Shaped’ UK Carbon Tax Proposals, Private Emails Show

    • DeSmog ☛ Labour MP Quits Politico Climate Event Over Equinor Sponsorship

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • DeSmog ☛ A Vaccine for Climate Misinformation

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ Hong Kong Court Bans ‘Glory to Hong Kong,’ a Pro-Democracy Song

    The decision could give the government power to force Surveillance Giant Google and other tech companies to limit access to “Glory to Hong Kong,” an anthem of 2019 protests.

  • JURIST ☛ Hong Kong court bans protest song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’

    The Hong Kong Court of Appeal granted Wednesday an interlocutory injunction to restrain any activities associated with the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong”.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Gov’t bid to ban ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ protest song approved by appeals court

    A Hong Kong appeals court has sided with the government in its attempt to ban protest song Glory to Hong Kong, overturning last year’s decision by a lower court that cited free speech concerns.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Glory to Hong Kong: Gov’t to demand illegal protest song wiped from internet; US says moves harms city’s reputation

    Hong Kong demanded Wednesday that a protest song popular during pro-democracy demonstrations be removed from the internet after a court banned it, judging it was a “weapon” to incite violent protests in 2019.

  • Internet Society ☛ The Internet is Making Elections More Transparent [Ed: Whereas Internet-connected voting machines make elections less trustworthy]

    With 64 countries and the European Union holding elections throughout 2024, the Internet will be a critical resource for many people around the world to access real-time poll updates in our own countries and those happening abroad.  

  • RFA ☛ Facebook page administrator sentenced to 8 years for ‘anti-state’ posts

    The page’s other administrator got the same sentence in March.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S.C. President Censured by Academic Senate After Weeks of Turmoil

    Carol Folt had been under fire for canceling a valedictorian’s speech and calling in the police, who cleared an encampment arrested dozens of protesters.

  • New Yorker ☛ Can Suing People for Lying Save Democracy?

    The lawyers at Protect Democracy have brought defamation suits against Rudy Giuliani, Kari Lake, and Project Veritas, hoping to limit the spread of disinformation. Others worry that their efforts could impinge on freedom of speech.

  • Reason ☛ Noam Dworman: Free Speech for All, From Finkelstein to Chapelle

    The owner of the Comedy Cellar and viral podcaster wants to argue with you about Israel, the media, and whether women are funny.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • IT Wire ☛ WikiLeaks founder's fate will be known in just 11 days

    This means lawyers from both sides will be back at the High Court on 20 May before a decision is taken as to whether the Australian can appeal against his extradition..

    Assange is still locked up in the maximum security Belmarsh Prison where he has spent the last 1854 days.

    The Australian's supporters said in a statement they were calling for his backers to assemble outside the court from 8.30am London time (11.30pm AEST) on 20 May.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ ECHR partially rules in favor of Georgia nationals in 2019 protest case

    The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) awarded partial satisfaction to Georgian protesters on Tuesday, citing procedural flaws in the government’s handling of a 2019 protest. The case concerned the excessive use of force by Georgian police during the dispersal of a protest in front of the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi on June 20 and 21, 2019. 

  • JURIST ☛ Lawsuit alleges New York prisons flout state law by isolating inmates with disabilities

    A class action complaint filed this week accuses New York prison officials of holding disabled inmates in solitary confinement in violation of state law.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Jane Doe Lawsuit Against Former Grammys Chief Neil Portnow Quietly Dismissed

    A Jane Doe who filed a sexual assault lawsuit against former Grammys chief Neil Portnow has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. She is afraid her identity will be revealed if the lawsuit goes forward. The lawsuit was filed anonymously in November 2023 in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

  • Reason ☛ Court Orders Unsealing of Documents in Lottery Winner's Lawsuit

    The lottery winner is suing an ex-girlfriend based on a non-disclosure agreement aimed at concealing his identity. (The motion to unseal, at this point, is aimed at just unsealing various sealed documents in the case, not at disclosing the parties' names.)

  • EFF ☛ Free Speech Around the World | EFFector 36.6

    You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below: [...]

  • EFF ☛ What Can Go Wrong When Police Use [chatbots] to Write Reports?

    We’ve seen it before. Grainy and shaky police body-worn camera video in which an arresting officer shouts, “Stop resisting!” This phrase can lead to greater use of force by officers or come with enhanced criminal charges.  Sometimes, these shouts may be justified. But as we’ve seen time and again, the narrative of someone resisting arrest may be a misrepresentation. Integrating AI into narratives of police encounters might make an already complicated system even more ripe for abuse.

    If the officer says aloud in a body camera video, “the suspect has a gun” how would that translate into the software’s narrative final product?

    The public should be skeptical of a language algorithm's ability to accurately process and distinguish between the wide range of languages, dialects, vernacular, idioms and slang people use. As we've learned from watching content moderation develop online, software may have a passable ability to capture words, but it often struggles with content and meaning. In an often tense setting such as a traffic stop, AI mistaking a metaphorical statement for a literal claim could fundamentally change how a police report is interpreted.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Eolas Seeks Supreme Court Review of Federal Circuit’s Patent Eligibility Decision

    Eolas is seeking a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court — hoping that the court will overturn the Federal Circuit’s decision invalidating its distributed computing (WWW) claims as ineligible under Alice Corp. and Mayo and ostensibly under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The petition presents three key questions:

  • JUVE ☛ Number of French patent monopoly cases remains an upwards trend [Ed: That's very bad news, except for lawyers; JUVE is a front group funded by them.]

    For another consecutive year, the French court of first instance has recorded an increase in the number of new patent monopoly disputes, with the number rising from 180 in 2022 to 186 in 2023. >

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Finding More Than Studs: Domestic Industry Nexus Tightens

    I always struggle to use these stud finders; I think its hard for them to focus when I’m around.

    Zircon Corp. v. International Trade Commission, No. 2022-1649 (Fed. Cir. May 8, 2024)

  • Unified Patents ☛ $1,000 awarded for S3G Technologies software modifying patent monopoly prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winner, Dinesh Swami, who was awarded $1,000 for his prior art submission on U.S. Patent 8,572,571, owned by S3G Technology LLC, an NPE.

  • Software Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ Velos/Avanci video codec patent monopoly found invalid

      On January 4, 2024, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) entered a final rejection of the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,390,013, owned by Velos Media, an NPE.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Affirms Section 2(d) Refusal of NUDE X for Cosmetics in view of NAKED X for Hair Care Products

    Trademark attorneys would be wise to become familiar with the CAFC's 2018 decision in Detroit Athletic [TTABlogged here]. At the time, I called it "a primer on much of the law of Section 2(d) as applied by the TTAB." It is frequently cited by the Board in recent decisions, including this one. In re BeBella Inc., Serial No. 97281194 (May 2, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Wendy B. Cohen).