Leftovers

• Science

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Detecting warp drive bubbles

    The plot of Star Trek: First Contact involved the Vulcans detecting our first warp bubble, which gave them reason to finally take us seriously and make… first contact.

    My love of the film was but one of many reasons why I got a kick out of this research, as reported by the University of Potsdam in SciTech Daily:

    The results are fascinating. The collapsing warp drive generates a distinct burst of gravitational waves, a ripple in spacetime that could be detectable by gravitational wave detectors that normally target black hole and neutron star mergers. Unlike the chirps from merging astrophysical objects, this signal would be a short, high-frequency burst, and so current detectors wouldn’t pick it up. However, future higher-frequency instruments might, and although no such instruments have yet been funded, the technology to build them exists. This raises the possibility of using these signals to search for evidence of warp drive technology, even if we can’t build one ourselves.

• Hardware

  • Ruben Schade ☛ (Finally!) cutting shelves for our robot Hi-Fi

    For Christmas when I was 8 years old, my dad built me a wooden chest of drawers in the shape of a robot! He had a workshop in the garage at the time, and built most of our furniture. He ended up in storage when we started moving internationally, but I was happy to get him back when we moved back to Australia. The robot, I mean.

    A silly idea I had a few years ago was to turn Mr Robot from a chest of drawers to a rack for Clara’s and my burgeoning Hi-Fi system. The width of the drawers was within 5 mm of a standard audio/server rack unit, almost as though my old man knew what my interests would be years later.

  • Hackaday ☛ Vintage Crystal Radio Draws The Waves

    The classic crystal radio was an oatmeal box with some wire and a few parts. [Michael Simpson] has something very different. He found an assembled Philmore “selective” radio kit. The simple kit had a coil, a germanium diode, and a crystal earphone.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Ryzen 9000 delid leads to first Zen 5 death — shared photos expose cracked dies and leftover solder

    One of the world's first Ryzen 9000 delids went utterly wrong for extreme overclocker Tony Yu. The failed delid resulted in the I/O die of his Ryzen 9000 chip being cracked, making the chip completely unusable.

  • Dedoimedo ☛ Samsung A54 long-term usage report 5

    Here's a review and report 4 of my Samsung A54 mid-range smartphone long-term usage, including One UI 6.1 update, preserved privacy and security baseline, everyday usage, some responsiveness issues with several apps, broken system search, difficulty finding right software in Surveillance Giant Google Play, battery life, and more. Enjoy.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • CS Monitor ☛ After Dobbs, some states rushed to protect abortion access. Now numbers of procedures are rising.

    With abortion on the ballot for several states, a new report indicates abortions have risen since the Supreme Court over turned Roe v. Wade. Laws protecting prescribers who see patients in states with abortion bans may have been a major driver for the increase.

  • France24 ☛ Family of French explorer killed in Titan sub implosion seeks more than $50 million in lawsuit

    The family of French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who perished in the Titan submersible implosion, on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50 million, alleging the crew faced "terror and mental anguish" before the disaster and accusing the sub's operator, OceanGate, of gross negligence. The suit claims the crew realised their fate before the vessel imploded during its ill-fated dive to the Titanic wreck site in June 2023.

  • Off Guardian ☛ The Virus Telenovella – Teaching the Plandemic [Ed: Coronavirus denialism overlooks excess deaths, among other data points]

    There are a variety of debates that one can jump into concerning the alleged pandemic. The viruses don’t exist crowd say that no scientific evidence exists that any virus has ever been isolated, so it follows that there was no novel virus.

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ How covid conspiracy theories led to an alarming resurgence in AIDS denialism

    Several million people were listening in February when Joe Rogan falsely declared that “party drugs” were an “important factor in AIDS.” His guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, the former evolutionary biology professor turned contrarian podcaster Bret Weinstein, agreed with him: The “evidence” that AIDS is not caused by HIV is, he said, “surprisingly compelling.”…

  • Reason ☛ Tim Walz Was a COVID-19 Tyrant

    The Minnesota governor actually defended the state's disastrous nursing home policies.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Automattic rolls out AI-powered writing readability assistant for WordPress bloggers [Ed: Seems like keylogger and spyware]

    Automattic Inc., which runs WordPress.com and contributes to the open-source WordPress blogging software, released a new generative artificial intelligence-powered feature Tuesday to help bloggers improve their writing. The new tool, called Write Brief with AI, works with already written text and operates within the WordPress editor as part of Jetpack.

  • Unicorn Media ☛ Expect a Boom in Data Centers Purpose-built for Power Hungry Hey Hi (AI) Workloads, Researcher Says [Ed: Not really, the bubble is imploding already. Lots of money lost, the environment ruined, mostly for junk and vapourware.]

    The increased infrastructure requirements needed for Hey Hi (AI) workloads have largely been retrofitted into existing data centers. That's about to change.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Reason ☛ Inside the Unchecked Bus Searches by South Carolina Police

      Routine searches of commercial buses violate privacy, target low-income passengers, and result in widespread violations.

    • CNX Software ☛ Google kills the Chromecast, introduces the Surveillance Giant Google TV Streamer for both video streaming and Smart Home control

      Google has just announced the Chromecast media streamer would be phased out, introducing instead the Surveillance Giant Google TV Streamer for both TV streaming and the Smart Home with not only gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, but also Matter support and Thread border router function.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Ambassador to Skip Peace Ceremony in Japan Over Israel’s Omission

    The American and British ambassadors to Japan said they would not attend an event to mark the atomic bomb strike in Nagasaki because Israel’s ambassador was excluded.

  • France24 ☛ Hezbollah chief Nasrallah vows 'strong response' to Israeli attacks

    Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed in a televised address on Tuesday that his group's response to last week's Israeli attacks would be "strong and effective", adding that Hezbollah would act either alone or with its regional allies. The news came as Hamas said it had chosen Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the October 7 attacks, as its new leader. Sinwar replaces Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran last week in a presumed Israeli strike, sending regional tensions soaring. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.

  • NYPost ☛ Texas man accused of hiding explosives under toilets at local businesses that detonated when victims sat down

    In both attacks, Alden was filmed on security cameras entering and leaving the bathroom before sitting patiently in the lobby with his eyes fixed on the lavatory door waiting for his victims to enter.

  • ADF ☛ India Raises Profile as Security Partner for Africa

    Over the last decade, India has emerged as a key security partner for nations across Africa with particular emphasis on terrorism, piracy and maritime domain awareness. Since 2015, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his country’s Security and Growth for All in the Region policy, India has hosted hundreds of African leaders.

  • France24 ☛ Israel vows to kill new Hamas chief Sinwar as US warns against escalation

    Israel's army chief vowed on Wednesday to pursue and eliminate Yahya Sinwar, who was named leader of Hamas following the killing of his predecessor in Tehran last week. Earlier in the day, Israeli forces raided the Balata refugee camp near the city of Nablus and destroyed the local headquarters of the Fatah faction, Palestinian authorities said, as security forces continued sweeps in the occupied West Bank. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.

  • Defence Web ☛ Masemola addresses concerns over high number of suspects killed by police in KZN

    South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has noted concerns over the “number of suspects that have been shot and killed by police in KwaZulu-Natal in recent months,” and warned criminals to surrender when called on to do so by police.

  • Defence Web ☛ White River military training camp was illegal – PSiRA

    The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) has served the owners of Milites Dei Security Services (MDSS) with notices of suspension after determining that military training it carried out at its White River facility was illegal, and was making use of Libyan instructors.

  • Defence Web ☛ UN DR Congo mission authorised to assist SAMIDRC

    A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution adopted this week makes available UN peacekeeping resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – under strict conditions – to the tri-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in the country’s troubled eastern region.

  • Defence Web ☛ KZN SAPS arrested over 11000 suspects in July as war on crime continues

    A co-ordinated effort by the South African Police Service in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has yielded 313 illegal firearms and the arrest of 11 003 suspects for various crimes in the month of July. KwaZulu-Natal has continued the battle against violent crimes, particularly those where firearms are used, the SA Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • RFERL ☛ Lufthansa Suspends Flights To Iran, Citing Security Concerns

      German airline Lufthansa has suspended flights to Iran, Israel, Iraq, and Beirut amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian Foreign Ministry repeats call not to go to Israel

      As the security situation continues to escalate and there is a significant risk of escalation in the Middle East region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its call on Latvian citizens not to travel to Israel in a release on August 6.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Latvia ☛ Please don't dump apples in forests, nature authority asks

      As summer draws to a close and harvest time approaches, the question of where to put left-over apples, grass and other organic waste becomes more pressing for many home and garden owners.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Trump Dangles New Tax Cut Proposals With Real Political Appeal

    The most recent and costliest of Mr. Trump’s ideas would end income taxes on Social Security benefits.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Reason ☛ Justice Gorsuch Warns Biden To 'Be Careful' With Attempts To Control Supreme Court

    Fewer laws and less government would be a better solution to judicial warfare.

  • Digital Music News ☛ After Telling X/Twitter Advertisers ‘Go F*ck Yourself’, Elon Musk Launches Antitrust Lawsuit

    Despite telling advertisers to ‘go f*ck themselves’ during The New York Times’ Dealbook Summit last year, now Elon Musk is suing an advertising coalition in a federal antitrust lawsuit. The lawsuit is against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), an advocacy group for advertisers like CVS Health, mars, Ørsted, and Unilever.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Citizen Lab ☛ Ron Deibert on ‘Sexist’ falsehoods target Kamala Haris after Biden drops out in the Daily Mail

      United States Vice President Kamala Harris is at the center of an online disinformation storm after President Joe Biden’s endorsement.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ US district court rejects Harvard University efforts to dismiss antisemitism lawsuit

    A US federal judge on Tuesday ruled that key parts of a lawsuit accusing Harvard University of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment and discrimination can move forward. The lawsuit was filed in January by a recent graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, Alexander Kestenbaum, alongside Students Against Antisemitism, Inc. (SAA), an advocacy group.

  • JURIST ☛ Turkish activists file lawsuit against government Instagram ban

    Two Turkish law professors and cyber-rights activists have filed a lawsuit regarding the recent ban on Instagram by the Turkish government, according to a Monday social control media post.

  • RFERL ☛ Moscow City Court Upholds Arrest Warrant For Yulia Navalnaya

    The Moscow City Court on August 7 upheld a lower court's decision last month to issue an arrest warrant for Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, on a charge of taking part in an extremist group’s activities.

  • RFA ☛ No TokTok in Tibetan

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • AccessNow ☛ United Nations Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of ICTs for Criminal Purposes

  • AccessNow ☛ Letter To Negotiating States Regarding The Chair’s Proposal On Main Pending Provisions

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Sahilister ☛ Sahil Dhiman: Banks With Own ASN in India

    Most banks are behind CDNs and DDoS mitigation providers nowadays, though they still hold their own IP space. Was interested in this, so compiled a list from BGP.Tools and Hurricane Electric BGP Toolkit.

  • APNIC ☛ [Podcast] The SIDN Labs post-quantum DNSSEC testbed

    Casper and Ralph from SIDN Labs discuss their DNSSEC testbed for Post Quantum Cryptography.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Reason ☛ Federal Court Rules That Surveillance Giant Google Illegally Maintained a Monopoly

  Google is "the best," the court says. But being on top is dangerous.

• Patents

  • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ IDC v Lenovo: reinforcing the English Court’s pragmatic approach to FRAND determination

    On 12 July 2024 the English Court of Appeal gave its second FRAND determination judgment, in the context of an appeal and cross-appeal of Mellor J’s first instance decision in IDC v Lenovo.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Alibaba Group joins Unified Patents

    We are pleased to announce that Alibaba Group Holding Limited, a multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology, is now a Unified Patents member. Alibaba Group is joining 300+ other companies committed to deterring the assertion of bad patents by non-practicing entities (NPEs).

  • Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 awarded for Equitable IP entity Communication Interface Technologies virtual connection patent monopoly prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winner, Nitish Jaswal, who was awarded $2,000 for his prior art submission on U.S. Patent 6,574,239, owned by Communication Interface Technologies LLC, an entity of Equitable IP Corporation.

  • Unified Patents ☛ $4,000 awarded for Atlantic IP Services entity Croga Innovations software patents prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners below totaling $4,000 in cash prizes. The patents are owned by Croga Innovations, Ltd., an entity of Atlantic IP Services Limited. The patents generally relate to software applications. The ‘780 patent monopoly has been asserted against IBM, Cisco, and Fortinet.

  • JUVE ☛ Patent attorney firm WSL opens office in Munich with HGF team [Ed: SPAM disguised as information; so-called 'marketing' in place of news]

    Jan Robert Naefe, Markus Zoller and Aušra Naefe have left the British law firm HGF and joined the German patent monopoly attorney firm WSL.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Means-Plus-Function Claims in Patent Eligibility and Infringement Analyses

    Means-plus-function claims have generally been disfavored because of the tendency of courts to  either (1) narrowly construe their scope when corresponding structure is detailed in the specification or (2) render them invalid as indefinite when the specification lacks sufficient corresponding structure. If Impact Engine’s petition is well received, there is a good chance that this historically popular claim style will see a revival. 

    The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Impact Engine v. Google has again raised the issue of over the proper treatment of MPF, this time regarding patent monopoly eligibility and infringement analyses. Appeal No. 22-2291  (Fed. Cir. July 3, 2024).  I had skipped a write-up of the non-precedential decision, but now Impact Engine has petitioned for en banc review, arguing that MPF claims having specific corresponding structure should be deemed per se eligible (or at least presumptively so).

  • The Chain of Issuance: The People and Patents That Built The Financial Surveillance Network

    The patent monopoly hoarding developers and investors associated with PayPal and Surveillance Giant Google who built the first iteration of e-commerce and digital advertising have turned to the blockchain to fulfill their vision of total financial surveillance and the circumnavigation of government-issued money.

  • Software Patents

    • CAFC Affirms Dismissal of Storage Patent Infringement Case for Claims’ Failure Under 101

      The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Tuesday issued a precedential decision affirming a California district court’s decision to grant Blippar.com’s motion to dismiss a patent monopoly infringement claim brought against it because the asserted patent monopoly claims were ineligible under Section 101.