Leftovers

• Kev Quirk ☛ The Hardest Thing In The World

  There are many things in the world that are difficult, but what is the hardest thing in the world?

  I hear it all the time "that's impossible!" or "there's absolutely no way anyone would EVER be able to do that!" I mean, to be fair, comments like that usually come from my kids, but you get what I mean.

  So what actually is the hardest thing in the world? What is the most difficult of humankind's endeavours to accomplish?

• Hackaday ☛ Transforming Pawn Changes The Game

  3D printing has allowed the hobbyist to turn out all sorts of interesting chess sets with either intricate details or things that are too specialized to warrant a full scale injection molded production run. Now, the magic of 3D printing has allowed [Works By Design] to change the game by making pawns that can automatically transform themselves into queens.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ An Unexpected Object Is Blasting Powerful Radiation in Deep Space

    200 trillion times more energy than visible light.

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Standing Desk Might Actually Be as Bad as Sitting All Day

    But there is a solution.

  • Science Alert ☛ One Super Predator in Africa Instills Even More Fear Than Lions

    The scariest of all.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Measuring Temperature Without A Thermometer

    If you need to measure the temperature of something, chances are good that you could think up half a dozen ways to do it, pretty much all of which would involve some kind of thermometer, thermistor, thermocouple, or other thermo-adjacent device. But what if you need to measure something really hot, hot enough to destroy your instrument? How would you get the job done then?

  • Hackaday ☛ Don’t Forget Your Curve Tracer

    As cheap microcontrollers have given us an impressive range of test equipment trinkets to play with, it’s easy to forget some of the old standabys. A curve tracer for example, the relatively simple circuit allowing the plotting of electronic component response curves on an oscilloscope. Lest we forget this useful device, here’s [Gary LaRocco] with a video describing one that’s so easy to build, anyone could do it.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Phantom PSP: Crafting The Handheld Sony Never Sold

    In the world of retro gaming, some legends never die – especially the ‘phantom’ PSP, Sony’s mythical handheld that never saw the light of day. While that elusive device remains a dream, hacker and gaming wizard [Kyle Brinkerhoff] built his own – and Macho Nacho made a video about it. His creation, which also goes by the name ‘Playstation Zero’, isn’t just another handheld emulator; it’s a powerful, custom-built system that revives the classics and plays them on a portable device that feels like the future.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Tsushin Booster – A PC Engine Modem Add-on With A Twist

    Sometimes, hardware projects get cancelled before they have a chance to make an impact, often due to politics or poor economic judgment. The Tsushin Booster for the PC Engine is one such project, possibly the victim of vicious commercial games between the leading Japanese console manufacturers at the tail end of the 1980s. It seems like a rather unlikely product: a modem attachment for a games console with an added 32 KB of battery-backed SRAM. In addition to the bolt-on unit, a dedicated software suite was provided on an EPROM-based removable cartridge, complete with a BASIC interpreter and a collection of graphical editor tools for game creation.

  • Russell Coker ☛ Russell Coker: More About the Yoga Gen3

    Two months ago I bought a Thinkpad X1 Yoga Gen3 [1]. I’m still very happy with it, the screen is a great improvement over the FullHD screen on my previous Thinkpad. I have yet to discover what’s the best resolution to have on a laptop if price isn’t an issue, but it’s at least 1440p for a 14″ display, that’s 210DPI. The latest Thinkpad X1 Yoga is the 7th gen and has up to 3840*2400 resolution on the internal display for 323DPI. Fashion Company Apple apparently uses the term “Retina Display” to mean something in the range of 250DPI to 300DPI, so my current laptop is below “Retina” while the most expensive new Thinkpads are above it.

    I did some tests on external displays and found that this Thinkpad along with a Dell Latitude of the same form factor and about the same age can only handle one 4K display on a Thunderbolt dock and one on HDMI. On Reddit u/Carlioso1234 pointed out this specs page which says it supports a maximum of 3 displays including the built in TFT [2]. The Thunderbolt/USB-C connection has a maximum resolution of 5120*2880 and the HDMI port has a maximum of 4K. The latest Yoga can support four displays total which means 2*5K over Thunderbolt and one 4K over HDMI. It would be nice if someone made a 8000*2880 ultrawide display that looked like 2*5K displays when connected via Thunderbolt. It would also be nice if someone made a 32″ 5K display, currently they all seem to be 27″ and I’ve found that even for 4K resolution 32″ is better than 27″.

    With the typical configuration of GNU/Linux and the BIOS the Yoga Gen3 will have it’s touch screen stop working after suspend. I have confirmed this for stylus use but as the finger-touch functionality is broken I couldn’t confirm that. On r/thinkpad u/p9k told me how to fix this problem [3]. I had to set the BIOS to Win 10 Sleep aka Hybrid sleep and then put the following in /etc/systemd/system/thinkpad-wakeup-config.service : [...]

  • Russell Coker ☛ Russell Coker: What is a Workstation?

    I recently had someone describe a Mac Mini as a “workstation”, which I strongly disagree with. The Wikipedia page for Workstation [1] says that it’s a type of computer designed for scientific or technical use, for a single user, and would commonly run a multi-user OS.

    The Mac Mini runs a multi-user OS and is designed for a single user. The issue is whether it is for “scientific or technical use”. A Mac Mini is a nice little graphical system which could be used for CAD and other engineering work. But I believe that the low capabilities of the system and lack of expansion options make it less of a workstation.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Huge Study Shows Where Gout Comes From, And It's Not What We Thought

    "The myth that gout is caused by lifestyle or diet needs to be busted."

  • Science Alert ☛ Health Authorities Find Banned Substances in Hundreds of Cosmetics

    We've got a serious problem here.

  • LRT ☛ Klaipėda woman discovers passion for Viking cooking

    Dressed in Curonian folk dress, Edita Nurmi is an expert on Viking-era cuisine. She rolls her sleeves, builds a bonfire, and makes a feast in the style of her Medieval ancestors. “I want to show that we were not savages.”

  • Science Alert ☛ Hidden Mental Health Risks of Perimenopause Identified For First Time

    A wake-up call.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Up to ‘10 times cheaper’: More Hong Kongers seek healthcare in mainland China

    These services range from dental and health screening, to specialist treatments and even surgical procedures.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • JURIST ☛ Armenia surveillance bill spurs international concern over privacy rights

      Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Thursday that the Armenian government’s proposed surveillance bill raises significant concerns regarding privacy rights and civil liberties. HRW cautioned that the mere presence of surveillance systems in public areas can create a chilling effect on fundamental rights, including freedoms of assembly, association, and expression.

    • JURIST ☛ Mauritius implements social control media ban ahead of elections amid surveillance controversy

      Mauritius’ Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Authority published a statement Friday implementing a comprehensive suspension of social control media access across the island nation.

    • JURIST ☛ Mozambique restricts social control media access amid post-election protests and rights concerns

      Internet monitoring organization NetBlocks reported Thursday that Mozambique has implemented restrictions on social control media and messaging platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, amid escalating tensions following disputed presidential election results.

    • The Straits Times ☛ India criticises Canada for linking minister to Sikh plots

      New Delhi also accused Ottawa of surveillance of some Indian consular staff.

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ Report shows Trump’s mass deportation of immigrants increased crime rates

    US think tank Cato Institute asserted that the policy focus of mass deportation of asylum seekers during Donald Trump’s 2017-2020 presidency caused an increase in the number of criminals released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in a report released on Wednesday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korean white paper says South’s president has raised risk of nuclear war

    Mr Yoon Suk Yeol has taken a hard line on North Korea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea vows to continue with what it calls self-defence efforts

    It accused the US and South Korea of pushing the Korean peninsula into war scenarios.

  • France24 ☛ Iran’s Khamenei threatens 'crushing response' to Israel attacks

    Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned on Saturday of a "crushing response" to Israel and the US following recent attacks on Iranian targets. The news came as the World Health Organization said four children were among six people wounded in a strike on a polio vaccination centre in northern Gaza.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Drivers of S’pore-registered vehicles warned against using fake Malaysian plates for RON95 petrol

      Those doing so will be taken to task by the Malaysian authorities, said the Malaysian media.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ World’s largest captive crocodile Cassius dies in Australia

      The reptile had been in declining health since Oct 15.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ It’s worth a shot – but tax cuts on premium booze won’t do much for Hong Kong’s liquor trade

    The tax cuts on “premium liquor” have some claim to be the most inconsequential part of the recent policy speech by Hong Kong’s leader. Liquor in this context means the hard stuff: whisky, gin, etc. Premium means the most expensive versions of the hard stuff.

  • France24 ☛ Chinese investors show irrational enthusiasm for Trump ‘meme stock’

    The share price of a small Chinese company in financial difficulties has skyrocketed in recent days. The company's only real asset is its name: Wisesoft, which in Chinese sounds like the phrase 'Trump wins big'. Chinese investors are prone to buying shares solely on the basis of a company name.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Easy credit, living beyond their means straining Malaysian young adults financially

    The fear of missing out is also a common reason why young adults make financial mistakes, says an expert.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Photographing Every President Since Reagan

    Doug Mills reflects on nearly 40 years of taking photos of presidents.

  • France24 ☛ Election workers brace for threats as election day draws close

    As the US presidential vote draws closer, election workers in the battleground state of Arizona are bracing themselves after facing intimidation and harassment in the previous election. Meanwhile in Pheonix, authorities have secured the city's election and tabulation centre as they seek to deter overzealous Trump supporters, who, in 2020, demanded to enter to the building.

  • Dispatches from Europe, No. 6, October 31, 2024 – Greens Movement of Georgia

    Green politics in Georgia started out with a civic movement organization, the Greens Movement, during the late Soviet period in the late 1980s that was directly influenced by the emerging Green parties of Western Europe. The Greens Movement was an important force in the larger movement for democracy and Georgian independence as well as the main center of environmental activism in Georgia.

  • China honors late general linked to Cultural Revolution cannibalism

    The burial of former Guangxi leader Wei Guoqing's remains with revolutionary honors sparks horror on social control media.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ GlobalFoundries fined $500,000 for restricted chip exports to Chinese firm on U.S. entity list — chipmaker shipped $17 million worth of silicon wafers to China’s SJ Semiconductor

    GlobalFoundries is said to have shipped 74 orders, totaling $17.1 million, to SJ Semiconductor, a SMIC affiliate, without obtaining the required license.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Sri Lanka faces a China conundrum: Balancing wariness with welcome

    The China question haunts new Sri Lankan president, but locals, Chinese residents interact comfortably.

  • New York Times ☛ How Election Coverage Extends Beyond Politics

    Nearly every team at The Times has some hand in election coverage. Journalists from the Styles, Culture, Business and National desks shared how they’re tackling the moment.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Inside Towers ☛ FCC, Broadband Industry Spar Over Net Neutrality - Inside Towers

    Attorneys for the FCC and groups representing the broadband industry argued about the future of net neutrality to a panel of federal appeals court judges on Thursday.

    The rules reclassify ISPs as common carriers, barring them from selectively throttling web traffic in favor of paid content. After being enacted under President Barack Obama and repealed under President Donald Trump, they were reinstated by President Biden’s FCC in April, by a split 3-2 vote, Inside Towers reported.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ The Risky Game with Divisionals

    This will only be a very short post, but one important new development on the borderline of patent monopoly law and antitrust law shall not be left unnoticed on this blog.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Buzzword’s Role in U.S. Elections: Republican vs. Democratic Views

    As America heads toward the 2024 presidential election, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a surprising campaign flashpoint. From voter targeting to political advertising, Hey Hi (AI) is reshaping how candidates connect with voters – and exposing a divide over how this powerful technology should be governed.  A partisan split in this area mirrors broader ideological differences about government regulation, with Republicans championing market freedom and innovation, while Democrats tend to advocate for the same, but with stronger federal oversight and ethical guardrails. 

  • Unified Patents ☛ $1,000 awarded for Distefano Website Innovations internet patent monopoly prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winner, Calvin Zhong, who was awarded $1,000 for his prior art submissions on U.S. Patent 11,763,316, owned by Distefano Website Innovations, LLC, an NPE. The patent monopoly relates generally to creating and posting web pages to the internet, and more specifically, to a method for more easily developing web pages through the use of a graphical user interface. It has been asserted against ByteDance.