Leftovers

• Tom MacWright ☛ Cooking with glasses

  I’ve been thinking the new Meta Ray-Ban augmented reality glasses. Not because they failed onstage, which they absolutely did. Or that shortly after they received rave reviews from Victoria Song at The Verge and MKBHD, two of the most influential tech reviewers. My impression is that the hardware has improved but the software is pretty bad.

  Mostly I keep thinking about the cooking demo. Yeah, it bombed. But what if it worked? What if Meta releases the third iteration of this hardware next year and it worked? This post is just questions.

  The demos were deeply weird: both Mark Kapo-berg and Jack Mancuso (the celebrity chef) had their AR glasses in a particular demo mode that broadcasted the audio they were hearing and the video they were seeing to the audience and to the live feed of the event.

• France24 ☛ Paris landmark Pompidou centre closing for major renovation until 2030

  Paris’s Pompidou Centre, home to one of the world’s leading modern art collections, will close on Monday for a five-year renovation costing nearly €500 million. The museum, renowned for its exposed piping and multicoloured exterior, draws millions who come as much for the architecture as the art.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Signs of Our Galaxy's Arms May Be Trapped in Some of Earth's Crystals

    A cosmic connection.

  • Science Alert ☛ New Breakthrough to Strengthen Bones Could Reverse Osteoporosis

    A potential treatment for millions.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Create Clear Coating To Invisibly Turn Windows Into Solar Panels

    You can keep your view.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Deadly Brainworm Is Infecting Moose Across The US. But We Can Finally Track It.

    Once an animal is sick, it’s too late.

  • Science Alert ☛ Ocean Warming Threatens Microbe That Makes Nearly a Third of Earth's Oxygen

    We're in hot water.

  • Science Alert ☛ Fish Buttholes May Be The Reason We Now Have Fingers, Study Finds

    We didn't see that coming.

  • Science Alert ☛ World Alzheimer's Day: Here's How Far We've Come in Search of a Cure

    But big questions remain.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ For A Robot Claw, The Eyes Have It

    Have you ever wished your hand had an extra feature? Like, maybe, a second thumb? A scope probe pinky maybe? Well, if you are building a robot effector, you get to pick what extra features it has. [Gokux] has the aptly named Cam Claw, which is a 3D printed claw with a built-in camera so you can see exactly what it is doing.

  • Hackaday ☛ Low-Cost, High-Gain: A Smart Electronic Eyepiece For Capturing The Cosmos

    We’ve all seen spectacular pictures of space, and it’s easy to assume that’s how it looks to the naked eye through a nice telescope. But in most cases, that’s simply not true. Space is rather dark, so to make out dim objects, you’ll need to amplify the available light. This can be done with a larger telescope, but that’s an expensive route. Alternatively, you can observe objects for longer periods. This second approach is what [BLANCHARD Jordan] chose, creating a budget electronic eyepiece for his telescope.

  • Hackaday ☛ Mandrel Magic: Small Box Assembly With 3D Printing

    Often, we face tedious tasks with no way around them. Sometimes, you just have to grit your teeth and push through. But small tweaks can make the onerous task a bit easier to handle. [James Bowman] sent in his latest quick project that helps him fold small boxes more efficiently.

  • Hackaday ☛ First Transistor Computer Reborn

    Ok, we’ll admit it. If you asked us what the first transistorized computer was, we would have guessed it was the TC from the University of Manchester. After all, Dr. Wilkes and company were at the forefront and had built Baby and EDSAC, which, of course, didn’t use transistors. To be clear, we would have been guessing, but what we didn’t know at all was that the TC, with its magnetic drums and transistors in 1955, had a second life as a commercial product from Metropolitan-Vickers, called the Metrovick 950. [Nina Kalinina] has a simulator inspired by the old machine.

  • Open Hardware/Modding

    • CNX Software ☛ ESP32 Marauder Double Barrel 5G adds 5GHz deauthentication with RTL8720DN module

      The ESP32 Marauder – Double Barrel 5G is a dual-chip hacking and penetration testing tool that supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi scanning, deauthentication, and can be used for penetration testing, wireless research, and learning security concepts. The device is built around an ESP32, and can be used with Flipper Zero or as a standalone device. Additionally, it features a dedicated GPS receiver and a CC1101 Sub-GHz transceiver (433 MHz) for wireless experiments. Other features include a 2.8-inch touchscreen, 800 mAh rechargeable battery, micro-SD slot for logs/firmware/Flipper FAP files. There are also dual USB-C interfaces (one for charging/ESP32 recovery and one for BW16 firmware update), and four external antenna ports (Wi-Fi ×2, GPS, Sub-GHz) housed in a 3D-printed enclosure.

    • New York Times ☛ Trump’s Tariffs Are Damaging America’s Biggest Foreign Source of Screws

      The island is also a major source of another essential and often invisible component of everyday objects: screws. And most go to the United States, where they are used to build airports, backyard decks and bathroom cabinets.

    • Hackaday ☛ A Serial Mouse For A Homebrew 8-bit Computer

      [Too Many Wires] has a custom computer he’s building. He wanted a mouse, but USB is a bit of a stretch for the fledgling computer. We might have opted for PS/2, but he went for something even older: a serial mouse connected with a DE-9 (colloquially, a DB-9). Check it out in his recent video update on the project below.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese Covid-19 whistleblower sentenced to 4 more years in jail, says journalist group

    The journalist was jailed in December 2020 after posting first-hand accounts of the early spread of coronavirus.

• Entrapment (Microsoft GitHub)

  • OMG Ubuntu ☛ Pinta 3.1 Beta Adds New Features, Effects & Options [Ed: Promoting Microsoft Mono, as usual]

    A beta version of Pinta 3.1 is available for testing. The fee open source image editor adds axonometric grid, polygon selection, performance improvements and more.

• Security

  • Security Week ☛ Cyberattack Disrupts Check-In Systems at Major European Airports

    The disruptions to airport electronic systems meant that only manual check-in and boarding was possible.

  • Security Week ☛ Airport Cyberattack Disrupts More Flights Across Europe

    The cyberattack affected software of Collins Aerospace, whose systems help passengers check in, print boarding passes and bag tags, and dispatch their luggage.

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar scam centres set daily $64,000 goal: Malaysian humanitarian organisation

      The previous daily target was only a tenth.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar scam centres set daily $63,970 goal: Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation

      The previous daily target was only a tenth.

    • The Straits Times ☛ ‘We need to prey on people’s emotions’: A Malaysian’s 10-month ordeal in a Myanmar scam centre

      The 19-year-old Malaysian was trafficked from Thailand to Myanmar, where he worked at a scam centre.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Schooled on how to scam: Malaysian teen’s experience in a scam centre

      The 19-year-old Malaysian was trafficked from Thailand to Myanmar, where he worked at a scam centre.

    • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Return our stolen money’: Filipinos protest flood control corruption in show of force

      Protesters said they are fed up with “rotten, corruption” that has plagued the government for years.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea can talk to US if it stops insisting on denuclearisation: Kim Jong Un

    He said he rejected recent overtures from Washington and Seoul for dialogue as insincere.

  • France24 ☛ Kim Jong Un says dialogue with US possible if denuclearisation demands dropped

    North Korea's leader, who has been building the country's nuclear programme despite economic sanctions and arms embargoes from the UN Security Council, has stated that he would be open to dialogue with the US should President The Insurrectionist rescind his denuclearisation demands.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US House lawmakers make rare China visit to stabilise ties

    The bipartisan delegation will meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

  • France24 ☛ United Kingdom recognises Palestinian State: British PM Starmer delivers a video-message

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shared a pre-recorded video message on his YouTube channel and other social control media, in which he announced that the United Kingdom officially recognises the State of Palestine. The UK becomes the 148th of the UN’s 193 member states to recognise Palestine, collectively known as the occupied Palestinian territories. International affairs editor Leela Jacinto provides further details.

  • France24 ☛ UK recognises Palestine: West Bank welcomes the move

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer has released a pre-recorded video message on his YouTube channel and other social control media platforms, announcing that the United Kingdom now formally recognises the State of Palestine. This makes the UK the 148th of the UN’s 193 member states to do so. Israel has opposed the move, issuing strong criticism. France 24’s Senior Reporter Catherine Norris Trent has the latest from Ramallah in the West Bank.

  • France24 ☛ United Kingdom recognises Palestinian state: Move opposed by Israel and US

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer has released a pre-recorded video message on his YouTube channel and other social control media platforms, announcing that the United Kingdom now formally recognises the State of Palestine. This makes the UK the 148th of the UN’s 193 member states to do so. Israel has opposed the move, issuing strong criticism. France24 International Affairs editor Leela Jacinto provides further details on this western diplomatic shift and reactions.

  • France24 ☛ United Kingdom recognises Palestinian state in major diplomatic shift

    Minister Keir Starmer has released a pre-recorded video message on his YouTube channel and other social control media platforms, announcing that the United Kingdom now formally recognises the State of Palestine. This makes the UK the 148th of the UN’s 193 member states to do so. Israel has opposed the move, issuing strong criticism. Professor of International Politics and Middle East Studies at Lancaster University, Simon Mabon, provides further explanations.

  • France24 ☛ British PM Starmer says "two-state solution is the best hope for peace and security"

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued a pre-recorded video message on his YouTube channel and other social control media platforms, announcing that the United Kingdom now formally recognises the State of Palestine. This makes Britain the 148th of the UN’s 193 member states to do so. Israel has condemned the move, voicing strong criticism. France 24’s Bénédicte Paviot reports on the reaction in the United Kingdom.

  • France24 ☛ UK, Canada and Australia recognise Palestine: Reactions from the Middle East

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued a pre-recorded video message on his YouTube channel and other social control media platforms, announcing that the United Kingdom now formally recognises the State of Palestine. This makes Britain the 148th of the UN’s 193 member states to do so. Israel has opposed the move, issuing strong criticism. Later in the afternoon, Canada and Australia released statements confirming that they also recognise the State of Palestine. Middle Eastern countries have been reacting to the announcement, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. International negotiator at the Global Fellowship Initiative at the Geneva Centre for Security, Nomi Bar Yaacov, joins us for more.

  • New York Times ☛ Why China Might Give Up TikTok

    Beijing may be buying itself room to negotiate on the matters it cares about most: tariffs, technology and Taiwan.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Says the Murdochs May Join Fentanylware (TikTok) Investors [Ed: Turning an order to ban into opportunity to make Fentanylware (TikTok) a branch of Conservative (social control) media is very sinister]

    Fox Corporation is considering investing in the popular video app as part of a bid to avert a U.S. ban, a person familiar with the situation said after the president’s remarks.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Trump says he would help defend Poland and the Baltics against Russia — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Three killed, 16 wounded in Ukrainian drone strike on Crimea — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian forces bomb Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, killing three — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ How Russia’s Sanctions Evasion Could Create Lasting Costs

      Restrictions have made it expensive for Moscow to ship oil by sea. They have also expanded the illicit shipping economy.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Counterattacks, Scoring Rare, if Modest, Success in Northeast

      The gains could help counter Moscow’s narrative that Russian advances are unstoppable and that Kyiv should settle for a peace deal, even if it means giving up territory.

    • New York Times ☛ U.N. Gathers Amid Its 80th Anniversary and a ‘Free Fall’

      The wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan will hang over the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly next week in New York. So, too, will budget and identity crises.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Says Russia Hits Firefighters With 'Double-Tap' Strike

      Russia forces targeted Ukrainian emergency responders with a deadly “double-tap” attack, Ukrainian officials said, wounding two responders in the northern region of Chernihiv.

    • RFERL ☛ At Russia's Intervision Song Contest, A Vietnamese Singer Gets Top Prize

      A Vietnamese pop singer won top honors at Russia’ s Intervision Song Contest, a Cold-War era music festival that Moscow revived in response to being kicked out of the global Eurovision spectacle for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    • JURIST ☛ UK sanctions Georgian businessmen with ties to Russia

      The United Kingdom on Friday imposed new individual sanctions intended to target hidden “Georgia-linked” persons associated with Russia’s war in Ukraine.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia to lower price of subsidised RON95 fuel from Sept 30, Anwar says

      The new subsidised fuel price will not apply to non-Malaysians, Mr Anwar said.

    • Hackaday ☛ Welding With Natural Gas And Oxygen

      By virtue of its triple bond, acetylene burns hotter than any other common hydrocarbon when mixed with oxygen, but it isn’t the only flame hot enough for welding. With the assistance of a homemade oxygen concentrator, [Hyperspace Pirate] was able to make a natural gas torch that melts steel, even if welding with the torch remains difficult.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s President Lee says US investment demands would spark financial crisis

    The crisis could rival its 1997 meltdown if US demands are accepted without a currency swap.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China extends social control media sanctions to include Weibo, Kuaishou

    China’s internet regulator said on Saturday it would take “disciplinary and punitive measures” against popular apps Weibo and Kuaishou for highlighting celebrity news and “undesirable” content, extending a crackdown on social control media platforms.

  • BIA Net ☛ 'No ban can stop Jafar Panahi'

    We spoke with Amir Etminan, the editor of Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or-winning new film "It Was Just an Accident," about the film, Iranian cinema, and censorship.

  • New York Times ☛ America Has Entered an Entirely New Situation

    Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension exposes a chilling new reality of the media bowing to political pressure from the Convicted Felon administration, the New York Times Opinion columnist M. Gessen argues. “The only way for the media to resist is to band together to create a joint strategy to agree, for example, never to settle Convicted Felon’s lawsuits, to agree to defend one another, to provide individuals with institutional backing even if they weren’t working for a large institution when they were sued,” says Gessen.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Ruben Schade ☛ 10,000 blog posts

    I reached the 20th anniversary of the blog last December, but 10,000 feels like a bigger milestone. I think?

    I ended up not posting anything yesterday, because naturally I was overthinking how best to celebrate. That’s more on-brand for me lately than I care to admit.

    Do I write another exuasti(ve/ing) retrospective? Do I talk about how this is the longest-running project I’ve ever done, for better or worse? Do I thank everyone for their readership, RSS subscriptions, cups of coffee, and comments over the years? Nothing I’ve drafted feels like it does it justice; assuming an arbitrary number with a bunch of zeros requires or demands “justice” in the first place.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ SoftBank beams 5G to phones from the sky in successful stratospheric test flight

    SoftBank successfully delivered end-to-end 5G connectivity to standard smartphones using an airborne base station, in a live field trial conducted in June, above Hachijō Island, Japan.