Leftovers

• Bix Frankonis ☛ On Intersecting Interests: Fandom And Photography

  What occurred to me today was that the most intense period of my photography hobby overlapped with the deepest part of my decade in Joss Whedon, and particularly Firefly fandom. I’ve countless photos from the handful of times I was able to attend San Diego Comic-Con to prove it, which is why it’s somewhat confounding that I didn’t notice this intersection immediately upon seeing Zachary’s prompt.

• Andrea Contino ☛ Intersecting Interests

  These intersecting interests are part of why I write this blog, so it certainly isn’t impossible to keep the intersection rooting in adding value to your life.

• Science

  • The Register UK ☛ Dijkstra’s algorithm won’t be replaced in production routers

    The underlying research claims to improve on the classic approach pioneered by Dijkstra that is taught in most networking textbooks (including ours). I was initially a bit skeptical, much as I would be if I read that the Riemann Hypothesis had been proved.

    Dijkstra is a legend in computer science and his algorithm, which he published in 1959, predates packet switching by a few years. The specification for OSPF (Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), one of two dominant link-state routing protocols (Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System, aka IS-IS, is the other).

  • Interesting Engineering ☛ Lasers scan chemicals in 200-year-old Darwin jars, 95% accurate

    Researchers have developed a laser-based scanning technique that can identify the preservation fluids inside sealed museum specimen jars, some of which date back nearly 200 years.

    The breakthrough is especially significant for natural history museums, which collectively house more than 100 million fluid-preserved specimens worldwide.

  • Cryptography.doc OÜ ☛ A probabilistic all-pay auction

    The Perl cookbook describes how a correct implementation would fairly choose lines from a file in a single pass, while keeping only the current best line and the next candidate line in memory.

    It occurred to me that this could be generalized beyond text files to handle arbitrary sequences of countable events. I began considering different use-cases and quickly arrived at raffles, where the nth raffle ticket sold has a 1/n chance to become the leading candidate, and the current candidate becomes the winner once ticket sales close.

  • CER ☛ Personally Meaningful Data to Motivate Learning in Data Science and AI

    Why is this interesting? Why is anybody teaching with a 20 year old method, and even making new libraries for it?

    Maybe because it answers a CS education need that has only grown more important. Data science is a bigger deal now than it was 20 years ago. Ben Shapiro told us in 2018 that machine learning was going to change the CS curriculum, and we needed to think more about data. But what data are interesting to students?

• Career/Education

  • Raspberry Pi ☛ Join our new study on AI and data-driven computing in UK primary classrooms - Raspberry Pi Foundation

    Are you a primary school teacher in England, Scotland or Wales interested in AI and data science and how students learn about AI and data in computing?

  • Seth Godin ☛ Free agency | Seth's Blog

    But being fully stuck is also a myth. We might not like the trade offs, but we also have a choice.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Why Haven’t Quantum Computers Factored 21 Yet?

    If you are to believe the glossy marketing campaigns about ‘quantum computing’, then we are on the cusp of a computing revolution, yet back in the real world things look a lot less dire. At least if you’re worried about quantum computers (QCs) breaking every single conventional encryption algorithm in use today, because at this point they cannot even factor 21 yet without cheating.

  • Hackaday ☛ IBM Made A Sound Card? Who Knew!

    The king of the sound cards in the ’90s was the SoundBlaster 16, which other manufacturers cloned directly. Not IBM of course, who brought their own Mwave DSP chip to the card, using it as both the sound card and the engine behind an on-board dial-up modem. This appears to have been its undoing, because aside from its notoriously flaky drivers, using both sound and modem at the same time just wasn’t a pleasant experience. To compound the problem, Big Blue resorted to trying to bury the problem with NDAs rather than releasing better drivers, so unsurprisingly it faded from view. Perhaps the reason it was unfamiliar here had something to do with it not being sold in Europe, but given that the chipset found its way into ’90s ThinkPads, we’d have expected to have seen something of it.

  • Chris Aldrich ☛ Acquired 1954 Royal HH Standard Typewriter (Royal Typewriter Company)

    Acquired via thrift on 2026-02-06. This machine continues my typewriter collection theme for 2026: hunting for great machines with less common typefaces. Gothic was an older word meaning san-serif. The “double” portion means that it’s two sets of capital letter forms.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Breach Media ☛ Decriminalization worked. B.C. killed it anyway

    If the measure of success is whether life became safer and less punitive for people who use drugs, British Columbia’s decriminalization pilot was a clear win. But the B.C. government doesn’t seem to think so.

    The three-year pilot project had an immediate impact: police arrested fewer people for possession, seized fewer drugs from those people, and laid fewer criminal charges against them.

  • Tech Central (South Africa) ☛ Dr Google, meet Dr Chatbot - neither is ready to see you now

    When the participants did this, relevant conditions were identified in less than 34.5% of cases, and the right course of action was given in less than 44.2%, no better than the control group using more traditional tools.

• Proprietary

  • The Register UK ☛ Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach clocks out amid job cuts and market jitters

    Carl Eschenbach has stepped down as Workday CEO and been replaced by co-founder and executive Aneel Bhusri following a round of job cuts and share price volatility.

    In a statement [PDF] to investors, the company said Eschenbach is set to get an aggregate lump sum cash payment of $3.6 million, including cash severance benefits.

    Workday provides enterprise HR and finance software as a service. Like many SaaS vendors, its value has been hard hit over the last week as investors consider the impact of AI on the market. Over the last year, its share price has fallen by around 40 percent.

  • Jim Nielsen ☛ A Brief History of App Icons From Apple’s Creator Studio

    So, without further ado, I present the variants in my collection. The years labeled in the screenshots represent the year in which I added the to my collection (not necessarily the year that Apple changed them).

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Thomas Rigby ☛ Which AI do you mean?

      I saw this meme floating around and it hit a nerve. So much AI hate is down to the disproportionate claims about the ability of large language models or "Generative AI".

      AI as it stands right now it's neither artificial nor intelligent. It is, however, a buzzword for a suite of in-machine data processing tools.

    • Drew Breunig ☛ The Potential of RLMs

      A key takeaway from Gemini’s Pokémon troubles and the Chroma post is that context rot is not a capacity problem. It’s a quality problem. As the context grows beyond a model’s soft limit, the model continues to issue output as its accuracy declines. This makes for a pernicious problem, one that sneaks up on us the longer we run agents.

    • Armin Ronacher ☛ A Language For Agents

      It’s tricky to say what an agent wants because agents will lie to you and they are influenced by all the code they’ve seen. But one way to estimate how they are doing is to look at how many changes they have to perform on files and how many iterations they need for common tasks.

    • Pivot to AI ☛ Waymo self-driving cars, powered by AGI — A Guy Instead

      So what do you do? Well, you do the obvious — you use an AGI. That is, A Guy Instead. You tell your investors the machine will totally do the whole job next year. It won’t, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.

      In the hearing, Senator Ed Markey hammered on the remote operators. Dr. Mauricio Peña, the Chief Safety Officer at Waymo, admitted a lot of the operators were in the Philippines. Markey went off, and that’s what made the press.

    • LLVM Discussion Forums ☛ Concerns about low-quality PRs beeing merged into main

      I suspect that a lot of this pattern is caused by [slop] generated changes, but it’s hard to know for sure. To me, it looks like reviewers are getting completely exhausted trying to review patches with many many mistakes and end up missing things in the review. I know we as reviewers have trained ourselves over the years to be patient and kind with new contributors, but I think we need to change our approach given how easy it is now for someone to submit a valid looking patch with [slop].

  • Social Control Media

    • New York Times ☛ Meta and YouTube Created ‘Digital Casinos,’ Lawyers Argue in Landmark Trial

      The plaintiff, identified as K.G.M., became hooked on YouTube and Instagram as a child because the apps are like “digital casinos,” with features such as endless swiping that are comparable to the handle of a slot machine, Mr. Lanier said. K.G.M. represents a generation of young people who became addicted to social media, even as executives knew of the technology’s risks, he said.

      “They didn’t just build apps, they built traps,” Mr. Lanier said. “They didn’t want users, they wanted addicts.”

    • International Business Times ☛ Did Epstein's Inner Circle Worship Moloch — and What's Behind the Child Sacrifice Claims?

      TikTok's algorithm favours certainty, not nuance. Videos hinting at Moloch worship within elite networks spread quickly because they promise hidden truth. Corrections and caveats do not travel as far.

    • Wired ☛ Meta Goes to Trial in a New Mexico Child Safety Case. Here’s What’s at Stake

      The plaintiffs in that case allege that social media companies designed their products in a negligent manner and caused various harms to minors using their apps. Snap, TikTok, and Google were named as defendants alongside Meta; Snap and TikTok have already settled. The fact that Meta has not means that some of the company’s top executives may be called to the witness stand in the coming weeks.

    • The Verge ☛ New Mexico goes to trial to accuse Meta of facilitating child predators

      At the center of a consequential case about social media liability is a key question: did Meta lie or mislead the public about the safety of its platform, while knowing something very different?

    • Ava ☛ are you out of touch?

      The view also doesn't take into account how sturdy algorithmic bubbles now seem to be. What some see as a huge trend online is actually something small in the grand scheme of things, and it's something their friend hasn't even seen, despite otherwise living in the same area and having tastes. You can be on social media and still "miss out" on whatever Adam means; you can also be off of social media and your friends will send you (or screen record for you) funny posts and short-form videos from Tumblr, Tiktok, X and more anyway.

    • The Telegraph UK ☛ I confronted online troll who threatened to rape female jockey

      Her father Jamie posted the horrendous message on his own social media as an example of what some young jockeys have to put up with, but the police were unwilling to tackle it.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • The Conversation ☛ Which countries are best-placed to resist state-supported cyber-attacks? A government advisor explains

      Amplified by false reports in Russian media, this sparked nights of protest and rioting among Russian-speakers in Tallinn – and cyber chaos throughout the country. Though the cyber-attack was never officially sanctioned by the Kremlin, the “faceless perpetrators” were later shown to have Russian connections.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Wired ☛ Iran’s Digital Surveillance Machine Is Almost Complete

      Over the past four weeks, the Iranian government completely shut down connections to the global [Internet] while its forces killed thousands of anti-regime protesters around the country. The shutdown follows years of Tehran imposing connectivity filtering, digital curfews, and total blackouts as part of previous attempts to quell unrest. Over more than 15 years, the regime has developed technological and systemic mechanisms to fundamentally control connectivity in the country—including an internal Iranian intranet known as the National Information Network (NIN). But last month’s shutdown, which is partially ongoing, has shed new light on the Iranian regime’s control over [Internet] connectivity and the reach of its digital surveillance capabilities.

    • Six Colors ☛ Buying new AirTags? Check your compatibility first.

      Second, people who have chosen not to update older devices compatible with the “26” releases can’t use the new AirTag.

      Third, the twist: Because there’s no explicit labeling, it will be very difficult to tell the original and revised AirTag apart. 9to5Mac published an article on this very topic, noting: [...]

  • Confidentiality

    • Alexandru Scvorțov ☛ Securing SSH keys with FIDO2

      Let’s make it impossible for someone to steal our SSH keys by storing them on a FIDO2 security token like a YubiKey. In 2026, this turns out to be easy to do and is a bit of convenience we can just buy off-the-shelf.

• Defence/Aggression

  • EDRI ☛ EU preliminary findings on TikTok’s addictive platform design

    On Friday, the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to the addictive design of its platform. EDRi welcomes this decision: the DSA was designed precisely to address systemic risks of this kind, and this case has the potential to push platforms to rethink fundamental design choices rather than rely on easy but ineffective quick fixes.

    The Commission’s findings highlight a long-standing concern: engagement-optimised design comes at the expense of users’ physical and mental well-being and can pose grave risks to democracy and public debate.

  • Robert Reich ☛ What you can do to stop big corporations from helping ICE

    Many of you tell me you feel powerless in the face of Trump’s reign of terror. You view and read horrific news reports about what ICE and Border Patrol are doing, but you don’t know how you can reduce or stop this horror.

    Let me assure you: You’re not powerless. In fact, you have enormous power.

  • The Barents Observer ☛ Russia hints it will deploy Navy to protect 'shadow fleet'

    Not surprisingly, the members of the Board fully ignore Russia's many grave breaches of international maritime law in the Black Sea and Azov Sea, as well as its buildup of a huge shadow fleet that increasingly poses a security threat in international waters.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Confirmed: Todd Blanche Locked Ghislaine Maxwell into a False Story, Then Rewarded Her

    Back in August, I argued that Todd Blanche’s interview of Ghislaine Maxwell was not intended to elicit useful information.

    Rather, it was an effort to lock in transparently false testimony that would minimize the damage she could do to Trump going forward.

  • CoryDoctorow ☛ Pluralistic: The Epstein class and collapse porn

    But what if there was a way to make money from calamitous collapses in GDP? What if the wealthy didn't just win when "number go up," but also when "number eat shit?"

    The latest batch of Epstein emails includes a particularly ghoulish exchange between Epstein and his business partner, the anti-democracy activist and billionaire Peter Thiel: [...]

• Environment

  • Mark Hysted ☛ even the brits are fed up of the rain

    But even us hardy brits have had enough now, it seems to have been raining continuously since before Christmas. The news is even picking up on it, here are a few facts from Sky News: [...]

  • Energy/Transportation

    • CBC ☛ Trump threatens to block opening of new bridge between Windsor and Detroit

      The $6.4 billion cost of the Gordie Howe bridge has been entirely funded by Canada's federal government, but the bridge is under the public joint ownership of Canada and the state of Michigan.

• Finance

  • The New Stack ☛ Is Open Source in Trouble?

    “I advocate for donating a steady amount every month, rather than big lumps of money to different projects, as gaining steady income is more important, even if it’s less,” Manterola said in her talk. “I’m proposing the open source employment pledge, which is, well, if you are not willing to donate money, maybe you are willing to donate time of your employees…Every 20 developers in your company, 50% of one person’s time goes to them developing open source and that 50% is like, completely free of company influence.”

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • IDG Communications Inc ☛ Oracle may slash up to 30,000 jobs to fund AI data-center expansion as US banks retreat | CIO

    Oracle is considering cutting 20,000 to 30,000 jobs and selling some of its activities as US banks pull back from financing the company’s AI data-center expansion, according to investment bank TD Cowen.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • EFF ☛ On Its 30th Birthday, Section 230 Remains The Lynchpin For Users’ Speech

    But rolling back or eliminating Section 230 will not stop invasive corporate surveillance that harms all internet users. Killing Section 230 won’t end to the dominance of the current handful of large tech companies—it would cement their monopoly power.

    The current proposals also ignore a crucial question: what legal standard should replace Section 230? The bills provide no answer, refusing to grapple with the tradeoffs inherent in making online intermediaries liable for users’ speech.

  • Techdirt ☛ On Section 230’s 30th Birthday, A Look Back At Why It’s Such A Good Law And Why Messing With It Would Be Bad

    This past weekend Section 230 turned 30 years old. In those 30 years it has proven to be a marvelous yet misunderstood law, often gravely, as too many, including in Congress and the courts, mistakenly blame it for all the world’s ills, or at least those that happen in some connection with the Internet. When in reality, Section 230 is not why bad things happen online, but it is why good things can happen. And it’s why repealing it, or even “just” “reforming” it, will not stop the bad, but it will stop the good.

  • Techdirt ☛ Section 230 Turns 30; Both Parties Want It Gone—For Contradictory Reasons

    This weekend marked the 30th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which contained the mostly unconstitutional Communications Decency Act, which inexplicably contained Section 230. (If you want the full history, I hosted a podcast series about it last year.) And after three decades, there’s now a concerted, bipartisan effort to kill it—by people who either don’t understand what the law does, or understand perfectly well and see its destruction as a path to controlling the flow of information online.

  • Techdirt ☛ Reflections On Section 230’s Past, Present, And Future On Its 30th Anniversary

    Section 230 didn’t receive much attention when it was passed, but it has since emerged as one of Congress’ most important media laws ever. Section 230 helped trigger the Web 2.0 era–where people principally talk with each other online, rather than just having content broadcast at them one-way. By enabling that discourse and other new categories of human interaction, Section 230 has thus reshaped the Internet and, by extension, our economy, our government, and our society.

    To commemorate Section 230’s 30th anniversary, this post considers Section 230’s past, present, and future.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • CPJ ☛ Algerian authorities arrest journalist Omar Ferhat

    A local journalist, who is following the case and spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, said Ferhat’s arrest is a clear attempt at silencing his outlet, which reports on political and social issues, and is known for publishing investigations critical of government policies.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • Nic Chan ☛ Wishcessibility

    As I see it, wishcessibility isn’t a single specific bad practice, it’s anything that inadvertently hurts accessibility when you’re trying to improve it.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Dmitry Brant ☛ Defeating a 40-year-old copy protection dongle

    This accounting firm was actually using a Windows 98 computer (yep, in 2026), and running the RPG software inside a DOS console window. And it turned out that, in order to run this software, it requires a special hardware copy-protection dongle to be attached to the computer’s parallel port! This was a relatively common practice in those days, particularly with “enterprise” software vendors who wanted to protect their very important™ software from unauthorized use.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• India Times ☛ EU warns Meta it must open up WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots

  EU competition regulators have threatened to stop Meta Platforms from ⁠blocking artificial intelligence rivals from its WhatsApp messaging service while it investigates suspected abuse of a dominant position by the U.S. tech giant. The European Commission said on ‌Monday that it ‌has sent a statement of objections, or charges, to Meta over violation of the bloc's ‌rules and intends to impose interim measures to prevent serious and irreparable harm to rivals, mirroring moves by Italy's competition watchdog in December.

• Trademarks

  • Wired ☛ OpenAI Abandons ‘io’ Branding for Its AI Hardware

    The motion is part of a trademark infringement lawsuit filed last year by audio device startup iyO, which sued OpenAI after it acquired famed Apple designer Jony Ive’s startup io. Peter Welinder, OpenAI’s vice president and general manager, said in the filing that OpenAI had reviewed its product-naming strategy and “decided not to use the name ‘io’ (or ‘IYO,’ or any capitalization of either) in connection with the naming, advertising, marketing, or sale of any artificial intelligence-enabled hardware products.”

• Copyrights

  • Torrent Freak ☛ DMCA Subpoenas Can't Be Used for Foreign Piracy Lawsuits, Court Rules

    A California federal court has ruled that identity information obtained through DMCA subpoenas cannot be used for foreign copyright lawsuits, rejecting manga publisher Shueisha's attempt to use it outside the United States. The decision comes after the former operator of defunct piracy giant Mangajikan fiercely protested the request for a much broader order.