Leftovers

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Non-Surgical Procedure Halves Knee Pain Over 12-Month Trial

    Safe, simple, effective.

  • Science Alert ☛ For The First Time, Scientists 'Heard' Plasma Waves Passing Between Saturn And Enceladus

    They sound haunting.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Largest Megalodon Vertebra Ever Found Was Excavated in The 1970s. Then It Went Missing

    A wild tale of rediscovery.

  • Science Alert ☛ It's Official: This Is The World's Fastest Spider, And It Can Outrun a Human

    Quick off the mark.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ AMD Versal Premium Gen 2 MoP adaptive SoC integrates 32GB LPDDR5X to shrink board footprint by 60%

    AMD has announced the Versal Premium Gen 2 Memory-on-Package (MoP) adaptive SoCs, adding an integrated memory option to the Premium Gen 2 family, a topic we covered back in November 2024. While the core silicon (dual-core Cortex-A72 + dual-core Cortex-R5F + high-end FPGA fabric) remains the same, the new devices (2VP3422, 2VP3522, and 2VP3622) integrate up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory directly inside the package.

  • CNX Software ☛ u-blox F11 low-power dual-band GNSS chips and modules consume just 7mW in LEAP mode

    u-blox has introduced the F11 platform, a new family of low-power GNSS chips and modules that includes the UBX-F11270-KB and UBX-F11170-CC dual-band GNSS chips, the UBX-M11070-KB  chip (L1-only), the MAX-M11N module (L1-only), and the EVK-F112 evaluation kit. These are designed for battery-powered applications such as aftermarket telematics, asset tracking, wearables, drones, micromobility, and other industrial and consumer devices.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ RAMpocalyse pricing prompts maker to construct his own memory using ancient Apollo-era tech — USB drive resurrects hand-threaded magnetic core memory using salvaged Russian computer parts

    DIYer shows how they made a handsome magnetic core memory USB drive using home CNC and 3D printing equipment.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Futurism ☛ Huge Survey Finds the Truth About What mRNA Vaccines Do to the Human Body

    "After billions of doses, we now have an extraordinary amount of scientific evidence."

  • Science Alert ☛ Leave This Fruit Out of Your Next Berry Smoothie, Experiments Suggest

    Oh damn.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Migraines are a pain in the head!

    Wait, really!? I’m glad you told us that Ruben, I would never have guessed. Uh oh, he’s talking about himself in the third person again, that’s never a good sign.

    It’s interesting how the number of migraines I get has mercifully dropped since my early 20s, where I used to get them weekly. But their intensity has also gone up. I guess I’m more dedicated now than I used to be.

• Proprietary / SaaS

  • Remy Van Elst ☛ Run backdoored Windows 2000 on a DEC Alpha with a new es40 fork

    As you might know, I'm involved a bit in the [OpenVMS](/s/tags/openvms.html) community and the [Alpha emulation side via AXPBox](/s/blog/AXPBox-version-1.0.0-released.html).

  • Tech Central (Ireland) ☛ Xbox blasted with 20% staff reduction in latest round of Microsoft layoffs

    To reduce costs, Microsoft is cutting its total workforce by 4,800 employees, which amounts to 2.1% of its global staff. Amy Coleman, the company’s chief people officer, attributed these changes to the unprecedented pace at which technology is currently developing and being implemented.

  • So-Called 'Artificial Intelligence' ('AI') / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • The Straits Times ☛ Welcome to Hsinchu, the luxury city built by Taiwan’s Hey Hi (AI) boom

      Over the past six years, households near Hsinchu Science Park have reported some of the highest incomes in Taiwan.

    • France24 ☛ Alibaba bans Claude for staff – Anthropic didn't want them using it anyway

      Chinese tech giant Alibaba has ordered staff to stop using Anthropic's Claude Code, after it was found to be flagging users connecting from China. But Anthropic is already trying its best to stop Chinese firms from using Claude at all, and accuses Alibaba of running large "distillation" campaigns against it, saying it deployed around 25,000 fake accounts to train its own models on Claude.

    • Futurism ☛ Startup Exec Boasts About Using Hey Hi (AI) to Churn Out Sports Content ”Without Human Input”

      "We create sports content for kids."

    • The Straits Times ☛ ByteDance, Alibaba pull Hey Hi (AI) companions as Beijing tightens rules

      The new rules represent one of the most comprehensive set of regulations intended to forestall AI’s potential harms.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Alibaba bans Anthropic's Claude Code after an alleged hidden China-detection backdoor is uncovered — employees told to switch to Qoder as the rift between the firms widens

      Alibaba banned Claude Code after an alleged hidden China-detection code was found, prompting staff to switch to Qoder as its feud with Anthropic deepens.

  • Social Control Media

    • New York Times ☛ How Meta’s Threads Became as Popular as X

      The social platform that Meta once positioned as a rival to MElon’s X now has 500 million monthly users. It increasingly resembles Reddit.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Windows 11 identifier code used to track Scattered Spider perp after Abusive Monopolist Microsoft shared info with FBI — 19-year-old US-Estonian hacker arrested over alleged ties to infamous extortion group

      Petet Stokes was arrested in Finland and extradited to the U.S. over alleged ties to the Scattered Spider group, with Abusive Monopolist Microsoft helping in the investigation. He's in custody awaiting trial based on a criminal complaint for a May 2025 attack on a U.S.-based luxury jewelry retailer

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ China Raises Pressure on Taiwan With Expanded Coast Guard Patrols

    Beijing sent two ships to patrol the waters east of Taiwan, a new campaign to challenge the island’s control of waters crucial to any future invasion.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China frees jailed pastor Ezra Jin after Convicted Felon raised his case with Xi

    China has released the founder of an underground church who has been detained since October, his church and family confirmed to AFP on Sunday, after US President The Insurrectionist raised his case with counterpart Pooh-tin Jinping.

  • New York Times ☛ China Frees Pastor Detained in Crackdown on Religion After Convicted Felon’s Urging

    Ezra Jin Mingri was released nearly two months after Hell Toupée raised his case with China’s leader, Pooh-tin Jinping, during a visit to Beijing.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan military resumes ‘anti-communist’ classes for graduates, citing Chinese threat

    Taiwan's defence ministry said classes had been restored due to rising military danger from China.

  • France24 ☛ Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei absent from mass funeral for father

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son and successor was not among the family members and thousands of mourners who turned out Sunday for a second day of ceremonies to honour Iran’s late supreme leader. Mojtaba Khamenei has remained out of the public eye since he was wounded in the strike that killed his father.

  • New York Times ☛ What We Saw at Ayatollah Khamenei’s Funeral

    Our Middle East correspondent Abdi Latif Dahir attended the first day of funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader of Iran who was killed by U.S. and Israeli air strikes in February.

  • RFERL ☛ Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Still Absent From Father's Funeral

    Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was absent as funeral prayers for his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were held early on July 5, more than four months after he was killed during US-Israeli strikes at the outset of the war in the Middle East.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia signs major defence alliance with Fiji, seeking to counter China

    Australia and Fiji signed a major defence alliance on Monday, committing each country to come to the other's aid if either is attacked, as China seeks to expand its influence in the region.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Duterte ally arrested over plunder charge ahead of impeachment trial

    Senator Rodante Marcoleta was accused of violating anti-corruption laws.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says it is tracking ‘upward trend’ in Chinese naval movements

    There are currently four Chinese naval formations operating in the Western Pacific, said an official.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Administration Rolls Back Dozens of Gun Regulations

    Critics say the administration is weakening public safety. Proponents say regulations would be where they were before President Joseph R. Biden took office.

  • France24 ☛ Could islamist fighters take Timbuktu?

    Mali's military junta is facing one of its most serious security challenges in months. A wave of coordinated attacks by the jihadist group JNIM and its Tuareg ally, the FLA, has targeted army positions across the north of the country, raising fresh questions about the government's ability to contain the insurgency.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • The Straits Times ☛ China, Russia navies to hold drills off China coast

      The Chinese and Russian navies will hold joint exercises in the waters and airspace off the Chinese city of Qingdao next week, China's defence ministry and Russian state media said on Sunday.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China and Russia to hold joint naval drills

      Russia said the drills will begin on July 6.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says it is tracking 'upward trend' in Chinese naval movements

      Taiwan is tracking an "upward trend" in Chinese naval movements during the peak military exercise season, including joint drills with Russia, and will be analysing any new tactics, a senior Taiwanese security official said on Monday.

    • New York Times ☛ Far From Kyiv and Moscow, Soldiers Stalk Ruins and Evade Drones on the Front

      Ukraine’s military has denied a Kremlin claim to have taken a city in the eastern Donetsk region, saying its troops are holding out against infiltrating Russians.

    • New York Times ☛ Deadly Russian Strikes Rock Kyiv on Eve of NATO Summit

      Ballistic missiles were fired into the capital of Ukraine, as Russia launched its second major attack in less than a week. At least seven people were killed, officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Rejects Russia's Claim It Captured Key City

      Russia and Ukraine made conflicting battoefield claims on July 4, with Moscow insisting it had captured the key eastern city of Kostyantynivka and Kyiv rejecting the assertion.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man-Zelenskyy Meeting Set For NATO Summit Amid US Push To End Russia's War

      US President The Insurrectionist will meet Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of this week's NATO summit in Ankara. Washington seeks to revive stalled diplomacy over Russia's war while pressing European allies to take greater responsibility for the continent's defense.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky warns of new Russian attacks as battle for Kostyantynivka continues

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that fighting was continuing for the eastern town of Kostyantynivka, rejecting Moscow's claim that Russian forces had captured the strategic settlement. Zelensky also warned Russia was preparing a new wave of large-scale attacks ahead of this week's NATO summit in Turkey, where he is expected to meet The Insurrectionist.

    • France24 ☛ Live: Russia launches deadly barrage on Kyiv region on eve of NATO summit

      Russia struck Ukraine's Kyiv region with ballistic missiles on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, authorities said, on the eve of a NATO summit in Turkey. The assault was the second on the capital and its surroundings in less than a week and came as both sides increased long-range attacks, underlining the growing reach of the war more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.  Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Blasts Kyiv Again, Killing At Least 9 After Zelenskyy Warns Of Impending Attack

      Moscow launched a major missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early on July 6, blasting residential buildings and killing at least 8 people, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending Russian strike.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Holds Calls With Zelenskyy, Putin; Vance Says Ukraine's Drone Strategy Is Successfully Exhausting Russia

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Kremlin said President The Insurrectionist spoke separately with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders as efforts to end the war remained stalled, with Kyiv and Moscow deadlocked over key issues.

    • RFERL ☛ Ahead Of High-Stakes NATO Summit, Ex-US Envoy To OSCE James Gilmore Says Alliance Is Renewing Itself

      As NATO leaders prepare for a pivotal July 7-8 summit in Ankara amid Russia's war against Ukraine and renewed tensions in the Middle East, former US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) James Gilmore says the alliance is undergoing a difficult but ultimately strengthening transformation rather than entering a period of decline.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Blasts Kyiv Again, Killing At Least 8 After Zelenskyy Warns Of Impending Attack

      Moscow launched a major missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early on July 6, blasting residential buildings and killing at least 8 people, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending Russian strike.

• Environment

  • Futurism ☛ El Niño Already Killing Thousands in Europe

    Hot as Hades.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Futurism ☛ Data Center Emits Constant Screeching Noise Directly Into Man’s House

      "It's like we're living in a prison in our own yard, in our own house."

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ Lovebugs fade, but biting katydids spread in Seoul area in South Korea

      When their numbers rise sharply, they can damage crops and are classified as outbreak pests.

    • Futurism ☛ Something Weird Is Going on With the 66 Billion Trees China Planted in a Huge Wall

      We weren't seeing the planted forest for the billions of trees.

• Finance

  • Futurism ☛ You’ll Never Guess Why Government Officials Are Sinking a Four-Story Riverboat Casino Into the Abyss

    "You'll start seeing fish on it within a few weeks."

  • The Straits Times ☛ Prosecutor charges South Korea’s four oil refiners with price collusion: Reports

    The companies are HD Hyundai Oilbank, SK Energy, GS Caltex and S-Oil, Yonhap said.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • New York Times ☛ Wikipedia Is Battling for the Soul of the Internet

    The internet’s largest stockpile of free knowledge is under threat from MAGA, Hey Hi (AI) and foreign autocrats. A bibliophile ex-ambassador is here to help.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Three Is Company, Two’s a Trial: Reference Counts in Federal Circuit Obviousness Appeals

      New data on Federal Circuit obviousness appeals: court combinations average 2.4 references vs 3.1 at the USPTO, with juries the leanest of all.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Suno Quickly Seizes on Udio’s Legal Victory Against Sony Music Over Admissible Infringed Works

      Suno quickly seizes on Udio’s legal victory against Sony Music over admissible infringed works Last week, a federal judge denied Sony Music’s motion to expand its lawsuit against Hey Hi (AI) company Udio to include another 30,000 allegedly infringed works.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Japan to use ODA to help Vietnam, other nations curb manga, anime piracy

      It aims to support copyright monopoly laws and training to prevent the distribution of fake products.