Technology

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3451147

Archived link

European Union countries failed to agree on whether to slap China-made electric vehicles (EVs) with steeper tariffs during a closely watched vote that ended with too many abstentions, forcing the European Commission to overcome the political impasse and push its proposal over the finish line.

The outcome of Friday's vote was not publicly available, although several diplomats told Euronews how each member state positioned itself:

• 10 were in favour: Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland. (45.99% of the EU population)
• 12 abstained: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Finland. (31.36%)
• Five were against: Germany, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia. (22.65%)

The high number of abstentions reflects long-standing qualms about how Europe should stand up to China. Although the political consensus says that Beijing's unfair trade practices merit a forceful, united response, threats of commercial retaliation appear to have dampened the resolve of many capitals as the make-or-break date neared closer.

It was up to the Commission, which has exclusive powers to set the bloc's commercial policy, to break the gridlock and ensure the duties go through.

Can anyone recommend an e-commerce platform that they like, somewhere I can sell both physical and virtual goods, isn't too expensive, allows some degree of design customization, isn't too hard to use, and (gasp) is even open source? The last part is probably asking too much.

I currently sell ebooks on Gumroad, which has actually been pretty good, but they lack customization options and the ability (as far as I can tell) to do something like a blog (although they do have a mailing list which is something I definitely need!).

There is an old Wordpress.ORG site I have that was made by someone else who is no longer able to update it, and is something of a black box to a clueless oldster like myself. I've heard enough negative things about Wordpress that led me first to Ghost.org, which, as far as I can tell, is really just for blogs and nothing else, and then Webflow, which may have too many deisgn option (as well as fuzzy pricing), and finally back to WordPress.COM which was very pushy about me upgrading (and then upgrading again) before I could even try out their Woo Commerce plugin (also their site just plain doesn't work; if I watch their tutorials and then try to follow them, I'll end up on screens that have buttons and drop down menus that appear in the videos but not on the site itself!).

So anyway, I'm in search of recommendations. I need something that can sell physical and virtual items, has a blog, a mailing list, monthly billing, at least some ability to customize, and, if at all possible, is open source. Would be much obliged for any suggestions.

EDIT: Anyone tried Thirty Bees?

The free version regularly scans your device for remote connection tools such as TeamViewer which are commonly used by scammers to get on your computer and steal your personal information. It also blocks all of these websites. This version is why I'm posting because I want people to be protected from scams that my own family have been victims of.

The premium version is only 2 dollars a month and has other features such as blocking thousands of scam websites and notifying select family members if your loved on tries to install one of these connection tools.

If you have elderly or vulnerable family members, consider installing the free version! It's so quick and could protect everything they have someday.

Seraphsecure.com

(Crossposted to other tech communities and Reddit, trying to get the word out!)

Over the past year, software developer turned security researcher Jason Parker has found and reported dozens of critical vulnerabilities in no fewer than 19 commercial platforms used by hundreds of courts, government agencies, and police departments across the U.S. Most of the vulnerabilities were critical.

[...]

"These platforms are supposed to ensure transparency and fairness, but are failing at the most fundamental level of cybersecurity,” Parker wrote recently in a post he penned in an attempt to raise awareness. “If a voter’s registration can be canceled with little effort and confidential legal filings can be accessed by unauthorized users, what does it mean for the integrity of these systems?”

Archived link

The pager and walkie-talkie explosions that occurred in Lebanon on September 17 and 18 resulted in serious casualties and shocked the world. False information quickly circulated over social media among Chinese language users. [...] For Chinese nationalists, the explosions provided an opportunity to justify the concerns about Western products and demonstrate that only Chinese-made electronic equipment can provide consumer safety.

Several themes emerged from the Chinese disinformation pieces:

1. The scenes that falsely depicted the explosions

2. The incorrect allegation that Taiwan, Israel, Japan, and the United States were part of a conspiracy network

3. Concerns that iPhones could also explode

4. The claim that wealthy Middle Eastern countries have quickly abandoned Western-made electronic devices in favor of Chinese products, particularly those made by Huawei

It's not like they couldn't put a stop to blackouts before, as seen with the third-party app fiasco, but Reddit has now made that tactic entirely impossible. Mods will now need to get permission from Reddit admins before they can make a sub private. Makes me wonder if they're about to do something controversial again soon.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3355025

Archived link

Beijing has published its proposed regulations for satellite broadband, including a requirement that operators conduct censorship in real time.

It has been suggested that the constellation system will help run and export the nation's content censorship system, known as the Great Firewall.

[...]

In its latest draft rules, the Cyberspace Administration of China proposes any organization or individual using terminal equipment with direct connection to satellite services is not allowed to "produce, copy, publish, or disseminate content prohibited by laws and administrative regulations, such as content that incites subversion of state power, overthrows the socialist system, endangers national security and interests, damages the national image, incites secession of the country, undermines national unity and social stability, promotes terrorism, extremism, ethnic hatred, ethnic discrimination, violence, pornography, and false information."

It clarifies that terminal equipment includes civilian handheld, portable, and fixed terminals, as well as terminals installed on aircraft, ships, and vehicles – essentially any device that enables users to access satellite communication systems for voice calls, text messaging, and data exchange.

[...]

The draft rules further include articles that would make tracking of providers and users easier. This includes requiring providers to:

• Obtain licenses and approvals, whether telco, radio frequency related or otherwise;
• Collect real identity information from those using its services, as China already requires of telcos;
• Integrate monitoring and supervision into their platforms to allow Beijing's oversight;
• Locate ground facilities – such as gateway stations and Earth stations – and user data on Chinese soil. Any data that does need to go overseas must be processed through a gateway approved by the telecommunications regulatory department of the State Council.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://feditown.com/post/705775

YouTube: https://youtu.be/w5ebcowAJD8

Invidious, alternative YouTube link without YouTube: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=w5ebcowAJD8

Video description:

How do QR codes work? The checkerboard patterns taking over the world, demystified. Go to Saily.com/veritasium and use the code ‘veritasium’ to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase.

Special thanks to Mashiro Hara and Yuki Watanabe.

00:00 I was wrong 00:49 How Morse Code revolutionized communication 03:57 How barcodes work 10:34 How QR codes store information 18:16 Why damaged QR codes still work 29:54 Why are QR codes so common? 31:21 How safe are QR codes? 32:25 The future of QR codes

Microsoft says it has “listened to feedback” following a privacy row over a new tool which takes regular screenshots of users’ activity.

It was labelled a potential “privacy nightmare” by critics when it was unveiled in May 2024 - prompting the tech giant to postpone its release. It now plans to relaunch the artificial intelligence (AI) powered tool in November on its new CoPilot+ computers.

[...]

When it initially announced the tool at its developer conference in May, Microsoft said it used AI "to make it possible to access virtually anything you have ever seen on your PC", and likened it to having photographic memory. It said Recall could search through a users' past activity, including their files, photos, emails and browsing history.

[...]

But critics quickly raised concerns, given the quantity of sensitive data the system would harvest, with one expert labelling it a potential “privacy nightmare."

[...]

[Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft's corporate vice president of Windows and devices says] that "Windows offers tools to help you control your privacy and customise what gets saved for you to find later".

However a technical blog about it states that “diagnostic data” from the tool may be shared with the firm depending on individual privacy settings.

[Microsoft says in a blog post that users can remove Recall entirely by using the optional features settings in Windows.]

Archived link

Since its founding in 2015, its leaders have said their top priority is making sure artificial intelligence is developed safely and beneficially. They’ve touted the company’s unusual corporate structure as a way of proving the purity of its motives. OpenAI was a nonprofit controlled not by its CEO or by its shareholders, but by a board with a single mission: keep humanity safe.

But this week, the news broke that OpenAI will no longer be controlled by the nonprofit board. OpenAI is turning into a full-fledged for-profit benefit corporation. Oh, and CEO Sam Altman, who had previously emphasized that he didn’t have any equity in the company, will now get equity worth billions, in addition to ultimate control over OpenAI.

In an announcement that hardly seems coincidental, chief technology officer Mira Murati said shortly before that news broke that she was leaving the company. Employees were so blindsided that many of them reportedly reacted to her abrupt departure with a “WTF” emoji in Slack.

WTF indeed.

The Tor Project, a global non-profit developing tools for online privacy and anonymity, and Tails, a portable operating system that uses Tor to protect users from digital surveillance, have joined forces and merged operations.

Incorporating Tails into the Tor Project's structure allows for easier collaboration, better sustainability, reduced overhead, and expanded training and outreach programs to counter a larger number of digital threats, Tor says in a blog post. In short, coming together will strengthen both organizations' ability to protect people worldwide from surveillance and censorship.

Archived version

[...] as Microsoft attempts to buoy its reputation as an AI leader in climate innovation, the company is also selling its AI to fossil-fuel companies. [...] the tech giant has sought to market the technology to companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron as a powerful tool for finding and developing new oil and gas reserves and maximizing their production—all while publicly committing to dramatically reduce emissions.

Although tech companies have long done business with the fossil-fuel industry, Microsoft’s case is notable. It demonstrates how the AI boom contributes to one of the most pressing issues facing our planet today—despite the fact that the technology is often lauded for its supposed potential to improve our world, as when Sam Altman testified to Congress that it could address issues such as “climate change and curing cancer.”

[...]

For years, Microsoft routinely promoted its work with companies such as Schlumberger, Chevron, Halliburton, ExxonMobil, Baker Hughes, and Shell. Around 2020, the same year Microsoft made ambitious climate commitments that included a goal to reach carbon negativity by 2030, the tech firm grew quieter about such partnerships and focused on messaging about the transition to net zero. Behind the scenes, Microsoft has continued to seek business from the fossil-fuel industry; documents related to its overall pitch strategy show that it has sought energy-industry business in part by marketing the abilities to optimize and automate drilling and to maximize oil and gas production. Over the past year, it has leaned into the generative-AI rush in an effort to clinch more deals—each of which can be worth more than hundreds of millions of dollars. Microsoft employees have noted that the oil and gas industries could represent a market opportunity of $35 billion to $75 billion annually, according to documents I viewed.

[...]

From a business perspective, of course, Microsoft’s pursuit of massive deals with fossil-fuel companies makes sense. And such partnerships do not necessarily mean that the company is contradicting its climate commitments. Microsoft executives have made the case that AI can also help fossil-fuel companies improve their environmental footprint.

[...]

The idea that AI’s climate benefits will outpace its environmental costs is largely speculative, however, especially given that generative-AI tools are themselves tremendously resource-hungry. Within the next six years, the data centers required to develop and run the kinds of next-generation AI models that Microsoft is investing in may use more power than all of India. They will be cooled by millions upon millions of gallons of water. All the while, scientists agree, the world will get warmer, its climate more extreme.

[...]

Microsoft isn’t a company that exists to fight climate change, and it doesn’t have to assume responsibility for saving our planet. Yet the company is trying to convince the public that by investing in a technology that is also being used to enrich fossil-fuel companies, society will be better equipped to resolve the environmental crisis. Some of the company’s own employees described this idea to me as ridiculous. To these workers, Microsoft’s energy contracts demonstrate only the unsavory reality of how the company’s AI investments are actually used.

[...]

Video Description:

Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about 10 exciting studies that won the Ig Nobel prize in 2024

Links:

• psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/h0045345
• linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022030241954061
• sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468785523002859?via=ihub
• science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj7918
• tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15592324.2021.1977530#abstract
• academic.oup.com/brain/article-abstract/147/8/2643/7664309?redirectedFrom=fulltext
• cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00709-6?_returnURL=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982222007096?showall=true
• arxiv.org/abs/2310.04153
• biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/704080v3
• Placebo video: youtube.com/watch?v=ByA4i8PlfFs&t=0s

#ignobel #nobel #science

0:00 Levitating frogs 
0:40 Ig Nobel Prize 
1:30 These are actually important studies 
2:45 Pigeons in missiles 
3:32 Cows cats and paper bags 
4:11 Hair whirls and direction 
5:04 Drunk worms 
5:32 Mimic plant 
6:58 Placebo and pain 
7:48 Dead trout and swimming 
8:10 Butt breathing mammals 
9:05 Probability and lots of coins 
9:50 Old people may be not so old