• How Venus got its Zoozve back.  (Sky and Telescope)
  
  Back in the dim, dusty reaches of two weeks ago, a cute and amusing story appeared on Twitter about how a children's poster of the Solar System came out with a moon of Venus mistakenly labelled Zoozve.
  
  Mistakenly because (a) Venus doesn't have any moons - not exactly, anyway - and because the designation of the asteroid so labelled is actually 2002VE 68.  The creation of Zoozve was an accident of the artist's bad handwriting.
  
  But 2002VE 68 is not just any asteroid, but what is known as a quasi-moon; it doesn't orbit Venus the way the Moon orbits the Earth, but dances a intricate gavotte around both Venus and the Sun that is expected to last several hundred years before the partners part ways.
  
  It was the first such quasi-moon discovered; since 2002 another eight have been found, seven of them around Earth.
  
  And since all it had - until now - was a catalog number, it was eligible to be named if someone could (a) submit a formal proposal and (b) convince enough members of the relevant IAU committee to vote for it.
  
  So they did, and now the poster is retroactively correct.

• The future is hydrogen.  (Inside EEVs)
  
  In five billion years when the Sun expands and swallows the Earth.
  
  In the meantime, not so much.
  
  
  
• Switzerland was not invaded by three million zombie toothbrushes. (Ars Technica)
  
  Darn.
  
  
  
• Zen 5 could have double the floating point performance of Zen 4.  (WCCFTech)
  
  Zen 4 already squashes Zen 3 and Intel chips on any benchmark that can use AVX512 instructions, because while Zen 4 only implements a cut-down version of AVX512 that breaks 512-bit instructions into two 256-bit instructions, Zen 3 and Intel's consumer chips don't support it at all.
  
  Zen 3 because it just doesn't; Intel because the P cores do but the E cores don't, and that created such a headache that it was simpler to just burn the functionality out with a laser before the chips left the factory.
  
  How good it is we don't know yet.  Intel's server chips that implement full AVX512 have to significantly reduce clock speeds when you are using those instructions because it burns power like mad.  But AMD chips are more power-efficient than Intel - currently - so they might not feel as much heat.
  
  
  
• Palworld creator PocketPair is hiring.  (WCCFTech)
  
  You do need to be able to program, though, so that leaves out most of the recent Big Tech castaways.

Posted by: normal at Monday, February 12 2024 10:00 PM (bg2DR)

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• California is looking to ban plastic shopping bags.  (SF Standard)
  
  Didn't they already do that, you ask?
  
  Well, not quite.  A decade ago, the state banned those flimsy single-use shopping bags stores gave away for free, permitting only heavier, more expensive, reusable shopping bags.
  
  This quite predictably increased the amount of waste, so they're going to do it again.

• How much does it cost to delivery a terabyte of data?
  
  Linode charges $5.  DigitalOcean and Vultr charge $10.  Microsoft Azure charges $80, Amazon charges $90, and Google Cloud charges $110.  (Get Deploying)
  
  AWS is what makes Amazon its profit, not shipping trillions of packages to billions of customers.
  
  And what makes AWS profitable is overcharging you for simple services once you're locked in.
  
  
  
• BunnyCDN - which I hadn't heard of before - starts at $5 per terabyte.  (Bunny)
  
  It looks quite good.  The volume network - that part that costs $5 per terabyte - only has nodes in seven countries, but the regular network, starting at $10 per terabyte, is everywhere.
  
  
  
• Why companies are leaving the cloud.  (InfoWorld)
  
  It's fucking expensive.
  
  
  
• Bluesky Social is now open for users to sign up.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  It's probably dead, but I'll take a look before officially declaring the time and cause.
  
  

• More like this, perhaps: The Frame smart glasses from Brilliant Labs are augmented-reality goggles that don't look like your head is being eaten by a coconut crab.  (The Verge)
  
  At $349 and 40 grams they're one tenth the price and one fifteenth the weight of Apple's Vision Pro.  They're about the size and weight of regular eyeglasses, and you can add prescription lenses for an extra $99.
  
  The shortcoming is that the AR display is only 640x400 and covers a small part of your vision, but that's really what you want when you're actually using them in everyday life.  Just a little area that can show you an urgent message, or directions to where you're headed, or identify the snake that just bit you because you were looking at the AR display rather than where you were walking.

• Skiff is joining Notion.  (Skiff)
  
  Oh, and shutting down and deleting all your data, so back it up right now.
  
  
  
• We all wondered what Apple was up to when they came out in support of right-to-repair, because Apple is the most vehemently anti-consumer-rights company in the world.
  
  The answer was simple: They truly meant it - for everyone else.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  Now that an Oregon right-to-repair bill is looking at banning engineering practices that make repairs of Apple devices impossible, the company is back to its old tricks.
  
  
  
• The problem of 240/4.  (The Register)
  
  240/4 is an IP address subnet containing 268 million addresses that is locked off thanks to decisions made in the 1970s, back when they handed out millions of IP addresses for free to anyone who wanted them.
  
  With IPv4 basically exhausted at this point, those addresses are worth about $7 billion, but because the range has been locked off for about 50 years some companies are using the same addresses internally, and if they were unlocked for public use, shit would break big time.
  
  
  
• Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, is reported to be looking for $7 trillion in investment funds to create dedicated AI chips.  (Unusual Whales)
  
  That's trillion.  With a t.  And a rillion.
  
  That used to be a lot, and still is.
  
  
  
• Canada is looking to ban the Flipper Zero over it allegedly being used to steal cars.  (Gizmodo)
  
  If your car can be stolen with a Flipper Zero, it can probably also be stolen with a pocket knife.  Flipper Zero is used to test wireless electronics to make sure they're not horribly insecure.
  
  
  
• A search index in 80 lines of Python.  (Alex Molas)
  
  This is Vedal-level standing on the shoulders of giants.  The "import" statements that constitute the first seven of those 80 lines pull in over a million lines of freely available code in Python, C, C++, and Fortran that do the work.
  
  Still cool.
  
  
  
• Are you sure you want to use MMAP in your DBMS?  (Symas)
  
  The original version of MongoDB used MMAP and was notorious for losing data if a gnat sneezed in the server room.
  
  The original version of Syams LMDB used MMAP - and it still does, and it's fast, light, and reliable.
  
  Like most things, MMAP is a tool, and if you don't know how to use it you had better have your health insurance up to date.
  
  
  
• Reddit doesn't have to share the IP addresses of people who discussed piracy.  (TorrentFreak)
  
  Well, good.
  
  
  
• The Selen Tatsuki / Nijisani drama written up so that normal humans can understand it.  (Polygon)
  
  Now I just need to figure out how to explain how her re-debut was demonetised when a fan triggered a clip of Freebird during the livestream.

Posted by: Rick C at Sunday, February 11 2024 01:05 AM (BMUHC)

Posted by: normal at Sunday, February 11 2024 06:28 AM (bg2DR)

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• Apple's response to new EU rules forcing it to open up its platform seems to be an epic saga of malicious compliance.  (The Register)
  
  They're just begging for a multi-billion-dollar fine at this point.
  
  
  
• Google meanwhile has suddenly started blocking some apps from being sideloaded.  (Hot Hardware)
  
  If it an app requests permission to manage SMS messages or notifications, it has to go through the official app store now.  Because the apps being sideloaded with those permissions were all malware.

• NASA's new PACE satellite for monitoring the state of the world's oceans has been launched into orbit.  (Space)
  
  By SpaceX.
  
  
  
• The BLM - no, the other one - is dynamiting fossils in New Mexico.  (Ars Technica)
  
  It's a dirty job but someone has to do it.
  
  I guess.
  
  
  
• CableMod has recalled all models of its 12VHPWR power adaptors.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Like everything else 12VHPWR-related, they have a distinct propensity to catch fire.
  
  
  
• Minisforum's V3 is a 14" tablet PC that actually looks good.  (AnandTech)
  
  A 2560x1600 screen, an 8-core Ryzen 8840U, up to 32GB of RAM, a full-size M.2 2280 slot, dual USB4 ports, a keyboard with the four essential keys, and a pressure-sensitive pen are included.
  
  Pricing TBA.

• How Twitter's descent into chaos is paving the way for a new web.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  These people are really desperate for Twitter to fail.
  
  
  
• Twitter hits number one in App Store as leaked Drake nude goes viral.  (The Verge)
  
  Everyone involved in this story needs to find Jesus, or be launched out of a giant trebuchet directly into the Sun, or possibly both.

• Disney is investing $1.5 billion into Epic Games.  (The Verge)
  
  No wonder Epic can afford to give games away for free.  
  
  This investment and partnership comes after a similar $2 billion effort with Lego and Sony that resulted in Lego Fortnite.
  
  
  
• 23 and Me is considering meiosis.  (Seeking Alpha)
  
  You know it's right.
  
  
  
• Smaug-72B is the new best open-source AI.  (VentureBeat)
  
  It beats ChatGPT-3.5 on every test, and it's free.
  
  Not saying it's good, but it's free.
  
  Or free to download.  To run a 72B-sized LLM at acceptable speeds you need a $30,000 AI accelerator.
  
  
  
• Intel's 10th, 11th, and 12th generation CPUs have been banned from sale in Germany over a patent dispute.  (Notebook Check)
  
  How much this matters is unclear, because while Intel's current lineup is 14th generation, all 14th generation desktop chips are 13th generation, and some 13th generation chips are 12th generation.

• So, to sum up:
  
  Nijisanji fired Selen Tatsuki, blaming her for causing irreparable damage to the company's reputation.  (Dot eSports)
  
  Nijisanji followed up with a financial statement saying that firing Selen would have a "negligible" impact on the company's bottom line.  (Anime Corner)
  
  So the damage to the company is irreparable but it won't affect cash flow one bit, right.
  
  Hyte said "Negligible, are we?" and cancelled its line of custom Nijisanji-themed computer cases on the spot and refunded all pre-orders.  (Dexerto)
  
  Nijisanji's share price opened down 9.3% from the previous morning on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
  
  
  
• Dokibird - Selen's past and present personal vtuber account - re-debuted today, and the marketing Manager of Hyte was apparently watching the stream and posting live on Twitter to suggest sponsorships.
  
  
  

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Friday, February 09 2024 03:53 AM (liVFZ)

Posted by: PatBuckman at Friday, February 09 2024 04:53 AM (r9O5h)

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• Three million infected toothbrushes have just invaded Switzerland.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Allegedly - details are sparse - the wifi-enabled electric toothbrushes (why?) were hacked, assembled into a botnet, and used for DDOS attacks.
  
  

• You can hack Bitlocker encryption in 43 seconds with nothing more than a Raspberry Pi Pico.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  If you laptop is ten years old, terribly misdesigned, and you can open it up and solder wires in places you shouldn't.
  
  
  
• The absolute minimum every programmer should know about Unicode.  (Tonsky)
  
  1. It encodes every known human language.
  2. Badly.
  
  
  
• Suzuki has announced a new model of the Omnichord.  (Notebook Check)
  
  The last model was introduced in 1999 and is getting hard to find.
  
  
  
• Adam Neumann is looking to buy WeWork out of bankruptcy.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  This after cratering the company and burning tens of billions of dollars.
  
  
  
• Hyte recently announced three Nijisanji-themed PC cases for fans of Elira, Enna, and Rosemi.  (Hyte)
  
  If they'd had a Pomu case, I might have put that on my shopping list - though there is eventually a limit to the number of PC cases I need.
  
  Anyway...  They're gone, as much as Pomu and Selen and Kyo and Nina and Zaion and Yugo and...
  
  Hyte was lucky enough not to produce a case design for a Nijisanji talent who left the company before the product could ship - yet.

Posted by: Frank at Wednesday, February 07 2024 06:42 PM (cARBX)

Posted by: normal at Thursday, February 08 2024 08:15 AM (bg2DR)

Posted by: PatBuckman at Thursday, February 08 2024 02:02 PM (r9O5h)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Thursday, February 08 2024 05:44 PM (PiXy!)

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• Intel's upcoming W5-3535X high-end desktop CPU has been benchmarked.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  It costs $1589.
  
  What are the benchmark results, you ask?
  
  No idea.  The article leaves those details to your imagination.
  
  
  

Tech News

• Oh, were you using that?  Facebook is deprecating its Groups API.   (Tech Crunch)
  
  If you use that to maintain communication with customers, well, it's gonna be dead in three months.  Enjoy it while it lasts.
  
  
  
• The new Barnes & Noble Nook 9" is a Lenovo Tab M9.  (Liliputing)
  
  The problem is, the Tab M9 has a low-resolution, 1340x800 display, about the same as the original 2012 model of the Nexus 7.  The hardware is far better than that old tablet in every other respect - four times the RAM and storage, and probably ten times the CPU performance - but the screen is just plain inadequate.
  
  
  
• There's probably more news somewhere. 

Posted by: Rick C at Wednesday, February 07 2024 01:11 AM (BMUHC)

Posted by: PatBuckman at Wednesday, February 07 2024 10:41 AM (r9O5h)

Posted by: Rick C at Wednesday, February 07 2024 10:53 AM (BMUHC)

Posted by: PatBuckman at Thursday, February 08 2024 01:45 PM (r9O5h)

Posted by: Rick C at Friday, February 09 2024 12:21 AM (BMUHC)

6 OK! I managed to upload the pic fine with Edge, so it must be an FF issue.
Let's see if I can do this right!

Posted by: RickC at Friday, February 09 2024 03:02 PM (BMUHC)

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• 80% of all tech startup proposals now involve AI.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  It's the new blockchain.  5% potential, 95% bullshit.
  
  Just waiting for the scams and inevitable looting.

• The rise of techno-authoritarianism.  (The Atlantic)
  
  "You can't lie and censor people for power and profit!  That's our job!"
  
  
  
• Google is rebranding Bard as Gemini.  (Thurrott)
  
  Yeah, that'll fix it.
  
  
  
• With shipments of RTX 4090 graphics cards banned to China, enterprising individuals are now buying entire systems with RTX 4090s in nearby Asian countries, shipping them home, and selling the graphics card to AI companies at a hefty profit over the cost of the entire system.  (WCCFTech)
  
  Surprise!

Not At All Tech News

Posted by: normal at Tuesday, February 06 2024 12:29 AM (LADmw)

Posted by: Uncontested Divorce Lawyer Fairfax VA at Tuesday, February 06 2024 09:22 PM (lCtY0)

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• Important update from the Everything Game: Somebody created Pipkin Pippa.  (Twitter)
  
  That rabbit's dynamite.
  
  
  
• Quora raised $75 million to grow its AI chatbot, Poe.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  A Poe - as in Poe's law - is an online personality who posts things so off kilter that you can't tell whether they're trolling or mentally ill.
  
  
  
• How Quora died.  (Slate)
  
  It Poed itself.

• Palworld is spending half a million dollars a month on game servers.  (Hot Hardware)
  
  That is sure to come down.  To cope with the game's exploding popularity the company deployed servers "without regard to cost" to give players the best experience possible - considering the game is still in beta.
  
  At this rate, the company will go broke in, uh, never.  Sales have slowed but the first two weeks already cover that server bill for forty years.
  
  
  
• One million machine learning specialists will be needed by 2027.  (Fortune)
  
  This is not an article, but an ad for programming "bootcamps", which are mostly scams. 
  
  The premise is total garbage anyway.  See the demise of Quora, for example.
  
  
  
•  A Mastodon vulnerability allowed attackers to take over user accounts.  (Bleeping Computer)
  
  Fortunately Mastodon is distributed, so...  The bug will persist until every single Mastodon node has been individually updated.

• Looks like we can't count Mark Zuckerberg out just yet: Facebook's market cap grew by $200 billion.  (Yahoo Finance)
  
  In one day.
  
  I don't use Facebook - not anymore.  But there's no denying that an awful lot of people do use it.
  
  
  

Tech News

• Infinite Craft is a fun little word-based crafting game.  (Neal.Fun)
  
  You start with four words: Water, Fire, Wind, and Earth, and from there you have to create everything, by dragging words from the right onto the main screen and then on top of other words.
  
  Some things are simple and obvious: Water + Fire = Steam.
  
  Others are more subtle: Snake + Death = Cleopatra, and Moses + Barbecue = Burning Bush.
  
  Still others are way out there: Behead + Reincarnation = Chicken.
  
  If you get a word or phrase that no-one has ever found before, it shows up with a "First Discovery" tag.  I'm proud to be the first to discover Gnorc - the creatures from the game Spyro the Dragon - and The Amazing Surfing Nun On Fire.
  
  
  
• Another day, another recall.  Today it's the Bambu Ai 3d printer.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  This one can short circuit and deincarnate your chicken, so best do as they say.
  
  
  
• Running your Ryzen 8700G with DDR5-10346 RAM can improve performance even more.  (WCCFTech)
  
  Seriously just buy a video card if you're that concerned about performance.
  
  
  
• Maybe Nvidia's "new" 6GB RTX 3050.  (WCCFTech)
  
  When I first saw this, I thought, oh, did they take the 3060, halve the RAM, maybe downclock it a bit, but keep the 192-bit memory bus, and sell it at a cheaper price?
  
  Because that would make a decent card.
  
  No.  They did not do that.
  
  They took the 3050, which had a 128-bit memory bus, and reduced it to 96 bits.
  
  That does not make a decent card...  But is still faster than the built-in graphics on a Radeon 8700G.  After all, it has about 50% more memory bandwidth (graphics card RAM runs about twice as fast as CPU RAM) and doesn't need to share it with the CPU.
  
  
  
• Google is officially killing its cached pages feature in search results - about five years after it stopped working.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  It's a bit like Ford announcing it is planning to stop selling the Edsel.  In 2024.

Posted by: PatBuckman at Sunday, February 04 2024 03:29 AM (r9O5h)

Posted by: Rick C at Sunday, February 04 2024 08:50 AM (BMUHC)

Posted by: benzeen at Sunday, February 04 2024 03:40 PM (RXJpR)

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