• Intel's 8 core i9 9900K may launch on October 1.  Speeds may range from 3.6GHz base clock to 5.0GHz boost on 1 or 2 cores, with a TDP possibly holding steady at 95 W.  Price may be more than recent top-of-the-line desktop chips at $450.  Or not.  (WCCFTech)
  
  If that's all true, it's a solid response from Intel to AMD's first two generations of Ryzen chips.  Of course, if you managed to snag a $249 12 core Threadripper in the Amazon sale, you'll be laughing at this.
  
  Comparing with Intel's own products, the 4 core 7700K had a base clock of 4.2GHz - 600MHz higher - but a peak boost clock of "only" 4.5GHz.  So in most cases the 9900K would be a solid win.
  
  
• Electric scooters are largely illegal in Britan thanks to a remarkably prescient law from 1835.  (Buiness Insider)
  
  
• 1/0 = 0
  
  There, that should raise some hackles.
  
  The usual position is that 1/0 is not defined, but that's actually a choice, not something required by the fundamental nature of all forms of arithmetic.  It is potentially a problem if one programming language strikes off on its own, though, and decides to adopt (say) ones' complement arithmetic (which includes a value for negative zero), but it is not locally inconsistent and may have domain-specific advantages.
  
  
• Either we don't exist, or dark energy doesn't exist, or string theory is wrong.  (Quanta)
  
  I'm going for option A.  It's quieter that way.
  
  (Quanta is an interesting site for stories about scientists, though the actual science tends to take second place to personalities.)
  
  
• The JPEG Committe is exploring using the blockchain to embed DRM in images and clearly needs to be strapped onto a rocket and launched into the Sun.  (via Reddit).

  This is great news for both DRM and Blockchain, because no work to implement DRM can ever be called first-rate — and Blockchain is the hype on top to really sell unusable rubbish that can’t possibly ever work.

  Fortunately, NASA is on the case.
  
  
  
  
• Google's 8.8.8.8 DNS service just turned 8.8.8.8.
  
  It's worth giving this a try - either Google's 8.8.8.8, or Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1, or Quad9's 9.9.9.9.  Your ISP's DNS probably sucks.  Yes, there are potential privacy concerns, but no actually it's all fine and there are no privacy issues at all.
  
  Update: Huh.  My ISP uses 8.8.8.8 we are the best have you considered our IPTV packages wait what?
  
  
• A jury in California brought in a $289 million verdict against Monsanto on the basis of...  Evidence?  Who needs evidence?  (Ars Technica)

  FactCheck.org calculated that people would have to eat over 35 kilograms of agricultural products containing glyphosate a day just to reach the strictest safety limits.

  Based on the evidence, I think the facts are clear that California causes cancer.

Social Media News

• So....  Seattle, yeah.  (Crosses Seattle off list of places.)
  
  
• Twitter's suspension policies are largely bullshit.  As with the very best show trials, the charges are never actually stated, the fact that you are on trial is taken as proof of your guilt, and you will have every opportunity to defend yourself if and when you are found innocent.  (The Other McCain)
  
  
• Feeling left out, YouTube shut down a popular podcast's live stream, revoked streaming permission, and issued a "community standards strike" (the vaguest term imaginable)...
  
  For mentioning Alex Jones.

• The Ethereum borkage seems to be over with gas prices down to about double what they were a week ago - still not ideal, but a lot better than thirty times.  (Gitcoin)
  
  Now we can all go back to cursing every other aspect of Ethereum.

Posted by: Rick C at Monday, August 13 2018 03:48 AM (ITnFO)

Posted by: Rick C at Monday, August 13 2018 03:52 AM (ITnFO)

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Monday, August 13 2018 04:30 AM (3bBAK)

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