• Microsoft is retiring Azure IoS Central, its hub service for the Internet of Insecure Pieces of Crap.  (The Register)
  
  This is the problem with specialised cloud services.
  
  Cloud servers are fine, if you're either small enough that they're cheap, or big enough that you can get a deal.  If you run containers on top of them - LXC or Docker, pick your poison - it is possible - not easy, but possible - to move to any other cloud provider, or to leased servers, or to your own hardware.
  
  S3 storage is fine, because everyone supports that, and there are open source solution as well.  Although S3 storage in general is awful if you need to do any sort of file management.
  
  The service will stay running for existing customers until March 31, 2027, but we're likely to see a bunch of devices simply stop working the next day.
  

• Experts are - again - proposing the regulation of AI hardware.  (The Register)
  
  Where would we be without experts?  Probably sipping margaritas by a beach in the Andromeda galaxy.

  In situations where AI systems pose catastrophic risks, it could be beneficial for regulators to verify that a set of AI chips are operated legitimately or to disable their operation (or a subset of it) if they violate rules.

  No.  No it wouldn't.
  
  
  
• Proposed legislation would allow defendants to inspect the algorithms of any code used to produce evidence against them in court.  (The Verge)
  
  This is actually sound in principle, but would inevitably cause drama during its introduction phase.  And for about twenty years following.
  
  
  
• The Epic Games Store is coming to iOS in Europe this year.  (Thurrott)
  
  If you play games, or have kids who do, it's worth installing the Epic Games Store on your PC.  Or a PC, depending on how much you trust them.  They give away a free game every week; every day over Christmas.
  
  
  
• 2600 official Intel SPEC benchmark results have been invalidated because the compiler was using steroids.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  It's entirely permitted to use optimisations that are designed to improve performance on a certain type of calculation, even if that calculation is rare outside of benchmarks.
  
  It is not permitted to optimise for the known result of a benchmark...  Which is what Intel was caught doing.
  
  Mobile phone vendors get caught doing this all the time.
  
  
  

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