Technology

EFF's take on the amended version of KOSA. TL;DR summary:

We are asking everyone reading this to oppose this latest version, and to demand that their representatives oppose it—even if you have already done so.

Subject: Upcoming Nest Aware Plus price increase Sent: February 15, 2024 5:56:19 p.m. EST From: Google Store googlestore-noreply@google.com To:

Starting on March 25, 2024, your plan price will change

Thank you for being a Nest Aware subscriber. We wanted to let you know that the price of your Nest Aware Plus subscription for Home will soon increase from CA$160 a year to CA$200 a year (plus applicable taxes). Learn more about the upcoming price change.

This new price will come into effect with your next bill that occurs on or after March 25, 2024. Your Nest Aware subscription will continue at the adjusted price and your current benefits will remain the same with 60 days of event video history, up to 10 days of 24/7 video history, smart alerts and other helpful features (learn more here). 1,2

You may refuse this change and cancel your subscription without cost, penalty or cancellation indemnity by sending us a notice to that effect no later than 30 days after the amendment comes into force. You can learn how to view, manage or cancel your plan at any time here.

You can find more information regarding your access to and use of your Nest Aware subscription services on the Google Store here.

We remain committed to helping our customers get the most out of their Nest devices and will continue to bring new features and innovations to Nest Aware over time. If you have questions, please contact us through our Help Centre.

“As it stands today, we’re not ready yet to tell people that our voice assistant is a replacement for Google/Amazon,” Schoutsen wrote. “We don’t have to be as good as their systems, but there is a certain bar of usable that we haven’t reached yet.”

Key among the improvements that need to happen, according to Schoutsen:

• Audio input needs to be cleaned up (speaker voice separated) before it is processed
• Error messages need to be more clear about what’s going wrong, and input has to have more flexibility
• Non-English languages need a lot of commands and variables
• Compatible hardware that features far-listening microphones has to be more widely available
• Most people will want local processing to be faster

And I'd like to be able to do it privately too, that'd be cool.

Things I can do –

• write HTML and CSS
• register a domain and set up hosting
• use Filezilla

Things I don't know how to do –

• Create databases, I always had someone around to do that for me
• Self-host
• Set up an onion site 🧅
• Set up an eepsite
• Register a .bit domain

I am more of a content gal than a tech gal, but think of all the cool stuff I could create if I could spin up anonymous websites in a few hours.

Do not use 2 letter country TLDs!

The new certifications for HDMI cables are now slowly coming onto the market. Known as Gen 2, these certifications will provide verification for the authenticity of a given cable and gradually replace the first generation certifications.

This formally began in May 2023, but the HDMI Licensing Administrator (HDMI LA) has allowed the old labels to continue to be used until stocks of the corresponding cables have all been sold. In its February newsletter, cable manufacturer Club3D drew attention to this change and stated that it is currently changing its label fulfillment provider, so packs with both the old and the new certifications will soon appear in stores.

The new certification has the advantage that it can be checked more easily. According to the HDMI LA, a simple scan of the QR code on the pack is enough to verify its authenticity. The old verification, on the other hand, required the proprietary HDMI app.

Official account of Bluesky announced that it got 1 million new users since the registration was opened to everyone.

An abandoned mine in Finland is set to be transformed into a giant battery to store renewable energy during periods of excess production.

The Pyhäsalmi Mine, roughly 450 kilometres north of Helsinki, is Europe’s deepest zinc and copper mine and holds the potential to store up to 2 MW of energy within its 1,400-metre-deep shafts.

The disused mine will be fitted with a gravity battery, which uses excess energy from renewable sources like solar and wind in order to lift a heavy weight. During periods of low production, the weight is released and used to power a turbine as it drops.

Graber is "optimistic about human potential, even though I'm realistic about human nature." When Bluesky launched last year, it filled a gap that was desperately needed by people who were looking for alternatives to X, as it seemed like the ship formerly known as Twitter was possibly sinking. (Against all odds, it hasn't yet.)

Bluesky wasn't as confusing as Mastodon and wasn't owned by Meta like Threads. Bluesky looks and feels much like Old Twitter.

There was only one snag: It was available as a beta launch, only with an invite code, which was initially so hard to obtain that even Joe Biden couldn't get one. Starting Tuesday, Bluesky is finally out of "beta" and will be open to anyone — no codes needed.

Like Mastodon and Threads, Bluesky is an experiment in a new, "decentralized" way of running a social app, where users can create their own communities and moderation rules. (Bluesky also has its own moderation team.)

Jack Dorsey was involved in creating Bluesky while he was still at Twitter and now sits on its board. It's organized as a public benefit corporation.

Ultimately, it may not be a winner-takes-all competition between these X alternatives; the new approach to social may be to exist happily in smaller pockets without needing massive scale to survive. (Although Meta certainly would love to win the battle with Threads.)

More here - https://www.businessinsider.nl/bluesky-is-finally-open-to-everyone-but-will-anyone-come-we-ask-its-ceo/

A microfluidic DNA processor dubbed a "lab-on-chip" has been developed by RIT researchers, capable of not only computation but also reading and writing data stored within DNA. The prototype device supports artificial neural network computations on data stored within DNA, specifically microfluidic solutions of manipulated DNA molecules. The capabilities of this DNA CPU also extend to the expected mathematical and non-linear calculations you want to see from a CPU, and it should be capable of networking functionality with other devices.

Yandex selling up for "a significantly lower price than Yandex's ultimate value"