Thursday, May 16, 2024

These Are the Jobs That Still Offer a Pension

In an era when employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s have become the norm, pensions are becoming an endangered species. A pension is a retirement plan that guarantees a steady income stream to retirees for life, with the employer bearing the investment risk. In contrast, 401(k) and 403(b) plans are defined contribution plans where employees shoulder the investment risk and must carefully manage their retirement savings.

While pensions were once prevalent across industries, economic pressures and accounting rule changes have led many private companies to freeze or terminate their pension plans. However, there are still a few bastions where traditional pensions survive. Here are some of the jobs that still offer this coveted retirement benefit.

Government jobs

If pensions are your priority, government jobs are the way to go. Many government jobs at the federal, state, and local levels still provide pension plans for their employees. This includes roles like public school teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other civil servants. The retirement benefits are usually part of the compensation package negotiated by public employee unions.

Utilities

Utility companies like electric, gas, and water providers frequently still have pension plans. The regulated nature of utilities has allowed some to maintain their defined benefit pension plans.

Unions

Jobs covered by union labor agreements, particularly in industries like transportation, manufacturing, or construction, are more likely to include a pension as a hard-won benefit.

Military

After serving for 20 years or more, members of the armed forces are eligible for a military pension that pays lifetime retired pay.

Some corporate giants

While rarer than in previous decades, a small number of large corporations still offer pension plans. These include some automotive companies, airlines, and other legacy companies with a heavily unionized workforce.

The appeal of pensions is obvious—they provide retirees with a dependable income stream not tethered to market returns. But the costs and risks associated with paying pension benefits have led to their decline. For most workers today, a 401(k), IRA, or similar defined contribution plan is their primary employer-sponsored retirement vessel, putting investment responsibility on their shoulders. Pensions, while fading, do still exist for certain professions, particularly in the public sector.



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NVIDIA gears up for summer with GeForce NOW Steam Deck support

NVIDIA GeForce NOW’s claim to fame is its ability to let just about any computing device — a phone, Chromebook, or a smart TV — tap into its cloud gaming hardware to play the latest games with supreme performance. And since the service taps into libraries of games that players already own, there are no extra purchases. 

With school about to end for the summer and plenty of extra time to game, NVIDIA has an exciting update in store for GeForce NOW. NVIDIA has acknowledged the prevalence of handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally, both excellent ways to tap into games on the go. However, these portables are making the most of integrated graphics, which conserves power and avoids heat, but there’s still plenty of uplift available through the use of more powerful hardware, which can better deliver the top-notch graphics, high resolutions, and smooth frame rates that gamers crave. So NVIDIA is giving them a helping hand. And since all the heavy lifting for GeForce NOW is done in the cloud, the handheld consoles get to relax, so you’ll still get great battery life.

GeForce NOW is geared up for easy use with the Steam Deck thanks to a new browser configuration. A quick beta installation brings a pre-configured Google Chrome installation to the Steam Deck, offering special settings that let players get up and running with GeForce NOW in the browser with ease. This setup allows the browser version of GeForce NOW to run in the Steam Deck’s Gaming Mode, allowing for simple navigation with the built-in gamepad. Beyond that, it also provides access to advanced graphics settings like DLSS and RTX real-time ray-tracing to substantially upgrade visuals. And this update isn’t just for the Steam Deck. It also allows for convenient navigation with the ASUS ROG ally, Logitech G Cloud, Lenovo Legion Go, MSI Claw, and Razer Edge.

With GeForce NOW, these portable handhelds can get a big boost from powerful computers in the cloud. You’ll be able to enjoy advanced graphics features like RTX real-time ray tracing and DLSS to enhance your game visuals. GeForce NOW supports high resolutions and frame rates up to 240 fps, letting you max out the gaming handhelds. 

When you’re not on the move, it’s easy to pick up where you left off with GeForce NOW, since you can also run it on other devices. You can switch to a PC, Mac, NVIDIA SHIELD TV, or any of the many devices that support GeForce NOW.

For the Steam Deck, GeForce NOW also allows you to tap into other game libraries outside of Steam, such as Epic Games, GOG.com, Ubisoft Connect, and Xbox. You can even run PC Game Pass games through GeForce NOW on the Steam Deck. This is a big flexibility upgrade. With access to over 1,900 games and counting and no need to install each, storage on these small handhelds becomes a non-issue when you want to try a new game, and so does the handhelds’ ability to actually run the games on their own hardware. So when the next big game comes along or a hot new indie, you can jump right in. GeForce NOW will let you step aboard Honkai: Star Rail, blast through the wasteland in the Fallout series, explore other realms in Baldur’s Gate 3, tackle darkness in Alan Wake 2, and dig through your game backlog.

GeForce NOW’s list of supported games is constantly expanding, and NVIDIA is regularly adding new features. To stay up to speed with all the latest from GeForce NOW, you can tune into the weekly GFN Thursdays blog, which covers all the new games coming, feature updates, game sales, and plenty more.  



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Google Is Rolling Out Some Great Privacy Features to Android This Year

Android 15 is in the works over at Google HQ, and there are plenty of changes to look forward to. But in my view, the best part of future Android updates aren't some flashy new features: Instead, I'm most excited for these new security features that should make everybody's Android phones safer.

Private space

"Private space" is a new security feature in Android 15 that lets you hide apps containing sensitive information from view of the home screen or app drawer. This is an awesome change: Whether you're handing your unlocked phone to a friend, or someone cracks your PIN and goes snooping through your apps, any programs you designate to the private space will be hidden from view.

This is a great idea for financial apps, like banking and money-transfer apps, but also for apps containing private information. Perhaps you want to keep certain messaging apps out of sight, or a particular files app from your public screen.

Even better, notifications from apps you place in your private space are hidden as well. That way, no one will see when someone has sent you a message if that messaging app is in private space, nor will they see any alerts from your bank.

By default, private space lives at the bottom of the app drawer, but you can choose to hide it from view entirely as well. Either way, you can set a new PIN for private space that's separate from your phone's passcode. That way, even if someone breaks into your Android, they won't know the PIN for private space, and all the apps therein will be protected.

Theft Detection Lock

I have to say, Google really upped the ante with Theft Detection Lock: This feature can detect when someone takes your Android out of your hand, and either runs, bikes, or drives away with it. Google actually worked to figure out each "common motion associated with theft" in order to build that sense in Android.

Once your Android does detect a theft, it locks itself right up. For the most part, thieves need your Android unlocked in order to access the phone and its data. Unless they were sly enough to spot your PIN before taking the phone, a locked phone is essentially useless.

If a thief does manage to take your phone without detection, Android has some other tools this year: If the thief disconnects the phone from the internet, theft protection may kick in and lock the phone. If they fail to enter your PIN too many times when trying to access sensitive settings, the phone will also lock.

This one isn't an Android 15 exclusive, either: As long as you're running Android 10 or newer, you can access it.

Authentication lock, à la Apple

Google is adding one of Apple's best security features to Android this year: authentication lock. This security measure ensures that even if a thief is able to force a factory reset on your stolen Android, they won't be able to proceed with set up without providing the credentials for the Google Account connected to the device. (Now that Android has authentication lock, by the way, there may be a rise in a common scam on stolen phones and devices. Don't fall for it.)

Extra security steps, à la Apple

Google is also adding another great Apple security feature to Android: When you disable Find My Device or extend the time before your screen automatically locks, Android will require your phone's passcode or biometric authentication before proceeding. In addition, "enhanced authentication" requires biometric authentication when you try to change "critical settings" on your Google Account or device. That includes when changing your PIN, disabling theft protections, or trying to access your passkeys from a new location.

It's similar to Apple's Stolen Device Protection, which requires a Face ID or Touch ID scan when accessing certain sensitive settings.

Remote Lock in Find My Device

Let's say your phone is stolen, and you can't remember your Google Account password in order to lock the phone via Find My Device. Google's new Remote Lock feature lets you lock your phone by providing your phone number and authenticating yourself on another trusted device. From here, you can remotely reset your phone if you want to ensure no one can access its data. This feature will be available on Android 10 and newer later this year.



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Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Samsung's fiercest rival unveils mobile storage chip that will make phones and laptops faster — SK Hynix claims that its ZUFS tech will boost local AI inference without consuming more resources

SK Hynix, one of the biggest rivals to Samsung, has been making some major announcements recently, including plans to construct the world’s largest chip factory, and a tie up with TSMC to produce the next-generation of High Bandwidth Memory, known as HBM4.

The company’s latest move is the development of a next-generation mobile NAND solution called Zoned UFS (ZUFS) 4.0, which is optimized for on-device AI in mobile devices, particularly smartphones.

ZUFS technology classifies and stores data generated from smartphones in different zones, based on their characteristics. In contrast to a traditional UFS, ZUFS 4.0 groups and stores data with similar purposes and frequencies, which reportedly boosts the speed of the device’s OS and improves overall storage efficiency.

ZUFS production

SK Hynix claims “The ZUFS also shortens the time required to run an application from a smartphone in long hours use by 45%, compared with a conventional UFS. With the issue of degradation of read and write performance improved by more than four times, the lifetime of the product also increased by 40%.” 

SK Hynix says ZUFS 4.0 meets JEDEC specifications and that mass production of the chip will begin in the third quarter.

Ahn Hyun, the Head of the N-S Committee at SK Hynix, stated that customers are demanding higher quality memory solutions as major tech firms shift their focus towards developing on-device products that incorporate their own generative AI applications. He said the company will "continue to work toward strengthening its leadership as the global top AI memory provider by supplying high-performance NAND solutions that meet such higher requirements at a right time, while building up stronger partnership with leading ICT companies.”

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All the New Android Features Google Just Announced at I/O

During yesterday's big Google I/O keynote, Google talked about a handful of new AI features coming to Android, including a new change to Circle to Search, as well as AI-powered scam protections. One day later, Google has a trove of new Android 15 announcements, starting with the reveal that Android 15 beta 2 is now available.

Android 15 beta 2 is available on quite a few smartphones

Android betas traditionally start on Pixel, but with beta 2, many smartphone users can try out Android 15 early. The beta is now available on Pixel, iQOO, Lenovo, Nothing, OnePlus, OPPO, Sharp, Realme, Techno, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor. If you have a compatible smartphone, give the beta a shot if you want to try out these new features. (Just know beta software isn't finished, so there's the risk for bugs and lost data.)

Private space

Google calls "private space" a "digital safe within your phone," and for good reason. The feature lives at the bottom of your app drawer, and requires a second layer of authentication to access. From here, you can add whatever apps you want, so they don't appear on your home screen or in your app drawer. Think health, banking, or even certain messaging apps: Private space hides the app's icon, its data, and even its notifications. If you want, private space can be invisible altogether, although it's not clear where it'd live in this case.

Selected photos access

When you give an app partial access to your media, that means it can see only a select number of photos and videos from your library. Google is making it possible with Android 15 beta 2 to access only recently selected media. That way, apps that frequently ask for photos and videos can grab these items quickly, without you constantly having to adjust the permissions yourself.

One-time passwords are now hidden from notifications

This is a great security feature in Android 15: Malware tends to rely on OTP notifications to steal these codes and break into your accounts. Going forward, the codes will be hidden from most notifications, so you'll need to tap through to see what your OTP is. Google also says it's expanding the restricted settings that require user approval when installing apps from the web.

Screen sharing is more secure

When you share your screen in Android 15, the OS will automatically hide both notifications and OTPs. It will also hide the screen when you enter your password and credit card information, and soon, more phones will have the Pixel's ability to share a specific app's screen, rather than your entire screen at once. Plus, Google is adding a more obvious screen sharing icon that makes it easy to disable the share at any time.

Cellular security upgrades

Google will now warn you if your cellular network is unencrypted, which could let bad actors listen in on calls and read your SMS texts. Plus, Google will warn at-risk users, like journalists, if a false cellular base or surveillance tool is hijacking their location.

Updated multitasking on large screens

Google has been working on an optimized Android experience for tablets in recent years. With Android 15 beta 2, you can now pin the taskbar on-screen, so you can quickly access apps and split-screen app combinations.

Choose how you're addressed

Android will soon let you choose the gender you'd like to be addressed as, in gendered languages. Google tested this feature first in French, but it will soon be available in other gendered languages. You can choose from non-personalized, feminine, masculine, or neutral.

Saving items to Google Wallet from a photo

Android 15 is making adding passes to Google Wallet even easier: Google says you will soon be able to snap a picture of any pass—say, a ticket, gym membership, library card, etc. From here, Android can turn it into a digital pass that you can save to Google Wallet. It joins the ability to save digital items containing barcodes and QR codes.

AR content in Google Maps

Google is rolling out augmented reality content in Google Maps with Android 15: They're kicking things off with AR experiences for Singapore and Paris, and will presumably add more cities as they go. Google wants you to use AR content to learn more about a particular location, which has merit: If you can point your phone's camera at a building in the city you're visit and learn more about it, that's pretty neat (but might spark a bit of an existential crisis for tour guides).

Google built-in is expanding

Google says Google built-in is coming to more cars, such as the Acura ZDX and Ford Explorer. Built-in adds apps from your phone to your car's built-in display, and Google says developers are making more apps compatible with the service.

Plus, Google Cast is coming to cars with Android Automotive OS, beginning with Rivian in "coming months." You can beam videos from your device to the car's display, which sounds great for passengers and treacherous for the driver.

Google TV now has Gemini

Google TV now uses Gemini to suggest content for you to watch. This includes AI-generated descriptions based on your watch history and "actor preferences." Cool. A better use for this tech is in missing or untranslated descriptions: Any time the system runs into this situation, which may have left you stuck in the past, the AI fills in the gaps.

RCS is coming to Japan

Apple isn't the only one getting RCS support this year: Google says Japan is also getting the protocol. Details are light at this time, but soon, Android users in Japan will be able to take advantage of RCS's end-to-end encryption, high-res photo and videos, and functioning group chats. (That last one shouldn't be a "feature," but, well, here we are.)

Find My Device is expanding

Google's Find My Device service is a worthy competitor to Apple's Find My, harnessing the greater Android community to help locate your missing items. Later this month, Google says you'll be able to find things using trackers from Chipolo and Pebblebee. Later this year, companies like eufy, Jio, and Motorola will also join the Find My Device ecosystem.

Theft detection lock (coming later this year)

Here's one positive use for AI: Theft Detection Lock, arriving at some point later this year, will sense if your phone has been stolen by looking out for "theft motion." How exactly this works isn't obvious, but Google says if your phone detects that your phone has been snatched, and a thief tries to run, bike, or drive away, Android will lock itself down.

Real-time protection from fraud apps (coming later this year)

Fraud is a real problem on Android. While Google has protections in place to screen apps before they land on the Play Store, plenty of malicious apps still slip through the cracks. Google announced today that, later this year, Google Play Protect will use on-device AI to identify apps that may be fraudulent or engaging in phishing. Play Protect will report any suspicious behavior back to Google, and the company will either warn you or take down the app entirely.

Google says this feature is coming to Pixel, Oppo, Honor, Lenovo, OnePlus, Nothing, Transsion, and Sharp later this year.

Wear OS 5 changes

Google says Wear OS is about to get more energy efficient: Running an outdoor marathon will take up 20% less power than it does with Wear OS 4. Plus, your fitness apps will have data points like ground contact time, stride length, and vertical oscillation, which is a measure of how you move vertically which each stride of your run. (Full disclosure: I had to look that up.)



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Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Google's Project Astra could supercharge the Pixel 9 – and help Google Glass make a comeback

I didn't expect Google Glass to make a minor comeback at Google I/O 2024, but it did, thanks to Project Astra. 

That's Google's name for a new prototype of AI agents, underpinned by the Gemini multimodal AI, that can make sense of video and speech inputs, and smartly react to what a person is effectively looking at and answer queries about it. 

Described as a "universal AI" that can be "truly helpful in everyday life", Project Astra is designed to be proactive, teachable, and able to understand natural language. And in a video ,Google demonstrated this with a person using what looked like a Pixel 8 Pro with the Astra AI running on it. 

By pointing the phone's camera at room, the person was able to ask Astra to "tell me when you see something that makes sound", to which the AI will flagged a speaker it can see within the camera's viewfinder. From there the person was able to ask what a certain part of the speaker was, with the AI replying that the part in question is a tweeter and handles high frequencies. 

But Astra does a lot more: it can identify code on a monitor and explain what it does, and it can work out where someone is in a city and provide a description of that area. Heck, when promoted, it can even make an alliterative sentence around a set of crayons in a fashion that's a tad Dr Zeus-like.

It can can even recall where the user has left a pair of glasses, as the AI remembers where it saw them last. It was able to do the latter as AI is designed to encode video frames of what it's seen, combine that video with speech inputs and put it all together in a timeline of events, caching that information so it can recall it later at speed. 

Then flipping over to a person wearing the Google Glass 'smart glasses', Astra could see that the person was looking at a diagram of a system on a whiteboard, and figure out where optimizations could be made when asked about them. 

Such capabilities suddenly make Glass seem genuinely useful, rather than the slightly creepy and arguably dud device it was a handful of years ago; maybe we'll see Google return to the smart glasses arena after this. 

Project Astra can do all of this thanks to using multimodal AI, which in simple terms is a mix of neural network models that can process data and inputs from multiple sources; think mixing information from cameras and microphones with knowledge the AI has already been trained on.

Google didn't say when Project Astra will make it into products, or even into the hands of developers, but Google's DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said that "some of these capabilities are coming to Google products, like the Gemini app, later this year." I'd be very surprised if that doesn't mean the Google Pixel 9, which we're expecting to arrive later this year.

Now it's worth bearing in mind that Project Astra was shown off in a very slick video, and the reality of such onboard AI agents is they can suffer from latency. But it's a promising look at how Google will likely integrate actually useful AI tools into its future products.

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Use This App to Add More Window Management Options to Your PC

Ever wish a certain window could be pinned above all other ones? Or that you could see through a window to whatever's behind it? A free and open source Windows utility called MenuTools lets you do that and more.

After installing the program you only need to right-click the bar at the top of any window and you'll find more options. My personal favorite is the ability to make any window transparent. This is occasionally useful, probably, but mostly I think it's neat.

You can also pin any window to the top—a feature that has much more obvious utility. You could pin a notepad to the top while a video plays in fullscreen, for example. This stacks well with the transparency—you can still sort of see what's going on behind your note-taking window.

An overhead view of a gorilla in a boat on an English river is shown—a clip from the current season of Taskmaster. A transparent Notepad window, shown over it, says "These are important work notes."
Credit: Justin Pot

And there's one more feature: the ability to minimize any window to the system tray instead of to the taskbar. Many applications offer a feature like this, but with MenuTools you can apply it to any application. This is perfect if you want to keep an application running in the background without it taking up any visual space in your workflow.

The notepad icon is visible in the system tray—the tooltip says "note.txt — Notepad".
Credit: Justin Pot

There's one last feature in the menu: the ability to change the process priority of the application. This is a feature you could otherwise only find deep in the Task Manager, and that's for a good reason: Messing with priority levels can cause instability, and isn't really necessary most of the time. I would strongly recommend you not use this feature unless you're clear on what it means. If you want a certain application to have priority access to the CPU, however, the option is there.

MenuTools isn't new: it's been around since 2014 and was last updated in 2020. The developer is still answering questions on Github, though, and it works well with Windows 11.



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How to Move Your Seedlings Outside Without Killing Them

Spring is a time of high anxiety for gardeners all across the U.S. We’ve spent the winter consuming seed catalogs like porn, stalking garden centers like pervs, and now we are jonesing for one thing: fifty degree soil.

It's not unusual to hit up a garden center in March and see legions of people dressed like abominable snowmen with carts full of tender tomato and pepper plants, and hearing the same refrain from the cashiers at the checkout: “It is still too cold for these plants, they need to stay inside at least until Mothers’ Day.”

seed packets
Last frost date is the bane of my existence. Credit: Amanda Blum

If you’ve ever checked the back of a seed packet, they all contain one phrase: “before last frost”: Plant six weeks before last frost, direct seed outside after last frost, start inside 12 weeks before last frost. It's enough to make you think last frost is like Tax Day, a set calendar event. But it’s not, and that, friends, is the bane of existence for every gardener out there.

Gardening is a gambler’s game, because we have to hedge bets in February, trying to decide when to plant those seeds with little clue of when spring will break. A late spring is a problem, because plants continue to grow in the greenhouses and there’s just not enough room for them. They are college graduates hanging around too long in the roost; they gotta go somewhere. Last April I had 400 flower seedlings in my living room with no other place to go. They certainly were not going outside; I learned my lesson the year prior when I went to check on the seedlings I’d left outside for the first time and saw a blanket of snow on April 14 that had arrived with no warning.

How to know when it’s time for plants to go outside

Most of the vegetables and flowers we associate with summer—tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, cucumbers, etc.—are tender. They require heat to germinate and to grow. They cannot survive a frost. The seeds won’t even germinate at under 50 degrees, and they really need 60 to germinate in any reasonable amount of time. For seedlings to survive outside, we’re looking for consistent soil temps in the sixties.

indoor greenhosue tank
“Your father and I love you but we want to know about your plan to move out. Soon.” Credit: Amanda Blum

A soil thermometer is the way to go. While your local gardening group will be abuzz with the news regardless, its good to know your own yard. Different areas of your yard will be ready at different times. Make sure you’re testing at least eight inches deep in your soil. When you’ve got at least a week of 60 degree soil temps, you’re likely safe to plant those seedlings in the ground.

How to extend the greenhouse season if you need to

Your living room floor isn’t ideal. Plants need heat and light and water to thrive. If you’ve run out of room inside, it’s time for more greenhouse space, and the easiest way is a popup greenhouse. I prefer the kind that run low to the ground, because the tall, cheap models don’t do well in wind or at keeping the cold out. Couple this popup with some agribon, and you’re going to keep your seedlings cozy outside until you can start to harden them off.

outdoor popup greenhouse
Credit: Amanda Blum

I add a few layers of agribon or row cover to the top of the greenhouse, and then a sheet of plastic (painters’ plastic is fine). It acts like a blanket, and depending on the agribon rating and how many layers you use, it can really keep the cold out.

How to harden off your plants

seedlings growing in a greenhouse
These seedlings are soft. Just look at these accommodations:, 80 degree heat, high moisture and lots of TLC. 42nd Street Greenhouse in Salt , Lake , City, , Utah. Credit: Amanda Blum

Your plant babies have grown up in an incubator—a cozy heated mat under them and warm lights overhead in a hot, humid greenhouse with consistent water. Even with sixty degree soil, the outside is going to be a brutal wakeup call to these Goldilock babies, and as a result, your plants can go into shock and become stunted, get diseased easier, or just die. We need to make that transition softer. That process is called “hardening off,” in which we slowly start introducing your plants to the hard cruelties of the real world over the course of a week or so.

Even in the cocoon of safety that is your greenhouse or grow environment, you can prepare your plants for the outside by ensuring the stems are strong. Use fans to lightly circulate air in the greenhouse to promotes stem strength. Run your hands over the seedlings often—it’s good for both of you—and tells the seedlings to get some core strength. Water consistently, but only as much as needed: The most common problem is overwatering. Bottom watering, which is just giving the seedlings a little water in your bottom tray, is ideal. We want the seedlings to be as independent as possible. Give the seedlings as much light as you can, as close as you can to the leaves, so they don’t become leggy.

Now, if you bought plants from the garden center, chances are they’ve been hardened off for you. But if the garden center is still keeping them in a greenhouse or covering them at night, you’ll need to do it.

Day 1: Field trip

Take your seedling trays outside and put them into a shaded space in the middle of the day for a few hours. The shade is really important, because the break from the sun gives the plants a chance to recover from the shock. They’re not really for a zillion kilowatts just yet. Take them out, give them some time to chill in a protected shady space, and then bring them back inside, and remind them to enjoy these last days.

Day 2: Introduction to the big ball of fire

Today, place your seeds someplace outside where they’ll get some sunlight, but not a direct hit, for a few hours. They’re still not ready for primetime, but they need more exposure than yesterday. Then they come back inside for their nightly tuck in.

Day 3: Here comes the sun

outdoor garden
Time for the real deal. Credit: Amanda Blum

Today’s the day! We’re going full sun, baby, for a few hours. Make sure your seedlings are hydrated before they go out, but the sunhat is coming off; it’s time to get some Vitamin D. After three to four hours, bring them back in.

Day 4: Suns out, buds out

Back out they go, and into the full exposure; today, let’s leave them out for five to six hours before bringing them back in.

Day 5: School’s out for summer

It’s the first full day off from the nursery, so take your seedlings out first thing and don’t bring them back in until the sun goes down. Tuck them in for the last time, read them a bedtime story about the Little Tomato That Could, and say goodnight.

Day 6: Heigh ho, heigh ho...

Take one last pic with your babies because this morning, they’re being pushed out of the nest. Take them back outside, check on them at sunset, and then leave them outside overnight. Nighttime is when the critters roam around your garden, whether it be slugs, rabbits, squirrels or voles, so elevate them if you can.

Day 7: Independence day

It’s all going down today, as you plant your babies in the ground. Ideally you’ll plant them in the late afternoon, so they can recover from the trauma without the sun blazing overhead. Planting in the morning or height of the day means they’ll be in full sun when they’re most stressed, which isn’t ideal.



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Monday, May 13, 2024

Top conservative news website hit in data breach — around 26 million Post Millennial users affected

More than 26 million people have had their personal data exposed on the dark web following a cyberattack on Post Millennial and Human Events.

Post Millennial and Human Events are conservative media publications - the former for the Canadian market, and the latter for the US, owned by the Human Events Media Group.

Earlier this month, a threat actor defaced both websites, left a message impersonating the editor, and stole employee and subscriber data, including full names, email addresses, usernames, account passwords, IP addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses, and genders. 

Various campaigns

Since both websites target those with far-right, or conservative political views, ahead of the US presidential elections, the repercussions of this data breach could be severe, from simple identity theft, to different ways the data can be used to alter the outcome of the elections. In total, 26.8 million people have had their data stolen.

Troy Hunt, the owner and maintainer of the Have I Been Pwned? website said the database was added, but questioned where it actually came from: 

"The breach resulted in the defacement of the website and links posted to 3 different corpuses of data including hundreds of writers and editors (IP, physical address, and email exposed), tens of thousands of subscribers to the site (name, email, username, phone and plain text password exposed), and tens of millions of email addresses from several thousand mailing lists alleged to have been used by The Post Millennial (this has not been independently verified)," he said.

"The mailing lists appear to be sourced from various campaigns not necessarily run by The Post Millennial and contain a variety of different personal attributes including name, phone and physical address (depending on the campaign)."

Via BleepingComputer

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Apple Is Finally Making Siri a Real AI Chatbot

Apple is currently behind on the generative AI game, but that could all change soon if recent reports are to be believed. According to insider sources who spoke with The New York Times, Apple is working hard to add generative AI to Siri, which it could debut as soon as its WWDC developer conference in June.

Originally introduced way back in 2011, Siri really hasn’t seen many changes over the years. The digital assistant still struggles in a lot of areas, often misunderstanding questions entirely, and AI presents a way to move forward.

But Apple has a lot of catching up to do to match the likes of ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The company appears to be working overtime, with sources saying the competition's quick progress in overtaking Siri has led to one of the largest reorganizations Apple has seen in over a decade. Now, Apple is supposedly deep in its own AI plans and developments.

Of course, all these insider sources remain anonymous. But if they are to be trusted, Apple will add its own generative AI to Siri soon. Apple has reportedly also even been in talks to license some competing AI models, including Google's and OpenAI's.

More “proof” that Apple is going all-in on AI also comes with the fairly recent news that it had canceled work on the Apple Car, freeing up the company to pursue other projects. These sources also told The New York Times that Apple plans to push the improved Siri as a more private way to use generative AI, as it will process everything directly on the iPhone instead of sending it off to massive data centers for processing.

This, of course, would also save money in the long run, as cloud computing costs for ChatGPT and other models can ramp up significantly depending on the amount of content generated. There is a trade-off here, though, as smaller systems have reportedly been shown to be more likely to hallucinate and return false information—a longstanding problem with generative AI. Whether or not Siri will face that problem is completely up to how Apple approaches development.

Either way, it’s an interesting time for Apple fans. ChatGPT is already gearing up to possibly take on Google by rolling out its own search engine, but we shouldn’t expect Apple to come right out the gate with something so big. Apple doesn’t even have to have the best generative AI yet. It just has to finally get its foot in the door, so it can expand on it as time goes on.



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'A bottle of good wine' for free: How an NGO protested against website privacy policy pages using a sneak attack freebie that went viral

How often do you read through terms and conditions, EULA’s and privacy policies? Although we know we should scour the fine print, it’s something few of us ever bother to do, and certainly not fully.

Non-profit organization Tax Policy Associates wanted to prove how pointless these documents are, and so in February 2024 added a line to its privacy policy, offering a “bottle of good wine” to the first person who spotted the offer and got in touch.

After three months of nobody noticing the addition, the reward was finally found by someone who chanced upon it after looking at several examples of privacy policies online to get an idea of how to create their own.

Not the first time

The organization's head, Dan Neidle, shared the story on X and told the BBC it was "my childish protest that all businesses have to have a privacy policy and no one reads it. Every tiny coffee shop has to have a privacy policy on their website, it’s crazy. It’s money that’s being wasted."

In its coverage, which was the most read story on the site, the BBC pointed out that any company that holds personal data, “including small businesses and charities”, has to have a privacy policy under the UK's General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR).

This is actually the second time that Tax Policy Associates has made a sneaky addition to its privacy policy. The first time it took four months to be found. "We did it again to see if people were paying more attention and they’re not," Neidle told the BBC.

The writing in the firm's privacy policy has since been changed following the discovery and now says, "We know nobody reads this, because we added in February that we’d send a bottle of good wine to the first person to contact us, and it was only in May that we got a response."

If you're wondering what counts as a "good" bottle of wine in this instance, the answer, according to the BBC, is a Château de Sales 2013/14, Pomerol.

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Sunday, May 12, 2024

'The Entire History of You': How a lone developer created free app that records everything you do on your PC — and allows you to rewind and search for anything in a weird homage to an episode of Black Mirror

We've all been there: you remember reading or watching something on your PC, but all attempts to locate the item again prove futile. Repeating past searches yields nothing, and your browser history is of no use either. You’re not sure where you saw the item, and eventually you begin to question whether you might simply have imagined it.

There’s an early episode of Black Mirror called "The Entire History of You" in which "grain" technology allows people to record and replay their memories on demand. This episode, along with the Rewind app on macOS and FOMO (the fear of missing out), has led a developer to create a new open-source app.

Windrecorder, the “personal memory search engine”, records everything you see and do on your screen and allows you to rewind and search through it.

15 minute blocks

The app uses FFmpeg to record screen activity in 15-minute fragments and then indexes them using a Windows local OCR API and image embedding. You can ignore certain apps or screen areas, and it only records one screen regardless of your setup – although multi-monitor support is planned.

The app lets you view daily and periodic screen times and circadian summaries and can generate monthly lightboxes.

There are some downsides to be aware of - FFmpeg can consume a large amount of memory occasionally, and instant rewind isn’t an option. You need to wait for each 15-minute video fragment to finish recording before it can be rewound. 

The recording isn’t encrypted, but if you’re worried about what you get up to on your computer leaking online, the good news is everything is handled locally, nothing gets uploaded to the cloud. There’s no AI/LLM support either, although it's a possibility for the future.

You can download Windrecorder from GitHub here.

Windrecorder

(Image credit: Antonoko)

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NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Monday, May 13 (game #71)

Another week of Strands puzzles kicks off with what I'd say is a nice straightforward one. If you find it a little tougher than I did, though, you can always use my helpful hints below. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #71) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Best in show

NYT Strands today (game #71) - hint #2 - clue words

What are some good clue words today?

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• BELL

• PRIDE

• SLEEP

• BOLD

• HOLD

• SLIDE

NYT Strands today (game #71) - hint #3 - spangram

What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Kennel club

NYT Strands today (game #71) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First: left, 6th row

• Last: right, 6th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #71) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game #71 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #71, are…

  • HOUND
  • BOXER
  • HUSKY
  • COLLIE
  • POODLE
  • BEAGLE
  • SHEPHERD
  • SPANGRAM:  DOGPILE
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

One of my favorite subjects + some really easy placings = one of the simplest Strands puzzles so far. 

I am very much a dog person, so knocking off the likes of HOUND, BOXER, HUSKY and COLLIE – all of which were easily visible – was no trouble at all. The only vaguely difficult part was the spangram, because I've never heard the term 'DOGPILE' before. But I was able to solve that too, simply by uncovering all of the other answers. 

My only criticism here: there was no space for LABRADOR, which is the breed I own and objectively the best dog you can get.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday 12 May, game #70)

  • SPOTLIGHT
  • ROCKY
  • CRASH
  • GLADIATOR
  • PARASITE
  • SPANGRAM: OSCARWINNERS

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's currently in Beta and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.



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Microsoft launches generative AI model designed exclusively for US intelligence services — air-gapped system for spies aims to avoid potential security leaks

AI technology has already proved instrumental in transforming and disrupting a wide range of industries, and really it’s just getting started.

Microsoft, which has gone “all-in” on artificial intelligence, has developed a generative AI model designed expressly for U.S. intelligence services. Unlike other AI platforms, such as Microsoft’s own Copilot, this one will be “air gapped” and won’t require a potentially unsafe connection to the internet.

Bloomberg notes, “It’s the first time a major large language model has operated fully separated from the internet… Most AI models, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT rely on cloud services to learn and infer patterns from data, but Microsoft wanted to deliver a truly secure system to the US intelligence community.”

18 months of development

The tool will allow intelligence services to use AI for tasks such as analyzing vast swathes of classified data without the fear of data leaks or hacks that could potentially compromise national security.

William Chappell, Microsoft’s CTO for Strategic Missions and Technology, told Bloomberg that the company spent 18 months working on this special GPT-4-based tool which will be able to read and analyze content, answer questions and write code without needing to go online. Equally importantly, it reportedly won’t learn from, or be trained on, the data it is fed.

At a security conference last month, Sheetal Patel, assistant director of the CIA for the Transnational and Technology Mission Center, said, “There is a race to get generative AI onto intelligence data, and I want it to be us.”

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Siri in iOS 18 rumored to be 'more conversational and versatile' thanks to AI

With Apple's WWDC 2024 event and the accompanying iOS 18 reveal fast approaching, speculation is mounting about what kind of AI features Apple might introduce – and a new report gives us a few more major clues.

This report comes from the New York Times (via MacRumors), and says that an upgraded version of Siri is going to be central to iOS 18. Efforts to make Siri a more competent competitor to ChatGPT have apparently been underway for more than a year.

The new and improved Siri is going to be "more conversational and versatile", according to the NYT – and it'll be better at keeping chats going, rather than replying to one question at a time. It's said that Apple has shifted extra resources to Siri development, which was part of the reason the Apple Car was abandoned.

However, the report says Siri won't compete with the ChatGPT chatbot directly: instead, it'll get better at what it already does, including timers, calendar appointments, and lists. The digital assistant will also be able to summarize text messages (which we've heard hints about before).

AI ins and outs

See more

It's getting a little tricky to pick through all the different AI-related Apple rumors we're hearing in the run up to the Worldwide Developers Conference. All we know for sure is that Apple is keen on AI, and has some significant announcements in store.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, one of the more reliable Apple tipsters, has posted on social media about how these upgrades will work: Apple is developing its own in-house LLMs (Large Language Models) for local, on-device work, and for cloud processing, Gurman says.

It'll then integrate a third-party chatbot into its software: either ChatGPT from OpenAI or Google Gemini, as we've already heard. Gurman says "it's the same playbook as search" – so while Siri can search the web, Apple has a partnership with Google for doing the actual searching work. Expect something similar with AI.

There's quite a bit of overlap there, because if Apple is developing its own LLMs, it doesn't necessarily need extra help from OpenAI or Google – so it's not exactly certain where one service will start and another will end. Hopefully all will become clear at WWDC 2024, which gets underway on June 10.

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