1. Reddit Strike Has Started
Total comment counts : 96
Summary
The article advises caution when clicking on subreddits that have recently changed their publicity type or disabled posting, as there may be slow rollout issues on Reddit’s side. It suggests using Reddark hosted by individuals unrelated to UNTONE as a possible alternative, but warns users to click with care. Additionally, the article provides a code source and suggests joining Lemmy as an alternative to Reddit.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the potential impact that the future of Reddit could have on the internet as a whole. It questions whether content will be easily linked or created and consumed in walled gardens, if AI-generated content will impact forums and meaningful discussion, and if moderation will become an AI task rather than a human one. The article suggests that the Reddit protest is not a standalone event and that a migration away from Reddit or structural changes in how websites are administered could have lasting effects.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article states that Reddit is valuable due to its moderators and users who create and organize content, not the few executives making poor decisions. The author has decided not to cross the picket line on Reddit until these content creators are satisfied with the platform’s decisions.
2. Inside the Wuhan lab weeks before Covid
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
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Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues that there is no direct evidence pointing to the Wuhan lab as the source of the COVID-19 outbreak. It explains that all labs researching viruses work on dangerous viruses, so the fact that the lab worked on coronaviruses does not indicate any ill-intent. The closest relative to SARSCov2, RaTG13, was found in a cave over 1,000 km away with no evidence that it was ever studied in the Wuhan lab. Furthermore, the early cases of COVID-19 clustered around the market, not the lab, and several different isolates were found in the market, indicating that SARSCoV2 had been circulating before the epidemic took off.
3. The Dutch government wants automatic permission to target victims of hackers
Total comment counts : 29
Summary
The Dutch government is proposing a change to its intelligence and security services act, adding a lex specialis, which would allow for significant changes to the scope of intelligence powers and who they can be applied to. In particular, the proposed law would permit the automatic extension of warrants to anyone victimized by a hacking organization being targeted by an intelligence operation. Though the law also contains terms for the binding review of such administrative additions, it is likely to face questions regarding its compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The new legislation, which features an excessively vague definition of “automated work,” providing little protection for non-targeted individuals, would significantly change the scope of the Dutch intelligence community’s authority.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The Dutch services have expanded their warrants to include victims of hacking groups, allowing them to intercept communications and conduct data access operations beyond the intended target. This could potentially be abused by planting moles in a hacking organization and gaining the right to hack and intercept communications of whoever they choose.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The Netherlands is considering allowing its intelligence agency to actively hack into machines connected to a criminal group, even if they are not the primary target. Currently, the agency can only intercept communication from a hacked machine if it is within their warrant. If the change goes ahead, the agency can only hack into such machine proportionally, in severe cases and without violating the rights of non-targets, and not to obtain information on non-targets. The article warns those who suggest that this may lead to the agency hacking random citizens are exaggerating as it would not be acceptable by the oversight agencies.
4. Before he was the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski was a mind-control test subject
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, has died in a US federal prison medical facility. The mathematician-turned-terrorist, who targeted academics, scientists, and industrialized society, entered Harvard University as a 16-year-old boy genius and was subjected to an experiment by Harvard psychologist Henry A. Murray, which was allegedly backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While Kaczynski graduated with a mathematics degree, completed a doctorate in the field, and became a professor, questions remain over whether – or to what extent – he was affected by the experiment, which reportedly involved mock interrogations, resulting in negative responses. Despite unanswered questions about the study’s influence on his actions, some suggest that the program may have exacerbated Kaczynski’s schizophrenia.
Top 1 Comment Summary
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Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a study conducted at Harvard, involving 22 students who underwent a rigorous program designed to develop strong moral characters. The sessions were two hours long, once a week, and the typical total time for participants was 200 hours. The students were required to write a paper outlining their core beliefs before the start of the program, and the overall process was likened to military basic training.
5. New York City will charge drivers going downtown
Total comment counts : 40
Summary
New York City is set to implement a landmark program, the Central Business District Tolling Program, which will toll vehicles entering Lower Manhattan, aiming to reduce the number of vehicles entering the congestion zone by at least 10% every day and slash the number of miles cars travel within the zone by 5%. The program, also known as congestion pricing, would be the first of its kind in the United States and is set to go into effect next spring, with proposals ranging from charging vehicles $9 to $23 during peak hours. Advocates claim it will improve public transit, attract new riders and improve speed and accessibility for low-income and minority residents, who are least likely to own cars. Additionally, improving public transportation is seen as key to New York City’s post-pandemic economic recovery, while the program could also create more space for amenities like wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and public bathrooms.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The lack of transit in New York City is a concern, despite the availability of funding. The local government is often hamstrung by the DOT and state agency management, as well as the influence of unions. Instead of building elevators, funds have been allocated to third-party access-a-ride services, and an excessive amount of money has gone towards building a new LIRR terminal. A modern Robert Moses-like figure is needed to consolidate the various agencies and bring NYC’s transit system into the modern era.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article provides links to three related Wikipedia pages on congestion charges: London Congestion Charge, Singapore Electronic Road Pricing, and Stockholm Congestion Tax.
6. Thousands of subreddits pledge to go dark after the Reddit CEO’s recent remarks
Total comment counts : 40
Summary
Over 100 subreddits have gone dark and thousands more plan to follow in protest of Reddit’s upcoming API changes that will force many third-party apps, like Apollo and rif is fun for Reddit, to shut down. The community’s frustration was already brewing as developers began reacting to the changes this week, but Reddit CEO Steve Huffman’s responses in recent days have only escalated the community’s pushback. Among the complaints are how Reddit’s leadership has, or mostly hasn’t, communicated the details of changes to its API pricing or incoming restrictions, including prohibiting third-party apps from showing NSFW content that’s already viewable on the site.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a recent AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit by user “spez,” who did not say much and avoided controversial questions during the hour-long appearance. The writer notes that the most notable moment was when spez made a sarcastic remark about Reddit’s profitability compared to third-party apps but otherwise barely said anything noteworthy.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues that Reddit, along with other online platforms, believes it has the right to extract value from the community, but in reality, it did not create the value - the community did. Due to this uneven value exchange, Reddit is seen as a large scale freeloader by most of its community. This type of value extraction only works when the company provides similar value to the community, which isn’t the case for Reddit. Eventually, these platforms discover that they are not driving real value, and the smart move is to diversify before everything falls apart, which Reddit has failed to do.
7. Mental Liquidity
Total comment counts : 33
Summary
The article talks about the importance of mental liquidity, which means to abandon previous beliefs when new information or changes in the world demand it. It highlights how mental rigidity is common as it is easier to hold on to beliefs than to accept new facts. Albert Einstein’s resistance to quantum theory is used as an example. It highlights that changing your mind is tough because it involves accepting that the certainty you held was an illusion. The article suggests that the strongest convictions have the highest chance of being wrong or incomplete. It is essential to be careful about the beliefs you let become part of your identity. Many fields have lots of rules, theories, ideas, and hunches, but laws are rare.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The ability to entertain thoughts without accepting them is a sign of an educated mind, according to Aristotle. This allows individuals to try out new belief networks and strengthen their interconnected set of beliefs. Rejecting beliefs that do not strengthen one’s belief network helps it grow stronger.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses Einstein’s stubbornness and how he accepted it as a product of aging. Despite this, he persisted in his dislike for certain aspects of quantum mechanics, which led him to pursue a fruitless endeavor for many years. While this might have killed the career of a younger scientist, Einstein’s contributions to science allowed him to afford to be stubborn.
8. Big leap for hard drive capacities: 32 TB HAMR drives due soon, 40tb on horizon
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
Seagate has provided an update on the launch of its next-generation hard drives fitted with its heat-assisted magnetic recording technology. The first commercial hard drive is scheduled to come with 32TB functionality, with a capacity boost to 40TB arriving soon after. These high-capacity hard drives will be accompanied by the release of 24TB and 28TB drives. The first HAMR hard drives from Seagate will use a ten platter platform, already similar to one being used by the company, to maximum yields and eliminate potential failures. The use of this platform guarantees that future HDDs with higher capacities will continue to use it with minimal changes.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author is interested in how they can use HAMR drives in storage pools and backup applications effectively. They express concern about the lack of information on the pros and cons of HAMR in real-world use, and how it differs from traditional PMR hard drives and previously problematic SMR drives.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) technology and how it records data using heat to make the recording process more efficient. The author admits to not knowing all the details before and finds it fancy. They include a link to the Wikipedia page for those interested in learning more.
9. CS:GO: From Zero to 0-Day
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
Researchers discovered three remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), a popular free-to-play game with 21 million players per month. The vulnerabilities were triggered when the game client connected to a malicious Python CS:GO server, allowing an attacker to execute code on the client. To discover the vulnerabilities, the researchers used reverse engineering and analyzed existing research, forums, and development kits, as well as debug symbols to understand the game’s engine. They found four logic bugs that, when combined, allowed them to execute code remotely on the client. The CS:GO patch dated 04/28/2021 fixed several critical vulnerabilities, including three discovered by the researchers.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Valve’s delayed response and low payout for a critical security vulnerability in their software has raised concerns amongst users. The vulnerability, which took over a year to be fixed, would have allowed attackers to take over user accounts and potentially access high-value items in their inventories. The lack of urgency and low payout for such a serious issue has led to doubts about Valve’s professionalism and user confidence in their software.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how delivering software with debug symbols is not a mistake but rather a decision that can lead to better bug reporting and convenience. Debug symbols increase the file size of executables and libraries, but they are not loaded by the kernel or loader during runtime and only used by the debugger for backtraces. Therefore, initial read times may be affected slightly, but execution speed is not affected. The article also addresses the contention that security by obscurity works and hide everything.
10. Why aren’t black box flight recorders better?
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
The article discusses the history and importance of the black box flight recorder following the 2009 Air France Flight 447 disaster and its recovery two years later. The data revealed that the crash was caused by a series of errors, including pilot error and faulty equipment. The article also examines the origins of the black box flight recorder, which was first developed in response to the failure of the De Havilland Comet jetliner in the 1950s. It took nearly a decade for the devices to become mandatory on flights in major aviation nations, and there have been ongoing calls for real-time data streaming from planes to be implemented.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article explains that flight data recorders in rotorcraft and some small fixed wing aircraft currently use a satellite connection for real-time tracking and sending caution information and data parameters. The cost of sending data over the satellite is the major concern but it is decreasing. The ADS-B requirement is also helpful in tracking aircraft locations and destinations.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how the dangers of over-reliance on automation were highlighted in a recent incident. Ironically, if the pilots had not intervened and let go of the controls, the airplane would have corrected itself.