ptz

Note: Link is a gift article.

Microsoft executives have been thinking lately about the end of the world. In a white paper published late last year, Brad Smith, the company's vice chair and president, and Melanie Nakagawa, its chief sustainability officer, described a "planetary crisis" that AI could help solve. Imagine an AI-assisted tool that helps reduce food waste, to name one example from the document, or some future technology that could "expedite decarbonization" by using AI to invent new designs for green tech.

But as Microsoft attempts to buoy its reputation as an AI leader in climate innovation, the company is also selling its AI to fossil-fuel companies. Hundreds of pages of internal documents I've obtained, plus interviews I've conducted over the past year with 15 current and former employees and executives, show that the tech giant has sought to market the technology to companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron as a powerful tool for finding and developing new oil and gas reserves and maximizing their production -- all while publicly committing to dramatically reduce emissions.

Although tech companies have long done business with the fossil-fuel industry, Microsoft's case is notable. It demonstrates how the AI boom contributes to one of the most pressing issues facing our planet today -- despite the fact that the technology is often lauded for its supposed potential to improve our world, as when Sam Altman testified to Congress that it could address issues such as "climate change and curing cancer." These deals also show how Microsoft can use the vagaries of AI to talk out of both sides of its mouth, courting the fossil-fuel industry while asserting its environmental bona fides. (Many of the documents I viewed have been submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a whistleblower complaint alleging that the company has omitted from public disclosures "the serious climate and environmental harms caused by the technology it provides to the fossil fuel industry," arguing that the information is of material and financial importance to investors.

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Putting together a new Linux HTPC build and looking for a 10ft UI WM/DE to use with it. Essentially, it would be a launcher for a few PWAs (Emby, Netflix, etc) as well as Steam and maybe some emulators. Navigation would likely be a wireless keyboard and, if absolutely necessary, mouse (goal is to get a bluetooth remote working and use that, but that's the next phase).

I haven't used Kodi since it was still Xbox Media Center (running on an actual Xbox lol), but would it be a good choice? I used it forever ago as the dashboard for my modded Xbox, and it was great. However, for this, I'd rather not run Kodi, if possible, since Emby already covers those use-cases.

If there's no "dedicated" one, any recommendations for which regular DE might be best modifiable/extendable to work for that purpose?

Jazmin Jones knows what she did. "If you're online, there's this idea of trolling," Jones, the director behind Seeking Mavis Beacon, said during a recent panel for her new documentary. "For this project, some things we're taking incredibly seriously ... and other things we're trolling. We're trolling this idea of a detective because we're also, like,ACAB." Her trolling, though, was for a good reason. Jones and fellow filmmaker Olivia Mckayla Ross did it in hopes of finding the woman behind Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. The popular teaching tool was released in 1987 by The Software Toolworks, a video game and software company based in California that produced educational chess, reading, and math games. Mavis, essentially the "mascot" of the game, is a Black woman donned in professional clothes and a slicked-back bun. Though Mavis Beacon was not an actual person, Jones and Ross say that she is one of the first examples of Black representation they witnessed in tech. Seeking Mavis Beacon, which opened in New York City on August 30 and is rolling out to other cities in September, is their attempt to uncover the story behind the face, which appeared on the tool's packaging and later as part of its interface.

The film shows the duo setting up a detective room, conversing over FaceTime, running up to people on the street, and even tracking down a relative connected to the ever-elusive Mavis. But the journey of their search turned up a different question they didn't initially expect: What are the impacts of sexism, racism, privacy, and exploitation in a world where you can present yourself any way you want to? Using shots from computer screens, deep dives through archival footage, and sit-down interviews, the noir-style documentary reveals that Mavis Beacon is actually Renee L'Esperance, a Black model from Haiti who was paid $500 for her likeness with no royalties, despite the program selling millions of copies. [...]

In a world where anyone can create images of folks of any race, gender, or sexual orientation without having to fully compensate the real people who inspired them, Jones and Ross are working to preserve not only the data behind Mavis Beacon but also the humanity behind the software. On the panel, hosted by Black Girls in Media, Ross stated that the film's social media has a form where users of Mavis Beacon can share what the game has meant to them, for archival purposes. "On some level, Olivia and I are trolling ideas of worlds that we never felt safe in or protected by," Jones said during the panel. "And in other ways, we are honoring this legacy of cyber feminism, historians, and care workers that we are very seriously indebted to."

You can watch the trailer for "Seeking Mavis Beacon" on YouTube.

I had no idea "Mavis Beacon" wasn't a real person until well after graduating college.

cross-posted from: https://dubvee.org/post/1764707

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Dooley

It's not often you see WV natives on-screen. Last year I learned that Brad Dourif (Lon Suder from Voyager) is from here, and TIL Paul Dooley (Enabran Tain from DS9) is from not far from where I live.

Just thought that was interesting that Trek has two (so far?).

Don't count on the Deep Space Nine star angling for a Star Trek: O'Brien any time soon.

Ibrahim Al-Nasser, a gaming enthusiast from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has set a Guinness World Record for the most video game consoles connected to a single television, with 444 systems hooked up simultaneously.

Al-Nasser's collection spans five decades of gaming history, from the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey to the 2023 PlayStation 5 Slim. It includes mainstream consoles like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch, as well as rare items such as the Super A'Can. To manage the complex setup, Al-Nasser employs over 30 RCA switchers and 12 HDMI switchers, along with various converters for older systems. He maintains an Excel spreadsheet detailing the location and activation procedure for each console. "After a while I noticed that I had a big stack of gaming consoles that I couldn't play," Al-Nasser said. "By adding more switchers, the idea came to my mind to connect all of the gaming consoles I have to the TV then contact Guinness World Records because this project is unique."

Engadget adds:

He's even organized his collection so the cables aren't showing or creating the kind of tangled mess most of us have to deal with when we have just two consoles hooked up to a single television. That may sound like a lot of video game consoles for one collection but it's far from the actual record. Linda Guillory of Garland, Texas currently holds the record for the largest collection of playable gaming systems with her collection of 2,430 items, according to Guinness World Records.

Github seems to be down.

Edit: After I made this, their status page finally updated to indicate an issue.

Update - We are experiencing interruptions in multiple public GitHub services. We suspect the impact is due to a database infrastructure related change that we are working on rolling back.

cross-posted from: https://lebowski.social/post/829776

Tax Act sends multiple promotional emails daily. Attempting to unsubscribe does nothing, and I've tried for months.

Finally, today, I opened the browser dev console and see that it's throwing JS errors when you attempt to save. I'm 100% sure this is a feature and not a bug. The only other way they will remove you is by writing a physical letter and mailing it out to them.

Moral of the story: Do not use TaxAct. Fuck Tax Act.

What’s better than getting to gawp at some painstakingly recreated Star Trek ship models and sets? Getting to do that while Q himself regales you about how cool it is to do exactly that.

That’s pretty much the premise of “Return to Tomorrow,” a new video taking a look at some of the latest virtual recreations of Star Trek props, sets, and models hosted by the Roddenberry Archive. Over the past few years, the archive has worked with “holographic renderers” OTOY to create a digital Star Trek museum, painstakingly replicating sets from across the entire series, from the original Trek to contemporary shows like Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks that people can take virtual strolls through, either online or through apps on VR headsets.

But if you just wanted to chill out and watch a video instead, this is a pretty great option, if only because you get to listen to John De Lancie, the man behind the irascible Q, poetically discuss why Star Trek design speaks to us in so many forms as it’s developed over the years.

Direct YouTube Link

Russian lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that will allow businesses to use crypto currencies in international trade, as part of efforts to skirt Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. From a report:

The law is expected to go into force in September, and Russian central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, one of the backers of the new law, said the first transactions in cryptocurrencies will take place before the end of the year. Russia has faced significant delays in international payments with major trading partners such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates after banks in those countries, under pressure from Western regulators, became more cautious.

"We are taking a historic decision in the financial sphere," the head of the Duma lower house of parliament, Anatoly Aksakov, told lawmakers. Under the new law, the central bank will create a new "experimental" infrastructure for cryptocurrency payments. Details of the infrastructure have yet to be announced.

Context: Deputy who killed Sonya Massey was removed from the Army, had DUIs and needed ‘high stress decision’ classes, records show

Fun unrelated fact: The guy who played the cop there is Jay Johnston who was arrested for participating in Jan 6.