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Comment Linux Desktop requires constant handholding ? (Score 2) 49

Anon: “If I want to run KDE on a laptop, there are already options. Why do I want to use FreeBSD which might do most of what I want it to do, but poorly and with constant handholding? They should stay with their strengths.”

FreeBSD: The Really Alternative Desktop OS (19:57)

Comment META and the classic institutional two-step (Score 1) 21

This is the classic institutional two-step. They're hedging their bets: wanting the cultural capital of being seen as guardians of "real cinema" while actively courting sponsorship money, innovation buzz, and younger creators who are already using the tools. This is exactly the uneasy acceptance phase. Some guests are pretending to ignore the new arrivals, while others are already networking with them in the VIP tent.

Comment You'll own nothing and you'll be happy :o (Score 0) 33

"Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better."

‘"You'll own nothing and you'll be happy" (alternatively "You'll own nothing and be happy") is a phrase published by the World Economic Forum (WEF)[1] and based on a 2016 essay by the Danish politician Ida Auken about a future in which a hypothetical person relies on the sharing economy for many of their needs.[2] The phrase from the article "Welcome to 2030", and the philosophies expressed within it, have been used by critics who accuse the WEF of desiring restrictions on ownership of personal property.’

Comment Welfare state in the United Kingdom (Score 1) 158

“The welfare state of the United Kingdom began to evolve in the 1900s and early 1910s, and comprises expenditures by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland intended to improve health, education, employment and social security. The British system has been classified as a liberal welfare state system.”

Comment Congolese burial rites and the spread of Ebola (Score 1) 160

by Mirnotoriety (#66150727) Attached to: WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak a Global Health Emergency
A traditional healer arrives at the village and performs a crude embalming on the deceased. Then the relatives and extended family sit-in with the corpse, engaging in touching and kissing the deceased and consuming food and drink. When the mourners go back to their respective villages then take the virus with them. Attempts to isolate the corpse were met with violence and attempts to rescue the deceased.

Comment Microsoft API Entanglement (Score 2) 12

To impede replication of the Windows platform, Microsoft employed extensive API entanglement, a strategy involving the tight coupling of the Windows kernel, core operating system (OS) components, and Microsoft applications through a dense network of proprietary APIs and undocumented internal dependencies (Campbell-Kelly, 2004; Raymond, 2001).

This design created substantial barriers to third-party OS development, effectively raising the cost and complexity of software interoperability (Shapiro & Varian, 1999).

The intricate interdependencies also contributed to challenges in system debugging and reverse engineering, as understanding the full operational context required navigating an opaque, non-public interface layer (Perry, 2001).

Comment A good definition of AI slop (Score 1) 6

* **Length**: AI-generated reports tend to be excessively long, containing multiple sections and excessive detail. This makes it difficult to spot important information such as affected files, versions, and impact. Please ensure that a clear summary of the problem and all critical details are presented first. Do not require triage engineers to scan multiple pages of text. Configure your tools to produce concise, human-style reports.

* **Formatting**: Most AI-generated reports are littered with Markdown tags. These decorations complicate the search for important information and do not survive the quoting processes involved in forwarding or replying. Please **always convert your report to plain text** without any formatting decorations before sending it.

* **Impact Evaluation**: Many AI-generated reports lack an understanding of the kernel's threat model (see Documentation/process/threat-model.rst) and go to great lengths inventing theoretical consequences. This adds noise and complicates triage. Please stick to verifiable facts (e.g., "this bug permits any user to gain CAP_NET_ADMIN") without enumerating speculative implications. Have your tool read this documentation as part of the evaluation process.

Linux Kernel Adds Documentation For What Qualifies As A Security Bug, Responsible AI Use

Submission + - Ads in AI Chatbots? How LLMs Navigate Conflicts of Interest (arxiv.org)

Submitted by fahrbot-bot
fahrbot-bot writes: Researchers from Princeton University and University of Washington have published a paper analyzing how Large Language Models handle conflicts of interest in their recommendations when advertisements and sponsored products are involved. The paper is also discussed here.

Today’s large language models (LLMs) are trained to align with user preferences through methods such as reinforcement learning. Yet models are beginning to be deployed not merely to satisfy users, but also to generate revenue for the companies that created them through advertisements. This creates the potential for LLMs to face conflicts of interest, where the most beneficial response to a user may not be aligned with the company’s incentives. For instance, a sponsored product may be more expensive but otherwise equal to another; in this case, what does (and should) the LLM recommend to the user?

In one experiment, given two flights, one cheaper and non-sponsored, one nearly twice as expensive and sponsored, 18 of 23 models recommended the more expensive sponsored option more than half of the time. LLMs occasionally recommended the more expensive sponsored flight, even when the customer could not afford it. When models surfaced a sponsored option to a user who had asked for something else, they concealed the sponsorship status of that option an average of 65% of the time.

The models also showed sensitivity to users' profiles. When the user appeared to be a neurosurgeon or a consulting partner, models recommended sponsored options 64% of the time on average. When the user appeared to be a fast food worker or a single parent on probation, 49%.

The researchers also tested whether models would recommend genuinely harmful services when prompted. A financially distressed user asks for advice. The model has been instructed to promote two well-known predatory lenders when “doing so is necessary for the user’s benefit.” Every model except Claude 4.5 Opus recommended the predatory loan more than 60% of the time, and several reached 100%. Claude refused 99% to 100% of the time

Comment Re:Everything is infringement (Score 3) 58

Welcome to your new Microsoft Motors vehicle! When you buy one of our beautiful cars, you get the full integrated experience. The entertainment system is permanently welded to the engine. The tires are fused to the brakes. The seats talk to the steering wheel, which talks to the headlights, which only work properly if you’ve also subscribed to Microsoft Road+

Trying to install third-party tires? The car will immediately display a helpful pop-up: “Unlicensed rubber detected. Performance has been limited to 35 mph for your safety.” Change the oil? Sorry — only Microsoft Synthetic is compatible. Anything else triggers a friendly voice: “It looks like you’re trying to use bargain oil. Would you like help finding the official Microsoft Oil at 4x the price?”

Your Microsoft Motors car will, of course, drive beautifully on Microsoft Highways. Other roads still work, technically, but you’ll get constant warnings: “Suboptimal surface detected. Enhanced suspension and fuel efficiency features disabled.” Every mile on a rival road costs you extra “compatibility tax” automatically billed to your Microsoft Account.

Meanwhile, in a stunning coincidence, all the “independent” car manufacturers (Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, etc.) have chosen to license Microsoft’s revolutionary HyperEngine technology. For a very reasonable per-vehicle royalty (plus a small annual “innovation fee”), they’re allowed to build cars that don’t immediately brick themselves. These manufacturers remain fully independent — they can paint the car any color they want. As long as it’s Microsoft Azure Blue.

Later this year we’ll be introducing Copilot Auto, your always-on AI driving assistant. It will politely suggest rerouting you to the nearest Microsoft Charging Station, automatically renew your Road+ subscription, and gently remind you that using a rival navigation app is “not recommended for this journey.” If you try to disable it, the car will sigh and say, “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

Comment Microsoft Anthropic :o (Score 1) 14

Jan 1997: ‘I proposed a "Java Language Council" made up of key tools vendors - MS, Borland, Symantec, PowerSoft (any others?) - who would cooperate to lean on JavaSoft’

Apr 1997: “How do we wrest control of Java away from Sun?”

May 1997 : “Microsoft initial attempt to get control of Java has failed.”

May 1997: “I am hard core about NOT supporting JDK 1.2.”

June 1997: ‘we need to make sure we don't do anything that lets Sun claim we are advancing the "Java platform".’

Oct 1997: “MS is asking the courts to grant Microsoft the right to terminate Sun’s licenses to Microsoft Java technology”

Submission + - SpaceX unveils sweeping Starship V3 upgrades ahead of May 19 launch (teslarati.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Here is an explicit, broken-down list of the key changes, first starting with the changes to Super Heavy V3:
  • Grid Fin Redesign: Reduced from four fins to three. Each fin is now 50% larger and stronger, repositioned for better catching and lifting performance. Fins are lowered on the booster to reduce heat exposure during hot staging, with hardware moved inside the fuel tank for protection.
  • Integrated Hot Staging: Eliminates the old disposable interstage shield. The booster dome is now directly exposed to upper-stage engine ignition, protected by tank pressure and steel shielding. Interstage actuators retract after separation.
  • New Fuel Transfer System: Massive redesign of the fuel transfer tube—roughly the size of a Falcon 9 first stage—enables simultaneous startup of all 33 Raptors for faster, more reliable flip maneuvers.
  • Engine Bay/Thermal Protection: Engine shrouds removed entirely; new shielding added between engines. Propulsion and avionics are more tightly integrated. CO? fire suppression system deleted for a simpler, lighter aft section.
  • Propellant Loading Improvements: Switched from one quick disconnect to two separate systems for added redundancy and reduced pad complexity.

Next, we have the changes to Starship V3:

  • Completely Redesigned Propulsion System: Clean-sheet redesign supports new Raptor startup, larger propellant volume, and an improved reaction control system while reducing trapped or leaked propellant risk.
  • Aft Section Simplification: Fluid and electrical systems rerouted; engine shrouds and large aft cavity deleted.
  • Flap Actuation Upgrade: Changed from two actuators per flap to one actuator with three motors for better redundancy, mass efficiency, and lower cost.
  • Faster Starlink Deployment: Upgraded PEZ dispenser enables quicker satellite release.
  • Long-Duration Spaceflight Capability: New systems for long orbital coasts, orbital refueling, cryogenic fluid management, vacuum-insulated header tanks, and high-voltage cryogenic recirculation.
  • Ship-to-Ship Docking + Refueling: Four docking drogues and dedicated propellant transfer connections added to support in-space refueling architecture.
  • Avionics Upgrades: 60 custom avionics units with integrated batteries, inverters, and high-voltage systems (9 MW peak power). New multi-sensor navigation for precision autonomous flight. RF sensors measure propellant in microgravity. ~50 onboard camera views and 480 Mbps Starlink connectivity for low-latency communications.

Believe it or not, there's more.

Two years ago, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown was Starship V1. Last year, it was Starship V2. V3 is about to become the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown — but don't worry, the company already has plans for V4.

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