Comment Re:I don't understand what makes this ok (Score 1) 113
I strongly suspect that more adults are opposed to this activity than endorse it. It's getting attention but not much of the good kind.
Comment I was really hoping for something else there (Score 1) 113
When I heard "Scientology Speedrun" I was hoping it would mean getting to operating level thetan as soon as possible. That would have been more interesting than some jokers trying to quickly run through a building I've never seen.
Comment Hot as a griddle, loud as a vacuum cleaner. (Score 2) 62
August 1994, Madison WI, near West side close to the UW campus around University Ave, I found one of these sitting on the curb. Beige, a little stained, but completely intact.
I was staying nearby in a sublet room, basically homeless, but i'd gotten a temp job cleaning out nasty dormatories which gave me a tiny cash flow.
I already had experience with various 286/386 PCs, PS/2s and consumer all-in-ones like the TRS-80s, COCO2 and Commodore 64 so I lugged this lead anchor back to my room and plugged it in. It booted up and presented me with a Unix log-in prompt. I tried every "default" password I could think of, but none worked. I didn't know this Unix so I had no tricks to try that I didn't faintly remember from reading Cult of the Dead Cow newsletters.
I put it aside. When I tried turning it on later, it never booted up again.
I probably should have tried selling it on Usenet forsale groups but I may have been without any computer and living offline at that time.
Sublet came to an end, and I had to move on. It was too much to take with me on foot.
I did salvage the hard drive and I'm pretty sure I used it for something eventually. And the two cooling fans which were loud and powerful and still insufficient to keep that monster cool. They were proportioned just like ordinary fans except they were extra deep. Not server fans, though. I used these in projects for years afterward. The early Motorola 68010 CPU is still in my parts collection. The husk of the computer went into a dumpster so noone would see my desecration.
Comment Re:The value - and cost - of being first to market (Score 1) 180
Something can be 'technically superior' but still not the 'best' solution, because 'solution' includes a lot of factors beyond 'technological superiority.'
100%. If the superior solution always won, Microsoft Windows would have been relegated to the dustbin long before Windows 95 existed (and we wouldn't be dealing with the disaster pile that is Windows 11 today). Similarly if the superior solution always won we'd have high speed rail in the US connecting all our major cities, but that hasn't happened either.
'solution' includes a lot of factors beyond 'technological superiority.'
Including whose wheels you're willing to grease to get your inferior solution a leg up on the ones that are better.
Comment The value - and cost - of being first to market (Score 1) 180
The ZIP won out over a superior technology - Imation Superdisk - because it was first to market. Iomega's ZIP disc was proprietary and more expensive per megabyte, while also almost never being bootable. Imation solved those problems with the Superdisk, which could also read 1.44mb floppies in the same drive. However by the time Imation released theirs, Iomega had a huge headstart and few people paid attention.
Later on though Iomega's reliance on their being first to (mass) market ended up killing off their product. They weren't able to hit a cost per mb that was even remotely close to CD-R, let alone USB flash drives - nor could they get anywhere near the speed of USB flash drives. If they had taken the time to innovate further we would probably be talking about new ZIP-related technologies in the 10s of GBs (or larger), instead they are in the dustbin.
Later on though Iomega's reliance on their being first to (mass) market ended up killing off their product. They weren't able to hit a cost per mb that was even remotely close to CD-R, let alone USB flash drives - nor could they get anywhere near the speed of USB flash drives. If they had taken the time to innovate further we would probably be talking about new ZIP-related technologies in the 10s of GBs (or larger), instead they are in the dustbin.
Comment Re:What's with the garbage characters? (Score 1) 3
Pretty sure that's not a new bug, but the old anti-unicode stance that the slashdot libertarians so boldly took 20 years ago in the name of the empire. Clearly that has turned out well as enrollment keeps climbing and everyone uses this site on a regular basis.
Comment Re:AP spin (Score 4, Informative) 27
In other words, we are toast. Sad because AP was once one of the original newspapers/sites with journalists rather than editorialists but that ship has sailed for most if not all of those outfits. It's hard keeping up with the Kardashians/Jones, whatever.
You're missing the point of the AP, and it's actual composition. I worked at a daily newspaper most of my way through undergrad and knew the ins and outs of the AP better than most.
The main use of the AP was to get international news to outlets who couldn't afford to place staff in places further away from their own location. A great example is any international war, though even big national events (9/11 being a great example) are also places where AP stories are valuable.
The AP carries very little editorial content. Yes there are a few editorial writers who publish there but the volume from them is minimal compared to the objective news reporting. Some people like to claim otherwise but that is from those who aren't actually looking at the body of work on ap.org.
Unfortunately the newspaper model is indeed dying. Many of us are lamenting it and we're not sure what solution could bring it back. Printed news was supported by advertising, both display ads and classified ads. In the 90s your local daily paper likely had 4-8 pages of classified ads, every day. Now the majority of that is on craigslist or facebook. On Sundays your paper had full color printed advertising inserts from over a dozen retailers; many of those retails have since gone out of business and many of the ones who remain don't advertise that way anymore. Online subscriptions can offset a small part of this, but only a small part. Online advertisements are blocked by most readers' browsers, so that isn't productive for newspapers in many cases either.
The tabloid and editorial "journalism" you refer to is successful because it does a better job of selling crap to its audience. Don't confuse it with the professionals at the AP.
Comment Re:Silly politcal granstanding all around (Score 1) 255
Yeah. I wish that were true. Trump was elected by a majority. And his current support numbers are still around 38%.
A couple things to consider on that:
- Once again the percentage of eligible voters who bothered to vote at all in the presidential election was small
- As in the other elections where Trump ran, many people were casting votes against someone as much as they were casting them for someone. In 2016 Trump won largely because of the avalanche of anti-Clinton sentiment that came from Republican regulars who very much did not agree with his platform. In 2020 Biden won in no small part in response to the disaster that Trump created in his first term. Then in 2024 the quick switch that the democrats pulled to change their endorsed candidate caused a large number of otherwise reliable democrats to not bother showing up at all.
I would much rather go nearly anywhere in Europe.
If we were to go back to the topic of the IgNobels themselves it would be interesting to know how many people actually traveled internationally the last several years to attend in person. I've read about them regularly but never considered going in person; I'm not sure I even knew before reading this that they were previously hosted in the US.
Comment Re:How long can this system last? (Score 1) 40
Honestly, arena rock is practically a dead genre already.
That might depend on how widely we define "arena rock". Yeah there aren't a lot of "rock" acts - by the traditional definition - that are selling out huge stadiums but there are plenty of other acts that are. Between various pop princesses, nostalgic rockers from the past, comedians, and even politicians we have plenty of non-sporting events selling out the hockey, basketball, baseball, and football arenas.
That said, while the tours pay the artists better than media / streaming revenue - and by a huge margin - the artists get but a small fraction of the ticket price. Prices keep going up, and at some point the fans won't pay it. Ticketmaster doesn't seem to have a plan for this, they seem to exist in an alternative reality where all fans have unlimited funds to see their favorite artists.
Submission + - Claude AI Finds Bugs In Microsoft CTO's 40-Year-Old Apple II Code (theregister.com)
An anonymous reader writes: AI can reverse engineer machine code and find vulnerabilities in ancient legacy architectures, says Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich, who used his own Apple II code from 40 years ago as an example. Russinovich wrote: "We are entering an era of automated, AI-accelerated vulnerability discovery that will be leveraged by both defenders and attackers."
In May 1986, Russinovich wrote a utility called Enhancer for the Apple II personal computer. The utility, written in 6502 machine language, added the ability to use a variable or BASIC expression for the destination of a GOTO, GOSUB, or RESTORE command, whereas without modification Applesoft BASIC would only accept a line number. Russinovich had Claude Opus 4.6, released early last month, look over the code. It decompiled the machine language and found several security issues, including a case of "silent incorrect behavior" where, if the destination line was not found, the program would set the pointer to the following line or past the end of the program, instead of reporting an error. The fix would be to check the carry flag, which is set if the line is not found, and branch to an error.
The existence of the vulnerability in Apple II type-in code has only amusement value, but the ability of AI to decompile embedded code and find vulnerabilities is a concern. "Billions of legacy microcontrollers exist globally, many likely running fragile or poorly audited firmware like this," said one comment to Russinovich's post.
In May 1986, Russinovich wrote a utility called Enhancer for the Apple II personal computer. The utility, written in 6502 machine language, added the ability to use a variable or BASIC expression for the destination of a GOTO, GOSUB, or RESTORE command, whereas without modification Applesoft BASIC would only accept a line number. Russinovich had Claude Opus 4.6, released early last month, look over the code. It decompiled the machine language and found several security issues, including a case of "silent incorrect behavior" where, if the destination line was not found, the program would set the pointer to the following line or past the end of the program, instead of reporting an error. The fix would be to check the carry flag, which is set if the line is not found, and branch to an error.
The existence of the vulnerability in Apple II type-in code has only amusement value, but the ability of AI to decompile embedded code and find vulnerabilities is a concern. "Billions of legacy microcontrollers exist globally, many likely running fragile or poorly audited firmware like this," said one comment to Russinovich's post.
Submission + - Many International Game Developers Plan To Skip GDC In US (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: This week, tens of thousands of game developers and producers will once again gather in San Francisco, as they have since 1988, for the weeklong Game Developers Conference. But this year’s show will be missing many international developers who say they no longer feel comfortable traveling to the United States to attend, no matter how relevant the show is to their work and careers. Dozens of those developers who spoke to Ars in recent months say they’re wary of traveling to a country that has shown a callous disregard for—or outright hostility toward—the safety of international travelers. That’s especially true for developers from various minority groups, those with transgender identities, and those who feel they could be targeted for outspoken political beliefs. “I honestly don’t know anyone who is not from the US who is planning on going to the next GDC,” Godot Foundation Executive Director Emilio Coppola, who’s based in Spain, told Ars. “We never felt super safe, but now we are not willing to risk it.”
Submission + - AI Suspected in Bombing of Iran Girls School (futurism.com)
hackingbear writes: In the aftermath of airstrikes that leveled a school and claimed the lives of 165 Iranian elementary students and staff, the Pentagon has refused to say whether the attack was suggested by an AI system. Given the United States’ reported use of AI to select at least some military targets in Iran, a major question remains unanswered: did the US use Anthropics' Claude to decide whether to annihilate an elementary school? When Futurism reached out to the Pentagon regarding the use of AI in recent military operations — specifically the targeting of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school — we were referred to US CENTCOM, one of eleven unified commands under the Pentagon’s umbrella. “We have nothing for you on this at this time,” CENTCOM said. Back in April of 2024, an investigation by +972 Magazine revealed that the Israeli army had leveraged an AI system called “Lavender” to select targets in its war on Gaza where a UN school was hit, similarly to how the Pentagon is reportedly using Claude in Iran.
Comment How long can this system last? (Score 2) 40
Of course it's well known how much money some artists make through their tours. People are willing to pay the price to see them, so good for those artists.
However, at what point will it no longer work? At some point the prices will be too high to sell out arenas. Big acts have been able to demand $1,000 or more for the best seats at giant arenas. Like so many others I can't name a single act that is active currently that I would pay anywhere near that much to see. If prices - and fees - keep going up the number of people in my camp will increase. Maybe the premium experience will be enough to offset that, but at some point demand side economics will take over.
If I can buy every single album, LP, single, and special edition an artist has ever released for less than 1/4 of what a ticket goes for - or for that matter less than just the fees for a ticket - the system seems a bit broken. Sure the live experience is different but is it worth that much?
However, at what point will it no longer work? At some point the prices will be too high to sell out arenas. Big acts have been able to demand $1,000 or more for the best seats at giant arenas. Like so many others I can't name a single act that is active currently that I would pay anywhere near that much to see. If prices - and fees - keep going up the number of people in my camp will increase. Maybe the premium experience will be enough to offset that, but at some point demand side economics will take over.
If I can buy every single album, LP, single, and special edition an artist has ever released for less than 1/4 of what a ticket goes for - or for that matter less than just the fees for a ticket - the system seems a bit broken. Sure the live experience is different but is it worth that much?
Submission + - Stormy Space Weather May Be Garbling Messages From Aliens, New Research Suggests (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Reminiscent of ET’s struggles to “phone home” in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster movie, new research by the Silicon Valley-based SETI Institute (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) suggests tempestuous space weather makes radio signals from the distant cosmos harder to detect. The organization, which is partly funded by Nasa, said stellar activity such as solar storms and plasma turbulence from a star near “a transmitting planet” can broaden otherwise ultra-narrow signals. That spreads the power of any such transmission across more frequencies, the institute’s scientists say, which makes it more difficult to detect using traditional narrowband searches.
“If a signal gets broadened by its own star’s environment, it can slip below our detection thresholds, even if it’s there, potentially helping explain some of the radio silence we’ve seen in technosignature searches,” SETI astronomer Vishal Gajjar said. His report, co-authored with SETI research assistant Grayce C Brown, was published this week in the Astrophysical Journal. [...] The SETI team made the discovery by calibrating the effects of stellar activity using radio transmissions from spacecraft in our own solar system, then extrapolating them to the environments of faraway stars. Brown said the findings meant space listeners would have to rethink the long-established mechanics of the search for alien lifeforms, including conducting future observation surveys at higher frequencies. “By quantifying how stellar activity can reshape narrowband signals, we can design searches that are better matched to what actually arrives at Earth, not just what might be transmitted,” she said.
“If a signal gets broadened by its own star’s environment, it can slip below our detection thresholds, even if it’s there, potentially helping explain some of the radio silence we’ve seen in technosignature searches,” SETI astronomer Vishal Gajjar said. His report, co-authored with SETI research assistant Grayce C Brown, was published this week in the Astrophysical Journal. [...] The SETI team made the discovery by calibrating the effects of stellar activity using radio transmissions from spacecraft in our own solar system, then extrapolating them to the environments of faraway stars. Brown said the findings meant space listeners would have to rethink the long-established mechanics of the search for alien lifeforms, including conducting future observation surveys at higher frequencies. “By quantifying how stellar activity can reshape narrowband signals, we can design searches that are better matched to what actually arrives at Earth, not just what might be transmitted,” she said.
Submission + - China's Fossil Fuel Emissions Dropped Last Year as Solar Boomed (yale.edu)
AmiMoJo writes: In China, the world’s leading carbon emitter, a massive buildout of solar power is beginning to push coal into decline. Last year China saw its fossil fuel emissions drop, even as demand for energy rose.
Emissions from energy and industry dropped by 0.3 percent in 2025, while consumption of energy rose by 3.5 percent, according to official statistics. Last year, renewables supplied 40 percent of power in China, up from 37 percent the previous year, with solar accounting for most of the growth. The added renewable power more than met the uptick in demand, and as a result, coal power fell slightly.
“This is an encouraging signal, as it suggests that the sort of large-scale energy transition which China has been investing heavily in has begun to translate into measurable outcomes,” said Duo Chan, a climate scientist at the University of Southampton. “Whilst one year of lower emissions does not mean that the climate challenge is solved, the scale of China’s deployment of renewables can lead us to hope that this may be the start of a sustained decline in its emissions.”
Emissions from energy and industry dropped by 0.3 percent in 2025, while consumption of energy rose by 3.5 percent, according to official statistics. Last year, renewables supplied 40 percent of power in China, up from 37 percent the previous year, with solar accounting for most of the growth. The added renewable power more than met the uptick in demand, and as a result, coal power fell slightly.
“This is an encouraging signal, as it suggests that the sort of large-scale energy transition which China has been investing heavily in has begun to translate into measurable outcomes,” said Duo Chan, a climate scientist at the University of Southampton. “Whilst one year of lower emissions does not mean that the climate challenge is solved, the scale of China’s deployment of renewables can lead us to hope that this may be the start of a sustained decline in its emissions.”
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