Comment Re:My kid was HS senior for COViD (Score 1) 155
Correlation does not imply causality.
Comment Re:Canceled (Score 4, Informative) 44
It's not that weird. Antennas don't work where I live; I was paying $230/mo for Comcast TV (no internet) w/ some extra packages. Keeps the SO happy. Switched to YouTubeTV + packages now ~$110 month - that's more than $1k/yr reduction. But it's been climbing as every provider steadily raises their rates. I've already cancelled Disney+ESPN+; Paramount+ will be cancelled in May after the Champions League is over.
Since the YouTube/Disney dispute I'm miffed that I've missed a few events but happy to have $20 back this month. Just miffed - not angry or pissed or mad - it's just business. The streaming industry has been moving towards direct-to-consumer pricing over a decade. Disney is using this event to see how much per month they can extract from sports/gambling junkies - some will pay, some like me think $30/mo is too much for less than 20 hours of programming I care about.
Underneath are two driving forces - the need to expand corporate profit and the crazy growing cost of content. Both play on using scarcity to jack prices. If you like college coaches making $10M/year, a basketball max contract at ~$50M/yr, and Shohei Otani with a $800M contract you're going to pay for the pleasure of watching them.
Comment Re: Models improvement has been amazing (Score 1) 43
First you have to learn about the various models available and what their limitations are. TropicalTidbits.com has many different charts under "Forecast Models" and windy.com allows you to choose from a few standard models and does a good job visualizing the data. To go deeper you can use a GRIB viewer app like LuckGrib (MacOS/iOS only - there are other viewers out there) which can download subsets of model data from its own servers. Or you can download parts of the models yourself from NOAA's NOMADS repository for full control over what parameters you want to look at. Not for the faint of heart, but what I do for offshore weather-based sailboat routing and other outdoor activities.
Comment Models improvement has been amazing (Score 3, Interesting) 43
Anyone bashing the GFS is free to improve it - the code is on github, Fortran required. Replicating the data assimilation network is an exercise for the reader.
Submission + - Google wants you to pay up for help in your own home (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: Google has finally revealed what is next for its smart speakers and displays. The company is pushing Gemini into your living room, replacing the Google Assistant with a more powerful AI voice. On the surface, that might sound exciting. But letâ(TM)s not ignore the fine print: Google plans to put parts of this experience behind a paywall. Yes, really.
For years, the search giant hooked us with free services backed by ads. Gmail, Maps, and of course Search all trained us to expect powerful tools at no cost. Now it wants users to accept that features we once assumed were included will only be available if we pay up. That feels like a bait and switch, and it could mark a turning point for how people view the company.
Gemini for Home builds on the same AI models used on phones. It can reason through complex requests, manage multiple commands, and answer nuanced questions. Google says it can find songs with vague descriptions, adjust your smart home with natural speech, and even help coordinate family life. You can ask it to create calendar events, manage shopping lists, or set up a timer for perfectly blanched broccoli. These sound like handy upgrades, but they also show how much deeper Gemini will integrate into personal routines compared to Assistant.
Gemini Live takes it further with conversational back and forth. You can brainstorm dinner with whatever is in your fridge, troubleshoot broken appliances, or spin a custom bedtime story for your kid. The pitch is that Gemini is not just an assistant, but a collaborator in your home life. Early demos show it weaving together tasks in a way that makes Assistant look outdated by comparison.
Over time, Gemini for Home will replace Google Assistant on existing speakers and displays. The company admits it will be offering both free and paid versions, and early access begins in October. That means the assistant you already own could feel stripped down unless you start paying. The very same devices that once promised convenience without extra costs are about to become subscription upsells.
This shift raises bigger questions about Googleâ(TM)s strategy. Amazon Alexa is still free, even as Amazon struggles to monetize it. Apple does not charge extra for Siri, though it sells hardware at a premium. By charging for Gemini in the home, Google is signaling that its long-term AI play is not just about ads or devices, but subscriptions. It wants to squeeze recurring revenue out of what used to be considered baseline functionality.
The privacy angle is worth mentioning too. Even if you pay for Gemini, Google will likely still be collecting data to refine its models and serve ads elsewhere. Consumers may rightly wonder why they should hand over money for features while also remaining the product in terms of data collection. Paying does not mean you suddenly own the assistant or control how it learns from your household conversations.
There is also the question of how much people will actually tolerate. Smart speakers have never been as essential as smartphones. If users feel tricked into paying for features that used to be free, they could simply unplug their Nest Hub and walk away. Google is betting that people are already too locked into its ecosystem to make that choice.
At the end of the day, Gemini for Home looks like a technically impressive upgrade. It can make cooking, troubleshooting, and even entertainment more natural. But the push to divide features between free and paid tiers risks souring the experience. The company that once bragged about free tools for everyone is now testing just how much its customers are willing to pay to keep the convenience they thought they already had.
For years, the search giant hooked us with free services backed by ads. Gmail, Maps, and of course Search all trained us to expect powerful tools at no cost. Now it wants users to accept that features we once assumed were included will only be available if we pay up. That feels like a bait and switch, and it could mark a turning point for how people view the company.
Gemini for Home builds on the same AI models used on phones. It can reason through complex requests, manage multiple commands, and answer nuanced questions. Google says it can find songs with vague descriptions, adjust your smart home with natural speech, and even help coordinate family life. You can ask it to create calendar events, manage shopping lists, or set up a timer for perfectly blanched broccoli. These sound like handy upgrades, but they also show how much deeper Gemini will integrate into personal routines compared to Assistant.
Gemini Live takes it further with conversational back and forth. You can brainstorm dinner with whatever is in your fridge, troubleshoot broken appliances, or spin a custom bedtime story for your kid. The pitch is that Gemini is not just an assistant, but a collaborator in your home life. Early demos show it weaving together tasks in a way that makes Assistant look outdated by comparison.
Over time, Gemini for Home will replace Google Assistant on existing speakers and displays. The company admits it will be offering both free and paid versions, and early access begins in October. That means the assistant you already own could feel stripped down unless you start paying. The very same devices that once promised convenience without extra costs are about to become subscription upsells.
This shift raises bigger questions about Googleâ(TM)s strategy. Amazon Alexa is still free, even as Amazon struggles to monetize it. Apple does not charge extra for Siri, though it sells hardware at a premium. By charging for Gemini in the home, Google is signaling that its long-term AI play is not just about ads or devices, but subscriptions. It wants to squeeze recurring revenue out of what used to be considered baseline functionality.
The privacy angle is worth mentioning too. Even if you pay for Gemini, Google will likely still be collecting data to refine its models and serve ads elsewhere. Consumers may rightly wonder why they should hand over money for features while also remaining the product in terms of data collection. Paying does not mean you suddenly own the assistant or control how it learns from your household conversations.
There is also the question of how much people will actually tolerate. Smart speakers have never been as essential as smartphones. If users feel tricked into paying for features that used to be free, they could simply unplug their Nest Hub and walk away. Google is betting that people are already too locked into its ecosystem to make that choice.
At the end of the day, Gemini for Home looks like a technically impressive upgrade. It can make cooking, troubleshooting, and even entertainment more natural. But the push to divide features between free and paid tiers risks souring the experience. The company that once bragged about free tools for everyone is now testing just how much its customers are willing to pay to keep the convenience they thought they already had.
Submission + - Celebrating 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (arstechnica.com)
alternative_right writes: When The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered in 1975, no one could have dreamed that it would become the longest-running theatrical release film in history. But that's what happened. Thanks to a killer soundtrack, campy humor, and a devoted cult following, Rocky Horror is still a mainstay of midnight movie culture.
Comment VMware went bovine a long time ago (Score 2) 74
I was involved with VMware when the corporate strategy changed from innovating the product to milking the cow. It's not surprising that some of the cows aren't happy with the announced upcoming optimization strategy. But remember, happy cows come from California!
Comment Re:Darwin Awards, anyone? (Score 2) 339
Any adult in the US can get vaccinated for free. Make Darwin Great Again.
Comment Deja Vu (Score 1) 54
We called this x2x in 1996. Was great then, will be great now too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X2x
Comment I'm shocked, shocked! (Score 2, Insightful) 35
Amazon is a Government Contractor, doing what Government Contractors do to get favorable treatment of Government Contracts.
Comment It's all about more integration (Score 1) 26
SoC integration will accelerate - firms that can't figure out how to productively use the billions of available transistors on a 2nm die will eventually lose. We will see more hybrid (multiple firm's IP) dies as computer total chip count keeps dropping. This will keep driving industry consolidation (i.e. AMD buying Xilinx).
Submission + - SPAM: German scientists identify possible cause of vaccine blood clots
Hmmmmmm writes: The authors of a new study claim their findings show that it is not the key component of the vaccines that cause the clotting, but a separate vector virus that is used to deliver them to the body. Both the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs use a modified adenovirus, similar to the common cold virus, to deliver the spike protein of SarsCov2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The scientists claim the delivery mechanism means the spike protein is sent into the cell nucleus rather than the cellular fluid, where the virus usually generates proteins. In rare cases, they argue, parts of the spike protein can splice inside the nucleus, creating mutant versions which do not bind to the cell membrane where immunisation takes place, but are secreted into the body, where they can cause blood clots. “The adenovirus life cycle includes ... the entry of the adenoviral DNA into the nucleus, and subsequently gene transcription by the host transcription machinery,” the scientists claimed in a preprint of the study released this week. “And exactly here lies the problem: the viral piece of DNA is not optimised to be transcribed inside the nucleus.”
These claims are only one of a number of hypotheses currently being explored on why the jabs cause blood clots in some people.
A rival German study led by Prof Andreas Greinacher of Greifswald University Hospital claimed the clots were being caused by EDTA, a chemical used as a preservative in the AstraZeneca vaccine. In a two-step process, the vaccine can cause an overreaction by the immune system in some people which causes too many platelets to form in the blood, Prof Greinacher argues. EDTA can cause the cells in blood vessels to become “leaky”, causing platelets and proteins to flood through the body, triggering a massive immune reaction that can cause the blood clots.
A third German study released in preprint this week by scientists at Ulm University Medical Centre claims to have found unusually high levels of proteins in the AstraZeneca vaccine which it is theorized could be behind the clots. “The often-observed strong clinical reaction one or two days after vaccination is likely associated with the detected protein impurities,” the authors of the study wrote. The type of proteins involved “are known to affect innate and acquired immune responses and to intensify existing inflammatory reactions,” Prof Stefan Kochanek, the study leader, said. “They have also been linked to autoimmune reactions.”
Link to Original Source
These claims are only one of a number of hypotheses currently being explored on why the jabs cause blood clots in some people.
A rival German study led by Prof Andreas Greinacher of Greifswald University Hospital claimed the clots were being caused by EDTA, a chemical used as a preservative in the AstraZeneca vaccine. In a two-step process, the vaccine can cause an overreaction by the immune system in some people which causes too many platelets to form in the blood, Prof Greinacher argues. EDTA can cause the cells in blood vessels to become “leaky”, causing platelets and proteins to flood through the body, triggering a massive immune reaction that can cause the blood clots.
A third German study released in preprint this week by scientists at Ulm University Medical Centre claims to have found unusually high levels of proteins in the AstraZeneca vaccine which it is theorized could be behind the clots. “The often-observed strong clinical reaction one or two days after vaccination is likely associated with the detected protein impurities,” the authors of the study wrote. The type of proteins involved “are known to affect innate and acquired immune responses and to intensify existing inflammatory reactions,” Prof Stefan Kochanek, the study leader, said. “They have also been linked to autoimmune reactions.”
Link to Original Source
Submission + - SPAM: VMware Warns of Critical Remote Code Execution Hole In vCenter
An anonymous reader writes: VMware is urging its vCenter users to update vCenter Server versions 6.5, 6.7, and 7.0 immediately, after a pair of vulnerabilities were reported privately to the company. The most pressing is CVE-2021-21985, which relates to a remote code execution vulnerability in a vSAN plugin enabled by default in vCenter that an attacker could use to run whatever they wished on the underlying host machine, provided they can access port 443. Even if users do not use vSAN, they are likely to be affected because the vSAN plugin is enabled by default. "This needs your immediate attention if you are using vCenter Server," VMware said in a blog post.
The second vulnerability, CVE-2021-21986, would allow an attacker to perform actions allowed by plugins without authentication. "The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a vulnerability in a vSphere authentication mechanism for the Virtual SAN Health Check, Site Recovery, vSphere Lifecycle Manager, and VMware Cloud Director Availability plug-ins," VMware said. In terms of CVSSv3 scores, CVE-2021-21985 hit an 9.8, while CVE-2021-21986 was scored as 6.5.
Link to Original Source
The second vulnerability, CVE-2021-21986, would allow an attacker to perform actions allowed by plugins without authentication. "The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a vulnerability in a vSphere authentication mechanism for the Virtual SAN Health Check, Site Recovery, vSphere Lifecycle Manager, and VMware Cloud Director Availability plug-ins," VMware said. In terms of CVSSv3 scores, CVE-2021-21985 hit an 9.8, while CVE-2021-21986 was scored as 6.5.
Link to Original Source
Comment It's still about a WinComm monopoly (Score 1) 60
Because porting Windows to the RPi was nixed by Capt. Obvious.
Submission + - Special Darwin Award: Smartphone kills man with a dinosaur! (theguardian.com) 1
shanen writes: Not sure what the technology link is. Smartphones make people stupid? Dinosaurs are scientific, but this is ridiculous? It would be funny, but it's too gruesome. But I guess I'll go ahead an submit it in the Darwin Award category. Maybe a better title is man kills himself with dinosaur and smartphone? Death by paper mache?
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One half large intestine = 1 Semicolon
